Upcoming Schedule

As you know, our final exam schedule is challenging this year for two reasons: A) for the second year in a row, with the laster start time in August, we have had to push exams to after Winter Break, which can pose difficulties for students who need continuous instruction prior to tests of this magnitude, and B) we were not given early release days to test due to the flipped bell schedule. Thus, exams will encompass all of the four-day week beginning on the 12th, and will be sandwiched between "normal" class periods.

I have adjusted the academic schedule as much as possible to incorporate review for the exams into new material. Please see the adjusted schedule for both classes below:

AP Literature and Composition:

Monday, January 5: Frankenstein Reading Journal reminder and suggestions; Introduction to Romanticism and Victorian/Gothic Literature (lecture/discussion, with notes). Bring your lit book tomorrow to class.

Tuesday, January 6: Continue with Romantic ideology and Wordsworth; "The World is Too Much With Us" from literary anthology. BRING YOUR LIT BOOK.

Wednesday, January 7: Final MC Practice Session (ten points, for free!) of the semester. Bring a pencil.

Thursday, January 8: Final Exam Review Session #1--sample questions, review of characters and themes, review of literary terms.

Friday, January 9: Final Exam Review Session #2--review of Shakespearean characters, plot elements, and themes; close review of R and G Are Dead preparatory to test. (Note: There are some questions on the exam about Frankenstein, but they are very general and mostly connected to the context of the notes I gave you before Winter Break.)

During the exam week, we will have class sessions in altered time frames. Be sure to double-check the schedule each day so you know where to land. Your reading journals are due by January 14, regardless of if I see you that day or not. Please note the preposition: by January 14. Earlier submissions will be given kinder consideration, so plan accordingly.

Gifted English II:

Monday, January 5: Review key concepts from Julius Caesar; friendly reminder of JC memorizations due by Friday, the 9th (as above for the APees, earlier completions will be graded a smidge more nicely, so consider coming in early to knock that assignment out), Venn diagram of the two major speeches in Act III, scene ii.

Tuesday, January 6: Distribute exam reviews; make-up work schedules for those of you who have been absent; finish Act III, predictive reading preparatory to a possible quiz Thursday.

Wednesday, January 7: Timed Writing on Julius Caesar. You'll love it. Really.

Thursday, January 8: Little quiz on Julius Caesar, followed by Part I of our exam review. Today: terms and people to know.

Friday, January 9: part II of the exam review; plot points, grammar concepts, possible reading passages to consider.

Welcome to 2009!