September 10, 2019

All classes must bring an independent reading book to class tomorrow.

Period 1, 2:
Class started with fluency writing.

We reviewed our reading of Beowulf yesterday, discussing our understanding.

We set out to read a large chunk of text today, reading from page nine all the way to line 370 on page 27.

At this point, you should be aware of:
1. Who Grendel is and his motivation.
2. Hrothgar's reactions to Grendel.
3. Beowulf's initial character description and the way he is received.

Tonight, try to add one more entry into your dialectal journal focusing on Beowulf and your initial impression of him.

Period 3, 4:
Class started with fluency writing.

We discussed the following questions (in groups) about pages 9-21 of The Alchemist:

• How does Santiago’s father react when his son tells him that he wants to travel? What does he say about travelers?
• Why does the gypsy woman say that Santiago’s dream is difficult to interpret? (p.12-14). 
• Describe Santiago’s Dream. What does the old fortune teller tell him it means?
• What is the lie in Santiago’s book according to the old man?
• At the beginning, Santiago thinks the old man might be a gypsy like the woman. How does the old man gain Santiago’s trust?
• How does Santiago strike you as a character so far? (Pick a defendable word?

Independently, we read from page 21 to the break at page 25, selecting one passage to enter into the dialectal journal in the English Notebook. We continued by a shared reading through page 32, discussing and making one more entry into our journals. Homework is to read through page 47 and make one journal entry.

Period 6:
Read a Memoir: 
Okay, new tool. We will use it a lot this year, so it is worth a bit of time to teach you how it works. It's called Formative and it will help me understand more about you as a reader. Basically, I put a short reading into Formative and then I add questions right into the reading. You answer the questions as you read. (I can tell from looking at my class lists in Formative that some of you have used this before.)

Directions: 

1. Go to http://goformative.com 
2. Choose "Student"
3. Sign in with your district Google account. YOU ALREADY HACE AN ACCOUNT PROVIDED BY ME. Don't sign up.
4. Find the assignment called "Us and Them" 
5. Answer the questions as you read. Do not skip questions. If you change your mind about an answer you can go back and change it. 
6. If you experience technical difficulties do not panic. Just ask for help. We are here for you.