December 3

November 15th

Walden Poster Project
Walden Quotes are found   here





Read The Crucible

Watch movie tomorrow

November 9, 2012

The Crucible

Watch the movie up to the point when the point where Reverend Hale comes to Salem
Read pages 8-30

vocabulary quiz

Here's an online text for the play if you need to read it at home and don't have your book:
The  Crucible

And here's the audiobook of The Crucible if you'd like to listen while you read along
Audiobook of The Crucible

And here is another audio book
The link above reads the whole book cover to cover

Vocabulary for The Crucible

November 2

1. Vocabulary test, Edgar Allan Poe
2. Finish Formative Assessment
3. Notes: characteristics of Transcendentalist philosophy

4. Watch Dead Poets' Society

5. Write your ten examples and briefly state the connection to Transcendentalist ideas


Transcendentalism

• praises individual worth over society
• shows contempt for attachment to social customs and habits
• belief in living in harmony with nature
• great dignity in manual labor; the common man is the true hero
• praise for the simple life; criticism for reliance on material possessions
• relationship with God should be personal
• value for revolutionary thoughts and ideas
• rejection of customs, especially traditional European ones
• focus on individual responsibility for developing a moral code
• value for intense feeling; Transcendentalists feel deeply and value that
• belief that Nature is the Great Teacher
• optimism

The Dark Romantics--Poe and Hawthorne--have a worldview that is, on the one hand very different from that of the Transcendentalists, and on the other, similar at its foundation.  I've reprinted the principles of transcendentalism, but this time I've changed them to show that the Dark Romantics take a similar view but put a dark, pessimistic tone to it.  The focus is still upon mankind and intense personal feeling, but . . .

• The individual doesn't fit into society because he's damaged
• shows contempt for attachment to social customs and habits 
• Nature is malevolent; mankind struggles with his inner demons
• The common man is the subject of the stories, and the protagonist is evil
• The protagonist has a dark relationship with dark forces within (no God in these stories)
• The protagonist has revolutionary thoughts and ideas, but they're twisted
• rejection of customs, especially traditional European ones
• the individual moral code is twisted and is at odds with society's values
• value for intense feeling; stories are all about the heart and psychology
• there is no Great Teacher.  The protagonist has no moral center.  He is alone
• Pessimism

Current Polls
And according to NYDailyNewhttp://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/the_rumble/2012/11/obamas-electoral-college-advantage-%E2%80%94-and-americas-new-normalshttp://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/the_rumble/2012/11/obamas-electoral-college-advantage-%E2%80%94-and-americas-new-normal

October 30--into Halloween

Edgar Allan Poe is the king of creepy. His stories are supposed to be unnerving, and today's unnerving and creepy story is The Masque of the Red Death.  Before you start, you need to learn the definitions of the following words (which will be on Friday's quiz):

Here's a recording of the story we will listen to today:  The Masque of the Red Death

Here's the movie for tomorrow
Masque of the Red Death, part 1
Masque of the Red Death, part 2

October 22nd--Political Involvement

Politics in America

Are you going to watch the presidential debate tonight?

I think it's important for all of us to be informed members of society and to make our voice heard.

It's looking like this election could be very close, and as such, it's extra important for all of us in the country to think through issues that will affect our lives.  Not only will the next president guide the country through the next four years, but during those four years it is very likely that he will appoint 1 or 2 Supreme Court justices, and those judges will make decisions that could last your entire lifetimes.  So, in case you're interested in following the polls these last three weeks, here are some that show how President Obama and Governor Romney are doing in the states that matter most:

Current Polls

This issue ties in quite well with our novel Huck Finn.  In 1845 when this novel is set, slave states were filled with people who did not think about political issues.  The Civil War had not yet taken place, and the Civil Rights Movement had not taken place by a long shot.  

So, the question for you is, "Will you be a thinker?  Will you make a difference in your society like Huck did in his?"

October 16th

Today you will be doing two things.
1. Sentence corrections.  Now that we're starting the 2nd 6 weeks of the semester, you'll need to start writing your sentence corrections on a new sheet of paper.  You will keep all of your sentence corrections for the 6 weeks in a notebook, which you will hand in on November 16th.  You may use a spiral notebook or a 3-ring binder, or you can even just staple the pages together when you hand in your notebook.

2. Each of you will be assigned a chapter from Huckleberry Finn.  Your assignment is to make a comic book page of the chapter.  To do this, you will need to do the following:
_____________________________________________
[                                                          Chapter ___   ]
[      Draw a picture of an important                            ]
[      scene from the chapter.                                       ]
[      Quote dialog from the scene,                               ]
[      with the page number.                                         ]                    
[                                                                               ]
[                                                                               ]
[                                                                               ]
[____________________________________________]
[  At the bottom of the page, you need to write a very   ]
[  concise summary of the chapter.  Four sentences       ]
[  should do it.                                                            ]
[____________________________________________]

October 2, 2012

Journal Writing

Is Jim a good person?
What evidence from the story do you have?  
With each example you cite, explain how the example shows that he is a good person.
Write 2/3 page

September 28

Vocabulary Test

Here's this week's vocabulary list:  Vocabulary

Today we will read chapters 20 and 21 in Huck Finn.  These are a couple of fun chapters in the book, so enjoy!

Friday is movie

September 19, 2012

Today we will start the period studying commas and past tense.

Sentence corrections

You are to correct the sentence that you find on the overhead.  We will start the period this way most days this semester, and you are to keep these sentence corrections in your notebook so that you can hand them in on Friday, October 5th.

Then we will read chapter 12 from Huckleberry Finn.

After you have finished this chapter, your assignment will be to select one of the 12 chapters we have studied thus far and write your own quiz questions for the class.  I will create a test based on the questions that you and 5th period come up with and you will be tested on these chapters tomorrow (20 points).

Write 3 Questions (and answers)
Writing good short answer questions:

• Recall questions--try to test things that are important, such as "What does Huck say 'ruined Jim' for a servant?"
• Identify the speaker of the quote--who said what?  Again, focus on important ideas in the book
• T/F
• Any other question--be sure that the question tests an important idea

September 17th

You will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday (like we do every week).  Remember, you get +1 extra credit if you make your own flash cards and bring them on Friday.  I do this every week of the year.  Do it!
Huck Finn Vocabulary

Read chapter 8 and 9 in class.

*Note: whenever you're absent, check the blog at home to see what we did and do your homework

Monday, September 17th

You will have a vocabulary test on Friday

September 12, 2012

Huckleberry Finn audio tape link
Mark Twain's Hannible Misouri Prezi presentation

September 11, 2012

Today we will make flashcards of our 13 vocabulary words and share them.
Vocabulary test Friday
Vocabulary, Huckleberry Finn
Quiz over chapter 1
Homework=read chapter 2.  Quiz tomorrow

September 10, 2012

Journal Writing Assignment

What is the best assignment you have ever had in school over the years?  This might be a project you did, or it might be something that was done in a day.  Anything goes. 
Explain why you liked that assignment.

5 sentences minimum

Welcome to American Lit/Sophomore English

I think that this year will quite a bit of fun for all of us.  We will do a lot of writing in here in preparation for the OAKS Writing Test, which you have to pass to graduate  :~ /

I promise that I'll try my hardest to make the writing relevant so that you won't say, "Man, I'm never going to use any of this stuff I'm learning later in life."  You will be writing throughout your lives--writing resumes, letters to co-workers, love letters (heh, heh), and countless other things.  No one will ever know your great thoughts if you can't express them.  In this class you will learn to express them.

So, the year begins! 

The first thing I'd like you to do is to go to  the "Handouts" tab, open the syllabus, and print it.  Then read it, sign it, and have your parent or guardian sign it.  Detach the part at the bottom (keep the rest) and bring it to class by Friday.  Thanks!