Writing 110: Over the past few days, we have been looking at the differences between writing plot-based stories and thematic-based stories.  Also, today, we spoke about creative use of dialogue and punctuation to add voice to our characters.  Continue working on your extended narratives.   English 112: Today we read "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains", a science fiction piece by Ray Bradbury.  We will be working cooperatively over the next two days to figure out the themes in this story and connect them to the real world.  Also, students received their first "One Pager" today, which needs to be completed for Friday.  This assignment is to be completed on your silent reading book.   English 10: Today we read "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty.  We completed open mind portraits, which helps to fine tune our visualization skills.  We visualized what the sniper was thinking about in the middle of the story, and then again at the end.  We will be doing follow up activities over the next few days.  

Writing 110: We have been continuing our work on the extended narrative.  Students are working on their storyboards and writing snapshots from their storyboards.   English 112: I collected the satire assignments today.  Remember, it's 10% per each day that the assignment is late.  Students were given a new assignment today on "The Lottery Ticket" (p. 198 Echoes).  I gave a mini-lesson on how to properly incorporate quotations in your responses.  This is the assignment: “The Lottery Ticket” by Anton Chekhov Answer the following questions on looseleaf.  All answers should be paragraph length responses AND incorporate quotations. 1.      Chekhov’s story can be considered as a satire.  What is the story satirizing?  What are two attributes of satire that are evident in the story and how are they used? 2.      Find the place in the story where the narrative switches from past tense to present tense.  Why does the narrator change the tense at that point? 3.      The narrator does not give much insight into the wife’s actual thoughts in this story.  Make an inference, and state what you believe the wife was thinking.  Be sure to support with evidence from the text. 4.      Imagine that at the end of the story, the couple had won the lottery.  What do you predict that would mean for their family? English 10: Today we reviewed plot structure.  Tomorrow we will be reading our first short story - "Charles" by Shirley Jackson.