English Classes: Timed Writing (Perseverance)

Read the information below.

“I think I can ― I think I can ― I think I can. ... I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could”

― The Little Engine That Could
( ^ link to book ^ )

Although many people quit when things get difficult, others keep trying until they accomplish what they set out to do. Think carefully about this statement.

Write an essay exploring the role perseverance plays in success.

Be sure to

• clearly state your thesis
• organize and develop your ideas effectively
• choose your words carefully
• edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Time limit: one class period.

English Classes: Ang Lee Video

If you would like to re-visit the video we watched class, it's below.

Enjoy!

English I (Pre-AP): Haiku Presentation (and Assignment)

If you missed class today, below is the presentation on Haiku. After viewing the presentation -- and taking notes -- please create your own haiku. On a full sheet of plain white paper write your haiku and illustrate it.




You can view the Avatar: The Last Airbender clip we watched in class at the Nickelodeon website ("Sokka's Story" begins at the 13 minute mark.)

And here's another fun haiku-related video.

Pre-AP English II: Pearl Chapter 1-3 Test Preview

Tomorrow, you'll have a test on Chapters 1-3 of The Pearl. Among the many things you should know are:

Literary Devices:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Analogy
• Anaphora
• Antithesis
• Contrast
• Foreshadowing
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Mood
• Onomatopoeia
• Personification
• Situational Irony
• Symbol
• Theme

Tone Words:

• Anxious
• Apathetic
• Apathetic
• Contemptuous
• Indifferent
• Paranoid
• Reverent
• Sarcastic
• Sinister
• Tragic
• Tranquil

English Classes: Binder Check Tomorrow

Be sure to bring your English Binders to class tomorrow for a binder check.

Your three-ring binder needs to have the following tabs:

1. Classwork/Homework
2. Essays
3. Tests
4. Personal Dictionary
5. Extra Paper

Your TransAmerica Tower/Bloom's Taxonomy handout belongs in the CW/HW tab. (If you lost yours, click the link and print another.)

Pre-AP English II: Please have your 6-weeks test (Timed writing on "greed") in the ESSAYS tab.

Multiple choice tests belong in the TESTS section.

Pre-AP English II: Six Weeks' Test Preview

If I mentioned that your test tomorrow would be multiple choice ... psych!

It'll be an essay thematically linked to The Pearl.

English I (Pre-AP): Six Weeks' Text Preview

Tomorrow your test will be on an excerpt of a memoir written by Richard Rodriguez. You're invited to preview it. Enjoy.

English I (Pre-AP): Lightning Thief Mythology Log

Please begin a log citing Mythological appearances in the novel. For instance, you should put things like:

Page 5: Kronos eats his children

Page 6: Kronos barfs up (disgorges) his children

Page 7: Mr. Brunner described as having eyes that "could've been a thousand years old"

Page 9: Out of nowhere, Ms. Dodds "materialized" next to Percy.

etc.

Not every page will contain the appearance of something mythological, but you should have quite a few per chapter.

Right now, catch up through Chapter Five, and then continue the log with each assigned chapter.

Pre-AP English II: Pearl Chapter One Open-Ended Questions

Thoughtfully respond to the following prompts. Support your answers with text evidence.

Responses should be no longer than 10 lines long. (#4 and the best response from #1-3 will be taken for a grade.)

1. Contrast the character Juana from The Pearl with Mildred from Fahrenheit 451. (You may generalize for Mildred, but please embed specific text evidence for Juana in your response.)

2. Describe an Internal Conflict (person vs. self) and an External Conflict (person vs. other, nature, society, etc.) that occur in Chapter One of The Pearl. (Embed specific text evidence.)

3. Discuss two ways colonialism (Spanish colonizing Mexico) transformed the lives of native people like Kino and his family. (Embed specific text evidence.)

4. How does the introduction of evil (the scorpion) into the story transform the good characters (Kino, Juana, and Coyotito)? (Embed specific text evidence.)

Pre-AP English II: Free Christmas Carol e-book

If you have the Kindle app on your computer or smart device, you may download a copy of A Christmas Carol from the Amazon store for free. (You must download the book from your computer or web browser on your smart device; the book will by synced to the app the next time you run it.)

English I (Pre-AP): The Lightning Thief – Vocabulary Set 1

Look up each vocabulary word in the dictionary (or dictionary.com) and write the definition below. Check the context of the word in sentence that appears at the bottom of the page to make sure you are using the proper choice. (The page number appears in parentheses after the sentence in case you need additional context from the story.)

Absorbed (adj.)-

Cloven (adj.)-

Disgorge (v.)-

Dyslexic (adj.)-

Envy (v.)-

Kleptomaniac (n.)-

Lug (v.)-

Squall (n.)-

Terminal (n.)-

Wrenched (v.)-




I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened. (1)

…I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl…. (3)

Zeus [fed] Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine*, which made him disgorge his other five children…. (6)

…but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel. (11)

...we studied … the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year. (17)

The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes…. (24)

…the driver wrenched a big chunk of metal out of the engine compartment. (26)

I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal. (29)

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom’s bags to the car. (36)

There were cloven hooves. (43)




*do not drink mixtures of mustard and wine.

Pre-AP English II: Steinbeck and The Pearl

Today's presentations on John Steinbeck and The Pearl are below. If you missed class or some of the info, add this to your notes.

John Steinbeck

The Pearl

Quickwrite: As mentioned in the Steinbeck presentation, migrant workers were paid for their stories, which Steinbeck incorporated into his novels. In 3-5 sentences, please explain your feelings about the rightness/wrongness of someone profiting from someone else's stories if it's the only way for that person's stories to be heard.

English I (Pre-AP): Heroes Presentation

Below is the presentation we looked at in class (including the bonus Jason notes). You need to know this stuff.

Pre-AP English II: Quickwrite on Faber's "Three Things"

In "The Sieve and the Sand" Faber mentions that society needs three things in order for books to make a difference in the world:

1. Quality of information: Books must reflect life.
2. Leisure to digest it: Books must be thought about, though not necessarily agreed with.
3. The right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two (the "life" in the text and the reflection upon it).

In 2-3 sentences, discuss whether you agree with Faber's three things and why you feel the way you do.

All Students: Half Price Books Coupon Week

Half Price Books is running a series of special offers this week. If you sign up for their mailing list you'll receive a set of coupons that lower their already low prices.

On Monday and Tuesday you'll save 40% on the most expensive item you buy either day.

Wednesday and Thursday the savings is 30%. Friday and Saturday it's 20%.

Sunday's the biggest savings (though on the least inventory): 50%.

Incoming Pre-AP English II students, consider getting any of these books: The Pearl by John Steinbeck, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, or Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

English I (Pre-AP) students, pick up The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, or Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

English students, if you haven't already acquired the current novel, don't wait for the big coupon on Sunday. Use the 40% coupon now and pick up a second book later on.

Here's a list of local stores.

Pre-AP English II: IWA Conclusion

Last week we looked at how to write a thesis paragraph and two body paragraphs (#1, #2). Today in class we looked at writing a conclusion. Essentially, the conclusion is a restatement of the thesis paragraph (make sure you use different words).

Here's an example:

In the end, Bradbury has created two highly-engaging characters in Faber and Montag. If the reader is unaware of the paper/pencil allusions in their names, the experience of reading is still more than worthwhile. If, on the other hand, the reader does have an awareness of the connection between the names and the pencil/paper and mentor/mentee relationships, it takes their appreciation of Bradbury’s work to a much deeper level.

You now have everything you need to write your IWA. Please compile the blocks of body text -- add some transitions of your choice to make it your own -- and turn it in in the inside front pocket of a plain two-pocket portfolio by Thursday, November 8.

English I (Pre-AP): Mythology Family Tree

If you missed the Mythology presentation or the Family Tree notes, please take a look below.

Here's the Family Tree:

And here's the presentation (it goes on more than we will get to in class; check it out for bonus knowledge!):

Intro to Greek Mythology on Prezi

Pre-AP English II: 451F (Part 2) Socratic Seminar Questions

Be prepared to discuss these questions in class on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Remember to support your answers -- even the World Connection questions -- with evidence from the book.

If you missed the seminar, submit well-thought out written responses to two questions (100%; one question=80%). You may NOT answer a close-ended question.

If you were in class and did not respond twice, use the back of your remaining half-sheets ("buns") to respond to the questions. If you respond to a question discussed in class, your response must refer to the text and add to the conversation we had. (+20 points for the first, +10 points for the second)

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
What would do if you knew a loved one was breaking the law? --M.P. (2nd)

If your house caught on fire, what would be the most important thing for you to save? --N.O. (1st)

If you had to choose between friends and family, who would win out? --N.B. (6th)


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
How does Faber react when Montag rips the Bible? --A.P. (2nd)

What did Montag think Beatty wanted to happen when he ordered Montag to burn his house --P.P. (2nd)


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
What does "the sieve and the sand" represent in the second section of the novel? --J.M.S. (2nd)

Why does Granger trust Montag --O.M. (1st)

Why does Mildred think of the people in the parlor as "family"? --A.G. (6th)


UNIVERSAL THEME / CORE QUESTIONS
If you were running away from society, where would you go? --B.C. (2nd)

If the government required you to inform on your neighbor, what would you do? --Anon. (1st)

If you could memorize any book in the world, what would it be? Why? --Mr. Mikesell


LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
What is the significance of the Phoenix in the novel (how does the symbol change from the beginning of the novel to the end)? --A.E. (2nd)

What does Faber's comparison between himself and a queen bee reveal about his character? --M.C. (1st)

English I (Pre-AP): Timed Expository Writing (Fear in Society)

Read the information in the box below.

In 1933, when taking office for the first time, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced in his inaugural address, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Sometimes fears become overblown, while other times they’re justified. Think carefully about this statement.

Write an essay explaining the role fear plays in society.

Be sure to —

• clearly state your thesis
• organize and develop your ideas effectively
• choose your words carefully
• edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling

Maximum length: 26 lines

Pre-AP English II: IWA Body Paragraphs, Pt. 2

Yesterday we looked at how body paragraphs should be written in an IWA. In general, each body paragraph should have two to three pieces of evidence from the text to support the main idea of the paragraph.

Yesterday's body paragraph carried the idea that the paper is dependent upon the pencil to give it meaning or significance (similar to the mentee's dependence on the mentor). Today, we'll create body text that shows how over time the mentee becomes more and more like the mentor. For instance:

In “The Sieve and the Sand,” Faber gives Montag instructions via ear-radio on how to get out of trouble. At one point he tells Montag to “‘Say ‘yes,’” and then “[Montag’s] mouth moved like Faber’s.” This simile indicates that people are seeing Faber’s influence on Montag,just as they would notice what is written on a piece of paper, rather than the paper itself.

Likewise

In the “Burning Bright” section of the book, the mentor-mentee (pencil/paper) relationship between Faber/Montag becomes complete. Montag symbolically becomes Faber when he “[dresses] in Faber’s old clothes and shoes,” escaping from the Hound at the river. Like a piece of paper virtually disappears when covered in writing, Montag becomes invisible and only what appears to be Faber remains.

(These two blocks of body paragraph text also demonstrate the direct answer/topic sentence, text evidence/support, commentary/connection of a good open-ended or short-answer response to an EOC question.)

Our body paragraphs need a bit more detail and transitional material, but they're in pretty good shape.

Next Monday: Conclusions