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.

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 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

Non-Fiction Unit Begins

The final three weeks of school are upon us, and the non-fiction unit has also kicked in to full gear.
Get the full color planner now (this is also being e-mailed to all of you due to the nature of the upcoming weeks)

The non-fiction stories are in a packet and will not be available online.

Due Tuesday 5.6: “Don’t Hang Up, That’s My Mom Calling” (from handout)
Due Wednesday 5.7: “Delusions of Grandeur” (from handout)
Due Thursday 5.8: “At the Heart of a Historic Movement” (from handout)

We will also continue working on improving writing and also the basics of MLA.
Do not forget: Root Test 1-7 next week! (see root lists further down this page)

Romeo and Juliet Acts III and IV; Terra Nova

We continue our rather brief but intense examination of Romeo and Juliet by looking into the pivotal third act and then the brief (if you can call it that) respite of Act IV.
Students can get the new planner, as well as the Act III study questions, which are due on Tuesday, April 1st (sorry, no April Fool on this one).
Wednesday is a half day, and Act IV will be due on Thursday, April 3rd.
Root Test #7 is on Friday, April 4th.

Parents (and students): An advisory concerning the upcoming Terra Nova and AIMS Science test will be on the main dothblog page.

Romeo and Juliet Acts I and II

We are taking a different approach with Romeo and Juliet. There is an emphasis on literary terms and finding examples of those terms in the text. You will be reading several literary analysis essays reflecting different aspects of the novel, written by scholars and giving you a flavor of what you will be able to add to your future discourses.
Act I is due Wednesday (you are responsible for seven of the ten quotes)
Act II is due Friday: You will have vocab and quotes, plus a reflection essay on the balcony scene that you need to read and highlight for Friday's discussion.
Thursday, you will be doing an in-class reading on Mercutio's character.
Root List #7 is also now available. That test is scheduled in the planner.
Please check out the planner for a look at the rest of the school year!

Break (yeah right, Mr. Tyler) time

There will be a one week break between the completion of To Kill a Mockingbird (except the essay) and the start of Animal Farm.
We are going to be focusing on how to take AP/SAT style multiple choice tests, especially since the final exam will be styled like such tests as we prepare you to advance into sophomore year and the PSAT exams.
Monday is the root test, and the freshmen registration video (The new Planner is now available for week of Feb. 11th, by the way).
Tuesday 2.12: Rough Draft
CHANGE: Friday 2.15: Final Draft