E-Mail Outage

For the time being I would prefer you e-mail me at my gmail address and not my dps address. Access to dps e-mail is spotty and unreliable.

Another late posting for both classes

I'm combining both of your entries in one - I hope that's okay. Sorry that I'm late in posting, the internet at Jordan is super unreliable and I've had to wait to get home to post.

Anyway, here goes.

English I

Your homework is to take your favorite book or television show and plot out the events on a plot diagram. Make sure that you're accurate in labeling each part.

English III

Tomorrow we're going to finish up our discussion on chapters four through seven. Furthermore, for tonight you are to read chapters eight through twelve. There is a lot of important information going on in these chapters and we will spend a lot of class tomorrow pointing out what's happening in this section.

If you have questions - leave them. I'm going to get back to my heap of grading.

Homework, English III, 8/28

Over the weekend you need to read chapters four through seven. As you're reading be sure that you keep up with the different characters that you meet. When you meet a new character, please write down their name and begin a list of any character traits you notice from them.

Also, be sure that you're maintaining your dialectical notebooks. If you're behind on your reading - get caught up this weekend.

If you have any questions as you read, write them down and bring them to class on Monday.

PS - I'll never attempt to draw a cannon on the board again.

English I HW - 8/27 and 8/28

This weekend for homework you have two things to do. The first thing that you need to do is to finish your final draft of your paragraph. Be sure that you use the notes that you got today during peer editing to help you improve.

The other thing that you need to do is to finish your worksheet on the poem "About School" - be sure that you answer all of the questions for your section.

If you have any questions - leave a comment and I'll get back to you soon!

English III HW - 8/27

Today we began our study of The Catcher in the Rye. Your assignment for tonight is to read to the end of Chapter Three. As you read, make sure that you keep up with your study questions to guide your comprehension. Also, I remind you to complete your dialectical notebooks - one entry per chapter.

As you're reading tonight, remember the questions that I brought up today at the end of class:

1. Is Holden someone that you would like to hang out with? Why or why not?
2. If Holden went to Jordan, what would his routine be like? Where would he hang out?
3. What is Holden's deal?

Today a lot of you were pretty quiet when you should have been talking. I will call on more people tomorrow - be ready.

English III Homework - 8/26

You all did wonderfully today during peer editing. I hope that you found some of the comments that you got today helpful in crafting your final draft. Tonight you need to finish up the essays and be ready to turn them in tomorrow morning. Fill out your cover sheets and follow the rules specified there - be sure that you answer all of the questions on the cover sheet.

Sorry that I'm late in posting today. I came home and promptly fell asleep.

See you in the morning!

Homework for English I - 8/25 & 8/26

Hello Freshmen!

It was great meeting all of you today! Both of the classes went really well and I'm looking forward to working with you for the rest of the year. Today you have a few things to do for homework:

1. Get your school supplies. The supplies are listed on your policies and procedures page. Be sure that you have these by the beginning of next week.

2. Finish your Tell Me About You questionairre if you didn't finish it today in class. Please turn it in to the box.

3. Write the rough draft of your first paragraph. Turn this in to the box as well. We will peer edit these assignments next class.

Remember that your homework is due to the homework box in Ms. Kaneko's room by 7:30 am!

See you next class!!!!

Homework for English III - 8/25

Welcome to the new year! I'm really excited to be teaching the new class and working with all of you this year. Today we started unpacking the question that we will attempt to answer for the whole year:

What is America?

You started brainstorming the answer to this question today in class - tomorrow we'll work with some of these answers.

Tonight, your homework is to write a 500 word answer to this question. In your essay, I'm looking for a clear thesis statement and developed examples. We will edit these responses tomorrow in class and discuss some of the ideas that this question is hiding. If you have questions - leave them here on the blog. Remember to double space your response. We'll talk about more of the nuts and bolts of how to format your response tomorrow.

All good things...

As the quote goes, the goodness of summer must be replaced with the return of the school year. I'm looking forward to teaching a new class (Honors English III) and meeting a new group of freshmen for English I.

Blog posts and updates for the new year will begin with the first day of school on Tuesday!

Update on Summer Reading

So - Today I went to Barnes and Noble's to pick up those books that I'll be reading this summer. I went around and looked at a few different copies of The Inferno, trying to find one that cost less than ten dollars. Then I went on to find the Japanese novel that I'd put in my last list.

That book is huge. Those of you that read Great Expectations, this thing was about three times bigger than that. I lifted it, and then immediately put it back down.

When I walked out of B&N I had bought The Inferno (B&N Classics Edition), We, and The Reader. I saw movie version of The Reader with my mom when it came out and have been wanting to read the book for a long time. I'm still planning on Cry, The Beloved Country - I just need to find a cheaper copy.

Used book stores, here I come.

Thus, the new summer reading list is:

We, The Reader, The Inferno, and Cry, The Beloved Country. Probably in that order, too.

Summer Reading

Hey All,

Some of you asked me for some suggestions about things to read this summer. Here's a list of things that I'll be reading this summer. I plan on starting around the middle to end of June on this list. I'll let you know what I'm reading and where I am in the book. If you want to read together, we can set a pacing guide together for each book. So - Leave a comment and let me know if you want to read with me!

1. We - Evgeny Zamyatin
2. Cry the Beloved Country - Alan Patton
3. The Inferno - Dante
4. The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu

It's all world literature, which should help to get you ready for next year. Next year your focusing in reading just literature from the non-English speaking world. Lots of good stuff out there!

The Massive EOC Review Sheet

The Massive EOC Review Sheet

The EOC for English I is broken into two sections – reading and grammar.  You will need to practice your reading comprehension skills, and you will need to apply your knowledge of literary devices to literature sections.  Also, you will need to proofread.

 

Literary Terms – Be sure that you know what these literary devices are!

 

• alliteration
• assonance
• character
• direct and indirect characterization
• character trait
• connotation and denotation
• conflict (man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. society)
• internal conflict
• external conflict
• figurative language
• hyperbole
• imagery
• onomatopoeia
• metaphors (direct and indirect)
• simile
• epic simile
• extended metaphor
• allusion
• aside
• author
• autobiography
• ballad
• blank verse
• climax
• comedy
• comic relief
• couplet
• dialogue
• diction
• drama
• monologue
• epic
• epithet
• flashback
• flash-forward
• foil
• foreshadowing
• free verse
• haiku
• iambic pentameter
• meter
• irony (situational, verbal, dramatic)
• lyric poetry
• mood
• myth
• narrator
• paradox
• personification
• plot (plot diagram pieces)
• poetry
• point of view (1st, 3rd limited, 3rd omniscient)
• protagonist
• antagonist
• pun
• rhyme (end and internal)
• rhythm
• setting
• short story
• solilioquy
• sonnet
• speaker
• stanza
• line
• style
• suspense
• symbolism
• theme
• tone
• tragedy

Final Day of Class

I hope that you all enjoyed taking a shot at teaching in class. Tonight, you have no homework! You need to begin studying for your EOC - I will repost the list of things to review tomorrow. Also, we will have a review session tomorrow, after school, in my room. We'll begin at 2:45 and I'll leave when the last person leaves. Come with any questions that you may have.

Finally, I've noticed that a lot of people are still missing their textbooks. Return these to me by your exam. Also, if you didn't turn in your novel today, you need to do that ASAP or you will be charged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXyo68s-f1E -- The opening to Great Expectations...check it out!

Homework for the Weekend

This weekend should begin the wrapping up of the course. You will need to prepare for your cross textual group presentation. The presentations will be on Wednesday/Thursday. If your group has not yet given me your handout, you will need to give this to me as soon as possible so that I can make copies.

Also, you should begin using this time for studying. The EOC is coming soon and you will need to be sure that you've spent time reviewing your literary terms and grammar to help you get ready.

I will be having a review session on Thursday, after school, to prepare you for the exam.

Homework for 5/20 and 5/21

Your homework for tonight is to finish your novel! Also, I will collect your character charts. I will not accept these late. You must turn in whatever you have by Friday/Tuesday. Lastly, Honors students will have their Oral Exam on Friday/Tuesday. Be ready!

Finally, you will have your last meeting of your CTG group on Friday/Tuesday. I need to have your group's handout ready for me to make copies by Tuesday/Wednesday. If you are not ready this will cause your group's score to suffer.

What I'm Collecting and When...

Don't forget to keep reading. Here's a schedule of what we will be doing for the next few days.

Wednesday/Thursday (20th and 21st) -- Your homework will be to finish the novel. We will complete an activity on symbolism in class.

Friday/Tuesday (22nd and 26th) -- Honors students will have their oral exam on this day. I will collect character charts from all students on this day.

Wednesday/Thursday (27th and 28th) -- Standard students will need to turn in the second half of study questions. CTG presentations will happen this day. Books will need to be turned in.

Friday (29th) -- Last day of class.

Homework for 5/18

Your homework for tonight is to read. You're almost to the end of your books.

Honors students: You are to read to the end of chapter fifty-three. Remember that you character charts are due on Friday/Tuesday.

Standard students: You are to read to page 186. I will collect your study questions and your character chart soon!

Homework for the Weekend

By Monday/Tuesday, all Honors students need to be to the end of chapter forty-eight. I hope that you have begun to see the novel move into its last portions. Things are starting to come to an end in Pip's life. You may want to spend time at the end of the novel going back to earlier portions to see the connections to earlier foreshadowing.

By Monday/Tuesday, all Standard students need to be to the end of page 175. Remember that when you finish the book I will collect all of your study questions.

Also, here are some updates/reminders about upcoming major grades:

5/22 and 5/26 - Oral Exam for Honors Students, Collect Character Charts (quiz grade)

5/27 and 5/28 - CTG Presentations. Remember that you will get a grade for your presentation and your particular element of your project.

Homework!

Tonight's homework is to read...big surprise, right?

For Honors students, you need to read to the end of chapter 43. Pay close attention to the relationship between the convict and Pip. Also, make sure that you note Herbert's reaction to his friend's trouble.

Standard students, you need to read to the end of page 154. Keep up with your study questions as you read.

Lastly, if you have not yet turned in your Bildungsroman - it is due on Friday. Friday is the last day to turn in this assignment and I will not accept it beyond Friday. If you are going to Busch Gardens, give me the assignment on the bus. If you are staying behind, turn in the assignment to Mr. Brosnan.

Homework for the Weekend

Standard Students: Your homework is to read to page 139. On Tuesday/Wednesday I will collect your study questions from the first half of the novel. You will get your new study questions on that day.

Honors Students: Your homework is to read to the end of chapter 39. Be sure that as you read you are keeping up with your study questions.

All students should keep with their character charts as you are reading. Remember that these will be collected on the 22nd/25th for a grade.

Finally - I leave you with the wisdom of Ms. Sawaya:

"I smell like farts in a can!"


Have a great weekend!