Hooray, you made it!!!

I had a great year this year, and I believe it ended on a very positive note! I know you guys are happy that the ear is over and ready for that break after such a hectic year. However, I will miss you guys, but I know that you are excited to move on to a higher grade.

Also, congratulations for those of you that made high EOCT Scores! I knew you guys could do it! I hope you enjoyed the pizza and soda as a gift of appreciation for all your hard work. I hope you keep it up well into next year.

Nevertheless, I hope all of you guys have a great summer, and I can't wait to see you again next year as sophomores!!! Relax, enjoy your summers and tell all incoming freshman to get ready for a whole new invigorating high school experience. I can't wait to meet my new class of freshman!

See you next year!!!

Have an awesome summer break!!!

End of Romeo and Juliet Unit (Hand Out) Feb. 12, 2012

Welcome All Ye Lords And Ladies

To A Banquet Feast Of Fun And Merriment!

Starring a Production of William Shakespeare’s

“The Tragedy of Romeo And Juliet.”

Ye gents and ladies are welcome to bring thee to thy Lady Jacobs’s classroom with your course of Elizabethan food or attire to share with the class. Write a brochure or recipe of your food and present it to class, along with thy covered dish. We shall eat and drink there of and be the judges of the taste as we watch our rendition of Shakespeare’s play. Of course, no Ale or Liquor can be brought for ye are youthful lords and ladies! Yet, may ye lads bring Ginger Ale and Root Beer to drink as was the custom of the times!

For extra credit, you may even dress in Elizabethan attire!

*** Your food stuff may NOT contain any of the following as they are not a part of Elizabethan dishes: raw vegetables (believed to give evil humors) Potatoes, Tomatoes (were thought to be poisonous) Chocolate (used as medicine), vanilla (unheard of), and Coffee.

January Update

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!! I am excited to see all my students back safe and sound from their Christmas Break and New Year celebrations. Coming back to this school year, everyone needs to be prepared and ready to work. We will start our Drama Unit and read William Shakespeare's Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Students will be given a worksheet that they must keep for the next 9 weeks. This worksheet contains study questions over the entire story and will be trned in for a test grade at the end of the unit. Students will be held responsible for completing the worksheet and keeping up with it the entire 9 weeks.

Also,  if the students behave themselves for hte next 9 weeks, we will watch the most recent movie and students will be allowed to bring food from home at the end of the Unit.

Also, we will be having more frequent notebook checks as many students are not coming to class prepared. Please, make sure your child has adequate amount of paper, pens, and pencils daily. Also, check the syllabus to make sure your child has their ELA notebook complete with the 5 required tab dividers. If they are not bringing their notebooks to class daily, it WILL negatively impact their grades.

December Update! Study!! Study!! Study!!

I know everyone is excited for Christmas Break! However, this is not just the season to be jolly, but also the season to study for your 9 week exam. We are strating our 9 week exam and testing all this week. Students need to come prepared with a number 2 pencil and MUST study their notes in their notebook.

The testing schedule is as follows:

 Tuesday, December 13, 2011

1st, 4th, and  5th period will be tested with me.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

2nd, 4th, and 6th Periods will be testing with me.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

3rd, 4th, and 7th periods will be testing with me.

Here are what the students should know for the 9 week exam:

1. Exact Rhyme
2. Figurative Language
3. Assonance
4. Cosonance
5. Apostrophe
6. Paradox
7. Alliteration
8. Onomatopoeia
9. Rhyme Scheme
10. Hyperbole
11. Personification
12. Imagery
13. Metaphor
14. Simile
15. Understatement
16. Ballad
17. Free and Fixed Forms
18. Lyric
19. Narrative
20. Rhyme
21. Verse
22. Stanza
23. Connotation
24. Denotation
25. Diction
26. Author's Purpose
27. Anecdote
28. Fiction and Nonfiction
29. Autobiography
30. Memoir
31. Biography
32. Formal and Informal Essay
33. Idiom
34. Personal Narrative
35. Point of View
36. Prose
37. Symbolism
38. Anecdote
39. Author's Purpose (narrative, persuasive, expository, and technical)
40. Thesis Statement
41. How to Engage the Reader



PROGRESS REPORTS!!

Progress Reports go home November 7, 2011! Parents be on the lookout for your child's  progress report!

Also, starting next week, my class will start on their Poetry Unit! I am so looking forward to this unit. You should expect for your child to understand all the aspects of figrative language and sound devices used in a poetry. I will have more information as we progress.

Also, there is NO SCHOOL on Novemeber 10-11, and Thanksgiving break will be fast approaching on November 21-25!

So far we are off to a great start. I look forward to the rest of the year!!

Mid October Updates!!

Parents as you know, we have been working on our Writing unit, which covers our Laws Of Life Essay! Students are applying all the knowledge from last semester to create an autobiographical personal narrative piece that applies an idiom to a specific event in their life.

You should expect your child to come home and ask you advice on their essay. They may ask you for specific idioms or old sayings that you use. They may ask you to help them create a list of Idioms. They may ask you to help them choose an aidiom that would be a great essay topic. Your child may even need help creating their outline, which should have been started during class. This assignment is worth a test grade, so make sure your child is doing his or her best.

Hopefully, this activity will create memorable interaction as you share stories about your favorite sayings and the experiences to which they apply.

Announcements!! October 6

!!Yeah!!

!! Its FALL BREAK on OCT 6, 2011!!

Great Job! We conquered our first 9 weeks of school. I hope all my students enjoy their fall break coming up.

Parents, this week, students have taken their 9 week exams, including a writing essay portion for Literature and Composition students.  These grades will be entered into the grade-book. All grades will be final on Monday, October 10. If your child has not completed any make-up work by now, the students has until 4:00 WEDNESDAY OCT 5, 2011 to complete any/all make-up work for my class.

When students return they will need flash drives! We will begin working on their Laws of Life Essay. We will go through the essay bit by bit in class. Starting with the brainstorming activity, outline, rough draft, and final draft. These will all have to be turned in for a final grade and all Final Drafts MUST BE TYPED. Expect students to come home needing idioms (old sayings) like "what comes around, goes around," "don't judge a book by its cover," "don't count your chickens before they hatch" etc. to write an essay on how their idiom relates to their life.

Students will be given a handout to describe the essay as well as a grading rubric, which should be kept in the handout section of their notebook. This activity will last roughly two weeks! I look forward to another 9 weeks with my little Trojans!!

Enjoy Your Break!!