Hunger Games Trilogy news

For those of you who have burned through the first two books in the Hunger Games series, the third book Mockingjay is slated for release on August 24, 2010. The book can already be pre-ordered if you find the five month wait a bit too long. Here's the description from amazon.com


SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't finished the second book, Catching Fire, you may not want to read what follows...

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Tuesday 3/23/10

IN CLASS:
Today all classes took the exam for the poetry unit. Any students who were absent will need to set up ta time to take the quiz before the end of the quarter. If they cannot take it before Thursday, they will need to stay after school on the Monday following spring break to take the exam.

ASSIGNMENT:
It would be wise for students to begin reviewing for the vocab exam on Thursday. We will have a review activity tomorrow in class. Students will get more out of the activity if they have already reviewed on their own.

Monday 3/22/10

IN CLASS:
Today students took a practice test in preparation for tomorrow's poetry exam. Using Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," students answered questions closely resembling the ones on the test tomorrow. Additionally, students had the use of their notes, group members and teacher to help them along the way. Hopefully this helped to prepare them for tomorrow.

DOWNLOADS FROM TODAY:
Poetry Practice Test for Hours 2, 5, 6
Poetry Practice Test for Hours 7, 8

ASSIGNMENT:
Review notes and practice test for exam tomorrow

Friday 3/19/10

IN CLASS:
Today all students took the vocab quiz for lesson 12. Additionally, hours 2, 5, and 6 played a review game for vocab before the quiz. Hours 7 and 8 received a worksheet for homework giving them practice identifying foot and meter in lines of poetry. The worksheet is due on Monday.

Please encourage your student to spend some time this weekend reviewing the vocabulary words from this quarter. All classes will take a vocabulary exam over lessons 9-12 next Thursday.

DOWNLOADS FROM TODAY:
Vocabulary Review Sheet (Hours 2, 5, 6 only)
Foot & Meter Worksheet (Hours 7, 8 only)

ASSIGNMENT:
Hours 2, 5, 6

• Review vocabulary from 3rd quarter for exam on Thursday

Hours 7, 8:

• Foot and Meter Worksheet due Monday
• Review vocabulary from lessons 9-12 for exam on Thursday

Thursday 3/18/10

IN CLASS:
Today, again, classes all did slightly different versions of the same thing. Here's a summary of each hour.

• Hour 2: We started off with reading Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," and followed up with Lord Byron's story of breakup and broken hearts "When We Two Parted." Students looked at both the poetic elements in the text as well as the greater meaning presented through the poetry.

• Hour 5: We began by analyzing "Nothing Gold Can Stay." We found metaphor, personification, alliteration, and allusion within Robert Frost's short 8 lined poem. We then moved onto "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" by Emily Dickinson.

• Hour 6: We started off taking a clicker quiz (MCA style) over Shel Silverstein's poem "Forgotten Language." Then we slowing worked our way through Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop For Death."

• Hours 7, 8: Today we tackled the somewhat tricky and baffling subject of foot and meter. Foot and meter is the way we name the specific type of rhythmic patterns used in poetry. Through an interactive activity of ta's and TUM's, we built, deciphered, and named the patterns in certain poems. The trick for students now is to be able to hear, label, and name the patterns on their own. They will get more practice with that over the weekend.

ASSIGNMENT:
vocab quiz 12 tomorrow

Wednesday 3/17/10

IN CLASS:
All classes ended in slightly different places today. Here's a rundown of what happened each hour.

• Hour 2: During Hour 2, we checked through the vocab assignment for week 12. Then we worked through a couple of poems using the CPS clicker system to answer questions about the poems in the style of the MCA. For the first poem, students worked with partners, and we talked through the correct answers as a class. For the second poem, students worked on their own.

• Hour 5: After checking the vocab for lesson 12, we finished up reading "The Cremation of Sam McGee." Then we worked through a couple of poems using the CPS clicker system to answer questions about the poems in the style of the MCA. For the first poem, students worked with partners, and we talked through the correct answers as a class. For the second poem, students worked on their own.

• Hour 6: After checking vocab, students read Robert Frost's classic poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Then we worked through a couple of poems using the CPS clicker system to answer questions about the poems in the style of the MCA. For the first poem, students worked with partners, and we talked through the correct answers as a class. Students will answer the questions for the second poem on their own tomorrow in class.

• Hours 7, 8: After checking vocab, students read "The Cremation of Sam McGee." We discussed the plot of the story and the characteristics of a Ballad shown through this poem. Then we moved onto Robert Frost's classic poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay."We broke the poem down and analyzed it considering both the meaning of the poem and the poetic elements present used in the text.

ASSIGNMENT:
none

Tuesday 3/16/10

IN CLASS:
Today we worked on analogies (relationships between words). We worked through a lesson that included practice using the CPS clicker systems. Analogies are like word puzzles that the students solve. This is a higher order thinking skill because students have to think through a process in order to find the answer. These types of questions show up on standardized tests as well as tests like the ACT and SAT once they get to high school.

Some classes also read another poem together in class ("Nothing Gold Can Stay" in 2nd hour, and "The Cremation of Sam McGee" in house 5, 6).

ASSIGNMENT:
vocab lesson 12 is due tomorrow