Thanksgiving Break, Makeup Work, and Raising Grades

Hello All,

I hope you all have a fantastically wonderful Thanksgiving break and holiday.

Many students have already turned in their Capstone Projects to turnitin.com.  As a reminder, that final assignment, the 5 paragraph essay with in text citations, is due tonight before midnight.

Students who have not submitted assignments to Turnitin.com may turn in their assignments for late credit until the end of November.  After that time I will not accept any late credit.  I hope students use this time wisely to make up any major assignments they are still missing.  As always, the instructions for all assignments are on the Resources Page (you'll need to log in to your students.cobbk12.org account--remember, your password is your computer password, the same as Noodletools).

Some students have asked for some ways to raise their grades over the break.  I've created an assignment, that has 2 parts and will go in both the Reading and Writing categories.  You can find that assignment here, or on the Resources Page.

I want every student to do as well as they can in the class and hope that, if you need it, you can use this time to help your grade.  You can do this.  We have 3 more weeks and if you work hard, you can pull your grade up.  I believe in you and am giving you this opportunity to show that you have mastered the standards of World Literature.

To all the students who don't need the extra grades, thank you so much for the effort and work you've put into the class to get your grade to where it should be.  Y'all are fantastic and make sure you keep doing what you're doing in these last 3 weeks.

After the break, On Level will have a small unit on Dramatic Justice and Honors will go back to some classics.  These final weeks, I plan on focusing on the skills you'll need to start next year off right.

Have a great break!

Time of Giving

Hello All.

This message is from Dr. Lockhart:

"The Center for Family Resources is a major supplier of needs for families who require assistance.  They sponsor an annual Thanks for Giving food campaign each Thanksgiving.  The collected food is boxed up for families, so they can enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner.  We have two barrels in our building for collecting the canned goods. One is located in the cafeteria, the other is in the Wills Gym area.  Right now, neither one of our barrels have anything in them!"

Please, if you can, bring some canned foods in for the families in need in our community so that they can have a Thanksgiving dinner they otherwise will not be able to have.

Thank you.

1 and 1/2 Weeks to Thanksgiving Break

Hello All,

We are half way through this crazy week and presentations are due tonight and start tomorrow.

Here are some reminders for you:

1. Reminders for how to log in at home, how to create your in-text citations, and more are on the Resources Page.  
2. Please look at your instructions to make sure you aren't missing anything you need.
3. Look at your grade for the formative In Text Citations.  If you got 100, then you did it correctly and need to copy the in text citations, including the parentheses, into your script when you use information from those sources.  If you got a 50, you turned it in, but didn't add your in text citations.  If you got a 1, there was a major problem with what you turned in (ie: you submitted the wrong document).  If you got a 0, you didn't turn it in.   Please turn it in.
4. Presentations begin tomorrow.  I have not have you sign up for a slot, you should expect to be called tomorrow.  
5. Every mini-lesson I've given I've typed up the instructions on the document Reminders and How to's on the Resources page.

Next week we'll begin the week in the Media Center to start work on our Capstone Projects which will be introduced in an assembly tomorrow for all Sophomores.

Happy Wednesday!

Progress Reports, Human Rights Project, Oedipus, and Election Day

Hello All,

This week is pretty busy as we're finishing our research and students are moving towards compiling their research into an interesting, entertaining presentation for their peers.  Instructions for the project, and the pointers and reminders and how to's I've put together and have been talking about in class, are on the blog.

Honors students are completing this research project outside of class at this point while we read Oedipus the King in class.  You can find a complete text of it on the Resources Page if you need to catch up.  The test is planned for next Wednesday.

This Friday the final Progress Reports of the semester will be sent home with your student.

Next week's schedule is going to be ... interesting.

On either Monday or Wednesday your child will be participating in the mandatory Vision screening.  No, we don't have that schedule yet.

On Tuesday, Election Day, there will be no school.  Please plan accordingly and help your student work on whatever they need to work on to be on top of these last 6 weeks of the semester.

On Thursday, all 10th graders will be getting a lesson from the Counseling Department about many topics, including their Capstone Project, which is the next assignment we plan to complete.  It is very important your child is present in 1st period, on time, for this information.

On Wednesday, we'll be starting our Human Rights Presentations.  The elements of the presentation are due on Turnitin.com by Sunday night so that they can use Monday and Tuesday as time to perfect and practice their delivery of the presentation.

We'll adapt the schedule as necessary, but the due date is Sunday.

Happy Thursday!

Report Cards Next Week

Hello All,

This week we're starting on our Unit 2 Embedded Assessment 2 which will be a research project.  Today we're in the Media Center learning how to cite our sources in MLA format.  I'm looking forward to finding out your topics, groups, and methods of how you will present your information.

Happy Tuesday!

2 More Weeks in this Grading Period

Hello All!

We're finishing the first part of Unit 2 next week with Embedded Assessment 1, writing a narrative.  We've read and watched multiple genres of narratives and you can choose to write in any genre we've read.

The calendar is up to date through next week and part of the week after as we get into the second part of Unit 2.  Embedded Assessment 2 will require a little bit of research and presenting your findings to the class in interesting ways.

Have a great Homecoming Weekend!

Week 7, Sophomore Teeshirts, Hurricane Donations, and September Break Grade Recovery

Hello Students,

This week we're finishing up with Unit 1.  Embedded Assessment 2 is due in class and is a group assignment.  If you have any questions for how to turn it in (hint: turnitin.com) please ask before the end of the week.  Your Independent Reading assignment is also due before you leave.  When we come back, we're going to be starting fresh with Unit 2.

(Honors students: as a head's up, the next outside reading we're going to do is the play Doll House by Henrik Ibsen.  We're using a copy write free, online version, so you'll need to bring your devices, charged, to class so we can reference the text).

If you would like a Sophomore Class Shirt, you can turn in your Sophomore Class Dues ($25) to me by Friday (I'm the Class Sponsor).  If you would like to help the Sophomore Class create a float for the Homecoming Parade, also talk to me--it'll be amazing if you outshine the senior class.

We are collecting items to help the victims of the recent hurricanes.  The county is coming to pick these up on Friday after school, so if you can, please bring at least one of the following Thursday or Friday.

• Baby products (wipes and diapers)
• Chapstick
• Comb/brush
• Conditioner 
• Deodorant
• Feminine hygiene products
• First aid items (bandages and Neosporin)
• Flip flops
• Lotion
• Razors
• Reusable water bottle
• Sanitizer
• Shampoo 
• Soap 
• Socks 
• Sunscreen
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Underwear (ALL)
• Wash cloth

During the break, I'm giving students the opportunity to do some grade recovery.  For students who earned a poor grade on their Precourse Reading and/or their Embedded Assessment 1, you can complete the matching Grade Recovery assignment on the Resources Page.  Please follow all of the directions and ask me any questions you have before the end of the week.

Happy two more wake ups until Break!