I hope you all enjoyed the week off from work - I know that I definitely benefited from the break! As I mentioned before Spring Break, I will still post content and assignments on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I will not be posting anything on Wednesdays, but I will use Wednesdays to work on grading assignments from the previous week.
This week, I will begin updating grades for any work that you completed after March 13th. Even if you have told me that you are content with your March 13th grade, I will grade all of the work that you turned in during the past three weeks of distance learning. As a reminder: any work you submitted after March 13th can only improve your grade - it cannot lower it. I will attempt to get grades for work done prior to Spring Break in the gradebook as soon as I can, but please be patient with me in getting those assignments graded and entered.
Another big change that I am making is that from this point forward we will be working on the same content across both my 9th and my 10th grade classes. In this difficult, stressful, challenging time, many of us are looking for an escape. We can find that in movies, in TV shows, in music, in video games, in spending time with our family and friends (safely and virtually!), and (as your friendly neighborhood English teacher feels the need to point out) in books. For the next few weeks, we are going to be taking a step back from reality and diving into a world of fantasy as we explore one of my favorite books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Even if you are satisfied with your grade in my class or even if you have watched the movie and thought that Harry Potter wasn't your thing, I would like to invite you to step inside the walls of Hogwarts with me, and I hope you will find comfort in its halls as I have done time and time again.
One last note before I get into today's assignment: you do NOT need to purchase a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I will provide you with a PDF of the novel, and the audiobook is currently available for free on Audible (you don't even have to sign up for an account!).
As always, I am available via email and through Remind. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need me.
For your assignment today, we're getting back to the basics with a look at why we, as humans, read. John Green has an excellent video where he explains this and we will return to some of the ideas he expresses throughout our unit as we think critically about what we have read.
TO DO FOR MONDAY, APRIL 13:
- Watch the video below
- Fill out the form
