I presented the students with the following assignment:

You have been selected to speak at the freshman orientation for Tyngsborough High School this fall.  You have 10 minutes to speak to the students on the following topic:  How to make your high school years the most productive.  Write the speech that you would give to this audience.

The rubric for this assignment can be found here.  The final copy of this assignment is due on Friday, April 17.

HOMEWORK:  Work on speech or reading your novel.

Cover of House to House

We had a guest speaker today:  Staff Sergent Ted Vrooman who served in Iraq in 2005-06.  He told us about life in a combat zone and his other experiences.  Great class.  He recommended the book House to House as a realistic account of what life is like in Iraq right now.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading novels and working on websites.

We shared ideas from our story generators, which were due today.

HOMEWORK:  Next articles due on Friday.

Image via Wikipedia

We began reading Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”, continuing our study of Realism and Naturalism.  Students were require to take down three notes per paragraph to help with comprehension and attention.

HOMEWORK:  Continue reading story up through page 503, taking notes as you go.