Thursday, February 2, 2006

Happy Groundhog Day! What a delightful day for Puxsatawney Pete. Or Phil. Or Bob. Whatever they name that gopher. . .

(I love the film Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray. Highly recommended. You will never listen to "I Got You, Babe" the same way again.)

I'm on campus today, but working in a different capacity, so you will have a substitute instructor. That said, I could pop in at any moment, stiff with inertia and bored beyond belief away from the precious ones I call students, so don't act up. Your sub will guide you through the merry halls of Knowledge and Fine Living just fine without me.

AP Literature: Miss Bronte, Miss Bronte--I gave each of you some background information about Haworth, the boarding school Charlotte Bronte attended with her brother and sisters. Now that you have read through the Lowood account in Jane Eyre, how do you see Bronte's verisimilitude? Is this a romanticized autobiography? You will look at these and other equally compelling questions in today's class.

Gifted English IV: After a little quiz on R and G, continue with R and G. If you are good you can watch more of the film version for the last twenty minutes of class.

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar Unit Test, followed by the E.B. White memoir "Once More to the Lake." Remember the duck principle--if you look like a duck and act like a duck, I have to assume that you are a duck. Therefore, if you look like you're cheating and act like you're cheating, I have to assume. . .

Be good! I will see you all tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Welcome to Standardized Testing Month! (Well, for the sophomores, anyway.)

Next Tuesday, you will all take the FCAT Writes! exam during periods 1, 2, and 3. Please check the schedule on the board to ascertain which room you will be testing in.

At the end of the month, the entire schedule will be adjusted so that a significant number of BHS students can take the FCAT itself--reading and math. I'll post that schedule as soon as it is publicized. It will not affect AP classes.

Speaking of which. . .

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: After our Jane Eyre quiz, I'd like to take some time to discuss the "out-of-body" essay on Keats, and engage in some bildungsroman reflections of our own. Also, we have a creative project coming up. . .

Gifted English IV: Back to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Quiz tomorrow!

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar "scavenger hunt" and sign up for Lupercalian Festival. JC objective test tomorrow--bring a pencil!

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: Today, after we discuss a few elements of Jane Eyre, I am giving you the period to find a shady spot and read. Each of you will be given a reading pass; you MUST be reading or the administration will deal with you in a humorless fashion and prevent future reading opportunities. You may stay in my room or find a spot on campus (NOT Panera) and read this amazing Gothic novel.

Gifted English IV: Media Center to work on the research paper.

Gifted English II: Your focus papers are due today; in class, we are wrapping up the play and preparing for our Julius Caesar tests. Yes, tests. Plural. You can do this.

Monday, January 30, 2006

REMINDERS: Sophomores have a focus paper on JC due tomorrow by 3 p.m. Don't forget! The assignment is posted here on this blog if you've lost your handout. The Writing Center is open both lunch shifts today to assist you.

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: We're finishing our discussions on Mr. Keats today, with critical essays to supplement our view. Questions on Keats and discussion on elements of Jane Eyre--how does Bronte, essentially a Victorian, embody the same Romantic ideals as her poetic compadres? Remember that chapters 1-10 of JE are due Wednesday.

Gifted English IV: R and G Are Dead, and a one-question quiz. Tomorrow we meet in the Media Center to work on the research paper, so be sure that you have already acquired your note cards. I will have some tomorrow for the low, low price of a dollar each. Well, not a dollar.

Gifted English II: Finish Act IV of Julius Caesar, hand back graded assignments, and discuss the final aspects of your focus paper. The FCAT Writes! test is coming up soon (as in next week) and we also need to address the particulars of your writing task for that assessment.

Friday, January 27, 2006

AP Lit: Keats, Keats, and More Keats. Good times.

Gifted II: Julius, Julius, and More Julius. Also--good times.

Gifted IV: Oy, vey. We're now going to the Media Center on Tuesday. Today--Stoppard, Stoppard and More Stoppard.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: 1st period: Distribute resource information from yesterday,and do journal entry regarding Keats. Follow-up with transitional information on Keats re: "Nightingale."

Gifted English IV: Continue with R and G Are Dead. Media Center dates to be updated soon.

Gifted English II: Memorizations for Julius Caesar are due today. Good luck, all!

Here is the A+ speech, for your delectation: (Courtesy of Act I, scene ii of JC)

I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,
As well as I do know your outward favor.
Well, honor is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.
I was born free as Caesar; so were you:
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he:
For once, upon a raw and gusty day,
The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores,
Caesar said to me 'Darest thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point?' Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in
And bade him follow; so indeed he did.
The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it
With lusty sinews, throwing it aside
And stemming it with hearts of controversy;
But ere we could arrive the point proposed,
Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!'
I, as AEneas, our great ancestor,
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Caesar. And this man
Is now become a god, and Cassius is
A wretched creature and must bend his body,
If Caesar carelessly but nod on him.
He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake;
His coward lips did from their color fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan:
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans
Mark him and write his speeches in their books,
Alas, it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius,'
As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well; W
eigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man.
O, you and I have heard our fathers say,
There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Due to tapping for National Honor Society, first period AP will not run as previously scheduled. Congratulations to the newly inducted students.

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: (5th period)--Supplemental handouts on Jane Eyre: 2 biographical pieces on Charlotte Bronte (one written informally about her life and influences and one written more specifically about her struggles in boarding school), content vocabulary from the novel (160 words defined for you of varying levels of diction) and a character list (warning: may contain spoilers!) After further discussion of "Urn," compose a journal entry addressing either question 6 or question 7 on the Keats handout.

Gifted English IV: Further reading and discussion R and G Are Dead.

Gifted English II: Work session. You may work on your memorization of Shakespearean text, develop a draft for your JC essay, or read ahead into Act IV of the play while I confer individually with you regarding next year's schedule.

Note: One of our sophomore friends lost her mother last night after a lengthy battle with cancer. The student will be out of third period for a few days more; a few of you have already volunteered to give her notes and help her catch up when she returns to us, but if you have a moment and want to keep her in your thoughts that would be lovely. Her return to school may pose a challenge for her, so let's be supportive. Thanks.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: Dipping back into Keats--reviewing "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn" with questions; transition into "To a Nightingale" preparatory to work with the most gorgeous novel ever written (or one of them): Jane Eyre.

Gifted English IV: We're picking up with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Act I, page 14, before taking a quick-quiz on absurdist theater.

Gifted English II: 3rd period: Go over the essay assignment, due next Tuesday, and make the transition into Act IV of Julius Caesar. 6th period: Act III, scene ii--the speeches, with comparison/contrast between rhetorical modes. Reminder to sophomores: Please come find me before or after school or during lunch if you need help with your schedule. I can help you Wednesday in class, as well.

REMINDER TO ALL CONCERNED: Tonight is AP Night in the Media Center. If you have questions about Advanced Placement courses, plan to attend or send a family member on your behalf.

SENIORS ONLY: Financial Aid Night is Thursday night in the auditorium. Guest speakers will be on hand to present information and help you fill out the mysteriously difficult FAFSA form.

Sophomore Focus Paper

I'm handing this assignment to you on Tuesday, but here's a preview for your web-reading types.

Gifted English II
Paper Assignment: Julius Caesar
Due Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Select one of the following topics to address in a brief (350-400 word) well-organized essay. Essays must be typed, double-spaced, with draft work attached in order to receive credit; do not consult outside sources, but rely on your original analysis of the play to support your assertions. Underline or italicize your thesis statement. Papers that have been taken to the Writing Center will be awarded an additional five points.

NOTE: The proper format for quoting material from a play is as follows: “Speak, hands, for me!” (III, i, 214). The act is a capital Roman numeral, followed by the scene, denoted by a lower-case Roman numeral, followed by the line number(s) in Arabic numerals. Punctuation follows the parentheses. We’ll go over the proper method for quoted material in class, and you can reference your handy copy of The Elements of Style as well.

This essay is due by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31. If you are absent on that day, make arrangements to have your paper faxed to Boone at 407.897.2466, attention Hilley, or e-mailed to me by the requisite deadline. Faxed papers will not be penalized; e-mails will face a ten-point penalty, since I then have to print the darn thing for you. Do not bring me a disk. Do not bring me excuses. Just do it.

You will be given time in class on Wednesday to develop a draft.

Topic Choice #1: Evaluate the role of Marcus Brutus as a tragic hero. What are his flaws? His strengths? How does Shakespeare characterize him, thus bringing a figure from history into a fictitious context?

Topic Choice #2: Assess the use of rhetorical strategies on the part of the speakers in this play, and do not rely solely on the speeches in Act III. What figurative devices are used throughout the play in dialogue? What commentary, if any, does Shakespeare seem to offer on the power of oratory?

Topic Choice #3: The concept of appearance vs. reality is a dominant theme throughout Shakespearean literature. How does this concept appear within this play? What characters present themselves in one light, but truly embody sharply different traits? What elements of deception and duplicity emerge as significant references throughout the play? How does appearance vs. reality serve as a catalyst for conflict within the play?

Monday, January 23, 2006

For students in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades (and some unfortunate seniors) this week is Registration, when you select your classes for next year. I will be available before and after school and during A lunch to help you with your schedule on most days--see me if you need individualized assistance selecting next year's classes.

AP English Literature: Frankenquiz and more Keats. I know you can't wait.

Gifted English IV: We're going over the research paper packet and continuing with R and G Are Dead, page 17.

Gifted English II: Elements of Style quiz, after which we delve back into the wondrous mysteries of Julius Caesar.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Hard to believe that January is almost behind us, but here we are. . .

We had 51 clients in the Writing Center on Thursday; all consultants, be on standby just in case.

AP Lit: John Keats.

Gifted IV: Introduction to Tom Stoppard and CW for Hamlet.

Gifted II: Elements of Style review, and more JC--including a Venn Diagram approach to deconstructing Act III, scene ii. We need to schedule registration chats, as well.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: After we finish the Frankenstein questions and collect the focus papers, we are going to turn our attention to John Keats's sonnets.

Gifted English IV: Hamlet Unit Test

Gifted English II: JC Vocabulary Quizlet, followed by a parts of speech review and Julius Caesar, Act III, scene i for dramatic re-enactment.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

So many student birthdays in the month of January!!! Happy birthday to all of you who are celebrating this month.

NOTE: The Writing Center is open during A and B lunch; APees might want to take advantage of it.

AP Literature and Composition: 1st period gets 15 minutes of Young Frankenstein, the satirical look at the Frankenmyth as re-interpreted by Mel Brooks. Both classes will look at some fairly complicated text questions about Frankenstein and will start forging connections between the Gothic novel and Romantic poetry. Next up: John Keats and a creative project. Friendly reminder: You have a focus paper due tomorrow. Thanks for shopping with us.

Gifted English IV: Review for Hamlet Unit Test, to be administered tomorrow or Friday, depending on when we finish the review. Also, I will give each of you a copy of Tom Stoppard's hilarious play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Gifted English II: After going over the first five rules in The Elements of Style, we're jumping back into Julius Caesar and using the Act II questions to guide our thinking. Content vocabulary quiz is tomorrow, and it has amazing clip art. Really.

Oprah Contest

Today, January 16, Oprah unveiled the topic for her national essay contest. This essay is open to all high school students and features the Elie Weisel memoir, Night. Her essay contest requests that you write on this topic: Is Night relevant today? Specific forms for the contest can be found at www.oprah.com and can be downloaded with Adobe.

I will have a hard copy available at school, and I encourage you to enter!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Welcome back after a three-day weekend. Yesterday the nation celebrated a holiday honoring the civil rights activism of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King preached non-violence as a means for social change, and without his efforts civil right in our nation, while still needing work, would probably not be as advanced as they are. I hope you took a moment of reflection over these issues this weekend. Furthermore, I hope that as this weekend progressed, each of you had an opportunity to come to terms with some of the more horrific elements of the last week--the death of a BHS student, the shooting death of a middle-school student at a nearby school, and the regular parade of woe that is our area's police blotter. May this week be a positive and meaningful one for all of us.

Advanced Placement Literature: After watching the "it's alive!" sequence from the satirical film Young Frankenstein, we are going to look at another Romantic poem in your lit anthology: "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" by William Wordsworth. Reminder: your focus papers are due Thursday, and I would strongly suggest that you avail yourselves of The Writing Center.

Gifted English IV: After finishing Hamlet today, we are going to review for the Hamlet unit test.

Gifted English II: I have a few linguistic issues to discuss with you, from the dishonesty in A Million Little Pieces to the significance of writing, before we look at Chapter One of The Elements of Style and then transition back into Act II of Julius Caesar. Vocab quiz this week!

Friday, January 13, 2006

As all of you now know, Boone High School lost a student yesterday. While I did not personally teach this young man, his life touched many students and teachers at this school, and the loss is profoundly felt. If any student today or into next week needs support services, guidance counselors will be available in the Media Center and through our SAFE program to assist.

And please--it goes without saying--if you suspect that you or a friend is in need of help, please talk to a trusted adult, call the Speak Out Hotline, or even tell a friend.

Today:

AP Literature: Finish viewing Frankenstein and go over critical essays on the novel.

Gifted English IV: Hamlet.

Gifted English II: Review Act I of Julius Caesar and take the quiz; finish reviewing content vocabulary.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Ushering tonight at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival! Call time is 6 p.m.

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: Discuss Frankenstein, and prepare for focus paper #1 of the new term.

Gifted English IV: Finish Act V of Hamlet; Hamlet quiz; begin screening new film version of Hamlet by director Michael Almereyda.

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar Act I, scene ii and analysis--review vocabulary.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

These are my sub plans for tomorrow. That's right; sub plans. I am so happy.


Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Thank you for covering these classes today—I have been called into a Superintendent’s Meeting downtown, and won’t be back on campus perhaps all day. If I return, I’d like to teach my classes—at least fifth and sixth periods, I would imagine—but I need you to stick around until I’m sure I’m back. This is NOT something I want to be out for.

*No computer access for my various student assistants.
*I will drop off the Orlando Shakespeare Festival ushering book, so kids may come in intermittently to check for their next ushering date.
*We will be watching films in two of the classes. Make them watch and pay attention.

1st Period: Advanced Placement Literature and Composition.

These students have been reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and will watch the first segment of the film version. PLEASE WARN THEM AGAIN—I did yesterday—that there is a visually disturbing death-in-childbirth sequence ten minutes in, and the possibility of a nude Robert De Niro playing the creature at the end of the period. Have them watch.

2nd period: Gifted English IV

Let these students finish watching the last few minutes of Hamlet—it’s only five minutes in length, or so—and distribute the thought questions on Act IV and V. These are due at the end of the period.

3rd period: Gifted English II

These students are reading Julius Caesar; many have copies of their own plays, and several will use the version found in the textbook. Please have them copy the content vocabulary off of the board and define the words using the play, and then have them divide up parts and read Act I, scene ii. If this becomes untenable or too disruptive, have them read the scene silently.

4th period: Writing Center/Planning

5th: Advanced Placement Literature and Composition

More Frankenstein. Distribute the focus paper assignment in the attached folder.

6th period: Same as third.

Thanks for doing this! I am incredibly bitter about having to be out of my classes. My student assistants can help you if you have any questions or problems throughout the day:

2nd period: Caroline Kennedy and Cherilyn Cloude
3rd period: Lauren Combs
4th period: Nailea Herrera, Sarah Beehner, Justine Schwartz
5th period: Kellie Weber

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

AP English: Go over the notes for Frankenstein and begin screening Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Kenneth Branagh.

Gifted English IV: Hamlet, Act IV.

Gifted English II: Go over PSAT and DRP scores; Julius Caesar, Act I.

Monday, January 9, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: "Ode to the West Wind" and "Ozymandias" leading into a discussion of characterization in Frankenstein.

Gifted English IV: Finish Hamlet Act III and watch the Zifferelli version.

Gifted English II: Pop quiz on Shakespeare; finish notes on Shakespearean England, transition into Ancient Rome.

Friday, January 6, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature: Group discussion of "West Wind" and connections to Romanticism; questions 1-4 on page 833 of the literary anthology.

Gifted English IV: Resumption of Hamlet and discussion of potential topics for research paper.

Gifted English II: Go over HW and connect Shakespearean themes to the Ancient Roman setting of Julius Caesar.

Thursday, January 5, 2006

AP Literature: Frankenquizzen and discussion of "Ode to the West Wind" by Shelley.

Gifted English IV: Mock DUI presentation in the stadium.

Gifted English II: Continuation of Introduction to Shakespearean studies. HW--matching sheet on Shakespeare.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Advanced Placement Literature: Frankenstein notes.

Gifted English IV: Discussion of Hamlet, Act III, scene ii

Gifted English II: Introduction to Shakespearean Studies.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to 2006! Friendly reminders:

The Teacher Workday is Tuesday, January 3--please don't come up to school unless you are making up work. THIS IS NOT A DAY TO VISIT AND CHAT. I will (most likely) be extremely unpleasant as I frantically finish grades.

APees--Have you finished Frankenstein?

Gifted IVs--Are you ready to do a research paper?

Gifted IIs--If you haven't yet acquired The Elements of Style or No Fear Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, I suggest you do so. The first title is mandatory; the second is optional.