A Note About Grades

Dear parents and students,

Please note that your grade on the portal mostly reflects your homework preparedness, since most assignments are "check" HW grades (essentially, you do the work, you get the credit) at this point. Also note that while the journals were counted as a "check" grade for completion, they WILL eventually be assigned an assessment grade.

I felt that this message needed to be communicated because many of you are currently sporting a 100% average, and as you already know, "Nothing Gold Stays" ( I couldn't resist!). If you've got a 100%, it's because you've been diligent with your HW--keep it up--but do understand that the grades will soon reflect your ELA skill development more accurately (whether that's 100% or not).

On another note, if your're currently failing, than that is an indication that you need to be completing your HW assignments. They all build on each other to help you succeed in the long run.

Okay, just thought I'd clear the air! Have a great weekend!

-Mr. B

Free Style Friday!

Free Write: Think about the following phrase: Poetry is observation. What does this mean to you? What kind of observation? Why use the form of poetry?

Listen to "A Blade of Grass" (note: this is NOT a narrative poem)

Poetic Devices

Poetic Devices:

Tone: A poem's tone, conveyed by the speaker, is the attitude toward its theme or subject matter. Tone can shift throughout a poem. Ex. A hopeful tone that becomes hopeless by poem’s end.

Mood:  The mood, conveyed by imagery, is the feeling or atmosphere of a piece. The mood can be many different things. Some examples included: a feeling of love, a feeling of doom, a feeling of fear, a feeling of pride, an atmosphere of chaos, an atmosphere of peace.

Metaphor: A metaphor takes two things and claims they are the same, without using “like” or “as.”

Simile: A simile takes two things and claims they are the same using “like” or “as.”

Imagery:  Details that appeal to our five senses:  hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste.

Personification: Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects: The summer wind’s bitter hot breath gave no relief to the tired workers.

Stanza: A stanza is a group of lines within a poem; the blank line between stanzas is known as a stanza break. There is not set number of lines for a stanza.

Repetition: A word or phrase is repeated for emphasis, oftentimes to develop a theme, mood, or tone.

                                                      
                                                              SOUND DEVICES

Alliteration: occurs when a series of words in a row (or close to a row) have the same first consonant sound.

1. Hannah’s home has heat hopefully.
2. Zachary zeroed in on zoo keeping.

• Alliteration does not need to be an entire sentence. Any two-word phrase can be alliterative (Dunkin’ Donuts)

Consonance: The repetition of consonants or of a consonant pattern, especially at the ends (and sometimes middle) of words, as in blank and think or strong and string.

1.      stroke of luck

2.      odds and ends

3.      came home

Assonance: is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. It is used to reinforce the meanings of words or to set the mood. 

1. It beats . . . as it sweeps . . . as it cleans!" - slogan for Hoover vacuum cleaners

2.Hear the mellow wedding bells

3. The crumbling thunder of seas

The Hangman "jigsaw"

"The Hangman" by Maurice Ogden is a narrative poem: a poem that tells a story or recounts an event or situation.

A jigsaw activity allows us to study the many parts of something in an efficient manner. Groups will be specialists in the following areas:

1. Major Events Specialists- recount the narrative events in this poem in the order they occur.
2. Figurative Language Specialists- please identify moments of the passage where figurative language is used. Explore the effect it has on the piece.
3. Sound Device Specialists- You are responsible for finding several key moments of alliteration, consonance, and assonance. What ideas do they emphasize?
4. Inference Specialists (2 groups for this one)- Explain the significance or deeper meaning of particular sections. (focus on hangman's victims, his excuses, why the protests stop, the hangman's riddle, anything else you find that has interpretative value).

Work Cited Page/In-text citation reminders

Work Cited page:

Author's name. Title of the Book. Publication information.

Author's name:  Reverse the author's name for alphabetizing purposes: Franke Damon= Damon, Franke.

Title of Book: State the full title of the book, capitalizing the first letter of "important" words (leave the first letter of words like "the", "a", "an", "of" and "and" in lower case, unless it is the first word of the title ). Place a period after the entire title.

Publication information: In general, give the city of publication, the publisher's name, the year of publication, and the form (if it's from a book, the form is "print"). All this information is usually found in the first couple of pages, most likely the copyright page--you know, that page with all the small print.

Use a colon between the city of publication and the publisher (this is usually a company or office).

Place a comma between the publisher and the date of publication, and a period after the date. Add the form, followed by a period.

Example:

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 1967. Print.


In text citations: After you quote a text, you need to give a parenthetical reference. Usually, this would include the author's name and the page number where the text usually appears: (Douglass 45). Note: no commas, no mention of the word "page," and the punctuation mark comes after the closed parenthesis.

 If you include an author's name in a sentence, you need not repeat the name  in the parenthetical page citation that follows:

As Douglass points out, "The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart" (14).

Versus

It is argued that "The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart" (Douglass 14).

Milgram Obedience

Today we will be frontloading our Holocaust unit with a video on the highly popular yet highly shocking Milgram experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W147ybOdgpE

Activity: Fishbowl with Milgram discussion questions.

HW for Thursday

Complete points of evidence chart for Thursday. You may use the chart that I pass out, or if you have a preferred method of organizing your information, you may do that.

Writing an intro/developing body paragraphs

Today, I will be checking thesis statements and you'll have a chance to draft an intro and begin prewriting/brainstorming your body paragraphs.

Remember, intros contain:

1. A hook--an opening statement that introduces the TOPIC (not the THESIS) of your paper

2. Slide into background information of the novel (here, you're attempting to relate the topic to the novel itself)

3. Finally, you offer your thesis

4. The last sentence should be a "so what?" type of sentence--what are the larger implications of your thesis? Why does it even matter? What can be learned or gained from buying your argument?

Finding quotes: Only select short quotes. You ARE allowed to summarize events in your paper. You use quotes when the words on the page are more effective or carry a bigger PUNCH than a paraphrase. With this in mind, your quotes should have INTERPRETATIVE value. Meaning, after you provide a quote, there should be something there for you to elaborate on and explain, something that's not instantly obvious.

Writing Thesis Statements

Thesis statements are often easy to write, but difficult to develop. Good thesis statements are:

1. Descriptive/Specific-- they mention certain characteristics or a variety of ideas that will be further explored in the body paragraphs
2. Focused/limited- the ideas presented should be related

Take a look at several finely crafted thesis statements below:

 Example:
In “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty creates a fictional character in Phoenix Jackson whose determination, faith, and cunning illustrate the indomitable human spirit.

Note that the work, author, and character to be analyzed are identified in this thesis statement. The thesis relies on a strong verb (creates). It also identifies the element of fiction that the writer will explore (character) and the characteristics the writer will analyze and discuss (determination, faith, cunning).

“The Third and Final Continent” exhibits characteristics recurrent in writings by immigrants: tradition, adaptation, and identity.

In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses the symbolism of the stranger, the clock, and the seventh room to develop the theme of death.

As you begin writing yours, remember to be just as clear and descriptive.

HW: Please complete your thesis statement for class tomorrow.

Plans For Thursday

Hello all! You will need your journals and The Outsiders.

Please freewrite, in ROLE (that means in character), as one of the following people: teacher, principal, psychologist, officer, parent, criminal, gang member, wealthy individual, poor individual, hipster, or any other person that would have a unique and interesting response to the following question:

What are the costs and benefits of conformity or noncomformity to a peer group? How do we measure these costs and benefits? 

Please write about 3/4 of a page.

When you are done, you may begin drafting your final journal entry:

Think about the effectiveness of different storytelling techniques. Does the film version of The Outsiders enhance or take away from the story elements. Consider some of the following story elements when forming your response:

 theme, imagery, emotion, character development/relationships, plot points/details, flow of events.

Defend your response by comparing specific moments from the film and novel.

SIDE NOTE: Regardless of whether or not you like the story, you should still be able to compare and assess how well theme, emotions, character development, etc. were conveyed, and determine if the novel or film was more effective as a story.

See you tomorrow! 

Journal Entry #4

Think about the effectiveness of different storytelling techniques. Does the film version of The Outsiders enhance or take away from the story elements. Consider some of the following story elements when forming your response:

 theme, imagery, emotion, character development/relationships, plot points/details, flow of events.

Defend your response by comparing specific moments from the film and novel.

SIDE NOTE: Regardless of whether or not you like the story, you should still be able to compare and assess how well theme, emotions, character development, etc. were conveyed, and determine if the novel or film was more effective as a story.