Junior Assignments
Fall 2007/Winter 2008

Review Regents Strategy Material! Work on sample August 2007 Regents Exam sections--bring in tomorrow so Ms. Conn can offer review.
**English Regents Exam will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22nd and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd. Be there promptly at 12:30pm both days. If you miss one day, you will get a 0. Bring your ID and multiple pens.

Review Regents Strategy Material! Work on sample August 2007 Regents Exam sections--bring in tomorrow so Ms. Conn can offer review.
**English Regents Exam will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22nd and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd. Be there promptly at 12:30pm both days. If you miss one day, you will get a 0. Bring your ID and multiple pens.

2. Work Period: Work on the multiple choice questions and essay for the Task I Listening section.

Review Regents Strategy Material! English Regents Exam will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22nd and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd. Be there promptly at 12:30pm both days. If you miss one day, you will get a 0. Bring your ID and multiple pens.

2. Review answers to the Regents Strategies Exam--found here: Regents Exam Preparation--review all essay outlines--Task I Essay Outline, Task II Essay Outline, Task III Essay Outline and Task IV (Critical Lens) Essay Outline. Review answers to the Literary Elements Quiz and Regents Exam Strategies.

3. Analysis of Regents Exam Components.

Review Regents Strategy Material! English Regents Exam will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22nd and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd. Be there promptly at 12:30pm both days. If you miss one day, you will get a 0. Bring your ID and multiple pens.

Review Regents Strategy Material! English Regents Exam will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22nd and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd.

Review Regents Strategy Material! English Regents Exam will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22nd and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd.

Extra Credit Opportunity--Friday, January 11th:

Extra Credit Opportunity--Friday, January 11th:

2. Oral Review for Exam.

2. Essay Outline Review Game: Prepare for the exam on Wednesday by playing matching game for the Task I Essay Outline, Task II Essay Outline, Task III Essay Outline and Task IV (Critical Lens) Essay Outline.

2. Essay Outline Review: Review Task I Essay Outline, Task II Essay Outline, Task III Essay Outline and Task IV (Critical Lens) Essay Outline.

2. Examine Sample English Regents Exams: Analyze sample Regents Exams while also reading over the Regents Exam Strategies.

2. Check the Quiz: How much do you know? How much do you need to prepare in the coming days before the upcoming English Regents Exam?

2. Work Period: Students will work on making up any missing HW, including the Task I Listening Essay, in which they will use the Essay Outline as a guide.

2. Task I--Listening--Work Period: Students answer multiple choice questions and begin writing the essay. Use the Essay Outline as a guide.

2. Task I--Listening: Students will listen to the Task I Listening portion, take notes and begin to answer multiple choice questions.

CLASS ENDED ABRUPTLY DUE TO GAS LEAK. WE WERE MOVED TO THE CAFETERIA, THEN THE GYM AND ULTIMATELY OUT OF THE BUILDING.

2. Discuss/Review: Finish discussion of the components of Level 6 and Level 5 Task II Essays--found on pp. 58-69. Discuss the Grading Rubric.

2. Discuss/Review: Discuss the components of Level 6 and Level 5 Task II Essays--found on pp. 58-69. Discuss the Grading Rubric.

2. Discussion/Review: Review the Critical Lens quote HW.

2. Essay Analysis: Discuss criteria in a successful Critical Lens essay. Did the exemplary essays fulfill the criteria for the Critical Lens Essay Outline? Identify the strengths of these essays.

3. Editing Critical Lens Essay Drafts and Final Version: Edit your own Critical Lens Essay Drafts/Final version (which were supposed to be finished already!). If students have not produced a Critical Lens Essay Draft or Final version, they will do so at this time. Other students who have completed the assignment will meet with me and edit their essays.

4. Review Vocabulary Quiz on Acts IV and V in Julius Caesar

2. Essay Analysis: Read a Level 6 (the highest score)--pp. 62-64 for the Critical Lens Essay. Did the Level 6 Essay fulfill the criteria for the Critical Lens Essay Outline? Identify the strengths of this Level 6 essay.

3. Editing Critical Lens Essay Drafts: Edit your own Critical Lens Essay Drafts (which were supposed to be finished by today!). If students have not produced a Critical Lens Essay Draft, they will do so at this time. Other students who have completed the assignment will meet with me and edit their essays.

2. Work Period: Begin writing your Critical Lens Essay (handwritten only), using the outline listed above.

2. Discussion on Critical Lens Quotes: Discuss/Share your paragraphs for each of the quotes listed below in which you provide a valid interpretation of the quotes, agree or disagree with the quotes as you have interpreted them, and support your opinion using specific references to literary elements from Julius Caesar (such as: characterization, foreshadowing, symbolism). Here are the Critical Lens quotes:

2. Work on HW: Memorize 15 lines of famous quotes from Julius Caesar. This homework assignment will carry the weight of THREE homework assignments. You will graded on memorization (you cannot make more than two mistakes), understanding of the words, and recitation (reading aloud in class). Vocabulary List is HERE.

2. HW introduced: Memorize 15 lines of famous quotes from Julius Caesar. This homework assignment will carry the weight of THREE homework assignments. You will graded on memorization (you cannot make more than two mistakes), understanding of the words, and recitation (reading aloud in class). Vocabulary List is HERE.

2. Scene Performances: Groups will begin to present their scenes from Julius Caesar. They will be graded on the following: 1.) Physical choices (levels, spacing, and movement), 2.) Costume (color, style and fabric that reflect the characters), 3.) Set (arrangement of furniture and use of props), 4.) Lighting (color, brightness and appropriate use of lighting to reflect the theme and mood), 5.) Music/Sound (sound effects and volume to reflect the theme and mood), 6.) Line familiarity (actors' comfort level with their lines), and any other choices made to further enhance the overall performance.

2. Whole Class Discussion/Analysis: Discuss the Do Now.

3. Scene Performance Preparation: Begin scene performance preparation (see HW).

2. Introduction of Story Map HW: STORY MAP for Julius Caesar.

2. Class Discussion/Analysis: Share and discuss the Do Now. Finish discussion of Act IV Scene iii, in terms of the character development, conflict and foreshadowing.

3. Acting Warm-Up Exercises: Hand/Leg shake (8, 4, 2, 1), rub-down (hands, arms, legs, massage shoulders), bubble gum chewing (face muscles, shoulder muscles, arms, legs, whole body), sound passing (with a body movement), animal voices/movements (e.g. cat, lion, pig, horse). 4. Small Group Read-Aloud/Acting: In small groups, read aloud your chosen quotes from Act IV as if your character were an animal. Everyone takes turns reading aloud.

5. Predict outcome of the play--Act V. What can you expect in a tragedy? What can you expect from characters like Cassius, Brutus and Antony? What can you expect from Shakespeare?

2. Class Discussion/Analysis: Discuss Act IV Scenes ii and iii, in terms of the character development, conflict and foreshadowing.

3. Work on Act IV journals--two are due tomorrow!

2. Class Discussion/Analysis of Do Now.

3. Begin Act IV Scene i journal.

2. Introduce Acts II and III Vocabulary List from Julius Caesar.

2. Discussion/Analysis and Textual Evidence of the character strengths of both Brutus (Act III, Scene ii, Lines 13-34) and Antony (Act III, Scene ii, Lines 80-114) in Act III of Julius Caesar--examine manipulative language that reveals characters' strengths. Examine the following proverbial statements: It is delivery that makes the orators' success. Few are open to conviction, but the majority of people are open to persuasion.

3. Discussion/Analysis and Textual Evidence of the vengeful mob in Act III Scene iii. Use this proverbial statement as a guide: The mob has many heads but no brains.

4. Work Period: Work on the character journals and prepare for the quiz due Monday.

2. Discussion/Analysis of the character strengths of both Brutus and Antony in Act III Scenes i and ii of Julius Caesar--examine manipulative language that reveals characters' strengths. Examine the following proverbial statements: It is delivery that makes the orators' success. Few are open to conviction, but the majority of people are open to persuasion.

2. Discussion/Analysis of the character flaws in Act III of Julius Caesar--examine language that reveals characters' flaws. Examine the following proverbial statements: Every man is his own worst enemy. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

2. Discussion/Analysis of Julius Caesar's character flaws in Act II of Julius Caesar--examine language that reveals foreshadowing/omens, which point to Caesar's tragic flaws.

2. Student Sharing of Character Portrayals--Do Now: Students will share the Do Now with the class.

3. Discussion/Analysis of Julius Caesar's character flaws in Act II of Julius Caesar--examine language that reveals foreshadowing/omens, which point to Caesar's tragic flaws.

4. Introduction of Vocabulary List from Act I of Julius Caesar.

2. Discussion/Analysis: Discuss Scene i of Act II in terms of foreshadowing, characterization and internal conflict.

2. Small Group Read-Aloud: Read-aloud in small groups of three--Act II Scene i. Examine the internal conflict of Brutus in terms of the following thematic statement: "Nothing is as burdensome as a secret."

2. Class Discussion: Discuss the Do Now. Share your findings. Share character journal entries (which were completed and due yesterday) for Act I.

3. Language Skill Building: Identify the definitions (using context clues in Julius Caesar) for these 25 vocabulary words found in Act I Scene i--idle (1), knave (15), thou (15), wherefore (34); Act I Scene ii--countenance (43), vexed (44), construe (50), lament (60), profess (82), impart (90), indifferent (93), virtue (96), feeble (135), encompass (161), infirmity (276); Act I Scene iii--strife (11), portentous (31), perilous (50), faculty (71), infuse (73), prodigious (81), bondage (94), haste (112), enterprise (129), gait (138)

2. Class Discussion: Discuss the Do Now. Share your findings. Share character journal entries (which were completed and due today) for Act I.

2. Class Discussion: Discuss Act I Scene i. Share character journal entries with class.

3. Oral Read-Aloud/Small Groups: In small read-aloud groups, read aloud Act I Scene ii and work on character journal entry for that scene.

2. PSAT Reading Strategies: summary notes in the margin of reading passages, circle characters' names, dates, and places, underline 1st sentence of each paragraph (main idea) and last sentence (concluding paragraph's main ideas), process of elimination in multiple choice questions--you should be able to eliminate at least TWO answer choices easily, and do NOT guess--if you don't know the answer, skip it (you will NOT lose points for leaving answers blank).

2. Review Story Map grades and 1st marking period grades.

3. Introduce HW.

2. Discuss Do Now.

3. Brainstorming on KWL for Julius Caesar: Brainstorm prior knowledge on Julius Caesar, the man. Write questions that you want to research/answer about Julius Caesar.

2. Discussion on Personal Connections to Julius Caesar: Have you ever been in the news? Have you ever betrayed someone you love? Have you ever wanted revenge? Have you ever lost a loved one? Have you ever done something heroic? Have you ever spoken to a large group of people (50 or more)? Do you consider yourself patriotic? Do you enjoy being in the spotlight?

3. Intro. of Iambic Pentameter HW (mini-lecture)

2. Teacher Lecture and Class Discussion of Shakespeare's Life and Times: Students will take notes on the following topics--William Shakespeare's family (parents, wife, children, brothers and sisters), Shakespeare's wealth and social status, Shakespeare's education, Shakespeare's religion, Religion during the Elizabethan Era--the time in which he lived, Actors during Shakespeare's lifetime, Theater during Shakespeare's lifetime, Health/Disease during the Elizabethan Era

2. Class Sharing and Discussion of Shakespeare HW: Review/Share student findings on the life and times of William Shakespeare. What are the most important facts researched? What would be most valuable to know as a reader of Shakespeare's texts? This will prepare us for our study of Julius Caesar.

2. Analysis of Top Sample Task III Essay.

2. Discuss Task III Rubric.

3. Discussion/Review of Vocabulary List #1: Review the vocabulary words' pronunciations, definitions and sample sentences.

2. Writing Workshop with Classmates and Teacher: Peer review and teacher review of Task III essay.

3. Discussion/Review of HW: Are you satisfied with your Story Map? Share the process of composing the Story Map.

4. Class Sharing of Task III Essay: Student volunteers will share and discuss strengths of the Task III Essay.

5. Review HW--Shakespeare Research.

2. Introduce HW.

2. Teacher/Class Review and Clarification of the Task III Essay Outline.

3. Composition of Essay Introduction and Body Paragraph I (using the essay outline): Students will compose the introduction and peer review with a neighbor.

4. Class Sharing of Essay Intro. and Body Paragraph I: Student volunteers will share and discuss strengths of the beginning portion of the Task III Essay.

5. Essay Writing: Continue composition of the Task III Essay.

2. Compare and Contrast the two selections to find out the similarities and differences. Suggestion: Create a Venn Diagram or another graphic organizer.

3. Begin to compose an outline for a Task III essay, using the instruction page (p. 2) on Task III of Jan. '07 Session Two.

2. Identify two literary elements or techniques used in the poem from Task III of Jan. '07 Session Two. Identify (or cite) at least one example of each element or technique to illustrate the terms used. When using the original words from the poem, use " ". Make a connection between the literary elements or techniques and the theme of the poem or the author's attitude.

3. Identify two literary elements or techniques used in the story, and cite at least one example of each element or technique to illustrate the terms used. When using the original words from the poem, use " ". Make the connection between the literary elements or techniques and the theme of the story or the author's attitude.

4. Compare and Contrast the two selections to find out the similarities and differences. Suggestion: Create a Venn Diagram or another graphic organizer.

5. Identify a format/outline for a Task III essay, using the instruction page (p. 2) on Task III of Jan. '07 Session Two.

2. Review Literary Elements handout and finish discussion/review of Story Map.

2. Finish Introduction/Discussion of Story Map

2. Analysis of Question Types: Examine the multiple choice questions in Session I of June 2007 Regents

3. Introduction of Story Map

Due Monday, September 24

2. Class Sharing/Review of Vocabulary and Summary Notes of Passage I and Chart from Session I and Passage II of Session II from Jan. '07 Regents: Finish yesterday's class review/analysis.

3. Examine Question Types for Non-fiction Passages: As a class, discuss the question types for Session I of June 2007 Regents--only Part B (the non-fiction passage, chart, and multiple choice questions).

2. Class Sharing/Review of Vocabulary and Summary Notes of Passage I and Chart from Session I and Passage II of Session II from Jan. '07 Regents: Class review/analysis.

3. Introduction of HW: Session I of June 2007 Regents--only Part B (the non-fiction passage, chart, and multiple choice questions).

2. Class Sharing/Review of the Poem in Regents Session Two of Jan. 2007: Class shares and discusses literary elements, including repetition, alliteration and assonance. Focus on main ideas/summary notes, imagery, and appeal to the senses.

2. Class Sharing/Review of Summary Notes and Strategy Choices: Class shares and discusses notes and strategies that worked best.

3.) Class Discussion: Poem Analysis--Summarize each stanza in the margins and identify literary term examples.

4.) Class Sharing/Review of Multiple Choice Questions and Answers: Class will review the questions and answers of Regents Session II Part B

5.) Introduce HW, including Discipline Code Booklet.

2. Class Sharing/Review of Questions Types: Review the question types for #6-10.

3.) Reading and Note-taking--Re-read Passage II, summarizing each paragraph in the margin and underlining and circling evidence of characterization, themes, literary elements, and unknown words.

4.) Class Sharing/Discussion: Discuss and volunteer sharing of note-taking on Passage II.

5.) Class Analysis of Passage I poem: Analysis of poem includes summary of stanzas in margin and literary terms.

2. Class Sharing/Review of HW: Review the answers and strategies for the HW--Regents Session II Part A.

3.) Introduce HW--Regents Session II Part B and continue reading independent novel (it will be due by end of the month, Sep. 30th, along with a Story Map).

2. Class Sharing/Discussion: Volunteer sharing of students' strengths and weaknesses, as determined in the "Do Now" brainstorming.

3.) HW reminders and Q & A

2. Class Sharing/Discussion/Analysis: Discuss student analysis and determine which skills and knowledge are required to be successful on the Regents Exam.

2. Reading Strategies--Brainstorming: Using the sample Regents exam, independently brainstorm (on a looseleaf, which you will divide into 3 sections--Reading Strategies I Know, Reading Strategies I'd Like to Learn, and Areas of Reading Needing Improvement) reading strategies that you would use to take this exam. Suggested questions to answer: What do you do while you're reading the directions? What are you thinking about while reading the directions? What do you do while reading the poem? The short story? What are you thinking about while reading the poem? The short story? When do you read the multiple choice questions? What do you do while reading the multiple choice questions? What are you thinking about? Do you use any strategies that help your success on a reading portion of an exam?

3.Class Sharing of Reading Strategies: students share reading strategies that they individually employ in reading exams. Are there any similar strategies? Are there any strategies that you would like to employ? If so, write them in the "Reading Strategies I'd Like to Learn" section of your looseleaf paper.

4. Individual Brainstorming of Weaknesses in Reading: Identify your weaknesses/areas needing improvement in reading exams and write them down in the appropriate section of your looseleaf (Hint: Think back to all the standardized tests in reading that you've taken over the years, and recall areas of reading that need improvement.).

5. Reflections: What was helpful about today's brainstorming and collective sharing of strategies? Do you have any questions/concerns about the syllabus? Did you scan the lists of independent reading selections? Which novels caught your attention and why?

2. Syllabus introduced

3. HW assignments due Monday, Sep. 10