With their first big writing assignment coming up, we spent Friday working on thesis statements with THESIS THROWDOWN. Students were given a prompt and, within their groups, they had three minutes to come up with the best thesis statement to respond to that prompt. Our first prompt was...What is the best dessert? After coming up with their entry for the competition, each group wrote their prospective thesis on the whiteboard for judging. We walked through each one, making edits where necessary and highlighting what we liked and what could use some revision. The first winner was crowned--congrats to Noah, Morgan, and Ava! Then, with the feedback from Round One, students were given a second prompt selected by Ms. Slama's TA...What is the most useful household appliance? Armed with their newfound of knowledge of what to do and pitfalls to avoid, the Round Two thesis statements were much stronger and right on target. We walked through them all again, and the winner will be crowned on Monday! The competition is fierce, and in case you were wondering, apparently the pizookie is the best dessert. As for most useful household appliance, the majority of students argued the refrigerator is the best, but I think the toaster oven had the strongest thesis. And last but not least, here are the winners of today's caption contest! This competition is fierce. “It’s not bring your kids to work day.” - Giselle C.
“A multi-layered case.” - Thor D. “I narrowed it down to one suspect and then five more popped out...” - Morgan F. “You said the suspect was a narcissist, Russian nesting dolls are so full of themselves.” - Jessica N. “That the most I can make them open up.” - Trevor S. “Over time you’ll start to fit in…" - Noah W.
0 Comments
Following our in-class examples of figurative language in music, the students read between the lines of their favorite songs to see if they could find a deeper meaning. The students covered nearly every genre, choosing songs like "Demons" by Imagine Dragons, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, and "Youth" by Troye Sivan. Take a look at some featured student work! Aaaaand, here are this week's New Yorker caption contest winners! Apparently the spirit of competition is alive and well amongst the freshmen, as they called me out for posting this blog late because they wanted to know who won :) "Not what i meant when i said 'high' quality food." - Shelby K.
"Airplane food costs a lot, huh?" - Ty K. “I’m going for the world record for highest tossed pizza dough.” - Trevor S.
This week in class we reviewed figurative language, and what better source is there for examples than Chris Traeger from Parks and Rec? The students were quick to pick up on the similes and hyperbole that run rampant in his dialogue in this supercut from the show.
Finally, we had some strong contenders in our weekly New Yorker cartoon caption contest, but here are the winners for this week!
“The new styles of fine dining are soaring to new heights.” - Vincent E.
“I see you’re on the edge about your entrée. Should I come back later?” - Makena G. “This wasn’t what I meant by a highly rated restaurant.” - Noah W. All in all, it was a great first week! Day one, after the standard syllabus and rules/expectations overview, the students got to know the classroom a bit better through a digital escape room! Clues asked them to find answers on the class website, Google Classroom, and around the physical classroom itself. They worked well together in their desk pods to see which group could solve the puzzles first and break out. Thursday and Friday consisted of diagnostic tests, but we had a little fun on Friday with our first New Yorker cartoon caption contest. Check out the highlights below! A ball game for the ages. - Makena G.
How I feel when watching Nickelodeon. - Jessica N. Wrong Giants, Hagrid. - Shae P. |
AboutCheck back periodically for updates about what we've been working on in class and to see featured student work! Archives
September 2019
Categories |