Homework and Announcements - 8/28

AP English III

Apologies for not getting to the peer editing of our introduction pieces today in class.  I just got so caught up with "On Compassion" and the elements of RHETORIC that I lost all track of time.  For next class you will definitely want to arrive with a complete version of your rough draft.  I'll be available next week for conferencing if you would like.  In addition, I would like for you to complete the multiple choice practice for "On Compassion" - give yourselves just ten minutes to complete the questions.  It is open book, so use the text.  In addition, be sure that you mark any words that are new to you so that you can begin your vocabulary logs. 

Lastly, I want you to reread the Introduction and the chapter called "Harvest of Shame" from The Working Poor.  As you reread and reannotate these pieces I would ask that you apply what we learned today in class about the rhetorical appeals:  How do you see ethos, pathos, and logos at play in Shipler's writing?  How does this help to make his argument more effective?

Russian I

At this point in class we have reviewed letters in groups one, two and three.  You now know the majority of the alphabet.  Next class we will finish with our alphabet study and begin working on writing words.  Tonight for homework I would like for you to complete the "Pre Lesson" handout to improve your handwriting.  As you write, make sure to fill the line with the writing and also be sure that you are saying the letters, sounds and words as you write them.  Saying as you write will help you to remember the sounds. 

As a head's up - be aware that you will have your first quiz at the end of next week on the alphabet.  Prepare yourselves accordingly.

Weekend Homework - 12/10

Seniors:

I'm not giving you any reading this weekend in the hopes that you will use this time to get a lot done with your Great Expectations websites. I'll be checking in on these over the weekend - watching just like Big Brother. Please let me know of any problems or concerns as soon as they occur so that we can deal with them.

Next week we will finish Act III of Hamlet. I'll be giving you a lot of work back on Monday including your paper topics and your Act I tests. There are a lot of interesting ideas floating around in the malestrom that is Honors English IV - I'm happy to see you all really wrestling with these.

Freshmen:

On Tuesday/Wednesday you will have your exam on the first five chapters of A Separate Peace. Don't forget also that your rough drafts of your essays are due on Thursday/Friday. Use the feedback that I gave you on your first paragraphs to complete the rest of your papers. If you need help, please come and see me Monday afternoon during study hall.

Quick note: The chapter five worksheet asks about the conversation between Gene and Finny on page fifty-seven. This is the conversation that the two boys have while they are in the hospital, before Finny leaves Devon School.

Weekend Post - Seniors

I wanted to start off by sharing a really funny grammar link with you. It's the story of "ALOT" - I think it's hilarious. I invite you to read it.

Seniors:

Your mock-up is due by Sunday. There doesn't need to be content, but you should have the frame up; also, be sure that I and your group can edit the site. You should be done reading Great Expectations - I invite those of you mulling over the end of this book to see me and discuss. There are a lot of really good papers in there and interesting ideas to work out. On Monday you will have your test on Act I of Hamlet. The test will focus on characters, the introductory notes, motifs, and you will be asked to read and analyze an excerpt. The excerpt is one that we have discussed in class. You even saw one of them today in the film.

Today in class I gave you a reading/annotation guide for Act II. Use this to guide you to some of the larger ideas that are being worked out in the play. Feel free to add your own annotations. I do enjoy when you all bring me new points to consider when discussing the text. We will not discuss Act II until Tuesday. But I thought that some of you may want to start now.

Lastly, as we begin moving toward the end of the year I remind you that you will have a final paper on Hamlet. It will be from the ABC option sheet. Remember that you cannot repeat the same project from our study of 1984. I'll be asking you for paper topics before we leave for Winter Break. Those of you graduating early, this is required of you.

Reminders

I don't really see the point of posting the homework for tonight. I'm just going to remind everyone that you all have something major coming up.

Seniors, you have your Great Expectations websites. As of now I've seen two mock-ups. This is one of your last major grades in the class. Make sure that it gets the time and attention that it deserves. Please see me for any help with this. The last major grade that you will have is your Hamlet paper. You may want to begin thinking about a topic and planning now. Some of you were interested in the eight to ten page option - you will want to especially come see me in developing a topic.

I'm in the midst of your poetry explications. I'll have these back to you on Monday. We will be having a Act I test on Monday. Think about characters - this will be a large portion of the exam. Also, go back and review the opening notes; that content will also be there. You will also have an annotation/writing portion based on a passage from Act I. Some important hints about which passages will be revealed tomorrow in class as we watch the film. We will first finish Act I, Scene 5 and discuss some of the big ideas that Shakespeare is establishing - motifs, symbols, themes, and such...

Freshmen, you've got your first essays. Progress reports will go out next week; once I have your Benchmark scores. As you are working on your essay assignment, please come and see me to look at drafts or for extra help. I've got time on Friday afternoon as well as Monday.

Lastly, I get the feeling that some of you may be behind in your reading. Let me be clear and state that by Monday/Tuesday - I expect that you will have read to the end of chapter four and kept up with your vocabulary bookmark assignment.

That's all - one week down, two to go til Winter Break.

English IV Group Project

Project Example

I couldn't find the mockup, so I'm reposting it here.

Homework over Thanksgiving Break

A-day Freshmen:

Over the break you'll need to read chapter three of A Separate Peace. Make sure that as you read you keep up with your vocabulary. We will have a vocabulary check in the coming days.

B-day Freshmen:

Over break you'll need to finish reading chapter two. Please keep up with the vocabulary assignment.

All Freshmen: You will have your first benchmark exam on December 2nd and 3rd. Feel free to review your grammar warm-ups and grammar notes as well as important literary devices. Don't spend a lot of time studying; I want to see what you know and where you don't understand things.

Seniors:

Over the break you should make it a priority to finish reading Great Expectations. You've got fourteen chapters left in the text to finish Book Three. If you don't finish it over break, you'll want to finish it in the week that we begin Hamlet, after break. Also, over break, you'll want to get your copy of Hamlet. You can get just the Shakespearean version, but I recommend the No Fear Shakespeare - it will help with understanding the plot!

Everyone! Have a great Thanksgiving! Eat lots of food!

Homework - 11/22

Seniors:

Tonight you should be able to finish reading book two of Great Expectations. Tomorrow we're going to finish reviewing some of the main concepts from book two to give you some things to think about as you finish reading Great Expecations on your own.

Also, when we get back from break we will begin studying Hamlet. I would recommend buying a copy of No-Fear Shakespeare Hamlet - this will provide a great aid to help you understand Shakespeare's language.

Freshmen:

You should finish reading chapter two of A Separate Peace. Be ready for good discussion tomorrow!

Weekend Homework - 11/19

Freshmen (A-day):

This weekend you need to read chapter two of A Separate Peace. As you read, be sure that you're keeping up with the vocabulary bookmark assignment. Jot down the words that are new to you with the page number, after you complete the reading assignment, look up the word and - on the bookmark - write a personal, one or two word definition of the new word. Reading is important because it builds vocabulary!

Also, as you read, pay attention to the ideas that we're raising in the class discussions. Especially in this opening bit of the text you want to really pay attention to the characters of Gene and Finny. Their similarities, their differences, and the relationship between them.

Freshmen (B-day): You've got to finish reading chapter one. Don't forget about the vocabulary bookmark.

Seniors:

You've got memorized poems to present on Monday and Tuesday. This should be your priority for the weekend. As I suggested earlier, try recording the poem and then listen to it again and again. Another good memorization technique is to write the poem again and again until you've literally etched it into your mind. We're also going to get back into discussing Great Expectations in these last two classes before we leave for Thanksgiving break. On Monday we'll be discussing chapters thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-two. Be prepared to discuss areas of these chapters in some depth on Monday.

Lastly - all of you come to the game tonight! HUP FALCONS!!!!

Homework - 11/18

Seniors:

For tonight make sure that you get your vocabulary cards taken care of. I will be collecting these from you tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll also have a timed writing on poetry. Try to use some of the things that we've been talking about lately in class about writing for tomorrow. Also, think about the sample essays that we analyzed today in class. Be more like a nine, and less like a two.

Lastly, you should be reading two chapters of Great Expecations each night. Tonight you'll need to read chapters thirty-four and thirty-five. I know that some of you are behind, please take the weekend to get yourself caught up. Don't forget about memorized poems on Monday and Tuesday.

Freshmen:

Tonight you all need to finish reading chapter one of A Separate Peace. As you're reading, continue to pay attention to your vocabulary bookmark assignment as well as your motif and character lists. Note important quotations as you read as well to bring up in the class discussion.

See you all tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Homework - 11/15

Seniors:

Tonight for homework you have to read chapter twenty-nine. The story is beginning a bit of a turn. Pay attention to Estella very carefully in the chapter. We'll work on understanding key areas of the text tomorrow in class. Come with good annotations.

Also, don't forget that you have your dramatic presentations on Wednesday and Thursday. Feel free to see me in the morning or during lunch to get some extra help on this. The key here is tone. Also, be sure that you're fluency is high. You shouldn't stumble through.

Lastly, think about your writing skills. We're working on our final push for writing. If there are specific skills you really would like to focus on here at the end - please raise those during these next few days.

Freshmen:

Tonight you will begin reading A Separate Peace. One of the biggest downfalls of this novel is the opening. It's dry. And it takes a bit of opening up to really get into the text. Remember the importance of narrator and setting. Knowles has got to establish these things before the story can continue. For tonight, read in chapter one up until the point when Gene goes back in time. You should recognize this moment fairly easily.

As you read, make sure that you keep track of your motif list on the back cover, your character list on the front cover, and your vocabulary bookmark. These are meant to be done as you read. Wednesday/Thursday, we will begin talking about annotations.

Lastly, don't forget about outlines.

To all of you:

Enjoy the reading! As always, ask questions if you have them.

Seniors - Reminders

https://sites.google.com/site/dickensprojectmockup/home

Just reminding you of the mock-up for the Dickens project. We'll probably go to the computer lab sometime next week to set up the templates and do a bit of training with Google sites.

On the topic of Google, how many of you haven't been able to access your gmail accounts on the school computers? I was noticing this with a few people today, and it really held back the activity.

Handing back annotations for you on Friday. We'll spend some time discussing those then; overall, you all did very well.

Hope that you enjoy meeting Bentley...

Senior Homework - 11/9

Tonight I'd like for you to continue forward in Great Expectations. Read chapters twenty-three and twenty-four tonight and annotate those chapters. Try to notice how Dickens is building on certain themes - especially the ideas of being a gentleman, the city of London, and the ideas of friendship. Also, pay attention to family and how we begin to pay attention to the family structure with the Pockets.

Tomorrow, I'm going to be sharing your final project on Dickens and Great Expectations - I'm putting you in groups for this assignment and will have you build a website. This assignment will also count as your major paper for Great Expectations. But more on that tomorrow...

Great Expectations - Jaggers...Devil...Anti-Semitism

Totally just noticed that the Jew in chapter twenty calls Jaggers "Holy father." Now remember the thing about Jaggers being the Devil and you've got some extreme crazy stuff going on.

Would make a really good paper.