Miss Hofelich's 10th Grade English

It is just about that time, kids! So, over the summer, you must keep up with your reading, lest your brain turn to mush from all of the tv, Facebook, and gossip. Below you will find a link to a website with a fabulous list of book recommendations for you, and super cheap deals for purchasing the books. This list is also on a page on THIS website called Summer Reading Recommendations. Email me with questions!
<3 Miss Hofelich

For Advanced 10th graders (2011-2012): You should come to class on August 15th having read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Remember that you should have knowledge of the plot, characters, relationships between the characters, and an overall opinion of the story as a whole.

www.thereadingwarehouse.com
Summer Reading Purchase Program page
SR# 2056
List name: WTHS Reading List

We are right in the middle of the first part of Trimester B…and we are plugging away! In Ramp-up and Comprehensive English, we are deep in the heart of poetry. In Comprehensive, we are lucky enough to have Keith McGill from Actor’s Theatre working with us for a residency for the remainder of the unit. In Honors, we are on to Informational Texts and writing research papers. Whew!
Important Dates:
1. Diagnostic Assessment: (first/second periods – Dec. 1st; fifth period – 11/22)
2. Proficiency Assessment: December 17

We are moving right along with character and literary elements!  Here’s what’s going on:

• We are working with St. Matthew’s Elementary as our audience for the children’s books each student is creating…super exciting!
• We are having our first book club meeting on Hunger Games at Panera on Dutchman’s Lane on October 20.
• We have all taken a mid-point assessment to see where we are with the skills; progress reports will be mailed home on Tuesday, October 19th.

Vocabulary has been updated, so check it out!

OK, we’ve done our best with author’s style and the identity project.  Now we’re on to:

• Short stories, plays, fiction;
• Study of character, dilemmas and motivations
• An author’s use of details to support the story being told;
• Creating our own children’s stories with all of the essential elements!

Also, please join our student, parent, teacher book club!  This meets October 20th at 7PM.   Most people are reading Hunger Games…so join in!  See our blog at: http://wthsbookclub.edublogs.org

What are your values?

We are in the home stretch for the first grading period, can you believe it?  A few important things to keep in mind:

• Open house is Tuesday, Sept. 14th at 6:00 PM. 
• PLAN test is Wednesday, Sept. 15th first and second periods.
• We will be working on our IDENTITY PROJECTS all week long in class; bring your artifacts and photos!
• The IDENTITY project is posted on here in case you need it.

See the photos below for an update on the garden…it’s looking great! 

As we begin Week Three, there are a few important things to note:

• Summer Reading projects are due Tuesday, August 31.  Students will be rewarded with a Jeans Day on Friday, September 3rd if this is turned in on time.
• 4th and 5th periods have begun reading The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon, which is a deviation from the original syllabus.  We will be reading Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar second six weeks, and saving the classic Of Mice and Men for CATS review in April/May.

Upcoming Events:

• All students will take the PLAN test, which is a Pre-ACT test, the week of September 13th.
• Open House is September 14th…please make plans to join us!
• We will be starting our first ever Parent/Student/Teacher book club soon; more information is forthcoming.

First and Second period are reading Paul Fleischman’s Seedfolks this six weeks, and as we are lucky enough to have a small garden in the shape of a “W” on our campus, these two classes went out and planted fall vegetables yesterday.  As you can see from the pictures, it was a success!  We will continue to cultivate our literal and figurative gardens as the year progresses.

~Miss Hofelich

Wow! We had such a wonderful first week, if I do say so myself!  Ms. Lewis (my student teacher) and I read each and every student’s letter, responded to it, added in some fun community building games to our lessons, and got started with our first unit on Memoir and Personal Writing.  We recognized August birthdays, and began writing in our journals.  We started Independent Reading after “tasting” many texts.  What a week!

Next week, we look forward to reading a class novel in each class:

1st/2nd period: Seedfolksby Paul Fleischman

4th/5th period: The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon (NOTE: this differs from the syllabus)

We will also be taking the SRI test, which will give each student an idea at what reading level they currently are.  This will allow Ms. Lewis and I to begin working more individually with each student to ensure that everyone gets the help they need to succeed in being a proficient reader.

More coming!

~Miss Hofelich~

A new year, a new start.  We will now begin our study of literature, poetry, informational and persuasive texts, and reflection together.  That sounds like alot, I know, but that’s why I am here – to help you!  So, let’s begin with a bit of writing, so that I can see what you can do, and so I can learn about you.  Here’s your first assignment:

1. Listen as I read the letter I have written to you, by way of introduction.

2. Write one of your own, in response, so that I can get to know you and your writing style, in Microsoft Word.  Use the following format (minimum requirement):

• Use the Friendly Letter Format, addressing it to Miss Hofelich and closing with a proper signature from yourself.
• Introduce yourself in one paragraph, telling me the basics about who you are, who makes up your family, and about your characteristics.
• Tell me your likes and dislikes, both personal and academic, in one full paragraph.
• Tell me your goals for the school year, this class and how you expect to reach these goals in one full paragraph.  Also tell me your fears, if you have any, about the class and the year as a whole.

3. Post it on this blog, as a comment on this page.

Once you have done this, I will read them and write back to you.