French I/II
Noel en France
chansons de Noel
vocabulaire de Noel
Translation from French to English
La traditions de Noel et Le Jour de l'An
Video Christmas in France
Quiz Wednesday Nov 3 vocabulary 1 chp. 4
AP Language and Composition
Modernism/Postmodernism in thought and art; society and the individual
Scholarly article to read for homework: "A Fragment of Lost Words" Narrative Ellipses in The Great Gatsby
Dorthy Parker's "Choices" and "Resume" (Poetry) Comparative literature
Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence"
Friday: Textbook pages 630-646 answer questions from each essay
Handout: The Argumentative Essay
Myth and Legend
Charting The Hero's Journey via Lord of the Rings
Essay assigned for The Hero's Journey - Joseph Campbell's monomyth
quizlet link to study steps of the hero's journey: http://quizlet.com/7511836/heros-journey-quiz-flash-cards/
English 9 Honors
Pride and Prejudice-read assigned chapters
Be prepared for reading checks(pop quizzes)
Essay assigned --due date Monday Nov 5th
English 11
Of Mice and Men
Group activity--Debate George's culpability, Curley's wife's, Lennies
essay assigned due Monday December 5.
Complete film with discussion
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
November 14-22
I LOVE MY WONDERFUL STUDENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENGLISH 11
We will be studying John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. This is a complicated narrative that focuses on the struggle within the human experience. How do we, as humans, navigate the difficulties of determining what is the "good." Additionally, the work asks us to examine the marginalized within society because of handicaps, sex, age, and race. To read the novel as a simplistic work about friendship only is to ignore the deeper comments Steinbeck wishes to make about American mores and values and the larger notion of the impossibility of achieving the American Dream for those marginalized within society.
We will examine theme, symbolism, motifs, and language in the work. A study guide will be given out in class. Groups will be assigned to discuss particular chapters. This is your class and I am looking for a deeper participation and literary discussion by lead by each group. Morals/Lessons/Applications:
On a structural level we will examine Robert Burns poem, "Ode to a Mouse." We will examine archaic language, mood, and tone within the poem.
Graphic organizer of the plot structure
Characterization
Analogies
Vocabulary
FRENCH I/II
We will begin and complete work in chapter 4 of your textbook
This is the link to vocabulary words for this chapter:
vocab 1: http://quizlet.com/2090111/bien-dit-1-chapitre-41-flash-cards/
vocab 2: http://quizlet.com/6786422/bien-dit-1-chapt-4-vocab-2-exprimons-nous-flash-cards/
Myth and Legend
Complete the text of Dracula.
You will have your test on Dracula this week.
We will begin Norse Mythology after the completion of Dracula, so bring your Edith Hamilton's Mythology to class. YOU WILL CREATE A GRAPHIC NOVEL AS YOUR FINAL ASSESSMENT FOR THIS UNIT.
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
This week we will continue our exploration of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby so bring your books to class.
ENGLISH 9 HONORS
We will complete 1984 this week and you will have the final test over this work.
you will take your vocabulary test this week on the novel as well
ENGLISH 11
We will be studying John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. This is a complicated narrative that focuses on the struggle within the human experience. How do we, as humans, navigate the difficulties of determining what is the "good." Additionally, the work asks us to examine the marginalized within society because of handicaps, sex, age, and race. To read the novel as a simplistic work about friendship only is to ignore the deeper comments Steinbeck wishes to make about American mores and values and the larger notion of the impossibility of achieving the American Dream for those marginalized within society.
We will examine theme, symbolism, motifs, and language in the work. A study guide will be given out in class. Groups will be assigned to discuss particular chapters. This is your class and I am looking for a deeper participation and literary discussion by lead by each group. Morals/Lessons/Applications:
On a structural level we will examine Robert Burns poem, "Ode to a Mouse." We will examine archaic language, mood, and tone within the poem.
Graphic organizer of the plot structure
Characterization
Analogies
Vocabulary
These are some overarching ideas from the text that should be discussed with the class:
- People need others to talk to to survive. (Crooks' statement about needing someone or going crazy, the attachment of Crooks and Candy to the dream Lennie and George share, Curley's wife seduction of the ranch hands as a buffer against loneliness)
- A man's ability to dream is directly attached to having someone to share the dream with. (George lets go of the dream after Lennie is killed.)
- Sometimes, even though it's not what you want, you have to do what's best for you and those you love. (George shoots his best friend, Lennie so that Lennie can escape a brutal lynching.)
FRENCH I/II
We will begin and complete work in chapter 4 of your textbook
This is the link to vocabulary words for this chapter:
vocab 1: http://quizlet.com/2090111/bien-dit-1-chapitre-41-flash-cards/
vocab 2: http://quizlet.com/6786422/bien-dit-1-chapt-4-vocab-2-exprimons-nous-flash-cards/
Myth and Legend
Complete the text of Dracula.
You will have your test on Dracula this week.
We will begin Norse Mythology after the completion of Dracula, so bring your Edith Hamilton's Mythology to class. YOU WILL CREATE A GRAPHIC NOVEL AS YOUR FINAL ASSESSMENT FOR THIS UNIT.
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
This week we will continue our exploration of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby so bring your books to class.
ENGLISH 9 HONORS
We will complete 1984 this week and you will have the final test over this work.
you will take your vocabulary test this week on the novel as well
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
October 24-28
English 9 Honors
this week we will be exploring Orwell's dystopic novel 1984. You are to read Book II this week. We will discuss the text in class. On Friday you will have a test over Literary Devices - prepare for this. We will begin our work with Latin prefixes and suffixes. You will receive a work packet in class and there will be a test over this packet on Tuesday November 1.
AP Language and Composition
We will continue to explore Aristotle's Rhetoric. Friday you have a test over the first packet. We will view a instructional video on Aristotle's Rhetoric. Finally, we will apply Aristotle's strategies in analyzing a text.
English 11
This week we will be working in your textbook with the Moderns, particularly we will examine Ezra Pound's "The River Merchant's Wife" and selections from e.e.cummings. You will have a test over the selections from the Modern period that we have covered in class on Wednesday November 2. You will have a test over Literary Devices on Monday Oct. 31. BE PREPARED.
FRENCH I/II
This week we will be working in chapter 3 part 2. We will be studying family vocabulary, how to describe family members and possessive adjectives. Please study vocabulary 2 in chapter 3. You will create a family tree poster. You will introduce and describe your family members in writing and orally.
Myth and Legend
We will continue our study of Dracula and vampire lore.
We will be reading from the text as well as viewing selections from various cinematic representations of the film. Additionally, we have been discussing the notion of the "other" in terms of colonization and this is important as the text was written at the height of the Empire. Here is an excerpt from an interesting blog that I discovered. I have added the link so you can go there and read the other posts...very informative.
Orientalism in Dracula and Vampirism
I would like to talk about the idea of orientalism, or the exoticization of "the other" in relation to our vampiric studies in this course. In contemporary Western humanities, the presence of orientalism has been exposed and is being actively countered by "post-constructuralist" scholars, especially by people who are considered the "other" by Western society, including some of Western societies most abundant members who happen to be something other than of Euro-American descent (blood lineage). This "othering" of the unfamiliar has been occurring since time immemorial: it is a useful mechanism of projecting one's (or a particular societies) problems on an external, dissimilar source. Western civilization has been externalizing the Eastern (the Mid-Eastern and Orient, especially, hence "orientalism") as far back as the 11th century onset of the Christian Crusades (and surly long before that unfortunate period of history). Similarly, as Rickles writes in his "Vampire Lectures," the 18th century epidemics of vampirism were originally imported from the immoral Eastern areas of Europe proper. Rickles wistfully describes this "political trajectory to vampirism" coming from the eastern Europe and targeting people who are different, unpopular, or great sinners: accounts of vampirism put robbers, arsonists, prostitutes, and treacherous bar maids on schedule to return as vampires (p.3)."
As with all things in life, so it becomes clear that the construction of vampirism comes about as another mechanism to instill fear and consequent control in the masses by a elite ruling group who has a specific agenda. Again quoting Rickles, "If you were to hit the books on vampirology and vampirism, you would be struck by how, at any given time, always different sets of people were suddenly under suspicion of being candidates for becoming vampires."
Rickles quickly exposes the vampire agenda in the light of the Roman Catholic Church's political agenda, "In medieval Europe--at the time of the vampire crisis--a working definition of vampirism was already current, the one, you know the one, that the Christain church came up with the put down sinners (p.2)... (Back in the Christian context): we can make out the vampire among all the other occult figures crowding the target range of the Inquisition. However, in the Middle Ages, witches and sorcerers largely took the vampire's place. In the Renaissance, witches and heretics were the most popular stars of the persecutory attention. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries werewolves were at high risk: between 1520 and the mid-seventeenth century thirty thousand cases of lycanthropy (the official term for werewolddom) were investigated by the church... So by the Middle Ages, by the time of the Inquisition (which, by the way, malingered on until the middle of the nineteenth century), the vampires were lost in the crowd they made, the in-group of the occults. By the Inquisition's late and last phase, by the eighteenth century, the time of secularization, the beginning of the modern age, our age, the time when the university as we know it here and now--the institution--was invented, the vampire had reemerged, and with redoubled force (pps. 10-11)."
So, through borrowing Professor's reflections, we are able to trace the usage of vampirism as a political agenda (primarily of the Catholic Church) which helps us understand the root-orientalism prejudices that lie behind it all, up to the present day. I believe that it is absolutely essential to be aware of this history in order to fully comprehend the various layers of the vampire (and larger occult) traditions that we study today.
http://basicdesire-thevampire.blogspot.com/2005/10/orientalism-in-dracula-and-vampirism.html
this week we will be exploring Orwell's dystopic novel 1984. You are to read Book II this week. We will discuss the text in class. On Friday you will have a test over Literary Devices - prepare for this. We will begin our work with Latin prefixes and suffixes. You will receive a work packet in class and there will be a test over this packet on Tuesday November 1.
AP Language and Composition
We will continue to explore Aristotle's Rhetoric. Friday you have a test over the first packet. We will view a instructional video on Aristotle's Rhetoric. Finally, we will apply Aristotle's strategies in analyzing a text.
English 11
This week we will be working in your textbook with the Moderns, particularly we will examine Ezra Pound's "The River Merchant's Wife" and selections from e.e.cummings. You will have a test over the selections from the Modern period that we have covered in class on Wednesday November 2. You will have a test over Literary Devices on Monday Oct. 31. BE PREPARED.
FRENCH I/II
This week we will be working in chapter 3 part 2. We will be studying family vocabulary, how to describe family members and possessive adjectives. Please study vocabulary 2 in chapter 3. You will create a family tree poster. You will introduce and describe your family members in writing and orally.
Myth and Legend
We will continue our study of Dracula and vampire lore.
We will be reading from the text as well as viewing selections from various cinematic representations of the film. Additionally, we have been discussing the notion of the "other" in terms of colonization and this is important as the text was written at the height of the Empire. Here is an excerpt from an interesting blog that I discovered. I have added the link so you can go there and read the other posts...very informative.
Orientalism in Dracula and Vampirism
I would like to talk about the idea of orientalism, or the exoticization of "the other" in relation to our vampiric studies in this course. In contemporary Western humanities, the presence of orientalism has been exposed and is being actively countered by "post-constructuralist" scholars, especially by people who are considered the "other" by Western society, including some of Western societies most abundant members who happen to be something other than of Euro-American descent (blood lineage). This "othering" of the unfamiliar has been occurring since time immemorial: it is a useful mechanism of projecting one's (or a particular societies) problems on an external, dissimilar source. Western civilization has been externalizing the Eastern (the Mid-Eastern and Orient, especially, hence "orientalism") as far back as the 11th century onset of the Christian Crusades (and surly long before that unfortunate period of history). Similarly, as Rickles writes in his "Vampire Lectures," the 18th century epidemics of vampirism were originally imported from the immoral Eastern areas of Europe proper. Rickles wistfully describes this "political trajectory to vampirism" coming from the eastern Europe and targeting people who are different, unpopular, or great sinners: accounts of vampirism put robbers, arsonists, prostitutes, and treacherous bar maids on schedule to return as vampires (p.3)."
As with all things in life, so it becomes clear that the construction of vampirism comes about as another mechanism to instill fear and consequent control in the masses by a elite ruling group who has a specific agenda. Again quoting Rickles, "If you were to hit the books on vampirology and vampirism, you would be struck by how, at any given time, always different sets of people were suddenly under suspicion of being candidates for becoming vampires."
Rickles quickly exposes the vampire agenda in the light of the Roman Catholic Church's political agenda, "In medieval Europe--at the time of the vampire crisis--a working definition of vampirism was already current, the one, you know the one, that the Christain church came up with the put down sinners (p.2)... (Back in the Christian context): we can make out the vampire among all the other occult figures crowding the target range of the Inquisition. However, in the Middle Ages, witches and sorcerers largely took the vampire's place. In the Renaissance, witches and heretics were the most popular stars of the persecutory attention. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries werewolves were at high risk: between 1520 and the mid-seventeenth century thirty thousand cases of lycanthropy (the official term for werewolddom) were investigated by the church... So by the Middle Ages, by the time of the Inquisition (which, by the way, malingered on until the middle of the nineteenth century), the vampires were lost in the crowd they made, the in-group of the occults. By the Inquisition's late and last phase, by the eighteenth century, the time of secularization, the beginning of the modern age, our age, the time when the university as we know it here and now--the institution--was invented, the vampire had reemerged, and with redoubled force (pps. 10-11)."
So, through borrowing Professor's reflections, we are able to trace the usage of vampirism as a political agenda (primarily of the Catholic Church) which helps us understand the root-orientalism prejudices that lie behind it all, up to the present day. I believe that it is absolutely essential to be aware of this history in order to fully comprehend the various layers of the vampire (and larger occult) traditions that we study today.
http://basicdesire-thevampire.blogspot.com/2005/10/orientalism-in-dracula-and-vampirism.html
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
October 11 - 21
English 9 Honors
Ayn Rand's Dystopic novella Anthem will be our focus of study this week.
In class, we will discuss elements of the novel, point of view, and ideologies that limit individual autonomy.
Additionally, we will explore the context (what is the exigence of the novella), theme, symbols, motifs, and characterization of the novella.
Study questions by chapter - given out in class/homework for Tuesday October 11.
Assessment - Essay
Week 2 we will begin a study of George Orwell's dystopic novel 1984. I will check the books out in class to you so you can work on your assignments at home.
We will also be working in your vocabulary books, so bring these to class.
This is the link to vocabulary for 1984:
http://quizlet.com/4226861/1984-vocabulary-flash-cards/
AP Language and Composition
This week we will continue our work on rhetorical analysis. We will discuss and practice analyzing the rhetorical devises in works of non-fiction. Some of you will miss class on Wednesday as you are taking the PSAT, so stop by my room to pick up the work you missed. We will continue working on writing a rhetorical analysis through next week. You will write your 3rd essay on the 18th. On the 21st you need TO BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO CLASS.
Here is the link to Rhetoric by Aristotle written in 350 B.C.E: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.html
We will be working with this text throughout the semester. On Friday you will have worksheets on Book I - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. You will analyze "The Envoys Plead With Achilles" from Book IX of the Illiad by Homer.
Myth and Legend
We will continue our study of Bram Stokers Dracula. I think you are enjoying our reading and analysis of the text. This provides you with a deeper understanding of the construction and purpose of the work. We will examine Stoker's exploits of the past and present. Stoker was constantly troubled by the power the past exerts over the present. To this end, Stoker juxtaposes the modern scientific world with the primitive past, which is inexact, barbarian, superstitious and inefficient. In stark contrast, Stoker views the modern age as exact, civilised, rational, and efficient.
We will view a documentary about Vlad Tepes, the Romanian Count Stoker based his character on, and parts of the 1977 BBC production of Count Dracula.
English 11
This week we will complete the Great Gatsby. Thursday you will take a test over the novel.We will complete the film after the test.
Next week you will need to bring your books to class, as we will continue with poetry and short stories of the Modern writers.
TEST OVER LITERARY DEVICES HANDOUT ON OCTOBER 31st
Homework
"J. Alfred Prufrock" T. S. Eliot Questions 1-15 page 663
"Soldiers Home" Hemingway/homework questions 1-10 page 693, Krebs analysis page 693
"A Rose for Emily" William Faulkner questions 1-15 page 729
Writing Hometown Horror Write a short story 1200 words about a fictional character P. 730
French I/II
For the next two weeks, we will be working in Chapter 3 of our text.
We will learn how to place adjective in sentences, make adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify, describe people, and talk about our families.
This is the link to Vocab 1 of chapter 3
http://quizlet.com/1331185/bien-dit-level-1-chapter-3-vocab-1-flash-cards/
Ayn Rand's Dystopic novella Anthem will be our focus of study this week.
In class, we will discuss elements of the novel, point of view, and ideologies that limit individual autonomy.
Additionally, we will explore the context (what is the exigence of the novella), theme, symbols, motifs, and characterization of the novella.
Study questions by chapter - given out in class/homework for Tuesday October 11.
Assessment - Essay
Week 2 we will begin a study of George Orwell's dystopic novel 1984. I will check the books out in class to you so you can work on your assignments at home.
We will also be working in your vocabulary books, so bring these to class.
This is the link to vocabulary for 1984:
http://quizlet.com/4226861/1984-vocabulary-flash-cards/
AP Language and Composition
This week we will continue our work on rhetorical analysis. We will discuss and practice analyzing the rhetorical devises in works of non-fiction. Some of you will miss class on Wednesday as you are taking the PSAT, so stop by my room to pick up the work you missed. We will continue working on writing a rhetorical analysis through next week. You will write your 3rd essay on the 18th. On the 21st you need TO BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO CLASS.
Here is the link to Rhetoric by Aristotle written in 350 B.C.E: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.html
We will be working with this text throughout the semester. On Friday you will have worksheets on Book I - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. You will analyze "The Envoys Plead With Achilles" from Book IX of the Illiad by Homer.
Myth and Legend
We will continue our study of Bram Stokers Dracula. I think you are enjoying our reading and analysis of the text. This provides you with a deeper understanding of the construction and purpose of the work. We will examine Stoker's exploits of the past and present. Stoker was constantly troubled by the power the past exerts over the present. To this end, Stoker juxtaposes the modern scientific world with the primitive past, which is inexact, barbarian, superstitious and inefficient. In stark contrast, Stoker views the modern age as exact, civilised, rational, and efficient.
We will view a documentary about Vlad Tepes, the Romanian Count Stoker based his character on, and parts of the 1977 BBC production of Count Dracula.
English 11
This week we will complete the Great Gatsby. Thursday you will take a test over the novel.We will complete the film after the test.
Next week you will need to bring your books to class, as we will continue with poetry and short stories of the Modern writers.
TEST OVER LITERARY DEVICES HANDOUT ON OCTOBER 31st
Homework
"J. Alfred Prufrock" T. S. Eliot Questions 1-15 page 663
"Soldiers Home" Hemingway/homework questions 1-10 page 693, Krebs analysis page 693
"A Rose for Emily" William Faulkner questions 1-15 page 729
Writing Hometown Horror Write a short story 1200 words about a fictional character P. 730
French I/II
For the next two weeks, we will be working in Chapter 3 of our text.
We will learn how to place adjective in sentences, make adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify, describe people, and talk about our families.
This is the link to Vocab 1 of chapter 3
http://quizlet.com/1331185/bien-dit-level-1-chapter-3-vocab-1-flash-cards/
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
September 19--30
ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION EXAM THIS WEEK
I HAVE THE BEST STUDENTS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ENGLISH 9 HONORS
This is the link for the vocabulary words of Fahrenheit 451
AP LANGUAGE AND COMP
We will begin Rhetorical analysis this week.
We will learn to break down prompts and passages.
We will begin Rhetorical analysis this week.
We will learn to break down prompts and passages.
ENGLISH 11
This week we will begin a literary analysis of The Great Gatsby
English 11
1A Read the first four chapters of The Great Gatsby. You will have a quiz over the reading. In your literature book read pp. 695-696 Read the excerpt on F. Scott Fitzgerald.
English 11
1A Read the first four chapters of The Great Gatsby. You will have a quiz over the reading. In your literature book read pp. 695-696 Read the excerpt on F. Scott Fitzgerald.
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER:
"Fitzgerald's young men go east even as far as Europe; they are in quest not of art and experience, but of an even more ultimate innocence, AN ABSOLUTE AMERICA: a happy ending complete with new car, big house, money, and the GIRL."(Tredell, 1997).
"To understand the unity of The Great Gatsby we must first recognize that its primary subject is the growth of awareness. The awareness belongs to the narrator, Nick Carraway, who not only enjoys the advantage of distance in time from the events he relates, but even at the scene of their unfolding has been more of a perceiver than a participant. It is significant that his retrospections are never so concerned with what he did as with what he saw." (Tredell, 1997).
- We will also compare and contrast the characteristics of Realism and Modernism
- We will look for the characteristics of Modernism in T. S. Eliot's classic poem "J. Alfred Prufrock"
- YOUR HOME WORK FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL BE QUESTIONS 1-15 ON PAGE 663
FRENCH
We will begin chapter 2 section 2.2 we will be working with French adverbs of frequency and adverbs of manner to talk about how often you doing something and how well you do something. The link to quizlet for your vocabulary work is below:
We will begin chapter 2 section 2.2 we will be working with French adverbs of frequency and adverbs of manner to talk about how often you doing something and how well you do something. The link to quizlet for your vocabulary work is below:
http://quizlet.com/1323272/bien-dit-1-ch-22-flash-cards/
Additionally we will learn about contractions in French and how to form these parts of speech, as well as French conjunctions. See you in class!
French verb busters link:
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/rgshiwyc/school/curric/french/verbbuster/VerbBusterindex.htm
HOMEWORK ALERT!!!!
CHAPITRE 2 exercises 23, 25, 27, 28, 29
Additionally we will learn about contractions in French and how to form these parts of speech, as well as French conjunctions. See you in class!
French verb busters link:
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/rgshiwyc/school/curric/french/verbbuster/VerbBusterindex.htm
HOMEWORK ALERT!!!!
CHAPITRE 2 exercises 23, 25, 27, 28, 29
MYTH AND LEGEND
We will continue our work with Edith Hamilton's Mythology
I will be showing you documentaries from the History Channel on the Olympian gods and goddesses, as well as the monsters and heroes.Here is a link where you can practice the vocabulary from the book: http://quizlet.com/3731050/edith-hamiltons-mythology-flash-cards/
You should read from The Earliest Heroes to through the Quest of the Golden Fleece.
Be prepared for a reading check over the material.
We will continue our work with Edith Hamilton's Mythology
I will be showing you documentaries from the History Channel on the Olympian gods and goddesses, as well as the monsters and heroes.Here is a link where you can practice the vocabulary from the book: http://quizlet.com/3731050/edith-hamiltons-mythology-flash-cards/
You should read from The Earliest Heroes to through the Quest of the Golden Fleece.
Be prepared for a reading check over the material.
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 12-16
English 9 Honors
Test Tuesday September 13th
covering 3 short stories--"Initiation," "The Most Dangerous Game," "A Christmas Memory." Your test will cover literary elements and how these devices are used within the text, as well as the VOCABULARY from these selections.
Bring Fahrenheit 451to every class next week.
AP Language and Composition
Complete AP Multiple Choice debriefing
Take AP Multiple Choice test for The Adventures Huckleberry Finn
Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis
Exercises for Rhetorical Analysis
PREP SESSION SATURDAY--SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
ENGLISH 11
The Lost Generation
The years immediately after World War I brought a highly vocal rebellion against established social, sexual, and aesthetic conventions and a vigorous attempt to establish new values. Young artists flocked to Greenwich Village, Chicago, and San Francisco, determined to protest and intent on making a new art. Others went to Europe, living mostly in Paris as expatriates. They willingly accepted the name given them by Gertrude Stein: the lost generation. Out of their disillusion and rejection, the writers built a new literature, impressive in the glittering 1920s and the years that followed.
Romantic clichés were abandoned for extreme realism or for complex symbolism and created myth. Language grew so frank that there were bitter quarrels over censorship, as in the troubles about James Branch Cabell's Jurgen (1919) and-much more notably-Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer (1931). The influences of new psychology and of Marxian social theory were also very strong. Out of this highly active boiling of new ideas and new forms came writers of recognizable stature in the world, among them Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck, and E. E. Cummings.
_______________________________________________________________
This week we will begin the THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This link is to University of South Carolina where you will find a brief life of Fitzgerald http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html
Reading quizzes will be given this week to check for reading comprehension
Questions to Think About:
1) Who do you think the characters in The Great Gatsby represent? Do they seem like real people? Which characters seem the most real to you?
2) What is the symbolism of the green light that appears throughout the novel (at the end of Daisy's pier, at intersections throughout the book)?
3) Fitzgerald returns several times to describe a decrepit optical products sign -- the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg -- that hovers over "the valley of ashes." What does that sign represent?
4) Fitzgerald describes the world as "a valley of ashes" but often contrasts Daisy and Jay Gatsby as being spotless. What does this say about his view of American culture and of both Jay and Daisy?
5) In what ways does Fitzgerald present a tension between Modernism and Victorianism in The Great Gatsby?
6) The Great Gatsby is often referred to as the quintessential novel of the "Jazz Age." Using examples from the book, explain what this term meant, and Fitzgerald's attitudes towards that characterization of the 1920s.
FRENCH I/II
WE WILL BEGIN CHAPTER 2 THIS WEEK. PLEASE BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK AND YOUR WORKBOOK TO CLASS. Complete the handout for homework. Practice the vocab on the link below
Vocabulary 1 chp. 2 http://quizlet.com/1304581/bien-dit-1-ch-21-flash-cards/
MYTH AND LEGEND
This week we continue our work with the first 3 chapter of Edith Hamilton's Mythology
On Monday I will give you additional information and you will watch a documentary from the history channel CLASH OF THE GODS--ZEUS.Bethany created this vocabulary practice on quizlet: http://quizlet.com/6448766/vocab-for-september-12-flash-cards/
Test Tuesday September 13th
covering 3 short stories--"Initiation," "The Most Dangerous Game," "A Christmas Memory." Your test will cover literary elements and how these devices are used within the text, as well as the VOCABULARY from these selections.
Bring Fahrenheit 451to every class next week.
AP Language and Composition
Complete AP Multiple Choice debriefing
Take AP Multiple Choice test for The Adventures Huckleberry Finn
Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis
Exercises for Rhetorical Analysis
PREP SESSION SATURDAY--SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
ENGLISH 11
The Lost Generation
The years immediately after World War I brought a highly vocal rebellion against established social, sexual, and aesthetic conventions and a vigorous attempt to establish new values. Young artists flocked to Greenwich Village, Chicago, and San Francisco, determined to protest and intent on making a new art. Others went to Europe, living mostly in Paris as expatriates. They willingly accepted the name given them by Gertrude Stein: the lost generation. Out of their disillusion and rejection, the writers built a new literature, impressive in the glittering 1920s and the years that followed.
Romantic clichés were abandoned for extreme realism or for complex symbolism and created myth. Language grew so frank that there were bitter quarrels over censorship, as in the troubles about James Branch Cabell's Jurgen (1919) and-much more notably-Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer (1931). The influences of new psychology and of Marxian social theory were also very strong. Out of this highly active boiling of new ideas and new forms came writers of recognizable stature in the world, among them Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck, and E. E. Cummings.
_______________________________________________________________
This week we will begin the THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This link is to University of South Carolina where you will find a brief life of Fitzgerald http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html
Reading quizzes will be given this week to check for reading comprehension
Questions to Think About:
1) Who do you think the characters in The Great Gatsby represent? Do they seem like real people? Which characters seem the most real to you?
2) What is the symbolism of the green light that appears throughout the novel (at the end of Daisy's pier, at intersections throughout the book)?
3) Fitzgerald returns several times to describe a decrepit optical products sign -- the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg -- that hovers over "the valley of ashes." What does that sign represent?
4) Fitzgerald describes the world as "a valley of ashes" but often contrasts Daisy and Jay Gatsby as being spotless. What does this say about his view of American culture and of both Jay and Daisy?
5) In what ways does Fitzgerald present a tension between Modernism and Victorianism in The Great Gatsby?
6) The Great Gatsby is often referred to as the quintessential novel of the "Jazz Age." Using examples from the book, explain what this term meant, and Fitzgerald's attitudes towards that characterization of the 1920s.
FRENCH I/II
WE WILL BEGIN CHAPTER 2 THIS WEEK. PLEASE BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK AND YOUR WORKBOOK TO CLASS. Complete the handout for homework. Practice the vocab on the link below
Vocabulary 1 chp. 2 http://quizlet.com/1304581/bien-dit-1-ch-21-flash-cards/
MYTH AND LEGEND
This week we continue our work with the first 3 chapter of Edith Hamilton's Mythology
On Monday I will give you additional information and you will watch a documentary from the history channel CLASH OF THE GODS--ZEUS.Bethany created this vocabulary practice on quizlet: http://quizlet.com/6448766/vocab-for-september-12-flash-cards/
Monday, September 5, 2011
September 6-9
FRENCH I/II
Continue irregular verb practice of ETRE, AVOIR,and introduce ALLER (to go)
French 2 website to practice the conjugations of French verbs regular and irregular:
http://www.verbuga.eu/Mise/Mise.html
French I on this website, you can practice etre avoir aller :
http://quizlet.com/4397044/french-1-verb-practice-flash-cards/
This site is to practice days of the weeks and times of day: http://quizlet.com/530486/french-times-of-day-days-of-week-flash-cards/ TEST FRIDAY
Practice Pledge in French
Complete work in chapter 1 grammatical structures
MYTH AND LEGEND
Here is the link to E.M. Berens Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm
It is hardly necessary to dwell upon the importance of the study of mythology: our poems, novels, and even our daily journals teem with classical allusions; nor can a visit to our museums and art galleries be fully enjoyed without something more than a mere superficial knowledge of a subject which has in all ages inspired artists of all genres.
Source: E.M. Berens Myths and Legends of Greek and Rome (1880)
VOCABULARY FOR CHAPTER 1 EDITH HAMILTON'S MYTHOLOGY:
http://quizlet.com/3961849/mythology-edith-hamilton-ch1-quiz-flash-cards/
Vocab chapter 2: http://quizlet.com/3966944/mythology-edith-hamilton-ch-2-flash-cards/
Vocab chapter 3: http://quizlet.com/4042096/mythology-edith-hamilton-ch-3-flash-cards/
Study questions for chapter 1-3 complete in class/due date Monday September 12, 2011
Lecture: Origin of the world the first dynasty-Uranus and Gaea, The second dynasty-Cronus and Rhea, The battle of titans and Olympians to establish the third dynasty of the Zeus and the Olympians
History Channel Documentary - Clash of the God's Series: ZEUS
English 9 Honors
We will continue with the work that we began last week-
We will examine plot structure -time and sequence in terms of chronological order, flashbacks, flash-forward, foreshadowing. We will study plot structure and its purpose in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation," "The Most Dangerous Game," "A Christmas Memory?" Looking for literary devices used to construct the narrative, probing how conflict works to create suspense and tension within the work and move the plot along and how setting provides background for narratives. On Friday, you will write an autobiographical narrative using these elements.
Homework: complete the readings "The Most Dangerous Game," Setting on page 60-61, the excerpt from "A Christmas Memory," page 79 writing an autobiographical narrative. Study the vocab words from the 3 short stories--"INITIATION, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY"
AP Language and Composition: SHORT WEEK
TUESDAY: Multiple Choice practice test (individual) 60 minutes
FRIDAY: debriefing with instructor
NEXT WEEK AP MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST OVER HUCK FINN
English 11
This week we will spend most of time in class constructing and completing you essays
from the prompts on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Work on these at home on Wednesday night as well.
Complete your reading of Huck Finn
Final Huck Finn Test Monday next week
Continue irregular verb practice of ETRE, AVOIR,and introduce ALLER (to go)
French 2 website to practice the conjugations of French verbs regular and irregular:
http://www.verbuga.eu/Mise/Mise.html
French I on this website, you can practice etre avoir aller :
http://quizlet.com/4397044/french-1-verb-practice-flash-cards/
This site is to practice days of the weeks and times of day: http://quizlet.com/530486/french-times-of-day-days-of-week-flash-cards/ TEST FRIDAY
Practice Pledge in French
Complete work in chapter 1 grammatical structures
MYTH AND LEGEND
Here is the link to E.M. Berens Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm
It is hardly necessary to dwell upon the importance of the study of mythology: our poems, novels, and even our daily journals teem with classical allusions; nor can a visit to our museums and art galleries be fully enjoyed without something more than a mere superficial knowledge of a subject which has in all ages inspired artists of all genres.
Source: E.M. Berens Myths and Legends of Greek and Rome (1880)
VOCABULARY FOR CHAPTER 1 EDITH HAMILTON'S MYTHOLOGY:
http://quizlet.com/3961849/mythology-edith-hamilton-ch1-quiz-flash-cards/
Vocab chapter 2: http://quizlet.com/3966944/mythology-edith-hamilton-ch-2-flash-cards/
Vocab chapter 3: http://quizlet.com/4042096/mythology-edith-hamilton-ch-3-flash-cards/
Study questions for chapter 1-3 complete in class/due date Monday September 12, 2011
Lecture: Origin of the world the first dynasty-Uranus and Gaea, The second dynasty-Cronus and Rhea, The battle of titans and Olympians to establish the third dynasty of the Zeus and the Olympians
History Channel Documentary - Clash of the God's Series: ZEUS
English 9 Honors
We will continue with the work that we began last week-
We will examine plot structure -time and sequence in terms of chronological order, flashbacks, flash-forward, foreshadowing. We will study plot structure and its purpose in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation," "The Most Dangerous Game," "A Christmas Memory?" Looking for literary devices used to construct the narrative, probing how conflict works to create suspense and tension within the work and move the plot along and how setting provides background for narratives. On Friday, you will write an autobiographical narrative using these elements.
Homework: complete the readings "The Most Dangerous Game," Setting on page 60-61, the excerpt from "A Christmas Memory," page 79 writing an autobiographical narrative. Study the vocab words from the 3 short stories--"INITIATION, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY"
AP Language and Composition: SHORT WEEK
TUESDAY: Multiple Choice practice test (individual) 60 minutes
FRIDAY: debriefing with instructor
NEXT WEEK AP MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST OVER HUCK FINN
English 11
This week we will spend most of time in class constructing and completing you essays
from the prompts on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Work on these at home on Wednesday night as well.
Complete your reading of Huck Finn
Final Huck Finn Test Monday next week
Sunday, August 28, 2011
August 29-Septmeber 2
To my wonderful students: Thank you for your continued desire to be the best you can be. I appreciate the hard work that you put forth daily. I am so fortunate to have you as students. I love your all!
English 11
English 11
This week we will work on constructing your essays. This is a long and tedious process for you I know, but you will benefit so much from you struggle to express your thoughts through the written word. Learning takes place when we are in disequilibrium. In other words, when we are uncomfortable and uncertain about our ability to complete our tasks we are learning. This struggle and the effort we put forth to accomplish a task work together to establish proficiency. It is kind of like riding a bike, once you learn how you never forget.
AP Language and Comp
This week we will take your second multiple choice test and debrief the test in groups. You may use the handouts that I gave to complete the test. Also, you should have a dictionary to help you with this process. You will also write your first timed essay this week. You will be given a prompt that you will respond to in a well organized essay. Review the information that I gave you concerning thesis statements for without a strong thesis you have no road map to guide your through the process of constructing your paper.
Myth and Legend
This week you will read from the World Literature books about Greeks and Roman mythology. You will read the excerpts from the Iliad. We will be working in this book until all students have their Edith Hamilton's Mythology book. On Thursday we will begin our work in Edith Hamilton's text so make sure you have your book. The first section you should read is chp. 1 The Gods. The second chapter concerns the creation story and we will examine this as well. I will show you a history channel documentary about the revolt of the Olympians against the Titans.
French I/II
I have 3 days with you this week. Yeah!
This week we will complete chapter I parts 1/2 in the text book you will have a vocab test over chp. 1 part 2 in both classes. This is the link for French I
http://quizlet.com/1095649/bien-dit-level-1-ch-1-vocab-2-flash-cards/
This is the link for French II vocabulary:
http://quizlet.com/1086696/bien-dit-level-2-ch-1-voc-2-flash-cards/
French I chapter test Friday
French II chapter test Friday
go to this website and read about Bastille Day which equals our 4th of July
http://www.mflresources.org.uk/french/Fr_culture/14%20juillet.ppt#272,17,How is la Fête Nationale celebrated?
English 9 Honors
We will examine plot structure -time and sequence in terms of chronological order, flashbacks, flash-forward, foreshadowing. We will study plot structure and its purpose in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation," "The Most Dangerous Game," "Can Animals Think?" Looking for literary devices used to construct the narrative, probing how conflict works to create suspense and tension within the work and move the plot along. On Friday you will write an autobiographical narrative using these elements.
AP Language and Comp
This week we will take your second multiple choice test and debrief the test in groups. You may use the handouts that I gave to complete the test. Also, you should have a dictionary to help you with this process. You will also write your first timed essay this week. You will be given a prompt that you will respond to in a well organized essay. Review the information that I gave you concerning thesis statements for without a strong thesis you have no road map to guide your through the process of constructing your paper.
Myth and Legend
This week you will read from the World Literature books about Greeks and Roman mythology. You will read the excerpts from the Iliad. We will be working in this book until all students have their Edith Hamilton's Mythology book. On Thursday we will begin our work in Edith Hamilton's text so make sure you have your book. The first section you should read is chp. 1 The Gods. The second chapter concerns the creation story and we will examine this as well. I will show you a history channel documentary about the revolt of the Olympians against the Titans.
French I/II
I have 3 days with you this week. Yeah!
This week we will complete chapter I parts 1/2 in the text book you will have a vocab test over chp. 1 part 2 in both classes. This is the link for French I
http://quizlet.com/1095649/bien-dit-level-1-ch-1-vocab-2-flash-cards/
This is the link for French II vocabulary:
http://quizlet.com/1086696/bien-dit-level-2-ch-1-voc-2-flash-cards/
French I chapter test Friday
French II chapter test Friday
go to this website and read about Bastille Day which equals our 4th of July
http://www.mflresources.org.uk/french/Fr_culture/14%20juillet.ppt#272,17,How is la Fête Nationale celebrated?
English 9 Honors
We will examine plot structure -time and sequence in terms of chronological order, flashbacks, flash-forward, foreshadowing. We will study plot structure and its purpose in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation," "The Most Dangerous Game," "Can Animals Think?" Looking for literary devices used to construct the narrative, probing how conflict works to create suspense and tension within the work and move the plot along. On Friday you will write an autobiographical narrative using these elements.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
August 21-26
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS:
EXAMPLE OF PARALLEL STRUCTURE
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way -
Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Tuesday: Test over rhetorical terms
Discussion of Huck Finn:
Questions to consider--Why does Mark Twain locate his serious commentary on American society within the voice of a fourteen year old uneducated boy living in a village in the 1840s?
How does Twain set up the association of Christianity and slavery.
How is slavery introduced in the novel? Is the novel an attack on the institution of slavery or Twain's reading of the public's practice of religion?
How do the Grangerfords and the Shepardsons play into this debate?
What does Twain have to say about the notion of the "Romantic South?"
Silas Phelps is a Christian preacher. How does Twain use this to underscore his point?
What role does the river play in the work? Some critics say it plays such a significant role that it is a character in novel.
What commentary does Twain have upon parenting?
Friday: You will complete your rhetorical analysis worksheet that you were given on Friday last.
REMEMBER: IF IT'S AP IT AIN'T EASY AND AP STUDENTS KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT SOMETHING: SO.....
*Continue to listen to NPR 89.3
*Read this each day:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/world/
English 11
Test Monday over SAT/ACT vocab A-B
This week we will be again looking at types of sentences.
We will complete Huck Finn and you will take a reading quiz over chps. 20-29
Thursday you will write an essay over Huck Finn
Here is a list of prompts to choose from:
1. Compare and contrast the Shepherson/Grangerford Feud with either a) the Montague/Capulet feud or b) the Hatfield/McCoy feud.
2. Discuss the place of morality in Huckleberry Finn. In the world of the novel, where do moral values come from? The community? The family? The church? One’s experiences? Which of these potential sources does Twain privilege over the others? Which does he mock, or describe disapprovingly?
3. Discuss the role of superstition in the novel. Explain how Twain criticizes superstitious beliefs and give specific examples.
4. How is Huck’s trip down the river actually a passage into manhood?
5. Huckleberry Finn has been called the “Great American Novel.” However, it is the sixth most frequently banned book in the United States. Discuss why this masterpiece is banned mostly in Christian academies and in all black institutions.
6. Explain how the American Dream is or is not achieved by three characters in this novel. Begin by explaining what each character holds as his or her American Dream.
7. Discuss how Huck displays several textbook characteristics of the child of an alcoholic.
8. Analyze and trace the moral maturation of Huck Finn. Discuss the events that disgusted and depressed him, the coping skills that he learned, and his actions and the circumstances for such.
9. Explain how Huck’s loss of innocence as a boy is symbolic of the loss of a nation as America moves toward the Civil War.
10. What do you think makes this novel an important record of American culture?
11. Discuss Jim as a Christ figure.
12. The overall American critical reaction to the publishing of The Adventures of Huck Finn in 1855 was summed up in one word: “trash.” Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and Little Men) said, “If Mr. Clemens cannot think of anything better to tell our pure-minded lads and lassies, he had better stop writing for them.” The Public Library Committee of Concord, Massachusetts excluded the book as “a dangerous moral influence on the young.” Defend or refute the position that the novel is indeed “trash” with evidence from the text to support your claim.
13. Although Mark Twain, in his introductory “notice” to the novel, denies that there is a moral or motive in the story, the work itself contradicts its author. How?
14. What is “civilization” in the mind of Huck?
15. Critics often agree that the most disappointing part of the novel is the ending, when Tom Sawyer returns with his pranks, ignoring Huck’s growth and maturity that he has gained during the course of the novel. With an essay, attack or defend the appropriateness of the ending for the novel and be sure to use evidence from the book to support your argument.
We will examine each of these in class to prepare for your essay.
Reading: Additionally, we will read an excerpt from Richard Wright's 1940 Novel Native Son. The excerpt is "Big Boy Leaves Home". This work examines the marginalization of African Americans in the deep South in the modern period.
New link to essay about Richard Wright and his writing of Black Boy. You should definetely read this: http://literatureandbelief.byu.edu/publications/seeking_salvation.pdf
Myth and Legends
From the World Literature Textbook:
Complete Gilgamesh
Read the Hebrew Bible's account of creation
Read a Native American account of creation
Now we must consider what ties these myths together. This requires synthesis of the materials we have examined. What are the universal elements that we find in myths of various cultures? How can we account for this across diverse cultures? How do we account for the similarities between the creation account in Genesis and the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh? Is the Gilgamesh Epic used to deny the authority of the Bible because of its predating? These are questions we will explore in class.
Test on Thursday over elements of creation myths
READING ASSIGNMENT: Begin reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I will assign your reading in class.
ENGLISH 9 HONORS
Tuesday: Test over SAT/ACT A-B
This week you will write an essay discussing the following element of To Kill A Mockingbird. You will be given two blocks to construct your essay. You have a handout from my lecture on thesis statements. This will be indispensable to you in constructing your essay. This will count as an essay grade (30%). You may want to begin an outline for your essay at home.
Essay Prompt: One of the most inspiring characters in 20th century American literature is Atticus Finch. A morally upright lawyer, a committed and loving father, and an overall good citizen, Finch is regarded highly by most citizens with a sense of justice. Write an essay in which you analyze Atticus Finch’s character. You may wish to focus the content of your essay by selecting a single quote or passage (consider a portion of the courtroom speech, for instance) and explain how it reflects Finch’s character strengths. Address whether Finch has any flaws, and explain how he conveys his beliefs to his children and his community.
French I
Chapter 1
vocab test Tuesday on Vocabulary 1 of Chp. 1
Review Days of the week and counting to 20.
Review Subject Pronouns
Introduction of indefinite articles Un, Une, Des and gender of nouns
The verb Avoir
Tele Roman Pages 28-29 We will view the video episode Au lycee, le jour dela rentree
French II
Quiz over Vocab 1 Chp. 1
Continue to read and complete exercises from Le Monstre dans Le Metro
Oral reading practice/Reading comprehension practice
English 11
Test Monday over SAT/ACT vocab A-B
This week we will be again looking at types of sentences.
We will complete Huck Finn and you will take a reading quiz over chps. 20-29
Thursday you will write an essay over Huck Finn
Here is a list of prompts to choose from:
1. Compare and contrast the Shepherson/Grangerford Feud with either a) the Montague/Capulet feud or b) the Hatfield/McCoy feud.
2. Discuss the place of morality in Huckleberry Finn. In the world of the novel, where do moral values come from? The community? The family? The church? One’s experiences? Which of these potential sources does Twain privilege over the others? Which does he mock, or describe disapprovingly?
3. Discuss the role of superstition in the novel. Explain how Twain criticizes superstitious beliefs and give specific examples.
4. How is Huck’s trip down the river actually a passage into manhood?
5. Huckleberry Finn has been called the “Great American Novel.” However, it is the sixth most frequently banned book in the United States. Discuss why this masterpiece is banned mostly in Christian academies and in all black institutions.
6. Explain how the American Dream is or is not achieved by three characters in this novel. Begin by explaining what each character holds as his or her American Dream.
7. Discuss how Huck displays several textbook characteristics of the child of an alcoholic.
8. Analyze and trace the moral maturation of Huck Finn. Discuss the events that disgusted and depressed him, the coping skills that he learned, and his actions and the circumstances for such.
9. Explain how Huck’s loss of innocence as a boy is symbolic of the loss of a nation as America moves toward the Civil War.
10. What do you think makes this novel an important record of American culture?
11. Discuss Jim as a Christ figure.
12. The overall American critical reaction to the publishing of The Adventures of Huck Finn in 1855 was summed up in one word: “trash.” Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and Little Men) said, “If Mr. Clemens cannot think of anything better to tell our pure-minded lads and lassies, he had better stop writing for them.” The Public Library Committee of Concord, Massachusetts excluded the book as “a dangerous moral influence on the young.” Defend or refute the position that the novel is indeed “trash” with evidence from the text to support your claim.
13. Although Mark Twain, in his introductory “notice” to the novel, denies that there is a moral or motive in the story, the work itself contradicts its author. How?
14. What is “civilization” in the mind of Huck?
15. Critics often agree that the most disappointing part of the novel is the ending, when Tom Sawyer returns with his pranks, ignoring Huck’s growth and maturity that he has gained during the course of the novel. With an essay, attack or defend the appropriateness of the ending for the novel and be sure to use evidence from the book to support your argument.
We will examine each of these in class to prepare for your essay.
Reading: Additionally, we will read an excerpt from Richard Wright's 1940 Novel Native Son. The excerpt is "Big Boy Leaves Home". This work examines the marginalization of African Americans in the deep South in the modern period.
New link to essay about Richard Wright and his writing of Black Boy. You should definetely read this: http://literatureandbelief.byu.edu/publications/seeking_salvation.pdf
Myth and Legends
From the World Literature Textbook:
Complete Gilgamesh
Read the Hebrew Bible's account of creation
Read a Native American account of creation
Now we must consider what ties these myths together. This requires synthesis of the materials we have examined. What are the universal elements that we find in myths of various cultures? How can we account for this across diverse cultures? How do we account for the similarities between the creation account in Genesis and the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh? Is the Gilgamesh Epic used to deny the authority of the Bible because of its predating? These are questions we will explore in class.
Test on Thursday over elements of creation myths
READING ASSIGNMENT: Begin reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I will assign your reading in class.
ENGLISH 9 HONORS
Tuesday: Test over SAT/ACT A-B
This week you will write an essay discussing the following element of To Kill A Mockingbird. You will be given two blocks to construct your essay. You have a handout from my lecture on thesis statements. This will be indispensable to you in constructing your essay. This will count as an essay grade (30%). You may want to begin an outline for your essay at home.
Essay Prompt: One of the most inspiring characters in 20th century American literature is Atticus Finch. A morally upright lawyer, a committed and loving father, and an overall good citizen, Finch is regarded highly by most citizens with a sense of justice. Write an essay in which you analyze Atticus Finch’s character. You may wish to focus the content of your essay by selecting a single quote or passage (consider a portion of the courtroom speech, for instance) and explain how it reflects Finch’s character strengths. Address whether Finch has any flaws, and explain how he conveys his beliefs to his children and his community.
French I
Chapter 1
vocab test Tuesday on Vocabulary 1 of Chp. 1
Review Days of the week and counting to 20.
Review Subject Pronouns
Introduction of indefinite articles Un, Une, Des and gender of nouns
The verb Avoir
Tele Roman Pages 28-29 We will view the video episode Au lycee, le jour dela rentree
French II
Quiz over Vocab 1 Chp. 1
Continue to read and complete exercises from Le Monstre dans Le Metro
Oral reading practice/Reading comprehension practice
Sunday, August 14, 2011
August 15-19
English 9 Honors
Test--Friday over SAT vocabulary
http://quizlet.com/1618346/sat-a-b-flash-cards/
This is a link to To Kill A Mockingbird Student Survival guide. It defines words chapter by chapter and clarifies the Allusions made in each chapter.
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/
This week we will continue to discuss literary elements in TKM. On Friday last I asked you to find the structural elements in TKM. Elements like flat and round characters, point of view, metaphors, similes, foreshadowing, personification, imagery, irony, theme, and conflict. We will discuss your findings in class on Tuesday. We will discuss symbols and symbolism in TKM. You will have discussion questions to work with a partner on and present to the class.
The GothicThe powerful forces of good and evil in To Kill a Mockingbird seem larger than the small Southern town in which the story takes place. One of the ways in which Lee adds drama and atmosphere to her story is by including a number of Gothic details in the setting and the plot. In literature, Gothic refers to a style of fiction first popularized in eighteenth-century England and featuring supernatural occurrences, gloomy and haunted settings, full moons, etc. Among the Gothic elements in the story are the unnatural snowfall, the fire that destroys Miss Maudie's house, the children's superstitions about Boo Radley, the mad dog that Atticus shoots, and the ominous night of the Halloween party on which Bob Ewell attacks the children. These elements, out of place in the normally quiet, predictable Maycomb create tension in the novel and serve to foreshadow the troublesome events of the trial and its aftermath.
English 11
Monday quiz over chapters 6-15
We will discuss the ELEMENTS OF FICTION in Huck Finn. This is a link to the information:
http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/hhecht/the%20elements%20of%20fiction.htm
We will look at the different types of sentences and practice writing thesis statements.
Your reading will be assigned in class.
Test Monday August 22 VOCABULARY: this is a link to College Board's top SAT/ACT vocabulary A-B
http://quizlet.com/1618346/sat-a-b-flash-cards/
Assigned reading: Chapters16-24
AP Language and Composition
The handouts I give you will be used by you during class to help you with writing essays and multiple choice tests. THESE ARE PRECIOUS DON'T LOSE THEM!
This week we will complete group discussions on the AP multiple choice test. We will go over the answers and then each group will debrief.
We will cover the following this week: (handouts)
***FRIDAY: TEST OVER CHAPTERS
1-15 IN HUCKLEBERRY FINN***
FRENCH I and II
REVIEW ALPHABET PRONUNCIATION, LEARN TO COUNT IN FRENCH, GREETINGS, AND SUBJECT PRONOUNS
EACH SECTION WILL BEING WORKING IN CHAPTER 1 OF THEIR BOOK. I WILL ASSIGN HOMEWORK IN CLASS.
French 1 link to vocabulary practice on quizlet for chapter 1
http://quizlet.com/2585638/bien-dit-1-ch-11-flash-cards/
French 2 link to vocabulary practice on quizlet for chapter 1
http://quizlet.com/1103220/bien-dit-2-chapter-11-flash-cards/
Myth and Legend
Creation Stories
You will present your creation stories on Monday
We will read excerpts from world myths Gilgamesh, Genesis, Native American creation stories
Creation myths are amongst mankind's earliest attempts to explain some of the most profound questions about the nature and origin of the universe. These are questions that we are still attempting to answer today. READ THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY--http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/creation_myths.html
Test--Friday over SAT vocabulary
http://quizlet.com/1618346/sat-a-b-flash-cards/
This is a link to To Kill A Mockingbird Student Survival guide. It defines words chapter by chapter and clarifies the Allusions made in each chapter.
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/
This week we will continue to discuss literary elements in TKM. On Friday last I asked you to find the structural elements in TKM. Elements like flat and round characters, point of view, metaphors, similes, foreshadowing, personification, imagery, irony, theme, and conflict. We will discuss your findings in class on Tuesday. We will discuss symbols and symbolism in TKM. You will have discussion questions to work with a partner on and present to the class.
The GothicThe powerful forces of good and evil in To Kill a Mockingbird seem larger than the small Southern town in which the story takes place. One of the ways in which Lee adds drama and atmosphere to her story is by including a number of Gothic details in the setting and the plot. In literature, Gothic refers to a style of fiction first popularized in eighteenth-century England and featuring supernatural occurrences, gloomy and haunted settings, full moons, etc. Among the Gothic elements in the story are the unnatural snowfall, the fire that destroys Miss Maudie's house, the children's superstitions about Boo Radley, the mad dog that Atticus shoots, and the ominous night of the Halloween party on which Bob Ewell attacks the children. These elements, out of place in the normally quiet, predictable Maycomb create tension in the novel and serve to foreshadow the troublesome events of the trial and its aftermath.
English 11
Monday quiz over chapters 6-15
We will discuss the ELEMENTS OF FICTION in Huck Finn. This is a link to the information:
http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/hhecht/the%20elements%20of%20fiction.htm
We will look at the different types of sentences and practice writing thesis statements.
Your reading will be assigned in class.
Test Monday August 22 VOCABULARY: this is a link to College Board's top SAT/ACT vocabulary A-B
http://quizlet.com/1618346/sat-a-b-flash-cards/
Assigned reading: Chapters16-24
AP Language and Composition
The handouts I give you will be used by you during class to help you with writing essays and multiple choice tests. THESE ARE PRECIOUS DON'T LOSE THEM!
This week we will complete group discussions on the AP multiple choice test. We will go over the answers and then each group will debrief.
We will cover the following this week: (handouts)
- HOW TO WRITE: AP Rhetorical Analysis Paragraphs and Essays
- Introduction to AP vocabulary, Rhetorical devices and syntactical structures.
- The rhetorical situation and Karios
- We will examine AP prompts by using SOAPS-- an acronym for speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject--handout
- 4 modes of discourse
***FRIDAY: TEST OVER CHAPTERS
1-15 IN HUCKLEBERRY FINN***
FRENCH I and II
REVIEW ALPHABET PRONUNCIATION, LEARN TO COUNT IN FRENCH, GREETINGS, AND SUBJECT PRONOUNS
EACH SECTION WILL BEING WORKING IN CHAPTER 1 OF THEIR BOOK. I WILL ASSIGN HOMEWORK IN CLASS.
French 1 link to vocabulary practice on quizlet for chapter 1
http://quizlet.com/2585638/bien-dit-1-ch-11-flash-cards/
French 2 link to vocabulary practice on quizlet for chapter 1
http://quizlet.com/1103220/bien-dit-2-chapter-11-flash-cards/
Myth and Legend
Creation Stories
You will present your creation stories on Monday
We will read excerpts from world myths Gilgamesh, Genesis, Native American creation stories
Creation myths are amongst mankind's earliest attempts to explain some of the most profound questions about the nature and origin of the universe. These are questions that we are still attempting to answer today. READ THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY--http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/creation_myths.html
Friday, August 5, 2011
August 8-12
"Writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer. There are people who write, but I think they're quite different from people who must write."
—Harper Lee
from a 1964 interview
English 9 Honors
Welcome to New CenturyNOVEL: We will begin our course with Harper's Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
This is a link that will take you to THE BIG READ'S (The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The National Education Association presents The Big Read in partnership with Arts Midwest) section about the author Harper Lee. http://www.neabigread.org/books/mockingbird/mockingbird04.php
Please read all information on this page carefully, better yet...PRINT IT OUT AND BRING TO CLASS.
WRITING: Your first week in class you will be given a prompt to which you will respond in an essay. This will allow me to have a base line by which I can measure your progress in writing. The competency objective for the writing element of the course will be to achieve mastery in constructing a solid 5 paragraph essay that responds to a prompt.
GRAMMAR: types of rhetorical sentences (loose, periodic, cumulative)
VOCABULARY: this is a link to College Board's top SAT/ACT A-B vocabulary words
http://quizlet.com/1618346/sat-a-b-flash-cards/
you will have a vocab quiz each FRIDAY over 20 words
ENGLISH 11
Novel: Huckleberry Finn
We will begin our course with Mark Twain's landmark work Huckleberry Finn. This is a link to an excellent website on Huckleberry Finn. This is the homepage for the links below and much information about the narrative. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/huckfinn/huchompg.html
I would like you to go to these links and read the Atlanta Constitution Journal's positive reaction to the book http://etext.virginia.edu/twain/atlanta.html and The Boston Evening Traveler's negative reaction http://etext.virginia.edu/twain/bosttrav.html. Clemens critiques society often contrasting self-diluted characters as successes within society with individual characters as outsiders or failures of society.
Link to folkbeliefs and lecture in class (you need to look over the entire website on Huck Finn)
http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/riedy/list1.html
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been labeled as a PICARESQUE NOVEL. A picaresque novel is an adventure story that involves an anti-hero or picaro who wanders around with no actual destination in mind. The picaresque novel has many key elements. It must contain an anti-hero who is usually described as an underling with no place in society, it is usually told in autobiographical form, and it is potentially endless, meaning that it has no tight plot, but could go on and on. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has molded itself perfectly to all these essential elements of a picaresque novel.
THIS NOTION OF THE ANTI-HERO IS THE FIRST IN AMERICAN LITERATURE AND THE REASON THAT THE MODERNIST WRITER ERNEST HEMINGWAY said "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since."
Unlike The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deals with controversial issues. Perhaps the most important and scandalous theme is Clemens strong view against slavery. Although Clemens wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after the civil war, many people were not only racist but contained a great deal of resentment against African-Americans. Clemens used Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a catalyst for his stance against slavery. One way in which Clemens demonstrates his views against slavery was the intimate relationship he created between Huck, a white boy, and Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout the novel Clemens humanizes Jim, as oppose to describing him as property or less than human, the belief of many Southerners at the time. In many ways Clemens describes Jim as a better, more decent human being than most white people. Jim acts like a proper father figure to Huck, disciplining in a civilized manner, contrasting Pap who beats him and the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson who guilt Huck into thinking he his damned to Hell. In actuality Jim could be labeled the only suitable adult in the narrative, and the single positive, respectable example for Huck to follow. Jim is not only the best role model for Huck, but he is also the only character in the novel to demonstrate the concept of an ideal family.
GRAMMAR: types of rhetorical sentences (loose, periodic, cumulative)
WRITING: Your first week in class you will be given a prompt to which you will respond in an essay. This will allow me to have a base line by which I can measure your progress in communicating through the written word.
READING ASSIGNMENTS: read through chapter 5
reading quiz on Wednesday
VOCABULARY: this is a link to College Board's top SAT/ACT
vocabulary A-B
http://quizlet.com/1618346/sat-a-b-flash-cards/
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Vocabulary: go to this link to practice the AP rhetorical terms: http://quizlet.com/262591/ap-english-language-vocabulary-flash-cards/ You will have a test over these on Monday August 22(A Day)
Novel: we will begin with Huckleberry Finn. Please go to the notes posted under English 11and read the comments that I posted about the novel. Read through chapter 5
Reading quiz on Wednesday
Grammar: types of rhetorical sentences (loose, periodic, cumulative)
AP multiple choice test --60 minutes
Timed Essay-40 minutes
Myth and Legend
Introduction to Comparative Mythology
This week we will define mythology, look back to the Paleolithic period (Old Stone Age) to man's need to create gods and stories to explain his world. We will consider ways of interpreting myths. Are myths meant to be interpreted symbolically or literally?
As G. S. Kirk puts it, "a myth may have different emphases or levels of meaning." Since it often serves more than one purpose, "a tale about human actions [can] contain more than a single aspect and implication
Additionally we will define and examine Joseph Campbell's MONOMYTH.
Vocabulary: Mythical Archetypes --handout
DEFINING MYTH
From the Greek mythos, myth means story or word. Mythology is the study of myth. As stories (or narratives), myths articulate how characters undergo or enact an ordered sequence of events. The term myth has come to refer to a certain genre (or category) of stories that share characteristics that make this genre distinctly different from other genres of oral narratives, such as legends and folktales. Many definitions of myth repeat similar general aspects of the genre and may be summarized thus: Myths are symbolic tales of the distant past (often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe), may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values.
FRENCH 1 2 3
SEE YOU IN CLASS!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
May 9-25
GOOD LUCK SENIORS 2011!
WE LOVE YOU!
SENIOR ENGLISH
WELL, THIS IS IT. TURN IN YOUR RESEARCH PAPERS IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO. TURN IN YOUR FINAL EXAM OVER MARY SHELLEY'S NOVEL FRANKENSTEIN.ONCE YOU COMPLETE YOUR EXAM THEN YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR YOUR EXAMS IN OTHER CLASSES. I WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! LET ME JUST SAY-------------SQUIRREL!
AP LANGUAGE AND COMP
VOCABULARY WORDS ON SEMESTER EXAM: INTIMATED, PRECARIOUS, ENCUMBRANCE, LUCID, AVARICE, LUDICROUS, RIGOROUS, PLAINTIVE, TEMERITY, RENDEZVOUS
VIEW PBS' REGENCY HOUSE PARTY BEFORE YOUR AP TESTING. THIS DOCUMENTARY SHEDS MUCH LIGHT ON ENGLAND'S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL AGENDAS AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH CENTURY. THESE ARE THE UNDERLYING HUMAN CONSTRUCTS THAT LITERATURE ADDRESSES AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THIS ART FORM ATTEMPTS TO PROVOKE THE READER TO ADDRESS THE QUESTION--"HOW SHALL WE LIVE WELL TOGETHER?" AS YOU MOVE TOWARD BRITISH LITERATURE IN YOUR SENIOR STUDIES, I THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE TO BECOME AWARE OF THE DRAMATIC AND OFTEN CONFUSING SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF BRITISH LIFE. THESE ARE REFLECTED IN THE LITERATURE AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS PERIOD OF INDUSTRIALIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE WITH AUSTEN'S NOVELS OF MANNERS GIVING WAY TO MARXIST TREATISES ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE MASSES. THESE WORKS OF ART SIGNAL THE COMPLEXITIES OF MODERN LIFE. THE VOICES OF JANE AUSTEN, MARY SHELLEY, AND THE ROMANTICS REVEAL THE TENSIONS THAT ARE ARISING AGAINST A STRICT CLASS SYSTEM IN THE LATE 1700S AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 1800S. REGENCY HOUSE PARTY NOT ONLY EXAMINES THE EFFECTS UPON MINORITIES UNDER THE HIERARCHICAL CLASS SYSTEM, BUT ALSO THE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS OF THE PERIOD (LOGOS TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER MYTHOS AND THE WESTERN WORLD BEGINS TRANSFORMATION INTO THE MODERN WORLD WE KNOW TODAY), THE HISTORICAL TURMOIL OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE NAPOLEONIC WARS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS UPON THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF BRITAIN. IT IS A FASCINATING LOOK INTO THE EMPIRE, A WORLD VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY ESTABLISHED IN AMERICA. CLEARLY, ONE CAN SEE WHY THE LITERATURE OF BRITAIN DIFFERS DRAMATICALLY FROM THE WRITINGS OF AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTALIST, ROMANTICS AND NATIONALISTS. AT THIS TIME, AMERICA IS STILL A NEW COUNTRY TRANSITIONING FROM THE COLONIAL PERIOD. FENIMORE COOPER'S WRITING IS DECIDEDLY DIFFERENT FROM LORD BYRON'S OR SHELLEY'S IN TERMS OF SUBJECT MATTER AND STYLE. Reiterated themes in British literature include the discourse on natural rights, which surfaces in campaigns for political reform and the abolition of slavery, as well as in primitivist accounts contrasting the lives of noble savages with those of 'civilized' man, and the gradual introduction of institutional support for writers, artists, and scientists, who previously had been dependent economically on aristocratic patronage.THIS VISUAL SELECTION CAPTURES THE ZEITGEIST OF THE PERIOD AND IS INTENDED AS A TYPE OF SEGUE FROM AMERICAN TO BRITISH LITERATURE. SEE WHAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN YOUR SENIOR STUDIES!!
Wednesday you will take your AP Exam GOOD LUCK
Friday and next Tuesday you will write free response essays. Your final exam is scheduled for next week as well.
ENGLISH 11
*Turn in homework p.1044 questions 1-10
THIS WEEK WE WILL BE COMPLETING OUR FINAL SHORT NARRATIVES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. YOUR FINAL EXAM WILL COVER WORKS DEALING WITH THE EMERGING MULTICULTURAL VOICE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. THE WORKS ARE THE RULES OF THE GAME, MR.PIRZADA CAME TO DINE, THE BOOK OF THE DEAD, AND BLACK BOY. THESE PARTICULAR WORKS FOCUS ON LITERARY ELEMENTS USED TO CONSTRUCT NARRATIVES, PARTICULARLY THEME, MOTIVATION, IRONY, DIALOGUE AND NONFICTION. WE WILL COVER THESE ELEMENTS IN CLASS. THE PAGES COVERED ON THE EXAM WILL BE PP.1015-1078.
THIS TYPE OF LITERATURE REFLECTS WHAT IS KNOWN AS VOICES FROM THE GAPS. THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS LITERATURE INTO MODERN ANTHOLOGIES SEEKS TO REACH BACKWARD AND FORWARD TO PLACE READERS ON A BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS THE GAPS EXISTING IN LITERATURE, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE. SIGNIFICANTLY, THIS LITERATURE GIVES EXPRESSION TO WRITERS OF COLOR AND VARYING GENDER AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS.
AS BOTH POSTMODERNISTS AND WESTERN FEMINISTS HAVE NOTED, THESE BELIEFS HAVE RESULTED IN THE PRIVILEGING OF THE VOICES AND IDEOLOGY OF THE DOMINANT AND POWERFUL AND THE NEGLECT OF GROUPS WHO ARE MARGINALIZED, SUPPRESSED, OR CLASSIFIED AS "MINORITY."
POSTMODERNISTS SEEK TO UNCOVER MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES AND REALITIES SO THAT ALL VOICES MAY BE HEARD. ANOTHER ASPECT OF POSTMODERNIST LITERATURE IS THE ELIMINATION OF OPPRESSION AND IS CONSISTENT WITH THE GOALS OF FEMINISM AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENTS OPPOSED TO THE VARIOUS "ISMS," SUCH AS SEXISM, RACISM, AND CLASSISMS. SOURCE:http://www.english.txstate.edu
Jacque Derrida argues in Margins of Philosophy: "It is the domination of beings that difference everywhere comes to solicit...to shake...it is the determination of being as presence that is interrogated by the thought of difference."
FOOD FOR THOUGHT AS WE WIND UP THE SCHOOL YEAR!
SHAKESPEARE
WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT OUR SENIORS???? WE WILL COMPLETE THE MERCHANT OF VENICE AND DISCUSS THE THEMES OF REVENGE, BIGOTRY, AND LOYALTY. YOUR FINAL EXAM, AS YOU KNOW, WILL BE OVER THIS PLAY.
FRENCH I/II
THIS WEEK WE WILL COMPLETE AND REVIEW CHAPTER SIX YOUR FINAL EXAM WILL COVER ONLY CHAPTER 6. GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS USING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE, PAST TENSE DETERMINATIONS BETWEEN THE PASSE COMPOSE AND THE IMPERFECT AND VOCABULARY WILL CONTINUE TO BE OUR FOCUS. WE WILL UTILIZE THE EXERCISES FOUND IN PREPARE-TOI POUR L'EXAMEN TO PRACTICE THESE CONSTRUCTIONS. AS ALWAYS, PLEASE STUDY.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
April 4-8
SENIORS 2011
30 DAYS UNTIL GRADUATION!!!!
English
Test Alert: Prologue, Chapters 1-9
We will continue our study of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Please read deeply into Book III.
Additionally, I have reserved time in the computer lab so that you may work on your research paper. This paper is due on the 12th of April (before we dismiss for Spring break)
Shakespeare: We will begin a study of the Tragedies of Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet and King Lear.We will be viewing the cinematic representations of these works. I will be supplying you with supplemental information concerning tragedy itself and historical, socio-economic, and political structures surrounding the plays.
This quote is from The Essence of Shakespeare by David Chandler found at http://www.lcurve.org/writings/Tragedy.htm
"We have said that tragedy deals with one of the great paradoxes of life. It does not propose a solution to the paradox. It does not tell us that life is meaningful in spite of defeat and disappointment, nor does it point to despair and proclaim the worthlessness of our hopes. Rather it affirms the paradox and challenges us with it."
Additionally, Northrop Frye distinguishes five stages of action in tragedy: 1) Encroachment. Protagonist takes on too much, makes a mistake that causes his/her "fall." This mistake is often unconscious (an act blindly done, through over-confidence in one's ability to regulate the world or through insensitivity to others) but still violates the norms of human conduct. 2) Complication. The building up of events aligning opposing forces that will lead inexorably to the tragic conclusion. "Just as comedy often sets up an arbitrary law and then organizes the action to break or evade it, so tragedy presents the reverse theme of narrowing a comparatively free life into a process of causation." 3) Reversal. The point at which it becomes clear that the hero's expectations are mistaken, that his fate will be the reverse of what he had hoped. At this moment, the vision of the dramatist and the audience are the same. The classic example is Oedipus, who seeks the knowledge that proves him guilty of murdering his father and marrying his mother; when he accomplishes his objective, he realizes he has destroyed himself in the process. 4) Catastrophe. The catastrophe exposes the limits of the hero's power and dramatizes the waste of his life. Piles of dead bodies remind us that the forces unleashed are not easily contained; there are also elaborate subplots (e.g. Gloucester in King Lear) which reinforce the impression of a world inundated with evil. 5) Recognition. The audience (sometimes the hero as well) recognizes the larger pattern. If the hero does experience recognition, he assumes the vision of his life held by the dramatist and the audience. From this new perspective he can see the irony of his actions, adding to the poignancy of the tragic events. WE WILL TRY TO IDENTIFY THESE WITHIN THE PLAYS.
CONGRATS ON YOUR SUCCESS WITH THE GRAD EXAM!!!
English 11
We will continue our study of the changing American literary voice. You will need to have your literature book in class each day as you will be reading in class and discussing the texts. In the post-modern period, the multicultural voice begins to exert itself and we will consider the reasons and conditions surrounding the entrance of this voice. Additionally, you will write a comparative essay on Hemingway's "Soldier's Home" and O'Brien's "Speaking of Courage."
This is link for the structure of a basic compare/contrast essay
http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Com_Con.html
AP Language and Composition
Debrief of study session. Lecture on Things They Carried --understanding rhetorical strategies in the text.
Practice multiple choice, write essay on Things They Carried.
30 DAYS UNTIL GRADUATION!!!!
English
Test Alert: Prologue, Chapters 1-9
We will continue our study of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Please read deeply into Book III.
Additionally, I have reserved time in the computer lab so that you may work on your research paper. This paper is due on the 12th of April (before we dismiss for Spring break)
Shakespeare: We will begin a study of the Tragedies of Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet and King Lear.We will be viewing the cinematic representations of these works. I will be supplying you with supplemental information concerning tragedy itself and historical, socio-economic, and political structures surrounding the plays.
This quote is from The Essence of Shakespeare by David Chandler found at http://www.lcurve.org/writings/Tragedy.htm
"We have said that tragedy deals with one of the great paradoxes of life. It does not propose a solution to the paradox. It does not tell us that life is meaningful in spite of defeat and disappointment, nor does it point to despair and proclaim the worthlessness of our hopes. Rather it affirms the paradox and challenges us with it."
Additionally, Northrop Frye distinguishes five stages of action in tragedy: 1) Encroachment. Protagonist takes on too much, makes a mistake that causes his/her "fall." This mistake is often unconscious (an act blindly done, through over-confidence in one's ability to regulate the world or through insensitivity to others) but still violates the norms of human conduct. 2) Complication. The building up of events aligning opposing forces that will lead inexorably to the tragic conclusion. "Just as comedy often sets up an arbitrary law and then organizes the action to break or evade it, so tragedy presents the reverse theme of narrowing a comparatively free life into a process of causation." 3) Reversal. The point at which it becomes clear that the hero's expectations are mistaken, that his fate will be the reverse of what he had hoped. At this moment, the vision of the dramatist and the audience are the same. The classic example is Oedipus, who seeks the knowledge that proves him guilty of murdering his father and marrying his mother; when he accomplishes his objective, he realizes he has destroyed himself in the process. 4) Catastrophe. The catastrophe exposes the limits of the hero's power and dramatizes the waste of his life. Piles of dead bodies remind us that the forces unleashed are not easily contained; there are also elaborate subplots (e.g. Gloucester in King Lear) which reinforce the impression of a world inundated with evil. 5) Recognition. The audience (sometimes the hero as well) recognizes the larger pattern. If the hero does experience recognition, he assumes the vision of his life held by the dramatist and the audience. From this new perspective he can see the irony of his actions, adding to the poignancy of the tragic events. WE WILL TRY TO IDENTIFY THESE WITHIN THE PLAYS.
CONGRATS ON YOUR SUCCESS WITH THE GRAD EXAM!!!
English 11
We will continue our study of the changing American literary voice. You will need to have your literature book in class each day as you will be reading in class and discussing the texts. In the post-modern period, the multicultural voice begins to exert itself and we will consider the reasons and conditions surrounding the entrance of this voice. Additionally, you will write a comparative essay on Hemingway's "Soldier's Home" and O'Brien's "Speaking of Courage."
This is link for the structure of a basic compare/contrast essay
http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Com_Con.html
AP Language and Composition
Debrief of study session. Lecture on Things They Carried --understanding rhetorical strategies in the text.
Practice multiple choice, write essay on Things They Carried.
Monday, March 21, 2011
march 21-25
English 11
"A Noiseless Flash" p. 927-939
Complete Post modern assignment sheet (handout in class)
Read: "The Arrogance of Cruelty and Power"
Read handout: The Security Council Has Last Lived Up To Its Duty"
"The Diary of A young girl"
"The biggest battle of all history"
"April in Germany"
P. 949 Denotation/Connotation of words, etymology
Answer questions 1-5 p. 958
French I/II
Vocabulary Test Part 1 Unit 6 - quiz Tuesday
Imperfect Tense/ quiz Tuesday
Passe Compose or Imperfect Tense
Senior English
Begin study of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Read chapters 1-7
AP Language & Composition
MLK speech rhetorical analysis
Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried
Shakespeare
Complete As You Like It
Test over Acts 1-3 Thursday
"A Noiseless Flash" p. 927-939
Complete Post modern assignment sheet (handout in class)
Read: "The Arrogance of Cruelty and Power"
Read handout: The Security Council Has Last Lived Up To Its Duty"
"The Diary of A young girl"
"The biggest battle of all history"
"April in Germany"
P. 949 Denotation/Connotation of words, etymology
Answer questions 1-5 p. 958
French I/II
Vocabulary Test Part 1 Unit 6 - quiz Tuesday
Imperfect Tense/ quiz Tuesday
Passe Compose or Imperfect Tense
Senior English
Begin study of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Read chapters 1-7
AP Language & Composition
MLK speech rhetorical analysis
Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried
Shakespeare
Complete As You Like It
Test over Acts 1-3 Thursday
Monday, February 28, 2011
March 7-11
these plans will carry over to this week since last week was a bit difficult to coordinate...
English 11 test alert...Thursday the 10th of March
1st period -Anthem
2nd period - In Cold Blood
This week we will be reading 2 books in class Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Ayn Rand's Anthem. I will give you reading test over of these books on Monday March 7th. Here is a link to vocabulary for In Cold Blood http://quizlet.com/4454789/in-cold-blood-chapter-3-flash-cards/
Many of you will be taking graduation exams this week. I certainly hope that you will get a good night's sleep and eat a hearty breakfast. These actions should empower you to Pass those grad exams!
Shakespeare
Full text of play: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/much_ado/full.html
TEST ALERT: You need to read the play on line. The passage identification test will be taken upon completion of the film. this is a link to a test review of the play. http://quizlet.com/4051495/much-ado-about-nothing-test-review-flash-cards/
French I/II
We will continue with The Count of Monte Cristo
At this link you can explore The Emperor Napoleon: http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_myth/youth/page_1.html
TEST ALERT: THIS IS A LINK TO FRENCH VOCABULARY FOR THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO there are 90 terms so you must study every night: http://quizlet.com/3313238/count-of-monte-cristo-vocabulary-flash-cards/
Senior English
We will continue our examination of Shakespearean comedy with A Midsummer's Night's Dream
Shakespeare has a lot to say about the nature of love in this play, as well as in Much Ado About Nothing
I am so thrilled that you are enjoying Shakespeare.
PRESENTATION ALERT: I would like for you to go this website and pick a topic to research and present to the class on Friday: http://www.elizabethan.org/compendium/home.html
***Speech delivered by Elizabeth I to the land forces assembled at Tilbury in anticipation of an invasion by the Spanish Armada in 1588. I will show you Helen Mirren's representation of the speech. It is a most remarkable reenactment. Elizabeth I was remarkable indeed and I think it was her singularity that endowed the period with such vitality. Her rhetoric in the speech is stirring and she attempts to establish a clear claim to her subjects loyalty and her right to rule England.
My loving people,
We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general2 shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
We will complete a rhetorical analysis of the Queen's Speech at Tilbury using the SOAPS method. I will pass out a handout on rhetorical devices and you will look for the use of these in the speech. Questions we will address are: how does the author try to convince the audience? who is the audience? what is the author's goal? how is the speech organized? How is the author's major claim supported? *Note: if we do not have time for this on Friday we will do this on Tuesday next.
AP Language and Composition
As per our discussion on our last class meeting, you will bring your resources to class and write your first timed synthesis paper. Tuesday the 8th - multiple choice test practice/Weds. review test and write 2nd synthesis essay/Thursday-3rd synthesis essay
Friday: We will complete a rhetorical analysis of the Queen's Speech at Tilbury using the SOAPS method. I will pass out a handout on rhetorical devices and you will look for the use of these in the speech. Questions we will address are: how does the author try to convince the audience? who is the audience? what is the author's goal? how is the speech organized? How is the author's major claim supported?
English 11 test alert...Thursday the 10th of March
1st period -Anthem
2nd period - In Cold Blood
This week we will be reading 2 books in class Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Ayn Rand's Anthem. I will give you reading test over of these books on Monday March 7th. Here is a link to vocabulary for In Cold Blood http://quizlet.com/4454789/in-cold-blood-chapter-3-flash-cards/
Many of you will be taking graduation exams this week. I certainly hope that you will get a good night's sleep and eat a hearty breakfast. These actions should empower you to Pass those grad exams!
Shakespeare
Full text of play: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/much_ado/full.html
TEST ALERT: You need to read the play on line. The passage identification test will be taken upon completion of the film. this is a link to a test review of the play. http://quizlet.com/4051495/much-ado-about-nothing-test-review-flash-cards/
French I/II
We will continue with The Count of Monte Cristo
At this link you can explore The Emperor Napoleon: http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_myth/youth/page_1.html
TEST ALERT: THIS IS A LINK TO FRENCH VOCABULARY FOR THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO there are 90 terms so you must study every night: http://quizlet.com/3313238/count-of-monte-cristo-vocabulary-flash-cards/
Senior English
We will continue our examination of Shakespearean comedy with A Midsummer's Night's Dream
Shakespeare has a lot to say about the nature of love in this play, as well as in Much Ado About Nothing
I am so thrilled that you are enjoying Shakespeare.
PRESENTATION ALERT: I would like for you to go this website and pick a topic to research and present to the class on Friday: http://www.elizabethan.org/compendium/home.html
***Speech delivered by Elizabeth I to the land forces assembled at Tilbury in anticipation of an invasion by the Spanish Armada in 1588. I will show you Helen Mirren's representation of the speech. It is a most remarkable reenactment. Elizabeth I was remarkable indeed and I think it was her singularity that endowed the period with such vitality. Her rhetoric in the speech is stirring and she attempts to establish a clear claim to her subjects loyalty and her right to rule England.
My loving people,
We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general2 shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
We will complete a rhetorical analysis of the Queen's Speech at Tilbury using the SOAPS method. I will pass out a handout on rhetorical devices and you will look for the use of these in the speech. Questions we will address are: how does the author try to convince the audience? who is the audience? what is the author's goal? how is the speech organized? How is the author's major claim supported? *Note: if we do not have time for this on Friday we will do this on Tuesday next.
AP Language and Composition
As per our discussion on our last class meeting, you will bring your resources to class and write your first timed synthesis paper. Tuesday the 8th - multiple choice test practice/Weds. review test and write 2nd synthesis essay/Thursday-3rd synthesis essay
Friday: We will complete a rhetorical analysis of the Queen's Speech at Tilbury using the SOAPS method. I will pass out a handout on rhetorical devices and you will look for the use of these in the speech. Questions we will address are: how does the author try to convince the audience? who is the audience? what is the author's goal? how is the speech organized? How is the author's major claim supported?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
feb 21 -25
AP English
Turn in essay/view Much Ado About Nothing-this is your selection of Shakespeare for the term/
Examining the synthesis essay/writing the synthesis essay
English 11
read p. 844 answer 1-11; read p. 848 Carl Sandburg; read p. 849 "Chicago"; p. 850 answer questions 1-5
read p. 855 Arna Bontemp; read p. 856 "A Black man talks of reaping"; answer questions 1-5;
Introduction to In Cold Blood the nonfiction novel; read assigned pages of In Cold Blood; prepare for quiz over chapter selections.
English 12
Study your handout on the novel-know this sheet
Complete homework read pp. 563-594; answer questions p. 594 1-15; Complete Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing - remember the movement of comedy is from chaos to order and the play ends in marriage. This is the reverse of the tragedy as you saw in Macbeth. Next we will look at Parody in Cervantes Don Quixote; Tone in Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women; and finally address the question: How does eighteenth century literature demonstrate the significant role played by reason and common sense in dealing with society's problems and the universal truths of the human experience? Interspersed within this we will work on your research paper-MLA format, parenthetical citations, works cited page, sources etc.
French 1/2
Prepare-toi pour un examen exercises
test over unit 5
Begin the French Film of Pere Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The Count of Monte Cristo (Paris, 1844–45), by French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas, is one of the most popular novels ever written.The Count of Monte Cristo is a very powerful book. So powerful in fact, that was controversial when it was first released. The Catholic church in France condemned it because of its powerful message it presented the reader. This theme was one of revenge and vengeance. Edumund Dantes is a new type of hero- the Byronic Hero. The book begins in 1815 and this was a time of great disruption. There was confusion all over the land in regards to who led France, King Louis or Napoleon. The citizens of France became divided by the two ruling parties. Royalists and the Bonapartist cut at each others throats in order to declare that their ruler was supreme.
Dumas got the idea for The Count of Monte Cristo from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Francois Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to marry a rich woman, but four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.
Intro to Shakespeare
Performances, Playhouses, and Players from The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. read and discuss the terms authentic to the plays and playhouses, noble support for the players, Puritan aversion to the playhouses and players, gender in the theater. Answer questions on Midsummer Night's Dream. Begin Much Ado About Nothing. Both plays address gender roles, marriage, the meaning of true love, and the foundations of a happy marriage. One of the points Shakespeare makes is that the choice of a marriage partner should be made by those entering into the marriage, not by their parents. I know this seems strange to 21st century lovers, however this was a social convention even into the 20th century.
Turn in essay/view Much Ado About Nothing-this is your selection of Shakespeare for the term/
Examining the synthesis essay/writing the synthesis essay
English 11
read p. 844 answer 1-11; read p. 848 Carl Sandburg; read p. 849 "Chicago"; p. 850 answer questions 1-5
read p. 855 Arna Bontemp; read p. 856 "A Black man talks of reaping"; answer questions 1-5;
Introduction to In Cold Blood the nonfiction novel; read assigned pages of In Cold Blood; prepare for quiz over chapter selections.
English 12
Study your handout on the novel-know this sheet
Complete homework read pp. 563-594; answer questions p. 594 1-15; Complete Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing - remember the movement of comedy is from chaos to order and the play ends in marriage. This is the reverse of the tragedy as you saw in Macbeth. Next we will look at Parody in Cervantes Don Quixote; Tone in Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women; and finally address the question: How does eighteenth century literature demonstrate the significant role played by reason and common sense in dealing with society's problems and the universal truths of the human experience? Interspersed within this we will work on your research paper-MLA format, parenthetical citations, works cited page, sources etc.
French 1/2
Prepare-toi pour un examen exercises
test over unit 5
Begin the French Film of Pere Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The Count of Monte Cristo (Paris, 1844–45), by French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas, is one of the most popular novels ever written.The Count of Monte Cristo is a very powerful book. So powerful in fact, that was controversial when it was first released. The Catholic church in France condemned it because of its powerful message it presented the reader. This theme was one of revenge and vengeance. Edumund Dantes is a new type of hero- the Byronic Hero. The book begins in 1815 and this was a time of great disruption. There was confusion all over the land in regards to who led France, King Louis or Napoleon. The citizens of France became divided by the two ruling parties. Royalists and the Bonapartist cut at each others throats in order to declare that their ruler was supreme.
Dumas got the idea for The Count of Monte Cristo from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Francois Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to marry a rich woman, but four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.
Intro to Shakespeare
Performances, Playhouses, and Players from The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. read and discuss the terms authentic to the plays and playhouses, noble support for the players, Puritan aversion to the playhouses and players, gender in the theater. Answer questions on Midsummer Night's Dream. Begin Much Ado About Nothing. Both plays address gender roles, marriage, the meaning of true love, and the foundations of a happy marriage. One of the points Shakespeare makes is that the choice of a marriage partner should be made by those entering into the marriage, not by their parents. I know this seems strange to 21st century lovers, however this was a social convention even into the 20th century.
Friday, February 11, 2011
February 14-18
Intro to Shakespeare
Introductory notes to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Literary terms / vocab
Cinematic Representation of the Play
French I/II
Tuesday Vocab Test chapter 5
http://quizlet.com/2398404/bien-dit-level-2-chapter-5-flash-cards/
Friday: oral production of your daily routine
Senior English
Tuesday: go to general use lab and research a topic for your research paper+
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/587/01/
AP Lang and comp
complete discussion of In Cold Blood
test over e-h vocabulary Tuesday
http://quizlet.com/4262597/ap-lang-and-comp-e-h-flash-cards/
Essay reading and discussion/questions
Examining essay construction
English 11 2A
Test over sonnet handouts
English 11 1A
Harlem Renaissance Read: p. 823-835
answer questions: Weary Blues p. 832 questions 1-6; Harlem p. 832 questions 1-5; p. 835 questions 1-7
HOMEWORK FOR THURSDAY NIGHT (DUE MONDAY) Read page 836-844 Zora Neale Hurston bio and her short story "Dust on the Tracks" Reading check on Monday
Introductory notes to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Literary terms / vocab
Cinematic Representation of the Play
French I/II
Tuesday Vocab Test chapter 5
http://quizlet.com/2398404/bien-dit-level-2-chapter-5-flash-cards/
Friday: oral production of your daily routine
Senior English
Tuesday: go to general use lab and research a topic for your research paper+
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/587/01/
AP Lang and comp
complete discussion of In Cold Blood
test over e-h vocabulary Tuesday
http://quizlet.com/4262597/ap-lang-and-comp-e-h-flash-cards/
Essay reading and discussion/questions
Examining essay construction
English 11 2A
Test over sonnet handouts
English 11 1A
Harlem Renaissance Read: p. 823-835
answer questions: Weary Blues p. 832 questions 1-6; Harlem p. 832 questions 1-5; p. 835 questions 1-7
HOMEWORK FOR THURSDAY NIGHT (DUE MONDAY) Read page 836-844 Zora Neale Hurston bio and her short story "Dust on the Tracks" Reading check on Monday
Monday, February 7, 2011
February 7-11
these mortals be!"
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Act 3 Scene 2 line 115
oh well, it snowed again...reshuffle!
Senior English
Tuesday February 8th: BRING YOUR COSTUMES AND PROPS
Presentations of your group's scene
COMPLETE THE READING OF MACBETH
Wednesday-Test over Macbeth/complete Polanski's Macbeth
Friday- group presentations of your scenes BRING YOUR COSTUMES AND PROPS
ENGLISH 11 1A
Unit 4 grammar workbook CLAUSES, PHRASES, SENTENCES, RUN ONS, FRAGMENTS
complete pages that your group was unable to complete in class for homework.
Thursday: HOMEWORK PASS SUPER BOWL will take place between your assigned groups to review these grammar structures. SNOW UPDATE SNOW UPDATE SNOW UPDATE...we will do this on Monday 2/14/11 !!!!!
homework: COMPLETE UNIT 4 PREPARE FOR TEST ON WEDNESDAY FEB. 16
ENGLISH 11 2A
Monday: continue study of Harlem Renaissance literature. Explore the two types of Sonnets, rhyme scheme meter, structure, and form.
Complete the handout on the Sonnet for homework and be prepared for an in class quiz over the worksheet on Thursday.
Additionally, we will discuss all of these elements and more literary devices employed in Countee Cullen's "Yet Do I Marvel"
Here is a bonus question: During the Harlem Renaissance what was "the Dark Tower"?
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
On Tuesday we will be completing the multiple choice questions over "In Cold Blood." We will analyze the questions and answers together after everyone completes the tests. Wednesday and Friday we will write a timed essay on prompts from the novel. I am very glad that I have the privilege of seeing you 3 times this week, 2 classes a week seems very insufficient for AP work.
INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE
Go to this website and read the play A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM http://quarles.unbc.ca/midsummer/midsummer1.html
vocab words for this play: http://quizlet.com/2334038/english-final-exam-a-midsummer-nights-dream-flash-cards/
We will begin our study of this most beloved comedy by examining plot structure, themes, types of characters, doubling within the structure of the play, appearance versus reality
Shakespeare borrowed the characters of Theseus and Hippolyta from Greek mythology. Theseus was the
national hero of Athens. He was a friend of Heracles (Hercules) and the survivor of many adventures,
including his slaying of the Minotaur, a creature half man and half bull. Hippolyta was Queen of the
Amazons, a group of female warriors. Theseus took her prisoner and then married her.
Definition: a dramatic foil is a minor character who resembles or is in parallel circumstances to a central figure in the play. Foils are similar enough to the main character(s) to provide a useful basis of comparison, but different enough that the comparison is meaningful: they enhance our understanding of the main character's personality traits or actions.
Metaphor Analysis
There are four distinct groups of characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and they all use language in a distinctive way. Theseus and Hippolyta speak in a dignified blank verse, which is unrhymed verse based on the iambic pentameter line. An iambic pentameter is a line of five feet (a foot is two syllables), in which the emphasis falls on the first syllable of the foot.
For example, see the opening lines of the play:
Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace; four happy days bring in
Another moon: but O, methinks, how slow
This old moon wanes! She lingers my desires,
Like to a step-dame or a dowager
Long withering-out a young man's revenue.
Note how the heavy punctuation in line 3 slows the line down, in keeping with the sense. Shakespeare often makes changes in the basic iambic rhythm of the line too, to gain a variety in effect and to match the sense. For example, the second foot of line 4 ("moon wanes") is a spondee, in which both syllables are stressed, rather than an iamb.
Unlike Theseus and Hippolyta, The four lovers often, although not always, speak in rhyming couplets, as when Hermia speaks in Act 1 scene 1, lines 202-07:
Take comfort: he no more shall see my face;
Lysander and myself will fly this place.
Before the time I did Lysander see,
Seem'd Athens as a paradise to me.
O then what graces in my love do dwell,
That he hath turn'd a heaven unto a hell!
In the wood, under pressure of the emotions generated by the confusing situation, the lovers drop their rhyming couplets and speak in blank verse.
The artisans, appropriately enough, speak in prose, except when they try their hand at the rhymed verse of "Pyramus and Thisbe."
Puck and the fairies, and occasionally Oberon too, often use shorter rhyming couplets. Typically these are trochaic tetrameters. The tetrameter is a shorter line than the pentameter, consisting of four feet rather than five. In a trochaic foot, unlike the iambic, the stress falls on the first syllable rather than on the second. For example, see Oberon's speech, Act 2, scene 2, lines 26-32, and Puck's speech later in the same scene (lines 65-82), from which these lines are taken:
Through the forest have I gone;
But Athenian found I none
On whose eyes I might approve
This flower's force in stirring love.
Like Theseus and Hippolyta, Oberon and Titania often, although not always, speak in blank verse, although their speech is more highly poetic than that of Theseus or Hippolyta. It is full of imagery. If one had to pick out the finest, most delicately expressive poetry in the play, for example, one might choose the speeches of the fairy couple on their first appearance, in Act 2 scene 1. Interestingly, when Titania is in love with Bottom, she speaks mainly, although not exclusively, in rhymed verse rather than blank verse.
SOURCE: http://www.novelguide.com/amidsummernightdream/metaphoranalysis.html
French I/II
This week we will continue to work with grammatical elements in Chapter 5
This is the link to 73 terms that will constitute your vocabulary for this chapter: http://quizlet.com/2398404/bien-dit-level-2-chapter-5-flash-cards/
Your test will be on Friday so you must practice these on quizlet every night.
We will also be constructing paragraphs in French that describe our daily routine.
I look forward to seeing you all this week.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Jan. 31-Feb 4th
Well students I think we are now back on track after the random weather events of the last few weeks!
This week seems to be about PRESENTATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
English 11
2A
Here is a excerpt from the Soledad Daily News:
*************************************************************************************
George Milton Trial Set For January 31st POSTPONED UNTIL FEBRUARY 2ND BECAUSE OF JUDGE'S ILLNESS
No one expected George Milton to pull the trigger and kill his best friend, Lennie Small. But that is exactly what happened and now a team of detectives has swarmed onto the ranch in Soledad, Californina to investigate the crime scene. George never expected his life to turn out this way, but now as he sits in his Soledad County jail cell awaiting his trial, he reflects on his friendship with Lennie and what his fate will be as his lawyer and the prosecution team prepare their cases. Since a criminal case like this has not occurred in this otherwise quiet, lonesome community, a media circus has flooded Soledad and made George Milton the center of controversy. What will happen to George Milton once his trial begins? Milton, arraigned in court last month, is charged with the capital murder of Small. In a press conference today the D.A. confirmed the State's intent to hold Milton accountable for the premeditated murder of Small by seeking the harshest punishment available under California law. The trial is set to begin around 11 o'clock on Monday morning in Judge Elliott's courtroom.
**********************************************************************************
English 11/1A & 2A
Complete the assignment given in class on Thursday: read pp 216-222 in your textbook and complete the critical thinking questions for "Incident" and ""Tableau" by Countee Cullen. Be prepared to discuss these poems in class. Look up the critical analysis of both online. Those students who have not passed the reading or language portion of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam should discuss opportunities for test taking practice with me.
We will be working in your grammar workbook this week in class Additionally, I would like for you to complete Unit 3 partially in class and the pages you do not complete in class will be your homework. Some of you work faster than others and you may complete all of the work in class. We will check the work on Thursday in class. This will be graded work, so be attentive to the grammar rules that apply to your work.
Shakespeare:
We will continue our study of The tragedy: Macbeth. Practice and learn your lines for scene presentations. You did very well on the vocab test last week -Congrats! You will be writing an essay on the play. I will provide the prompt. Additionally, I will test on Acts I -IV after viewing. Make sure you know the characters and the themes of the play. Cliff notes can be very helpful in providing additional explanatory information. such as summaries of the acts and explanations of themes within the play. You can find these online. They will supply you with a deeper understanding of the works. This is a link to the powerpoint for your to watch:
http://www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/english/Unlocking%20Themes%20in%20Macbeth.ppt
Senior English
Complete Macbeth. Scene presentations on Friday in the Auditorium. Consider your topic for a research paper. Remember you must use scholarly sources, so consider topics that academics have researched and written about. I will give the unit test on Macbeth next week, because you have your scene presentations this week. We will also discuss the handout that I gave you last week on THE GLOBE THEATER AND THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.Additionally, I will test on Acts I -IV after viewing. Make sure you know the characters and the themes of the play. Cliff notes can be very helpful in providing additional explanatory information. such as summaries of the acts and explanations of themes within the play. You can find these online. They will supply you with a deeper understanding of the works.
French I/II
This week we will be working with reflexive verbs and talking about our daily routine. I will give you a vocab quiz over reflexive verbs on Tuesday...BE SURE TO STUDY FOR THIS. I will assign homework exercises in class.
AP Language and Comp.
This week we will complete the multiple choice test and analysis of In Cold Blood. Then we will write the timed essays. Since we have 60 more multiple choice questions and analysis to do, I think we will probably have to write the essays next week. ( I only have you 2 days this week and the analysis and discussion seems to take a good bit of our time.)
ALERT: AP LANG AND COMP VOCABULARY E-H
http://quizlet.com/4262597/ap-lang-and-comp-e-h-flash-cards/
TEST NEXT WEDS. FEBRUARY 9TH, 2011
This week seems to be about PRESENTATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
English 11
2A
Here is a excerpt from the Soledad Daily News:
*************************************************************************************
George Milton Trial Set For January 31st POSTPONED UNTIL FEBRUARY 2ND BECAUSE OF JUDGE'S ILLNESS
No one expected George Milton to pull the trigger and kill his best friend, Lennie Small. But that is exactly what happened and now a team of detectives has swarmed onto the ranch in Soledad, Californina to investigate the crime scene. George never expected his life to turn out this way, but now as he sits in his Soledad County jail cell awaiting his trial, he reflects on his friendship with Lennie and what his fate will be as his lawyer and the prosecution team prepare their cases. Since a criminal case like this has not occurred in this otherwise quiet, lonesome community, a media circus has flooded Soledad and made George Milton the center of controversy. What will happen to George Milton once his trial begins? Milton, arraigned in court last month, is charged with the capital murder of Small. In a press conference today the D.A. confirmed the State's intent to hold Milton accountable for the premeditated murder of Small by seeking the harshest punishment available under California law. The trial is set to begin around 11 o'clock on Monday morning in Judge Elliott's courtroom.
**********************************************************************************
English 11/1A & 2A
Complete the assignment given in class on Thursday: read pp 216-222 in your textbook and complete the critical thinking questions for "Incident" and ""Tableau" by Countee Cullen. Be prepared to discuss these poems in class. Look up the critical analysis of both online. Those students who have not passed the reading or language portion of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam should discuss opportunities for test taking practice with me.
We will be working in your grammar workbook this week in class Additionally, I would like for you to complete Unit 3 partially in class and the pages you do not complete in class will be your homework. Some of you work faster than others and you may complete all of the work in class. We will check the work on Thursday in class. This will be graded work, so be attentive to the grammar rules that apply to your work.
Shakespeare:
We will continue our study of The tragedy: Macbeth. Practice and learn your lines for scene presentations. You did very well on the vocab test last week -Congrats! You will be writing an essay on the play. I will provide the prompt. Additionally, I will test on Acts I -IV after viewing. Make sure you know the characters and the themes of the play. Cliff notes can be very helpful in providing additional explanatory information. such as summaries of the acts and explanations of themes within the play. You can find these online. They will supply you with a deeper understanding of the works. This is a link to the powerpoint for your to watch:
http://www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/english/Unlocking%20Themes%20in%20Macbeth.ppt
Senior English
Complete Macbeth. Scene presentations on Friday in the Auditorium. Consider your topic for a research paper. Remember you must use scholarly sources, so consider topics that academics have researched and written about. I will give the unit test on Macbeth next week, because you have your scene presentations this week. We will also discuss the handout that I gave you last week on THE GLOBE THEATER AND THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.Additionally, I will test on Acts I -IV after viewing. Make sure you know the characters and the themes of the play. Cliff notes can be very helpful in providing additional explanatory information. such as summaries of the acts and explanations of themes within the play. You can find these online. They will supply you with a deeper understanding of the works.
French I/II
This week we will be working with reflexive verbs and talking about our daily routine. I will give you a vocab quiz over reflexive verbs on Tuesday...BE SURE TO STUDY FOR THIS. I will assign homework exercises in class.
AP Language and Comp.
This week we will complete the multiple choice test and analysis of In Cold Blood. Then we will write the timed essays. Since we have 60 more multiple choice questions and analysis to do, I think we will probably have to write the essays next week. ( I only have you 2 days this week and the analysis and discussion seems to take a good bit of our time.)
ALERT: AP LANG AND COMP VOCABULARY E-H
http://quizlet.com/4262597/ap-lang-and-comp-e-h-flash-cards/
TEST NEXT WEDS. FEBRUARY 9TH, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
WELCOME BACK JAN 4-7 2011
AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
We will begin Truman Capote's In Cold Blood
BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS
MULTIPLE CHOICE PRACTICE
practice multiple choice test
syntax: sentence structure(handout)
Stylistic Analysis (handout)
VOCAB WORDS FOR THIS WEEK: http://quizlet.com/3886406/c-d-words-flash-cards/
FRENCH 2
THIS WEEKS VOCAB WORDS CHAPTER 4:
http://quizlet.com/622772/bien-dit-level-2-ch-4-vocab-1-flash-cards/
HOMEWORK EXERCISES: # 5 P. 121, 12 & 14 P.124-125, 18 P. 127
ENGLISH 11
ALERT: The test over both sets of vocabulary for the novel OF MICE AND MEN will be on Thursday Jan 13 or Friday Jan 14th following the schedule for English A and B.
VOCAB WORDS FOR OF MICE AND MEN: http://quizlet.com/1099563/of-mice-and-men-vocabulary-colloquialisms-flash-cards/
CHARACTERS: http://quizlet.com/959239/of-mice-and-men-characters-flash-cards/
As per my instructions you were to read John Steinbeck's novel OF MICE AND MEN over the break. Actually you should only have to reread the text as this was your assigned summer reading.
John Steinbeck, American author and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1962, was a leading writer of novels about the working class and was a major spokesman for the victims of the Great Depression (a downturn in the American system of producing, distributing, and using goods and services in the 1930s, and during which time millions of people lost their jobs).
Of Mice and Men (1937), first conceived as a play, is a tightly constructed novella (short novel) about an unusual friendship between two migrant workers (laborers who travel to wherever there is available work, usually on farms). Although the book is powerfully written and often moving, some critics feel that it lacks a moral vision. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Steinbeck-John.html I personally disagree. I think George's concern and his self sacrifice to insure Lennie's well being speaks to man's ethical responsibility to those with disabilities.
Additionally, the theme of loneliness underscores man's desire for community and the struggle to answer the age old question: How shall we live well together? The American Dream of property ownership is powerfully depicted within the text through the characters' desire for their own farm. George is not selfish with his dream like Gatsby, but rather his dream signifies a desire to establish an edenic setting for those marginalized by society.
Senior English:
We are moving into the Elizabethan period. We will begin our study of the Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth.
BRING YOUR BOOKS TO CLASS.
TEST ALERT Begin to study these Macbeth quotes: http://quizlet.com/3281867/macbeth-quotes-flash-cards/
Shakespeare
Welcome to the class!
This a link to the introductory vocabulary list
http://quizlet.com/23945/shakespearean-english-vocabulary-flash-cards/ TEST ON MONDAY JAN 10
Introduction to Shakespeare
Elizabethan England
We will begin Truman Capote's In Cold Blood
BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS
MULTIPLE CHOICE PRACTICE
practice multiple choice test
syntax: sentence structure(handout)
Stylistic Analysis (handout)
VOCAB WORDS FOR THIS WEEK: http://quizlet.com/3886406/c-d-words-flash-cards/
FRENCH 2
THIS WEEKS VOCAB WORDS CHAPTER 4:
http://quizlet.com/622772/bien-dit-level-2-ch-4-vocab-1-flash-cards/
HOMEWORK EXERCISES: # 5 P. 121, 12 & 14 P.124-125, 18 P. 127
ENGLISH 11
ALERT: The test over both sets of vocabulary for the novel OF MICE AND MEN will be on Thursday Jan 13 or Friday Jan 14th following the schedule for English A and B.
VOCAB WORDS FOR OF MICE AND MEN: http://quizlet.com/1099563/of-mice-and-men-vocabulary-colloquialisms-flash-cards/
CHARACTERS: http://quizlet.com/959239/of-mice-and-men-characters-flash-cards/
As per my instructions you were to read John Steinbeck's novel OF MICE AND MEN over the break. Actually you should only have to reread the text as this was your assigned summer reading.
John Steinbeck, American author and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1962, was a leading writer of novels about the working class and was a major spokesman for the victims of the Great Depression (a downturn in the American system of producing, distributing, and using goods and services in the 1930s, and during which time millions of people lost their jobs).
Of Mice and Men (1937), first conceived as a play, is a tightly constructed novella (short novel) about an unusual friendship between two migrant workers (laborers who travel to wherever there is available work, usually on farms). Although the book is powerfully written and often moving, some critics feel that it lacks a moral vision. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Steinbeck-John.html I personally disagree. I think George's concern and his self sacrifice to insure Lennie's well being speaks to man's ethical responsibility to those with disabilities.
Additionally, the theme of loneliness underscores man's desire for community and the struggle to answer the age old question: How shall we live well together? The American Dream of property ownership is powerfully depicted within the text through the characters' desire for their own farm. George is not selfish with his dream like Gatsby, but rather his dream signifies a desire to establish an edenic setting for those marginalized by society.
Senior English:
We are moving into the Elizabethan period. We will begin our study of the Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth.
BRING YOUR BOOKS TO CLASS.
TEST ALERT Begin to study these Macbeth quotes: http://quizlet.com/3281867/macbeth-quotes-flash-cards/
Shakespeare
Welcome to the class!
This a link to the introductory vocabulary list
http://quizlet.com/23945/shakespearean-english-vocabulary-flash-cards/ TEST ON MONDAY JAN 10
Introduction to Shakespeare
Elizabethan England
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