Pre-AP English II: Thematic Links between Lord of the Flies and ???

Compare one of the themes in Lord of the Flies to that of another work we’ve studied this year (see below). Summarize evidence that supports your asserted theme from both texts.

• Fahrenheit 451
• The Pearl
• A Christmas Carol
• Anthem
• Othello
• Julius Caesar

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

Free Audiobooks: Shakespeare's Tempest and a Mermaidish Story

Two audiobooks are available for free from SYNC this week (through June 5th).

The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
A storm rages. Prospero and his daughter watch from their desert island as a ship carrying the royal family is wrecked. Miraculously, all on board survive. Plotting, mistaken identities, and bewitching love follow as the travelers explore the strange place of spirits and monsters.

This is one of my favorite Shakespearean comedies (not necessarily ha-ha funny, but it doesn't end in a bloodbath like most Shakespearean tragedies or histories). Please check it out. (Follow along with the No Fear version here; download the text from Project Gutenberg here.)

Of Poseidon
by Anna Banks
Galen, prince of the Syrena [mermaids/mermen], is sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish and after several encounters with her Galen becomes convinced Emma holds the key to his kingdom.

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 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).

Pre-AP English II: Free Julius Caesar E-Book

Project Gutenberg has free no-frills Julius Caesar e-texts available for Kindle and iBooks/Kobo reader apps. Click the appropriate link below to get the file, then sync it to your reader.

• Kindle
• iBooks/Kobo (epub format)

Enjoy!

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 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!

Pre-AP English II: Psychological Manipulation

In class we read an article about psychological manipulation and compared it to the techniques Iago uses in Othello. If you missed it, please read the article and answer the following question:

The article discusses ways to use psychological manipulation to harm others. Please identify and describe one way you could use the ideas contained in the article in a CONSTRUCTIVE way.

Pre-AP English II: Othello 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!

• Bounteous (adj.)
• Cunning (n.)
• Discretion (n.)
• Err (v.)
• Hence (adv.)
• Languish (v.)
• Politic (adj.)
• Solicitor (n.)
• Suitor (n.)
• ’Twas (cont.)
• Warrant (v)

Emilia: Good madam, do, I warrant it grieves my husband / As if the cause were his (3.3.3-4)

Cassio: Bounteous madam, / Whatever shall come of Michael Cassio,/ He’s never anything but your true servant (3.3.7-8)

Desdemona: He shall in strangeness stand no farther off / Than in a politic distance. (3.3.12-13)

Desdemona: Therefore be merry, Cassio, / For thy solicitor shall rather die /Than give thy cause away (3.3.26-28)

Desdemona: Well, do your discretion. (3.3.34)

Othello: I do believe ’twas he. (3.3.40)

Desdemona: I have been talking with a suitor here, / A man that languishes in your displeasure (3.3.42-43)

Desdemona: For if he be not one that truly loves you / That errs in ignorance and not in cunning, / I have no judgment in an honest face. (3.3. 48-50)

Othello: Went he hence now? (3.3.51)

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

Pre-AP English II: Iago's Web

Track the web of destruction Iago generates as he manipulates Othello toward his doom. (see partial example at bottom of post)

Step One:
Place the following character names in a circle extending to near the edges of your paper.

• Brabantio
• Cassio
• Desdemona
• The Duke
• Emilia
• Othello
• Montano
• Roderigo

Step Two:
Draw lines citing the relationship between the characters prior to Iago’s campaign of manipulation. (For instance, the line between Brabantio and Desdemona would be labeled “father/daughter.”)

Step Three:
Then place Iago somewhere within the web you’ve made and in a different color, connect the relationships he has with the characters and how his involvement has tainted the other characters’ relationships. (For instance, a red line between Brabantio and Desdemona labeled “Brabantio disowns Desdemona.”

Step Four:
Keep adding “Iago lines” until the end of the play. (The new line connecting The Duke to Othello will be one of the last added.)

Due Date: April 26, 2013


Your project will have more information than this on it.

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

Pre-AP English II: Othello 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!

• Abhor (v)
• Bombast (adj)
• Epithet (n)
• Hold (v)
• Homage (n)
• Obsequious (adj)
• Peculiar (adj)
• Rouse (v)
• Suit (n)
• Vexation (n)

Iago: If ever I did dream of / such a matter, abhor me. (1.1.4-5)

Roderigo: Thou told’st me / Thou didst hold him in thy hate. (1.1.5-6)

Iago: (In personal suit to make me his lieutenant) (1.1.10)

Iago: But he (as loving his own pride and purposes) Evades them with a bombast circumstance Horribly stuffed with epithets of war (1.1.13-15)

Iago: (doting on his own obsequious bondage) (1.1.48)

Iago: And when they have lined their coats, / Do themselves homage. (1.1.56-57)

Iago: Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, / But seeming so, for my peculiar end. (1.1.61-62)

Iago: Call up her father. / Rouse him. (1.1.69-70)

Iago: Though that his joy be joy / Yet throw such changes of vexation on’t, / As it may lose some color. (1.1.73-75)

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

Pre-AP English II: Open-Ended Questions

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

How does Roderigo help Iago? Why? Support answer with embedded text evidence.

Summarize the “conversation” Iago and Roderigo have with Brabantio. Support answer with embedded text evidence.

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:

In Act 1, Scene 2, line 58, why does Iago challenge Roderigo to a duel with the line "You, Roderigo! come sir, I am for you"? Support your answer with evidence from Act 1, Scene 1.

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 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.

English Students: Bonus Points Opportunity

Need some bonus points? Of course you do.

Follow these three easy steps:

1. Enjoy the Shakespeare Dallas presentation at NorthPark Center this Saturday at 1pm.
2. Take a picture of you and someone Shakespeare-y.
3. Show me the picture on Monday.

Ka-ching! (Bonus bonus points if you get the Shakespeare-y person to make "duck lips.")

English I (Pre-AP): No Fear Shakespeare/Romeo & Juliet — Not Quite a Solution

Online, at the No Fear Shakespeare website, you can read their edition of Romeo & Juliet for free.

If you have ordered a copy and are waiting for it to arrive AND you have dedicated internet access on your digital device, you may use the online version in class.

As you cannot annotate it, this will not work as a long-term solution, but it will get the job done until after the EOC test (when we'll work with the text more closely).

Pre-AP English II: Free Othello! (Kindle Version)

If you have the Kindle app on your computer or smart device, you may download a copy of Othello 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.)

All Students: Half Price Spring-Break Sale

Half Price Books is running a series of special during Spring Break. 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 20%. Friday and Saturday it's 30%.

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

Pre-AP English II students, consider getting any of these books: Othello or Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare or Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

English I (Pre-AP) students, books you need include No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet in the Shakespeare section of the store and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Here's a list of local stores Call ahead to check for availability.