We began by working on our thesis statements and works cited pages.

We then discussed three Dickinson poems (”Some Keep the Sabbath…”, “I Taste a Liquor…”, “Much Madness…”) and her use of metaphor and slant rhyme.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading in The Great Gatsby and working on research paper. Next quiz on Gatsby will be on May 9.

While I conferenced with each student to discuss thesis statements and sources, student’s used the time (I think) to work on the research papers and read 1984.

HOMEWORK:  Continue working on the research paper and reading 1984.  Next research deadine:  May 7 for all notes (this is a change from the previous deadline).  Next quiz on 1984 will be on May 7.

We took a look at the user fee article as a class.  We reviewed the 5W and H method of constructing a good news lead and prioritized our information.

HOMEWORK:  Continue revising your previous articles and begin working on the new ones (due Monday, May 7).

We talked about how to organize our research paper and how to construct our thesis statements.

Next, we discussed more of Dickinson’s poetry.

HOMEWORK:  Read “Success is Counted Sweetest” and “Because I could not Stop for Death” and try to sum them up in one sentence.

WHAT’S NEXT:  Quiz on Dickinson on Friday.  Quiz on Chapters 4-6 of The Great Gatsby  on Tuesday.

We took the Gatsby quiz on chapters 1-3 today.

Following that, we did some prep for the SAT grammar section.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading in Gatsby.  Finish chapter 6 by Friday, May 4.

We listened to a new song by John McLaughlin and brainstormed ideas for how to review the song.  We talked about using specific details in our critique and judging the CD, movie, etc. based on the audience it was intended for and what it hopes to achieve, not on whether you like that kind of music/film or not.

We finished by using our story generators to “generate” some ideas for our next articles (due May 7).

HOMEWORK:  Revise current articles and begin work on new ones.

WHAT’S NEXT:  Layout should begin next week.

We took another SAT practice essay prompt today.  Following that we discussed two Dickinson poems “Some Keep the Sabbath by Going to Church” and “I taste a liquor never brewed”.  We pointed out some similarities between Dickinson and Whitman and talked about slant rhyme.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading in novel.  You must be finished with chapter six by Thursday, May 3.

WHAT’S NEXT:  More Dickinson.

We took the quiz on The Great Gatsby.  Several students appeared to be “unprepared”.

Following that, we read our “Song of Myself” poems aloud.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading The Great Gatsby.  Chapters 4-6 must be completed by Thursday, May 3.  The quiz will be on Monday, May 7.

WHAT’S NEXT:  Dickinson

First, I distributed the Senior Week Writing assignments which will be due on Thursday, May 24.

Then, we took the quiz on the first section of 1984. Following that, students had time to work on their research projects or continue to read from 1984.

HOMEWORK: Continue reading in 1984. You must finish section two (up through page 224) by Monday, May 7. Thesis and sources for Senior Honors Research Project are due on Monday.

We used the projector to view some articles and talked about the idea of stakeholders in articles.  We brainstormed ideas for additional sources for the articles.

HOMEWORK:  Revise the articles and complete story generators.