I have taken over 10,000 pictures during my time at H.B.

Did you know that I do photography for the school? 
Did you know that I was the yearbook coordinator for five years?
Well, over the 15 years I have worked at H.B. du Pont Middle School, I have collected a lot of pictures of our students performing at public events. 

If you are interested in seeing what I have done, or maybe you have never seen the pictures I have taken at your child's sporting event, check out the links below. 

However, if you want to see the pictures I took in school, you will have to find an old yearbook. 

Enjoy.

Sports Galleries Older
Sports Galleries 2010-2011
Sports Galleries 2011-2012
Sports Galleries 2012-2013

H.B. Band

Best Men

Homework

Section 1 should be ready to present their skits to the class Thursday.

Sections 3 and 4 should come to class ready to enjoy literature.  :)

Memorial Day: Grades are updated on HAC

Section 1:
I graded the two close reading responses you handed in (most handed in).
Be ready to present your skit on Wednesday.

Sections 3 and 4:
Mrs. Jamison is done grading your research piece.  She just finished them now.  Give her some time to enter the grades into HAC.

For many teachers, a three-day weekend is a blessing.  We actually get two days off and one extra day to get our work done.  :)

Grades have been updated

Vocabulary is finished in both classes!
All AR tests should have been taken by today.  They knew about this!


Section 1:
Over the break, I must grade two assignments:
    Two questions for Pit and Pendulum
    Close reading question on the Cask of Amontillado
On Wednesday, the students have a skit they must perform.


Sections 3 and 4:
We took a quiz on Anne Frank today.
Mrs. Jamison is still grading research papers.

Make-up work needs to get in.

See last blog entry :)

Homework

Sections 3 and 4:
AR due Friday
Pages 158 and 160 in the vocab book

Section 1:
Finish units 20 and 21 in book.
AR is due (I have put the second AR on the grade to inspire them to get it done.)
The last little piece of writing is due by the end of class Friday.  See below.
I am practicing the close reading method that the Common Core requires.

Name __________________________

How would you explain Poe’s writing style to someone who is about to read him for the first time?

Mood Tone Visualization Figurative language Sentence structure Vocabulary Dialogue

Choice of topic Setting Plot structure Foreshadowing Suspense

Read The Cask of Amontillado. 

On the first read, establish the plot, the characters, and the setting. Read straight through to the end.  Maybe you want to underline or circle words or phrases that tripped you up. 

On the second read, take the time to look up the words you don’t know.  Read section by section making sure you understand what is going on.  If you understand the story, this second read can be used for some examination of the writer’s techniques.  Start looking for sections that will help you support your explanation of Poe’s style.

The third read should be focused on those sections you want to study in depth.  Are there lines of dialogue or a lines of description that embody Poe’s style?  Are there things about this story that you have seen in other stories we have read?  Start looking at the notes you have made in the margins.  What connections are you making? 

I would like the piece to be about 300 words, typed, single spaced, Times New Roman size 12.  It is due on Friday or e-mailed soon after.

Homework:

Section 1:
  Two answers on The Pit and the Pendulum are due tomorrow.
  Vocab pages 225, 226, 235, and 236
  AR due Friday
  Skit due May 29th


Sections 3 and 4:
  AR due Friday
  Pages 157, 158


We are almost there.  Just a little more.

Homework

Section 1:
Pages 223, 224, 233, and 234 vocab
Answer two questions from the sheet I gave them in about 250 -300 words each question.
Performance as a group next Wednesday. (More details will follow. It will be fun.)

Sections 3 and 4:
Pages 155 and 156 vocab
There will be a quiz Friday on Anne Frank.  Students should know the following:

Know each of the characters:

Physical description Relationship to others Personality
Identify quotes said by each

Explain the conflicts

External- between other characters and world

Internal- Struggles to understand self

Plot the story

Flashback,
Important events that add tension

Identify the climax, Explain the resolution

Know the background and setting of the play:

In World War II, how Jews were persecuted, and what was the outcome?

I forgot the questions

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. The story never explains why the central character has been thrown into the pit. Why does Poe not inform the reader of his crime?
2. There are many details in the story which suggest the state of sleep, such as references to dreams and occasions when the character himself falls asleep. How is it possible to think of this story as a fictional account of a nightmare?
3. The primary dilemma of the narrator is that he is caught between the seemingly bottomless pit and the slowly descending pendulum. What do these two horrors represent?
4. What kinds of methods does the protagonist use to try to save himself? How successful are they?
5. Why is the protagonist finally rescued by some force outside of himself rather than by his own efforts?
6. What is it that keeps the protagonist from simply giving up?
7. Some critics have suggested that the story is an allegory of the basic dilemma of human life, for all the major elements of the story correspond to the universal human dilemma. Can you explain how this might be true?
8. How would you characterize the basic personality of the protagonist? Consider not only his actions, but also how he describes those actions.
9. This story seems to be set outside of any social context and to be devoid of any significant social theme. If this is so, then what kind of basic human theme or message about the human will does it express?
IDEAS FOR REPORTS AND PAPERS
1. Many short-story writers in America in the nineteenth century said that they wanted to write a story that seemed like a dream or a nightmare. Show how “The Pit and the Pendulum” is such a story.
2. In some very basic ways, the situation of the narrator in the story suggests that it is a universal human dilemma and that he is a figure representing everyman. Explain how this allegorical reading of the story can be supported.
3. Although the story deals with a horrifying dilemma and makes use of violent actions, it does not seem as shocking as many horror films today. Why not?
4. There is only one character in this story, and all we know about him directly is that he is caught in a horrifying dilemma. Describe what we can infer about his personality from his behavior; discuss how he attempts to cope with his situation.
5. How would you characterize the kinds of fears and anxieties that the protagonist faces? In what ways are they like fears and anxieties that all of us have?

Homework:

Section 1:
Students should have reread The Pit and the Pendulum and answered the questions below.
Vocab quizzes 18 and 19.

Sections 3 and 4:
Vocab quiz 13
Research paper is due.

Homework

Section 1

1. Pages 201, 202, 215, 216 in the vocab book
2. I had also asked them to finish The Pit and the Pendulum for today, but most didn't.  They have a chart due.  I gave them time to work in class today.
3. Each student was assigned a paragraph to rewrite into regular English so we can understand the story.  They are to type it up and submit it using this page.  (If no internet access is available, they can hand write it.)

Sections 3 and 4

1. Pages 147 and 148.
2. The research paper is due Friday.
3. AR due May 24.

Upcoming grades and homework

Section 1
The students should have finished The Pit and the Pendulum for tomorrow  They are to summarize each paragraph in the story (short) and write down two words per paragraph that were challenging.  I am using this piece to challenge the class.  We are exploring Poe's sentence structure.  It is complex!

Students should also do vocabulary pages 199, 200, 213, and 214 for tomorrow.

The second AR test is due May 24th.


Sections 3 and 4
We are finishing up the research paper this week.  Students had 1 hour to work in class today, and they will have 1 hour Tuesday.  Then they are on their own.  The piece is due Friday.

Students should do vocabulary pages 145 and 146 for tomorrow.

From Wednesday on, we will be continuing our study of Anne Frank.

I have been lax in posting.

I have spent my time planning lessons for The Diary of Anne Frank for sections 3 and 4.  I am also experimenting with a slightly different style of studying a piece of literature called close reading in my section 1 class. 

I am entering interims for section 4 tonight.  The make-up work should be in.

Interims are entered for sections 1 and 3

Section 1:
We took the vocab quizzes today. I entered the grades in HAC.
We also took a quiz on Ann Frank. I curved the bottom end of the scores.  With all the testing, I just wanted to wrap up that unit.  Monday we start Poe.

Sections 3 and 4:
We took quiz 11 today.  I entered the scores from this week's vocabulary exercises.
The students have to have a rough outline of their research paper by Tuesday.

(Section 4 still has some make-up work that needs to be entered before I enter their interims.)

The first AR test of MP 4 is in HAC

Section 1:
Quizzes 14 & 15 tomorrow

The grades on HAC are basically what I will enter for the interims.

Sections 3 & 4:
Quiz 11 tomorrow

I looked at the grades for these two classes and gave them a long work period today to get in some make-up work.  There are too many students who have not handed in their required work.  Many students have given Mrs. Jamison and me make-up work today and yesterday.  I anticipate the grades will be entered by Monday. 

Regardless, please check HAC to see if your child has completed the first AR requirement.  The next AR book is due by May 24th.