Read Through Chapter Two for Wednesday--Chapter Three for Thursday

Mice and Men Hit the Road!

READING: Read through Chapter 2 (they are not numbered-- finish the second chapter) by WEDNESDAY, December 18th, at the beginning of class.
Here are the few things we have worked on in class so far:
Pre-Write/ Journal--
Write/construct a graphic organizer (Venn Diagram) that details your ideas about the PAST and PRESENT features of "The American Dream."
Where the Dream started: Roots of the phrase "American Dream"
Robert Burns poem the inspired the book's title: To a Mouse...
Read the first three pages and then complete this assignment: Analysis of Mood paragraph.

Huck is off to the Territories!

The last pieces of our study of Huck Finn are in the list below--
Hope you had a great ride down the Mississippi, because this is the last "happy ending" you are likely to encounter this semester (okay, for the rest of the year-- more's the pity!)
Menu Assignment ( in case you have been gone for a long time!)
Menu Grading Rubric
Realism Lecture: create Cornell notes, in your own words, on this in formation. Essential Question: What is Realism?
Sentence Structure--What clauses are and how they work together: Power Point about (Santa?) Clauses

Rollin' on the River (Symbolically!)

Here is a copy of the study guide that you should complete for Huck Finn. We are working on it in class-- be thorough and complete-- confer with colleagues--use all the space you need, even if there is not enough on the worksheet--thanks!
Due: Huck Finn Final Test Day--Thursday, December 5th
Your study guide is your tool for the test-- do it well and you will be prepared perfectly!

Here is vocabulary assignment we are working on in class on Tuesday and Wednesday:
Vocabulary Menu
If you have been absent, please do this assignment on your own and turn it in to me--thanks!
P.S. Reminder about Satire

Making Fun, Literary style!

Here are the definitions for satire-- make sure your notes include examples from the Schreck move as well as from Huck Finn for each major technique of satire--have a great holiday!
Mrs. E

New Words and Facts

Today was about background and vocabulary from the text.  We need to know a bit about both in order to understand what the author is trying to say.  For instance: a river is NEVER just a river--exactly!
Here are some helpful documents and the homework assignment is on the "Jim's DICTION-ary" assignment
Map Slave/Free
Mississippi Map w/other rivers
Vocabulary Match.  Thanks!
Mrs. E

For Monday, November 18th

1- You will finish your writing piece about "What you shall do...." in response to Whitman's writing (see previous assignments if you need a copy of this assignment).
2- You will begin to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Here is a reading schedule

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Reading Schedule

Date                                        Chapters to FINISH by that date

November 19                                      1-5

November 20                                      6-11

November 21                                      12-15

November 22                                      16-19

THANKSGIVING BREAK--- CONFERENCES

November 23 THROUGH December 1st     

Finish the Book--

We will discuss/digest “Chapter the Last” in class on December 2nd (a Monday).

Good Information: Please read and heed..

1- The best policy is to read ahead when you have time.  This way you will not get stuck with a huge reading assignment that you can’t finish because of other obligations.

2- The “N” word. This grossly offensive word is used liberally throughout the text.  Mark Twain is from the literary tradition called “realism,” and he goes to great pains to tell us that he is writing dialogue EXACTLY the way these people would speak. At the time when this was written, “N” was, especially in the south, a very common slang word.  No one, in Twain’s time, would have been surprised or offended.  However, the use of this word is not acceptable today. As we read the text aloud or quote it aloud, we will not pronounce this word.  We will substitute the word “person.”  This might be a helpful thing for you to do “inside your head” as you read silently on your own.     

Crystal Stairs and Walt Whitman

Here is what we did in class on Wednesday--
Journal/Poem writing
Walt Whitman Assignment
Why do we have to do this? Common Core State Standards for this class

Tuesday Writing!

Here is what we started with this week!
Pre-writing/prep
Poem
Writing sample
Reading: go to the web and read "Advice to Youth," an essay by Mark Twain.  We will discuss and use this piece tomorrow-- think "tone" versus "meaning" or "message"
Mrs. E

Starting the Film

We will study the film, Easy A as an adjunct to our study of The Scarlet Letter. You may be familiar with the film, but perhaps have not actually studied it as literature-- no, I am not kidding! This great little movie takes us into a high school setting and twists the plot-- but essentially deals with the same themes: appearance versus real character, guilt over wrong deeds, revenge, etc.--oh, and they made this one a comedy! fun times. Here is the assignments we will complete as we watch the film in class: Wed., Thurs., and probably part of Friday.  You should be working on the second and then final drafts of your essay on your own time-- essays are due by midnight on Friday on turnitin.com (see previous posts if you are behind on this news).  Please do not wait until then to write them!
See you in class!
Mrs. Eddy

Start Your Essays!

The Scarlet Letter is almost over-- Final Essay!
We are writing a first draft in class--leaving it in class--conferencing about it in class-- then going to turnitin next week to turn it in! Here is the prompt and the assignment

TurnitinInfo (Say that three times fast!)

Before Friday:
go to turnitin.com
Create an account
Register in your class
What you Need to Succeed:
An email account of your own
Class ID  (# 7007920 for third period and #7007932 for seventh period)
Password for all periods: westrocks

Here is a link to the discussion questions we worked with today and will continue with tomorrow:
Wed. and Thursday: Take notes in class as you discuss the questions-- finish the instructions on the bottom of the handout.
Friday: Present: Slideshow of "Modern Day Shunning" and more songs from Slaughterhouse-5

Read, Titans, Read!

Please be sure to keep up with the reading-- see the schedule if you are confused.
The last couple of days we have been working on this vocabulary/allusion ratings sheet-- try to get the skinny on (find out about) as many of these as possible so that you can better understand the text
Vocabulary/Allusions: Scarlet Letter
Also-- we will get involved with creating a Shunning Presentation 
Next Week
Finish Song Presentations-- last chance. Here's how the projects are graded--they are fantastic!
Grading rubric/sheet for playlist project:
Preview: Shunning project assignment.
Link to Slide Show: Presentation platform to post slides on google drive:

The "A" that Everyone Gets: Scarlet!

I hope you enjoying your introduction to Hester Prynne and the Puritan version of shunning.  I have inserted a photo of the reading schedule here-- the top row of RED numbers are Third period, and the Bottom row are for Seventh Period.
See you tomorrow--
Mrs. E

Moving from the Post-Modern to the Romantic!

We read an amazing poem that had a very different message and style than our last novel.  Here is the assignment, and I am sure that you can find the text of the poem online, if you have no access to a textbook from home.
A Psalm of Life Assignment

We also began a lecture--note taking exercise on the wonders of Romanticism-- specifically in literature. Here are the words to include in your notes:
Vocabulary of Romantic Lit.
Fill in the lecture notes you missed by checking in with a classmate-- we will go over the notes in class a few times, too.

Friday we will talk some more about Romantics and work on this assignment:
Emerson's Romantic Ideas

Have a great weekend!
Mrs.E

End of the Book Project

finally off of that crazy roller coaster with Billy-- are you glad, or sad?
Anyway-- Here is the information for the playlist project that we discussed, and will continue to work on, in class. We will discuss a due date today-- It would be nice to get it in before grades, as I am sure you will all do a terrific job-- we'll talk today.
Playlist Project

Finish the Book-- yes!

We are almost home-- back to the "frame story" portion of the text, Chapter 10. Today in class we
1- made sure our "Cornell" notes got graded for composition-- Is the format complete and correct-- and we re-read them, too.
2- talked a little bit about what "theme" means in literature-- please make sure you have a good definition of theme statement to work from this year: The author's message(s) about the human condition expressed through the characters, story, dialogue and commentary in a text.
3- Took the quiz for Chapter 9-- see me if you missed this.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Eddy

How do You Learn?

We watched an amazing TED talk today where a educational researcher talks about the future of learning and schools.
Here are the directions:
1-The Cornell Notes you take as you view will be assessed for a grade in this class on Thursday(tomorrow).
2-Limerick re-writes are due today
3-Read Chapter 9 of S-5 by tomorrow (9-26)
4-Friday you can re-take the essay question section of the quiz on Chapters 1-7-- in class on FRIDAY ONLY--
See you tomorrow!

Monday and Tuesday--9-23/24

I was out Monday, but students took the quiz on S-5, Chapters 1-7.  If you need to make up the quiz, please talk to me this week.

Tuesday we read an amazing and disturbing poem: War is Kind  Please print it out and make notes on the text-- include a paragraph that details you reaction to the poem and its ideas-- compare the phrase "War is Kind" and its effects to the phrase, "so it goes" from S-5.
TURN IN YOUR LIMERICK RE-WRITES ON PAPER: ASAP--THANKS!

Limerick Deadline and a Slaughterhouse Sense of Reality

Today we worked on the following:
Thursday, Sept. 9 Tasks
Read this letter if you have NOT turned in a limerick yet

Paragraph Writing

Please turn in the paragraph you wrote in reaction to the 1969 NY Times review of Slaughterhouse Five: See the last post for links to original instructions and the article itself.  I want to see how you marked the article, also, so please turn that in with your writing--Thanks!
Mrs. E

1. Guiding Question for reading the article: an original review of this book from 1969:  

What does this reviewer think about Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse Five?  

1. Look the article over
2. Number the paragraphs
3. Read: underline main points and circle key terms. Write questions in the margins.
4. discuss your ideas with a partner

Write a paragraph that answers the guiding question and offers specific support for your thesis (answer).

Slaughterhouse Structures and Fairy Tales

Yesterday and today we worked on a story that we could change around in order to make a different point (change the theme).  Here are the directions for that: Same Old Story

Today we switched from talking about theme to defining thesis and support-- here is a copy of our agenda and a copy of the article we read-- we will have to finish reading and discuss it tomorrow-- out of time!
Thanks, Mrs. E

Limericks and More Slaughter (so it goes)

WE turned in the writing about Owl Creek today (see last post) and are moving on to silly limericks.  When yours is finished, post it on the class document accessible through this blog site (look to the right!).
Also: READ CHAPTER # 3 OF SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE before class on Monday-- have a fabulous weekend!
Mrs. E

Owl Creek Slaughterhouse?

Please finish reading the Ambrose Bierce story we read in class.

Link to the story online: An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge
Pre-Lesson
Questions: Owl Creek Bridge Inquiry Questions

Monday-Tuesday, Check!

Monday-Tuesday we got going on plot and started reading Slaughterhouse Five.  The reading assignment depends on which class period you have.  The study questions below should be read and considered AFTER chapter one and BEFORE you begin chapter two-- keep your eyes and mind open for the answers and questions to come to you as you read.  Make any notes along the way that will help you.
Before class on Wednesday: 
3rd Period: READ Chapter Two
7th Period: Read Chapter One
Study Questions

First Week Greatness!

Here are some of the things we worked on--
3rd period-- we will finish the poetry stuff on Monday.
Assignments:OPTIC
St. George Painting

Seventh Period: I can't load that last photo from the Trayvon Martin Case-- so I will give you time on Monday to finish--have a great weekend!

Welcome Back!

Syllabus

Supplies: Writing Folder-- any three-pronged folder with about 20 pieces of binder paper in it (see image).

This page is the place to check in if you have missed a day, lost a handout, forgotten your notes, or just want to check in and make sure you have everything done. I will do my best to update twice a week, and I really appreciate it if you let me know right away if a link is not working or you have other troubles navigating this site. You or your parents can sign up to follow the site so that you will know when a new post is available. Please check in here before you email me about missing class or ask about missing work--thanks!
 Email me: eddy_christina@salkeiz.k12.or.us