Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Thank goodness I get paid my minor ducats today for my labors. Not that I'm in this for the money, mind you. But little things like "rent" and "car payment" and "ongoing handbag fund" must be ameliorated. . .

Today, the lesson is easy--for me. Not so much for you. Love to all!

Gifted English II: Things Fall Apart assessment, which is a fancy-dancy way of saying "test." Mwahahahahaha. Bring a pencil or pen and your BRAIN.

APees: Heart of Darkness assessment, and y'all are cynical enough to know that it's a test. An old-fashioned test. Please be grateful I postponed it a day in light of the AP Calc, AP Gov, and AP Whatsit tests of yesterday. Can't you feel the compassion? Now take your test!!!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Today is the mock DUI activity for juniors and seniors only. Report to third period, after which we will have dismissal to the stadium for the duration of the period. This should not affect the rest of the campus, except for a slightly extended third period should the program run late.

Word of the Day: fruition

Author of the Day: David Sedaris

Today's Holiday: Take Our Daughters/Sons to Work Day/Earth Day (!)/National Jellybean Appreciation Day (I wonder if these counts for Bott's Every Flavor Beans. . .)

Gifted English II: Author of the Day; review rules 2 and 3 from the Short Handbook; finish analyzing "Janet Waking" by John Crowe Ransom; instructions on how to write a cultural review; return graded work; begin questions on TFA.

APees: Obviously, third period is a wash due to the Mock DUI, but the afternoon classes will do two things: go through Heart of Darkness through the beginning of Part II and analyze a few key passages, and begin the comprehensive review for the entire course. Also, if we have a moment, I'd like to address the second prompt from yesterday/last week's AP Practice Examination.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Word of the Day: truthiness

Holiday Today: Yeah, we're not going there. It's illegal and there you have it.

Author of the Day: Stephen Colbert

Gifted English II: Collect HW and go over principles of pronoun/antecedent agreement preparatory to AP Lang next year (Short Handbooks will be ready for each of you Wednesday); go over discussion questions for TFA; go over "Janet Waking" by John Crowe Ransom; go over review writing assignment.

APees: More Heart of Darkness, Books 1 and 2. And if we have time, further reflection on "The Hollow Men" with respect to the novel.

Reminders: AP Practice Exam (mandatory) is after school on Wednesday, April 21 from 1:15-3:15. I will be hosting. 3rd period: The Mock DUI will be in the stadium during your class session on Thursday. ALL STUDENTS: If you need comm serv hours, please see me ASAP and I can help you make arrangements.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Happy Monday! Another week takes us closer to AP exams. Oh, and Prom. Oh, and the end of the school year. Spring has sprung and we have stuff to do. To wit:

Word of the Day: narcoleptic

Holiday: Today is the anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing (to be taken very seriously as a commemorative event) but the two accompanying, sillier holidays are Boston Marathon Day and National Hey Let's Hang Out Day.

Author of the Day: Edith Wharton

Gifted English II: How to Write a Review (by establishing criteria); pronouns and antecedents, by request of the AP Lang instructor, and a cool poem about a dead chicken. It doesn't get any better than this, folks. We still need to do those discussion questions for TFA, as well. Next reading deadline: the rest of Part I, due Thursday.

APees: Heart of Darkness--notes on the board (Layers of Meaning) followed by questions to do or not-do. Remember the Macpacket? The students who followed the questions did CONSIDERABLY better on the test than their counterparts. Just saying. Jane Eyre papers on the extended deadline are due, in my hand, by 3 p.m.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Today is the first opportunity to test in the Media Center after school for the AP Practice Exam. PLEASE see me immediately if you cannot make it today OR next Wednesday due to LEGITIMATE conflicts so that I can find time for you to take this. THIS IS MANDATORY.

Author of the Day: Sophie Kinsella

Word of the Day: truculent

Holiday: Be Kind to Lawyers Day (you never know when you might need one!)

Gifted English II: In-class "Review of a Review" assignment. It's a little bit of a meta-cognition thing, but I think it's pretty cool. And don't forget that the quiz on Part I of Things Fall Apart is Friday.

APees: Heart of Darkness background; super-review packet #1; MC passage analysis. Exam is hurtling towards us like a freight train.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Word of the Day: specious

Author of the Day: James Joyce

Weird Holiday: Tartan Day, Teflon Day, and Drowsy Driver Awareness Day

Gifted English II: Bring your ID; we are going to the Media Center to pick up copies of Things Fall Apart, available earlier than I anticipated. (Yay!) Remember the rules: Silence in the halls, the scamper across the KemoSabe Commons, then silence, then scampering, then silence. THEN: Memoir studies and transition to other examples of nonfiction.

APees: There might be an outdoor activity third period. If you know what I mean. Afterwards, sharing Bertha info, and beginning the review for Friday's Jane Eyre test. Tomorrow: TW on a DBQ. Necessary evil; don't say I didn't warn you. And remember please that the AP Practice Exam is either next Wednesday (4/14) or the following Wednesday (4/21).

Monday, April 5, 2010

Welcome back from Spring Break, kids! I hope you paid attention to the Spring Break Speech and made good, judicious choices. I hope to see all of you in good health, ready for the last quarter of your sophomore year (brace yourself for junior year, sophys!) or the last quarter of high school (OMG, APees. Here goes the rollercoaster. . .) I must say that the students who went to Ireland with me this past week were an absolute joy, even amid travel complications with flights and with occasional hailstorms on the Dingle Peninsula. If you know any of the following students, ask them about Eire 2010; they were WONDERFUL. I have been blessed to have taken many trips with many special students, and I was so glad that this trip--my last for a long while--was filled with so much positive energy. Thanks to Brittani A., Alex C., Amy C., Spencer C., Margaret D., Liz G., Julianne H., Madeline J., Corry M., Erin McD., Emily O., Colby S., and Olivia S. Awesome kids, every single one of them.

Welcome back!

Today's lessons:

Word of the Day: surcease

Today's Odd Holiday: National Deep Dish Pizza Day and White House Egg Roll

Author of the Day for the sophys and other curious types: OSCAR WILDE

Gifted English II: Author of the Day and new protocol for this activity; review of the memoir genre; review of "Once More to the Lake" by EB White; "A Whole Society of Loners and Dreamers" by William Allen. Our next outside reading is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, but the novels won't be available for another week or so from the Media Center. If you wish to purchase your own copy for annotation go ahead and order it on Amazon, but be aware that copies will be provided for you eventually.

APees: The Jane Eyre check-reading test is Friday. Yes, that's the Art Show, but since you can pop in and test at any point during the day I fail to see the problem, unless you are like one of the students on the Ireland trip who confessed to having read only four chapters. I proceeded to tell him that he HAD to keep reading to find out about the robots. He is now excited about the novel and I hope he's not too disappointed. . .it's like when you bite into an eclair, waiting for the custard, and you keep going and there is no custard, but you hope fervently that you will hit the custard at some point so you keep going. The robot motif will be his missing custard, if you can follow that analogy. (I have had very little sleep.)

Today, though: Creative Writing based on Jane Eyre. Imagine the strangest character in the novel, and then re-imagine ANY scene from the novel (or that could conceivably be in the novel) from HER point of view. This could be fun.