Welcome to Quarter 3, Semester 2! We’re already half-way through the year! Can you believe it???

Semester 1 Reflection Look back on the first half of the school year, and think not only about what you did or did not accomplish in school, but in your life as well. Freshmen - you are in high school now, which is the true beginning of your educational career, when things really start to matter. Are you taking your studies seriously enough? Sophomores- Do you feel you have matured and improved since this time last year? In what ways? Juniors- How have you started to realize how important your grades are, and have you been thinking about where you’ll be this time next year? Seniors - You’re almost done, and will be off to college soon. Do you feel prepared? Are you nervous, excited? ALL students, think of your work ethic, your ability to balance a school and social life, your relationships with friends, family, and teachers. What do you think of this past semester? Did you make yourself or anyone else proud of you? In what way? Do you have any New Year resolutions? How do you hope to accomplish them? This MUST be a MINIMUM of TEN sentences. Dig deep!

Quarter 3 Expectations RIGOR - It’s only going to get more challenging and rigours from here. If you haven’t been doing well, and haven’t been putting in the required effort, you MUST reevaluate your choices. This is a COLLEGE LEVEL CLASS. NOTES - Even though we have the text books, and we will be using them, I will still be making powerpoints that you must print and keep in your binders. Some of you have been taking decent notes, but some of you have not, and that has been evident in your grades. If you aren’t taking adequate notes, you will continue to earn low scores. WRITING CONFERENCES- Everyone HAS to come to one this quarter. It is a test grade. We need some one-on-one time to talk about your essays and your effort. This could be before school, after school, during lunch, or during 3rd. You need to make an appointment. Keep in mind- if you wait until the END of the quarter, you probably won’t get in. Do it ASAP!!!! (Magan- you’re fine. You can come again if you WANT to, though.) ALL students will be coming for a writing conference this quarter, including English kids, so it would be in your best interest to do it ASAP. I won’t be available toward the end of the quarter!!!

Quarter 3 Expectations RESPONSIBILITY - You guys need to grow up and come prepared for class. If I have sent out a powerpoint at least a couple days before it’s needed and you DON’T have it, and haven’t told me that you need one, I’m taking that day’s conduct points. It is RIDICULOUS that so many students are coming to class unprepared. And I WILL check.

Quarter 3 Expectations QUIZZES - As soon as we finish a Course Book lesson, we will have a quiz on the material we covered. If you’re paying attention in class and taking the notes you should, you’ll do fine. If you’re not, you’ll fail. It’s that simple. TIMED ESSAYS - As I said before break, we will continue to have timed essay practices. It’s vital that you practice this in order to pass the exam. Very few students met the word count, and that is a big problem. Because it is absolutely impossible for me to grade and edit all the essays you’ll be writing, we will continue peer editing but at LEAST ONE of your essays will be graded and edited by me, and that will be a test grade. But you won’t know which one. I’ll randomly select several from each class each time we do a timed essay practice.

Quarter 3 Expectations READING COMPREHENSION - We will also start getting into the reading comprehension portion of the course this semester. Reading good writing is one of the best ways to improve your own writing. CORE SKILLS - We will also be working on improving some of the skills you will need for the exam and in your futures, such as providing input and output, and using formal language. These are two important skills that MUST be developed. CNN 10s: To practice input/output and elaboration, we will continue doing CNN10, but we’ll be doing things a little differently, and it will take longer, so we won’t do it every day. I’ll preview the CNN10 each day and decide if it’s worth it. Expectations quiz

Quarter 3 Expectations CORE SKILLS - Formal vs. Informal. For many of you, this is a problem, and we’re going to start working on it NOW.

Activity - Wedding Vows Traditional wedding vows are written in very formal language. We’re going to screw all that up. In small groups, you are going to rewrite traditional wedding vows in a different style. You can write them as gangsta rap (but keep it CLEAN! We’re in school!), baby talk (but think elementary school age), hillbilly, Valley Girl (Do you guys even know what that is?), nursery rhyme, or in another informal style that you can think of. (Just ask me first!) Then you’ll present your vows to the class. Anyone want to get married????

Activity - Nursery Rhyme Now we’re going to go in the opposite direction. In your groups, you’re going to choose a nursery rhyme and rewrite it using very formal language. Let’s brainstorm some nursery rhymes!

Three Blind Mice, Formalized A trio of visually impaired rodents Perceived by what means they motivate They all pursued the agriculturalist’s spouse She cut off their appendages with a culinary utensil Have you ever witnessed such a sight in your existence? As a trio of visually impaired rodents?