2nd and 5th Period English Language Students

Here is your homework assignment: 

Properly punctuate the sentences below.  

1)  MY GRANDMOTHER ALWAYS SAYS BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

2)  MY MOTHERS FAVORITE POEM STATES THIS ABOVE ALL TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

3)  I DONT CARE SHE SAID WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT

4)  WHY DID MRS RODRIGUEZ SHOUT WHERE DID THAT COME FROM

5)  OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING JEFFREY SAID TO HIMSELF

6)  WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT DO I MEAN ALBERT SNIFFED

7)  HAVE IT YOUR WAY KARINA RETORTED IF THATS HOW YOU FEEL

8) DIDNT HE ASK WHAT DID WE DO QUERIED JOHN

9-10)  Create 2 more of YOUR OWN sentences that reflect proper punctuation of quotations as per our review in class.  

Period 2, see you Thursday!  Period 5, see you Friday!  ☺

Attention "Sixcessful" FCAT Writers!

Several of you passed by and shared your testing experiences with us; thank you for that!  And thank you for giving it your all today--we are certain you knocked out that F-CAT!  ☺  

While your creative juices are flowing and your vivid writing is still fresh in your minds, we want you to rewrite your essay to the best of your memory for homework tonight.  We will use your essays in class tomorrow, scoring and providing feedback to predict your scores.  Once the results are released, we will compare the state's scores to our own.  

Remember, we will print Reading Plus reports by 7 a.m. tomorrow.  Make sure your required sessions are completed before then.  

We love you and look forward to seeing you tomorrow! 

FCAT Camp & Reading Plus

Thank you to our juniors who came out to help our sophomores at FCAT Camp!  We are thankful for your contribution.  Great job!  We were also glad to see several of our 10th graders come out to camp.  It takes a TRUE CHAMPION to be there on a Saturday!  WE ARE PROUD OF YOU ALL!!!!!

Please note that we're doing a little something different with Reading Plus this week: we will track both your sessions and your time.  Be prepared for a quiz on your Reading Plus passages as well.   Period 2 has three sessions to complete by Tuesday MORNING.    Period 3 has three sessions, but yours are not due until Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. (to give you extra rest tonight for FCAT tomorrow).  Period 4 only has two sessions this week, which is due on Wednesday at 7 a.m. (to give you extra rest tonight for FCAT tomorrow).  Periods 5 & 6 have the same two due Tuesday :)

We love you!  

Periods 2-5-6

Remember, sweetie pies, there is a big vocab test Thursday and Friday. If you need the Unit 5 list, it is under the Eng Lang page on our site: teamrogo.com

Study, study, study! 

I'm happy to host a tutoring session at lunch on Thursday. Pack a lunch and be there no later than 11:30. No admittance after that time!

Love you all!

FT List for Periods 2, 5, and 6

The most current list of eligible students for our Zora field trip is HERE.  It's by period, so look to see if you qualify.  The first 50 students on that list to bring their $22 will  attend.  This will pay for your food and tip for the bus driver.  You may want to bring extra cash for t-shirts, arts and craft items, or more food (if you have that kind of appetite).  When you turn in your money, you will get a field trip form.  If you are on the list and cannot pay for any reason, please email us ASAP.

The trip is on Friday, 2/1.  There is no school that day :)  We will leave here at 6:45 a.m. and return by 11 p.m. that same day.  There will also be a digital scrapbook assignment that you will present to our classes when you return on Monday and Tuesday!

Smile and love you!

Julius Caesar and TEWWG Celebrations

Periods 3 & 4 - We are doing our CAESAR CELEBRATION/TOGA PARTY this Monday (3rd period) and Tuesday (4th period)!  This is your final reminder.  If you signed up to bring in $3 for Caesar's Zealous Ziti, give it to me before you leave tomorrow.  If not, you can bring it the day of your period's party. 

Periods 2, 5, and 6 - We're going to have a celebration to bring TEWWG to a close.  Let's go with Southern-style food.  Refer to the novel for some ideas.  We will have our Zora celebration on Wednesday and Thursday next week.  We will have sign ups in class this week and next!

IMPORTATNT: Your Readings for Tues/Wed.

All Periods: Remember your Reading Plus.  Please do two your sessions by Tuesday.  On Feb 5th, we will also be grading you on "BEING CAUGHT UP."  By then, you should have 34 sessions.

In addition, based on your grades for the last two nine weeks, your absences, and your number of Reading Plus sessions, we submitted a list yesterday to administration for students to be removed from our class.  We don't want to let you go, but we have to at this point.  Understand that many of you, based on similar criteria, are going on contract.  If you fail to meet the requirements of this contract, you will also be removed from our class WITHOUT HESITATION.  Understand that once you are out, it is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be readmitted into the English portion of the Cambridge program.  (This is NOT a joke or to stir emotion; this is, unfortunately, very real.)

Periods 2, 5, 6:  Check our new site (TEAMROGO.COM)  for the assignment for your readings this week.  DO THIS TODAY!  Remember to click on the ENGLISH LANG tab at the top to access your class page.

Periods 3 & 4:  Remember that you are reading Part One, Chapters I and II.  Please annotate your novels in the margins or on Post-It notes.  You also need to leave a comment on our new site: TEAMROGO.COM.  Once you go to the site, look for the GEN PAPER tab, then click on it.  This is your page!

We love you all very, very much!  Looking forward to a wonderful week of learning and a semester of SUCCESS!

<3

Weekend Details!

Periods 2 and 6:  For next class, read chapters 8-11. You will all be caught up with the reading calendar by Tuesday!  Yay!  As someone pointed out today, MoGo and I have read this novel several times and know the many detailed points of it. As a result, some of our questions are equally detailed, and many of you struggle.  Please understand it's hard not to be so detailed when Spark supplies you with so much information.  Be sure to make QUALITY ANNOTATIONS in your novel for these chapters, and that will help!  Sorry if I failed you as a teacher today.  :(

Period 5: You are reading Chapters 5-7 for Monday.  It's a fairly large amount of pages, so do not wait until the last minute.  Be sure to make QUALITY ANNOTATIONS in your novel for these chapters, and that will help!  You will read 8-11 for Wednesday and will also be caught up! :)

Period 3: As you probably read already, we selected 1984 by George Orwell as our next novel!  You  have the option to bring us money to order your copy ($10), buy your own copy, or you can check one out from a library by searching destiny.dadeschools.net.   You need the novel by Friday, Jan. 18th, as the first quiz will be on Tuesday, Jan. 22nd.   We will collect money Monday ONLY. Again, if you exhaust all of the aforementioned options, and you cannot afford a book, know that we have your back, just let us know!  In addition, bring in your revised news stories printed out and on a USB (in case more changes need to be made).

Period 4: Look in the General Paper (or GP) column to the right of the blog.  Scroll down to the vocab section and there is your new list of words (Unit 6)!  With those words, create a chart, and fill it in accordingly (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CHART).   In addition, bring in your revised news stories printed out and on a USB (in case more changes need to be made).

As always, know we love you!

HW - All classes

All Classes:  Remember, you need to have 28 sessions of Reading Plus by Tuesday, Jan. 15th!  There is no activity for Word of the Week this week, though we have a big one coming up next week!  Be ready!  MAKE SURE ALL OF YOUR WORDS ARE IN YOUR VOCAB JOURNALS!  Don't be surprised if we don't check journals VERY SOON! 

Periods 2, 5, and 6:  Read chapters 5-7 of Their Eyes Were Watching God for next class.  We will attempt to get caught up with the reading calendar by Monday.  Remember that you need to do well on your tests to go on the Zora! field trip Feb 1st to Eatonville, FL (details about the trip will follow soon).  Some of you already failed the first quiz, so get on the ball.  You will need to have an average of 80% on all our assessments if you want to attend.  If you need to see the reading calendar, click HERE.  In addition, Natalie V. in second period found THIS GLOSSARY to help her understand some of the colloquialisms in the novel.  It is organized by chapter and is fairly thorough.  Thank you, Natalie V., for sharing it with us! 

Periods 3 & 4:  You need to finish your personal news story essays AND sign up for our Julius Caesar celebration a few posts below this one.  In addition, we selected 1984 by George Orwell as our next novel, so you need to bring in $10 for your copy if you need us to order it for you. You also have the option to buy your own copy, or you can check one out from a library by searching destiny.dadeschools.net.   You need the novel by Friday, Jan. 18th, as the first quiz will be on Tuesday, Jan. 22nd.   We will collect money until Monday next week. Again, if you exhaust all of the aforementioned options, and you cannot afford a book, know that we have your back, just let us know!

REMINDER....

Happy New Year!  Check the post below this one about Reading Plus.  I checked it today, and many of you are STILL NOT on track for the 26 sessions for 1/8/13!

ALL JUNIORS - If you DID NOT buy your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God from us, you will need to have your copy come Monday (or Tuesday for 5th period).  Bring it to class, as we will be starting it then. 

MISS YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! 

Love,
C-Rod and MoGo

HOLIDAY HELLO

Ms. Gonzalez and I want to wish you the MERRIEST of Christmases and the HAPPIEST of days!  We miss you already!  Thank you for the many notes, hugs, gifts, and goodies you gave us this past week; we love EVERYTHING and are so grateful for your thoughtfulness and love.  Really, our days are brighter because of you!

Don't forget to do your 4 sessions of Reading Plus.  You can do them whenever, as long as they're done by 1/8/13.  In addition, if you are not up to 26 sessions by then, you will need to be.  Take this time to get caught up.  Every week you aren't, you will not get the points for keeping up the pace.  If you are already at 26 sessions, you are OFF for the entire break (good job).

REMEMBER THAT WE LOVE YOU VERY, VERY MUCH!!!!!

Periods 3 & 4, read this!

In the aftermath of our nation's recent tragedy--and much to our chagrin--C-Rod and I have decided to postpone our Ides of December Toga Celebration until we return from winter break.

Please pass this news on to your friends and classmates as soon as you read it!

Remember, bookbags and large purses will not be allowed in school on Friday; that said, make sure to bring pens, paper, and folders to class. YOU WILL STILL HAVE YOUR VOCABULARY TEST; STUDY!

Know that we love you! While we have been eager to culminate our JULIUS CAESAR unit, we agree the postponement is most wise. :0) 

Celebrating Caesar - PERIOD 3

Celebrating Caesar

Period 3 (Period 4, you will leave a comment in the next post): We did not have time to decide which items you could bring for our Ides of December celebration.  Naturally, all items need to relate to our play - Julius Caesar.  Be sure to list the item(s) you plan to bring here in this post.  For example, Michelle Garcia is bringing three bottles of Portia's Burning Coal-a (soda). Try not to double up on items.  Let's be different. YOU WILL NEED TO LABEL YOUR FOOD WITH THE NAME YOU CREATE :)  Oh, if you cannot bring anything, but you can donate $3, I will bring in a HUGE tray of Brutus's Zealous Ziti.

YOU MUST WEAR A TOGA over your uniform for our celebration!!!!

Celebrating Caesar - PERIOD 4

Period 4: We did not have time to decide which items you could bring for our Ides of December celebration.  Naturally, all items need to relate to our play - Julius Caesar.  Be sure to list the item(s) you plan to bring here in this post.  For example, Michelle Garcia is bringing three bottles of Portia's Burning Coal-a (soda). Try not to double up on items.  Let's be different. YOU WILL NEED TO LABEL YOUR FOOD WITH THE NAME YOU CREATE :)  Oh, if you cannot bring anything, but you can donate $3, I will bring in a HUGE tray of Brutus's Zealous Ziti.

YOU MUST WEAR A TOGA over your uniform for our celebration!!!!

BLESSING BASKETS - ALL PERIODS

For the holidays, we are doing Blessing Baskets in honor of Ms. Valle's beloved grandfather. He passed away this week, and his wish was that we help our families :)  With that said, we are collecting items for SIX blessing baskets (one per period) to help those in our Gladiator family.  Please sign up in class THIS WEEK.  We will need all items by Monday :)

You all have no idea how important it is to PAY IT FORWARD, and we're proud of you for participating for no credit, no grade, no points.  It is you, our amazing students, who put the "BLESSING" in Blessing Baskets.

All Classes

ALL CLASSES:  Remember to have your 20 Reading Plus sessions done by tomorrow  :)  For Word of the Day this week, do ONE of these graphic organizers (see below) for ONE word from 112/10-12/14.  It is due on Thursday (per. 3 & 5) or Friday (per. 2, 4, and 6). For more specific instructions for certain periods, SEE BELOW:

Period 4 - Be sure to finish Act I of Julius Caesar.  Click HERE to access an online copy.  Be ready for a quiz on that scene on Friday. 

Periods 2 & 6 -   Go to TEAMROGO.COM.  Click on the ENGLISH LANG tab to access your page.  Once you're on your page, click on the EL Unit 5 Vocab link on the right.  Remember, you need to be on the English Lang page to see the link. Copy the new words into your vocab journal. 

Love you ALL!!!

PS. For WOD this week, use this:

– Period 4, here's your homework:  

 Create your own slither of a sonnet following these guidelines:

- Topic:

™ 1) Excessive pride leads to one’s ruin.    OR

™ 2) Good leaders acknowledge their weaknesses. 

– - 6 lines of Iambic Pentameter (10 syllables each)

– - Rhyme Scheme:

™ A

™ B

™ A

™ B

™ C

™ C

–  -Due Monday, 12/10.

Period 3

Period 3 - Be sure to finish Act I, scene ii of Julius Caesar.  Click HERE to access an online copy.  Be ready for a quiz on that scene on Friday.  In addition, don't forget to do your graphic for one of the Words of the Day.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?????

All Classes:  For this weekend (or at least until Tuesday), you should be working towards that Reading Plus MINIMUM of 18 sessions.  Remember that a session doesn't end until you see that progress screen.  Be sure to complete reading and vocab each session.  For Word of the Day this week, you will create a graphic of one word from THIS WEEK (Nov. 30-Dec. 7) like the ones we have done in class.  There are some samples here on our blog under the General Paper column.

General Paper:  Your only HW is to complete Reading Plus.  Keep in mind that you will have the FCAT 2.0 Writing Field Test on Tuesday.  This is merely a pilot; however, you are EXPECTED to go FULL THROTTLE on this test and RACE TOWARDS a SIX!!!!!!  Your actual FCAT Writing exam won't be until the end of February.  (Period 4, we will be collecting your essays and your self-evaluations on Tuesday, so please bring them in.)

English Language:   You not only have to get caught up on Reading Plus, you must also do your Iola reading, and study for your vocab test.  Many have expressed that they're really immersed in our novel, which is always music to our ears.  Be sure to check the calendar for the chapters you must complete.  (Period 5, we are back on schedule, so be ready for a quiz on Chapters 9-15.)  Period 2, since I didn't collect them, you will submit your annotated article on Tuesday for last week. 

Thinking Skills: Be ready for a cumulative vocab quiz any minute! STUDY THOSE WORDS DAILY!

Know that we love and miss you DEARLY!

ALL CLASSES - HW CLARIFICATION

ALL CLASSES:   First, THANK YOU for being the wonderful, brilliant, comical, and uplifting students you are.  WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!!  

In addition, thank you, thank you, thank you for your donations to our Turkey Bowl project.  There were 12 baskets made throughout the school, and ROGO's amazing students accounted for 6 of them!  There is no way we could have done what we did without your help.  As always, GREAT JOB!  Remember, what you do in life will echo for an eternity :) 

For Word of the Day, all you have to do is fill out all the words for this week and next.  We will check your journals next week to ensure all of your words are in there.  Good news - skip your synthesis chart that would have been due this Thursday and Friday (our Thanksgiving gift to you).  You will do something for next Thursday or Friday that is a little different: Pick an article from this week or next (11/19-11/29), print it, annotate it (take marginal notes), and be prepared to speak about it in class!  You will not be doing a chart.  However, do try to find an article that relates to PLESS:  Politics, Love/marriage, Economics or environment, Social media (sports or entertainment), or Science/technology.  This will help you for the argumentative/discursive portion of the AICE exam in May.

There will also be make-up for Reading Plus.  You can make up sessions dating back until the first week of THIS marking period. 

PERIODS 2, 5, and 6:
Take some time this weekend to watch the video below.   It gives you some insight to the Civil War, as well as many of the key battles.  This will help as you read our novel.  Already in the beginning chapters, we learn about Bull Run, and there will certainly be more references to the war as the novel progresses.  

As a reminder, periods 2 & 6, you will read the introduction through chapter 4.  Be ready for discussion and a quiz on Monday.  Period 5, you will read chapters 3-6 for Tuesday.  Be ready for a discussion on the first two chapters through chapter 6.  The lexicon is beneath this post.  Check under the comments for our initial list of words, and feel free to add to it as you read.  

In addition, if you plan to attend the field trip on 12/4, please bring in your money at the beginning of the week.  It's $20 and includes the play on the various short stories/poems, food, as well as your bus ride.