Upcoming Deadlines for Speak:

Due MONDAY, Dec. 10: figuratively speaking activity (assigned Thursday, Dec. 6)

Due Tuesday, Dec. 11: TWO of the four journal entries you wrote for class will be turned in for points.
(Check point grades: inside/outside body outline and chart for Struggling Teens article)

Due TUESDAY, Dec. 18: Speak final essay (2 options, assigned Thursday, Dec. 6)

NOTICE: We will begin the new unit: nonfiction novels about humanitarian problems on December 11th, but I am allowing extra time for the completion of your Speak essay. It can ALWAYS be submitted early (hint, hint!) and will be submitted electronically to turnitin.com, as well as a PRINTED copy for class.

Reading Schedule Reminder for Speak:
During the Thanksgiving Break: Read Marking Periods 1 and 2 (through page 92)
For Monday, Dec. 3, finish Marking Period 3
For Thursday, Dec. 6, finish Marking Period 4 (end of the book)

Alternative Schedule for Wintergirls:
During the Thanksgiving Break: Read first half (through page 137)
For Monday, Dec. 3, through page 227
For Thursday, Dec. 6, finish the book

In October I asked you to persuade me to read a book that you had read in September. I promised to read the 5 books from the top 5 convincing letters. Here are the results:

Everything, Everything 

How I Live Now 

Knife of Never Letting Go

Love & First Sight

The One

I will be reading all of these books over the next month and a half and will share my reactions to them after the winter break. Congrats to those of you who earned extra credit (that very rare commodity!) for convincing me.

REMINDER OF UPCOMING DEADLINES:

I will be checking 12 of your dialectic journal entries (both that the quote is about your theme and that the commentary matches) on TUESDAY, Nov. 13.

You will be working on your rough draft of the final essay (directions are posted on the left and you have a copy) for the majority of class that day.

FINAL, printed drafts of your thematic essay on Ender's Game are due at the beginning of class, THURSDAY, Nov. 15

LATE WORK IS DUE BY OCT. 22 or it will not be accepted. Make sure your work is physically turned in and submitted to turnitin.com.

Reading schedule for Week 1 of Ender's Game:
Oct. 18 Read Ch. 1-5 and write down examples of power or control situations in your journal (to be discussed on Monday).
Week 2:
Oct. 22 Read ch. 6-7 for HW
Oct. 23 Read ch. 8-9 for HW (Chapter 9 activities will be in class on Thursday!)
Oct. 25 Read ch. 10-11

Don't forget!!! 
You have an essay due on Tuesday, October 16th. We have already worked on the rough draft in class, but I want you to have a printed or electronic version on MONDAY, just to have a peer review it with you before it is due. 

You MUST TURN IN A PRINTED COPY on Tuesday, or you will not get a grade. I will not accept late papers on this assignment. You also must upload a copy to turnitin.com by Tuesday at 3pm. 

Need help? Ask me via email or come into the library for after school help on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

We are going to set up turnitin.com accounts in class. Please use an email you actually check, and for which you remember the password. After creating an account, you will click the button 'ADD A CLASS.'
Period 3
Class ID: 19017635
KEY: eng9


Period 4
Class ID: 19017660
KEY: honors

Lesson plan for Monday, just in case....

Students need to get out their journals and prepare to take notes while you take attendance.

In order to better understand Shakespeare’s use of language, and how usage has changed, students need to take notes on some grammar rules and then apply those rules to a list of statements from the play Romeo and Juliet. 

Please place the Notes sheet under the document camera. You will not need the laptop today, so just leave it closed and have the paper on top of it. 

Students MUST write out the rules. They do NOT need to write out all the examples, but they will need to have a photo (phones can be used for this part) or a written copy of the word list at the bottom in order to successfully complete the assignment.

While they are taking the notes, pass out the worksheet practice. Each student must complete their own sheet. 

I do not want a transliteration—a word-for-word translation. I want them to update the meaning. For instance “Do not stir one foot to seek a foe” would be INCORRECTLY updated as “Do not move one foot to find an enemy.” We don’t talk that way. A better/more accurate update would be “Don’t you go looking for trouble” or “Don’t you go start a fight with our enemies.”

When they have completed the worksheet ALONE, they should turn and talk to the 4 closest students (making sure no student is left out!!) to compare answers or modify answers. If there is time, have students share the best answers from their groups with the class. They should TAPE the worksheet into their journal, on page next to their notes (tape is next to the door on the table).

In case you were absent on Thursday, your mini-essay (3-5 paragraphs) about whether love at first sight is possible or not was due in class.

Your syllabus acknowledgement slip is due by the 17th, but let's get them in sooner so it is out of the way. Be sure to share this site with your parents!!

We begin reading the play on Tuesday.

Welcome to Honors Freshmen English!

This is the main website you will use this year to access handouts, lecture notes, study aids, and assignments. 

NOTE: This site looks different on your phone! IF you are viewing this website on your phone, scroll to the bottom of your screen and click the "View Web Version" link to access all the information you need.

Code word: EPIC

Theme Presentations are ON-GOING for the next two weeks. Please consult the schedule posted at the left if you cannot remember your day. You will be required to present on the day you are scheduled (PLAN AHEAD). Need help or can't figure out the "audience engagement" part? ASK me for help and we'll figure it out together. 

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR OTHER FINALS!

UPCOMING DEADLINES (the end is almost upon us!!)

3-5 page completed rough draft of short story is due May 22 (peer editing/revision will follow). 

FINAL DRAFT of your 3-5 page, double-spaced short story is due May 29 or earlier (printed copy and Turnitin.com). I will NOT ACCEPT LATE PAPERS for this assignment. Plan accordingly. 

Use the posted RUBRIC as a checklist to make sure you have included all the necessary elements. 

Presentations (teaching the class about your story) begin May 29 (the day after Memorial Day). 

I will take volunteers for the first date, but all students will have an assigned presentation date. Presentations will continue into finals and constitute the first part of your semester final. 

There will be an additional finals activity on the last day of class. 

Thursday is a file review day--we will be going back over past assignments, considering feedback, identifying areas of strength and areas that need improvement or additional instruction.

You will be providing the teacher with feedback, there will be mini-lessons on transitions and conclusions, and you will have the opportunity to revise 1-2 pieces for a higher grade.

ALL revisions are due by May 15. 

Need help? Come see me after school on Wednesdays in the library for one-on-one feedback, or schedule another time.

The Great Expectations unit is coming to a rapid close! Be sure to ask for help or for a study guide if you plan on taking the end-of-unit test. You should finish the book this weekend or by Tuesday at the very latest, to be successful.

Remember you have two choices: take the more traditional test on next Thursday (matching/identifying characters, plot questions and timelines, theme short answer questions)
OR
create a theme one-pager (a visual argument that includes multiple quotes, phrases and pictures to portray a key theme the author is addressing)--also due by the end of class on Thursday.

Quick Reminders:
Read Chapters 20-30 over Spring Break.
Don't forget there is a QUOTE QUIZ over chapters 21-30 on the Monday you return to school (Apr. 2). 
Rough drafts of the 3 character paragraphs are due at the beginning of class on April 5th. We will have time to work on them on Tuesday. 

Full reading schedule will be posted this week, but for TOMORROW, Tuesday, 3-13, read the first 4 chapters (one THROUGH four) so that we can discuss the characters and ideas introduced at the very beginning of the novel.

Don't forget: we are testing your close reading skills on Tuesday, March 6. Just like the practice last week, it will be a one page passage that we have not read, but that we already know the context for.

There will be a multiple choice test on THURSDAY. It is not worth "big" points, but you do need to study everything we have gone over in class--the epic hero, the 12 Olympian gods/goddesses, the values of the Greeks, the hero cycle and how Odysseus' journey fits that model, the major characters in Books 9-12 ad 21-23, and how to understand a passage.

Due to a variety of absences, I am re-posting the journals from earlier this week here:


Watch the video clip linked to the class blog about the science behind Homer’s Odyssey.
List 3-5 other fantastical things, found in the Odyssey, that might have a basis in reality (for instance, giantism is a genetic condition, perhaps the Laestrygonians had it, etc.).
Then write down as many things that were probably historically accurate (for instance, that there was a city called Troy) as you can come up with in 5 minutes.


Rad the article “Back from the war”In your journal—explain whether you thik Odysseus was suffering from PTSD symptoms when he returned to his homeland or not. Provide evidence for and against your claim. We may have time to do philosophical chairs on this topic next week. 


Read aloud the reunion between Odysseus and Penelope  (begins on page 961 in the orange textbooks). Write INDIVIDUAL summaries of that portion of the story.


HW: Begin reviewing all your notes about the story of The Odyssey, epic heroes, the Olympian gods, and the hero’s journey Campbell described—all of these could potentially show up on the test you will take at the end of this unit.

If you MOVED class periods, or if you had a different teacher first semester, you will need to create a new account for this class in turnitin.com. If you need directions, ask me for a copy in class. Everyone is submitting their Odysseus character paragraphs to the turnitin.com website today (final drafts are due today!).

Here are the codes:
Period 2
Class id: 16150970
Key: honors

Period 4
Class id: 16150983
Key: eng9

Don't forget we begin DRAMATIC RECITATIONS on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Work DAILY on memorizing your poem or passage.


If you chose to, instead, participate in Poetry Out Loud, it is on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 2:30 in D130. Expect to be there for 60-90 minutes. Uber-rare extra credit is awarded for participating in this venue.

Welcome to a new semester and a fresh start!

We will be focusing a great deal on the skill of close reading and how that ties in to better elaboration in academic writing and discussions.

It is also Poetry Out Loud time--the local contest is Feb. 14th. If you wish to compete, for the love of poetry or for the love of extra credit, see me ASAP, or read the directions on your first major assignment (posted here at the left). Recitations in class begin Feb. 13th.

Reminders of due dates as we approach the end of the first semester (!):

Nonfiction books should be completed by January 15th or sooner.

Your SIX rough draft paragraphs (completed in your journal) will be checked off in class on January 11th. 
If you don't have the 6 paragraphs completed, you cannot submit the TWO REVISED FINAL DRAFT PARAGRAPHS on the due date--January 16th.

Any revisions of paragraphs or essays from Ender's Game or Speak are also due BY or BEFORE January 15th. Redos will not be accepted after the 15th.