Thursday, April 30, 2009

Weekend Homework

Some of you have a lot of reading to do this weekend.

Honors students, you have a reading quiz at the beginning of the next week. You are expected to have completed chapters one through twenty-five.

Standard students, you also have a reading quiz at the beginning of the next week. You are expected to have completed pages one through sixty-nine.

If you have any questions about your reading - leave them here. I have meetings in Raleigh all weekend, but I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Be sure that you answer your study questions.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tonight's Homework

You have papers are due next class. Be sure that you bring them with you to class.

Also - today you started working in your CTG's. Make sure that you keep up with your reading schedules. You have your first reading quiz on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Weekend Work

On Tuesday/Wednesday you will be peer editing in class. You will need to bring a rough draft of your essay to class with you. Be sure that your rough draft is complete. Furthermore, we will start working on our study of novels on Tuesday/Wednesday. Make sure that you keep up with your reading - we will have our first reading quiz next week.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Things to study for your test!

First, a few announcements:

1. Remember that you should be reading every night. Follow along with your reading schedule to keep up with the dates.
2. Your rough draft of your papers are due on the 28th and 29th.

Your major thing to do tonight is to study for your test. We spent a lot of time reviewing in class things that you should know. You should focus on the following things:

literary devices, titles and authors of all our poems we studied, denotation and connotation, plot of the narrative poems we've studied, elements of scanscion, different forms of poetry, hip-hop as poetry

Here is a list of all of the poem's we've studied this unit:

"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
"Is Truth Liberating" by Haki Madhubuti
"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
"Conjugal Visits" by Al Young
"Back Again Home" by Haki Madhubuti
"Ode to Duty" by William Wordsworth (Honors)
"Ode to My Socks" by Pablo Neruda
"Fork" by Charles Simic
"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich
"The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot

The first four poems will be what you will need to know for your short answer questions. Also, Honors students, you have your essay.

If you have questions - leave them here. I'll be available after school tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Announcements and HW

The first thing that I want to touch on are the upcoming announcements:

1. You have a Poetry Unit test on 4/24 and 4/27. We will review in class on 4/22 and 4/23.

2. Poetry Analysis paper rough drafts are due on 4/28 and 4/29. We will peer edit in circle groups on these days. We will also begin studying our novels in class on this day.

3. Final Draft of the Poetry Analysis paper is due on 4/30 and 5/1. Please come see me for help if you need it!!!

4. You will have your first reading quiz on your novels on 5/4 and 5/5. Read every night - answer your study questions!

Homework:

1. READ YOUR BOOK! You should read for at least one hour each night. Parents, please make sure that your student has a quiet place to complete their reading free from distractions.

2. Begin studying and reviewing for your test. Bring questions to the review session.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Poetry Forms and Structures

If you're not sure how to write a particular form of poetry check out this website:

http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk

It's a pretty cool tool to use and it gives examples of the different types. It may also be useful for those of you that want to experiment with a different form of poetry.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Over the Break

PHEW! I never thought we'd make it.

You've got your poetry projects due when we get back from break. If you have any questions while you're working on the projects, please leave me a note here. I won't be checking my work e-mail often, if at all, over break and I want to be sure to get back to you ASAP. I will collect these in class on the 20th/21st.

Also, when we get back I will be checking your analysis logs for your paper. Remember that you're looking at literary devices used in the poem that you are analyzing. Go into depth - explore the different literary devices and how they show the theme of your poem.

Finally, Honors students, you should start reading Great Expectations. You have a reading schedule and study questions for the first twenty-five chapters. Remember that there will be extra credit available for those that read over break and I will give you this extra credit when we get back from break.

I hope that you all relax, sleep in, and read!

Have a great break!

PS - Happy Passover :)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Homework for 6/7 April

Tonight's homework is to finish your Analysis Log. I will not be checking these until we get back from Spring Break but you should put some effort into these. Some students today saw that by spending a lot of time on the log, the paper and thesis was written for them. I would also recommend spending some time over the next few days to do a lot of work on your Poetry project or on your paper assignment as both of these major grades are due when we get back from break.

If you need help with the paper assignment come see me - I'll be available after school on Thursday to give some last minute help. Also, I will have the blog going over Spring Break - you can feel free to leave me questions here.

Lastly, be sure that you review your warm-ups. I may have a journal check before we leave for break.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Weekend Homework

Your homework this weekend is to read the four poems that won the Sweet 16 tournament. The poems on your handout are "Conjugal Visits" by Al Young, "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, "Is Truth Liberating" by Haki Madhubuti, and "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks.

After you read the poems you will need to take notes on the poems. Your notes should look at the following elements in the poem: diction/word choice, imagery, meter, rhyme, structure of the poem, literary devices, figurative language, meaning of the poem, the speaker of the poem. You may want to look at other ideas in the poems as well, this of this as a jumping off point. Take your notes in your notebooks and bring these notes to class with you. I will check your notes on Monday/Tuesday.