Mr. Hall's English Class

Week 30 (April 6–10)

4/4/2020

6 Comments

Hi Everybody!
Okay, so . . . we still don't know what the rest of this year will look like. I expect to learn more this coming week.
That said, here's my best guess:
Schools will probably remain closed for the rest of the year.
This week (Week 30) is probably the last week that schoolwork is optional.
Starting next week (Week 31), schoolwork will most likely be mandatory once again. That means that teachers will start assigning graded work.
In my class, we're going to pick up where we left off.
In other words, before school closed, we did quizzes 001–033, so when we "return to school" on April 13, we're going to start with lesson/quiz 034.

Some of you have continued to do Quia quizzes these last few weeks. Instead of calling it "extra credit" work, we're going to call it "working ahead". It's essentially the same thing.
For example, if you have already finished everything through quiz 068, then you are now two weeks ahead of schedule. Theoretically, you could just coast until April 27 . (That is, you don't have to do any more quizzes until the beginning of week 33).
For those of you who want to continue to work ahead, I will continue to post work, week by week. (Soon I'll be posting work for week 33).
If you continue to do Quia quizzes without any break, it is possible that you will end the year with more points than you need for an A+. (That's your "extra credit").
The Writing Project is still optional. If you do decide to turn in a Writing Project, it will count as extra credit.
I have decided that, from now on, Typing Club and blogs will be optional, ungraded activities. To be clear: I will not assign any more typing lessons and I will not assign any more blogs. (Your last graded blog was Blog 14).
Of course, I encourage all of you to keep practicing your typing and to keep blogging. I just won't be giving you any points for these activities.
If you put some significant effort into your blog, and you think that your blog deserves some extra credit, send me an email and I'll have a look at it. I may award some extra credit points for blogs that are exceptionally good.
Teachers may soon be expected to deliver "live" classes via Zoom. This could give us an opportunity to do some fun things together. However, we're not going to worry about that yet. Let's wait to see the details of whatever plan the school comes up with.
How are you holding up? Leave us a comment!

6 Comments

Grades Update

3/27/2020

0 Comments

Hi Everybody!
I just finished updating my grades on Synergy.
If you think I've made a mistake, please let me know.
Congratulations to all the people who are catching up. Keep it up!
And congratulations to all the people who have earned boatloads of extra-credit.
And a special shout-out to all the people who have turned in a Writing Project! Great job!

0 Comments

Wazzap?

Hi Everybody! Wazzap? Please leave a comment and tell us how you're doing.
I have finished posting the work for this week (Week 29).
I posted a lot of work this week, because 1) It's all optional, and 2) I won't be posting any work next week, because it's spring break. (And some of you just might be bored enough to actually want something to do).
Please note: I have decided to once again put the quizzes in the right-hand column. Doesn't that make more sense? First, you read the lesson, then you do the quiz. But don't let this small change fool you. The quizzes are still there; they are just in the right-hand column.

The Greatest Salesman in the World

You didn't think I'd let you stop reading this book, did you? We had just gotten to the good part!
I'm trying out a new matching-style quiz to force you to read the scrolls carefully. Let me know how much you hate it (or love it).
Most importantly, do the matching-style quizzes work? That is, do they help you to understand the text? Let me know!

That Spot

This week I've posted a short story called "That Spot" by Jack London.
It may be a bit challenging for some of you. There are a lot of fancy words, a lot of slang words, and a lot of words related to gold prospecting and dog sledding. But don't forget: When you're working online, looking up words is easy: Just highlight the word, right-click, then select "Search Google".
I have divided the story into six parts. If you read one part per day, you'll be finished by the end of the week. Think of it as your daily reading.
Reading is sacred!

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that Stargirl, the movie, has finally been released. I watched it last night. It's super sweet. I think the love story between Leo and Stargirl comes across even better than in the book.
The bad news: You can only watch it by getting a subscription to Disney+. Disney Plus is a new streaming service that costs $7 per month.
Perhaps you could do what I did: I signed up for a subscription, watched the movie, and then I cancelled my subscription. I figure $7 for a month of Disney movies isn't bad. However, you'll need a credit card to do this, so you'll have to ask your parents.
You can watch the trailer here.
Sigh . . . I was hoping to show this movie in class, but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.

Okay, everybody, that's all I can think of for now.

Send me an email if you want me to read your blog!

Stay healthy!

15 Comments

Your Current Grade

The district has decided that—for the time being—all schoolwork is optional. Therefore, your current grade in my English class is based on everything we did through Friday, March 13 (the last day that we were actually in the school building). You can see your current grade by going to Synergy.

Blogs 13 and 14 were assigned before March 13. These posts have been graded and they are part of your overall grade. If you have not done these posts (or if you did not get full credit), please complete them as soon as possible and send me an email to let me know that they are ready to be graded (or regraded).
Quia quizzes 1–33 were assigned before March 13, and they are part of your current grade. If you haven't done them, please do them as soon as possible. If you got a 0 on any teacher-grade quiz, click on the little comment icon that shows up on your Quia homepage. I've started leaving comments there. If I didn't leave a comment, and you can't figure out what you did wrong, email me.
Typing Lessons 1–126 were assigned before March 13. They count as part of your grade.

This Week (Week 28)

The work that I assigned this week (Week 28) is completely optional.

Blog post 15 is now optional. It will not be graded.
Quia quizzes 34–44 are now optional. If you already did quizzes 34-44, I counted the points as extra-credit. If you check your grade in Synergy, you will notice that you have extra credit in the Quia category (and your overall grade is probably over 100%, provided you have done everything else, too).
Typing lessons 127–144 are optional.

Moving Forward . . .

I will not be assigning any more blog posts. Of course, I encourage you to keep blogging anyway, but whether you do or not, it will not affect your grade. If you do decide to keep blogging, and you would like me to take a look at your blog, please send me an email. I will be happy to read your blog and comment on it, but I won't be giving you any points for it, nor will I require that you make corrections.
I will not be assigning any more typing lessons. Of course, I encourage you to keep working your way through Typing Jungle. Practicing your typing is never a waste of time.
The Writing Project is now an extra credit assignment. It is completely optional. You do not have to do it. If you do decide to do it, be sure to turn it in by May 1st. I will read it, comment on it, and I will give you up to 100 points of extra credit, depending on the length and quality.
I will continue to post lessons and quizzes every week, as usual. The quizzes are completely optional. You do not need to do them. If you do decide to do them, the points you earn will count as extra credit.

I understand that working for extra-credit points may not be very exciting, especially once you've already earned a 100% in the class. But I encourage you to keep doing quizzes (or your Writing Project) anyway. Sharpening your English skills is never a waste of time.

As for those of you who still have a low grade on Synergy, I hope that you will use this time to catch up. If you need help, please email me.

These changes may be a bit confusing, I know. But we're just going to have to roll with the punches. Who knows? Next week the district may give teachers a new directive regarding grades, and I may have to change the way I calculate my grades once again.

In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying your "break", although I know that it's really not much fun. But don't worry; things will get better.

I miss you all.

Stay strong!

1 Comment

Week 28

3/15/2020

32 Comments

New: Okay, I'm done adding quizzes for this week. Good luck!
Hello, everyone! This is your place for announcements. Check it several times a week.
Welcome to online learning! I hope you are all doing well. This Coronavirus thing is quite an adventure for all of us.
Grades have been updated.
If you got a 5 on blog 14, use this checklist to fix it, then send me an email to let me know that it's ready to be regraded.
If you got a 0 on blog 14, let me know when you've completed it so that I can grade it.
Blog 15 is due this Friday! Why not blog about how the Coronavirus is affecting your life?
Don't forget your typing lessons.
Don't forget that your Writing Project is due May 1st.

I have posted nine grammar quizzes to get you started, but I will post a few more quizzes related to reading, literature, and narrative writing by Tuesday morning. So check back on Tuesday to get a full picture of the work that I'm assigning this week.
The grammar quizzes are mostly review, because we're getting ready to learn about complex sentences, and it's important that you have a good grasp of "glue words" (prepositions and conjunctions) before we start that unit next week.

Feeling lonely? Leave a comment! The comment section of this blog may be our best way of preserving some sense of community until we can finally get back together. So don't be shy—share with us whatever is on your mind (about school or anything else). Keep in mind that you're sharing your thoughts with your classmates as well as every other student who has Mr. Hall for English.
Keep the comments clean and friendly, and I won't have to close the comment section or waste my time moderating the comments.
Please email me if you have any questions.