English
Essentials
Jason
Stidham / Whitmore
Lake High School / English
Department
Email: jason.stidham@wlps.net
Phone- 734-449-4461 x 3354
Class Description:
English essentials is a class designed for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to strengthen
targeted English skills. Students are placed into this class when " Pre-ACT
tests" (The EXPLORE and PLAN) show a need for improvement
in reading, especially when referring to details in the passage, drawing
conclusions, and making comparisons and generalizations.
When it comes to writing, students will improve their punctuation,
grammar, sentence structure, writing strategy, organization, and style.
Students will better understand written material from all subjects.
Students will take ACT-style practice tests to find weaknesses in reading
comprehension and writing, and then complete on-line lessons to practice those
targeted areas.
Visit
the website, MEL.ORG. This is Michigan's "Electronic Library", a great site for educational
resources. To see some of our assignments, go the
site and choose :
Test
and Tutorials, then High
School
and
choose from one of the following:
Reading
Comprehension (then pull down "courses")
Spelling
and Vocabulary (then pull down "courses")
or
Writing and Grammar (then pull down "courses")
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A weekly
40 point grade
is posted in PowerSchool. It's based on focus and assignment
completion from Monday-Thursday's in-class work. You will see the assignments simply marked as "Week One",
"Week Two", etc. Students can usually expect a test on
Fridays, also worth 40 pts.
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February 27- March 2
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Understand
problematic sets of verbs and pronouns (when to you sit/set, lay/lie, etc)
BY- Completing MEL.ORG
Course #3, Lesson #5, Problem Verbs and Pronouns
TUESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Improve
test-taking skills and understanding of informational text
BY- 1. Reading
informational article, "Should Valets Be Responsible For Drunk Drivers
Too?",
then answering 6 multiple choice ACT-style questions
and creating 3 unique multiple choice ACT style questions related to content in
the article
2. Writing a "Type Two" persuasive response to the question:
"Should valets be responsible for drunk drivers too?"
WEDNESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Understand how to write concisely
BY- Completing MEL.ORG Course #5, Lessons 1-3.
THURSDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Choose their weakest areas of grammar and
strengthen them
BY- Independent online study
FRIDAY
1st and 2nd hour exams in the am.
3rd and 4th hour study sessions in the pm.
(3rd and 4th hour exams are Monday!)
February 20-24
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY - no school
STUDENTS WILL- rest up for a
big final push to end trimester #2
BY- sleeping in
TUESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Improve
test-taking skills and understanding of informational text
BY- 1. Reading
informational article, "South Korea's Gaming Laws",
then answering 7 multiple choice ACT-style questions
and creating 3 unique multiple choice ACT style questions related to content in
the article
2. Writing a "Type Two" persuasive response to the question:
"Does internet addiction and online gaming lead to bullying and
suicide?"
WEDNESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Improve their understanding of
"Pronouns"
BY- Completing MEL.ORG Course #3, Lesson
#4 Pronouns worksheet
(Lesson #3 and yesterday's work is due today!!)
THURSDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Prove their understanding of pronouns
BY- Scoring 8/10 or higher on today's quiz
over yesterday's lesson
FRIDAY
February 13-17
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen
punctuation skills, especially using the apostrophe
BY- Discussing and
making corrections to Friday's test. (Scores are now in Powerschool)
TUESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Improve
test-taking skills and understanding of informational text
BY- Reading
informational article, "College Campus Controversy Over Bottled Water
Ban",
Answering 7 multiple choice ACT-style questions
Creating 3 unique multiple choice ACT style questions
WEDNESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Improve their understanding of
"Verb Tenses"
BY- Completing MEL.ORG Course #3, Lesson
#1, Verb Tense questions online and on my worksheet
THURSDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Improve their understanding of subject/verb
agreement
BY- Completing
MEL.ORG Course #3, Lesson #3 Subject-Verb Agreement questions online and on my
worksheet
FRIDAY-
No School Today or Monday. Happy President's Weekend/ Mid-Winter Break
February 6-10
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Understand how
informational text test questions are structured
BY- reading and
discussing sample questions, choosing their own informational article online,
and creating
5 multiple choice questions based on the content of the article
(MEL.ORG LESSONS 3-5 ARE DUE!)
TUESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- Understand
informational text and understand ACT -style multiple choice
questions
BY- reading a
partner's article from yesterday and answering the ACT style multiple choice
questions that
their partner created
WEDNESDAY
STUDENTS WILL- understand colon and semi colon usage
BY- completing Mel.org Lesson #2, Colons and
Semi-Colons.
THURSDAY
STUDENTS WILL- understand apostrophe and dash uses in
their reading and writing
BY- completing Mel.org Lesson
#3, Apostrophes and Dashes
FRIDAY
Week #7 January 23-27
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY-
NO SCHOOL -NO POWER
TUESDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Learn more about
themselves and classmates, especially regarding the statement:
"Don't let your environment change your true colors."
BY-
Debriefing today's "Rachel's Challenge" assembly
WEDNESDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Become aware of their
strengths and weaknesses with grammar and writing
BY-
Taking MEL.ORG's Writing and Grammar Skills Pre-test,
reading
the answer explanations, and printing the test results
THURSDAY- (with
substitute teacher, Mr. Milliman)
STUDENTS WILL- Practice with
subjects, verbs, and prounouns
BY-
Completing MEL.ORG's Lesson #3 and my handout
FRIDAY- (with
substitute teacher, Mr. Milliman)
STUDENTS WILL- Prove their new
understandings of punctuation, subjects, verbs, and pronouns
BY- Taking Week #7 Test
Week #6 January 16-20
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY-
NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS- MLK JR DAY.
TUESDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- 1. Creating a "mini
workbook" (DUE THURSDAY AT START OF CLASS) of information and activities about those
weak areas (see
below)
2. Understanding the
terms allusion, synecdoche, symbolism, parallelism, paraphrase
(get definitions and examples from a friend upon your return to
class)
WEDNESDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- 1. Finishing a "mini workbook" of information
and activities about those weak areas (see below)
2. Reading,
answering, and discussing MLK Jr's article, "I Have Been to the
Mountaintop"
THURSDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- Using MEL.ORG's Course #1, Punctuation in Sentences,
Lessons 1+2
FRIDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Prove their new
mastery of their reading comprehension weaknesses, Wednesday's vocabulary
activities, and Thursday's work with punctuation
BY- Taking Week #7 Test
Week #5 January 9-13
(HANDOUTS
ARE UNDERLINED; BE SURE TO GET ONE WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS!)
THIS WEEK'S LEARNING OUTCOMES AND
ACTIVITIES:
MONDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their weakest
areas of reading comprehension
BY- Creating a "mini workbook" of information
and activities about those weak areas (see below)
TUESDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- Creating a "mini
workbook" of information and activities about those weak areas (see
below)
WEDNESDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- Creating a "mini workbook" of information
and activities about those weak areas (see below)
THURSDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- Creating a "mini workbook" of
information and activities about those weak areas (see below)
FRIDAY-
STUDENTS WILL- Strengthen their
weakest areas of reading comprehension
BY- Creating a "mini workbook" of information
and activities about those weak areas (see below)
ATTN!! HERE IS
THE HANDOUT THAT EXPLAINS
OUR PROJECT:
Main Project
Name_____________________________hr_____
Who? ACT Prep Students
What? You are each in charge of using the
internet to create activities that will help others strengthen their weakest
reading comprehension skills.
When? We will use the entire week , and
a day or two next week. You might need to work a few hours at home
Why? This is an important project; you’re
not doing it just to get a good grade. IT’S YOUR CHANCE TO HELP OTHERS BY
USING INFO AND ACTIVITIES THAT YOU FIND MEANINGFUL. In the process, you
will strengthen your weaknesses.
How?
STEP ONE:
Look at/remember your feedback from the Reading
Diagnostic Test from the ACT site. Based on that feedback, (or from the
feedback from your two MEL tests), list your 3 weakest areas of reading
comprehension:
1.
2.
3.
STEP TWO:
Your job over the next two weeks is to create 3 pages
of activities for each of those areas. Search the internet for helpful sites,
info, and activities that are designed to help people practice improve those
skills. You are making pages of a workbook that all my students are creating.
You will see the best activities.
Checklist of requirements: (there’s an example on
the back)
* List the name of the skill at the top of each page:
centered, bold, underlined, size 20.
* Type the rest of the page using Times New Roman size
12.
* Find a great definition for the skill and type it
toward the top of all 3 pages
* Find an activity that describes/shows examples
of/gives advice on the skill, and then
requires the student to practice it. (you can cut and
paste as needed, but cite the web
address once you’ve stopped using info from that
site)
* Now copy this page into a new word document, and
type in the answers. This is your
answer key.
* You must use three different sites per skill.
REMEMBER- IF INFERENCES, FACT VS OPINION, AND MAIN
IDEA ARE YOUR WEAKEST AREAS, YOU ARE MAKING 3 PAGES OF INFO/ACTIVITIES FOR EACH
AREA. THIS IS A TOTAL OF 9 PAGES.
(SEE EXAMPLE ON BACK)
IDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS
Main Ideas- are found in both informative and
narrative text. The main idea is the most
important thing the section says about the topic.
How to identify main ideas: Once you find the topic,
you are ready to find the main idea. Sometimes it’s as easy as reading the
title!
To figure out the main idea, ask yourself this
question: What is being said about the topic? (Remember the topic can be a
person, thing, or idea.)
The author might locate the main idea in different
places within a paragraph. The main idea is usually a sentence, and it is
usually the first sentence. The writer then uses the rest of the paragraph to
support the main idea.
Let's use the paragraph below as an example. First
find the topic, then look for the main idea.
Summer is a wonderful time to spend on
Myrtle Beach. It is a beach with light-
colored, soft sand. The coastline goes on for a long
way and many people enjoy walking
along it. Children like to play
in the surf and walk along the rocks that are visible at low tide. This
is a fun beach for people of all ages.
In this paragraph:
-the topic is Myrtle Beach
-the main idea (what the writer is saying about the
topic) is that summer is a wonderful time at Myrtle Beach
-you can point to the textual evidence that supports
the main idea. (see underlines)
* Now, I would probably include a few more challenging
paragraphs and ask "my students" to find the main ideas, and to
provide textual evidence to support each.
I could also include the best info/activities I found
on different sites.
BY- discussing the project requirements.....Project to start
Jan. 9
STUDENTS WILL: show their understanding of the content learned
in the MEL.ORG Reading Comprehension Course
STUDENTS WILL: show their understanding of the content learned
in the MEL.ORG Reading Comprehension Course
STUDENTS WILL- know the relationship between cause and effect
and understand the difference between fact and opinion.
BY- finishing MEL.ORG Course #3, Lessons 3 and 4 and listing
examples of cause/effect and fact/opinion as found in their novels.
STUDENTS WILL learn strategies to define unfamiliar words
they encounter in all types of text.