Wednesday, May 27th:
  1. Read through Chapter 7 of the novel.
  2. Keep up with chapter dialectical journals!
  3. Be prepared for in-depth discussion of novel tomorrow.



Friday, May 22nd:
Read Chapters 1-3 of The Great Gatsby.
Reading questions:
Chapter 1

1. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope, or dream. Why does he do this?
2. Nick starts the novel by relaying his father's advice "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." List Nick's advantages. Does he reserve judgement in the novel?
3. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the first scene at Daisy's house?
4. Describe Nick. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he will be?
5. What image does the author use to describe Jordan Baker? What does it mean?
6. How does Nick react to Jordan?
7. What does Tom's behavior reveal about his character?

Chapter 2

1. Describe the "valley of ashes." What does it look like and what does it represent?
2. Describe Mr. Wilson and Myrtle. Do they seem to fit into the setting?
3. What more have you learned about Nick in this chapter? Is he similar or different than the people he spends his time with?
4. Describe the violent act Tom comitted against Myrtle. What does this reveal about him?

Chapter 3

1. Pay attention to Nick's judgements. What do they reveal about his character that he does this (especially in relation to his opening comments)?
2. Describe Gatsby the first time Nick sees him.
3. What rumors have been told about Gatsby? Why does Fitzgerald reveal rumors rather than fact?
4. What does Nick think of Gatsby after meeting him?
5. How is Gatsby different from his guests?
6. Why does Nick choose to share his thoughts and feelings with Jordan?
7. Nick thinks he's one of the few honest people he knows, why? Do you think he is honest?



Wednesday, April 29th:
  1. Read Frederick Douglass passage
  2. Write a Style Analysis essay following the Style Analysis Essay Prose Outline. Please do not feel obligated to follow the outline exactly, although you may do so if you feel like it. It's here to introduce you to yet another way you can write an essay of this nature.



Wednesday, April 22nd:
  1. ANNOUNCEMENT: Practice AP exam on Sunday, May 3rd. 2-5 p.m. Location: TCHS (Room to be announced) If you cannot attend the practice test, please come see Ms. P.
  2. Early 20th century article. Multiple-choice passage.
  3. HW: Work on project due Friday.
  4. HW: Print out. Read. Answer excerpt from Nickel and Dimed. If you completed this packet already because it was assigned as part of your European Travel package, then don't worry about doing it again.



Tuesday, April 21st:
  1. Review of Fallacies.
  2. Reviewed articles read this year. Each student chose an article. Project due Friday. If you were absent today, please find out about the assignment from Ms. P in class.
  3. HW: Print out the following article. Read. Answer questions.
  4. Benchmark Self-Evaluation



Monday, April 20th:
  1. Walden by Thoreau. Reading questions.
  2. Fallacies.



Friday rocks. April 17th:
  1. Quiz.
  2. Test next Friday.
  3. Review Effective Writing exercises.
  4. Finish faulty reasoning
  5. HW: Print out and study Fallacies handout:
  6. HW: Print out a copy of the Reflective Essay Rubric:



Thursday, April 16th:
  1. Benchmark. YESSS....!
  2. HW: Exercises 7 & 8
  3. QUIZ tomorrow!



Wednesday, April 15th:
  1. Faulty arguments.
  2. HW: Exercises 5 & 6



Tuesday, April 14th:
  1. Review: Effective Writing strategies.
  2. HW: Exercises 1 & 2
  3. Topic. Scope. Purpose. Arguments/Evidence. Assumptions.
  4. Timed Writing!



Monday Monday, February 23rd:
  1. Story time: What would you do?
  2. Reading passage. HW: Finish reading, and circle your answers.



Thank goodness it's Thursday, February 19th:
  1. Story time: bones!
  2. Rhetorical Analysis Essay cont'd
  3. HW: Write the introduction to your rhetorical analysis essay



Wonderful Wednesday, February 18th:
  1. Group time again!
  2. Continue strategies for writing a rhetorical analysis essay. Here are the notes , but don't rely on them too much. They might not make sense!
  3. Sample prompts
  4. Sample thesis statements
  5. No vocab this week.



Frolicking Friday, February 13th:
  1. Quiz
  2. Share our V-day cards!
  3. Class shares the love...
  4. Read this article: All Smiles Now. Who wrote it? SOAPSTone. Be prepared to discuss on Tuesday.



Thumbs-up Thursday, February 12th:
  1. Grammar Girl: Activate Your Writing!
  2. Group Discussions: "Why Women Smile"
  3. Discussed the difference between Central Claim and Purpose




Wicky wacky Wednesday, February 11th:
  1. Grammar Girl: Comma Splicing Take notes.
  2. Any questions about the V-day card project?
  3. Quiz on Friday!
  4. Anna Quindlen: What's her central claim? SOAPSTone
  5. Ethos, logos, pathos appeals?
  6. Evidence???
  7. Print, read and annotate Amy Cunningham's "Why Women Smile" found on Handouts page.



Totally tubular Tuesday, February 10th:
  1. HW: Define vocabulary
  2. Discussion: Is smiling instinctual or learned behavior? How are women perceived if they do not smile often? How are men perceived if they do not smile? Are women less inclined to succeed in this society if they didn't smile often?
  3. Tone: What is it again? Handout on tone--pick up in class.
  4. Valentine's Day cards due Friday.
  5. Discussion: "Between the Sexes" by Anna Quindlen. Read through the article in class. Discussed Quindlen's style and rhetorical devices--how do they promote the speaker's purpose? For example, she writes in paragraph 8, "Mom. Weird. Women." Why?
  6. Collecting QW tomorrow
  7. Oscar Wilde: "A woman's face is her work of fiction."

Vocabulary: innocuous, in lieu, archetype, diffuse, saw (def. proverb; maxim), robust, bona fide, deference, pilloried, lasciviousness, addle, sprightly, newfangled, impassive



Finally Friday, February 6th:
  1. Vocabulary Quiz and Quickwrite
  2. Class discussion on Chris McCandless. How does author Chip Brown feel about McCandless?
  3. HW: Quickwrite. Write half a page to a page on the following topic: Describe the divide (or lack of one) between women and men. You may wish to use examples from your own experience to show how men and women misunderstand each other, or how they approach things in different ways.
  4. HW: Read Anna Quindlen's "Between the Sexes, a Great Divide." Download off of Handouts. Print. Annotate. Be prepared to discuss on Tuesday.



Thursday, February 5th:
  1. The elephant couch story
  2. Chris McCandless: Double entry journals. Choose four passages that display Chip Brown's interesting sentence structure, grammar, diction, etc. Analyze and evaluate.
  3. For a copy of the article, check handouts page.
  4. Vocabulary quiz tomorrow.



Wednesday, Jan. 14th:
  1. Read Lincoln's First Inaugural Address. Annotate.

Monday-almost-Tuesday, Dec. 15th:
  1. Group presentations
  2. Class discussion
  3. Timed-writing
  4. "Holiday Toast" to be presented on Friday. Go to handouts for a copy of the handout.



Thunder Thursday, Dec. 11th:
  1. "Toys" by Roland Barthes
  2. Group Discussions.
  3. Each group chose one of the three writing prompts, and began brainstorming/outlining.



Wonderful Wednesday, Dec. 10th:
  1. Lecture: Freud, psychology
  2. Discussion: "Toys"



Terrific Tuesday, Dec. 9th:
  1. Timed Writing.



Mighty Monday, Dec. 8th:
  1. Collect vignettes
  2. Group Discussion: Growing up, what was your favorite toy? Why?
  3. What does your favorite toy reveal about you as a person? Your character? Personality?
  4. Begin reading: "Toys" by Roland Barthes. Handout given in class.

Vocabulary: homonculus, prefigure, alibi, inert, causality, bourgeois, consternation, hernia, fretwork, coenaesthesis, posthumous
Terms and WOW given tomorrow in class.



Fun Fun Friday, Dec. 5th:
  1. Read Arounds: Vignette papers
  2. HW: Final draft due Monday



Thick Thick Thursday, Dec. 4th:
  1. Group Presentations.
  2. Class Discussion: How do you get into college? What counts?
  3. Oratorical Interpretations begin. For those of you that have already given your speeches, please contribute to the discussion titled "O.I. Pointers."



Win Win Wednesday, Dec. 3rd:
  1. Group Discussion: Do you believe your grades are not a true measure of your academic ability? Yes/No/Explain.
  2. Group Presentations.
  3. Collect: Reading and Grammar packets



Top Top Tuesday, Dec. 2nd:
  1. Reading packet, due tomorrow
  2. Grammar packet, due tomorrow
  3. Writing Assignment #1, due Friday



My My Monday, Dec. 1st:
  1. Class discussion: Let's re-calibrate. Where do we stand? How do you feel with the way things are going?
  2. No vocabulary this week. :)
  3. Read.
  4. Sign up for your Oratorical Interpretation time slots on your class page (found in the navigation bar on the left).



Freaky Friday, Nov. 21st:
  1. Health Education 101: Infectious and Non-Infectious Conditions
  2. Wash your hands.
  3. Vocabulary quiz on Monday.
  4. READ! Go buy a new magazine!



Thalamic Thursday, Nov. 20th:
  1. Finish discussing Multiple-Choice Packet. Great job today!
  2. HW: Relaxation techniques as you study for the Vocab Quiz tomorrow.



Wishing Wednesday, Nov. 19th:
  1. Download and read "Letter From Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. See handouts. Annotate the speech.
  2. Continue working on your Speech Project.
  3. Group work: Finalize your group answers. Be prepared to debate.
  4. Collect Venn Diagrams and Frederick Douglass questions.
  5. HW: Final Draft of Family Photograph Essay due Monday. Please include the photo you used (or a photocopy, scanned copy, etc.) with your essay. If you submit an actual photo, it will be returned to you.
  6. BABY SEARCH: Submit a baby photo (this can be the same photo you submit for your essay, or it can be a different one).



Talking Tuesday, Nov. 18th:
  1. Watch a short video of an O.I. given by a student at the State Speech Finals. Thanks Wayne!
  2. Review Reading packet answers. Due Wednesday.
  3. Read, read, READ!



Mighty Monday, Nov. 17th:
  1. Oratorical Interpretation Note: Please do not imitate the original speaker. Take the original speech, and make it your own. Your "interpretation" of the speech will happen in the way that you deliver it.
  2. Extra Credit Announcement: delightful diction search.
  3. WOW: jocund. The jocund judge joyfully jailed the jolly janitor.
  4. Monday Media: Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring."
  5. Monday Madness: "The Stranger in the Photo Is Me" by Donald M. Murray. Answer questions. Due tomorrow.

Vocabulary: abject, accelerate, celerity, concur, conglomeration, conjecture, discourse, incur, interjection, precursor, succor, jocund, antiphrasis,aposiopesis



Fantastic Friday, Nov. 14th:
  1. Vocabulary Test
  2. Group Time.
  3. "Coming Home Again" Questions.
  4. Review Venn Diagram
  5. Douglass Questions.
  6. Voice Lesson: Diction 4. Handouts page.



Thankful Thursday, Nov. 13th:
  1. Group Time. :)
  2. "Coming Home Again" Questions--jigsaw.
  3. Any additional thoughts on the O.I. rubric?
  4. Review in your groups: Syntax exercise.
  5. Begin learning about the AP Test. Download the Course Description from the AP Central website (you are not required to print this document out). Read about the text. What have you learned? Be prepared to share tomorrow.
  6. Review Venn Diagram comparing/contrasting Obama's Victory Speech with MLK, Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.
  7. Vocabulary TEST tomorrow.
  8. HW: Read from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (pp. 399-404) and Answer Questions 1-8 on page 404. Please answer in complete sentences. Due tomorrow.
  9. HW: Review for tomorrow's test. Go to your class period "page" to help write an exciting story using as many vocabulary words as possible. Please write all vocab words in bold.



Wistful Wednesday, Nov. 12th:
  1. Read magazines. Fantastic.
  2. HW: Read. Awesome.



Tuesday, Veteran's Day (and Pocky Day):
  1. Read.
  2. Read.
  3. Read.



Model Monday, Nov. 10th:
  1. WOW: ignoble. The photographer was offered a princely sum for the picture of the self-proclaimed ethicist in the ignoble act of pick-pocketing.
  2. Group Vocab Quiz.
  3. "Coming Home Again" Reading Questions. Check Handouts page (under Week 10) for a copy. Please answer on a separate sheet of paper, and answer in complete sentences.
  4. Peyton Manning's Public Service Announcement.
  5. Review Rubric for Oratorical Interpretation (on Handouts page). What are your thoughts? Any suggestions for changes/adjustments? Post them on the Discussion Forum.
  6. HW: Bring a magazine (latest issues of major news publications only) to class on Wednesday. New Yorker and The Atlantic would be especially wonderful.
  7. Syntax: In an elevated mood, Mrs. M comes downstairs. Someone comes in the front door: Mr. M; he is not dead after all. Shocked by this sudden reversal, Mrs. M collapses and dies.

  • …of joy that kills…of heart disease…they said she had died…when the doctors came…

Vocabulary: Review all of the words thus far. You have a test on Friday. YESSSSS!!!



Fiscal Friday, Nov. 7th:
  1. Peer Review of Timed-Writings.
  2. Make-up: Timed Writings from yesterday.
  3. Vocabulary Quiz moved to Monday.



Thoroughly Thursday, Nov. 6th:
  1. Timed Writing on one of your speeches.
  2. Vocabulary Quiz tomorrow.
  3. Please review Chang-Rae Lee's essay, "Coming Home Again."
  4. HW: Fill out a Venn Diagram or Chart comparing and contrasting Obama's Victory Speech and MLK, Jr.'s last speech titled "I've Been to the Mountaintop." Due Monday.
  5. HW: READ "Frederick Douglass" on page 397 of your Elements of Literature Textbook (the big brown one we checked out at the beginning of the school year.



What a Wednesday, Nov. 5th:
  1. Watch Obama's Victory Speech
  2. Recap the Election Map: Do third party candidates help democracy?
  3. Introduction of Oratorical Interpretation



Tantamount Tuesday, Nov. 4th:
  1. Notebook Check
  2. Tina Fey interview on npr.org.
  3. Political Discussion (media bias, teachers, monumental election?) What color are your lenses?
  4. Correct and Collect (9D) Modes of Discourse Assignment
  5. Collect (9F) SOAPSTone for Speech #2
  6. Collect Childhood Reflective Essay Reflection
  7. HW: Read once more Chang-Rae Lee's "Coming Home Again."



Mostly Monday, Nov. 3rd:
  1. Collect SOAPSTone (9A) for Speech #1
  2. Due tomorrow: SOAPSTone (9F) for Speech #2
  3. WOW: imperturbable. No matter how disruptive the children became, the baby remained imperturbable.
  4. HW: Chang-Rae Lee's "Coming Home Again." See Handouts to print out a copy. ANNOTATE. Look for 3 examples of Rhetorical Devices and 2 grammatically interesting sentences.
  5. Childhood Essay Reflection. Due tomorrow.
  6. Vocabulary Quiz.

Vocabulary: cache, cacophony, calumny, cantankerous, captious, cataclysmic, catalyst, caucus, cede, celerity, censorious, certitude, imperturbable, sententia, assonance



Thrashing Thursday, Oct. 30th:

CHANGE OF PLANS: NO GRAMMAR HOMEWORK!!!
  1. Assignment (9C): Analyze and Evaluate an article. Determine its bias. Annotate the article with your commentary (SOAPSTone, style, rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, pathos). Red poster for "right" and Blue poster for "Left."
  2. Quiz Monday on Vocabulary and Lecture Notes.
  3. 4 Modes of Discourse (9D): due Monday.
  4. Grammar HW (9E) will be posted by Friday: due Monday. CANCELED!
  5. On-line discussion: Frank Deford's "Duchess" sports commentary. (SOAPSTone. Rhetorical devices. What was the purpose of his piece? How do you know?)
  6. SPEECH #2: SOAPSTone (9F), due Tuesday.
  7. Score essays.



Wiley Wednesday, Oct. 29th:
  1. Label your speeches A, B, C. Choose one speech and answer SOAPSTone (9A). Due tomorrow.
  2. Spelling quiz: duchess, expectorate, promiscuous, connoisseur, spittle, sputum, noxious, cuspidor, spittoon, coiffeur
  3. What do these words mean?
  4. LISTEN: Frank Deford's Sports Commentary. Duchess.
  5. HW: Choose one of your political news/commentary articles from Monday's HW and answer SOAPSTone (9B).
  6. VOCABULARY QUIZ ON MONDAY. :)




Tight Tuesday, Oct. 28th:
  1. College Fair
  2. Discussion: College Q&A Session



Mysterious Monday, Oct. 27th:
  1. WOW: histrionics. With such histrionics, she should consider becoming a soap opera actress.
  2. Of Mice and Men alternate ending clip.
  3. LIST: 5-7 news/media/print sources. 5-7 reputable reporters/journalists/editorial writers. 5-7 topics prevalent in these presidential elections.
  4. HW: Find and print/copy 2-3 articles covering the current presidential election. Find articles that focus on the candidates and their stance(s) on prominent political issues.
  5. HW: SPEECHES. Check the Resources page for websites listing famous speeches. Choose your top three favorite speeches and bring copies of the speeches in this Wednesday.
  6. HW: Vocabulary.
  7. SYNTAX (Please add to your syntax log): Mrs. M dreams on about her new life, but her sister grows concerned about her isolation in her room. She emerges to show her sister and her late husband’s friend that she is just fine.
    Chunks to be rearranged to form a syntactically effective sentence:
    ..and…there was…like a goddess of Victory…she carried herself unwittingly…a feverish triumph in her eyes…
  8. Two more sample essays: Score in groups.

Vocabulary: balk, ballast, beatific, becalm, becloud, bedraggled, beget, behemoth, beneficent, berate, bilious, blasphemous, histrionics
Terms: synecdoche, zeugma



Freaky Friday, Oct. 24th:
  1. Discussion: Rubric and Scores for Sample Essays
  2. Collect Homework from yesterday
  3. Balderdash!
  4. Vocab quiz on Monday!



Thrashing Thursday, Oct. 23rd:
  1. Collect Grammar HW from Period 5.
  2. Review AP Rubric. See handouts for a copy.
  3. Scoring Two Samples of Timed Writing: Most Persuasive
  4. HW: Study for Vocabulary Quiz tomorrow
  5. HW: What would you score each sample essay, and why? One short paragraph for each paragraph. (8C)



Wicked Wednesday, Oct. 22nd:
  1. Collect Grammar HW from Per. 6 only. Collect from Period 5 tomorrow!
  2. Discussion: Why did you all do so well on the last Benchmark?
  3. Read two sample essays. What did they do well? How can they improve? What scores would you give them? Why?
  4. Paris J'Taime short by Wes Craven



Tempestuous Tuesday, Oct. 21st:hwmindr.gif
  1. Collect all Voice Lessons.
  2. Share, then collect all postcards! (7A)
  3. Participation Assessment.
  4. "On Dumpster Diving" Reading questions (8A). Due tomorrow. (see below)
  5. Did you complete your vocabulary list for the week?
  6. Finish traveling together. :)
  7. HW: Grammar handout (8B)

  • How does Eighner organize his essay? What does such an organization imply?
  • Eighner's simple, understated tone suggests that anyone can adapt to Dumpster diving with a little practice. Why do you think he uses such a tone?
  • Write about someone who does what Eighner deplores in his closing paragraphs, "invests objects with sentimental value." Let your description reveal whether or not you agree with Eighner (0.5-1 page).



Mighty Monday, Oct. 20th:
  1. Wow! So many places! Where did we travel to today? Can you remember?
  2. Did not collect or check Voice Lesson, Diction #3--Will do tomorrow!
  3. Please review "On Dumpster Diving."
  4. WOW: germane. "Germany is not germane to our discussion today," said the history professor. "Today, we shall discuss last night's episode of Friends instead."
  5. NPR: "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!"

Vocabulary: arable, arcane, archipelago, arrears, arrogate, askance, assent, atavistic, autocrat, aver, avuncular, awry, germane
Terms: apophasis, allusion



Freaky Friday, Oct. 15th:
  1. Traveled to Mongolia, Brunei, Easter Island, Tibet, India and...Middle Earth!
  2. Did not collect or check Voice Lesson, Diction #3--Will do on Monday!
  3. Please review "On Dumpster Diving."



Theoretical Thursday, Oct. 14th:
  1. We learned about Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Sgaw Karen, Mali, Georgia, and Djibouti. Thank you presenters!
  2. Collected DJs and Timed Writing Reflections.
  3. Remember: Voice Lesson, Diction #3 due tomorrow!
  4. Remember: Notebooks need to be nice and organized!
  5. Remember: Quiz on Grammar tomorrow.



Wacky Wednesday, Oct. 13th:
  1. Students met the Hmong, Mien, Bulang, Yao and Azerbaijan people groups!
  2. Collect tomorrow: DJs (6C) and Timed Writing Reflections.
  3. No handout for tonight's Presidential Debate, but watch if you can!
  4. Check out the rubric for the Amazing Race project on the Handouts page.
  5. HW: DUE FRIDAY. Voice Lesson, Diction #3 Handout found on Handouts page.
  6. Postcards. (7A)

PLEASE COME TO CLASS EARLY ON THE DAY YOU ARE PRESENTING. BE READY TO GO AT THE START OF THE PERIOD! STUDENTS!!! PLEASE COME TO CLASS ON TIME!!!



Terrifying Tuesday, Oct. 12th:
  1. Timed Writing, "Heroes Stamps," Reflection sheet. Please staple the reflection sheet to the top of your essay, due tomorrow.
  2. Discussion: Great job on the grammar assignments! Now apply it to your own writing!
  3. Punctuation: Students were given study sheets/notes for this Friday's quiz.
  4. What does gauche mean? Crass? Why is it important for us to use correct punctuation?
  5. Class time to work on projects!

PLEASE COME TO CLASS EARLY ON THE DAY YOU ARE PRESENTING. BE READY TO GO AT THE START OF THE PERIOD! STUDENTS!!! PLEASE COME TO CLASS ON TIME!!!



Mollifying Monday, Oct. 11th:
  1. New seats. :)
  2. PLEASE CHECK WIKISPACES REGULARLY!
  3. Period 5 only: Pass back "Heroes: Stamps" Timed Writing
  4. WOW: feign. Though she had discovered they were planning a party, she feigned surprise so as not to spoil the festivities.
  5. Pick when presenting...
  6. "On Dumpster Diving"--4 more DJs!
  7. Class time to work on projects!

Vocabulary: affluent, denounce, instigate, emulate, rail, calibrate, fickle, compelling, agile, whimsical, allocate, frugal, feign, epithet, expletive




In an effort to keep this page nice and tidy, all previous weeks' notes will be moved to DailyNotesArchive page.

FANTASTIC Friday!!! Oct. 10th:
  1. New numbers: Each student got their new class number.
  2. Timed Writing.
  3. Collect: VP and Presidential Debate Handouts
  4. Vocabulary Quiz



Thoroughly Thursday, Oct. 9th:
  1. Discussion: What was more interesting? The Presidential Debate on Tuesday night, or the Twilight Zone episode from yesterday?
  2. Close-Reading: Dialectical Journals. "Los Angeles Notebook"
  3. "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner. Begin Reading.
  4. HW: Close Reading. Write at least 4 dialectical journal (DJs) entries for the "On Dumpster Diving" article. (6C)
  5. Vocabulary Quiz tomorrow.
  6. No grammar homework today! Woo-hoo!
  7. In-class Research/Work time.



What a Wednesday! Oct. 8th:
  1. Monday Media on a Wednesday: Watch Twilight Zone episode, "The Eye of the Beholder."
  2. Consider: symbolism, theme, setting, message, mood, tone
  3. Does the episode remind you of anything you have read in the past?



Tornado Tuesday, Oct. 7th:
  1. Participants paired up in teams of two. Each team received their "secret" location for the Amazing Race (6B). Details of the assignment can be found on the Handouts page. Some time in class to work on projects this Thursday and Friday, but assume that you will have to do research outside of school in an actual library! For information on RESEARCH, please check the new RESOURCES page!
  2. Vocabulary lists due tomorrow.
  3. Presidential Debate (6A): Ethos, Logos, Pathos. Find assignment on Handouts page.
  4. Stories with Holes! VICTORY IS MS. P's, muahahahahahaha!!!

Revision: No need to print out "On Dumpster Diving" yet.



Magic Monday, Oct. 6th:
  1. Amazing Race! (6B) Check Handouts page for a .pdf document outlining the assignment.
  2. WOW: espouse
  3. VP Debate
  4. Ethos, Logos, Pathos using WOWs: Letter to the folks. Letter to the school. Letter to your colleagues.
  5. HW: Review "Los Angeles Notebook"
  6. Syntax: Even though Mrs. M knows she will cry again when she sees her dead husband laid out in his coffin, she also has intimations of a new happiness.
    Chunks to be rearranged to make a syntactically effective sentence:
    ...beyond that bitter moment...absolutely...but she saw...that would belong to her...a long procession of years to come...

VOCABULARY: dumpster, proprietary, apt, generic, foraging, scavenging, refuse, sporadic, dilettante, botulism, emulsify, boon, espouse, antimetabole, apostrophe



FINALLY FRIDAY!!! Oct. 3rd:
  1. Vocabulary Quiz
  2. Voice Lesson: Diction 2 (5D). Download document from Handouts if needed.
  3. Discussion: VP Debate! Handout due Monday
  4. Lecture: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
  5. Pass back papers



Thoughtful Thursday, Oct. 2nd:
  1. Benchmark today (5A)! Reflective Essay. Look on yesterday's Daily Notes for a copy of the Rubric.
  2. Good luck on the SAT this weekend!
  3. HW: Grammar handout, "Combining to Imitate" (5B). Please check Handouts page to download a copy. PLEASE READ DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY.
  4. HW: Study for your vocabulary quiz tomorrow.
  5. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden Vice-Presidential Debate, 6 p.m. PST. Keep tabs using this handout (5C):

If you are unable to watch the debate tonight due to scheduling conflicts, watch the debate in its entirety on the website http://www.youdecide2008.com (according to the youdecide2008 website, the video will be uploaded after the debate has finished airing). The assignment (5C) will be due on Monday.



Wonderful Wednesday, Oct. 1st:
  1. Review North Korea facts: What do you remember from yesterday?
  2. Finish slide show!
  3. Introduction to the AmazingRace!
  4. Have you been keeping up with Vocabulary homework?

BENCHMARK TOMORROW!!!!!!! If you'd like to take a look at the rubric that will be used to score your essays, click here:



Terrific Tuesday, Sept. 30th:
  1. Media Center! Checked out Elements of Literature textbooks.
  2. Sequential Ordered Sharing: North Korea
  3. Slide Show
  4. Super Mini Research Project

NO HOMEWORK! :) Also, we will meet back in the classroom tomorrow where the air conditioning is working.



Manic Monday, September 29th:

ANNOUNCEMENT: We will be meeting in the Media Center tomorrow. Please bring your I.D. Card--we will be checking out a textbook. We will also be conducting class in there, so show up promptly! Do not forget!

  1. TEST!!!: Colleagues, check out the Discussion Board (off of the "Home" page), and shout out your thoughts!
  2. HW: Research North Korea. Find 2-3 interesting facts about the country, culture, history, politics, government, etc. Include your source.
  3. READ: How do you know if your source is reliable?
  4. Monday Media will be on a Tuesday this week!
  5. Syntax: Mrs. M, “facing an open window,” is soothed by the sounds and smells of nature; the cloud of grief begins to lift.
    Chunked phrases to be rearranged to make a syntactically effective sentence:
    …quite motionless…she sat…except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her…with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair…as a child who had cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams…
    Please write your answer on the Syntax log in your binder.
  6. WOW--dearth: "When there is nothing but d'earth, there is a dearth." What's your best guess?
  7. COLLECT Final Draft of Childhood Memory.
  8. HW: Vocabulary!
  9. Have you printed out the yet?

Vocabulary: vivacious, myriad, stupefy, bourgeois, nomadic, arbiter, deliberate, adept, ornate, palette, encore, consumption, dearth
Terms: anaphora, alliteration


ANNOUNCEMENT: Sorry colleagues, but looks like I accidentally left the Diction article (listed below as #4) at school. My apologies, but reading the article will have to wait till Monday.

Friday, September 26th:

  1. What's on the test on Monday?
  2. TAKE A BREAK: No Vocab Quiz today since there's a test on Monday.
  3. Diction exercise (4C).
  4. HW: Please download and print a copy of the Diction article this weekend. Please read thoroughly. (Note: This is different from the "Diction" exercise listed as #3 above. This document is at least 3-4 pages long and will be scanned and uploaded later tonight.)
  5. REMINDER: REVISIONS of Reflective Essay on "Childhood Memory" due Monday. Staple the Peer Review sheet behind the final draft.
  6. Continue Lecture on Close-Reading.
  7. Collect: Grammar Homework
  8. HW: Please print out the rhetorical and analytical checklist.doc found also on the Handouts page. Place in your binder!

NOTE!!! Just found an error on the Rhetorical and Analytical Checklist! It's not "Casual Relationship." It's "Causal Relationship," haha. ;)



Thursday, September 25th:
  1. Discussion: What's good note-taking?
  2. Peer Edit: "Childhood Memory"
  3. REVISIONS due Monday, Sept. 29th
  4. Continue "Homeless" Group presentations
  5. Continue Lecture on Close-Reading
  6. HW: Grammar, "Unscrambling" (4B) found on Handouts page. Please download, print, and complete the exercise. You may type your answers right onto the Word document, or write on the printed handout.

Please note: First TEST next Monday. Review on Friday.



Wednesday, September 24th:
  1. Are you keeping your notebook organized? Is your Vocabulary Section organized?
  2. Finish "Homeless" Group presentations
  3. Read aloud Sample Timed Writing from Monday
  4. Lecture with Keynote Presentation: What is Close-reading?
  • "Where Nothing Says Everything" by Suzanne Berne
  • "Los Angeles Notebook" by Joan Didion

HOMEWORK: Please print out "" and Read. Come up with a list of questions you might ask when reading this passage. Write them in the margins of your copy.



Tuesday, September 23, 2008:
  1. MEDIA CENTER: Introduction to Wikispaces
  2. Create an Account: Please use Period number, First Name, and Last Name Initial for your UserName. For example, "2VickieP" would be my username if I were in Period 2.
  3. Six Word Autobiography using Skitch!



Monday, September 22, 2008:
  1. Website Introduction
  2. Vocabulary/WOW
  3. Syntax Exercise
  4. Monday Media: "Heroes Stamps" and Timed Writing (4A)
  5. Collect Grammar Homework
  6. Collect Reflective Writing Assignment, "Childhood Memory" (3C)
  • HW: Print out a copy of the AP Standards for your AP folder/binder
  • HW: Weekly vocabulary/terms work

Vocabulary:
caustic, malevolent, leeward, foehn, cantons, mitigate, alacrity, spurious, pejorative, approbation, effrontery, wrath, absolution, condone
Terms:
parallelism, chiasmus


Class Standards:


We're meeting in the Computer Lab tomorrow. Please come on time with ID card on hand!



Friday, September 19, 2008:
  1. Vocabulary Quiz
  2. Homework: Grammar Worksheet, "Chunking" (3B)
  3. Group Presentations & Discussion, Quindlen's "Homeless" piece
  4. HW: Reflective Essay, "Childhood Memory" (3C)



Thursday, September 18:
  1. Write vocabulary words on separate sheet in pen (for tomorrow's quiz)
  2. "Reader's History" paper Reflection Sheet
  3. Students received Manila folders to begin their Portfolios
  4. Group Presentations & Discussion, "Life as an Illiterate" by Jean Y. Leung



Wednesday, September 17:
  1. Vocabulary: Choose 7 words from Quindlen's "Homeless" piece for this week's vocabulary list
  2. Passed back "Reader's History" papers
  3. HW: Rewrite sentences found on "Reader's History Critiques" handout (3A)



Tuesday, September 16:
  1. WOW: benevolent
  2. Syntax #2
  3. Some notes about writing...
  4. SOAPSTone: Students were divided into groups. Each group worked on becoming experts on answering SOAPSTone questions for two articles.
  5. What is the definition of "homeless"?
  6. HW: Read Anna Quindlen's "Homeless"