Announcements

Week 36 (May 16-20)

5/16/2022

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Check your grade on Synergy.
Your grade on Synergy is NOT your current grade. You grade on Synergy is the final grade that you WILL get if you do NOT turn in a short story.
Your short story is due this Friday, May 20, at midnight.
If you want me to grade your short story early (before it's due), let me know.
No written work will be accepted after this Friday!
You are still responsible for reading, class participation, etc.

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Week 35 (May 9–13)

5/8/2022

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Grades have been updated.
Your short story is due Friday, May 20 at midnight.
- You story must be at least 500 words.
- Your story must include at least one dialogue (conversation) between two characters.
- Make sure your dialogue is formatted properly!
Make sure your short story is at the top of your writing portfolio.
No written work of any kind will be accepted after May 20!

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Week 34 (May 2–6)

5/1/2022

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Monday is a library day.
Your Con Country Report is due this Friday (May 6) at midnight. Be sure to put it at the top of your writing portfolio.
If you finish your Con report early, don't wait! Get started on your short story right away! May 13 is a hard deadline for all writing assignments. After the 13th, you can't go back and fix anything. And if you forget to put your short story in your portfolio—you're out of luck!
The following people should have received a certificate for memorizing all the countries of the world. If any of you did not receive your certificate, please let me know.
- Iris
- Annika
- Samuel U.
- Zahi
- Sunny
- Anthony B.

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Week 33 (Apr. 25–29)

4/24/2022

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Reading

Check your reading grade. If you have less than 100% for reading, it's because you have not been reading during class (or ROAR), and therefore I'm requiring more evidence that you are indeed making an honest effort to read at least 50 pages per week. If you want your reading grade to go back up, you need to see me (during independent work time), and you need to show me a neat, up-to-date reading log, and you need to turn in one (or more) book reports.
Remember, when it comes to reading, I'm now grading you on what I can see. If I see you reading during class, and I see that every day you have your book and your reading log with you, I will mostly assume that you are indeed trying your best to read 50 pages per week. However, if I see that during reading time you are drawing, sleeping, or staring into space, I will lower your reading grade, slowly but surely, until you show me a neat, up-to-date reading log, as well as one (or more) book reports. Reading during class is not an optional activity!

Pro Country Report

Pro Country Reports were due last Friday and they have already been graded.
A fair number of students received a zero because I did not find their country report at the top of their portfolio. If your country report exists on a separate document (or if you put your report down in Level 8), move your report to the top of your portfolio, then send me an email, so that I can grade it.

Quizzes

No more Quia quizzes! You do not have to do any more quizzes for the rest of the year. Yay!

Important Deadline!

This Friday, April 29 is an important deadline for several reasons:

After this Friday, I will not accept any more Quia quizzes. Therefore, if you are currently missing some quizzes and you plan to make them up, you have only this week to do it. After this week, taking or retaking Quia quizzes will not affect your grade.
After this Friday, I will not accept any more points earned by doing Seterra.
After this Friday, I will not accept any more points earned by doing Typing Club. If you currently have less than 800 stars, this is your last week to catch up.
In a few cases, I have made "special deals" with students related to their typing goals. The deadline for these special deals is also this Friday, April 29 (and not May 14, or whatever I told at the time we made the deal).
Furthermore, this Friday is the deadline for taking the GeoChallenge or the Grammar Challenge. If you have questions, ask me. This coming weekend, I will be ordering trophies for the winners.
Lastly, this week is the last week that I will accept extra-credit sticker sheets or coupons. If you have any extra-credit slips, you need to turn them in this week!

This Week

This week, we are starting a two-week, independent work project. This "project" is to write your Con Country Report. On Monday, I will distribute a handout explaining some of the details. If you are absent on Monday, be sure to ask me for the handout when you return.

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Week 32 (Apr. 18–22)

4/16/2022

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Weighted Grades

Moving forward, grades will be weighted, as follows:
- Reading = 25%
- Typing = 25%
- Writing = 25%
- Quizzes = 25%

Submitting your work is a thing of the past!

You do not need to submit your writing portfolio any longer!
There are four more writing assignments this year.
- Country Report (Pro)
- Country Report (Con)
- Vignette (100 words)
- Short Story (500 words)
All these assignments will be graded based on quality, not quantity; therefore, you do not need to submit a word count.
Did anyone do the following extra-credit exercises? If so, let me know.
- I am a Vampire
- You See a Ghost
- She Was an Egyptian Princess
If you make any significant changes to your portfolio (other than adding the four writing assignments listed above), let me know by sending me an email.

No more typing homework for the rest of the year!
Therefore, there is no need to submit your Typing Club stars any longer.
- Exception: If you currently have less than 800 Typing Club stars, and you earn some more, send me an email with your current, updated total.
Reading homework is now on the honor system!
Well, it's always been on the honor system, sort of, but here's the difference:
- You do not need to submit your reading pages any longer.
- If I suspect that you're not doing the reading, I will ask to see your reading log, and I may ask for some book reports. If I'm not satisfied with the evidence you show me, your reading grade will go down until you have provided satisfactory evidence.

The following students are excused from writing a book report, for now. But please be prepared to show me your reading log next time I ask for it.
2nd Period

King
Edward
Kira

3rd Period

Gigi

5th Period

Allysa N.
Adelle

6th Period

Charlie
Janice
Mya
Mika
Lailani
Edison

Country Reports (Pro) Are Due This Friday!

Your finished Country Report (Pro) is due this Friday (April 22) at midnight.

End-of-Year Competitions—Deadline is Friday, April 29

Would you like to win a trophy?

The deadline for taking the GeoChallenge is Friday, April 29. (You can find the link on the Extra Credit page).
The deadline for taking the Grammar Challenge is Friday, April 29. (You can find the link at the end of the Grammar unit, under Level 24).
I will accept Seterra extra-credit points until Friday, April 29.

Did you get a bunch of notifications from Google Classroom?

Ignore them and delete them.

This Week

No additional reading homework.
No additional typing homework.
Essay Unit: Lessons 8.74 — 8.89
Your Country Report (Pro) is due this Friday, April 22. Put it at the top of your writing portfolio.

Week 32	This Week	YTD
Reading	No additional pages	1250 pages
Typing	No additional stars	800 stars
Quizzes	14 new quizzes worth 79 points	1936 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words

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Week 31

4/9/2022

Check your grade. If you have a zero in any category, it's because you didn't submit your work in that category. (See last week's announcements). To fix this problem, submit your work now!
This week you'll be taking the SBAC test in Advisory. Do you best!
In recognition of the fact that you will be taking some long tests this week, there will be no reading or typing homework this week.
Reminder: The deadline for the GeoChallenge and the Grammar Challenge is May 1. First place winners for each test will get a small trophy!

This Week

Reading: No additional pages.
Typing: No additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes:
- Essay Unit: Finish 8.66 and 8.67 (which we didn't finish last week)
- Essay Unit: Lessons 8.68 – 8.73
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 31	This Week	YTD
Reading	No additional pages	1250 pages
Typing	No additional stars	800 stars
Quizzes	6 new quizzes worth 33 points	1857 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words

Week 30 (Apr. 4–8)

3/31/2022

Monday is a library day.
Check your grade on Synergy. You will see that you now have a separate grade for Reading, Typing, Quizzes, and your Writing Portfolio. This should make it easier for you to see if you're falling behind in any one area.
Everyone should resubmit their work in all three categories. Do it now! (It's a bookkeeping thing).
Moving forward, continue to submit your work once a week, same as before.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes:
- Essay Unit: 8.55 – 8.67
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio (unless you do the extra-credit assignments).

Week 30	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	1250 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	800 stars
Quizzes	13 quizzes worth 72 points	1824 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words

Week 29 (Mar. 21–25)

3/19/2022

On more week until spring break!

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes:
- Essay Unit: 8.52 – 8.54 (In class; don't work ahead)
- Narrative Unit: 13.25 – 13.30 (independent work; you can work ahead, if you want)
  - Extra Credit: Narrative Unit
    - 13.31 I Am a Vampire
    - 13.32 You Are a Ghost
    - 13.33 She Was an Egyptian Princess
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio (unless you do the extra-credit assignments).

Week 29	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	1200 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	750 stars
Quizzes	12 quizzes worth 94 points	1752 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	4112

Week 28 (Mar. 14–18)

3/13/2022

I didn't get a chance to update grades this last weekend. I will update them next weekend.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes:
- Essay Unit: 8.45 – 8.51 (In class; don't work ahead)
- Narrative Unit: 13.17 – 13.24 (independent work; you can work ahead, if you want)
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 28	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	1150 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	700 stars
Quizzes	15 quizzes worth 125 points	1658 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	3918

Week 27 (Mar. 7–11)

3/5/2022

Today's Quiz

True or False: The points you earn by reading get automatically added to your grade.
True or False: The stars you earn on Typing Club get automatically added to your grade.

Extra-Credit Projects: Current Standings

GeoChallenge

1st = Dari (94%)
2nd = Zahi
3rd = Aviv
4th = Braden
5th = Massimo

Grammar Challenge

1st = Anthony B. (81%)
2nd = Asadbeck
3rd = Aviv

Website Project—Canceled!

The extra-credit website project has been canceled. Basically—due to concerns about legal liability—SFUSD puts a lot of restrictions on student websites, and working within these restrictions is going to be more trouble than it's worth. If you are very interested in building your own website, talk to me privately, and I can explain some of the options that are available to you.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: Finish everything through 8.44.
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 27	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	1100 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	650 stars
Quizzes	Finish everything through 8.44	1533 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	3693

Week 26 (Feb. 28–Mar. 4)

2/26/2022

Monday is a library day.
The website extra-credit project has been put on hold, for now.
I have added some easy Typing Club lessons. Use the proper fingers!

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: Finish everything through 8.35.
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 26	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	1050 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	600 stars
Quizzes	Finish everything through 8.35	1467 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	3527

Week 25 (Feb. 22–25)

2/21/2022

Check your grade. If you think I have made a mistake, let me know ASAP (as soon as possible).
The work you do this week will be counted as part of the 3rd trimester.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: Finish everything through 8.24.
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 25	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	1000 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	550 stars
Quizzes	Finish everything through 8.24	1409 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	3369

Week 24 (Feb. 14–18)

2/12/2022

Check your grades on Synergy!
This is the last week that I am accepting work for the 2nd trimester. (I do not accept late work the last week of the grading period.)
This is the last week that I am accepting points from Seterra.
Would you like to earn extra credit by building a website? The website project is now available. We will talk about it in class on Monday. If you are absent, ask me (or a classmate) to fill you in on the details.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: Finish the MLA tutorial (everything through 7.44).
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 24	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	950 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	500 stars
Quizzes	Finish MLA Tutorial	1384 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	3244

Week 23 (Feb. 7–11)

2/5/2022

Monday is a library day.
Next week is the last week that you can submit late work. I do not accept late work the last week of the trimester.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: This week, we need to finish everything through Lesson 7.32. We will try to do more, if possible.
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 23	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	900 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	450 stars
Quizzes	7.27 — 7.32	1362 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	3122

Week 22 (February 2–4)

1/30/2022

Some of you are either:
- doing very little homework (Typing and Reading), or
- you're forgetting to submit your work at the end of the week.
Which is it? If you need help, ask!
Remember: February 18th is the last day that I accept late work for this term. That means that you have only three more weeks to get your grade up!
Remember: Seterra is a limited-time, extra-credit opportunity. The last day that you can submit Seterra scores for extra credit is February 18. This extra-credit opportunity will not be available next term!
Our list of Seterra Superstars is growing! We now have six students who have memorized all the countries of the world.
1. Sunny K.
2. Samuel U.
3. Iris L.
4. Anthony B.
5. Zahi H.
6. Annika R.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: This week, we're going to continue working on the MLA Tutorial (Lessons 7.26–7.24).
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 22	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	850 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	400 stars
Quizzes	Finish 7.26	1323
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	2983

Week 21

1/22/2022

If you have read more than 1500 pages since the beginning of the year, you may qualify for a reading award. If you are absent on Monday, ask me if you qualify.
I do not accept late work the last week of the trimester. That means that there are only four more weeks to get your grade up (before I submit your grade for the 2nd trimester).
A special congratulations to Annika, who has memorized all the countries of the world!
The deadline for earning extra credit with Seterra is Friday, February 18.
This coming weekend I am going to grade your writing portfolios. If you haven't finished correcting the mistakes from last trimester, fix them this week! I shouldn't see any orange highlighting in your portfolio. (Orange highlighting indicates something that needs to fixed.)
This week, we're going to depart from the sequence of lessons that I had originally planned (on the Lessons Page). Instead, we are going to start on a new sequence of lessons, which can now be found on the Essays Page. (Look for the new icon on the Splash Page.) We're doing this because we have fallen a bit behind schedule, and I want to make sure that we cover essay writing before we do anything else.

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes:
- Introduction to Academic Writing (Lessons 6.24–6.32)
- MLA Tutorial (Lessons 7.20–7.44)
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 21	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	800 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	350 stars
Quizzes	6.24 – 7.44 (on Essays page)	1393 points
Writing	No additional words	4109 words
	Total	2953

Week 20 (Jan. 18–21)

1/17/2022

Please check your Quia Homepage for those little horizontal dashes. A horizontal dash means that you did not submit the quiz properly. This can have a big affect on your grade, especially if it's one of these quizzes:
- 000 Reading Pages
- 000 Typing Club
- 000 Writing Portfolio

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: This week we need to finish
- Grammar 6
- Vocab 6
- Basic Skills 6
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.
Extra Credit: The unit called Uncommon Punctuation is now an extra credit unit. If you do this unit, let me know, so that I can check your work.

Week 20	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	750 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	300 stars
Quizzes	finish everything through 6.16	1268 points
Writing	no additional words	4109 words
	Total	2728

Week 19 (Jan. 10–14)

1/10/2022

Monday is a library day.
Tuesday/Wednesday is a catch-up day. Finish your letters and check your grade. If you aren't happy with your grade, this is your chance to get your grade up.
For students who are all caught up, the last unit of Level 6 is now an extra-credit unit. It's called "That Spot", and it's centered on a famous short story by Jack London. By doing this unit, you can earn more than 45 points of extra credit.
Students who end the term with a grade of more than 110% will receive a certificate saying "Honors English".
If you still haven't figured out Seterra, ask someone! It's a great way to earn extra credit!
Let's congratulate two students who are definitely "Seterra Superstars":
- Annika (3rd period)
- Zahi (5th period).

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars.
Lessons and Quizzes: This week we're doing Grammar 6 (Lessons 6.1–6.10).
Writing Portfolio: This week we are not adding any new words to your writing portfolio.

Week 19	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	700 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	250 stars
Quizzes	9 new quizzes	1208 points
Writing	no additional words	4109 words
	Total	2568

Week 18 (Jan. 3–7)

1/2/2022

Welcome back!
Thank you to everyone who gave me a Christmas card or gift. (If I forget to thank you personally, please forgive me!)

This Week

Reading: 50 additional pages.
Typing: 50 additional stars. Be sure to earn them by doing the lessons in Tefel Hall's Language Arts Class. (Stars earned on Typing Jungle don't count.) I have added some easy lessons at the beginning of the course, so if you haven't yet learned how to type with the proper fingers, you can start again from the beginning.
Lessons and Quizzes: We're not doing any new lessons this week. If you haven't done everything through lesson 5.35, be sure to catch up, because next week we're moving on.
Writing Portfolio: This week you're going to write your letter from a foreign country (Fascinating Facts). The minimum word count is 250 words. Hence, you'll be adding 250 words to your writing portfolio.

Week 18	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	650 pages
Typing	50 additional stars	200 stars
Quizzes	no new quizzes	1118 points
Writing	250 additional words	4109 words

Extra-credit Opportunities

On Monday, I'm going to tell you about three new extra-credit projects.
- Seterra
- GeoChallenge
- Writing Projects
If you are absent on Monday, be sure to ask me (or a classmate) to fill you in on what you missed!

Week 17 (Dec. 13–17)

12/13/2021

This is a catch-up week.
No new work will be assigned.
We will finish the unit called Fascinating Facts, we may start our letters, and we may have a debate.
Have a great Christmas break!

Week 16 (Dec. 6–10)

12/5/2021

Many of you are forgetting to submit your Typing Club stars, or you are failing to submit this quiz properly. To see if you have submitted your Typing Club stars, go to Quia and check the quiz called 000 Typing Club. A horizontal dash means that you closed the tab before submitting the quiz!

This Week

Reading: 50 pages.
Typing: Week 16 (Lessons 21—30).
Lessons and Quizzes: This week we're going to start the unit called Fascinating Facts (Level 5). This unit will take us two weeks. This week, we're going to do all the lessons and quizzes (Lessons 5.18–5.35). Next week, you'll have time to write your letter.
Writing Portfolio: You're not going to add any new words to your portfolio until next week (unless you start your letter early).

Week 16	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	600 pages
Typing	10 additional lessons	150 stars
Quizzes	18 new quizzes	1118 points
Writing	no additional words	3859 words

Week 15 (Nov. 29–Dec. 3)

11/28/2021

Monday is a library day.
I've adjusted the settings on Typing Club to make it easier to earn 5 stars per lesson. Always strive for accuracy, not speed!
Do you write for the Black and White? Talk to me!

This Week

Reading: 50 pages
Typing Club: Week 15 (Lessons 11-20)
Lessons / Quizzes: This week we're doing two new units:
- Vocab 5
- Basic Skills 5
That's a total of 8 new lessons (5.10 — 5.17)
Writing: Lesson 5.17 asks you to paraphrase a fable (150 words).

Week 15	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	550 pages
Typing	10 additional lessons	100 stars
Quizzes	8 new quizzes	1044 points
Writing	150 additional words	3859 words

Week 14 (Nov. 15–19)

11/13/2021

Grading Changes

Welcome to the 2nd trimester!
In my class, you won't be getting a "fresh start". In my class, your grade is always an average of everything you have done since the beginning of the year.
This term, we're going back to the old system of doing Typing Club. Instead of having tests, you're going to earn stars by doing lesson on Typing Club, and then once a week you're going to submit the number of stars you have earned.
There are a few changes to how we will use Typing Club:
- Stars earned by doing Typing Jungle do not count. The only stars that count are the ones you earn by doing Tefel Hall's Language Arts Class.
- It used to be that I expected you to to do about 20 Typing Club lessons per week. (20 lessons = 100 stars).
- Now, I'm expecting you to do only 10 Typing Club lessons per week. (10 lessons = 50 stars).
- Just like reading, if you want to work ahead in Typing Club, that's okay. However, there's a "cap" on how many points I will count toward your current grade. That cap is the number of Typing Club stars that are currently due. This means that Typing Club points can't save you from a bad grade, if you haven't been doing your reading and your lessons.
The typing lessons are organized by week. This week, you are expected to do the lessons in the unit called "Week 14".
Typing Club is still considered homework: Try to get into the habit of doing two Typing Club lessons per day, five days per week.
If you can already touch-type fluently, you can test out of doing the typing homework. Talk to me and we can arrange a test.

This Week

This week is Student-Led Conference Week. Each of your classes will meet only two times.
For reading, you still have to read 50 pages.
For typing, I want you to do the 10 lessons in the unit called Week 14. Make sure you're doing the lessons in the course called Tefel Hall's Language Arts Class.
We also need to finish the unit called Grammar 5. (That's 9 additional lessons). This is a hard deadline.
These lessons do not include any writing assignments, so you won't be adding any more words to your writing portfolio.

Week 14	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	500 pages
Typing	Week 14	50 points
Quizzes	Grammar 5	978 points
Writing	No additional writing assignments	3709 words

Week 13 (Nov. 8–12)

11/7/2021

This week is a "catch up" week. I am not assigning any additional work.
On Monday we will take Typing Test 2.
This week is your last chance to raise your grade before I submit your grade for the 1st trimester.
Here are some ways to raise your grade:
- Make sure you have read at least 450 pages.
- Make sure that you have done all your lessons and quizzes through Level 4.
- Earn extra credit by writing additional blog posts in your writing portfolio.
- Turn in any extra-credit slips that you may have been saving.
- Don't forget to submit your work!

Week 13	This Week	YTD
Reading	No additional pages	450 pages
Typing	Test 2
Quizzes	No additional quizzes.	899 points
Writing	No additional writing assignments	3709 words

Week 12 (Nov. 1–5)

10/30/2021

This week, we need to finish Level 4.
That means that we need to do 27 additional quizzes! (Lessons 4.18 through 4.44). This is a hard deadline.
Next week, we're going to take Typing Test 2.
Next week is the last week of the trimester. (I submit grades at the end of next week.)

Week 12	This Week	YTD
Reading	50 additional pages	450 pages
Typing	Study for Test 2.
Quizzes	Everything through Lesson 4.44 (27 additional quizzes)	899 points
Writing	437 additional words.	3709 words

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