English 10: Remember to read to the end of chapter 11 for tomorrow.  There will be a reading check! English 112: Today was a project day. Remember to read chapter 7 for tomorrow's class.  

English 10: Read to the end of chapter 8 for Thursday. English 112: Read to page 86 for Thursday's class.

English 10:  Read chapters 3 and 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird for Monday.  There will be a reading check quiz!English 112: Read to page 68 for Tuesday's class.  We will be talking about projects on Monday.

English 10: Today we started a creative extension for "Pit and the Pendulum".  Yesterday, we looked at the writer's craft, particularly word choice.  From that discussion, you had to pick one of those words and complete one of the following: 1. Create an original visual piece that portrays the word.  Your visual can be a sketch, painting, collage, even a sculpture, but remember that tone is essential. OR 2. Do ONE of the following tasks: a) text-to-self connection: put that word as the title at the top of your page.  Write a one page double spaced piece that describes a time in your life when you experienced this emotion. b) text-to-text connection: Think about your word and find another text that reminds you of that emotion.  The text could be a song, poem, picture, movie, story, etc.  Write a half page piece explaining why the text you have chosen connects with the word from our story. c) text-to-world connection: Think about your word and how it connects to something that is happening in the world, in your community, or in your school.  This piece should be one page double spaced. *Spelling and grammar count so try your best! This is due THURSDAY!   English 112A: Today you received an assignment on "The Most Dangerous Game".  It is due on Monday. Quotation Identification: State the speaker, listener, and significance (what it means and why it is important to the whole story) for each quote.  Answers must be written in paragraph form and demonstrate considerable analysis. 1.       “There is no greater bore than perfection”?(page 7) 2.       “Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong…I am strong.  Why should I not use my gift?  If I wish to hunt, why should I not?”  (page 9) 3.        “Rainsford…if you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you.  Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher.” (page 14) 4.       “Rainsford knew how an animal at bay feels.” (page 15 – There is no speaker or listener for this quote.  When this happens, state only the context and significance.) 5.       Target Skill – Creating graphic organizers for focused note-taking ·         Create a detailed graphic organizer that depicts how Rainsford’s character has changed from the beginning to the end of the story. GRAPHIC ORGANIZER RUBRIC Criteria 4 3 2 1 Organization Extremely well organized. Order &  structure of information is compelling and flows smoothly. Organized. Structure allows reader to move through content without confusion. Flows smoothly Somewhat organized structure allows reader to move through some of the content without confusion. Flow is sometimes interrupted. Poorly organized. A clear sense of direction is not evident. Flow is frequently interrupted. Content Thorough and insightful understanding of content. Quotes are used to support. Complete understanding of content. One quote is used to support. Shows some understanding of content.  Quotes are not used to support. Shows incomplete understanding of material. Creativity Clean design; high visual appeal; symbols/graphics used effectively. Design is fairly clean, with a few exceptions; diagram has visual appeal; symbols/shapes are used. Cluttered design; low in visual appeal; symbols/shapes are not used. Shows minimal critical effort. Ideas Insightful and well considered ideas making multiple connections. Ideas are  considered; more than one thoughtful connection is made. Ideas are somewhat on topic; makes some connections. Ideas are unclear; few connections are made.        

English 10: Don't forget that the homework sheet on "Sentry" is due tomorrow.  These are the questions: Comprehension Questions 1.         Find and quote ten words or phrases that Fredric Brown uses to evoke sympathy for the sentry. 2.       What is the irony of this story?  Is it verbal, dramatic, or situational irony? 3.       For the reader, the point of view switches at the end of the story.  How does this affect the way we perceive the story? 4.       How does looking at different points of view challenge a reader’s assumptions about a piece of writing? Creative Extension Choose to complete ONE of the following activities: Imagine you are the first sentry to capture an “alien” alive, and write a report of the encounter for your superior officer.  Place particular emphasis on how you managed to capture the alien, its reactions to you, the immediate apparent differences between the alien species and your own.  Remember to use the voice of the sentry to create an alien perspective and personality. Tell the same incident from the point of view of the human who is approaching the sentry. Find a current news article and rewrite it from the point of view of one of the characters, or an imaginary character that could have been part of the situation. English 112: Today we started to think metaphorically about character.  Using the character of Mary Maloney, students created an iceberg graphic organizer to demonstrate Mary's seen and unseen characteristics.  Today, we elaborated on this thinking by creating a chart that has us describe the connection between the chosen metaphors and Mary's character, all supoorted with quotes.  Remember to have your charts completed for tomorrow as there will be an in-class reflection to complete.

It's great to be back! English 10: Today I collected the homework on "Charles".  Be sure to get that into me as soon as possible.  Progress reports are going out on Thursday.  Writers notebooks are being collected on Thursday as well. English 112: "The Lottery Ticket" questions were collected.  We also read the short story "The Lottery".  We will be working with this story for the remainder of the week.