Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Homework 9/30

1: Vocabulary Book p. 14-16
-lesson 1
-exercise 1= list the correct words for the blanks
-exercise 2= write out the complete sentence

2: ROAR post #1 for Friday

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Wednesday night film

Enjoy a film for Culture Vulture, and learn about the MCAS. This is your year to shine, regardless of all the educational and political arguments about the test. But do check out the problems raised in this documentary.

Sept. 30, 2009 Coolidge Corner Theater, 7 PM Brookline, MA

call for more info.
http://www.coolidge.org/enter

Homework 9/29

1: Read your ROAR. The 1st post is due on Friday, so get cracking.

2: Keep looking around for Culture Vulture activities, and fill out your proposal form.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Homework 9/28

1: Complete all sections of your ROAR book proposal. Get that parent signature, check page #, and have correct publisher information.

2: Be prepared for test. Review our 4 pieces of literature:
"Two Kinds"
"The Wrestlers"
"Through the Tunnel"
"Same Song"

also look over the 5 rites of passages we learned about.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Book Events!

Culture Vulture or Extra Credit???

Remember to call first to confirm the event, and be sure to check your directions twice.

Book It: Book Events September 27–30

book-it.jpg

Tuesday, September 29

10:00 am, Porter Square Books
Shannon Hale, Forest Born

7:00 pm, First Parish Church Meetinghouse, $28
*E. L. Doctorow, Homer & Langley: A Novel

7:00 pm, Harvard Coop
Andrea Batista Schlesinger,The Death of Why?

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Nancy Kehoe, Wrestling with Our Inner Angels

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Franz Wright - The Wheeling Motel


Wednesday, September 30

6:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Coolidge Corner Theatre, $5
Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked

7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Tad Friend, Cheerful Money: Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor

7:00 pm, Harvard Coop
Matthew M. Chingos, Crossing the Finish Line,

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Deborah Tannen, You Were Always Mom's Favorite

Friday, September 25, 2009

Weekend Homework 9/25

Big news is the Beantown Jazz Festival, perfect for all you Culture Vultures out there.

1: Register for my class on Turnitin.com. Use the e-mail and password from last year. Forgot your password? Click the big button for help...

period 1- 2907007
period 2- 2907009
period 5- 2907010

2: Have your ROAR book ready for Tuesday

3: Big Test on Tuesday:
"Two Kinds"
"The Wrestlers"
"Through the Tunnel"
"Same Song"
5 rites of passage
DO NOW style questions about diction

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Homework 9/23

1: RASH on Amy Tan's "Two Kinds"

-you should read her biography that follows the story to work on the A section, and might even look into why the mother left China in the 1950's for the H section.

2: Find those biographies/memoirs for next Tuesday. Time to ROAR!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Homework 9/22

1: Read and take solid active reading notes on "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan p.94

2: Continue hunting down your ROAR books! The proposal sheet in one week (9/29)


Here's a nifty little flow chart I found on the process of a rite of passage:
Do you think it explains the different ceremonies involved with the rites we learned about today?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Homework 9/21

1: create your ROAR blog, and comment on the post

"Post your ROAR blogs here"

only 28 students have completed the task, so get moving!

2: keep searching for your Term 1 ROAR book. Be sure to get a parent signature on the form.


-----------
SAT Prep
-----------
chart your incorrect and skipped answers by degree of difficulty

1 2 3 4 5
incorrect

skipped

Extra Credit Book Events!

So, three gentlemen started us strong last week going to hear Tao Lin read from Shoplifting From American Apparel. Apparently, Mr. Lin joked with them as he came in, asking if they were from a class since they had pens and notebooks.

Get out, and get some extra credit!

Monday, September 21

7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist: A Novel

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Joyce Maynard, Labor Day

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Vincent McCaffrey, Hound


Tuesday, September 22

6:00 pm, Brattle Theatre, $5
Tracy Kidder, Strength in What Remains

7:00 pm, Harvard Coop
Carolyn Rubenstein, Perseverance: True Voices of Cancer Survivors

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Deborah Cramer, Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Anita Shreve, A Change in Altitude


Wednesday, September 23

6:00 pm, Brattle Theatre, $5
James Ellroy, Blood's a Rover

7:00 pm, Harvard Coop
Sebastian Stuart, The Hour Between

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Evening of Poetry with Frannie Lindsay and Sabra Loomis

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Elise Lemire, Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts


Thursday, September 24

7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Harvey A. Silverglate, Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

7:00 pm, Harvard Coop
Johnny Diaz, Beantown Cubans.

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Sherrie Flick and Ladette Randolph, Reconsidering Happiness and A Sandhills Ballad

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Ellen Graf, The Natural Laws of Good Luck: The Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage


Friday, September 25

3:00 pm, Harvard Book Store (Friday Forum)
Nelson Lichtenstein, The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business

Friday, September 18, 2009

Post your ROAR blogs here:

Please add a comment at the bottom of this post. Tell me your name (first and last) and the web address of your ROAR blog.

Homework 9/18

1: Read "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing p. 276

2: Chart Jerry's transformation using the five categories we used today:

Physical/Sexual (the body)
Spiritual/Religious (mind/spirit)
Environmental (ex. high school)
Geographical (ex. new city)
Relational (friends and family)

3: Create your ROAR blog, then comment on the post "Tell me your ROAR blog" to share the blog's web address

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Homework 9/17

ROAR!!!!!!!!

1: begin to hunt down your ROAR book.
-auto/biography or memoir
-200 pages
-strong vocabulary

use bpl.org and amazon.com to "look inside" and see if the library has a copy near you.

Kaffir Boy
Mark Mathabane
This book specifically focuses on the apartheid South Africa of Mark Mathabane's childhood. Publishers Weekly says the book is "Powerful, intense, (and) inspiring," and I strongly agree.

Red Scarf Girl
Ji-Li Jiang
Growing up into a wealthy family in China there were some problems Jiang Ji-Li
faced. Ji-li ,a beauty with brains, was about twelve years old when the Cultural Revolution first began its terror. During the Cultural Revolution in China many young people were blinded from the what was really happening.

Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit
Sean Ferrer
No one would have expected a famous actress to ever step foot on the terrains of Africa. But there is one person that devoted her entire life to sharing love and affection to people all around the world; she is the one and only Audrey Hepburn.

Warriors Don't Cry
Melba Pattillo Beals
What was it like growing up as a black student in the United States during the beginning of integration? Melba Pattillo tells her story when she was one of nine African-American children chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.

No Disrespect
Sister Souljah
A great book for urban teens about Sister Souljah’s life experiences, which can show people the way city people work and the things people do to get money and how love can affect the way others think. Each chapter is about a person in her life who affected her greatly.

Confessions of a Video Vixen
Karrine Steffans
Many girls have the desires and dreams to become the ladies that they watch on television that gets the chance to dance with the stars, gets the chance to be famous
and noticed by the guys. Yet, The true story behind it all might not be that American dream you hoped it to be.

The Road from Home - The story of an Armenian girl
David Kherdian
Everyday, you get up at a certain time in the morning. On the weekdays you go to school, and on the weekends you stay at home or go out with your friends. You go on with your certain routine, not thinking about anything going wrong or changing. But what if it does. What if one day, out of no where, you and your family are told that you have to pack up your things quickly because you are being deported?

Gather Together In My Name
Maya Angelou
In this biography, Maya opens up by giving a description of herself by saying 'I was seventeen, very old, embarrassingly young, with ason of two months, and I still loved my mother and stepfather (Angelou 3).

Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah
Not being wanted by her family was complicated. Yen Jun-ling, known in her family as Wu Mei (Fifth Daughter), was born unlucky. Her mother died while giving her birth. "If you had not been born," said Big Sister to her one day, "Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck."

The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dream
Derek Jeter with Jack
One of the best shortstops in the modern era has been Derek Jeter; he is a three time gold glove winner and multiple time batting champ. In his book, he talks about his childhood and lifestyle now. He also tells you his lessons learned as a child from his parents and the world around him.

When I Was Puerto Rican
Esmeralda Santiago
Esmeralda is a girl growing up in Puerto Rico. Life is hard because her family is not that rich. Esmeralda experiences changes that show who she is and where she comes from. It helps show the transition to a new place and new people, how she has to change everything when she has to travel to new places and adapt to her new world. Esmeralda's journey shows her she will always be Puerto Rican.

Rat Bastards
John "Red" Shea
This is the true story of how a boy grew up during a very difficult time in the late 70's, in a predominately Irish neighborhood. He was taught to use his fists because the educational system had let the community down. He learned about respect and loyalty from the very people that would kill you just for pure greed.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Homework 9/16

1: RASH on "The Wrestlers" p. 340
-take notes, ask questions, think well (no multitasking)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Homework 9/15

1: Read "The Wrestlers" by Gary Soto in your textbook. Page 340

2: be sure to have that library card number, and PIN

3: avoid multitasking tonight. Turn off the music; log out from AIM

Monday, September 14, 2009

Homework 9/14

Although we wrote about A Long Way Gone today in class, Ishmael Beah's story will lead us into our unit on Adolescent Development and the Bildungsroman.

Assignments

1: Read the two NYTimes articles about the pitfalls of multitasking. If you lost your article, you can download it from SnapGrades.


2: Bring in all ELA supplies listed on the classroom contract sheet (3 ring binder, USB drive, e-mail address, composition notebook)

3: If you are interested in Extra Credit, check the previous post for an interesting Book Reading and attend. You need to show proof of attendance, and compose a one-page typed reflection on the event.



Sunday, September 13, 2009

Book Events

Here are some book events for this week. These are perfect for Culture Vulture, or to earn extra credit (proof +1 page review). Always call the store before heading out for directions, and to see if the event is still on.

Monday, September 14

7:00 pm, Enormous Room
Four Stories featuring Lisa Borders, Steven Brykman, Tim Horvath, and Sebastian Stuart

7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Susan Barry, Fixing My Gaze


Tuesday, September 15

7:00 pm, Club Passim, Harvard Square
*Mo Lotman, Harvard Square

7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Clea Simon and Hank Phillippi Ryan, Shades of Grey and Air Time

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Katherine Bell, Quilting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time

7:30 pm, Harvard Coop
Michael Shinagel, PhD, "The Gates Unbarred"

Wednesday, September 16

11:00 am, Porter Square Books
Timothy Basil Ering, Finn Throws a Fit

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Chris Mooney, Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future

7:00 pm, First Parish Church, $5
Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith: The Rise and Fall of Belief and the Coming Age of the Spirit

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Samuel Ligon, Drift and Swerve
Blake Butler, Scorch Atlas
Robert Lopez, Kamby Bolongo Mean River


Thursday, September 17

7:00 pm, Harvard Book Store
Jesse Sheidlower, The F-Word

7:00 pm, Porter Square Books
Sebastian Stuart, The Hour Between

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Tao Lin, Shoplifting from American Apparel

7:30 pm, Harvard Coop
Janet Soares, Martha Hill and the Making of American Dance


Friday, September 18

7:00 pm, Harvard Coop
Tao Lin, Shoplifting from American Apparel

7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith
Hanan al-Shaykh, The Locust and the Bird

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Weekend Homework (9/11)

Welcome to the class blog. Here is your first assignment.

1: visit http://www.alongwaygone.com/media.html

2: select 2 videos to watch

3: take notes on what Mr. Beah says

4: type or handwrite your notes, with the following guidelines
-place your name, class, and date at the top
-identify the name of the two videos you watched
-provide at least 5 sentences for each video
Link
Remember to review the book for our writing prompt on Monday. Here is the teacher's guide that will test your knowledge:
http://www.alongwaygone.com/media/ALongWayGone_TeachersGuide.pdf

Please have all classroom materials ready for Tuesday (binder, notebook, USB drive, library card, e-mail address)

Monday is the last day for the Summer Reading projects to be turned in

Enjoy this torrential rain