After typing, printing, and proofreading your paragraph—letting it sit and coming back to it a few hours later, reading it aloud, checking for word choice—copy and paste it as a comment to this blog posting.
Remember that you should be signed into your NT google account before posting. Remember to use Google Chrome as your browser. Remember, your peers will be reading your paragraphs. Once posted, read eight other paragraphs posted by your peers.
BEFORE STARTING CATCHER in the Rye, students will write two analytical paragraphs about the novel on our classsroom web page. These paragraphs will be read by your peers in periods one and two, so proofread them carefully before posting. As a matter or practice, you should type them in a word-processing document, and then copy and paste your writing into the comment box. DO NOT write the paragraph directly into the comment space, as html/flash errors do occur, and you can potentially lose your work.
No school for Rosh Hashanah
HW: The one-page plot line for your character’s experience of the four freedoms is due tomorrow.
Quick review of argumentative body paragraph structure, including some stylistic issues to avoid when writing analytical paragraphs. From there, we will begin a documentary about the historical experience of Japanese-American internees during WWII, Unfinished Business.
HW: Write the first of two paragraphs tonight. This one should be about the author’s most important, least obvious lesson about freedom in America via your character. Post it on the blog, and read at least 8 other peers’s paragraphs.
We will begin by reviewing paragraphs, examining them for patterns of needed revision. Subsequently, we will return to yesterday’s documentary, finishing the film.
HW: 1st Period: Writing the second analytical paragraph, this one about the most significant symbol/image in the novel, and what it demonstrates about freedom in America. Post on the blog, and read at least 8 other paragraphs posted by peers. 2nd Period: Read an ADDITIONAL 8 character paragraphs from last night’s thread.
Second discussion about analytical paragraphs. Once complete, students should revise BOTH paragraphs, and post your revision as a reply/comment to your original post.
HW: Obtain and bring your copy of our next novel. Please write your last name and first initial on the end pages of the book.
Finishing the documentary on Japanese-American internment.
HW: This weekend, you should revise both the symbol paragraph and the character paragraph, posting the new version as a comment to your first draft of the paragraph (in other words, you are going to post a comment to your first comment). Monday, we will be introducing the iconic Catcher in the Rye. We will start with the first page of the novel, and then move to listing everything you a) love and b) hate. Time permitting, we will begin our work on understanding America post WWII, the rise of consumerism, popular entertainment, and the threat of nuclear holocaust.
BESIDES TAKING THE COMMON essay assessment on the novel When the Emperor Was Divine, we will begin some analysis of both characters and symbols within the novel. Once done with the summer reading, we will begin reading J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Students should pick up their copy of the text as we will start it next week.
GREETINGS SCHOLARS and welcome to sophomore English class! This week we're starting our examination of the summer reading, the novel When the Emperor Was Divine. Bring that text with you everyday for the next two weeks. If you haven't finished reading it, do so. That should be your homework focus for this week and this weekend.
Click on the image below to discover more about the man who created the flag:
This flag is for sale! You can purchase it from The Flag Guys...
To view the Folger Theatre and the Two River Theater Company production of Shakespeare's Macbeth, click the above image.
To watch the 2015 Fassbender version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, click the image above.
In order to study for Monday's final, you can review your annotations in both Great Expectations and Macbeth. For the later, you can and should also watch another version of the play. I would recommend either of the above versions.
“1. Academic background, intellectual pedigree of the author (Where were they educated, what was their degree, where have they worked, what specialty or expertise to they bring to bear, what types of other works have they published?
2. Who published the work and why (What type of other material do they publish? For what audience? How is it received?
3. References included (What sources are quoted in the work? What materials are listed in the “Works Cited,” “Bibliography” or “Further Reading” table?
4. The information presented in the source itself (What question does the author seek to answer via the material? For what purpose? To what extent is the material valid? Is the information verifiable by other sources?”
ACT III, THE DEED HAVING BEEN DONE, . Macbeth now begins to become paranoid. Banquo becomes worried about Macbeth's involvement in the murder of Duncan. Duncan's sons, having flown to temporary safety in other nations, will await the right moment to return and revenge their father's murder and regicide. You can play audio here; note the seeming contradictions in the text, how nature becomes increasingly un-natural, life enmeshed with death, the rule of Macbeth becomes synonymous with dis-order. The entire state of good and evil have been reversed, and as time progresses, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will quickly unravel.
FROM ACT II TO ACT IV. We are continuing with Shakespeare this week. Remember, you can access the play audio here; Also in this folder, I have included a graphic novel version of the text. It is true to the Elizabethan language, and the text is complete. You should continue annotating for the contradictory themes of good vs evil, free will vs fate, Macbeth as a good man persuaded to commit crimes vs an evil man who finally demonstrates his true nature, greed, desire for power.
BRING ON THE SHAKESPEARE! We will begin reading the Bard this week. Our class will primarily function in two modes: large group read-through of lines (various parts assigned, no gender specific roles) and small group walk-through, rehearsing and blocking in small groups (all students are assigned parts, all students perform). You can access the play audio here.
BEGIN READING YOUR BILDUNGSROMAN this week. You will want to plan out your reading, expecting to complete it within three weeks. We will continue with pre-reading activities pertaining to Shakespeare this week.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT, least obvious lesson within Dickens' Great Expectations? Besides crafting a claim (debatable thesis statement) that answers this question, students will also generate supporting reasons, identify supporting evidence, and write a sentence outline for a paper on the Victorian novel. Additionally, we will finish the 1940s film version of Dickens' novel.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT, least obvious lesson within Dickens' Great Expectations? Besides crafting a claim (debatable thesis statement) that answers this question, students will also generate supporting reasons, identify supporting evidence, and write a sentence outline for a paper on the Victorian novel. Additionally, students will finalize their selection of a novel to read independently, and we will begin a viewing of the recent Dickens bio-pic, The Invisible Woman.
THIS WEEK WE FINISH OUR READING of Great Expectations. We will have a few days of discussion around some of the novel's endings, in regard Magwitch's end; the marriages of Wemmick and Miss Skiffins, and Joe and Biddy; and Pip's illness and reconciliation with Joe and Estella. We will end the week in the library to identify an independent-reading, a coming-of-age novel that you will both read and research. We will also begin working on a paper on Dickens's novel.
RAPIDLY WE APPROACH the end of Great Expectations. We're reading through some pivotal moments: Magwitch's describing his sorrid past; Pip's discovery of Estella's engagement to Drummle; the approaching danger, of which Wemmick warns poor Pip. I will collect and grade annotations after break. So in the event you are behind in your reading, you can catch up over break. There will NOT be ANY assigned homework over break.
WE FINISH PART TWO of Great Expectations this week. What do you suppose Dickens says about social class through Pip's education and experiences in London? Is, as Pip seems to think, Estella destined to become his wife? And if so, what awaits them in marriage: blissful family life akin to the Pockets or tumultuous survival akin to the Gargarys?
Click on the image above to explore life in a Victorian jail.
LAST WEEK WE WROTE TWO paragraphs relating to Great Expectations: the first was on Mr. Jagger's office as a symbol, and the second was on what Pip learns through Mr. Wemmick's tour. We will continue reviewing this argumentative body paragraph structure, combining our discussions with writing exercises.
PRACTICING WRITING BODY PARAGRAPHS that are analytical in nature. You will want to start with a sentence that clarifies your idea about the text (Dickens's intentions), and then use direct citation to set up your analysis. Remember, you commentary is a place where you draw connections for year readers, include other textual evidence in your own words (IYOW), and explore the complexity you see in the text.
Read the following articles and keep notes in your copy of Great Expectations:
