Welcome Back

Second semester is upon us, and for this week we delve carefully into a new arena of English: syntax, voice, and advanced grammatical construction.
The first major situation you will deal with is syntax terms. These terms will be tested this Friday.
The first homework assignment is on loose and periodical sentence structure and its impact on reading. This will be due on Tuesday.
The second assignment will be examining different aspects of style. That handout will be given in class on Tuesday and will only be made available via Snapgrades if needed. The due date will be Thursday.

Final Countdown: Part I

Finals are coming. A week from Wednesday (12.10), 6th hour will be the first to begin the tests.
Part I: The final exam essay. The rough draft is due Wednesday. For students under 84.5 percent, the final draft is due Thursday. For students over 84.5 percent the final draft is due Friday.
Part II: Grammar Packet II. This will be made available (with final exam study guide) on Thursday and students will be working on this in-class all week, with the ability to type what you need to type at home, as part of your review.
Part III: Independent Reading Assignment due Tuesday, December 17th (via e-mail)
Part III: Grammar Final: 6th hour: Wednesday; 4th hour: Thursday; 7th hour: Friday

Media Literacy

A break from literature as we take on media literacy, something that affects all of us everyday, sometimes in adverse ways. We will be deconstructing advertisements, looking at the power of media, and examining elements of propaganda, which will be useful in AP language and literature courses later in high school plus AP history and the school's dynamic and popular Holocaust class.
The planner is online, but all students have a copy of the planner and root list #5, which will be tested on Friday.

Necklace-Ibis: The Grinch Has Arrived

Ahhh, I just got finished watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Perfect timing.
We start Monday with The Necklace. Study questions will be available in class.
The text is available online as well. I have e-mailed the text to you.
This assignment is due Wednesday, November 19th. Use this link to help you with your work:
www.unc.edu/~getkara/The%20Necklace/Home.html

The vocabulary this week is the Figure of Speech list, which will be available online as well as in class. This will be tested on Friday, November 21st.

The Scarlet Ibis "boot camp" begins Wednesday. The study guide will not be available except via class.
The text will be sent to you via e-mail and also via Snapgrades. Please consult the NEW! planner, as this is an extensive assignment. More details will be revealed on this site.
There are no late days on these assignments, so stay on top of your work!!!

Short Story Unit Week 4: Bergeron

This is the calm before a light storm.
There will not be much in the way of homework as we gear up for the last two short stories that will take us to Thanksgiving.
The hardest part of the week is the Lesson 4 and 5 vocabulary tests from the SAT/ACT lists. These are not available online, so please be sure to have copies of these!
We will be working in-class on diagramming and also the Point of View handout.
Do not forget to be reading your book for independent reading. I will need a notecard announcing which book you are reading by Friday.

Short Story Unit Week 3: Poison

Update: Harrison Bergeron is due Monday, November 11th. The text is available via online...a printable version is also available.

This week, we are focusing on Point of View and also reading Roald Dahl's "Poison". You will not be able to get the Point of View handout online or via e-mail. The text for "Poison" is now available.
A new planner, which will take us through Thanksgiving, is now available.
Root Test #4 is Friday. Also, be advised, there will be weekend homework this week, as we start "Harrison Bergeron" on Friday.
The AP Reading List (for independent reading) has been revised and is now up-to-date!
The "Grin" rubric link is now active, by the way, so be sure to check and see what is acceptable for your assignments!

Short Story Unit Week 2: The Birds

This week is actually a relatively light one (in context with the Grin), as we will be investigating du Maurier's "The Birds". The study questions, and a topic sentence assignment, are due on Thursday.
Students will also be revising their essays this week (7th hour, you will receive your essays beginning Tuesday or Wednesday). A copy of the topic sentence/context assignment and the blank for rough drafts are now online.
Fiction terms will be tested on Friday; students should be keeping a literary terms journal that will be checked the week before finals.
Students should also have a copy of the "Grin" rubric, which has been revised to warn students of what I will be "borrowing" from your assignments.