Tuesday, March 30 thru the holidays

Today, Wednesday, Thursday and onward, you are reading Lord of the Flies, and answering reading questions. These are to be completed by the time you come back from your break. Be sure to use the time in class wisely as it will cut down on your workload over the break.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Today, we read the frist chapter of Lord of the Flies. Work on the chapter questions. Remember, you will need to read an average of 16 pages a day in order to finish this novel and questions be the end of the holidays.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Today, I introduced more about Lord of the Flies. Specifically, we discussed Golding's views on the nature of man, as well as how the book is an allegory and how the characters symbolize parts of a personality; the whole being is represented as the boys in their entirety. I handed out the novel itself and the chapter questions. We will really dig into this starting on Monday.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Today, I introduced the novel unit. The class novel this term is Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.
I gave you some handouts to introduce the author and the book. These are in your portfolios if you weren't here.

Wednesday, March 23, 2010

Today, studnts wrote their poetry unit exam (multiple choice). Everyone was in attendance.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Today, we finished off the major poetry analysis presentations and discussed the unit exam for poetry you are having tomorrow. Terms that you should know are below:
Illusion
Allusion
Foreshadowing
Metaphor
Metaphorically
Reinforce
Superficial
Apathy
Cynicism (cynic)
Irony
Rhyme
Imagery
Perception (perceive)
Implication (implied)
Familial (filial)
Contrast
Tyranny
Egotistic
Antecedent
Personification
Inscrutable (scrutable)
Conveyed (convey)
Paralleled
Cyclical
Irrevocable
Rhetorical questions
Alliterative (alliteration)
Uniform (not what you wear…but how)
Void (not empty your bowels…)
Haven
Symbolized (symbol/symbolism)
Reprieve
Camaraderie

Monday, March 22, 2010

Today, we will view the rest of the major poetry presentations.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Today, we viewed some more of the Major poetry analysis presentations. We will finish these on Monday.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Today, the students presented their major poetry analysis assignment. We still have more to cover tomorrow.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Today, we did the first day of major poetry analysis. This will be continued tomorrow.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Today, you were given time to work on your major analysis activity. Keep in mind that it is due for Monday.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Today, you wrote a poetry quiz. You were then given your major assignment for this poetry unit, which is meant to be due on Monday.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Today, you analyzed the poem "Among Children". You must read the poem actively and then asnwer the questions fully.

Remember that you have a poetry terms quiz tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Today, you analyzed the poem "Did I Miss Anything?" You MUST read the poem actively (as indicated in earlier discussions and on Blogger if you are confused) and then answer the analysis questions FULLY.
These are due for tomorrow.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Today, we analyzed the poem "Warren Pryor" on the board (visual breakdown). You then got into groups of four to work thruogh the analysis of four questions.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Today, you actively analyzed the poem "Warren Pryor". You then answered questions in reference to it and handed these in. If you were not here, pick this up in the morning so you will all be on the same page during class.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Today, you were placed in groups of four to discuss your answers to the poem "Cyclops". You had to argue them through and present your responses on a long answer sheet. The groups were them joined into two for further discussion. We then wrote the responses of the two groups on the board and argued them through. There is no homework tonight.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Today, we discussed the poem "Cyclops" breaking down what literary devices we saw. I then handed out the multiple choice questions for this (short) which are to be handed in for tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Today, we began our unit on poetry. We determined that the unit exams would be on March 18 (essay) and March 22 (m.c.). The students were given the poem "Cyclops", by Margaret Atwood. With this as our example, I explained the steps to reading poetry (which they then did using the poem). the steps are as follows:

1, Look at the title; intepret what you think it means and write this on the page.
2. Count the stanzas and lines in each and write both down.
3. Do an end rhyme scheme on the page and determine if there is a shape to it as well as poetry type.
4. Read the poem through for the first time. Highlight unfamiliar words, look up the definition for them, and write it down in your own words.
5. Read the poem again and highlight literary devices used (and define and/or interpret on the page).
6 Read the poem again and then paraphrase it and summarize it.

That is your homework for tomorrow. If you were not here and can't access this poem, find another one to do instead.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Today, students wrote the multiple choice comprehension portion of their unit exam. If they were not here, and it was excused, they may write after school tomorrow. If they can't, they will have to make arrangements to do so at another time within this school week or will write it while we discuss the answers in class.