Welcome to the official newsletter for all things Language Arts and Mr. Goldhammer. The purpose of this newsletter is simple: to allow parents and guardians a way to stay informed about their student's Language Arts experience and to promote involvement in his/her education. This newsletter is updated regularly and should be a great way to finally get an answer to that dreaded "what'd you learn at school today" question students so cleverly try to avoid. As "Hey Parents!" is a bit of an experiment, be sure to pass on any comments or suggestions that you may have. Enjoy.
April 28
Mon, Apr 28 2008 09:06
Well, 3rd quarter is behind us and there's only a 2 months to go until summer. I thought I'd write a quick note and let everyone know what's currently happening in class. Here's where we are at:
After surviving Mary Shelly's epic Frankenstein and the last round of the WASL, Sophomores have spent the last week working on something a bit lighter and have just finished up Oscar Wilde's hillarious "The Importance of Being Earnest." Currently, they are working on analyzing the play's greater themes and it's biting social commentary. From there (after a quick in-class essay), we'll dive into some classic Greek drama with "Oedipus" and "Antigone" and then most likely finish up the year with The Catcher in the Rye. Although the year is winding to a close, expect your student to be busy. We've still got a number of papers and projects to take care of before the year comes to an end.
Creative Writing is currently in the middle of multi-week focus on character development. In fact, right now, these students have a number of projects they are juggling. In addition to a number of smaller assignments we've been working on in class, all Creative Writing students are in the middle of an outside reading project (ask your student what he/she is reading!) and an ongoing experiment in descriptive writing--the fruit journal. Rest assured, the fruit journal is wrapping up and your student should be able to finally get rid of his/her "subject" within the next week or two. All students have been producing some fabulous work. If you have yet to read any of your student's work, be sure to ask them. I garuantee you'll be surprised. Be on the lookout for the class' forthcoming anthology, Floodplain. Issue #7 should be out within a week or so and in it, your student will have an original published work.
For Freshmen, life right now is all about Shakespeare and "Romeo and Juliet." Currently, we are about halfway through the play and should have it wrapped up in a week or so. Al
though we are reading the play in class, students are responsible for understanding and analyzing every line of the play--and, they are doing extremely well. With each act (there are 5 total), there is a quiz and most students are stepping up to the challenge. Expect to be hearing some Elizabethan English at home and to see some group work in the weeks to come...once we finish with the play and an essay, your student will definitely be on his/her feet doing some acting with some classmates
Thanks for checking in!...as always, be sure to let me know if any questions come up.
'til next time,
Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School
After surviving Mary Shelly's epic Frankenstein and the last round of the WASL, Sophomores have spent the last week working on something a bit lighter and have just finished up Oscar Wilde's hillarious "The Importance of Being Earnest." Currently, they are working on analyzing the play's greater themes and it's biting social commentary. From there (after a quick in-class essay), we'll dive into some classic Greek drama with "Oedipus" and "Antigone" and then most likely finish up the year with The Catcher in the Rye. Although the year is winding to a close, expect your student to be busy. We've still got a number of papers and projects to take care of before the year comes to an end.
Creative Writing is currently in the middle of multi-week focus on character development. In fact, right now, these students have a number of projects they are juggling. In addition to a number of smaller assignments we've been working on in class, all Creative Writing students are in the middle of an outside reading project (ask your student what he/she is reading!) and an ongoing experiment in descriptive writing--the fruit journal. Rest assured, the fruit journal is wrapping up and your student should be able to finally get rid of his/her "subject" within the next week or two. All students have been producing some fabulous work. If you have yet to read any of your student's work, be sure to ask them. I garuantee you'll be surprised. Be on the lookout for the class' forthcoming anthology, Floodplain. Issue #7 should be out within a week or so and in it, your student will have an original published work.
For Freshmen, life right now is all about Shakespeare and "Romeo and Juliet." Currently, we are about halfway through the play and should have it wrapped up in a week or so. Al
though we are reading the play in class, students are responsible for understanding and analyzing every line of the play--and, they are doing extremely well. With each act (there are 5 total), there is a quiz and most students are stepping up to the challenge. Expect to be hearing some Elizabethan English at home and to see some group work in the weeks to come...once we finish with the play and an essay, your student will definitely be on his/her feet doing some acting with some classmatesThanks for checking in!...as always, be sure to let me know if any questions come up.
'til next time,
Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School