We began with the prompt: “Under what circumstances does good triumph over evil?” for a SAT writing practice exercise.

Later we talked about the major essay for the term:  “Discuss how Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales show how society changed from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Middle Ages”.

HOMEWORK:  Study for vocabulary quiz (Unit 2) and finish reading Grendel.

We read each others articles on google docs today.

HOMEWORK:  Make any suggested revisions for Tuesday. 

We took the quiz on Vocab Unit 2 today.

HOMEWORK:  Read 56-66 and answer Reading Check questions on page 66.

We took the quiz on Rowlandson today.

We then looked at the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading in The Scarlet Letter.  Look up definitions to vocab words from unit 2 that were written on the board.

We took the quiz on “Beowulf” this afternoon and I returned the college application essays.  Revisions are due within two weeks.

HOMEWORK:  Read 72-88 and take at least 10 notes.  Finish Grendel by Wednesday, 9/26.  Vocab quiz on unit 2 on Wednesday, 9/26.  Evaluation on Grendel on 9/28 (Friday)

We reviewed the remainder of the vocabulary exercises today.  The quiz will be tomorrow.

After that we continued to work on writing good thesis statements and began to write the thesis statement for our Bradford/Rowlandson essay.

HOMEWORK:  Study for vocab quiz and come up with another similarity and two differences in Bradford and Rowlandson’s experiences. 

We began the class with the quiz on “Beowulf”.

We concluded by reading an article on the evolution of the English Language.

HOMEWORK:  Read 72-88 and take 10 notes.  Quiz on vocab unit 2 on Tuesday, 9/25.  Finish Grendel by Tuesday.  Test on Grendel on Thursday 9/27.

Students filled out “Article Tracking Sheets” for their articles which are due on Friday.  We spent most of the rest of the period working on the articles.

HOMEWORK: Articles are due on Friday.  Please submit to http://docs.google.com and share with everyone in the class.

We took the quiz today on the Rowlandson text.

Here’s the topic for the essay: Compare and contrast Bradford and Rowlandson’s pursuit of the American Dream. What would they have said was necessary to achieve their American Dream?

Focused Correction Areas:

• 20 points: Proper thesis statement in Topic-Opinion-Reasons format
• 30 points: At least two differences with supporting quotes
• 30 points: At least two similarities with supporting quotes
• 20 points: Conclusion which sums up their pursuits

We finished the class by talking about thesis statements and that they need three pieces:  topic, opinion and reasons.

We wrote a brief essay on the nature of the battle between good and evil and then reviewed “Beowulf” in preparation for the quiz on Thursday.

HOMEWORK:  Prepare for quiz on “Beowulf”.  Continue to read Grendel.