Update 5/5
I cannot believe that yesterday was the halfway mark of the 4th Marking Period! It seems like September was just yesterday. Please check e-school regularly to see the status of your student's grade and let me know if you have any questions.
Currently, we are reading Night by Elie Weisel, a memoir about the Holocaust. While most of the reading will be done in class, students have journal entries and vocabulary assignments to complete at home. At the end of this unit, students will complete a constructed response and have the opportunity to write a piece of their own memoir.
Yesterday I gave each student a printout of their grade for the 4th marking period. I am asking that you sign this and the students return it to me by tomorrow at the beginning of class. This is helpful because I will know you had a conversation about their grade. If your student has not yet shown you their grade sheet, I hope they do so tonight.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help your student as we move toward graduation!
Let's hope for some May sunshine :)
Currently, we are reading Night by Elie Weisel, a memoir about the Holocaust. While most of the reading will be done in class, students have journal entries and vocabulary assignments to complete at home. At the end of this unit, students will complete a constructed response and have the opportunity to write a piece of their own memoir.
Yesterday I gave each student a printout of their grade for the 4th marking period. I am asking that you sign this and the students return it to me by tomorrow at the beginning of class. This is helpful because I will know you had a conversation about their grade. If your student has not yet shown you their grade sheet, I hope they do so tonight.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help your student as we move toward graduation!
Let's hope for some May sunshine :)
UPDATE 3/17
The end of the 3rd marking period will be here before we know it! Please be sure you are checking Home Access to see how your students are doing. We are about to start our research paper which is a huge undertaking. This year, students had many options; they could choose from ten British and World literature novels. After reading the novel, they have to choose a school of literary criticism to analyze the book. This will be a large portion of your student's grade: There will be 100 points toward the third marking period and 140 points toward the fourth marking period. The timeline is as follows:
Novel must be completed by the end of Spring Break
Choose a topic/ write thesis – due Monday, 3/28 by start of class(20 pts)
Outline due Tuesday, 4/5 by start of class (50 pts)
Rough draft Submitted to Turn it in – due Friday, 4/8 at 11:59 PM (30 pts)
Peer edit on Turn it In – 4/11 at 11:59 PM (20 pts)
Final draft – due Wednesday, 4/13 at 10:00 AM (120 pts)
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns throughout this research process. We only have two short units after the research paper! The year is flying by!
Have a wonderful spring break!
Novel must be completed by the end of Spring Break
Choose a topic/ write thesis – due Monday, 3/28 by start of class(20 pts)
Outline due Tuesday, 4/5 by start of class (50 pts)
Rough draft Submitted to Turn it in – due Friday, 4/8 at 11:59 PM (30 pts)
Peer edit on Turn it In – 4/11 at 11:59 PM (20 pts)
Final draft – due Wednesday, 4/13 at 10:00 AM (120 pts)
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns throughout this research process. We only have two short units after the research paper! The year is flying by!
Have a wonderful spring break!
Update 2/12
Hello 12th Grade Honors English families!
I hope you had a great week! I know the students are looking forward to the four day weekend! Students should be busy over the weekend because there is a lot going on in Honors English 12. Students have been working on a Short Story Analysis essay based on four short stories we read in class. The rough draft of this essay is due to turnitin.com by midnight tonight. Over the long weekend, they should login to turnitin.com and complete a peer review of another student's paper (this will be randomly assigned by the computer program). Wednesday in class we will revise and the final copy will be due to turnitin.com by midnight on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday we will begin writing creatively in the fashion of some of the writers we have studies so far this year. The creative writing assignment will be due on Monday, February 22nd.
After that we move on to the lenses of literary criticism and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. This will be followed by the research paper!
I hope you had a great week! I know the students are looking forward to the four day weekend! Students should be busy over the weekend because there is a lot going on in Honors English 12. Students have been working on a Short Story Analysis essay based on four short stories we read in class. The rough draft of this essay is due to turnitin.com by midnight tonight. Over the long weekend, they should login to turnitin.com and complete a peer review of another student's paper (this will be randomly assigned by the computer program). Wednesday in class we will revise and the final copy will be due to turnitin.com by midnight on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday we will begin writing creatively in the fashion of some of the writers we have studies so far this year. The creative writing assignment will be due on Monday, February 22nd.
After that we move on to the lenses of literary criticism and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. This will be followed by the research paper!
UPDATE 12/5
I hope the Thanksgiving holiday was a welcomed respite for you and your family! There is a lot going on in our English class! We are winding down our study of Shakespeare and our Macbeth unit. On Monday we will finish reading the final scene of the play. I have been very lucky to have so many volunteers to read in class and perfect of classroom performance!
As the unit winds down, there will be a variety of activities. We will have a class discussion on Friday, December 11th. There will be a comprehension assessment on Monday, December 14th. The journals that students have been working on at home will also be due at that point (there should be twenty-one journals in total). As students read, we have been asking ourselves the question "What is a central theme of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and what literary elements does he use to develop this theme?" This will be the prompt for our literary analysis essay. The thesis statement, subtopics, and evidence from the text will be due on Wednesday, December 16th by the start of the school day in Google Classroom. This will enable me time to give feedback before students are in the library Wednesday and Thursday to draft and conference. The rough draft will be due on Friday, December 18th and we will peer edit and revise. The final copy will be due on Monday, December 21 by the beginning of the period.
Before the break, we will be starting our study of the Romantic Period and the influence of Romantic Poetry. Additionally, the root word book that students have been working on since the beginning of the year should be complete at this point.
Interim Progress Reports go on on Wednesday, December 16th. Keep an eye out for those! As always, Home Access can be checked regularly to see the progress of your student! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to be of assistance.
Important Dates:
12/11 - Macbeth discussion preparation due (on Google Classroom by start of class) / Macbeth class discussion
12/14 - Macbeth journals are due (21 journals)
12/14 - Macbeth Assessment
12/16 - Macbeth thesis, subtopics, and evidence due by the beginning of the day on Google Classroom
12/16 - MP2 Interim Progress Reports
12/18 - Macbeth rough draft due by the beginning of the day on Google Classroom
12/21 - Macbeth final copy due on Google Classroom by the beginning of the period
As the unit winds down, there will be a variety of activities. We will have a class discussion on Friday, December 11th. There will be a comprehension assessment on Monday, December 14th. The journals that students have been working on at home will also be due at that point (there should be twenty-one journals in total). As students read, we have been asking ourselves the question "What is a central theme of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and what literary elements does he use to develop this theme?" This will be the prompt for our literary analysis essay. The thesis statement, subtopics, and evidence from the text will be due on Wednesday, December 16th by the start of the school day in Google Classroom. This will enable me time to give feedback before students are in the library Wednesday and Thursday to draft and conference. The rough draft will be due on Friday, December 18th and we will peer edit and revise. The final copy will be due on Monday, December 21 by the beginning of the period.
Before the break, we will be starting our study of the Romantic Period and the influence of Romantic Poetry. Additionally, the root word book that students have been working on since the beginning of the year should be complete at this point.
Interim Progress Reports go on on Wednesday, December 16th. Keep an eye out for those! As always, Home Access can be checked regularly to see the progress of your student! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to be of assistance.
Important Dates:
12/11 - Macbeth discussion preparation due (on Google Classroom by start of class) / Macbeth class discussion
12/14 - Macbeth journals are due (21 journals)
12/14 - Macbeth Assessment
12/16 - Macbeth thesis, subtopics, and evidence due by the beginning of the day on Google Classroom
12/16 - MP2 Interim Progress Reports
12/18 - Macbeth rough draft due by the beginning of the day on Google Classroom
12/21 - Macbeth final copy due on Google Classroom by the beginning of the period
Update 11/6
I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend and is adjusting well to the time change.
This week, we started reading Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. Students should be working on vocabulary for each act (Act I vocabulary due on 11/10). They should also be working on journal entries as we read. We are reading the whole play in class, so it is imperative that they work on the journals at home. At this point, they have three journal entries to complete. There are templates available on my website to assist students in setting up these journal entries, as well as a sample to see what is expected.
November 13th marks the end of the first marking period. Please check in with your student (and check Home Access) to ensure they are up to date as this will set the tone for their senior year!
On November 18th and 19th, we will be taking the First Common Assessment for all 12th grade students. We will review for this over the next week an a half. The assessment, along with their Root Word Assessment at the end of the marking period, will be 10% of the MP2 grade.
This week, we started reading Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. Students should be working on vocabulary for each act (Act I vocabulary due on 11/10). They should also be working on journal entries as we read. We are reading the whole play in class, so it is imperative that they work on the journals at home. At this point, they have three journal entries to complete. There are templates available on my website to assist students in setting up these journal entries, as well as a sample to see what is expected.
November 13th marks the end of the first marking period. Please check in with your student (and check Home Access) to ensure they are up to date as this will set the tone for their senior year!
On November 18th and 19th, we will be taking the First Common Assessment for all 12th grade students. We will review for this over the next week an a half. The assessment, along with their Root Word Assessment at the end of the marking period, will be 10% of the MP2 grade.
UPDATE 10/19
Hello 12th Grade Families!
I hope your student enjoyed their last Homecoming as a Neshaminy Student! We have been busy in English class -- we just completed a unit on the Prologue of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Along with reading the prologue, students completed a project on an individual character and presented it to the class. I enjoyed seeing students connect their character to someone in our modern day society. Students also have to write a heroic couplet, in the fashion of Chaucer, which is due tomorrow.
The next thing we will focus on are the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (they have vocabulary due on Thursday, 10/22). After that, we are on to Shakespeare and Macbeth. Students should also be keeping up with their Root Word Book (there will be a quiz on Wednesday 10/21, and we are up to ORD). Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns, and be sure to check the website for updates, if you need them!
I hope your student enjoyed their last Homecoming as a Neshaminy Student! We have been busy in English class -- we just completed a unit on the Prologue of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Along with reading the prologue, students completed a project on an individual character and presented it to the class. I enjoyed seeing students connect their character to someone in our modern day society. Students also have to write a heroic couplet, in the fashion of Chaucer, which is due tomorrow.
The next thing we will focus on are the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (they have vocabulary due on Thursday, 10/22). After that, we are on to Shakespeare and Macbeth. Students should also be keeping up with their Root Word Book (there will be a quiz on Wednesday 10/21, and we are up to ORD). Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns, and be sure to check the website for updates, if you need them!
UPDATE 10/2
Just wanted to send a quick note that students should be studying for their Beowulf assessment (Monday, October 5th). We completed the text in class this week and have been discussing it as we go along. There are many review materials available on my website (www.missaubrey.weebly.com).
This week, I passed back College Essays. If students received a passing grade, they have also passed the writing section of their Graduation Project. If you check Home Access and there is no grade, the student had to revise for a passing grade. These revisions will be accepted for two weeks (10/13). Please let me know if you have any questions about this process!
Thanks for all of your support -- up next, The Canterbury Tales.
This week, I passed back College Essays. If students received a passing grade, they have also passed the writing section of their Graduation Project. If you check Home Access and there is no grade, the student had to revise for a passing grade. These revisions will be accepted for two weeks (10/13). Please let me know if you have any questions about this process!
Thanks for all of your support -- up next, The Canterbury Tales.
UPDATE 9/18
This week in Honors English we completed our in class work on The College Essay. Students had the opportunity to play the role of admissions officers as they looked through sample essays and decided who they would admit to "their college." Students were also introduced, or reintroduced, to Google Classroom. This is the online platform through which we will be submitting our writing this year. This caused frustration for some, as it was not familiar; however, through the use of Google Classroom the transition to online posting and submission of assignments will be much easier in college next year.
Their final copy of the college essay must be turned in Google Classroom by 10AM (the start of class) on Monday. I look forward to reading the college essays and learning even more about your student!
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns -- I hope to see you on Back-to-School Night on Thursday!
Their final copy of the college essay must be turned in Google Classroom by 10AM (the start of class) on Monday. I look forward to reading the college essays and learning even more about your student!
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns -- I hope to see you on Back-to-School Night on Thursday!
Update: 9/11
Dear 12th grade English families,
This week we began analyzing literature for the year with a group discussion of Summer Reading books. Students also completed a writing sample, which will count for 20 points. These grades will be entered on e-school by Wednesday, September 16th.
We then moved into the College Essay assignment. At this point, each student should have a topic that they are going to write about. On Wednesday, we will continue to look at sample essays and then Thursday and Friday will be devoted to drafting and revising. We will be using Google Classroom throughout the year to turn in writing assignments. Students will be expected to turn in their rough drafts to Google Classroom by the time class starts on Friday, September 18th. My hope is that by using Google Classroom throughout senior year, students will be better prepared to navigate the online platforms used at the college level!
Throughout the first marking period, students are expected to keep up with their Root Word books -- each night, they will be assigned a different root word to study. These words are on the weekly agenda, as well as on the homework section of the website. By the end of this week, they should have up to "cogn/sci" completed.
I look forward to meeting you at Back to School Night on September 24th! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
This week we began analyzing literature for the year with a group discussion of Summer Reading books. Students also completed a writing sample, which will count for 20 points. These grades will be entered on e-school by Wednesday, September 16th.
We then moved into the College Essay assignment. At this point, each student should have a topic that they are going to write about. On Wednesday, we will continue to look at sample essays and then Thursday and Friday will be devoted to drafting and revising. We will be using Google Classroom throughout the year to turn in writing assignments. Students will be expected to turn in their rough drafts to Google Classroom by the time class starts on Friday, September 18th. My hope is that by using Google Classroom throughout senior year, students will be better prepared to navigate the online platforms used at the college level!
Throughout the first marking period, students are expected to keep up with their Root Word books -- each night, they will be assigned a different root word to study. These words are on the weekly agenda, as well as on the homework section of the website. By the end of this week, they should have up to "cogn/sci" completed.
I look forward to meeting you at Back to School Night on September 24th! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Back to School
Dear Honors English 12 Families,
My name is Kimberly Aubrey and I am your child's 12th grade English teacher. Today was an exciting day, as it marks a large milestone in your child's life -- their last first day of high school. I am looking forward to the journey we will take as learners throughout their senior year at Neshaminy High School. We had a very exciting day, jumping right into getting to know each other.
Today in class, I provided your student with a back to school letter with course information and class expectation and a plagiarism contract; please fill out both of these forms by Tuesday, September 8th. The back to school letter also contains a list of school supplies needed for Honors English 12. Please let me know if you have any questions.
We started the year with an exercise in brevity: the six word memoir (http://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/). Students should write their six word memoir tonight, if they did not finish in class, and bring it back to class tomorrow. We will revisit this activity at the end of the year as a reminder of where we started. Throughout the coming weeks, we will discuss the purpose of studying British Literature and start to write the college essay. We will also spend time discussing and writing about the books students read for Summer Reading.
I look forward to an engaging, productive school year with your child, as we continue to prepare for the world outside of Neshaminy High School. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns, or if there is anything I need to know about your child, specifically.
Thank you, in advance, for your support throughout the year!
My name is Kimberly Aubrey and I am your child's 12th grade English teacher. Today was an exciting day, as it marks a large milestone in your child's life -- their last first day of high school. I am looking forward to the journey we will take as learners throughout their senior year at Neshaminy High School. We had a very exciting day, jumping right into getting to know each other.
Today in class, I provided your student with a back to school letter with course information and class expectation and a plagiarism contract; please fill out both of these forms by Tuesday, September 8th. The back to school letter also contains a list of school supplies needed for Honors English 12. Please let me know if you have any questions.
We started the year with an exercise in brevity: the six word memoir (http://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/). Students should write their six word memoir tonight, if they did not finish in class, and bring it back to class tomorrow. We will revisit this activity at the end of the year as a reminder of where we started. Throughout the coming weeks, we will discuss the purpose of studying British Literature and start to write the college essay. We will also spend time discussing and writing about the books students read for Summer Reading.
I look forward to an engaging, productive school year with your child, as we continue to prepare for the world outside of Neshaminy High School. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns, or if there is anything I need to know about your child, specifically.
Thank you, in advance, for your support throughout the year!