Jennifer Holzhausen's Homework Blog

February 27, 2015 (Gold)

G1/G4 - In class today, students worked on writing their introduction paragraphs.  I continued to call students up individually to check source information packets and outline worksheets.  As time allowed, I called them up to look at typed outlines and Works Cited pages online.  Assignment: Finish your introduction paragraph for Tuesday.  If you are behind on ANYTHING, use the weekend to be caught up.  This will make the whole process go that much more smoothly for all of us.

G2 - SAT Vocab. Test #20 and Quiz #1 over Book I: Chapters 1-5. Journal: In light of what we know from 1984, what does it mean to be naïve (in Winston’s world or in our own, today)?  Several students shared their journals. Next, I randomly chose people to present their "Powerful Person" research that they were asked to look into for today. If I did not call on you today, be prepared with the information next time. We'll try to do a few of these reports each day. I have asked students to keep a list as the information is presented to them about each person. These will show up on the test at the end of this unit. Students worked in their groups to wrap up the definitions of the terms and discussion questions from Chapters 1-5 that we started going through last time.  Assignment: Read Book I: Chapters 7-8 (p. 60-87). Please skip Chapter 6.

February 26, 2015 (Blue)

B1 - I collected outlines over Mark Twain’s piece, Life on the Mississippi today.  Journal: Write about the most interesting woman you know.   After some discussion, we read through a brief biographical profile on Kate Chopin, took notes, and then read one of the two Chopin stories: "A Pair of Silk Stockings" (Handout).   Assignment: Please read "The Story of an Hour" (p. 760-763) on your own. If you are doing an outline for Chopin, choose one of these two stories to focus upon. The outlines for Chopin are due next time.

B2 - SAT Vocab. Test #20 and Quiz #1 over Book I: Chapters 1-5. Journal: In light of what we know from 1984, what does it mean to be naïve (in Winston’s world or in our own, today)?  Several students shared their journals. Next, I randomly chose people to present their "Powerful Person" research that they were asked to look into for today. If I did not call on you today, be prepared with the information next time. We'll try to do a few of these reports each day. I have asked students to keep a list as the information is presented to them about each person. These will show up on the test at the end of this unit. Students worked in their groups to wrap up the definitions of the terms and discussion questions from Chapters 1-5 that we started going through last time.  Assignment: Read Book I: Chapters 7-8 (p. 60-87). Please skip Chapter 6.

B4 -  Checked DEN's for "Too 'Close to the Bone...'" and Candy Questions again.  We discussed the article for quite a while today, as well as some related articles, PowerPoint presentations, videos, etc.  Assignments:  Read "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Eating" (p. 186+) and do a DEN.  Start a food journal TOMORROW of everything you eat or drink between now and Monday.  I will be checking that as a separate assignment.  I would also like for you to complete a Comparison Chart between "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Eating" and one other article from this unit for next time.  You will be comparing IDEAS and the author's statements about those particular ideas.  There is a Chart Template posted on Moodle.

February 25, 2015 (Gold)

G1/G4 – I distributed a sample Works Cited page and told students they will need to type up their bibliography entries using this sample as a guide. Took students to the computer lab to type up their outlines and Works Cited pages. A template for the outline can be accessed from Moodle. I recommended students copy and paste the template into a Google Doc and work from there.  I called students up (one student at a time) to check their outlines, source information packets, give them feedback, and guide their progress on the current assignments. The majority of the students are all set at this point and grades reflect what I am seeing on a daily basis. If students have missing assignments, it is probably due to the fact that they are not using their time in class wisely. We have had nearly 6 hours in the computer lab in the past two weeks. There is no reason at all for students to be behind at this point. A small handful will need to start this process soon or risk failing the course for the semester. Assignment: Have the outline and Works Cited pages typed up and ready to show me (on Google Docs) for next time. We will work on Introductions in class next time.

G2 - Journal: Assuming that it does bother you, what bothers you MOST about the life of Winston Smith?  After writing responses in their journals, we resumed the PowerPoint lecture we started in class last time, beginning with the exposition of the book. When we finished taking the notes, we briefly discussed Forbes magazine's recent list of 72 of the World's Most Powerful People. Students randomly drew numbers, and they will be researching basic biographical information on the person to determine what makes him/her so powerful. Next, I distributed a list of questions to think about over Chapters 1-5.  Students discussed these questions in their small groups. As time allowed,  we started going through the list together as a class to discuss some of the major issues in the novel so far. Assignment: Research your person from the drawing today. Come up with basic biographical information that will inform us a little bit about who the person is and what makes him/her so powerful. Read Chapters 4-5. You will have a quiz. Also, please be sure to study SAT Vocab. Test #20 for next time.

February 24, 2015 (Blue) Two-Hour Delay

B1 – I collected outlines for “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” today. For most of the block, we read and discussed the excerpt from Mark Twain’s piece, Life on the Mississippi (p. 650+). Assignment: If you are going to do an outline over this piece we read today, it is due on Thursday.

B2 - Journal: Assuming that it does bother you, what bothers you MOST about the life of Winston Smith?  After writing responses in their journals, we resumed the PowerPoint lecture we started in class last time, beginning with the exposition of the book. When we finished taking the notes, we briefly discussed Forbes magazine's recent list of 72 of the World's Most Powerful People. Students randomly drew numbers, and they will be researching basic biographical information on the person to determine what makes him/her so powerful. Next, I distributed a list of questions to think about over Chapters 1-5.  Students discussed these questions in their small groups. As time allowed,  we started going through the list together as a class to discuss some of the major issues in the novel so far. Assignment: Research your person from the drawing today. Come up with basic biographical information that will inform us a little bit about who the person is and what makes him/her so powerful. Read Chapters 4-5. You will have a quiz. Also, please be sure to study SAT Vocab. Test #20 for next time.

B4 - Checked responses to candy questions and DEN's for "Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance."  We discussed the article for the rest of the block.  Assignments: Read "Too 'Close to the Bone': The Historical Context for Women's Obessession with Slenderness" and do a DEN.  In addition, if you haven’t already, please answer the 3 candy questions I distributed to you in class last time.  

February 23, 2015 (Gold) Two-Hour Delay

G1/G4 – In class today, I went through the formatting lecture and the plagiarism lecture.  For the rest of the block, students worked on the outline for their papers while I checked Source Information Packets.  Assignment:  Outline worksheets are due on Wednesday.  

G2 –Due to the shortened schedule, we were able to get through about half of what I had planned to go over. We will finish the background PowerPoint lecture on Wednesday. I distributed books and a list of terms from 1984 for small groups to divide amongst themselves. Groups can then report their terms back to each other at the beginning of the block on Wednesday and Friday. Assignments: Read Book I: Chapters 1-3 (p. 5-34) of 1984. Please come prepared for discussion!  Based on contextual information in the story, take notes over the terms you were assigned for your group. Be sure to jot down page numbers where these terms appear. In addition, start studying SAT Vocab. List #20. You will be quizzed over Chapters 1-5 on Friday.

February 20, 2015 (Blue) Two-Hour Delay

B1 - Outlines for The Autobiography of Mark Twain DUE (if chosen - remember, there are 9 choices, and you need to pick 2 of the stories in this unit for the outline assignments).  In class, I read "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," by Mark Twain (p. 660-666).  For the remainder of the block today, students made origami paper frogs and raced them in the hallway. :)  Assignment: If you are going to do an outline over this story, it is due on Tuesday.

B2 – I distributed SAT Vocab. List #20 and a copy of the worksheet for our notes for today. Due to the shortened schedule, we were able to get through about half of what I had planned to go over. We will finish my Powerpoint lecture on Tuesday. At the end of the block, I distributed books and a list of terms from 1984 for small groups to divide amongst themselves. Groups can then report their terms back to each other at the beginning of the block on Tuesday and Thursday. Assignments: Read Book I: Chapters 1-3 (p. 5-34) of 1984. Please come prepared for discussion!  Based on contextual information in the story, take notes over the terms you were assigned for your group. Be sure to jot down page numbers where these terms appear. In addition, start studying SAT Vocab. List #20. You will be quizzed over Chapters 1-5 on Thursday.

B4 - Groups discussed "Rethinking Weight" in their groups while I checked DEN's. I distributed a copy of the BMI chart.  We discussed the BMI chart and the article for quite a while, then we completed a comparison/contrast activity for the rest of the block.  That was all we were able to get through today. Assignment: Answer the three candy questions you were given. I'd like to see thoughtful responses to these questions for next time.  Read "Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance" by Mary Ray Worley (p. 163+) and do a DEN.  In addition, please start reading the supplementary materials for the Comparative Critique unit. 

 

February 19, 2015 (Gold) Two-Hour Delay

G1/G4 - Students worked in the computer lab on their research for Day #3.  Students were required to find two articles and take notes on their worksheets again today.  Due to the shortened block, only a few students were able to finish their research.  Assignment: Wrap up the notes over the six articles. I will collect all 6 source/note pages at the beginning of the block on Monday.

G2 - Rough Drafts of the Research Paper DUE.  After "the collection," students received new homework calendars for our unit on 1984, SAT Vocab. List #20, and then completed an Opinionnaire for discussion.  Our discussion took much of the rest of the block.  Other than studying SAT Vocab. List #20, there is no additional assignment!  Enjoy that! :)

February 18, 2015 (Blue)

B1 - Frederick Douglass Outline Opportunity #1 DUE.  I finally gave students calendars for this unit on Realism today.  There are 9 outline opportunities throughout this unit. Students must choose two to do and turn in on the given due dates.  After distributing calendars, students were asked to complete a half-page journal entry in their spiral-bound notebooks (to be kept in class).  Journal Prompt: Write about the greatest storyteller you personally know.  A few students shared their journals, then we read the short biography in the textbook on Mark Twain (p. 634). Students took notes over Twain's life and several key terms for this unit.  We then started reading the excerpt from The Autobiography of Mark Twain (p. 536+).  Assignment: If you are going to do an outline over this piece by Mark Twain, it is due next time.  If you were absent, please be sure to make up the journal from today.

B2 - Rough Drafts of the Research Paper DUE.  After "the collection," students received new homework calendars for our unit on 1984 and completed an Opinionnaire for discussion.  Our discussion took much of the rest of the block.  No Assignment!  Enjoy that! :)

B4 - Rough Drafts of the Critique DUE.  After "the collection," students received new homework calendars for the Comparative Critique unit, cartoons, supplementary readings for this unit, and notes over the Comparative Critique assignment.  For the remainder of the block, we watched a lecture on women's body image on YouTube.  Assignment: Read "Rethinking Weight" (154+) and do a DEN.  Bring in some current magazines so we can look at the ads within them next time.

February 17, 2015 (Gold)

G1/G4 - Students worked in the computer lab on their research for Day #2.  Students were required to find two articles and take notes on their worksheets again today.  I will grade them as they are finished, but all of the source information packets are due by Thursday, Feb. 19 at the end of the block. Assignment: Wrap up the notes over the second set of articles for next time.

G2 -  Students completed three 20-minute rounds of peer-editing on their full Rough Draft packets today. I gave them a copy of the check list/rubric I will use to grade the Rough Draft Packets and a copy of the rubric for the Final Draft.  Assignment: Rough Draft packets should be revised and cleaned up for me for Thursday. At the beginning of the block, I will collect fresh, clean copies along with the peer-edited drafts and the peer-editing sheets from today. We will begin our unit on 1984 on Thursday as well.

February 13, 2015 (Blue)

No School on Monday! President's Day!

B1 - In class today, we discussed the biography on Frederick Douglass that we read in class last time (p. 536), and students took biographical notes.  I gave students a copy of the outline assignment for this unit and walked through that and the "new" rubric.  Students will complete two complete outlines for this unit.  There will be several stories to choose from, but the outlines will be due on specific dates.  In class, we read and discussed the short excerpt from Frederick Douglass's novel-length autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (p. 538).  Assignment: If you are doing an outline over Douglass's piece, it is due on Wednesday.  There is a template posted on Moodle, and there is currently no enrollment key required for my class.  I would like to highly encourage you to choose the Douglass piece for your first outline assignment.  Use the long weekend to get it done.  Next week, I will return them quickly so you have feedback from me prior to completing your second outline for the Realism unit.  

B2 - Students completed three 20-minute rounds of peer-editing on their full Rough Draft packets today. I gave them a copy of the check list/rubric I will use to grade the Rough Draft Packets and a copy of the rubric for the Final Draft.  Assignment: Rough Draft packets should be revised and cleaned up for me for Wednesday. At the beginning of the block, I will collect fresh, clean copies along with the peer-edited drafts and the peer-editing sheets from today. We will begin our unit on 1984 on Wednesday as well.

B4 - Final Drafts of the Summary DUE.  Draft #3 of the Critique DUE for peer-editing.  Groups generated some research-based questions about this unit for potential use on the 5th paper, then we discussed several topics to lead into our third unit, The Weight Debate.  Assignment: Complete Critique Draft #4 for my comments for next time.