Tuesday, December 21, 2010

One of the greatest moments in recent football history...

Get ready for an Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Homework 12/20

1) Antigone Test!

-review over "Civil Disobedience" paragraph 5&7, Rawls' definition
-key vocabulary terms (Greek Theater/dialogue diction)
-Oedipus background

Here's a PowerPoint review:
http://www.clifton.k12.tx.us/teacherpgs/finstadb/Antigone%20Test%20Review2.ppt


2) Poetry Out Loud
-check the list outside the classroom whether you are presenting on Wednesday or Thursday

3) Final ROAR post due @5pm, then go and watch the snow fall

==================================
Honors
-submit your finished Short Story (draft #9) to turnitin.com and via e-mail to 826publishing@gmail.com

Saturday, December 18, 2010

ROAR III: Book into Film

For this term, select a book from the list below. Read the book, and compose 4 posts to your ROAR blog. Then, read the film adaptation of your book. Compose 1 post that makes use of film terms and analyzes how it adapts the book.

Do select a book that interests you, but also one that you will be allowed to watch the film version (check to see what the film is rated).
You are required to prove you legally watched the film, so no downloading or streaming.

Playing the Enemy by John Carlin
Invictus is the true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

Michael Oher is a poor, undereducated teenager in Memphis, whose father was murdered and whose mother was a crack addict. He is shuffled through the public school system, despite his low grade point average and absenteeism. His living situation is noticed by the wealthy Tuohy family. They take him in and he succeeds both athletically and academically, becoming one of the top high school football prospects in the country.

The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson
This is a perfect work of unnerving terror. Four seekers arrive at a notoriously unfriendly location called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

A Scanner Darkly Philip K. Dick
America in the near future has lost the war against drugs. Though the government tries to protect the upper class, the system is infested with undercover cops like Fred, who regularly ingest the popular Substance D as part of their work. In a bizarre twist, the drug has caused Fred to develop a split personality, of which he is not aware.

The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri
What’s in a name? A MIT professor and his wife face this question, when hospital authorities won’t allow them to leave with their baby until it is given a name. The staff is ignorant of the cultural difference that allow for Bengali families to spend a good deal of time and deliberation before deciding their child’s name. Thus, Ashima and Ashoke are forced to enter a “pet” name for their son- Gogol.

Slumdog Millionaire Vikas Swarup (Q&A)
Jamal Malik is an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved.

A Civil Action Jonathan Harr
This is the true story of a town’s fight against deadly environmental toxins in the town of Woburn, MA. With a class action lawsuit to file, lawyers represent families impacted by the pollution. However, the case that could ruin the law firm firm.

Antwone Fisher Antwone Fisher (Finding Fish)
This autobiography tells how Fisher was born in prison to an incarcerated mother and a father who had been shot. After being placed in foster care, Fisher was treated brutally and blamed for his own misfortunes. Through these experiences, he eventually found his way into a stable job in the Navy.

Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer
With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man sets out to find the woman who might or might not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war, and a dog named Sammy Davis, Jonathan is led on an amazing journey into an unexpected past.

Fever Pitch Nick Hornby
Love sports? This book tells the story of the author's unhealthy relationship with soccer. As a fan of Arsenal, a London soccer team, Hornby describes his life as it relates to the successes and failures of his favorite team.

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Bride & Prejudice

The five Bennet sisters, including strong-willed Elizabeth and young Lydia, have been raised by their mother with one purpose in life: finding a husband. When a wealthy bachelor takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. But when Elizabeth meets up with the handsome and snobbish Mr. Darcy, a battle of the sexes ensues.

Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks away from the horrors of the war and back home to his pre-war sweetheart, Ada. This love story connects Inman's odyssey through the devastated South with Ada's struggle to revive her father's farm.

Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier
When Griet becomes a maid in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, she thinks she knows her role: housework, laundry, and the care of his six children. What no one expects is that Griet's quiet manner, quick perceptions, and fascination with her master's paintings will draw her inexorably into his world. Their growing intimacy sparks whispers; and when Vermeer paints her wearing his wife's pearl earrings, the gossip escalates into a huge scandal.

Secret Window Steven King (Four Past Midnight)
Mort Rainey is a successful writer going through a rather unfriendly divorce from his wife of ten years. Alone and bitter in his cabin, he continues to work on his writing when a stranger named John Shooter shows up on his doorstep, claiming Rainey stole his story. Mort says he can prove the story belongs to him and not Shooter, but while Mort digs around for the magazine that published the story, people begin to die.




Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution

Creation



Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Green Zone 




The Juliet Club
and
Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love





Winter's Bone: A Novel



It's Kind of a Funny Story



Between a Rock and a Hard Place

127 Hours




True Grit

Friday, December 17, 2010

Homework 12/17

Very well done with the Socratic Seminar today. If you all learned 1/2 of the things I got from your conversations, you would be quite wise indeed!

1) Culture Vulture Rough Draft, proof, and proposal all together for Monday

2) ROAR final post due Monday @5pm

3) Poetry Out Loud presentations on Wednesday and Thursday next week

4) Antigone test on Tuesday

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

DREAM Act Civil Disobedience

 

Culture Vulture: Andrew Bird

I love to whistle, and have the skills to whistle through my teeth or lips. That makes me an ideal fan for Andrew Bird, a violin/guitar/glockenspiel playing troubadour of song. What made his concert last Friday night so special was the venue: the opulent Tremont Temple (near Park Street). This church boasts a huge organ set-up, massive pipes filling the area behind the stage, and lots of Christmas decorations. It was an honor to photograph, then sit back and let the looped instruments rush over my ears.



Nyatiti by Andrew Bird

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Best Music of 2010

In my non-Antigone reading life, I enjoy photographing concerts and writing about music. The end of the year provides a chance to reflect back on the highlights of the past 12 months. I write for a site called melophobe (the fear of music) and we came up with a list. My votes were counted, and I got to write a few paragraphs about my favorites.

Your list?

Overall Best of:
http://www.melophobe.com/articles/top-20-best-albums-of-2010/
20. Phantogram - Eyelid Movies
19. The Black Keys - Brothers
18. Die Antwoord - $O$
17. The Walkmen - Lisbon
16. Beach House - Teen Dream
15. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
14. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
13. The Roots - How I Got Over
12. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
11. Vampire Weekend - Contra
10. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
09. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
08. Sleigh Bells - Treats
07. Menomena - Mines
06. Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
05. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz  (Doreian Pick)
04. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
03. The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
02. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
01. The National - High Violet

Hip Hop:
http://www.melophobe.com/articles/top-10-best-hip-hop-albums-mixtapes-of-2010/
1) Kanye - MBDTF   
2)
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot  
3) The Roots - How I Got Over   
4) Yelawolf - Trunk Muzik   
5) Atmosphere - All My Friends/Blood Makes The Blade Holy   
6) Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon 
7) Shad - TSOL   
(Doreian Pick)
8) Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute    (Doreian Pick)
9) Freddie Gibbs - Str8 Killa, No Filla    
10)  Das Rascist: Sit Down, Man

Homework 12/14

1) Antigone p. 997 for Wednesday, finish the play for Friday

2) final Root Word quiz on Friday!

3) Poem memorization on Wednesday, Poetry Out Loud for next week

==============================
Honors
Short Story Draft #8- This must be a cut down version (500-750 words) with proper formatting
-Times New Roman
-1 inch margins
-centered title, no bold or quotation marks

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Homework 12/10

1) read and notes for Antigone p. 993

2) written memorization of Poetry Out Poem for Wednesday

3) ROAR post #4 on Monday

4) last day for Culture Vulture proposal Friday, 12/18

Monday, December 6, 2010

Homework 12/6

-read and ask questions on p.967-978 in Textbook (classzone.com)

-Root Words #11--> soph on Friday

-ROAR post #3 due @5pm

-Select a Poetry Out Loud poem for Wednesday

Friday, December 3, 2010

Homework 12/3

Root Words #10 moved to Monday --> pry

ROAR post #3 on Monday

Identify 2 poems and their poet from the Poetry Out Loud website
http://poetryoutloud.org/poems/
-check out the featured poet
-search by keword
-for the ambitious student, check out this listing of poems listed by form and poetic devices!
http://poetryoutloud.org/poems/poem.glossary.html

Videos of quality recitations:
http://poetryoutloud.org/poems/video_bestpractices.html

-You must select your poem to memorize by 12/8 Wednesday
-Written memorization of the poem by 12/15 Wednesday
-Poem recitation on Wednesday 12/22  and Thursday 12/23

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Homework 12/1

Read those ROAR books!

Poetry Test/Root Word Quiz on Friday

Honors: upload and print your latest short story draft

On a side note, today is set aside to remember and react to the AIDS pandemic.



 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Homework 11/30

Last day in December!
(November) thanks Valerie...
-read and annotate the poems found on p.732-740
"Sonnet XXX"
"Lord Randall"
"Ballad"
"Midwinter Blues"

-Poetry Test and Root Words (pyr) on Friday
===============
Honors

-upload your Short Story draft #6 to Turnitin.com

Monday, November 29, 2010

Homework 11/29

ROAR post #2 due @5pm

Annotations for the poems on p.718-724 "Sloth" "Piano" "Fifteen" "Tonight I write"

Root Words quiz on Friday ---> pyr

Poetry Test on Friday, past poems and new poems

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Homework 11/22

1) answer the questions on p.710 #1-9

2) ROAR post #2 on Monday, 11/29

Monday, November 22, 2010

Homework 11/21

1) read the three poems from the class handout, answer the questions from p702

2) ROAR post #1 due @5pm

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Homework 11/18

1) PPP
-hints
place ALL titles into italics. Sometimes Gawain is in italics, sometimes not. Check whether it is used as a title (the Gawain poet) or a character (Gawain was a brave knight).

use full tabs

your last name and page number MUST be a header, not just typed at the top of your page

2) ROAR post #1 on Monday

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Homework 11/17

1) read p. 688-692 in your text book

Go to: classzone
-select Language Arts/MA then find your book
-select McDougal Littell Literature, Grade 10
-click "online book" at bottom left
-create a "student account"
-use ACTIVATION CODE: 4726324-650 for the book
-have fun!

2) perfectly printed paper! Friday!
3) Roots--->Pater

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Homework 11/16

1) bring your big textbook to class
2) Film Terms/TKAM film quiz
3) PPP due on Friday

-----------
Honors
-signed photo/video release form

Monday, November 15, 2010

Homework 11/15

1) get reading your ROAR book, since our class reading is light this week!
2) Film Terms/TKAM film quiz on Wednesday (11/17)
3) PPP due on Friday (read the previous post)
4) Root Word #9--->pater

Perfectly Printed Paper

Here is a mighty challenge. I ask that you prove your MLA and computer skills by printing a perfectly formatted paper. You do not need to write the paper; it's already done for you!

Papers must be printed prior to class on Friday. If your paper does not pass, then you will have one week to make changes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is the text of the paper you need to properly format.

1) copy and paste SPECIAL (just text) into Word
2) set up a cover page using your name, date, class, and the paper's title
3) center title at the top of the 1st page
4) insert page number with your last name, but do not include the cover page
5) format the essay (double space, Times New Roman 12pt, indent new paragraphs, title of books italicized)
6) format the works cited page

NOTE: the essay should fit on two pages, not including cover and works cited pages
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Evaluating the Medieval in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Composed by an unknown monk in the north of England circa 1375, the romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight exhibits attributes common to medieval literature. The Gawain poet created his verse with attention to alliterative patterns, and employed stanzas of unfixed length that are connected through the bob and wheel device. Thematically, the poet places Gawain in situations that test his devotion to the medieval ideals of courtly love and chivalry. Thus, in form and theme this Arthurian romance contains poetic elements that mark it as a medieval text.
The text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is preserved in a religious manuscript that also contains three poems: “Pearl,” “Patience,” and “Purity” (Borroff 20). Yet, Gawain opens with a passage more accustomed to the nationalist ethos of epic poetry. The poet offers an account of Britain’s founding, connecting the heroes at Troy with the “Bold boys bred there, in broils delighting,” who inhabit England (line 21). As in Beowulf, alliteration punctuates the poetic line. Where the device once served as a rhythmic and mnemonic tool, the sound repetition in Gawain belongs to a revival of alliterative verse in the medieval period. The medieval audience would have recognized and enjoyed this poetic element as it suggested a popular Anglo-Saxon form of storytelling. Thus, the poet’s insists for the reader to “…listen to my lay but a little while,/ As I heard it in hall, I shall hasten to tell/ anew” (line 30-32). By alluding to typical elements of Old English oral verse, the Gawain poet attracts the interest of his medieval readers.
However, the form of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight breaks from the Anglo-Saxon pattern in its stanza construction. Visually, the poem lacks caesura line breaks that divided the line after two stressed syllables. In its place, the Gawain poet employs a bob and wheel at the end of each stanza. The bob is a two-syllable line that sets a rhyme scheme in the four-line wheel. Most often, the bob and wheel offers a conclusion to a stanza, as shown in lines 485-490:
"Such happiness wholly had they that day/in hold./Now take care, Sir Gawain/That your courage wax not cold/When you must turn again/To your enterprise foretold." Here the bob presents “hold” as the initial sound to be rhymed in the wheel; the poet forms the wheel around this sound in an ABABA arrangement. Before expanding the narrative by offering further description or changing scenes, the Gawain poet uses the bob and wheel to alter the physical line length.
In plotting, the poem exemplifies the paradoxical romantic virtues of courtly love. Sir Gawain is tested to deny his faith and break his word by the temptations at Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert’s home. The host and Gawain agree to swap their daily earnings: the lord from hunting in the woods, Sir Gawain from interactions with the lord’s beautiful wife. As a guest, Gawain must obey the wishes of his host and hostess- a situation made difficult by the lady’s bold suggestions. Resembling the game animals Bertilak hunts, Gawain nervously evades the lady’s requests. To preserve the marriage vows, their love is never consummated; still, Gawain obeys the lady’s demands and his own desires by sharing furtive kisses. The responsibility required by chivalry and courtly love make Gawain’s temptation a foremost example of romance literature.
The Gawain poet makes skillful use of the romance conventions, writing the poem with attention to medieval aesthetics. Modern readers might not share Bertilak’s claim that Gawain is “polished as a pearl,” or worthy to wear the pentangle star after his blatant deception and failure to trust Mary against the Green Knight (line 2393). Still, the romance offers a fitting example of medieval literature in its poetic construction and thematic development.

Works Cited

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Mary Borroff. The Norton Anthology of English
Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 7th edition. Volume 1. New York: Norton, 2000.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Homework 11/9

Root Word Quiz #8--> MY

Honors Short Story Revision #4
-printed copy to class
-send e-mail copy to 826publishing@gmail.com

Find your ROAR book for Term 2

Culture Vulture Researched Response due Friday @5pm to Turnitin.com

Monday, November 8, 2010

Doreian Culture Vulture: Shad @ Middle East Downstairs

well, this is a musical Culture Vulture. Shad's been on my play list this year; he's from Canada via Kenya/Rwanda and speaks conscious hip-hop that's very catchy. So, it was time for a babysitter and off to enjoy the show!

Homework 11/8

-begin research for your Culture Vulture final draft (11/12)

-root words #8 --->MY

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Term II ROAR: The Bildungsroman

Staircase of a Thousand Steps
by Masha Hamilton

Jammana, a 11-year-old girl experiences an unsettling coming of age in a Jordanian village. She possesses an ancestral gift that allows her to see the past, travels with her mother, Rafa, against her father's wishes, to Rafa's birthplace, the ancient village of Ein Fadr.

Breath, Eyes, Memory
by Edwidge Danticat


After twelve years of being raised in Haiti by her aunt Atie, young Sophie Caco has been summoned by her mother to join her in New York. Sophie is terrified and does not want to go, especially since she does not remember her mother, who left Haiti when Sophie was just a baby. What follows is a painful rendering of horrifying secrets and Haitian tradition that deeply affects Sophie and the way she lives her life.


The Chosen
by Chaim Potok


In 1940s Brooklyn, New York, a horrible baseball accident throws Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders together. Despite their religious differences, Reuven and Danny form a deep, if unlikely, friendship. Together they negotiate adolescence and family conflicts.


Caramelo
by Sandra Cisneros


Lala Reyes is the seventh child of the family and the only girl. They live in Chicago, where her dad and his two brothers run an upholstery shop. There are cousins (three brothers named Elvis, Byron, and Aristotle), looong caravan-style car trips to Mexico City to visit the Awful Grandmother, and some snooping into the past by Lala.


Crazy in Alabama
by Mark Childress


Family tumult and social unrest converge to shake the world of 12-year-old orphan Peejoe Bullis in the summer of 1965, "when everybody went crazy in Alabama." Peejoe's relatively tranquil life with his grandmother is jolted by the arrival of his Aunt Lucille, who is on her way to Hollywood to become a star after poisoning her husband. The family moves to Industry, Ala., where racial conflict brings together George Wallace and Martin Luther King Jr.

The Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier


Jerry Renault is a typical fourteen-year-old freshman (and football player) at a private Catholic high school. But then he decides to go against the school fundraiser run by a gang called The Vigils. Can Jerry survive at school as the thugs and teachers plot to ruin his life?

Feed
by M.T. Anderson


The story begins on the Moon, where Titus and his friends have gone for spring break. He and his buddies all have Feed, which is an online computer implant typically installed shortly after birth. Feed constantly bombards the characters with information and banners, much of which has to do with the latest fashions, upcars, and music. It also provides them with Chat--the capacity to mentally instant message each other. Enter Violet; a girl Titus meets on spring break, a girl who wants to 'fight the feed'.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie


Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a decent jumpshot, spends his time lamenting life on the "poor-ass" Spokane Indian reservation, drawing cartoons. When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one.

Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida
by Victor Martinez


The tale follows the life of Manuel Hernandez. Manny's a good kid. He has a slacker older brother, an older sister that flirts with danger, and a baby sibling that doesn't understand the ways of the world just yet. His father is unemployed leaving him regularly drunk and belligerent. His mother, not quite up to facing the problems surrounding her, stays by his side despite the effects of his actions on the kids.

Yoruba Girl Dancing
by Simi Bedford


Remi is born into a privileged large Nigerian family. At the age of 6 she is sent to a very exclusive all girl boarding school in England. Feeling alienated because she was the only black girl in a school full of perfect English girls. She gets ridiculed for her culture and race. It isn't easy being different, but Remi has to cope with it and she needs to understand that people are different.

Rattlebone
by Maxine Clair


These interrelated short stories are set in fictional Rattlebone, Kan., a vibrant, close-knit African-American community. Narrated by young Irene Wilson, the confident but naive girl tells how she grows up in a town devoid of whites, falling in love with the boy who sells eggs, and witnessing the dissolution of her parents' marriage.

Betsey Brown
by Ntozake Shange


Betsey is the oldest child in a large, remarkable, and slightly eccentric African American family. Her father is a doctor who wakes his children each morning with point-blank questions about African history and Black culture while beating on a conga drum; her mother is a beautiful, refined, confident, and strong-willed social worker who is overwhelmed by the vast size of her young family and who cares very little for “all that nasty colored music.”

All that Lives
by Melissa Sanders-Smart


The Bell Witch is poltergeist that bedeviled a family of Tennessee farmers in the early 1800's. At age 13, Betsy Bell becomes the focus of the witch's torments. For more than a year, the Bell family is subjected to nocturnal noises, rains of stones, blows from invisible hands and, eventually, belligerent back talk from the articulate spirit.

Rule of the Bone
by Russell Banks


Flunking out of school and already hooked on drugs, the 14-year-old narrator leaves his mobile home in a depressed upstate New York town. Convinced that he is destined for a criminal career, Bone vents his anger in acts of senseless destruction. His wanderings are paused when he takes refuge in an abandoned schoolbus with an illegal alien from Jamaica called I-Man.

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
by Roddy Doyle


An Irish lad named Paddy rampages through the streets of Barrytown with a pack of like-minded hooligans, playing cowboys and Indians, etching their names in wet concrete, and setting fires. Paddy Clarke and his friends are not bad boys; they're just a little bit restless...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Homework 11/2

1) TKAM critical articles

here's a link so your eyes can see:
Critical Voices

Honors: short story edit #3

Monday, November 1, 2010

Homework 11/1

Happy November, and post halloween sugar crash...

1) TKAM article on historical context

2) TKAM exam on Thursday

3) Root Words #7--->lun

------------------------------------
Honors
3rd draft of short story printed for WEDNESDAY (11/3)

Friday, October 29, 2010

Homework 10/29

Boo!

Speaking of which, finish To Kill a Mockingbird for Monday

ROAR posts #4 and 5 today by 5pm

Get a head start on ROAR selections for term 2

Monday, October 25, 2010

TKAM Reading Calendar

Tuesday
ch. 17+18

Wednesday
ch. 19-21

Thursday
ch. 22-24

Monday (11/1)
ch. 31 (the end)

Friday, October 22, 2010

Homework 10/22

Three chapters of TKAM- 14,15,16

Culture Vulture is due Monday, November 1.

ROAR is due Friday, October 29 5pm

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Homework 10/21

Read chapters 12+13 of To Kill a Mockingbird

Root Word Quiz ---> grad

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Homework 10/20

Read TKAM chapters 10+11

Root Words on Friday ---> grad

Culture Vultures?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Homework 10/19

Read TKAM chaper 8 and 9

Culture Vulture? The term ends on 10/29 (two weeks!)

Same is true for ROAR...

Monday, October 18, 2010

Homework 10/18

1) TKAM Chapter 5,6,7
-complete the three character charts for these chapters

2) Root Word Quiz #5---->grad (to step)

3) ROAR posts #4 and #5 due NEXT Friday (10/29)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Homework 10/12

1) get well rested for the PSAT

2) TKAM chapter 1
-Thursday (period 1,2)
-Wednesday (period 4,6)

3) Root Words Quiz #4 on Friday -----> Erg/o

4) ROAR post #3 on Friday

------------
HONORS
------------
Short Story #5 for Thursday
When Nikos spills his oranges on the bus, the other passengers erupt with laughter. Think of a moment when you/character faced similar humiliation. Build the story toward that point of embarrassment, proving background details that foreshadow the eventual upheaval. Try to write in 3rd person!

Boston Book Festival!!!

Ready for the event of the year?
Come on out and enjoy some great authors and books. You can use the day as a festival Culture Vulture or Extra Credit.

Full Schedule:
http://www.bostonbookfest.org/2010_schedule


Here are my choice selections:

CARTOONS (artsy)

10:00am Trinity Church Forum 206 Clarendon Street
Test your cartooning and doodling skills with this team of four successful and talented cartoonists/illustrators. Jarrett Krosoczka talks about his bestselling Lunch Lady graphic novel series about a super-heroine lunch lady serving up a side of justice while Alexis Frederick-Frost provides us with some Adventures in Cartooning. Aaron Renier, author of the action-packed The Unsinkable Walker Bean and Jef Czekaj the creator of Hip & Hop, Don’t Stop, join the party. Hosted by Brookline Public Library’s Robin Brenner.

OPEN MIC (share your stories)
10:30am Cloud Place 647 Boylston Street
Here’s your chance to show off your writing skills by reading your work to an eager audience and any guest authors, editors or literary agents who drop by. What makes this particular open mic extra special (and unforgettable!) is that it will be hosted by author Steve Almond, who is known for giving excellent readings.  Steve will be on hand to talk about what makes a good reading – from how to pick the right excerpt to how to perform that excerpt like a professional. To participate, please bring a FIVE-MINUTE excerpt of your fiction, poetry or non-fiction to the session and sign up for a reading slot when you arrive. Please note that a five-minute reading usually consists of no more than 600 words. We will hold readers to a very strict five-minute limit. Presented by Grub Street.


BASEBALL (sports)
11:00am Trinity Church Forum 206 Clarendon Street
As Bill Littlefield so often reminds us, it IS only a game. But sometimes baseball feels like so much more, especially when we consider the legends who have claimed our hearts as well as a place in the record books. Bill chats with Howard Bryant, author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, James Hirsch, author of Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, and Andy Wasif, author of Red Sox University, on writing about America’s favorite pastime. Sponsored by Hotel Commonwealth.

MOVIES (famous folks)
1:30pm John Hancock Hall at the Back Bay Events Center 180 Berkeley Street
What’s it like to see your words, characters and ideas translated to the screen? Do you get a say in who plays the lead? Is being on-scene fascinating or infuriating or somewhere in between? Find out from Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island), A. M. Homes  (Jack, The Safety of Objects) and Tom Perrotta (Election, Little Children), seasoned veterans of the transition from page to screen. Hosted by Boston Globe movie critic Ty Burr. Sponsored by The Boston Globe.


WHAT MEANS SWITCH (famous folks)
12:00pm Old South Church Sanctuary 645 Boylston Street
Identity, the march of world events, and the effort to construct a life are explored in this session. Gish Jen’s World and Town is set in a small New England town, but raises questions about the wider world and the changes it brings. In Simon Mawer’s Booker-nominated novel The Glass Room, lives are ripped apart by war. Michelle Hoover’s The Quickening is a portrait of the lives of two Depression-era farm women. Hosted by founding editor of The Drum, Henriette Lazaridis Power. Sponsored by Other Press.

TRAVEL (very funny)
3:00pm John Hancock Hall at the Back Bay Events Center 180 Berkeley Street
Two unusually perceptive authors will transport you in this entertaining and enlightening session. Travel writer Bill Bryson (At Home) goes deep into the place we think we know best: home. Tony Hiss (In Motion) explores the hidden dimension of what he calls “deep travel.” Hosted by the Robin Young of WBUR’s Here and Now. Sponsored by Google.

TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES (painful like your ROAR books)
4:00pm Church of the Covenant 67 Newbury Street
Traumatic experiences have an insidious way of doing damage. Jessica Stern, an authority on terrorism, discusses Denial, her account of being sexually assaulted as a teenager and the equally traumatic aftermath. Dr. John Rich, author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time gives his perspective on young African American men traumatized by violence. Myla Goldberg, author of the bestseller The Bee Season, discusses her use of a traumatic event in her new novel, The False Friend. Moderated by journalist Stefanie Friedhoff.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Doreian Culture Vulture: Oktoberfest Harvard Square 10/10

With a bright sunny, blue sky kind of Sunday, we headed across the Charles into Cambridge for the 30th annual Oktoberfest. The streets in Harvard Square are closed to traffic so vendors, musicians, and artists set up booths. This year's highlight was the HONK! festival musicians. They are a collective of marching bands, social protest groups, and performance art. Building from a wide variety of street music, the bands encourage audience participation (dancing, singing, banging the drums). In all, a wonderful afternoon.

Horns all raised for a mighty shout!

Elsie was a hit. Check the guy who asked to film her dance moves.

This was one hard core trumpet player!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Homework 10/8

Happy long weekend!

1) ROAR post #2, TODAY @5pm
2) ROAR post #3, Friday 15th
3) short week so get started on Root Words, ---> erg/o!

NYTimes Article on Multitasking/Technology

Here's the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?_r=1


Test whether you are part of the %3 of Super Taskers!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/06/07/technology/20100607-distraction-filtering-demo.html?ref=technology

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Greek Festival

Nora has been getting us all excited about the Saint Nectarious Greek Festival, and here are the details:

39 Belgrade Ave
Roslindale, MA 02131

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Homework 10/6

1) Upload ALWG essay to Turnitin.com

2) ROAR post #2 on Friday 5pm

3) Literature Exam on Friday

HONORS ONLY
Short Story #4 for Thursday
"How to __________"
Write a story in the style of Junot Diaz, where the reader is told how to do something. Use 2nd person POV, and build a character through a set of instructions/flow chart.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

ROAR post #2

Please remember your ROAR post will be graded on these three areas:

1) MLA formatting for quotation

2) Proper photos; avoiding full name

3) commenting settings: NO word verification, YES comment moderation

Homework 10/5

1) bring your ROAR book to class for a reading day

2) submit your A Long Way Gone essay to Turnitin.com 5pm, Thursday

3) Big Test on Friday

Monday, October 4, 2010

Homework 10/4

1) study for test on Friday

2) read your ROAR

Friday, October 1, 2010

Homework 10/1

1) time to get some ROAR reading done. It will be a hectic week, so read up...

2) Big Literature Test on Wednesday next week. There might be a problem with a field trip, but we can schedule a make up for Thursday after school.

3) ROAR post #2 on Friday, 5pm

Culinary Culture Vulture

Healthy Local Food for All!

FREE Admission! Saturday, October 2nd from 11am - 5pm Bring your water bottle, reusable shopping bag and something from your garden to donate to Crop Share! Boston Local Food Festival, presented by Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston (SBN), is a delicious outdoor celebration of the many benefits of local food. The festival showcases affordable, scrumptious local food sourced in the Boston area, Massachusetts, and New England. Festival-goers can engage with farmers, chefs and entrepreneurs, learn from exhibits and demonstrations, and enjoy activities and local music. Local Craft Beer Tastings will be held at the Daily Catch on Northern Avenue. Join us! The festival takes place at Fort Point Channel - on the Congress Street Bridge and outside Boston Children's Museum up to the Moakley Bridge at Northern Avenue. This exciting event is easily accessible via the MBTA Red Line, South Station or the Silver Line, Court House Station.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Want a job???

Fall City Wide Resource Fair 
Saturday October 2, 2010 11:00am - 3:00pm 
 
Come meet a wide range of programs and organizations to make your school year great! Academics, Sports, jobs, internships, art, anything and everything you may want! All grades and ages should attend Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Lower cafeteria 55 Malcom X Blvd. Roxbury, MA 02119
 
  Got questions? Call Morgan Randall at 617-635-1578 or e-mail mrandall@boston.k12.ma.us. 

Jobs at 826 Boston

826 Boston hires four or five teens each year through the Boston Youth Fund to tutor students in our after-school program as paid employees. 

These teen tutors work 3-4 hours each afternoon helping younger kids (ages 7-12) with homework, reading comprehension, writing, and other projects. Through this program, they also become eligible to win college scholarships from 826 Boston ($1000+) and to be nominated for Posse Foundation's full scholarships to private universities. We encourage them to work on their writing by attending workshops at 826 Boston (at no cost) and by working with our staff.

If you know a teen who is at least 15 years of age and interested in tutoring younger students, please encourage them to apply!
Directions are listed below. 
The application deadline is October 15.


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Book Readings!

The BPL at Copley just released their Fall author line up...and it is amazing! I'll get looking for an event to chaperone, and it can be a big old Culture Vulture party.


These author talks and lectures, all of which are free, take place at the Central Library in Copley Square, 700 Boylston St. Author talk events feature questions from the audience and include time for book signings. Additional details are available online at www.bpl.org.
The schedule is as follows:
• October 6, 6:00 pm, Michael Cunningham, author of By Nightfall.
• October 6, 6:30 pm, Neil Miller, author of Banned in Boston.
• October 14, 5:30 pm, Ronald Grim and Paul McDermott, authors of Eye of the Explorer: Views of the Northern Pacific Railroad Survey, 1853-54.
• October 20, 6:00 pm, Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms.
• October 20, 6:30 pm, “Researching the History of Your House” with Marian Pierre-Louis.
• October 25, 6:00 pm, Alexander McCall Smith, best known for his internationally acclaimed No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agencyseries.
• October 28, 6:00 pm, “Heroines: Literary and Super!” featuring Erin Blakemore and Mike Madrid.
• November 2, 6:00 pm, Bill Reynolds, author of Rise of a Dynasty: The ‘57 Celtics, The First Banner, and the Dawning of a New America.
• November 3, 6:30 pm, J. L. Bell on how Bostonians celebrated the fifth of November.
• November 4, 6:00 pm, Dennis Lehane, best-selling, Boston-based author.
• November 10, 6:00 pm, John Ochsendorf, author of Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile.
• November 17, 6:00 pm, Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.
• Wednesday, November 17, 6:30 pm, Carol Clingan with an introduction to Jewish genealogy.
• November 30, 6:00 pm, The Best American Sports Writing featuring Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, and Bob Hohler.
• December 1, 6:00 pm, Roger Lowenstein, author of The End of Wall Street.
• December 1, 6:30 pm, Eric Jaffe, author of The King's Best Highway: The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route That Made America.

Homework 9/29

1) Short Story #3
-5 items/dates for a list story
-try out some 2nd person, speak to the reader with "you"

2) ROAR, get some reading done

3) Root Word Quiz #3 on Friday

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Homework 9/28

1) READ! "Indian Education"

2) Short Story #3 for Thursday
-select 5 items (shoes, last day of school, math tests) that can tell time
-describe the item, and how it shows a change in the protagonist

3) Root Word #3---> Cycl

Honors Survey

826 Boston wants to know how you view writing and your abilities as a writer!

Let 'em know here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEVLTjJ2TUZubE02cjFYbVNwbmhVa1E6MA

Monday, September 27, 2010

ROAR Exemplars

Here are a few blogs from last year:

http://tdtlwk.blogspot.com/

http://genesisroar.blogspot.com/

http://jvalcin.blogspot.com/

Homework 9/27

1) read! "A Bag of Oranges"

2) Root Word quiz #3 on Friday---> cycl

3) 1st ROAR post due Friday, 5pm (read at least 40 pages of your ROAR book)

and a big well done to all the Culture Vultures at the Jazz fest!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Homework 9/24

1) More thought on "Ms. Turner's Lawn Jockeys"

-5 most important details
-3 quality questions
-1 paragraph on what the story is all about


2) get a start on ROAR reading, 1st post due next Friday

3) enjoy the Jazz Fest!

National Punctuation Day

How did I miss this?



http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Homework 9/23

1) Root Word quiz #2--->cardio

2) Read "Ms. Turner's Lawn Jockeys"

3) Begin reading your ROAR book, find a Culture Vulture activity

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Beantown Jazz Fest! This Saturday! 12-6pm

All you Culture Vultures!

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival is located on Columbus Avenue between Burke Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. It is free and lasts from Noon to 6pm.


Schedule and Map:
http://www.beantownjazz.org/pdf/schedule-map.pdf

Homework 9/22

while your folks are at Open House, here's something to keep you out of trouble!

1) Short Story #2
-2 pages
-a character who wants to hide family/cultural secret from school or lies to gain popularity


2) ROAR blog created, and comment on my post to share its URL

3) Root Words Quiz #2---> Cardi

4) ROAR post #1 due on Sunday, 5pm

Monday, September 20, 2010

Homework 9/20

1) read back through "What Means Switch" and be ready for Socratic Circle tomorrow

2) Root Word Quiz #2 on Friday ---> Cardio

3) Short Story #2 on Thursday
-a lie told by a student to get popular, or something a student wants to hide about their family/culture

4) ROAR blog- create it by Thursday, 1st post by Sunday 5pm

POST YOUR ROAR BLOGS HERE!

Please comment, and leave your blog URL and your name.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Homework 9/18

1) READ "What Means Switch"

2) Select a quality ROAR book, and fill out the proposal sheet

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Free Movies!

This Twitter link is just for fun, or will come in handy as we start Culture Vulture!




http://twitter.com/BostonFreeFilms


Homework 9/16

1) Root Word Quiz #1 (a-anti)

2) Read the selection from Bastard out of Carolina

3) Find your ROAR book!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Homework 9/15

1) Short Story #1!

The ___________(insert item of clothing)

-2 pages of writing
-try some personification
-crisp description of clothing
-shift in narrator's tone toward the clothing?

2) Root Word Quiz #1 on Friday

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Homework 9/14

1) read "The Jacket" by Garry Soto

2) study your Roots List (a-anti) for Friday's quiz

3) select a ROAR book (due 9/20)

Monday, September 13, 2010

Homework 9/13

1) Bring your ELA materials to class: Binder and Do Now notebook

2) Begin to study your Root Words for Friday's quiz (a-anti)
http://www.learnthat.org/vocabulary/pages/view/roots.html

3) Keep looking for your Term 1 ROAR book. The proposal sheet is due 9/20. Check previous posts for suggestions

4) A Long Way Gone multiple choice quiz TOMORROW

Friday, September 10, 2010

Suggestions for ROAR term 1: Biography/Autobiography

Your ROAR book must meet the following requirements:
1) proper genre- biography/memoir
2) proper difficulty- 200 pages, strong vocabulary
3) proper content- parent signature

The Term 1 ROAR proposal sheet is due Monday, September 20.

Here's a link for student suggestions:

https://sites.google.com/site/roarchoiceselections/written-on-the-body-1/table-of-contents/-auto-biography-memoir



Here are some additional suggestions:

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.

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.

Homework 9/10

1) upload your summer reading assignments to Turnitin.com (enrollment information in previous post) by Sunday 5pm


A Long Way Gone
Choice Book
Red Scarf Girl (Honors only)

2) complete your Student Info sheet, and your Requirements & Contract


3) be prepared with graphic organizer for our writing prompt on A Long Way Gone for Monday

Monday, September 6, 2010

Turnitin.com Enrollment Info

Log into Turnitin.com using your e-mail address and password from last year. If you forget your password, please click "Retrieve password." If you are new to Turnitin.com, click

Enroll in the correct ELA section, using the class # and password listed below:

Period 1
3465570
longwaygone

Period 2
3465574
ishmaelbeah

Period 4
3465578
redscarfgirl

Period 6
3465587
jilijiang

Monday, June 21, 2010

Extra Credit end of the year survey

similar to the bystander survey, your class will earn extra credit based on % of completed surveys. The link was sent via e-mail, or you can use this direct link HERE.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Homework 6/14

BRING $10 for summer reading book Hope in the Unseen
RETURN your textbook and vocab book

1) Start looking over your vocab words for the final!

2) here are the links to our ROAR and Culture Vulture sites
http://sites.google.com/site/roarchoiceselections/

http://sites.google.com/site/obryantculturevultures/

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Homework 6/9

USA ties England!

Finish The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for Monday. Socratic circle, no Doreian questions so be prepared to share your thoughts.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Homework 6/9

Huck Finn Socratic Circle
Chapters 35-38

Friday, June 4, 2010

Homework 6/4

New site for reading Huck Finn...

http://www.enotes.com/adventures-of-huckleberry-finn-text/

check out the annotations! Not as good as our Julius Caesar site, but nice.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Homework 6/1

1) Huck Finn Socratic Circle ch.20-26

2) ROAR post #1

3) Vocab #19 on Thursday

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Paradox of Memory

For you who are still mulling over the paradox of remembering and moving on from our past, here is a beautiful blog post about a park in East Boston. Enjoy.

http://elliothaney.squarespace.com/blog/2010/5/29/my-day-serving-east-boston.html

My Day Serving East Boston

I have done a lot at City Year this year. I have stepped into many roles and have stepped out of my previous comfort zone more times than I can count, but nothing compares to the scope and the results of what my team and I were able to do on Saturday, May 22nd.

To sum up the day quickly, it was fantastic. Completely, totally, unrelentingly fantastic. That is not my highlight however… my highlight took place after the volunteers had left, after my team had left, while I was sitting on a bench in the park that we just transformed. Sitting there, all alone, I had the experience that made my year, and the experience that quite possibly put my entire life into a new perspective.

My site contained a wall with the letters M.A.D. painted onto it, covered by about three decades of wear, decay, and graffiti. We wanted to mural the site, so on the first day of prep we went out to survey the area. An East Boston local came over and basically warned us not to mess with M.A.D.; it was a memorial to Michael Anthony D’avella, who was murdered years before. We decided right there that we had to leave it… or did we? We would make it better, we would redo it! So we set out scraping and priming. Multiple people came over, worried that we were erasing a hero from their history, but we assured all of them that it would be fine, that we were going to do it justice.

So it went on, three weeks of prep, over 150 man hours of work, then it was the big day, Serve-a-thon 2010. The mural came to life. Michael’s full name, previously just ambiguous initials to an outsider, finally came to life. Shane Quigley, the mural’s designer, beautifully weaved the name into the river along the Boston skyline, rendering most onlookers speechless. We had many community members come out and observe and compliment, but none like one man, after everyone else had left.

He was an East Boston native, born and raised. He walked into the park as I was sitting there, and his jaw just dropped. It was like in a comic book; it literally dropped and he just stood there, staring all around. He turned to me and said “This couldn’t be more beautiful…” He started walking around just taking it all in, then he walked towards the court. He stopped suddenly, turned to me and started walking back. As he got closer, I could see tears on his face. The man was a childhood friend of Michael Anthony D’Avella. He was crying to me, a complete stranger, thanking me for making the M.A.D. memory live on so beautifully. He choked through numerous ‘thank yous’ but then he couldn’t speak anymore… he shook my hand, and he walked out of the park, taken over by emotions and his memories that we helped to preserve. With the man gone, I sat there, put my hands behind my head, and I felt the power of what had just taken place. Whether it was the emotion of what I just experienced, or realizing the weeks of work had actually finally paid off, or maybe it was realizing that my year was coming to an end, whatever it was, it was beautiful, and I savor the memory of how I felt right then. I never want to forget that moment.

This shows what an incredible thing that we at City Year Boston did this past weekend. I can guarantee that stories like this happened all throughout the city, and that they are happening right now. What we accomplished on Saturday is nothing short of breathtaking, and the sentiments that he made to me were echoed by the smiles and laughter of the families that came out to the park, enjoying an area that was long neglected and misused.

East Boston will remember us, and they thank us. As well do I. I want to personally thank everyone that came out with so much for their time, their effort, and their commitment to making beautiful positive change.

This is City Year, this is what we do.

Memorial Day Homework

1) honor those who give (and have given) their time and lives to make the American dream a possibility

2) Huck Finn Socratic Circle #3 on Wednesday. Chapters 20-26

3) ROAR post #1 on Tuesday. Check the right column for other due dates

4) Vocab Quiz #19 on Thursday

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Homework 5/27

1) be ready for Socratic Circle #2, ch. 15-20

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Homework 5/25

Period 1&2
========
-bring your ROAR book and a blanket for outside reading

Period 5
======
-be ready to discuss Huck Finn ch. 9-14

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Homework 5/20

1) Huck Finn- be read through chapter 14 for Tuesday

2) keep on with the novella


very well done with the presentations. They were great!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

hmmmm. Why I choose not to live in Southborough

Silly Bandz a no-no at Finn

by susan on May 19, 2010

Post image for Silly Bandz a no-no at Finn

Last night WBZ-TV ran a piece on the latest fad in kid accessories: Silly Bandz. Those of you with young ones know that Silly Bandz are brightly-colored rubber bracelets in the shape of things like animals. A private school in Milton recently banned the bracelets because they’ve become such a distraction for students. Turns out, they’re a distraction in our town, too.

While she didn’t call out Silly Bandz by name, Finn principal Mary Ryan sent a note home to parents last week asking them to not send their kids to school with “jelly bracelets,” saying they’re causing similar issues as trading cards.

“The bracelets are distracting, they are being traded, and children are having conflicts because of them,” Ryan wrote in the letter. “I ask that these be kept as special bracelets to be worn outside of school.”

Oh the fashion fads of the young. We had jelly bracelets in my day too, but the only way to wear them was layered over your Swatch. What about you?

Monday, May 17, 2010

Homework 5/17

1) Hand in your presentation outline and works cited on Tuesday

2) Remember to dress professionally for your presentation day

3) Extra credit given for bringing snacks/drinks or paper goods


enjoy a good bit of satire:


Friday, May 14, 2010

Homework 5/14

1) hand in your ROAR poster outline on Monday

2) create a works cited for your ROAR presentation

3) get a head start on your ROAR reading

4) get caught up, or push ahead for your Huck Finn reading


Presentation Dates:
Wednesday Thursday Friday
Jeremy Michael Lynnett
Daphney Kayla B. Crisamar
Pavel Alfredo Jordan
Agostinha Lynn Kiara
Pascal Genesis Melissa
Cassandra Kayla G. Meghan
Amy Bianca



Rosa Benni Ayana
Nate Anamol Xiomara
Victoria Sayyida Michael
Rony Adrienne Josie
Yaritza Jean Deidra
Kevron Jie Olumide
Raquel Andreau Sara



Whitley Eagle Marissa M.
Saul Courtney Peter
Shannon Samantha Ambar
Jazmin Amy Marissa S.
Alex Deanna Clarissa
Tyler Kiara Susanna
Shaniesha Talal Kevin

Lisa

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Homework 5/12

1) Huck Finn Chapters 5 & 6

2) Vocab Quiz #16

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Homework 5/11

1) read and think about Huck Finn ch. 3-4

2) Vocab #16 on Thursday

3) look over the ROAR Presentation handouts

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Homework 5/6

1) check out a copy of Huck Finn from the library. Any edition will do fine.

2) begin hunting down your Term 5 ROAR. Check the blog for good novella suggestions.

3) work on your history research paper

Monday, May 3, 2010

Homework 5/2

Happy May Day (slightly late)!

Read the Twain biography/view the movies at this site:
http://www.biography.com/articles/Mark-Twain-9512564

There are 14 pages of text (click on "print" to view as a single page) and five short videos.


Also, think of the event that for your family/culture provides a paradox of memory.

For me, it's Gallipoli:
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3746562073/

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Homework 4/30

Enjoy the last days of April, and bring in your Culture Vulture Proposal, Rough Draft response, and proof for Monday.

If you wish, check out the Term V ROAR selections. The ROAR proposal is due May 10.

ROAR Term V: Classic Novellas

ROAR Term V:
Classic Novellas


Animal Farm
George Orwell
-animal fable shows the problems of communism and democracy

Anthem
Ayn Rand
-a future world where technology is prohibited so all humans are equal

Bartleby, the Scrivener
Herman Melville
-a boss tries to fire a secretary who “prefers not to” do any work, but Bartleby keeps returning

Candide
Voltaire
-a biting satire of faith in God and the futility of finding hope in the midst of disasters

Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Gabriel García Márquez
-you and the entire town know he is about to be killed, but Santiago Nasar has no idea

47
Walter Mosley
-a boy is visited by a mysterious visitor who teaches him to not be a slave or a master


Hunger
Lan Samantha Chang
-a family struggles with isolation, adapting to a new culture and broken dreams

Pafko at the Wall (Underworld)
Don DeLillo
-a famous baseball game is the background for America entering the Cold War

Seize the Day
Saul Bellow
-one day in the life of a man who has lost his family and his money

Siddhartha
Herman Hesse
-a wealthy young man leaves his home to search for meaning in life

The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
-a Spanish shepherd travels to the Great Pyramids for a promised treasure

The Day the Leader Was Killed
Naguib Mahfouz
-an account of a modern assassination in Egypt

The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Leo Tolstoy
-a man dies from a freak accident with curtains, but it’s really caused from living a bad life

The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
-Gregor wakes up one morning, and has been turned into a beetle

The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
-a fateful fishing trip to regain honor ends with the largest fish the Cuban village had ever seen

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Muriel Spark
-the lives of many students are impacted by this remarkable teacher