The Hughes News
Sophomore Honors English Newsletter ~ Winter 2020
REAL-WORLD PUBLISHING: MEET GOODREADS.
In addition to all of the essays and assignments that are common to the entire sophomore class, your student-author is also doing real-world writing.
Every month, students publish multi-layered, analytic book reviews about their monthly choice books on GOODREADS. The best part? In addition to getting real-world publishing experience, they are writing for an authentic audience of 90 million bibliophiles, rather than just for Teacher-Lady. It doesn't get more authentic than that!
Click HERE to read more about how I use Goodreads in the classroom--featured on EDUTOPIA, George Lucas' site for his educational foundation.
WHAT WE'RE STUDYING
TERM 2'S FOCUS
This term, your student and I have been exploring Unit 6 in Pearson (i.e., our online anthology), which is entitled "Blindness & Sight." The Essential Question that we are answering throughout the term--both in discussions and in writing--is: What does it mean to see? We will be exploring many texts together, including Sophocles' play Oedipus the King.
To see the entire unit, click HERE.
TERM 3'S FOCUS
Next term, we'll be exploring Unit 2 in Pearson, entitled "Outsiders & Outcasts." The Essential Question we'll be answering is: Is the experience of being an outsider universal? The whole-class text we'll be examining is Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.
Click HERE to see the entire unit.
TRAITS OF AN HONORS STUDENT
Now that we are almost halfway through the school year, it's a great time for parents to ask their students how they feel about their course levels (i.e., AP, honors, college prep). In September, your student and I discussed the traits that are required of an honors English student (which come directly from WMHS' Program of Studies). The students have self-assessed their own skills twice: once in Term 1 and will be doing it again at the end of Term 2 to celebrate growth.
In February, students will be selecting their classes for next year. If honors or AP English is in your student's sights, s/he will need to be a voracious reader, an insightful, sophisticated, non-formulaic writer, an intellectual thinker, an independent self-starter, a vibrant discussion contributor, and an engaged (rather than merely compliant) class member. Your student and I will be discussing these traits and where s/he would find the most success next year.
THE GRATITUDE PROJECT
I live with two teens (and teach 125 others), and gripes are par for the course. At home, I'm reminded that we don't make as much money as X and we don't go on extravagant trips like Y and we don't allow as much freedom as parent Z. It's sort of background noise at this point. We can't earn more, we do one summer trip (but not 5 throughout the year--often overseas, like many of my kids' friends), and I have a front-row seat to what happens when parents afford their teens too much freedom. If I didn't know my kids, I'd think think they didn't appreciate a thing.
A few years ago, I'd had enough. And an idea for my classroom was born.
The week before Thanksgiving, I put the brakes on what we were studying and replaced it with what I call The Gratitude Project. The students were assigned their own slide on a community Google Slide deck, where they were asked to list at least five things for which they were thankful. It wasn't a genius idea by any means, but it was definitely a paradigm shift for many of my students--especially as they headed into the holiday season. The project also involved committing a random act of kindness, writing a letter to someone for whom they're thankful, and reflecting on all of the above when they returned from break.
The results were humbling, and an annual tradition was born.
Click HERE to see what your student said s/he is thankful for this year. And click HERE to see all of this year's Gratitude Projects and to learn a little more about the project.
Regardless of what the world says about teens or what I often see at home, our teenagers are pretty fabulous. And grateful.
Be sure to ask your student what s/he is learning, as well as how s/he behaves in and contributes to our class. Scores alone merely show whether or not students are good test-takers and/or consistent homework doers. (Honors students are usually both of these things.)
Instead, ask to see your student's Term 1 CLASS ENGAGEMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT and your student's DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP SELF-ASSESSMENT. These two end-of-the-term rubrics provide a much more complete picture as to how your child is doing in English.
44 STANDARDS? PIECE O' CAKE!
Is Your Student Reading at Home?
Note: January means that your student should be reading his/her FIFTH (!) book of the year. Ask your reader what s/he's enjoyed so far.
How to Contact Me
Email: beth.hughes@wpsk12.org
Website: msbethhughes.org
Location: Wakefield Memorial High School, Farm Street, Wakefield, MA, United States
Phone: (781) 246-6440
Twitter: @msbethhughes