Homework: December 20

English 11

• You should make sure that these three things are completed before you come to class tomorrow:
• Read "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong"
• Complete the chart about Mary Anne and Mark
• Complete the handout (white paper) from class today
• You may want to work on your response to the story (What are THREE big ideas that you can take away from the story "Sweetheart..."? HOW does O'Brien get those ideas across to you as an audience?) Remember, your response can be written, or visual (mind map, etc.). Show me what you know--include analysis and proof!

Honors English 12

• Enjoy the holiday party!
• For Wednesday the 2nd, complete the following:
• Find a picture of yourself as a kid! (Read the assignment sheet and model essay for "The Stranger in the Photo..." for more information about why.)
• Read Frankenstein, Letters 1-4 (that's pages 1-16). Use the Mary Shelley packet to help guide your reading. Remember, as I told you in class, this is a frame narrative--the letters help frame the story.

Creative Writing

• We'll finish our film study tomorrow. 
• Many of you have work to get in to me, so DO IT!

Homework: December 19

English 11

1. Fill in the first row on the chart for "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong"
2. Read to the break on p. 106 in the story
3. FIll in the second row on the chart.

Honors English 12

• Finish your Hamlet essay! Don't forget a works cited list...

Creative Writing

• Spend 20 minutes working on your story from today's class exercise.

Homework: December 18

English 11

• Finish your essay on theme in "How to Tell a True War Story." (The directions are on that bright pink sheet!)

Honors English 12

• Work on your Hamlet essay; bring a copy of your critical essay as well as a print out of what you've completed so far on your essay to class tomorrow.

Creative Writing

• Your reader response for Three-Minute Fiction is due tomorrow. Check earlier posts for specific directions.

Creative Writing exercise

Here's the writing exercise from class on 12/17/12. It's from a great book called The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction: Advice and Essential Exercises from Respected Writers, Editors, and Teachers, edited by Dinty W. Moore.

Hamlet resources, part 2

 Here's a link to a page of instructions posted by my Shakespeare professor in college, Prof. Osborn, for citing Shakespeare's plays! When I Googled "mla citation shakespeare text," this page of directions was the first hit. Perfect! Use it to guide your work with citations. The only change I'll ask is that you use ITALICS for the title, instead of underlining.

When you're needing to cite line numbers, this text will help. The line numbers are over to the right...you might need to do a little counting!

Here's the link to a Hamlet concordance...you can search it!

The view from F204 today...

...was not the worst...

Homework: December 17

English 11

• Work on your essay. It's due Wednesday.
• You should come to class tomorrow with an introduction (including thesis), as well as your topic statements and proof identified.

Honors English 12

• Work on your essay. It's due Thursday. (Check in with me if you'd like to discuss an extension.)

Creative Writing 

• By Wednesday, you should go to the 3-Minute Fiction site (linked in an earlier post), read and annotate 3 stories of your choice (based on the same prompt you did in class).
• Then, you'll write a response. The response should include: 
• A response that discusses the approaches each writer took to the same prompt...compare/contrast/discuss...
• Which is your favorite of the three, and why?
• 1 quotation with response from each of the 3 stories.

Homework: December 14

English 11

• We have folks in different places right now. Here's what you need to make sure you've done for Monday:
• Finish reading "How to Tell a True War Story."
• Complete your Mind Map for "True War Story."
• Write the introduction for your essay (check the bright pink sheet for specific instructions) and plan out your essay.

Honors English 12

• Work on your essay! You should check out some of the resources online (check the blog post from earlier today), and do some thinking and planning. 
• Remember, it's due on Thursday of next week. In that time, you need to discern a topic, develop an idea, make some connections between Hamlet and another text, and work in a critical text. You don't want to wait to get started, because you'll want to figure out what your problems are early...

Creative Writing

• Read three short stories on the Three Minute Fiction website (check yesterday's homework post for details).

Looking for a new book? Check out this great chart!

The folks at the Lawrence (Kansas) public library did a whole lot of work to put together charts of book suggestions. There are a bunch more pages...it's a great resource!

CLICK HERE to go to the rest of the charts...

Hamlet resources--Honors English 12

Kenneth B. says, "It's time for YOU
to write something great!"

You're writing an essay! Hooray!

In order to complete this essay, you need to:

• Identify a topic and argument.
• Incorporate another text to compare, contrast, develop or inform your main argument.
• Use at least one piece of literary criticism to help build your argument.

Here are some resources for you:

You can go to this page, which is the HHS Lib Guide scholarly resources page. See over on the left, where it says "Literary Criticism"? Use the search features to look for articles that might help you. You can also use JSTOR from this page.

Before you do that, you might want to check out this site, called Hamlet Haven. A LOT of work has been put into this site, and it presents a massive annotated bibliography of Hamlet resources on all kinds of topics, characters, schools of thought, etc. If you find an article that looks interesting, you'll have to make note of it, then perhaps search through that "Literary Criticism" link on the Lib Guide to access it.

Another useful site might be this one. It has a few articles that are linked from the site, with annotations to tell you what you're looking at.

I also have a few books available in the classroom for you to use; they are collections of critical essays. 

If you find other resources, or have questions about what you've found, please let me know! Happy researching, scholars!

Homework: December 13

English 11

• Work on your Mind Map assignment: You should include content for parts 1-6, at least. (Check the numbered content on the bright green assignment sheet.)

Honors English 12

• Write a 1-page freewrite, in which you examine some of the ideas/topics/etc. that you might write about for your synthesis essay. Remember that you'll need to discern a big idea, a connecting text and a critical essay view. In your freewrite, you can write about one idea in some depth, looking for potential evidence, etc. Or, you might write about a couple of different things you're thinking about.

Creative Writing

• Read and annotate Junot Diaz's short memoir "The Money" (handout from Best American Nonrequired Reading, 2012). Here is is online, in case you forgot your copy somewhere.
• By next Wednesday, you'll need to read, annotate, and write about three of the "Three-Minute Fiction" stories. You can find them at this website.

Homework: December 12

English 11

• Read and take notes on "How to Tell a True War Story" in The Things They Carried--read to the first break on page 76.

Honors English 12

• Finish Act 5, Scene 1 of Hamlet.
• Choose 3 important quotations and respond to them in your journal

Creative Writing

• You're off the hook tonight...we start a new assignment tomorrow.

Homework: December 11

English 11

• If you haven't updated your website yet, that's your homework for tonight! Directions, once again, are here. 
• Make sure you've completed the green sheet on "On the Rainy River," and that you've read "Enemies" and "Friends."

Honors English 12

• Finish reading Hamlet, Act 4.
• Annotate it.
• Write a one-page response about your Act 4 character. Use the Character Focus handout to guide you.

Creative Writing

• We'll discuss The Laramie Project in class tomorrow. Thank you all for being a great audience, and thanks to Krystal and Brooke for getting involved in this important production.
• You have a Reader Response due tomorrow!

Homework: December 10

English 11

• Read "Enemies" and "Friends"
• Complete the Close Reading organizer. Don't forget to respond to one of the prompts from the Making Connections section of your reading response handout on the back!

Honors English 12

• Read Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 1-4. Annotate, and write a reflection based on the Character Focus handout. If you character doesn't show up at all yet, use the regular Reading Log handout for your reflection.
• Keep an eye out for possible topics for your essay--you'll want to start narrowing down a topic as we finish the story this week.

Creative Writing

• Your Reader Response on something funny that you've chosen is due on Wednesday (you have an extra day!)--check previous posts for the directions...

Homework: December 7

English 11

• Finish your character map. You were doing a great job with them in class--make them awesome! Use the guidelines on the handout to make sure that you're meeting all the requirements.

Honors English 12

• Finish reading Act 3, Scene 2 of Hamlet, and read Act 3, Scene 3.
• Write a Reading Log.

Creative Writing

• You have a Reading Response due on Tuesday. Remember, you're picking the text yourself! It should be something humorous, and scripted. You need to annotate it (either writing on a paper text, or writing notes about a video/film/TV text). You should choose and annotate your text by Monday.

Homework: December 6

English 11

• Plan out your character map--you'll do the artwork in class tomorrow!
• Planning involves reading the assignment sheet (it's the second page in your bright green handout) and writing down the information that will need to go on your map. Remember, this task involves pulling quotations that will help explain O'Brien's mental and physical journey.

Honors English 12

• Read and annotate Act 3, Scene 2, up until the break noted in class today. 

Creative Writing

• Your project is due tomorrow! Hooray!

Homework: December 5

English 11

• Read the story "On the Rainy River" from the book The Things They Carried from where we finished reading in class today until the break on page 55. Be prepared for a quiz!
• Take notes on that green sheet...it's how you'll show your growth, and it's prep for the final assessment.

Honors English 12

• Write a response using the Character Traits handout you received in class. If you need another copy, click here.
• Here's the question: Which of the words on that list BEST describes Hamlet? And, which LEAST describes him? Write a justification for each choice.

Creative Writing

• Projects due Friday! 
• Reader Response due Monday.
• If you're going on the field trip Tuesday, spend some time reading the excerpt from The Grief of Others.

Homework: December 4

English 11

• Catch up on any work you need to finish: read through the story "Spin" in The Things They Carried (that's through page 38).
• Work on your Jimmy Cross paragraph if it's not done.
• Write your response in your journal about today's questioning activity (remember, in small groups you asked questions about the statement: Making decisions is easy). The prompt for this journal response is: How did you feel about today's questioning activity? 

Honors English 12

• Thank your folks for writing advice letters to you! (If you're a parent and you don't know what this means, feel free to check in with your student!)
• Read Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1, and write a Reading Log response.

Creative Writing

• Work on your project! It's due Friday, remember?

Homework: November 30

English 11

• Finish reading the first story in The Things They Carried, which is called "The Things They Carried." It ends on page 26.
• Complete the Character Chart.

Honors English 12

• Read to the end of Act 2, Scene 2.
• Complete a reading log assignment--the instructions are on your handout.
• Remind your parents that they have a little "assignment," too! (Parents, if you don't know what this is, check in with your kid!) The letter is due Tuesday.

Creative Writing

• Project work: projects are due next week!

Homework: November 29

English 11

• Read The Things They Carried, just up to the break on page 3 (essentially, just finish the paragraph we were reading in class).
• Then, go through the section we've already read (again, it's only pages 1-3) and fill in the chart that I gave you in class.
• Remember, your portfolio should be updated by tomorrow. Remember we worked on this in class last week. The directions are here if you need them...

Honors English 12

• Read Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 2, Scene 2 (up to the bottom of page 8).
• Write a Reading Log.

Creative Writing

• Work on your Multigenre project.
• You should be able to show half of the project complete--about 5-6 hours (each, if you're working with a partner).

Homework: November 28

English 11

• Read the article provided in class today, and answer the question on the handout.

Honors English 12

• Read Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3
• Complete a Reader's Log entry--use the handout, and make sure you write a response, identify questions, and choose and respond to 3 quotations.

Creative Writing

• Write a response to the film Finding Neverland--use the Reader Response Notebook assignment sheet.

Helpful Hamlet resources!

http://stickfigurehamlet.com/graphics/pages/1-1/page09.gif

Alright, English 12 folks...we're reading Hamlet! You can handle it, I promise. And, it's a pretty interesting and important play. Here are some resources to help you out:

The full text is here. If you ever forget your text at school you can find it here.

This site has some summaries of the scenes. It can help to read the text, then read a summary to check your understanding. Remember, summaries and other study aids should be used to ENHANCE your reading of the play, not REPLACE your reading of the play.

This might be my favorite resource--Stick Figure Hamlet. It's the full text of the play, done as a stick-figure novel. It's fantastic, and a great aid to understanding. Check it out!

Additionally, here's that "Insider's Guide" video. It takes you through the main points of the story--it's helpful!

Homework: November 26

English 11

• For Wednesday: Read "The Things I Carry" handout, then write your own version! It should be 2-3 paragraphs.
• For Friday: Update your portfolio website. We worked in class last Wednesday to start this project--you can look back at the earlier blog post for instructions.

Honors English 12

• For Wednesday: Read Hamlet--Act 1, Scene 1 and Act 1, Scene 2 (up to the point we marked in class). Make notes, and write a response as noted on the Reading Log handout. 
• Check out the blog post about resources! Try to watch the Insider's Guide video by Wednesday--it will help A LOT!

Creative Writing

• Reader's Response due Thursday on Finding Neverland (film).
• Half of your project (about 5 hours worth of work!) due on Friday...check in with me if you have questions.

Today in English 11: Portfolio work

Here's what you'll do today in class...

Go to your portfolio website...remember that? Check it out!

You're going to spend a little time reflecting on your work so far this year. So, here's how you'll do that:
You'll go to each of the 5 indicator on your English 11 portfolio (Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Independence, Creativity and Communication). You'll consider the definitions and questions for each, and then you'll reflect on each, by ADDING A COMMENT to the bottom of each page. You'll talk about what you've done well so far with each indicator, and what you'd like to work on before the course ends in January.

Then, you'll reconsider your goals. Never set any? Do it now. Want to revise them, or add a goal? That's cool, too. Remember that you have a goal posted in the classroom--do you want to swap that out for a new one, or redouble your efforts to make progress?

Here's the original link.

IF you finish all this work in 45 minutes, you can use the rest of the time to make a hand turkey. If you don't finish all the work, you should complete it on your own by Friday, November 30.

Homework: November 20

English 11

• Rest that writing hand of yours! It's probably sore after all that writing you did on your test today...

Honors English 12

• Write a reflection on today's presentations...what did you learn? What was interesting?

Creative Writing

• I won't see you folks tomorrow...have a nice Thanksgiving!

Homework: November 19

English 11

• You have a test tomorrow! On Frederick Douglass's Narrative! So, study for it!

Honors English 12

• Presentations continue tomorrow.
• Write a reflection on what you learned in today's presentations.
• Write about: 
• Ideas that stuck out to you.
• Questions about the arguments being made.
• Connections that you might have seen between your own article and these.
• This reflection can be informal...but it should show nuanced thinking.

Creative Writing

• Spend 20-30 minutes working on your project.

Creative Writing: Genres!

Click here for a list of genre options...this list isn't "exhaustive"--meaning, there are a whole lot more options! Have fun!

Also, check this out! It allows you to create what looks like an iPhone text conversation.

An inspiring interview

We listened to this interview today in English 11, and talked about the great story behind R.A. Dickey's Cy Young award win. Check out the interview here.

Homework: November 16

English 11

• Write a thoughtful, detailed 1-2 paragraph response to this prompt:
• When Frederick Douglass visited the White House to speak with Abraham Lincoln, he said this: "I felt big there." It seems so simple, but it says so much. Explain why Douglass said this; take into account all of the history you know about him from reading his story and learning about his life.

Honors English 12

• Projects are due Monday. Be ready to go!

Creative Writing

• Work on the beginning of your project. Depending on which version you're choosing, you should have a basic idea of what your simple, story-kernal will be, OR, what the focus of your storyline will be.

Homework: November 15

English 11
Finish reading and annotating chapter 11.

Honors English 12
Project work!

Creative Writing
Read project assignment sheet--start thinking and planning!

The view from the parking lot of HHS

This is the sight I encountered when leaving school yesterday.
Not bad...

Homework: November 14

English 11

• Pick from Chapter 10 the MOST IMPORTANT quotation. Then, write a fully developed SPA paragraph, in which you explain why you chose the quotation you did. You can set it up like this:
• "The most important quotation in chapter 10 is ___________________________, because..."
• Then, explain!

Honors English 12

• Work on your project! In class today, you should have established your plan for homework...so, make sure you complete your part.

Creative Writing

• Start planning out your genre study project--we'll be talking about this in class this week!

Homework: November 13

English 11

• Read to the bottom of page 78 in Frederick Douglass's Narrative.
• Answer questions 8 & 9 from today's handout.

Honors English 12

• Project work!

Creative Writing

• You worked in class on a challenge: write a story (300-500 words). Then, retell that story in a different genre! (A play, maybe? A poem? A cartoon strip?) Bring both versions with you to class tomorrow.

Homework: November 9

English 11

• Read Frederick Douglass to the point we marked in class today.

Honors English 12

• Write a one-page response to the book Catcher in the Rye. Here's a photo of some of the topics/notes we discussed today...talk about something interesting!

Creative Writing

• Write your Reader Response for the This American Life episode. You can find the link in an earlier post on this blog, if you need it.

Homework: November 8

English 11

• Read Frederick Douglass's Narrative to the place we marked in class today. Make sure you annotate details.

Honors English 12

• Finish Catcher in the Rye. Tomorrow, we discuss!

Creative Writing

• Your weekly write is due tomorrow...

Homework: November 7

English 11

• Read Chapter 9 in Narrative, fill in Close Reading organizer.
• ANY AND ALL MAKE-UP WORK MUST BE IN ON THURSDAY!

Honors English 12

• Read Chapters 20 and 21 in Catcher in the Rye.
• ANY AND ALL MAKE-UP WORK MUST BE IN ON THURSDAY!

Creative Writing

• Pick 3 of the stories from the episode. Spend 5 minutes writing a freewrite, for each one, that is connected to the act or inspired by it. For tomorrow, you should have 3 separate 5-minute freewrites (think back to the examples I gave in class). Tomorrow, you'll pick one and write about it for your Weekly Write.
• Your Reader Response for the This American Life episode will be due on Tuesday. Here's a link to it, in case it would help!
• ANY AND ALL MAKE-UP WORK MUST BE IN ON THURSDAY!

Homework: November 5

English 11

• Make sure Chapter 6/7 handout is completed.
• Read Chapter 8--take notes (check the bottom of the handout for focus).

Honors English 12

• Read Catcher in the Rye through chapter 19.

Creative Writing

• We'll listen to the rest of the "20 Acts in 60 Minutes" episode of This American Life on Wednesday. Your Reader Response will be due on Friday, and your Weekly Write will be due on Tuesday.
• Some of you are registered to vote...so, VOTE!

Homework: November 2

English 11

• Finish reading chapter 6 of Narrative
• Read chapter 7 of Narrative--make sure you annotate!

Honors English 12

• Finish revising your essays for "The Body." They're due on Monday.
• Make sure you upload your essays to Turn It In.

Creative Writing 

• Finish writing your response to the question about the film Smooth Talk. (Check yesterday's homework post if you don't remember it!)

The Lost Generation

We watched this little video today in Creative Writing class. It's a short poem, with a really unique and effective structure. Check it out!

Homework: November 1

English 11

• Finish revising your Alexie essay! The revisions are due tomorrow. Make sure you print out a copy, and bring in the version that I already commented on.

Honors English 12

• Two things are due tomorrow:
• Your reflection on Holden's theme song assignment for class.
• Completed reading through chapter 16 in Catcher in the Rye.
• Make sure you bring your independent reading book to class tomorrow!
• Your revisions for your "Body" essays are due on Monday.

Creative Writing

• Work on your short story--it's due tomorrow!
• Check out this site, and consider participating in National Novel Writer's Month.
• For Monday, you're writing a response to the following question: Does Smooth Talk do an effective job of translating the story of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" to film? You can essentially argue, "Yes, because...," "No, because...," "Yes, except...," or "No, but..." (or some other variation). Take a stand, focusing on comparing the two stories. 

Homework: October 31

English 11

• Finish Chapter 5 of Frederick Douglass's Narrative. Write a one-sentence summary for each paragraph.
• Work on your Sherman Alexie essay--you have received some suggestions for revision. Now, do some revising! The final draft, for assessment, is due on Friday.

Honors English 12

• Read through the end of Chapter 14 in Catcher in the Rye. Be ready to do some thinking and writing tomorrow!

Creative Writing

• Work on your short story...it's due on Friday.
• You'll also be writing a review of the film we've watched in class...it will be due on Monday. We'll talk more about this in class.

Homework: October 26

English 11

• Finish chapter 4, respond to the question for Frederick Douglass's Narrative
• Weekly Article assignment is due on Monday--finish your reflection and make sure your article is printed.

Honors English 12

• Read and take some notes on Catcher chapters 8-10.
• Weekly Article assignment is due on Monday--finish your reflection and make sure your article is printed.

Creative Writing

• Work on your short story--a draft for writing groups is due on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

Homework: October 25

English 11

• Read Frederick Douglass's Narrative, chapter 3. Annotate as you read! Remember, in class today I told you to focus on the descriptions of the owners, and on the relationships between slaves and owners.
• You should be working on your Weekly Article assignment. It's due Monday--maybe tonight, you find another article and write the summary?

Honors English 12

• Read chapters 5-7 in Catcher in the Rye; write a reflection about the topic "appearance v. reality."
• You should be working on your Weekly Article assignment. It's due Monday--maybe tonight, you find another article and write the summary?
• Don't forget to watch the "Shy Guy" video (see the post from earlier this week), and complete the blog post by tomorrow.

Creative Writing

• You have a response due for the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" tomorrow.
• Bring your independent reading book to class!
• Work on revisions to your short story--a draft is due for Tuesday next week--we'll do writing groups!

Homework: October 24

English 11

• Read chapter 2 of Frederick Douglass's Narrative
• Fill out the Close Reading handout; Make sure to write a response on the back, choosing a prompt from Making Connections (on the bright green sheet).
• You have a vocab quiz tomorrow.
• You have a Weekly Article (about the girl in Pakistan) assignment due Monday of next week.

Honors English 12

• Read chapters 3 & 4 in Catcher in the Rye
• Write a response: Write about Stradlater and Ackley--include your thoughts and reactions, AND talk about why they are important in the story? Consider how Holden relates to them.
• Vocab quiz tomorrow!
• You have a Weekly Article ("The Selfish Meme") assignment due Monday of next week.

Creative Writing

• A draft of your short story is due tomorrow--it should be ready for feedback from a classmate.
• Your Reader Response is due Friday, on "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Tonight, read to the middle of p.10--stop after the line "I'm going to call the police."

Homework: October 23

English 11

• Read the rest of Chapter 1 in Douglass's Narrative.
• Complete the "Close Reading" organizer (make sure you don't forget the back!)
• You'll complete the Weekly Reading assignment handout for Monday, but you should start working on it now! My suggestion is that you read the article and write the summary tonight.
• Remember! Vocab quiz Thursday!

Honors English 12

• Read Chapters 1 and 2 in Catcher in the Rye.
• Write a thoughtful and detailed response (a full page, with quotations) to this question: How does J.D. Salinger establish the narrative voice in the first two chapters of the novel? Discuss writer's craft.
• Complete the blog post by Friday (see the post just before this one for the video link).
• Remember--vocab quiz Thursday!

Creative Writing

• Read "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" to the top of page 6--we marked the spot in class. Make notes and annotations in the margins as you read.
• Work on a draft of your short story that can be shared with a classmate on Thursday.
• Your Reader Response will be due on Friday this week.

Honors English: Some pretty informative videos

Catcher in the Rye was written at the end of the 1940s--our main character, Holden, is living in a world with clear expectations around social roles.

In class, we watched this video, Control Your Emotions, from a 1950 educational film.


By Friday, please watch this other video, Shy Guy. This one's from 1947. In a comment on this post, please respond to the video, commenting on values it portrays, and connections between the content of the film and the story of Catcher in the Rye so far...

Creative Writing: Structuring those Stories

In class, we've discussed the traditional story structure: Exposition (including setting and conflict), Rising Action (plot points leading to the climax), Climax (the moment in the story where the conflict is directly addressed), Falling Action, and Resolution.

An additional way to look at story structure is explained here. It doesn't contradict any of the above information...it just looks at things in a different way!

Homework: October 22

English 11

• Your Sherman Alexie author study essay is due tomorrow! Hooray! I'm excited to read them...
• You have a vocab quiz on Thursday--the last 5 in the prefix section of your orange vocab sheet. Study hard! Don't forget to review the previous prefixes, as well--you might just see them again!

Honors English 12

• Your essays are due! Looking forward to reading all of your analysis of "The Body."
• You have a vocab quiz on Thursday!

Creative Writing

• A complete draft of your short story is due tomorrow. 

Homework: October 19

For a writing activity today in CW class,
we used cards from the game Apples to Apples
as prompts. This is a photo of the cards one
student randomly received.
Timeless seems just about right...

English 11

• We worked on drafts today, and your final draft of your essay is due on Tuesday. WORK ON IT over the weekend! I'll take early drafts if they're done...

Honors English 12

• Funny, your homework assignment is the same as my English 11 class's! Work on that "Body" essay. Your final is due on Tuesday.

Creative Writing

• Your short story draft is due on Tuesday! Work on it!

Homework: October 18

English 11

• You have an essay draft due tomorrow! Remember, it should be a FULL draft--introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. You'll have time and guidance tomorrow in class to start the revision process. Make sure that you print a copy out BEFORE arriving to class, and make sure that your essay is saved to your Google Drive account.

Honors English 12

• Read and make comments on your writing group members' essays. Remember, you're focusing on thesis/argument, proof, ideas, clarity...also, suggestions and questions. Tomorrow, you'll have a conversation with your group members that will be very helpful, I hope!

Creative Writing

• The opening of your short story is due tomorrow--at least in draft form. You should complete the exposition and rising action...do more if you can!

Homework: October 17

English 11

• Work on your essay! You need to bring a completed draft with you to class on Friday.

Honors English 12

• Work on your essay--bring 3 copies of your draft to class with you on Thursday (in whatever state it's in!) for writing group work.

Creative Writing

• Reader Response Notebook, for "The Department of Nothing" is due tomorrow.
• Weekly Write (the beginning of a short story) is due on Friday.

Stephen King critical essay

Here's the link for class, those of you in Honors English 12! This is an essay looking at the role of masculinity in Stephen King's "The Body." Pretty interesting!

Homework: October 16

English 11

• Work on your Sherman Alexie author study essay--you should come to class tomorrow with an introduction and two body paragraphs completed.

Honors English 12

• Work on your "The Body" essay. You should come to class tomorrow ready to continue working on your essay, with a UNIQUE analytical thesis statement.

Creative Writing

• Finish reading "The Department of Nothing."
• Reader Response Notebook assignment is due on THURSDAY this week, instead of Wednesday. The Reader Response is on the story "The Department of Nothing."
• Weekly Write, due Friday--begin a short story. You should complete the Exposition and Rising Action by Friday.

Homework: October 15

English 11

• Finish the Essay prep organizer--plan out body paragraphs and be ready to start writing in class tomorrow!

Honors English 12

• Develop your thesis, map out/plan your essay (outline, map, bullet points), and pick a passage for close reading (annotate it, think about how it will work in your essay). Be ready to start writing your essay in class tomorrow.

Creative Writing

• Read "The Department of Nothing" to the end of page 75. Annotate as you read.
• Write a response to the beginning of the story (p.57-75), talking about your thoughts, ideas and/or questions.

Homework: October 12

English 11

• Work on your Alexie essay organizer. We started it in class today. Your job is to finish the second page of the organizer (where you develop a THEME), then complete the page that has the Elements of Language and Motifs chart (page 3). Read the directions carefully and try your best. If you have questions, write them down. Remember, make sure you complete the whole assignment--do the best you can!

Honors English 12

• Complete your essay proposal. It should answer the following questions.
• What’s the BIG IDEA you’ll write about? (topic, thesis idea) Write a paragraph or so...
• What PROOF will you use?
• Include at least 3 (THREE) passages that you’ll study within your paper. Write WHY.
• What QUESTIONS do you have, and/or what’s your next step?

Creative Writing

• Read something good!

Homework: October 11

English 11

• Complete Sherman Alexie Author Study handout, adding "Why We Play Basketball," Smoke Signals, and True Diary.
• Complete Article of the Week 10/9-10/12 assignment...make sure you do all parts!

Honors English 12

• Complete Weekly News Article assignment (Richard Louv--Last Child in the Woods)--make sure you do all parts!
• Start thinking about your essay on "The Body"--we'll do some planning in class tomorrow.

Creative Writing

• Bring your book to class--we're reading tomorrow before we rally!

Homework: October 10

English 11

• You folks were pretty brilliant today, discussing symbolism in Smoke Signals in a really thoughtful and complicated way. Mr. D. and I were super impressed!
• There's no homework assignment due tomorrow, but you should be working on the "Article of the Week 10/9-10/12" assignment that's due on Friday.
• Get some rest, so you're not so tired! I want to see some energy tomorrow!

Honors English 12

• Write a one pager on "The Body"--be prepared to share!
• Work on the Weekly News article assignment due Friday.
• There is not a vocab quiz tomorrow. 

Creative Writing

• Write your Reader Response Notebook assignment response for tomorrow (it's on Stranger than Fiction).

Homework: October 9

English 11

• Complete the Responding to Smoke Signals handout for tomorrow
• By Friday: Complete the Article of the Week 10/9-10/12 assignment. My suggestions for breaking down this assignment: Read and annotate the article and complete the summary tonight (step 1), find and read an article (steps 2 and 3) tomorrow night, and write your reflection on Thursday night (step 4).

Honors English 12

• Read and annotate "The Body"--finish the book tonight!
• By Friday: Complete the Weekly Reading Assignment (Richard Louv article). My suggestions for breaking down this assignment: Read and annotate the article and complete the summary tonight (step 1), find and read an article (steps 2 and 3) tomorrow night, and write your reflection on Thursday night (step 4).

Creative Writing

• Spend 10-15 minutes beginning a story for the character we created in class on Friday.
• Reader Response Notebook assignment will be due Thursday this week; you'll write about the film Stranger than Fiction.

Homework: October 5

English 11

• You're off the hook this weekend...enjoy the long weekend!

Honors English 12

• Complete the final draft of your personal essay.
• Read "The Body" through Chapter 28

Creative Writing

• Sit under a tree and think poetically.

Homework: October 4

English 11

• Complete the News Article assignment--make sure you do all parts! You received this handout on Tuesday.

Honors English 12

• Make suggestions and edits on the college/personal essays that you received today
• For Monday, read chapters 25-28 in "The Body." These chapters are REALLY IMPORTANT! They're the climax of the book! Read them carefully!

Creative Writing

• Your weekly write is due tomorrow.
• Bring your independent reading book.

Homework: October 3

English 11

• Complete questions for the end of the book True Diary--they're on a handout that you received today in class. You only need to complete the front side.
• Study vocab words for your quiz on Thursday.
• Work on "News Article" assignment, due Friday.

Honors English 12

• Read and annotate chapters 21-24 in "The Body"
• Make edits to your personal essay, keeping the rubric I provided in mind. Bring 3 copies of your essay with you tomorrow, double-spaced, to be given to your writing group to discuss.

Creative Writing

• Weekly Write is due Friday--remember, we set some specific parameters in class for this one...

Homework: October 2

English 11

• Read p. 199-214 in True Diary
• Complete Close Reading organizer for that section from 199-214
• Study for vocab quiz--it's Thursday!
• Work on News Article assignment--it's due Friday!

Honors English 12

• Work on your personal/college essay revisions--bring 3 copies of a revised draft, which considers the suggestions made in class today, to class with you on Thursday. I will create writing groups, and you will share your essay with your writing group.
• Read and annotate the two poems, "Mending Wall" and "Two Look at Two" by Robert Frost, and make some connections between each poem and the story "The Body." Write a reflection for each--what does the allusion to the poem add to the story of "The Body"? In other words, why has Stephen King chosen to allude to each of these poems?
• Vocab quiz on Thursday--study those prefixes!

Creative Writing

• Your Reader Response Notebook assignment for "The Year Zero" is due tomorrow.
• Your Weekly Write assignment is due on Friday--keep in mind the parameters we established in class today, and use "The Year Zero" as a model.

Homework: October 1

English 11

• Complete the Close Reading organizer for the chapter "In Like a Lion"--make sure you finish reading it first!
• Read the next chapter, too--it's a really short one called "Rowdy and I Have a Long and Serious Conversation about Basketball"

Honors English 12

• Study for vocab quiz on Wednesday
• Read "The Body" chapters 18-20
• Work on personal essay--hard copy due tomorrow for feedback

Creative Writing

• Finish reading "The Year Zero" excerpt for tomorrow; mark up the text with your observations, and pick your favorite sentence from each section.
• Reader Response Journal due Wednesday for "The Year Zero"

Remember that story I told you in class?
Essentially, this is what smashed into my window
and clung to the screen outside my house, totally creeping me out.

Homework: September 28

English 11

• Complete  close reading organizer for the chapters of True Diary you read in class Friday (finish reading first if you need to!). Remember, you have a prompt on the back of the handout to answer, too.

Honors English 12

• Read ch. 15-17 in "The Body," focusing on Gordie as narrator and the relationships between the boys
• Wait until Sunday, then spend some time revisiting your personal essay draft-- bring a draft on Monday that's ready for feedback.

Creative Writing

None...stay out of the rain...or go play in it.

Zinsser on Memoir

Your biggest stories will often have less to do with their subject than with their significance — not what you did in a certain situation, but how that situation affected you and shaped the person you became. 

--William Zinsser

Though it's a few years old, this interview is an interesting look at the role of memoirs in our lives. Zinsser suggests that it's not just people who've had crazy lives who should write them, and that sometimes, the regular stories are the ones that need to be told. He thinks about truth, and suggests that it's a writer's job to be as honest as he can about his experiences, and to tell stories that matter.

You can find the interview, as well as an article, here. Zinsser's advice is relative to those of you in Creative Writing class, but also, perhaps, to you seniors in the midst of writing college essays.

Homework: September 27

English 11

• Read to page 158.
• Draw a cartoon that could become part of the book--look for a place within the section from 134-158 that doesn't have a cartoon, then draw it. Think about what cartoons in the book usually add to the story (look back on your notes from class).

Honors English 12

• Read Chapter 14
• Finish a draft of your personal/college essay

Creative Writing

• Write the first chapter of your memoir...it's due tomorrow!

Homework: September 26

English 11

• Finish reading the "Reindeer Games" chapter in True Diary--up to page 149
• Revise your "One word to describe a character" paragraph (last night's homework), taking into account our discussion from today. Tomorrow, you should have a first draft and second draft of the paragraph to turn in.

Honors English 12

• Work on personal essay, at least 15-20 minutes. Start something! Anything! Don't get stuck...
• Read "The Body" Chapter 13 and be ready to write tomorrow!

Creative Writing

• Work on the first chapter of your very own memoir! It's due on Friday.

Homework: September 25

English 11

• Complete paragraph on character from True Diary...use this photo of our notes from the board to help you!
• Study for your vocab quiz--it's tomorrow!

English 12

• Read "The Body" chapter 12
• Study for Vocab quiz
• We're working on essays tomorrow--bring any specific college essay prompts that you know you have to complete. Mostly, we'll work on a "personal essay" that will fit the Common App.

Creative Writing

• Complete Reader Response Journal assignment for Chapter 1 of The Tender Bar
• Work on Weekly Write assignment due Friday--write the first chapter of your memoir!

Homework: September 24

English 11

• Read to page 134 in True Diary for Tuesday
• Write a response in your journal to the section between pages 114 and 134. On the "Core Skills" handout (it's BRIGHT green), choose one prompt from "Making Connections" and one prompt from "Synthesize" and respond to each in a paragraph.
• For Wednesday, study vocabulary prefixes...

Honors English 12

• Read "The Body" chapters 10 and 11
• Start studying vocab prefixes for Wednesday's quiz
• Start working on college essay--check your college applications for questions you'll need to answer for the Personal Essay or Personal Statement.

Creative Writing

• Reader Response Journal due Wednesday on the first chapter of The Tender Bar
• Weekly Write due Friday: Write the first chapter of your memoir!

Seniors: Our discussion of "The Body"

Yesterday, we discussed the opening of Stephen King's "The Body." Today, we pulled together some of the main topics from the discussion, in preparation for your close-reading of a passage over the weekend. Here are the notes from the board, for reference:

Tonight's Homework: September 21

Have a great weekend everyone! It's supposed to be nice out, especially on Saturday. Go play outside.

English 11

Read True Diary through page 113. Be ready to write about it on Monday.

English 12

Complete a close reading of a passage from "The Body." Your writing can be informal (you can use "I notice" and "I wonder" as prompts, for example), but should be thoughtfully constructed and about a page typed.

Creative Writing

You're off the hook for this weekend. Go outside, and pay attention to the world, then come back on Monday ready to write!

Tonight's Homework: September 20

English 11     

• Read True Diary through page 81, and be ready to talk about it in class.
• Make sure goals are on your website.
• Revise your paragraph about "Reservation Mathematics" and be ready to share it in class.

Honors English 12

• Make sure your goals are on your website.
• Complete the Reflection handout for today's discussion.
• Read chapters 8 & 9 in "The Body"

Creative Writing

• Complete "Animal Perspective" writing assignment...click here for more information.

Seniors: Thinking metaphorically...

Here's your assignment, seniors!

First, remember that video about the little duckies? If not, re-watch it here:

If you can't see it, it's probably because it's filtered by the SonicWall in school...sorry. You can check it out at home. 

 Next, write for about 5 minutes on this topic: How is the experience of the ducks a metaphor for coming of age? Think about all of the things that happen, the things the ducks face, and the way they deal with challenges. 

 Then, make up three metaphors about your own life. Try not to go the Forrest Gump route (yes, it's true that "life is like a box of chocolates," but try to be more original!). You could think about how your high school soccer career was like a boxing match. Think about some interesting and unique comparisons. 

After you've come up with three, pick one and freewrite for 5-10 minutes. 

 If you didn't get a chance to finish your goals, which you likely didn't, work on those over the next couple of days, too.

Bennington College Young Writers Competition

Check out the Bennington College Young Writers Competition. You can read the work of past winners, and consider entering yourself. You might win some money! The deadline is November 1.

Creative Writing: Who's Telling the Story?

In class, we're reading a pretty ridiculous story by Woody Allen, written from the perspective of a very intelligent cow. You'll play with perspective this week with a weekly write that tells an animal's side of the story.

Here are a few different animal stories you might use to inspire your own animal-voiced story:

A coyote is pulled from the Charles River, after initially eluding capture: read it here!

A turkey attacks a mailtruck on Cape Cod...does it belong to the Kennedy family? Ethel Kennedy says yes; a farmer says no. Click here!

A snake slithers away from her owner on a Red Line T train in Boston, and hides in the train for over a month. She was eventually discovered and returned to her owner. Check it out!

Last year, you may have watched the Super Bowl, but did you catch any of the Puppy Bowl? Complete with a kitten half-time show, a blimp "manned" by hamsters, and chicken cheerleaders...and no, I'm not making this up. Read about it here!

Do you have another idea for an animal story? Check in with me! It must be based on an original article or event.

As a reminder, your job for your weekly write is to tell a story from the perspective of one of the animal protagonists. Was the coyote purposefully avoiding capture? What's that turkey really up to? What did the snake do for a month on the train? Does that chicken really like being a cheerleader?

In your weekly write, tell the animal's perspective, by creating a narrative voice and a storyline. Think of "Udder Madness"--the story of the diabolical, know-it-all, clumsy-but-clever cow who plotted murder. Your coyote, turkey, snake or puppy/kitten/hamster/chicken won't have the same voice or story as that cow...what will its story be?

Seniors: Some questions for Pleasantville

Click this link for some questions to think about as you consider and write about the film Pleasantville. You don't need to answer them, but they might help you think about different aspects of the film.

Your question, to which you should write a page-long response: How is Pleasantville a coming-of-age story? Talk about story and production elements.

Some resources for you college-bound seniors, and an assignment

The college-search process can be overwhelming; here are some resources that might just help make it a little more manageable.

The New York Times has a blog called "The Choice." It's all about the college admissions and financial aid process. There are eight high school seniors who are blogging about their college searches...you can check it out here.

The University of California, Berkeley has a website that gives some guidelines for writing the personal statement, or college essay. The ideas they share are relevant for all personal essays, I think. They even have an example essay that they've broken down in structure...explore the links!

Lastly, for now, the online and print magazine Teen Ink has a College Guide section. Teen Ink publishes the writing of teenagers from all over the country. Check out this link, to see a whole lot of example college essays. Honors seniors, please read a few of them, and choose one that you think is especially strong. We'll talk about it in class; for now, go ahead and post a link to it below, with a reason why you've chosen it.

La Maison en Petits Cubes

We're using this fantastic, Oscar-winning short film to study and analyze film elements.

La Maison en Petits Cubes from istever on Vimeo.

Writing college essays

Hello, high school seniors!

I'm sure you're thinking a lot about writing your college essay (or, you're thinking a lot about how you're nervous about, concerned about, or trying to avoid writing your college essay). We'll talk a lot more in class about writing this personal essay, but for those of you who are looking to get started, here's a great resource. It's a list that someone compiled of over one hundred essay prompts. Since the Common App allows you to choose any topic you'd like, these prompts might help you develop an essay idea. Happy writing!

Coming of Age books--Honors English 12

A cool image and quotation...it came from here.

On Friday, we checked out the movie trailer for the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's based on Stephen Chbosky's novel of the same name, and it's a coming-of-age story about a freshman who's trying to find his way in the world and is befriended by a couple of seniors at his school.

As we discussed in class, there are MANY books and movies that fit the definition of a coming-of-age story, or a bildungsroman (a novel about coming-of-age), partly because this genre is so relevant to so many of us and our own experiences.

In Honors English 12, in addition to our in-class novels and texts ("The Body," Catcher in the Rye, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein), students will read an independent book in class and outside of class. Students should choose a book that has a coming-of-age story as its basis...it may be a novel or a memoir. We'll talk in class about some choices; additionally, please post recommendations below! One cool website that has some suggestions is this one.

Purple Heart radio story

We talked in English 11 class today about the role of awards in our lives. We discussed the significance of earning awards, and how sometimes awards help us recognize our achievements. In connection with the book Purple Heart, we listened to a report that was part of an investigation into the awarding of Purple Hearts to soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury. You can find the article by clicking here. In class tomorrow, we'll talk about the impact that this report had on these awards for soldiers.

Here, you can find our notes from the discussion about the report. I'm sure your notes are more complete than mine!

Purple Heart and our summer reading discussion

In this interview, Patricia McCormick talks about the events that inspired her to write the story Purple Heart.



She writes about a character named Matt, who is suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), a common challenge for soldiers and veterans. In class discussions and writing, we'll discuss how effective McCormick was at creating the character of Matt and helping readers understand the experience of a soldier. We'll also talk about the issue of TBI more broadly, looking at current news.

Welcome back!

It's the first day of school--hooray! I hope you're all looking forward to a great year...I know I am.

Here's a photo that I took this summer in my summer camp job. I include it here for two reasons:

1. I think it's hilarious.
2. There are at least two different ways to read it, both of which we can probably relate to. You could say that the guy in the front is doing all the work while the other guy goofs around and gets a free ride. That could be what's going on, but I hope not. I prefer to look at it this way: the guy in the back is super encouraging, providing the guy in the front his own personal musical inspiration. As you head into this new school year, maybe you'll find yourself in the position of the guy in front--working hard, doing your best to get somewhere. Remember you have people to cheer you on and support you, just like the guy with the bugle is doing. And with that, I end my slightly cheesy opening day thought.

Bring on the school year!

NBA readers

I've never been a fan of LeBron James--boo!--but I am a fan of his habit of reading before games, and his apparent obsession with The Hunger Games trilogy. Seems he does have something in common with my students and me.

 But if we're going to talk about readers in the NBA, we have to come back to Ray Allen, of course. Check out this article about his voracious reading habits and his attempts (sadly, often unsuccessful) to turn his teammates into readers. Keep trying, Ray Ray.

Oops...looks like I haven't posted here in a long time!

I've been updating class blogs, but realized I've totally ignored this one. Eesh. Here's a video that's inspiring: