Week 1 & 2 Syllabus: August 27

WELCOME TO NEW TRIER HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH. Each weekly syllabus will begin with a short paragraph that describes where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, where we’re headed, what’s coming next, and what’s the big picture. In the first two weeks, we will establish routines—writing while you read, how to take notes during discussions, using Squarespace and Canvas. I will also include reminders—such as this: bring your copy of Curious Incident to class starting next week. If you haven’t finished it, get it read by next Friday, August 30

WEDNESDAY: Anchor Day Schedule

• Lecture: How to read a poem.

• Reading and annotating, “About Competition.”

• HW: re-read the poem, and write notes on the poem: a) What do I notice? and b) What does it (the poem) mean?

FRIDAY, August 23

• Reviewing poetry rules.

• Discussion of poem (practicing routines, pre-post discussion writing, note taking)

• Picture day.

• Time permitting, writing a paragraph. (What does Bukowski want us to learn about competition and the secret to success?)

• HW: If you have not done so, finish reading Haddon’s novel by class on Tuesday.

TUESDAY, August 27

• Introduction: Meet Ms. Craig!

• Finishing our review of classroom expectations.

• Writing your paragraph about the poem, “About Competition”.

• Posting your paragraphs onto Squarespace.

• HW: Finish reading The Curious Incident. Submit your signed course expectations on Canvas and your paragraph on Squarespace. Make sure you paragraph is posted into Squarespace!

WEDNESDAY, August 28

• Making sure everyone turned in class expectations using Canvas, and everyone posted your paragraph using Squarespace.

• Voting on the three BEST paragraphs in class.

• We will read an interview with the author of our summer read, and practice marking vocabulary.

• HW: Complete this survey.

FRIDAY, August 30

• Returning to our paragraphs on the poem: reading with a critically constructive eye.

• Revising paragraphs, and posting NEW version of your ¶

• Second half of class, we will shift toward another non-fiction handout, this one a collection of first-person essays written by people with autism about their life experience (and one poem, as well).

• We will read these aloud, in small groups.

• Ending the day with an annotation technique that you will use to re-read and re-annotate: TOUGH QUESTIONS.

• HW: Read the selections from “Voices in Autism,” annotating and practicing the note-taking techniques covered in class (tough questions, opening signals, circling vocabulary).

Paragraph on poem, "About Competition"

As a comment, post your entire paragraph about the aforementioned poem, one that explains what the poem means. Remember, your paragraph should include a direct quote! After posting, read other students’ paragraphs, selecting the three best paragraphs (IYO).

NOTE: When you click on “Post Comment,” you will be prompted to comment as a guest. Type your first and last name, as you are known at school. Add your NEW TRIER email address, 2028xxx@student.nths.net. Leave the URL space blank, and then select <SUBMIT>

Curious Incident Audio--Summer Reading Novel

The following image will link you to the audio files for our summer novel. Feel free to listen to these while reading. However, you may NOT use these in place of reading. Read along with the audio, with pen in hand!

Greetings, Scholars in the Class of 2028!

Searching for books that you will need for our English class? Seek no further. You can purchase these here, via our NT bookstore.

This is our classroom blog, a public web site that anyone—scholars, tutors, parents or grandparents, even Uncle Buck—can access via the world-wide-web.

Grades will be in out Canvas page. But everything else, including our syllabus, will be here. Bookmark this page!

Finals

Plan on arriving at the room for the final 15 minutes early. That will give you time enough to get a snack, water, use the washroom if needed, and relax before the test. Please bring pen (for annotating) and pencil (for the scan-tron multiple choice portion of the test). You should also bring a book for silent reading for when you are done with the test.

Final room and times are as follows:

Summer Reading

Yes, you have been assigned summer reading for the 24-25 school year. Click on the image below to access that assignment (most of you are enrolled in Sophomore English 2, two level). Apart from that…keep reading! For fun, for information, for investigative purposes. Nary any other skill will serve you lifelong as reading will. Practice.

Week 10 Syllabus: May 28

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT ROMEO OR JULIET—OR THEIR PARENTS for that matter—might have done to prevent the tragedy of their deaths from occurring? We will see how the death of Tybalt and subsequent expulsion of Romeo from Verona lead to a series of events that end in tragedy: Romeo is prevented from meeting with and speaking with Juliet; Paris redoubles his marriage proposals; Lord Capulet decides to marry Juliet to Paris as soon as possible; Juliet, now suicidal, spurs Friar Lawrence to fake Juliet’s death; the plague prevents Romeo from finding about the plan; Romeo ends his life believing that Juliet is dead; Juliet—upon awaking—does the same. Could anything have prevented this tragedy? Or, like their love, was their lives fated to end in this fashion, ordained in the heavenly stars by God?

WEDNESDAY, May 29

• Review of summer reading, and Independent reading for 20 minutes.

• Watching the end of act four in R&J.

• Small group work on Act 4 worksheet/annotation guide.

• HW: I am collecting the R&J study guide on Friday. Make sure it is complete!

FRIDAY, May 30

• The end of Romeo and Juliet! We will watch Act 5.

• Small group work on annotation guide. I will collect and grade these at end of class.

• Watching John' Greene’s “Crash Course: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”

• HW: No homework. Our finals take place in room C-235 at 8 am on Wednesday, June 5

Week 9 Syllabus: May 21

WHY DO ROMEO AND JULIET GO FROM MEETING-AT-THE-DANCE to “let’s-get-married” in less than 24 hours? The Friar seems to think that marrying them might resolve the long-standing family feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. But is that realistic? After all, the Prince has ordered that anyone caught fighting in the streets will “be put to death,” but that hasn’t prevented Tybalt from sending Romeo a threatening letter to his house, challenging him to a duel. Likewise, Mercutio seems ready to fight as well. Why can’t Romeo and Juliet—while either together or apart—see their situation with more clarity? Is their love realistic? In what way is their love doomed to fail from the beginning?

TUESDAY, May 21

• Finishing our independent reading presentations. Once done, we will turn our attention to Act 2.

• Watching the end of act two in R&J.

• Small group work on Act 2 worksheet/annotation guide.

• HW: If you have NOT finished the study guide questions for act one, do them tonight! Otherwise, you should make sure all the study guide questions for act two are completed.

WEDNESDAY, May 22

• Today, we return to independent reading!

• Passing back grades on the oral presentations.

• 6th period will watch the end of act two: scene 5, in which Juliet gets news from the Nurse from Romeo, about what Romeo says, and scene 6, in which Romeo and Juliet go see Friar Lawrence to get married.

• Both classes will spend time working on the R&J Study guide.

• HW: If you haven’t finished the study guide questions for act three, do that. If you have, work on the first questions for act three.

FRIDAY, May 24

• Act 3! We will both watch the fight scene in 3.1, and the aftermath of Romeo’s exile, Juliet’s wedding to Paris, and the suicidal teens desperate search for a way to be together, despite their parents.

• HW: Read act four for class on Tuesday. Also, work on the study guide questions for that same act.

Week 8 Syllabus: May 13

IS JULIET FOOLISH TO FALL FOR ROMEO? Romeo has been in love with Rosaline. She won’t “give him the time of day” because, according to the Friar, he expresses love “by rote,” in other works he is expressing his love as though he memorized what to say. Romeo doesn’t really feel the love he expresses. So…is it just lust? Can we believe that Romeo isn’t simply infatuated by Juliet’s beauty and wealth, her unattainability? And what do we make of Juliet’s affection for him? Both the Nurse and Lord Capulet express worry for her, both reminding the audience that life is short—the Nurse lost her daughter Susan, and Capulet’s only child left is Juliet. Is she really in love with Romeo?

TUESDAY, May 14

• Starting class with our 20 minutes of SSR—reading the study guide to R&J from the Park Square Theater.

• Watching act one of R&J.

• Lecture on key points within the act.

• Small group work on Act 1 worksheet/annotation guide.

• HW: Read Act 2, scenes one and two.

WEDNESDAY, May 15

• Moving on into Act 2. We will watch scenes one and two.

• Working on study guide for Act 2.

• HW: Begin reading Act 3. That should be finished by this coming Monday.

FRIDAY, May 17

• Oral presentations. Here’s a link to our rubric, and those who do not get the chance to present today will present on Tuesday.

• HW: Finish reading Act 3 for class on Monday. Remember to use the audio!

Graphic Screenplay of R&J

Do you like comical books? If so, here’s a link to a modern, yet a verbatim match to the Elizabethan play by Shakespeare.

Week 7 Syllabus: May 6

BRING ON WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE! The iconic tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, features everything you would want in romantic-death-comedy: teenage romance, street-fighting with swords, out-of-control family parties and drunken exploits, a marriage, a court case, even illegal drug use and murder. And that doesn’t even include the dual suicide which ends the play! We will start but carefully reading—and orally performing, in the round—the prologue, the sonnet that opens the play and (spoiler!) tells you that Romeo and Juliet die at the end. You will also read act one, and listen to the audio performance while doing so.

TUESDAY, May 7

Take the above survey for New Trier’s administration, in class on Tuesday.

• Starting class with our 20 minutes of SSR.

• Collecting your two paragraphs about whether or not Odysseus is a hero worthy of our emulation. We want to review these BEFORE we do any peer editing.

• Large group reading of Romeo & Juliet’s act 1 prologue.

• Reviewing the expectations for Friday’s oral presentations on your independent reading.

• HW: Prepare for your note card for your oral presentation. IT SHOULD ONLY CONTAIN PHRASES. If it has complete sentences, you will NOT be allowed to use it in class on Friday. Worried about that? Ask Ms. Tamvakis or I to check it before Friday. Our office is in C-211.

• For class on Friday, read (and listen) to Act 1 of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. The audio is >40 minutes. But it WILL require you to concentrate, and you will NOT be able to complete it in one sitting.

WEDNESDAY, May 8

• Bring a charged iPad to class today. You will be taking the STAR reading assessment for the last time (this school year).

• Remember, your log in is your NT id number. Your password is your eight-digit birthdate (month/date/year).

• HW: Finish preparing for your oral presentation on your independent reading, AND finish reading act one of Romeo & Juliet.

FRIDAY, May 9

• Silent reading.

• Close examination of problem: Romeo suffers from unrequited love (he loves Rosaline, and she ignores his advances). His friend Benvolio convinces him to go to the Capulet’s costume party, where Rosaline will be, but ostensibly so that Romeo can “check out other babes.” What happens? He meets and falls in love with Juliet. The NEW problem? She’s a Capulet, a family that Romeo’s family hates.

• We will watch THREE different presentations of I.v, wherein Romeo and Juliet fall in love. We will closely read and study “the poem” that is their dialogue about sex and religion.

• Time permitting, we will either act out this scene.

• HW: Read and listen to act two. You should WATCH this Globe version of act one. It’s linked here.

Audio files for Romeo & Juliet

Click on the image above to access the acts one through five audio files.

Week 6 Syllabus: April 29

LAST WEEK WE WRAPPED UP OUR READING of Homer’s Odyssey with a careful analysis of book 23, the reunion of Penelope and Odysseus. I collected and graded your annotations. We also practiced acting techniques (especially oral performance), emphasizing projection, pace, and pitch—performing aloud their “bed scene,” wherein Penelope tricks Odysseus into thinking she has destroyed their marriage bed. This week, scholars will finish planning for an essay on Homer’s Odyssey, and will finish filming their performance of a children’s play that explains a key ancient Greek myth (Pandora & Cupid, or Eurydice & Orpheus).

TUESDAY, April 28

• Starting class with our 20 minutes of SSR.

• Right now, we have several moving parts, or projects that we are completing prior to finals. They include:

  • Finishing worksheet on book 23;

  • Completing a writing assignment on Homer’s Odyssey;

  • Studying and performing in Instagram-fashion a short children’s play about a myth;

  • Planning a short, oral presentation about your independent reading.

• Moving into acting troupes and then performing/recording your play. Some tips:

  • When recording, get close. The most difficult part of recording is getting the audio right. Getting close solves this problem.

  • When possible, have performers jump into the action, instead of stopping-and-restarting. Recording line-by-line will become an editing nightmare.

  • Remember, fun > perfection. This is not a polished, memorized performance. You can rely on your scripts like Professor Wilson does.

  • Costuming and props should contribute to the fun, not get in the way of it. It does NOT have to be done in one way. Get creative!

• In partners, reviewing your annotations and homework for books 13-18.

• HW: Study for the quiz tomorrow. It will cover books 13-18, and will be twice as long as our previous quizzes.

WEDNESDAY, May 1

• Today actors will finish shooting, re-shoot, and edit their instagram-esque performances of their assigned Greek myth.

• HW: Obtain your copy of “Romeo & Juliet” to class on Friday. We may have time to read the prologue and start our work on the play.

FRIDAY, May 3

• Silent reading.

• Returning graded homework on Homer’s Odyssey. The only outstanding assignments for the epic poem are 1) the worksheet on chapter 23, and 2) the writing assignment we’re working on in class.

• Writing reasons and quotes for your 2¶ essay on Odysseus, and whether he is or is not a hero worth emulating.

• Finishing re-shooting and editing your Instagram performance.

• HW: Write both paragraphs for class on Tuesday. Have the PRINTED on PAPER for class, so we can proofread, out loud.

This is our LAST book:

IF YOU HAVEN’T PURCHASED YOUR COPY OF Romeo & Juliet, do that now. Please note, you will need the LARGER edition, which is approx 5.5” x 8.5” in size. You can purchase that via our NEW bookstore, here.

To access audio of each act, click on the image above.

Week 4 Syllabus: April 15

ODYSSEUS RETURNS TO ITHACA, not as a victor from war, but as a frightened, humble man. Unlike Haroun, who falls asleep and dreams his way into his hero-journey, Odysseus falls asleep at the end, and awakens on Ithaca with Phoenican treasure. He only learns he has returned home when Athena reveals herself, and tells him where he his. Odysseus lacks agency (or control) of his destiny. Q: How, then, will he overthrow the suitors? A: Not without a lot of help—from his son, his servants, his father and his wife. Even the great King Odysseus cannot save his kingdom without those around him.

TUESDAY, April 9

• Starting class with our 20 minutes of SSR.

• What is the correlation between a) written notes in the margins, b) worksheet assignments that require you to re-read, and c) results from the quizzes? Lecture on the importance of writing as a form of thinking.

• In partners, reviewing your annotations and homework for books 13-18.

• HW: Study for the quiz tomorrow. It will cover books 13-18, and will be twice as long as our previous quizzes.

WEDNESDAY, April 17

• No class for PSAT

FRIDAY, April 19

• Silent reading, a graphic novel on Athena:

• Collecting your homework on Chapters 21 and 22

• Checking your annotations on book 21.

• Careful re-reading of book 21, and re-annotating of book 21, if needed.

• Quiz on book 21.

• HW: Read book 20 in Homer’s Odyssey. We finish the epic poem next week!

Week 3 Syllabus: April 8

ODYSSEUS RETURNS TO ITHACA, not as a victor from war, but as a frightened, humble man. Unlike Haroun, who falls asleep and dreams his way into his hero-journey, Odysseus falls asleep at the end, and awakens on Ithaca with Phoenican treasure. He only learns he has returned home when Athena reveals herself, and tells him where he his. Odysseus lacks agency (or control) of his destiny. Q: How, then, will he overthrow the suitors? A: Not without a lot of help—from his son, his servants, his father and his wife. Even the great King Odysseus cannot save his kingdom without those around him.

TUESDAY, April 9

• Starting class with our 20 minutes of SSR.

• What is the correlation between a) written notes in the margins, b) worksheet assignments that require you to re-read, and c) results from the quizzes? Lecture on the importance of writing as a form of thinking.

• In partners, reviewing your annotations and homework for books 13-18.

• HW: Study for the quiz tomorrow. It will cover books 13-18, and will be twice as long as our previous quizzes.

WEDNESDAY, April 10

• Quiz on books 13-18

• HW: Read and annotate book 19 in preparation for class tomorrow.

FRIDAY, April 12

• We’re starting with 20 minutes of review of book 19, re-reading it silently. That will be our SSR for the day.

• Returning to partners

• Ending class with our quiz on Book 19

• HW: Read book 20 in Homer’s Odyssey. We finish the epic poem next week!

Week 2 Syllabus: April 3

WE ARE AT THE MID-POINT IN HOMER’S POEM, but are very near the end of Odysseus’ journey to Ithaca. In fact, he is nearly there. Having landed on Scheria, home of the Phaecians, he’s arrived at the LAST island before hitting his home island, Ithaca. We will read about Odysseus meeting Princess Nausicaa, Queen Arete, and King Alcinoos, and also how they transport him home on their magical, self-propelled ship. From there, we will skip the chapters wherein Odysseus spies on the suitors, in disguise of an old, homeless beggar. We will finish the Odyssey next week, as he slays the suitors and then is reunited with his wife, Penelope.

WEDNESDAY, April 3

• We will start class today by watching the first 9 minutes of a cheesy documentary about grammar, and more specifically about SUBJECTS and PREDICATES, and more specifically what a PHRASE is. Your speaking notes may not include sentences, but only bullet points that are phrases. We will end at minute 9:00.

• Writing talking points on a) the author, and b) the plot summary.

• Turning to Homer’s Odyssey. We will read book 13 and 16 together, today in class (our edition skips books 14 and 15, and shortens 16).

• Ending class with our 20 minutes of SSR.

• HW: Finish reading the short version of book 16, and complete the plot summary worksheet for books 13 and 16. We will add notes for book 17 in class on Friday, when we read it together.

FRIDAY, April 5

• Returning to our practice with subject and predicate, this time completing two worksheets that will help you identify them. Remember, your oral presentation notes should ONLY consist of bulleted subjects, predicates, or phrases!

• Working on writing talking points for the third part of your presentation: c) dramatic reading of an important passage (1+ page in length).

• Turning to book 17 and 19 (book 18 is omitted). We will add notes to your worksheet.

• SSR at end of class.

• HW: Read book 20 in Homer’s Odyssey. We finish the epic poem next week!

Week 10 Syllabus: March 11

IN JOSEPH CAMPBELL’S MONOMYTH, THE HERO’S most important transformation comes during “initiation.” Having undergone departure, and at some point while encountering difficulties prior to to his major conflict (or final battle), the hero must undergo some type of transformation. Without this change, the hero will not be able to successfully defeat the monster, or accomplish his task, in the hero journey. Often, this transformation is symbolic, and takes the form of a symbolic “death and rebirth.” Odysseus must journey to the land of the dead, or the Underworld, where all dead reside. This is his his literal and figurative “low point” in the journey. While there, the ghosts he encounters will give him advice on what makes life worth living. Keep careful notes on their advice to him…he will need it!

TUESDAY, March 12

• Starting with independent reading, SSR.

• After collecting homework, quiz on book ten.

• Watching a scene that depicts book 10. We will watch:

  • This clip from Assante’s The Odyssey: meeting Circe on Ogygia

• Moving into book eleven, in which Odysseus journeys into the Underworld.

• HW: Read the next four pages in book 11, up to and including Odysseus’ conversation with his mother, Anticlea.

• Also watch this second clip: from Percy Jackson, the encounter with Charybdis.

WEDNESDAY, March 13

• Working on a “ghost” worksheet and completing a bit of research on the ghosts that Odysseus encounters. We will start by taking notes on Elpenor, Anticlea, and Achilles.

• We will then listen to the end of book eleven, wherein Odysseus meets various women (ghosts).

• HW: Finish reading book 11. In the last third of the chapter, Odysseus meets fellow soldiers who died either in battle at Troy, or at home returning from Troy. What lesson should Odysseus learn from these ghosts?

FRIDAY, March 15

• SSR.

• After being assigned ONE dead, Greek hero to research, you will use the following resources to begin gathering information about your assigned ghost.

  • START HERE. The Encyclopedia Britannica will have solid background on all of these Greek ghosts.

  • The Gale in Context’s “World History” database is another good place to start. They have background information on each ghost.

  • The Theoi Project is a good resource for scholarly details (scroll down to find search feature on this one)

  • Myth Index has some basic background.

  • The Met has a collection of Greek and Roman art.

  • You can find more art on Artstor, and visual version of Jstor.

  • National Archeological Museum of Greece for statues and older art

  • Books. Yes, believe it or not, books still exist. And here’s a couple of resources that may help, including Arts & Humanities and The Encyclopedia of Religion

  • Finally, Tufts University has an excellent database that will include where your assigned figure appears in Greek sources.

• HW: Reading book 12 for homework over the weekend.

Week 9 Syllabus: March 4

THE WORLD IS A DANGEROUS PLACE, AND around every corner lurks death. Like Sindbad the Sailor, Odysseus’ journey includes mysterious caverns, horrific monsters, and powerful gods who threaten his very existence. Yet Odysseus endures. In books 9 and 10, our focus for reading this week, we will see our hero confront a one-eyed giant, escape a multi-headed serpent, and evade a sea-gulping beheamoth hidden below a whirlpool. Each encounter includes some form of social or moral lesson. Pay keen attention to these morality tales, and what the reader should generally learn about listening, leadership, and humility before god.

TUESDAY, March 5

• Starting with independent reading, SSR.

• After collecting homework, quiz on book eight.

• Preparing for next oral presentation. This speech will be pre-written, but must then be “translated” into phrase-based notes that will then be used to describe “the interesting aspect” to the book you either most-recently finished or have been reading for some time.

• After collecting homework, we will preview the book 9 homework.

• Reading and annotating book nine together, modeling annotation technique.

• HW: Finish reading book nine, and complete worksheet in preparation for tomorrow’s quiz.

WEDNESDAY, March 6

• Collecting “cyclops” homework.

• Quiz on book 9.

• Ending class with annotations on book 10.

• HW: Read and annotate book 10.

FRIDAY, March 8

• SSR.

• Analysis of book 10

• Small group work on book 10 worksheet.

• Film clips that illustrate books 9 and 10

• HW: Finish the book 10 worksheet for class on Tuesday. Quiz on Tuesday. Read book 11 over the weekend. Each ghost that Odysseus meets teaches him some type of lesson. What should Odysseus learn? Keep marginal notes on that topic.

Week 8 Syllabus: February 26

ODYSSEUS IS THE MOST UNLIKELY OF HEROES. When we meet him, he is isolated and sobbing daily, wishing for death in lieu of being trapped with a beautiful goddess on a paradise island. When he returns to land after drifting at sea for 20 days (and nearly drowning in the process), he is literally naked and afraid, hiding under a pile of leaves for warmth and safety. THIS is our hero? Pay attention to the difference between Odysseus as the hero we meet and Odysseus the hero described in the books 9-12 flashback.

TUESDAY, February 27

• Starting with independent reading, SSR.

• 5 minutes of studying for quiz on book 5, followed by the 16 question quiz.

• After collecting homework, we will preview the book 6 homework.

• Reading and annotating book six together, modeling annotation technique.

• HW: Study book six, completing the homework for class tomorrow in preparation for the quiz.

WEDNESDAY, February 28

• Before taking the quiz, we will review the resources available to you here, in class, elsewhere on the internet. USE THESE! They will help.

• Quiz on book 6.

• Ending class with SSR.

• HW: Read the summary of book seven online (audio summary is in Lombardo files), and then read and annotate book eight.
  
  There are four parts to this chapter: 1) Demodocus sings about how Hephaaestus’ wife, Aprodite, gets caught having an affair with Ares; 2) After a bath, Nausicaa and Odysseus have a private chat filled with innuendo; 3) Demodocus sings about the end of the Trojan War, causing Odysseus to cry; 4) King Alcinous stops the story-telling and sining, and tells a story about a prophecy that the island of Scheria would one day transport home a man hated by Poseidon, and as a result the sea-god would build mountains around the island, forever cutting them off from the sea.

FRIDAY, March 1

• SSR.

• Mr. Easton’s recorded introduction to these film clips.

• Watching some film clips of Chuck Noland (get it…NO LAND?), a man who becomes stranded on an island, who attempts to escape from it, just like Odysseus escapes from Ogygia island and Calypso:

  • Trapped on an island;

  • Effect of isolation on mental health;

  • Leaving the island;

  • Lost at sea and giving up hope.

• Small group work on book eight, analyzing the chapters’ main theme: love interrupted! What should the reader realize about Odysseus, based on how he responds to these four parts in the poem?

• HW: Complete the worksheet on book 8. We will have the quiz on Tuesday.