Filming

Today we created our short films in class and tomorrow will be putting some finishing touches on them and will be uploading them.

Those of you who prepared and brought in costumes...your effort really seemed to pay off!

Homework:  12 Angry Men objective test is this Friday.

Finish the Play and Bring in a Costume!

On Monday we're going to be using the iPads to shoot a little video of your character...that's why you need your costumes!

There are specific things that need to be in your video...that's why you need to watch the video below this weekend...so you can come prepared to shoot!

Only one class completely finished the play, so the rest of us will finish it Monday as well, right before we jump into the shooting.

We covered some intense parts of the play today...the video also has a little bit of review.

Homework:  Watch the video and bring in your character's costume.  The video will tell you what you need to have in your short film.

Acting Day 4

We will finish this play tomorrow!  We will have a little discussion and then watch the movie shortly thereafter next week.

Homework:  Watch the movie below.  It will ask you to post something on Edmodo...watch it to find out what!

Acting, Day 3

Today we went over the facts you posted on Edmodo, and continued acting.  You have another night to fix your post, or repost if you like!

Homework:  no new homework.  See last post.

Acting Day 2

Today we acted once again...and the tension is building!  Tomorrow we will continue acting.

Homework:  Read up to page 45. Watch the video below.  It has a question that you need to post an answer for on Edmodo.

Acting: Day 1

Hi folks,

Today we began acting.  Tomorrow we will continue.  If you had a classmate who has the same role, it will be their turn tomorrow.

Homework:  Watch the video below.  Write the answers down on a separate piece of paper, and be ready to be called upon in class tomorrow.

Angry Men

Today you signed out your copy of 12 Angry Men, the classic play by Reginald Rose.  You were also assigned a juror to pay special attention towards.

Homework:  Read up to page 30.   Look for a quote that shows your character's personality, and post it in a reply on Edmodo.

The Jury Deliberates

Today you were broken down into jury groups and charged with coming up with a unanimous verdict. You either need to all say guilty (beyond a reasonable doubt), or not-guilty, and acquit the defendant.  Remember, he is charged with the death penalty, and if convicted, will be sentenced for execution.  If he is acquitted, he cannot be recharged with the same crime twice, no matter what (double-jeopardy).

There may have been some arguments, disagreements, and even slight coercion.  Some people may have taken it more seriously than others.  Some may have been stubborn.

Homework:  Go on Edmodo and reply to the questions I posted about the jury deliberation process.  This is your chance to say how the group worked, and how it may have influenced your personal decision or not.  Due tonight.

Grammar and Justice

Today we had a brief review before taking the grammar quizzes on verbs and prepositional phrases.

Remember: a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition, ends with a noun (or pronoun), and never has a verb in it.

The quiz was on Edmodo.  Schedule a retake after school if you didn't do so well.

Afterwards, there was a fact sheet about a crime on Edmodo.  Read the facts, see the videos in the post below and make your decision: guilty or not-guilty.

Homework:  Five sentences turned in to the above-mentioned Edmodo assignment.

You Decide

Quick practice for identifying prepositions

 prepositions quiz: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/preps/ex1.htm

Cool explanation of prepositions here:  http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/preposition.htm

Bigger prepositions quiz:  http://lessons.englishgrammar101.com/EnglishGrammar101/Module1/Lesson1-40.aspx

Another one:

http://lessons.englishgrammar101.com/EnglishGrammar101/Module1/Lesson1-41.aspx


And another one:

http://lessons.englishgrammar101.com/EnglishGrammar101/Module1/Lesson1-42.aspx

Hope your vacation was wonderful!

When you get back, your prepositions poster will be due.  Look at the example posted below.

Tomorrow in class, we will review the posters, the prepositions song, and yes, more prepositions exercises.

How to get out of the prepositions part of the quiz

If you can recite the following song to me, verbatim, a day before the quiz, you get an automatic 100 on it...although you will still have to take the verbs portion.

The Mighty Prepositions Song

Sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy”

Aboard, about, above, across

Against, along, around

As, among, after, at, out

Except, for, during, down

Behind, below, beneath, beside

Between, before, beyond

By, over, of, in, from, off, on

Until, unto, upon

Under, underneath, up, since,

Like, near, past, through, throughout,

With, within, instead of, without,

To, into, toward, inside!

                                   

(and now for some compound prepositions!)

Because of, according to

In addition to…

Instead of, in back/front of

On top of, out of, next to!

The two things that you have to know

 About prepositional phrases:

First, they never roam alone;

Objects always follow close behind them-

Which of course are nouns or pronouns

Without those, preps are adverbs.

The second thing with these phrases -

they act as adverbs or adjectives!

Prepositions Song - Schoolhouse Rock

Study those roots!

Today we studied our Greek and Latin roots, and it is evident that many of you need to continue studying tonight.  That's the only homework.

We also introduced a discusion about verbs.  There are three types: Action Verbs, Linking Verbs, and Helping Verbs.

Action Verbs - these are the things you do!  Run, jumps, laughed, crying ... all action verbs!

Linking Verbs - these act as a link between the subject and a word that that describes or renames it.  They are usually "To Be" verbs.

Helping Verbs - these are little verbs like "To Be" verbs or "To Have" verbs.  They are always hanging on to bigger verbs.

Homework: study for roots quiz tomorrow!

Greek and Latin Root Flashcards

Here are the flashcards:

Last chance to spell

Today we had another practice spelling test.  Tomorrow is the real deal!

Also tomorrow we will have flashcards for Greek and Latin roots, for which we'll have a quiz on Friday!

Spelling and Root Work

Today we did more work on studying our Greek/Latin roots and our Spelling Lists.  Each student was assigned one of the roots (listed in last post) to create a poster.  The poster must have 5 words that use the root, the root and its definition, and be full-color.

Homework: Greet/Latin Root poster due Tuesday.  Spelling quiz is Wednesday.

Spelling and Greek/Latin Roots

Today you will get your spelling lists.  After taking a brief pre-test to see how many words on your list you can already spell, continue to practice them for homework.

The second activity you will do in class today is play Greek/Latin Root Baseball!  We will also be studying 30 of the most common roots, and their meanings.  Knowing these will ultimately help us do two things: 1) determine the meanings of larger words we don't know, and 2) be able to spell new words a little better since we know how to spell the roots.

Homework:  Spelling list quiz is next Wednesday.  Roots quiz is to be announced.

Below are the spelling words and all the list of all the Greek/Latin roots that we will be studying.

Spelling:

Standard List       CP List      Honors List

Greek/Latin Roots:

ROOT	MEANING	EXAMPLES
-ast(er)-(G)	star	asteroid, astronomy
-audi- (L)	hear	audible, audience
-auto- (G)	self	automatic, autopsy
-bene- (L)	good	benefit, benign
-bio- (G)	life	biography, biology
-chrono- (G)	time	chronic, synchronize
-dict- (L)	say	dictate, diction
-duc- (L)	lead, make	deduce, produce
-gen- (L)	give birth	gene, generate
-geo- (G)	earth	geography, geology
-graph- (G)	write	autograph, graph
-jur-, -jus- (L)	law	jury, justice
-log-, -logue- (L)	thought	logic, obloquy
-luc- (L)	light	lucid, translucent
-man(u)- (L)	hand	manual, manure
-mand-, -mend- (L)	order	demand, recommend
-mis-, -mit- (L)	send	missile, transmission
-omni- (L)	all	omnivorous
-path- (G)	feel	empathy, pathetic
-phil- (G)	love	philosophy, bibliophile
-phon- (G)	sound	phonics, telephone
-photo- (G)	light	photograph, photon
-port- (L)	carry	export, portable
-qui(t)- (L)	quiet, rest	acquit, tranquil
-scrib-, -script- (L)	write	ascribe, script
-sens-, -sent- (L)	feel	resent, sensitive
-tele- (G)	far off	telecast, telephone
-terr- (L)	earth	terrain, territory
-vac- (L)	empty	evacuate, vacate
-vid-, -vis- (L)	see	visible, video

The Heroic Journey

Today we finished the movie, The Goonies and discussed the Hero's Journey cycle.   See the link below for more information on what the Hero's Journey looks like in the movies Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Star Wars - A New Hope.

Homework:  Reply to the "Abyss" post on Edmodo, due tonight.  Hero's Journey worksheet due tomorrow.