I AM SO OVER TAKS

If you would like the possibility of a few extra credit points, see how many words you can make from the letters in the sentence:

I AM SO OVER TAKS

For instance, you can spell the words MOIST and VISOR from those letters, but you can't spell MOISTURE or VISITOR because not all those letters appear (no U for MOISTURE; only one I for VISITOR).

Words must be classroom-appropriate and at least four letters long (you may not use OVER or TAKS). Proper nouns may not be used unless they are also common nouns (MARK and MIKE, for instance, are both names that are also regular nouns). Foreign words are also no-go.

You may use a dictionary.

Enjoy!

Pre-AP: An Ooh-La-La Reading Assignment

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, read Chapter 16 -- "It's All About Sex...." Be prepared to discuss it and the opening scene of Fahrenheit 451, on Monday, April 25th.

Get all your giggles out over the weekend.

Also, continue reading Fahrenheit 451; we'll discuss "The Sand and the Sieve" after TAKS week.

Fahrenheit 451 Vocab Set 1 + Meaningful Sentences

Write meaningful sentences for each of these vocabulary words:



Remember:

• a meaningful sentence is made up of two independent sentences combined with a semicolon (;)


• the first sentence includes a vocabulary word


• the second sentence contains the definition of that vocabulary word


• the first word of the second sentence is not capitalized


• you should underline the vocabulary word and its definition

For instance, if the vocabulary word was:

Hearth (n): the floor of a fireplace, usually of stone, brick, etc., often extending a short distance into a room. .

a meaningful sentence would be:

The stray dog curled up on the hearth of the friendly people who took it in; the bricks in front of the fireplace were very warm.

Pre-AP: 451F / "Harrison Bergeron" Venn Diagram

Complete a Venn Diagram with five unique things about both Fahrenheit 451 and "Harrison Bergeron" and five things they have in common.

Do not list superficial things like "they're both written in English" or "Vonnegut wrote one and Bradbury the other" or "I haven't read either."

Make your entries substantial to get the credit you want/need.

Fahrenheit 451	Both	"Harrison Bergeron"
1.	1.	1.
2.	2.	2.
3.	3.	3.
4.	4.	4.
5.	5.	5.

Pre-AP: 451F Audio File

If you would like to listen to an audio file of the novel as you read it (you still have to read it), please see me. You'll need a flashdrive with at least 100MB of space available.

I currently have "The Hearth and the Salamander." The other two sections should be available soon.

Pre-AP: "Harrison Bergeron" and the IWA Prompt

After reviewing Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," plan an approach for the addressing this six-weeks' IWA prompt:

In some literary works, the author creates a unique society or community in order to make an important point about humanity. Examples of such works are Lord of the Flies, Anthem, and Fahrenheit 451. Discuss how the authors of these novels use their fictional society to convey important ideas about mankind and society in general. Be sure to clearly identify the “important ideas” they express.

Look at diction, metaphor, imagery, setting (time and place), etc., and how the author’s use of these techniques contributes to meaning.

Things to include:

• Author's "message" about humanity


• Literary device #1
• How it addresses the prompt (what it "means")
• Text Support #1a
• Text Support #1b


• Literary device #2
• How it addresses the prompt (what it "means")
• Text Support #2a
• Text Support #2b

IWA #6: Fahrenheit 451, et. al.

Write a well-developed essay on the following prompt:

In some literary works, the author creates a unique society or community in order to make an important point about humanity. Examples of such works are Lord of the Flies, Anthem, and Fahrenheit 451. Discuss how the authors of these novels use their fictional society to convey important ideas about mankind and society in general. Be sure to clearly identify the “important ideas” they express.

Tips to success:

Extensive plot summary will result in a REDO grade (no points), not a REVISE (85 points). Look at diction, metaphor, imagery, setting (time and place), etc., and how the author’s use of these techniques contributes to meaning.

Remember that only REVISE and ACCEPTED essays will be taken for a grade, so submit your IWA early, rather than at the last minute to ensure that your essay will count!

*** More than 5 careless spelling mistakes and 5 careless punctuation errors will result in a REDO grade***

All essays must be typed and adhere to the MLA formatting requirements (see below). All essays must be submitted with the draft in the LEFT pocket (inside front cover) of a 2-pocket portfolio folder. Failure to meet these minimum requirements will result in the draft being returned to the student unevaluated and with no score recorded.

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.


• Double-space the text of your paper (paragraph settings). Use Times New Roman (Garamond if you're “fancy”); the font size should be 12 pt. (font settings).


• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.


• Set the margins of your document to 1" on all sides.


• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times, or set your paragraphs to indent the first line 0.5". Do not skip a line (i.e., leave a blank line) between paragraphs.

Drop-Dead Deadline: Thursday, May 26, 2011.
(If no work is received by 5/13, a "Missing" grade (counts as a 0) will be entered into the grade book; some work may receive a temporary "Incomplete" grade (no effect on grade), but that will be replaced with a "Missing" on 5/20.)

Fahrenheit 451 Presentation

English II: The Pearl notes

Thank you Ms. Farinas!

Pre-AP: Friendly Reminder

You need to

1. have read the first section of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury ("The Hearth and the Salamander") by Monday;


2. bring your copy of 451^F on Monday.

Find a Barnes and Noble or Half Price Books store near you.

English II: Jeopardy Review

Review the information you'll need to know for the 5th 6-wk. exam by playing this Jeopardy-esque practice quiz.

Extra Credit: Meaningful Sentence Illustration

Illustrate your meaningful sentences from Word Set #2 (draw a picture showing what's going on in the sentence) to get extra credit.

Up to 2 points each, for a maximum total of 20 points. This will supplement your Project Grade (Pre-AP: IWA; Eng II: Speech Performance) for the six-weeks .

Pictures must be of good quality. Color will help. If stick figures are the best you can draw, then you'll get credit for awesome stick figures (but I've seen the work you doodle in the margins of your assignments, so I know whether you can do better than stick figures).

Write your meaningful sentence at the bottom of the page large enough to be read from 5-10 feet away.

Due before Friday, April 15.

Pre-AP: Literary Devices in Julius Caesar

Find examples of the following literary devices in Julius Caesar. Include the speaker and the Act.scene.line information (either II.i.32-38 or 2.1.32-38).

• Allusion
• Anaphora
• Apostrophe (not the punctuation)
• Foreshadowing
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron or Paradox (make sure your example matches your choice)
• Personification
• Pun
• Simile
• Synesthesia (counts 3x)

Each item found will count for 10 points (synesthesia=30) for a total up to 105.

The examples you find will be incorporated into this Friday’s test. Do not use the sections that appeared on last week’s test.

Julius Caesar Meaningful Sentences II

Complete meaningful sentences for all 10 of the following vocabulary words.



The illustration element of this assignment has been changed to extra credit. See this blog post: Extra Credit: Meaningful Sentence Illustration.

Remember:

• a meaningful sentence is made up of two independent sentences combined with a semicolon (;)


• the first sentence includes a vocabulary word


• the second sentence contains the definition of that vocabulary word


• the first word of the second sentence is not capitalized


• you should underline the vocabulary word and its definition

For instance, if the vocabulary word was:

Bequeath (v): to assign something as a gift in one's last will and testament.

a meaningful sentence would be:

My uncle bequeathed his comic book collection to me; unfortunately, it was destroyed in the same house fire that killed him, so I didn't get it when he died.

English II: Inside the Mind of ... Julius Caesar

Please complete the "Inside the Mind of..." worksheet.

Inside the characters brain, write what the character’s thoughts are about other characters, evil plans, how he thinks of himself, etc. Outside the brain, write what others think about that character. Be as detailed as possible. Write in “regular” English. You must have at least one response inside and outside the brain: 5 responses, total=70; 6=85; 7=100.

**You must include act, scene, and line numbers as evidence.** (Use a classroom textbook.)

To determine which character you should analyze, pick a number between 1 and 4. If your number is 1, write about Caesar; 2, Brutus; 3, Cassius; 4, Antony. No fair changing your number to match the character you want to write about.

Julius Caesar: The Musical!

Find a song whose lyrics would be appropriate for a musical version of Julius Caesar. It must deal with some significant aspect of the play: betrayal, deception, over-confidence, women being ignored because they’re women, conspiracy, etc.

Then on a separate sheet of paper, include

1. “Song Title” by ______________________
2. Lyrics (the entire assignment can be printed out in one word processing document with the lyrics pasted in) – sanitize the [bad words]
3. Explanation of connection to the play.
4. Identify who would sing it and when.

Due date: Friday, April 8th.

Example:

“Back Stabbers” by The O’Jays

(What they do!)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
All you fellows who have someone
and you really care, yeah, yeah
Then it's all of you fellows
who better beware, yeah yeah
Somebody's out to get your lady
A few of your buddies they sure look shady
Blades are long, clenched tight in their fist
Aimin' straight at your back
And I don't think they'll miss
(What they do!)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
I keep gettin' all these visits from my friends,
yeah, what they doin to me
They come to my house again and again
and again and again, yeah
So are they there to see my woman
I don't even be home but they just keep on comin'
What can I do to get on the right track
I wish they'd take some of these knives off my back
(What they do!)
(They smile in your face)
All the time they want to take your place
The back stabbers (back stabbers)
Low down... dirty...
(What they do!)
(They smile in your face)
Smiling faces... smiling faces sometimes tell lies
(Back stabbers)
(They smile in your face)
I don't need... low down, dirty [fat heads]
(Back stabbers)

This song is relevant to the play because Julius Caesar gets “stabbed in the back” and front and sides by people pretending to be his friends.

Julius Caesar would sing this song as he is approaching Brutus, waiting for that final knife to stab him.

Pre-AP: Julius Caesar Essay Test & Graphic Organizer

These were distributed in class today:

• Essay Prompt


• Graphic Organizer

You'll be able to use the graphic organizer on tomorrow's test (April 5th).

Be prepared!

Appeals / Persuasive Techniques

English II: Julius Caesar Act III Test Preview

This blog entry has been removed. You were advised to be prepared prior to Monday morning.