Guidance Period Lessons
English II
Week 1—September 11-12
Suggested Plan of Action:
Wednesday, September 10
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Begin with Chapter 1, Lesson 1 entitled “Roots and Affixes”.
Read the Getting the Idea section. I would recommend reading the definitions of root,
affix, prefix, and suffix aloud; the chart of examples can be referenced so they know to
use that as a guide for the activities that follow.
Move onto the Thinking It Through portion. Read the paragraph aloud, answering
the question and modeling what the correct response would be. [A key for all activities
follows this suggested plan.] This should take no longer than 5 minutes.
For guided practice, or the Coached Example, students can work in pairs to read the
passage and answer two multiple choice questions. This should take 5-7 minutes,
depending on the particular ability of the group of kids Go over the answers before
moving onto the final section for Lesson 1.
Finally, Lesson Practice will allow the kids to independently practice roots and affixes.
There are 4 MC questions and a short answer response. This section should take the
students 15-20 minutes because the reading passage is longer and more complex. The
SAR should at least be three sentences long.
Extension activity: An additional SAR topic related to the Jane Eyre passage will be
available for students who finish before their peers.
Lesson 1 Key:
Thinking it Through:
Microscopic means small to see.
Coached Example:
1. A
2. A
Lesson Practice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
C
A
D
C
Answers will vary. Make sure to tell the students to choose one of the underlined words
as the original prompt does not specify this directly. Each SAR should include a sentence
that identifies the word chosen along with its context, paragraph found, etc. It should
then add a prefix and suffix from the charts previously provided, define both the prefix
and suffix, and explain fully how they alter the meaning of the original word.
Thursday, September 11
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Begin with Chapter 1, Lesson 2 entitled “Denotation and Connotation”.
Read the Getting the Idea section. I would recommend reading the definitionsof
denotation and connotation aloud; the examples that follow on page 24 can be read
aloud as well.
Move onto the Thinking It Through portion. Read the paragraph aloud, answering
the question and modeling what the correct response would be. [A key for all activities
follows this suggested plan.] This should take no longer than 5 minutes.
For guided practice, or the Coached Example, students can work in pairs to read the
passage and answer two multiple choice questions. This should take 5-7 minutes,
depending on the particular ability of the group of kids Go over the answers before
moving onto the final section for Lesson 2.
Finally, Lesson Practice will allow the kids to independently practice roots and affixes.
There are 4 MC questions and a short answer response. This section should take the
students 15-20 minutes because the reading passage is longer and more complex. The
SAR should at least be three sentences long.
Extension activity: An additional SAR topic related to the “Wilting Violets” passage will
be available for students who finish before their peers.
Lesson 2 Key:
Thinking it Through:
The words that have a positive connotation are inquisitive and eager; the words that have a
negative connotation are meddlesome and nosy.
Coached Example:
1. B
2. A
Lesson Practice:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B
B
C
A
Answers will vary. The response should start with a topic sentence that defines the
words emerge and blossom. Students can even use a dictionary or thesaurus to do so
since these are allowed on the English II STAAR exam. They should discuss the
difference between the words then argue which word has a more positive connotation
and which is more effective in its context. RESPONSES THAT DO NOT CITE OR
REFERENCE THE TEXT WOULD BE FAILING RESPONSES, scoring a 1/3 on the
STAAR exam. It is vital that students start citing the text frequently and appropriately.
Name:______________________________
English II STAAR
Academic Lab Activity: Lesson 1
Directions: Please complete this Single Response SAR that uses the passage from Jane
Eyre. This SAR should be completed after all other work in Lesson 1 is finished
adequately.
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A Single Response SAR on the English II STAAR asks students to find
the deeper meaning in a passage or to deeply examine a character,
theme, or symbol.
A Single Response SAR must have 3 parts: an assertion (or direct
answer to the question), evidence from the text to prove or support
the assertion, and an explanation of how the evidence proves that the
assertion is correct. An SAR must be at least 3 sentences long.
Using the excerpted passage from Jane Eyre, examine the character of John Reed. What kind of
child is John Reed? What words in the passage clearly describe him?
*Complete your short answer response on the lined STAAR paper provided.
*Organize your response clearly.
*Cite text evidence.
Name:______________________________
English II STAAR
Academic Lab Activity: Lesson 2
Directions: Please complete this Single Response SAR that uses the passage from. This
SAR should be completed after all other work in Lesson 2 is finished adequately.
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A Single Response SAR on the English II STAAR asks students to find
the deeper meaning in a passage or to deeply examine a character,
theme, or symbol.
A Single Response SAR must have 3 parts: an assertion (or direct
answer to the question), evidence from the text to prove or support
the assertion, and an explanation of how the evidence proves that the
assertion is correct. An SAR must be at least 3 sentences long.
Irony is when there is a contradiction in what the reader thinks will happen with what actually
occurs in a story. Irony should be surprising or unexpected.
Identify one example of irony in “Wilting Violets.” Cite the example from the story and explain
why it is ironic.
*Complete your short answer response on the lined STAAR paper provided.
*Organize your response clearly.
*Cite text evidence.