Homework: February 12

English 12

Listen to episode 2 of Serial. You can find it by googling "Serial episode 2"--it'll be the first thing that comes up!

Read your independent book!

Creative Writing II 

Finish reading "Breadman" and complete the assignment posted below this one on the blog!

English 11 (G block)

Complete your 3-paragraph response to Srial episode 1. And, read your book for 15 minutes!

English 11 (A block)

Work on your essay, read your book, and have a great vacation!

For Creative Writing class!

Pick one or two of these spaces that are compelling to you; share which one(s) and why?

http://flavorwire.com/151458/desks-of-the-rich-and-famous-workspaces-of-highly-creative-people

Homework: February 11

English 11 (G block)

• Write a 3-paragraph response to Episode 1 of Serial. You can listen here, if you need to revisit! It's due on Friday.
• Read your independent book. Remember, you calculated your reading goal, and should read for 10-15 minutes.

English 11 (A block)

• Study for your vocabulary quiz--it's tomorrow because we don't have class on Friday!
• Read your independent book. Remember, you calculated your reading goal, and should read for 10-15 minutes.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Study for your vocabulary quiz!
• Listen to Serial episode 3. It's here. Add to your mind map, and we'll talk about it all on Friday.
• Keep an eye on the Brian Williams story. If you can, bring in an article for Friday about the developments in the *situation*? *scandal*?

Homework: February 10

English 12 (E block)

• Next class, you have book club. Be ready!
• You should have your Serial connotation/denotation handout completed.

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Read the first half of "Breadman"--keeping an eye on the question: What is the story/narrator saying, and how is he saying it?
• Start compiling material for your inspiration board. Quotations, pictures, etc.

English 11 (G block)

• We listened to more of Serial today, up to 37 minutes. If you missed class, or want to re-listen, you can find the link here. 
• Write your SPA paragraph. Use your connotation/denotation handout to help you with evidence. Here's the prompt: What is the cumulative impact of the narrator's diction? (In other words, can you detect a bias in her description, or a way that she wants the listener to react?)
• Study your vocabulary!

English 11 (A block)

• We listened to more of Serial today, up to 37 minutes. If you missed class, or want to re-listen, you can find the link here. 
• Study your vocabulary!

Homework: February 6

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Read and mark up "Hudson 5, Marlborough 1: Early birds as Hawks start fast in boys hockey win" and the excerpts from Wintergirls. As you do so, consider this question: "What is the text saying, and how is it saying it?" Pay close attention to narrative voice.
• Start considering your Writer's inspiration board. Here's the link I showed you in class today; you may decide to make yours something different!

English 11 (G and A block)

• Today, we listened to the next 10 minutes of Serial. You can find the link here. Listen to the 19 minute mark if you missed class today.
• Complete the Denotation/Connotation handout.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• We started listening to Serial, episode 2 in class today. We got to exactly 20 minutes in; there are about 17 minutes left. Finish listening to the episode--you can find it here.
• Take a look over the "Asia letters" that I gave you copies of.
• Add to your mind map/web.

Homework: February 5

English 11 (A block)

• Study your vocabulary and read your independent reading book!

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Map out what you've heard in Serial episode 1. Make sure you include information about: 
• Plot
• Structure
• Narration/narrator
• Characters
• Your own opinions and questions
• If you need to re-listen, it's here. 

English 12 (E block)

• We listened to more of Serial today--up to the 34 minute mark. You should listen to it (click here) if you missed it.
• Complete the Connotation/Denotation handout, including the paragraph.
• Complete your book club RR. You have book club on Monday!

Homework: February 4

English 12 (E block)

• It's been rough lately with all the snow; here's the next schedule:
• Tomorrow, you have a vocabulary quiz. Study.
• Many (most) of you didn't have your essay draft completed today. Boo. So, you need to do that, in addition to studying.
• The next book club meeting will be Monday. Remember, you should be about 3/4 of the way through your book, and you'll need to have a RR with you on Monday.

CWII (F block)

• Find an example of good writing to share with the class. It could be a short story, poem, chapter of a novel, magazine/newspaper article, song...whatever! Write down some reasons you think the writing is strong, and, if possible, make 5 copies.
• Remember our reading, "Be Specific"? I challenged you to learn the specific names of some stuff. People, trees, cars...whatever. Be prepared to share.

English 11 (G block)

• I expected you all to have a first draft of your essay with you today. If you didn't, work on it!
• Read your independent book!
• If you weren't in class today, go to this site and listen to the first 9 minutes. Take some notes about what you're hearing. I'll get you caught up on Friday.

Homework: January 30

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Write a page--10-15 minutes. It can be about anything from your Territories of Writing list.

English 11 (G and A block)

• Essay drafts due Monday--we'll start typing up final drafts next week.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Complete the Connotation handout, including the paragraph at the bottom. Make sure your paragraph is thoughtful, detailed and specific. You can find the audio here if you want to re-listen to the sections we heard today (or if you were absent).

Homework: January 29

English 11 (A block)

• Finish up your essay draft. You'll need to have a full draft with you in class on Monday.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Study those vocab words! Quiz tomorrow.
• Complete the first 4 questions on the handout you received in class. We'll talk about them in class tomorrow. If you want to re-listen to the episode (first 10 minutes), you can find it here.

English 12 (E block)

• Study your vocab words! Quiz on Monday.
• Finish up your essay draft. You'll need to have it with you in class Monday!
• If you missed class today, go to this link and listen to the first 10 minutes. 

Homework: January 26

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Study your vocabulary! You'll have a quiz on Friday.

English 12 (E block)

• Spend some time working on your writing assignment--you have the handout!
• Study your vocabulary--you'll have a quiz on Friday.

CWII (F block)

• Write something--"snow day" is your prompt. We read a personal narrative (David Sedaris "Let it Snow") in class, but your piece can take any form (narrative, short story, poem, play...)

English 11 (G block)

• Study your vocabulary--you'll have a quiz on Friday.

All classes--midterm prep

Here's the run down, folks, of what you need to do to be ready for midterms.

A block: Tuesday

• Portfolio completed by the time you arrive at 7:30.
• Bring your Things They Carried book, character chart, blue sheets, test prep work, motif map.

C block: Wednesday

• Due at the end of the block:
• Portfolio
• Literary analysis revision, uploaded to Turnitin
• Synthesis essay, uploaded to Turnitin

E block: Thursday

• Portfolio completed by the time you arrive at 7:30.
• Prepare for seminar by making notes and marking up texts--see handout for directions.

F block: Thursday:

• Writing portfolio, either electronic or hard copy (binder), must be completed by the end of the block. See handout for instructions.

G block: Friday

• Portfolio completed by the time you arrive at 7:30.
• Bring your Things They Carried book, character chart, blue sheets, test prep work, motif map.

Homework: January 15

English 11 (G and A block)

• Today, you took a test on The Things They Carried. Tomorrow, you'll work on your portfolios in class, so...make sure you've started, and get ready to work!

Honors English 11 (C block)

• You know what you're working on--check earlier posts if you need clarification. See you on Wednesday!

Homework: January 14

Honors English 11 (C block)

You all know what you're working on. Work on it! (check earlier posts if you need clarification)

English 12 (E block)

Work on your portfolios and prepare for book club!

Homework: January 13

English 12 (E block)

• Finish reading "Recitatif" and noticing the ways develops each of the characters. Remember, too, that Maggie's situation is a significant consideration in the story--follow it!
• Keep reading your IR book--book club Friday!
• Study those 5 vocab words--quiz Friday!

Readers/Writers Workshop 8 (F block)

• Finish up your found poem and create a final copy. Make sure to include your poem's title and your name at the top, and write " A found poem from  Book Title , pages ..."

English 11 (G and A block)

• Study for your test! Do so by:
• Making sure you've carefully read the whole book!
• Completing a MOTIF web.
• Completing a CHARACTER chart.
• Working on the practice questions.
• I'm around after school tomorrow...please come and work with me if you have questions!
• Here are the models we did in class today:

Homework: January 12

Readers/Writers Workshop (F block)

Work on your independent reading found poem. Make sure you come in tomorrow with a full page of lines pulled from your IR book!

English 11 (G and A block)

• You have a test on Thursday, on The Things They Carried.
• Complete your motif map, if you haven't already.
• Work on the character chart.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• You have three things you're working diligently on. Spend some time tonight, and make sure you've planned out a schedule for yourself.
• Figurative language essay
• "They Say/I Say" figurative language essay
• Portfolio

Homework: January 9

English 11 (A block)

• See yesterday's post for homework instructions.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Continue to work on your Gatsby synthesis essay and your portfolio.

English 12 (E block)

• Read and annotate the next two sections of the story "Recitatif." After each section, pause and jot down observations and questions. You should read to page 219.
• Here are our initial notes, after reading the first section. Remember to keep an eye out for the questions and observations we discussed. The cat is not relevant at all to this discussion.

Homework: January 7

English 12 (E block)

• Complete the response handout for today's discussion.

Readers/Writers Workshop 8 (F block)

• Finish your profile!

English 11 (G block)

• If you didn't already complete your Restrepo/"The Lives of the Dead" comparison, do so! You may reference other TTTC stories, but you need to focus on "Lives of the Dead."

English 11 (A block)

• Write a response to the end of The Things They Carried. First, tell what the purpose of the story is; then, tell what you think of it.
• Complete a mind map for your motif.

Homework: January 8

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Work on your portfolio and/or your synthesis essay. Remember, you have 3 big things, all due on Wednesday, January 21. They are:
• Your portfolio
• Your synthesis essay
• Your literary analysis essay final (we'll review your drafts in class on Monday)

English 12 (E block)

• If you were in class today, finish the section of "Recitatif," if you need to. Then, read your IR, or book club book.
• If you weren't in class today, read your book club book to get ahead. You'll have some reading to do in class tomorrow.

RWW 8 (F block)

• If you want to complete your blackout poem, go for it! Or, "write" another!

English 11 (G block)

• Complete a mind map for the motif you picked in class. If you weren't in class today, stop by and get a motif from me tomorrow.

Homework: January 6

English 11 (G and A block)

• Today in class, we finished watching Restrepo. Tonight, please take about 10-15 minutes to do some thinking and writing in which you JUXTAPOSE Restrepo and The Things They Carried (focusing especially on the story "The Lives of the Dead.") Make connections, identify common experiences, themes, motifs, etc. You can create a web, a chart, a mind map, and/or a freewrite. Make sure you have a lot of ideas written down.
• If you missed part of Restrepo, you can find it on Netflix and/or YouTube.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Complete your Gatsby lit. crit. chart (see yesterday's post for information).
• Start your portfolio?

Homework: January 5

Welcome back from break, everyone! You may have noticed that the clocks have changed--we're not on HHS time anymore, so plan accordingly!

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Tonight, spend about 20 minutes either reading essay #2 in your packet (if you haven't already done so), or working on organizing your information as directed below.

To prepare for your writing assignment, you'll need to cull some information about your potential topics. So, pick 2 topics from each column. Identify what each essay in your packet has to say about that topic. Create a chart, web, or some other means to organize your information: 

*Gatsby *Nick *Tom *Daisy *Jordan *Other characters

*The 1920s *The American Dream/American-ness *How the novel links to the present *Language (tone, imagery, symbols, description, momentum...) *What the novel is “about”: the theme, moral or central argument

English 12 (E block)

Book club meets on Wednesday! In preparation, you should write your Reader Response. Please see guidelines on the handout you received in class. I have posted a copy in the Google Classroom as well, if you need to find it. Remember, if you don't have your RR with you AT THE START OF CLASS on Wednesday, you will not participate in your book club discussion. So: make sure you print it out ahead of time. If you need to print it at school, make sure to arrive to school early. Save an electronic copy in Google Drive--if printing is problematic, an electronic version will suffice.

Readers/Writers Workshop (F block)

Today in class we spent some time responding to each other's profiles. We'll continue that work on Wednesday.