WHAT??

What?!? Did not only able to grammar but also period five had hearing and vision tests today! We opened with the daily “Hello Smith” and then quickly moved to going over the important things before students went to get there hearing and vision tested. Important things are our scene of Romeo and Juliet will be due on Friday, April 8th.We were also informed to include within our groups the people who were having their vision and hearing tested.

Second, we learned how we were going to be grouped to go the testing Bus. We had to be extra careful and make sure we did not hit our heads on the rear view mirror like Nick Farmen did. After we discussed vision and hearing tested we started our grammar worksheet.

We wanted to play soccer; however, our friends wanted to listen to music.

Both Moritz and Smith learned the students’ dislikes.

While people we coming in and out, we watched the Romeo and Juliet modern video

 and went over the RJ FINAL PROJECT. Make sure you go BIG!

DETAILS ON FINAL PROJECTS:

• You can count down some lines

• Each character has their own promptbook character report

• Each group has their own company report

• Each group may receive BONUS points
• The promptbook is worth 200 points
• The groups promptbook can be either electronic or cute and type A
• Only one group can do a scene
• In the group’s promptbook there is a new page for each costume
• LOOK IN THE YELLOW PACKET FOR MORE DETAILS

NO LEO!!!

We started out the day with homework assignment. The homework is read AWNM, work on Romeo and Juliet final project (due Friday), grammar worksheet and quiz and study for Romeo and Juliet final test tomorrow. Then we proceeded to do our daily grammar.

We wanted to play soccer; however, our friends wanted to listen to music.

Both Moritz and Smith learned the students’ dislikes.

After grammar, we spent about 5-10 minutes to get in our groups and assign parts for the Romeo and Juliet final project. If you need more details, Smith has a packet full of everything we need to do for the project. We will get time in class to work on it every day next week. Then we moved onto the final scene of the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet (the one with Leo!). After watching the scene, we discussed the differences and other script choices, such as the absence of Paris in both movies, the absence of the apothecary in Zeffirelli and the lacking of Friar John in Luhrmann’s version. Luhrmann’s version was very heartbreaking because Romeo took the poison at the exact moment Juliet wakes up resulting in Juliet watching Romeo die. This was most likely done to empathize their fate and how you cannot plan or control it. Tomorrow we will take the grammar quiz and the Romeo and Juliet test.

"Can You Hear Me Now?"

Today in class we had our hearing and vision test on the bus. People would leave about five at a time to take their test. Other than this change in crowd, class proceeded as usual with Smith assigning homework, read AWNM. Then we did grammar;

we wanted to play soccer however our friends wanted to listen to music

                ind cl                      +                             ind cl                                                      = compound sentence

both moritz and smith learned the students dislikes

                                                ind cl                                            =ss

After grammar we finished reading Act 5. I would explain but it was only about 25 lines we needed to read and it was included in yesterday’s explanation on the blog. After the brief ending, we took the Act 5 quiz with one other partner. After everyone in the class took the vision and hearing test and was back in the room, we watched the “older” Romeo and Juliet version by Franco Zeffirelli. We will watch the version with Leo!, by Baz Luhrmann.

“I have duck tape and I will use it!”

We started out the day with our usual “Hello Smith” then got down to business (after we were threatened with duck tape).

The homework for the day was to read/ start reading A Whole New Mind. Mrs. Smith has copies in the room if needed, but if you buy your own book you will be able to annotate in it.

Then we proceeded to our daily grammar lesson;

we wanted to play soccer however our friends wanted      to listen (to music)

sub     v     inf. phr.  Obj. inf./d.o.            sub         v          inf. Phr. (prep. phr.) o.p.

both moritz and smith learned the students dislikes

         sub           sub         v                                d.o.

     After grammar, we reviewed for the Act 4 quiz for Romeo and Juliet. After Smith answered our questions we took the Act 4 quiz with another partner of our choice. Once we finished the Act 4 quiz, we started, and almost finished, Act 5 reading in class. In this scene, much blood is shed. Romeo finds out that Juliet is dead and flees to Verona to die by her side after he obtains poison from an apothecary. The scene then switches to Friar Laurence’s cell where Friar Laurence is informed my Friar John that the letter explaining Juliet’s fake death was not delivered to Romeo. Friar Laurence then goes to the Capulet tomb in order to hide Juliet away from Romeo. The setting then jumps to the tomb with Paris who is paying his respects to Juliet and finds Romeo. Thinking Romeo is there to vandalize the grave, they fight, resulting in the death of Paris. Romeo then finds Juliet’s dead body and kills himself with the poison. Juliet then awakes and sees Romeo’s body and knows he has just died. She hears someone coming and hastily kills herself. The bodies are found, Friar Laurence explains the whole situation and Montague and Capulet agree to end their feud, for it has taken too many tolls on both houses. Exeunt!

TUESDAY!

Hello Smith!!!

Another terrific Tuesday! We started class with the regular “Hello Smith!”. We reviewed the daily powerpoint stating that our agenda for the period: first grammar, later picking names for the technology showcase, then take the act four quiz, lastly read act five.

Being the dis-functional family we are, we went off the agenda. Our class talked about ETAC and the different meetings for the technology showcase. The ones picked for the technology showcase are Brendan M, Maggie H., Me (Emily Wolff), Meagan M., and the back up is John P.

In grammar we learned about infinitive phrases!!!

In act five of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo find out that Juliet is dead but does not know Friar's plan. He talks to a apothecary and buys a drug that will kill him. Romeo does not have the knowledge of Friar's plan because the letter was stopped by the plague. He heads to “dead” Juliet's tomb and drinks the potion killing himself. Juliet kills herself after seeing Romeo dead. Friar comes too late to the scene to tell Romeo of the plan and save Juliet.

HOMEWORK: start reading A Whole New Mind

MEETING FOR TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE: 4/6 at 2:30

REMINDER: talk to Smith for more information if interested in ETAC and Smith is running a half marathon!!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

The Day After Spring Break: Block 5 Edition

Today, in Smith's class, Block 5 started a new week of grammar. The two sentences are as follows:

we wanted to play soccer however our friends wanted to listen to music

both moritz and smith learned the students dislikes

Then she asked for volunteers for Saturday, April 16 to represent Arapahoe High School. Talk to her if you want to volunteer. She is also running a half-marathon on Sunday, April 10 at 9 if you want to come. Then we read act 4 of Romeo and Juliet and took a quiz on it. Talk to Smith if you need to take it. On this day in history:

1799- New York abolishes slavery.

1885- The Salvation Army was organized.

Spring Break!

We started off today with a slight seating change due to a spill on one side of the room, after everyone got settled we got down to business. We turned in our grammar worksheet, our essay rubrics for the rewrites, and our scripts for the Tableaux Vivant performances. We then split into our partners for the Act 3 quiz and got our grammar quizzes. We took both quizzes while the performances began.

After the performances, which were all very good, we watched Act 3 of the Luhrman’s (the one with Leonardo DiCaprio) version of Romeo and Juliet, while commenting on how whiny Leonrardo DiCaprio is in this movie. We had just gotten to the scene where Romeo leaves Friar Lawrence’s house cell to spend the night with Juliet when the bell rang, so we will probably finish when we get back from break!

We have no homework over break. Although we do need to have A Whole New Mind by April 4^th, so if you have time over break, it may be beneficial to get a copy. Also you do not need to have a copy, because Smith can provide one, however this is the book we will be basing our TED Talk off of, so it is recommended that you get your own copy to annotate and highlight.

Have a great spring break everyone!

Multi-Task Friday

So today, we started off with turning in our grammar sheets and our paper revisions (only if you actually revised your paper). After that, we did our grammar quiz, our Romeo and Juliet act 3 quizzes, and our Act 3 tableaux’s, all at the same time. Most groups in our class did the lines that involved 4 people, but there were groups who did not. When asked why people picked the lines they did, a common answer was that they thought it helped tie the section together, and in all of the performances, I would say it did help tie details from the sections together. After we finished our quizzes and all, we watched Act 3, scene 1 of the modern movie. Some interesting notes were that Tybalt was beating up Romeo while he was saying his lines. Also, Tybalt seemed to realize his wrongful actions when he killed Mercutio.

As for homework, there is none, only a slight suggestion. If you have time over Spring Break, Ms. Smith suggests you should start reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. Other than that, no homework. So, HAVE FUN OVER SPRING BREAK!

Juliet threatens to kill herself, Romeo is forced to leave, and Capulet threatens to disown Juliet! Oh the drama!

Today we started off with a quick grammar review:

Here is the original sentence (front board):

the cat ran up the tree but was rescued by the firemen

And here is the sentence with the changes made today highlighted in red:

The cat ran up the tree but was rescued by the firemen.

_ ^

_

_

Also here is the diagram for the sentence:

Here is the original sentence (back board):

since when did we support that ridiculous charity

And here is the sentence with the changes made today highlighted in red:

Since when did we support that ridiculous charity?

_ ^

_

_

Also here is how to diagram the sentence:

After grammar we headed right in to Romeo and Juliet in which we read Act 3 Scenes 2-5. Click here for a link to No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet provided by SparkNotes, which has a more modern translation of the play to the right of the actual text.

Don’t forget we have a grammar test tomorrow, the grammar worksheet is due tomorrow, paper corrections are due tomorrow, we will be performing the Tableaux Vivant performances tomorrow, and there is also an Act 3 quiz tomorrow! Sounds like we’ve got a busy day tomorrow!

We started of the morning with a half-hearted “Hello Smith” and got right down to business!

Below is our daily grammar practice:

art part n v prep art n conj hv v prep art n

the frightened cat ran up the tree but was rescued by the firemen

S V OP V OP

prep n hv pron v adj adj n

since when did we support that ridiculous charity

S V DO

* In the above sentences did and support (highlighted in blue) are the verbs of the sentence.

Today we came to the conclusion that both of the sentences are independent clauses and are simple sentences. The red texts above the sentences are all of the parts of speech we have labeled earlier in the week and the blue texts below the sentences are the sentence parts and phrases that we have labeled earlier in the week. Also the yellow highlighted texts are prepositional phrases.

Also today in class we read Act 3, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet. Click here for a link to the reading. In addition you can click here for a link to the No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, provided by SparkNotes with a side bar containing a more modern translation of the play.

After reading we went over the scene, then divided into our Tableaux Vivant groups and practiced our performances. The Tableaux Vivant performances will be on Friday after we take our Act 3 quiz. Click here for a link to an earlier blog post by Maria Knigge pertaining to the Tableaux Vivant assignment, to get more of an idea of what Tableaux Vivants are, click here.

For further information see Smith’s powerpoint below or scroll through the blog for earlier posts.

The Perfect Day for a Fight...

Today was Wednesday, March 16, 2011, and a perfect day for a
fight! (Not really, but it connects to the class period). Anyway, we started
off class with our usual introductions, and headed into the world o Language
Arts. First, as always, we pulled out our planners and talked about homework (I
will explain it at the end of this entry). 

Next we started on grammar. Today we worked on the Clauses and Sentences Types. We came to the conclusion
that both of the sentences were independent clauses and simple sentences. Next,
we read Act 3 Scene 1. We assigned the parts and got ready to perform. We all
had to make sure that we were paying attention because it was a very important
scene because it included a heated fight and two deaths (Mercutio and Tybalt),
and Romeo was banished and not come back. (If that really did not make sense, here is a video of the scene. Just to warn you it is a little weird.) After the
scene had been read all the way through, we talked as a class about what it
meant.

Next, we were given the last part of class (a little under half an hour)
to work on our Tableau Vivants performance. We were able to work on making the
performances better and working on our beginning and ending actions. Once that
was done, we cleaned up and headed off to our next classes. Last, our homework
is to finish our Wikified Research Paper revisions by Friday, and also to have
our Tableaux Vivants performances ready to perform by Friday.

(P.S. ONLY TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL SPRING BREAK!!!!!)

Time to "Capture the Essence" of only 3 more Days!

Today was Tuesday, March 15, 2011, and it was
another beautiful sunny day. At the beginning of the period, we all walked in
and picked up our Romeo and Juliet books and went to sit down. After a few
minutes of chatting, Mrs. Smith walked in and gave us the usual greeting.
Looking up at the PowerPoint, we listened to the day’s plans. First, she told
us about our homework. Since next week is Spring Break, Smith is being
extremely generous on the amount of homework. All that we have to do is have
our paper revisions done by this Friday (if you are doing them because it is
not required), and we have to our Tableaux Vivants (or living picture) projects
ready to be performed by Friday. Next, we moved onto grammar. Just in case you
missed yesterday and today, here are the sentences:

- the frightened cat ran up the tree but was rescued by the fireman

- since when did we support that ridiculous charity

All that we worked on for today was the phrases and
extra sentence parts (ex. DO, OP). After the grammar was finished and put away,
we watched the balcony scenes. First, we watched the older version. While the
video was running, we also split into partners and picked up the Act 2 Quiz and
started to work on it. After the balcony scene had ended in the older version,
we started the newer, modern version. During this video, we finished up our
Quizzes and turned them in. Once that video had finished, we talked together as
a class about the similarities and differences. Such as how the old version was
filmed on a balcony, whereas the new version was filmed in a pool.

After our talk was over, Mrs. Smith started to
explain the project that is due Friday. The Project is called Tableaux Vivants,
which means living picture in French. It is a performance where after and
before a line is said, and action pertaining to the line is played out. Here is a cool video about it.

Smith next gave us steps of what to do:

-Pull up the lines on Microsoft Word

- Choose the lines out of the chunk of lines that you have that seem the most important.

-Take the ones that fit or “Capture the Essence of that Group of Lines”

-Highlight the Lines that are being used

- Think up a beginning and ending action for each set of lines
    -Make an opening and closing

After the explanation, we split up into groups of 2-5, and started working. Last, as I said before, the only homework we have is to be ready to perform this project and have our paper revisions done by Friday.

(P.S. last last, ONLY THREE MORE DAYS UNTIL SPRING
BREAK!!!!)

Warrior Week: Day 2

So we started off the day, as usual, with a scattered "Hello, Smith!" We then moved on to the Act II Quiz for Romeo & Juliet, accompanied by the balcony scene from the movies of Luhrmann and Zeffirelli. The key difference between the two films was the presence of the balcony. Luhrmann's version had no balcony, showing the awkwardness of young love and symbolizes the acceptance of the society they live in and the hope that their love will succeed. Zeffirelli's film shows the balcony as a barrier between both Romeo and Juliet and their love. It shows greater separation between lovers and households alike; whereas, Luhrmann shows less of a barricade between the two.

We finished the discussion about the balcony scenes, and continued into a quick grammar lesson.

Front Sentence:

the frightened cat ran up the tree but was rescued by the fireman

Subject: cat

Verbs: ran/ was rescued

Prepositional Phrases: up the tree/ by the fireman

Object of the Preposition: tree/ fireman

Back Sentence:

since when did we support that ridiculous charity

Subject: we

Verb: did support

Direct Object: charity

Prepositional Phrase: since when

Object of Preposition: when

We finished class by starting to work on our Tableaux Vivant project over Act III, scene I of Romeo & Juliet. The project requires a piece of the scene to be broken down into one line snippets; meaning, each character will say one line from the scene that best sums up what happens or its importance to the play. For example, if Benvolio has 14 lines throughout the designated part, it must be broken down into one line. REMEMBER: a line is not just one line of the poem, but a sentence ending with a form of punctuation. Each person in the group must have a starting movement and an ending movement where they stay frozen. In a word document, you must have the lines being spoken highlighted and the start and end positions for each group member. These will be preformed on this Friday.

HOMEWORK: Wiki Paper corrections and Tableaux Vivant

And so Warrior Week Begins

March 14, 2011

Today our usual, "Hello Smith!" was lakcing, and after a second try we finally got it right. Then we got right down to work on our grammar. If your looking to practice a practice sentence is, "Since when did we support that charity." After grammar we moved on to reading the remainder of Act II of Romeo and Juliet. We then watched a film interpritation of the Balcony Scene.

Our Homework:
Edit Wikified Paper by Friday


Happy Pi Day!

Its Friday!

March 11, 2011

Today in 2^nd period we beginned with a grand, “Hello Smith!” followed by five or ten minutes to get in our Prologue Reading Groups. After we had time to run through our perfomances once or twice we were randomly selected to perform in front of the class. Heres what you missed if you were absent:

A group with sunglasses reciting the prologue to the rythym of snaps

A group where people acted out the actions being read.

A group of “soldiers”   chanting the prologue.

An overdramatic and humorous act-out of the prologue.

A flashlight performance of the prologue.

A, well, someout chaotic performance of the prologue.

After all the perfomances were finished we started to read Act II of Romeo and Juliet.

Our Homework:

Edit Wikified Papers by Spring Break

Have a great weekend!

It Is Over: CSAPs Have Ended

Today marks the end of another successful year of doing CSAPs in the Littelton Public School district. As for the freshman at Arapahoe that means that they only have to take one more year of testing. But those last CSAP days are still a year away and students still need to worry about current school responsibilities. Like the ones the honors students in Mrs. Smiths English class have. 
Today in English there was no new homework, just the project of the prologue in act 2 of Romeo and Juliet due tomorrow. During class there was a quiz on Act 1 of the play that the students could do with a partner. As the students took the quiz, Mrs. Smith meet with students to conference about their wiki-papers. After the quiz the students got into their groups for the  project and discussed what they would do on Friday. They did this tell then end of the period (I think). The bells were not working right and they didn't ring so the students just left when others were seen in halls. 

CSAPs Day Three: One day down, One more to go!

Mrs. Smith’s 9^th grade honors class started off as any other day. Except March 9, 2011 was not any other day. It was the third day of CSAPs for the students and because of the test they had shortened periods. English class today would only be 50 minutes. 10 minutes were lost, never to be used to educate the students. But even with the shorter period the class continued as normal.

“Hello Class”

“Hello Smith”

The class received a plan of action for the period. There was no homework to night but the class did get a project that is due on Friday. The project is to memorize the prologue for act 2 in Romeo and Juliet with five other students and to perform it in front of the class. Today the students got briefly into their groups to assign 2-3 lines for each student to memorize. Also a worksheet was passed out to help with the project.  After the class finished reading Act 1 of the play, Mrs. Smith put on the film of Romeo and Juliet so the class could see the dance scene when Romeo and Juliet first meat.  

Tomorrow’s agenda for class will include a quiz on Act 1 (so you might want to re-read it) and some time to work on the project with your group.

Happy Tuesday!

Today in period dos, we had another pretty easy day! I thought that going form three to two CSAP tests was waaaaaaay awesome!  Well, back to what happened in class, we began with our Act 1 quiz... With partners! Thank you, Smith! We also got a whole new project that is due Friday!  For this little project, we made groups of 5 or so people and we have to memorize the Act II prologue, or specific lines if that was what your group decided on. Each group has to interpret the lines in some way for when we present them to the class on Friday! It's worth 60 points, but as long as you try your best and actually do your job, I'm sure it'll turn out great!:) In other homework news, the revised wiki papers are due on the Friday before Spring Break, so March 18! On the rubric, highlight the things that you decided to change to enhance your paper and fix your grade... And I bet it'll make Smith's job easier. Good luck!!:)