AP Lit: English 12 Exam, Thurs. June 20th 9 a.m.

Please arrive at the large gym by 8:45.

Bring two pencils, an eraser, two pens, water, and a sweater or jacket. The heat in the gym varies so if you are placed under a vent, you will get cold.

You want your body to be able to focus.

Stay hydrated the day before. Eat a light breakfast which includes protein.
Get a good night's sleep.

Take the 3 hours allotted. It counts for 40% of your mark so you want to get the highest mark possible.

See you on the 20th. Drop by if you have any questions or you need a smile.

Lit 12: Final Exam, June 20 1 to 4 pm.

Please arrive at the large gym by 12:50.

Bring two pencils, an eraser, two pens, WATER AND A SWEATER OR JACKET.
Eat a light lunch so you can be alert. Breathe throughout the exam. Sink your weight into your feet. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.


You MUST write the essay and the two paragraphs in INK.
You will use a bubble sheet for the multiple choice. 

Study. Study. Study.

Preparing means never having to say you are sorry!

YOU MUST RETURN YOUR TEXT BOOK TO ROOM 321 BY 12:30 THURSDAY. NO TEXT = NO EXAM.

YOU WILL BE SENT HOME TO RETRIEVE IT.

THANKS. 

English 11: Final Exam Monday, June 17 9 a.m.

Be at the large gym doors by 8:50.

You will be writing in Row R and the back of Row H.

Bring 2 pens, a sweater, a water bottle.

You have three hours.

Prepare this weekend by studying previously marked work.

Prepare for the essay by organizing works by theme and then finding three excellent examples and memorize quotations.

You are prepared. Use your time well. Proofread.

You have worked hard to learn these skills. Own the podium!

English 11: Exam prep and short story review . . .

Today I collected the Othello essays and drafts, returned the tests and we started our review. You MUST return all texts and USSR books to the library by Thursday if you wish to receive your yearbook on Friday.


If you have been away, you'll need to get copies of the two stories we are doing, the practice grammar sheets and the review sheets.

Lit 12: The Great Race . . .

Due to homeroom, we didn't have much time to complete the essays in class today so you may bring them in tomorrow. If you were absent today, see yesterday's blog for the topics, write the essay tonight and submit it tomorrow.
You can come by Monday or Tuesday to pick up the marked work.
I'll return your tests tomorrow (Unit 4).

Tomorrow: Arrive at the beginning of lunch for our annual pizza cram. Bring all your notes, questions, texts and we'll eat and work our way through units 2 and 3 for sure. Great job on Chaucer yesterday.

AP Lit: If you were absent today, come to class Friday . . .

You missed the exam multiple choice practice today and we sent poems away to The Claremont Review. You will need to complete these two items by the end of Friday's class.

Tomorrow: Please arrive on time for our special ending!

You are prepared for Thursday's exam. Take your time doing it. Show them what you've got!!

It's been an absolute pleasure teaching you this year.

I know you'll do well next year. All you ever need is a poem in your pocket,
a song to hum, a whistle in your bellies. (Yeah, that's why I never give advice. Sorry about that).

English 11: Othello / Iago essay due Wed.

Hand in your Othello text, plus any other texts or USSR books you have at home, your good copy, and your handwritten first draft.

Be sure to proofread the typed version.

Title page: (Cut a piece of your thesis to create a title, include the author and title and italicize the title of the play)



Green-eyed monsters in Shakespeare's Othello (centre the title on the page)


In the bottom left hand corner include:

Name
English 11
Ms. Stenson
June 12, 2013

AP Lit: Sending poems out for publication

Homework: Bring your poems, stamps and cover letter to class tomorrow. 

Choose as many poems as you wish to get publish 1- 6 is quite the norm.

Bring 3 stamps or $1.75 to cover postage.

You need to include a cover letter similar to the one below:


The magazine address goes at the top left

The Claremont Review
4980 Wesley Road
Victoria, BC
V8Y 1Y 9

your name
address
city
postal code
email 
phone number

June 11, 2013

Dear Claremont Review Editors:

I am submitting several poems for your perusal. I have been published in ...... or
I have never been published before but I feel these poems are ready as they address . . .. (This part can be short and personal. A little about you or the poems you are submitting) Don't mention Claremont or me.

I look forward to your response.


Julie Wonderkind

Print and sign the letter above your name.

Bio: Add 1 to 3 sentences about yourself

Julie Wonderkind won the BCTELA award for poetry in 2009. Her work has been published in Aerie International and Polyphony H.S. 

or

Julie Wonderkind loves to walk Island View Beach at dawn. She is studying ecology next year at UBC but will continue to write poetry in her free time. 

Lit 12: Prepare one of the topics below for tomorrow's in-class essay!

1. Discuss any three works' view of God.
2. Discuss any three works' demonstration of how the persona deals with change.
3. Discuss the satirical elements of three literary works and comment on who or what is being ridiculed.


Thursday lunch hour plus period 3 = pizza cram.
Sign up for pizza tomorrow during class.
If you attend the lunch and period 3 cram, you do not have to come to class on Friday as I can give it to you as a day in lieu.

However, I will be here Friday if you would like some individual assistance.

Friday's class: For independent study.

English 11: We wrote the first draft during class today

If you were absent today, sit down tonight and write the first draft by hand.
Show me the draft when you arrive at school tomorrow. Come in at lunch if you need assistance.

If you would like me to edit your draft, type it up tonight and bring it to me by period 2 tomorrow.

Essay is due Wed.
Hand in the good copy, and the draft.

Be sure that you prove your thesis, follow essay format and focus on formal diction, sentence variety and strong verbs. Be sure to cite and incorporate quotations correctly.

If you have used ANY internet sites, you must include a works cited list (similar format to the list you created for your personal essays).

Plagiarizing equals a 0,a phone call home, and a letter in your file which will affect any district scholarships and teachers will not be able to write recommandation letters for you. 

Plagiarizing means using other people's ideas, words, phrases, or sentences. 
If you like an idea, a phrase, a word, a sentence that you find on line--you must cite it. That's all. No need to worry.

Lit 12: Finish reading and prep the Chaucer section

Finish reading Beowulf, Sir Gawain and Chaucer. Read your notes as well.
Prepare your section of Chaucer and be prepared to present:

• Read the passage aloud 
• Focus on the satirical devices (hyperbole, understatement, wit, sarcasm and irony) and state what exactly Chaucer is satirizing 
• Identify at least two key quotations and images we can use to study for the test

AP Lit: Poetry Cafe Tuesday

Prepare well by reading the poems you have chosen over and over so that you know where to pause, what to  emphasize, which words your tongue trips over etc. Think about a way to introduce the poems.

Thank you all for writing such amazing poems and for signing up to bring food to our cafe.

We need to send these poems out. REMIND ME TO GET YOU TO SEND THEM OUT TO BE PUBLISHED.

English 11: Compare and contrast essays due Wed. June 12 Citing Shakespeare . . .

If you are quoting more than three lines, you will need to indent your quotation. The lines should be arranged as they appear in the text if you are quoting verse and arranged as a paragraph if you are quoting prose.

Example: Richard ultimately recognizes--and in eloquent terms--how he has destroyed his own position:

. . . . How sour sweet music is

When time is broke, and no proportion kept.

So is it in the music of men's lives:

Here have I the daintiness of ear

To check time broke in a disordered string,

But for the concord of my state and time,

Had not the ear to hear my true name broke.

I wasted time, and now doth time waste me. (5.5.41-49)

Notice that when you cite more than three lines, the period goes in front of the bracket

and not after. 

When you are citing fewer than three lines, please include a / to indicate a line break. 

Cite the same way that you did with poetry. 

Today we finished discussing Act 5 and began our compare and contrast essays. You will be required to write a compare / contrast essay on your final exam so this essay is a great time to review the components and to refine your skills. 

In this essay, aim for  5 to 6 clear paragraphs, including a strong introduction and a conclusion. As usual, the key criteria are

• Is your thesis provocative? Is it based on a careful analysis of the question?
• Does your style offer varied sentence structure, accurate diction, creative punctuation, integrated quotations that are cited properly, clear development and transitional phrases? 
• Does your analysis of the characters' speeches add insight? 

Question: 

In a formal, literary composition of 900 to 1500 words, compare and contrast the characters of Iago and Othello. Find similarities and differences which add insight to our understanding of their motives and connections to overall themes in the play. 

Possible areas of focus

• How they view love
• Passion / Reason balance
• How they respond to threat
• How they respond to vengeance
• How well they know themselves
• What filters tend to dominate their perceptions of the world
• How others view them
• Flaws in their characters
• Diction and changes in diction
• Bestial imagery / elevated diction    
• Relationships to women 
• Relationships to power
• Manipulation of reality 
• Vulnerabilities 
• chaos / order theme 
• products of war 

Each body paragraph should discuss both characters. Choose three of the above areas on which to focus. Find quotations with which to explore your topic. Create a what / so what chart for each quotation. THE WORK THAT YOU DO TO EXPLORE YOUR TOPIC CREATES THE BEST IDEAS. WORK HARD AT THIS STAGE. USE YOUR NOTEBOOK. RECALL CLASS DISCUSSIONS. IF YOU HAVE BEEN ABSENT, BORROW THE NOTES FROM A FRIEND. 

              

English 11: Finish reading all of Act 5, Scenes 1 and 2

Complete all 6 questions on Scene 2. Point form is fine.

Tomorrow we will discuss key scenes from Act 5 and begin our compare and contrast essay on Iago and Othello.

Start finding quotations now. We'll write it during class Friday and Monday.
Tuesday is the Othello test.

Wed-Fri is exam review. You must be in class the last three days as there will be work assigned and collected during those days.

Final exam: Monday, June 17. 9 a.m. to noon in the large gym.

Video from yesterday: This is Water by David Foster Wallace

Lit 12: Review Day new date for final exam: June 20 at 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Today we finished our review of unit four works and we started two handouts of reviewing quotations. These handouts must be completed by Monday. If you were absent today, pick up copies tomorrow.


Test:

Unit four: 30 multiple choice questions, site poem that you read and discuss in a literary paragraph.

Next Wednesday we will do another in-class essay. If you need help, ask. Study. Study. Study.

Pizza cram: Friday lunch and block 3.

Final exam date has been moved to Thursday, June 20 1-4.

AP LIt David Foster Wallace video This is Water

This is Water

Be sure to watch the film. Look at the language, syntax, imagery, emotional appeal and literay techniques. Look at the water motif.

Get ideas for section D.

Monday: I'll return the manuscripts. Your poems are exquisite. We will prepare a mail out to The Claremont Review and/or other magazines to get these babies published.

I'll give you more samples of great personal commentaries by columnists Jack Knox and Arthur Black.

Tuesday: POETRY CAFE. BRING GOODIES. BRING ALL YOUR POEMS. YOU MAY READ 3 OR 4 OF THEM DEPENDING ON THEIR LENGTH.


WEDNESDAY: We'll do one more multiple choice test and I'll answer any questions you may have. Sample exams are on the website.

Thursday: Walk for icecream. All proceeds to our bellies.

AP Lit: English Exam Prep today

Today we did a practice exam attempting to score 100% on the multiple choice.
Section D is due tomorrow--Do everything you can do to achieve a 6!

Topic: A person's view of the world may change over time.

English 11: No specific homework tonight

We watched to the end of Parker's film version of Othello. Tomorrow we will read Act 3, Scene 3 in detail. If you know that you struggle with the language, a good way to get ahead is to read the No Fear Shakespeare version on-line.

You can also read the side panels in your Othello text as they really do help.

Lit 12: Smith and Atwood today

We took notes on the authors and read and discussed the poems.

We have now finished unit 4. Final unit 4 test is Thursday. We'll review tomorrow and Wednesday. Re-read the selections that you found most difficult. We will go through them all one more time. It's key that you understand them well. Be sure to have key quotes and key techniques in your notebook.

Tomorrow I will return your essays and we will discuss how to prepare for the essay section of the final exam.

AP Lit: English 12 exam prep

Today, we went over each section of the mock in great detail and I hope you are feeling clear about where you need to focus in order to get a 90% or better on the final exam.

Tomorrow, we will read three passages and complete the multiple choice and then tomorrow night, you will write another section D creative composition.

If you know you will be busy tomorrow night, you may write it this evening:

A person's view of the world may change over time. 

Look again at the rubric. Plan. Read the samples. Imagine. Look at the three types of openings. Which one do you prefer? Why? Be sure to refer to the topic in an indirect manner and avoid sentimental or cliched situations.

Think of personal events that are memorable. You can then fictionalize the events to meet the criteria. You must use literary devices for a 6.

Lit 12: in-class essay today

If you were absent today, you may write the essay after school Wed.
You must bring a note to explain today's absence in order to write the test at a later date.


Tomorrow: We'll read the final two poems on the core list and create a plan for review.

I have not yet heard about a change in date for the Lit exam but we must change the date.

If it's changed to the first Monday, we'll have the pizza cram at lunch and during period 3 on the 14th of June.

English 11: Attendance is crucial. Do not miss one day.

Today we had a test on the passages you read and made notes about on the weekend. If you have not already done so, check Friday's blog, make notes, read and analyze the passages so you will be prepared to write the test.

YOU MAY WRITE THE TEST AT LUNCH OR AFTER SCHOOL TOMORROW IF YOU WERE ABSENT TODAY IF YOU BRING A NOTE EXPLAINING YOUR ABSENCE TODAY.

Homework: Skip Act 3, Scenes 1 and 2. Read Act 3, Scene 3, the famous seduction of Othello by Iago.

Iago plants the terrible seed of doubt in Othello's mind.

How?

That's your job to discover.

Post-it note key passages. Come to class with three ways Iago uses to plant this seed of jealousy.

Take note of the diction, any juxtapositions, imagery, symbols, line breaks etc. 

AP Lit: Poetry Workshop

Whitney and Adam will need to get together to workshop due to their absence today.

Poetry Criteria:

1. The poem has something to say.
2. It says it well.
3. No sentimental elements. No Hollywood cliches.
4. A clear understanding of sound, structure, and rhetorical devices is evident (personification, rhythm, juxtaposition, caesura, enjambement, allusion, imagery, metaphor, simile etc)
5. Insight--mature and engaging material (It is clear that you care about the poem).
6. Use of language is unique--not too wordy, not too vague.

Four good copies of poems written during our unit are due on Wednesday. Also, include all the edited drafts for each poem.

Create a title page for your manuscript that has a title. What would you call your first book of poetry?

Examples:
Painting the Yellow House Blue
More Watery Still
White Mountain
Songs of Degrees
Inventing the Hawk
The Great Fires