Homework - 11 April 2011

One more week to go until Spring Break!  Remember that we don't stop until 2:30 on Friday.  This is no time to start getting lazy.  Be sure that you come to class every day with your best effort and your A game.

Freshmen:

As stated in the previous post, now that you know how to research and do notecards, I fully expect that you will be working on this project and research on your own time.  On Tuesday/Wednesday you will have your Act I exam on Romeo and Juliet.  You will want to focus on the following information to prepare:

• new literary devices connected to drama (monologue, tragic hero, soliloquy, aside, dramatic irony, etc.)
• new literary devices connected to poetry (blank verse, iambic pentameter, couplet, sonnet, etc.)
• plot events in Act I - putting the information in order, knowing WHAT happened WHEN
• the characters - which family, what role they play, their importance
• the historical information about the time period

Honors students will have quote identifications and Standard students will have short answers on this exam.  The quotes and ideas that I ask you about will be pretty apparent, but you would do well to review all of Act I before your exam.

For Thursday/Friday I will be expecting you to have read Act II, Scenes 1, 2 and 3 as well as complete your notes for WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN.  You will also need to be ready for your first notecard check that day.  You should have anywhere from five to ten notecards.

Juniors:

Today we got started with ROMANTICISM - this will be something that we will be working on over the next two weeks.  For today, it's important that you understand the key elements of ROMANTICISM as well as the elements of scansion in poetry.  Romantics were great proponents of sacrifice in order to gain understanding about ourselves and the world around us - in that same idea, I am asking you to respond to the following question in a one page response:

What is something that you cannot live without?  Why?

As you answer this question, be specific and personal.  Really try to understand your need for this thing.  Don't tell me about something that every human needs to survive (water, food, etc.) but something instead that is important to you (iPhone, Twitter, car, etc.).  I look forward to reading your responses.

Also, don't forget that you should be reading every night in your novels and meeting the goals that your group has set.  You will have another group meeting on Friday.  Your papers on Mean Girls/The Crucible will also be collected this day - come see me outside of class for draft conferences.

Enjoy the beautiful afternoon - I think I'll ride my bike...home.