Extra Credit for Periods 5 & 6

Scholarship for college education: $2500
Extra credit points in C-Rod's class: 30
Knowing you are one step closer to going to college: PRICELESS

If you would like some extra credit, here you go: CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RULES OF THIS SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY

I will need the application and the essay on a USB drive by Monday, May 3rd. I will proofread it, and you can make the improvements on 5/4. I will mail it on 5/5 for you. This is 30 points extra credit. You will only get the credit if you cover all of the requirements stated on the link.

SMILE!

Periods 5 & 6

Hey there, ladies and germs (LOL).

I just wanted to remind you that SYNTHESIS ESSAY #4 is due Wednesday, 4/27 for 5th; and Thursday, 4/28 for 6th. Remember to focus on the prompt and what it's asking you to do. You should already know I do NOT want a summary of the sources; rather, I would like you to use those sources to bolster your own ideas and commentary. Also be reminded that you should not take more than 15 minutes to read the sources and 40 more to write. That is a total of 55 minutes from the moment you read the first word of the packet until the moment you should put your pencil down. Be strict with yourself, as giving yourself more time will only deprive you in the long run. (That was deep stuff, man!)

I also want more of you to sign up for Saturday AP Camp. Ms. Borges and I are working on something special that will be applicable in both your AP Eng Lang and the AP Amer Hist tests.

LOVE YOU! We're almost there!

SATURDAY AP CAMP CANCELED 4/24

Sorry :o) I have to take a final tomorrow. Our AP Saturday camp will resume on 5/1 and 5/8.
LOVE YOU!

Earth Day & Take Your Child to Work Day

On "Take Your Child to Work Day," many of my diligent students came to school. Fifth period, for example, took a mock AP Test. In doing so, they have no homework Monday night, and they are one step closer to passing that AP test. Woohoo!

To celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd), we wrote tankas (a five-lined lyric poem with 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7 syllables). While visiting our school's wetlands preserve, we used the environment around us as our inspiration! What a beautiful day it was! Mother Earth is good! Feel free to read some of the tankas under this post (Students, please post by Monday night).

TYCTWD-Clarification

Hi :o) Only if you miss periods 1, 3 and 5 today of MY class, do you have to do the essay. All periods, however, have the opportunity to do the same assignment for extra credit IF YOU SHOWED UP TODAY!

See the post below for details. Hope your day is wonderful!

Take-Your-Child-to-Work Day

I'm excited so many of you decided to partake in TYCTWD. I hope you hone your work ethic and skills while you are away. Hopefully, your parents show you what it is like to put in a tough day's work.

If you are participating in TYCTWD and miss my class, you have a make-up assignment. Since what we are doing in class cannot be made up, this will be your make-up assignment.

You need to type a two-page essay on the following topic: Defend or challenge the quote below and use one example from history, one from literature, and one from your experiences at your parent's workplace today, to support your claim.

All the so-called "secrets of success" will not work unless you do. ~Author Unknown

The essay must be two pages, double-spaced, one-inch margins, in 12 point Times New Roman font. In addition, your name and period should be on a cover page, not on the essay itself. You are not permitted to skip lines either. I want your best work. It is due on Monday at the start of class. THIS IS WORTH THE 50 POINTS YOU WOULD HAVE EARNED IN OUR CLASS-PROJECT THAT DAY.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CHOOSE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN TYCTWD, you can do this assignment as extra credit (50 points).

Enjoy your day with your parent(s). I hope you gain much knowledge about the power of work ethic.

Periods 1 & 2

Don't forget that you have to turn in your quote analysis papers on Monday (period 1) and Tuesday (period 2) CORRECTED, TYPED and ON POINT. Remember, we are prepping you for AP class or 11th grade honors English next year. This is also the kind of the prompt you will see on the SAT (the test required to attend a university). You can do it!

SMILE!

5th and 6th Period - Saturday AP Camp

I am hosting three Saturday AP English Language Camps (pending approval, of course). The dates I have proposed to administration are 4/24, 5/1, and 5/8. It will be from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in my room.

If you are interested in attending, please post the dates you are interested in, as well as your first name and period number.

Periods 3 & 4 - English 2

In case you all needed the document below (if you wanted to get started), here it is. Hope you are enjoying your spring break. I do miss you if you were wondering.

Remember to read; it keeps the mind fresh!!!! No dead brains when you return. LOL! I am reading Eclipse for the second time, as well as some books for my classes. What a blessing it is to read and write! See you in a week!
Portfolio of Poetry

WAY TO GO!

Congrats to the following students for making A's in both my reading and English classes this quarter: MONICA HERNANDEZ, ERIKA MUNIZ and ANTHONY VALECILLOS

Congrats to these students for making A's all three quarters thus far in English class:

3rd Period - ESTEFANIA MARTINEZ-BONET and LAYSU BORGES

4th Period - MONICA HERNANDEZ and ERIKA MUNIZ

5th Period - RICK BRAVO, AMANDA FRYE, JESSICA PEREZ and IBIS ISER

6th Period - MABIT GONZALEZ and JONATHAN MUNOZ

I am very proud of all my babies, but I am especially proud of the aforementioned students. That is quite a feat!!!!

Spring Break Home Learning

You have a few tasks for Spring Break. I suggest you do them today, or the Monday that's a teacher workday. Let's finish the year strong!

Periods 3 & 4 - Read The Freedom Writer's Diary, pgs. 78-107. Write three entries in your journal that discuss your feelings regarding the readings, or you can write about your experiences during spring break. You also need to write an enjambment poem of at least 14 lines. Remember, you need to focus on one literary tool.

Periods 5 & 6 - DO pgs 61-63 of your test packet. Set a timer for 16 minutes. Once the time is up, circle the questions you weren't able to finish. You can do them anyway, but I want you to circle them so you are aware that you have to work faster. You also need to read "Men, Women, Sex and Darwin" from the 50 Essays book. It's on page 29. In addition, you need to answer the four questions that follow the reading. Don't write the questions, just the answers (Shocker, I know! LOL!) You also need to look at the stylistic aspects of the essay. Look for figurative language, sytax, rhetoric, etc. Highlight it in your book and make notes in the margin. A useful tool is the handout from the summer with all the rhetorical appeals on it. It's to the left if you need another copy.

OK, I love you all. Be safe and make good choices! I will miss you!!!!!!!!

Check Your FCAT Camp Points

At 9 p.m. this evening, I will be done entering points for FCAT Camp. I gave 5th and 6th credit for science; 1st and 2nd for reading camp; 3rd and 4th for writing and reading camp. I entered it in the book as 1 point, which may seem low for you, but I promise it's not. It was the only way I could give you partial points if you only came one or two Saturdays. It equaled to a one to three PERCENT increase, which is HUGE!

If you notice I did not credit you for attending camp, see me at lunch tomorrow.

Smile,
C-Rod

BRING YOUR BINDER!

Periods 3-6, be sure to bring your binder for class. Will there be a binder check? Maybe. You just need to be prepared!

PERIODS 1-6:Test Make-up/Retake Day on 3/24!

Periods 3 & 4: If you did not get the grade you wanted on the literary tools test (less than an 85%), you can make it up! I will allow you to retake it (it will be a different test, but same lit tools) on Wednesday, 3/24 during lunch. To do this, you will need to bring the old literary tools written out three times (tool and definition) on Tuesday or Wednesday to class. At that time, I will write you a lunch pass for Wednesday. To take the test, you will have to bring your pass and arrive by 11:33. You will have until 11:55 to take it, and then you can eat lunch.

Periods 5 & 6: The same goes for you for our last vocab test, except you will write out ALL Vocab 6 words and definitions 5 times each. See above for the rules and details!

Periods 1-6: If there is a test you need to make up from this quarter, here is what you need to do (no exceptions will be made, sorry):
1. Make sure your absence is excused.
2. Request to take the make-up on this blog by Monday, 3/22 at 8:00 p.m. You must also indicate the date you missed and which test/quiz you have to take.
3. Come to me by Wednesday at 9:25 to request a pass. (Do not interrupt my class to do so, please.)
4. Show up for your make-up by 11:33 a.m.

Remember, I love you!

Periods 1 & 2

According to the article we read in class today, some marriages are arranged by the parents of a man and a woman, as opposed to them meeting, falling in love and then exchanging vows. Oftentimes, the cultures that arrange marriages use horoscopes to determine if the couple will be a good match. Though I don't find horoscopes to be a valid method of determining your day or that the love of your life has to come from one specific sign, I do think it's interesting. So what I want you to do is look up your sign and the traits of people who fall within that sign. Then look up which sign is the best match for you and why. Do you know anyone who has the same sign as your ideal match? Is what you found accurate based on your experiences with that person? Would you be OK with your parents arranging for you to marry this person at such a young age?

I want you to post your findings here, as well as your reaction to what you discover. If you want to use the Chinese signs (calendar), since so many of you are in Chinese, you can! Have fun with this! Again, I am not pushing astrology; I just thought it would interesting and tie in nicely to our readings this week!

HOLD UP, Periods 5 & 6!

I feel I have not prepared you well enough for the compare and contrast essay; therefore, I am moving the due date back. Here are the new dates: 3/25 (5th) and 3/26 (6th). Understand that since I am doing more to prepare you, you will be graded even more stringently than before.

To replace this assignment, access the following Powerpoint.Take notes on the presentation then write 5 sentences per type of sentence (for a total of 20) and incorporate your most recent vocab words. It must be typed. This is due this Friday for 5th, and this Thursday for 6th.

Simple, Compound, And Complex Sentences In


Smile and love you (even though I am grouchy).

YOU ARE READY, and I BELIEVE IN YOU!

I am so glad that FCAT is finally upon us. You have worked so hard to get where you are. Some of you have come every Saturday for FCAT camp, while some of you have endured tutoring at 6:30 every morning. I know Reading Plus has made you nuts, as well as all of the reading passages, but I know it will pay off in huge dividends. Not only are you ready for Tuesday, you are also ready to be a junior, a college student, and a lifelong reader, writer and learner.

Rest this weekend, do a couple more sessions of Reading Plus, then relax. Remember to let the fear go; you are more ready than any other group I've had.

I AM PROUD TO HAVE YOU AS MY STUDENTS, CHILDREN, BABIES, SWEETIES, MUFFINS, ETC! Love you!

Periods 5 & 6 - Compare and Contrast Essay

You are going to be writing a compare and contrast essay on two literary criticisms of the piece you selected. The due dates are as follows (I made them due after FCAT Science to try and help you out): Period 5 - March 19; Period 6 - March 18.

This time you are going to print one copy for class, but you will have to email it to me by the morning of your due date (there is a reason). I will give you the email address in class.

Furthermore, I need you go to this site (CLICK HERE), and print out this handout. It will prove to be useful, and we will also be discussing it in class.

HW and Vocab Tests

Periods 5 & 6: Click HERE to review the vocab words for your test tomorrow. Period 6, your test is Thursday, 2/25. Period 5, your test is on 2/26. Remember that you are responsible to keep up with your readings (up to page 128)!

Periods 3 & 4, your vocab review is to the right. Look over there, and you will see it. You will also have a lit tool test with it. BE READY! Remember, you are working on your Reading Plus and FCAT readings for homework, so make sure you are keeping up!

Trust me, I am hard on you so you will be the best student you can be!

Love you all!

Revised Reading Schedule for 5th & 6th

Below is the new reading schedule. We are finishing at the same time, but I changed it up a bit. Remember, you have to have the pages read BEFORE you get to class. Also be reminded that even if you're absent, you're responsible to keep up with your readings.

2/19 and 2/22 - pgs. 1-60; 2/23 and 2/24 - pgs. 63-97; 2/25 and 2/26 - pgs. 100-128; 3/2 and 3/3 - pgs 128-175; 3/4 and 3/5 - pgs. 178-207; 3/8 and 3/9 - pgs. 208-239; 3/11 and 3/12 - pgs. 239-280

Hope you all are enjoying it so far. I am amazed at what these men have endured thus far, the calm among them, and the vivid details in the writing. WOW! Share some of your thoughts here if you wish!

If you choose (for a few extra points), compare and contrast yourself and one of the men on the Endurance. In chapter 5, there were several descriptions of the men, and I could relate to at least one or two of them. If you do respond, make sure that you use specific quotes from the book...and, remember, it's compare AND contrast. Tuesday, 2/23 at 10 p.m. is the deadline.

Love you all!