Week at a glance September 2 - 6, 2013

This week we will wrap up Act I of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.  Students should have a good idea of the characters behind the Salem Witch Trials and their motives.  As Act I ends, we'll see the hysteria hit Salem and the Trials will begin.  We'll also continue our work with Close Reads and the 1st Quarter Independent Reading Project.  Students will need to be able to identify the book they are working with this quarter by Friday.

• Mon: Labor Day - no school
• Tues: Pass out and discuss progress reports.  Close Read 3 assigned - due Friday.  The Crucible - continue reading and discussing Act I.
• Wed: The Crucible - finish reading and discussing Act I.  Complete the Act I study guide.
• Thurs: The Crucible - Act I review.  Act I study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Close Read 3 due. Independent Reading Project - active reading assignment due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance August 26 - 30, 2013

This week we will begin reading, discussing, and analyzing Arthur Miller's The Crucible.  To help us understand the perspective of the Salem villagers, we'll start the week with a discussion of a famous sermon of the time, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (an unabridged copy of the sermon is posted to the right under the Recommended Links section).  We'll then get into the actual reading.  Since The Crucible is a play, we'll look for volunteers to read the parts so that we can hopefully hear the play with voice.  We'll wrap up the week with a bit of class time to wrap up this week's Close Read and time to complete the IRP active reading assignment.

• Mon: Close Read 2 assigned - due on Friday.  The Crucible: pre-reading - Read, analyze, and discuss Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."  Edwards response due Tuesday.  Determine parts for Act I.
• Tues: The Crucible: begin reading/discussing Act I.  Complete the study guide as we read.
• Wed: The Crucible: continue reading/discussing Act I.  Complete the study guide as we read.
• Thurs: The Crucible: reading/discussing Act I.  Complete the study guide as we read.
• Fri: Close Read 2 due. Independent Reading Project - active reading assignment due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance August 19 - 23, 2013

WRHS Open House

Wednesday, Aug 21 -- 6:00-9:00 pm

Having spent last week getting to know one another and the expectations of the class, this week we'll jump right into the English 11 curriculum.  We'll start the week with checking out textbooks, handing out and briefly discussing this week's Close Read, and shaping our first essay of the semester: the Personal Narrative.  Students will then have two days in the computer lab to shape and create a rough draft of the essay.  On Thursday we'll take some time to preview our first play of the semester as we consider the history behind Arthur Miller's The Crucible.  We'll wrap up the week with students doing an Active Reading activity for the 1st Quarter Independent Book Project (IBP).

• Mon: Practice CR due.  Check out textbooks.  Pass out and briefly discuss CR1 - due Friday.  Assign and discuss the Personal Narrative.  Come back to class with a topic and completed outline.
• Tues: Meet in Library Lab C - shape and create the Personal Narrative.
• Wed: Meet in Library Lab C - finish shaping a rough draft of the Personal Narrative.  Print 2 copies and upload a copy to turnitin.com
• Thurs: The Crucible pre-reading -- history notes and video
• Fri: IBP Active Reading - turn in before the end of the hour.  CR1 due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance August 12 - 16, 2013

Welcome!

On this site you'll find a breakdown of each week's lesson plans and activities for English 11.  Assignments and due dates will always be listed in red.  You can access class handouts through the "Course Materials" section located on the top right of this site.  If you have any questions or comments regarding the things you'd like to see on this site, call me at WRHS or e-mail me at ritchjoh@usd437.net

This week is a chance for us to get to know one another, as well as to discuss the policies, procedures, and expectations of the class.  Each quarter we will do an Independent Reading Project.  This quarterly project will require students to read a book throughout the quarter.  The final product for the project will be a short essay identifying and analyzing the book's theme.  We'll wrap up the week with a trip to the library and a discussion of the IRP.

• Mon: teacher work day
• Tues: New student orientation
• Wed: Introductions and getting to know one another.
• Thurs: Finish introductions.  Discuss syllabus and expectations. Syllabus quiz at the end of the hour.
• Fri: 1st Quarter Independent Reading Project (IRP) -- book talk, check out a book, procedures,  expectations, and due dates. Present introductions and hand in by the end of the hour.