Grade 11 - Multimedia Projects and Final Exam

Hello Grade 11's

Congratulations on presenting your Catcher in the Rye multimedia projects today! Each of you took a truly unique approach and we covered a range of themes in the novel. Well done!

You final exam for Catcher in the Rye is this Thursday. Remember you are allowed to use your class notes for this essay.

Mr. Mollica

Grade 10 - Creating Our Setting and Mood

Hello Grade 10's,

Today we worked on the setting and mood for our short stories and submitted our thought cloud/paragraph on the topic.

We also brainstormed questioned for Chic Sharp, the author who is coming to our class tomorrow.

English 8

Hello Grade 8's,

Your homework is to finish Chapter 8 questions for the Giver.

You should also start to fill out your Brainstorm Sheets for the Utopia/Dystopia Project. The more ideas you start to generate (come up with) now, the smoother the project will be to complete.

Mr. Mollica

English 10 - HW for those in San Francisco

Hello grade 10's

For those of you going to San Fran next week, your homework is to:

*Do a brainstorm bubble and a 5-6 sentence paragraph exploring the setting and tone for your short story (similar to the character sketch).

Remember, your setting and tone will surely evolve as we go through the differet stages of the writing process. Make sure to use the strategies for creating setting and tone that we discussed and took notes on in class (and also from Thomas King's short story "Borders").

Have a great trip!

The bulk of you have no homework this weekend, other than to brainstorm ideas for you stories.

Mr. Mollica

THE WRITING PROCESS - Strategies for writing great essays

THE WRITING PROCESS - Strategies for writing great essays

Hello grade 8's, 10's and 11's. This web site (see linked text above) has a very useful outline for how to plan and revise your essays and other writing pieces. We'll continue to go over these strategies in class, but it will be helpful for you to review this site and apply the strategies at home while you are writing/working on your projects.

Mr. Mollica

English 8 - Should we eliminate cell phones from our society?

Hello Grade 8's,

Today we: 

1. Had a quiz on chapter 12

2. Reviewed chapter 12 as a class and took notes

3. Brainstormed different things that could be eliminated from our society

4. Discussed and took notes on the pros/cons of eliminating cell phones from the school (thanks Alyssa)

Your homework for Friday is to complete the questions for chapter 12.

Hope you had fun at the Trades Fair!

Mr. Mollica

English 10 - Book of Short Stories

Hello Grade 10s,

Good work on our Symbolism activity and discussion today.

Homework for Friday:

Character Sketch for your short story

Mind Map and 5-6 Sentence Paragraph

Keep in mind: Your character will likely “evolve” as you write your story

If you have any questions or want help getting started on your project, come see me or send an email.

Mr. Mollica

English 8 Homework

Hello grade 8's,

Your homework is to read chapter 12 of the Giver and prepare for your quiz next day.

Please come by tomorrow or send me an email if you have any questions while reading.

Mr. Mollica

English 11 - Multimedia Storytelling Project

Hello all,

Good note-taking and discussion on the final three chapters today. You're doing a great job getting the "sub-text" of the key scenes; what is not being said directly (i.e. what was Holden's childhood like?  Was he abused in the past? Why do his his parents look to schools/hospitals to fix his problems instead of dealing with them directly?)

Your homework is to brainstorm ideas and start working on your "Multimedia Storytelling Project". Be sure to bring all needed materials so you can work on your project next day.

Drop by or send an email if you have questions or want some help getting started.

Mr. Mollica

Grade 8

Hello Grade 8's

Today we took notes and completed questions on Chapter 10 of the Giver. We also completed our first "Current Events" report.

Your homework is to read chapter 11 and complete the Chapter 11 question sheet.

Have a great long weekend!
Mr. Mollica

English 11

Hello Grade 11s. Good class today!

Your homework is to:

1) Finish the novel

AND

2) Compare Holden’s conversation with Phoebe to a conversation he has with another character in the book. 2 Paragraphs (4-5 sentences each)

Remember to use specifics in your response (i.e. how they act toward each other? what does Holden think about? what body language do they use?)

Have a great weekend!

English 11 - Chapter 21

Hello Grade 11's

Great debate on conformity today! For those who were away, we wrote Portfolio Entry #9  by writing our own definition of conformity, and by responding to two statements:

1. Conformity is Important
2. Conformity is Dangerous

Your homework for tomorrow is to read Chapter 21 of Catcher and write a 4-5 sentence response on a key passage.

Please come by if you have questions or want some help gettin started

Mr. Mollica

Grade 10 - Writing Dialogue - "Hills Like White Elephants"

Hello Grade 10's

Today we discussed and took notes on writing effective dialogue in short stories.

We read Ernest Hemingay's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" and examined how he uses dialogue to:

1. Advances the plot of his story
2. Reveal character traits

Your homework is to take TWO strategies we discussed in class and write TWO paragraphs on how Hemingway uses each strategy in his story. You'll be marked on the 6-point scale for each paragraph.

Send me an email or come by the classroom if you'd like help getting started.

Mr. Mollica

Grade 8

Hello Grade 8's,

Today we read through Chapter 9 of the Giver and took notes on important vocabulary and concepts from the chapter.

Your homework is to complete the assigned questions for Chapter 9.

Grade 11 - Chapter 20 of Catcher

Hello Grade 11's,

Today we took notes on chapters 17, 18, 19 and discussed the imprtance of context and symbolism in these chapters

----Try to get inside Salinger's war-weary headspace, as it can shed light on Holden's depressed, aggressive interactions and personality traits. What was the point of fighting in the war, if all there is to come back to is a bunch of phonys?

Your homework for tomorrow is read chapter 20 of catcher and write a three sentence response (i.e. something that stood out to you, or that you are curious about).

Mr. Mollica

English 8

Hello Grade 8's

Your homework for the weekend is to complete Chapter 8 Questions for the Giver.

Also make sure your Class Notes #4 is up to date. Today we added lots of key vocabulary from Chapter 8, as well as responded to the discussion question: "Why do you think Jonas was selected as The Receiver of Memory?"

Have a great weekend!
Mr. Mollica

English 10

Hello Grade 10's

Your homework for the weekend is to:

1. Research "strategies for writing dialogue"
2. Find three strategies for writing dialogue (can be for books, short stories, plays, etc)
3. Write TWO sentences explaining each strategy (6 sentences total)

English 11

Hello Grade 11's

Great work on your Chapter Presentations today. 

For those who were away, or not finished, make sure you set up time to do your presentation with me.

Your homework for the weekend is to read Chapters 17, 18 and 19, select a passage of interest, and write a 4-5 sentence response on this passage

Grade 8 - April 9th

Hello grade 8's

Today we finished Entry #4 in our Writing Portflio: The "Perfect Assignment" writing exercise

We also read Chapter 7 as a class and discussed key vocabulary and concepts (and completed a vocabulary sheet on the chapter)

We also started the questions for chapter 7. If you did not finish these questions, be sure to complete them for Friday.

Mr. Mollica

Grade 8 - Elder for a Day and School Supplies

Hello Grade 8's

Great work on your "Elder for a Day" assignments today.

Reminder that these assignments are due on Tuesday.

Also, another reminder to come to class prepared on Tuesday. That means bringing:

1. Your "The Giver" Novel and a Silent Reading Book
2. Your class binder with all notes, handouts and assignments
3. Pencils, erasers and pens

You will not need your Sightlines 8 book while we are reading the Giver, so you can keep this in your locker or at home

Have a great weekend
Mr. Mollica

Grade 11 - Poets

Hello Grade 11s,

I want to thank you all for sharing your moving poetry with Greg Frankson and your classmates yesterday. I had a great time and I hope you enjoyed the experience! Special thanks to everyone who started the freestyle beat

Reminder for Tuesday:

1. Make sure your class notes are up to date. If you have missed classes or are otherwise behind, make sure you get the notes from someone in class. Your notes will be marked on Tuesday

2. Read chapters 16 and 17 of Catcher

Enjoy your weekend!
Mr. Mollica

English 8

Hello Grade 8's

Good work on your "Elder for a Day" Assignment

Your Homework for today is to make sure all assignments from the past two weeks are complete and handed in.

Also a reminder to come to class prepared tomorrow (paper, pens, pencils, erasers, binder, books)

Mr. Mollica

English 11

Hello Grade 11's

Today's HW is to

1. Read Chapters 16 and 17 of Catcher
2. Be sure your notes are up to date

I'll be checking your notes at the start of the block tomorrow and assigning you a grade for completeness. Be sure to get notes from someone in the class if you need to catch up

English 10 - Short Story Report and Passage Reading

Hello Grade 10's, thanks for sharing your descriptive writing with the class and offering your opinions and ideas. You wrote some beautiful stuff!

Your homework for next week is to complete your Short Story Report/Presentation. Handout given on Thursday April 2nd.

Follow the link below for a list of the "50 best short stories of all time"

http://www.onlineclasses.org/resources/the-50-best-short-stories-of-all-time/

You can find your own if you prefer. Make sure you find a copy of the story online, print the story, and include it with your report.

If you have questions or would like to talk about your story selection, send me an email of drop by the classroom.

Have a great week!

Mr. Mollica 

English 11 - Catcher in the Rye and Entry #6 - the "Machine Men"

Hello Grade 11's

For Homework be sure to:

1. Read chapters 13-15 of Catcher in the Rye and study for the quiz
2. Make sure you're Writing Portfolio is up to date. Today we wrote:

Entry #6 - Draw a connection between Charlie Chaplan's "Machine Men" speech and themes we've studied in Catcher in the Rye (i.e. conformity, corruption, flaws in the "Adult World"). Remember that J.D. Salinger fought in WW2 only six years before the novel was published. He must have had these ideas in his head for quite some time...

Here's the link to the video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FMNFvKEy4c

Big thanks to those who shared their descriptive writing with the class! I look forward to reading the rest of yours!

Mr. Mollica

English 8 - Chapt 4-6, the Giver

Hello Grade 8's

Great work in our class discussion and note-taking today. It was nice to hear all of your ideas!

Your homework for next day is to read Chapter 4-6 and complete the assigned questions

Make sure you come to class with all your supplies - books, paper, pencils, etc

Mr. Mollica

English 10: Homework and Writing Portfolio Entries

Greetings and Salutations, Grade 10's

Your homework for next day is to:

1. Finish the Setting and Mood worksheet for the Short Story "Borders"

So far you have done 4 entries:

Entry 1 - A challenge you have faced and overcome (or are trying to overcome) 5 sentences

Entry 2 and 3 - Blast and Narrow writing exercise (in-class)

We'll be doing Entry #4 very soon, so make sure you catch up! Your effort with portfolio will be a huge factor in your participation/assignment grade.