December 2, 2015

We started class with 15 minutes of independent reading time. Students were encouraged to watch for new and interesting words to use for their Writer's Notebook entry today. My word today was ostracizing, which means excluding; however, in this case, it means something more like ignoring. In The Catcher in the Rye, when Holden is trying to talk to his sister, he says, "She was ostracizing the [blank] out of me" (Salinger 166). I'm not a big fan of this character, and I'm only finishing the book because I'm almost done with it. The kids told me it would get better, but I haven't seen it yet!

We did a little analysis of the reading practice, working in groups to challenge the questions and uncover the answers in each text. This is a good activity because it makes students really consider the text as they answer questions. (Third period will do this tomorrow--we're still playing catch-up from Monday.)

We looked at the short answer responses we wrote and highlighted the different parts of the response in different colors: one color for the answer, one color for the text evidence, and one color for the explanation. If students were unable to highlight one of these parts, they should recognize that their response needs improvement. (Third period will do this tomorrow.)

I returned the "Messages" essay to students. Students who would like to revise for points back should do so before the end of the day Monday, 12/7, and turn it in on Classroom. I'm available for tutorials before and after school Thursday, Friday, and Monday and during B block on Friday.

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