9/23/09

Since I'll be gone tomorrow, I'll see you on Friday. Don't forget to review your vocabulary words!

Freshmen:
Reviewed Point of View and finished notes on literary terms: theme, irony, symbolism
Began discussing "The Handsomest Drowned Man" homework.
HW: Study for vocab quiz on Friday and Literary Terms test on Monday.

AP Lit:
Discussed the auditor in "The Cask of Amontillado." (Way to think creatively, Camille!) Then we spent a few minutes looking at "White Elephants."
HW: Read "Why I Live at the P.O." You'll take some character notes and work on writing a character description in class on Thursday.
Vocab Quiz on Friday.
Read "Bartleby, the Scrivener" over the weekend for class on Monday.

9/22/09

Freshmen:
We read "The Lady, or the Tiger?" together and discussed its lack of resolution. (Frustrating, isn't it?) Then you added Point of View, First Person, Limited Third Person and Omniscient Third Person to your list of literary terms.
HW: Read "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" (see the link on the right) and complete the worksheet that goes along with it. Due tomorrow.

AP Lit:
Re-read together and discussed "The Cask of Amontillado." (Poe is a genius at using irony and sound devices to infuse humor and suspense. So twisted!)
HW:
for Wed.: "Hills Like White Elephants"
for Thurs: read "Why I Live at the P.O."
for Fri: describe the characters of "P.O" using as many of the terms given in class on Thurs. as possible.
for Mon: read "Bartleby, the Scrivener."

9/21/09

Freshmen:
I gave you your first 5 vocabulary words. We will add 5 each Monday; we will have a quiz each Friday. Don't forget that you need to know the meaning and be able to SPELL each word correctly. Then, we took a bunch of notes on literary terms related to character and characterization. We'll look at another story tomorrow.


AP Lit:
You received your first 5 vocabulary words. We'll add new ones each week and take a quiz each Friday. Then, we took a bunch of notes on Narration and Point of View. Also, I collected your sample essays which you scored with the AP scoring guide.
HW: for Tuesday read "The Cask of Amontillado"
for Wednesday read "Hills Like White Elephants"

9/19/09

Freshmen:
Review stories and lit terms from this week then had time to read SSR books. We'll read a bit every Friday, so be sure to brings your books with you!

AP Lit:
Compared scores on AP sample essays.
HW: Score your own paper and explain your reasoning. Also, explain what you'd like to work on in your writing this year.
Next week's reading: for Tuesday read "The Cask of Amontillado" and for Wednesday read "Hills Like White Elephants."

9/17/09

Freshmen:
Discussed your MDG plot diagrams, then took notes on Conflict and Setting.
Read "Gaston." (Except for 7th period).
HW: Bring your 1st SSR book for tomorrow.

AP Lit:
Put "Sonny's Blues" in chronological order and talked about what different effect it would have if written in this manner.
HW: Score the sample AP essays I handed out on Tuesday. Be ready to discuss the scores you gave each and why.

9/15/09

Freshmen:
Continued reading "The Most Dangerous Game."
We''ll finish it and work on a plot diagram tomorrow.
HW: Choose an independent reading book for the first 9 weeks and bring it to class on Friday!

AP Lit:
Notes on plot.
Handed out AP Scoring Guides and sample essays.
HW: (for Wed.) Read "The Country Husband."
(for Thurs.) Read "Sonny's Blues."
(for Fri.) Score the sample essays I gave you today, and be ready to discuss.

9/14/09

Freshmen:
You can find the link to the Animal Farm assignment in the list at the right. (Sorry I didn't get it posted until today.)
Today in class we took some notes on plot and then began reading "The Most Dangerous Game," which we will continue reading tomorrow.

AP Lit:
Great discussion on: "Why a cathedral?" A lot of good observations were made about the story.
We'll do some work with last week's on demand essays tomorrow.

HW (for the next few days): Read "The Country Husband" and be ready to discuss it on WED. And, read "Sonny's Blues" and be ready to discuss it on THURS.

9/11/09

Freshmen:
Talked about your summer reading selections, then turned them in along with the "Oh the places...' assignment.

HW: Using your animal farm notes, complete the chart and questions provided. (I'll attach a link to copies of these later...once I figure out how to merge a Word document and a pdf into one.)


AP Lit:
Mostly we just talked about your thoughts (and my thoughts) on why we study literature.

HW: Read "Cathedral", be ready to discuss on Monday the question: Why a cathedral? (of all the things Carver could have chosen...)

Have a great weekend!

9/10/09

Another action packed day!

Honors English 9
We read a little Dr. Seuss and then began a writing assignment beginning our look at allegory. The "Oh, The Places..." assignment is due tomorrow. As well, bring your signed syllabus sheet (if you didn't today)-- and bring your SUMMER READING assignments to class with you tomorrow.


AP Lit
We completed a practice AP test writing prompt today-- the function of a foil. This will be the first of many. We'll be looking at sample essays and scoring guides for this topic tomorrow and discussing the reading homework.

HW: Read pages 1-21 in the Norton text, take notes on any terms, questions, interesting thoughts or insights you had, etc. Then, answer the question "Why do you study literature?" We'll discuss you're responses tomorrow.

Welcome Back! 9/9/09

Welcome back. It was great to see you all today! I guess this will be a year of adventures at RHS with all the changes we are undergoing. Hopefully, we are all ready to see what unfolds and we'll have a great year together.

In class today I distributed syllabi and sign-off sheets. These will be due on Friday as your first homework assignment. Be ready to get started on some "real" curriculum tomorrow.

BONUS! One day only EXTRA CREDIT opportunity: send me an email (see address above or on your syllabus) by midnight on Thursday 9/10/09 that says "I checked the blog!" and includes your full name and period number and I'll give you a few extra credit points to get the year started off right.