THIS WEEK IN AMERICAN LIT
**REMINDER**: All journal prompts for the Q4 grading period are online -- see the JOURNAL PROMPTS tab on the left. You are expected to keep up with each week's prompts, and to turn in your journal on the due dates (April 17, May 8, May 22).
Hey, Ms. A! What's your class exam schedule?
MAY 11-15
**REMINDER**: All journal prompts for the Q4 grading period are online -- see the JOURNAL PROMPTS tab on the left. You are expected to keep up with each week's prompts, and to turn in your journal on the due dates (April 17, May 8, May 22).
Hey, Ms. A! What's your class exam schedule?
- Period 2, English III: Monday, June 1st, 10:00-12:30
- Period 3. English III: Tuesday, June 2nd, 7:20-9:50
- Period 4, AP Lang/Honors III, Tuesday, June 2nd, 10:00-12:30
- Period 5B, AP Lang/Honors III, Thursday, June 4th, 10-12:30
- Period 7, Honors English II (STATEWIDE EOC), Thursday, May 28th, 7:20-11:20
MAY 11-15
- Monday: Julia Alvarez, "Daughter of Invention" handout questions #1-30
- Tuesday:
- Wednesday:
- Thursday:
- Friday:
MAY 4-8
- Monday: "The Lovely Bones" adapted from the work of Alice Seabold
- Tuesday: "The Lovely Bones" adapted from the work of Alice Seabold
- Wednesday:
- Thursday:
- Friday: JOURNALS ARE DUE TODAY!
- Monday: biography of Robert H. Jackson. On a clean sheet of paper titled "Jackson: Nuremberg Trials," complete the Quickwrite on p. 845 -- what is a societal tragedy that should not be forgotten, either a current or historical one? What lessons should society learn from it? Read the background information on p. 845 about the Nuremberg Trials in Germany in 1945 before reading an excerpt from his speech at the Nuremberg Trials, titled "The Arrogance and Cruelty of Power" p. 848-851. Complete #1-7 (yes, all of #1), answering in complete sentences. Turn in your work. Literary elements: persuasion, argument, reason, ethics, motivation.
- Tuesday: (make-up work)
- Wednesday: biography of contemporary fiction writer Tim O'Brien p. 865. On a clean sheet of paper titled "O'Brien: Speaking of Courage," complete the Quickwrite on p. 866 -- why might it be difficult for a young soldier to speak with his or her parent about a war experience? Then read "Speaking of Courage" p. 868-874 before completing #1-13. Literary elements: types of conflict, symbolism
- Thursday: biography of Donald Barthleme p. 876 and "Game" p. 879-882, followed by "The Unknown Citizen" by W.H. Auden p. 883. Complete #1-10 p. 884. Literary elements: first-person narrator, theme, setting.
- Friday: Reminder -- journals are due next FRIDAY!
- Monday: NY Times Upfront magazine, "Are We Running Out of Chocolate?" -- answer questions and submit before class ends
- Tuesday: TEST: Collection 5: p. 784-789 ("America," Claude McKay and "Homework," Allen Ginsberg), complete #1-14 p. 786-787, #1-10 p. 788, and #1-5 p. 789. Turn this in at the end of class.
- Wednesday: Introduction to Postmodern American Lit (1940-present), section notes p. 800-809 (turn these in)
- Thursday: Today is William Shakespeare's 451st birthday -- AND the anniversary of his death (poor unlucky guy!). We'll deconstruct Sonnet 18, the famous "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" sonnet, and hopefully make The Bard a little more understandable to you. Go home and impress someone with your new knowledge...
- Friday: How would you feel if you woke up and saw this? What if you saw all that destruction and realize that you were one of the few to survive? Read the biography of John Hersey (p. 829), background information about the atomic blast of Hiroshima (p. 830-831), and the section "A Noiseless Flash" from his novel "Hiroshima" (p.832-842). Then read the Primary Source document "Unforgettable Fire" by Yasuko Yamagata.
- Monday: Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance
- Tuesday: Poetry of Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes; Library of Congress video on Hughes
- Wednesday: listen to recitations of and discuss four Hughes poems: "Who But the Lord?" (written in 1947 but still quite significant today), "Mother to Son," "Dream Deferred," and "Harlem Sweeties" (3rd period: questions on each poem are homework and are due at start of class tomorrow)
- Thursday: today, we'll read the biography of Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston (p. 762), followed by an excerpt of her autobiography, "Dust Tracks on a Road" (p. 763-769). Hurston was from Eatonville, FL, the first incorporated all-black town in America. Her research later in Eatonville yielded material for her later fiction and scholarly works. Look for the cultural and historical details in her work, as well as her personal insights: her impressions of racial segregation, economic conditions, education, and social customs of the south at the turn of the 20th century. Answer p. 770 #1-11 in complete sentences, answering all parts of each question.
- Friday: PBS video on the Great Depression (the era of literature we're reading) **journals are due today**
- Monday: Today, we'll watch a brief video with southern author Eudora Welty discussing the story we'll read in class, "A Worn Path" (p. 687). Do you think Phoenix Jackson's grandson is really dead?
- Tuesday: Today we'll read about another southern writer, Katherine Anne Porter (biography p. 695), and discuss stream of consciousness writing. Then we'll read "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" (p. 698-703) -- what does it mean to be jilted? Complete #1-6 on p. 704.
- Wednesday: Get Caught Up Day!
- Thursday: poetry of Robert Frost
- Friday: Robert Frost's "Education by Poetry" essay and questions
- Monday: Literary skills: protagonist, antihero archetype, character details; read "A Soldier's Home" by Ernest Hemingway (biography p. 608-609, background p. 610, story p. 611-617, Nobel Prize Speech p. 618). Complete #1-10 p. 619 -- be sure you answer all parts of each question AND that you answer in complete sentences. Label your work "Hemingway: A Soldier's Home p. 619 #1-10."
- Tuesday: Literary skills: motivation, inference; read "Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (biography p. 621-622, background p. 623, story p. 625-639, Letter to His Daughter p. 640). Complete #1-10 p. 641 -- be sure you answer all parts of each question AND that you answer in complete sentences. Label your work "Fitzgerald" Winter Dreams p. 641 #1-10."
- Wednesday: Literary skills: setting, inference; read "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner (biography p. 643-644, background p. 645, story p. 646-653, Nobel Prize Speech p. 654). Complete #1-15 (odd) p. 655 -- be sure you answer all parts of each question AND that you answer in complete sentences. Label your work "Faulkner: Rose for Emily p. 655 #1-15 (odd)."
- Thursday: Literary skills: internal and external conflict, archetypes; read "The Leader of the People" by John Steinbeck (biography p. 668, background p. 669, story p. 671-682). Complete the QUICKWRITE p. 669 and #1-12 (even) p. 682 -- be sure you answer all parts of each question AND that you answer in complete sentences. Label your work "Steinbeck: Leader of the People, QW p. 669, p. 682 #1-12 (even)."
- Friday: NO SCHOOL -- GOOD FRIDAY
- Monday: nonfiction article annotation, question, writing response; return journals
- Tuesday: American author James Thurber was a cartoonist, author, journalist, and playwright at the turn of the 20th century. His most famous short story is "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," about Walter's adventure into town with his wife. Walter is pretty bland and forgets most things, but he has an EXCEPTIONAL imagination. While he chauffeurs his wife through town on her errands, Walter escapes in his imagination through a series of romantic fantasies, professional escapes, and travel adventures.
- Wednesday: "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
- THURSDAY & FRIDAY: SPRING BREAK
- Monday: continuation of ACT review materials -- Battle of Chancellorsville and CTE
- Tuesday: ACT Administration
Schedule...
1st period: 7:20-10:21
NO 2nd or 3rd PERIODS
4th period: 10:27-11:13
5th period: 5A Lunch 11:19-11:58, 5B Class 12:02-12:49; 5A Class 11:19-12:06, 5B Lunch 12:10-12:49
6th period: 12:55-1:41
7th period: 1:47-2:35 - Wednesday: last day to turn in late/missing work for the quarter (2nd period will meet in Computer Lab #2607 for registration with your counselors for your 2015-2016 academic schedule. Please bring your schedule handouts from class.) 3rd period: Discover Education video: Great Books, Herman Melville's "Moby Dick"
- Thursday: Modern poet Ezra Pound: biography (p. 574-575), read his poem: "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter" -- focus on the simple, obvious imagery that Pound uses to help you see the speaker (the wife of a Chinese river merchant) and her setting clearly, and to imagine how she is feeling. Then read Pound's poem "The Garden" (p. 578) and the primary source article "A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste" written by Pound (p. 579). Complete p. 580 #1-5 for "The River Merchant's Wife" and p. 580 #1-7 for "The Garden."
- Friday: END OF Q3 -- Journals for March 9-March 20 DUE -- course registration confirmations handed out... these are due back (signed by you AND a parent) by Tuesday, March 31st. You can turn them into the main office, the media center, or student services.
- Monday: journals due today (deadline was extended from last Friday due to inclement weather delays); Civil War story, Cold Mountain
- Tuesday: Unit 4 Test (Realism, Civil War-1914)
- Wednesday: brief introduction to The Moderns (1914-1939), ACT prep ("Fruit Fly Fix" and "Summer Rain" -- inference, vocabulary, detail)
- Thursday: textbook introduction to The Moderns, section notes
- Friday: (3rd period will meet in the Media Center for registration with your counselors for your 2015-2016 academic schedule. Please bring your schedule handouts from class.) Discovery Education video: Great Books, Herman Melville's "Moby Dick"
- Monday: read the biography of Kate Chopin (pronounced "show-PAN") on p. 502, and the information on p. 503. Then read her short story, "A Pair of Silk Stockings" from p. 505-509, followed by Pat Mora's poem "Now and Then, America" on p. 510. Complete #1-6 in complete sentences on p. 511. Turn in this work.
- Tuesday: discussion of setting -- not just location, but time of day, month, season. Read the biography of Willa Cather on p. 512, and complete the QuickWrite about whether or not you would indulge in your longlost personal joy one last time. Then read "A Wagner Matinee" from p. 514-520, and complete #1-8 (complete sentences) on p. 514. Turn in this work.
- Wednesday: Statewide Tornado Drill During EE.
- Thursday: Civil War story, Cold Mountain
- Friday: Civil War story, Cold Mountain -- journals are due today but I will accept them on Monday without penalty due to the inclement weather delays
- Monday: Student Services for Registration
- Tuesday: NO SCHOOL -- INCLEMENT WEATHER
- Wednesday: NO SCHOOL -- INCLEMENT WEATHER
- Thursday: NO SCHOOL -- INCLEMENT WEATHER
- Friday: NO SCHOOL -- INCLEMENT WEATHER
- Monday: Early release -- inclement weather
- Tuesday: NO SCHOOL -- inclement weather
- Wednesday: NO SCHOOL -- inclement weather
- Thursday: NO SCHOOL -- inclement weather
- Friday: NO SCHOOL -- inclement weather
- Monday: (2nd period: auditorium for ACT Pre-registration Session), 3rd period catch up on journals and missing work
- Tuesday: Hip Hop -- Investigating Personification, "Lodged" and "Mirror" (classical poetry) and "I Am Music" (hip hop); poetry writing exercise
- Wednesday: The Purpose of Pattern, "If" (classical poetry) and "How Many" (hip hop); poetry writing exercise
- Thursday: read biography of Stephen Crane p. 433, and read "A Mystery of Heroism" p. 435-441 and "War is Kind" p. 443 -- complete questions #1-7 p. 443 and #5 p. 444.
- Friday (early release): JOURNALS DUE; (3rd period: Black History Month presentation)
- Monday: Hip Hop -- Onomatopoeia, "Congo" (classical poetry) and "Datskat," (hip hop); poetry writing exercise
- Tuesday: Hip Hop -- Detecting Irony, "The Fish" (classical poetry) and Epitaphs (make sure you know the difference between and epitaph and an epithet); poetry writing exercise; video part 1: "How Hip-Hop Changed the World" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwfdlC795ag)
- Wednesday: Hip Hop -- video part 2, Hip-Hop -- Grasping Mood, "We Real Cool" (classical poetry) "A Roller Shaking Jam Names 'Saturdays'" and "Follow Me" (hip hop) ; poetry writing exercise
- Thursday: video adaptation of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" (notes due at the end of class)
- Friday: Hip Hop -- The Purpose of Pattern, "If" (classical poetry) and "How Many" (hip hop); poetry writing exercise
- Monday: (2nd pd: turn in MLK Jr. speech questions from Friday) Title your paper “Twain: The Lowest Animal.” Complete the QuickWrite on p. 468, and write the definitions for 1) satire, 2) exaggeration, 3) irony, and 4) writer’s purpose. Then read the short stories “The Lowest Animal” on p. 470-473, and “A Time of Gifts” on p. 474-475 before completing # 1-7 on p. 476. **Answer in complete sentences and make sure you answer all parts of the questions**.
- Tuesday: Introducing "Hip Hop's Got Roots"
- Wednesday: Hip Hop -- Allusion (Sojourner Truth, Ain't I A Woman)
- Thursday: Hip Hop -- Metaphor (The Weaver, Anonymous and Respiration, Mos Def)
- Friday: Hip Hop -- Illuminating Imagery (Langston Hughes & Notorious B.I.G.)
- Monday: NO SCHOOL (MLK Jr. Holiday)
- Tuesday: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS (Teacher Workday)
- Wednesday: Midterm Exams (7th pd & 5-2)
- Thursday: Midterm Exam Review -- START OF Q3
- Friday: Midterm Exam Review, "Owl Creek Bridge")
- NO JOURNALS THIS WEEK
- Monday: Exam Review (regular schedule)
- Tuesday: 7:20-9:20 1st period exam; 9:35-11:35 2nd period English III exam
- Wednesday: 7:20-9:20 3rd period English III exam; 9:35-11:35 4th period exam
- Thursday: 7:20-9:20 6th period exam; 9:35-11:35 5-A period exam
- Friday: 7:20-9:20 7th period exam; 9:35-11:35 5-B period exam
- Daily Journal Prompts
- Monday: Computer Lab 2607 -- Freedom Fighter essay prompt (due when you come to take your midterm)
- Tuesday: Read the biography of Ambrose Bierce on p. 422. BEFORE reading his Civil War story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” be sure you read the information on p. 423 – otherwise, the story may be confusing. We will begin by watching the Academy Award-winning 1962 French short film called “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (on YouTube) may also help you understand the story.Then, read the story (p. 424-430) and do #1-7 on p. 431 on a clean sheet of paper labeled “Owl Creek Bridge.” Answer in complete sentences and make sure you answer all parts of the question. Turn in this work.
- Wednesday: Computer Lab 2607 -- work on your Freedom Fighter essay (your final essay is due when you come to take your midterm)
- Thursday: Read the biography of American humorist Mark Twain on p. 457-458, and then read the information found on 459. Be sure that you understand the vocabulary terms hyperbole, vernacular, unique vocabulary, idioms, and dialect. Then, read “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” on p. 461-466. On a clean sheet of paper labeled “Twain: Celebrated Frog,” do # 1-9 on p. 467. Answer in complete sentences and make sure you answer all parts of the question.
- Friday: All journals collected -- On the same paper as yesterday, skip a couple of lines and title your paper “Twain: The Lowest Animal.” Complete the QuickWrite on p. 468, and write the definitions from that page for satire, exaggeration, irony, and writer’s purpose. Then read “The Lowest Animal” on p. 470-473, and “A Time of Gifts” on p. 474-475 before completing # 1-7 on p. 476. Answer in complete sentences and make sure you answer all parts of the question. Turn in this work.
- Daily Journal Prompts
- MONDAY: read p. 380-381, complete section notes on American Realism, p. 382-395 -- include the Elements of Realism and Elements of Naturalism
- TUESDAY: continue introduction to American Realism; view video on American Realism & Naturalism (www.learner.org/amerpass/unit08/usingvideo.html). Answer questions on Realism Video handout (in Documents).
- WEDNESDAY: view Frederick Douglass biography video (http://goo.gl/kUG9Rz)
- THURSDAY: read biography of Frederick Douglass (p. 397), do the QuickWrite on p. 398, then read the excerpt of "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (p. 399-403) and complete #1-6 on p. 404.
- FRIDAY: Read biography of Harriet A. Jacobs (p. 405), read excerpts from "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" p. 407-410; answer questions. Read excerpt from Frederick Douglass' autobiography, "My Bondage and My Freedom" (p. 413), the Spirituals listed on p. 415-416, and "The Most Remarkable Woman of this Age" about Harriet Tubman.
- Daily Journal Prompts
- MONDAY: Edgar Allan Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher"
- TUESDAY: Finish "House of Usher"
- WEDNESDAY: DO Unit 2 Collection Skills Review (p. 292-295, audio for "To Helen"). Turn in your work at the end of class.
- THURSDAY: DO Unit 2 Collection Skills Review (continues on p. 296-297) -- do this on the same paper as yesterday.
- FRIDAY: Scavenger Hunt
- Daily Journal Prompts
- MONDAY: Read Washington Irving's "The Devil & Tom Walker" and complete p. 162 #1-9
- TUESDAY: complete missing work
- WEDNESDAY: Thanksgiving Break
- THURSDAY: Thanksgiving Break
- FRIDAY: Thanksgiving Break
- Daily Journal Prompts
- Common Themes and Elements in American Romanticism: Expansive Idealism, Humanitarianism and democracy, Equality, Abolition, Utopian ideals, The noble savage, Dignity of common man, the primitive, The nature of good or evil, Conflict between spirit and body, mysticism and pantheism, Transcendentalism, the Gothic, abnormal psychology, exotic settings (time and place), Nature as symbol of Divine, faith vs. doubt, organic unity, individual soul as part of the greater soul of God, the Great Chain of Being, ways of Knowing (reason/imagination, spirit/senses, mind/external reality), individualism, conformity vs. nonconformity, sentimentalism, sensibility, and melancholy, Manifest Destiny, native history, a call for American literary geniuses, themes, style, subject matter, freedom in terms of form and convention
- MONDAY: Journals collected; DISCUSS symbolism, inference, and parable. READ Nathaniel Hawthorne's parable, "The Minister's Black Veil" (p. 238-248, audio). DO #1-12, p. 249 (homework if not completed in class)
- TUESDAY: DISCUSS symbol and symbolic meaning. DO QuickWrite p. 255 (Freewrite about one of your fears and the images you associate with it). READ Poe's "The Pit & the Pendulum" (p. 255-268, audio). DO #2-5, p. 269.
- WEDNESDAY: DISCUSS archetype, interpreting, tone, and ambiguity. DO Quickwrite p. 280 (What quests/journeys do people take today to find great wealth? What are the results of some of those quests?). READ Poe's poem "Eldorado" (p. 280-282, audio). -- Today during EE, all Juniors will go to the Auditorium for a meeting about this year's Enloe Charity Ball and the InterFaith Food Shuttle.
- THURSDAY: Watch "Pit & Pendulum"
- FRIDAY: "Finish "Pit & Pendulum
- Daily Journal Prompt
- MONDAY: p. 138-149, section notes on American Romanticism (plus columns on Characteristics of American Romanticism, Characteristics of an American Romanticism, and Characteristics of Transcendentalism)
- TUESDAY: VETERANS' DAY
- WEDNESDAY: DISCUSS archetype, mood, diction, making predictions. READ Washington Irving, "The Devil and Tom Walker," p. 151 (audio here) -- DO p. 162 #1-9
- THURSDAY: Video on Stephen King. Writing -- Literary Criticism, p. 163. Using the characteristics of American Romanticism from p. 143, describe the characteristics of this story that make it an example of American Romanticism. How would a contemporary American writer like Stephen King be likely to handle the same plot? Would the story's TONE change?
- FRIDAY: Hawthorne's "Minister's Black Veil"
- Daily Journal Prompt
- MONDAY: Thomas Paine, read biography on p. 85, complete QW on p. 86, read "The Crisis No. 1" p.87-91, complete #1-5 (p. 92 or on worksheet)
HOMEWORK: Finish questions not completed in class - TUESDAY: Student Information Sheets; Thomas Jefferson, read biography on. p. 95, read "from The Autobiography: The Declaration of Independence" p. 97-103, complete worksheet #1-12 -- HAND IN WORKSHEET ANSWERS FOR PAINE AND JEFFERSON WHEN COMPLETED
- WEDNESDAY (REPORT CARDS GO HOME ): Collection 1 Skills Review p. 126-131
- THURSDAY: Intro to American Romanticism
- FRIDAY (EARLY RELEASE): Intro to American Romanticism
- Daily Journal Prompt
- MONDAY: Continue "John Adams" (Revolutionary Literature) -- notes will be collected @ end of class on Tuesday
- TUESDAY: Continue "John Adams" (Revolutionary Literature) -- notes will be collected @ end of class
- WEDNESDAY: Teacher Workday
- THURSDAY: START OF Q2 -- Patrick Henry, read biography on p. 79, complete the QuickWrite (QW) on p. 79, read "Speech to the Virginia Convention p. 80-82, complete #1-5 on p. 83, answering in complete sentences
- FRIDAY: Thomas Paine, read biography on p. 85, complete QW on p. 86, read "The Crisis No. 1" p.87-91, complete #1-6 p. 92, answering in complete sentences