Friday, February 28, 2014

Day 125!

It's FRIDAY!!! Thank goodness we made it!

We'll split the day between vocabulary and reading (if you're in 1st or 6th). You will spend the first part of the period studying the vocabulary. You will have about 10 minutes to study on your own, and then I will have you create a 5 question practice quiz for your partner.

You will have the remainder of class to read your books!

4th hour: You will have the period to continue work on your Experiencing the Civil War journal. These will be due at the end of class today.

Once you are finished, please submit your journals using the form below.
When you are done, please study your vocabulary.  Use the Quizlet for help. Remember, if you have not already requested access to the class, it will give you an error message! If this happens, click on the link that says "Gulley English III". That will lead you to a page where you can request access, set up a Quizlet account, etc. I have decided to move our quiz to Tuesday!!!


Thursday, February 27, 2014

Day 124!

Thursday!

You will have the period to continue work on your Experiencing the Civil War journal. These will be due before the start of class tomorrow. (Unless you are in 4th hour; you don't have class today).

Once you are finished, please submit your journals using the form below.  When you are done, I would strongly suggest studying your vocabulary! Use the Quizlet for help. Remember, if you have not already requested access to the class, it will give you an error message! If this happens, click on the link that says "Gulley English III". That will lead you to a page where you can request access, set up a Quizlet account, etc. I have decided to move our quiz to Tuesday!!!


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Day 123!

Happy Wednesday!!

We'll pick up where we left off yesterday! After we have finished discussing all of our primary sources, you will get an opportunity to practice your own narrative skills with the Experiencing the Civil War activity! For this assignment, you will be researching a Civil War battle of your choice (besides the two that we have already read about), and you will tell about the battle from the perspective of a Union or Confederate soldier, or another spectator (like Mary Chesnut). These will be due at the end of class tomorrow!

Below, you will find a link to a history database full of reliable sources.

ABC-Clio
Username: earlham1
password: cardinals



Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Day 122!

Tuesday! Yay for progressing through the week!

Today we will continue with our primary source reading that we started yesterday. I showed you kind of what I am looking for as we read Mary Chesnut's account of the battle at Fort Sumter. Today, you will work with a partner (or by yourself) to finish the other two accounts of the war. You will read what it was like to join an army, and a first hand account of surviving Gettysburg. Make sure you continue to work with your Primary Sources Note Taking Guide as you read! I will give you about 20 minutes to complete this. Once we have finished them, please submit your final notes using the form below. 

After we spend a little time discussing what you read today, you will get an opportunity to practice your own narrative skills with the  Experiencing the Civil War activity! For this activity, you will be researching a Civil War battle of your choice (besides the two that we have already read about), and you will tell about the battle from the perspective of a Union or Confederate soldier, or another spectator (like Mary Chesnut). These will be due at the end of class tomorrow! 


On a separate note, be sure to study your vocabulary words throughout the week; we will have a quiz on FRIDAY!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Day 121!

Good Monday to you all!

Today we get to move forward with our Civil War unit! We've seen some fiction already, so now it's time to look at some non fiction pieces!

We'll see three primary sources from the war, one from a war spectator, one from a Union soldier, and one from a Confederate soldier! It's going to be a blast!

As we are reading, please use this Primary Sources Note Taking Guide to help you process what we read. We will practice generating questions about each tex as we read; this can help us focus our reading to better understand the authors' purpose and perspectives.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Day 120!

Happy Friday!

Today we'll be working to get everyone back on track!

So, first we will start by finishing any part of the discussion over "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" that we have not finished already.

Then, we'll go over vocabulary! (See yesterday's post for the words)

If we have any time remaining, you will be free reading! Our deadline for quarter book projects is coming up!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Day 119!

Happy Thursday!

1st hour: Today we will start by finishing "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". Then, we will work with this week's vocabulary (see below). If we have time after that, we will free read!

4th hour: We'll discuss the story and then work with the vocabulary.

6th hour: We will discuss the vocabulary and then spend the rest of the class free reading.

Vocabulary Words: 
  • listless
  • morose
  • pretentious
  • recluse
  • supersede
  • harangue
Remember: You need the following things: 
  • part of speech
  • definition in your own words
  • example sentence
  • visual representation
  • fun way to remember the word

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Day 118!

Happy Wednesday!

1st hour:  We will begin where we left off yesterday in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". Make sure you are continuing to fill out your reading analysis sheet!

4th hour: We will discuss what you read yesterday, and then we will do some work with this week's vocabulary! (See yesterday's posts for words)

6th hour: We will discuss your reading analysis sheets and vocabulary. You will have whatever time is remaining to free read.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Day 117!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed your unplanned long weekend!

Today we'll pick up where we left off on Friday! Each class is in a different spot, so please follow the directions for your class!

1st period: You need to begin reading "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". We will begin reading it together. Remember, as we are reading you should also be keeping track of the point of view and order the events take place using THIS READING ANALYSIS SHEET.

4th period:  You will be in Mr. Gilson's room today as I will be at KCWI with the Broadcasting & Media class. You need to continue reading  "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"  (that's a link to the story). We only got one paragraph into the story, so you may want to start over. Remember to fill out THE READING ANALYSIS sheet as you read. I will be checking in with you tomorrow to see how you are doing with it. If you finish early, please get with a partner and research the vocabulary words at the bottom of today's post.

6th period: You will be in Mrs. Mendoza's room today. I should be back within the first few minutes of class, so please be prepared to move back to my room. You all need to finish reading "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (< that's a link to the story) and filling out THE READING ANALYSIS sheet. If you finish early, please get a partner and work on the vocabulary words below. If, for whatever reason, you finish all of that early, please free read!

Vocabulary Words: 


  • listless
  • morose
  • pretentious
  • recluse
  • supersede
  • harangue
Remember: You need the following for EACH word
  • word
  • part of speech
  • definition in your own words
  • example sentence
  • visual representation
  • fun way to remember the word

Friday, February 14, 2014

Day 116!

Friday is finally here!

1st and 4th hour: We'll spend some time talking about different types of point of view. THEN, we will finally get to start Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". As we are reading, pay attention to the order in which things happen and the switches in point of view. You will need THIS READING ANALYSIS SHEET to follow along.

6th hour:  Have a good weekend!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Day 115!

Thursday!

1st and 4th hour: We'll start class by discussing what information you found about Ambrose Bierce during your research yesterday. THEN, we will move on to the story (after, of course, we discuss a few types of point of view and how to keep track of the structure of a story). You're going to be needing THIS READING ANALYSIS SHEET!

6th hour: We'll pick up where we left off yesterday!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Day 114!

Happy Wednesday!

If you are in 1st or 4th hour, we will pick up where we left off yesterday! (Yee Haw!) See yesterday's post for 6th hour for details!

If you are in 6th hour, today we will begin by discussing the information that you found about Ambrose Bierce yesterday. Then, we will spend some time discussing different types of point of view. After that, we will begin reading Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". As we are reading, you will analyze the shifts in point of view and time. To do so, you will need THIS READING ANALYSIS WORKSHEET!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Day 113!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all just dominated that Written Expression exam!

If you're in 1st or 4th hour, today we will finish what we did not yesterday; vocabulary! (Insert "YAY!" here)___________________. No, seriously, I'm waiting for you to say, "YAY!" If we get time, we will move on to what 6th hour is doing (see below).

If you are in 6th hour, you are already finished with your vocabulary for the week. (Insert, "Yee haw!" here)_________________.

So, if you're in 6th hour, you get to start with our first Civil War author, Ambrose Bierce! (Yee haw again!) You and a partner (or yourself) will have some time to complete the author notes on Bierce. Want to know how to access the notes? CLICK HERE TO ACCESS AMBROSE BIERCE AUTHOR NOTES! <----That link is probably your best bet.

If we get time, we'll talk about Bierce's life and disappearance!

If you are a speedy worker and finish early, I expect you to be reading your free reading books!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Day 112!

Good Monday to you all!

I hope you all enjoyed yourselves taking the Iowa Assessments this morning!

Today, we will finish up with any remaining presentations from last week! Yay!

Then, you will have some time to grade your partners for this project using the form below!

After that, we will get to this week's vocabulary! Woo hoo!

This week's words are:

  • pugnacious
  • omnipotent
  • hubris
  • gregarious
  • exacerbate
  • hoi polloi 
Remember, as you are creating your visuals, you need the following: 
  • word
  • part of speech
  • definition in your own words
  • example sentence
  • visual representation
  • fun way to remember the word (try this Mnemonic Dictionary if you need help)
If we have any time remaining after that, you will have time to read!

Friday, February 7, 2014

Day 111!

Happy Friday! Whew...I am so glad we made it through this LONG week (just kidding...remember how we only had like 2.5 days of class?...it's a joke).

Okay, so each class is on a different schedule today (craziness), so here's the break down:

1st: You'll will be with Mrs. Johnson today. You will be free reading for the first 25-30 minutes of class. Then, you will break down into groups to discuss different elements of each of your books. On Monday, we will see Group 4's presentation!

4th:Welcome back! You will have the first few minutes to plan and finalize your group presentations. Then, you will finally get to present what you have been preparing!

6th: We will finish up with your presentations. I believe we only finished Group 1 yesterday, so we will start with Group 2! With whatever time is left, you will grade each of your partners using the form below! If we have any time after that, you will be free reading!


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Day 110!

Welcome back! Well, this has been a strange week!

1st hour: Today, you will have a few minutes to review your group presentation and information sheets. During this time, you should decide who will present what. Then, you will have an opportunity to grade your partners. With whatever time is remaining,  you will have the opportunity to read your books!


6th hour: We will follow Tuesday's plan since this is the first time we have seen each other this week!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Day 109!

Good Tuesday to you all!

I hope you all had a safe trip into school today!

We'll pick up where we left off on Friday with our group work.  Remember, your presentation should highlight and summarize the important information in your section. You should also prepare a notes document for your classmates (the format of this is up to you).

Group 1: Historical Background 462-465
Group 2: How does literature shape or reflect society? 466-469
Group 3: What is the relationship between literature and place? 470-471
Group 4: What makes American literature American? 472-473

I will give you some time to work on that, and then we will begin the presentations!