Classes Homework – assigned on Sept. 23rd
Latin
Review the chapter Do exercises D, E, and F Next week there will be a quiz on Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Idioms.
Chemistry
Read Mod 2 and do the ‘on your own”’ questions
Elementary Marine Biology
You should be done with reading the first Chapter, and have found a box for your diorama.
Writing High School
Students are to write an essay on a movie.
Their thesis must be specific and narrow enough to cover in 1-2 pages.
The thesis must present a position that they can defend.
They must back up their position with details.
For example, this would be a bad start… ‘Star Wars is the best movie ever.’ It’s too generic and broad.
Better – ‘The relationships between Luke, Hans, and Princess Leah provide the heart of the original Star Wars movie.’ This has narrowed the focus, and provides more interest. Students are more likely to produce specific details to back up their claim. Also, as it did in class, this topic sparks interactions. I immediately had kids disagreeing and providing their own perspectives.
Providing an argument with specific details is important. Kids tend to write things like the following, which is really not saying anything at all. As your kids write this week try to help them see the difference between what I’ve included below and giving actual examples from the movies.
“Star Wars is the best movie ever. It is fun, and entertaining and I like watching it. Everyone should see this movie because parts of it are funny and other parts are exciting. There is some romance that girls will like and action that boys will like.”
Students are to write an essay about a movie they like with a good, narrowed down topic that is supported by detailed examples from the movie. No generic statements that could apply to anything.
20th Century History
Students were assigned a couple weeks ago a person to do a short report on, which they will be giving orally in class. Here are the assignments
Terrance – William McKinley
Morgan – Quen Liliuokalani
Christopher – Theodore Roosevelt
Codey – Ghandi
Daniel – Booker T Washington
Dani – Carry Nation
Nick – Alfred Bernard Nobel
Garrett – Helen Keller
Josh – The Wright Brothers
Raquel – Albert Einstein
Megan – Pablo Picasso
Emily – Mary Cassatt
Corbin – Henry Ford
Mykel – Guglielmo Marconi
Alyssa – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson
Randi – Sanford B. Dole
Writing Jr. High
Students are to write a paragraph on a movie.
Their topic sentence must be specific.
The paragraph should include real, supporting details.
This is an example of a paragraph a student wrote for me.
“Star Wars is the best movie ever. It is fun, and entertaining and I like watching it. Everyone should see this movie because parts of it are funny and other parts are exciting. There is some romance that girls will like and action that boys will like. Really, this is the best movie and you should watch it.”
The paper went on in a very similar vein for a whole page…never giving a specific example, just speaking in broad, generic terms. We are trying to work on that. The hard thing is, at this age, it can be hard for students to understand what I am getting at. Their focus is on writing the paragraph or paper as long as I say it has to be so they can be done, but not on what they are actually saying. I am frequently met with a blank stare when I tell them, this paragraph didn’t tell me anything. They respond with…’but I told you it was funny and good.’ and are truly confused.
So, as your students continue to write over the coming weeks, point out examples of when their writing is too broad, unfocused, or generic. Try to get them to include details and specific examples. Point out these things in other examples of writing, maybe reading some movie reviews online.
Mythology
Students should have made good headway in the first Percy Jackson book. We have been striving for 6 chapters a week (many students are going faster than that). So they should be near the end of the book.
The students have also claimed their first mythological being to do a report on for our “Grace Myth’s Encyclopedia” Remember, these will be reprinted in book format for everyone to read…so we want lots of information. For main characters, like the central gods,we will continue to add in information as the year progresses, but this should be a good start on that. I am avoiding a page requirement because I want a complete account of the mythological being. Illustrations are welcome. Here is what we have currently being worked on.
Linkon – The Fates
Corbin – Minotaur
Leilani – Hades
Randi – Hecate
Brendon – Nemesis
Christopher – Zeus
Raquel – Aphrodite
Desiree – Medusa
Garrett – Athena
Shawn – Apollo
Emily – Poseidon
Megan – Hestia
Codey – Ares
Terrance – Hercules
Jessica – Dionysus
Josh – Persisus
Daniel – Demeter
Alyssa – Kronos (Chronos)
Morgan – Hermes
General Science
Read Mod. 2, Pages 35-48
Do the ‘On Your Own Questions” 2.1-2.8
Write out the definitions for the terms
Do Review Questions 1-14
