English I (Pre-AP): Punctuate "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus"

Please punctuate William Carlos Williams' poem "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus." There are a total of five sentences, so please add capital letters(4) and periods (5), where appropriate. Adding commas may help you make better sense of the poem, too.

If you lost the copy you received in class, copy or print out the poem here.

Due: Monday, December 17, 2012.

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: Symbolism Presentation and Assignment

If you missed class today or just want to revisit the fun, check out the presentation below.

Assignment: Complete the grid below (click to enlarge). You need to only do one of the three (dog, rifle, canoe), but you must do "the pearl." Running through the "how do I determine what symbol may mean" slides in the presentation to help you think through the process.

Due date: Monday, December 10.

English I (Pre-AP): Test Preview

Due to circumstances beyond my control, there will not be a test tomorrow. I know you were all eagerly anticipating the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and mastery of the material, but the test will have to wait until Monday.

Please do your best to contain your disappointment.

Pre-AP English II: Pearl Vocabulary

I've created a set of vocabulary flashcards over at quizlet.com. Load them onto your digital device and show me by Friday for extra credit. (Or go old-school and copy onto 3x5 cards.)

You can also view the flashcards below and play vocabulary-based games (no extra credit, but it's fun).

English I (Pre-AP): Lightning Thief Vocabulary

I've created a set of vocabulary flashcards over at quizlet.com. Load them onto your digital device and show me by Friday for extra credit. (Or go old-school and copy onto 3x5 cards.)

You can also view the flashcards below and play vocabulary-based games (no extra credit, but it's fun).

Pre-AP English II: EOC Reading Retest Tips

Remember: for the Short-Answer responses, your answer (idea) must be expressed differently than what text evidence you use to support it. If you repeat the information in the supporting text, you run the risk (likelihood) of scoring a zero (0) rather than a one or two (1 or 2).

Your text evidence needs to be embedded in your own words. At least start off with a citation from the text: As Clarence says in paragraph 14, "blah blah blah."

Better yet, follow up the quote with analysis that clarifies an explanation of your original answer: When the author says "yadda yadda yadda," it makes it clear that .... (Your clarification should be expressed in different words than your original answer and the supporting text.)

Crossover: For a graphic organizer to help you with the crossover (or "multiple selection" short-answer), click the graphic, above. Essentially, it's two single-selection responses with an "umbrella" response covering both.

Multiple Choice tips
On questions asking for definitions, make sure that the definition you pick fits the context of the sentence/paragraph where it is being used. It is likely that multiple answers will match definitions given in the dictionary.

On questions that ask "what word/phrase helps you understand the meaning of" a phrase in the text, what they're looking for is what word is a synonym for the word/phrase in question or which answer best matches the definition of the word/phrase in question. Again, it is likely that all the answers appear in the portion of the text being looke at.