It's time for us to say goodbye to February and hello to March. I'm definitely starting to feel Spring in the air, and can't wait for its full arrival. Here are your notes for tonight.
AP English IV
For our next class be sure that you get through with your reading of Act II of Twelfth Night. We'll spend a few classes looking at some scenes from this section of the play - we've also got to take a look at the film too. Also, please start on your vocabulary assignment. Remember that your cards are due on Thursday the 7th of March.
AP English III
Now that we've started Invisible Man it's time for you to keep it going. Tonight you're going to read Chapter 1. Keep annotating, keep thinking, and keep generating questions. Remember that the important thing is not to give up and quit while you read. Use your motif chart after every chapter to collect your observations about the chapters. I will check these sporadically to keep you honest.
In addition to reading Chapter 1, I also want you to read Zora Neale Hurston's "How It Feels to be Colored Me" from 50 Essays. Here is a link to the Hurston piece. As you read Hurston, be sure to notice any connections between the two texts. There are a lot!
English IV
Since we didn't get a chance to finish the Act II work, let's table that for next class. Now that you have your rubric for your final presentations, continue working on those. Form your visual, complete your research, and begin to plan. We aren't going to have many other days in the media center for research, I hope you've not wasted your time.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Homework for 2/25 and 2/26
First I want to take a second to make mention of progress reports. Right now, for a lot of you, progress reports are not very accurate due to the fact that a lot of you are missing work from being absent or from being on a school related trip. Please come to see me this week about these assignments. As I get them graded, your Jupiter access will get updated.
Here are your reminders for tonight:
AP English IV
Tonight I would like for you to read through to the end of Act II, Scene 2. Keep track of your vocabulary notes as we will begin to develop these words into a more coherent approach to Shakespeare's language next class. I especially want you to look at Act I, Scene 5 as this is a very important scene in understanding some of the larger comedy at work in the play.
AP English III
Next class you all have your term papers due for me. You will be turning in the following:
English IV
Tonight you should spend some time studying for your grammar test as well as completing your Act II viewing guide and worksheet. Hopefully you were able to finish taking notes for most of the questions. Be sure to pay attention to the questions marked with a ** as you need to answer these questions in complete sentences, expressing a full idea.
Here are your reminders for tonight:
AP English IV
Tonight I would like for you to read through to the end of Act II, Scene 2. Keep track of your vocabulary notes as we will begin to develop these words into a more coherent approach to Shakespeare's language next class. I especially want you to look at Act I, Scene 5 as this is a very important scene in understanding some of the larger comedy at work in the play.
AP English III
Next class you all have your term papers due for me. You will be turning in the following:
- Your final draft with cover sheet filled out, the draft itself, and your rubric.
- Your draft from peer editing.
- Your proposal with my feedback.
- Any outlines or other documents used to prepare your final draft
English IV
Tonight you should spend some time studying for your grammar test as well as completing your Act II viewing guide and worksheet. Hopefully you were able to finish taking notes for most of the questions. Be sure to pay attention to the questions marked with a ** as you need to answer these questions in complete sentences, expressing a full idea.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Homework for the Weekend - 2/21 and 2/22
I hope that all we have tomorrow is a delay and not a full cancellation. No matter what the weather has in store for us, here is what you need to make sure you complete before I see you again.
AP English IV
Today you need to continue moving forward into Act I of Twelfth Night. I want you to read to the end of scene four, paying particular attention to characters, conflicts, and significant topics as you move through. I believe that you're really going to like this play, so get to know the characters well to help begin your appreciation. Also, be sure to keep track of vocabulary as you read. Shakespeare is rife with new words and expressions for you. Look at what he's saying and pick up some new material.
AP English III
This weekend you have two major priorities. The first is your final assessment on The Crucible. With your partner you are to present a dialogue of no more than three to four minutes; as you present your dialogue, I will be grading you on your tone, your creation of character, and your blocking and interaction with your partner as you speak. You should practice a lot to make this fluid and dramatic. Also, you will submit a brief paragraph to me stating your dialogue's importance to the overall play. Other than this, you need to revise your papers. Make sure that you work hard to get this major assignment completed.
English IV
Over the weekend, now that you have your categories, I would like for you to begin planning your presentation. Make sure that if you need to do additional research that you get that done. We won't have many more days in the library to prepare.
AP English IV
Today you need to continue moving forward into Act I of Twelfth Night. I want you to read to the end of scene four, paying particular attention to characters, conflicts, and significant topics as you move through. I believe that you're really going to like this play, so get to know the characters well to help begin your appreciation. Also, be sure to keep track of vocabulary as you read. Shakespeare is rife with new words and expressions for you. Look at what he's saying and pick up some new material.
AP English III
This weekend you have two major priorities. The first is your final assessment on The Crucible. With your partner you are to present a dialogue of no more than three to four minutes; as you present your dialogue, I will be grading you on your tone, your creation of character, and your blocking and interaction with your partner as you speak. You should practice a lot to make this fluid and dramatic. Also, you will submit a brief paragraph to me stating your dialogue's importance to the overall play. Other than this, you need to revise your papers. Make sure that you work hard to get this major assignment completed.
English IV
Over the weekend, now that you have your categories, I would like for you to begin planning your presentation. Make sure that if you need to do additional research that you get that done. We won't have many more days in the library to prepare.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Homework for Tuesday/Wednesday - 2/19 and 2/20
So, we're settling down into a nice long stretch of school before Spring Break. Make sure that you realize that at this point in the year you're running a marathon, not a sprint. Think about all of the things that you have left to accomplish and don't allow yourself to burn out too quickly. Here are your notes to prepare you for your next class.
AP English IV
You've survived your first test. This was definitely more of a skills based examination than a content based test - I look forward to grading these and getting them back to you by the start of next week. If you were absent please see me ASAP to schedule a time to make up the test. For tonight, you don't have any homework - you worked hard enough in class. Just be sure that you come to class with a copy of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as we will begin our study of this play!
AP English III
There's a lot for you all to accomplish tonight, please let me know if you have any questions about any of the following:
Continue working on your research projects and pulling together information. If you didn't get your cards checked today make sure that you have them ready for Thursday/Friday.
AP English IV
You've survived your first test. This was definitely more of a skills based examination than a content based test - I look forward to grading these and getting them back to you by the start of next week. If you were absent please see me ASAP to schedule a time to make up the test. For tonight, you don't have any homework - you worked hard enough in class. Just be sure that you come to class with a copy of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as we will begin our study of this play!
AP English III
There's a lot for you all to accomplish tonight, please let me know if you have any questions about any of the following:
- Your first priority is to finish your Crucible synthesis assignment as well as your questions tied to the document packet. Remember that the questions must be answered in complete sentences using specific details from the documents. You will submit both assignments to me at the beginning of class on Thursday/Friday.
- You have a final assessment coming up on The Crucible. Please be reviewing the text and preparing yourself for this.
- Your final drafts of your term papers are due on the 27th and 28th. Use the rubric to prepare yourself and tweak your draft to make it sing. Feel free to ask for additional help if you need it, but remember that I will not answer questions about this assignment starting on the 26th.
- If you haven't already done so - get a copy of Invisible Man. You're going to want to get this book as it's probably one of the best books we'll read all year.
Continue working on your research projects and pulling together information. If you didn't get your cards checked today make sure that you have them ready for Thursday/Friday.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
AP Writing Conferences
Students. If you missed a conference chance this week I will be available on Friday the 15th from 1-2 pm. Please email me in advance if you plan on attending. I will make it a priority to see as many of you as possible. Please email me to let me know you're coming so that I stick around.
Homework for the Long Weekend and Monday - 2/14 and 2/18
I hope that all of you enjoy your Friday off this week. Please think of me while I'm here leading some staff development and working hard! Here are your reminders and announcements.
AP English IV
Your biggest task for the weekend is to spend your time preparing for your exam. I think that one of the best ways to prepare is to practice annotating and pulling out meaning quickly since you will have two timed writings ahead of you. Use what we did today in class but then also use your Perrine book to get more opportunities for analysis. You will have a prose analysis and a poetry analysis. So spend time looking at both.
Also, use your Perrine books to look at examples of explications. From pages forty to forty-nine you have several different examples of prose and poetry explications which you can use to look at proper structure and analysis techniques.
AP English III
This weekend your biggest priority is your term papers. Next class we will be spending approximately half the class workshopping drafts and preparing to move on to our final drafts. Please make sure that you are constantly reviewing and revising your argument to make it as strong as you can. I will be sharing the rubric which I will use on this assignment with you next class, which will help you create your final product.
Finally, your synthesis related to the primary source documents from the Salem Witch Trials will be due on the 21st and 22nd. You will turn in your argumentative editorial as well as your complete answers to the questions. This is a change of date from earlier!
English IV
Now that you know about your notecard structure for researching I would like for you to continue researching over the weekend. We will be spending more time in the library next week to continue this process, but the more time you spend working on this at home, the better you'll be. Remember that you will be having several checkpoints on this project. Keep up and ask questions to make up the work if needed.
AP English IV
Your biggest task for the weekend is to spend your time preparing for your exam. I think that one of the best ways to prepare is to practice annotating and pulling out meaning quickly since you will have two timed writings ahead of you. Use what we did today in class but then also use your Perrine book to get more opportunities for analysis. You will have a prose analysis and a poetry analysis. So spend time looking at both.
Also, use your Perrine books to look at examples of explications. From pages forty to forty-nine you have several different examples of prose and poetry explications which you can use to look at proper structure and analysis techniques.
AP English III
This weekend your biggest priority is your term papers. Next class we will be spending approximately half the class workshopping drafts and preparing to move on to our final drafts. Please make sure that you are constantly reviewing and revising your argument to make it as strong as you can. I will be sharing the rubric which I will use on this assignment with you next class, which will help you create your final product.
Finally, your synthesis related to the primary source documents from the Salem Witch Trials will be due on the 21st and 22nd. You will turn in your argumentative editorial as well as your complete answers to the questions. This is a change of date from earlier!
English IV
Now that you know about your notecard structure for researching I would like for you to continue researching over the weekend. We will be spending more time in the library next week to continue this process, but the more time you spend working on this at home, the better you'll be. Remember that you will be having several checkpoints on this project. Keep up and ask questions to make up the work if needed.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Homework and Reminders for 2/12 and 2/13
Today's been a bit of a whirlwind of a day - here are your reminders to get you on track for tonight and on into tomorrow.
AP English IV
Students, tonight you are going to want to begin studying for your first unit exam on short stories and poetry. The test will be structured with two timed writings (one poetry explication, one prose explication) as well as several brief identifications from the stories and poems we've read. To prepare for this, I would begin by reviewing your notes (or the stories if you don't take good notes) as well as your writing strategies for completing an explication. Next class we will look at some sample prompts and responses in order to determine strategies which lead to a higher scoring paper. Bring any questions which you may have.
Also, we will soon start our study of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. If you would like your own copy, go ahead and get one.
AP English III
Tonight for homework you have a few tasks, I'm also going to speak about some long-term things we have going on to alleviate some confusion in the air. You have two main goals for tonight: FIRST - you need to complete the questions using the sample texts. These questions can be completed as notes for right now as long as you realize that with the final writing assignment you will submit complete sentences. SECOND - you need to be drafting your term paper. Your draft workshop will be on the 19th and 20th of February. I expect that you will all have a draft to work with on that date. I know that many of you want to see me this week to conference, so I've given you a bit more time for drafting.
Beyond this, you should also begin to construct your editorial based on the documents we looked at today in class. You may want to wait until after next class to complete this writing assignment as we will begin talking about what a synthesis assignment does next class. No matter when you start - your editorials will be due on the 21st and 22nd of February along with your completed answers.
Finally, if you haven't already finished The Crucible - make sure that you do so. We'll wrap up our work with this text soon and move forward!
English IV
Based on your work today in class you should have finished your proposal for your research project - continue to research tonight and build up your knowledge on your topic. We'll look at this project more next class.
AP English IV
Students, tonight you are going to want to begin studying for your first unit exam on short stories and poetry. The test will be structured with two timed writings (one poetry explication, one prose explication) as well as several brief identifications from the stories and poems we've read. To prepare for this, I would begin by reviewing your notes (or the stories if you don't take good notes) as well as your writing strategies for completing an explication. Next class we will look at some sample prompts and responses in order to determine strategies which lead to a higher scoring paper. Bring any questions which you may have.
Also, we will soon start our study of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. If you would like your own copy, go ahead and get one.
AP English III
Tonight for homework you have a few tasks, I'm also going to speak about some long-term things we have going on to alleviate some confusion in the air. You have two main goals for tonight: FIRST - you need to complete the questions using the sample texts. These questions can be completed as notes for right now as long as you realize that with the final writing assignment you will submit complete sentences. SECOND - you need to be drafting your term paper. Your draft workshop will be on the 19th and 20th of February. I expect that you will all have a draft to work with on that date. I know that many of you want to see me this week to conference, so I've given you a bit more time for drafting.
Beyond this, you should also begin to construct your editorial based on the documents we looked at today in class. You may want to wait until after next class to complete this writing assignment as we will begin talking about what a synthesis assignment does next class. No matter when you start - your editorials will be due on the 21st and 22nd of February along with your completed answers.
Finally, if you haven't already finished The Crucible - make sure that you do so. We'll wrap up our work with this text soon and move forward!
English IV
Based on your work today in class you should have finished your proposal for your research project - continue to research tonight and build up your knowledge on your topic. We'll look at this project more next class.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Homework for the Weekend and Monday - 2/8 and 2/11
Students - Here are your reminders/announcements for the weekend or Monday. Whichever you see fit.
AP English IV
This weekend you're reading John Updike's "A&P" as our final story in our short stories and poetry unit. You also may find it useful to begin preparing for your final exam in this unit by reviewing the other texts that we've studied. More information coming on your test soon.
AP English III
You all need to finish the reading of The Crucible this weekend as well as devote some time to your papers. My suggestion with your papers is that you spend the time on your outline so that the actual body of the paper is much easier to compose. Put your time in the beginning so that the ending goes more smoothly. Several of you have started to conference with me, I invite more of you to do that too!
English IV
No homework this weekend - if Jupiter Grades indicates a missing assignment for you then you will want to spend this time getting that made up.
AP English IV
This weekend you're reading John Updike's "A&P" as our final story in our short stories and poetry unit. You also may find it useful to begin preparing for your final exam in this unit by reviewing the other texts that we've studied. More information coming on your test soon.
AP English III
You all need to finish the reading of The Crucible this weekend as well as devote some time to your papers. My suggestion with your papers is that you spend the time on your outline so that the actual body of the paper is much easier to compose. Put your time in the beginning so that the ending goes more smoothly. Several of you have started to conference with me, I invite more of you to do that too!
English IV
No homework this weekend - if Jupiter Grades indicates a missing assignment for you then you will want to spend this time getting that made up.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Homework for 2/6 and 2/7
Here are your reminders for tonight. I'm not going to be here for the B-day classes - so if any of you have any specific questions please be sure to e-mail me or see me on Friday.
AP English IV
Next class we are going to take a full length AP Multiple Choice exam. To prepare for this, I would recommend that you spend time taking a look at our previous practice sets to look over question types and the reasons why you got questions wrong before. You'll have sixty minutes to complete this in class on Friday - come prepared.
Also, you'll need to read Wilfred Owens' "Anthem for Doomed Youth" - it's our bridge text to our final short story in this unit.
AP English III
You all are also going to have a full length AP Multiple Choice exam next class. You've had a lot of practice sets, so be sure that you use those to review. Look at question types, review your terms and tone words, and be sure that you're always thinking! Outside of this you need to put in some good work on your essay outlines. I would like to remind you that next week is still open for conferences and toward the end of next week you should have at least half of your draft done. Work hard, ask for help if you need it.
English IV
You all tested today, so no homework tonight. We'll continue with Act II next class, it's just going to get zanier from here!
Freshman Focus
With the news article you all read in class today with the substitute you have a reflection to complete for homework. Please make sure that you follow those guidelines on the assignment so that you get full credit for this assignment. Have it ready to turn in on Monday!
AP English IV
Next class we are going to take a full length AP Multiple Choice exam. To prepare for this, I would recommend that you spend time taking a look at our previous practice sets to look over question types and the reasons why you got questions wrong before. You'll have sixty minutes to complete this in class on Friday - come prepared.
Also, you'll need to read Wilfred Owens' "Anthem for Doomed Youth" - it's our bridge text to our final short story in this unit.
AP English III
You all are also going to have a full length AP Multiple Choice exam next class. You've had a lot of practice sets, so be sure that you use those to review. Look at question types, review your terms and tone words, and be sure that you're always thinking! Outside of this you need to put in some good work on your essay outlines. I would like to remind you that next week is still open for conferences and toward the end of next week you should have at least half of your draft done. Work hard, ask for help if you need it.
English IV
You all tested today, so no homework tonight. We'll continue with Act II next class, it's just going to get zanier from here!
Freshman Focus
With the news article you all read in class today with the substitute you have a reflection to complete for homework. Please make sure that you follow those guidelines on the assignment so that you get full credit for this assignment. Have it ready to turn in on Monday!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Homework for 2/4 and 2/5
Students - Here are your assignments or reminders for tonight. Be aware that I will not be in on Thursday due to the fact that I'll be at the North Carolina State Swimming Championship. You'll have a substitute who will take you through your assignments for the day.
AP English IV
Tonight for homework you've got a good amount of reading to do, let me outline that for you here. First, you need to finish reading Graham Greene's "The Destructors" - you have chapters two, three, and four left. When you finish the story, consider questions three, four, five, six and eight. I'm hoping that these will be discussion questions for us to work through in class on Wednesday. Furthermore, I would like for you to also read Hopkins' "Spring" and Heaney's "Digging" available in the Perrine book.
Finally, as a spot check, I will be looking at vocabulary logs on Wednesday. Please make sure that you have a few words from each of the texts that has been assigned so far and that you have defined or marked synonyms for all of those words. Be sure that your finished log is with you on Wednesday to be checked.
AP English III
Tonight I would like for you to read George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" which is available in 50 Essays or at the following link. When you read this piece I want you to think about the ideas of conformity, free will, and power which Orwell works through pretty thoroughly in this text. We'll do some analysis, multiple choice work, and some connection building between this text and The Crucible. Any connections you can make in advance would be welcome.
Furthermore, you should review Act III so that you are clear with that content. We will study this act next class by looking at the film - lots to do there. Lastly, please make sure that you are working on your papers/outlines. This week should be the week for outlines, by the end of next week, you will want to be to drafting. Please let me know if you need help or if you would like to conference.
English IV
Next class you have a test on Act I of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Here is a rundown of what you will need to do in each section of the test:
AP English IV
Tonight for homework you've got a good amount of reading to do, let me outline that for you here. First, you need to finish reading Graham Greene's "The Destructors" - you have chapters two, three, and four left. When you finish the story, consider questions three, four, five, six and eight. I'm hoping that these will be discussion questions for us to work through in class on Wednesday. Furthermore, I would like for you to also read Hopkins' "Spring" and Heaney's "Digging" available in the Perrine book.
Finally, as a spot check, I will be looking at vocabulary logs on Wednesday. Please make sure that you have a few words from each of the texts that has been assigned so far and that you have defined or marked synonyms for all of those words. Be sure that your finished log is with you on Wednesday to be checked.
AP English III
Tonight I would like for you to read George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" which is available in 50 Essays or at the following link. When you read this piece I want you to think about the ideas of conformity, free will, and power which Orwell works through pretty thoroughly in this text. We'll do some analysis, multiple choice work, and some connection building between this text and The Crucible. Any connections you can make in advance would be welcome.
Furthermore, you should review Act III so that you are clear with that content. We will study this act next class by looking at the film - lots to do there. Lastly, please make sure that you are working on your papers/outlines. This week should be the week for outlines, by the end of next week, you will want to be to drafting. Please let me know if you need help or if you would like to conference.
English IV
Next class you have a test on Act I of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Here is a rundown of what you will need to do in each section of the test:
- Section One: Character identifications - know characteristics, behaviors, and names of characters, know their conflicts, understand their importance.
- Section Two: Translation - be able to put Shakespeare's language into your own words so that you can show me you know what he's saying.
- Section Three: Reading Comprehension - you'll get a bit of text from Act I, Scene 5 and I will ask you several reading comprehension questions based on that text.
- Section Four: Grammar Corrections
- Section Five: Short Answer - the topics will be comedy and love - you will need to use textual evidence to make your answer clear.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
AP English III Students - Announcement
If you have not yet taken _The Crucible_ Act I and II Quest, then you need to make an arrangement to make this up. I would prefer you stay after school on Monday to finish the assessment. Please email me or see me tomorrow.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Homework for the Weekend 1/31 and 2/1
Sorry for not posting the announcements and reminders yesterday. I had meetings during my planning and after school, so this just slipped my mind. Here are your reminders to prepare for the weekend.
AP English IV
Over the weekend your main priority is to complete your poetry projects, which will be submitted to me on Monday. During Monday's class, each of you will come to the front to present your memorized poem - as a class we will clap - you'll then turn in your work and we'll go from there. The rest of class will be spent doing a read aloud/think aloud of another short story, so Monday will be a pretty relaxed day.
AP English III
This weekend you have two main things to occupy your time. First, you need to read Act III of The Crucible. This is the climax of the play and also provides a lot of important development of key motifs and ideas that we've seen Miller establish in the first two acts of the play. Remember to add to your annotations and start to notice how particular characters are changing. Be sure that you note why they change, to and from what they change, and if that change is particularly significant.
Besides reading you should also be working on your outlines. Now that you have my feedback on your proposals you should begin fine tuning your argument and finding your specific textual support which you will use in your essay. I fully expect that next week you will all want to begin conferring with me about your papers and your outlines -- be sure that before you come in to meet me that you have completed a full outline with citations and that you are coming with questions.
English IV
You have no official homework this weekend but you will want to start to prepare for your test on Act I of Twelfth Night. I would focus this weekend on studying characters and what we have learned about them thus far. If you missed any reading in class I would get those notes from me or from a classmate so that you can begin to prepare.
Freshman Focus
You have no homework this weekend.
AP English IV
Over the weekend your main priority is to complete your poetry projects, which will be submitted to me on Monday. During Monday's class, each of you will come to the front to present your memorized poem - as a class we will clap - you'll then turn in your work and we'll go from there. The rest of class will be spent doing a read aloud/think aloud of another short story, so Monday will be a pretty relaxed day.
AP English III
This weekend you have two main things to occupy your time. First, you need to read Act III of The Crucible. This is the climax of the play and also provides a lot of important development of key motifs and ideas that we've seen Miller establish in the first two acts of the play. Remember to add to your annotations and start to notice how particular characters are changing. Be sure that you note why they change, to and from what they change, and if that change is particularly significant.
Besides reading you should also be working on your outlines. Now that you have my feedback on your proposals you should begin fine tuning your argument and finding your specific textual support which you will use in your essay. I fully expect that next week you will all want to begin conferring with me about your papers and your outlines -- be sure that before you come in to meet me that you have completed a full outline with citations and that you are coming with questions.
English IV
You have no official homework this weekend but you will want to start to prepare for your test on Act I of Twelfth Night. I would focus this weekend on studying characters and what we have learned about them thus far. If you missed any reading in class I would get those notes from me or from a classmate so that you can begin to prepare.
Freshman Focus
You have no homework this weekend.
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