12/22

Silas Marner-- XVII 
We started questions (what secret do we learn at the beginning of the chapter, why does Godfey have to tell Nancy his secret, and what does he decide to do), but cannot finish them until reading the next chapter.

12ers-- Character sketches and basic plot outlines due in your network folders.  We'll start writing tomorrow.

FW: Through 3.1 of the movie.

SS: Quiz tomorrow: Irony, symbolism, coincidence, theme, idiom, and idioms.  Nice pre-Frankenstein skits.

Crew: A few more plays to watch before break!  Then finishing Togo letters so we can finally send them off!

Questions for Class 12/21

Tone: Read 69-77 and answer the following questions:

What is your impression of LaBoeuf?

What is the main point of contention between Mattie and LaBoeuf?

12/20 (a little late)

12ers: Character Sheets and outlines are due 12/21 at the end of class. 

FW: I know the movie is a little odd... with the speedo and all.  We'll have to decide if it's worth continuing watching this movie version or not (the new one has not arrived yet).

SS:  Be ready to do your skits!  I'm excited to see them.

Crew: Some good acting/actors, and bad acting/actors day.  We'll work more on the Togo letter.

IDIOMS for Freshmen

No Room to Swing a Cat	Small Space
Peeping Tom	Someone who likes to spy
Pig Out	Eat a lot
Mum’s the Word	Keep Quiet
Spitting Image	Looks Similar
Long in the Tooth	Old
Knee Jerk Reaction	Quick Automatic Response
It take two to Tango	Both people are at Fault in an argument
In like Flynn	Easily Successful
Get your Walking Papers	Get Fired from a Job
Beat a Dead Horse	Keep talking about the same thing
All Bark and No Bite	Someone that talks a lot but doesn’t act

Crew (from yesterday)

Getting things together for the Togo letter!  Don't forget to bring in/email your pictures.

Silas Again

Describe Eppie and other major characters now that sixtten years have passed. 

What kind of person has Eppie grown to be?  Cite evidence from the novel.

We're going over the vocabulary exercise and finishing the book (or trying to) before break.  There will be a Silas Marner test (I'm not sure what format) when we get back from break.

True Grit

What does the court transcript let us know about Rooster?
-Personality
-Experiences

What is Rooster's living situation like? (Who, where, etc.)

EC: "By God!  A Colt's Dragoon!  What you're no bigger than a ______ _______!"
What gun does Rooster try to trade with Mattie?

Audiobook today... let's get caught up!

Eighth Hour

Welcome Zach!

Reading scene rewrites today...!  We'll start SFOC this week!

Worksheet... we'll see if we can clarify this together.  I took this first section from http://dragreduction.blogspot.com/2005/11/irony-vs-coincidence.html

Several different concepts fall under the umbrella of irony, and this is, perhaps, one source of confusion. The concept I will focus on here is called situational irony¹. From now on, whenever I say "irony," I'm referring specifically to situational irony. When I say something is "NOT IRONIC," though, I'm probably talking about irony in general. OK... that said, here we go.

Situational irony is the type of irony you are most likely to come across — or use — in conversation. As used here, situational irony is defined as:

i‧ro‧ny

Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.   

It sounds harmless, I know. The big issue, in my experience, is that the concept of situational irony is often confused with that of coincidence.² As used here, coincidence is defined as:
co‧in‧ci‧dence

A sequence of events that, although accidental, seems to have been planned or arranged.

Pay close attention now, because this is where it gets confusing. To call a fact or event ironic is to make a statement about the relationship between the actuality of a fact or event and one's expectations regarding that fact or event. To call a fact or event coincidental, on the other hand, is to make a statement about the relationship between that fact or event and another, independent fact or event.

I know it sounds confusing, but it really isn't. Consider the situation described below as an example of what I'm talking about.

Person A and Person B are driving; they approach an intersection at which there is a traffic light, and collide.

Bystander C reports the accident, and Police Offer D arrives at the scene shortly. D finds that while B is clear and coherent, A is fairly tipsy.

Based on this information, D makes the following statment to C: "Well, it's pretty clear what happened here. Drunk drivers... what a menace."

As it turns out, though, B is as much to blame as A. B was not paying attention, and ran the light when it was red; alcohol-impaired as he was, A could not stop in time to avoid the accident.

C, having witnessed the collision, responds thus to D's statement: "Ironically, officer, B is as much to blame as A. It's really an unfortunate coincidence that B ran the light right in front of a drunk driver."

So... raise your hand if you followed that. Ooooookay, I'll explain. C knows what he's talking about (har har har). Because A was drunk, one would expect the accident to have been entirely his fault. The actuality of the event — the fact that B is also to blame — is incongruous with the expectation, and is thus ironic. What one must keep in mind, however, is that B's crime (running the red light) and A's (driving drunk) were completely independent events that happened to interact in an unexpected way — quite a coincidence.

Work with a partner to evaluate the following situations.  Are they actually ironic, coincidental, just kind of sad/annoying?  You decide.

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic... don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
"Well isn't this nice..."
And isn't it ironic... don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic...don't you think
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out

Class

First Hour:
Read Pages 40-67

Second Hour:
I am hoping to finish reading Silas Marner this week (what's left will be assigned over break!).  Make sure your posters are completed BEFORE class tomorrow.

Third Hour:
Action writing.  I posted character development worksheets in your network folder so you can work on them tomorrow.  Make sure you're turning in your best work.

Fifth Hour:
Turn in Act Three Worksheets and we'll watch the first section of the older movie today.

True Grit Quiz

Name:

12/21

Why does Mattie go to see Stonehill?

What is funny about their interaction?

Does she get what she wants? 

Extra Credit:

1.)     What is her lawyer’s name?

2.)    You should always be ________ when sleeping.

Responses to the Parable

I think that the bat was just going to be used and he did the right thing.  He didn't belong to either group and he didn't change either.

You need to figure out who you are to find your place in the world.  You need to belong to a group and have friends to be respected.

The bat pretty much doesn't want to pick sides.  He doesn't want to get involved if it will end badly.  It's just like being racist-- don't put other people down.  It won't end well.

I feel bad for the bad because he isn't a bird or a beast so he can't join either group.  He doesn't have friends because he isn't either one.  Lying gets you nowhere.  If you're not one of two things then you don't have friends.

I think the bat did good and that he should go find his own group of bats to hang with.

I guess that relates to what's happening lately in our school.

It's sort of amusing in some ways, but also depressing.

The bat should've stayed neutral and then neither of the groups would've been mean to him.  If he wouldn't have said anything to either group he could have had more friends.  The bat should just find his own friends and leave the birds and beasts alone.

I think it's saying that if you're not like anyone else you're a lone ranger... you try to fit in but you're always a little different.

I believe that this could be like many real life situations.  I think that if something is going to happen and someone doesn't pick a side they will be abandoned.

It's obviously about being different and not fitting in, but I think the moral of the story is that just because you're different people shouldn't hate you or shun you.  Accept those for who they are-- don't hate them for what they look like.  I feel bad for the bat.

Update on Yesterday

PA: Began vocab posters...
12ers: Story maps for action/suspense.  Finish novel, fill out map, and start planning your own story!
FW: Read 3.1 and 3.2 of The Tempest and begin filling out the packet!  I don't know if our discussion went anywhere or not...
Study Hall: Let's just focus on NOT using racial slurs.  Words don't simply mean whatever you decide they mean... historical context is important.

SS: Theme, Symbolism, and Irony in The Birthmark.  Make sure you know your definitions for the "pop" quiz tomorrow.  Haha Carver.

Crew: Essay responses due at the beginning of class on Monday for GM.  Let's focus less on hiring/becomming assassins... and more on analyzing literature (although it WAS interesting, it was less than productive).



HUNGER GAMES anyone?

Hour 2: What happened to the two missing posters?  So weird that large pieces of tagboard can go missing in this classroom.

The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts

A GREAT conflict was about to come off between the Birds and the Beasts. When the two armies were collected together the Bat hesitated which to join. The Birds that passed his perch said: “Come with us”; but he said: “I am a Beast.” Later on, some Beasts who were passing underneath him looked up and said: “Come with us”; but he said: “I am a Bird.” Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the Bat came to the Birds and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all turned against him and he had to fly away. He then went to the Beasts, but soon had to beat a retreat, or else they would have torn him to pieces. “Ah,” said the Bat, “I see now, “HE THAT IS NEITHER ONE THING NOR THE OTHER HAS NO FRIENDS.”

True Grit

T/F Mattie kisses her father's corpse.
T/F Yarnell stays with Mattie to help attend to her father's business.
Mattie wants to hire Rooster/Quinn because he is double-tough/fair.

EC: The _______ flee when none pursueth.

TRUE GRIT
Start reading!  It's hard to discuss literature that people haven't read.  Plus, it's a great book!

What crime are the three men hanging for?

What are their last words?
1.
2.
3.

Who does Mattie have to sleep with at the boarding house?  Why is this a problem?

For those gone from Senior English...

I posted the questions below (they should be longer pieces of writing... about a page double-spaced for the first one and possibly longer for the second one). 

You can use Jim or Laura for the scene rewrite as well.

Be sure to consider the American dream for the first one.

Fifth Hour

FW: Good job with the rewrites today, though some of them were a little lewd.

SS: Continue working to find Textual Evidence for The Birthmark.  I know it's hard... but stick with it.

Crew: Finished the Menagerie today.  Start working on responses to the two questions.  We will be performing the rewrites in class!

How is the glass menagerie a metaphor for each of the four characters in the play?  Use specific examples from the text to back your answer.
TGM is a memory play narrated by and through Tom.  Do you think events in the play would be different if amanda was the narrator?  Rewrite one scene from her POV.

12/14

First Hour: Read the first two chapters of True Grit (11-30).
How does Mattie feel about her father?  Find specific textual example(S) from each chapter.
We will continue to review vocab.  There will be a quiz.  Yay!

Second Hour:
Read Chapter XV of Silas Marner and answer the two questions from yesterday.
We're working on vocab posters....
1.) Pick ten words within the following range
2.) Establish relationships (if any)
3.) Illustrate each and label-- make it pretty
Turboshaft-Turgid (Mav, Josh, Dylan)
Hackney-Hag Ride (Lauren, Ethan, Melissa)
Dinette-Dinosaur (Megan, Cori, Tanya)
Flighty-Flivver (David, Jenna, Billy)

Second Half

FW: Still working on scene rewrites!  Yes, green.

SS: Finished reading the Object of Value essays-- good job!  We are beginning our science fiction unit... starting with The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  No class tomorrow!  Have a great weekend!

Crew: Menagerie reading and questions!  No class for you tomorrow either!

Good luck boys BBall!

First Half 12/7

PW:  True Grit, Odd Wit... I know some of the vocabulary is difficult, but I think you could have done a better job with the article.  We'll work with some of those words tomorrow and discuss what you did not understand.

PA: Interesting conversations today about hitting people with basketballs, softballs, mini-kickballs... and Silas found a child, and Molly may have frozen to death.  Good job reading.

12ers: Asset test practice about running shoes.  I know not all of you are taking the test, but it's still valuable to be able to write effectively!  Chapter 13 of Code Orange.  I think things are getting interesting, but Kesha seems to think they're dull.

12/6

PW: I was really impressed with some of your Westerns!  Andrew S, where are you hiding today?  I hope to see you and hear your Western tomorrow.  True Grit will be here Friday!  Yay!

PA: Finish your Silas questions and the last three pages of Chapter 11 for tomorrow.

12ers:Turned in the letter to Ms. Donovan.  She said she'll think about it.  Code Orange tomorrow.

FW: Rewrite of Act 2 Scene 2 into modern time with performances! 

FW Tempest

Missed you today, Mark.

Here's what we did:

1.) Write a short summary of what has happened thus far (Act I).  Work with a partner and use your book to find specifics.
2.) "Act two: In which plots are laid against the king, lovers are tested, and drunkards get a monster drunk."  What do you think will happen to whom based on this statement?  Use specific character names and explain.

http://www.speak-the-speech.com/ is a good place to listen to the play (we're going to start it in class tomorrow).  Check it out if you'd like to get ahead.

Freshmen Peer Editing

PEER EDITOR NAME:

AUTHOR NAME:

TITLE of PAPER:

DATE:

What object is the author describing?

Write down words the author uses to describe using each of the five senses.

1.)    Taste

2.)    Sight

3.)    Smell

4.)    Touch

5.)    Sound

Did the author communicate something sensory that is challenging to describe (take on a difficult sound, taste, sensation)?  Did they do a good job (did you know what they meant)?

Did the author use vivid verbs, adjectives, and adverbs?  Go through the paper and note some boring ones (is, has goes) and suggest different ones.

Did the author clearly communicate why the object is important to them when it might not seem important to other people?

T/F The writer followed the organizational structure provided to them.

·         If you said false, what kind of structure did they use?  What does each paragraph focus on (each should have a definite topic)?

·         Is this structure effective (makes logical sense)?

T/F After reading the paper, I think I would recognize the object if I saw it with a bunch of similar objects.

·         If you said true, how would you know?

·         If you said false, what could the writer do to change this?

T/F The author used vivid sensory language to describe the object (NOT the a SETTING or SITUATION)

·         If you said true, what is your favorite descriptive passage and why?

·         If you said false, what sense do they need to include?

Are you left with any lingering questions?  Are you missing key information?  Write three things you would like to know about their topic that were not included.

1.)

2.)

3.)

12/5 Junior English

What are the roles of the upper/lower social levels?
Compare the two Miss Lameters is appearance and personality.
Does Godfrey have the right to try to win Nancy's approval?  Why/why not?

Questions for Chapter XI: you just have to answer the first two.  Do a good/thorough job!

Western Questions 12/5

• 1.) So far I have written ____ pages of my story.
• 2.) I am (a fourth done, half done, three fourths done, almost done) writing my story line.
• 3.) I need ___ days of class to work before I will have a draft and be ready to do a peer edit.
• 4.) T/F This is a piece of writing I would be interested in working on later on in the year (possibly take to a writing workshop in La Crosse).
• 5.) My name is ___________.

6.) Today I feel _______, so please _________, already.

Senior English

1.        Each of the Wingfields escapes from unpleasant reality into a comforting, private world.  In Scene One, Amanda escapes from her present circumstances by remembering and talking about her past youth, her beauty, and her romantic successes.  How does Laura escape from the real world?  What does Tom do to escape from his unhappiness?

2.        What part does Laura play in the angry argument between Tom and Amanda?

In the opening of Scene four, Tom describes the magic show that he saw while he was "at the movies." In the show, the magician was nailed into a coffin and was able to escape this coffin without disturbing a nail. Tom connects this coffin to his own life as he wishes he could get out of his own coffin without disturbing a nail.

This is a very specific metaphor.  What are ten objects that you could use as metaphors for your life? Drawing, using magazines, or finding pictures online, create a collage of pictures that symbolizes your life (feel free to combine images, like Tom might with a coffin and a nail).  Write 3-4 sentences about each object to explain your choices.

Questions for Object of Value Papers

Questions

Did you thoroughly describe ONE OBJECT in your paper?  It has to be something you can actually touch.

Did you thoroughly discuss each of the five senses?  (That means write MORE than one sentence for each… preferably a paragraph)

Did you communicate something sensory that was difficult… but feel like you came out on top/did an adequate job?

Did you use VIVID VERBS, ADJECTIVES, and ADVERBS?  Go through your paper: box verbs, underline adjectives once and adverbs twice.

Did you communicate why this object is important to you when it might not seem valuable to other people?

PW: Yay!  So happy your Westerns are coming along well.  I can't wait to read them.  It's so exciting!

PA: Not a very Marner focused day, but playing the game was fun.  Plus, on Monday you get to meet Nancy Lammeter for real and see what you think about her.

12ers: Code Orange catchup day!  We'll start practicing some things for the Asset test!  You'll get it yet!

FW: QAR sheet in class and reader response posters for the following Tempest Quotes:

“Me (poor man) my library was dukedom large enough.” (I, ii)

 “But as ‘tis, we cannot miss him. He does make our fire, fetch in our wood, and serves in offices that profit us.” (I, ii,)

“You taught me language, and my profit on’t is, I know how to curse.” (I, ii, 363-364)

“Sitting on a bank,

Weeping again the King my father’s wrack,

This music crept by me upon the waters,

Allaying both their fury and my passion

With its sweet air.” (I, ii)

“There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple. If the ill spirit have so fair a house, good things will strive to dwell with’t.”(I, ii)

 “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” (II, ii)

SS: Still working on Object of Value papers.  You must have a draft done by Monday for Peer editing.  Consider the questions I gave you.


Crew: Menagerie reading... things are getting pretty heated (and exciting!).  Love Cheyenne and Austin reading.


Also... YAY forensics.  I am so excited about all 21 of you.  It's going to be a great season.

Hour 2 Silas Marner Chapter Ten

Silas Marner: Chapter 10

1.)     How is Dunstan’s absence regarded?

2.)     Describe the change in the villagers’ perception of Silas. How might you account for this change?

3.)    What event is being anticipate? What are Godfrey’s feelings about this event?