Short Story Unit Week 1

Welcome back from your much deserved break.
We are now back to work, and in week one of the short story unit. Check out the planner for the rest of the unit.
We start with "The Sniper", which is due Wednesday. The text has been provided to students in class and will not be posted online.
We will also be reading "'The Most Dangerous Game", which will be due Friday. Copies of the story are available online.
Root Test #3 is scheduled for Friday, October 24th, while Root Test #4 is November 7th

Odyssey Final Week

The Nine Weeks comes to an end next Friday, but grades for this nine weeks actually culminate on Thursday, October 9th.
The new in-class study questions are available via Snapgrades and e-mail.
The final two homework assignments for the Odyssey are available (and also via Snapgrades and e-mail). Both are Word documents.
Get the revised planner!

• Friday, October 3rd: Literary Terms Quiz #1
• Monday, October 6th: In-Class reading of the Odyssey (end of class)
• Tuesday, October 7th: Sections 1 and 2 of The Odyssey (quotes and archetypes)
• Tuesday, October 7th: Odyssey Objective Test
• Wednesday, October 8th: Odyssey five-paragraph essay due* (Students with a 77 percent or above as of Monday, 10.6 may turn in Thursday, October 9th without penalty)
• Thursday, October 9th: Literary Terms Test #2
  

Odyssey Week 2

We now head into the critical portions of the Odyssey. Get the revised planner to stay up to date.
First, Books 9 and 10 study questions are due on Tuesday. I have added a modern English version of the Odyssey for those of you who are slower readers or want to read the story in more depth. The online reading chapters Books 9 and 10 are not required, as all the questions can be read from the text. These have been e-mailed to you or can be found via Snapgrades.
The full Book 11 is required, again this can be found via Snapgrades.
I have also sent out a template for typing assignments to help students with the problems of margins and using bullets or numbers. In addition, version 1 of the "'Grin Rubric" has been completed, so that students (and parents) have a better idea how I grade and how points "disappear" from assignments.
Book 13-24 study questions are also now available!
Tuesday 9.30: Book 9 and 10
Wednesday 10.1 Book 11 (the critical essentials handout will be distributed Monday and is needed to complete the Book 11 study questions)
Thursday 10.2 Book 12 (will be provided Tuesday)
Friday 10.3: Literary Terms Test (first page of the handout)

The Odyssey kicks into full gear

After turning in the summaries on Tuesday (Books I-IV, which not be available online), we shift our direction to Books V-VIII, where we will be going full force into the reading of The Odyssey.
We will read Books V-VIII (study questions available here) in class Wednesday (pp. 890-899), which is actually a fairly quick read.
In case students do not finish, there is a summary of these readings which were provided last week to you, but again these will not be available online. Please check to make sure you have the summaries and if you do not let me know ASAP, as I also do not have a digital version of these to e-mail you.
Books 9 and 10 study questions are available. See planner for due date.
DO NOT FORGET ACT/SAT vocabulary test #3, which is on Friday
Literary Terms Test (first page of handout) is Friday, October 3rd
Literary Terms Test (both pages of handout) is Thursday, October 9th

Mythology/Odyssey Unit Week 1

Separate Peace and the Hobbit are (finally) over, and now, after Choices Tuesday and Wednesday, we will be in the midst of the Greek mythology and The Odyssey to finish the nine weeks.
The planner (with revised calendar for the literary terms) is available, as are the literary terms, which will be tested October 3rd and 9th.
The first assignment is the Pre-Odyssey research on the Greek gods, which has three sections (Sections 1 and 2 are due Thursday, Section 3 is Monday).

Greek Mythology links:

• Greek Mythology.com. Great site for section 1 and 2
• Mythweb, a popular Greek myth site with illustrations
• Greek Mythology from the Iliad to the Tyrants is an advanced source for mythology lovers and those who want to have a deeper examination into Greek myth.
• Greek Mythology Link has charts, maps, dictionaries, etc. Another good source for those of you, especially if you are doing the extra creditQ
  

Writing Week Part 2: Amended

In order to make your writing stronger, the Archetype Project has been amended and is now focused on quotes and commentary. Download the Word Document to make this process easy. It is due Monday, September 15th. You may bring your rough draft to class on Thursday for peer evaluation.
Some pages you might need:

• Need help formatting in Microsoft Word? Download this handout for Windows users.
• Keep a copy of Mr. Tyler's grading criteria for essays.
• Independent Reading list is now available. It is strongly urged that you read several from this list each year as you prepare for college.

Do not forget that Root Test #2 is Friday! Please start studying this week.

Writing Week

We are now in the process of refining basic essay skills. By the way, here is the new planner
Here is the week at a glance:
Tuesday 9.2: Introductions; Vocabulary List (do not lose...these lists cannot be placed on line)
Wednesday 9.3: Thesis Statements: (Homework assignment due Thursday 9.4)
Thursday, 9.4: Topic Sentences/Concrete Detail (in-class assignment)
Monday, 9.8: ACT/SAT Vocabulary Test; Commentary

Hobbit Archetype Project:
Sections 1-5 due Monday, 9.8
Section 6 (Archetype Essay) due Friday 9.12