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!