Monday, August 31, 2015

Phase 5 soph (red/blue sections) unit 1 vocabulary sentence homework
















Post  at Schoolsville BEFORE CLASS ON Wednesday ten (10) sentences using ten different vocabulary words correctly, giving a context clue to the meaning of the word within your sentence. You will be graded on the quality of your sentences. 

Door Rows should work with words 1-10; Window Rows should work with words 11-20.

A context clue should use restatement, contrast, or inference (see p.7  of your vocab book if you need help with these).

Of course, identify yourself according to your first name, last initial, and CORRECT section color. 

e.g. Usually slightly nervous and uncertain, most ninth graders entering St. Mark's are somewhat taciturn during their initial days in school. By the way, this sentence uses "restatement."

Phase 4 soph (green/yellow sections) unit 1 vocabulary sentence homework















Post  at Schoolsville BEFORE CLASS ON Wednesday ten (10) sentences using ten different vocabulary words correctly, giving a context clue to the meaning of the word within your sentence. You will be graded on the quality of your sentences. 

Door Rows should work with words 1-10; Window Rows should work with words 11-20.

A context clue should use restatement, contrast, or inference (see p.7  of your vocab book if you need help with these).

Of course, identify yourself according to your first name, last initial, and CORRECT section color. 

e.g. Usually slightly nervous and uncertain, most ninth graders entering St. Mark's are somewhat taciturn during their initial days in school. By the way, this sentence uses "restatement."

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Sophs & Seniors: Posting Comments at Schoolsville (homework due Monday)











Here are some simple directions on posting comments at Schoolsville: 

1. Go to the bottom of the blog post and click on the underscored words that indicate the number of comments (to the left of the mail envelope).

2. Type your comment (or copy and paste your comments from a Word document) in the box that reads "Leave your comment." 

3. Choose an identity by clicking the circle that reads "Name/URL." When you do, a box will open in which you'll leave your first name, a space, the first letter of your last name, followed by a space which will be followed by your section color. For instance I might leave the name "John F blue"(John Fiorelli, blue class) if I were a student in the blue section. 

4. Then click the box to "publish your comment." Your comment will not be immediately posted, but a message at the top of the page should say that "your comment has been saved." I moderate the comments, meaning that I'll check them for their appropriateness before I post them. 

NOTE 1:it's always good practice to compose your comments in a Word document that you can edit (before you copy and paste into the comment box) and then save your responses for printing at the end of the marking period. 

NOTE 2: unless instructed differently, comments should run a minimum of 200 words. 

NOTE 3: sometimes, you'll be given a blog post specifically for your section color, so you must post your comments there, still indicating your initials and section color.

Your homework is to post a sentence or two before Monday's class so that I know that YOU know how to post comments at Schoolsville. 

Sophs Journal #1: Your Favorite Work of Art--post before Tuesday, Sept. 8

What is your favorite work of art. 
Please don't limit your definition of art, or your choice, to the "fine" arts, like painting. Please feel free to include the "pop" arts, like music, film, cartoons, or television. 

You might want to use this post as a "warm up" or pre-writing to the final essay that is due Monday, September 14. However, you may choose to write about something else for the final essay, too. 

Complete this blog/journal response before Tuesday, September 8, so I can post all of your classmates' responses for you to read. 

Remember, in responding to blogs, you should first write your response in a Word document, save it, and then copy and paste it as a comment at Schoolsville. Eventually, I will collect all of your "blog/journal" responses at the end of each marking period as a graded assignment. 

Be more succinct here than you will be in your essay--write a MINIMUM of 200 words (your essay should be 3-4 typed pages). 

At Schoolsville, you probably want to respond to these questions: 

1. What is your favorite work of art? 

2. Give a brief description or overview of this work.  

3. Why is this work your favorite? How does it make you "think" (appeal to your intellect) and/or "feel" (appeal to your emotions)? Briefly and specifically explain your answers.

To get an idea of how to respond properly to this blog, you may check out the archives for August 2013 and August 2014 and read some of the responses to this blog entry made by the Classes of 2016 and 2017. 

The image that you're viewing is of Jamie Wyeth's Portrait of a Pig(currently on display at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA), one of my personal favorite "works of art." I'll tell you a little about my choice in class some day soon. 

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Seniors Journal #1: The Common App Essay "Warmup" due Tuesday, September 8

Many of you will have to write an essay as part of your college application process, and some of you, for sure, will have to submit an essay written on one of the five Common App prompts. Regardless, all of these prompts can inspire effective personal essays that will help tell your "story" to a college admissions counselor. 
NOTE: Much of what follows comes directly from the Common App website
For the Common App, you must choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don’t feel obligated to do so (the Common App organization won’t accept a response shorter than 250 words).
For this blog response at Schoolsville, choose an option and write a response of 250 words or more as a "warmup" or first draft of the "real thing." One advantage to having a small English class is that I can work more closely with all of you to make your essay even more effective. This blog response "warm up" is due Tuesday, September 8. 

Here are the 2015-2016 Common App Essay Prompts. New language (updated from 2014-2015) appears in italics:
  1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
  2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
  3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
  4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
  5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. 

Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don’t feel obligated to do so. (The application won’t accept a response shorter than 250 words.)

Follow this link to read the responses of 77 seniors from the Class of 2015.