Friday, 10/31/15 - Minimum Day

Due Today
“The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” and Comparing Literary Works Questions

Agenda

Extra Credit Opportunities
(1) Illustrate something out of Poe’s poetry that we have studied.  Make sure to include at least 5 lines of poetry that describes what you just drew.

(2) Draw a Halloween monster and write 5 lines of poetry telling me about where it lives, what it eats, and what it looks like.

All extra credit is due at the end of the period!

Thursday, 10/29/15

Due Today
“A Psalm of Life” Questions

Agenda

Guest Speaker

Mrs. Santoyo came into class to talk to the students about preparing for college.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls”

We went over some background information about the poem (p. 258). Students were then instructed to read the poem on p. 260 and answer the following questions:

1. Which event occurs in the first stanza?  Which details suggest that the traveler is nearing death?  Which details suggest that he has died?
2. Which line does the speaker repeat throughout the poem?  What effect does repetition have on the message of the poem?
3. What do you think Longfellow’s outlook on life and death was when he wrote the poem? Explain.

Comparing Literary Works
Students were also instructed to answer the following questions, comparing Longfellow’s two poems:

1. Describe the overall mood in “A Psalm of Life.” Describe the overall mood in “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls.”
2. In what ways, if any, does Longfellow’s attitude toward life change between the first poem (“Psalm”) and the one he wrote forty years later (“Tide”)?
3. In what ways do the images in each poem and the moods they evoke connect with the circumstances of Longfellow’s life?  Explain.

Homework
“The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” and Comparing Literary Works questions due tomorrow, 10/30/15.

Wednesday, 10/28/15

Due Today
“Raven” Questions

Agenda

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - “A Psalm of Life”
Today we went over some background information regarding Longfellow, stanza form, and the poem itself (p.256-258). We read the poem on p. 258 together in class, and students were to answer the following questions:

1. What attitude or ideas does the speaker challenge in the first two stanzas?  Is this attitude positive or negative?
2. In the third stanza, what does the speaker warn against?  What is the speaker’s attitude concerning individually and self-reliance?
3. According to the poem, how can our lives influence future generations?  What is the poet calling the readers to do?
4. Summarize the speaker’s view of life.
5. What is the message of this poem?  Do you agree with the poet’s ideas?

Homework

"A Psalm of Life" questions due tomorrow, 10/29/15.

Tuesday, 10/27/15

Due Today
“Raven” Plot Charts

Agenda

Poe - “The Raven”
We talked about the poem, emphasizing detail, single effect, tragic theme, Biblical allusions, Classical allusions, symbolism, anaphora, and tone.

“The Raven” Questions
Students were given the following questions to answer about the poem (p. 326) due tomorrow, 10/28/15.

1. List three verbs that show what the poem’s narrator is doing in the first stanza.
2. What fills the narrator’s heart with terror in stanza 3? 1 quote
3. What does the narrator see when he first opens the chamber door (stanza 4)?
4. In stanza 7, the raven flies into the narrator’s chamber. Where does the raven perch?  What might it symbolize?
5. Edgar Allan Poe is famous for using symbolism in his stories and poetry. How could the raven be a symbol in this poem?  What clues does Poe give you to imply that the raven is a symbol rather than a literal creature? 1 quote
6. How would you describe the atmosphere created by the setting?  Which images in the beginning of the poem create this atmosphere?  2 quotes
7. In stanza 12, the narrator sits down in front of the raven.  What is the narrator thinking as he looks at the bird? 2 quotes
8. As the poem progresses, the narrator becomes more and more furious with the raven.  Why does he become so angry? 2 quotes

9. Where is the raven at the end of the poem (stanza 18)?  What does the raven’s presence tell the reader about the narrator’s grief? 1 quote

10. Tell me two ways this is a gothic poem.  2 quotes
11. Write an example (from the poem) of the following literary devices: (a) alliteration, (b) imagery, (c) metaphor, (d) end rhyme, (e) mood/atmosphere, (f) anaphora, and (g) setting.

Homework
“The Raven” Questions due tomorrow, 10/28/15.

Monday, 10/26/15

Agenda

Poe - “The Raven” (p. 326)
Today, we watched two videos about Poe and "The Raven" (see links below). Afterwards, students were to write one paragraph about what they saw. Each paragraph should include (1) five facts about Poe or “The Raven” that they learned from the videos and (2) commentary re: the Simpsons video’s use of satire and what it means (due at the end of the class period).

Bio video about Poe:

http://www.biography.com/people/edgar-allan-poe-9443160/videos/edgar-allan-poe-nevermore-2080054356

Simpsons parody of “The Raven”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLiXjaPqSyY
Afterwards, students were to begin reading “The Raven” in class. If the students do not finish reading it, it becomes homework (along with the plot chart).

Homework
(1) Finish reading “The Raven” (p. 326).
(2) Create a plot chart for “The Raven” including: (a) exposition, (b) conflict, (c) rising action, (d) climax, (e) falling action, and (f) resolution due tomorrow, 10/27/15.

Friday, 10/23/15

Agenda

Poe - “Alone"

Students read the poem "Alone" and completed the questions at the end of the worksheet. It was due at the end of the class period.

Thursday, 10/22/15

Agenda

Poe - “Annabel Lee"

Today we went over the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe stanza by stanza. Students took notes about setting, characters, theme, alliteration, and imagery.

Poe - More About The Author

Students spent the last 15 minutes of the period looking up information about Poe and sharing what they found with the class.

Wednesday, 10/21/15

Agenda

Introduction to Romanticism
Today, we will begin our Romanticism Unit. Students will take notes from the PowerPoint presentation.

Homework
Persuasive Essay Final Draft due tomorrow, 10/22/15.
*Remember to also turn in your rough draft and peer editing sheet.

Tuesday, 10/20/15.

Agenda

Persuasive Essay Peer Editing
Students need to have two other students read their persuasive essay rough drafts.  Peer editors must fill out the corresponding form which will provide feedback to the author.

Persuasive Essay Final Draft
Your final draft is due on Thursday.  Make sure: your essay is typed, you use 12 point font (Times New Roman), you use 1-inch margins, the essay is double-spaced, your heading is to the left, your title is centered, and you have a header (last name and page #).

*You will also need to turn in your rough draft and peer editing sheet.

Homework
Persuasive Essay Final Draft due Thursday, 10/22/15.

Monday, 10/19/15 - Minimum Day

Agenda

Make Up Work

Since we had a Fire Drill during 3rd period English 3, my 7th period class will have a free day to work on make up work, etc.  We will do persuasive essay peer editing tomorrow.

Homework

Persuasive Essay Final Draft due Thursday, 10/22/15.

Friday, 10/16/15 - Rally Schedule

Due Today
Persuasive Essay Rough Draft

***Due at the end of the period.

Agenda

Persuasive Essay Writing
Please write your conclusions today.  I will be collecting all rough drafts at the end of the period.

Thursday, 10/15/15

Agenda

Persuasive Essay Writing
Continue working on your body paragraphs today in class. Try and finish them by the end of the period so you have all of class tomorrow to work on your conclusion.

Remember, the rough draft of your essay is due Friday, 10/16/15.

Wednesday, 10/14/15

Agenda

Persuasive Essay Writing
If you have finished working on your introduction, please begin working on your body paragraphs.  We will spend the rest of the class period writing.

Remember, the rough draft of your essay is due Friday, 10/16/15.

Tuesday, 10/13/15

Agenda

Persuasive Essay Writing
As promised, I have created a handout detailing the requirements for your persuasive essays. Please begin writing about your topic.  I would suggest starting with the introduction, create a thesis statement, and structure your arguments/essay.

Remember, the rough draft of your essay is due Friday, 10/16/15.

Monday, 10/12/15

Agenda
Persuasive Essay Writing
Today, we went over persuasive writing techniques.  Students will be writing a 5-paragraph persuasive essay.  They will work on writing these essays the entire week in class.  Students should bring their tablets or phone to class so that they can do research for their essays.  I will be passing out a handout detailing the requirements for this assignment tomorrow.

Prompt
What are you so passionate about that you can persuade your readers to believe in your passion?  In a 5-paragraph essay you will use ETHOS, PATHOS, and LOGOS to be convincing and persuade your readers to your belief.  You will do research on your topic so that you can include facts and statistics in your essay to make it convincing.

Homework
(1) Think about what you want to write your essay on.  Choose a topic and let me know what you want to write about by tomorrow, 10/13/15.
(2) Persuasive Essay Rough Draft due Friday, 10/16/15.

Friday, 10/9/15 (Minimum Day)

Due Today
Speech in the Virginia Convention Assignment

Agenda

Speech in the Virginia Convention Conclusory QuestionsAnswer the following questions about the speech and turn it in by the end of the period:

1. Audience: Who is the primary audience for the text?

2. Author’s Purpose: Why did the author write the piece?

3. Dominant Tone: What is Henry’s attitude toward the subject and the audience?
4. Argument (Claim/Support): What is the position Henry is taking on the topic/subject?  How does he support it?

Thursday, 10/8/15

Agenda
Speech in the Virginia Convention
Continue working on Speech in the Virginia Convention Assignment.

Wednesday, 10/7/15

Agenda

Speech in the Virginia Convention: Assignment

Students will be given the entire class period to complete the assignment we talked about yesterday.  See the previous blog post for more detailed instructions.

Tuesday, 10/6/15

Agenda
Speech in the Virginia Convention

Before reading Speech in the Virginia Convention, we covered some introductory information on Patrick Henry (p. 184) and went over some of the tricky vocab students will encounter (p. 185).

Speech in the Virginia Convention: Assignment Instructions

After reading Speech in the Virginia Convention, students must complete the following assignment. You will have the class period tomorrow to finish it. I went over the instructions before having the students read the speech so that they can be on the look out for different examples as they read.

(1) Ethos, Logos, and Pathos Appeals: You need TWO examples of each type of appeal from the speech.  Each must be explained as to why it is that type of appeal.
(2) Metaphors: You need TWO metaphors from the speech.  Make sure you label them as metaphors.
(3) Restatement, Repetition, and Rhetorical Questions: You need TWO examples each of restatement, repetition, and rhetorical questions.
(4) Imagery: Give THREE examples of imagery.
(5) Parallelism: Give TWO examples of parallelism.
(6) Counterpoint/Refute: You need ONE example with an explanation of how it is a counterpoint to Henry’s argument/appeal.
(7) Charged Words: List THREE charged words.


Read Speech in the Virginia Convention (p. 187)
If you don’t finish it by the end of the period, it becomes homework.

Homework

Finish reading Speech in the Virginia Convention.

Monday, 10/5/15

Agenda

Persuasive Speech and Persuasive Essay PowerPoint
If you missed the PowerPoint notes, you can find it here:
http://www.slideshare.net/secret/mVVoK0BAMzmD7

In-Class Writing Assignment

Situation: There is a big party on Friday night… Persuade your parents to let you go using one logos, one ethos, and one pathos appeal to convince them to let you go to the party. Due at the end of the period.

Friday, 10/2/15 (Rally Schedule)

Due Today

“The Devil and Tom Walker” Satire and Imagery Worksheet

Agenda

“The Devil and Tom Walker” Open Book Quiz

Students may use their notes or the textbook to complete this quiz.  However, they must work independently from one another.  Due at the end of the class period.

Thursday, 10/1/15

Agenda

“The Devil and Tom Walker" Satire and Imagery Worksheet

Fill out the worksheet using examples and quotes from the original story (not the retold version). If you do not finish the worksheet in class, it is due tomorrow.

Homework“The Devil and Tom Walker” Satire and Imagery Worksheet

Wednesday, 9/30/15

Agenda

Finish Satire Powerpoint

Finish taking notes on satire.

“The Devil and Tom Walker” Retold

Today, we read an abbreviated version of the story "The Devil and Tom Walker" out loud in class with the hope that it would help students to better understand the full version.

"The Devil and Tom Walker" (p. 242)

Students then had to read the original version of the story in the textbook. If you have a difficult time understanding what is going on, remember that you can always refer to the retold version of the story for context clues. Be on the look out for examples of satire and imagery! If you don't finish reading the story in class, it becomes homework.

Homework

Finish reading “The Devil and Tom Walker” by tomorrow, 10/1/15.

Tuesday, 9/29/15

Due Today

Ben Franklin Aphorism Unscramble Worksheet

Agenda

Satire PowerPoint

Today, we went over some notes and examples about Satire. I will post the PowerPoint presentation here as soon as I get the chance.