Here are some new ideas (5.3.13):

• Do rhetoric and nonfiction with the juniors!  Use AP essay questions as the baseline!
• After my class, students will know...
  • the difference between "affect" and "effect"
  • how to read actively
  • how to incorporate quotes
  • how to use MLA format
  • parts of speech
  • (Consider putting these on the wall, and adding to them.  Perhaps they would be appropriate to add to the syllabus as well?)
• Check out Wizard of Earthsea, per Dr. Perella's recommendation
• Upload the Strunk and White PPT and add to general lesson plans.  Stuff like this is very applicable, particularly to summer school.
• Email English department regarding the writing process so that we can always use the same terminology:
  • The approach:
    • Make sure you understand the prompt.
    • Brainstorm.
    • Create "talking points."
    • Create "threesis."
    • Make graphic organizer.
    • Find textual evidence.
    • Draft.
    • Revise.
  • The lexicon:
    • draft (typed in MLA format)
    • threesis
    • clincher
    • webbing
    • looping? (Ms. Liu's term - do others use it?)
    • topic sentence
    • MLA
• Use the syllabus to guide the pacing of units.
• Formalize writing instruction by regularly examining mentor texts and doing productive peer revision.
• Do more rhetoric with English 10 Honors.  USE THE SPEECH BOOK!  This is particularly important at the end of the year, as we prepare for the world of Bow-Fly.
• Do exit slips for formative assessment even more regularly than you already do.  Be sure to call it formative assessment.
• Do more with constructed responses to literature a la Cumberland High School English department.
• RAFT activities are fun and effective.  Do more of those.
• Require annotated bibliography.
• Add curriculum numbers (i.e. RL.9-10.2) to all assignment sheets.
• Do panel discussion (a la Esner) and debate (a la Bow-Fly) with the classical argument essay.
• Use a formative assessment right before a summative assessment with MCAS preparation.  Continually raise the stakes on the value of open responses (Q1 = 4, Q2 = 8, Q3 = 12).

3 Goals for Next Year

1. Quick feedback to students on assignments and consistent grade reports
2. Nonfiction article of the week - provide samples of New York Times articles to work on together throughout the first few weeks of school, and then have students bring in their own (with a focus).
3. Common assessments (tests, quizzes, projects, essays) for all units.

10,000 hours

This is the year that you have taught at Medford High School for 10,000 hours.  Be an outlier this year.

Bulletin Board

Superstars of C114...Will YOU be the next superstar to come out of Mr. Ambrose's class?

• Arantxa King
• Megan Richard
• Erin Mills
• Loni Sanford
• Cristina Luongo
• Chris Vaudo
• Jamie de Rosas
• Justin Goguen
• Jaquison Xavier
• Joe McCaffrey
• Roger Zurawicki
• Josie Baily-Zona
• Brenna and Kiley Callahan
• Susan and Jason Trinh

Not so long ago, these students sat in the desks of room C114, as students of Mr. Ambrose.  Since then, they have become teachers, soldiers, and music producers.  They have travelled to China, to Cuba, and to Tanzania.  They have attended Stanford University, Brown University, and Harvard University.  They have competed in the Olympics and they have saved lives.  They have impacted the lives of everyone they encountered.

So...what are you going to do today?

In General

Always read the first and last chapter of a book aloud with the class

Terms to use:  "mentor texts," "nonfiction informational text"

Post core values on the wall

Post rubrics on the wall

Post learning expectations on the wall

Use lots of mentor texts

Use Google Docs to have kids create reviews

Use Google Docs in general - after all, you already have so many handouts completed.

Go over heading at the beginning of the year - MLA

Read one nonfiction per week?

Do crosswords

Do more reciprocal teaching model with the template from the Hemingway unit as a model

Use school-wide rubrics twice per expectation per quarter

Measure student learning objectives statistically (use metrics for learning)

Post the above two goals on the wall ("We do...")

Do an analysis of what frameworks we are not currently hitting

Big Paper

Around the Horn

Last Word

Rap Battle Vocabulary

Nonfiction Fridays - Have students gather an NYT article or review one in class - TEACH THIS ORIGINAL FORMAT BELOW.

• M - Main Idea (What is the main idea?)
• D - Details (What details support it?)
• T - Tone (What is the author's tone?)
• S - Structure (What is the structure of the piece?)
• O - Opinion (What is your opinion on the piece?)

Create letters from last year handout and distribute at the beginning of the year

Get document project like at Brighton High School, and use it for going over PSAT, SAT, MCAS, and peer revision

Use all of the 2009 PSAT.  You have it in your SAT binder, along with the answer guide.  None of these kids will have seen that particular test before.

In fact, use all of those great PSAT and SAT resources.  But think of unit ways to use them, such as with the paired reading exercise.

Thursday night -> Friday night for first five weeks of school = PSAT homework to build fundamental skills.

Put grading policy right on the syllabus.

• Homework that is handed in on time gets full credit.  Homework that is handed in a day late gets half credit.
• Papers need to be handed in as hard copies - no digital submissions for final drafts.
• If a paper is late, it loses a half a letter grade per day late.
• On the day that papers are due, students must either submit a paper or a statement saying that they are not handing in the paper.

First couple of weeks - teach them how to be in class by attempting all of the various models of activities we would do.  Build skills for being in class - note-taking, studying, revising, walk with a line, writing down assignments.  Get into best habits.  How about a lesson on Core Values?

Really go back and look at the website and notes to prepare for 2012-2013 school year.  Make sure the calendar works.  Make sure we've added all these new ideas.  Make sure the syllabus reflects what we actually do.  Have the syllabus include units of study. 

Accountability!  Check more HW during class in order to give immediate feedback.

Give students a chance to pair and share first before getting back into a large group.  This way, we'll hear from all voices.

How about some Latin roots for real?  Let's really build on what Jody Liu has done with the freshmen.

Really allow the students a chance to build on ideas in discussion by challenging them with follow-up questions.

Assess what you have for Quizdom presentations and use them

Unlocking a poem - use this handout

Do more essay processing in class, such as in Dr. Crouch's class and in summer school.  Do this for each essay, for honors and standard.  Really work to teach the skill of essay writing in the MLA format in this skills-based curriculum.

Summer School

Put all plans in big binder and have it adhere to curriculum

Use each school-wide rubric once

Use more nonfiction texts!

• Drake
• Book of speeches
• State of the Union

Greatest hits of short story unit

Max's Popular Music Unit

Doug's MLA lesson (in lesson plan library)

Use more jigsaw

Lots more pop music - Jay Z especially

How evil are you? video

Personal essay assignment (using Common Application prompts)

MLA format - write at least one formal essay (short story analysis) using this

Teach grammar via SAT Writing questions

Resume and cover letter

Catcher in the Rye unit

Book Club Fridays - read your summer reading book

• entering 10 - Hunger Games
• entering 11 - All Souls
• entering 12 - Kite Runner

Oral presentations - your plans for after high school (a variation of the college project)

Satire

Reciprocal Teaching - poetry - use grade appropriate poems

• grade 10 - sonnets
• grade 11 - Sandberg and Whitman
• grade 12 - World poetry

SAT/PSAT

On the first day of tutoring, get all students names, email addresses, and other contact info

Send out summaries of each tutoring session to students and parents

Grade 10

Perhaps do Catcher first

Begin with active reading strategies lessons

Revision Symbols

Paragraph Structure (Terms - Hook, Clincher, Quote Sandwich, etc.)

When doing this paragraph structure lesson, use this graphic organizer.  Model the completion of the organizer on the overhead and then have the students write the paragraph with a partner.

MCAS Prep:  Honors - complete items independently, Standard - complete things as a group (read aloud, etc.)

Field trip to MFA with Ms. Peritore's class

Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

Jon Brown's Reading Logs

Do more with popular music, using Max Heinegg's songs as poetry unit

List units of study on syllabus, not quarters

Doug's MLA lesson (in lesson plan library)

Do more with the writing and revising folder

Use more jigsaw

How Evil Are You?

More grammar

Typical HW assignment for a reading assignment: 

• 10 S - quotes or quotes and response
• 10 H - quotes and response or response paper

Catcher in the Rye - after chapter 4, use a small group characterization activity in which each group asserts what we know about their assigned character through direct and indirect characterization.  Have them provide evidence to support their claims.  Have them say what the character tells us about Holden's character.  This is better than doing it in the carousel method.

Could potentially introduce ideas regarding literary criticism during the sophomore year, with a focus on a particular school of criticism for a particular work (i.e. Othello = Marxist, Catcher = Psychoanalytical) 

Grade 11

Hemingway Unit:  6 word story activity

• Hemingway's winning story:  "For sale:  baby shoes, never worn"

Read On Writing excerpt the night before and write a response

Idea for Macabre Unit: 

• Poe
• Flannery O'Connor
• As I Lay Dying
• Titus Andronicus
• Stephen King
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Begin with active reading strategies lessons

Revision Symbols, peer revision in class using o'clock partners

Teach MLA format early in the year, and use this format for all essays

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/

Access prior knowledge:  rhetoric review lesson

Incorporating Quotes

Early in the year, do a mini unit on Elements of Style - with a test and with guided revisions to focus in class writing activities like peer revision

SAT Prep:  Give students a 5 minute reading period to read passage for main idea and then answer questions in groups

When doing this paragraph structure lesson, use this graphic organizer.  Model the completion of the organizer on the overhead and then have the students write the paragraph with a partner.

Crucible Web Quest

Community Service Learning Web Quest

List units of study on syllabus, not quarters

Doug's MLA lesson (in lesson plan library)

Do more with the writing and revising folder

Use more jigsaw

The artifact exchange always takes longer than you think it does.  Really allow time for kids to share, to write, and to revise.  Remember that this could become their finished college essay.

Also, be sure to do the personal narrative assignment with To Kill a Mockingbird.  After all, that did become Michael Montiel's epic college essay.

Introduction to literary criticism PowerPoint, based on Dr. Crouch's ideas

Also, an introduction to writing introduction, based on Dr. Crouch's ideas

More grammar

Typical HW for reading assignment:  response paper or Blackboard posts

Do more American poetry.  Be sure to do Poe, especially "The Valentine."  That is a great model piece because it is a riddle, and there are so many great allusions, puns, metaphors, etc.  You could have them write their own riddle poem.  Base it on Taylor's lesson from summer school.

Yearbook

More autograph pages

Space after senior picture to write comments

Faculty page - include central administration

Faculty - "Directors" not "Chair"

Create a definite budget

Include police officers

Do faculty first

No car page

Password for photos:  J7xTnp8d

Use "training" tab to teach students about Yearbook Ave

Prices for extended edition:

8 bw 25o copies $545

16 bw 250 copies $935

8 color 250 copies $1115

16 color 250 copies $2175

Dates for senior portraits:

5/23 and 5/24 - 3-9 PM - studio

7/2 and 7/3 - 9 AM - 5 PM - studio

9/17-9/21 - 2-8 PM - MHS

10/24-10/26 - 2-8 PM - MHS

11/26-11/28 - 3-9 PM - studio

Mr. Ambrose's PD Records

Saturday, 12.31.2012 - 2 hours, planning student schedule for Endicott survey

Monday, 2.27.2012 - 2 hours, working on school and community summary for NEASC self-study

Tuesday, 2.28.2012 - 1 hour, gathering evidence for NEASC standard 3

Friday, 3.2.2012 - 1/2 hour, sorting standard 3 evidence with Dave Blauch

Friday, 3.16.2012 - 1/2 hour, discussing NEASC visit and planning agenda for next standards committee meeting

Tuesday, 3.20.2012 - 1/2 hour, revising templates for standards committee to use in creating self-study notes - Download template here

Monday, 3.26.2012 - 2 hours, gathering evidence for Instruction and Assessment subcommittees.  See files in ELA department office for materials

Tuesday, 4.3.2012 - 1 hour, creating standards committee templates for report writing

Thursday, 4.5.2012 - 1 hour, revising templates, working on templates, distributing templates

Wednesday, 4.11.2012 - 1 hour, steering committee work 

Thursday, 4.26.2012 - 1 hour, creating agendas for upcoming standards committees meetings

Wednesday, 5.2.2012 - 1 hour, wrap up and assessment of previous standards committee meeting

Wednesday, 5.2.2012 - 1 and 1/2 hours, working with Dave Blauch and others to organize and categorize evidence for Standard 3 (Instruction)

Monday, 7.2.2012 - 2 hours, prepping for NEASC writers meeting and facilitating NEASC writers meeting (12:15-2:15 PM)