Homework for the Weekend - 10/14

A few things for all over the weekend and on into Tuesday/Wednesday of next week.  Review, prepare, finish the quarter strong.

AP English III:

Over the weekend you have one major thing to do - which is to study for your examination on Transcendentalism. As I stated in class today, portions of the multiple choice will be open book, but you won't be able to use your notes at all. You should still study those pieces thoroughly so that you use the book as a resource and not as a crutch. Half of your exam grade will be multiple choice and half will be short answer. There are four sections on the short answer, each with two questions, you will choose one question from each section to answer. Recall that these are not meant to be essays, but you may need more than just one paragraph to answer a few of these questions. If while you're studying you have questions, please e-mail me or leave me a comment in this thread so that I can get back to you as soon as possible.

Also, please get yourselves a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - we'll begin our study of this novel on Thursday/Friday. If you need me to get you a copy from the bookroom I will, but you will need to get some post-it notes so that you will be able to annotate in the text. I'm really looking forward to moving forward with all of you beyond the summer reading an on into the later portions of American literature.

Study hard, ask for help if you need it. I'll be here late on Monday if you'd like to come by and ask questions.

English I:

First, if you did not turn in your writing assignment to the box or in class be aware that you are losing points due to lateness.  This does count as a test grade. Make it a priority to get this turned in to me as soon as possible to lose as few points as possible. Over the weekend I would like for you to complete a creative writing assignment based on Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." Please rewrite one of the scenes in the novel, but instead of using Montressor's perspective as Poe does, tell it from Fortunato's perspective. The point here is that it's the same story, but a different viewpoint.  You should also review the story again and reread it.  There's a really neat song/video of the story that may help clarify the plot. Review it and then reread the story.  Remember to do the vocabulary, which this song doesn't really have...



Also, we're going to be wrapping up our unit on short stories soon. You would do well to start reviewing in preparation for your unit examination.  Remember, A games.

All:


You're getting progress reports next week.

Mad Props!

AP English III:

I'm glad that I can say this for all of you now - mad props to all of you! The past two classes have been absolutely fantastic; you've ripped apart a flawed argument and showed to me that you know how to do all of this stuff. I hope that Friday and Monday will be as good as today when we discuss the end of Grapes of Wrath and King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". Your assignment is in the previous post.

Homework - 10/11 and 10/13

Remember that this week we have a strange schedule. These assignments will be due on Friday for A-day students and not until next Monday for B-day students. B-day students will not have their normal class until Thursday as Wednesday's classes will only be about 30 minutes long.

AP English III:

First off, A-day kids, amazing job today. I can't begin to express how impressed I was. I'm looking forward to reading your journals and reflections and getting everything back to you by Friday/Monday. To prepare for our next class I want you to review a few chapters from Grapes of Wrath as we wrap up this unit on Transcendentalism. Please read an annotate chapters 19-21, 25-26, and 29-30. As you read and consider these chapters, try to look for links to Transcendentalism and any other ideas that we've been discussing.

Also, we will be having an exam on the 18th and 19th on Grapes of Wrath and Transcendentalism. In class on Friday/Monday I will give you more details about this test.

English I:

I would like for all of you to read the story "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe from the textbook. As you read, you will encounter a lot of vocabulary that may be new to you. I would like for you to complete a vocabulary log in your notes where you write down the word, the page number, a definition for the word, and then finall the part of speech. Please do this in your vocabulary section.

Also, don't forget that on Friday/Monday you will need to turn in your writing assignments and worksheets to the box. Remember that this assignment is counting as a test grade! Do your best and be sure to refer to your notes on writing to help you complete this assignment

Homework for the Weekend - 10/7 and 10/8

All classes have work to accomplish this weekend - B-day Freshmen will get this writing assignment on Monday. B-day AP students should take some time to read the King piece this weekend so that you're ready for next week.

AP English III:

All of you need to continue to reflect and improve on the writing instruction that we've started today. Remember, it's bootcamp! After today you should feel a lot more comfortable about thesis statements and what exactly a thesis should look like. Remember that we'll be building on all of these skills and then we'll culminate with an in-class essay so that I can see how you're doing with these skills.

Over the weekend keep living as a Transcendentalist. Remember that your journals and reflections will be due on Tuesday/Wednesday. We will discuss King in class on Tuesday for A-day and Thursday for B-day as Wednesday's class will only be about thirty minutes long.

English I:

Over the weekend you should begin your writing assignment on The Simpsons and "The Most Dangerous Game" - I'm including the link to the video clip here so that you can rewatch it if you need to. Remember to use the notes we went over today to accomplish this assignment. See me during lunch or at study hall to get help. These are going to be due on 10/14 for A-day and 10/17 for B-day. Remember that it will count as a major test grade.

Have a lovely weekend!

Attention Juniors!

Here is the link to a version of King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". Be sure to read it closely and annotate it heavily. As you read it, you may want to consider the Transcendental ideas that King is also incorporating into his letter. As I said in the previous post, it's pretty lengthy - all of you would do well to take your time in reading it this weekend. It's also available in 50 Essays.

Homework for 10/5 and 10/6

Sorry that I'm late in posting this.  It just slipped my mind as I was leaving.

AP English III:


I've finally finished those summer assignments.  And now I know where we all are as to writing and looking at literature.  I think that a lot of you have really improved the way that you're looking at literature from our first few weeks together - but we haven't spent any time working on writing.  As I said today in class, we start bootcamp soon.  We're going to spend time every day of class looking at a particular element of writing and then working on that element.

Your homework for tonight is to finish your first vocabulary bookmarks and to continue living as a Transcendentalist.  Please make sure that you follow the instructions on the bookmarks.  Also, I suggested that you all get going on reading Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" - this will be assigned next class, but it's pretty weighty, so you may want to take a bit of extra time on it.

Lastly, we're going to start reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn very soon.  I would recommend that you secure yourself a copy in the next few days and start reading.

English I:


In a strange turn of events you all don't have any homework tonight.  Though, you do have another major writing assignment coming soon related to "The Most Dangerous Game" - I would have given it to you today, but we didn't have a chance to discuss the assignment.  To prepare for this assignment you could review the story and pay particular attention to the characters of Rainsford and Zaroff - these may be focal points of your assignment coming up.  Also, you will have a grammar test before the end of this quarter - studying your grammar packets would be a good idea.

Lastly, we will be studying our novel for this year - Animal Farm - next month.  You may want to get yourselves a copy of this book.

Homework for 10/3 and 10/4

To prepare you for class on Wednesday and Thursday I would like for you to do the following.

AP English III:

Before you come to class next you should make two entries in your bluebooks about your life as a Transcendentalist. Remember that you are expected to make an entry every day and that these will be collected next week. In addition to your writing I would like to be sure that you've read the piece by Thoreau and the piece by White in 50 Essays. The White piece can be accessed at the following link. Thoreau can be found either in the earlier post or at this link. Please be sure to read an annotate heavily. As you read the Thoreau, definitely consider the ways in which Thoreau is exemplifying the philosophy of Emerson. As you read White, consider the fact that this is written after Thoreau's time.

We will spend the majority of class on Wednesday/Thursday working through these pieces and playing some poker.

Lastly, I'll be collecting vocabulary bookmarks soon. Be sure that it's complete!

English I:

Today's class was cut a bit short due to our district test. I'll be sure that we get that time back on Wednesday/Thursday. For tonight I would like for you to review your reading of "The Most Dangerous Game" - think especially about those ideas we discussed in class. Then, based on your reading and our discussion I'd like for you to answer question three in paragraph form. This homework will need to be turned into the homework box to recieve credit.

Online Textbook

The freshmen already have this information, but I figure that it may be helpful for those juniors who would also like to review the passages we study from the textbook.

To access the book, go to http://my.hrw.com.  You'll need a username and password to access the book.  I can generate a personalized one for you at school, but to access it this weekend you can use the following username (generic68) and the password (t9v2a).

Let me know if you have any questions!

Homework for All Classes - 9/30/2011

I know that yesterday and today have been a bit hectic. I want to use this post to reiterate what needs to get done before you all come to class on Monday/Tuesday.

AP English III:

Over the weekend I would like for all of you to read Thoreau's "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" - it can be found in 50 Essays or at the following link. As you read, please annotate. Think especially about what we were talking about with "The Over-Soul" and Emerson's other pieces. In class on Monday/Tuesday we will dive deeper into Transcendentalism by discussing Emerson's "Nature" and "Self-Reliance" as well as a bit of this Thoreau. Please have everything read and considered before you walk in.

Also, I will be collecting vocabulary bookmarks next week to begin our vocabulary process. I'm looking for twenty complete entries.

English I:

Over the weekend you all need to read "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell - it can be found on page five of your textbook. As you read I would like for you to do something. Once you finish reading a full two pages of the story, I would like for you to write down one quotation from those two pages and next to the quote write a brief explanation as to why you wrote it down. For example, if you see suspense or imagery in a quote, you would then want to include that in your response. These quote logs will be helpful in beginning to discuss the story on Monday/Tuesday.

Also on Monday/Tuesday you all will have your first district assessment. To prepare for this, I would recommend that you study your notes from our first unit on Autobiography and Memoir. Pay particular attention to our discussion of plot, tone, foreshadowing, theme, and other important literary devices. Come to class prepared!

Enjoy the weekend - enjoy your reading and studying!

New Year's Eve - 9/28

Just as a reminder, no homework for all classes.  Enjoy the New Year :)

B-day Students - thank you for being prepared for class (for the most part) - I think our discussion was pretty productive and I hope that you walked out understanding what Emerson is doing a bit more effectively.  Try to spend some time reflecting on these ideas and how they intersect with The Grapes of Wrath before we get back together next week.

L'Shana Tova!  Happy New Year, 5772!

Homework for 9/20 and 9/21

Seeing as I will not be here on Thursday in observance of the Jewish New Year I am not assigning any homework tonight.  However, you will all get an assignment to complete from the substitute in class on Thursday.

Since you have nothing due next time I see you, you should use tonight to get caught up.

AP English III:  I wasn't super impressed with the annotation check.  Go back, actually read the article, and think.  Remember, I'm not asking you all to do anything that I'm not doing either.  The piece is difficult, but it doesn't mean that you have the right to quit.  You all need to rise to the expectations, not meader in the dust.

English I:  If you didn't turn in your reminisicence assignment today, please make sure that you turn it in to me on Friday or put it in my box.  Get it in as soon as you can, remember that this counts as a major test grade and that you will lose ten points for every day that it is late.

Homework for 9/23 and 9/26

Finally, the weekend.  A-day students, I hope that you enjoy the reading this weekend.  B-day students, you'll get this on Monday.

AP English III:

I really want for all of you to hold on to everything that we said about Reverend Casy today in class.  It'll help you to understand what Emerson is writing in his article called "The Over-Soul".  For the weekend, please read and annotate heavily this article.  This should provide you a lot of vocabulary words for your bookmarks as Emerson's vocabulary is pretty expansive.  This article is definitely not easy to read, and you will probably need to read certain passages more than once.  Please, as you annotate, write down any questions that you have - we will try to answer these as a class in our seminar on Tuesday/Wednesday.  There are a few ideas that I noted while I was reading that you may want to look for as you read to give you a bit more help in understanding:

1. Look for the idea of unity throughout this piece.  Remember that this is one of the most important things about Casy.
2. Pay attention to how Emerson refers to G-d throughout the piece.  There are areas where he begins to change this conception.
3. Think about all of the absolutes that we have in life (time, morality, etc.) - What is Emerson's approach to these things as stated in the article?
4. Pay attention to goodness, this goes along with number three - but is slightly different.
5. Investigate the importance of simplicity in Emerson's work - this may be especially interesting to consider given the increasing complexity of the Joad family's world.

Annotate, annotate, annotate.  Read and think.  It's not an easy piece, but I'm sure that you all are up for the challenge.

English I:

You all have two things to accomplish before our next class.  First, you need to complete your reminiscences and have them ready to turn in.  Remember that you will need to turn in your final draft, your rough draft, and your peer editing sheet.  Failure to turn in all the required pieces will hurt your grade.  If you've given me a draft, or if you need to meet with me to go over your draft to earn back points, your final opportunity to do this is going to be Monday study hall.  I'll be here late to help you.

The second thing that you need to do is read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" - as you read, in your notes, complete a character list and jot down important quotations from the story related to the characters.  You should be able to write down at least two to three quotations for each character you list.  Remember that quotations are anything from the story - not just what people say.  I hope that you all enjoy reading this a lot - it's a great way for us to start this unit.  Keep your notes in your notebooks - I'll check them at the beginning of class.

Have a lovely weekend!

Homework for 9/21 and 9/22

AP English III:

For tonight I want you to go back and reconsider some of the earlier portions of The Grapes of Wrath.  Please reread and annotate heavily the following sections - remember to look especially close for the following topics or motifs in each section:

• Chapter 4 - Starting at paragraph which begins with "Joad carefully drew the torso" (23) to the poem in the Christmas card (27).  Here pay attention to Casy's philosophy and any irony you see.
• Chapter 5 - Pay attention to symbolism and the idea of the American Dream.
• Chapter 7 - Look at money and greed.  Perhaps consider the conflict between morality and money.
• Chapter 8 - Look for the person to animal motif; also, begin paying attention to the different characters and make your character list.

On Friday we'll begin to break down this section of the text and then move forward to more of our philosophical dealings.  Don't forget to bring your copies of Grapes for next class.

English I:

You, officially, have no homework tonight.  Relax after your exam.  Work on your reminiscence.  Make time to see me to get my feedback.

Homework for 9/19 and 9/20

AP English III:


For our next class you should spend some time relaxing, relaxing with the Joad family.  We're going to begin our study of The Grapes of Wrath next class - it's my goal that those of you who didn't like this book this summer will find something to like by the end of our consideration of it.  Begin by rereading and annotating chapters one through three.  We'll begin discussing on Wednesday/Thursday.

English I:


You all have your first test next class.  STUDY!  Use your notes, your copies of the stories, and anything else that would be helpful for you.  Be ready!  As of now this is a closed note exam!

Also, revise your writing assignments.  I will be available after school on Wednesday and Friday to look at essays and offer feedback.

Homework for the Weekend - 9/15 and 9/16

AP English III:

Juniors - What you need to do over the weekend is finish all of the stuff in the previous post.  The most important thing is to be ready for your assessments on The Great Gatsby - the skit and the quest.  We'll be doing both of these on Monday/Tuesday.  Also, I'll be collecting your Petrunkevitch/Woolf tone comparison essays on Monday/Tuesday as well.  This is meant to be a way for me to see how your analytical and formal writing skills are.  Please come and see me Friday afternoon if you need any help with it.

Lastly, you will want to find The Grapes of Wrath and begin rereading.  I would recommend you start with chapters one through three.

English I:

Over the weekend you need to complete the draft of your reminiscence assignment.  Remember that you aren't telling the story of your whole life but of one particular moment in time.  You need to fill your story with details and imagery that will then make everything clear to me.  We will be peer editing these assignments on Monday/Tuesday as well as reviewing for our exam.  These writing assignments will count as a major grade - so they need to show off your skills.

Speaking of major grades, you should probably start studying this weekend too.  I would suggest spending the weekend reviewing "About School" and the pieces by Malcolm X.  Next week, work on reviewing the remaining pieces.

If anyone needs help on anything, please come see me Friday or Monday afternoon.

Homework and Announcements - 9/13 and 9/14

AP English III:

For tonight you have a few things to be working on, they're listed in the order of importance.

1. Be aware that your Gatsby skits need to be ready and rehearsed by next week. These should be polished performances that are captivating and show a high amount of attention to detail in the text. Follow the guidelines in the assignment sheet.


2. You will have a quiz on The Great Gatsby next Monday and Tuesday. The quiz will have quotes and short answers - begin to reconsider some of the important quotations of the novel - try to find some new ones. Remember to always consider and reconnect to the author's purpose.


3. Today in class I handed out the Petrunkevitch article as well as a graphic organizer to prepare you for your compare/contrast assignment on tone. We will not discuss the article in class - it is meant solely for you to use in constructing your response. These writing assignments are also due next Monday/Tuesday.


4. Finally - we will wrap up Gatsby on Thursday/Friday - if you have any residual questions that you feel have not yet been addressed, please bring those with you Thursday/Friday.

English I:

Tonight for homework I want you all to reflect on the piece "How to Eat a Guava" by Esmeralda Santiago. I want for you to use the notes that we took on writing last class to construct an effective paragraph answer to a question about the story. Honors students should answer question eight on page 546. Standard students should answer question nine on page 546. These paragraph responses will be due to the box before Thursday/Friday and they will count as a quiz. Don't miss this chance to improve your scores - come see me if you need extra help.

Also - a quick note on textbooks - if you have trouble with the online textbook please let me know via e-mail immediately. A lot of you told me that you couldn't complete the assignment because of technology issues - I can't fix these problems after the fact. Let me know once it happens so that we can try to find a solution.

Lastly, Freshmen will have an exam next week on autobiography and memoir. Begin to study now! The test will happen on 9/21 and 9/22.

Homework - 9/9 and 9/12

Welcome to the weekend. It's not a long weekend, unfortunately, but we do have a PLC day next week to make life a bit easier.

AP English III:

Today in class you got some time to begin your final assessment on The Great Gatsby - your dramatization project. This will count as a major grade and I've already given you the rubric for how you're going to be graded. You have ten days to prepare, which is a lot of time. Make sure that your presentations are polished and show a lot of time and attention to detail.

Over the weekend I'd like for you to read Virginia Woolf's "The Death of the Moth" which is in 50 Essays and also available at this link. Remember to bring a copy to class that has been heavily annotated. In addition I'd like for you to reread and annotate chapters seven and eight of The Great Gatsby. I think it's pretty obvious given what the title of the essay is and what happens in these later chapters what we'll be discussing on Tuesday/Wednesday.

As I said today, it's important that you begin to look at all of these small details and see how they're coming together at the end to really reinforce Fitzgerald's purpose.

English I:

You all need to read a very short piece called "How to Eat a Guava" which is in your textbook on page 542. As you read I want you to do the following in your literature notes section. First, make a list of any quotations in the story which contain imagery. Then after you've read the story state the topic and the theme of the story. Remembering of course our discussion from a few days ago on the difference between topic and theme.

Also, we're almost done with our first unit, you'll have your first test very soon!

Homework - 9/7 and 9/8

Welcome back after the long weekend. I hope that all of you enjoyed the mini break - especially the fact that you didn't have any English homework. Tonight, however, you do have a few things to accomplish.

AP English III:

I think that today's exercise in interruped reading went really well. Remember that the thing about AP is to look at all of those minute details and see the trends and then comment on the author's purpose. Always tie it back to purpose. For tonight's homework I want you to reread and annotate chapters five and six of The Great Gatsby. I'm only planning on us spending about two more days on Gatsby so you will want to find the Joad family and get them all piled up in the truck - we'll be seeing them soon.

Furthermore, you'll have time next class to work on your group assignment. It may be a good idea for you to think about who you'd like to work with tonight as well as which section of the text you'd like to cover.

English I:

I hope that after today's class the idea of theme will be a lot clearer. For tonight you have an assignment that is due to the box on Friday (A-day) and Monday (B-day). Everyone will need to read "Go Carolina" by David Sedaris and complete the worksheet. The worksheet should be turned in to the box. Honors students also need to read Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day" but you won't need to worry about answering questions until your first test. This test is coming soon! Start to prepare!

Just a little reminder...

Namely to the AP kids, but Freshmen take notice.

We're outside of the "beginning of school adjustment period." I've noticed a lot of you in class haven't had the reading assignment, there have been a bevy of excuses. All of which I've tolerated. This ends tomorrow and the gloves come off.

No homework tonight for B-day. Get your minds right.

Next time I see you all, you should all have everything you need to be successful and capable in class (brains, books, blue books).

Weekend Work - 9/2

A-day students in all classes have no homework over the weekend.  I'll be enjoying the weekend and celebrating my birthday, I hope that you all will too.

B-day students, you won't have any homework on Tuesday night, please remember that you do have assignments due on Tuesday morning.  Look in the previous post to remind yourself of what they are.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!