The Non-Fiction Book Report

Reading, reading is magical and amazing and full of wonder and causes your senses to tingle until...I say those words "You must choose a non-fiction text to read" and I see all of your faces droop because essentially what you heard was, "I have to read a how to manual".


I am here to tell you that is simply not true! Not true I say. We live in a wonderful time when nonfiction  texts read like...wait for it...fiction. They are compelling stories about challenge, triumph, heartbreak and exploration. Just because you are reading a true account of one person's experience does not mean it will be boring.  In fact it may inspire a love to solve mysteries, reach out and help your fellow man or simply recognize that we have not all started our lives journey with the same expectations.


As part of this project you will be required to have a signed Nonfiction parent permission letter (worth 10 points) since many nonfiction texts deal with mature content it is always best to make sure your parents are okay with what you've chosen to read. Just in case you need an additional copy or you need to share the information with your parents below you will find the handouts I shared with you in class: Nonfiction rubric,  Nonfiction Book Report Expectations  and Suggested Nonfiction Book list .


Embrace reality and the human spirit.


--Mrs. Ordway

English 11: Article of the Week #1: The Origins of the Border Crisis

example of an annotated article

In class we discussed close readings, annotations and why it's important to mark in your books. I know crazy right? A teacher, an adult a figure of authority telling you to write in your novels, on your articles? Sounds crazy. Don't write in the textbook though--those things are like gold around here. We will read an article each week where we apply our annotating and close reading techniques. This week's article deals with the border crisis that's been in the news over the summer the article's title is " The Origins of the Border Crisis ".

Here is what you must do:

1. Print out the article.
2. Complete a first reading
3. Annotate the article (use the suggestions we read in the article "How to Mark a Book" for guidance)
4. Be prepared to turn in your article--WITH annotations. No annotations--no credit.

Come prepared to disucss this article on THURSDAY--your block day.

Welcome Back-- It's the 2014-15 School year and everything is shiny and new!

Downey High School Pre-1945

Welcome back to a new year, and pretty much a new and improved school!

This year I will teach an Expository Reading Writing Course (ERWC) English class for seniors and an American Literature class for juniors. Since printing up the class syllabi for  both the ERWC and English 11 classes some minor things have changed.

Here are the links for the updated ERWC Syllabus and the English 11 Syllabus. There is not a tremendous amount of change, but nonetheless it's here so you can modify your class and homework load as needed. Just need to review the highlights and BIG ideas? Check out the syllabus in a cool visual here: Syllabus Visual

I am really looking forward to getting to know you and learning what it is you know and how you will change the way we look out our history and literature.

Here's to a great school year.

Your new favorite teacher,

Mrs. Ordway=