Jennifer Holzhausen's Homework Blog

August 31, 2011 (Blue)

B1 - Returned flashcards for SAT  Vocab. Test #1.  Students recorded scores on their grade sheets.  We finished the Cause and Effect chain of events for "A Sound of Thunder," then students took new notes over Character and Point of View.  If you were absent, please read pages 186-191 so that you can better understand this material.  For the remainder of the block, students had time to quiz each other over the SAT vocab. words and stories and the various elements of the Plot Diagram, the stages of the Plot , and Conflict.  Assignment:  Quiz over the five parts of the plot diagram and various types of internal and external conflict on Friday.  You will also take your first SAT vocabulary test.  You will need to provide the full definition for each word as well as the mnemonic story for five random words of my choosing.  Study, study, study!!

B3/B4 - The synonym worksheet was due today in B4.  Collected late and absent work, passed back some graded work, then students took a few minutes to study for their vocabulary test over "A Sound of Thunder."  After the vocab. test, a few students made up the quiz over the story, then we were able to review a little bit.  We reviewed the plot diagram and cause/effect chain for "A Sound of Thunder," then read and, in B3, we discussed "The Physics of Time Travel" by Brad Stone (p. 51).  If you were absent, please read through this article about the realities associated with time travel research.     Students took notes over Character and Point of View.  If you were absent, please read pages 186-191 so that you can better understand this material. Assignment:  Two-sided vocab. wksht for "The Necklace."  Study your notes over the Plot Diagram.  You will need to know the five parts as well as know what happens at each stage.  B4 had time to complete the vocab. worksheet during class today.  Most of the students turned it in before they left for the day. 

August 30, 2011 (Gold)

G2 - SAT Vocab. List #1 Flashcards DUE.  I passed back some graded work, and students were asked to record their scores on their Grade Record Sheets.  We went over the questions and answers for "A Sound of Thunder," then we reviewed the story and the plot diagram in small groups.  Students worked as a group to complete notes (a plot diagram chart) for the story.  At the end of the block, students went outside to create skits of the story.  No Assignment Tonight!  Vocab. Test over SAT Vocab. List #1 on Monday.  I will return your flashcards to you on Thursday.

G3 - Checked rough drafts of the summary for Zimbardo's article.  Students peer-edited for the first half of the block.  After lunch, guidance came in and discussed a variety of things with them.  Assignment:  Pick one of the summaries you have written and complete a second draft.  We will discuss Zimbardo's article and peer-edit on Thursday.  If you would like to sign up for Moodle, it is all set up and ready for you to do that.  If you were absent today, I will give you the enrollment key when you return to school.  If you have not yet printed your documents for IU, please do so ASAP.

G4 - "A Sound of Thunder" questions 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 DUE.  Open-book Quiz: "A Sound of Thunder."  After the quiz, students worked in small groups to review/study the plot diagram for "A Sound of Thunder."  They also completed a cause and effect chain for the story.   At the end of the block, students went outside to create plot diagrams and skits of the story.  Assignment:  Vocab. Test over the ten words and definitions from "A Sound of Thunder" on Thursday. 

August 29, 2011 (Blue)

B1 - SAT Vocab. List #1 Flashcards DUE.  I passed back some graded work, and students were asked to record their scores on their Grade Record Sheets.  We went over the questions and answers for "A Sound of Thunder," then we reviewed the story and the plot diagram in small groups.  Students worked as a group to complete notes (a plot diagram chart) for the story.  We will finish discussing this on Wednesday.  No Assignment Tonight!  Vocab. Test over SAT Vocab. List #1 on Friday.  I will return your flashcards to you on Wednesday.

B3/B4 - "A Sound of Thunder" questions 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 DUE.  Open-book Quiz: "A Sound of Thunder."  After the quiz, students worked in small groups to review/study the plot diagram for "A Sound of Thunder."  They also completed a cause and effect chain for the story.  In B4, we also read and discussed "The Physics of Time Travel" on p. 51 and completed a synonym practice worksheet.  Assignment:  Vocab. test over "A Sound of Thunder" on Wednesday.  In B3, please complete the cause and effect worksheet.  We will go over those in class on Wednesday.  In B4, please complete the synonym practice worksheet for homework.  Be sure to write three synonyms for each vocabulary word.

August 26, 2011 (Gold)

G2 - "A Sound of Thunder" questions #1-5, 7-10 DUE.  At the beginning of the block, students completed Daily Oral Grammar exercises #1-2, and we went over those together.  For much of the period, students took notes as we walked through Plot and Conflict, Cause and Effect, and Synonyms and Antonyms.  If you were absent today, please read pages 24-27 to further your understanding of Plot and Conflict.  Students completed a synonym and antonym practice sheet, then we briefly discussed the story they read for today and followed up by reading and discussing "The Physics of Time Travel" (p. 51).   Assignment:  For Tuesday, please create flashcards for SAT vocab. list #1.  On each card you will need the following information:  On the front, please put the vocab. word.  On the back, divide the card into three sections.  You will need the definition in the top left, the "sounds like" or "think of" in the top right portion, and the complete mnemonic device (or story)  on the bottom half of the card.  For the test, you will be responsible for providing a complete definition for each word on the list and knowing 5 stories which I will choose at random.  Future tests will require you to remember the words from previous lists.  For instance, on Test #3, you will see 5 words from lists 1-2 for which you will need to provide complete definitions.  The sooner you start making these cards and flipping through them, the better you will do on these tests.

G3 - Checked the summary rough drafts for the Milgram article.  Returned goals.  Watched and discussed some video clips depicting Milgram's experiment and some recent recreations of the experiment.  For the last half hour, students peer-edited their papers in their groups.  Assignment: Read the Zimbardo article, "The Stanford Prison Experiment" (p. 240+) and type up a summary for that article.  Type up your goals and place them in your binder.  If you haven't had a chance to log into the IU system since Wednesday, please do so to print and sign your documents. 

G4 - "Sound of Thunder" Vocab. Wksht DUE.  Collected a few late parent contact information forms and scheduled make-up dates for the Benchmark Writing test.  Students in B3 requested I read one of the story scrambles from last time, so we did that, then we jumped into Daily Oral Grammar.  Students completed two exercises (#1-2) today on the DOG log sheet in the Daily Work section of their binders.  For much of the period, students took notes as we walked through Plot and Conflict, Cause and Effect, and Synonyms and Antonyms.  If you were absent today, please read pages 24-27 to further your understanding of Plot and Conflict.  Students completed a synonym and antonym practice sheet at the end of the block.  Assignment:  Read "A Sound of Thunder" (p. 34+) and do questions 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 on page 48.  Write your answers in complete sentences.  Be ready for a quiz over the story on Tuesday.

August 25, 2011 (Blue)

B1 - "A Sound of Thunder" questions #1-5, 7-10 DUE.  At the beginning of the block, students completed Daily Oral Grammar exercises #1-2, and we went over those together.  Next, we briefly discussed the story they read for today and followed up by reading and discussing "The Physics of Time Travel" (p. 51).  For much of the period, students took notes as we walked through Plot and Conflict, Cause and Effect, and Synonyms and Antonyms.  If you were absent today, please read pages 24-27 to further your understanding of Plot and Conflict.  Students completed a synonym and antonym practice sheet, then we began discussing their assignment for Monday.  Assignment:  For Monday, please create flashcards for SAT vocab. list #1.  On each card you will need the following information:  On the front, please put the vocab. word.  On the back, divide the card into three sections.  You will need the definition in the top left, the "sounds like" or "think of" in the top right portion, and the complete mnemonic device (or story)  on the bottom half of the card.  For the test, you will be responsible for providing a complete definition for each word on the list and knowing 5 stories which I will choose at random.  Future tests will require you to remember the words from previous lists.  For instance, on Test #3, you will see 5 words from lists 1-2 for which you will need to provide complete definitions.  The sooner you start making these cards and flipping through them, the better you will do on these tests.

B3/B4 - "Sound of Thunder" Vocab. Wksht DUE.  Collected a few late parent contact information forms and scheduled make-up dates for the Benchmark Writing test.  Students in B3 requested I read one of the story scrambles from last time, so we did that, then we jumped into Daily Oral Grammar.  Students completed two exercises (#1-2) today on the DOG log sheet in the Daily Work section of their binders.  For much of the period, students took notes as we walked through Plot and Conflict, Cause and Effect, and Synonyms and Antonyms.  If you were absent today, please read pages 24-27 to further your understanding of Plot and Conflict.  Students completed a synonym and antonym practice sheet at the end of the block.  Assignment:  Read "A Sound of Thunder" (p. 34+) and do questions 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 on page 48.  Write your answers in complete sentences.  Be ready for a quiz over the story on Monday.

August 24, 2011 (Gold) MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT TONIGHT AT 7:00

G2 - Parent Contact Information Forms DUE.  Students were taken to the computer lab today to complete the Benchmark Writing Assessment.  They were given 50 minutes to complete the prompt using WordPad.  As time allowed, we were able to sign up for Moodle and online textbook accounts.  Assignment: Read "A Sound of Thunder" and do questions 1-5 and 7-10 on p. 48.  Please write complete and well-developed answers to these questions. 

G3 - Collected goals and checked sentence summaries for the various stages of thought present in Solomon Asch's article, "Opinions and Social Pressure."  Students discussed their sentences, and we walked through the notes/guidelines for writing a strong Summary paper.  Students are encouraged to read the supplementary readings for this unit (p. 21-39) to ensure success on this paper.  For the second half of the block, we went to the computer lab so students could finalize their applications to IU.  Unfortunately, the lab wasn't cooperating, and students are responsible for logging in again at home to print the documents they need.  The rest of the block was available to students to practice writing a summary with the sentences they wrote for Asch's article.   Assignment: Read "The Perils of Obedience" by Stanley Milgram and type up a first draft summary for this article.  Read the supplementary materials if you haven't already done that.  In addition, I need you to log back into the IU system to print your application.  Please sign and return the application page as soon as possible.  I need it by September 9 at the absolute latest.                           

G4 - Parent Contact Information forms were collected for late points.  Students were taken to the computer lab today to complete the Benchmark Writing Assessment.  They were given 50 minutes to complete the prompt using WordPad.  In this class, the power went out about 20-25 minutes into the test..  Most of them had not saved, and they had to start over;  regardless,  everyone was given plenty of time to complete the test.   Assignment:  Complete both sides of the vocabulary worksheet for "A Sound of Thunder." 

August 23, 2011 (Blue)

B1 - Parent Contact Information Forms DUE.  Students were taken to the computer lab today to complete the Benchmark Writing Assessment.  They were given 50 minutes to complete the prompt using WordPad.  As time allowed, we were able to sign up for Moodle and online textbook accounts.  Assignment: Read "A Sound of Thunder" and do questions 1-5 and 7-10 on p. 48.  Please write complete and well-developed answers to these questions. 

B3/B4 - Parent Contact Information forms were collected for late points.  Students were taken to the computer lab today to complete the Benchmark Writing Assessment.  They were given 50 minutes to complete the prompt using WordPad.  As time allowed, we were able to sign up for Moodle and online textbook accounts.  Assignment:  Complete both sides of the vocabulary worksheet for "A Sound of Thunder." 

August 22, 2011 (Gold)

G2 - Honors 9 - Returned the journal assignment and had students record their scores on their graded work sheets.  I demonstrated the online textbook and showed students how to set up and access their online textbook accounts.  Students were asked to take notes so they can set up their accounts as soon as possible.  I showed them this homework blog, then we worked on some story scrambles for the rest of the block.  Assignment: Please take the letter home to your parents.  Have them complete and sign the parent information form on the second page.  It is due for a grade on Wednesday.

G3 - W131 - Groups were assigned today.  Students wrote three goals for this class and received feedback from their groups.  Goals should be complete, thorough, and include an action plan for success.  If a goal can be measured, explain how it will be measured and/or monitored throughout the semester.  We discussed Solomon Asch's article, "Opinions and Social Pressure," and I showed students a short Dateline clip which highlights this particular experiment.  Next, we discussed the chart on page 25 in WRAC and we began dividing this article into meaningful stages of thought.  Assignments:  Write the three goals, divide the article into 15-20 stages of thought, and write one complete sentence for each of those divisions or chunks of the article.  The sentences should be thorough and well-developed... if they are choppy or too brief, you will need to add details later.  You should also begin reading the supplementary readings for this unit (p. 21-39) by Friday.

G4 - Parent Contact Information Forms DUE.  Returned the journal assignment and had students record their scores on their graded work sheets.  Next, students completed a writing activity I like to call "Green Monkey Joe."  This class wrote about a red dog named Jack.  We shared our "stories" and discussed all of the elements necessary for a really good short story.  Students worked together in groups to complete story scrambles for the rest of the block.  Assignment: NONE!

August 19, 2011 (Blue)

B1 - Honors 9 - Returned the journal assignment and had students record their scores on their graded work sheets.  Students in this class received handouts to file inside their binders.  I demonstrated the online textbook and showed students how to set up and access their online textbook accounts.  Students were asked to take notes so they can set up their accounts as soon as possible.  I showed them this homework blog, then we worked on some story scrambles for the rest of the block.  Assignment: Please take the letter home to your parents.  Have them complete and sign the parent information form on the second page.  It is due for a grade on Tuesday.

B3/B4 - Parent Contact Information Forms DUE.  Returned the journal assignment and had students record their scores on their graded work sheets.  Next, students completed a writing activity I like to call "Green Monkey Joe."  Blue 3 wrote about a green tiger named Jacob and Blue 4 wrote about a purple giraffe named Shanay.  We shared our "stories" and discussed all of the elements necessary for a really good short story.  Students worked together in groups to complete story scrambles for the rest of the block.  Assignment: NONE!  

August 18, 2011 (Gold)

G2 - Honors 9 - Letter of Introduction DUE.  (No late work accepted in Honors English as per our discussion on Tuesday.)  Students wrote a half-page journal about the first two days of high school, then they embellished pieces of their journal for entertainment value.  I read through their journals, and we discussed some of their common themes.  Students went to the Auditorium for their school pictures today.  Unfortunately, picture packets were not mailed, so students interested in purchasing pictures must return the packets they just received sometime tomorrow.  Due to pictures, we had little time today, and that is all we were able to accomplish.   Assignment: NONE! 

G3 - W131 - Student ID pictures were taken in the Auditorium at the beginning of the block.  I went around the room and checked the five sentences they were asked to highlight from the article for today and collected the Signature page from the Course Syllabus.  In small groups and as a class, we discussed "The Difference Between High School and College."  I gave everyone a handout which charted out various other differences for them to consider.  Next, students perused and discussed a packet of college assignments.  We discussed similarities and differences as well as some of the expectations which exist.  On their way out the door, I handed them the assignment.  Assignment: Read and be prepared to discuss "Opinions and Social Pressure" by Solomon Asch. 

G4 - English 9 - Students went to the Auditorium for their school pictures today.  Unfortunately, picture packets were not mailed, so students interested in purchasing pictures must return the packets they just received sometime tomorrow. Students wrote a half-page journal about the first two days of high school, then they embellished pieces of their journal for entertainment value.  I read through their journals, and we discussed some of their common themes.  For most of the rest of the block, I showed students how to set up and use the online textbook account.  I pointed out various features of the online book which might be most useful for this class.  In addition, I brought them to this homework blog to show them what it is like.  Assignment:  Give your parents the letter I have written for them.  Have them complete and sign the parent contact information form and bring it back for a grade on Monday.