Email me!

Friday, February 27, 2009

LOTF Exam Review, TBAF Part 4

10R
  • Go over multiple choice questions, discuss as needed
  • No HW. We will start watching hte movie next week

11R

  • Rewrite yesterdays memory log for a minor grade
  • Continue TBAF up to "...while it snarled and whined and struggled."
  • Write memory log, finish for HW.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

LOTF Exam Part 2, TBAF Part 3

10R
  • Continue book exam.

11R

  • Continue "To Build a Fire" up to "The match fell in the snow and went out."
  • Began memory log in class, finish for HW.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

LOTF Exam, TBAF Part Two

10R
  • New vocab word:
    Altruistic (adj): unselfishly generous; concerned for others. (noun = altruism

  • LOTF Exam

11R

  • Rewrite last night's memory log and hand in.

  • New vocab word: Altruistic (adj): unselfishly generous; concerned for others. (noun =
    altruism)

  • Continue TBAF. Ended at "...the skin of all his body chilled as it lost its blood."

  • HW: Memory log #2.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Finally LOTF, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London

10R
  • Opened class with a choice of journal topics:
  • How did Jack respond to being called a thief? Why did he react this
    way?
  • "We won't be painted. We aren't savages."
  • What did Ralph do to the pig skull? Why?
  • Final discussion of the book: the confrontation between Jack and Ralph, Piggie's death, Ralph's confrontation with the Lord of the Flies and the rescue which, ironically, happened as a result of Jack setting the island on fire. The parallel of their rescue by military personnel with what occurred on the island was also discussed.
  • HW: Unit test is tomorrow and Thursday. There will be 40 multiple choice questions (including 6 vocabulary words) and an essay. All reading logs must be done and checked by me.
11R
  • Began reading and discussing Jack London's "To Build a Fire" (text HERE)
  • Stopped after the ninth paragraph (ending with "amber beard")
  • HW: Write memory log in notebooks. Try to recall as much detail as possible.

Monday, February 23, 2009

A Little Grammar, A Few Symbols and an Intro to Jack London

10R
  • Sentence combining activity.
  • I was sick last night. I stayed home from school
    today.
  • I was sick last night so I stayed home from school
    today.
  • Because I was sick last night, I stayed home from school
    today.
  • I stayed home from school today because I was sick last
    night.
  • We talked about starting sentences with 'because,' which students are often told they can't do.
  • Vocabulary:
    Clause: an expression including a subject and verb but not making a complete sentence
    Ex: Because I was sick last night, I missed school today.
  • Went over benchmarks briefly. Some students took theirs home to do over.
  • Worked on some symbolism for LOTF
  • Tomorrow the remaining logs for chapters 9 throguh 12 will be checked. Final discussion on the end of the book and a little more symbolism work.
  • Book exam for Wednesday and Thursday.

11R

  • Same sentence activitiy as above.
  • Period 7 began intro to the short story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. This story will follow the same sequence of activities the "Owl Creek Bridge" did.

Friday, February 13, 2009

LOTF Symbolism and the significance of Chapter 10, Owl Creek Video

10R
  • Students were given a list of the possible symbols from the story and brainstormed in groups as to their significance:
  • Plane Crash:
    Forest Scar:
    Island:
    Conch:
    Eyeglasses of Piggy and Piggy Himself
  • Ideas shared and written in notes.
  • Discuss the importance of Chapter 10 including the boy's reactions to Simon's death. (Especially the difference between Ralph's reaction and Jack's.)
  • HW: Finish the book, complete reading logs.

11R

  • View video of "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
  • See video HERE.

Everyomne have a great break!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Benchmark Completion, "Owl CreeK" Summary

10R
  • Critical Lens Essay Benchmark was started yesterday and completed today. Any not done will be finished for homework.
  • Tomorrow we will discuss chapter 10 in LOTF and book logs for 9 and 10 will be checked.
  • The last 2 chapters and reading logs will be finished over break. We'll wrap up the book then.

11R

  • All summaries and questions completed. We'll watch the video of the story tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Lens Rehearsal Part II, Owl Creek Wrap Up Part I

10R
  • Continue with practice critical lens essay.
  • Critical lens Benchmark is tomorrow and Thursday
  • Friday we will have a final discussion on chapters 9 and 10 in LOTF. Book and reading logs need to be finished over break. (Two chapters left.)
  • Make up or retest vocab quizzes need to be done this week.

11R

  • Exam on "Owl Creek." Elements will include vocabulary, multiple choice questions, questions from the text and a written summary of the story focusing on mechanics: grammar, punctuation, etc.
  • Exam will continue tomorrow.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Mr. Farquahar Hangs, Critical Lens Essay Practice

10R
  • Begin essay practice.
  • Go over important points that students lose points on such as: discussing seperate literary elements in each of the body paragraphs, using specific and detailed examples from the works, mindfully proofreading and editing.
  • Essays will be finished tomorrow in class.
  • HW: Quiz on chapters 9,10
  • Vocab quiz may be retaken after school this week.

11R
  • Finish reading the story.
  • Discuss the ending as rlated to the beginning of section 3.
  • Start questions on page 533

Friday, February 06, 2009

Vocab Quiz, Mr. Farquahar Escapes

10R

  • Went over LOTF chap. 7 & 8 quiz.
  • Took vocab quiz. Students who didn't do well will have a chance to retake.
  • Period 4 was given the directions for a critical lens essay. They are to prepare the essay, not write it. Do a planning page or a rough draft. We will review the process on Monday.
  • Due to a comedy of errors, period 5 did not get the essay directions. We'll go over it on Monday and spend time getting it started.
  • All essays will be due on Tuesday.
  • There is a benchmark on Wednesday.
  • Both classes should read chapter 10 plus reading logs for Monday

11R

  • Classes did pretty poorly on the vocab quiz. They will retake it next week (probably Tuesday) for a major grade.
  • Continued "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (Text linked again for those who need to catch up.)
  • HW: Another memory log on the story and study for the vocab test.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

The Hanging of Mr. Farquahar, LOTF Quiz 3

10R
  • Took quiz on chapters 7,8. Reading logs of chapters 5 through 8 were checked for a grade.
  • Discussed the imagery in chapter 8 further. The slaughter of the sow can be seen as the point when Jack and the hunters lost the last vestiges of civilization in a kind of twisted baptism of blood. This sets the scene for chapter 9.
  • HW: Read chapter 9 and write log
  • Vocab quiz on Friday, not tomorrow. Review words.
Vacabulary up to this point:

Theme: a unifying idea that is a repeating element in literary or artistic work
Ex: "Never give up." "Accept what can’t be avoided." "The need of the one outweighs the need of the many."

Tone: a literary technique, that is a part of composition, that shows the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, sad, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes.

Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is a clash or discordance between what a speaker / writer /actor says or does, and what he or she means or what is generally understood. There are three types of irony: verbal, dramatic and situational.

Symbol: something used for or regarded as representing something else; ex. The grim reaper=death, huskie=football team, eagle=America

Allegory: a story meant to be read symbolically.

Elfin: Relating to or suggestive of an elf, Having a magical quality or charm

Empathy: understanding and entering into another's feelings. Different than sympathy which is to feel sorry for; empathy is to feel the same as.

Hedonism: Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses

Anguish: excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain

Anecdote: short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)

Profound: showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth; great, important meaning

Thesis: A statement that is maintained by argument

Annotate: to supply with critical or explanatory notes; comment upon in notes

Poetry: the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.

Prosody: study of poetic meters and writing verse; the particular system of verse in a poem.

Prose: the ordinary form of spoken or written language

Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily means one thing is used to mean another, thus making a comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare).

Simile: a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared using ‘like’ or ‘as’, as in "she is like a rose."

Conundrum - (noun)
1. a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
2. an intricate and difficult problem

iambic pentameter: The most common meter in English verse. It consists of a line ten syllables long that is accented on every second beat

Precedent (noun)- 1) an earlier occurrence of something similar 2) something that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a similar future act or statement.

Pandemic (adj.)--spread over an entire country, continent or world.

Cynical: Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others; Negative or pessimistic, as from world-weariness

11R
  • Rewrite last nights summary, hand in for grade.
  • Review vocab. Quiz tomorrow. Study!
  • Read next section in Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
  • HW: Write summary, same as yesterday.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

The Lord of the Flies: Revealed, Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge

10R
  • Journal: How is Jack threatening Ralph's authority?
  • Read highlights from chapter 8, which can be considered the most important chapter in the book. fear of "The Beast" weakens the boy's impulse toward civilized behavior. Jack, behaving from the savage, primal side of human behavior splits off from Ralph's group. The scene where the hunter's kill the sow marks the moment when the last remnants of civilized behavior is washed from them in a kind of baptism of blood. Leaving the pig head as an offering to The Beast is religious in nature: the Beast has been turned into a god that lives on the mountain.
  • Simon, in a state of heightened sensitivity, possibly due to fever, has a 'conversation' with the pig head, naming in "The Lord of the Flies." Possibly, the head symbolizes their fear and brutality, their Beast... the flies symbolize the boys.
  • HW: Make sure reading logs for chapters 7 and 8 are complete. Logs for chapters 5 through 8 will be checked for two major grades. We will read chapter 9 in class together.
11R
  • Started reading "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."
  • Three new vocab words were introduced. The whole list at this point is reproduced here for students to catch up.
  • HW: Write everything which can be recalled from the reading so far in journals.

Political: of, pertaining to, or involving the state or its government:

Self-evident: Requiring no proof or explanation.

Unalienable: Not to be separated, given away, or taken away

Despotism: absolute power or control; tyranny.

Parallelism: the repeated use of phrases, clauses, or sentences in structure or meaning to strengthen an argument

Calvinism: emphasizing predestination, the sovereignty of God, the supreme authority of the Scriptures

Enlightenment: philosophical movement of the 18th century, characterized by belief in the power of human reason and by innovations in political, religious, and educational doctrine.

Romanticism: a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization; Romanticism valued imagination and emotion over rationality

Anecdote: short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)

Profound: showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth; great, important meaningThesis: A statement that is maintained by argument
Annotate: to supply with critical or explanatory notes; comment upon in notes

Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily means one thing is used to mean another, thus making a comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare).

Simile: a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared using ‘like’ or ‘as’, as in "she is like a rose."

Conundrum - (noun)
1. a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
2. an intricate and difficult problem

Ambiguity: doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning

Precedent (noun)-
1) an earlier occurrence of something similar
2) something that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a similar future act or statement

Pandemic (adj.)--spread over an entire country, continent or world.

Cynical: Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others; Negative or pessimistic, as from world-weariness

Satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, wit or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

Monday, February 02, 2009

LOTF Quiz, "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

ALL STUDENTS:

The school year is half over and from now until June pass like the blink of an eye. Renew your commitment to doing your mindful best and keep your eyes on the prize.

10R
  • Quiz on chapters 5,6
  • Brief discussion on chapter 7
  • HW: Make sure chapters 7 and 8 are finished and reading logs completed

11R

  • Read bio for Ambrose Bierce. Discuss the qualities of the man as described.
  • Read intro for the story "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
  • Do writing assignment on page 525
  • Review vocabulary
  • No HW this evening