Pre-Vacation Melencholy

Today we finished the not-very-uplifting film version of Of Mice and Men. We did a short writing assignment which I collected with the notes.

Have a good break!

Wrapping Up Of Mice and Men

Today I collected final drafts of the Of Mice and Men essay. After that, we turned in books and students took notes while we watched part of the film.

A Bit of Poetry with Tim'm West

Today we wrote a bit of poetry with our special guest Tim'm T West. We will revisit the work we did after Thanksgiving break.

Tomorrow:

• Essays are due with roughs and graphic organizers/rubrics.
• We will turn in Of Mice and Men.
• We will watch some of the rest of the film (only student who have completed their essays).

Response Groups

Today we had response groups like those modeled yesterday in class. I collected student response notes at the end of the period.

Tomorrow: Special Guest, poet Tim'm West
Thursday: Final Drafts due with attached rough (including response group revision notes) and essay worksheet/rubric (the yellow sheet).
Thursday and Friday: Of Mice and Men, the movie, for students who have handed in essays.

The Fish Bowl

Today I checked off typed rough drafts (and checked MLA format). We spent the rest of the period practicing/modeling the response groups that we will have tomorrow.

Remember, you can still get some credit for typed drafts if they're in class tomorrow. No draft tomorrow=no credit.

MLA Format, Conclusions, & Typed Rough Drafts

Today we talked a bit about proper paper formatting, looked an example conclusion, and then students had the rest of the period to work on their conclusions and begin typing their second drafts.

HW Typed drafts due Monday.

The Rough Draft

After sharing a few introductory paragraphs, students spent the rest of the period writing rough drafts of their essays. Students should have handwritten drafts without conclusions in class tomorrow.

HW Finish Rough Drafts (w/o conclusion paragraphs)

The Introductory Paragraph

Today's warm-up and notes (available here) were focused on writing introductory paragraphs. Students spent the second half of the period writing introductions for their current essay on Of Mice and Men.

HW: Finish intro paragraphs if necessary.

Thesis Statements: The Essay Begins

Today we worked for much of the period on thesis statements for the upcoming Of Mice and Men essay. The last part of the period was spent working on the essay prewriting handout.

HW Finish the essay prewriting handout.

Paragraphs and a Bit of Film

Today we color-coded and shared the paragraphs written for HW last night (or in class). After sharing a few we watched the first part of Gary Sinise's film version of Of Mice and Men.

Paragraph Time

We began today's class by writing an analytical paragraph based on the topic sentence from yesterday's warm up. After sharing a few of these, students moved on to writing a second, more formal, paragraph based on one of the quotations from their notes. Students should finish these paragraphs and edit them for homework if necessary.

Digesting the Last Chapter

Today we began with some topic sentence practice and spent the rest of the period working or and discussing the questions below. There is no HW tonight.
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1. What two visions does Lennie have down by the river. Why do you think Steinbeck includes these visions?
2. What surprises Lennie about George's behavior when he meets him by the river? What does Lennie want from George? Why?
3. Explain the reaction of the men when they reach the scene. How is Slim's reaction different from Carlson's? Why?
4. Finally, do you agree with George's decision to shoot Lennie? Explain.

The End of Of Mice and Men

After a short quiz on reading seven, we discussed the remaining chapter 4 questions (these were then collected) and last night's reading. We then read the end of the novel out loud.

HW Take notes on the last chapter.

The First Day of the New Quarter

Today we began with a short sentence correction warm up and then spent the rest of the day examining and practicing analytical paragraphs.

HW: Reading #7 with notes