September 9, 2019

All classes:

We reviewed the options and requirements for your independent reading projects. Click here to review. Note: You need to bring an independent reading book to class on Wednesday. If you want to borrow one, you must do so BEFORE your class period on Wednesday.

Today was a day to set up your English Notebook. You will notice it is posted in Google Classroom as an assignment. You will want to bookmark the page when you log on to your computers in class. I will help you (if you were absent) to set up your notebook upon your return. You will also see the table of contents for your class period posted in Google Classroom. 

Period 1 and 2: Seminar 9

Dialectal Journal: Directions here. If absent, you will need to copy the journal template into your notebook.

We got a taste of the Anglo-Saxon, Old English language of Beowulf. 
To start, here is a copy of the lines we read in Old English and a link to listen to the audio (lines 1-11) from a website.

Here are the Slides from today.

Period 3 and 4: Seminar 10

Dialectal Journal: Directions here. If absent, you will need to copy the journal template into your notebook.

We began with the Prologue of The Alchemist. Everyone added one passage of their choosing from the Prologue and analyzed it in their dialectal journal. We read until page nine, and homework is to read until the break on page 21.

Period 6: English 9

We read one "two-minute story" from the "Culture of Thought" archive together. It is titled "Two Minutes on the Pier". Afterward, we discussed observations, likes, and dislikes. Next, groups received a different, two-minute story and were asked to find similarities to the class example, noting that if they are the same kind of writing, they have some key elements.

Next, we noted that all the stories were memoirs. As such, a memoir a memory of a moment or event, both public or private, that took place in the writer’s life. Memoirs are nonfiction, personal narratives.

Memoirs use the personal pronoun "I," are true, have significant relationships, are focused on a SMALL moment, and have specific detail and emotion.

As we continue our study of reading and writing memoirs, we will attempt to do the same things in our writing that the mentor texts we read do. 

September 6, 2019

Every class participated in Writing Response Groups today, receiving feedback on their poem (Raised by, Honest, or Interview, depending on your class period).

See the Slides here.
The writing response group sheet is here.

If you were absent, please find two people to read your poem (in any class period of mine) and give you feedback. 

Final drafts, for every class, are due Thursday, 9/12/2019, before midnight (on Google Classroom).

September 5, 2019

In periods one through four (Seminar), we collaboratively built background for our class novels. Please see the links in Google Classroom for each period's introduction.

Period 1:
Period 1's Beowulf introduction
“Raised by” OR “Honest” poem due FRIDAY - bring a copy to class!!!

Period 2:
Period 2's Beowulf introduction
“Raised by” poem due FRIDAY - bring a copy to class!!!

Period 3:
Period 3's The Alchemist introduction
Interview poem due FRIDAY - bring a copy to class!!!

Period 4:
Period 4's The Alchemist introduction
Interview poem due FRIDAY - bring a copy to class!!!



Period 6:
In class, we continued our study of six-word memoirs and drafted / revised three. 

“Raised by” OR “Honest” poem due FRIDAY - bring a copy to class!!!

September 4, 2019

Seminar 9 (periods one and two)
Today we checked our Beowulf. If you were absent, please go to the library as soon as possible and check out a copy.

We began our introduction to the text, and the Slides for the background information will be posted here (and in Google Classroom).

Seminar 10 (periods three and four)
We read the poem "Invictus" and analyzed it while also reviewing my expectations for annotations. Attached here are the Slides. Please review them today (if you were absent). 

English 9 (period six)
To kick off our memoir unit, we made lists. If you are absent, take some time to make a list of three to five:
- A time I've been embarrassed was ... OR something funny that happened to me is...
- What are things that annoy you?
- I remember trying to learn...
- A moment that changed me was...
- A tough decision I've made is...

After, we learned about six-word memoirs and worked as groups to analyze potential characters, plots, themes, and settings for the memoirs in our groups. Then, we began to draft some six-word memoirs ourselves.

September 3, 2019

All classes drafted today.
Period 1 - Drafting either "Raised by..." or "Honest Poem"
Period 2 - Drafting either "Raised by..." or "Honest Poem"
Period 3 - Drafting Interview Poem
Period 4 - Drafting Interview Poem
Period 6 - Drafting either "Raised by..." or "Honest Poem"
Rough (but complete) drafts are due FRIDAY.

Reminder:
If you have not filled out the parent contact form, please do as soon as possible. When you do, alert me IN CLASS so I can adjust your grade. No notification, no grade adjustment.

If you switched into my class OR between periods, please join Google Classroom for the correct period AND leave the GClassroom for the class in which you are no longer. (Codes are found on your syllabus).

August 29, 2019

SEMINAR 9 / ENGLISH 9
We began the period with fluency writing. If you missed it, you missed it. There will be fluency writes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Students made a list in their journals of things that reminded them of childhood. I gave them the following categories:

1. Food

2. People

3. Places

4. Games/books/movies/TV

5. Smells

6. Activities

We listened to Kelly Normal Ellis' poem "Raised by Women" and annotated a copy (click here to print). Classes also reviewed and annotated the mentor texts with the focus on what could be used for imitation (for ideas, craft, and structure).

For this poem, you will be required to:

1. Start/end the poem and stanzas in the way Ellis does.

2. Include hyphenated adjectives (boogaloo-dancing, for example).

3. Use relevant dialogue

After reviewing the poem and determining what a good imitation of a "raised by" poem would contain, the class began to sort through their lists and determine what they may want to write about. 

We will draft on Tuesday. Period 2 is the grade-level assembly for ninth graders.

SEMINAR 10
If you were absent: 
We began the period with fluency writing. If you missed it, you missed it. There will be fluency writes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Today we began working towards our first writing assignment. We started the period by completing the identity questionnaire linked here (Identity poems and questionnaire). If you can, print it and fill it out OR answer the questions in your notebook. These answers will be shared semi-publically, so do not write something you don't want others to know.

After completing the questions, students partnered and shared their responses. Your partner will be selected for you if you were absent. 

You will be writing an identity poem about your partner using the mentor texts (also linked above) as inspiration. Classes also reviewed and annotated the mentor texts with the focus on what could be used for imitation (for ideas, craft, and structure).

We will begin drafting in class on Tuesday. 

Tomorrow (Friday) is grade-level assemblies (period three for tenth grade).

Welcome Back!

Dear Parents and Families,

It’s the first day. Your student is missing summer, and on top of that, they likely have a half-dozen new teachers. I get it. It may have been longer ago than I’d like to admit, but I remember the feeling, even if I cannot remember all of the particulars.

So your student has my name on his or her schedule, and you might be wondering, “Who is this guy?” Well, let me answer that question.

My name is Joe Ferro and I’m incredibly excited to share this next school year with your student. This is my first year at Point Loma High School, but my thirteenth overall. My background is in Seminar education, and I have high expectations for all. My passion is for the teaching of writing - especially for giving students tools to break from formula (with which, by now, many are comfortable). In addition to my daily role as a teacher, I am also a consultant for the San Diego Area Writing Project, an organization that supports teachers in their teaching of writing. Historically speaking, I was an English and Spanish major at the University of San Diego, where I furthered my studies there for my master’s degree in teaching. That, however, seems like a long time ago now!

In my personal life, I am married to a hairdresser, Louanne, so I haven’t paid for a haircut in a decade, and I have a four-year-old son named Ezra who keeps me on my toes. This means I go from a day spent with teenagers (yours) to evenings but with a toddler (mine). Needless to say I have developed an immense amount of patience. When I’m not in the classroom, I’m a voracious reader, but I also love writing, running, and enjoying this beautiful city in which we live.

Although this introduction is brief, I want it to serve as an open door to you as families of students in my classroom. In order for our team to succeed, it is important that we are on the same page, and that may mean periodic communication. I hope that you were able to easily fill out the Google Form with its link is attached to my syllabus. In doing so, it will give me the opportunity to have your contact information. My goal is to send out bulletins about what is going on in my classes every two weeks.  Of course, we know how the best-laid plans go, but if I tell you now, you can hold me accountable!

High school can be a challenging time, especially for those students in transition between schools. Knowing that it is my goal to make my classroom a safe place in which students can thrive while also being comfortable with discomfort, optimal positioning where we see true growth. 

Let’s have a wonderful year together.
_________________________________________________________________________

Please click here to complete the parent contact form.

Below are class syllabi:

• Seminar 9
• Seminar 10
• English 9