Thursday, October 1, 2009

Gifted English II: MONTE CRISTO READING DAY IS FINALLY UPON US! I have lollies for all of you. Thank you so much for being patient yesterday and helping with the FCAT.

APees: Macbeth, Act IV, scene i. This scene is almost painfully offensive, but it has to be analyzed carefully.

REMINDER: Today I will be happy to help anyone with college woes--both lunch shifts, and after school.

APees: A Little Motivation

This is a copy of what I just e-mailed all of my APees, for those who do not read e-mail.

Dear APees, October is almost upon us, and some of you are still lingering in the chambers of the sea, convinced that the College Fairy is going to bestow a gift upon your little heads called Acceptance without any effort on your part. Most of you are on track, but I am starting to sense an overwhelming sense of existential woe halting some of you from moving forward. Inertia is the natural state, isn't it? Thus far this year, I have read about fifty college essays and written almost two dozen letters of recommendation. (Yes, I'm still finishing the ones given to me last week--they should be done by the end of business tomorrow.) Some of you are just having trouble getting started, so here is my suggestion: After school on Thursday, and during both lunch shifts on Thursday, I'd like to have an Open Session to just work on college stuff with any interested parties. I don't have the answers to every problem, nor am I am expert on collegiate matters, but I have taught seniors for a long, long time and I know a few tricks. More to the point, I just wanted to say this: I haven't had a group of seniors this talented, this kind, and this motivated in a while, and I am confident that ALL of you will find happiness in the post-secondary world. You just have to reach out and grab it. You CAN do this. It's like another part-time job, and although the language is different and the requirements frequently resemble Faulkner novels, college applications are just another rite of passage into the so-called Real World. So get there. You are smart, dedicated, hard-working kids with strong academic resumes and a variety of experiences in your respective backgrounds. The only thing that can stop you is the devil of procrastination, so please, please, please take a few minutes tonight and work on this process. (To those who are already well underway--take your leftover energy and send it to Scholarship Land!) Much love to all of you, Ms. Hilley SUMMARY OF E-MAIL FOR SHORT ATTENTION SPANS, HAIKU FORM: College is so good. Session to help you Thursday. Come if you want to.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Your teachers might be happier today, in no small part due to the wonders of Payday. Payday comes every two weeks and allows those of us in the public sector to pay our bills and continue racking up the minor ducats that make our jobs so worthwhile.* And today's payday is even spiffier--it contains a bonus for being an A school, so now I can buy more Post-It Notes for quizzes and more scratch-n-sniff stickers with which to besticker your festively festooned graded papers.

Gifted English II: FCAT Writes! timed writing. You will thank me when you are rich and famous. Or not. But this is a game we have to play, and it is a skill that you will be able to translate admirably to AP next year. Trust me on this one; we start with this style of writing, and we build. And all will be well.

APees: Macbeth Act IV. This act is particularly confusing, considering the expository nature of one scene and the brutal use of wicky paradoxes in another. I will help you! You know why? Because I care.

What's a paradox? Two places to fish! Har har.

*not to sound bitter; we're hardly here for the money.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I am not here today; please be kind to your substitute. I have to tend to some family matters today but I do plan to return tomorrow.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is William Wordsworth; copy the notes off the board and I will fill in with anecdotes tomorrow. When you are finished, the substitute will distribute the Author of the Day quiz and you may use your notebook to answer the questions. Once that is complete, I expect each of you to work on your Antigone questions THROUGH Scene Five. These will be due one day after we complete the play--perhaps as early as Friday. Also, please work on your vocabulary list from 101-120.

NOTE TO SOPHYS: Reading Day for Count of Monte Cristo has to be rescheduled for Thursday due to FCAT Writes! practice tomorrow. I apologize for any inconvenience, but the FCAT cannot be denied. We have a prompt given to us from the district that we have to use. Please help me in this regard: ultimately, it will help you. You want to graduate! You don't want to remediate as a junior or senior! You want success! Yeah, you do!!! And I promise that reading day on Thursday will epitomize magnificence.

APees: MacQuiz, Act III--admire the awesome clip art. This is very much a Who/What/When/Where kind of quiz, so if you read as I asked you to you should be sound as a pound. When you are finished, you may work on defining the MacContent Vocabulary for your personal edification, or you may work through the MacQuestions, or if you annoy the substitute, you will find yourself on the business end of a MacTimed Writing. (BTW--I never get tired of using "Mac" as a prefix. It MacRocks. So there. Or MacThere.)

PLEASE be good. I am not nice when I am disappointed by student behavior, but you are such super-nice young people that I anticipate a good report upon my return.

September 28, 2009

Note:  From sunset last night to sunset tonight, Judaism commemorates Yom Kippur.  If you need to be out of school today for religious observance, please see me for your make-up work upon your return, and I hope you have a good Day of Atonement.

Gifted English II:  Author of the Day is Percy Bysshe Shelley.  Reminder that the Author of the Day Quiz, which is open notes, but not open book, open friend, or open teacher, is tomorrow.  Bring a pencil or pen.  We will be progressing quickly through Antigone today, and there might be a need for a post-it quiz.  Just saying.

APees:  This past weekend, I asked you to read the critical essay "On the Knocking at the Gate" by Thomas de Quincey, 19th century scholar.  Today we need to discuss that piece with respect to Macbeth, Acts I and II.  You will need to read the rest of Act III independently, but we will begin it today in class. There might be a writing prompt tomorrow related to Macstuff.  Just saying.  

Friday, September 25, 2009

Dear Students,

I don't have this officially, but apparently we won't be distributing progress reports tomorrow in the traditional format. Your parental units will be encouraged to log in to ProgressBook and view your averages there. We are still working on the nuances of this new system, but I'm sure I'll have info to send home regarding this shift.

ALSO--I have letters to distribute to the sophomores about the PSAT, which is coming up in mid-October. Each of you is already signed up to take this test, at no cost to you. This test is the single-best indicator we have for preparedness for multiple AP courses next year, and will help you prep for the National Merit Scholars competition.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is Margery Kempe, after which we have an awesome vocabulary quiz for words 81-100. Then: More Antigone, Scene 4!

APees: After a brief but scintillating quizlet on Macbeth, Acts I and II--har har--we are going to launch full-on into Act II, scene iii--the Porter sequence.

HW this weekend: Gifted English II--finish reading Antigone; APees--read the essay by Thomas de Quincey called "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth" that I am distributing tomorrow.

Regarding NHS: Please consider your timing when asking me to sign your form or give you service hours. I'm always glad to help, but some of you are having trouble sensing the tone. If I am surrounded by students seeking help with college essays, or am assiduously working on something in the Writing Center, flinging yourself to the head of the line and demanding something Right Now is not the way to fly. Sense the tone, people. And learn to recognize when an eye-roll is aimed at you.

That said, I am glad to help. I know these forms are due next Friday. If you need help, come see me--but be nice about it!!!

Much love to all. Really!

Authors of the Day: Master List

Dear Sophys:

You will have an Author of the Day quiz on Tuesday, September 29. You may use your notes; you may not use someone else's nor any other source.

Here are the authors we have studied thus far this year! (Mostly in order, too!)

1. Raymond Carver

2. Gabriel Garcia Marquez

3. Alice Walker

4. Mark Leyner

5. Saki

6. Toni Morrison

7. Stephen King

8. Angela Shelf Madearis

9. Carl Hiaasen

10. Vladimir Nabakov

11. JG Ballard

12. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

13. Louise Erdrich

14. Nathaniel Hawthorne

15. Jorge Luis Borges

16. JK Rowling

17. Robert Browning

18. John Keats

19. Michael Crichton

20. George Gordon, Lord Byron

We have approximately 15 more authors to do before I turn it over to you for Author Presentations during the second quarter. Excitement abounds in Gifted English II!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

NOTE: If you are interested in joining the Thanksgiving Paris trip (seniors only) you have to let me know TODAY. My tour guide can only hold on to his extra hotel rooms through the end of this week and he needs to know if you are coming. See me if you have any questions.

The Ireland trip still has a few spots open, but they are rapidly disappearing. Again, see me if you have any questions. This is my last year to travel with students--at least for a long while!

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is George Gordon, Lord Byron. We need to work rapidly through Antigone today, although from this point on the questions are your responsibility.

AP Literature and Composition: MacStuff!!! Act I, scene vii and Act II.

HOMEWORK: Sophys--study for tomorrow's vocab quiz. APees--keep up with MacQuestions.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Today is Ms. Skinner's birthday! Be sure to say Happy Birthday to her if you are in her AP Gov or American Government Honors class.

Gifted English II: Now that benchmark testing is behind us (whew) we can get back to Business As Usual. Author of the Day is Michael Crichton, followed by a quick review of some examples related to this week's literary vocabulary, followed by Antigone. BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK.

AP Lit and Comp: Yesterday, we read Macbeth, Act I, scenes i-iii. We need to finish looking at the questions before we go into scenes iv-vii. I plan to read Act I and II in class with you, then assign Act III for your own reading one evening. We need to do Act IV scene i together in class, and I'd like to conclude the play together as well (Act V, scenes iii-vii) but the rest will be independent. We have other Mactivities (get it? haha) to do that will help us reinforce our learning, as well. This play ROCKS. Thanks to all who dramatically read on Tuesday--you are all awesome.

Homework: Sophys: Keep up with the Antigone questions, and study your vocabulary. APees: Please, please, please work on your college essays and applications, and keep up with the Macquestions.

Ayn Rand Essay Contest

Dear Seniors:

If you have read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and have opinions on the novel, you can earn up to $10,000 for college. Please see Mrs. Cadman in College and Career if you are interested--it's an essay contest, not a scholarship, and it does require a significant amount of preparation.

As always, I'll be happy to help in the Writing Center with idea generation to revision, but only within the guidelines prescribed by the Ayn Rand Society.

All the best,

Ms. Hilley

Tuesday, September 22, 2009: Revision

Dear Gifted English II Students,

Please disregard the previous post with my intended lesson plans for tomorrow. I had quite forgotten our need to participate in Edusoft Benchmark Testing in class, and all tenth graders at BHS will be taking the same reading test tomorrow in their English class and then the same math test in their math classes on Thursday.

Please bring a pencil!

Sincerely,

Ms. Hilley

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Welcome to Autumn! (And Ms. Skinner's birthday. . .)

Today is the fall solstice, so we are officially out of summer, even though the temperatures would indicate otherwise. Here in Florida it is still unbearably hot at times, and we don't really don't note the passing of seasons like our northern counterparts. But fall is still fall, a time that has always felt incredibly optimistic to me, since I measure my life in academic calendars and not January-December ones.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is Michael Crichton, the highest-paid author in America. He passed away last spring from cancer but during his life contributed extensively to popular culture, most notably through his creation of the television series E.R. After our A of D, we will turn our attention back to Antigone and a syntax analysis related to it.

APees: You need your copy of the Macplay today, and we are jumping right in to Act I. Prepare to be amazed by Shakespeare's vision.

Index of Literary Terms: For Those Who Can't Find Theirs

I am still working on attaching Google docs to this blog, so that all y'all have to do is click and open whatever file you need. My tech skills are a work in progress, so. . .

This post is for those of you who may have misplaced the list of Literary Terms you need. My Gifted English II sophomores are using this list for the first six weeks of vocabulary, and my APees just flat-out need to know them. Asterisked items are critically important this quarter.

Sorry in advance about the formatting--I only work in truly rudimentary HTML!

Index of Literary Terms

Every discipline employs a specialized vocabulary. Literary criticism is no exception. Learn to recognize and label the following terms during this course, and keep this list as a reference tool in the "Handouts" section of your notebook. Some terms in this list apply to one genre only, but most function broadly across many genres. Those terms marked with an asterisk deserve special attention. Your assignment over the next few weeks is to define and give an example for each of these terms. I will expect you to learn a subset of the total list each week, and we will go over and use the terms in class. Understanding literary terms will be an invaluable tool for you in your future English course work.

1. allegory* 36. epic 70. monologue 107. structure*

2. alliteration* 37. epigram 71. myth* 108. style*

3. allusion* 38. epiphany 72. narrative 109. subplot

4. ambiguity* 39. euphony 73. naturalism 110. symbol

5. anapest 40. existentialism* 74. novel` 111. synecdoche

6. antagonist 41. exposition 75. octave 112. syntax*

7. anti-hero* 42. fable 76. ode 113. theme*

8. apostrophe 43. fairy tale 77. onomatopoeia 114. tone*

9. archetype 44. falling action 78. oxymoron* 115. tragedy*

10. aside 45. fantasy 79. paradox* 116. tragic flaw

11. assonance 46. figurative language* 80. paraphrase 117. trope

12. ballad 47. flashback 81. personification 118. understatement

13. blank verse 48. foil 82. plot* 119. verisimilitude

14. cacophany 49. folk tale 83. point of view* 120. voice*

15. caesura 50. foot 84. prose

16. catharsis 51. foreshadowing 85. protagonist

17. characterization 52. form 86. pun

round 53. frame 87. pyrrhic

flat 54. free verse 88. quatrain

18. climax 55. gothic 89. realism

19. classicism/neoclassicism 56. hamartia 90. repetition

20. comedy 57. hubris* 91. rhythm

21. complication 58. humor 92. rhyme

22. conceit 59. hyperbole 93. rhyme scheme

23. conflict 60. iamb 94. run-on line

24. connotation* 61. image(ry)* 95. sarcasm

25. consonance 62. irony* 96. satire*

26. couplet verbal 97. scansion

27. crisis dramatic 98. sentimentality

28. dactyl situational 99. sestet

29. denotation* 63. legend 100. setting*

30. denouement 64. mask/persona 101. simile*

31. diction* 65. melodrama 102. soliloquy

32. dramatic monologue 66. metaphor* 103. sonnet

33. elegy 67. metaphysical 104. spondee

34. ellipsis 68. meter 105. stanza

35. end-stop line 69. metonymy 106. stream of consciousness

NOTE: I would recommend keeping a separate definition list for each week. On Monday I will assign the subset for which you are responsible; every Friday you will be quizzed on that subset. Keep this list, and your definitions, in the CLASSWORK section of your notebook.

Monday, September 21, 2009

First, my condolences to the BHS Varsity football team. Winter Park is smirking tonight. Just remember that it isn't who wins or loses--it's whomever has the most fun! Right? ::shakes head, hears grumbling, knows this isn't helping::

Many thanks to Stephen C. for making Pirate Pancakes for fifth period on Friday, and to Kristy G. for helping serve them. You guys are awesome! This was a great Pirate Day and I hope everyone had a fun time with the stickers and piratey-ness.

Lessons for Today:

Gifted English II:

Author of the Day: John Keats, Romantic poet and tragic figure. Keats died at 25 after diagnosing his own tuberculosis, and I've always wondered what he could have produced had his life not been so cruelly cut off. His work is mind-blowingly good, from "To a Nightingale" to "Ode on a Grecian Urn."

HW: Define 81-100 on your vocabulary list, and be sure to keep up with the Antigone questions. Also, remember that CMC is due October 23.

Classwork: We need to get caught up with Antigone, Scenes 1 and 2. Come in with your textbook BEFORE the bell rings.

AP Literature:

Mrs. Pearson will be coming to all of the classes today to discuss your futures and distribute your SAIR forms. Please be sure to check those forms very carefully to ensure that A) any FLVS credits are posted, B) your service hours and updated, and C) your test scores have been accurately reported.

Notes on Macbeth by Shakespeare

Several of you were out of class on Friday, due to the XC competition at UF or the flu. (More on that last part later.) To ameliorate the woe, here are the notes from Friday. (Note to 3rd period, my "rough draft" class--the eight vocab terms are still on the board, since I neglected to mention them in class. A thousand apologies and I will go over them ASAP!)

Also--you need to acquire a copy of this play by Tuesday. I've checked out several copies, and sold a handful I bought off of a website last spring for a dollar apiece, and the BHS library has 50 or so copies still available for checkout, but some of you still don't have one. And as a friendly reminder: you might be interested in a version carried by Barnes and Noble called "No Fear Shakespeare," which retails for under five dollars and features fairly good paraphrasing for each line of dialogue.

Terms to Know for Act I:

regicide: killing a king

hautboys: oboes (usually signifies a royal presence on stage)

martlet: a bird who was thought to only make its nest in churches during Shakespeare's time

alarum: trumpets (usually signifies something meaningful about to happen)

anon: immediately

sooth: truth

henbane: insane root, a drug that caused hallucinations

mark: pay attention "Mark, King, Mark!"

The Seven Deadly Sins: lust, gluttony, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice (greed), vanity

law of tanistry: the opposite of the law of primogeniture (in which lineage is from father to son); the throne goes to the oldest adult male relative, regardless of how distant.

Setting: 1050 Scotland, at the end of the Dark Ages. (Note that this is 16 years before the Battle of Hastings, when Edward the Confessor was King of England.) One scene in Act IV takes place in England but the rest of the play is in Scotland.

Major themes and interpretations: appearance v. reality; the nature of ambition; human savagery; blood imagery; symbolism of clothing; gender relations; sexual imagery; sleep and its symbolism; the garden and what happens when the gardener becomes corrupt

Characters: Duncan is the King of Scotland, and he has two sons--Malcolm and Donalbain. At the opening of the play, Scotland is at war with Norway and Duncan is not on the battlefield--a bad sign for him in a warlike state. He is in a military camp awaiting a report from his two generals, Macbeth and Banquo. Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, is his wholly trusted cousin, and Banquo, no slouch in the thane department, is perhaps the only decent man in the kingdom thus far. Macbeth's wife, Grauch Macbeth (although in this play we call her Lady Mac) is more ambitious than even he is, and as the first act progresses we see how she interacts with her spouse--in very surprising ways. Banquo is a single father devoted to his small son, Fleance.

3 witches, the Weird Sisters, appear in Act I and serve as an ominous portent of things to come.

Other thanes manifest themselves--Ross, Angus, Lennox, MacDuff.

As we continue into this play, we will meet more people and see what their agendas are. Trust me--this play is awesome. AWESOME.

Saturday, September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!!! Avast and ahoy, mateys!!!

You can access the web site athttp://www.talklikeapirate.com/ if you are curious about pirate-themed things. Warning: The site isn't purely polite, landlubber. Kinda PG. So. . .aaaarrrgghhh!

I will have eyepatches and pirate stickers to distribute on a first-come, first-served basis on Friday morning, so come by if you want to celebrate the Johnny Depp-ness that is Pop Culture Piracy. And please note that I do not condone REAL piracy; just attractive or goofy representations of said piracy in the cultural canon.

Some pirate humor:

Why did the pirate leave his wife?

They couldn't stop aaaaarghh-uing.

Why couldn't the little pirate get into the movie?

It was rated aaaaarghh.

And for the record: I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request.

Week of September 14, 2009: General Schedule

Welcome to the fourth week of school! Unbelievable. Time is just sailing on by. Congratulations to the BHS Varsity football team for the awesome victory Friday night, and best wishes to all BHS students for terrific accomplishments as the week unfolds.

Here are the prospective schedules for the week, by class:

Gifted English II (Sophys):

Monday, September 14: Author of the Day is Louise Erdrich, after which we will sojourn to the Media Center to pick up copies of The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. If you already have your own copy, you're good to go, but please be sure you are reading the abridged version and not the unwieldy unabridged (twice the countryside, half the action.) Afterwards--an award-winning (kidding) lecture on the elements of literature leading into Greek drama.

Tuesday, September 15: Author of the Day is Nathaniel Hawthorne, after which I need to share some information specific to our in-class literary assignment--Antigone by Sophocles. HW: Define vocab words #61-80. We will go over examples in class tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 16: Author of the Day is Jorge Luis Borges, after which we will quickly review relevant examples to the vocabulary list and begin Antigone in class. (This play is in our textbook.)

Thursday, September 17: Author of the Day is JK Rowling (yes, really) and we will continue with Antigone, along with a brief grammar lesson connected to the play.

Friday September 18: Author of the Day is Louisa May Alcott, after which we are taking our fourth vocab quiz and further analyzing Antigone.

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition (APees):

Monday, September 14: You need your lit anthology; we will be reading "On the Road to Delphi" by the recently deceased John Updike and analyzing its form and structure via TP-CASTT. If we have time, we will also do a double-entry on ORex.

Tuesday, September 15: Peer Edit for ORex focus paper, which should take all period. If we finish early, we might look at "Myth" by Muriel Rukeyser, another poem inspired by ORex, but frankly I'd rather read poems YOU write about it than this one. With all due respect to Ms. Rukeyser, this one is pretty weak. Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, September 16: Timed Writing on "Two Views of a Cadaver Room"--this one is challenging, but it is so, so good. I love this prompt and have written on it myself twice. Vitamin TW--good for you, APees!

Thursday, September 17: Tragedy as the thread of continuity--today is the intro to the MacPlay, the title of which we will NOT be saying in class due to the urban-legend-level of superstition surrounding it. We say, "The Scottish Play," or "MacB," or "Heinous Tragic Play." Here is my bias--I LOVE this play so much that it makes me stupid. If I could harness the abilities of Thespis et al and get up on stage (which I haven't done since third grade, when I played a tooth in a school play--well, I also played a psychotic librarian in an independent film in 2002, but that doesn't count at all, for anything) then I would play Lady Macbeth. BEST CHARACTER SHAKESPEARE EVER INVENTED. She is the ultimate psycho-hose-beast, BA to the nth degree, a black belt in evil. I hope you like this play as much as I do. It is all kinds of awesome. If you are allergic to Shakespearean iambic pentameter, feel free to pick up a five-dollar copy of No Fear Shakespeare from Barnes or Amazon.com and read the translations.

Friday September 18: ORex focus paper due by 3 p.m. today, and by midnight tonight on www.turnitin.com. In class--more Scottish woe. Woe, woe, woe. Come, you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts/Unsex me here. . .

NOTES FOR FUTURE PLANNING: Seniors, Guidance will be in my class on Monday, September 21 to disseminate SAIR forms and go over your graduation requirements. BE HERE. Quelle importante. Also, if anyone is interested in joining Project X-Mas, to help out the custodians, come to 313 after school on Tuesday, September 15 for community service opportunities with this organization. Finally, we need some consultants for the Writing Center B Lunch. A Lunch is swimming along beautifully, but we have had clients with no consultants during B, so please join us if you are so inclined.

ProgressBook: The Regression

Dear Peeps and Parental Units of Peeps,

I embrace technology and love it; when I found out BHS was switching to ProgressBook for the grades I was so excited. I could enter grades from home! The district was going to a web-based service! Yay!

Well, I may embrace technology, but this time it hasn't embraced me back. I am having some difficulty wrapping my brain around ProgressBook and am actively seeking help to make it work. Please be patient with me; I should have all of the grades uploaded and current after this weekend. It's like learning to drive stick shift after zipping around on automatic.

All the best,

Ms. Hilley

Friday, September 11, 2009

NOTE: The first poetry reading will be after school today from 2:30-4:30 in room 313; there will be snacks. This is for AP students but, really, if you are completely fascinated by poetry come along. Mrs. Covert and I are co-hosting, and we are analyzing four poems of varying intensity this week. If this one goes well, we will host them every three-four weeks.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is Samuel Taylor Coleridge, my favorite Romantic poet. And I have a pop-up book to share with you that features his poem "Kubla Khan" as illustrated by Nick Bantock--another Author of the Day in the next few weeks or so. Vocabulary quiz follows, with analysis of "Billy."

APees: Oedipus Rex Test. And there will be much rejoicing. Help with ORex focus papers if you are so inclined.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is the late JG Ballard, author of Empire of the Sun, followed by "Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy" by Tim O'Brien. BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK!!!

APees: Oedipus Rex information, including the next focus paper assignment, and review for the test tomorrow in class on the play.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

I have a department meeting after school from 1:30-2:30 in room 315, but if anyone needs assistance with college essays I can stick around for a little bit afterwards. Also, if any of you work out at the 24 Hr Fitness at SODO I plan to be there tomorrow evening, but please don't interrupt me on the treadmill. Gotta do some cardio.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is the amazing Vladimir Nabakov, after which we will go over the vocabulary words from 41-60. HW from last night are the thought questions from The Stranger, and if we have time I will talk with you about our next outside reading assignment.

APees: Sophocles biography and thesis statement development using the list of FRQs from College Board. BRING YOUR TEXTBOOKS on Thursday and Friday so we can deal with Oedipus Rex. Good times!!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Welcome back after a three-day weekend! I hope everyone made good choices.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is the awesome, insightful, and hilarious Carl Hiaasen, Florida native. The lesson today is an FCAT prep test that should only take ten minutes, plus thought questions regarding The Stranger before we move into our next unit.

AP Lit and Comp: Class review of "Magnolias in Snow" using the TP-CASTT method of analysis, followed by further review of the 120 literary terms. Please bring your literary anthology with you on Thursday. Reminders: Oedipus Rex is due on Friday, September 11; the first poetry reading is Friday afternoon in 313 from 2:30-4:40 (snacks provided, bring your own soda or bottled water); resubmits are due by Thursday if you choose to do so.

NOTE: President Obama's address is at noon, which is during fifth period. Our governor has asked us to show this in class, and I expect everyone to listen quietly and pay attention. I would like to point out that the Office of President is what deserves our respect today, and further point out that BHS has shown every president's address for the past 25 years from Mr. Reagan to Mr. George H.W. Bush to George W. Bush, and that this speech is not about party affiliation nor politics but about the need to do well in school, which frankly everyone needs to hear these days. Much love to all.

Unavailability

Dear Students,

I am leaving town for the long weekend, and will only have intermittent internet access. If you need to get in touch with me re: college application essays or rec letters, go ahead and send a message to jennifer.hilley@ocps.net but be aware that I might not be able to respond right away.

Have a great, safe Labor Day, and remember Chick-Fil-A's special deal: If you wear a team logo t-shirt on Monday from 10:30 a.m. to close at a local Chick-Fil-A, you get a free original chicken sandwich. And while I don't want to advertise for a particular brand or chain on an assignment blog, I do have to say that I love me some Chick-Fil-A. And I only ever really get the desire for it on Sunday, when it's closed!

Make good choice and be safe this long weekend!!!

Love,

Ms. Hilley

Tone Vocabulary

APees (and other interested parties)--

Here is the tone vocabulary to which I alluded in class today. Trash or treasure; nah, just treasure.

Tone Vocabulary

Like the tone of a speaker’s voice, the tone of a work of literature expresses the writer’s feelings. To determine the tone of a passage, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the subject of the passage? Who is its intended audience?
2. What are the most important words in the passage? What connotations do these words have?
3. What feelings are generated by the images of the passage?
4. Are there any hints that the speaker or narrator does not really mean everything he or she says? If any jokes are made, are they lighthearted or bitter?
5. If the narrator were speaking aloud, what would the tone of his or her voice be?

Positive Tone/Attitude Words

Amiable	Consoling	Friendly	Playful
Amused	Content	Happy	Pleasant
Appreciative	Dreamy	Hopeful	Proud
Authoritative	Ecstatic	Impassioned	Relaxed
Benevolent	Elated	Jovial	Reverent
Brave	Elevated	Joyful	Romantic
Calm	Encouraging	Jubilant	Soothing
Cheerful	Energetic	Lighthearted	Surprised
Cheery	Enthusiastic	Loving	Sweet
Compassionate	Excited	Optimistic	Sympathetic
Complimentary	Exuberant	Passionate	Vibrant
Confident	Fanciful	Peaceful	Whimsical

Negative Tone/Attitude Words

Accusing	Choleric	Furious	Quarrelsome
Aggravated	Coarse	Harsh	Shameful
Agitated	Cold	Haughty	Smooth
Angry	Condemnatory	Hateful	Snooty
Apathetic	Condescending	Hurtful	Superficial
Arrogant	Contradictory	Indignant	Surly
Artificial	Critical	Inflammatory	Testy
Audacious	Desperate	Insulting	Threatening
Belligerent	Disappointed	Irritated	Tired
Bitter	Disgruntled	Manipulative	Uninterested
Boring	Disgusted	Obnoxious	Wrathful
Brash	Disinterested	Outraged
Childish	Facetious	Passive

Humor-Irony-Sarcasm Tone/Attitude Words

Amused	Droll	Mock-heroic	Sardonic
Bantering	Facetious	Mocking	Satiric
Bitter	Flippant	Mock-serious	Scornful
Caustic	Giddy	Patronizing	Sharp
Comical	Humorous	Pompous	Silly
Condescending	Insolent	Quizzical	Taunting
Contemptuous	Ironic	Ribald	Teasing
Critical	Irreverent	Ridiculing	Whimsical
Cynical	Joking	Sad	Wry
Disdainful	Malicious	Sarcastic

Sorrow-Fear-Worry Tone/Attitude Words

Aggravated	Embarrassed	Morose	Resigned
Agitated	Fearful	Mournful	Sad
Anxious	Foreboding	Nervous	Serious
Apologetic	Gloomy	Numb	Sober
Apprehensive	Grave	Ominous	Solemn
Concerned	Hollow	Paranoid	Somber
Confused	Hopeless	Pessimistic	Staid
Dejected	Horrific	Pitiful	Upset
Depressed	Horror	Poignant
Despairing	Melancholy	Regretful
Disturbed	Miserable	Remorseful

Neutral Tone/Attitude Words

Admonitory	Dramatic	Intimae	Questioning
Allusive	Earnest	Judgmental	Reflective
Apathetic	Expectant	Learned	Reminiscent
Authoritative	Factual	Loud	Resigned
Baffled	Fervent	Lyrical	Restrained
Callous	Formal	Matter-of-fact	Seductive
Candid	Forthright	Meditative	Sentimental
Ceremonial	Frivolous	Nostalgic	Serious
Clinical	Haughty	Objective	Shocking
Consoling	Histrionic	Obsequious	Sincere
Contemplative	Humble	Patriotic	Unemotional
Conventional	Incredulous	Persuasive	Urgent
Detached	Informative	Pleading	Vexed
Didactic	Inquisitive	Pretentious	Wistful
Disbelieving	Instructive	Provocative	Zealous