Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Yesterday was marvelous at Boone--nice, clear weather and ROCK STAR DAY. Props to everyone who dressed up so creatively, especially the gentlemen in the tight purple pants. Bravo. 16 of you in matching Betsey Johnson trousers--obla-di, obla-dah. Nicely played.

Today is DISNEY DAY. We don't live in Orlando for nothin'. I hope you outdo yourselves.

But, class must march on.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is Clive Barker; word of the day is "heretic." We will be reading "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Poe in class today. Don't forget to read CMC by Friday, and don't forget to do the vocabulary assignment by Thursday!

AP Lit and Comp: Macbeth, Act V. I am sad to see the end of this tragedy, but we have cool activities to do with Shakespeare's text when we are finished with the explication de texte.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

How could I have forgotten to post on my lowly little blog? Well, I have a lot on my mind these days. A thousand apologies, o loyal readers. Here is what we did today!

Gifted English II: "Pit and the Pendulum" quiz, followed by a syntactical analysis of a passage from the story.

APees: Your homework tonight is to read Act III through scene iv, and today in class we watched the Zifferelli version of Act III with Mel Gibson, Helena Bonham Carter and Glenn Close.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Ahhhhh, Thursday--the day of the week in which the weekend is just a glimpse away, when people can see unfettered freedom lurking in the corners of their thoughts, when the anticipation of two whole days to get caught up on tasks and errands and grades just builds. . .and this Thursday, with the weather finally cooling a bit, there is more optimism than ever!

Gifted English II: First period still needs to go over the expectations for the focus paper assignment, and then we will review the Poe vocabulary words and their definitions. You could do a lot worse than imitate Poe's diction; he was a master of high-level lexicon and probably would have had an awesome SAT score. Afterwards, a brisk and mighty discussion of "Pit and the Pendulum". FOCUS PAPER DUE TOMORROW BY 3:30 p.m.

APeeps: After looking carefully at the language of Hamlet, Act II, scene ii's soliloquy, we will take a festive quiz on the Act in its entirety. Warning: Quotes. I love quotes. My most (in)famous quiz questions usually start with, "Who said this, to whom, and why?" HAHAHAHAHAHA. Know thy play, children. Know thy play. After all, "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

Announcement and Request:

If anyone still wants to go to Ireland for Spring Break, let me know. I have to add you before 2009 is out due to new travel regulations. Last year we could add people as late as January, but with TSA and new passport stuff we need more lead time. Let me know OR plan to attend a final travel sales meeting on Tuesday, December 8 in room 313 at 7 p.m.

And if anyone knows how to make italics on Facebook chat windows, or for that matter in e-mails I send from www.turnitin.com, I'd appreciate some insight. My HTML is at about a four-year-old's level (heck, my nephew knows more than I do) and I can't stand not italicizing things. With a friend's help I figured out how to BOLD things (asteriskWHATYOUWANT BOLDEDasterisk) but I can't figure out italics. Thanks!

Friday, October 31, 2008 (retroactively posted)

Look--it's the Death Star, carved out of a pumpkin!

Happy Halloween to everyone--I have a treat bag for each of you.

Gifted English II: Poe vocabulary quiz, followed by "The Raven" as performed by The Simpsons. (Second period gets it Monday since we had two Authors of the Day.)

APees: Hamlet, Act III.

Thursday, October 30--retroactively posted

I'm so sorry that I haven't been keeping up with this! Family medical issues have taken over my time and energy, but life does go on, and light bulbs need to be changed, and lesson plans need to be updated. A thousand apologies for shirking my duties to you.

For the record, then. . .

Gifted English II: Reminder of vocabulary quiz on Friday; syntax analysis of Poe (kinds of sentences used, and examination of sentence structure); introduction to the Sature Unit; reminder to please acquire a copy of Candide by Voltaire (I still have two copies available--first come, first served); discussion of "Pit" to conclude things.

AP English Literature and Composition: Act II quiz and transition to Act III, scene i.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Today is the deadline to request an absentee ballot from the Supervisor of Elections Office. Earlier today, Governor Charlie Crist announced that election hours would be extended from 10-5 in most locations to 7-7 through Sunday, the deadline for early voting. If you are old enough to vote in this election, or have a friend who is old enough to do so, please consider voting early--November 4 is going to be a mess in this highly-publicized election year. Vote absentee, vote early--just do it! It is one of your most valuable and awesome civic responsibilities, and you get a free sticker!

I do plan to be there tomorrow, barring any further complications. I will have to leave immediately after seventh period, though, so if you need to make something up please see me before class (I will be there by 8:30 at the latest, depending on how long the line at a certain coffee establishment is, ha ha) or during A lunch.

Sophys: "Pit and the Pendulum" and Author of the Day.

APees: Each class is on a different time table right now, but all need to vote. . .on T-shirts! Fourth is ready to analyze the soliloquy, as is sixth--fifth and seventh still need to discuss few things before moving on. And there might be a quiz. Perhaps.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The weather is finally becoming autumnal here in Central Florida, and you might even need to bundle up a bit tomorrow--it's supposed to be as low as 48 degrees tomorrow morning.

I know this fun fact, along with others (Daylight Savings Time ends next Saturday night, various news stories, the future of the Rays, and other bits of popular-culture-trivia) since I spent all day today at Florida Hospital South in various waiting rooms watching a lot of television in between doctor updates. I hated having to be out today, but family first, and I needed more to be with my dad than with all of you. The medical news on the dad front isn't great, but he's holding steady for now and I can only hope for the best. I also hope you had a great day, and I hope that the senior assembly was rewarding and meaningful!

I do plan to be there tomorrow, barring any other emergencies, and we have a great day planned:

Sophys: More Poe, more vocabulary, and a smooth transition from one unit to the next. Some of those terms are tricky (auto-da-fe) but all can enhance your already considerable diction. And I have a cool, ready-to-be-colored biography of Mr. Poe drawn by a terrific cartoonist.

APees: Act II, demystified--what is an antic disposition, and why should we care? And should we be, or not-be? Existential woe at its most poetic, courtesy of our friend Billy Shakespeare.

Monday, October 27, 2008

My family's medical emergency continues; my father is having a surgical procedure tomorrow morning at ten so I will be out again. Hopefully this will go well. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Announcements: The pre-trip meeting for Prague/Vienna is still tonight in room 313 at 7 p.m., but my tour guide will be accompanied by my teacher-friend in my stead. I just can't leave the hospital and I hope ya'll understand.

ALSO: All seniors have a mandatory senior assembly during fifth period today. Check in with my substitute, get the handout regarding Act II, then scoot over to the auditorium.

Sophys: Please bring your textbook with you today. If you forget, no worries--the story you need is also in the yellow textbook we keep in the classroom. There will be 20 content vocabulary words on the board to define using the story you are reading; you might find it helpful to write the words down and keep it with you as you read. I tried to place them in order when possible. Many are words you already know, but Mr. Poe is famous for his upper-level diction, so see how you can expand your own lexicographical skills!

APees: Now that you have read Act II, you need to assess the soliloquy (handout on front table.) First, though, watch more of the Hamlet video--it's already in the VCR. Please don't go beyond Act II. I'm counting on you to help the substitute cue the film and stop at the appropriate time.