With an enthusiasm for writing, one student in an independent study of English is planning to self-publish her work.  Her books are scheduled to be in print and braille this spring, and plans are to offer the ISVI elementary students the opportunity to read them for a summer reading program.
Enjoy this sample of her poetry.
Clean White

White is blank like a fresh canvas,
And yet bright like light overhead.
White is fresh linen
 spread out on a bed.

White is chilling
as it glides on winter air,
and yet kisses with snowflakes
gently touching skin and hair.

White is a dove
 cooing in flight,
or lambs
 being watched on a silent night.

White is soft and delicate like silk.
White is nourishing and fresh like milk.

Just recently students in English IV displayed their creativity by designing a coloring book based on the characters in “The Prologue” of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  Maybe a kindergarten class from one of the neighboring public schools will enjoy coloring their works of art.
 Dream catchers are on the agenda for the English III class. Hopefully the authors of  the readings in the American literature studies will inspire an American dream to be caught or pursued.
 A venture into the Victorian Age with a comparison/contrast of modern times will be on the agenda for the English II students as they read and discuss Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Client by John Grisham.
Characterization and point of view will enhance the short story unit that will be studied in English I as a retelling of a common fairy tale, presented from a new perspective, will be one of the public speaking assignments.
And, as usual, all coursework will continue to incorporate various units of grammar, vocabulary, and oral and written communication skills.  Additionally, emphasis will continue for accomplishing personal IEP goals and for developing the 17 essential workplace skills.
 

English Department-Modified English

The high school modified English classes have been busy so far this year. They have completed assignments in spelling, vocabulary, grammar and literature.
In grammar, the students have been reviewing and learning about the parts of speech.  A lot of focus has been on vocabulary this year.  The students are given a "Word of the Day."  They are to look up the meaning, write the definition and use the word in a sentence.  This has been fun for them, but yet a challenge, as many of the words are new to them.
We have completed a short story unit in literature.  A few of the stories that we are to read in the different classes are: The Scarlet Ibis, The Necklace, An Hour With Abuelo, Thank You M'am, The Most Dangerous Game, The Monkey's Paw and The Adventure of the Speckled Band. 
Second semester will be exciting.  We are going to read myths, learn about different gods and goddesses and how a lot of the words we use today come from myths.  We will finish by reading "The Odyssey."  This is a favorite of the students because the stories are filled with love, hate and adventure.  We will also read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  Along with this novel the students will research the Depression Era, racial discrimination and prejudice.  We will also read "The Diary of Anne Frank" which will include research and stories of the Holocaust.

Besides regular course work--

Some English I and English III classes are reading To Kill a Mockingbird .

English II is finishing the novels The Client and Great Expectations and are completing final drafts of an expository instructional paragraph, which has involved peer editing.

English III will be creating and presenting mandalas to represent character development in the book Night.

English IV classes are reading The Odyssey or are finishing The Canterbury Tales and have created coloring books to symbolically represent the characters introduced in the Prologue.

Students enrolled in independent studies are writing fables and are reading The Alchemist .

Students in English IV and Advanced English are working on independent research projects.

Vocabulary Words Are Fun!

In celebration of Halloween, ISVI's Middle School students and teachers hosted a "Vocabulary Parade" in the ISVI Media Center. Each student donned a costume that depicted a vocabulary word. Each student would describe their costume and the audience of students and staff had the opportunity to guess the word and win a prize. After the word was guessed, or the audience gave up, the student in the costume gave the definition of the word they represented and told why they selected that word. Several teachers were costume judges for the event with all students receiving very high marks from the judges! The winner of the Vocabulary Parade is shown as she holds a pitcher filled with blocks depicting the word blockade.

Each participant was presented with a bottle of PowerAde in recognition of their wonderful word power!