Word O' the Week

Hogo [hoh-goh]: a stink.

Extra credit for the successful use in class discussions and daily quizzes.

10.10.08

Happy 3 day Weekend!

Brit Lit: Reminder, please have memorized your 10 assigned lines. This is due Tuesday.
Today in class we completed our notes on Act 1, and took a quiz. I just corrected them, and was very pleased. You guys deserve lots of credit. I am extremely proud that you are all understanding (and I hope) enjoying the play so far. Keep it up!

My objectives: That you enjoy Shakespeare, and that you all have an A for this part of the course.

Soph Lit:
Today we took our Animal Farm exam. Please have your books in class Tuesday as I will be collecting them then. I should have your tests back to you on Tuesday. Please finish your 1st draft of your paper. I will be checking this off on Tuesday, and I have us signed up for the computer lab for next Friday. Next week, we will crash on a deserted island as we begin Lord of the Flies. For fans of the hit show Survivor- you are going to love this book!

Food for thought over the 3 day: If there were no consequences, would people be good or evil? How would you behave with no adults around school, and absolutely no consequences for your actions? Is man inherently good or evil?

10.8.08

Brit Lit:

Pg 177: Lines 22-31 for Next Tuesday. I hope one person takes up the Cusick Challenge- be brave- it will be fun and worth the 10 extra points...

HW- Please don't forget to pass in the Shakespeare Language Trick worksheet. You should have the following defined in your notebook:
personification, metaphor, simile, classical allusion, reversed word, reversed sentence construction. Please study these terms, as they will be referenced often in our study of Macbeth.

Soph Lit: HW- Finish 1st draft of paper. Final copy due this Monday. Writing Assignment: Animal Farm, Ten Years After

Directions: Ten years have past since the last page of the novel. Original animals have died, but not all of their ideas. Describe the new farm. Have the animals come closer to creating a true communistic state? Like history, have events repeated themselves? How are the events of the 1st revolution recorded and remembered? Have facts been changed to benefit specific animals. Has greed once again contaminated the Marxist philosophy?

Also, tonight- study vocab. Quiz on your words this Thursday.

10.7.08

Brit Lit:

During Macbeth, you will have light HW for the next three weeks.  Most of our play study, will be done live in class.  For next Tuesday, you need to memorize and recite Macbeth's Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Speech on pg 117.  10 lines- 10 points per line.  For those looking for extra credit- ask me about the Cusick Challenge tomorrow in class.

Soph Lit:  HW- Please finish Animal Farm tonight.  Define your vocab- quiz this Thursday.  Animal Farm Test Friday.

It is a bit late, but try and watch the presidential debate tonight and continue to look for the manipulation of language.  Euphemisms, begging the question, and oversimplification will all be on show tonight- trust me :-)

Word O' the Week

illatration [il-uh-tray-shuhn]: an act of barking at someone or something.

This word would be useful to make a distinction between the differing ways your dog barks- barking just to bark, or barking at the mailman or for food.

10.3.08: Are you ready for the weekend?

Take a few moments and appreciate the glorious Fall foliage this weekend. It is the same inspiration that has produced thousands of poems.... Take a walk in the woods and clear your heads. Poetry is the window to our souls and it can make us immortal. Find a spot and write what you are feeling. You may be surprised at the result...

Brit Lit:

Today we finished watching the film Shakespeare in Love. I hope that it helped you to visualize my notes, and connect to how real his play writing was. Next week, we begin our adventure into his mind, with our reading of Macbeth.

Soph Lit:

Please continue to watch for political propaganda. Orwell warned of absolute power. Always respectfully question authority and think for yourselves. Animal Farm is more than a tale of talking farm animals.... It is a stern warning that still holds very true in 2008. Look for the truth between the manipulation of language all around you.

We will be finishing the novel by Wed. Most likely, we will have some sort of final assessment on Friday. If you are behind, please use this weekend to catch up and ready yourself for the conclusion.


Have a great weekend. I am chaperoning the Homecoming dance Sat. If you see me, come over and say "hi." I am looking forward to seeing you guys all dressed up! :-) Have a safe weekend.

9.30.08

Brit Lit:

Block A: Please review your notes and text tonight for out test Wed.



Block B: Please re-read the stories and prepare for the Test this Thursday.



Soph Lit: Class average was an 84. I was happy to see so many of you doing well- keep it up. For those who are struggling- please come see me and we can work out an improvement plan.



HW- Begin Animal Farm Propaganda poster. These are due Thursday- so try and work on it a bit each night. Remember- you need to include 3 terms from my lecture on manipulating language. As an alternative assignment, some of you may wish to make a promotional video or web page for your character. Remember, although each row was given a character, this is a solo flight.



Read CH 4,5 in A Farm. I smell a quiz on 1-5 wed.- so please make sure that you have read. I am talking to YOU Michelle....

9.29.08

This rain is getting to me...reminds me of the Carpenter's song- rainy days and Mondays always get me down....what happens when you have both?
Block A: You guys came up with some incredible questions. B block is going to have a challenge. Remember- we will be playing a review game Tuesday, with our test this Wed. It will cover everything that we have read in class up to this point.
Please remeber to pass in question 1-5. So far, Asley is the only one who has submitted it.
Block B: Due to the fire drill, I will give you the first 10 minutes to finish your review questions. Get ready to win some great stuff, and learn while doing it. Can you smell what the Q has cooking....
Block C: Reminder, you have a vocab quiz Tuesday. Please study your Animal Farm words. Also: read Ch 1,2,3 in A Farm for Tuesday.

9.26.08

Sorry about the lack of posts. As some of you may have noticed, the computer in my room is being repaired, which has not allowed me to blog at the end of the day.

Brit Lit:
Block A: We finally created our socks. If you asked to complete them at home, please make sure that you finish them and remember to bring them back to class on Monday. Also, in our creative Friday rush, I forgot to collect your HW. Please remember to bring it to class- I will collect them on Monday.

Block B:
Monday we start Macbeth. Ask me why you can't say the name Macbeth in a theartre.....

Soph Lit: Please cover your Animal Farm books if possible. I realize that it is hard to cover paperbacks, but it does help keep them alive longer.
You all did a wonderful job with your proaganda speeches today. Some of you have politics in your future. If you did not get a chance to google The Communist Manefesto- please do and come in with 3 lines that you found interesting and be prepaired to disscuss it at the start of class on Monday. With the Pep Rally schedule today, I just lost track of time...

Also...please watch either the presidental debate, cnn/fox news, or any of the Sunday morning political shows. Please watch for all of the terms that we discussed. I would like each of you to have three examples. Watch for the grandaddy of them all...begging the question. They will do it- see if you can see through the propaganda on both sides. Why don't we notice this normally? What does this say about our democracy? Remember- the most import thing that I can teach you is to think for yourselves. Think about it....

9.23.08

Today we worked on Fables. I gave notes, and we all tried or hand at writing our own.

Brit Lit:

Block A: Please answer question 1-8 (sorry I don't have the page number at home.)

Block B: Please read the assigned story from the Canterbury Tales. Sorry- I am at home and I am unable to give you the pg. numbers. You should have them from when I assigned them this AM.

It looks like we are going to have a very small class Wed. Please make sure your HW is complete- even if you are a Senior.

Soph Lit: I almost have your Catcher Tests done- still cutting through your essays. I hope to have them back tomorrow. On Wed. we will begin our notes on the Russian Revolution. Get ready for a bloody history tale....

9.22.08

Reminder to all of my classes: We exit right, and head down the side staircase on the 3rd floor. Please remember to meet on 3rd base.

Brit Lit: You have the night off. We will be (hopefully) watching parts of The Knight's Tale on Tuesday. In class today, we read the Pardoner's Tale. Please review the story. Block A- you had 4 lines left before the fire drill- please finish it at your convenience.

Soph Lit: Nice job on the review came. The next time that we play, I will be sure to have all of my sound effects working. Thanks for you understanding. Tonight: Please review for your Catcher unit test. Please also review your notes on: Theme, Symbolism, Salinger, and the significance of the title. Please have your books available, as I will be collecting them Tues.