Thursday

Review vocabulary for Friday
Journal: Describe your favorite character--1/2 page minimum
Review names
Homework: Read chapters 5,6, and 7
Write four quiz questions--2 for chapter 6 and 2 for chapter 7
      From now on, you will write two questions for each chapter that is assigned to you. Keep these     questions in your notebook.
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AUDIO version of Huck Finn

Tuesday

Review vocabulary for Friday
Review names
Discuss chapter 3,4
Homework: Read chapters 5,6
Write four quiz questions. From now on, you will write two questions for each chapter that is assigned to you. Keep these questions in your notebook.
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AUDIO version of Huck Finn

Monday, September 15

Huck Vocab
Quiz chapters 1,2
Discuss book
Review chapters 1,2
HOMEWORK: Read chapters 3,4 for TOMORROW
VOCABULARY FOR HUCK FINN: Quizlet Huck Finn deck
Reading time

September 10

Today:

1. Finish memorizing "I Saw a Man"

Hand in your paragraph and I'll hand it back at the end of the period

2. Review names of all classmembers

3. Quiz over names and poem

4. Check out Huckleberry Finn.

HOMEWORK: Read chapters 1 and 2!!!!!!  Note: Students who don't read get low grades

4. Continue with reading pre-assessment if you haven't finished question 23.


I saw a man 
     by Stephen  Crane

I saw a man pursuing the horizon; 
Round and round they sped. 
I was disturbed at this; 
I accosted the man.    [accost=to approach with intent to talk]
"It is futile," I said,       [futile=impossible to do]
"You can never -- " 

"You lie," he cried, 
And ran on. 

Your assignment is to write one long paragraph telling me the message of the poem.

When you have finished, exchange with your neighbor. The neighbor must then find a specific example from the poem that is referred to and then underline the sentence(s) that explains the significance

September 9

You work in the personel department of a garbage company and that you are writing a letter to your boss recommending that the boss hire one of two candidates. You will read through their resumes and then do a lot of thinking before you decide which candidate the boss should hire. Keep in mind what kinds of things a boss would be concerned with, because you will want to focus your ideas there. This is all about persuasion. Be clear, logical, and convincing.

Garbage Man Persuasive Essay
Your Assignment can be found at the following link: Garbage Man Essay

Essay due today at the first of the period.
Class debate. Divide into teams and prepare to debate according to the following format:
2 minutes to read a paper that makes a strong case for your candidate
4 minutes to ask the other side questions that will trip them up and make their candidate appear to be an inferior choice
1 minute to sum up

Welcome to American Literature!

Welcome to this class! My hope is that years from now, when you look back on your time spent in this room, that you will be able to see that you learned some skills that really help you in your life. I'd say that reading is the single most important skill a person can learn, and writing is a close second. Critical thinking is third, and your skills in all three of these areas will be sharpened this year.

To start the year, I'm going to have you pretend that you work in the personel department of a garbage company and that you are writing a letter to your boss recommending that the boss hire one of two candidates. You will read through their resumes and then do a lot of thinking before you decide which candidate the boss should hire. Keep in mind what kinds of things a boss would be concerned with, because you will want to focus your ideas there. This is all about persuasion. Be clear, logical, and convincing.

Garbage Man Persuasive Essay
Your Assignment can be found at the following link: Garbage Man Essay

Welcome to American Literature!

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, so you'll have to know how to write, and what better time than now to start?  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!
Class today:
1. The American Dream

• National Public Radio (NPR) video on the singer Bruce Springsteen and the American   Dream. Springsteen's American Dream--Beautiful and Bleak  
• Born to Run with lyrics (Bruce Springsteen)  Discuss meaning of the song.
• Compare and contrast the poems Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman, and 
• A Dream Deferred, by Langston Hughes.
•  Both deal with the American dream. Which is more similar to Springsteen's Born to Run? Why do you think these poets and singers see the American dream differently?
• As a group, decide what the song Born to Run is saying.  Take notes.
• Homework: Write three paragraphs telling me what you think Springsteen is saying. Remember, good writing makes a specific point, supports that point with specific examples, and discusses those examples.

My hope is that you'll find the class both challenging and fun.
Homework (to be done tonight)
1. The first thing I'd like you to do is to go to  the "Resources" 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!
2. Write three paragraphs telling me what you think Springsteen is saying. Remember, good writing makes a specific point, supports that point with specific examples, and discusses those examples.