31 Novel Part 3 and Mock Trial // Due the week of May 12, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY:

• Write four more pages of your novel this week! This is your last week of homework—finish strong, and email me if you have questions or need extra inspiration!
• The extra length can come from adding more to the center of what you've already written. It could also come from jumping around, like if you want to write the most interesting part of your novel now, even if it's the end!
• You don't need to finish your novel this week, but you should have at least 12 pages by the end of this week, and then can continue it throughout the summer if you'd like!

THURSDAY:

• Mock Trial next week: 
• The link is on Google Drive.
• Homework:
• Everyone: Read all parts to the case.
• Witnesses: Write 5 questions you think each lawyer might ask (total of 10) and then an in depth (1 paragraph at least) answer your character might give for each of those 10 questions.
• Lawyers: Write 5 questions to ask each of the 4 witnesses. Think about ways these questions could get the witnesses to help your case.
• Defense Lawyer: Josiah
• Prosecution Lawyer: Isaac
• Witnesses:
• Mert Johnson: Jaydn
• Lou Bouer: Bethany
• Investigator: Abraham
• Pg. 11 Guy: Eric
• Danny: Noah

30 Novel and Debate 2 // Due the week of May 5, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY:

• This week, write the next four pages of your novel! Hopefully if you were feeling stuck last week, we were able to resolve most of those issues in class discussion. If you still have questions, be sure to email me :)

THURSDAY:

• Good job on the Socratic seminar this week everyone! As your first one, I know it was a little scary, but as we go it will get easier :)
• For this week, we will have three topics, but you will not need to do the research you did for the last topic. I just want you to write a half a page for each topic, free-writing your general thoughts on the matter. 
• You also don't need to pick one side or another (however, it can help your mental organization to at least begin by doing so).
• Finally, I gave some general idea starting-off points, but feel free to come up with your own reasons!
• Topics:
• Girls-only and boys-only schools vs. mixed schools:
• Some people say that girls or boys-only school are best because students will be more focused on their work, there will be less potential for bullying or drama, and that boys and girl learn differently from each other. 
• Others say that mixed girl-boy schools are best because girls and boys can learn from each other, and learning from drama can be useful, and girls and boys learn differently based on who they are, not whether they're a girl or boy.
• What do you think?
• Zoos:
• Some people say zoos are bad because the animals are taken out of their normal environment, and it's cruel to keep them pent up in little cages where they have little to do all day.
• Others say that zoos are good because they teach people an appreciation for animals, and those people will then go out and be more likely to protect animals and habitats.
• What do you think?
• Jobs for 13 year olds:
• Some people say 13 year olds should not be allowed to work because it would interfere with their schooling, they could make mistakes and get hurt on the job, and they would miss out on the joys of childhood.
• Others say 13 year olds should be allowed to work because they can learn a sense of responsibility, they can start saving up money for important things like college, and they can help out their family if tough times are in place.
• What do you think?

29 Novel Writing 1 and Debates // Due the week of April 28, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY:
This week, begin writing your novel! Write 4 pages:

1. Double-Spaced
2. A header at the top of (only) the first page with:
1. Your Name
2. Teacher's Name
3. Class
4. Date
3. 12 Pt. Font
4. Times New Roman
5. No extra space in between paragraphs
6. In Google Drive

Besides that, I don't care about grammar, spelling, or perfection—just that you get your ideas out! 

Remember, even if you planned to have your character traveling alone through the woods for the whole novel, if you get bored of your original plan—change it! Have him meet a beautiful princess or an evil unicorn!

Before writing, consider:

1. Which tense should it be in?
1. past
2. present
2. Which point of view should it be in?
1. First Person: "I… Me… My…"
2. Second Person: "You… Your… You're…"
3. Third Person: "He… She… Her… His…"
1. Objective: Narrator knows what's in no one's heads
2. Limited: Narrator knows what's in just the main character's head
3. Omniscient: Narrator knows what's in everyone's heads

THURSDAY:
Next week we will be having two Socratic Seminar Debates! The two topics you voted on and chose were:

1. Homeschool (Summit-Style) versus Regular Public School
2. Democracy versus Dictatorship

You should know which group you are in (email me if you don't), and I want you to find at least 5 specific pieces of evidence for each side on which you are fighting— and then post that evidence to the Google Drive group document that was created in class today.

• For example, if you are arguing pro-homeschool and pro-dictatorship, you should have 5 pieces of evidence for each.
• Your evidence should be specific facts that you had to research and that you could use in your argument.
• ie: Bad: Dictatorships are bad because Hitler was a dictator. (Everyone already knows this, and knows he was bad. Show us how he was bad!)
• ie: Good: Dictatorship are bad because Hitler was a dictator and he was able to do this, this, and this bad thing easily, due to the dictatorship that he ruled. 

28 Homework // Due the week of April 20, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY:
Your homework has 2-3 parts:
Part 1: (Just Wednesday)

• Be ready to peer review Adrian and Quinton's short stories next week!

Part 2: (Both days)

• Draw a Plot Diagram on a separate sheet of paper and fill in the important events (3-6 events for the rising action).

Part 3: (Both days)

• Make a list of 10-20 scenes in which you detail what will happen in your novel and how it affects your protagonist in 1-2 sentences. Make sure you know where each scene goes in the plot diagram.

• For example: Finding Nemo
• 1) Nemo’s siblings and mother get eaten by a big fish, making his father super scared and overprotective of him.
• 2) Nemo wakes up years later for his first day of school, but his father keeps trying to convince him he’s not ready, making him feel even more anxious to get out.
• 3) Nemo meets his classmates and makes instant friends--he is ready to explore the world!
• 4) Nemo gets dared to touch the boat and then, because of his bravery, gets kidnapped by the diver! [ALSO THE INCITING EVENT]

THURSDAY:

• This week, I put you into groups of 3-4, so your HW is to peer review your group members' literary analyses with at least 6 comments each—written on paper!!
• The groups are:
• Group 1:
• Isaac
• Jaydn
• Bethany
• Group 2:
• Noah
• Abraham
• Eric
• **Josiah, since you were peer reviewed in class this week, you can choose your group.

27 Homework // Due the week of April 13th

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Peer review the short stories of Adrian and Quentin with at least 6 comments each.
• Write for at least 6 solid minutes based on a sentence from a random page in a novel. Do this 3 times :D

THURSDAY:

• Write your literary analysis:

• Pick a short story, novel, or movie.
• Think about one of the following questions:
• What was the theme (moral/lesson) that the author was trying to teach the audience ? (doesn't have to be a lesson you agree with)
• Is the author using the story as a metaphor (comparison) for a historical/social/political/cultural aspect?
• Is the author using the story as a metaphor (comparison) for something in his/her own personal life?
• Answer the question and then support your opinion with:
• Quotes from the story
• (Maybe) research about the time period or author's life
• If you're not sure about a connection to the time period or author's life, do a little research on the time period or author's biography, and see if something stands out to you.
• For example: If your story is about greed, and it's written in the early 1900s by a Russian author, perhaps he was pushing for the communist revolution (that later happened in Russian in the 1910s).

• Your organization should look something like this:
• Introduction
• Attention grabber
• 1-3 sentence synopsis (summary) of the story—this one can spoil the ending!
• Opinion
• Body paragraph with support
• Body paragraph with support
• More body paragraphs with support?
• Conclusion
• This is probably our most difficult assignment yet—email me if you have questions!

FRIDAY:

• Peer review Alyssa and Annika's short stories.
• Begin thinking about your story/characters for the upcoming novel project!

26 Homework // Due the week of March 30, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Revise your Bang-Ending Short Stories that you wrote last!
• Write a new short story of 1-3 pages that is:
• Told in 3rd Person Objective Point of View
• The narrator describes what he/she sees of the main characters, but does not actually know what is going on inside the minds of those characters. All he/she has to go off of is what he/she sees.
• Think about the emotions the main character may be feeling: Sad, happy, angry, insane, downtrodden, etc. 
• Instead of saying these words (because how would an objective narrator know that the character is feeling these emotions?), the narrator must describe what the main character is doing that implies these emotions.
• Instead of saying "The girl was sad…" say:
• "The girl slowly lifted her hands to her eyes and rubbed her palms into them. She pursed her lips tightly and scrunched up her nose. Suddenly, a high-pitched, animal-like wail escaped her throat."
• Instead of saying "The boy felt anxious…" say:
• "The boy paced back and forth across the room, and then, after a while, he sat on the edge of the bed and kicked his foot up and down several times. When he heard the sputter of a car roll past on the road, he took in a deep breath and held it until finally the zoom of the engine had disappeared."
• Still try to start as close to the climax as possible, with as little background gabbing as possible :D

THURSDAY:

• Peer review Jaydn and Isaac's How-To essays with at least 6 comments each
• Find and read three short stories from one  of the following links:
• https://americanliterature.com/middle-school-short-stories-ii
• https://americanliterature.com/middle-school-short-stories
• https://americanliterature.com/100-great-short-stories
• Write a brief 1-3 sentence synopsis for each short story.
• We will be writing literary analyses after the break!

FRIDAY:

• Revise your Bang-Ending Short Stories that you wrote last!
• Write a new short story of 1-3 pages that is:
• Told in 3rd Person Objective Point of View
• The narrator describes what he/she sees of the main characters, but does not actually know what is going on inside the minds of those characters. All he/she has to go off of is what he/she sees.
• Think about the emotions the main character may be feeling: Sad, happy, angry, insane, downtrodden, etc. 
• Instead of saying these words (because how would an objective narrator know that the character is feeling these emotions?), the narrator must describe what the main character is doing that implies these emotions.
• Instead of saying "The girl was sad…" say:
• "The girl slowly lifted her hands to her eyes and rubbed her palms into them. She pursed her lips tightly and scrunched up her nose. Suddenly, a high-pitched, animal-like wail escaped her throat."
• Instead of saying "The boy felt anxious…" say:
• "The boy paced back and forth across the room, and then, after a while, he sat on the edge of the bed and kicked his foot up and down several times. When he heard the sputter of a car roll past on the road, he took in a deep breath and held it until finally the zoom of the engine had disappeared."
• Still try to start as close to the climax as possible, with as little background gabbing as possible :D

25 Homework // Due the week of March 18, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Peer review Braedon's short story with at least 6 comments
• Revise your short stories and make sure the following revised essays are all on the blog:
• How-to
• Literary Analysis
• Short Story (Unless you're Braedon)
• Next week we'll begin the next project—we didn't have time to go over it this week because of the weird short day last week.

THURSDAY:

• Peer review Noah and Eric's How-To essays with at least 6 comments each

FRIDAY:

• Peer review Alyssa's short story with at least 6 comments
• Revise your short stories and make sure the following revised essays are all on the blog:

• How-to
• Literary Analysis
• Short Story (Unless you're Alyssa)
• Next week we'll begin the next project—we didn't have time to go over it this week because of the weird short day last week.

24 Homework // Due the week of March 10, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Write a short story of 1-3 pages that ends with a bang, with a twist ending! 
• Think "The Story of an Hour" — In just two pages, it's able to surprise us by:
• Starts off right in the middle of the action
• Not giving too much character background
• Keeping the writing "in the moment" with imagery and description of what's happening, moment by moment
• Ending with an unexpected twist!
• We will peer review the stories next week :D
• Email me if you have questions!

THURSDAY:

• Peer review the next two how-to essays:
• Bethany
• Abraham

FRIDAY:

• Peer Review the next two short stories:
• Annika
• Lauren

23 Homework // Due the week of March 3, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Peer review the last two literary analyses with at least 6 comments each.

THURSDAY:

• Write your How-To essay rough draft!

• Pick a specific skill that interests you
• For example:
• Instead of "How to Draw," pick "How to draw faces"
• Instead of "How to Babysit," pick "How to make kids love your babysitting" or "How to make your babysitting into a major business!"
• Include:
• Introduction
• Attention-grabber
• Explanation of why this skill is important
• Several steps or categories of learning
• Write a short paragraph for each, full of personality and explanation!
• Conclusion
• Pictures! These can be general pictures from the internet—or pictures of your own knitting/drawings/etc
• Have fun writing this! Make sure you add your personality to your writing and choose a skill that you really like (even if you're not that good at it :D)

FRIDAY:

• Write a short story of 1-3 pages that ends with a bang, with a twist ending! 
• Think "The Story of an Hour" — In just two pages, it's able to surprise us by:
• Starts off right in the middle of the action
• Not giving too much character background
• Keeping the writing "in the moment" with imagery and description of what's happening, moment by moment
• Ending with an unexpected twist!
• We will peer review the stories next week :D
• Email me if you have questions!

22 Homework // Due the week of Feb. 26, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

Write your Literary Analysis!

• Pick one of the stories you read last week (or another if you prefer)
• Think about one of the following questions:
• What was the theme (moral/lesson) that the author was trying to teach the audience ? (doesn't have to be a lesson you agree with)
• Is the author using the story as a metaphor (comparison) for a historical/social/political/cultural aspect?
• Is the author using the story as a metaphor (comparison) for something in his/her own personal life?
• Answer the question and then support your opinion with:
• Quotes from the story
• (Maybe) research about the time period or author's life
• If you're not sure about a connection to the time period or author's life, do a little research on the time period or author's biography, and see if something stands out to you.
• For example: If your story is about greed, and it's written in the early 1900s by a Russian author, perhaps he was pushing for the communist revolution (that later happened in Russian in the 1910s).
• Your organization should look something like this:
• Introduction
• Attention grabber
• 1-3 sentence synopsis (summary) of the story—this one can spoil the ending!
• Opinion
• Body paragraph with support
• Body paragraph with support
• More body paragraphs with support?
• Conclusion
• This is probably our most difficult assignment yet—email me if you have questions!

THURSDAY:

• Peer review the personal essays of:
• Noah
• Eric

FRIDAY:

• Peer review the literary analyses of:
• Annika
• Alyssa

21 Homework // Due the week of Feb. 18, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Find and read 5 different short stories that have some complexity to them (no Aesop's Fable's with super simple morals).
• A great resource is: https://americanliterature.com/100-great-short-stories
• You will be writing a literary analysis on one of these stories next week, so read 5 so you have a variety from which to choose. I will ask you about them!

THURSDAY:

• Peer review the personal essays of:
• Jaydn
• Abraham
• Eric

FRIDAY:

• Write your Literary Analysis!
• Pick one of the stories you read last week (or another if you prefer)
• Think about one of the following questions:
• What was the theme (moral/lesson) that the author was trying to teach the audience ? (doesn't have to be a lesson you agree with)
• Is the author using the story as a metaphor (comparison) for a historical/social/political/cultural aspect?
• Is the author using the story as a metaphor (comparison) for something in his/her own personal life?
• Answer the question and then support your opinion with:
• Quotes from the story
• (Maybe) research about the time period or author's life
• If you're not sure about a connection to the time period or author's life, do a little research on the time period or author's biography, and see if something stands out to you.
• For example: If your story is about greed, and it's written in the early 1900s by a Russian author, perhaps he was pushing for the communist revolution (that later happened in Russian in the 1910s).
• Your organization should look something like this:
• Introduction
• Attention grabber
• 1-3 sentence synopsis (summary) of the story—this one can spoil the ending!
• Opinion
• Body paragraph with support
• Body paragraph with support
• More body paragraphs with support?
• Conclusion
• This is probably our most difficult assignment yet—email me if you have questions!

19 Homework // Due the week of Feb. 4, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

1. Revise your personal essays and post to the blog by next Friday so I can send the blog out to the whole school!
2. Write your "How-to" rough drafts!
1. 1-2 pages—longer if there are pictures.
• Pick a specific skill that interests you
• For example:
• Instead of "How to Draw," pick "How to draw faces"
• Instead of "How to Babysit," pick "How to make kids love your babysitting" or "How to make your babysitting into a major business!"
• Include:
• Introduction
• Attention-grabber
• Explanation of why this skill is important
• Several steps or categories of learning
• Write a short paragraph for each, full of personality and explanation!
• Conclusion
• Pictures! These can be general pictures from the internet—or pictures of your own knitting/drawings/etc
• Have fun writing this! Make sure you add your personality to your writing and choose a skill that you really like (even if you're not that good at it :D)

THURSDAY:

1. Write your Personal Essay rough drafts!
• You can find examples, tips, and writing prompts on Google Drive in the Handouts folder
• Make sure it is:
• 1-3 pages
• Double-spaced
• Header in the top left corner

FRIDAY:

1. Peer review the remaining How-To essays

18 Homework // Due the week of Jan. 29, 2016

Hi Everyone!

Wednesday:

• Peer review the final personal essay with at least 1 page of comments (5-6 comments) 
• Revise the essays that were peer-reviewed last week

Thursday:

• Check your biographies for the mistake of using other writers' sentences as your own. If I see this in the final draft, you will fail :(
• Peer review the final essays (Jaydn, Noah, Bethany) with about 3/4-1 page each :)

Friday:

• Revise your personal essays and post to the blog by next Friday so I can send the blog out to the whole school!
• Begin work on the How-To rough draft!
• Pick a specific skill that interests you
• For example:
• Instead of "How to Draw," pick "How to draw faces"
• Instead of "How to Babysit," pick "How to make kids love your babysitting" or "How to make your babysitting into a major business!"
• Include:
• Introduction
• Attention-grabber
• Explanation of why this skill is important
• Several steps or categories of learning
• Write a short paragraph for each, full of personality and explanation!
• Conclusion
• Pictures! These can be general pictures from the internet—or pictures of your own knitting/drawings/etc
• Have fun writing this! Make sure you add your personality to your writing and choose a skill that you really like (even if you're not that good at it :D)

17 Homework // Due the week of Jan. 20, 2016

Hi Everyone!

WEDNESDAY:

• Write your rough draft for your personal essay. 
• You can find examples, tips, and writing prompts on Google Drive in the Handouts folder
• Make sure it is:
• 1-3 pages
• Double-spaced
• Header in the top left corner

THURSDAY:

• Read and write a peer review (around 1 page each, handwritten), for the next three students to have their biography peer reviewed:
• Bethany, Noah, Isaac
• Look for: 
• Information you'd like added
• Information you don't think is relevant/intriguing
• Attention-grabber
• Organization:
• Categorical?
• Chronological?
• In-between?
• Does it make sense?
• Etc

FRIDAY:

• Read and write a peer review (around 1 page each, handwritten), for the final students to have their biography peer reviewed.
• Jaden and Annika

Look for: 

• Information you'd like added
• Information you don't think is relevant/intriguing
• Attention-grabber
• Organization:
• Categorical?
• Chronological?
• In-between?
• Does it make sense?
• Etc

16 Revise // Due the week of January 14, 2016

Hi Everyone!

Wednesday and Friday:

• This week, go through your biographies and revise them. I will be looking through both drafts (Google Drive allows me to see both) and grading you in part on that you used our peer reviews to make changes. You don't have to take every piece of advice you used, but do use a good amount of it.
• Read your drafts aloud and show them to your parents to make sure they are also grammar-checked.
• Then, post your final drafts to the blogs!

Thursday:

• Write your biography rough drafts:
• Write your biography rough drafts using the information from your 10+ notecards and 5+ sources from your works cited page. It should be 2-3 pages and must have an introduction and a conclusion. The body may discuss the person's life in categories (i.e.: their modeling career, their acting career, and their doctoring) or chronologically (by time). Just be sure to include the things that interest you about the person!

• Revise your book/movie review rough drafts this week if you just finished having them peer-reviewed.
• Read your drafts aloud and show them to your parents to make sure they are also grammar-checked.
• Post your final drafts to your blogs!