Well, you’re juniors now, so I suppose that we should get right to it.

Tuesday: I’ll be handing out your syllabus first thing and covering the finer points of it in class. I expect that you’ll have it back in my hands by Friday, at which point there will, in fact, be a quiz on it. I’ve got a little warm-up/getting-to-know-you activity with some notecards to cover, and then we’ll be transitioning into our first essay, the Reflective Essay.

Wednesday: Your first actual assignment will take place on Tuesday. I’ll be asking you to start brainstorming metaphors… you’ll see. It will be fun. We’ll also be dealing with part 2 of our notecard game.

Homework: Complete your Metaphor Pre-Write and prepare your objects for presentation.

Thursday: We’ll be presenting our objects, so be prepared to go. We’ll also be working on our introductions in small groups and completing part 3 of our notecard introductions.

Friday: Our last day with notecards will be on Friday, and we’ll be finishing up our object presentations as well. We’ll also be transitioning to a conversation about the thesis in a reflective essay.

Woohoo! It’s a new year, in a new building (well, for me, anyway), and we’re going to hit the ground running. Here’s your week:

Tuesday: I’ll be hand out your syllabus and covering some of its finer points. There is a quiz on the syllabus on Friday, and I’ll be collecting them then as well. Of course, you can turn them in early if you really want. We’ll also be playing a little game with some notecards that I quite enjoy.

Wednesday: We’ll start Wednesday with part 2 of the notecard game so that we can continue to get to know each other, then we’ll be jumping right into our first essay of the year, which is an Expository Essay. It will deal primarily with you, so you don’t need to worry about the topic. Finally, we’ll spend some time beginning our essay with a pre-writing assignment.

Homework: Complete the Expository Essay Pre-Write assignment for the start of class on Thursday.

Thursday: We’ll start day number 3 with the 3rd installment of our little notecard game, then we’ll be transitioning into a warm-up activity based around your pre-write, so be sure to have it (and your notebook, as covered in the syllabus) ready to go. We’ll also be discussing introductions and hooks, then practicing them together in class.

Homework: Holy cow make sure your syllabus is in my hands on Friday.

Friday: We’ll finish up our notecard game on Friday, share our hooks in small groups, then transition to a discussion about the thesis. I cannot stress this enough. You need to be here for this. It will set the stage for the entire year. (Of course, if you aren’t in class, I’ll be posting all the materials online). I’ll also be collecting your syllabus.

Graphic Design 101. This is the presentation from both the Graphic Design Major and the Minor. You’ll learn all about basic design principals and how to guide the eye through a page effectively.

Infographics. This presentation will guide you through some quick ideas for infographics that don’t suck.

Grid Systems. In this little ditty you’ll learn all about different ways to organize information on a page.

Copyright 101. This short presentation will show you how to avoid those pesky lawyers.

Captions. How to write captions that don’t make people mad and might help them read your paper.

Here’s the InDesign template for both our pages.

The following items are all for the Teen Pregnancy page.

Main (Doll) Picture

The pregnancy story

These are for the fashion page.

The following are all pictures of shoes.

Shoe #1

Shoe #2

Shoe #3

Here’s a picture of pants.

Here’s the story.

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Here’s a little something I made for you.

10 Things You Should Know from Mark Isakson on Vimeo.

Enjoy.

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Your final week of high school is fairly easy, and simply involves some thoughtful writing on your part. Here’s what it looks like:

Monday + Tuesday: If you haven’t already grabbed it, I’ll be handing you the final essay prompt on Raymond Carver and his work. We’ll be working on it in class on Monday and Tuesday. My expectation is that you’ll turn it in via email or in person no later than 6 PM. This will allow me ample time to finish grading it so that I can sign (or not…) your graduation forms.

Wednesday: Right…. Enjoy your last day of high school.

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Here’s the week. It is our last big week together, and it has the potential to make or break grades. Three major things are happening: the Taming of the Shrew exam, the final essay, and The Blog Unit self evaluation.

Also, I’m nearly done with grades. I received a fair amount of late work, and haven’t quite finished with it yet. Expect those to go up on Monday evening.

Monday + Tuesday: For fun, and to help make darn sure that you mostly understand the story in The Taming of the Shrew, we’ll be viewing the 1999 film Ten Things I Hate About You. This modern remake of Shakespeare’s play was filmed at Tacoma’s Stadium High School, and is a rollicking good time. I will also be distributing the final essay prompt on Monday. A (tiny) part of your grade for this essay will be showing me that you have come up with a defensible thesis.

Wednesday: Wednesday will be your final exam for The Taming of The Shrew. Make sure that you study and study well. It is the same format as the exams for Things Fall Apart and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with a 10 multiple choice questions, two passage identifications, and one longer response. As a bonus, I’ve added one extra credit passage ID.

Thursday + Friday: Two things will be due for your final. First, the entirety of your final period will be devoted to writing/completing your final essay. Of course, you can have it done prior to class, but if you choose to write it in class only, you are welcome to attempt to do so. I recommend that you prepare your essay by completing your thesis statement, drafting an outline, and finding passages to support your claims. It will be challenging to complete the essay if you haven’t done this prep work. Second, your Blog Unit Evaluation is due. Make sure that it is typed, beautiful, and really, really easy for me to read.

This is the last week of class. Make it good.