Media Center
Gatsby Quiz, Chs. 1-2
HW: Research Question due tomorrow at the end of class
Media Center
Gatsby Quiz, Chs. 1-2
HW: Research Question due tomorrow at the end of class
Media Center Research
Research Question due Wednesday at the end of class, typed and in MLA format.
HW: Research!
Work in groups on Gatsby project; research articles for research paper.
Due Dates for Gatsby:
Chs. 1-2 due Tuesday, 3/9
Chs. 3-5 due Monday, 3/15
Chs 6-9 due Monday, 3/22
Project presentations will be 3/24-3/26
HW: Read Chs.1-2 in Gatsby for Tuesday.
Discuss Desiree's Baby.
Go over research questions.
HW: Sign up for seminars!
Today we brainstormed research ideas for your paper.
HW: Desiree's Baby for tomorrow.
Checkpoints Testing today.
If you were absent, you will need to make up on Monday or Tuesday.
Synthesis Question #2
HW: "To Build a Fire" for Monday.
Share naturalism writings. Turn them in.
Read "To Build a Fire" for Friday. Complete assignment: Download assignment here.
Discuss Naturalism excerpts.
Writing Assignment: Write a short (2-3 paragraphs) sketch that imitates the writing of Crane or Sinclair. You should utilize the same kinds of sensory details and language that they do. You can describe an urban environment or some kind of factory, and you can set it in a modern time period if you'd like. Remember the characteristics of Naturalism as you write. Due WEDNESDAY.
Finish synthesis question discussion.
Synthesis Essay on THURSDAY.
HW: Read excerpts from Maggie, Girl of the Streets and The Jungle. This packet is not available online. Please get from Mrs. Rumfelt when you return to class if you were absent.
Synthesis Question Discussion
HW: Paragraph using assigned source for Monday
Discuss Gettysburg Address.
HW: Huck Finn test tomorrow!
Huck Finn Test is Thursday.
Small Group Discussion of Huck Finn - Final Discussion
Complete the assignment ON YOUR OWN if you were absent: Download assignment here.
Finish discussing "Story of an Hour".
Start discussing the end of Huck Finn.
HW: Prepare for test next week.
Group Work for "Story of an Hour" - see Mrs. Rumfelt to make up.
HW: Prepare to discuss Huck Finn tomorrow.
Reading Day for Huck Finn. We will finish discussing the book on Thursday and Monday.
Discuss "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."
Read "Story of an Hour" and annotate thoroughly. Remember that annotating is more than underlining and highlighting. I should see extensive notes.
If you need the story, you can read it here: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/
HW: Prepare to discuss the story tomorrow. Huck Finn for Wednesday.
Huck Finn - Cold Turkey Seminar, Chs. 21-31
HW: Owl Creek for Monday, finish Huck Finn for Wednesday
Realism Notes - see Mrs. Rumfelt if you were absent.
Read "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and complete reader's journal assignment for Monday. Download reader's journal.
HW: Huck Finn - through Ch. 31 due tomorrow
Multiple Choice Practice - see Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
Finish discussing Chs.12-20.
HW: Huck Finn for Friday.
Discuss Chs. 12-20 in Huck Finn.
HW: Next section due Thursday.
Huck Finn, Chs. 12-20 Quiz.
Read Chs. 21-31 for next Thursday.
Huck Finn style analysis discussion
HW: Chs.12-20 for tomorrow. Quiz!
Huck Finn close reading exercise
HW: Chs.12-20 on Friday - Quiz on reading.
Huck Finn discussion
Turn in Huck Finn assignments.
If you were absent, please have the assignments ready to turn in at the beginning of class tomorrow.
Synthesis Essay
HW: Huck Finn for tomorrow
Finish discussing the synthesis question.
HW: Synthesis Essay - in class on Monday
Huck Finn for Tuesday
I collected your Dickinson and Whitman work.
Synthesis Essay: Sample and Process for Responding
**Please get these materials from Mrs. Rumfelt if you were absent. They are necessary for your timed writing on Monday.
Discuss "Fall of the House of Usher"
HW: Dickinson/Whitman comparison for tomorrow
Discuss Dickinson and Whitman poems
Comparison of two poems.
HW: Finish comparison for Thursday. Get from Mrs. Rumfelt if you were absent. Poe for tomorrow!
Read Dickinson and Whitman poetry. Download assignment if you were absent:
Dickinson and Whitman assignment
HW: Read "The Fall of the House of Usher" for Wednesday.
Download files:
Transcendentalism presentations
Work in groups to prepare for Transcendentalism presentations on Thursday.
If you were absent, see Mrs. Rumfelt to make up the assignment.
Discuss Emerson and read Thoreau.
HW: Read packets in preparation for group work.
Transcendentalism notes
Computer Lab - online research -Emerson and Thoreau
Download web assignment and homework
HW: Read Emerson excerpt in book and complete response.
Enjoy your day off!
Continue going over final exam.
Discuss multiple choice portion of AP Exam.
HW: Huck Finn
Huck Finn Assignment - Download assignment here.
Start going over multiple choice from final exam in small groups.
HW: Start reading Huck Finn.
Today you worked on scoring essays for the entertainment prompt.
Portfolio is due Monday. Portfolio list was handed out in class. If you were absent Friday, you can get the list from me Monday morning. I am collecting all of your Scarlet Letter work and most of your work from the persuasive unit. You can also check the website for assignments.
HW: Portfolio due Monday.
Discuss persuasive arguments; looked at persuasive prompt from this week (entertainment has the capacity to ruin society).
HW: Portfolio due Monday.
Discuss the end of The Scarlet Letter.
HW: Portfolio due Monday. I will hand out your portfolio sheet tomorrow in class.
Timed Writing - persuasive
HW: Finish Chs. 21-24 for Wednesday and complete assignment.
Scarlet Letter Presentations on Chs. 14-20.
HW: Read Chs. 21-24 for Wednesday. Download reader's journal assignment for 21-24.
Continue working on "The Devil and Tom Walker."
HW: Discussion on Chs.14-20 tomorrow.
Discuss Chapters 11-13.
HW: Continue reading the book; Chs. 14-20 for Friday.
MC Practice - See Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
Discuss Flamingo essay
HW: Read to Chapter 20 in The Scarlet Letter and complete assignment for Friday.
Download assignment for Chapters 14-20.
Cold Turkey (ha ha ha) Seminar on Chs. 8-10
See Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
HW: Read Chs. 11-13 in The Scarlet Letter. Chapters and assignment due Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Download assignment for Chs. 11-13 here.
Please remember that your first five entries on your website are due TODAY at 6:00 pm.
Today we discussed your novel projects and I handed out the rubrics for grading.
In addition, we discussed the time for the first due date. The first five entries are due tomorrow at 6:00 pm.
HW: Prepare to discuss Chs. 8-10 in The Scarlet Letter tomorrow in class.
We discussed Ch. 6 in The Scarlet Letter. We will finish discussing Chs. 7-8 on Monday.
HW: Read Chs. 9-10 for Monday. Your only assignment as you read is to take extensive notes, and bring in passages for discussion.
Here is the Laws of Life entry form if you would like to do the Laws of Life Essay Contest.
Your essay is due to me by DECEMBER 11. You must follow all instructions below and on the entry form.
LAWS OF LIFE
If you are not familiar with the contest, the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest is a character education program for high school students. Students in grades 9-12 are asked to select a "Law of Life" - or a proverb - (such as "Honesty is the best policy" or "To give is better to receive") and to write about how the character value contained in the maxim applies to the student's life. The contest challenges students to reflect on values such as generosity, courage, compassion, and it rewards those students who are wiling to take a stand for their belief.
The contest also has substantial cash prizes for students!
Grand Prize: $2,000
First Runner-up: $1,000
Second Runner-up: $500
Third Runner-up: $300
Fourth Runner-up: $250
Fifth Runner-up: $200
A few points to remember:
1. The essay should be in MLA format - typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman
500-700 words
2. The student's name should not appear on the essay; only on the entry form
3. A completed entry form must be submitted with each essay
4. The essays will not be returned
5. Your essays should be submitted to me by DECEMBER 11.
Reading Day
Chapters 6-8 in The Scarlet Letter for tomorrow.
First entries on your novel project are due next week! Make sure I have your link by checking here:
http://chsrumfelt.org/blogs/
HW: Prepare to discuss Chs. 6-8.
Discuss "Thanatopsis" and Romantic literature.
HW: Read your books.
Finish discussing Chs. 4-5.
Start reading "Thanatopsis" in your literature book (267).
Complete analysis of poem. Download assignment here.
HW: Bring red literature book tomorrow and prepare to discuss "Thanatopsis."
Discuss Chs. 4-5 in The Scarlet Letter; discuss paragraphs from Friday.
HW: Read Chs. 6-8 for Friday and complete the following assignment. Thursday will be an in class reading day.
1. Take notes as you read, focusing on:
Ch. 6: Pearl- discuss her characteristics and how Hawthorne portrays her in the novel
Ch. 7: How does imagery and figurative language play a role in this chapter?
Ch. 8: What is the significance of this chapter for the plot of the novel? Discuss conflict and symbols.
2. Then, in each chapter, choose one passage that you think is particularly significant. Annotate or take extensive notes on that passage. Bring the passage to class with two discussion questions for the class.
Discuss Chapter 3 in The Scarlet Letter.
HW: Study for your vocabulary quiz.
Read Chs. 4 and 5 for Monday. Complete assignment below:
Read Chapters 4 & 5 for Monday. As you read, take notes on the following questions. Cite examples or mark passages from the text to support your ideas. Your notes should be thorough and show an thoughtful reading of the text.
Chapter 4:
Why does Chillingworth want Hester to live? How does this desire of his affect your opinion of him?
What do you learn of him and his marriage to Hester? Does this information cause you to pity him? Why or why not?
Against whom does Chillingworth want revenge? Why doesn't he want Hester to reveal his identity? How do these two interests affect your opinion of Chillingworth?
How do you judge Hester's answer to Chillingworth? Is she fair to her men? Is she fair to herself? To her child? To the Puritan law?
Chapter 5:
How did the Puritan community use Hester Prynne? Is this a good strategy? Why or why not?
Why didn't Hester leave? What does this reveal about her?
How did the community treat Hester? How did their actions affect her feelings towards various people? In time, however, how was her imagination affected?
Go over vocab words.
Large group discussion of Chapters 1-2.
HW: Ch 3 for tomorrow.
Small group discussions of Chs. 1-2.
Computer lab to work on projects.
Vocab Unit #6:
Words due Wednesday - part of speech, definition, and original sentence
augur
exhort
intervolution
phantasmagoric
remonstrance
requital
sable
scourge
tremulous
wreak
efficacious
emaciated
emissary
impalpable
lurid
penitential
presentiment
scurrilous
undissembled
HW: Read up to Ch. 3 for Thursday and complete a reader's journal response that explores the following questions:
Ch. 3: The Recognition
1. Analyze the description of Chillingworth and the background information on Hester and Chillingworth's relationship. Do you feel sorry for him? Explain. Do you pity her? Explain.
2. What oath does Chillingworth make? Why? How does this oath affect your opinion of him?
3. According to Hawthorne, why are the Puritan people not capable of judging Hester Prynne?
4. What does Wilson try to get Dimmesdale to do?
5. Analyze the description of Dimmesdale.
6. What conflict is revealed in Dimmesdale's character when he speaks to Hester and in his reaction to her response? What is your opinion of Dimmesdale as a man?
Reading Day for The Scarlet Letter!
Read Chs. 1-2 and complete response. Please get the assignment from me if you were absent.
HW: Finish reading. Monday we will be in the computer lab to work on your sites for the novel project.
Introduction to Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and Gothic Lit - get notes from a classmate or Mrs. Rumfelt if you were absent.
Multiple Choice Practice
See Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
Day Two of Birmingham Jail Seminar
Parent Permission Slip due for Novel Project
Day One of Birmingham Jail Seminar
If you are absent, you will take a test to make up for this portion of the seminar.
Vocab Quiz #5 - See Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
Work Day to prepare for Birmingham Jail Seminar.
HW: Seminar starts on Monday, and look at book list for potential novel choices.
Share Declarations of Independence.
I handed out your independent novel assignment. Book list will be posted tomorrow.
HW: Work on Birmingham Jail. Bring essay and assignment to class tomorrow.
Finish presentations on Declaration of Independence.
Hand out Birmingham Jail assignment.
Download assignment here.
Background, excerpted from this article by Lucinda Gunnin:
[...] It seems that we [often] hear excerpts of King's famous "I have a dream" speech. The speech is one of the most recognized in the history of the 20th century and yet in many ways the message sent by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in that speech pales by comparison to his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail".
The letter, written almost exactly a year before his assassination, is the basis and justification for all forms of nonviolent protest that have happened since.
Dr. King was arrested in Birmingham after taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama in 1963.
Addressed to his fellow clergy members in the south, the letter was written four months before Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. While the speech articulates better than almost anything else, the vision for peace and equality in the United States, Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is the blueprint to getting there.
Dr. King wrote an open letter to the coalition of Christian ministers in the American South. Dr. King found himself the subject of extreme criticism from his fellow clergymen for his protest, specifically the illegality of the protest. In his essay, Dr. King attempts to appeal to the ethical, emotional and logical sides of countrymen to show them that the laws that he was breaking were unfair and unjust in and of themselves.
HW: Vocab words due tomorrow; start reading Letter from Birmingham Jail.
Vocab Unit #5 - due Wednesday
aficionado
browbeat
commensurate
diaphanous
emolument
foray
genre
homily
immure
insouciant
matrix
obsequies
panache
persona
philippic
prurient
sacrosanct
systemic
tendentious
vicissitude
Declaration of Independence discussion and written paragraph analysis
HW: Vocab words due Wednesday
Discuss The Crisis.
HW: Read The Declaration of Independence and complete analysis for Monday.
Group presentations of Patrick Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention.
HW: Read "The Crisis" (in your literature book or get a copy from Mrs. Rumfelt) and complete reader's journal.
Download reader's journal assignment
Quiz on Part 2 Unit Intro
Go over course terms
Patrick Henry: Speech in the VA Convention
Analysis Questions for Patrick Henry
HW: Complete analysis of your assigned section. Please do the following:
1. Answer questions
2. Identify other rhetorical devices and major persuasive appeals
3. Write a short analysis of your paragraph.
Discuss Singer Solution to World Poverty.
HW: Read background information to the Revolution in your literature book (A Nation is Born). Take notes.
Hand back Fault Lines timed writing
Discuss persuasive elements
HW: Narrative Essay and Portfolio due Monday, "Singer Solution to World Poverty" for Tuesday.
Handouts:
Unit One Reader's Journal List
The Singer Solution to World Poverty
Singer Assignment:
1. Read and annotate the essay.
2. Write a 2 page reader's journal in which you discuss persuasive appeals (logical, ethical, emotional) and structure of his argument.
Discuss "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
HW: Narrative essay due Monday; Unit One reader's Journals due Monday
Read Ch. 13 in Bedford and persuasive appeals packet and take notes.
Peer edit rough drafts.
Final drafts due MONDAY, OCTOBER 19.
Handouts from today:
Essay Rubric
Please download these handouts if you were absent from class today.
Turn in "Sinners" reader's journal.
PSAT Practice
HW: Rough draft due tomorrow for peer editing.
Today is a teacher workday. Enjoy your long weekend!
Discuss Olaudah Equiano.
American Lit Timeline
HW: Read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" for Monday. Complete reader's journal assignment.
Turn in "Shooting an Elephant" work. Analyze narrative piece and discuss author's purpose. See Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
HW: Read the excerpt from "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" (p.44) and complete a one page reader's journal in which you analyze the following:
1. selection of detail
2. author's purpose
3. narrative devices
4. audience
Vocab Unit #4 - words due Tuesday!
affinity
bilious
cognate
corollary
cul-de-sac
derring-do
divination
elixir
folderol
gamut
hoi polloi
ineffable
lucubration
mnemonic
obloquy
parameter
pundit
risible
symptomatic
volte-face
MC Practice - Graded - see Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
Narrative Essay Assignment
HW: Vocab words due TUESDAY.
Finish discussing "Shooting an Elephant," and work through thesis statements and prompts.
HW: Revise your intro and thesis, and develop your outline thoroughly for Monday.
"Shooting an Elephant" seminar
HW: Bring descriptive paragraph to class tomorrow.
Read "Shooting an Elephant" and complete seminar prep. Seminar will be on Thursday.
HW: Prepare for seminar on essay!
Today we did imitation writing. If you were absent, the assignment is below.
Imitation Writing: Description
Read and annotate the following sentences.
As you annotate, consider what you notice about the sentences:
diction
punctuation
syntax
figurative language
selection of detail
anything else you see
"I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire. I can still see his tiny low-set ears and that pointed stub of a chin, a meaty appendage that looked like it was added as a mere afterthought."
Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner
"Above all- we were wet. Out in the Atlantic Ocean great sheets of rain gathered to drift slowly up the River Shannon and settle forever in Limerick. The rain dampened the city from the Feast of the Circumcision to New Year's Eve. It created a cacophony of hacking coughs, bronchial rattles, asthmatic wheezes, consumptive croaks. It turned noses into fountains, lungs into bacterial sponges. It provoked cures galore; to ease the catarrh you boiled onions in milk blackened with pepper; for the congested passages you made a paste of boiled flour and nettles, wrapped it in a rag, and slapped it, sizzling, on the chest."
Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes
Your Turn:
1. Model a description of someone you will not forget after Hosseini's description of Hassan, specifically in use of figurative language and imagery, as well as the phrasing after the colon. (with your group)
2. Model a description of a memorable place you have been after McCourt's description of the rain and its effect on the city. Notice especially the repetition and use of figurative language and imagery. (on your own)
Today we talked about the GHSWT (next Wednesday, 9/30).
HW: Choose one of the GHSWT prompts and complete an essay over the weekend.
Go over summer reading essays and discuss qualities of a good essay: specific thesis statements and data to support claims
Discuss "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and write a thesis statement responding to the following prompt: Write an essay in which you explain how Sedaris uses rhetorical devices to achieve a comic effect.
HW: Finish thesis statement.
We finished discussing "The Chase" and went over your vocabulary words.
HW: Read David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and complete reader's journal assignment.
MC Practice #2 in groups
Discuss "The Chase"
HW:
Unit 3 Vocab Words:
(Wed: part of speech, definition, original sentence; Mon: quiz)
ancillary
bowdlerize
condescend
cozen
enclave
forte
gratis
icon
interstice
macrocosm
mountebank
paean
persiflage
plethora
pragmatic
quizzical
rapacity
schism
therapeutic
virtuoso
Today we discussed your chapters in the Bedford Reader and completed a writing activity for subjective and objective language.
HW: Read "Once More to the Lake" and complete the questions.
Creation Myth Presentations
Discuss Red Jacket speech.
HW: Read Narration and Description chapters in Bedford Reader. Take notes.
Group Work: Original Creation Myth
HW: Red Jacket speech tomorrow and present myths.
Vocab Quiz #2
Discuss Native American myths
Start working in groups on original creation myths
HW: Red Jacket speech for Tuesday
Discuss Bradford and Smith.
Native American Literature - characteristics
HW: Read Earth on the Turtle's Back and When the Grizzlies Walked Upright - in your literature book. Take notes on characteristics of Native American literature.
Discuss Vocab Unit 2 - Quiz on Friday!
American Dream freewrite - discuss the idea of the American Dream and connect to the beginning of American literature.
HW: Read Bradford and Smith excerpts. Write a 1-2 pages reader's journal in which you analyze the differences in tone, diction, and purpose. You may also examine different strategies that each author uses.
DOS Seminar - Please see Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
HW: Bring DOS and your red literature book to class tomorrow. Vocab Unit #2 due tomorrow! Words are listed below:
aegis
apprise
bibulous
claque
deracinate
eleemosynary
indigenous
lachrymose
lexicon
melee
microcosm
minuscule
obfuscate
paternalism
polarize
purview
sanguine
solecism
vassal
versimilitude
Finish presentations.
Prep for Monday seminar on Death of a Salesman. Complete seminar prep for homework.
The World is Flat presentations
HW: Bring Death of a Salesman to class tomorrow.
Death of a Salesman discussion
Discuss Arthur Miller essay
HW: Presentations tomorrow!
Style Analysis Practice: Ellen Goodman's "The Company Man"
HW: Read Arthur Miller's essay, Tragedy and the Common Man. Write a two page reader's journal in response.
Turn in storyboards and preliminary sketches/outlines.
MC Practice #1 - Discuss MC questions.
HW: Project due Thursday.
Vocabulary Quiz #1
Discuss essay on art and science.
HW: Storyboard or sketches due Monday - this is your only homework this weekend.
Turn in arguments for visual argument project
Visual Analysis of photo in small groups: thesis and outline
HW: Storyboards and preliminary sketches due Monday.
Go over vocabulary for Unit 1.
Work in small groups on project.
5th: Visual Argument Examples; work in groups
6th: World is Flat Essay
HW: Arguments due Thursday, storyboard/ preliminary sketches due Monday
Vocab Unit #1: Words due Wednesday. Please include: part of speech, definition, and an original sentence for each word.
Adjunct
Bellwether
Caterwaul
Chimerical
Effete
Fait accompli
Hidebound
Hierarchy
Liturgy
Mirage
Morass
Noisome
Oblivious
Poltroon
Proselyte
Quasi
Raillery
Ribald
Supine
Vignette
5th: The World is Flat Essays
6th: Visual Examples and work in groups.
HW: Arguments and supporting points due this week.
Discuss visual argument project.
Work in small groups and discuss The World is Flat.
HW: Finish assertions and arguments.
Discuss photos from Civil Rights Movement.
Start talking about visual argument project.
Go over syllabus - signed syllabus sheet due on Friday.
Visual Rhetoric - notes and practice analysis
HW:
Follow-up exercise:
Skim through the images of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement at this website:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1704734_1520199,00.html
Focus on images #2, 4, 9, 11, and 18.
Choose one of the images listed above and use the SCANS chart to take notes on it. Then, write a short response in which you analyze the ways in which the details of the image convey the photograph's message.
Death of a Salesman Test. See Mrs. Rumfelt to make up if you were absent.
Notes on Rhetoric - see Mrs. Rumfelt or a classmate to get notes if you were absent.
Small group discussion of Zinsser and Lamott
Choose passages for large group discussion.
HW: Annotate the assigned passages for your class thoroughly and come to class prepared to discuss!
Discuss annotating and notetaking
Demonstrate with "Left Sink"
Discuss "Left Sink"
HW: Find 2 passages in Zinsser and 2 passages in Lamott that discuss one of the following: becoming a writer, the struggles with being a writer, audience, the importance of language and communication, how to be a writer. Or, find a passage that you thought was interesting stylistically (diction, tone, imagery, narrative).
In-class essay on Zinsser and Lamott
HW: Read "How to Mark a Book" (look especially at the outline) and then read and annotate "Left Sink." Prepare to discuss both pieces in class tomorrow.
Welcome!
Class Expectations and Overview
Turn in summer reading assignments.
Read "Not from Where You're Standing" and discuss.
HW: Prepare for Zinsser and Lamott in class writing.
This website will be a resource for your class this year. I will post your syllabus and first week assignments soon.