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.

Grades were given to students in sections 3 and 4

Please check HAC to see how your student is doing.  Interims are Friday.

Sections 3 and 4 have pages 117, 118, and 119 for homework tonight.

I did not see section 1 due to DCAS testing.

What do I need to complete by the end of the school year?

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What do I need to complete by the end of the school year?

Sections 3 and 4:

Mr. Bosler

___ AR 1^st test was due April 30 (50 points)

___ AR 2^nd test due May 24^th (50 points)

___ Unit 11 Vocab and Quiz May 3 (25 points)

___ Unit 12 Vocab and Quiz May 10 (25 points)

___ Unit 13 Vocab and Quiz May 17 (25 points)

___ Unit 14 Vocab and Quiz May 24 (25 points)

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Starting May 2

___ Anne Frank story map, relationship map, conflict map, and Test (100 points)

Mrs. Jamison

___ Complete research book & outline due May 6 (25 points)

___ Research Paper due May 17 (100 points)

___ Win your debate starting May 20^th (50 points?)

Section 1:

___ AR 1^st test was due April 30 (50 points)

___ AR 2^nd test due May 24^th (50 points)

___ Units 14 & 15 Vocab and Quizzes May 3 (25 points)

___ Units 16 & 17 Vocab and Quizzes May 10 (25 points)

___ Units 18 & 19 Vocab and Quizzes May 17 (25 points)

___ Unit 20 Vocab and Quiz May 24 (25 points)

This is all I know for section 1.  We have been disrupted by DCAS testing, the band trip, and the chorus trip.  The rest of the school also has DCAS testing, so computer and lab time is sporadic.

We will continue reading stories from the literature book.  Poe will be next!

Vocab quizzes tomorrow

Section 1:
Lessons 12 and 13

Sections 3 and 4:
Lesson 10 with 17 for extra credit.  We did three pages of 17 in class today.  All pages of 17 must be done for the opportunity to get extra credit.  Students must score a 7/10 on the 17 quiz for extra.)

DCAS Round III and choir trip Friday

Now things get interesting.

For Wednesday and Thursday, the first period will be dedicated to testing for all 8th grade teachers.  Groups have been made, and the students have been informed.  This means that I will not see section 1 until Friday.



Section 1
Homework: Complete units 12 and 13.  Quiz on Friday.

Sections 3 and 4
Homework: Pages 109 and 110 which will be scored on the responders.

Homework- (Let's try that again)

Section 1:
Vocab pages 127, 128, 145, and 146
Finish conflict and relationship chart. (See below.)
How are those conflicts resolved?
Here is a link to the play online.

Sections 3 and 4:
Vocabulary pages 107 and 108


In section 1 we are studying The Diary of Anne Frank.  I am exploring the ideas from this essay on the controversy of studying the Diary of Anne Frank.  The gist is simply studying the journal or the play alone is not enough.  The story should be used as a stepping stone to studying the Holocaust.  The play, especially, does not contain enough depth about the true horror of what happened to the Jews and others.  For that reason, we are studying other sources.  Today we read an excerpt from story told by a girl who knew Anne in the concentration camp. Today's story focused on the concentration camp aspect of Anne's story that is not in the diary.  We have also begun watching the Masterpiece Theatre version of the Anne Frank story.  It is a BBC production with a great web page!  Read are reading the interview with the screenwriter bit by bit.  There are some interesting production notes.  Today we read how this production was one of the few that has the endorsement of the foundation representing the diary.  The TV story is different in many ways from the play. The notes say that this productions is the truest portrayal of Anne yet.  The video is online.

Videos

Masterpiece Theatre Anne Frank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGNRXZpZe8g&list=PLD87EE2A8BC9D71B7

Dear Kitty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmAa2eN7wFY

Play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQLhyQZNGEU

 This is the relationship chart and conflict chart.  A diary is a series of narrative.  You can't simply act them out and call it a play.  The same goes for a TV movie.  There needs to be a story with characters.  There needs to be tension with a rising action.  We will be discussing the conflicts between characters.  What decisions did the playwrights and the screenwriter make as they created their versions of the story?

Sections 3 and 4 have an essay due Monday

The students have been learning citations and organization for a short research project.  By Monday they should have written a 500 word piece comparing one character from the movie Gettysburg to the real man whom they researched in class using the computers.  The paper does not have to be comprehensive.  The lessons learned during this assignment will be applied to a research project they will start next week. 

Vocab homework

Section 1:
111, 113, 121, and 123
Quizzes Friday

Sections 3 and 4:
Pages 97 and 99
Quiz Friday

Section 3 parents...

I graded the long answer pieces handed in before break.  Please look at HAC to see how your child is doing so far this MP.

Vocab Homework

Section 1:
Pages 109, 110, 119, 120

Sections 3 and 4:
Pages 95 and 96

The grades for the Human Spirit essay are on HAC (Section 1)

Section 1
There are five students who have not given me the essay yet.  I am getting tired if the excuse, "I sent it.  You didn't get it?"  If I got it, why would I be asking for the essay?  I have even asked some students three days in a row for the late work.  The assignment is late at this point.

(I will weight the grades as the MP goes on.  For now, just look at the percentages please.)