Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Greetings from San Antonio



Hi Everyone! Hopefully the next few days will go smoothly. Sophomores will be watching the Lord of the Flies movie in class, and Freshmen will be finishing Act I of Romeo & Juliet in the textbook. I will be updating LiveJournal from the convention in case anyone is interested in checking for updates. I will be holding a special office hours session on Monday after school as well as Tuesday. Please come and see me for extra help or if you have any questions about your first quarter grade.

Sophomores: please DO NOT return your copy of Lord of the Flies just yet. We have a short writing assignment to complete next week, and you will need your book to find quotes and other D/F/E from the text.

If you need to take a make-up test for Lord of the Flies, please plan to do it before we leave for Thanksgiving break.

Enjoy the last two days of the week!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Announcement:Office Hours

I will be holding an abbreviated Office Hours schedule tomorrow (11/14) from 2-2:15 only, as I must leave early to attend funeral services in Connecticut.

I have an English Department Meeting at High School East Tuesday, 11/18. In place of Office Hours on this day, I will stay after both Monday 11/17 and Wednesday 11/18.

I'm also generally available 7th and 9th period.

I'm sorry for any inconvenience that this schedule adjustment might cause you.

Note about papers: If you'd like to see me about an essay, please be sure to bring in the printed copy of the corrections/grade essay that I mailed back to you. Please be sure that the comments in the margin print out as well.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Homework Clarification for 10th grade

Please continue to follow the green schedule - read chapters 7 & 8 for Monday.

Don't worry about study guide questions. There will be a quick quiz on Chapter 7 Monday. We will discuss Chapter 8 questions in class.

Pass the word along about the quiz- and have a great weekend!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Lord of the Flies Review Ch. 1-6

Tip: You will not need to create a Frayer Model for tomorrow's test, but you WILL need to know antonyms!

____awesome: inspiring a mixed feeling of fear and wonder; dreadful A:_____________
____intimidated: to be made timid or afraid; threatened A:______________
____demoniac: possessed or influenced by a demon; fiendish A:______________
____oppressive: hard to put up with; overbearing A:______________
____diffident: lacking confidence in oneself; shy A:______________
____malevolent: wishing evil or harm to others; spiteful A:______________
____embroiled: confused or mixed up; entangled A:______________
____derisive: showing contempt or scorn; ridiculing A:______________
____impervious: not affected or influenced by; resistant A:______________
____inarticulate: unable to speak clearly; not expressive A:______________
____daunting: making afraid; discourage A:______________
____indignant: feeling or expressing anger or scorn; enraged A:______________
____furtive: done in a sly manner; sneaky A:______________
____ludicrous: causing laughter because of absurdity; ridiculous A:______________
____truculent: cruel or savage; ferocious A:______________

1. What is Jack’s biggest priority?
Jack seems to be really focused on hunting, whereas Ralph thinks that keeping the fire lit and trying to get rescued is more important. As well, Jack thinks that the boys should be allowed to have fun while they are on the island, but Ralph thinks that fun is secondary to fulfilling responsibilities (like keeping the fire lit and building shelters to keep them safe).

2. Explain the attitude and the behavior of the littluns.
They don't really care about much, nor do they fully understand the seriousness of their situation. They're just interested in having fun.

3. Explain some of the conflicts that Piggy and Jack face with each other.
Piggy does not agree with Jack most of the time. Jack bullies Piggy.

4. How does Jack's attack on Piggy and the breaking of one of the lenses in his spectacles symbolize the degeneration of the group?
If Piggy's glasses are a symbol of wisdom, intelligence, and resourcefulness... then we can only assume that breaking them is a symbol of how all of these things are destroyed.

Close Reading is a method in which you read a small section of text closely and pay close attention to what is written, either in order to observe striking features or the "beauty" of the language, or in order to understand exactly WHAT is being said. An example of close reading is the attention that we paid to the beginning of Chapter 3 in class Monday.

For tomorrow's test, I suggest you read the following passages closely:

86-87 (midway) Percival is a littleun who is scared. When the kids start chanting "What's your name?" over and over again - he recites his full name and gives his address. He stalls with reciting his telephone number... maybe he forgot it? Regardless - think about the significance of this moment. Why would a scared little kid recite his full name, address, and telephone number?

95-96 What was the message from the grown-up world?

60-62 Roger is watching Henry, a littleun, play near the shore. He starts throwing rocks, but does not HIT Henry with any. He thinks of how there is some element of the "old life" there that prevents him from actually hurting Henry. Do the best you can to understand the significance of this.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

English 9H - prepping for The Odyssey Exam

Hello, all!

I said that I would post some study information here. Sorry it took me so long to do it!

Please review the study guide questions on the handout you received in class. As well, study the key terms and people on the review sheet. You should have some notes in the literature section of your notebook that define terms such as epithet, epic hero, and epic simile - review those and know how to spot them when you see them!

The test is mostly multiple choice with a few fill-in-the-blank and a short (1 paragraph) essay question.

Enjoy the weekend! As well, if you have a little free time on your hands...check this out: http://www.nanowrimo.org/