February 27, 2014

I was acting principal today, so Mrs. Adelman was in for me.  This is what the day looked like for her and the kids:

Period 1:  ELA 20

We are into To Kill A Mockingbird and the students are working on part II of the book.  They have to do reading logs for chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15 and I’d like them done by the Monday. 

Period 2—AP 30

I’ve already apologized to them, but they are doing some work with Francis Bacon’s essays.  As a group, they are getting together and looking at ONE of the four essays I provide.  They are to find about 5 important points about their essay to share with the class so they don’t all have to be responsible for all of the essays.  When they are done sharing the information, they will start writing their own “Of _____________” essay, although I told them I’d be happy with a focused, intensive paragraph of length.  I’m also going to allow them to be somewhat satirical since we just finished a few pieces of literature using satire.  They have to use expanded vocabulary, a didactic tone (underscored with satire if they choose), and elevated language.  

ELA A 30—They are getting started on their Sgt. John assignment which is the ABC booklet.  

Period 3—ELA B 30

We didn’t quite get through the intro info to Hamlet, but they can start reading it and I will get them caught up on the background info on Friday.  We read together as a class by having the students choose parts and discuss it orally. 

Period 4 & 5—AP 10

Since it's one of Mrs. Adelman's favourite poems, I decided to have her teach “The Lady of Shalott.”   

1.        They started off with a K-W-L of the Legend of Camelot (Arthur, Guenevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Knights of the Round Table, etc.).  Do this together as a class (the K and W column).

2.      For the L column, they were split them up into 4 groups of 5 or so and each given one of the handouts to read through and jot down notes.  

3.      Each group can share their info with the larger class It won't be a true "jigsaw" but an adapted version of it.

4.      Discuss quality of life vs. quantity of life (we read the poem “David” by Earle Birney last semester, so they can refer to that if they think of it).

5.      Read the poem—there are reading guidelines for them to look at as well as post-reading questions to go through. 

6.      Exit slip  

Period 6—AP 20

There are several poems from Gordie Carle who is a poet from LaRonge.  The assignment focusses on imagery of the poetry and expression.  The students read the poems with Mrs. Adelman and had a number of small tasks to do with the poem of their choosing.