Pre-AP English II: Ain't I a "Whatever" Essay

In class today, we worked on our own versions of Sojourner Truth's speech, "Ain't I a Woman."

In preparation for the assignment we listed stereotypes someone might have about some aspect of our lives (race/ethnicity, gender, occupation, neighborhood, size, athletic or intellectual ability, etc.) and how we don't fit that mold.

For instance, my information looked like this:

An area of my life where I defy/contradict stereotype:

• English Teacher

Three stereotypes typically believed about people like me.

1. English teachers are boring


2. English teachers always have their noses stuck in books


3. English teachers have perfect grammar and spelling

Six ways I defy/contradict those stereotypes:

1. I incorporate humor into my classes


2. I celebrate student achievement in weird and wonderful ways like wearing a prom dress or shaving my head


3. I watch a lot of television, especially cartoons and crime/mystery shows


4. Sometimes I write short stories


5. I frequently use grammar ironically or pronounce words they way they're spelled (high-per-bowl for hyperbole)


6. I'm human. I make mistakes.

The next step was to write an essay similar to Sojourner Truth's. Our first paragraph was devoted to establishing how we aren't like what other people expect. Our body paragraphs each addressed one of the stereotypes that we defy/contradict. Below is my opening:

Sometimes people make assumptions about me when they hear I'm an English teacher. Like they think they know me. Like they think I have to behave they way they expect. But I'm not that way ... for reals.

For instance, people think that I must always use proper grammar and spelling. But sometimes I don't, and ain't I an English teacher? Using slang and other colloquialisms makes the language fun, and I want my students to enjoy learning English. Still, people think that English teachers want the language to be stuffy. I'm not that way, and ain't I an English teacher?

You modify my introduction, or use a variation of Sojourner Truth's, or come up with your own.

Pre-AP English II: Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman"

If you lose your copy of Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" speech, please print out another copy at the Internet History Sourcebook (Fordham University).

Pre-AP English II: Persuasion Presentation

Below is Monday's presentation on Persuasive Techniques. If you missed class, please make sure you are familiar with the content of the presentation and add the big ideas to your notes.

English I (Pre-AP): Vocabulary from Lightning Thief, Set 2

Look up the following words in the dictionary (or dictionary.com, online). Select the definition that best fits the context as used in the sentences, below. (If you need additional context, you’ll find the sentence at the page number indicated.) In some cases you may need to look up the root word and incorporate its meaning into your definition.

• Bristle (v.):
• Charisma (n.):
• Mesmerizing (adj.):
• Parapet (n.):
• Predicament (n.):
• Pretense (n.):
• Scheme (n.):

The hairs on my arms bristled. (p. 304)

Grover’s predicament got me moving again. (p. 304)

The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. (p. 307)

He had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma. (p. 309)

“You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?” (p. 311)

“Had I not sent my Fury ... Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war.” (p. 312)

Pre-AP English II: Anthem Background

Below is today's presentation on things that influenced Anthem. After viewing it, please write a quick paragraph exploring your personal anthem, bearing in mind that an anthem identifies and celebrates your personal values:

1. Identify a song that you relate to and makes you feel good about yourself;
2. If no song really does the trick, identify what your values are and how a song might celebrate those.

Due: Monday 1/28

Pre-AP English II: Ayn Rand Presentation

Below is this morning's Ayn Rand presentation. After viewing it, please write a quick paragraph

1. Identifying two life events that have changed the way you see the world, and
2. What conclusion about life you've drawn because of those events

Due: Friday 1/25

Intro to Ayn Rand on Prezi

English I (Pre-AP): Study Notes

Below are the notes we discussed in class.

Reading/Comprehension Skills. (11/53)
Make complex inferences about text and use textual evidence to support understanding.

Writing/Writing Process. (10/53)
Edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Like bellringers, but only 1 problem in each sentence

Writing/Writing Process. (5/53)
Revise drafts to improve style, word choice, figurative language, sentence variety, and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how well questions of purpose, audience, and genre have been addressed

Sentence combination

• (usually) one of 2 shortest
• never 2 sentences joined by comma

Choose between words that are "correct" and words that are "correct and have the same meaning"
“letted” => able
or => permitted/allowed
(pick the one that doesn’t change the meaning)

Informal : The book is about family, wealth, and stuff.
Formal: The book is about family and wealth, among other things.

Add a sentence = look for clues to show where the sentence should be inserted.

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. (5/53)
Analyze the effects of diction and imagery (e.g., controlling images, figurative language, understatement, overstatement, irony, paradox) in poetry.

Syntax = word order
Diction = word choice
Figurative language = literary devices
Denotation (denotes) = dictionary definition
Connotation=the "feeling" carried by the word

(in)formality
tone (author’s attitude)
clarity

Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. (4/53)
Make subtle inferences and draw complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns.

Reading/Vocabulary Development. (3/53)
Analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words.

Denotative = dictionary definition
Connotative = the “feeling” of the word

Reading/Vocabulary Development. (3/53)
Use a dictionary, a glossary, or a thesaurus (printed or electronic) to determine or confirm the meanings of words and phrases, including their connotations and denotations, and their etymology.

Etymology: word origin (includes nation of origin, prefix/root/suffix)

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. (3/53)
Analyze non-linear plot development (e.g., flashbacks, foreshadowing, sub-plots, parallel plot structures) and compare it to linear plot development.

Flashback: refers back to something earlier in story
Foreshadowing: hints at something that will happen later
Subplot: something that happens in the story not related to the main plot
Parallel plot structure: 2 things happening at once in story

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. (3/53)
Analyze how authors develop complex yet believable characters in works of fiction through a range of literacy devices, including character foils.

Character foil: A character who is included in the story to make the main character more believable or easier to understand by comparison to the foil.

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. (3/53)
Analyze the way in which a work of fiction is shaped by the narrator’s point of view.

First Person (I/Me/Us/Our); the story is seen through the eyes of the narrator (like a first-person shooter video game)
Third Person (He/Him/She/Her/Them/They); the narrator is a little distant from the reader

Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. (3/53)
Summarize text and distinguish between a summary that captures the main ideas and elements of a text and a critique that takes a position and expresses an opinion.

Main idea (thesis) vs. Supporting ideas
Facts vs. Opinion

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. (5/53)

Analyze the effects of diction and imagery (e.g., controlling images, figurative language, understatement, overstatement, irony, paradox) in poetry.

Syntax = word order
Diction = word choice
Figurative language = literary devices
Denotation (denotes)=dictionary definition
Connotation=the way the word makes you feel

(in)formality
tone (author’s attitude)
clarity

Pre-AP English II: Study Notes

Below are the notes we discussed in class. As with the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, these are based on how things might be, rather than how they will be.

Reading/Comprehension Skills. (10/45)
Make complex inferences about text and use textual evidence to support understanding.

Understanding and Analysis of Informational Texts. (7/10)
Make and defend subtle inferences and complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns.

• Main Idea/Thesis
• Author’s Purpose
• Audience
• Conclusion
• Prediction/hypothesis
• Cause --> Effect

Writing/Writing Process 1. (6/45)
Revise drafts to improve style, word choice, figurative language, sentence variety, and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how well questions of purpose, audience, and genre have been addressed.

Sentence combination

• (usually) one of 2 shortest
• never 2 sentences joined by comma

Choose between words that are "correct" and words that are "correct and have the same meaning"
"letted" => able
or => permitted/allowed

Informal : the book is about family, wealth, and stuff
Formal : the book is about family and wealth, among other things

Add a sentence = look for clues to show where the sentence should be inserted.

Writing/Writing Process 2. (6/45)
Edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Like bellringers, but only 1 problem in each sentence

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. (6/45)
Evaluate the role of syntax and diction and the effect of voice, tone, and imagery on a speech, literary essay, or other forms of literary nonfiction.

Syntax = word order
Diction = word choice
Denotation/connotations

(in)formality
tone
clarity

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. (4/45)
Analyze the structure or prosody (e.g., meter, rhyme scheme) and graphic elements (e.g., line length, punctuation, and word position) in poetry.

Sonnet: 14 lines, rhymes
Blank Verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Free Verse: No structure

Enjambment: lines don’t end with punctuation

Reading/Vocabulary Development. (3/45)
Analyze textual context (within a sentence and in larger sections of text) to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words.

Denotative = dictionary definition
Connotative = emotional “feel” of word

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. (3/45)
Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author’s sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding.

Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell, Sound

English I (Pre-AP): Lightning Thief Facebook Project

To complete this project you must create a fake Facebook page (poster) for one of the Greek gods in The Lightning Thief. Please lay out your page—(I will provide 11"x17" paper; you may also use your own paper that size or larger)—to include the following:

• A large picture of your god/goddess. It can be a hand-drawn picture of a person or a symbol/icon representing that character.
  
  
• Background information about that character:
  
  
• Gender
• Hobbies/Interests (what they’re the god/goddess of)
• Who they’re married to (if appropriate)
• Relationship status (probably “It’s complicated” but others may apply)
• Etc.
  
  
• At least five Facebook “friends.” Each friend needs to be another god, goddess, or other named mythological character from the book with a picture/symbol/icon representing him/her.
  
  
• At least three status updates based on events in the book. You may also draw a picture as if the character had uploaded a view of something that happened in the story (no pictures taken from the movie). Please try to speak in the same voice as the character. It is doubtful that Zeus would post “Yo, dawg. S’up?” (Classroom appropriate internet acronyms—lol, ftw, etc.—are fine OMG would probable by OM, Oh Myself, since they're already Gods.)
  
  
• You should have likes/comments for your posts. At least one post must have a comment thread with five or more entries. The comments should be accompanied by the picture/symbol/icon for that character.
  
  
• You may add ads, tickers, “you may also know”s, etc., for additional credit (the more it looks like a real Facebook page, the better).

More mythological information than you probably need can be found at the Theoi Project.

Deadline: Friday, January 11, 2013.

Pre-AP English II: Stave Five Essay Prompt

In a well-developed essay*, explain how dramatic irony contributes to the reader’s experience in Stave Five of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. (If you were absent from class, please spend no more than 45 minutes working on your essay and don't write more than 26 lines on your page.)

[Be sure to identify what it is the reader knows that a character doesn't (dramatic irony); “reader's experience” = “enjoyment”)

*paragraphs, embedded text evidence, thesis, etc.

English I (Pre-AP): House on Mango Street Open-Ended Question

After reading the excerpt of the story we read in class, please respond to the following prompt:

Does Cisneros' choice of name for the protagonist seem ironic? Explain (with embedded evidence from the text.

Do not leave your quoted evidence floating naked and alone.

For instance, in both cases, the quote is isolated from the analysis/commentary (poor form):

Esperanza is not an ironic name for the protagonist of House on Mango Street. "Quote from story." This helps the reader see that there is hope for her, which is the meaning of her name.

or

Esperanza is an ironic name choice for the lead character in House on Mango Street. "Different quote from story." Someone named after hope should have a positive outlook on life, and Esperanza doesn't.

Instead, the text evidence should be securely wrapped in the warmth and brilliance of your own words. These would be better (not great, but better):

Esperanza is not an ironic name for the protagonist of House on Mango Street. When Cisneros writes, "Quote from story," the reader can easily see that there is hope for her, which is the meaning of her name.

or

Esperanza is an ironic name choice for the lead character in House on Mango Street. For instance, in lines xx through yy, she says "'Different quote from story.'" Someone named after hope should have a positive outlook on life, and Esperanza's words show she doesn't.

Pre-AP English II: Pearl/Christmas Carol Socratic Seminar Questions

Be prepared to discuss these questions in class on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. 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
How can "differences of opinion" about employment effect a relatinship?

Do you believe in supernatural visions and/or ghosts? Explain?

What effect does a song/Christmas Carol have on a person?

What effect does being cheated have on a person?


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
How does Coyotito die?

What is Marley bound by?


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Why does Juana want to get rid of the pearl?

What differnces are there between what Kino loves most and what Bob Cratchit loves most?

Why is Scrooge so bitter?


UNIVERSAL THEME / CORE QUESTIONS
Why is the death of a child so troubling?

How does one keep money/materialism in perspective?


LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
How do the descriptions of what Kino sees in the pearl/the ghosts Scrooge encounters effect the mood of the chapter/stave?

If Kino had learned the Scrooge's lesson, how would The Pearl have been different?

How does the personification of "destroying [something] before it destroys [you] relate to the themes of The Pearl and A Christmas Carol?