What's next after summer reading?

After wrapping up A Lesson Before Dying this Tuesday (9/2/14), we will begin our first formal writing piece of the quarter - a personal narrative.  We will spend about a week or so reading sample narratives, discussing and writing about what we notice in these sample narratives and what this means for us as writers, and then we will be ready to write our own personal narratives.  Students will be expected to type final drafts using Google Docs; therefore, all students must know their NREVSD gmail account information before we start writing.  If you have forgotten it or are new to the district, please see Mrs. Montgomery in the media center, and she will be happy to help you.  Please take care of this right away!

After we have completed the personal narrative, we will begin reading John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men.  It is a very brief book, and we typically do not spend much more than a week reading it.  I will expect students to read outside of class on their own and to be prepared for frequent quizzes, class discussions, and other activities based on assigned readings.

I am making everyone aware of my expectations now so that you can plan accordingly.  As I mentioned in the syllabus, there will be  an increased amount of homework when studying major literary works.  It won't be an unreasonable amount of work; however, students will need to take into consideration the homework assigned in other classes along with any other commitments outside of school.  If it takes you a long time to complete a reading assignment, you should probably consider seeing me right away for a copy of the book so that you won't get behind...the sooner the better!

After-school tutoring should be starting soon and will take place Monday-Thursday from 2:30-3:30 in the high school media center.  Feel free to attend after-school tutoring to work on any of these assignments.

As always, see me if you have questions or need help!