Alice in Wonderland Fieldtrip

The date is Friday, March 26th (even day) and we are going to the IMAX theater at Aventura Mall. I know you are all excited as am I, but there are several things that we have to get done before then.

1. Start collecting money -- $15 (price of 3-D ticket and bus)
2. Fieldtrip forms (I will be getting those to you within the next week)
3. Creating Tshirts for the event. You can pick whatever color Tshirt you want to wear and decorate it based on some aspect of the novel.
4. I need chaperones. If you have your parents or a family member that is 21 years or older that can help us that day that would be great. Let me know ASAP.

Michael Jackson Project is here!

I am very much looking forward to seeing what you have created with your group songs. With that being said, let me make this peremptory statement:

1. THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS!!!!
You will present with your group on the assigned date or you will receive a 0. Remember this assignment is worth 15 points (doubled).
2. If someone is sick or can not be there for the group that is their grade. Do not let your grade suffer for someone else.
3. Each group member should be helping with some aspect of the project. For example, helping with the lyrics, recording audio or video, doing the background information about the song, etc.
4. You must learn to work around obstacles and get done what needs to get done. If you want to make a video, but no one has a camera then you need to figure out something else.
5. I am grading each component based on the effort I see that was given. I should see honors level effort in the creativity that went into the lyrics and the performing component.

Good luck everyone! I know you are all capable of putting something amazing together.

Moving on to Somewhere Over the Rainbow

We will be making a connection to the American version of Alice in Wonderland by reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Please refer to the following website to read the chapters when I ask you to read for homework:
www.literature.org/authors/baum-l-frank/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz/

Listen to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson Project

In honor of Black History Month and to also take on the task of creating your own parodies you will be given a Michael Jackson song in class. Once you have your song you must find the lyrics and turn it into a parody. (Think of Weird Al Yankovic and "Eat It.")

You have three components to complete with your groups:
1. Song Background - Tell me when the song was written or recorded, did it win any awards?
2. Parodied lyrics - You need to print me a copy of your new lyrics that you create. You don't have to change every single word, but remember what a parody is supposed to be -- a humorous imitation or exaggeration of the original song in this case.
3. Visual/Audio - Your group can either create a music video, record an audio version of your song, or perform your song as a skit in class. There is no escape so just be ready to laugh at yourself and just have fun!

The completed project will be due March 2 (Period 4) and March 3 (Periods 1,3,5)
for a total of 15 points.

I can't wait to see the finished products. I am looking forward to seeing what you create. :)

Reflections and upcoming assignments

First of all, thank you for the sonnets that were recited to me on Friday. It was very sweet and I appreciate you thinking of me. I truly have the best students around.

Now that we have held our own Tea Party in honor of Alice in Wonderland please write me a reflection of what you have learned from the novel. It does not have to be long. You can either post it as a comment, email me or write it out and turn it in on Tuesday or Wednesday. I need it no later than Wednesday. If you are posting a comment to the blog it must be before midnight on Wednesday or I will not give you points.

Make sure to bring your novels next week, especially if you have the version the has Through the Looking Glass because we are going to be doing a group activity with it.

Remember no school on Monday in honor of President's Day.

Observations and Updates

Over the past couple weeks I have noticed a trend with some students and I wanted to make a comment about it before it gets out of hand.  

1.  When you are on a fieldtrip or are absent it is your responsibility to find out what you missed while you are out.  I don't know if you are aware, but when I receive emails from the teachers that take you on these fieldtrips they make it very clear that you understand that you must make up any work that you miss.  Before you come to class you should always check the blog and speak to a fellow classmate so that you can tell me specifically what you need.  Those of you who do this already I thank you for your maturity.

2. If you want full credit for an assignment you need to give me 100% effort.  This past week you were aware of the notebook check and yet many of you were still not prepared for it.  Many of you are loosing points for submitting assignments in pencil still.  Some of you are forgetting to submit the SAT Question of the Day, which we have been doing since the beginning of the school year.  At this point in the year I am tired of excuses so do what you need to do if you want to get a good grade.

Moving onto happier topics...

Don't forget about our Tea Party this coming Thursday (Periods 1,3,5) and Friday (Periods 4&6).  Your Concrete poems are due the same day.

Alice in Wonderland movie fieldtrip -- I am thinking it might be nice to save the fieldtrip until the end of the nine weeks before Spring Break.  Let me know which day the majority of you would prefer -- March 25th (Thursday) or March 26th (Friday).  I also will need chaperones so if any of your parents are available please let me know.  I need to start working on the fieldtrip forms and until I have the names of the chaperones I can not submit it.

Top secret -- Make sure you know the major events that have happened from Chapters 1-10 because there could be a pop quiz next week.

Congratulations!

I want to congratulate my students for being recognized by the Scholastic Writing Awards contest. This is a contest for all students in Miami-Dade County (both public and private schools) sponsored by the Youth Fair.

Tatiana Arango received Second place for "Behind the Shadows" poem
Melissa Fajardo received Second place for "An Ode to the Written Word" poem
Maryuri Hernandez received Second place for "Canvas" poem
Liuvis Martinez received Second place for "Breaking Borders" Persuasive essay

Maite Echevarria received Third place for "Free" poem
Arabel Hector received Third place for "Juan the Hippie" poem
Isabel Portillo received Third place for "Smile" poem
Armando Prieto received Third place for "Calm Sea" poem
Jennifer Urbaez received Third place for "Blooming Spring" poem

I am proud of all of you!

Concrete Poem and Notebook Check Details

For the Concrete Poem make sure you have the following elements:
1. Image should be related to the novel of Alice in Wonderland
2. Does not have to rhyme or follow a pattern
3. The words should describe your image or relate to the novel
4. I am looking for creativity and originality.
5. Give HONORS Effort!
Due next Thursday 2/11(Periods 1, 3, 5) and Friday 2/12 (Period 4)

Notebook check:
Your notebook should be a duotang notebook with the following items in the binder portion:
1. Alice in Wonderland Introduction notes
2. Wonderland Character
3. Chapter summaries with deeper meanings (I will be checking Chapters 1-6 for now).
4. Jabberwocky assignment
Your name should be on the front cover along with your period, my name and the title of the novel -- Alice in Wonderland.