Homework 9/29 - 10/3

The five-week progress report period ends on Friday, 10/3!

English 9:
*SSR will be on Friday again this week due to the 15-minute Early Release Drill.

• WN #2 revisions due Friday in class
• "St. Lucy's" vocabulary #1 revisions due Thursday at 3:00

English 10:

*SSR will be on Friday this week.

• GG vocabulary #1 due Friday in class
• GG, chapter 1 due Monday 10/6

English 10 Honors:

• Annotate "I Hear America Singing" and "I, Too" for class on Monday — Use the questions on Google Docs to guide your notes.
• Optional: Winesburg, Ohio essay revisions due at 3:00 on Monday
• Please return your Winesburg books this week.

Happy Banned Books Week!

"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular."

Go here for more information about ALA's Banned Books Week and here to check out the top 10 challenged books last year.

Homework 9/22 - 26

*SSR will be on Friday for all classes this week!

English 9:

• "St. Lucy's" vocabulary #1 (free-choice word + paragraph using all 5 words) due Thursday at 3:00
• WN #2 due Friday at 11:00 (due to the half day)

English 10:

• In-class writing on "I Hear America Singing" and "I, Too" will be on Thursday: If you are absent, you must make plans to make this up with me ASAP

English 10 Honors:

• Read and annotate American dream articles for class on Monday
• Grammar Review Sentence #1 (labeled with parts of speech) due at 3:00 on Monday
• The American dream article questions due in class on Tuesday
• Literary Terms Self-Assessment due at 3:00 on Wednesday
• Quarterly Independent Reading Journal #1 due Friday at midnight on Google Docs—should be written on the same document as your SSR Reading Record and Someday Books List
• OPTIONAL: Winesburg, Ohio essay revisions due at 3:00 on Monday 9/29: Turn in your grading rubric when you are ready to be re-graded

Common Core Student Survey

Our district would like to know about the impact of the Common Core on student learning.  Go here to fill out a short survey.

CLASSWORK 9/18, 8th period: STAR Link

Click here to access the STAR test!

"Why Kids Should Choose Their Own Books to Read in School"

"If I were Queen of the World, I would decree that all students be given the gifts of time and books they want to read throughout their schooling, and all pre-readers would have an adult who would read aloud to them everyday. Through independent reading children gain a wealth of background knowledge about many different things, come to understand story and non-fiction structures, absorb the essentials of English grammar, and continuously expand their vocabularies. Many also remember visually how to spell words."

Joanne Yatvin, Past President of the National Council of Teachers of English

"Why Kids Should Choose Their Own Books to Read in School"

See you tomorrow for SSR! :)

25 of the Most Dangerous and Unusual Journeys to School in the World

Check out these pictures of what some kids around the world have to do in order to just get to school.  We are very lucky here in Homer!

Homework 9/15-19 (Revised)

English 9:

• WN #1 revisions due Friday at 3:00 (stapled to original WN #1)
• *We will be taking the STAR test in class on Thursday.  If you are absent, you must see Mrs. Collins ASAP to make it up!

English 10:

• Grammar Review Sentence #1 due Monday at 3:00
• American dream article questions due in class on Tuesday (if you don't finish in class on Monday)
• Poetry Terms Self-Assessment chart due Wednesday at 3:00
• Read and annotate "I Hear America Singing" and "I, Too" for class on Friday

English 10H:

• Read and annotate the article, "I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar.  Here's Why." for class on Monday
• Grammar sentences 1-4: label nouns and pronouns for class on Tuesday
• Winesburg, Ohio essay due Tuesday at 3:00 on Google Drive: Resolve all comments your partner made during Focused Peer Review on Friday, and share with me by putting your essay in your folder titled "Webb English 10 Honors -- Firstname Lastname"
• Grammar sentences 9-13: label nouns, pronouns, CCs, prepositional phrases, and verbs for class on Friday
• *Reminder: Quarterly IR Journal due 9/26 on Google Drive (after your Reading Record and Someday Books List)

"Word Crimes" Grammar Video Parody

English 10R will finish grammar review tomorrow; English 9 begins grammar review today, and English 10H will be reviewing grammar next week, so here's a little grammar fun to brighten up your day!

10 HONORS Quarter 1 IR Book Choice Sign-up

Click here to sign up for your Quarter 1 IR Book by midnight on Friday.  You may choose any book to read this quarter as long as it is of an appropriate reading level.  See me with any questions.

Shakespearean Pop Sonnets Tumblr

Calling all lovers of iambic pentameter: Go here to check out the Shakespearean Pop Sonnets Tumblr, one of the most entertaining pop-culture Shakespearean websites I've ever seen!

Homework 9/8-12 (Revised)

English 9:

• Binder check in class Monday
• Signed syllabus due Monday
• SSR book due in class Wednesday
• Writer's Notebook (WN) #1 due at 3:00 on Friday

English 10:

• Binder check in class Monday
• Signed syllabus due Monday
• SSR book due in class Wednesday

English 10 Honors:

• Binder check in class Monday
• Signed syllabus due Monday
• SSR book due in class Wednesday
• Winesburg, Ohio essay due Wednesday on Google Drive
• Sign up for Quarterly Independent Reading Book by midnight on Friday

CLASSWORK 9/4: Beginning-of-the-Year Survey (Revised)

Go here to complete the Beginning-of-the-Year Survey!

If you were absent, please complete the survey on your own by midnight on Friday.

Unfortunately, the "Edit Response" option will not work after you have closed out of the browser window.  Therefore, if you did not finish the survey today in class, please click the link above and resubmit, only completing the questions you didn't already finish.  Be sure to include your name in the box indicated, and put the number "2" after it to indicate that this is part two of your survey.  For the questions you already completed, just write the letter "a" in each box so that it will accept your survey response.   If you're not sure about what questions you left blank, e-mail me at swebb@homercentral.org or stop by, and I'll let you know.

The key to success? Grit.