A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 1 Journal Topics

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 1 Journal Topics

Please pick one journal topic and answer that topic using complete sentences.  Use evidence from the play when appropriate. Make sure to use your blog number when entering your comments (blog as Anonymous too). Your blog number will be M for Munsterman, your language arts class period, and your Chromebook number. Ex. M912

1. According to Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”  Agree or disagree with this quote by providing supporting evidence from the play, real life, TV shows, songs, and/or movies.

2. Helena tells her best friend’s secret to Demetrius - that Hermia and Lysander are eloping.  Was it wrong of her to do this?  Write about a time you told a secret.  How did you feel?  Did the person whose secret you told find out?  What were the consequences of this act?

3. Hermia and Lysander believe they have no choice except to run away together so they can get married.  Discuss the pros and cons of running away from a problem.  What would you do in Hermia’s and Lysander’s situation?  Do you think they’re making the right choice?  What are some other options they could consider, if any?

4. Hermia takes control over her life when she refuses to marry Demetrius and runs away with Lysander.  Helena, on the other hand, follows Demetrius, hoping he will return her affections after hearing of the elopement.  Discuss these two women according to their decisions.  Is it better to make your own fate or trust that things will eventually turn out the way you want them?  What do Hermia’s and Helena’s actions reveal about their personalities?

5. Hermia takes a big risk by running away with Lysander.  Under Athenian law, she could be put to death by disobeying her father!  Write a letter from either Hermia or Lysander to Egeus, Hermia’s father, trying to convince him to let Hermia and Lysander marry.  In the play, Demetrius had formerly “wooed” Helena, and then deserted her.  Can this information be used as a way to make Egeus realize that perhaps Lysander is a better match for his daughter?

Short Stories

Short Stories by Mrs. Munsterman's 2nd, 5th, and 9th Period Students

Using your blog number (Ex. M712), post a quick summary of your short story. You must also post the title of your story and a link to it.  *Make sure to set your privacy rights of your story to Anyone with the Link/Can View.

Library/SSR (Reading Workshop)

After reading your book during Reading Workshop/SSR, please answer the following questions.  Steps:  Click to type in a post. Make sure to answer your blog by typing in your blog number (Ex. M912).  Remember, this number will correspond with your LA class period and your Chromebook number.  Then, Comment as:  Anonymous.  Make sure to post Anonymously, and make sure to include your number; so I know whose post it is when I am grading it.

What is the title of your book?  

Who is the author?  

Would you recommend this book to someone else?  Why or why not?

Tell me a little about the plot of your book.  If you had to write a quick summary of what has happened in your book so far, what would you write?  Make sure to include some information about the setting, characters, conflict, etc.

Reading Workshop - Monday, May 12, 2014

After reading your book during Reading Workshop/SSR, please answer the following questions.  Click to type in a post. Make sure to answer your blog by typing in your blog number (Ex. M912).  Remember, this number will correspond with your LA class period and your Chromebook number.  Then, Comment as:  Anonymous.  Make sure to post Anonymously, and make sure to include your number; so I know whose post it is when I am grading it.

What is the title of your book?  

Who is the author?  

Would you recommend this book to someone else?  Why or why not?

Tell me a little about the plot of your book.  If you had to write a quick summary of what has happened in your book so far, what would you write?  Make sure to include some information about the setting, characters, conflict, etc.

Blog Challenge: Day #5

Give a tip for assessment.  What is an example of an assessment you give?  Share any tips for designing/giving/grading assessments.

One assessment that I give to my TAG (Talented and Gifted) class is a WordMasters-type test.  My school used to participate in the WordMasters Challenge, but we stopped about three years ago.  Since then, I continue to work on vocabulary (focusing on SAT prep words) with my “high” class.  At the end of each quarter, the students take a “WordMasters” test that I design.  Throughout the quarter, students complete six vocabulary lessons with twenty words each (I give them a sheet with all of the words and definitions, and they have to finish the worksheet).  At the end of the quarter, I pick thirty words from the 120 the students have seen, that the students will be tested on.  The test focuses on students using critical thinking and knowledge of specific vocabulary words to solve analogies.  So, the students not only have to memorize various words and their definitions, part of speech, etc., they also have to apply that knowledge to solve the analogies.

Ex.  Skydiver:  _______________________ ::  Explorer:  Adventurous

A.  Facetious     /     B.  Cautious     /    C.  Audacious     /     D.  Ethical     /    E.  Plebeian

I have my students first take the test on paper because many of them like to be able to physically cross out/eliminate answers.  When students have finished with the paper copy, I have them go to a link to a Google form that I have created.  Students then submit their answers through the Google form.  When all students are done with the test, I run the Flubaroo script to grade their tests against my answer key.  Once all of the tests are graded, I go back into the Flubaroo script and email students their results.  Students like taking the test through the form because as soon as everyone is finished, they can see their results.  It gives them almost instant feedback.

In terms of designing the assessment, I always make sure to take the test that I will give students.  I make sure that all questions and answer choices make sense, and they are not confusing.  I think it’s important to first consider what you want the test to show/what standards you are hoping to assess.  I really like using Google forms to have students take their tests, but in using Google forms, you can be somewhat limited to certain types of questions.  Forms does allow you to ask short answer and extended response questions, but I think grading those on the computer gets a little more difficult.  I would rather have students do those types of questions on paper because I find the grading easier.  

Blog Challenge: Day 4

Share a topic/idea from class this week.  What’s one thing you did with students this week that you will (or will not do) again?  Why?  

The idea that I am going to share from class this week is actually something that I do on a weekly basis, but I think it’s worth mentioning.  When I first started teaching, a mentor teacher introduced me to Jane Bell Kiester’s “Caught’Yas.”  I really liked the idea of having my students do them, but for some reason, I didn’t use them for the first nine years or so of my teaching.  I have, however, been using them for the past three years.  Two or three times a week, my students grab their Caught’Ya packets.  My two regular LA classes use “Tales of a Four-Eyed Weirdo,” and my TAG (Talented and Gifted Class) uses “Romeo and Juliet Revisited and Revised.”  

We focus on one sentence per day.  In my daily agenda, I tell my students how many of each type of correction they are looking for (ex. 5 capitalization, 3 commas, etc.).  Students then work through the Caught’Ya, making the proper corrections to the sentence.  When all students are finished, we go over the Caught’Ya together.  I use the AirSquirrels Reflector app I downloaded on my Mac to connect my iPad (via Airplay) to my computer (and to the projector).  I then use a great app called Notability (where I have imported the Caught’Ya sentences).  The students pass around the iPad, making the proper corrections to the sentence.  When a student gets the iPad and makes a correction, he or she has to tell the class what he or she corrected and why.  This activity is a great way to hit upon and talk about the different rules for sentence structure, dialogue, capitalization, punctuation, spelling (homophones, etc.), etc., and to hit upon the parts of speech.  Each sentence also includes a vocabulary word, and I have the students use their Chromebooks to find the part of speech and definition of the word.  Students enjoy passing the iPad around to make corrections, which helps to get them even more involved.  They actually fight over who gets to use the iPad first.  Something else that is nice about her activities is that Jane Bell Kiester has various Caught’Ya examples for different grade levels.  If you are a language arts teacher and want a fun and different way to teach grammar, I would definitely recommend investing in her books.

After doing various D.O.L.-type activities, sentence revisions, etc., I think using Caught’Yas has been perfect for my classroom.

Blog Challenge: Day #3

What is a website that you cannot live without?  Tell about your favorite features and how you use it in your teaching and learning.

One website that I really like and use fairly often is www.socrative.com.  Socrative allows you, the teacher, to create tests, quizzes, exit slips, etc.  If you create a quiz, for example, Socrative lets you include questions/answer choices such as Multiple Choice, True/False, and Short Answer.  It also allows you to include an image with your question if you choose to do so.

Socrative is great because it works with a number of different devices. For example, I have the app loaded on my iPhone and iPad.  Last year, I had a class set of Galaxy Android tablets, and the students accessed it through the app on the tablets.  It can also be accessed through the website, and my students this year have used their Chromebooks to get to the website.  In order for students to answer the questions to your quiz, students simply need to access the app or website and enter in the room number that you give to them.  You can choose to do Teacher Paced or Student Paced quizzes (each can have its perks, depending on what you are using it for).  Students are also shown if they got the question right or wrong as they go through the quiz.  At the end of the quiz, when you end the activity, you can choose to download the results or email them to yourself.  

I use Socrative a lot for pretests.  It works perfectly because all students are involved (even my students who are typically very quiet).  It also allows me to see where my students are struggling, need extra help, or really grasp a concept, etc.  I have used it often for final tests, and the plus there is that you (and students) get immediate feedback on how well students performed.

Although it’s not a website exactly, I have also been creating quizzes through Google Forms.  I set up the form by including a first and last name question, an email question, and then any other questions that I wish to ask my students.  Before giving my students the quiz/form, I go through and take the quiz.  In place of first and last name, I put “Answer Key.”  After that, go back into my form responses spreadsheet, and I insert a script called Flubaroo into my form responses spreadsheet.  When all of my students are done taking the quiz, I run the script, choose my form, “Answer Key,” as the answer key, and the script will grade all of my students’ responses off of my quiz.  Flubaroo then allows you to email grades back to your students (this is why you want to include email address as one of your questions).  It is pretty awesome for quick grading and quick feedback to students!  It works a lot like Socrative, so I thought I would also include this in my post.