Last day of class!

Wow. That's it! We'll meet for a final time over a zoom call at 8:30 - see Schoology for the link!

Our Anthology

Greetings!

Here are the directions for today - choosing a piece (or more) to include in our class anthology!

See you Friday!

Encyclopedia of a Pandemic

Welcome to the last week of freshman year!

Today we will start off with a short zoom call - the link is below (only in Schoology)

Here are the directions for today - have fun with it!

Personal Narratives - Tribute and gratitude

Happy Friday!

For today, your focus will be on writing about another person - a person who influenced you.

Here are the directions for today.

Happy writing! Have a great weekend!

Personal Narratives - Ode poems

Here are the directions for today's writing - ode poems

Personal Narrative - Day 2

Greetings! Happy Tuesday!

Today, we will start with a zoom call at 10:30. It will be short, but it will give me the chance not only to say hi to everyone and check in but also to explain the next two weeks to you in person. At the start of the call, I will post the assignment for the day.

Here is the zoom link for today's call.

See you then!

Update - here is the link to today's writing.

Personal Narrative - Day 1

Happy Friday!

So originally I wanted to have a zoom call with you tomorrow, but then I remembered on Fridays we meet first thing in the morning. Often on Fridays earlier in the year, we would play a game or something to energize us to get into the day. I miss those games!

We will have a zoom call on Tuesday where I will talk about more of this current, and final, unit in person. For now, remember what I said earlier in the week - this final unit will be about you, about telling your story, and the tools you can use to bring it to life.

Over the final seven days we have left for our class, you will be creating five short pieces of writing.

The writing for today comes out of the movie you watched this week. By the way, I hope you enjoyed the movie you watched!

Here are the directions for today.

Movie time!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a great weekend!

So, now that we finished A Tale of Two Cities (I'll be working on grading your projects this week) you may be wondering - what's next? What are we going to do with the last three weeks of school?

Well, in many ways, the focus is going to be on - you. It will be about telling your story, about writing personal narratives, about creative non-fiction, and about the tools it takes to bring a story to life.

The first way we'll do that is by watching a movie. Unfortunately, we won't be together in the same room. Actually, we might not all watch the same movie. For the next two days, your assignment is to watch a "coming of age" movie - one that tells the story of a pivotal time in the life of a young person - someone roughly your age. 

• You can watch any of the movies listed below. 
• You do not have to take notes - just watch and enjoy (you can even watch it with your family!). 
• However, I will be asking you to write about two things: Moments of awareness (when a character realizes something for the first time; when a character understands something in a new way) and Moments of change (when a character acts in different ways or develops new beliefs or becomes something other than what they used to be). 
• That writing will happen on Friday, but you can make some notes about it after you watch the film if you think that will be helpful.

Here are the films you can choose from (click on them - they link to the film's IMDB page - that may help you choose which one to watch):

1. Stand By Me (you can watch it for free through IMDB - if you have not seen this one, I highly recommend it!)
2. Now and Then
3. Akeelah and the Bee
4. The Sandlot

Please let me know if you have a problem finding a way to watch one of the films!

Enjoy!

A Tale of Two Cities - Last Day!

Happy Friday!

Here are the directions for the final part of your project, including how to submit everything.

Have a great weekend!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 40 / E14

Congratulations! You finished your three new multi-genre pieces!

Here are the directions for today's sharing and peer feedback! 

Enjoy!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 39 / E13

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a good weekend and are doing well.

It is time for our work with A Tale of Two Cities to come to a close. Today is your last time set aside to complete work on your new multi-genre pieces.

Once you are finished, you need to go to this document and insert a link for each one. Whatever format it is in, find a way to make it viewable to everyone in the class. When you put in the link, please be sure to set the sharing settings to all "anyone at township district 113 to view. 

• Multi-Genre Project Sharing Sheet

If you have any questions or need help with making those links, I will be at my computer all day and will do what I can to help, either through email or even a zoom call if needed!

On Wednesday we will be checking out the awesome creations you've been working on - I can't wait!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 38 / E12

Happy Friday!

No new directions today - just a second day to work on your new M-G's.

If you want to run your topic and question by me, feel free to e-mail me.

Lastly, check out this great story about Jessica and her father!

Have a great weekend!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 37 / E11

Happy Wednesday! Today there is an optional zoom call at 10:30 a.m. (I will send the link through email). We can use this time to talk about the project and also for some time to talk through everything else going on out there during these challenging times. Now that we know we won't be together in the classroom again, we are all experiencing a range of feelings. I'm happy to set aside as much time as you'd like to be there to talk.

As for the project, the next three days are set aside for your new M-G's. The key for today, as I noted yesterday, is to come up with a good question. Remember: Your question needs to be something the book does not answer directly. Like I showed in the example, you are not just finding things that happened in the novel. Don't just come up with a broad idea like "change" and make M-G's about characters who change. That would be an incomplete project.

Take the time to ask some questions about the topic you discovered - this will lead you to the question you want to answer with your project. Remember: Your new M-G's are answers to the question. Here are some questions to consider:

• What causes your topic to happen? When does it occur? Why?
• What actions come as a result of your topic?
• What are the results of your topic? Are they positive? Negative? Why?
• Who are the different people impacted by your topic, how are they impacted, and why?
• Does every character in the novel link to your topic in the same way? What are the reasons for the difference?
• Who in the book sees your topic as important, who doesn't value it, and why?

Good luck coming up with your question! Feel free to run it by me through email before you get started!

Here is another link to the handout.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 36 / E10

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a great weekend and were able to get out and enjoy the nicer weather!

The plan for today is to do step one of the project. I shared the handout with you last week and we talked through some of the basics of the project.

• Multi-Genre project handout

For those of you ready to move on to step two, of course you are welcome to do that. However, be sure to follow the directions for step two and create a question about your topic. This needs to be an interpretation of your topic - something that cannot be answered directly by the book. If you look at the examples (in the handout) you can see what I'm talking about. For the Othello example, you would not just find three examples of jealousy. That would make for an incomplete project. Instead, you can see that I created a question about it that I will answer with the project: How does a person’s jealousy inspire their actions?

Again, I will talk more about this tomorrow but I wanted to give a sense of that before people went too far with their work.

Also, tomorrow (Wednesday) I will have an optional zoom call at the start of class. There are two topics for this call. First of all, I will be happy to answer any questions about the project. Second, more importantly, I'm sure the cancellation of the end of the school year brought out mixed feelings. Lots of disappointment and loss and sadness and uncertainty, just to name a few. All year, we have been a close community and I want to be available to you to talk about these topics as well. I'll send the link tomorrow night.

Good luck with the start of the project!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 35 / E9

Happy Friday!

We'll start today with a zoom call at 8:30 (see your email for the link).

After our discussion, I'll talk through the final project. The details are all in this handout.

• Multi-Genre final project

See you then!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 34 / E8

It's time for the last chapter of A Tale of Two Cities! So much has been happening over the last few chapters and now it all comes to a close. I'm looking forward to talking about it all with you and then seeing what you will make of it with your final projects.

After you read "Chapter the last" today, you will create an M-G response to the end of the book.

Then, think about these questions:

1. Does the novel end in the way you expected? How so? Why?
2. Which character were you most interested in? Why? Did you sympathize with that character? Did you find something about that character to be especially powerful or meaningful?
3. What points do you think Dickens was trying to make with this novel? If the novel is the answer to a question, what is that question?

We will talk about those in our discussion on Friday. You do not need to write out answers but it would be helpful to have some notes.

Also, on Friday, your group will discuss one of you will answer one of these questions (the one corresponding to the number of your group - see group numbers below):

1. What is the role of women in the story? Think about: mothers, sisters, wives, single women. Name and explain a specific character this applies to.
2. What does the novel say about the conflict between a sense of duty and commitment with that of desire? Name and explain a specific character this applies to.
3. What does the novel say about the role emotions play in controlling one’s actions? Name and explain specific characters this applies to.
4. Explain the role of the phrase “recalled to life” in the novel. Name and explain specific characters this applies to.
5. What does the novel say about the ways in which a person’s past plays a role in their future? Name and explain a specific character this applies to.

Groups:

1	2	3	4	5
Matt S Gavin Morgan Josh D Emma	Ben G Augie Adi Sophia Jared	Maggie Gracie Eli Ethan Aaron	Matt F Hannah Lauren Lily Josh M	Daryn Caroline Jessica Ben S Keshav

Yes - you will have a short group discussion! We will all join together for a class zoom call at 8:30 a.m. on Friday (I will send you the link and invite on Thursday night). I will put your group into a breakout room for about 8 minutes to discuss your question, then we will all come back together. You will share your answers and we will all discuss both them and the reflection questions. Also on Friday, I will give you a preview of the final project.

So, to recap:

Today - Read the final chapter; create an M-G about the last chapter; review and think about questions, making notes as needed

Friday - Zoom call at 8:30. Be prepared to answer questions both in small groups and whole-class discussion.

See you Friday!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 33 / E7

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a great weekend. If celebrating holidays has been a part of your world for the past week or so, I hope it has been a meaningful and enjoyable experience! If you haven't been celebrating holidays, I hope you have been finding joy in whatever you do. Well, those both kinda go for each other too - it is certainly important for us all to find some joy each day.

As for class, we are in our final few days with the book. You'll be finishing it over the next two days and then we will move toward a cumulative activity.

Today, Tuesday, you will read (and/or listen to) chapters 13 and 14.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, you will read the final chapter and then make an M-G response to it.
As you work through chapters 13 and 14 today, feel free to go ahead and just finish the book if you want. I'll give you more details about everything as the week goes on!

And just in case you haven't seen this week's edition of "Some Good News" from John Krasinski, here it is:

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 32 / E6

Happy Thursday!

For today, please read chapters 11 and 12.

I originally thought we would start with a zoom call at 8:15, but then decided to put it at the end of class instead. It will be at 8:45. During this zoom session, in addition to just catching up with everyone, we will talk about the many events that have taken place in the book over these last few chapters. I hope you are finding a way to keep track of it all!

I'll be emailing the zoom link to you Wednesday night. See you in the morning!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 30 / E4

Happy Monday! I hope you are all doing well. These are not easy days for any of us as so many parts of our lives have been turned upside down! I do hope you are able to do some things that bring you happiness! I was able to get outside a bit over the last few days and enjoy the sunshine, even though the warm weather and spring blossoms are still a few weeks away.

For today and tomorrow, you are reading (and listening to, if you'd like) the next chapters of the book. For Monday, read chapters 7 and 8. For Tuesday, read chapters 9 and 10. Annotate / take notes as you have been doing. You're going to want to make use of it all later!

Pay close attention! The details and twists and turns in the story come quickly at this point - there's a lot to keep track of! Things you thought you knew get changed, characters you didn't think were important suddenly play a larger role, and the way it all comes together is still a mystery!

We will have a zoom meeting on Thursday - be sure to check your email on Wednesday for the link and the password.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, if there is anything else beyond just class stuff I can be helpful with, let me know.

See you Thursday!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 29 / E3

Happy Friday! It was so great to see many of you on the zoom call! I hope you are doing well and are able to get outside today - looks like it is going to be a beautiful one!

For today, please make a copy of this handout. You can either work on it by yourself or with another person (or two) from the class - you can get together however you'd like. However, each person does need to turn in their own work. When you are finished, please submit your work to Schoology.

Note that work from this point forward will be in a special "e-learning" category - it will not impact your grade at this point. At the end of the semester, I'll look at this category and see if it raises your grade from where it is now.

When you are done, read/listen to Book 3, chapter 6.

Lastly, I have posted the revised calendar on the blog. Here is a link to it as well.

Please let me know if you have any questions! See you Monday!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 28 / E2

Happy Wednesday!
OK, we made it through the first day of e-learning!

First of all, thanks for all of your posts on our Flipgrid! You should go check out what other people had to say. Feel free to post responses - I did! Use this link to go directly to this topic.

For today, we are going to try a Zoom call. If you haven't used Zoom before, it is basically a live video discussion. Because this will be our first time, it will be informal. I'll talk a bit about the new calendar and a few other things. The meeting will be at the start of our usual class time - 10:30 a.m. (on April 1st). Here is the link to the meeting. You may need to allow your computer to download zoom. In case you have zoom installed and want to go directly to the meeting, use this ID: 601 637 837

After we talk for a little while, the rest of class time is set aside for reading / listening to Book 3, chapters 3-5. The recording (the Anton Lesser one, not the Mr. Hirsch one) will take about 41 minutes. You do not need to do anything other than make annotations / take notes in the way you have been doing.

See you Friday!

Welcome Back?!

Greetings! Welcome back?! Kind of?
I hope today finds you and your family doing well during these strange and difficult times.

We will ease our way back into things today with a few goals. First, we will reconnect with each other. We have a great sense of community in our class and I miss all of you! It will be great to see and hear from each other once again. Two weeks ago, during the "Act of God" days, a few of you shared videos through the Flipgrid I set up for our class. Thanks so all of you who gave it a try! Today we will put it to use as a way to just check in with each other. Just give us a little update about how things are going for you - what has been challenging, what you have been doing with your time, what you are thinking / feeling / hoping. Try to have it be between 30 and 60 seconds. Then, later today or tomorrow, spend a little time watching everyone else's videos! Here's how to connect: Go to this link: https://flipgrid.com/riglerfreshman and use the code "riglerfreshman"

Second, we need to spend some time reminding ourselves about the novel we were reading: A Tale of Two Cities. I created a (hopefully) fun way to do that by using emojis.

But first, to get us thinking about emojis, here is a little Sporcle quiz. In class, I would have run it as a competition. Good luck!

After that, here's what you will do:

1. Go to this chart to see which chapter(s) you were assigned, and which slides you will use in the slideshow.
2. Go to this slideshow. The directions are on the first slide and here as well. 
1. You will create two slides: 
2. The first one is just emojis - no words! (even though the example uses words). On it, you must include two key points / events from the chapter and one quotation.
3. The second one gives “the answer” - writing out the two points / events and the quotation.
4. Make sure you put your work onto your assigned slides!
5. Have fun designing your slide! use any background or design you like. Also, please name which chapters you are emoji-fying!

Tomorrow we will look through the slide show and I'll share the calendar of the next few weeks with you. If you have any questions, please email me at nrigler@dist113.org - I'll be online all day and then I'll check it periodically throughout the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday, March 18 - "Act of God" Day 1

Greetings!
It was great to see some of your video posts to our Flipgrid over the past few days!
In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I set up a Flipgrid (it's a video discussion board) for our class and I tested it out over the past few days.

So, what is the plan for us? Good question!
As you know, none of the work over these three days will be collected or will count toward your grade. This also means the calendar we were using up to this point is no longer valid. When we return to "classes" on March 31st, we'll figure everything out.

One thing you can do over the next few days is to make sure you have completed 15 Multi-Genre responses, and you have them all in one place. If there are some of them you want to re-do or add to, that would be great! Also, make sure you have your copy of the book. In case you were not able to get your copy from school for whatever reason, there are many versions of the book online. The page numbers will be off, but the text is the same.

The other thing I'd like to do is to keep our community going. Hopefully, by this point in the year, you realize that is an important part of our class - it's not just about academics in the traditional sense. We've played games together, worked in groups together, and gotten to know each other. I think it is meaningful and important to keep that going!

So, I'll be adding a new topic to the Flipgrid and asking you to post a short video response. We will be using this tool when we return to school, so it will also be helpful to try it out and get used to it now. If you haven't tried it out yet, it's pretty easy. Just go here: flipgrid.com/riglerfreshman and use the code "riglerfreshman"

• The question for today is: With all of the information you've seen about COVID-19 and all of the videos of people dealing with it and all of the things different people have said, what has been the most powerful for you? Or, what has brought a smile to your face? Or what has been the most challenging? If you want, you can even add a link to it in your response!

In the meantime, stay safe and wash your hands! Miss you!

Special Post - Monday, March 16

Happy Monday! Wow - things have been changing pretty quickly. Looks like we might not be seeing each other in person for quite a while. But that doesn't mean we can't stay in touch! I posted another video to our Flipgrid. Don't know how to use it? Want to see what others have posted so far? Go here to check it out with the link below. The code is "riglerfreshman"

flipgrid.com/riglerfreshman

Special Post - Friday, March 13th

Greetings! Happy Friday the 13th!

Well, we're not going to see each other in person for a little while, so things are going to be a little different for our class. I'm going to try out a few different ways of having lessons, other than simple handouts. The first tool I want to try is Flipgrid - maybe some of you have used it before.

Here is a link to the Flipgrid I set up for our class. The code is "riglerfreshman" - check it out! Please post something!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 27

Happy Wednesday!

Today we will be listening to chapters 1 and 2 of book 3. We will discuss it along the way. Here are some images of the Grindstone from chapter 2:

Yikes! Scary stuff!

For Friday, read chapters 3 and 4.

As a reminder, on Monday I will check in 10 of your multi-genre pieces. Please be sure to bring them in whatever form you have them - since you only need to bring 10 instead of the 15 you have completed up to this point, feel free to choose the ones you can most easily transport.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 26

Today there is an in-class writing assignment.

With the remaining time, we will start to listen to the recording of chapter one of book three.

For tomorrow, you have the next multi-genre piece due.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 25

Happy Monday!

Today you'll meet in your groups to review the final chapters of book two. This is also preparation for the in-class writing tomorrow. Please be sure to check the calendar for updates - I have moved several things around. The homework for tonight is to be ready for tomorrow - you will be able to use your notebooks, books, and handouts. You will not be able to use any electronic resources.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 24

Happy Friday! It's Revolution time!

The action of the book has shifted to the French Revolution. In order for you to fully understand it, you'll do a short research project today. Here are the details.

Once you are finished, we'll review the presentation and the events in chapters 21 and 22.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 23

Happy Wednesday!

We'll start today with a review of chapters 19 and 20, using this slideshow:



After that, you will have time to create an M-G response to these chapters. Toward the end of the period, you will share your work with another person. Use this evaluation form for your comments.

Note there are some minor changes to the calendar, in terms of when the next M-Gs are due.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 22

Happy Monday Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

Today we will spend some time reviewing the events of chapters 15 and 16, specifically focusing on Madame DeFarge and her interaction with John Barsad.

After that, you'll work with your group to explore what has been going on with Doctor Manette. You'll use this handout to guide your work. Be sure to complete it - we'll use it in class tomorrow.

• Dr. Manette EKG

For tonight, you are reading chapters 19 and 20.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 21

Happy Friday!

As you know, I will be out today.

After the quiz, you can have the rest of the time (classes are a bit shorter today) to start your reading for the weekend (chapters 17 and 18).

Enjoy the long weekend!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 20

Yes, the wheel returns for the first part of class today, continuing with our game-show theme. We'll use it to guide our discussion of chapter 14. Then, we'll listen to chapter 15 and discuss it along the way.

For Friday, there will be a quiz at the start of class. It will include questions from the entire book through chapter 16 of book 2. Of course it is open note and open book, but with a strict time limit.
Use the time between now and then to review your notes!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 19

Happy Paczki Day! Happy Mardi Gras!

Today we'll be playing a game: The Dating Game! In case you aren't familiar with the show, here is a clip from 1968 - see if you recognize an especially famous person!




Use this sheet to keep track of information about the different suitors.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 18

Happy Monday!

Today we will visit the Maker Space to check out all of the possible uses of technology to explore and express the creative ideas and interpretations you have of A Tale of Two Cities.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 17

Happy Friday!

Several things for today:

1. We'll look back at the end of chapter 9 and discuss your suspects in the murder of the Marquis.
2. With your groups, you'll bring some of the dialogue from chapters 10 and 11 to life, acting them out for us using both the language in the book and "interior voices"
1. p. 151-middle of 152
2. middle of 152-middle of 154
3. middle of 154-middle of 155
4. middle of 155-top of 157
5. 158-bottom of 160
6. 160-162
3. If there is time, we'll listen to chapter 12 (the recording is about 15 minutes long)

For homework this weekend, you will finish chapter 12 (unless we listen to it all in class) and complete the next M-G response.

Here's a suggestion - create a storyboard! Go to https://www.storyboardthat.com/

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 16

Today you will work with your group to complete these two worksheets:

• Chapter 9 - close reading questions
• Chapter 9 - the usual suspects

You will have the rest of the time (if any) to work on an M-G response to this chapter.

For Friday, you are reading chapters 10 and 11.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 15

Happy Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

We'll start with a 10-minute quiz before we get into groups.

Then, we'll work in groups with chapters 7 and 8 to get a sense of the Marquis de Evremonde. Each group will bring to life one moment from this list:

1. The carriage of the Marquis kills a child
2. Gaspard's reaction and interaction with the Marquis
3. The reaction of the Defarges
4. The Marquis, the mender of roads, and Gabelle
5. The Marquis and the old woman

Then, we'll spend a few moments looking at these summary sites:

1. SparkNotes
2. Shmoop
3. eNotes
4. Grade Saver
5. Cliffs Notes

With your group, look at what these sites have to say about chapters 7 and 8. Then, compare/contrast them with what we did in class today as well as the actual details of the chapter. What do they add? What do they leave out?

Tonight you are reading chapter 9 - enjoy!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 14

Today we'll work in groups to discuss chapter 6 ("Hundreds of People") before shifting the focus to France for chapter 7. We'll listen to the recording of chapter 7 and stop to clarify things along the way.

Enjoy the long weekend!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 13

Today you'll start with your group. You'll compare and contrast Carton and Stryver from the descriptions in chapter 5. Keep track of these in your notes.

• Skills / Talents
• Likes / Dislikes
• Actions
• Words
• Thoughts

Then, you will move to this activity: Found poem about Sydney Carton

We'll hear these poems out loud.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 12

Happy Monday!

We'll start today with a short quiz on some key parts of the book up to this point.

After that, you'll meet with your group to share notes about chapters 3 and 4.

With the remaining time, we will start to listen to chapter 5.

Your homework tonight is to finish chapter 5 and do your next M-G response.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 11

Happy Friday!

Today we will listen to and discuss chapter 3. We will pay close attention to the different parts of the trial, making sure you have a good sense of all of the characters involved and their roles.

This weekend you will read chapter 4.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 10

Happy Wednesday!

We'll start by discussing a few questions about chapter 2. Respond to these questions in your notebook. For each one you must answer the question by using a quotation and an explanation of it:

1. What is Jerry Cruncher asked to do by the old clerk at Tellson's Bank?
2. How is the Old Bailey described? What is happening there today?
3. We see two characters (other than Lorry) at the Old Bailey whom we know already. Who are they? Why are they there?
4. A new character is described. What is his name? How is he described? Why is he there?

After a short discussion of these topics, we'll turn our attention to chapter three. You'll be in your group and each person will be assigned one of the characters on this handout. 

• Book 2, Chapter 3 - "A Disappointment" handout

For Friday, your homework is to complete an M-G based on the opening parts of Book 2. You do not need to continue with the reading.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 9

Please take this short survey about your multi-genre work.

Then, you will be working individually on this assignment. Yes, it will be graded as a quiz. You should finish your work with about 10 minutes left in the period so we have a chance to share some of them.

Tonight you are reading chapter 2 of book 2.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 8

Happy Monday! I have returned from Cuba! It sounds like everything went just fine last week - I'm not surprised - you guys are great!

We'll spend the day with a quick puzzle / review activity. Here is a link to it in case you want to double-check yourself. You should easily be able to answer 90% of these questions without the book at this point. If you are having challenges, please find time to speak with me soon.

Tonight you are reading chapter 1 of book 2 - there is no writing assignment - just reading!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 7

Today you will be listening to chapter 6 and working with your group.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 6

Today you will be listening to chapter 5 and working with your group.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 5

Today you will be listening to chapter 4 and working with your group.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 4

Today you will be listening to chapter 3 and working with your group.

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 3

Happy Friday!

Today you will work with your groups to review chapter 1 and share your M-G creations.

We'll listen to chapter 2 together. You'll work with your group to share annotations and observations.

The homework for the weekend is the next M-G.

Remember - I'll be gone next week. Good luck with the reading! I look forward to getting back to things with you when I return!

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 2

Happy Wednesday!

Today we will start our work with A Tale of Two Cities (I'll often abbreviate it as TOTC).

• Unit calendar
• Annotating
• Multi-Genre project

We'll listen to and discuss chapter 1. While listening, you will be annotating.

With your group, you'll examine the language in the following sections:

• Section 1, Beginning = p. 5 to top of p. 6
• Section 2, France = Top of p. 6 to top of p. 7
• Section 3, England = Top of p. 7 to top of p. 8
• Section 4, End = p. 8

A Tale of Two Cities - Day 1!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a great weekend!

Today we'll finish listening to poems from our Poetry Out Loud competition and announce the class winner! You all did a great job and I hope you enjoyed the opportunity to memorize a poem, work with it, and present it to the class.

Then, there will be an activity to introduce us to ways of thinking about A Tale of Two Cities.

We'll take a quick look at the book and the calendar - and tomorrow we will get started!

Competition Day!

order of presentations

Poetry Out Loud - Day 5

We'll start today with a chance to recite your poem to an assigned partner in preparation for our quiz. The quiz is simple - take out a sheet of paper and write out your poem. Then, exchange pages with your partner and give them a copy of your poem. You will then score each other for accuracy, based on the Poetry Out Loud Accuracy Sheet we will use during our competition (and for all POL competitions). The maximum score you can earn is an 8.

Then, we'll watch a few more videos and discuss what those presenters are doing with their poems and how you might incorporate those skills into your recitation. Following that you'll work in groups of three to continue working on your recitation. Here is a link to the scoresheet we will use in class for our competition.

Lastly, it is time to buy our next book - A Tale of Two Cities! You will need it in class next Tuesday, the 21st. Copies are $12 and are available now at the bookstore - I HIGHLY recommend you purchase the same edition as everyone else in the class will have so you do not get lost looking for page numbers.

Poetry Out Loud - Day 4

Now that you have your poem and have started to work with it, it's time to get to know it well.

Here's the plan for today:

1. Activity: "I never said she stole my money"
2. Choose a partner - stand together somewhere in the room (stand, not sit!). Read/recite your poem to that person 2-3 times. Don't forget to switch and listen to the other person's poem!
3. Make a copy of this document to use today. Hopefully the directions there are self-explanatory. Take your time - this should take you 30 minutes or more.
4. When you are finished, upload your work to Schoology
5. While you are doing this I will have a short meeting with you to discuss your grade on the final exam and for the semester, as well as your English class recommendation for next year
6. Lastly, find a different partner to work with and read/recite your poem to that person 2-3 times. Switch!

Your homework is to practice reciting your poem multiple times throughout the weekend. Recite it to your friends, your family, your dog, your snapchat story, tiktok - whatever works!

On Monday morning we will start with a quiz - you will write out your poem! Good luck with it!

Poetry Out Loud - Day 3

You can either check the work you submitted or refer to this chart to see which poem I've selected for you to work with during this unit.

To help inspire our work today, here are a few more examples of people reciting poems:



Here are our tasks for today:

1. Copy your poem into your notebook - yes, by hand - make sure you are able to read it. Write it a little bigger and a little clearer than you usually write.
2. Read your poem aloud
3. Examine your poem
1. Put a box around words you need to define
2. Mark natural breaks - word, line, sentence
1. See Nate Marshall's "god made the hundreds, man made it wild" for an example of the role of breaks
3. Highlight words/phrases - the center of gravity for each break
1. "I never said she stole my money" activity. 
4. Notebook reflection:
1. What did the work we did today with this poem – thinking about it, writing it out by hand, speaking and hearing it, looking at the language – help you see and understand about this poem?
2. How do you understand it better or differently
3. What do you see or feel in this poem that you had not before you came to class today?

Poetry Out Loud - Day 2

Greetings! We are going to take the next round of the STAR reading test today. Please do your best on this reading comprehension test. Again, this is so I can understand how you read and learn, then offer you specific help. Do your best.

• Click here to go to the link for the test.
• For your username, use your email address
• Your password is ID number
• You will be presented with two choices - select STAR Reading
• Sometimes, the system will request a “Monitor Password.” If this happens to you, the password is “admin”
• If you are presented with a list of teachers, please select “Rigler”
• Take the test! Do the best you can!

---

Poetry Out Loud!

I hope you enjoyed the videos yesterday and have a little sense of what this project looks like. Here are a few examples (we'll watch a few each day) of some other students (from around the country) to check out and (hopefully) inspire you.

After we watch and discuss them, here is the plan for the day:

1. Go to the website to start the process of choosing a poem 
2. In a new Google doc, copy and paste three poems (including but not just the title and author) 
3. For each one, write 3-4 sentences about why you chose it 
4. Submit your work to Schoology by the start of class tomorrow.

Happy 2020! Intro to Poetry Out Loud

Happy New Year! Happy 2020!!
Welcome back!! I hope you had a wonderful winter break!

Congratulations on finishing your finals and completing your first semester of high school!
We will have opportunities to talk about your final essay and your semester grade later this week.

For the next two weeks, we'll be doing something a little different - something many other English classes will also be doing during this time. It's called Poetry Out Loud. Here is a link to the calendar for the next two weeks.

We'll watch a few videos to introduce the project. Then, you will start the process of selecting your poem using this link.