Friday, January 29, 2010

Some final advice for finals

To study for finals you should scroll down to the posts below this one.  Make sure you find the post with the links to the third and fourth period study guides.

Also check out this spread sheet of questions suggested by your classmates. If you want to suggest another question for the final use the comment link below.

The prezi in the post below may also be helpful.
Remember to check the blog daily next week for leaked test questions.

Feeling really ready for finals? Check out this article and think about how it relates to what we have studied recently. 50 Years Later.

Prezi on Finals Essay

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Finals are Coming

Good morning,
   As you know well, your final for American Lit class will be next Friday 2/5. You have very helpfully prepared your own study guides by reviewing the blog since September. You may use the study guide from either period or both.

Period 3 Study Guide
Period 4 Study Guide
I have also made you a form you can use to suggest questions you think I should ask on the final.  You can suggest questions until tomorrow afternoon (Thursday 1/28). Then I will publish your suggestions and you can use that question bank to study from.

Suggest a question for the final.

Friday, January 22, 2010

The Raven and parodies of The Raven

Good morning,

It's a stormy day. Hopefully most of you are here. Let's enjoy "The Raven".
Do you know what a parody is? If not click the word and check out the definition.

There have been many parodies written from "The Raven". Some of them are collected at a site called "The Raven's Nest".

We will look at several of these "Raven" parodies.
English Journal Entry:
  • Choose one of the parodies we looked at.
  • List at least 5 ways in which the original and the parody are similar.
  • List at least 5 ways in which they are different.
  • According to the definition, the purpose of a parody is "comic effect or ... ridicule." In what ways does this parody accomplish that purpose?
  • (Questions by: http://fayette.k12.in.us/~cbeard/raven.html)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Reflections and Ramblings, Your English Journal and The Raven

English Journal Reflection:
We've been working on standard 3.2 for 10 days. What do you think?
Questions to consider:
1. Are you getting better at answering "the question" (What does the story say about life?)
2. How do you know?
3. What do we still need to work on?

After you write your reflection check the bulletin.

Yesterday was Poe's 200th birthday. Do you know who Steven Colbert is? On Twitter he said. "Happy 200th birthday Edgar Allen Poe. You always were my favorite humorist." (about 14 hours ago from web)  Why do you think he called Poe a humorist?


Lets look at some fresh Poe.  The Raven

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

What does this say about life?

Good morning,

Yesterday we read The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin.  Today you need to work with a partner to answer this question:

What is the story saying about life?

You and your partner should collaborate on your answer using google docs and then copy (Ctrl-C) and paste (Ctrl-V) your answer into the form below. Your answer should be at least 2-3 paragraphs and include quotes from the story.


Form for submitting your answer.

So show me that you are making progress towards mastering standard 3.2. Can you read a story and identify the theme? Can you explain what the author is saying about life? Can you backup what you say with evidence (quotes) from the story?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Working on that Poe essay.

Yesterday we summarized The Masque of the Red Death and started to work on an essay about the theme.  The notes we took and the essay question are on this page.
You need to finish that essay in your English Journal. You have gotten good at explaining other writer's arguments. Now explain your own.

Remember what I said about baby steps. This story we read together, discussed the theme, talked about evidence, even started the essay. To meet the standard though, you need to be able to do this on your own. That's what we are working toward.

The Masque of the Red Death -Analysis Day

English Journal Entry: Write a quick summary of The Masque of the Red Death. Just the basic events is fine. Should take you 5-6 sentences. You can review the story using the links in the post below if you like. 10 minutes max.


We will spend the rest of the period working on our response to Reading Standard 3.2: Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Masque of the Red Death

Reading Standard 3.2: Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim.

What do you think this standard is asking you to be able to do?

Yesterday we started to read The Masque of the Red Death by Poe. Today we will continue. Please use the link below to get to the text.
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dczdstfg_140wq9pb5c9

Monday, January 4, 2010

Welcome Back

Hello everyone,
Welcome to 2010. Before we go foraward let's go back.  Do you remember Civil Disobedience? Emerson, Thoureau, Gandhi, Dr. King?  If you don't you need to go review because they are on your final and because their ideas shaped our country. Now let's write.

English Journal Enrty: Things I'm afraid of. (100-200 words)  Write about what you fear and why.

When you have finished your EJ entry take a look at these sites.
Poe
http://www.poemuseum.org/poes_life/index.html
http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-01302.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2455/is_n2_v31/ai_15557278

Yes, we are starting Poe. You've probably heard of him. I think current events dictate that we should begin with The Masque of The Red Death,
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dczdstfg_140wq9pb5c9