The long weekend is upon us. Enjoy yourselves. Take a road trip. Don't play too much Halo. Read your books. Go to a concert (Spoon at Cain's!). Take a walk. You will be graded on one of these activities when you get back.
Dive into the first two chapters of
Lord of the Flies sometime this weekend. This is a thrilling book, but be sure to keep up with your reading journals as you go. As this is a very symbolic book, I asked you on Thursday to include an explanation of three symbols (something tangible representing something intangible) in your journal along with your basic responses, but don't worry if you can't find three this weekend; the journals are due on Friday and we will read further before then.
[Edit: I've just discovered that Barnes and Noble has run out of copies of because guess what? They lost my order once again. It's probably something I am doing wrong, but calling the store, saying, "I need 45 copies of
Lord of the Flies in a week" seems pretty straightforward. Please let me know soon if you can't get a copy and I will make arrangements.]
[Edit Take Two: (It is now... 5:00 on Friday), but I just got back from Borders and they have several copies in stock. I haven't received any email; does that mean we're all stocked?]
Read More......
I was really impressed by all the ways you guys came up with to illuminate your poetry. How are the projects coming? If you are having trouble figuring out a passage or how you could represent a part of the poem, post a comment here and we can discuss it.
Remember, the rough drafts are due on Tuesday 25th. It is a check of your progress on the project and a chance to ask any last-minute questions.
This week we will be watching
About a Boy on Monday and part of Tuesday. After we finish the movie, we will discuss the projects. Your illuminated poetry is due on Wednesday, and we will begin presentations then.
Your presentation should include the title, author, and any background information, any relevant history of the poem or piece, and an explanation of your work. We will conclude with questions from the class.
I hope everything is going well, but if you do have a concern, please email me.
See you tomorrow.
Read More......
Your TP-CASTT worksheets are
due tomorrow at the beginning of class. If you choose to do a poem or piece not listed in the handout you must email me before midnight tonight so I can okay it.
The dates on page three of the Illuminated Poetry handout are off. The Rough Draft is due Tuesday 25th and the Final Copy and Presentation will be Wednesday 26th. Sorry about the misprint.
If you did not turn in an essay today, please email it to me by 4pm today to avoid a late penalty.
Read More......
If you cannot print your essay at home, please print it
before school in my room or at one of the other computers around the building. I will not accept a paper turned in after the beginning of class.
As always, if you have any questions please ask.
Read More......
Your rough drafts are due tomorrow (Wednesday). We will devote time in class to trading quotations and making sure everyone's paper makes sense. You will type it at home on Wednesday, using your handy-dandy spell check to eliminate errors. The format is the same as always: 12pt Times New Roman, one inch margins, double-spaced, header (top left), title, page number (top right). Ask someone if you are unsure how to do this.
As always, if you have any questions please let me know.
Read More......
I have received several messages from you guys about the essay we are currently writing. Here is a quick overview of what we went over in class:
An essay has three parts:
An
Introduction
A
Bodyand a
Conclusion
The
introduction should be one paragraph long and contain several elements:
An
introductory sentence containing the author's name and the name of the work you are discussing.
Your
thesis statement, or the point you are trying to make with your essay. This is the most vital part of your writing. Present a solid thesis statement and back it with the body paragraphs and you will have an amazing essay. This should be the final sentence of your opening paragraph.
Example thesis: Hornby's characters explore what it means to be "cool" by adopting the actions of one another, though they soon realize that they are looking for connections, not cool in their lives.
The
body of your essay is made up of all the paragraphs between the
introduction and the
conclusion.
Each paragraph of the body should contain:
A
topic sentence. What is this paragraph going to be about? As you did with your thesis statement, sum up the point of this paragraph in the first sentence, then include your
ideas/explanations.
Your
ideas and
explanations should be backed with
examples or
quotations from the text.
Example topic sentence: The bullying Marcus endures at school highlights his outsider status.
Example quotation: Marcus's relationship with Ellie was a matter of surprise for everyone. "Just about every kid in the room stopped . . . and turned around" when Ellie called to Marcus in the busy cafeteria (Hornby 170).
If you find yourself writing about several different topics in the same paragraph, break it into several pieces, making sure each new paragraph applies to your thesis. If it does not apply, chuck it or change your thesis. (This is why the outline is an important step; it is easier to throw out a bullet than a paragraph.)
The
conclusion wraps up your essay. Briefly describe the points you made (without adding new information), and reflect on the point you've made.
Keep in mind the basic rules of academic writing:
Keep a formal tone (no slang, text jargon, personal anecdotes)
No personal pronouns
No contractions
12 point Times New Roman font
One inch margins all around
Header on the left
Page number top right
That's it! Well done.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please email me.
Read More......
We will begin working on creating our own commercials for the next unit.
But first—
this week we will finish up our
About a Boy essays. We will work on our essays on Monday, so be sure your outlines are chock full of quotations. This will make it simple to write a draft in class, since you know what you will write; you just have to concentrate on keeping a formal tone and communicating your ideas clearly. If you are stuck, email me or come talk to me before school on Monday. This is the longest essay we've written, but Hornby gives us plenty to write about. We are taking it slow to make sure each step is perfect before we move on. Plus, this assignment will be graded several times. Some of you are falling behind; this is a good chance to catch up. As always, you can raise your grade on a paper if you come talk with me about it and turn in a revised copy. If you don't finish the draft in class, take it home so we can edit them in class on Tuesday.
The advertising unit will begin late this week or early next week, depending on when we wrap up the essays. Be thinking about a product you would like to sell, while finding commercials and advertisements that employ the rhetorical devices we discussed last week.
Read More......
If you did not turn in your three ads with analysis pages today, please do so tomorrow. I will take off some points for lateness, but that is better than a zero.
If you were absent Tuesday or Wednesday, get the rhetoric in advertising worksheet
here. If you have any questions, email me or talk to me in class tomorrow.
We will be writing an essay on Friday over chapters 1-28, with an emphasis on content from 17-28. I have given you the prompt early for previous essays, but I will not be doing so this time. Your essays have improved dramatically since the beginning of the year, and I believe you can go into this one without knowing the prompt ahead of time. I want you to read closely and journal thoroughly in preparation for this exam. Remember:
- Write the name of the author (Nick Hornby) and title (About a Boy [underlined])
- Thesis statements are important. They should let your reader know how you will answer the prompt.
- Quotations from the text are necessary. Include page number and author for each quotation: (Hornby 7).
- Cover the story up to chapter 28. We are near the end of the novel, so everything is important.
- Watch grammar, spelling (look it up if you don't know) and punctuation.
- Personal pronouns and contractions should never be used.
Read More......
Continue reading
About a Boy this weekend. We will have a quiz over the next four chapters (17-20) on Monday. Have a good break!
Read More......
If you were absent today,
here is a copy of the Character Analysis worksheet.
You may use the worksheet and your journal to write the essay tomorrow. Here is your prompt:
Choose one element of the author’s style (diction, tone, characterization) or the novel's theme and compare and contrast this element as it applies to each main character, Marcus or Will, throughout Chapters 1-16. How are these elements used before and after the characters meet? Use examples from the text to support your argument.
We wrote over a major theme before the last essay (connection and emotional bonds). You may elaborate on this theme for the essay today.
Read More......
Just a reminder:
Be sure you have read through chapter 10 in
About a Boy and filled your journal accordingly. Some of your essay grades suffered because you had insufficient evidence from the text. The essay on Friday will be structured like the last one, so plan accordingly.
Look over the "Words to Know" handout and your notes from class for definitions of literary devices that may be in
About a Boy. You don't need to find all of them, but look for as many as you can.
There will be a quiz over chapters 7-10 on Tuesday, and 11-12 on Wednesday, if you would like to read ahead.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Read More......
