Sophomores, Freshmen: EOC Retest Info

If you need to retake an English EOC exam, please do.
Testing takes place on the following dates:

Monday, July 8: English I & III Writing
Tuesday, July 9: English I & III Reading
Wednesday, July 10: English II Writing
Thursday, July 11: English II Reading

If you need to retest for another subject, do that too.
Here's the info on that:

Monday, July 15: Physics and World History
Tuesday, July 16: Biology, Geometry, and US History
Wednesday, July 17: Algebra I and Chemistry
Thursday, July 18: Algebra II and World Geography

All tests will be administered at W.T. White High School.
Please contact the office for more information.
Address: 4505 Ridgeside Dr, Dallas
Phone: (972) 502-6200

English I (Pre-AP): Ender's Game Quickwrite on Graff

The unknown voices at the beginning of Chapter 3 of Ender's Game, suggest that to get Ender away from his sister, Valentine, he'll have to be told a lie. If the lie fails, he'll have to be told the truth.

In a brief paragraph explain whether Graff told Ender the truth or if everything he said was a lie. Support your response with evidence from the text.

Free Audiobooks: Jane Eyre and "Incorrigible Children"

Two audiobooks are available for free from SYNC this week (through June 12th).

Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Orphaned at an early age, Jane Eyre leads a lonely life until she finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester and sees a ghostly woman who roams the halls by night. The relationship between the heroine and Mr. Rochester is only one episode, albeit the most important, in a detailed fictional autobiography in which the author transmuted her own experience into high art. In this work, the plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance but possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit, and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer, and the rigid social order that circumscribes her life and position.

OK, a lot of big words in the synopsis, but it's a good story. Please check it out. (Follow along with the novel by downloading the text from Project Gutenberg, here.)

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1:
The Mysterious Howling
by Maryrose Wood
Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.

Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.

But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the vast forests of the estate? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles table manners and socially useful phrases in time for Lady Constance’s holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?

To get either audiobook (or both!) start at the download page.

You'll need to install the OverDrive® Media Console™ first, but the page walks you through that. The audiobooks have download buttons below the green sync-head thing in the third column of the page.

Enjoy!

English I (Pre-AP): Ender's Game Reminder

Be sure to bring your copy of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card with you to class on Thursday, June 6th.

Students who do not have a copy (ebooks are OK), will have to stand all period: NO BOOK. NO SEAT.

BTW: A film version of Ender's Game will be coming out in November (too late to skip the book — ha, ha!). Here's the trailer:

English I (Pre-AP): Shakespeare Small Groups

Tomorrow, June 4th, we'll be working in our small groups again. A reminder of your group and your reading assignment for tonight (and a link to the text) appear below.

Group 1, reading Act 4, Scene 5
Erick
Alma
D'Ontae

Group 2, reading Act 4, Scene 3
Alvaro
Deanna
Natalie
Jessica

Group 3, reading Act 4, Scene 2
Leslie
Marco
Govii
Rodolfo

Group 4, reading Act 4, Scene 1
Elizabeth
Tony
Jose

English Students: Public Education Problems/Solutions

In class, you were given a packet of two articles:

• "How to fix our schools: A manifesto"
and
• "Why I Left Teaching Behind"
  aka "Schools Need Teachers Like Me. I Just Can't Stay."

In a well-developed paragraph, respond to the following prompt:

Which essay (if either) do you agree with and why? Support your response with at least two well-chosen pieces of embedded text evidence.

The assignment is due on the day of your course ACP (periods 1 and 2, 5/24; period 4, 5/28).

All Classes: Free Audiobooks this Summer

As mentioned in some classes today, you have an opportunity to get 24 free audiobooks this summer. Check out the Download Schedule and sign up for text/e-mail reminders.

There are some very good titles here: Shakespeare's Hamlet (you'll read it as a senior) and The Tempest (one of my favorite Shakespearean comedies); Frankenstein (good chance you'll read that senior year, too); Bless Me, Ultima; and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail."

In addition to the dozen "classic" literature choices, there are also 12 "young adult" picks. Death Cloud, Rotters, and Once look interesting to me.

Enjoy!

English Classes: Reading Reminders

Pre-AP English II: You need to have read through Chapter Four of Lord of the Flies by the time we come together tomorrow. (See this earlier blog post for a way to get the text of the novel free.)

English I (Pre-AP): You need to have read from Act 2, Scene 2, through Act 2, Scene 6 of Romeo and Juliet (Ms. Muñoz is going to talk to her students and see if some want to re-sell you their copies of the book. If you don't have a copy, start bringing $5 to school to pick up a copy as they come available).

English I (Pre-AP): Play-writing Preview

Tomorrow you'll be working on your play.

Your play should include:

• 3 characters
  • #1 wants to befriend/have a relationship with #2
  • #3 likes #1 but hates #2
• A prologue (basic plot)
• 1 Act
• 3 Scenes (beginning, middle, end)
  • Setting and introduction of characters at beginning of each scene
  • Everyone goes off stage (“exeunt all”) at end of each scene
• At least 5 stage directions for each scene
• Stage directions should be in square brackets [ ]
• Play is 90% dialogue
• Should last about 5-10 minutes

English I (Pre-AP): Fahrenheit 451 Test Preview

Here's what you need to know for tomorrow's test:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Hyperbole
• Irony
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile
• Tone

Knowing the "Burning Bright" section of the novel and reviewing today's in-class notes probably wouldn't hurt, either.

English Classes: Weekend Reading Joy

Sophomores: You need to read up to the end of Othello, Act 4.

Freshmen: You need to read Fahrenheit 451 up to the break in the middle of page 154 (which is 451 backwards, as someone mentioned as we left the library this morning).

Feel free to finish reading either text, though. The sections above are the minumum you should read. You don't want to be known as someone who only does the bare minimum, do you?

Get reading!

English I (Pre-AP): Fahrenheit 451 Vocabulary Set #2

Write the definition of each vocabulary word in the space following the part of speech. Make sure the definition you choose matches the way the vocabulary word is used in the sentence from the text, below.

Use a dictionary or dictionary.com!

• Bewildered (adj.):
• Cite (v.):
• Disperse/-ing (v.):
• Draught (n.):
• Filigree (adj.):
• Fold (n.):
• Hone/-d (v.):
• Latrine (n.):
• Murmur (n.):
• Mush (n.):
• Needle/-ing (v.):

They sat, not touching her, bewildered with her display. (100)

“I’ve always said poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush!” (101)

…she had started on her own slow process of dispersing the dynamite in her house, stick by stick. (102)

It was good listening to the beetle hum, the sleepy mosquito buzz and delicate filigree murmur of the old man’s voice…. (103)

By the time I was forty my blunt instrument had been honed to a fine cutting point for me. (104)

Montag had to rice from the game and go to the latrine to wash his hands. (105)

“The crisis is past and all is well, the sheep returns to the fold.” (105)

“There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain.…” (106)

“Stop blushing. I’m not needling, really I’m not.” (106)

“‘The devil can cite scripture for his purpose.’” (106)

When you are confident you have the correct definitions, see me and you can complete the post-project quiz.

English I (Pre-AP): What's in a Name Project

Authors often choose names based on what they symbolize (Grant is generous, Joy is happy) or what they may allude to (Adam or Eve to the Genesis account of mankind’s origin). Montag’s name in Fahrenheit 451 refers to a brand of paper; Faber refers to a brand of pencil (the relationship between pencil and paper can be seen in the relationship between the two men). As the protagonist of your own story, your life, what does your name say about you?

Collect the following information, then create a poster (8.5 x 11—regular paper size—or larger) displaying everything you know about your name.

What does your name mean (first, middle, last)—You may look it up in a baby-naming book at a bookstore or online at a site like babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com. Last names can be found at genealogy.familyeducation.com.

If possible, ask your parents why they chose the name(s) they gave you and write down their response(s).

How much is your name a part of your identity? What do you feel your name “says” about you? If you changed your name would you become a different person? Why or why not? Include this information in your poster, too.

Due: April 23rd—you may orally present your poster in class for extra credit.

English I (Pre-AP): Fahrenheit 451 Test Preview

Tomorrow's test will cover scenes from pages 60-68 in the novel and cover the following literary devices:

• alliteration
• flashback
• foreshadowing
• hyperbole
• irony
• metaphor
• onomatopoeia
• oxymoron
• personification
• paradox
• simile
• symbolism

Be very prepared.

English I (Pre-AP): Fahrenheit 451 Vocabulary

Write the definition of each vocabulary word in the space following the part of speech. Make sure the definition you choose matches the way the vocabulary word is used in the sentence from the text, below.

Use a dictionary!

• Compressed (v.):
• Gesture (n.):
• Gorging (adj.):
• Hysterical (adj.):
• Igniter (n.):
• Illumination (n.):
• Luxuriously (adv.):
• Marionette (n.):
• Pedestrian (n.):
• Pulverized (v.):
• Tatters (n.):
• Venomous (adj.):

With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. (3)

[H]e flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. (3)

[H]e showered luxuriously, and then, whistling, hands in pockets, walked across the upper floor of the fire station and fell down the hole. (4)

Or was the atmosphere compressed merely by someone very quietly there, waiting? (5)

It was not the hysterical light of electricity but—what? But the strangely comfortable and rare and gently flattering light of the candle. (7)

[H]is mother had found and lit a last candle and there had been a brief hour of rediscovery, of such illumination that space lost its vast dimensions and drew comfortably around them. (7)

It’s like being a pedestrian, only rarer. (9)

[S]he was like the eager watcher of a marionette show, anticipating each flicker of an eyelid, each gesture of his hand, each flick of a finger, the moment before it began. (11)

He felt that the stars had been pulverized by the sound of the black jets and that in the morning the earth would be covered with their dust like a strange snow. (14)

When you are confident you have the correct definitions, see me and you can complete the post-project quiz.

English I (Pre-AP): Tone in Fahrenheit 451

Read the following passage, then write a short paragraph identifying the scene's tone. You must support your idea with embedded text evidence.

He opened the bedroom door.

It was like coming into the cold marbled room of a mausoleum after the moon had set. Complete darkness, not a hint of the silver world outside, the windows tightly shut, the chamber a tomb-world where no sound from the great city could penetrate. The room was not empty.

He listened.

The little mosquito-delicate dancing hum in the air, the electrical murmur of a hidden wasp snug in its special pink warm nest. The music was almost loud enough so he could follow the tune.

He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over, and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back.

Without turning on the light he imagined how this room would look. His wife stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed to the ceiling by invisible threads of steel, immovable. And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind. The room was indeed empty. Every night the waves came in and bore her off on their great tides of sound, floating her, wide-eyed, toward morning. There had been no night in the last two years that Mildred had not swum that sea, had not gladly gone down in it for the third time.

The room was cold but nonetheless he felt he could not breathe. He did not wish to open the curtains and open the french windows, for he did not want the moon to come into the room. So, with the feeling of a man who will die in the next hour for lack of air,.he felt his way toward his open, separate, and therefore cold bed.

Remember, tone is how the author feels about his/her subject. It is separate from how the protagonist feels, as well as from how the reader feels (though it may be aligned with either or both). It is revealed primarily by the connotations inherent in the author's word choice (diction) as well as the author's selection of literary devices (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, irony, etc.). Consider using the following stem(s) in writing your paragraph:

The tone of the passage is [tone]. Bradbury makes this clear by choosing [quoted diction/literary devices], which make it clear [explanation].

English I (Pre-AP): Open-Ended Questions

If you were absent today, please respond to the following Open-Ended Questions about Fahrenheit 451.

Summarize Montag’s relationship with Clarisse McClellan. Support your answer with embedded text evidence.

Describe what happens to the woman Montag tries to arrest when the firemen arrive at 11 North Elm St. Support your answer with embedded text evidence. (In other words, why doesn’t he arrest her?)

If you were in class today and would like another shot at earning a 70, re-try the questions above. If you would like to possibly earn an 85, answer the following question, as well:

Describe two pieces of household technology mentioned in the beginning of the novel. What are they similar to in our world.

English Classes: Midweek Reading Assignments

You will have a test on the text you are reading this Friday. Be prepared for the test by having read at least as far as...

• Pre-AP English II: Through the end of Othello, Act 1, Scene 3
  
  
• English I (Pre-AP): Through the end of the first section (The Hearth and the Salamander) of Fahrenheit 451

English I (Pre-AP): Ender's Game on Sale

Amazon is currently offering a Kindle version of Ender's Game for $3.49. Although we won't be reading it this year (due to picking up Fahrenheit 451 for The Big Read), it will be assigned either for your summer reading or in Pre-AP English II class next year.

Either way, this is a great opportunity to pick up the book for cheap.

Go get it!

English Classes: Reading Assignments for April 5-7

On Monday, April 8, there will be quizzes covering the following material.

Pre-AP English II: Othello, Act 1, scenes 1 and 2.

English I (Pre-AP): Fahrenheit 451, from the beginning through the *** at the top of Page 41 (The last line you'll read is "Damn!" said Beatty. "You've gone right by the corner where we turn for the firehouse.")

You, of course, may read more if you wish. I won't stop you.