Pre-AP English II: Othello Act V Test Preview

In addition to reviewing today's notes on analyzing author's purpose, you should know the characteristics of these literary devices:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Anaphora
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile
• Verbal Irony

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 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.

Pre-AP English II: Othello Act One Test Preview

The following literary devices will be on tomorrow's test. Know them well.

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Anaphora
• Hyperbole
• Metonymy
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Personification
• Simile
  
  as well as
  
  
• Dramatic Irony
• Situational Irony
• Verbal Irony

English I (Pre-AP): Of Mice and Men Test Preview

Tomorrow, you'll have a test on the first chapter of John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men. (If you haven't yet obtained a copy, print off the first nine pages from this online copy.)

We'll be on a shortened period, you'll have an advantage over the rest of the class, if you already know the following...

Literary Devices

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Comparison
• Contrast
• Dialogue
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Simile
• Third-Person Objective Point of View

Vocabulary

• Careless
• Clumsy
• Contempt
• Empathy
• Establish
• Familiarity
• Heron
• Irrelevant
• Lumbered
• Recumbent
• Skittering
• Stilt(ed)
• Willow

Mood/Tone Words

• Bleak
• Cheerful
• Inquisitive
• Sinister
• Tranquil

Pre-AP English II: Anthem Test Preview

Tomorrow you will be taking an AP-style test on Anthem. The excerpt you'll be tested on is somewhere in the first half of the novel, so be prepared. Also, you'll need to know the following...

Literary Devices

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Irony
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile

Wouldn't hurt you to know the meaning of the word abstract, either.

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

Pre-AP English II: Pearl Chapter 4-6 Test Preview

Tomorrow, you will have a test on Chapters 4-6 of John Steinbeck's The Pearl. Be prepared.

If you do not already know what the following literary terms, mood/tone words, and vocabulary words mean, please take this opportunity to (re)familiarize yourself with them.

Literary devices/techniques

• Anaphora
• Antithesis
• Foreshadowing
• Hyperbole
• Irony
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Personification
• Symbolism

Mood/Tone words

• Apprehensive
• Desperate
• Disdainful
• Jovial
• Mournful
• Ominous
• Reflective
• Resigned
• Reverent

Vocabulary words

• Condemnation
• Cunning
• Livelihood
• Persevere
• Prevalent
• Swindled

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

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): What to Know for Tomorrow's Test

The test tomorrow will be on Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays." Preview this poem online, here.

You should know these literary/grammatical devices/terms

• Adjective
• Adverb
• Compare
• Conjunction
• Contrast
• Declarative sentences (Statements)
• Interrogative sentences (Questions)
• Noun
• Rhetorical/poetic shift
• Verb

... and these tone/mood words:

• Anxious
• Appreciative
• Ebullient
• Indifferent
• Menacing
• Practical
• Regret/regretful
• Solemn
• Sympathetic

... and this vocabulary:

• Gratitude
• Ignorant
• Stark
• Vivid
• & any other word you don't understand in the poem.

Pre-AP English II: What to Know for Tomorrow's Test

The test tomorrow will be on Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach." Much of this poem appears on page 100 of Fahrenheit 451, but can also be found here.

Below is the presentation we reviewed in class today:



You will also need to know these literary devices:

• Anaphora
• Allusion
• Appositive phrase
• Independent clause
• Prepositional phrase
• Rhetorical/poetic shift
• Subordinating conjunction (WABU)

... and this tone/mood word:

• Disillusionment

... and this vocabulary:

• Ebb and flow of the sea
• Ominous
• & any other word you don't understand in the poem.

English I (Pre-AP): Things You Should Know for Your Six-Weeks' Exam

You should know the following literary terms for tomorrow's 6-weeks' exam:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Personification
• Simile

You should also be aware of these terms -- we've mentioned them in class, but they haven't necessarily been emphasized:

Flashback: a figure of speech where reference is made to something that occurs earlier in the story's timeline.

Paradox: a statement that appears self-contradictory but is actually true.

While you're learning new things, make sure you know the meanings of these words (you already should, but in case you don't...).

• Discourteous
• Futile
• Inevitably
• Vulgar

Also, be sure to review your notes for responding to an open-ended or short-response question.

Pre-AP English II: Things You Should Know for Your Six-Weeks' Exam

You should know the following literary terms for tomorrow's 6-weeks' exam:

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Anaphora
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Hyperbole
• Imagery
• Metaphor
• Mood
• Paradox
• Personification
• Simile
• Tone

You should also be aware of this new term:
Metonymy: a figure of speech where someone or something isn't called by its own name, but by the name of something closely associated with it. For instance, instead of saying that President Obama or his spokesperson announced something, you could say "The White House" announced it. It means it came from the president (the White House can't actually talk).

While you're learning new things, make sure you know the meanings of these words (you already should, but in case you don't...).

• Antlers
• Elusive
• Forbade
• Idly

Also, be sure to review your notes for responding to an open-ended or short-response question.

Pre-AP English II: Text for Tomorrow's Timed Writing

Below is the text from Stephen Vincent Benét's "By the Waters of Babylon" that you will have to analyze for tone in class tomorrow. You will have just under 30 minutes to write, so please use the graphic organizer on the back of your packets to prepare for your essay.
* * * * *

Now I tell what is very strong magic. I woke in the midst of the night. When I woke, the fire had gone out and I was cold. It seemed to me that all around me there were whisperings and voices. I closed my eyes to shut them out. Some will say that I slept again, but I do not think that I slept. I could feel the spirits drawing my spirit out of my body as a fish is drawn on a line.

Why should I lie about it? I am a priest and the son of a priest. If there are spirits, as they say, in the small Dead Places near us, what spirits must there not be in that great Place of the Gods? And would not they wish to speak? After such long years? I know that I felt myself drawn as a fish is drawn on a line. I had stepped out of my body—I could see my body asleep in front of the cold fire, but it was not I. I was drawn to look out upon the city of the gods.

It should have been dark, for it was night, but it was not dark. Everywhere there were lights—lines of light—circles and blurs of light—ten thousand torches would not have been the same. The sky itself was alight—you could barely see the stars for the glow in the sky. I thought to myself "This is strong magic" and trembled. There was a roaring in my ears like the rushing of rivers. Then my eyes grew used to the light and my ears to the sound. I knew that I was seeing the city as it had been when the gods were alive.

That was a sight indeed—yes, that was a sight: I could not have seen it in the body—my body would have died. Everywhere went the gods, on foot and in chariots—there were gods beyond number and counting and their chariots blocked the streets. They had turned night to day for their pleasure-they did not sleep with the sun. The noise of their coming and going was the noise of the many waters. It was magic what they could do—it was magic what they did.

I looked out of another window—the great vines of their bridges were mended and god-roads went east and west. Restless, restless, were the gods and always in motion! They burrowed tunnels under rivers—they flew in the air. With unbelievable tools they did giant works—no part of the earth was safe from them, for, if they wished for a thing, they summoned it from the other side of the world. And always, as they labored and rested, as they feasted and made love, there was a drum in their ears—the pulse of the giant city, beating and beating like a man's heart.

Were they happy? What is happiness to the gods? They were great, they were mighty, they were wonderful and terrible. As I looked upon them and their magic, I felt like a child—but a little more, it seemed to me, and they would pull down the moon from the sky. I saw them with wisdom beyond wisdom and knowledge beyond knowledge. And yet not all they did was well done—even I could see that ? and yet their wisdom could not but grow until all was peace.

Then I saw their fate come upon them and that was terrible past speech. It came upon them as they walked the streets of their city. I have been in the fights with the Forest People—I have seen men die. But this was not like that. When gods war with gods, they use weapons we do not know. It was fire falling out of the sky and a mist that poisoned. It was the time of the Great Burning and the Destruction. They ran about like ants in the streets of their city—poor gods, poor gods! Then the towers began to fall. A few escaped—yes, a few. The legends tell it. But, even after the city had become a Dead Place, for many years the poison was still in the ground. I saw it happen, I saw the last of them die. It was darkness over the broken city and I wept.

All this, I saw. I saw it as I have told it, though not in the body. When I woke in the morning, I was hungry, but I did not think first of my hunger for my heart was perplexed and confused. I knew the reason for the Dead Places but I did not see why it had happened. It seemed to me it should not have happened, with all the magic they had. I went through the house looking for an answer. There was so much in the house I could not understand—and yet I am a priest and the son of a priest. It was like being on one side of the great river, at night, with no light to show the way.