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.