Jennifer Holzhausen's Homework Blog

February 28, 2020 (Blue) ISTEP WEEK

B1 - Because ISTEP testing was cancelled yesterday, students were placed with Mrs. Swain-Leswing again today while I gave the ISTEP test to Sophomores. I extended the time to work on presentations. Those were due at the end of the block. Otherwise, students were given EB time.  Assignment: You will present your Chapter Review Presentations on Tuesday.

B3 - AOW #4 DUE. At the beginning of the block, four students were chosen to give their Powerful People Presentations. Journal #3:  On page 69-71, Winston describes a scene that he witnessed amongst the Proles About 3/4 of the way down the page, he asks, "Why was it that they could never shout like that about anything that mattered?" How does what Winston saw and thought about the Proles relate directly to our society today? What does it make you think of? After sharing a few ideas/responses, we reported back about some of the vocabulary we missed last time. Next, groups met and discussed Chapters 7-8. That was all we had time for today. Assignment: Begin Book II. Read Chapters 1, 4-5. Skip Chapters 2-3. 

B4 - Chapter review presentations were DUE today. Students presented the entire period. Assignment: None! We will wrap up presentations on Tuesday.

February 27, 2020 (Gold) ISTEP WEEK - Two-Hour Delay Day

G2/G3 - Chapter review presentations were DUE today. Students presented the entire period. Assignment: None! We will wrap up presentations on Monday.

G4 - One Analysis Paragraph DUE. I spot-checked those, then we went through a couple of them together on the TV. Students had what remained of the block to work on their papers. Assignment: Have a full Rough Draft ready for peer-editing on Monday. Keep a food journal between now and Monday. Don't forget about the Documentary DENs coming up before Spring Break.

February 26, 2020 (Blue) ISTEP WEEK

B1/B4 - Students had the entire block again to work on their Chapter Review Presentations. Those are due on Friday. Assignment: Chapter Review Presentations are due on Friday at the beginning of the block. You will present them in class on Friday.

B3 - Quiz: Chapters 1-5. After the quiz, we went through the "Words to Know" that students were asked to prepare for today. After lunch, they wrote a half-page journal response about Winston or Syme's job and what that might look like today. I asked students to draw a number from 1-74 for their Powerful People Presentations for Friday. Groups discussed journals and study guide questions for the rest of the block while I conferenced with one of the students about his research paper. Assignments: Article of the Week Response #4 is due on Friday. Read Chapters 7-8 (Skip Chapter 6, not tested). Prepare your Powerful People Presentation information to present in class, potentially starting on Friday.

February 25, 2020 (Gold) ISTEP WEEK

G2/G3 - Students had the entire block again to work on their Chapter Review Presentations. Those are due on Thursday. Assignment: Chapter Review Presentations are due on Thursday at the beginning of the block. You will present them in class on Thursday.

G4 - In class today, I checked Venn Diagrams and Individual Charts while groups worked on their group sample paragraphs for the two videos. After looking at the samples together, students were given the majority of the rest of the block to revise their charts and work on their analysis paragraphs. Assignment: Rework what you brought in for your chart today. Write at least one full analysis paragraph.  We will do some peer-review and look at some of your paragraphs in class next time. Don’t forget to watch a documentary and complete a DEN before Spring Break.

February 24, 2020 (Blue) ISTEP WEEK

B1 - Met in Mr. Foster's room with Mrs. Swain-Leswing. Students had the entire block to work on their Chapter Review Presentations. Those are due on Friday. Assignment: Chapter Review Presentations are due on Friday.

B3 - We finished the lecture notes on George Orwell and the novel, 1984. Students were assigned some "Words to Know" to report back to the class about on Wednesday. Students met in small groups to discuss several questions about Chapters 1-3, which they were asked to read for today. Journal Prompt: What bothers you the most about the life of Winston Smith? After sharing/discussing their responses, I gave students the next Article of the Week. Students had about 20 minutes to begin reading, annotating, and responding to the article. Assignments: Read Chapters 4-5. Prepare your "Words to Know" to report back in class on Wednesday. AOW Response #4 is due on Friday.

B4 - Students had the entire block to work on their Chapter Review Presentations. Those are due on Friday. Assignment: Chapter Review Presentations are due on Friday.

February 21, 2020 (Gold)

G2/G3 - In class today, we went over the Review Sheet for Chapters 29-31. Students were then assigned a chapter for their Review Presentations. Students had the rest of the block to work on their presentations. Assignment: Presentations are due at the beginning of the block on Thursday.

G4 - 

February 20, 2020 (Blue)

B1/B4 - Quiz: Chapters 22-28. After the quiz, students were asked to write a half-page journal about being "the Center of Attention." After sharing some of their responses, we went over the review sheet for Chapters 26-28. Students had time to read for the remainder of the block. Assignment: Finish the book and the last review sheet.

B3 - Rough Drafts of the Research Paper were officially DUE today. After making sure those were turned in, we began discussing the Opinionnaire for our unit on 1984.  After lunch, we began the notes/lecture material on Dystopian Societies and how the book fits into the history of this literary genre. I distributed books in class today. That was all we had time for. Assignment: Read Part One: Chapters I, II, and III for Monday. ISTEP Testing begins Monday for all sophomores. Check the hallways for postings about where to report.

February 19, 2020 (Gold)

G2/G3 - Quiz: Chapters 22-28. After the quiz, students were asked to write a half-page journal about being "the Center of Attention." After sharing some of their responses, we went over the review sheet for Chapters 26-28. Students had time to read for the remainder of the block. Assignment: Finish the book and the last review sheet.

G4 - Double-Entry assignment for "Too 'Close to the Bone'..." DUE today.  I checked and returned DEN’s while students discussed the article in their groups. We discussed the article for quite a bit, then I shared a short video of images related to the historical “ideal” body types for women. We then moved into some additional practice with “The Method” and “Notice and Focus” using related music videos. Students were then assigned a Venn Diagram for practice with two of the videos they have seen. That was all we had time for today. Assignment: Choose two of the videos (as a group) and lay out a Venn Diagram (individually) of the similarities and differences between them. This is the first step toward the Comparative Critique paper, so be sure to include as much detail as you can at this point. Be prepared to show that to me in class on Friday.

February 18, 2020 (Blue)

B1/B4 - Article of the Week Response #4 ("Herd Mentality") DUE. Students wrote a half-page journal about being accused of something they did not do or from Tom Robinson's perspective of being falsely convicted and sentenced to death. After sharing a few journal responses, we went over the Review Guide for Chapters 22-25 and completed the pre-reading vocabulary assignment for Chapters 26-31 (last one!). Students were given time to read quietly on their own for the rest of the block.  Assignment: Read Chapters 26-28 and complete the review sheet. Be ready for a quiz next time over Chapters 22-28.

B3 - A full Rough Draft was due for peer-editing today. I spot-checked those for completion and asked students to complete an Opinionnaire while they waited. From there, we conducted three structured rounds of peer-editing. Students received feedback from three classmates on their papers. I gave feedback/comments on Works Cited pages during that time. That was all we had time for today. Assignment: Revise your papers based on the feedback you received in class today. A full rough draft and Works Cited pages are due on Thursday. Once you submit your rough draft, you will not have access to it until we conference about it. Conferences will begin in class next week. After your conference, you will have one week to complete your final draft and submit it.

February 14, 2020 (Gold) Two-Hour Delay/Valentine's Day

G2/G3 - Article of the Week Response #4 ("Herd Mentality") DUE. Students wrote a half-page journal about being accused of something they did not do. After sharing a few journal responses, we went over the Review Guide for Chapters 22-25 and completed the pre-reading vocabulary assignment for Chapters 26-31 (last one!). Students were given time to read quietly on their own for the rest of the block.  Assignment: Read Chapters 26-28. Be ready for a quiz next time over Chapters 22-28.

G4 - DENs for "Fat and Happy..." DUE. We discussed the article and watched a related TED Talk in class today. I distributed the next assignment. That was all we had time for. Assignment: Read "Too 'Close to the Bone'..." and do a DEN. Watch a documentary and do a DEN if you have time to knock it out this weekend.