zchase's blog
The First Two Days of School
Submitted by zchase on Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:03.
First Two Days of School
Tuesday -
2 hour advisory (back to school stuff, laptops, trans passes, schedules, paperwork, etc.)
8:15-10:15am - 2 hour advisory
10:20-11:35 - X1 band
11:40-12:45 - Y1 band
12:50-1:55 - A1 Band
2:00-3:05 - B1 Band
Wednesday -
1 hour advisory (get back paperwork, discuss any changed schedules)
8:15-9:15am - 1 hour advisory
9:20-10:25 - C1 Band
10:30-11:35 - D1 Band
11:40-12:45 - E1 Band
Dismiss -- Grade-Level Advisors will assign work for the kids to do. (12th - Naviance, etc...)
Their Vision's Based on Movement
Submitted by zchase on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 12:58.
I sit in the back of my room, surrounded by students. The lights are off, the blinds closed. The ambient light is minimal. If anything, the room is lit by the subtle glow of dying and diseased laptop screens and the slits of light that slip in through the blinds.
I'm in a polo shirt today, so my chances of remaining undiscovered are pretty strong as a sophomore pokes his head in my room to see if I'm here.
He wants to ask me if he can use my office or some resource or borrow a stapler or tape.
I slouch in my chair and remain perfectly still.
The student sitting next to me whispers, "He's looking for you, but he thinks you're a student."
"If I don't move," I reply, "He can't see me."
The student to my side snickers quietly at my Jurassic Park defense.
I see the top of the sophomore's head peek above the head of the student across from me - almost a lemming.
I do not move.
The student to my side is finding it difficult to contain what he perceives as the silliness of the situation. He's going to blow my cover.
His expression changes.
"What?" I say.
He's containing his giggles.
"What, did he leave?"
"Yes."
Junior Aimee Leong Featured by SEPTA
Submitted by zchase on Sat, 03/27/2010 - 14:12.
Garnering continued recognition for her participation in the Philadelphia Young Playwrights program, SLA Junior Aimee Leong was featured on the SEPTA website for her work's integration of a SEPTA trolley in its staging. Read the full story here.
SLA Junior Aimee Leong featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer
Submitted by zchase on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 19:39.
For the full story, click the image below:
An Introduction to the SLA Lit Lab
Submitted by zchase on Thu, 10/01/2009 - 17:44.
Lit Lab Schedule
Submitted by zchase on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 19:21.
Beginning Tuesday, September 29, The SLA Lit Lab will be open for business in room 302B. Students looking for extra help with reading or writing or wanting to be involved in SLA's student publications should stop by. Seniors, if you're hoping for some one-on-one help with your college application essays, sign up with Ms. Dunn for a meeting during Friday's lunch bands.
Juniors and Seniors interested in helping to run the Lab should talk to Mr. Chase or Ms. Pahomov.
Test Post
Submitted by zchase on Wed, 06/03/2009 - 15:59.
The Stories They Tell
Submitted by zchase on Tue, 05/19/2009 - 19:17.
During our study of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried and the Grade 11 essential question, "What the relationship between the self and a changing world?" we wanted our students to consider how they may have changed since entering high school. As such, each G11 student was paired with a new G9 student. The G11s were charged with interviewing their underclassmen for a story that would prove interesting to a larger audience.
The project grew out of many discussions with returning SLA students who admitted not having a chance to get to know the new 9th graders. Academically, it was aimed at having students see how truth was formed in O'Brien's text and where the gray line was for their own interviews.
SLA Students Published on This I Believe
Submitted by zchase on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 01:18.
Twenty-four SLA G11 students have been selected to be added to the archives of ThisIBelieve.org. Their essays were submitted as part of an assignment for their English class earlier this school year. Students were asked to identify what they valued, what beliefs they hold shaped by those values and then write an essay explaining the development of one of those beliefs. The students' essays are linked to their belief statements below:
Moriah Taylor - I believe in the unity of the world within its differences.
Test Show
Submitted by zchase on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 15:18.
"How Words Cast Their Spell"
Submitted by zchase on Mon, 01/05/2009 - 14:51.
Joshi, R. Malatesha, Rebecca Treiman, Suzanne Carreker, and Louisa C. Moats. “How Words Cast Their Spell.” American Educator. Winter 2008-2009: 8-18, 42-43.
This article argues not an either/or approach to spelling instruction pitting the traditional understanding of whole language instruction against phonetic instruction. Instead, the authors make the case for a both/and approach to spelling instruction.
Sacrifice in the world and Their Eyes Were Watching God
Submitted by zchase on Fri, 06/20/2008 - 15:37.
By the end of the year, I was feeling reasonably secure in my ability to craft a unit plan that engaged the students and pushed them to engage the world around them. The unit plan found here and subequent project descriptions and student work provided me with the first true inkling of what was possible. It led the way for the Othello Unit Plan and the World Change Unit Plan in 10th and the Hamlet and Memoir Unit Plans in 9th. Overall, I'm pleased with how it turned out, but want to add more definition to the benchmark description so that the students feel the guidance they need. I'd also differentiate between the audio and written performance expectations at the outset. Eventually, that happened.
Class for 2.19.08
Submitted by zchase on Tue, 02/19/2008 - 22:19.
I'm not sure what to do with this
Submitted by zchase on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 22:19.
I was reading some blogs in my reader yesterday and came across this post by Carl Fisch. It's chock full o' stats. I'm thinking, surely, someone could find this useful. Anyone?
The Odyssey "Book XIV"
Submitted by zchase on Mon, 01/28/2008 - 22:27.
In "Book XIV " of The Odyssey, Odysseus is visiting with the Swine Herder, or "Pigman" as Lena suggested.
Because of Athena's supernatural transformation of Ody in "Book 13," he is still disguised as a gnarled old man (see picture at right).
As it turns out, this serves him well. Because of his appearance, Ody is able to get Pigman's true feelings. The Pigman tells Ody that his master was both "Master" and "Brother." (xiv.168)
The class decided this was a good thing because:
