Apples are awarded to learners who say or do something brilliant: something that sheds a light on a subject, so we can all see more clearly. It is rare that I award an apple, rarer that I award two, and I have never awarded more than two in one class period--until today. Congratulations sixth period, you had a great day!
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“Well I should reckon! it started thirty years ago, or som’ers along there. There was trouble bout something and then a lawsuit to settle it; and the suit went agin one of the men, and so he up and shot the man that won the suit—which he would naturally do, of course. Anybody would.”
~Buck Grangerford from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Use the text to support a inference about how Buck Grangerford feels about the rule of law in society. Arguments should be written in complete sentences. Buck believes that the Grangerfords are above the law. He thinks it's right to murder someone. Buck says, "so he up and shot the man that won the suit--which he would naturally do, of course. Anybody would." The way Buck has been brought up has made him believe that it's acceptable to shoot people. In reality, he only thinks this because of how he grew up; he might have a different opinion if he was raised differently. He is so casual about murder claiming that he would have killed the man too that it seems like he whole-heartedly believes that it's okay to ignore the law. ~Zoey I am in fact a large, strong person, fifty-one years old, who did a lot of farm work as a boy, who is good with tools. ~Kurt Vonnegut
You are in fact a small, weak young man, thirteen years old, who plays a lot of video games as a kid, who is eager for food, and who gets no sleep. ~Msemaji Mr. Alarcón: Class, I will be changing your pods for the second quarter.
Kevien: NOOO, Mr. Alarcón, I love my teammates! The objective of the pod system is to teach the Four Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. However, equally important, is the fifth C, compassion. Compassion means we not only empathize with others but also reach out to help them. I am so proud of Kevien and his teammates who have clearly been showing each other the compassion that is a requisite of ethical decision making. "On a team, everyone needs to be heard." ~Molly O.
In response to instructions to write a short paragraph that develops a statement with specific example, Noelle Mendoza chose the following sentence from her paragraph on the legacy of 9/11 as an example of how to populate prose using human subjects and actions verbs to focus her writing.
From The Legacy of 9/11 by Noelle Mendoza On one occasion, my father, a Mexican man with tanned skin and a large beard, was pulled aside by the airport police merely because of his physical appearance. In response to the prompt, write one paragraph that develops the statement--The legacy of 9/11 still haunts America--the Teal Team selected the following sentence as an illustration of their ability to write populated prose i.e. focused sentences with human subjects and action verbs.
From The Day Grandma's Heart Broke by Lashon'taneise Butler, Dalelesha Crawford, and Zoey Phillips We are haunted by the way our world, instead of becoming more united, has grown farther apart; the event broke a lot of hearts and sadly my grandma's was one of them. Not only does Nicky write an excellent extended definition of the word friend but also incorporates more than the three requisite noun clauses required by the assignment.
Friend By Nicky Taylor A friend is a person with whom you maintain close relations. This word originated from Old English; however, what the dictionary states is not necessarily the real life definition of a friend. What a person does will show you if he or she is a true friend or not. Whoever lies to you, is mean to you, or lets you down is not a true friend. In the end, a friend is a bridge to help you over the turbulent river of life. In response to the expository writing prompt to write an extended definition of the word friend, Eric Taylor does and excellent job. She also includes more than the requisite three noun clauses, which extend her clauses and make her sentence structure more complex. Bravo!
Friend By Erin Taylor A friend. A friend is a person who is not an enemy. This is the definition that the dictionary gives you, but is that an accurate definition of the word friend? Different people interpret the word “friend” different ways. I think a friend is someone who is always there for you anytime you need them. A friend is a person who tells you that everything is going to be okay and not to worry. A friend always has your back in any situation. A friend is a lifeline. Yes, friends can be or do all of these things, but I still don’t believe that the definition of friend is “not an enemy.” Although this can be true, there is much more to what a friend is. An enemy is a person who feels hatred towards or harms someone. So, because someone does not hate you, does that automatically mean that they are a friend? No, because friends have to have a special affectionate connection. You can’t buy friends. You can’t create friends on a website. You have to go out and connect with people to make friends. How many of the hundreds of “friends” on your social media are actually friends? They don’t hate you, so do you consider all of them friends? The word friend stems from the German word freund, which means “to love.” What people today think is that anyone they have a conversation with is their friend. You have to ask yourself though, do I love this person? If this person disappeared from my life forever, how would I be affected and could I move on? If it was the other way around, would they miss me? Is this person actually my friend? My teaching is influenced by my coaching and my coaching is influenced by my teaching. I hold very high expectations for my students but also hold high expectations for myself. I can't wait to hear what my students say when I ask them whether they feel like the class has been tuned to them: chances are I will learn a lot from what they tell me. |
Nic AlarcónEnglish teacher Archives
May 2019
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