WEEK ONE ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES WSI English 9 Mrs. Tollison

Journal Directions  You will need sheets of notebook paper to put into your journal folder.  How to write in the journal: 1. Enter the classroom and get your journals from your period’s crate. If you are the first one in your row, grab all of the journals for your row and put them on the front desk. 2. Open the journal to the next empty space and write the journal number for that day on the first empty line. 3. Read the journal topic from the screen and begin writing as soon as the bell for class rings.

Journal Directions 4. Once you have the journal number written, read the journal topic from the screen and begin writing. You must write for the entire time. You may not speak or disrupt the class, or ask for a pass, during this time. 5. Write only on the lined paper; any writing or drawing that is not related to the topic will count against your grade in the class. 6. Your writing should be in complete sentences. Your average will vary, but I will only grade journals with 5 complete sentences or more.

Journal 1  Have you ever seen bullying in school? Have you ever bullied anyone? Have you ever been the victim of bullying? What would you do to change yourself to stop bullying from happening if someone were picking on you about how you looked? Would you be willing to make a major change to stop the meanness? Why or why not.

Journal 2  Now that you are on day 4, what do you think of San Marcos High School? What are your general impressions of the campus (temporary, but it’s what we have), the walk, the students, the teachers, and/or the classes? What do you think your hardest class will be? Which will be easiest? Which will you like the most?

Activity: Practicing Highlighting  On the Course Expectations packet, go through and decide what you think is the most important information to highlight. Do an overview first to determine the most important ideas to read. Here are some ideas for highlighting as you read:  Any information other teachers have not given about their classes  Any information about grading  Any information about discipline that other teachers have not given  Any supplies that you don’t already have (especially if you had to borrow a highlighter from me already!)

Activity: Partner Share/Compare  Trade highlighters with a student who is sitting near you who has a different color than you.  Sit close enough that you can talk without talking too loudly and share what you highlighted.  Read aloud to your partner those words, phrases, and sentences that you highlighted. As you read, he or she will use your highlighter to mark his or her page.  Reverse so each of you has shared. Mark anything your partner highlighted that you did not.

Activity: Partner Cloze Worksheet  You and your partner will now complete the worksheet (both sides).  Use your highlighting and annotations to find the important information with which to fill in the blanks on the page.  Put both of your names on the paper; it is an assignment for which you will receive credit.

Journal 3 Here are the before (left) and after (right) pictures of Nadia Ilse, who got plastic surgery because she had been bullied so badly in elementary and middle school. What do you think about her decision? Do you think just surgery is going to make other kids treat her better? Do you think that it was worth the pain and suffering of the surgery to achieve the looks? Would you have done it if you were her?