End of the Year!!! Wahooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, May 15:

1. Vocabulary Test
2. Inquiry Reports


Monday, May 19th:

1. Silent Reading
2. Grade Grammar
3. Read Article
4. Class Discussion

HOMEWORK: Read Mecca

Wednesday, May 21:

1. Silent Reading
2. Inquiry Reports Due---Brief explanation
3. Malcolm X Reflection Questions
4. Read Chapter 18 in class--Chapter 19 homework

Friday, May 23:
1. Read Chapter 20 in class
2. Socratic Seminar


FINAL WEEK!!!!!

End of the year party!!

Monday, May 19

1. Silent Reading

2. Inquiry Reports Due

3. Proofread Inquiry Reports

4. Vocabulary

5. Read in Class


Homework--READ

Tuesday, May 13 and Thursday, May 15

COMPUTER LAB--Work on Inqiry Reports


BOOK REPORT DUE on MAY 13

GRAMMAR DUE on MAY 13

Friday, May 9

You will have a sub! I will be in New York, chillin in Harlem, eating some soul food.

1. Silent Reading
2. Grammar (same sheet as 10th graders)
3. Hand out the “Getting Used to Violence” -- read and write notes on the paper, then answer the following questions:


--Are Americans too used to violence?

--What violent acts can you remember witnessing on the news in your lifetime?

--What do you think of the violence portrayed in movies and videogames?

--Why did Malcolm X make a specific movement from violence to more calm methods? How did people respond?

4. Silent read the next chapter that they are on “Black Muslims”




TURN IN TIMELINES!!!!!

Wednesday, May 7

1. Silent Reading

2. Go over Vocabulary (Test next time)

3. Go over timelines

4. Journal Entry

5. Read Malcolm X

Monday, May 5

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!


1. Silent Reading

2. Group Summaries

3. Timeline of Malcolm X's life and yours!


HOMEWORK: Read the chapter entitled "Savior" and work on the rough draft of your life's timeline.


Missions can be cool too.....remind me to tell you some cool stories next time, cause I have them....one about a black fish who turned gold.

Late Work

I will take any late work for half credit by Friday. After Friday nothing will be accepted!!! Get it done! Be Successful!!!

Come on! You can do it!!!

April 21, 2008

1. Silent Reading

2. Journals

3. Finish Powerpoints--for those of you who presented today, you need to email me your powerpoints so I can give you a grade on them!! ASAP!!!

4. Read THROUGH chapter 3 of Ragtime!

5. Next Time Core Testing Starts!!

April 17, 2008

1. Silent Reading

2. Finish up Power Point presentations

3. Begin reading Ragtime

4,. Ragtime Unit Handout either today or next time!


Vocab and test next time!!!

April 15, 2008

You have had the last two class times to work on your powerpoint presentations. You also received grammar on Verbs and the first of the Ragtime vocabulary. Please get these today if you did not get them in class.

You will be presenting your powerpoints in class on April 15th. Be prepared!!

April 3, 2008

1. Silent Reading (books due for points on April 7th!!!)

2. Grammar

3. Vocabulary #4 Test

4. Socratic Seminar about Scarlet Letter Themes, symbols, ideas--transition to Ragtime themes.

5. Introduction to Ragtime--hand out novels

March 31, 2008

1. Silent Reading
2. Final Lit. Circles on The Scarlet Letter
3. Watch portions of the film and mock the bad acting and low-budget production!

Friday, March 28

Be Nice to the SUB!!!!


1. Silent Reading

2. Vocabulary #4

3. Journal Entry #1: Pearl--self-centered demon child (as James believes) or individual desiring to break free of the collective?

4. Lit. Circles--chapters 21-22

Wednesday, March 26

Social Shunning Essays DUE!!!!


1. Proofread Essays

2. Go over 4th Term Book Reports

3. Vocabulary Test #3 (turn in vocab #3)

4. Lit. Circles on Chapters 19/20



Here are the books:
Term 4
Any Novel by Kurt Vonnegut
Any Novel by Ray Bradbury
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Fall by Albert Camus
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
1984 by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
American Born Chinese by Gene Leun Yang
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Any Novel by Ayn Rand (besides Anthem)
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
There Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Any book by Annie Dillard
Any Book by Annie Proulx
The Three-Pound Enigma by Shannon Moffett
Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf
Any type of philosophy book by Darwin, Sartre, Descartes etc. (just clear it with me.)
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx

Thursday: March 20

1. Vocabulary Test #3 (turn in Vocabulary #3)
2. Rewrites of Death of a Salesman Essays Due!
3. Creative Writing Short Handout and Overview
4. Literature Circles


HAPPY EASTER!!!

Tuesday: March 18

DUE: GRAMMAR, BOOK REPORTS

1. Silent Reading
2. Proofreading #5
3. Grade Grammar
4. Review Death of a Salesman Essays
5. Literature Circles


VOCABULARY TEST NEXT TIME!!!!

JOURNALS TO BE GRADED NEXT TIME!!!!!


Here's the deal. We are moving fast and this is great! We are going to skip the whole Compare/Contrast Essay and really perfect the Social Shunning essay. I don't think I will get many complaints about this!

So, your main assignments are your Social Shunning Essay and your Creative Writing Short.

Friday, March 14

1. Silent Reading
2. Vocabulary Test--Vocab Due!
3. New Vocabulary
4. Grammar
5. Big Group Literature Circle--Discuss Major Themes/Ideas
6. Present Social Shunning Essay

Wednesday: March 12, 2008

1. Silent Reading
2. Review Vocabulary
3. Grammar--Conjunctions
4. Group Presentations of Collages
5. Homework--Begin Research on Social Shunning--in preparation for an essay to write:


HERE ARE THE DETAILS

What do Hester Prynne and Monica Lewinsky have in common? They've bothbeen shunned, one way or another, by society.

1.) Find a person in today's society who has been"shunned". Do your own research on-line and in the library. You are to come up with a letter that represents the persons actions that are being frowned upon. Then create an elaborate picture of the letter that the person would have to wear if in Puritan times..

As Hester had to wear the "A" to represent ADULTERY,

Mike Tyson may have to wear a "B" forBITER!

Or Dennis Rodman may have to wear a "D" for being DIFFERENT!


2.) Write a five paragraph essay on your subject...

1st par...Introducing why people still may "shun" people today,

2nd...then describing the person and what they've done to be shunned,

3rd...then describing how the "shunning" (ie: tabloids, paparazzi,media, lost their job, etc...) has affected them,

4th...then comparing the person to Hester,

5th...then wrapping up with by referring back to the intro and making astatement about public "shunning".

Some student subject choices:

Monica Lewinsky "A"

Drew Barrymore "D"

Bill Clinton "L"

Richard Nixon "L"

Tonya Harding "A"

OJ Simpson "K"

You can come up with your own letter/sin analogies!

Monday: March 10, 2008

1. Silent Reading
2. Grade Grammar--prepositions and adverbs
3. Short Story Presentations


HOMEWORK:

Book Reports due on the 18th of March!!
Quiz next time!

Read only until chapter 12!

Thursday, March 6

Dear English 11,

I am at a literary conference today. I have all of your Death of a Salesman essays graded, as well as your McCarthy responses, we have lots to go over and we will do that on Monday. As per your short story presentations, please hold off on these until Monday as I need to see them to grade them.

You should do your silent reading, then you have a new grammar on Prepositions. You have old grammar that I would prefer you keep until Monday so I can grade it with you. You have pictures due today.

You need to get into your SL groups and begin formatting your collages. Each of you were to bring examples of modern day scarlet letters. You need to come up with a mantra or phrase that summarizes a theme or main idea from the novel and have it on your poster. You MAY NOT print out color copies on my printer, I don’t have enough ink.

You will have a quiz on your reading next time. You will have two class periods to work on your lit circle.

I hope this is clear. Please work hard, be good, and email me with any questions. I will not be to school on Friday either, so email is best.


Silent Reading
Grammar—Prepositions
Group Collages—poster board in back! Glue sticks and scissors on back desk.

Tuesday, March 4

1. Silent Reading--Deconstructing the Scarlet Letter
2. Class Discussion on Themes
3. Vocabulary #1 Due!
4. Vocabulary Test #1
5. Professional Letter Due!!
6. Short Story Presentations!!


HOMEWORK:

You need to bring 10 photos that represent modern examples of the Scarlet Letter!

Friday, February 29, 2008

Ok now....all together...everybody LEAP!!!!


You have a sub today as I am busy with English Quest. Thus, I propose putting off the Short Story presentations until Tuesday. Also, Grammar and Proofreading #4 will be turned in on Tuesday.


I propose that you spend the majority of class in your Lit. Circles completing your at home reading in class so that you have a free weekend!


1. Silent Reading

2. Review Vocabulary--test next time!!

3. Lit. Circles

Monday: February 25, 2008

Wow, who can believe how the month is flying? Everybody leap on Friday!!!


1. Silent Reading

2. Vocabulary #1 for SL

3. Handout: Scarlet Letter Unit Outline

4. DUE: Hawthorne Biography Assignment

5. Introduction to Literary Circles

6. Get into Lit. Circles, assign roles, begin reading "The Custom House"



HOMEWORK:

Reading
Lit. Circles Assignments
Short Story Assignments

Thursday, February 21, 2008

1. Silent Reading

2. Finish The Cruicible--Class Discussion, transition to Nathaniel Hawthorne

3. Young Goodman Brown Readings Due

4. Begin Class Disussion on Young Goodman Brown

5. Assign Nathaniel Hawthorne Short Story Assignment (Due Feb. 29)

6. Assign Nathaniel Hawthorne Research Assignment (Due Feb. 25_


NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE RESEARCH--

Be prepared with 10 facts about Hawthorne's life, works, places lived, and death.

Type these up in bullet format.

Hawthorn Short Story Project

DUE February 29th--Hawthorne Short Story Project – 50 points

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a myriad of short stories over the course of his life. Unfortunately we do not have nearly enough time this year to examine them all. So - your task is to select one of the short stories by Hawthorne that we have not covered in class and share this story in a meaningful and creative way. Below are some suggestions.

After reading the short story, create a cartoon interpretation retelling the major events. Make sure that your cartoon touches upon any major symbols and themes that Hawthorne presents in the original story.
Create a picture story board for the story that you have read. After creating your story board, include a write up for each picture used that explains what the picture means and how it is related to the original story. Make sure that you touch upon major symbols and themes found in Hawthorne’s story.
Create a single picture representation of the short story. It can be based on events from the story or on feelings that the story may have inspired in you. After creating your picture, include a write up that explains the picture’s significance as related to the short story. Again, be sure to touch upon major symbols and themes found in Hawthorne’s story.
Select at least three music selections that you feel are in some way connected to the story that you have chosen. They may share a similar theme or may create a similar feeling. After selecting and compiling your selections, include a write up that explains each of your choices and how they relate back to the original story.
Complete a critical analysis of the story that you have read. Share your knowledge and interpretation of the selection through discussing themes, symbols, and other literary devices that Hawthorne uses in the story.
Come up with a creative idea of your own! Examples: A Photo Story or A Movie Maker Project. (Permission will be granted upon presenting your idea to me!)


EVERYONE NEEDS TO CHOOSE A DIFFERENT STORY--SO WHEN YOU DECIDE ON YOUR STORY, POST A COMMENT ON THE BLOG SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT EVERYONE IS DOING.


List and Links---


Ambitious Guest, The
Artist of the Beautiful, The
Birthmark, The
Canterbury Pilgrims, The
Celestial Railroad, The
Circe's Palace.
David Swan
Devil in Manuscript, The
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Dragon's Teeth, The
Drowne's Wooden Image
Egotism; or Bosom Serpent, The
Endicott and the Red Cross
Ethan Brand
Feathertop: A Moralized Legend
Gentle Boy, The
Golden Fleece, The
Gray Champion, The
Great Carbuncle, The
Great Stone Face, The
Hollow of the Three Hills, The
Legends of the Province House: I. Howe's Masquerade
Legends of the Province House: II. Edward Randolph's Portrait
Legends of the Province House: III. Lady Eleanore's Mantle
Legends of the Province House: IV. Old Esther Dudley
Maypole of Merry Mount, The
Minister's Black Veil, The
Minotaur, The
Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe
Mrs. Bullfrog
My Kinsman, Major Molineux
Peter Goldthwaite's Treasure
Pomegranate Seeds, The
Procession of Life, The
Pygmies, The
Rappaccini's Daughter
Roger Malvin's Burial
Shaker Bridal, The
Snow Image: A Childish Miracle, The
Wakefield
Wayside. Introductory., The
Wedding Knell, The
Young Goodman Brown

Reader Responses

Ok, you are in 11th grade. You realize this right? This being said, I have found that many of you are turning in less than adequate work. Some of your responses are only one-three paragraphs long. I will tell you right now, there is NO WAY IN @#$! that you can write a sufficent response to a 10 page article with only a few paragraphs.


From now on, each response must be 2-3 pages. MLA format only (for those of you new to my class, I have an example paper to give to you!)

Each response needs an Introduction!!! Make sure to introduce the reading, the main ideas, the subject matter. Do NOT just jump in explaining ideas you haven't introduced yet!!

You should mention at least 5 quotes from the assigned reading material and you should respond with your ideas and thoughts to each of those quotes.

You should pull in personal experiences, as well as current events and ideas. This gives your ideas a solid foundation on which to stand.


Again, please comment on here that you have read and understand this. If you don't understand, also comment with what is confusing you.


My expectations for semester 2 are much higher than they were for semester 1. It is time to push your limits, provoke your thoughts, and engage in class!

Extra Credit

I will add 5 points onto your Reader Response Paper if you make a comment on this post that you have actually been to the blog, read it, and know what you are doing!


This offer expires Monday at 3pm

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

DUE: Salem Tour Questions


1. Silent Reading

2. Journal:

3. Discuss Facts verses Fiction for The Crucible

4. Finish Watching Film

5. Discussion/Notes: Connecting The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter



HOMEWORK:

Read Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Take notes and be prepared to discuss ideas, themes, and possibly a quiz (I'll have one ready, but if you have all read it, no need!)

Thursday--February 14, 2008

Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like crazy Winona Ryder pretending to be a witch so she can show Daniel Day-Lewis how much she really cares.


1. Silent Reading

2. DUE: Reader Response

3. Discussion on McCarthyism! ---You all need to contribute something!

4. Watch The Cruicible





HOMEWORK:

Take the Salem Tour!!! Go here and take the tour, answer the questions given to you and bring in the questions, along with your knowledge on Tuesday!! The only question you might have a problem with is the one about comparing historical facts to the play...but I'll help you with that one on Tuesday!!

Tuesday--February 12, 2008

Nothing tells your Valentine you love them more than a subscription to The Economist!



We are transitioning from Arthur Miller's Salesman to another of his great works, The Crucible. We will be watching this instead of reading it. The time period corresponds to that of The Scarlet Letter which we will be starting next week.

To begin our introduction, I would like a 1-3 page reader response on the following article:

"Are You Now or Were You Ever"

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/
miller-mccarthyism.html


You should be able to define McCarthyism

You should be able to draw parallels between real life happenings and the history that Miller presents.

You should engage with the text and write about that are new to you, that stood out to you, and that caught your attention.

What do you already know about the Salem Witch Trials?



1. Silent Reading

2. Journal Entry--What do you know about the happenings of Salem, Mass?

3. Introduction to The Crucible and the Time period of the Salem Witch Trials

4. Begin film: The Crucible

Friday, February 8, 2008

DUE: Reading Response to The American System


1. Writing Lab to begin DofaS essays!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

1. Silent Reading

2. Watch the film: Death of a Salesman

Monday: February 4, 2008

1. Silent Reading

2. Proofreading #3

3. Grade Grammar-Verbs

4. Finish Reading the Play

5. Answer Study Guide Questions--handout in class

6. Homework--read and respond to the article The System and the American Dream

Thursday: January 30, 2008

1. Silent Reading

2. Grammar--Verb Phrases

3. Journal Entry--Discuss themes of the play--Betrayal, Abandonment, Expectations, The American Dream

4. Read Act II to page 122

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

ONLY TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL THE LOST SEASON PREMIER....are you ready?


1. Silent Reading--I will be giving you 25 points for having your novel in class. And, you actually have to read it Tali!

2. Journal Entry #2--What are the main symbols in the play? Choose two things that you think Miller meant as symbols. What are they? What do they symbolize?

3. Grade Grammar


4. Finish Act II


Once we finish the actual play we will be able to write and complete more in-depth projects concerning the play, so today is your last "easy day"...things are going to start picking up quickly here!!!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Ok, this was a weird day, many of you were late, many didn't show up at all.

We did silent reading and we read from Act II of our play!

It was a shortened period because of the assembly.

Wednesday, January 23

1. Silent Reading


2. Grammar


3. Watch first half of Death of a Salesman


4. Go over class rules and regulations

Term 3...half way through the year!

Welcome to your new blog! That's right 11th graders, I care so much about your education that I am going to give myself extra work by creating a blog just for you.



You need to get your third term reading books.

Basically you have to read a book by an American Author that I approve.

Books are due in Class by February 19th!!!!