Reading Websites

Robin shared two wonderful websites at our meeting.

Readwritethink.org is a wonderful place for lesson plans.
Reading.org has materials for students.

Regents Task III Scoring

Alrighty, we met, we graded, we discussed, and here are the commonalities we found:

Postives

• Use of citations to support their text
• integrated their texts effectively (relevancy & grammatically)
  
• used rhetoric...in their introductions...they had a good enough grasp of the task to create a good read
• Mrs. Douglas has her students start with aphorisms in order to grab the reader's attention
• once the focus established, it was held. The majority of students were able to hold the thought that they were talking about the influences of grandmas
• excellent sentence structure
• impressed with the prewriting...it seemed to help...it was nice to see outlines
• focused on a larger element, in this case characterization

Areas in Need of Improvement

• must show how authors use techniques to characterize...
• need stronger controlling ideas...make sure the connection between both works is obvious in the thesis
• more connection between the technique and element and the controlling idea...for instance...it should be clear how the techniques convey the theme...how do they relate to the thesis, in this case...the controlling idea about the influence of grammy's
• retelling of story...plot summary
• seems to be a great deal of confusion between imagery and symbolism...
• omit Passage I and Passage II, refer to the works by the poem title and the workc title
• essay conclusions seem abrupt...needs to be clear that a conclusion is a conclusion...howsa bout a transition?
  

Check out Boq's Blog...

I haven't asked Lesley if I could do this, but she let on that she has created a blog for her classroom. So, hee hee, I've added it to the sidebar under "Other Classroom Blogs." I've also added a link to Frank DiLeo's AP Literature site. Frank is a dynamic teacher from City Honors who uses a blog with his classes. Enjoy.

AP Language and Composition Exam

We have ordered 75 AP Language exams. Mia, Kristine, and Cheryl need to toss the softball around and negotiate to dole out exams. Let's make this happen ASAP.

Summer Reading

Guys, its time we started to discuss the summer reading assignment. In the beginning of the year we reassessed last year's effort and proposed changes to be more successful his year. Mainly, we wanted to rework the list and roll out the program earlier. Here is a link to a .doc version of last year's list.

And here's a picture:
From memory, here's a few changes I'd like to see:
Replace All-Bright Court since it was so hard to find last year.
Get rid of Kavalier and Clay. I read some of it and couldn't make myself read on.
Any other suggestions?

Regents Practice & the Half Day

Today a significant amount of 11th graders took a practice exam in the cafeteria. This time they attacked the Task III essay. Tomorrow we will be grading this exam. Bring a friend!

Blogbad Badblogger

First of all, I apologize for being so blogbad lately. Between grades being due, vacations, and class coverage, I haven't had time to pass much news along. Plus, because of vacation, there hasn't been much news as the AP Vertical Team hasn't met. Tomorrow we'll talk, and I promise another installment of "What's In My Mailbox" very soon.

Week of April 23-27

Quiz on Act 1 Romeo & Juliet Monday
Read Act 2
Complete Study Guide questions for Act 2
SSR on Friday-Bring a book to read

Yay! NEA Grant Winner

Hey folks! Looks like we took a brief blog-cation. I've got a heap of mail to share and and multiple announcements and what not. But, I'll save that for tomorrow. Today, I'd just like to share that I'm fairly confident I was awarded a $500 NEA grant, titled "Drop Everything and Read Bookshelf Awards." I haven't been notified, or anything, but I found this recent announcement online.

Good times. Here's the blurb:

In celebration of National Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) Day, the NEA Foundation and the National Education Association (NEA) offer the D.E.A.R. Bookshelf Awards. These awards are made possible in part with support from HarperCollins Children's Books as part of the NEA's commitment to promote children's literacy and motivate readers of all ages. This program awards $500 to public schools for the purchase of books and reading materials that will entice students to drop everything and read!