Seniors! It's College Essay Time!!!

     You will soon be working on your college essays in English class, which will be your first process writing assignment. I will guide you through the process, from getting tips on writing the essay, to brainstorming ideas, to writing multiple drafts, editing and revising, to conferencing, to the final draft. For the purpose of this assignment, you will choose one of the essay prompts from the Common App. 

     I have listed some links below which you may refer to for help as you are writing. You will find many more articles by googling "Writing the college essay."

8 Tips for Crafting Your Best College Essay ( we will look at this one in class)

Tips for Writing an Effective Application Essay

Top Ten Tips for Writing a College Essay

9 Essay Writing Tips to "Wow" College Admissions Officers

English IV: The Anglo-Saxon PowerPoint Presentation

     Here is the link to the Anglo-Saxon Period PowerPoint presentation. We will be using this presentation to practice our Cornell note-taking skills and to gain a historical context for our reading and study of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf.


Powerpoint Presentation: Anglo-Saxon Period

Beginning of the Year: Lessons and Procedures

Hello Students!

     At the beginning of the school year there are always lessons and procedures that I must teach or demonstrate for you, so for the next few weeks we will be practicing and doing several things at once. This post outlines those lessons so that you will know what is coming up.

1. Lesson Activator: Caught Ya
     I call the activity done in the first five minutes of class a "Lesson Activator." Other teachers might call it a "Do-Now" or a "Bell-Ringer" but I've chosen my label because it sounds less elementary to me. It's just my preference, but all the labels mean the same thing.

   The activity I choose for you to do is known as "Caught Ya," which some of you may remember if you had me as a teacher before. I've been doing this activity with my English classes for many years. We will work at this activity for a few minutes at the beginning of almost every class, and the activity will last for most of the school year.  I like this activity because it combines practice in many different reading and writing skills, like spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, vocabulary, and sentence structure, but it also allows you to sharpen your skills in listening, following directions, doing things consistently, participating, and acting responsibly to always have your work with you.

     Look for me to present the procedure for Caught Ya this week.

2. Dialectical Journaling and The Cornell Way
     Most of you probably know something about creating a dialectical journal, also called a 2-column (or 3-column) note taking system. It is also very similar to the Cornell Way note taking system we use here at BHS. In my class, students will use a dialectical journal format often when taking notes, analyzing literature, and close-reading texts. We will go over the required procedure for Dialectical Journals this week also.

4.  Taking Notes from a Power-Point Presentation
     As we proceed this year, you will notice that the important writings and texts we study are deeply connected to the historical and social themes of each time period. Therefore, at the beginning of each unit, you will learn something about each time period and how the important people, events, and customs of each period influenced the writers of that period. For each unit, I will post a Power-Point presentation which you will be required to read, study, and take notes from. If you like, you may also print it out in handout form (6 slides to a page). The first one you will be required to study covers the Anglo-Saxon Period. Your notes will have to take the form of  Cornell notes. We will practice a bit in class to get you started.

5. College Essay
     Your first process writing assignment will be your college essay. Everyone will write one, and it will take several drafts before it is finished. I will give you many tips on writing the essay, and will conference with each of you as needed to improve your essay. If you have already begun the process in an AVID class or on your own, bring in whatever you have written.

6. Discussion Forums Using Blogger
     In the near future I will begin using my blog to initiate discussion forums on a variety of topics. These will be counted as a homework assignments. For example, I will present a topic and post a prompt and ask you to respond to it and to other contributors. There will be more on this soon.

MLA Format - 2015: Refer to these guidelines for all essay writing for me.

MLA FORMAT - 2015

1. 1-inch margins all around; font size 12; Times New Roman
2. Entire document is double-spaced (including heading and title; no extra spaces between heading and title or title and first sentence).
3. Essay heading in top left:

Name

Mrs. Henrion

Course Title-Period __

__ Month 2015

4. Use header tab to create page numbers in top right corner of each page, including the first page. Each page number should be Last Name # (i.e. Shmoe 1, Shmoe 2, Shmoe 3 and so forth 

5. Title of essay is centered. Capitalize first letters of first word and important words. a) Novel and play titles are italicized. Size 12, Times New Roman. No underlines, no bold type, no quotation marks. b) Poem, short story, or song titles are quoted, with no underlines or bold type.

6. Indent the first word of each paragraph. No extra spaces between paragraphs.

7. Use quotation marks around quoted passages. Keep quotes short by choosing only the part that best supports the idea you are trying to convey in your discussion and integrate the quote into your sentence. Do not use the ellipsis (…). Use in-text citations (also called parenthetical citations) for quotations as follows : 

a.     The MLA recommends using the author’s name in a signal phrase to introduce the quotation and citing only the page number(s) in parentheses. (example:  Crystal, a noted linguist, explains that Monty Python’s humor often relied on “bizarre linguistic interactions” (108). When you do not mention the author’s name in a signal phrase, do the following:

b.     From novels/short stories: write (Author last name page #) after the quote for the first in-text citation in an essay paragraph. Subsequent quotes in the same essay paragraph from that same text only need (#). If a quote from another text is used within that same paragraph it must be followed by that author’s name and page # and so forth.  Start over with (Author last name page #) in next paragraph for the first quote.

                      (example: A noted linguist explains that Monty Python’s humor often relied on “bizarre linguistic                                   interactions” (Crystal 108).

c.     From poems/songs: write (line(s) #) after the in-text citation for the first quote in an essay paragraph.  Subsequent quotes in the same essay paragraph should have (#) as the in-text citation.

(example: Whitman speculates that “All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses” (line 129).

d.     From plays: give the act, scene, and line number(s) separated by periods.

(example: As Macbeth begins, the witches greet Banquo as “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater” (1.3.65).

e.     For all quotes, punctuation comes after the in-text citation, not before it. If the quote itself is a question, place a question mark within the quotation mark and a period after the in-text citation.

Mrs. Henrion's Room Management Plan

ROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN                                                  MRS. HENRION

Room C21                                                                                        henrionl@worc.k12.ma.us

                                                                                                          henrionsblog.blogspot.com

Class begins ON TIME: Please be in your seat when the bell rings for class to begin.

Classroom     YOU WILL EARN RESPECT BY BEING RESPECTFUL.

Behavior:        * Please do not talk excessively while the teacher or another student is talking or when announcements are being made.

                         * Please put your cell phone away and do not use it before, during, or after class.

                         * Please raise your hand if you have something to say.

                         * Please remain in your seat unless you are given permission to get up.

                         * Please do not deface the property of the school, the teacher, or other students.

                         * Please do not bring or consume any food or drinks (except water) in the classroom, especially

                            during Period1 and after lunch.

Organization:  Come to class every day with all the necessary and required items so that you can be fully engaged in the learning process. This includes your binder, notes, planner, supplies, homework, and anything else required for class. Be as organized as you can be.

Homework:     I expect homework assignments to be completed and/or handed in ON TIME (at beginning of class).

                                    ?Late assignments (not handed in at beginning of class) will only receive half the credit or less.

                                    ?Late assignments must be handed in by Friday of that week in order to receive any credit.

                                    ?If absent for an assignment, please write absent on top and hand it in the day you return to class or the day after the                                                                       absence. It will be graded as if on time.

                                    ?Homework will be checked whenever assigned and marked for achievement purposes.

                                    ?Class cuts constitute a 0 for the day. Cutting a test will mean a 0 for the test.       

                 When “On Project,” you are still responsible for completing all work ON TIME. Come  in the morning or after school to ask about                                      that day’s classwork and to obtain assignments or assistance. Any work due that day must be turned in that morning before you go on                                project.

Tests:  Make-up tests must be taken after school on Tuesdays or Thursdays or during a study.  Tests must be made up within one week of the test date.

Grading:                English IV                                                                

              * HW/projects-40% of grade                                                        

              * Tests/Quizzes/Essays-30% of grade                                          

              * In-Class work/Binder/Collab./Partic./Attendance-30% of gr                                      
                    AP English Literature and Composition                                                                                                
              * HW/Projects/Dialectical Journals/Acronymic analyses/Vocab.-40% of grade
              * Process essays (all components)-30% of grade
              * In-Class work/ Practice tests/Timed writing/Collab./Discuss. & Partic./Attendance-30% of grade

(First quarter only: Summer Reading 10% and Homework 30%)

                       

Passes:  Use the clipboard sign-out sheet as your pass to go to the bathroom or another destination. Always have a signed pass or tardy slip when you enter                           the classroom late.

REMEMBER, PLEASE…

KEEP ALL CELL PHONES OUT OF SIGHT UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED.

NO EATING OR DRINKING IN THE CLASSROOM, OTHER THAN WATER.

DO NOT BRING BREAKFAST, LUNCH, OR SNACK FOODS INTO THE ROOM.