STAR Testing (all students took this) - This is a 30 minute assessment (computerized) that they have taken before. We give this right after the break to see what they have retained since school started and since they went on break. It is a reading assessment. They will take it again in the spring. Low performance on both the STAR test (reading assessment) and the District Writing Assessment will indicate a need for further intervention. One of those interventions may be a Guided Tutoring class that is being offered this semester. Students will be reviewing both their reading (STAR) and writing scores once we get the information back. This will help them determine how accurate their areas of targeted weakness are and allow them (and me) to focus on them throughout this second semester. Poem Analysis Review - Students were given a graphic organizer (attached below) to help them take notes on the poem "Snow Storm" by Ralph Waldo Emerson (pg. 388). Then we reviewed the key elements of literary analysis and how we would use the information from their organizer, to write an analysis. This was not a grade, just a review. They will be formally analyzing poems this quarter.
Portfolios-
Every student was given a file folder and given the following artifacts to put in their Junior Portfolio: 1) Screener 2) Qtr. 1 Assessment 3) Letter to the Editor 4) 2 Poems 5) Semester Final 6) * Group Declaration 7) * Poem Analysis * To be printed but already written Review - Students reviewed their semester finals and recorded (on the front of their portfolios) their targeted strengths and weaknesses. They identified these by looking at the writing in their portfolios. They will focus on rectifying their identified weaknesses throughout this second semester. Revising and Editing - Students were given two paragraphs of an essay about The Gettysburg Address (pg. 503). They had to revise and edit the paragraphs. Then they had to write their own intro paragraph for the same prompt: What is the primary theme of The Gettysburg Address? Third Quarter-
Students will read and write about Transcendentalism and Utopian Societies. They will discover the role of nature during the Romantic Period and they will see how it affected the literature of this time period (1800-1860). Students will read and analyze poetry, speeches, and more historical documents. They will also read a novel: The Great Gatsby. Fourth Quarter- Students will be preparing for the SAT and they will write their junior paper. |
Laurie KiesterThis will be my 17th year of teaching English. I Categories |