Friday, September 3, 2010

Today is National Lazy Mom's Day. I truly hope this means that Mom can BE lazy, not that she IS lazy, because I know very few harder-working individuals on this planet than mothers. It is a 24/7, constant, thankless job, so instead of National Lazy Mom's Day, why don't you go over there and hug your mom right now and thank her for producing you. And make dinner tonight or something. At least do the dishes.

(Tomorrow is National Drive Your Studebaker Day, so these days might not have a whole lot of veracity. Who knows. I will tell you that it's National Update Your Resume Month as well as Mold Awareness Month, so. . .)

Author of the Day: Louise Erdrich

Word of the Day: abstemious

Gifted English II: Vocabulary Quiz, words 21-40 on the master list, followed by a brief discussion of the genres of literature. Please bring your textbook on Tuesday, as we will be looking at some short fiction together.

AP Lit and Comp: Go over more FRQs in relation to the summer reading activity; go over critical approaches to analysis; assign second focus paper (booyah.) Love to all.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Today is V-J Day. It is also Underclass Picture Day.

Author of the Day: Yukio Mishima.

Word of the Day: recalcitrant

Gifted English II: Underclass Picture Day in the gym. When you return, I have an AWESOME brain puzzle for you, as well as a friendly chat about how your brain works. Well, maybe not YOUR brain, per se. . .

AP Lit and Comp: Flaubert writing prompt (trust me; it's really cool, and is applicable to SO MANY THINGS) and more literary definitions from Tuesday's discussion.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Today is Bison Yell Day, Toys for Executive Testing Day, and Adjust Your Calendar Day.

Author of the Day: Angela Shelf Madearis, amateur genealogist, cookbook author, and children's author.

Word of the Day: vituperative

Gifted English II: Today, we are going to review words #21-40 for this week's vocabulary quiz and then have a Title Parade for the Stranger essays. If we finish with time to spare, we are going to review a brief history of the etymology of our entire language preparatory to our next unit. Exciting times in Gifted class! Remember: Underclass Picture Day is TOMORROW. You may either bring payment with the form I gave you in class, or have your parental units pay online at dsp.com in the next few days. Dress nicely!

AP Lit and Comp: First multiple choice practice session, followed by analysis of Tess with respect to diction, syntax, and tone. 6th and 7th period classes will probably have a moderate amount of HW tonight due to the fire drill yesterday and its resultant distractions. Bring a pencil, please!

SENIORS!!!

Mark your calendars for these important dates!

1. Senior Panoramic Picture: Next Friday, 3rd period. If you would like to get your own copy pick up an order form from the table in the front of 313.

2. Senior Graduation Check will be in your English class; my appointed date is Thursday, September 9. If you have ANY questions for your counselor be prepared for Thursday next; these will be small-group meetings but individual questions can be addressed. VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE DON'T BE ABSENT.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Can you believe August is almost over? Horrors. 2010 is slipping away like sands through the hourglass.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

1. There might be an outdoor activity tomorrow during sixth period involving mass student departures of buildings and such for high-temperature safety reasons. Just saying.

2. If you are of a certain age and have parent permission, you may start signing up for the 9/13 blood drive on Wednesday with Mrs. Kittrell. Please do not sign up to donate during my class period; at least arrange ahead of time with me to attend a different section that day. Saving lives is terribly important, of course, but passing the AP exam is, too. For you.

3. Senior Panoramic Picture is Friday during 3rd period; order forms are on the front table in 313 if you wish to purchase one. Wear orange and white, seniors!

4. If you haven't yet had your senior portrait done, the deadline for appearing in the yearbook is 9/24, but dsp.com is booked here in Orlando and you may have to go to a neighboring town. Mrs. Burke is a terrific resource if you have questions.

SENIORS: Have you applied for college yet? Or asked three adults who love you to write you rec letters? (NOTE: I am 17 deep on rec letters right now; if you need one, no worries, but get me a list of your achievements grades 9-12 to simplify the process or a copy of your brag sheet.)

Gifted English II:

Learning Objective: to assess prior knowledge with grammar and language, to engage in lively discussion about significant writers, to be enthralled by all the linguistic world has to offer us

Benchmarks: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Word of the Day: mendacious

Author of the Day: Douglas Coupland

Lesson Plan: Grammar Diagnostic Test and (2nd period) resumption of peer edit activity.

HW: Revise Death of a Salesman/The Stranger essay and submit by midnight tonight on www.turnitin.com. Hard copy is due tomorrow; refer to the style sheet for specifics.

APees:

Learning Objective: to engage in high-level discussion of syntax, diction, and voice with reference to a variety of fictional constructs

Benchmarks: Only the benchiest.

Lesson Plan: After submitting the HW from last night (the Gatsby questions) I'd like to review some of the terms from 1-120 on the reference sheet provided last week (extras are in the box on the front desk AND on ProgressBook.) Afterwards, we will assess two passages from Tess with thought questions and look at the differences between Hardy and Fitzgerald's diction/syntax.

Monday, August 30, 2010

The second week of school begins!

Our learning objective: To unravel the threads of literature's fuzzy sweater.

Our specific goals this week: Understanding diction, syntax, tone, and the elements of literature as they apply to specific texts.

Author of the Day: Mark Leyner

Word of the Day: prosaic

Gifted English II: Letter to ninth grade teachers (like we discussed last week), A of D, schedule make-up work for new/transferred students/art show for 2nd period quizzes/finish peer review activity from Friday/existentialism handout. Tomorrow: Grammar Diagnostic Test, so please bring a pencil. The revised draft of the Stranger/Death essay is due Tuesday night at midnight on www.turnitin.com AND the next day in hard copy format; please review the Style Sheet (available also on ProgressBook if you've lost it) before submitting. Grazie!

APees: We didn't really have an opportunity to get too far into the Bovary questions on Friday, due to the title parades and the fire drill. Today, I am asking you to work with a partner for a few minutes more before we share our responses in whole-class format. (Some of these questions might appear again in shockingly similar form.) Afterwards, we are doing a syntactical analysis of two passages from Gatsby, and if we don't finish, this will be HW. Tomorrow, we analyze elements of Tess, and Wednesday is our first Multiple Choice practice session. I am working assiduously to grade your tests/essays, but please remember that you do have a resubmission opportunity with the first focus paper. If I return them to you, say, Thursday, then you have until the following Thursday to resubmit it for another score opportunity.

The Week That Was

Well, students, we have made it through the first week of school, and I have a few comments.

1. Yes, some of the schedules are still in error, but please understand that Guidance is working around the clock to help you.

2. I am in awe of all of you--despite some of the challenges of this past week, you have all been kind, patient, mature. I love my students.

3. I am already overwhelmed, between rec letters that need to be composed, to the 114 essays and 98 essay tests I need to grade. So please be patient with me, too! I am slogging though the workload on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Welcome back to Boone, my dear ones. This year is going to be GREAT.

All Students: APees and Sophys

Dear Students,

We will be utilizing www.turnitin.com this year to form an online writing folder for each of you, and to prevent accidental plagiarism (and its evil cousin, intentional/desperate plagiarism). Some of you may already have an account on this website, but you will still need to register for one of the following classes on the website by Friday, August 27, to earn five points. (Notably, AP students who don't register in time not only lose the five points, but also get a late grade on their first focus paper, and nobody wants that!)

The instructions are fairly simple; if you find that you can't enroll for whatever reason, see me before Thursday and I will do it for you with no penalty. (Waiting until Friday is just futile.)

If you are in AP Lit and Comp, Hilley, you need to go to www.turnitin.com to register:

Course Number: 3402309

Password: Classof2011

(You will then make your own password.)

If you are in Gifted English II, Hilley, you need to go to www.turnitin.com to register:

Course Number: 3402315

Password: Classof2013

(You will then make your own password.)

For both groups: Please use the e-mail address you check most frequently, since I send mass e-mails reminding you of announcements, assignments, and deadlines through this forum. Thank you and if you have any questions, leave a comment here or e-mail me at jennifer.hilley@ocps.net.

AP Literature Learning Schedule

This is the tentative schedule for Week One of the new school year. I will be giving each of you a formalized schedule of the reading and writing tasks for the entire quarter, with state standards referenced, by the end of the week. This should be fairly accurate, though, fire drills and assemblies notwithstanding.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Course Expectations/The Nature of Writing and Reading

Read-Aloud: It's a Book

Literary Language Review: 120 Terms That Will Change Your Life

(a.k.a. From Alliteration to Verisimilitude)

Plagiarism: Why It Can Kill You

Discussion of Emma, Tess and Edna: Female Archetypes and Naturalism

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

CHECK-READING TEST ON BOVARY AND TESS

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

AP Strategies and FRQs with respect to the summer reading

Discussion of summer reading texts and expectations for Focus Paper #1

Thursday, August 26 2010

Visit to College and Career for College Apps/Scholarships

Friday, August 27, 2010

Focus Paper #1 due Friday, August 27—Patriarchal Values

Passage Analysis from Gatsby for syntax and diction

If time: Lecture on Flaubert v. Hardy with writing styles

Gifted English II Learning Schedule: Week One

Greetings! This is the tentative reading schedule for the first week of classes (barring fire drills, assemblies, or Other Fun Interruptions that might impede our learning.) You will each receive information each day with more details, of course, but this should give you a general idea of due dates and expectations for Week One in Gifted English II.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Schedules/Codes of Conduct

Follow procedural handout

Read-aloud: It’s a Book

Syllabus

120 Literary Terms

Focus paper assignment: RD due Friday for peer review

(You will need to establish your account with www.turnitin.com by FRIDAY. Instructions will be given out in class throughout the week and posted here tomorrow evening.)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Author of the Day: Raymond Carver

Death of a Stranger Check-Reading Test (bring pencil)

Planning ahead: Next outside reading is The Count of Monte Cristo

“Little Things” and analysis

Pick up textbooks from Media Center

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Author of the Day: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Review 1-20 Literary Terms

Existentialism in a Nutshell

HW: Stranger Thought Questions

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Author of the Day: Alice Walker

Grammar Activity: Sentence Combining

Discuss Willy Loman and Meursault as characters

Friday, August 27, 2010

No Author today

Vocabulary Quiz #1

Peer Review—Death essay (revision due Tuesday, August 31, 2010)

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Hello, future students! Some of you may have already been able to access ProgressBook and see your schedule. I'll be posting daily assignments and weekly schedules in this space, but a few announcements right off the bat:

1. I have acute tonsillitis, so I'm not around much this week. I DO anticipate being there on Monday but I might not be super-chatty. At least it's not obtuse tonsillitis.

2. If you haven't picked up your textbooks yet and you are in AP classes, you may do so NOW. They are available. The AP Lit and Comp text is called Literature: A Course in Reading and Writing by Pearson; it's a saucy white and blue book that costs 95.00, so don't lose it. You won't need it until the third week of classes, but it's a cool anthology and if you're grounded or bored there are far worse things you can read.

3. The Gifted Sophomores will have a check-reading test on The Stranger and Death of a Salesman on Tuesday, August 24. The APees will have a check-reading test on Tess and Madame Bovary at some point during the first week, but we're waiting to hear about the senior assembly.

4. APees: You will be going with me to College and Career to go over college apps and scholarship forms on Thursday, August 26. Meet in Guidance. If you need a rec letter from me (and I've taught you before) ask ASAP so I can get on it.

We're going to have a great year! Especially if I can get my voice back. :-)

The Eve Before School

Dear Students,

Tonight, August 15, 2010, is the Eve Before School for educators in OCPS. While you have another week to relax (or frantically start/finish summer reading, work in the sweltering heat, clean your room, or prep for a new school year) I have a week of meetings, meetings, and more meetings!

I really feel that this is going to be a good year for all of us. OPTIMISM NOW. This is my last year teaching sophomores--I think--and I want to go out with a bang; Project XMas and The Writing Center will both be active and ready for those of you interested in service learning/community service hours; we have tons of cool new things to learn.

This blog is a tool to help you see what we're doing in class each day, and to keep track of Authors of the Day (for sophys) and other Boone-related details. Please check this at least a couple of times per week to stay on top of things, and definitely use it if you are absent. I update at least every other day, and try to post in advance when I can.

Much love to all of you, Boone Braves. 2010-2011 will be amazing.

~Ms. Hilley