September 18, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to today:

• Review of A2 details and rubric
• Rules:
• Unless I've given permission, no devices allowed (no headphones or smart watches)
• You have access to dictionaries and thesauruses (thesauri?)
• Be sure to take a beat before finishing, and reread carefully
• If in doubt, choose the simpler word
• Once complete, you may do what you'd like - you're encouraged to read

September 17, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to today:

• Checking in
• English 9
• In the news: sharks!
• Review of A2 instructions and rubric, as well as advice on persuasive and narrative writing
• Writing lesson!
• Periods and commas
• Practice for tomorrow's in-class paragraph
• The best thing you can do is show me some of your writing
• English 12
• Assignment 2
• Review of A2 instructions and rubric, as well as advice on persuasive and narrative writing
• Circling back to grammar: structure
• Take some time to plan, and show me any work. Once people are feeling ready, we're going to get started on the next two assignments
• Short texts
• Taking a look at the schedule
• Introducing A3 and A4
• Literary devices
• Denotation
• Connotation
• Metaphor
• Symbolism
• Onomatopoeia
• Introducing critical lenses
• These will come in handy in your Assignment 1, Assignment 4, and in your literature presentations (later in the course)
• Example: The film Pocahontas 
• "APESHIT"
• Background
• Beyonce and Jay Z
• The Louvre
• Heads up on language
• Video
• Initial reaction
• Distributing optional worksheet, due for Monday
• Reminder: tomorrow is the in-class paragraph

September 16, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to today:

• Checking in
• Recapping assignment 2 instructions
• English 9 
• AM: Finishing cognitive biases
• Logical fallacies bracket in small groups
• Class discussion: which is the most powerful?
• Brainstorm:
• Which cognitive bias or logical fallacy are you most interested in?
• Would you prefer to write a narrative or persuasive response?
• Begin to plan
• English 12 PM
• Writing!
• Spelling:
• There's no trick, it's just a long-term game. If it's important to you:
• Remove autocorrect
• When there's a squiggly line beneath a word, try to figure it out first
• Read as much as you can
• Punctuation:
• Comma
• Period
• Semi-colon
• Colon
• Em-Dash
• Structure
• Paragraph
• Parallelism
• Freewrite
• Introducing: Literary devices page
• Denotation
• Connotation
• Remaining - which are you not sure about?

September 15, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to today:

• Checking in
• Recapping Assignment 1
• Note: I've added a rubric
• Trip to the library
• You do not need to check out a book
• Once you're done in the library, please wait on the large staircase
• Eng 12:
• You are released from sitting where you are, but it's a full class, so you'll have to negotiate
• Update on novels for
• Born a Crime
• Life of Pi (Probably)
• Time to practice/plan your A2 response
• The best thing you can do is write a rough draft and show it to me. I'll give you feedback.
• Would we benefit from delaying the response?
• I'll check in with each of you about your book and your plan
• Eng 9:
• Cognitive biases continued!
• Starting logical fallacies

September 14, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to today:

• Checking in
• Double checking My Ed and Teams attendance
• Reviewing FIT schedule this week
• Recapping last week
• Recapping assignment details
• Reminder: tomorrow, we'll go to the library. On Wednesday or Thursday, I'll ask you what book you've chosen.
• Eng 9 AM:
• Assembly!
• Eng 9 PM:
• Intro to cognitive biases
• The bracket!
• Guiding question: which bias is the most powerful?
• Eng 12:
• The goal of today is to have you check your confidence in writing.
• You're encouraged to show me your writing to check for where to grow
• Narrative writing
• Basic rules
• Freytag's triangle
• In medias res
• Show, don't tell
• Two adjectives per noun
• Practice freewrite
• Persuasive writing
• Basic rules
• An argument is specific and debatable
• Structure of a paragraph
• Specific, concrete evidence
• In-depth analysis
• When in doubt, choose the simpler, clearer word
• Practice freewrite
• Cereal is a soup
• The best time to shower is in the morning
• All AI centers should be shut down
• Reflection: 
• Which form are you more comfortable with?
• What specific skills do you want to work on?
• Eng 12 - Start planning

September 11, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to today:

• Checking in
• Recapping assignment details
• Eng 12: 
• Rubric
• Examples of response for A2. Please note the danger of copying my style.
• Introducing: The Writing Package! (Applause)
• Narrative writing
• Basic rules
• Freytag's triangle
• In media res
• Show, don't tell
• Two adjectives per noun
• Practice freewrite
• Persuasive writing
• Basic rules
• An argument is specific and debatable
• Structure of a paragraph
• Specific, concrete evidence
• In-depth analysis
• When in doubt, choose the simpler, clearer word
• Practice freewrite
• Is cereal a soup?
• Should you sleep with socks on?
• When is the best time to shower?
• Reflection: which form are you more comfortable with?
• Eng 12 - Start planning
• Eng 9 - Introducing Cognitive Biases

September 10, 2026

 Hello! Here's what we're up to:

• Checking in
• 1 to 5, how are you feeling?
• Please add an extra thought, if you can.
• Did everyone see the Teams message?
• Eng 12: I've chosen one of the novels: There There by Tommy Orange. The second one is TBD.
• Policies and grades
• Introducing Assignment 1 - Independent Novel Assignment
• We'll visit the library on Tuesday. Try to choose your book by Wednesday.
• Introducing Assignment 2 - In-class paragraph
• Names!
• Frist freewrite
• Discussion: what do you need to learn about with writing?