9th Lit -- Upcoming Schedule and Final Unit and Exam

Good morning,

This is a head's up about what the plan is through the rest of the year.

Today, the students are taking their Romeo and Juliet Test.  Today and tomorrow they will be working on their Romeo and Juliet Constructed Response, which can be handed in written in school on Friday, or typed on turnitin.com, also on Friday.

In getting ready for the EOC, students have USATestPrep.com assignments that are due every Wednesday, this includes over break.

We will have FREE EOC Tutoring after school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 11/30-12/2 in Ms. Wood's room.  I highly encourage you to attend.

We will start our final unit on Monday after break, while we do some test preparation in class in the days before the EOC.  For our final unit, we will be reading the classic, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.  We will mostly be reading this in class.  We do have a limited selection of books in the library available for check out, but will not have enough for everyone.  Students who are able to obtain their own copy of the novel will need to do so by Tuesday.  They are able to read it on their phones, tablets,or a physical copy.  Some sites you can order it from are Abe Books, Amazon (includes a link to Kindle), Barnes and Noble (includes a link to Nook), eBay, and many others.  You can also try to find a different copy online, or look in a physical new or used book store.  I recommend a physical copy, as you can highlight and write notes in it.

Our EOC will be Thursday, Friday, and Monday, 12/3, 4, and 5.  Please look at your schedule and make every effort to be here those days.  If you have any appointments during those days, I encourage you to reschedule.  It is vitally important you have the best opportunity to do the best you can on this test.

We will then have the remainder of the 2nd week to finish reading Lord of the Flies and to complete your last major Writing Assignment.  Your final exam will be a test over this novel.

We are so close.  Please put forth your best effort in these last few weeks to make sure that your grade is as high as possible by the end of December.  I believe in you and I know you can do it, but I need you to try your best.

Happy Thursday!

9th Lit -- Final Schedule and Book

Final Exam Schedule

Click here to see the Final Exam Schedule.

All Classes -- Course Extension

Good afternoon,

From Admin:

We will be offering course extension this Fall.  The following parameters have been set to be eligible:

·        Final average between 66—69

·        3 or fewer absences (excused or unexcused)

·        No ISS or OSS

·        No zeroes

·        Program will begin on Wednesday, January 6 and run for 8 consecutive days.  

·        Students must attend all 8 days. (no absences allowed/no exceptions)

·        Students can only attempt grade repair for 1 class.

·        Classes will be offered in the afternoon beginning at 3:40.

In order to facilitate students qualifying for Course Extension, as a 9th Lit Collaborative, we will allow students to turn in any assignment they haven't turned in, not for points, but for credit towards Course Extension, with a final due date of Friday, 12/11.

If you have any questions, please feel free.  Thank you.

9th Lit -- EOC Tutoring Sessions

Good morning,

We are offering free tutoring for all EOC classes.  You can find the full schedule here.

9th Lit will be held Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 11/30, 12/1, and 12/2 from 3:45-4:45 by Ms. Wood in room 2223.

If you have lower than a B average, I highly recommend you attend.  The EOC is 20% of your grade, so it is very important for your final average and your GPA.

Thank you,

EOC Dates and Classes

Please click here to see the EOC dates and classes for this semester.

Happy Tuesday!

9th Lit Remediation Assignment

Tomorrow we will be in the computer lab to give students the opportunity to complete a makeup assignment.  Please click here for a copy of the assignment.  This will be the last opportunity this semester to make up these writing grades, please encourage your student to complete this assignment.

Additionally, as we have discussed in class, students have homework every single night.  Every week they have specific USA Test Prep assignments due Wednesday (they have 3 due tonight) and they should go over what we learned today and/or complete any assignments they didn't finish in class.

Since we'll be in the lab tomorrow, they do have 2 pages of the Romeo and Juliet packet due Friday (Globe Theater and Shakespearean Insult List).  This packet is their study guide, and I will collect it at an unknown date in the future and grade what they should have finished by that date--it is important for them to keep up with their responsibilities each day to be ready for that Unit test.

I've also updated the class calendar with a rough sketch of the rest of the month.

Happy Wednesday!

Odyssey Constructed Response 9th Lit

Hello all,

I've been checking over the constructed responses of the people who turned them in early and I'm seeing a couple of things.  You have until 11:59 tonight to resubmit your constructed response to turnitin.com.  Please double check that you have done the following things, and edit your response and resubmit if you have not.

1. Do you have 3 paragraphs?  1 paragraph for each response.
2. Does EACH of your paragraphs have the following:
1. a thesis statement that clearly answers the question that is your first sentence
2. 2, 3, or 4 quotes from the Odyssey to use as evidence to support your thesis
3. for each quote, at least one sentence that explains how your quote supports your thesis
4. a conclusion sentence that restates without repeating your thesis as your last sentence
3. Is each paragraph numbered 1, 2, or 3. (In order please)
4. Do you have an MLA Heading?
5. Have you put your quotes in quotation marks:  "words words words (p. #)."
6. Have you fully answered the question in the prompt?
7. Is your explanation of how the quote supports your thesis underlined? (This is to prove to yourself that you do have it.)
8. Did you look at the examples we did in class?  Does each of your response look similar or very different (it should not).

From what I've seen most students missed only one or two things listed above and would loose just a few points.  Some students it seems didn't read the instructions and only looked at the questions, which means they won't earn points.  We discussed this in class and did an example together in class.

Please use this opportunity as a chance to raise their grades.  This assignment is worth 30 points and up until this point their constructed responses were only worth 20.  I want this to help their grades, not to harm them.  

I've copied the assignment below:

Student responses. Answer each of the prompts with a complete paragraph. The majority of your points will come from how well you explain how your textual evidence supports your claim. You do need a thesis/claim statement, 2-4 pieces of evidence (quotes!), and a concluding statement as well.

1. Evaluate Odysseus' trials. What obstacle do you think is the greatest one that Odysseus faces? Describe it and explain why it was the biggest challenge he faces. (10 Points)


2. Is Odysseus an epic hero? Why or why not? Provide and explain at least two (2) specific examples from the text. (10 Points)


3. Explain the virtue of hospitality by using one episode from Odysseus’s travels that illustrates the importance of this virtue to ancient Greeks. (10 Points)