Newsletters+-+10th+grade

=E-mail Newsletters For English II Honors=

Newsletter #1 of Second Semester - sent Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Good afternoon!

I hope all of you are doing well. We had a successful first semester in English II Honors and I am definitely looking forward to a great second semester.


 * Looking Forward**:
 * 1) We are going to be doing some intensive reading strategy practice this nine weeks to help students improve their reading skills. Please know that students will probably have approximately 10-30 minutes of reading/reviewing to do every other night for homework to reinforce what we have learned and practiced in class. So be on the lookout for students to be reading selections from their Interactive Reader workbooks as well as Articles of the Week. Please refer your students to my Wikispace for extra resources and a day-by-day breakdown of everything we are doing in class. (http://goadenglish.wikispaces.com)
 * 2) Likewise, we will be working on writing skills and grammar. Please take time throughout the nine weeks to talk to your students about the topics they are writing about in class and how they think their writing is improving based on the strategies we learn in class.
 * 3) The FCAT Writes assessment will be on February 28. We have been practicing for this assessment from the beginning of the school year by writing to prompts. I have used the FCAT Writes rubric to grade the students’ writing so they can see specifically what areas they are strong in or need to work on.
 * 4) Our pen pal project is still going strong! The students in Turkmenistan are truly enjoying writing to American teenagers here in the states and we have just received letters from them at the start of this month. We will be responding to them again soon!


 * Talking Points for you and your Student:**
 * 1) A brand new semester is a great time to talk to your student about his/her goals for the rest of this academic year. Take some time to talk about what class grades they are proud of and what grades they need to improve these next two marking periods.
 * 2) Tomorrow, the students will be reading a story that deals with the concept of “changing appearance to fit in.” We’ll be looking at the consequences (positive and negative) of such behavior as we read an autobiographical text. Talk to your student tonight (if possible) about the pros/cons of doing something to fit in to a particular crowd. How does this affect the individual? What is lost? What is gained? In what situations is “fitting in” a positive choice? Negative choice? These questions will allow you time to talk with your student about your own experiences as a teenager and will open the opportunity to get them thinking about their own decisions.

Have a fantastic day! As always, please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns.

Newsletter #12 - sent Thursday, November 10, 2011

 * Happy Veteran’s Day (tomorrow) to all of you who have served in our armed forces or are spouses to those in uniform! Thank you for your dedicated service to our country!!! I truly appreciate you!**

In English II Honors….
 * What we did in class last week**:
 * Responded to our PEN PAL letters from our friends in Turkmenistan!
 * Watched a biographical/informational video about Shakespeare in preparation for our next unit
 * Took Ch. 11-16 Quiz on __The Kite Runner__
 * Received graded work
 * Received study guide for __The Kite Runner__ test
 * Began brainstorming similarities between __Things Fall Apart__ and __The Kite Runner__ for our essay next week
 * Received AICE exam informational forms


 * Looking forward**
 * Students need to FINISH reading __The Kite Runner__ this weekend. Ch. 17-25 Double-Entry Log will be due on Monday.
 * Also, students need a Gmail account and a FLASH DRIVE in class on Monday so we can begin working on our essays.
 * TEST on __The Kite Runner__ on Tuesday, Nov. 15!!!
 * The AICE exam forms need to be returned to me by Friday, November 18 if your student wishes to take the AICE exam on May 7, 2012.
 * I will NOT be assigning any work over the Thanksgiving break. I believe breaks are for FAMILY TIME and to give the students time to relax for a moment and breathe. I know how busy their lives are, so I want to make sure I honor their break-time so they can spend it with family!!
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Students will be finishing the novel __The Kite Runner__ this weekend. Talk to them about their overall impression of the book. What did they think about the ending? Are they happy with Amir’s choices at the end?

Please make sure your student gives you the “Pen Pal Picture Permission” form to sign. I want to take pictures of my students to send to our pen pals, but I want to make sure I have parent permission before taking and e-mailing the photos! Thank you again in advance for your support!

Newsletter #11 - sent Friday, November 4, 2011
Here is your weekly newsletter about your student’s English 10 Honors class.

 What a fun week at school—Open House, spirit week, two pep rallies, and the big Choctaw game tonight! Even with all of the extra activities, the students have done a fantastic job in English class. I enjoyed meeting some of you Thursday night during the Open House, and I appreciate the e-mails of others who were unable to make it.

 **What we did in class this week**: Please let me know if you have any questions!
 * Read Ch. 1-10 of __The Kite Runner__
 * Took two reading quizzes
 * Took two vocabulary quizzes
 * Completed two Double-Entry Logs (evaluating quote significance)
 * Created a THEME kite based upon five themes from the novel
 * Responded to some of the “essential questions” raised in __The Kite Runner__
 * Evaluated the personality of “Baba” (character in the novel)
 * Looking forward **
 * I mentioned this in class today: if at all possible, please make sure students have a FLASH DRIVE and a GOOGLE E-MAIL account by November 14 for our essay writing assignment.
 * Wednesday, November 9 – Ch. 11-16 Reading Quiz; Ch. 11-15 Double Entry Log due; Voc. 3 Quiz
 * Friday, November 11 – NO SCHOOL
 * Monday, November 14 – Ch. 17-25 Double Entry Log due
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tuesday, November 15 – FINAL TEST on __The Kite Runner__
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Friday, November 18 – Essay due (we will be writing most of this in class the week of 14-18th)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">***Our pen pals in Turkmenistan have written back! We will be reading their letters next week and responding to them again! We also received pictures of them and their city.***
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I will be sending home a permission letter next week in order to take photos of my students to send to our pen pals. Be expecting this by Tuesday!
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">I will be posting pictures of our kite projects on my Wiki this weekend. Look for your student’s kite in the classroom picture!
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Talking points for you and your teen **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The students have read the first 10 chapters of __The Kite Runner__, and as was mentioned in the permission letter sent in September, there are some sensitive scenes that have taken place in these chapters. Please talk with your teenagers about their thoughts and concerns with how the main character has behaved during these chapters. I would recommend taking some time to read a brief summary of the first few chapters so you have some overview of what they will be talking about. A good summary website is [] Because I value parent-child communication and education, I highly recommend you take time to talk with your teen to make sure you can guide their discussion and understanding as you see fit as their parent. Here are some sample questions you can use to begin your discussion with your teen:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What was your reaction when Amir chose not to help Hassan when Assef was attacking him? What does this tell you about Amir?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What kind of friend is Hassan to Amir? What stands out MOST about his personality?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Why does Amir treat Hassan so differently than how Hassan treats Amir? What does this say about the balance of their friendship?
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Think about what a “good friend” is—what does a good friend do for their friends?
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">How do you think Amir’s treatment of Hassan will affect his life from that point on?

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

Here is your weekly newsletter about your student’s English 10 Honors class.

We have had a great start to our second nine weeks. We have begun work on our next novel, __Kite Runner__, and so far so good!


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Completed an anticipation guide for __TKR__ using themes/issues/conflicts present in the novel; students typed their responses/opinions on our class PBWiki
 * Reviewed the definition and consequences of plagiarism and reviewed student handbook information about cheating
 * Conducted research about kite running and Afghanistan culture in the computer lab this week
 * Received a reading guide, Double-Entry log guidelines, and a Theme Kite project
 * Looking forward**
 * Once again, just a friendly request: Cold season is beginning and that means a lot of runny noses! If you are willing and able to donate a box of tissues or a bottle of hand sanitizer for students to use in my class, it would help keep the kids healthy (I hope)! I’ve already had one parent donate and I truly appreciate the support. J
 * I’ve attached the reading schedule for our novel to this e-mail so you know what the students should be reading and by when. Please visit my wiki to see the other handouts the students have received in class. It also lists the quiz dates for vocabulary and reading.
 * The Theme Kite project will be due on Wednesday, November 2.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * This week I spoke with the students about the importance of doing their OWN WORK. Unfortunately, I encountered multiple accounts of plagiarism in some students’ portfolios they submitted for __Things Fall Apart__. Some students copied and pasted directly from SparkNotes or other “summary” websites and tried to turn in the work as their own. I spoke with Ms. Couvillon about this issue and my classes as a whole. I will not be giving credit for the assignments that have been plagiarized, but I will still give credit for work that I can obviously tell is the student’s own. Please talk with your student about his/her assignments for the portfolio and please remind them how important it is to be honest and forthcoming in doing their OWN work.
 * The students completed research about Afghanistan culture and kite running this week. Ask them what they learned—what was most interesting?
 * The students will be completing a Theme Kite project. They have five days to complete this assignment. I am encouraging them to be as creative as they want and to have fun evaluating how some of the book’s themes are present in their lives, or what they personally think about those themes. They received instructions today which are also available on my wiki.
 * The students will be completing a Theme Kite project. They have five days to complete this assignment. I am encouraging them to be as creative as they want and to have fun evaluating how some of the book’s themes are present in their lives, or what they personally think about those themes. They received instructions today which are also available on my wiki.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great weekend! Don’t eat too much Halloween candy!

Newsletter #9 - sent Friday, October 21, 2011
Happy Friday and end of the first nine weeks!

Here is your weekly newsletter about your student’s English 10 Honors class.

I definitely appreciate all of my honors classes behaving so well for my substitute on Monday when I was out sick. It is truly a pleasure to work with such a polite, respectful group of students! I am sure you are proud of your teenagers because I certainly am!!


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Took Nine-weeks exam
 * Turned in __Things Fall Apart__ portfolio
 * Composed pen pal letters to our new friends in Turkmenistan (see note below!)
 * Practiced using Their/There/They’re correctly on activities on ChompChomp.com (Grammar Website)


 * Looking forward**
 * A friendly request: Cold season is beginning and that means a lot of runny noses! If you are willing and able to donate a box of tissues or a bottle of hand sanitizer for students to use in my class, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance!
 * Students need to have __THE KITE RUNNER__ by Khaled Hosseini NEXT WEEK by Friday, Oct. 28 to begin our next section of our culture unit. If you have a financial situation and cannot purchase the book, please contact me so we can work something out.
 * The second nine weeks begins on Tuesday, so final grades for the first nine weeks will be available online on Monday afternoon.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Students composed a PEN PAL letter to students in Turkmenistan as part of our culture unit. My long-time friend and teacher colleague, Ms. Lindsey LeCroy, is teaching abroad this year in Turkmenistan. She and I attended Radford University together as English majors and worked together at my last teaching placement in North Carolina. We did a lot of collaborative work teaching ninth grade, so we wanted to continue working together even across the miles. Here is a note from Ms. LeCroy about our project:
 * o “I recently started teaching in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and fell in love with all of my kids. Mrs. Goad and I are great friends and we are always sharing ideas, so naturally, we thought having pen pals was a great idea. This way her kids could practice writing formally and learning about a completely different culture, not only from Turkmenistan, but from my kids' home country. My kids could practice writing in English to American students and truly understand American living and culture. My students are so excited to write to America and to write to other kids their own age. I am so excited Mrs. Goad and I get to work together on this project, and I'm anxious to see what our kids produce.” – Lindsey LeCroy
 * Ms. LeCroy’s students are a mixture of American students (who have never lived in the United States) and students native to Turkmenistan. This project will expose my students to the culture in Turkmenistan, and Ms. LeCroy’s students to the culture here in the United States. This week we composed introduction letters to our new pen pals. We are anxiously awaiting their response! Ask your teenager what he/she hopes to learn as we write back and forth to our pen pals. J

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

Newsletter #8 - sent Friday, October 14, 2011
Hello everyone,

Here is your weekly newsletter about your student’s English 10 Honors class.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Took Part One and Part Two TEST on __Things Fall Apart__ (Monday)
 * Took Part Three TEST on __Things Fall Apart__ (Friday, today)
 * Composed Persuasive Essay (County DA Writing Prompt)
 * Took the ACT Plan on Wednesday
 * Worked on portfolio components and reading (two workdays this week: Wednesday/Thursday)


 * Looking forward**
 * HOMEWORK for the weekend
 * o Students must complete their portfolio components. They have a checklist that was given out on Oct. 7. It is also available on my Wikispace. The portfolio is due on TUESDAY next week.
 * Next Week:
 * o Tuesday: Portfolios due and NINE-WEEKS EXAM for English
 * Students need to go ahead and start purchasing __THE KITE RUNNER__ by Khaled Hosseini. They need to have this book in their possession by Friday, Oct. 28 to begin our next section of our culture unit. If you have a financial situation and cannot purchase the book, please contact me so we can work something out.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Students finished reading our novel __Things Fall Apart__ this week. The main character is Okonkwo—ask them what they thought about this actions (especially at the end). Ask your teen what they learned about culture and change and how it affects individuals of a society.
 * Then, ask your students what they enjoyed most or disliked the most in the novel (can be an event or character’s choice).

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

Newsletter #7 - sent Friday, October 7, 2011
Good afternoon,

Here is your weekly newsletter about your student’s English 10 Honors class.


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Wrote reflections for Ch. 5-10 and 11-13 of __TFA__ (__Things Fall Apart__)
 * Composed an expository essay for the county DA Writing Assessment
 * Created titles for Ch. 1-13
 * Used context clues to determine new word definitions for __TFA__ Voc. List 3
 * Analyzed gender roles in magazine advertisements (How do the media portray males/females?)
 * Received checklist for items to start collecting for __TFA__ portfolio


 * Looking forward**
 * HOMEWORK
 * o Students must finish reading Part TWO of __Things Fall Apart__ (Ch. 14-19, approx. 40 pages) and complete one reading log for this part.
 * o Students must study their three reading logs they have completed for Part ONE (Ch. 1-4, 5-10, and 11-13) to prepare for the TEST on Monday (Part One and Part Two; multiple choice; significant events and important character qualities).
 * Next Week:
 * o Monday: Part One and Part Two TEST on __TFA__
 * o Tuesday: County DA Writing Assessment: Persuasive essay; ONE assignment for __TFA__ Voc. List 3 due (use sentences!)
 * o Wednesday: PSAT and ACT Plan testing
 * o Friday: Be FINISHED with Part Three of __TFA__; portfolios due the following Monday
 * Students need to go ahead and start purchasing __THE KITE RUNNER__ by Khaled Hosseini. They need to have this book in their possession by Friday, Oct. 28 to begin our next section of our culture unit. If you have a financial situation and cannot purchase the book, please contact me so we can work something out.
 * The END of the nine weeks is approaching! I will be entering grades next week for some major point assignments the students have turned in. Please check throughout the week to see the updated assignments and grades as we are completing the end of the marking period. Assignments and grades to watch for:
 * o Summer Reading projects
 * o Summer Reading tests (unit grade)
 * o __TFA__ Voc. List 2 assignments
 * o Article of the Week #4
 * o Culture portfolio (unit grade)
 * o Magazine Ad. analysis
 * o __TFA__ Test Part One and Part Two
 * o __TFA__ Voc. List 3 assignment
 * o Make-up work grades for students who have been recently absent
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * Students completed a Magazine Advertisement analysis assignment this week where they “broke down” an ad into main image, background, and text elements. They then evaluated what the ad was portraying about what it means to be a male or female. We shared these ads in class today (Friday) and students were shocked to see how much the media is actually “selling” as they try to “sell” products. Talk to your student about the importance of being a “critical consumer” of information, especially advertisements. Our lives are inundated with commercials, images, billboards, and ads that our perception about life and living are subconsciously shaped and influenced by this constant flow of information. Talk with your student about what they learned from “reading behind the lines” of a magazine advertisement this week.
 * Then, ask your student how males/females are presented in our text, __Things Fall Apart__. Are there any similarities between what they learned about OUR culture to what we are reading in the BOOK?

I have quite a bit of grading to enter on the portal and I apologize that not everything has been graded as quickly as possible. I was initially thrown behind because I am new to the county and had not read the summer reading novels, so I’ve been busy catching up on reading four novels while at the same time learning new curriculum and creating lessons. I truly appreciate your patience and your calls and e-mails about your students’ grades and for your consistent support of what we are doing in class. I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Please let me know if you have any questions about anything.

Newsletter #6 - sent Monday, October 3, 2011

 * What we did in class last week**:
 * DEA (Discovery Education Assessment) testing in the computer lab
 * Turned in two self-created assignments for __TFA__ Vocabulary List 1
 * Turned in AOW#4 – Focus on Gender roles in a culture
 * Group work and presentation: figurative language, timeline, male/female roles, religion, and proverbs
 * Identified cultural characteristics of the Ibo tribe from Ch. 5-10
 * Created titles for Ch. 1-10 of __Things Fall Apart__


 * Looking forward**
 * HOMEWORK TONIGHT
 * o Students must complete their two vocabulary assignments for __TFA__ Voc. List #2 (luxuriant-audacity); students must demonstrate they know the DEFINITION of the word and HOW TO USE IT within a sentence as they complete these assignments.
 * Tomorrow students will be composing an expository piece based upon a writing prompt sent from the county. We reviewed good practices and strategies for writing today in class.
 * Students need to read THROUGH chapter 13 by the Wednesday and complete a reading log for this section
 * Students need to read THROUGH Part Two of the book (Ch. 14-19) by MONDAY next week and complete a reading log for this section
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * We are one-third through our novel __Things Fall Apart__. Ask your students what they think about the Ibo culture and tribe and what similarities/differences there are between that culture and our culture.
 * The focus of our last AOW (Article of the Week) was about gender roles in different cultures. Ask your students what they learned about gender roles in a particular culture and how that information relates to our novel’s culture or our culture.

Newsletter #5 - sent Monday, September 26, 2011
Happy Monday

I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. What beautiful weather we had! I apologize this newsletter is a little tardy. I had a doctor’s appointment on Friday, so the students had a substitute on Friday. However, I got great reports about each class, so I truly appreciate the students’ dedication and good behavior even while I was away! Please forward my praise on to them again at home this evening!


 * What we did in class last week**:
 * Class discussion on themes/conflicts in __TFA__ on Anticipation Guide
 * Read Ch. 1-3 aloud in class together
 * Began character charts for __TFA__
 * Began Reading Log #1 (for Ch. 1-4)
 * Began “Class Notes” about __TFA__
 * Turned in Culture Unit Portfolios (on Thursday)
 * Turned in Article of the Week #3 (on Friday; focus on Nigeria)
 * Received vocabulary assignment instructions (two assignments due on TUESDAY, Sept. 27)
 * Identified cultural characteristics of the Ibo tribe from Ch. 1-3


 * Looking forward**
 * HOMEWORK TONIGHT
 * o Students must complete their two vocabulary assignments for __TFA__ Voc. List #1 (wily-malicious); students must demonstrate they know the DEFINITION of the word and HOW TO USE IT within a sentence as they complete these assignments.
 * Students need to read THROUGH chapter 10 by the end of the week and complete a reading log for two sections: 1 log for Ch. 1-4 AND 1 log for Ch. 5-10
 * Pep Rally on Friday for homecoming!
 * Homecoming Dance this weekend 8-11 pm
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * We completed an “anticipation guide” for __TFA__ in which your students responded to some “loaded” statements, asking them to make decisions, form opinions, and support those opinions with evidence or examples. These statements were derived from issues/themes we will encounter while reading __Things Fall Apart__. Take some time this week to talk to your students about the statements on the anticipation guide and share YOUR opinions and thoughts with them. They have these worksheets in their binders.
 * We’ve read through the first couple of chapters of __Things Fall Apart__ together as a class. Ask your students about their initial impressions of the main character and the Ibo tribe. What do they find interesting? What cultural characteristics did they identify within the tribe? Would they ever be best friends with the main character? Why or why not?
 * Ask your students about their vocabulary assignments they’ve created (and will turn in tomorrow—Tuesday). What have they learned about creating their own assignments and working with the words individually? What words do they remember BEST now that they’ve had the opportunity to CHOOSE how they demonstrate their mastery of the new vocabulary? Have your students show you their hard work!

As always, please let me know if you ever have any questions or concerns.

Have a great week!

Newsletter #4 - sent Friday, September 16, 2011
Good afternoon!

The students have done a phenomenal job this week; they have worked diligently each day of class!


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Turned in “I am from” poems
 * Received __Things Fall Apart__ vocabulary list 1
 * Conducted research about a topic from __Things Fall Apart__ (based in Nigeria)
 * Received Culture Unit Portfolio instructions and worked in class on different components
 * Presented research findings to the class
 * Looking forward**
 * ***Students need to have a copy of Chinua Achebe’s //Things Fall Apart// in class on MONDAY to start reading***
 * HOMEWORK this weekend:
 * o Students must continue working on components for their Culture Unit Portfolio.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * The students conducted research about a topic from our upcoming novel, __Things Fall Apart__. Please ask your students what they learned about the culture or history of Nigeria from doing research or from what they heard in group presentations today in class.
 * The students are working on their Culture Unit Portfolio components. We spent time in class working on some of the components. Instructions and PDF copies of the texts are available on my wiki (www.goadenglish.wikispaces.com) under English II Honors.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

Newsletter #3 - sent Friday, September 9, 2011
Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a fantastic week this week. We certainly have in 10th grade honors with our culture unit! Thank you for helping your student with his/her family interview assignment last week. Some students shared that they really enjoyed learning more about their heritage and family history. So thank you for taking time to help them in this assignment. I know it was valuable to most!


 * What we did in class this week**:
 * Received permission letter to get parent/guardian signature to read //The Kite Runner// (*please return as soon as possible!*)
 * Created different levels of questions
 * Read “Two Kinds”
 * Received “I am From” poem assignment instructions (Due Monday, Sept. 12)
 * Read “Dave Barry Does Japan”
 * Submitted Article of the Week #2 – (focused on careers)
 * Created a mind map with words associated to the word “hero”
 * Read “The Man in the Water”
 * Looking forward**
 * ***Students need to have a copy of Chinua Achebe’s //Things Fall Apart// by next week!**
 * We will begin our //Things Fall Apart// activities next week.
 * HOMEWORK this weekend:
 * o Students must complete their “I am From” assignment. They received instructions for this in class Wednesday.
 * o 1st and 2nd period ONLY: Read “The Man in the Water” in the Interactive Reader, pg. 151-154 and answer the margin questions.
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * We read three texts this week. Ask your teen to summarize what they learned from each text. In “Two Kinds,” a Chinese daughter and mother clash over what each one expects of the daughter. In “Dave Barry Does Japan,” Dave Barry humorously describes his difficulties in acclimating to Japanese culture and language during a three-week trip there. In “The Man in the Water,” a man sacrificially saves the lives of other passengers after their plane crashes into the water.
 * In memory of Sept. 11, the English 10 Honors teachers and Social Studies teachers dedicated class periods to discussing what it means to be a “hero.” Talk with your student about what he/she thinks, and ask them to share some items from their Mind Maps they created in my class on Thursday.
 * Students are writing “I am from” poems this weekend for homework. Ask your student to share his/her poem with you!

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

Have a great 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 been working through our unit on culture. 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. · Read and responded to two texts: “By Any Other Name” and “Reporting Silence” · Compared and contrasted two cultures in our text “By Any Other Name” · Learned cultural vocabulary terms and created/applied them to real life and our text, “By Any Other Name” · Students turned in their first Article of the Week · Students completed a survey about their beliefs/understanding of how culture affects and influences them · ***Students need to have a copy of Chinua Achebe’s //Things Fall Apart// by the end of next week!!*** · NO SCHOOL on Monday, Sept. 5 · HOMEWORK this weekend: o Students must use the list they created in class today (Friday) to create a Wordle collage. They have instructions on how to access the Wordle website, as well as how to enter their information. o Students must conduct a family history interview, so they may be asking you questions about your family’s heritage. They will be turning in their questions and answers from this interview on Tuesday. They are allowed to record the interview, but they must turn in a sheet of paper with written questions and notes. · We read two texts this week. Ask your teen to summarize what they learned from each text. In “By Any Other Name,” the author contrasted Indian culture and British culture. In “Reporting Silence,” a reporter explained how difficult it was for her to report strangers’ stories about their pasts when she didn’t know anything about her family’s heritage. · Students learned cultural vocabulary terms in class. Ask them to give you examples of how they’ve seen these terms in real life (they did this for homework this week, I graded it, and returned it to the students). · For the FAMILY HISTORY INTERVIEW the students are completing for homework this weekend, start thinking about what you can tell them about your family’s past. If you have photos of past relatives or documents that you haven’t shown them before, you might want to start looking for those to add to your conversation with your teen. I hope you enjoying sharing a bit of heritage with your teen this weekend! 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!
 * What we did in class this week**:
 * 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 10 Honors 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.


 * What we did in class last week**:
 * Went over class syllabus/procedures
 * Turned in their Summer Reading activities
 * Took Summer Reading test (on Wednesday)
 * Received Vocabulary List 1 - Literary Terms (quiz was on Friday)
 * Completed Mind Map group work and Presentations (based on Summer Reading)
 * Looking forward**
 * Students need to purchase a copy of Chinua Achebe’s novel, //Things Fall Apart// by Tuesday next week (Sept. 6)
 * Article of the Week (AOW) #1 is due on Friday, Sept. 2 (students self-select an article from a news source about some aspect of culture)
 * LATE ARRIVAL on Thursday, Sept. 1 (school starts at 9:55 am)
 * NO SCHOOL Monday, Sept. 5
 * Talking points for you and your teen**
 * We are currently in our unit on culture and are beginning to read texts that focus on different aspects of culture. Ask your teen to summarize what texts we are reading in class and what cultures are represented in those texts. Also, ask them what they found most interesting or most surprising about what they’ve read. (Today, we read a memoir called “By Any Other Name”—ask the students what they learned about Indian culture in today’s text.)
 * Discuss what you know about other cultures with your teen. Have you traveled to another country? Do you have first-hand experience living in a different culture than our own? If so, share your insights with your teen.

Have a fantastic day, and I look forward to hearing from you and working with you this school year!