Day Nineteen: Just about there, students!!!

Hi students,

We have one night before the big test and the plays tomorrow.

Make sure that you are using your study guide and that you STUDY for vocab.

Don't forget that all props and costuming should be brought for the plays tomorrow. 

All breakfast food should be brought tomorrow. See list on previous blog entry.

Good luck :)

Literary Movements and Authors

Here's some help!

Unit 4:

Crane-Naturalism

Bierce-Realism (some Naturalistic aspects of "Owl Creek Bridge")

Twain-Realism

Bret Harte-Realism

Jack London-Call of the Wild has both Naturalistic and Romantic elements

Kate Chopin-Realism

Edith Wharton-Naturalism

Paul Lawrence Dunbar-Realism

Willa Cather-Realism

Unit 5:

T.S. Eliot-Modernism

Ezra Pound-Modernism (Imagism) (Note: Imagism is a sub-genre of Modernism)

William Carlos Williams-Modernism (Imagism)

H.D-Modernism (Imagism)

F. Scott Fitzgerald-Modernism

John Steinbeck-Modernism

E.E. Cummings-Modernism

W.H. Auden-Modernism

Wallace Stevens-Modernism

Archibald MacLeish-Modernism

Marianne Moore-Modernism

Ernest Hemingway-Modernism

Sherwood Anderson-Modernism

Eudora Welty-Modernism

Grace Paley-Modernism

Carl Sandberg-Modernism

Katherine Anne Porter-Modernism

Robert Frost-Modernism

James Thurber-Modernism

E.B. White-Modernism

Zora Neale Hurston-Modernism (Harlem Renaissance)

Langston Hughes-Modernism (Harlem Renaissance)

Claude McKay-Modernism (Harlem Renaissance)

Countee Cullen-Modernism (Harlem Renaissance)

Arna Bontemps-Modernism (Harlem Renaissance)

Jean Toomer-Modernism (Harlem Renaissance)

Unit 6:

EVERYTHING (all authors and stories/poems/essays) in Unit 6 is Contemporary!!!! That means everything after 1946.

Day Eighteen: 3 Minute Plays/Literary Movements

Today in class:

• We worked on drafting the 3 minute plays for three actors.
• We had a quiz on the reading from E.L. Doctorow, John Hersey, Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan.
• We studied literary periods and their definitive qualities.
• We went over the format for the Unit 6/Cumulative test on Thursday of this week.
• We took a quiz on correct expressions in grammar.
  

Homework:

• Continue to prepare for the 3 minute plays-to be presented on Thursday.
  
• Begin reviewing for big test on Thursday.
  
• There will be a short quiz over literary movements (Naturalism, Realism, Modernism, Contemporary etc.) tomorrow-it will be multiple choice.
  
• Work on the grammar packet for tonight on commas. Do Exercises 10-15.
  

Summer School Breakfast on Thursday Morning!!

Hey class-glad to see that you are all willing to help out with breakfast on Thursday morning.

Remember that I am bringing breakfast burritos from Del Taco as well as plates. :)

There are 16 of us in the class including me. :)

The rest of the items and designated contributers are as follows:

Muffins- Abbie G. and Ryan G.

Tater Tots-Nate J-T. and Jared S.

Fruit-Alex B. and Andrew A.

Orange Juice-Steven P. and Zari C.

Waffles-Chandler R.

Donuts-Jay T.

Cookies-Adam B. and Andrew B.

Condiments-Bryan A.

Utensils and Napkins-Sam B.

Day Seventeen: Our Town Test, Three Minute Plays, Grammar

Hey students! :)

We are almost to the end! You have all worked hard-don't stop now!

Today in class we:

• Received grade progress reports (Note: new reports will be handed out tomorrow that include grades for the last reading quiz as well as the poetry explication paper).
• Took the Our Town test
• Read Tim O'Brien's story from The Things They Carried and Yusef K.'s poem "Camouflaging the Chimera." Responded through Review & Assess questions
• Worked in groups to draft first copy of 3 minute plays
• Reviewed capitalization in grammar and then took a quiz on the chapter.

For tomorrow you need to:

1. Read John Hersey's story from Hiroshima (pgs1162-1172)
2. Read Sandra Cisneros's essay "Straw into Gold" (pgs 1128-1132)
3. Read Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" (pgs 1136-1141)
4. Work on your new grammar packet (remember that you will have 15 min to work on it at the beginning of class tomorrow).
5. Make sure you are finished with the Unit 6 Vocab Packet and are reviewing terms for the test on Thursday.
   
   Reminders!!!
   
   Thursday's test will be over Unit 6 and cumulative!! I will be giving you a study guide tomorrow.
   
   The three minute plays are going to be performed on Thursday. Your group is responsible for having all requirements met and for props/costuming etc.
   
   
   
   

Day Sixteen: One-Pagers, Three Minute Plays, Grammar

Today in class we:

Took Unit 6 Overview Quiz

Took Reading Quiz on Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior" and James Baldwin's "The Rockpile"

Worked on One-Pager assignments over the last few stories we've read. You have each chosen one story to work on and must include 

A)a character cluster with words phrases and relationships etc.

B) illustration of a scene or setting or collage of symbols from the story. Must include explanation.

C) 3 major quotes from the story and explanation as to why they are important.

D) a plotline map that includes your explanation of your story's exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

Got into groups to work on 3 Minute Plays 

Took a grammar quiz and worked on Capitalization packet

Homework:

-Finish One Pager for Monday

-Test on "Our Town" on Monday

-Work on 3-Minute Play ideas. Idea proposal from your group will be submitted on Monday after another group meeting.

-Read "A Writer in the Family" by E.L. Doctorow

-Grammar packet on Capitalization. Quiz on Capitalization on Monday

Day Fifteen: Our Town

Today in Class:

-We finished watching "Our Town" and discussed the dramatic themes, setting, characters etc.

-We worked on elements of grammar involving comparatives and superlatives.

Homework:

Read Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior" 

Read James Baldwin's "The Rockpile"

Finish grammar packet

Quiz on Unit 6 overview (true or false format)

Quiz on grammar

Day Fourteen: Essay, Our Town, Grammar

Today in class:

• We took a quiz on Anne Tyler's "Average Waves" short-story and discussed important concepts.
  
• Looked at dramatic terminology and watched the first act of Our Town by Thornton Wilder
  
• Reviewed how to create a Works Cited page
  
• Took a grammar quiz
  
• Began working on grammar assignment on terms of comparison.
  

Read:

• Stories in the textbook by Alice Walker "Everyday Use"  and Julia Alvarez "Antojos". Reading quiz on these tomorrow.
  
• Finish Poetry Explication paper
  
• Finish Grammar Packet
  
• Study for Unit 6 Overview Quiz
  
• Work on Our Town packet
  
• Work on Vocabulary packet for Unit 6

Day Thirteen: Poetry, Unit 6 Overview and Grammar

Today in class we:

• Passed out graded work
  
• Received progress reports
  
• Took the reading quiz over O'Connor, Malamud and Updike
  
• Took notes on the historical overview of 1950s to present day
  
• Worked on subject/pronoun agreement
  
• Had conferences about poetry explication essays

For tomorrow you need to:

1. Read Anne Tyler's story "Average Waves in Unprotected Waters"
   
2. Study for the reading quiz on Tyler
   
3. Study grammar for grammar quiz tomorrow
   
4. Work on final draft of poetry explication paper due on Wednesday
   
5. Have a parent sign your progress report for extra credit.
   
6. Study Unit 6 Overview notes for a True or False quiz on Wednesday
   

Day Twelve: Poetry Explication/Unit 5 Test

Today in class:

• We worked hard on poetry explication, read a sample essay of poetry explication.
  
• We took the Unit 5 Test. 
  
• We also read Bernard Malamud's "The First Seven Years" from the textbook and briefly discussed its important points/historical influence etc.
  

For Monday:

• You must, must, MUST have a rough draft of your poetry explication. 
• We will be drawing names for conferences from 11:00 to 1:00 or so on Monday-don't forget to clear your schedule for that time.
• You must read John Updike's "Brown Chest" (pg 1002) and Anne Tyler's "Average Waves in Unprotected Waters" on page 1028.
• There will be a reading quiz on these two authors/stories in addition to O'Conner's story and Malamud's.
• We WILL have a new seating chart on Monday.
• Progress reports will also be handed out in the morning.
  

Day Eleven: Poetry, Grammar, Poetry...

Today in class we:

• Had The Call of the Wild test.
• Worked on Grammar (subject/pronoun agreement)
• Worked on poetry explication prewriting
• Reviewed a little for the Unit 5 test tomorrow

Homework:

1. Read Flannery O'Connor's story "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" (pg 972)
2. Study for Unit 5 Test tomorrow
3. Finish poetry explication
4. Work on grammar packet
5. Tomorrow you will turn in the Unit 5 Overview notes and the Unit 5 Vocabulary packet.

Day Ten: Poetry, Poetry and--oh yeah, more Poetry!

Today in class we:

• Took a quiz on Ernest Hemingway
  
• Reviewed Langston Hughes poems from the reading yesterday.
  
• Did a group activity where pairs read and analyzed poems and then taught them to the rest of the class! 
  
• Altogether there were 7 poems analyzed and discussed.
  

Homework:

1. Read poems by Toomer and Bontempts 937-928
2. Study for Poetry Terms Quiz tomorrow!
3. Find, print and bring in two poems that you would like to explicate in your paper--either from the textbook or from the websites that I listed for you under web links on this blog.
   
4. Study for the Call of the Wild test tomorrow
   
5. Work on Unit 5 Vocabulary
   
6. Begin reviewing for the Unit 5  Test on Thurs.
   

Day Nine: Thurber, E.B. White, Hurston, Frost and London

Today we did a lot of work in class:

• Passed back graded assignments, projects and quizzes
• Miss Moran gave out grade progress reports
• Took a reading quiz over Thurber, E.B. White and Hurston selections.
• Did a Reading Pyramid group activity over the three selections (Thurber, E.B. White and Hurston)
• Took the Unit Five Overview Quiz.
• Began working on Unit Five Vocabulary Worksheet
• Reviewed poetic terminology and explication procedures.
• Read, explicated and discussed Robert Frost's poems ("Birches" "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "Out, Out--" )
• Reviewed for The Call of the Wild test on Wednesday. (Specifically looked at ideas of setting, dynamic characters and plot elements)
• Reviewed authors/titles/genres of works we've examined thus far in Unit 5.

Homework:

1. Read Ernest Hemingway's "In Another Country" (page 809)
   
2. Read Langston Hughes (pg 926-929)
   
3. Do "Read and Discuss" assignments on both page 927 and 929
   
4. Review poem terminology for a multiple choice quiz tomorrow
   
5. Work on Unit 5 Vocabulary Sheet
   
6. Review for The Call of the Wild test on Wednesday.
   
7. Begin reviewing for Unit Five Test on Thursday
   

Progress Reports on Mondays

Students,

Just to remind you-all progress reports will be given out on Mondays. Of course at the end of the summer school session on July 18, 2008-I will have to email you with your final grade etc.  I'm sure some of your parents might be asking about progress reports-so please let them know about this policy.

Thank you!

Miss Moran

Day Eight: The Call of the Wild, Welty, Paley and Porter

Today in class:

• read the last chapter of The Call of the Wild (COW)
• responded to the last two chapters of COW
• Did a short activity (packet) on COW
• took Theatercraft quiz
• took reading quiz on Faulkner, Welty, Paley and Porter
• discussed reading from previous day

For Monday:

1. Finish The Call of the Wild packet.
2. Read:  James Thurber: "The Night the Ghost Got In" (pg 898)
3. Read: E.B. White: from Here is New York (pg 903)
4. Read: Zora Neale Hurston: from Dust Tracks on a Road (pg 914)
5. Prepare for reading quiz on these selections.
6. Quiz over Unit 5 Overview-format will be True or False.

Day Seven: Unit 5 Overview, Imagist Poetry and Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

Today in class we:

1. Listened and read along to most of Chapter 6 in The Call of the Wild.
2. Took notes on PowerPoint presentation about the historical background in Unit 5.
3. Read imagist poems and discussed them. (ie. William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound and H.D.)
4. Took reading quiz and quizzes on last three chapters of COTW.
5. Read and analyzed "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

Homework:

1. Read Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" (820)
2. Read Grace Paley's "Anxiety" (829)
3. Read Katherine Ann Porter "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" (846)
4. Study for quiz on Theatercraft video notes
5. Reading quiz tomorrow on Welty, Paley, Porter

Day Six: The Call of the Wild, "Winter Dreams" and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

Today in class we:

• Took the Unit 4 test
• Discussed F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams" and John Steinbeck's "The Turtle"
• Took the reading quiz.
• Read and explicated T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
• Listened to audio recording and followed along in Chapter 4 of The Call of the Wild
• Illustrated a picture of Buck's dream in Chapter 4 of C.O.W.

Homework: 

1. Read "The Far and the Near" by Thomas Wolfe
2. Read "The Corn Planting" by Sherwood Anderson
3. Read The Call of the Wild Ch. 5
4. Be prepared for reading quiz and quiz on Ch. 3, 4, 5 of C.O.W.
5. Finish Ch. 4 illustration of C.O.W.

Day Five: "Scrambled Eggs" The Call of the Wild and Grammar Refresher

Today in class we had a lot of quizzes... amongst other things!

• Two final quizzes over The Gettysburg Address
  
• A quiz over "Cats" and "Scrambled Eggs"
  
• A quiz over the first two chapters of The Call of the Wild
  
• We read most of The Call of the Wild Chapter 3 in class
  
• We reviewed "Scrambled Eggs"
  
• We did some work and review on subject/verb agreement-Grammar! :)-Remember that this is important for the PSAT/SAT.

Also if your parents are wondering, I handed you a progress report today. Remember that the test tomorrow will greatly impact your grade.

Homework:

1. Review for the Unit Four test tomorrow-if you forgot the format of the test look at the last blog post.
   
2. Read F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams" in the textbook.
   
3. Read John Steinbeck's "The Turtle" in the textbook.
   
4. Review what we read in class today from The Call of the Wild.
   

Day Four: "A Wagner Matinee" "Richard Cory" and "Spoon River Anthology"

Hi students!

Ready for the weekend? I'm sure. But yes, there is a lot to do before Monday. I have confidence, though, that you will be able to do it all with no problem! Remember, too, that I will have progress reports for you on Monday.

Please email me if you have questions. :)

Miss Moran

Today in class we did the following:

• Reading quiz over Edith Wharton and Kate Chopin
• Gettysburg Memorization Quizzes 3 and 4
• Read and explicated Edwin Arlington Robinson's "Richard Cory" and compared it to Simon and Garfunkel's song about "Richard Cory"/extension activity with interpretation
• Read Willa Cather's "A Wagner Matinee"/Discussion
• Reviewed the format for the Unit Four test on Tuesday
• Spoon River Tombstone Presentations

Homework for this weekend:

1. Read "Scrambled Eggs" Short Story-Handout
2. Read Anna Quindlen's "Cats" from the textbook
3. Read Chapters I-II in Jack London's The Call of the Wild
4. Memorize the rest of Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"
5. Reading quiz will be over "Scrambled Eggs" "Cats" and there will be a separate quiz for The Call of the Wild.
6. Review for the test on Tuesday over Unit 4

Format for the Unit Test on Tuesday of next week: (all will be multiple choice questions)

I.    Matching Author/Titles-(I will give you an author and you must match the person to his/her work or vice-versa.)

II.   Matching Titles/Genres-(I will give you a title and you must match it with its genre. ie. "Lucinda Matlock" is a poem.)

III. Vocabulary- (I have given you a vocabulary sheet with all the vocab for this unit. Start reviewing) Andrew A. has flash cards made up in addition to his packet-smart idea. :)

IV.  Passage Identification (I will give you a short passage and you must identify what story/poem/speech/song it its from)

V.  Miscellaneous Questions (from discussions in class as well as the Unit Four Overview from the beginning of last week)

Day Three: Outcasts of Poker Flat and Spoon River Gravestones

Students,

Today's classes were pretty "light" and so is the homework for this evening. It will not be this way in future days. Typically there will be at least two selections to read and more done in class with regards to analyzing text. We will have some "lighter" assignments from time to time-but its important that you learn the core basics of the class. Keep this in mind. :)

Today in class:

• Reading Quiz over Twain, Harte and Chief Joseph
• We discussed "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte
• We did an activity related to Bret Harte and TOPF.
• Quiz over Gettysburg Address
• We read Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"/Kate Chopin's biography and took notes.
• Read some of the Spoon River Poems and began the Spoon River Gravestone Project.

Homework:

      

          1. Read "April Showers" by Edith Wharton

          2. Memorize the first half of the Gettysburg Address for two quizzes tomorrow.

          3. Finish up Spoon River Gravestone Project and prepare for presentation tomorrow.

Day Two: Twain, Lincoln and Dunbar

I know that it seems like we have a lot to "dredge" through, but you're doing a good job. We will do some lighter stories and activities in the near future. :)

Today in class we did the following:

• Took a quiz over the Unit Four Introduction from yesterday.
  
• Reviewed and discussed Frederick Douglass and his autobiographical piece/Ambrose Bierce and his piece, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."
  
• Took a reading quiz over Douglass and Bierce.
  
• Read and discussed Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
  
• Read/analyzed and discussed Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"
  
• Read/discussed Paul Lawrence Dunbar's poems, "Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask"
  

Homework:

• Read Bret Harte's "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (pgs 580-590)
• Read Chief Joseph's "I Will Fight No More Forever" (pg 602)
  
• Review notes and "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain
  
• There will be a reading quiz over Twain, Harte and Chief Joseph (pg 569)
  
• There will also be a quiz over the first two full sentences of  "The Gettysburg Address."(pg 522) Spelling and punctuation will count!!!
  

Day One: Civil War Literature/Negro Spirituals

Good afternoon! I think that we had some good sessions today. I know there was a lot to cover in the first day, but we accomplished quite a bit in our time together. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to contribute to the class.

Today in class we:

• Read and reviewed the syllabus.
• Distributed textbooks.
• Took notes on a slide presentation of Unit 4 timeline/overview  (from the Prentice Hall textbook.) 
• Read and listened to several negro spirituals (after a review of African-American History)-specifically "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Go Down, Moses." We also looked at a few others just to compare and listened to some modern choral arrangements.
• Responded to the spirituals through reviewing and assessing in writing.
• Looked at biographies of Stephen Crane and Stephen Foster.
• Examined photographs of wounded soldiers and amputees during the Civil War.
• Read and discussed Stephen Crane's "An Episode of War" and Stephen Foster's song, "Willie has Gone to the War."
• Responded to review questions on these selections through written analysis and opinion.

Homework:

1. Have course syllabus read and signed by parent.
2. Read Frederick Douglass from "My Bondage and my Freedom" (pgs 497-502)
3. Read Ambrose Bierce "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (pgs 508-516)
4. Make sure you are filling out the vocabulary on your vocab packet when you read the Douglass and Bierce selections.
5. If you have not finished the responses to the spirituals and Crane/Foster in class-you need to turn those in tomorrow at 8:00 AM.
6. Study your Unit Four overview notes. There will be 25 problem/ True or False quiz over the material tomorrow.
7. There will be a reading quiz over Douglass and Bierce tomorrow. The questions will be short answer and straight forward. If you have read the selection, it will be apparent. If you have not read the selection, it will also be apparent. :)