Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 10/31/2013

AP English III

For the weekend you have two key priorities - First, you should finish reading and annotating The Great Gatsby.  As you finish make sure that you go back to your covers especially and fill in any blanks about the meanings of symbols or develop your motifs into more complete theme/argument statements that Fitzgerald is presenting through the text.  Second, you will need to complete the planning sheet and the analysis for Woolf and Petrunkevitch.  Remember the advice I gave you today in class about your organization of this assignment as well as your argument that you will present.

Lastly, you have your final project and your group for The Great Gatsby skits.  Over the weekend you don't need to put in any work on these as you'll have approximately half of the class on Monday to work on this.  I would perhaps set up a Google Doc to work on the script and make sure that you and your groupmates are starting to divide the work so that you can conquer it.

Russian I

This weekend I want you to work with your vocabulary.  You are to write ten complete sentences using a variety of verbs and vocabulary from unit one.  Use your vocabulary sheets.  Use only the verbs you can conjugate.  Do not use any sort of translator software - use of this is a violation of the honor code and will earn you no credit for this assignment.  Remember that I'm available both Thursday (today) and Friday (tomorrow ) after school for help.

Homework for B-Day Students

Honors English II

Tonight for homework you'll read the chapter "By the River" from Siddhartha.  As you read, I want you to take notes on four key ideas:  self, suffering, cycles, and changes.  I would suggest that you divide a piece of paper into four areas and then make notes of quotes, paraphrases, moments, and scenes as you read.  Once you finish the reading you should then analyze your findings to discover some of the connections between these ideas.  You'll find something really interesting if you look closely enough.

Your Siddhartha projects will be due on the 14th of November.  Your final exam on the book will happen on the 12th.  Be prepared for both.

ESL English III

No homework tonight.  Next class there will be a lot of independent working time.  Be prepared for that!

Homework for AP English III and Russian I

AP English III

Tonight for homework I'd like for you to complete the reading of A. Petrunkevitch's "The Spider and the Wasp" and complete your note sheet for this and Woolf.  The Petrunkevitch piece is available at this link.  We will be working through Woolf next class and go over how to draft this type of tone analysis assignment.  Please make sure that your note sheet is finished as it will be useful in our notes and walk-through of the writing assignment.  I will not be assigning a chapter of The Great Gatsby tonight but your next assignment will have you finish the book.  You may want to get ahead a bit.

Remember that your tone assignments on Woolf/Petrunkevitch will be collected on 11/4.  Your Gatsby projects will be due on 11/13.  This is the same day your take-home tests on Gatsby will be due.

Russian I

Tonight please complete the homework sheet.  Do exercises seven through ten, and fifteen through sixteen.  Complete all work on your own paper.  Remember to be studying and reviewing your verb conjugation rules as well as your vocabulary notes.

Status Check

Students:

At this point grades are finalized for all classes except for AP English III since I have essay revisions to read this weekend.  I'll have everything done no later than 9:00 am on Monday.  If you are still needing to make up an assignment or turn something in I better see you at my classroom door on Monday morning at 8:00 when I arrive.

Enjoy the weekend!

Homework for the Long Weekend - All Classes

As I "grade my face off" this weekend and finish your finish your scores for the first quarter, you all get a bit of time to relax.

Russian I and ESL English III

There's no homework this weekend.

Russian I Students - I would spend some time this weekend staying up with your language skills.  Remember that a bit of Russian every day is helpful.  Listen to some Russian music on youtube.com and follow along with the lyrics.  Test your comprehension and speaking.  Next week we will be continuing on with cases, especially and moving in to verbs.  Be prepared and for those of you struggling, it's time to come in and work extra hard.  Remember that I'm free most lunches and after school.

Honors English II

Reread "Among the People" and "Samsara" to be prepared for Wednesday's class.  Also put in some work on your projects!  The due date will be announced on Wednesday.

AP English III

This weekend you have some reading to do.  Read and annotate chapter seven of The Great Gatsby.  As you read, continue to draw connections to motifs and symbols.  At this point in the novel you should be able to make some conclusions about the meaning of some of these symbols.  Also, I want you to read Virginia Woolf's "The Death of the Moth."  The article is available in 50 Essays or at this link.  As you read this piece, know that it is in a rhetorical mode called "process analysis."  We will work on this piece over several classes as it is quite beautiful and has some interesting Gatsby connections.  Read and annotate.  Always!

Homework for B-Day Students: 10/23/2013

Honors English II

On Friday you will have your final exam on chapters one through four of Siddhartha.  Please make sure that you take your time and prepare for this exam.  You will have multiple choice and true/false questions related to:

• plot and characters from chapters one through four
• notes and ideas from the poem "Night" which you read with the substitute
• opening PowerPoint information on Hinduism, Buddhism and Hesse's life

There will be short answer questions which are derived from your study guide which you had last class, please make sure to review those ideas.  Also you will have quotes.  You'll need to tell me the speaker of the quotation, the context, and analyze the quote to show its importance to the overall narrative.

I look forward to seeing what you produce.

ESL English III

Please respond to the following question in a clear paragraph.  Try to follow the rules for good writing as you create this response:

At the end of chapter three we see that Annemarie begins to mature as a character due to what is happening in her country.  Describe a moment in your life which caused you to mature as a person.  How did this event affect you?  How did it encourage your growth?

Homework for A-Day Students: 10/22/2013

AP English III

Today in class we did a lot of work on our cover annotations and then in that close reading of the passage from chapter four.  Remember as we complete close readings and things of that nature that I am modeling for you how to approach this text.  Try to incorporate some of these same skills into your practice as a reader.  For tonight, you should read and annotate chapters five and six.  Also, I will be checking vocabulary on Thursday.  Make sure that you have at least ten words from The Great Gatsby as well as your definitions and such.

Russian I

You have an exam on Thursday/Friday.  We reviewed today in class.  Be ready!

Homework for the Weekend - 10/18/2013

AP English III

Over the weekend you need to read and annotate chapter four of The Great Gatsby.  Chapter four is essentially the half-way point of the novel.  This provides you an excellent chance to check in with your cover annotations to record important topics and motifs as well as going through your characters and checking in on them.  Make sure that you've also been collecting vocabulary, it's not terribly elevated in this text, but there are some great words that Fitzgerald uses for very specific purposes.

Also, feel proud of yourselves, you've done your first timed writing.  We'll continue doing these throughout the year!  So know that they're not going anywhere.

Lastly, this weekend gives you your final weekend before the end of the grading period.  Make sure that you have your essay revision ready to go, many of you are getting on my calendar - be sure to not wait on this!

Russian I

This weekend you have no homework officially but you should spend this time by going through your assignments, especially your homework, to make sure that everything is complete.  The final sheet I gave you today (or the substitute gave) is a great review of the possessive pronouns and the possessive interrogative.  Do these exercises.  Make sure to go through your notes and assignments to generate questions.  Tuesday/Wednesday will be our review day before the exam.  Be prepared!

Remember that I won't be in on Monday - I'll see everyone on Tuesday!

Homework for the Weekend - B Day Students - 10/17

Students of B-day.  Remember that I will not be here with you on Monday due to the fact that I will be working on a project for Durham Public Schools.  Don't fret.  You'll have plenty of independent work to do with your substitute.  Here are your notes to take you through the weekend.

Honors English II

Over the weekend you should read the chapters "Among the People" and "Samsara" from Siddhartha.  As you read, you are not required to take notes, but I would recommend that you do continue to take notes as it makes you a stronger reader.  In addition, I gave you today your final project on Siddhartha.  You may want to spend some time this weekend working and brainstorming about that project.  The due date will likely be the first full week of November, be prepared.

Lastly, you have two tests coming next week.  The first, on Wednesday, will be a district assessment.  This test is not for a grade but is meant to show me how prepared you are for our final EOC.  Please do not study for this exam; I want to see your raw skills at this point in the year.  Your test on Friday will cover part one of Siddhartha, chapters one through four.  On Monday I will have a study guide for you all to work on which will prepare you for this exam.

ESL English III

This weekend you should complete your quiz corrections on section one of your quiz.  Remember to redo the questions you missed on a separate sheet of paper and then submit that to Ms. Gillen on Monday, after lunch.

On Monday you will continue working on Number the Stars and move into chapter two on your own.

Homework for AP English and Russian I - 10/16

AP English III

This post is extremely important for those of you who were not in class today due to PSAT testing.  Today in class we discussed "The Ways We Lie" by Stephanie Ericsson.  As we discussed this piece, we focused on the following topics; please be sure that you go through the piece and analyze or consider these topics.  Remember that being absent does not excuse you from the content we cover in class.  Topics of discussion were:

• the structure and organization of her argument
• the argument she presents about human nature and lies as well as the pervasiveness of lies
• the use of irony and anecdote as rhetorical devices in her argument
• the mixing of rhetorical modes, especially definition and exemplification
• connecting the different types of lies to the main characters in The Great Gatsby (consider society as a character and the lies in which society is complicit)

If you are confused about these topics or would like to discuss further please make a note to raise a question on Friday as we will finish up on this piece then.  Outside of our analysis of this article we watched some clips of The Great Gatsby (2013) in order to better understand the characters, especially Daisy.

For homework:  Prepare for your timed writing assignment.  You will have an argumentative essay on Friday.  Prepare by reviewing your bootcamp notes.  Remember that this is your chance to show off everything that you've learned so far this quarter.  Show me how you've grown!  Also, be sure to read and annotate chapter four of The Great Gatsby.  This isn't really a priority until Tuesday's class as the timed writing and finishing up of "The Ways We Lie" will take most of our time on Friday.

Lastly - remember that next week is the last week of the grading period.  All revised essays and any other aspects of the summer assignment are due no later than 3:30 pm on Friday, October 25th.  No extensions will be granted.  Prepare accordingly.

Russian I:

Tonight for homework you have several exercises to complete to practice work on possessive and subject pronouns as well as the possessive interrogative.  Remember the concept of gender as you work through these exercises as we are really reviewing gender on this assignment.  Here are your notes for each exercise:

• Exercise 51 and 52:  Just fill in the blanks - You do not need to rewrite the sentences or answer the questions in 52 - just fill in the blanks.
• Exercise 53:  Organize the nouns based on the gender.  For soft sign nouns, use your vocabulary list.
• Exercise 54:  Pronoun replacement.  Fill in the blanks with the appropriate subject pronoun.
• Exercise 85:  Answer the questions using possessive pronouns.  Make sure to change the possessive pronoun from the question to an appropriate and logical answer.
• Exercise 86:  Write the proper form of the possessive interrogative (whose) based on the gender at use in each question.  You do not need to write whole questions if you do not choose to.
• Exercise 87:  Fill in the blanks with a variety of possessive pronouns.
• Exercise 88:  Use the possessive interrogative to ask questions about the words in the sentences.

Remember to do this work on your own paper and see me for additional help if you need it.  We will not review this assignment as we did today with cases.

Homework for B-Day Students: 10/15/2013

Honors English II

Tonight you have two chapters of Siddhartha to read "The Awakening" and "Kamala".  As you read through "The Awakening" keep track of the following ideas -- transformations, paradox of unity, vision, and epiphanies.  You may want to make some notes about these ideas as we go through since that will lead you to a fuller reading experience.  In chapter five, "Kamala" you will need to take notes as part of your reading experience.  You should take notes on the ideas of symbolism (consider Kamala as a symbol as well as the things associated with her), the moments when Siddhartha finds himself (what are these moments?  why can't he hold on to these moments?), and finally the changes that Siddhartha is undergoing.

I look forward to another super productive day on Thursday.  Today's discussion was wonderful, but I do want to stress to all of you to participate more, especially if you were silent during your inside circle work.  Remember that asking questions and further developing a classmate's opinion works.  Be active.  Be engaged!

ESL English III

No homework tonight since we didn't finish our reading of chapter one.  Next class we will have finished that reading and you will need to do some writing for me over the weekend.  Look forward to this!

Homework for A-Day Students: 10/14/2013

AP English III

Next class is going to be a bit strange with so many of you taking the PSAT.  I still want you to complete the reading of "The Ways We Lie" and have that ready for Wednesday if you are in class or not.  The link to the article is available in the previous post for the weekend.  We will likely continue to analyze and discuss some moments from chapters one through three.  We will probably watch a bit of the film too so that we can analyze some of the visuals from the text.

On Friday you will have your first timed writing assignment.  It will be an argumentative piece.  Please make sure to review your notes on writing and argumentation as this will be the way that you show me what you can do and what you've learned.

Russian I

Tonight for homework I want you to continue working on case identification and changes.  Please complete both sides of the worksheet.  On side one you are identifying the case used in the underlined portion.  Remember to identify each underlined portion.  On the second side you are then applying that case to the word.  Remember what we did in class today.  Use your notes and apply the changes accurately.  We will review this next class.

Weekend Homework - A day and B day Students - 10/10 and 10/11

AP English III

This weekend your priority is to complete chapter three of The Great Gatsby.  As you are reading you need to continue to annotate and add to your cover notes on characters, topics, symbols, settings and motifs.  As we continue to discuss and draw out the patterns we see in the text, you should continue to look for these ideas and elements on your own.  Monday we will be focused solely on Gatsby.  If you would like to get ahead for Wednesday's class I would suggest that you also read "The Ways We Lie" by Stephanie Ericsson which is in 50 Essays or at this link.  As you read Ericsson's piece, connect the different lies back to the characters in the text.  How does this text give you a better understanding of what it truly means to tell a lie?

Russian I

This weekend you have no homework due to the fact that you had a quiz today or yesterday.  Please continue to study and learn on your own with this language.  I am still disappointed in the fact that some of you are not putting forth the effort required of you to be successful.  Many of you who are struggling are not completing homework assignments or coming to me for extra help.

Honors English II

This weekend everyone you need to read chapter three of Siddhartha.  This is when he will meet Buddha - the man who is enlightened.  Watch this scene carefully and consider how it continues Siddhartha's quest for knowledge and understanding of himself.  As you read you should be collecting vocabulary and defining that vocabulary.  I will be collecting your next vocabulary bookmark on Tuesday.  Have that ready!

Lastly, you have the opportunity this weekend to do test corrections on your multiple choice.  To earn back one half point for each question missed you need to turn in a sheet of paper on which you:

• write out the question that you missed with the correct answer
• explain why the answer is correct

Only assignments which do both parts will earn credit back.  Submit this with your original test.

ESL English III

Relax this weekend - you've taken your first test for me today and have done a lot of writing.  Enjoy the weekend and be ready to continue moving forward next week.

Homework for B-Day Students: 10/9/2013

Honors English II

Tonight for homework you need to read chapter two of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.  As you read you should continue to add to your character lists as well as your notes on topics, motifs, and symbols in the text.  Continue to pay attention to the relationship between Govinda and Siddhartha.  Lastly, as you read, make sure that you go through chapters one and two and add to your vocabulary lists.  I look forward to a very productive conversation on Friday about this opening of the text.

ESL English III

Your goal for tonight and tomorrow is to study for your first assessment on "A Taste of Home."  Remember to use your notes as your key resource for studying.  As you are studying your notes, make sure that you go back to the text and review the ideas in the story to pair your notes with your text.  We will start class on Friday with questions and then launch into the test.  Be ready!

Homework for A-Day Students: October 8th

AP English III

Tonight for homework you need to read to the end of chapter two in The Great Gatsby.  As you read, be sure to pay attention to motifs, characters, and symbols.  Try to make connections to our opening lecture as we worked through those topics so that you will start to see them within the text.  Be sure to also be adding to your vocabulary bookmarks -- now that we're doing novels you'll want to start keeping up with the vocabulary a lot more.

Here's the prompt for you to respond to as we go through to next class.  Please respond to this post by commenting on this post.  If you cannot comment, please submit your response via e-mail or on paper next class.

By the end of chapter two, whom do you consider to be the most immoral character?  Why?

Respond briefly to this, make sure that you're not simply parroting another classmate.  We can think the same person is immoral, but there should be a variety of reasons.

Russian I

Next class you will have your quiz on grammar and vocabulary.  In order to prepare for this quiz you should do the following:

1. Study and know your vocabulary list.  If you need another copy, come see me and get a textbook.
2. Be sure that you know your six cases as well as their function.  Studying your notes and your homework on cases would be helpful.
3. Be sure that your grammar exercises are complete.  These are useful in studying.  Be especially sure that you can replace your pronouns and nouns as well as distinguishing between КТО\ЧТО.
4. Be sure that you know how to make questions and answers both positive and negative.

If you know your notes and the grammar structures we've been using then you'll be in good shape.  Again, many of you have not come to see me so I assume that everything is okay.  Please see me if you need help!

Homework for B-Day Students: 10/07/2013

Honors English II:

For homework tonight I want you to build from our lecture today on Hinduism and Hesse's biography.  We'll be continuing these notes on Wednesday as we start reading Siddhartha on that day too.  Tonight, I want you to find a news article related to one of the different topics we touched on during our lecture today.  Once you've found the article, you'll need to post a comment in which you do the following:

1. Post the link for the article you've found.
2. State the main idea/argument of the article as a complete sentence.
3. Explain how the article connects to our lecture today.
4. State three facts you learned from reading the article.  

If you don't do this on the class website then you will need to bring a printout of your article as well as the answers to the three tasks.  There can be no repeat of an article, so make sure that you look at what others have posted before you submit yours.  Let me know if you have any questions about this.

ESL English III

Today we finished reading our first major text of the year "A Taste of Home."  On Friday you will have a quiz on this text.  For tonight, it would be in your best interest to begin studying and reviewing this story.  We will do a bit of a guided review on Wednesday after our time in the computer lab.  Come with questions to class on Wednesday so that you're prepared for Friday!

Homework for the Weekend - 10/04/2013

AP English III

You've just passed a major milestone - your first exam with me.  I hope that you felt prepared and confident as you went through your exam.  I look forward to reading your responses and working with you all as you continue to develop your composition skills.  I should get these tests to you by the end of next week.

For the weekend you have no homework.  Please make sure that you get yourselves a copy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and bring it with you to class on Tuesday.  Remember that a used copy is perfectly acceptable to me and there are several good used book stores in the area; my personal favorite is Nice Price Books on Broad Street, near East Campus.

Russian I

You are starting to now learn about one of the most challenging aspects in the entire Russian language - cases.  There is a steep learning curve here, but you will be able to comprehend this.  Remember that you should study and work with Russian nightly in order to conquer these blocks, and you can see me outside of class for extra help.

Tonight, I want you to apply your knowledge of cases to English with your bridge assignment.  Using the ten sentences, identify which case would be used in the underlined portions.  The number to the side indicates how many cases are at play in the sentence.  We will review this in class on Tuesday/Wednesday as part of our review for our quiz on Thursday/Friday.  Make sure that you spend time this weekend studying and internalizing your vocabulary as that will be a significant portion of your quiz.

Homework for B-Day Students: 10/3/2013

Honors English II

Today you took your first test for me.  I hope that you all felt prepared and that the test was not super difficult.  If you studied and felt as though your studying was not helpful, come and see me so that we can discuss some new strategies for you.

This weekend you have no homework.  Make sure that you have your copies of Siddhartha with you in class on Monday as we'll begin reading this text together on that day.

ESL English III

I was very pleased at the amount of work that we got done together in class today.  For the weekend you should continue to study your vocabulary.  Next week we will begin working on two major assignments.  Stay tuned for that!

Homework for A-Day Students: 10/2/2013

AP English III

Tonight you should make your priority studying for your first exam on Transcendentalism as it is reflected in the literature and non-fiction that we have read in this opening unit.  Remember that your focus texts for this exam are Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail", Thoreau's "Where I Lived and What I Lived For", and finally Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The Over Soul".  These texts will have specific questions asked of them, but you can then use the parallel texts to explain your ideas from these key texts.

Remember as you study that you will have four short answer questions on this exam.  You should consider your writing boot camp notes as you prepare for this exam as I will be looking for improvements in your clarity, argument, use and explanation of examples.  I look forward to seeing your growth so far!

Russian I

Tonight for homework you have several grammar exercises to complete.  You need to complete numbers one, two, three, and four based on our lesson today on pronouns, questions and answers.  Please write out all of your answers on a separate sheet of paper.  On the reverse, you should complete exercises six and half of exercise seven as you identify whether you use КТО or ЧТО to ask a question about those different nouns.

As well, continue to study your chapter one vocabulary.  I would expect a quiz soon!

Homework for B-Day Students - 10/1/2013

Honors English II

Next class you will be having your first exam with me which will cover all of the texts that we have read in this opening unit.  Take the review we accomplished today in class and continue to study and review.  Now that you know the sections of the test as well as how to accomplish each section, you should find an easy time of studying.  Tonight you should go through your notes and materials in order to prepare questions.  Remember that I will not answer questions twenty-four hours before a test; this requires that you prepare now and ask your questions in advance.

Study hard, especially the vocabulary and literary devices.  Remember to review your feedback on your writing as you will be graded more harshly on this in the test.  If you have been making consistent errors in your writing you will want to focus on those before Thursday's exam.

ESL English III

On Thursday we will finish up the vocabulary for this section of "A Taste of Home" as well as continue to work on the distinction between tone and mood.  I wanted to let you all know as well that you will be having a test, likely next week, on these different stories that we have read.  Make sure that you start studying now!