Le Scribe de Period 5

Hi 5th hour! This is EmilyL scribing again.

We began class with Ms. Smith passing out some purple papers. They were American Lit. summer homework. (GROAN!) We have to read two books off the approved list and write 3 paragraphs about one of them. This is to prepare us for our American Literature Independent Study (ALIS) next year.

Smith then proceeded to tell us what she thought of each book on the ALIS list:

Book and Author	Smith’s Comments
Anthem by Ayn Rand	This book is an utopian novel, Smith personally didn’t like it, but some of us might.
East of Eden By John Steinbeck	Smith loves this book; it made her like John Steinbeck. It is a longer book about a family.
The Things They Carried By Tim O’Brien	This a Vietnam war story that Smith recommends to anyone interested in war or adventure.
Black Boy By Richard Wright	Smith says this is a classic about an African American book.
A Raisin the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry	Smith says this is a good book that was made into a play.
Yellow Raft on a Blue River By Michael Dorris	I missed this one and can’t remember any details, but the summary I looked on Google says it is growing up novel.
Bless Me Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya	This is a novel on spirits much like Isabel Allende books. All regular 10th graders read this.
House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros	I missed this one, but I found out that it is a growing up novel about a girl in a Chicago slum.
All is Quiet on the Western Front By Eric Marie Remarque	This is another war novel.
The Old Man and the Sea By Ernest Hemingway	The plot is summarized as follows The man fishes. He catches a fish. He dies. The end. Smith DOES NOT recommend this book. She hated it.
My Antonia By Willa Cather	Smith has never read this but it is on her to read list this summer.
The Awakening By Kate Chopin	This a feminism novel.
The Shining By Stephen King	I don’t remember what Smith said about this one either but it is Stephen King so be warned.
The Jungle By Upton Sinclair	Smith recommends this one for anyone who has history interest. However, since it is about meatpacking you must have a strong stomach.

Then Ms. Smith passed out MAP scores and we had a discussion how if you decreased, it doesn't not mean you became "stupider," it just means that you were already brilliant and it was hard for you to increase.

Smith also made an announcement about documentary interviews. (See below post)

Then we moved to our main event: a video! The video was on Manazar and what camp life was like. After the video, we discussed it. Important points from the discussion:

• There are many parallels to the Holocaust.
• The Japanese people did not fight back because it is not in their culture.
• The way children were affected. i.e. They played mess hall instead of house.
• The way the video opened our eyes to the differences from what is commonly heard and what happened.

Homework:

• Semester project
• You may want to start thinking about the summer reading assignment for ALIS.
• Sign up for a documentary interview. We are better than period 2, we need more interviews than them!
• Finals start Friday.

Countdown:

2 More English classes. :(
6 more School Days including finals

Have a Great Tuesday!

Period 2; a scribe for you.

Class started with a bliss.
Ms. Smith was not a miss.
We got our grammar packets back.
My group gave back the quizzes.
If you think there is a mistake in you quiz, see me for corrections.
We split the show and got to work, upon our semester projects.
The homework is a follows:
For those who have not finished the survey, finish it with haste.
Ms. Smith marvelous way of teaching depends on your answers.
You must keep working on you semester project, for it will creep up fast.

April 26, 2007: An Amazing Day with Period 2

Hey, guys! Here's what went on today in Smith's magnificent Period 2 Honors English class, which, of course, is insanely awesome and continues to be better than Period 5...

Today was a slightly more relaxed one, and the day began as usual with Mrs. Smith’s greeting of “Hello, everybody!” and our enthusiastic response of "Hello!" Following this, we turned in our grammar packets and our wonderful 1984 essays. For those of you that may have been absent, the prompt was:

1984 is a warning that Orwell wrote in the 1940’s. What was he warning us about (2 specifics with explanations)? How has it come true in our society (2 specifics with explanation)? The essay must be typed, double-spaced, and in formal essay format.

After turning in our assignments, we proceeded to take our grammar test over the use of punctuation marks, which we completed while discussing the nicknames each member of the class should have. There was some debate as to whether or not Brian's nickname should be "Tank", and Mrs. Smith named Chelsea "Sparkle" and Endsley "Diva". Alex also suggested that Declan's nickname be "Duckie" instead of "Danger" or "Dandelion". After this entertaining conversation ended and all the tests were turned in, Mrs. Smith turned on music written about 1984 and we spent the rest of the period relaxing while listening to and discussing the music. We listened to "I Did It Just the Same", "Sex Crime", "For the Love of Big Brother", "Julia", and "Doubleplusgood". The lyrics to these songs as well as others that we did not have time to listen to in class are posted on Mrs. Smith's website under Documents. After listening to each song, Mrs. Smith had us react to it and share our thoughts. One aspect of the songs that we noticed was that their lyrics and their tone seemed to contradict one another. For instance, the song "Sex Crime" seemed as though it would be a low-key, remorseful song, but it was actually very upbeat. The class contributed well to the discussion, and the hour was over before we knew it.

The homework is as follows:

• Continue working on your semester projects
• If you want your own copy of Farewell to Manzanar, please have it by Tuesday
• Finish the class survey found on Mrs. Smith's webpage if you have not already done so

Thanks guys! Hope you have a nice night and a great Friday tomorrow!

Period Two's Awesome Scribe-y-ness

Sadly, Smith was once again gone today. What we did today with Ms. Ritzdorf goes as follows:

At the beginning of class, we picked a comment from a blog this week and played a sort of ‘game.’

• 1st person says the comment
• Next three people say why it is intriguing
• Person who picked the comment gets the last word

• 1st comment: Kathrynt
• It may be interesting because it mentions the “place where there is no darkness” or because it may not be true—maybe Winston doesn’t look up to O’Brien as a leader. Julia and O'Brien also are opposites.

• 2nd comment: Endsleye – antique shop is a trap

• 3rd comment: Kimc- Monday’s comment – Humanity isn’t possible without love.
• It includes definitions of love, and what humanity is . It also defines humanity in so many different ways, including that it seperates us from animals.
• ~ It is interesting because of our semester long project -- How literature portrays
  people.
  
  
  
  *Events this week have caused us to question ourselves, our rights, and how we can make a positive difference in the society* ~Ms. Ritzdorf
  
  
  The second item on our agenda was Grammer lesson 14 (Editing and Proofreading worksheet 1) as a class, sentence by sentence.
  
  Finally, it was Reading Time.
  
  
  
  HOMEWORK:
  -Grammer if you don't have it done
  -READ!! We have fishbowl tomorrow over pages 224-274! Discussers and Presenters be ready! Band people and anyone else who will be gone-- you must make this up by going online and reading the blog comments and adding a decent number of thoughtful comments of your own!

Mission: Period 5 scribe

*Mission Impossible theme plays in the background*

“Your mission, should you choose to accept…”

We accepted.

(A sound recording follows)

Hey there Period 5!

I’ve posted our scribe!

(We’ll pretend that really did rhyme and that everyone thought it was terribly clever…even though it wasn’t…)

We started in disorder, as usual…getting our computers, talking to our friends as though we hadn’t seen them in years, even if is was only yesterday, first period, or even lunch since had last seen each other. We calmed down slightly after the bell rang.

Then Ms. Smith went over our homework with us, which happens to be:

Read 1984 pages 117-147 and be prepared to take a quiz and fishbowl tomorrow.

Do the grammar lesson 14: Exercises 12-14. (We’re almost done!!)

We also have to behave ourselves as we have a substitute, Mrs. Ritzdorf is HIGHLY suspected of having that privilege tomorrow.

Now to the important stuff, the actual occurrences of the hour…*drum roll*…REGISTRATION! We received some papers. No, I revise that, a LOT of papers. A general list of what we should have received is:

A yellow card stock paper with mostly charts. On the front is where one fills in their class requests for first semester. DO NOT LOOSE THIS! Do not write below the line above which states in print “DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE.” Just for good measure, I repeat: do not write in the area with the stamped “First Semester.” Get it? Got it? Good!

Attached to that, one should have gotten a piece of paper that has our Graduation Status. To explain some of the terms used, even though most are self-explainable, I have inserted this chart:

Graduation	Requirements	Completed	Courses	Enrolled	In Term	2
What it Looks Like	Course Title	Credits	Course Title	Credits	Course Title	Credits
What it Means	The general name of the subject	The number of credits required to graduate	The official name of the class we have taken	The number of credits earned in S1 for this class above the number possible	The official name of the class we are in	The number of credits possible for S2 in this class
An Example	Language Arts	35.00	English 9: Honors	5.00	English 9: Honors	5.00
TOTAL CREDITS	188.00 total credits are needed to graduate	Total Credits:	The number of credits earned in S1		Total Credits:	The total number of possible credits for S2

Hopefully that helped, somewhat at least. Now back to those numerous pieces of paper that we received…

Also, one should have gotten a single gold paper, which is from the Business Department. It gives a list of ways to prepare for a college degree in business on one side, and on the other side is the list of the required courses (Intro. To Computer Applications or Computer Applications 1.) It then goes on to list all the offered electives, some which are new, like Web Design1 and 2 (which was in fact, merely moved from a different department,) Sports & Entertainment Marketing, and Entrepreneurship.

We also acquired a locker partner request form. It is a portion of a yellow paper. PLEASE remember to PRINT on this.

Furthermore, a “master” schedule course list was handed out. This was apparently done very early in the morning, and some changes may be made. The papers going straight up and down are the courses offered for first semester. When they appear to have acquired an amazing gymnastic ability to flip upside-down, you will know that those are the courses offered second semester.

Probably one of the most important documents we obtained today was the Arapahoe High School: Class of 2010 Worksheet: Sophomore. This is a yellow sheet of paper, which is to help us to figure out what classes we want, an in what hour. Pencil and erasers come in extreme handiness as we, most likely, will not have our schedule figured out perfectly the first time. AND the order will most likely change when we get to the final registration stage.

As we all know some courses are fully required, unfortunately.

English: It is required to take English in both freshmen and sophomore year. As we are all already in Honors English, we would continue in the Honors program, and probably take American Literature Honors. Both regular 10^th grade English and America Lit. are offered, but as far as I can tell, we would generally take the American. Lit. Honors.

History: Next year we are required to take both Cultural Geography (which is 3 credits) and World Civ. (which is also 3 credits.) We cannot take them both in the same semester, so we must plan accordingly.

Math: Four semesters of a math class are required to graduate. However, one must take into consideration that is not necessarily the same for college enrollment requirements.

Science: Again, four semesters are required. For those of you already in Biology and planning to go into Chemistry next year, remember that chem. labs take up two hours, rather than one hour.

Practical Arts: One (about) practical arts class is required to graduate. Both Intro to Computer Applications and Computer Applications (one or the other is required) count as practical arts classes.

Fine Arts: Of the Fine Arts, none are absolutely required.

Physical Education: Both swimming and personal survival courses are required.

Electives: We need 75 total credits to graduate. Of course, this is the minimum, and we can, and probably will, go over this requirement. These classes are any class we take that does not fall within the required classes.

Other important information to know and realize:

The card stock yellow paper, also known as the Semester Course Requests sheet, is due to the Guidance Center BY 2:30p.m. ON TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2007.

One MUST use a #2 pencil (these things are so famous) on the Semester Course Requests sheet.

The e-mail information on that paper is OPTIONAL!!

We must attend the final registration stage on Friday, May 25, 2007, within the appropriate time according to our last names. The specific information is given on the yellow worksheet.

The Semester Course Requests sheet’s tables are set up differently than the worksheet’s tables. Watch out for that!

Most important: if you have any other questions, comments, or concerns, PLEASE see a teacher, or a counselor.

Well there we go. We spent the rest of 10 minutes talking and looking at the courses.

This message will self distrust in 5…4…3…2…

*Mission Impossible music plays*

-Mphair

Michelle Phair

Scribe for class on 4/06 Period 2

On this particular Friday, Mrs. Smith was gone, in her stead we received Mrs. Ritzdorf.

Mrs. Ritzdorf started class by commenting on how old she was then quickly changed the topic.
The general schedule went like this:
~Quiz
~Fishbowl
~Bell ringing

The Homework For Monday, 4/09 is to blog and read P. 37-96
Also, a reminder that Career day is on Tuesday 4/10 and we received the schedules on Friday.

During the fishbowl many intriguing and thought provoking ideas were brought up for discussion.

Here is a link to the live blog discussion

Main topics from the discussion include:
~World War II – Oceania as Axis powers?

~Is the war real? Is it only told to the people for increasing nationalism?

~How did all the people of Oceania come to be under the control of the party?

Here is a link to a map of the 1984 world

~Everyone older than Winston is the only thing holding the party back from total control over the country.

~What about the Proles? Why can’t the party control them?

~Brian thought 1984 is exactly the same as Fahrenheit 451.

~In 451 everyone is well off. In 1984, the people are poor.

To our dismay the bell rang right in the middle of a heated debate over 1984.
This concludes the scribe for period two on 4/06.

Scribe for Monday April 2, 2007 5th hour

Monday April 2, 2007

We got our grammar tests back. Please see Ms. Smith if you were absent to get your test back.

Today we began 1984 by George Orwell.

Ms. Smith passed out pink sheets that explained her fishbowl expectations for 1984. It is summarized as follows.

Unlike previous fishbowls, this time we are leading the discussion in groups of three on a given day. If you were not here, you were assigned to a group. Each group of three will meet before the fishbowl to discuss the pages that are going to be fishbowled on. During the meeting, Ms. Smith suggested that we look at least one critical analysis of our chapters. The places she suggested to find a critical analysis are Galenet and Ebsco. You can find links to these subscription sites on Arapahoe's website. If you are looking at these from home, you need the passwords. They are available in the library. Ms. Smith has prohibited looking at sparknotes for commentary. She also suggested comparing 1984 to other books you have read, especially Fahrenheit 451.

While they are meeting, each group also needs to come up with an agenda for the fishbowl. The agenda should outline what questions the group intends to ask and where the group intends to lead the discussion. This agenda will be submitted to Ms. Smith before the fishbowl begins. Make sure these questions are higher level questions that provoke discussion. In addition, while they are meeting, each group needs to come up with a quiz for this section. The quiz can be basic plot questions, BUT it must have at least one or two higher level questions covering overlying themes.

After the fishbowl, the group will pass out their quiz. After the class takes the quiz, the group is responsible for taking them home and grading them. They need to be returned to Ms. Smith by the next fishbowl. Additionally, your group needs to create a blog post for discussion after the fishbowl.

We also signed for a day to be a designated discussor for the fishbowl. For those who weren't there, you were assigned a day.

Ms. Smith collected our emails so we could get posting privileges on the blog. The point of getting posting privileges on the blog was so that each day someone could post on the blog about the daily activities. If you are absent, you can check the blog for a report on what we did that day. If you were not here, you were NOT assigned a day to scribe so please talk with Ms. Smith when you get back about getting a day. To see examples of what a daily report looks like go to http://smithewl.blogspot.com.

We also checked out 1984 books. If you still need one, see Ms. Smith.

Important note for anyone who bought his or her own copy of 1984.

If you look on the calendar for 1984, you will notice that we are dividing the book up by pages. Ms. Smith said that the first three chapters is equivalent to the pages 1-37 for anyone whose copy is different.

Lastly, we went to the blog and commented on two posts, blogging expectations and big brother is watching you. On the second post, watch the two videos in order then comment. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WATCH THEM IN ORDER!

Homework:

Read 1-37 of 1984 for the Fishbowl on Wednesday

1^st fishbowl presenters need to get ready

Semester Project

Bring Grammar Packets tomorrow with 13.1-4 DONE! Be warned two of the exercises require written response.

Blog on the two questions if you have not already done so.

Invite your parents to blog if you have not already done so. Remind them to blog tonight if they want to.

Sorry the post is so long. Happy Monday!

Emily Lutz, Block 5 Scribe