All is accessible...

Today is the day for students to help one another. All of the information for the portfolio assignment has been given to them each day for the last four days. As such, today is the day for students to assist each other if they still have questions about the assignment. My biggest piece of advice is to not over think the assignment. A simple sentence is all that is needed in terms of evidence that a student has met a standard. For the Listening & Speaking Standard, the students are simply to reflect on a presentation they have given at some point during the year. Paragraphs for this assignment should not be any longer than four or five sentences.

For fourth period, this assignment is due by the beginning of the class time tomorrow (finals)if the student wants to watch the planned movie, or at the end if the student cannot get the paper done prior to class start. In any event, the assignment is due at the end of class time (no exceptions).

The same goes for fifth period, except that their final class day is Wednesday.

Good luck to all! I know that you are all equipped with the information you need to complete this assignment!

Well...

Today was just another round-up at the Nystrom Corral. Just another day of reading, and writing, and listening, and speaking about the portfolio assignment. Hold tight on those reins! The end of the trail is coming to a close!

Portfolio Work Session

Today was spent working on portfolios. The Romeo & Juliet essay was handed in, which means that the portfolio assignment is the only assignment left to work on. The sooner students get it done, the larger the chance of watching a movie during finals!

Who will finish first?

Today was a work day. Students worked on either their Romeo & Juliet essay, or their portfolio assignment, or both. The essay is due tomorrow, but I received three good essays from fifth period today. I'm looking forward to reading the others tomorrow!

Due:
Thursday - Romeo & Juliet essay
Finals - portfolio assignment on finals date

Portfolio Assignment

While students are frantically working hard on their Romeo & Juliet essay, we took the time to focus on one last writing assignment. Students were given the Portfolio Assignment which includes looking at the California English Language Arts Standards and reflecting on their own writing to determine whether they met the Standards or not. They are to write a letter to themselves that they will enjoy reading in the future. The portfolio is kept for each year of their high school academic career and will be given to them when they become seniors. The written assignment can be located in the file folder labeled "Tuesday" on the closet door when they enter the classroom.

Homework: Keep working on both essays!
R&J is due Thursday, the Portfolio assignment is due during finals.

Taken from Mr. Staiano's page...

Due to my illness, I have copy/pasted Mr. Staiano's page to fill in for Monday's activities. As he was gracious enough to teach both of my classes, this is appropriate.

This is the End...
So today we had a quick look at the calendar for the rest of the year. I checked off essay rough drafts and students who had them completed worked in response groups. Other students spent the period trying to catch up.

R&J Essay formatting

Today we discussed what the requirements are for the essay. The introduction needs to connect to another source other than Romeo & Juliet. The connection can be another book, a movie, or a real life experience. It should also include a brief plot summary, and then the all-important thesis.

The body paragraphs need to have a minimum of a topic sentence that connects to the theme, context of what part of the play is being written about, a quote (that is introduced in the same sentence as the quote), a paraphrase of the quote, and commentary about how the quote fits the topic sentence and thesis. There should be at least three body paragraphs for a solid essay.

The conclusion should consist of a restatement of the thesis, a connection to outside the text or student's life, and a final sentence that will give me reason to contemplate the world around all of us.

Students have requested that I put the paragraph I used today in class on my blog for future reference. Below is that paragraph:

Middle Body Paragraph:
(TS)In the middle of the play, Shakespeare exemplifies how love hurts more than it pleases by showing how Juliet feels about her impending nuptials. (Context)In act 4, scene 1, Juliet and the Friar are found discussing the second wedding for Juliet which has been arranged by her parents to help her get past her perceived tears over her cousin. The family is not aware that the guilt lies in the fact that she is already married to Romeo, and not over the loss of her cousin. (Quote)When she is discussing the upcoming wedding with the Friar, she tells the Friar, “Do thou but call my resolution wise / And with this knife I’ll help it presently” (4.1.53-4). (Paraphrase)What Shakespeare means is that without a resolution to her problem, she will kill herself. (Commentary)The love that Juliet has for her true husband is one that has no boundaries, and she shows how she would rather die than have to live with another man. Just as in real life, Shakespeare shows that there is deep pain that can be associated with love. He reveals the depth that love can hold over a person and the pain that can be created by others when a person finds love.

Homework: Rough draft of essay is due Monday.