Newsletters+-+11th+grade

=E-mail Newsletters For English III=

Newsletter #11 - sent Friday, November 4, 2011
Happy Friday!

Here is an update about what your student is doing in English 11.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Learned new SAT vocabulary
 * Completed a TP-CASTT analysis of “Thanatopsis”
 * Read poems by the fireside poets
 * Checked out a book from the library for personal reading


 * Looking forward**
 * Students will begin working on a research project next week (part one)
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your student about the themes they’ve seen repeated in the fireside poetry we’ve read this week. Ask them what they’ve learned from reading these poems about “life.”

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Newsletter #10 - sent Friday, October 28, 2011
Happy Friday!

Here is an update about what your student is doing in English 11.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Learned new vocabulary in context with “Rip Van Winkle”; took quiz on Friday
 * Took notes on American Romanticism (major historical events, ideas, and the American hero)
 * Read/listened to “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving
 * Completed a worksheet evaluating the romantic elements in “Rip”


 * Looking forward**
 * Students will be reading poetry by the Fireside Poets as part of our Romantic literature unit
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your student about what they remember from reading “Rip Van Winkle.” Some students had heard this folktale before, so ask them what is different about their experience reading it this time as older individuals. The students composed a written response that asked them what problems would be solved for THEM if they slept for 20 years, but ALSO what problems it would CAUSE if they slept that long!—ask them what they wrote about!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and festivities this weekend!

Newsletter #9 - sent Friday, October 21, 2011
Good afternoon and happy Friday!

Here is an update about what your student is doing in English 11.


 * What we did in class this week**:


 * Took Nine-Weeks Exam
 * Received graded work; filed into portfolio
 * Viewed film version of __The Crucible__


 * Looking forward**
 * Second nine weeks begins Tuesday! First nine-weeks grades will be available online Monday.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Ask your student to compare/contrast the text version to the film version of __The Crucible__. Does the “witch-hunt madness” seem more real and possible now that they’ve seen it on screen?

Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!

Newsletter #8 - sent Friday, October 14, 2011
Good afternoon and happy Friday!

Here is an update about what your student is doing in English 11.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Completed reading Act II of __The Crucible__; took a quiz on Act II
 * Finished reading Act III – completed study questions
 * TODAY – we will finish Act IV and complete our reading of __The Crucible__ and write a reflection
 * Received study guide for Nine-Weeks Exam (on Tuesday next week)


 * Looking forward**
 * Tuesday next week: Students will be taking the ENGLISH nine-weeks exam. I have given them a study guide that they need to complete at home to prepare for the exam.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Since we are finishing __The Crucible__ today, ask your students about their overall reaction to the madness that ensued during that time period. Ask them why they think children’s statements were more respected than adults’ statements in that situation, and if they see that in our society today.

Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!

Newsletter #7 - sent Friday, October 7, 2011
Good afternoon and happy Friday!

Here is an update about what your student is doing in English 11.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Used context clues to determine meanings of new voc. Terms
 * Completed a worksheet evaluating Puritan lifestyle positive and negative characteristics
 * Read Act I of __The Crucible__ and completed a study sheet, reviewing important plot events and their significance to the characters
 * Began reading Act II
 * Voc. 6 Quiz on Friday


 * Looking forward**
 * Homework For the Weekend: Students need to use the textbook they have at home to FINISH reading Act II. (Should only be a few pages left after class today)
 * I will be updating and adding grades on the portal next week because we are near to the end of the marking period. Keep a watch for grades for these assignments:
 * o Chief Red Jacket’s Speech – Reflection
 * o Essay Test – Beginnings to 1800 (Native American Lit. and Puritan Lit.) [UNIT grade]
 * o Voc. 6 boxes
 * o Voc. 6 Quiz
 * o Article of the Week 1 and 2
 * o Puritan Evaluation Worksheet
 * o Act I study questions
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your students about what they’ve read in __The Crucible__. Ask them which characters seem to be the most malicious, or evil. Ask them what THEY would have done in this situation if they were there.

Please let me know if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!

Newsletter #6 - sent Monday, October 3, 2011

 * What we did in class last week**:
 * Some students took the DEA (Discovery Education Assessment) test on the computers
 * Learned new vocabulary (Unit 5) in relation to __The Crucible__
 * Reviewed the difference of There/Their/They’re
 * Identified and supported opinions about issues/conflicts in __The Crucible__ by responding to an anticipation guide
 * Took Voc. Unit 5 Quiz
 * Took notes about the history of the Salem Witch Trials
 * Began reading __The Crucible__


 * Looking forward**
 * Homework tonight: Students will need to complete their Vocabulary Boxes for the Unit 6 words they received in class today
 * We will continue reading __The Crucible__ in class this week.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your students about what they learned about the history of the Salem Witch Trials. What facts do they remember? What shocked them the most from our notes? What do they think about the mass hysteria that occurred?

Newsletter #5 - sent Monday, September 26, 2011
I hope you are off to a great start on this beautiful Monday. I want to say THANK YOU again to my 5th period students. I had a substitute on Friday due to a doctor’s appointment, and the substitute said my 11th grade class was GREAT—excellent behavior and on task the whole class period. Please forward my praise on to them again!


 * What we did in class last week**:
 * Learned the difference between Affect and Effect
 * Learned new vocabulary (Unit 4)
 * Read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
 * Reviewed Native American Literature and Puritan literature—identified cultural traits about each again
 * Took Voc. Unit 4 Quiz
 * Took Essay Quiz based upon all the texts we’ve read thus far


 * Looking forward**
 * Homework tonight: Students will need to complete their Vocabulary Boxes for the Unit 5 words they received in class today
 * We will begin reading __The Crucible__ in class this week
 * We are working on usage rules for They’re/There/Their
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your students about the anticipation guide they received today in class for __The Crucible.__ There are some “loaded” statements on it, which require students to formulate opinions and support those opinions with evidence and examples. Take some time to ask them about their opinions and share your own as we begin looking at these issues in __The Crucible__ in class this week.
 * We’ve just worked on usage rules for Effect and Affect. Ask your student to explain the difference and to share some of the tips they learned to know which word to use in what context.

I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Newsletter #4 - sent Friday, September 16, 2011
Hello, and happy Friday!

I’m really enjoying working with my students as we continue to examine early American literature. We’ve had a productive week. J


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Corrected sentences for punctuation and spelling
 * Took MUGS quiz (Mechanics, Usage, and Grammar) based upon what we have been reviewing about punctuation for the past two weeks
 * Read Mary Rowlandson’s “Narrative of the Captivity” in class and composed written responses
 * Read Chief Red Jacket’s speech to the European missionaries and compared/contrasted Native American and Puritan perspectives about religion
 * Created a timeline of events/stories we’ve read about up to this point
 * Began reading William Byrd’s “A History of the Dividing Line” in class


 * Looking forward**
 * Based on a survey I conducted with the students the first week of class, we will begin reviewing “usage” rules in class next week (ex: how to use its vs. it’s)
 * We will continue reading “A History of the Dividing Line” as well as other examples of colonial literature


 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your students about what they learned from reading the captivity narrative by Mary Rowlandson. We discussed in class how extremely strong Rowlandson must have been to survive in captivity for a year with the Wampanoag Native Americans. Please ask your students to summarize what they remember from the text, as well as what they thought about her struggle.

Have a great weekend! Sincerely,

Newsletter #3 - sent Friday, September 9, 2011
Good afternoon,

We’ve accomplished quite a bit even in this short week in English 11. We have been analyzing Native American texts and we just began reading a Puritan text on Thursday.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Corrected sentences for punctuation and spelling
 * Used context clues to determine new word definitions; made personal associations to new words
 * Took Voc. 3 quiz today (Friday)
 * Read two Native American texts in our textbook: “The Sky Tree” and “Coyote Finishes His Work”
 * Began reading William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation”
 * Identified cultural characteristics of Native American texts, as well as Puritan texts


 * Looking forward**
 * No homework this weekend
 * We will continue reading Puritan texts next week, including Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity”
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Talk with your students about what they learned from reading the Native American texts we read in class this week. They may refer to the PowerPoint notes I’ve taken from their discussions in class (I will post this on my Website: “Week 3”; see link below). Also, discuss with them what they know about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ journey to America. Ask them about the characteristics they’ve seen in the Puritan culture and what they’ve learned about William Bradford’s struggles to lead the Plymouth colony.

Please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns.

Enjoy the weekend.

Newsletter #2 - sent Friday, September 2, 2011
Good afternoon, ….and Happy Friday! I hope you are looking forward to the holiday weekend, even with the possibility of some bad weather! We’ve had a great week in English class as we have begun reading Native American selections. To reiterate, I keep my website updated daily with class information, as well as electronic copies of worksheets and PowerPoint presentations with class notes. Go to https://goadenglish.wikispaces.com/ to see what we are doing daily in class. · Corrected sentences for punctuation and spelling · Used context clues to determine new word definitions; made personal associations to new words · Took Voc. 2 quiz today (Friday) · Finished notes about America’s beginnings to 1800 · Listened to a Native American (Cree) story and analyzed different features of Cree culture
 * What we did in class this week**:

· NO SCHOOL on Monday, Sept. 5 · No homework this weekend · We are reading Native American texts in class currently. Talk with your student about what he/she learned from class this week through the texts we encountered. Share what you know with your student and have a conversation about how different our current/modern views are of NATURE and WORD to that of the Native Americans. Once again, please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns. I hope you have an excellent weekend! Also, if you are receiving this newsletter and your son/daughter is no longer in my class, please e-mail me and let me know so I can remove you from my contact group. Thanks!
 * Looking forward**
 * Talking points for you and your teen**

Newsletter #1 - sent Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Hello! My name is Mrs. Goad and I am your teenager’s English 11 teacher. I am e-mailing you because you signed up for my weekly e-mail newsletter. We had a successful first week of school last week, and this week is also off to a great start! I think I have an excellent group of students already—they are polite, respectful, and dedicated to doing their best. I’m truly looking forward to a rewarding year! Throughout the year, please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns. You can reach me at the high school at 850-833-3300, ext. 1311, or you can e-mail me at [| Lovina.Goad@mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us]. My office hours are Tuesdays from 1:55-2:30 pm and I am available for conferences or phone calls during that time in my classroom. I keep my website updated daily with class information, as well as electronic copies of worksheets and PowerPoint presentations with class notes. Go to https://goadenglish.wikispaces.com/ to see what we are doing daily in class. · Vocabulary Unit 2 Quiz on Friday, Sept. 2 · LATE ARRIVAL on Thursday, Sept. 1 (school starts at 9:55 am) · NO SCHOOL Monday, Sept. 5 · In class we have been discussing and evaluating how values and beliefs affect our actions. Talk with your teens sometime this week about how your personal beliefs and values have made you the person you are today. Then, ask your teens what they have discovered about themselves through our journal entries in class. · Eleventh grade is a big “decision-making” time for teens today. In a survey on the first day of class, I asked the students what their goals were for this upcoming year in English class, as well as for the future. Talk with your teens about what their goals are for English class, and how this class can help them for their future plans. Have a fantastic day, and I look forward to hearing from you and working with you this school year!
 * What we did in class last week**:
 * Went over class syllabus/procedures
 * Reviewed story elements (point of view, setting, character, etc.)
 * Received Voc. 1 definitions (quiz was on Friday)
 * Annotated Article of the Week (AOW) #1 in class
 * Composed journal entries significant to upcoming texts we will be reading in class
 * Looking forward**
 * Talking points for you and your teen**