Mon-Tue, Sept 28-29

 

DUE TODAY: Nothing

HOMEWORK TONIGHT: Study for Greek/Latin prefix quiz; finish reading "The Gift of the Magi"

TODAY'S FOCUS: Exam day

 

Grammar warm-up: Reminder of Latin and Greek prefixes - QUIZ NEXT CLASS

 

Exam today: All vocab and anything to do w/ any of the three readings we have done

• The Most Dangerous Game
• The Necklace
• Two Kinds
• Step-Up to Writing 

 

When finished with the exam:

• Read "The Gift of the Magi"
• Add notes to your "Vocab" section on "irony" - Include dramatic, situational, and verbal

 

Thu-Fri, Sept 24-25

 

DUE TODAY:

• Personal conflict writing assignment, in final draft format
• Reading questions for Amy Tan's "Two Kinds"

HOMEWORK TONIGHT:

• Study for your first EXAM NEXT CLASS - All vocab and anything to do with any of the three readings we have done
  • Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game"
  • deMaupassant's "The Necklace"
  • Tan's "Two Kinds"
  • Step-Up to Writing

TODAY'S FOCUS: Conducting self-evaluation

 

No grammar or warm-up activity today

 

THURS is ADVISORY

FRI is a HALF DAY, WITH AN ASSEMBLY

 

Self-evaluation of personal conflict story

Work on reading questions for Amy Tan's story "Two Kinds"

 

Tue-Wed, Sept 22-23

 

DUE TODAY: Nothing

HOMEWORK TONIGHT:

• Work on revising and putting the finishing touches on your MEMOIR (conflict assignment) DUE NEXT CLASS

TODAY'S FOCUS: Protagonist vs. antagonist, conflict, characterization

 

Grammar warmup: Prefixes and their meanings

(If you're interested, you can check out the Greek and Latin Prefixes chart - quite fascinating)

 

PREFIX/ROOT	MEANING
anti-	against
bene-	kindly, good
deca-	ten
dis-	not
inter-	between, among
mal- micro-	evil, bad small
neo-	new
omni-	all
para-	beside, beyond
poly-	many
quadr-	four
semi-	half
trans-	across
tri-	three
under-	insufficient
uni-	one

 

Vocabulary for characterization: 

• "Round" vs "Flat" character
• "Dynamic" vs "Static" character

 

New story: Amy Tan's "Two Kinds" 

Questions to turn in (next class you will be given time to finish) as an assignment for the grade book:

1. Make a list of the characters as the story progresses
2. For each character, indicate whether you think the character is a major or minor character
3. Who is the main protagonist? The antagonist? How do you know?
4. What do you feel is the main conflict for the protagonist in the story?
5. Is the main conflict ever resolved?
6. Once you have finished the story, determine which characters are "round" vs. "flat"
7. Do you think parents should push their children the way the mother pushed her child in this story? How much should parents push?

 

Leftover time will be given to individual conferences with students about how to finish the first writing assignment on a time when you experienced a conflict. DUE NEXT CLASS

 

Fri and Mon, Sept 18 and 21

 

DUE TODAY: Nothing

HOMEWORK TONIGHT: 

• Continue working on your "personal conflict" story - DUE TWO CLASSES FROM NOW
• "Personal conflict" story must be typed (double-spaced) OR neatly written
• If you wish, the questions on "Two Kinds"

TODAY'S FOCUS: Topic sentences and a review of "Step Up to Writing"

 

Grammar QUIZ on action, state of being, and helping verbs

 

A review of Step-Up to Writing (in-class Powerpoint presentation w/ student note-taking)

Strategies for approaching the "personal conflict" writing assignment

Work time to focus on the "personal conflict" writing assignment (described in previous lesson)

 

Wed-Thu, Sept 16-17

 

DUE  TODAY:  "The Necklace"  questions, by end of class

HOMEWORK  TONIGHT:  

• Quiz next class on action, state of being, and helping verbs
• You might work on your personal conflict writing assignment
• NOTICE: The "personal conflict writing assignment is due THREE CLASSES FROM NOW (not two, as originally mentioned). This means for "A" day classes it's due next Thursday, and for "B" day classes it's due next Friday.

TODAY'S FOCUS: Memoir writing; conflict; theme

 

Grammar warmup:  More on helping verbs

Graded assignments will be returned during the warmup

Grades posted and explained

 

Desire and conflict: Have you ever really wanted something, but there were barriers that prevented you from getting it?

• CLASS NOTES: Write a few sentences about a time when you couldn't get what you wanted, and explain what was getting in the way.
• How did the situation resolve itself? Did you get what you wanted eventually?

Brief discussion about desire and conflict

 

Begin reading Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" beginning on pg 26

CLASS NOTES:

1. Start and maintain a timeline of the major plot events in the story
2. Describe the aspects of the setting
3. Who are the characters, and what are their conflicts?
4. What do you think is the message or theme of this story, given what happens to Mr. and Mrs. Loisel?

 

Discussion on "The Necklace"

• Conflicts
• Plot
• Theme
• Questions assigned

 

Writing assignment - A personal conflict

• GET READY:  Everyone faces conflicts in life, in fact, they are present every day. You might have to decide whether to argue with your parents or not - that is an internal conflict about which you must make a decision. You might get in an argument with your best friend - that is an external conflict that pits you against another person. Conflicts come in small packages (like when you run out of toothpaste and have to go find some more) and in heavy loads (like if you are a soccer player and you shatter your knee).
• OVERVIEW: This writing assignment requires that you remember a time in your life that you faced a conflict or challenge. The conflict you choose could be internal or external, it doesn't matter. What is important is that you can provide this key information:
  • Detailed description of the experience, from the start of the conflict to its conclusion (tell what happened)
  • Accurate identification of what type of conflict it was (internal or external, and what force you faced)
  • Explanation of something you learned or took away from the experience
• FORMAT: Your writing will be in paragraph format. That means we will do some reminder lessons on the Step-Up to Writing strategies
• GRADING: Grading will be by checklist
  • Student includes a topic sentence at the beginning that states what he/she learned from the experience
  • Student "tells the story" of the conflict/challenge - from its start to its finish
    • Student's telling of the story includes a setting that gives the time and place
    • Student presents himself/herself as the protagonist or main character using first person "I"
  • Student identifies the type of conflict accurately
  • Student explains how and what he/she learned from the experience
  • Student concludes by stating how he/she will react when faced with a similar conflict in the future (or how he/she will avoid similar conflicts in the future) 

 

NOTICE: The "personal conflict writing assignment is due THREE CLASSES FROM NOW (not two, as originally mentioned). This means for "A" day classes it's due next Thursday, and for "B" day classes it's due next Friday.

 

Mon-Tue, Sept 14-15

 

DUE TODAY: 

Should be finished w/ "Dangerous Game"

Five reading questions from last class (due after today's quiz)

HOMEWORK TONIGHT: none

TODAY'S FOCUS: Elements of plot, theme

 

Grammar: Helping verbs, with exercises

 

Listen and read the latter part of "Dangerous Game"  with a plot chart to complete

• Record the exposition/introduction elements
• Record the name of the antagonist and protagonist
• Record the conflicts experienced by the protagonist
• Propose what the climax of the story may be
• Record what occurs immediately following the climax
• What is the final outcome or the story (the resolution)?

 

A  few mintues to complete the six reading questions from last class

 

THEME  QUESTIONS for discussion:  

• What is it that Rainsford learns because of his experience with Zaroff?  
• Has he changed at all over the course of the story?  
• Are his beliefs and values the same at the end as they were at the start when he talked about hunting with Whitney?
• If Rainsford's experience is supposed to be an example, then what do you suppose the point of the story may be? What may the author be trying to "say"  through this tale?

 

QUIZ on "Dangerous Game" and literary vocabulary - open note

• Student questions taken first
• Quiz
• Quiz corrected/graded

 

 

Thu-Fri, Sept 10-11

 

DUE TODAY: "I Am" poem project

HOMEWORK TONIGHT: 

• Finish reading Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game"
• Complete the plot chart handout for Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game"
• QUIZ next class on literary vocabulary and "The Most Dangerous Game"

TODAY'S FOCUS: Setting, internal vs. external conflict

 

Grammar Quiz: Action and state of being verbs

 

Sharing and discussion of "I Am" poems in small groups, then whole class

 

Second set of literary vocabulary, with helpful plot chart (PDF):

• setting
• theme
• internal conflict
• external conflict
• plot
• exposition (aka introduction)
• rising action
• climax
• falling action
• denouement (aka resolution)

Questions taken about literary vocab so far

Continue reading "Dangerous Game" to the end

CLASS NOTES: Answer these questions as you read:

1. Who is the antagonist?
2. How do the protagonist and antagonist differ?
3. How are the two men similar?
4. Rainsford meets many conflicts during the story - list them and identify each as internal or external
5. What do you think is the climax of the story? 

 

COMPLETE the reading of "The Most Dangerous Game" by the end of class. Work on the questions can be done in class, yet if not finished, it can be completed outside class time.

 

Tue-Wed, Sept 8-9

 

DUE TODAY: Nothing

HOMEWORK TONIGHT: 

• Work on your "I Am" poem project, DUE NEXT CLASS
• Quiz on action and state of being verbs NEXT CLASS

TODAY'S FOCUS: State of being verbs, elements of literature: protagonist/antagonist

 

Grammar Warmup: State of being verbs, with exercises

Grammar will begin most class days, and frequent quizzes will be given. Grammar examples, exercises, and quizzes should all be kept in a separate section of your 3-ring English binder.

 

Introduction of first vocabulary terms with a helpful chart (PDF):

• protagonist
• antagonist

Practice identifying story elements in an episode of "The Simpsons" 

Task: Identifying the elements of literature in a short story

• Read Connell's story "The Most Dangerous Game" from pgs 39-middle of 51
• CLASS NOTES: As you  read, use the chart with your literary vocabulary to record information about the story
  • Who is the protagonist?
  • What is the setting?
  • Are any conflicts introduced?
  • Does an antagonist appear?

Further work in class on reading "Dangerous Game" and identifying literary elements in the text

 

Thu-Fri, Sept 3-4

 

DUE TODAY: Nothing

HOMEWORK TONIGHT: 

• Work on your "I Am" poem project, due TWO class periods from now
• Browse around the web site to become familiar with it 

TODAY'S FOCUS: Introduction to the class, including content, rules and regs, action verbs

 

Grammar Warmup: Action verbs, with exercises

Grammar will begin most class days, and frequent quizzes will be given. Grammar examples, exercises, and quizzes should all be kept in a separate section of your 3-ring English binder.

Mr. Rice introduction

Course introduction

Introduction of the "I Am" poetry assignment

In-class writing assignment (due by the end of class):

• Think of someone close to you - perhaps a family member or a close friend. If they were asked to give two words to describe your character - what kind of person you really are, not just what an acquaintance would think, but a person who really knows you - what words do you think they would choose? 
• On a blank sheet of lined paper, begin writing with "If there are two words that certainly describe who I really am, I think those words would have to be _______________ and ________________."
• Follow this sentence by using evidence to back up each word. HINT: If you think "trustworthy" describes you, then describe a time or ways in which you are trustworthy. (I mean hey, are we just supposed to take this for granted?) EVIDENCE must be factual - not fictional.
• Conclude by explaining how the evidence you bring to the table shows or reveals or illustrates your character. HOW does the story you told really back up the word used to describe you? Bridge it for us.

Textbook checkout