My Last Day

My last few days as a teacher and coach at Hillcrest Christian School were very emotional. I invested five years into the school and its students, and I had coworkers and invested in me and prayed for me constantly. 

Administration: Thank you for taking a chance on me. It meant at lot to me, and I took seriously the task you put before me. I hope you look back on that decision with happiness and contentment.

Coworkers: Your prayers and encouragement helped get me through those bad days that all teachers have.

Students: You were absolutely unforgettable. I will miss the laughter and the challenges. I am thankful to God that he allowed me to teach you.

I began work as a 25-year-old bachelor and left married with two kids. God could not have put me in a better place for those years in my life.

It seems silly that such mundane actions--cutting off the lights and closing a door--could mean so much, but they do. I will miss this school and you people dearly.

I pray that God blesses you.

--Coach Taylor

Week 36: May 7 - 11

Monday
Test

Tuesday - Friday
Final Exam review

Pronoun worksheet answers

For those of you in Advanced English who want to check your grammar work, here are the answers to the exercises.

Page 89: Pronouns in the possessive case
Exercise 1

1. Theirs
2. ours
3. Hers
4. theirs
5. yours
6. hers
7. Ours
8. yours
9. its
10. theirs

Exercise 2

1. Their
2. its
3. your
4. their
5. your
6. its
7. Your
8. Its
9. their
10. its

Page 90: Who or Whom in Questions

Exercise 1

1. subj.
2. o.p.
3. d.o.
4. subj.
5. o.p.
6. d.o.
7. d.o.
8. subj.
9. o.p.
10. subj.

Exercise 2

1. Who
2. whom
3. Who
4. Whom
5. Who
6. Who
7. whom
8. Who
9. Whom
10. whom

Week 35: April 30 - May 4

Monday
Advanced

1. Students will take poetry test 2.
2. With whatever time they have left, students will begin reading "Emily Dickinson" on page 415.

Regular

1. Students will take their test on SRA.
2. After completing the test, students will read "" and answer questions.

Tuesday

Advanced
Continue "Emily Dickinson"

Regular
Continue SRA

Wednesday

Advanced

1. Complete "Emily Dickinson"
2. Start pronoun case worksheet to be completed for HW.
3. Read "Marian Anderson."

Regular
Continue SRA

Thursday

Advanced

1. Discuss "Marian Anderson."
2. Discuss pronoun case.

Regular
Continue SRA.

Friday

Advanced

1. Read "A Christmas Memory."
2. Possessive pronoun and Who/Whom work

Regular

1. Finish SRA.
2. Review for Monday's test.

Week 34: April 23 - 27

Monday
1. Students will take their test.
2. Students will work on vocabulary lesson 28. Quiz on Friday.

Tuesday
Advanced

1. Students will complete vocabulary work.
2. Class will go over Lord of the Flies test if all students have taken it.
3. Students will read begin reading nonfiction selections.

Regular

1. Students will complete vocabulary work.
2. Students will take notes on the following:

• epitaphs 
• the life of Edgar Lee Masters
• Spoon River Anthology (SRA)

Wednesday

Advanced

The class will read and discuss the humorous essay "The Dog that Bit People" by James Thurber.

Regular

We will complete our notes and compose our own epitaphs.

Thursday
Advanced
Students will read and "Emily Dickinson" by Van Wyck Brooks.

Regular

1. Students will complete epitaphs.
2. The class will begin reading the selections from SRA.

Friday

Advanced

1. Students will take vocabulary quiz 28.
2. Students will go to the library to take their AR test on Lord of the Flies.
3. Students may take other AR tests if they are prepared to do so.
4. Students will study for Monday's poetry test.

Regular

1. Students will take vocabulary quiz 28.
2. The class will continue reading selections from SRA.
3. If time permits, we will do a mini-review for Monday's SRA/Masters/Epitaph test.

Week 33: April 16 - 20

Monday
Advanced

• Students will write down the words and definitions for vocabulary unit 27, pages 173-74.
• The class will discuss the remaining haiku.
• Students will compose their own haiku.

Regular

• Students will write down the words and definitions for vocabulary unit 27, pages 173-74.
• The class will discuss Great Expectations in preparation for Tuesday's test.*

Tuesday

Advanced

• Students will complete vocabulary exercises 1-3 on pages 175-76.
• Students will individually analyze a poem they have not seen before.

Regular

• Students will take Great Expectations test 2.
• Students will complete vocabulary exercises 1-3 on pages 175-76.

Wednesday

Advanced

1. Continue group explanations of "Do not go gentle..."
2. Class discussion of "Elegy for my father, who is not dead"

Regular

1. Discuss vocabulary exercises
2. Group discussion of "My Papa's Waltz"

Thursday
Advanced

1. Individual analysis of "My Papa's Waltz"
2. Class discussion

Regular

1. Continue class discussion of "My Papa's Waltz"
2. Vocabulary review.

Friday
Advanced

1. Vocabulary quiz, lesson 27
2. "The Number Pi"
3. If any time remains, mini-review for Lord of the Flies test

Regular

1. Vocabulary quiz, lesson 27
2. AR test on Great Expectations in library.
3. Study for poetry test 2.

* While Monday is normally the English test day, I have been assured that the students would not have more than one test on this Tuesday. Because of that (and the students' request for more time to prepare for the Great Expectations test), I have moved their test back one day.

Week 32: April 9 - 13

Monday
Good Monday holiday!

Tuesday
1. Continue analysis of "First Lesson."
2. Discuss outside reading.

Wednesday
1. Possible outside reading quiz.
2. Continue poetry analysis.

Thursday
Continue poetry analysis.


Friday
1. Greek and Latin roots quiz. This quiz will count for two daily grades.
2.  Continue poetry analysis.
3. Mini-review for outside reading test to be taken on Monday.

Week 31: April 2 - 6

Monday
1. Review terms in action if necessary.
2. Take Poetry Test 1.
3. Complete Poetry terms crossword puzzle

Tuesday
1. Outside reading quiz******abandoned***********
2. Greek and Latin roots

Wednesday
1. Poetry explication directions
2. Practice with "Metaphor."

Thursday
1. Individuals will analyze "First Lesson" on page 609 using analysis handout.
2. Class discussion of "First Lesson."

Friday
Good Friday holiday!

Week 30: March 26 - 30

Monday
1. Outside reading test 1
2. Read poetry

Tuesday
1. Mrs. Westerfield
2. Continue poetry if time permits.

Wednesday
1. Poetry terms quiz
2. Go over Monday's test
3.  Poetry analysis sheet

Thursday
1. Outside reading quiz.
2. Review poetry terms quiz
3. Continue poetry work.

Friday
1. Continue poetry work.
2. Review for Monday's poetry test.


Monday's test may contain the following:

• definitions
• poetry terms in action, i.e. excerpts containing examples of the terms
• information about the poems that we have looked at in class
• a new poem that students will read and analyze

Week 29: March 19 - 23

As of Monday, March 19, we have 39 school days remaining. For many of my students, these last few weeks will prove to be the difference between a higher letter grade and a lower one. For some of you, it will be the difference between passing and failing for the year. I cannot encourage you enough to stay on top of your work this term, especially your outside reading. Your failure to do so will seriously affect your grade. Conversely, reading diligently is a great way build up a buffer for the more difficult material that we will be covering. 


Monday
1. Outside reading quiz
2. Schedule/choice sheet discussion with Mrs. Westerfield


Tuesday
Define poetry terms


Wednesday
1. Complete terms sheet
2. Discuss poetry


Thursday
1. Outside reading quiz
2. Continue poetry discussion


Friday
1. Poetry terms quiz
2. Begin reading poetry.

AR - 9th regular

Charles Dickens's Great Expectations

The following information is for the 9th regular class. If you are looking for information for 9th advanced, click here. 

Also, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for your second AR book. If you fail to sign up for a second book, or choose a book that is not allowed, you will receive a zero daily grade, and I will choose your second book for you. For further info, see this post.

Listed in the chart below is your reading schedule for the novel. On or after each due date, you may take a quiz (daily grade) on the information in the required chapters, except for March 26 and April 16. You will take a test on chapters 1-15 of Great Expectations on March 26 and chapters 16-34 on April 16. If you are absent the day or days before a quiz/ test, you will still take the quiz/test. You have plenty of warning. If you are absent on the day we take a quiz or test, you will take it or another version of it on your FIRST DAY back.

Great Expectations is more difficult than Animal Farm. If you do not keep up with the reading, you will do poorly. You must bring your book to class every day. If we have any free time at the end of the class period, I expect you to spend it reading this novel.

On your quizzes and tests, you will be responsible for anything in the assigned chapters and anything we've discussed in class.

Please note that all chapter headings refer to our specific copy of the abridged version. All other versions of the book are broken down differently. It is your responsibility to know what is required if you did not buy the correct version of the book.

Chapter	Due Date
1 - 10	3/19
11 - 13	3/22
14 - 15	3/26
16 - 21	3/29
22 - 25	4/3
26 - 29	4/10
30 - 34	4/16

AR - 9th Advanced

William Golding's Lord of the Flies

The following information is for the 9th advanced class. If you are looking for information for 9th regular, click here. 


Also, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for your second AR book. If you fail to sign up for a second book, or choose a book that is not allowed, you will receive a zero daily grade, and I will choose your second book for you. If you need more info about AR, check this post.

Listed in the chart below is your reading schedule for the novel. On or after each due date, you may take a quiz (daily grade) on the information in the required chapter(s), except for March 26 and April 23. You will take a test on chapters 1-6 of Lord of the Flies on March 26 and chapters 7-12 on April 23. If you are absent the day or days before a quiz/ test, you will still take the quiz/test. You have plenty of warning. If you are absent on the day we take a quiz or test, you will take it or another version of it on your FIRST DAY back.

Lord of the Flies is much more difficult than Animal Farm. If you do not keep up with the reading, you will do poorly. You must bring your book to class every day. If we have any free time at the end of the class period, I expect you to spend it reading this novel.

On your quizzes and tests, you will be responsible for anything in the chapter or chapters and anything we've discussed in class. 

Chapter	Due Date
1 -4	3/19
5	3/22
6	3/26
7	3/29
8	4/3
9 & 10	4/10
11	4/17
12	4/23

Week 28: March 5-8

Monday
1. Bell work
2. Introduction to themes within our AR novel.

Tuesday
1. Bell work
2. Continue themes
3. Talk about reading schedule
4. Begin reading novel

Wednesday
1. Bell work
2. Read AR books.

Week 27: Feb. 27 - Mar 2

Monday
9-weeks test

Tuesday - Friday
We will watch a movie production of the play we studied. Study will have the option to either watch the movie or study individually for another exam.

All students will need their own copy of our assigned AR book in class on Monday, March 5. Failure to have the book in class on that date will result in a zero daily grade.


Here is the exam schedule for this week.
Feb. 27 – English, Writing Skills, Speech
Feb. 28 – Math, Foreign Language
March 1 – Science, Fine Arts, Science Skills, World Geography
March 2 – Social Studies, Government. 

Week 26: February 20 - 24

Monday
No school!

Tuesday
1. Test

• Adv. Julius Caesar  act 5
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet acts 4 & 5

2. Study memory work.

No vocabulary this week. All students need a copy of their AR book by Friday, March 2.

Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
On these days students will study for our 9-weeks test, which will be Monday, February 27.


The 9-weeks test will be taken during a regular 50-minute class period. It will be a Scan-Tron test of roughly 100 questions (125 for the advanced class), covering both the background information (Life and Times) and the entire play that we read this term. I will give back old tests in class, but students may not take these tests home.

Week 25: Feb. 13-17

Note: Due to a mix up with the substitute of Friday, 6th period's test has been moved to Thursday. 5th period remains unchanged.

Homework all week is this: study for your vocabulary quiz and your memory work.


Monday
1. Take Test

• Adv. Julius Caesar Act 4
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet Act 3

2. Begin reading next act.

3. Copy words and definitions for vocabulary lesson 26, pages 167-168.

HW: Continue learning lines for memory work. Know your due date!

Tuesday

1. Bell work

2. Continue reading play

• Adv. Julius Caesar Act 5, scene 1-2
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet - The progress is different for each class. 

Wednesday

1. Bell work

2. Continue reading play

• Adv. Julius Caesar Act 5, scenes 3-4
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet Act 4

Thursday

1. Bell work

2. Continue reading play

• Adv. Completed Julius Caesar
• Reg. At this point, both classes are with a page or two of completing the final scene.

Friday

1. Vocabulary quiz

2. Complete play / Review for test.

HW: Test and memory work

Romeo and Juliet, Act 3

For those of you screaming "Help!" here are a few useful tips.
I have organized the quotations by scene. Clicking the line below will take you to the "No Fear Shakespeare" page that contains the quote. Warning: I do not control the content on "No Fear Shakespeare." Some of it may not be appropriate. Also, this is just a bonus resource; it is not guaranteed to be correct.


Remember, you are responsible for telling me why the quote is important, not just what is being said (in addition to the speaker and audience, of course). I suggest that you go through your packet while you do this, paying attention to who all is on stage when these lines are spoken.



Act 3, scene 1
"No, 'tis not so deep as a well . . ."
"Mercutio's soul . . ."
"O, I am fortune's fool!"

Act 3, scene 3
"There is no world without Verona's walls!"

Act 3, scene 4
"Monday! Ha, ha!"

Act 3, scene 5
"It was the nightingale . . ."
"Night's candles are burnt out . . ."
"Methinks I see thee . . ."
"I'll send to one in Mantua . . ."
"Indeed I never shall be satisfied . . ."
"Well, thou has comforted me marvelous much."

Week 24: Feb. 6 - 10

I apologize for the lack of updates last week. I was extremely busy.

Monday
1. Test

• Advanced JC acts 2-3
• Regular R&J act 2

2. Copy words and definitions for vocabulary lesson 23, pages 147-48.
HW all: Finish vocabulary.
HW reg:  Study for VQ 22 and order your copy of Great Expectations or bring me $12 so I can order it for you. I am ordering these personally rather than through the school, so if you bring a check, it needs to be made out to Steve Taylor.


Tuesday
1. Continue reading Shakespeare.

• Adv. Julius Caesar Act 4, scenes 1-2.
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet Act 3, scene 1 (most of it, anyway)

2. Regular: Take vocabulary quiz 22.

Wednesday

Continue reading Shakespeare.

• Adv. Julius Caesar most of scene 3.
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet scene 1- most of 2.

HW: Learn you lines for the memory work.


Thursday

Continue reading Shakespeare.

• Adv. Julius Caesar finished Act 3.
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet end of scene 2 - most of scene 5. 

HW: Study for your vocabulary quiz.



Friday
1. Take vocabulary quiz 23.

2. Continue reading Shakespeare.

• Adv. None.
• Reg. Romeo and Juliet complete scene 5. Go over study guide.

HW. Review for Monday's test

• Adv. Act 4
• Reg. Act 3

Week 22: January 23 - 27

I will not be in class today (Monday) due to family illness. Our 2nd test of the nine weeks (first on the actual text of the play) will be next Monday (1/30/12). It will cover Act I.


Monday
1. Copy down words and definitions for vocab lesson 19. Quiz on Friday.
2. Adv. Read Act 1, scene 3 (pp. 323-326). Students may choose parts and read aloud in class.

2. Regular: Read Act 1, scene 2.

3. Complete exercises 1-3 on pages 123-124 in vocabulary book.

HW: Finish vocabulary exercises. Students may take books home if necessary.

Tuesday
1. Bell work
2. Continue reading (I will update these to reflect what we have actually read when I have a chance.)
Reg. We read and reviewed Act I, scene ii.
Adv. We read Act I, scene iii.

Wednesday
1. Bell work
2. Continue reading (I will update these to reflect what we have actually read when I have a chance.)
Reg. We read Act I, scenes iii & iv.
Adv. We reviewed Act I.

Thursday
1. Bell work
2. Adv. Begin Act II.
2. Regular. Read Act I, scene v.
HW: Study for vocabulary quiz 19.

Friday
1. Bell work
2. Vocabulary quiz.
3. Complete necessary reading and review for Monday's test.

Romeo and Juliet resource page

I will periodically update this page with links to helpful resources to Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet. If you're looking for the Julius Caesar page, click here. I suggest bookmarking this page and visiting it often.

                                                                                
The links below take you to other websites. I do not control the content on any of those pages, nor do I take responsibility if any content on those pages is inappropriate. Click at your own risk.

The full text of Romeo and Juliet in webpage form or the pdf that we're using in class.

No Fear Shakespeare: These pages have Shakespearean language side by-side with their own personal modern translation.

Click here for memory work.
Study Guides
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5