September 27-October 1

This week we will be learning how to make connections to our reading. Effective readers enjoy their books more when they connect in the following ways:

*text to self (t-s): when we can connect what we're reading to our own lives.

*text to world (t-w): when we can compare what we're reading to events that happen worldwide.

*text to text (t-t): when our reading reminds us of another book or movie we have read or seen.

*text within text (t-w-t): when an event in our book repeats something that has happened earlier in the story.


This week you will choose a project to complete based on your Personal Choice (PCR) book. Projects will be due Tuesday, October 5. You will have some time to work on the project in class, but you will probably have to do some homework for it as well.

October begins this week!

Visualization

This week in English I we will be studying VISUALIZATION.

We will define visualization and learn how effective readers use it to draw meaning and enjoyment from texts. Have you ever said, "Picture This?" Apply it to what you're reading and create pictures in your mind!

CP English will apply visualization techniques to the poem "An Exceptional Tree."
English Honors will apply visualization techniques to the poem "A Little Man in the Grass."

We will work separately and in groups to create visualizations of poems and our Personal Choice reading books.

Please note: Parent letters were due last Friday. If you have not returned your parent letter to me with their signature and contact information, please see me for another copy.














Here is our first exercise in visualization:


I am going to describe a common object that you see many places. The object is rectangular and has an outer layer of shiny brown paper, crimped at each end. On the front of the shiny paper sit two words that are green in color, lightly outlined in red, on a white background that follows the shapes of the letters. Three dark brown lines swirl from underneath the letters. When you move the paper on this object, it crackles.

Inside the paper lies a rectangular object that consists of an outer layer, dark brown, and inner layers that are light spongy brown and swirling caramel. If you break the object, the outer layer might fracture. The spongy interior breaks cleanly, but the caramel-colored section will stretch as the two sides of the rectangle are pulled in opposite directions.

Picture this! What is it?


















Did you get it?













































Let's try again:

I have another rectangular object in bright shiny silver paper, crimped at each end. The brightly colored title begins with a number, followed by a word. The number and the letters in the word are bright red, outlined in white, and then outlined in blue. There's a long red ribbon underneath the word, and it has words inside it with white letters that describe the object in a way that makes you want to eat it. Another yellow banner in the corner, above the letters, describes how this object is different from others of its kind.

Inside the silver paper lies another rectangle. This one has swirls of medium brown that cover an inner core of light brown-to-putty-colored spongy material. If you cut this object carefully with a knife, it comes apart perfectly and is great to share with a friend.

Picture this! What is it?




















Did you get it this time?
































HOW LONG UNTIL HALLOWEEN?

September 13-17, 2010

This week we have three goals in English class. They are:

1. To create a set of classroom rules that we all can live by.

2. To get our class organized and engaged in routines that will give us more time to learn during the rest of the year.

3. To take a baseline writing assessment that will give CCTS a picture of where each student stands as a writer coming into ninth grade.

Please note that on Friday, September 17, all students will need to bring their Personal Choice Reading books to class.

No homework this week!

Welcome to Ms. Johnson's Penn Tech electronic whiteboard! We are ready to begin a new year with English I and English I Honors.

During the first three days of school we will:

*Read and reflect upon letters written by last year's freshmen.

*Define "ambassador suite" and apply the definition to our classroom, Room 105.

*Create a discipline code for the classroom with rules, consequences, and rewards.

*Organize our English binders and our Personal Choice Reading checkout system.

For this week of school you will need a pencil or pen. If you have a book you are reading at home, please bring it. You may also purchase a book to read during Personal Choice reading.

Grading opportunities this week will be based on classroom participation, written responses, and proper organization of your binder.

HOMEWORK DUE FRIDAY:

Homeroom only: emergency cards, lunch voucher forms

Honors: Reading survey

We are the Ambassador Class! We've got Penn Tech Pride!