Thanks for the Interest

Thanks to those who expressed an interest in National History Day!

Lily will represent the juniors from my classes...good luck to her as she delves deeply into psyche of one the greats who impacted history.

Are You Interested?

Would you like to enter a research paper in the National History Day competition?

I have two spots...one of which is already taken!

I need to know on Monday if you are interested in this opportunity to compete both at the state and national levels...yes, this might mean a trip to Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC!

Interested? Check out the National History Day website.

What is due Monday (Feb. 23) if you choose to compete? Your selected "Individual in History" and the title of your paper. The paper itself IS NOT due until March 9.

Should you choose to enter this awesome opportunity, you and I will work closely to draft and edit/revise this paper for competition. In addition, I will allow your substituting this work in place of several of the assignments the rest of your classmates will complete between now and March 9.

Be thinking...and deciding...and then let me know!

End-of-Level Exam

The End-of-Level Literacy Exam is March 10-11.

Due to this, we will not have a test on The Great Gatsby vocabulary. Instead, I want us to focus for the next three weeks on some specialized literary and grammar terms. These lists/PowerPoints will be posted on the class wiki on Tuesday (Feb. 17).

We are now officially in test-crunch mode!

We can do it; yes, we can!

What's Next...

Just a quick reminder...

• Essays are due!
• This week, we will review The Great Gatsby...then test!
• Vocab test this week also.

I do hope you have taken advantage of this extra to read! Remember, within your essay, you have to support your commentary by referencing specific page numbers.

Keep reading!

Ready to Review?

Completed a novel for your "out-of-class" read? Now ready to write a book review? Please click here to access the rubric for your book reviews.

Remember you may want to check out some sites and peruse some book reviews.

1. Mrs. Gillmore's Book Reviews
2. New York Times Book Reviews
3. USA Today ~ Young Adult Novels : These are too short but a good place to check out some of the newest novels.

What have your read lately?

I am reading Inkheart. So far? I definitely recommend this one!

Icy Homework!

I hope everyone is safe and warm and enjoying a day (or two?) off from school.

Some Gentle Reminders to 1A and Assignment for 1B:

1. For Monday or Tuesday of next week (February 2-3), read through chapter five of the The Great Gatsby. Based on what you have read thus far, draft a letter from Gatsby to another character. Click here for the prompt and note-taking chart.
2. First blog post is due! I plan to grade those while we having this nice, "cool" break...hopefully, we will continue to have electricity! Topic? Your thoughts on materialism.
3. Due to the BHS's reading expectations, please be reading an "outside of class" novel. REMEMBER: a book review of each novel must be posted to your blog and Good Reads = the assessment for each novel. I hope to complete the book review rubric and post this document for you soon.

What are your thoughts so far on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel?

A Great Day in English 11

The guys dominated our class today thanks to D'Mac...and all the girls who chose to not attend class today! Thanks, Emily and Gabby, for gracing us with your presence!