Reading #4

Students had the whole period to start reading #4 and their dialectical journal entries, while I passed back writer's notebooks collected on Friday. Reading #4 DJs are due tomorrow.

Art Day #1: Pencil

After our second reading quiz, we spent the day doing a bit of symbolic art. No homework this weekend, so it's a good time to catch up!

Reading #3

We began the day with a some says/means/matters practice and then read about half of Reading #3 (pp. 49-68). Students should finish that reading with dialectical journal entries for tomorrow.

Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday we began the day with a short reading quiz on the end of reading #2 (which was homework). We then reviewed some of the major characters and events from the first section of the novel and wrapped up with a summary of the 1st marking period in their writer's notebooks. Frames for the summary are located on the back of the Speak handout.

Wednesday we focused on some of the issues, symbols and themes from Speak by filling out the top part of the Speak handout (below). We then reviewed and shared a few of the quotation analyses (i.e. says/means/matters) from the students DJs (aka Writer's Notebooks). By now, they should have at least 4 of these.

Revisiting the Argument Essay

After a brief reflection on Speak, we spent the period revisiting the argument essay from last week. After looking at student model or two, students had the rest of the period to finish/revise their essays. A few students chose to complete this process at home.
For homework tonight, students should finish reading #2 (pp. 24-46) in Speak which they started on Friday in class. They should be sure to complete the dialectical journal entries as well. (They have a handout for this.)

Starting Speak

We began the day talking about some issues facing teens today, then moved on to starting Speak, reading a bit and ending the period with a bit of analytical writing.

Essay Drafting

Today students spent the whole period working on an essay based on the notes and prewriting we've been doing in class. They were collected and we will revisit them next week.