English 10A

Your essays and quote logs are marked and can be picked up after school today.

Pizza cram is June 21 at noon in our room.

Extra sessions available as needed.
Please complete the practice exam before the 21st so that we can discuss it at the cram.
We'll also watch the end of the film.

Lazer tag possible date: Wed. June 20 at 2 p.m or later in the afternoon if you are busy.
Email me to let me know if you are interested.

Shelfari: Please post your lastest reads. Last day, Monday.
Literacy Projects: Don't forget to email me your analysis of the goals, the implementation, and the assessment of the project. Last day, Monday.

Lit 12

I'll see you on Sunday at 11 for the pizza cram.

We decided to cut all the poems we planned to do in class except, T.S. Eliot's, "The Hollow Men".
You will need to read and make notes on the Dylan Thomas poem on your own, plus the ones listed under The Victorian Notes, Hardy, Dickinson, Bronte. We'll cut Arnold.

Bring your core list on Sunday so we can make adjustments.

Bring all your notes and return your novels on Sunday.

Lit 12

Be sure to have read and made notes on the Victorian poems. See the bottom of the Victorian notes sheet which I handed out last class. A copy of the Emily Dickinson will be handed out in class. Here's a copy below:

Because I could not stop for Death —
He kindly stopped for me —
The Carriage held but just Ourselves —
And Immortality.

We slowly drove — He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labour and my leisure too,
For His Civility —

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess — in the Ring —
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain —
We passed the Setting Sun —

Or rather — He passed Us —
The Dews drew quivering and chill —
For only Gossamer, my Gown —
My Tippet1 — only Tulle2 —

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground —
The Roof was scarcely visible —
The Cornice — in the Ground —

Since then — ’tis Centuries — and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity —
Emily Dickinson

If you missed the unit 3 test last Friday, be prepared to write it during class Thursday.

English 9

Homework: Prepare the two poems you plan to recite. You may memorize them or read them. Marks awarded for your poise, concentration, eye contact, change in tone to reflect the material and the way you introduce each piece.

Thanks for signing up to bring refreshments. We'll have fun.

Literary terms to know for the final exam:

1. allusion
2. alliteration
3. assonance
4. dissonance
5. onomatopoeia
6. in medias res
7. symbol
8. tone
9. metaphor
10. simile
11. plot
12. conflict
13. climax
14. indirect and direct character presentation (tell versus show)
15. personification
16. caesura
17. enjambement
18. juxtaposition
19. in medias res
20. stanza

English 10A

We watched the beginning of Shakespeare in Love today. We'll watch the rest on Thursday. Bring snacks to share.

Two optional study periods:
Pizza cram: 11:30 Thurs. June 21 in my room. Arrive with all your notes. Bring the completed practice exam and we'll go over it.

Tues. June 19th at noon.

Laser Tag at laser city. It's located on View St. near Blanshard, just around the corner from the movie theatres.  We'll meet there one day to play. We must pick a date and commit to attending. I will need to book it. You will also need to create a name for yourself and give it to me as they use this made-up name to keep score.


Possible times:
Wed. June 20th at 2 p.m.

Writing 12

Next class: Time to work on your manuscripts. No lates accepted unless you have already spoken to me about an extension. All manuscripts due Friday. Thank you. Please check the criteria list and don't forget to email me an electronic copy.

Yearbook: Want to publish work in the yearbook? Send your poems or short prose pieces to Eileen, the math teacher, asap. Today! Now! Yay.

Friday: Alexis and Ariel present. There will be food and time for farewell.

English 9

If you missed today's class, stop by my room on Monday to pick up copies of the poems as there is a paragraph due on Tuesday. We wrote two thesis statements on the board which you can get from your homework buddy and we spoke again about how to read and analyze a poem so that when we create a thesis statement, we are including all the key aspects of the poem (including the title).

Write a 300 to 500 word paragraph, following the literary paragraph guidelines learned during the short story unit. Use those handouts. You do not need to use page or line numbers to cite the parts of the poem. Bring a double-spaced first draft to class on Tuesday for peer editing. A good copy will be due on Thursday. I expect your best writing and analysis since it is the final assessment prior to our exam, Mond. June 11. 8:15.

Exam Outline

Section 1: Responding to fiction. This section is exactly the same as our "Plight of Ellen" test where you read a short story, underline key features, create a what/so what? chart, and then turn your great ideas into a scintillating literary paragraph.

To study: Review the literary must-haves list. Review the list we made about how to study for the short story test. Memorize strong verbs; depicts, suggests, reveals, elucidates, exemplifies etc. Practice creating a variety of sentence types. Practice integrating and citing quotations. Practice citing titles. Practice creating inferences in a what/so what chart. Read the work that has been edited and marked. Work with a partner to edit each other's work. Read over the poems in your anthology and analyze them the way we did for the three poems studied during class, "Spring," "Cherries," and "A Slow Fuse".

Section 2: Poetry
Read a poem and answer a question in a literary paragraph. Underline key parts, establish connections between imagery and title. Create a strong thesis and prove your answer with reference to the poem. Be sure to support your great interpretations with ample evidence from the poem.

Section 3: Creative Writing. You will be given a general topic, a starting and ending line and a number of words.
Write a short story or a well-developed poem to demonstrate your ability to use the criteria of that genre.
Study the criteria sheets for poetry and for fiction.

Thursday, June 7: Poetry Cafe: Sign up to bring food and beverages to share. Choose two poems from your manuscript to read aloud to the class.