American Lit (1st and 4th):

1. Check your grade in Edmodo (edmodo.com).  Click on “Grades” at the top.  You should see an option for your class - if you don’t, you need to join the group.  If you DO NOT have a grade, you need to fill out the google form at bit.ly/tmimastery.  If you see a grade that is incorrect or not entered (a few of you need to show me your work from “Hero” to get the 5th grade in there), see me.
2. We checked out Their Eyes Were Watching God and filled out this form.  
   
3. We continued our work on definition essays, and then traded and offered comments/revisions on the other student's essay.  You will revise your essay based on their feedback and post it as a comment to your original blog post on kidblog.org.  It is due Tuesday (you will not have time in class to work on it) 
4. We completed the BWP Google Form (if you haven’t done it yet).  Your first project is due on October 3rd/4th (depending on which day you have my class)
5. We started working on the “Snapshot of a Redwood Learner” (it’s the last thing on the playlist, found at bit.ly/transformcommunity).  It is a collaborative assignment (i.e. you must have a partner) and must be completed by Thursday, 27 September.
   

SAX:
We worked on this topic, and has a Socratic Seminar. If you were absent, you should prepare to talk about question 4.
Also, you will need to revise your essay based on the peer feedback you received and post it as a comment to your original blog post on kidblog.org.  It is due Tuesday (you will not have time in class to work on it).


Language of Humour:
6th period:
We continued our work on the collaborative Style Alike Essay.  Then students traded essays with another group and added comments to help revise the ideas, structure, and humour.

See the list at the bottom for what I'm checking on Tuesday.

3rd period:
We read and highlighted examples of humour in Shiner from the toolkit (posted in the last blog post).  Here is the mastery task (individual, not group answers):
1. Which element from our toolkit was most important to the humour in "Shiner"?  Give two specific examples of how that element is used, and how that element contributed to the humour in the story.

Then we watched (or tried to watch) "Awesom-O".  When that didn't work out so well, every student was directed to watch a 30-minute comedy show and complete the following question:
2. Which element from our toolkit was most important to the humour in the episode?  Give two specific examples of how that element is used, and how that element contributed to the humour in the episode.  Make sure to give the title of the series and episode for what you watched. 

Both Classes:
The following assignments will be checked on Tuesday in class:

1. Shiner and Awesom-O Mastery Task (6th period - we will complete this on Tuesday)
2. BWP Google Form
3. Style Alike Essay #1 (Child Called It Rewrite)
4. Peer Feedback/Revision of Style Alike Essay #1
5. Blog Post #1 (On the topic: What is humour?  Give examples of what you find funny with at least three shows/stories/etc. and why they are funny to you.)

Wednesday (9/19) Block Periods:
American Literature:
1st period: In class, we finished Rainy River and answered a mastery question.  We talked about Blank White Page and every student filled out the Google Form.  We discussed grades, which are available in Edmodo.  The assignments I checked were: Smoke Mastery, Snapshot Mastery, Hero patterning notes, Definition Essay posted to Kidblog, and Photo Essay. 

Language of Humour:
3rd period: In class, we posted to the new Edmodo group (code is 5vexsl) to introduce ourselves to the Forestview Desktop Publishing students.  Then we worked on the Style Alike Essay #1 - finished individual essays, then revised collaboratively.  The essay should be finished and peer-reviewed by the start of class on Friday.
Then we read "Shiner Like a Diamond" in class and looked for the eight elements of humour from our toolkit.  We chose the four most prominent and highlighted them throughout the story.  The eight elements are:
1. Narrator/character who is oblivious to the seriousness of the situation
2. Exaggerated and/or unexpected responses to situations
3. Explicit content
4. Repetition
5. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
6. Irony. Lots of it.
7. Unusual or exaggerated interaction between characters (real or imagined)
8. Lots of vivid description, especially of an object that doesn't seem important or interesting.

The story should be read and patterned by the start of class on Friday.

We also discussed Blank White Page, and the Google Form is due by Friday.

Thursday (9/20) Block Periods:
SAX:

• We started the period in the computer lab to work on the second partner's collaborative essay revision and to start the "Snapshot of a Redwood Learner" task.   
• We checked grades on Edmodo as well.  If you don't have a grade, it's because you didn't complete the Google Form yet, or don't have the work turned in.
• In class, we worked on the Rainy River/Hero at 30,000 Feet Mastery Task.  It consists of three things:

1. Answer this question with three specific examples: "How does Elroy feel about O'Brien's decision?  How do you know?  For this question, you CANNOT use O'Brien's inferences about what Elroy thinks.  Only what he says/does."
2. Turn in your notes for Hero from the video and from class on Tuesday.
3. Answer this question: "What do all of these texts have in common?

"Snapshot of a Modern Learner"
"Smoke in Our Lights"
"Hero at 30,000 Feet:
"On the Rainy River"
The following due dates are important to know about:

• The mastery task for Hero/RR is due on Friday at the start of class
• The collaborative revision for your essay is due (posted as a comment to your original essay on kidblog) by the end of the day on Friday
• The Snapshot of a Redwood Learner is due in class on Thursday, 27 September
• The first BWP project is due in class on October 3rd

American Literature:

• We watched this video, and talked about the difference between group work and collaboration.  There was a written task that went along with it too.
• In class, we worked on the Rainy River/Hero at 30,000 Feet Mastery Task.  It consists of three things:

1. Answer this question with three specific examples: "How does Elroy feel about O'Brien's decision?  How do you know?  For this question, you CANNOT use O'Brien's inferences about what Elroy thinks.  Only what he says/does."
2. Turn in your notes for Hero from the video and from class on Tuesday.
3. Answer this question: "What do all of these texts have in common?

"Snapshot of a Modern Learner"
"Smoke in Our Lights"
"Hero at 30,000 Feet:
"On the Rainy River"
The following due dates are important to know about:

• The mastery task for Hero/RR is due on Friday at the start of class
• The collaborative revision for your essay is due (posted as a comment to your original essay on kidblog) by the end of the day on Friday
• The Snapshot of a Redwood Learner is due in class on Thursday, 27 September
• The first BWP project is due in class on October 3rd

We will be meeting in Classroom 2020 on Friday, and you will have some time to work on the colla


Language of Humour:
We started by doing this warm-up.

Then we read Shiner Like a Diamond (see me to get a copy, as it is not online) by David Sedaris and watched Imaginationland (South Park - #3 on that list) and applied our Humour Toolkit.  We revised the toolkit based on the humour in the Sedaris piece and South Park episode.

We also discussed Blank White Page, and the Google Form is due by Friday. 

Language of Humour:
Your Style Alike Essay #1 is due on Wednesday for 3rd and Friday for 6th - we will have computer lab time on both of those days, so you will have a chance to work for about 45 minutes on that day.

In class on Tuesday, we read Big Boy.  Find and highlight patterns.  Make a list of what makes it funny (3rd period, compare it to the toolkit list).


This is for SAX and American Lit ONLY.
Things that should be done by Tuesday (at the start of class):

One person’s essay should be read completely, and the author given help to make changes and improvements etc.

Also:

• Rainy River: read, see if you notice anything that repeats
• Google Form for BWP (bit.ly/choosebwp)
• Can be one for group, so long as all names are there
• Question must be research-able. So not “What will we learn in this class?”
• Watch the video for Derren Brown’s “Hero” - start at 1:45 and watch until the end.  Write down what it says to write down on paper or type it in a document.  Available at bit.ly/lab823 (or it is posted below)
• (4th period needs to watch the whole thing)

For class on Tuesday, we worked on the Hero tasks from the video, as well as reading and patterning "On The Rainy River."  We also completed a writing warm-up, with is available with the google form on this playlist.

American Literature and SAX:
Your definition essay was due today, and your photo essay and Smoke in Our Lights mastery task were due yesterday.  When you're done, complete this google form.  All other assignments are on this playlist.

You need to read "On the Rainy River" by the start of class on Friday (9/14).  I will hand out hard copies of it in class on the block day (1st - Wednesday, 2nd/4th - Thursday).  On the first read-through, you need to just get the big picture (i.e. - what is the literal story here?) and notice elements that repeat.  We will discuss in class on Friday.

On the Block day this week, we did two things:
1. This warm-up, followed by getting the Assignment Table #2 handout
2. Derren Brown's "Hero at 30,000 Feet" and doing a few activities with it. You can find the video and the activities on this playlist.

Language of Humour:
playlist
3rd period: 
On Tuesday, we finished reading "You Can't Kill the Rooster" and found patterns.  The final assignment was to write a paragraph that addresses these questions:
--How is the pattern developed through the story?  
--What repeats the most?  Does that change from start to finish?
--What characters/events are closely connected to your pattern?
--Why does the author use this pattern?
--What is the author's message in this text?
--How does the pattern connect to humour in this text?  Does it build the humour?  

You shouldn't just give me answers to these questions - you should make it into a coherent paragraph.

On Wednesday, we finished the discussion of "Rooster," talked about how irony was used in the story, and then watched Peep Show and talked about the patterns.  The next assignment is to start this essay, which is due Monday.

6th period: 
On Tuesday, we finished the South Park 9/11 episode and continued to work on "Rooster" patterning.  We will discuss and make meaning of it in class on Thursday.

ALL Classes (for students absent on Monday, 9/10):
We did DOL #1 in class.  You need to copy it down onto notebook paper AS IS - with all the mistakes.  Then correct the mistakes and highlight any changes you made.  Finally, choose one word you didn't know and look up the definition, then write it out on your paper.  Turn it in when you return to class.


American Literature and SAX:
All the work from Assignment Table 1 is due by the end of class on Tuesday, 11 September.  This also includes:
--The Photo Essay
--The Definition Essay
--Smoke Mastery Task (playlist)

You need to turn the Definition Essay in by posting it to your kidblog.  The other assignments can be turned in through one of the following methods: 
1. Print them out and physically turn them in
2. Put them in your shared folder
3. Email them to tmi@tmiclass.com
4. Post them to your kidblog


Language of Humour:
All the work from the Assignment Table 1 is due by the end of class on Tuesday, 11 September.  You may turn work in through any of the following ways:
1. Print them out and physically turn them in
2. Put them in your shared folder
3. Email them to tmi@tmiclass.com
4. Post them to your kidblog