Friday, April 16, 2010

Ah, the joys of mid-April. So much left to do this year, and so little time.

Author of the Day: Vaclav Havel

Word of the Day: neophyte

Holiday: High-5 Day/Wear Pajamas to Work Day (no, I don't plan to)

Gifted English II: TFA Quiz; Elements of Style part II.

APees: Focus Paper due on Jane Eyre with title parade; Heart of Darkness passage analysis ("The Accountant")

Monday, April 12, 2010

Mr. Bailey is my sub today due to various doctor appointments. I am NOT out in political protest over SB 6, although I strenuously oppose the measure. Let me be clear: I am all for teacher accountability, but not this way. This is an unfunded mandate that will cut another five percent from our already-slashed budget and it will ultimately harm kids. HOWEVER I also do not support skipping work to protest. I have sent letters, waved signs, and spammed e-mail boxes, and I will continue to do so--on my own time.

Gifted English II: Grammar assignment (sentence modeling, really) and a chance to finish your memoir.

APees: Three assignments! Yeah!

1. Read a passage from Jane Eyre, then answer the multiple choice questions from a past AP test.

2. Read another passage from Jane Eyre, then answer the discussion questions with a partner/partners.

3. Work on your focus paper! Due Friday!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Today's Word: faux pas

Today's Odd Holiday: National No Housework Day, National Day of Hope, and (dare I print this in a high school student blog--be mature, people--we are talking about the dam-builder here) National Beaver Day.

Author of the Day: Tom Stoppard

Gifted English II: Author of the Day, followed by "A Whole Society of Loners and Dreamers" by William Allen, since we did "Porphyria's Lover" on Monday instead. And a review of memoir-writing. And various other cool things.

APees: Yes, you are going to hate me, but it is incumbent upon me to adequately prepare you for the upcoming AP exam. To wit: Timed Writing on a DBQ. We have been FRQing our brains out, and now it's time to put the D in DBQ. Yep. And it's about Jane Eyre! I am so, so relevant. :-)

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.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Gifted English II: "Once More to the Lake" by EB White, a terrific example of memoir. Ready carefully, annotate, and answer the questions at the end. We're starting the fourth quarter with this amazing tale.

APees: Jane Eyre quiz, followed by more Jane Eyre. The test for this novel will be Friday, April 9, 2010. Yes, I know that's the Art Festival. Yep.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Gifted English II: We're registering for next year's classes today; meet in 313 and we will proceed to the Media Center together as a happy learning family. If we finish early, we can move on to the next exciting activity in Giftedland. Bring a pencil tomorrow, btw.

APees: Syntactical analysis of a passage from Jane Eyre; the current reading assignment is Chapters 21-26. We're also going to take a close look at one multiple-choice passage and related strategies. Tomorrow: Two Renaissance-themed sonnets, TP-CASTT style.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

So much work, so little time. . .

Gifted English II: Sophys, your Othello paper is due tomorrow by 3 p.m. in my hand (Friday, 3/19) AND on turnitin.com OR by e-mail to me by midnight that night. See me if you have questions; we will go over format once more today. THEN: Finish the questions on page 1147 of the Pearson text and review for the Othello test tomorrow. No worries! You KNOW this play!

APees: Review Jane Eyre, Chapters 13-20; go over tone vocabulary for the AP exam; possibly analyze a sonnet. In other words, a great day in AP Land. For me, anyway. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day! As the tradition goes, wear green today to avoid being pinched. Granted, as an OCPS student you have the unalienable right to NOT BE PINCHED by anyone on school grounds, but the policy does not go so far to protect those of you who actively seek pinching or who escape the school grounds to local food constabularies. Cool fact: Didja know that Patrick was ENGLISH, not IRISH, but was kidnapped and taken to what we now call Eire? Yep.

Gifted English II: Today we need to address a handful of fairly complicated questions from Othello in the burgundy book. You may work with a partner. The Othello unit test is scheduled for Friday, and we will review extensively in class tomorrow. ALSO--the Iago paper is due Friday by 3 p.m. We went over some elements of his character in class yesterday, and today we'll review apt thesis statements.

APees: Today is the second and final Eyre in the Air reading day. The quiz for chapters 13-20 is scheduled for Friday. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so. . .enjoy!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Beware the Ides of March; the Ides of March, beware! Mwahahahahahahahaha. . .

Some general housekeeping: A river of graded work needs to go back today, and for those of you who have been racking up absences, please see me ASAP to get make-up quizzes, etc. back on track. I am uploading grades for this quarter beginning next Wednesday, March 24, so the sooner the better. Go, ProgressBook, go.

ALSO: Several of you have asked for reprints of rec letters for scholarships. See me as soon as possible to facilitate this due to my increasing suspicion that my classroom computer is dying. It has made mastadon-like noises in the hard drive region of late, and it's eight years old, which in computer world is practically primeval. And it takes forever to boot up. And it no longer likes my Lord of the Rings screensaver. And it cusses at me when it thinks I'm not paying attention. We have long had an adversarial relationship, this computer and I, and now as it goes gently into that good night it is raging against the dying of the light. So letter-needers: See me ASAP. Really.

Today's Curriculum! 'Cause we got some!

Gifted English II: Finally, finally finishing the O. The Great Smother is upon us, and it does beg the question: At what point does someone who was smothered, then uncovered, then gives a speech, which denotes a use of oxygen, seem to unrealistically die? Desdemona embraces her quietus with fortitude and stumbles through a speech before succumbing to the great beyond, but medical scholars and disbelieving audience members alike say What What? Of course, we have to see what happens (if anything) to the dastardly Iago. Life's not fair, kids. Not at all.

APees: We put the F (as in Fun) in FRQ today, oh yes we do, and we apply said FRQness to Jane Eyre. And we will talk more about Jane, and possibly do a close reading of a selected passage. Bronte is so awesome. Like totally.

FCAT is Behind Us!/Thursday, March 11, 2010

Thank you so much to the students who made this such a cooperative, peaceful FCAT administration. The students I worked with were exemplary and sweet and I so appreciate the seniors taking a couple of days for reflection and college exploration. And the few who showed up and hung out with Mr. Undieme learned a lot!

Welcome back to Normality, such as it is in 313. . .

Word of the Day: presage

Holiday Today: Johnny Appleseed Day, World Kidney Day, and Nametag Day.

NOTE: This weekend is the end of Daylight Savings Time. Don't forget: Spring Forward; Fall Back! So yes, you lose an hour, but think of the residual psychological happiness when evening lingers longer and you have daylight to spare as the afternoon wanes. Before you go to bed Saturday night, move your clocks an hour forward, and while you're at it, have your parents (or you!) check the batteries in your smoke detector. Safety first! And I'm not even a fire marshal!

Gifted English II: Discussion questions for Act III of Othello (really more of a transition into the depths of Act IV) followed by the distribution of an awesome focus paper topic. I'll go ahead and give you the prompt: DEFEND IAGO. This should be interesting! And then, if you're good, and we have time, we will watch Othello have a meltdown in the Kenneth Branagh-directed film version.

APees: Collect and go over the Jane Eyre questions from the past two days, preparatory to the awesome and insightful quiz we get to take tomorrow. And if we have time, I'd like us to look more closely at a specific passage from the novel in AP exam format. We have FRQs to go over; I know how much y'all love those three little letters.

NOTE: The AP Practice Exam will be administered on two consecutive Wednesday sessions after Spring Break in the Media Center, and you need to select one of the two to attend. I think the dates are April 14 and April 21. Mrs. Covert and I are taking turns supervising these sessions, and ALL AP Lit kids need to do this. It is a massive part of your Q4 grade. If you know in advance that you have a Wednesday conflict we can schedule an alternative for you, but be judicious about this--you really need two consecutive hours to write your little brains out. Plan ahead, please; I'd hate to go to war with the 21-year-old manager of Hollister or whatever who, like, totally needs you to work. Pardon the sarcasm; I'm bitter today. Love to all!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Gifted English II: Quiz for Othello, Acts I-III. And then more Othelloness.

APees: Quiz for Jane Eyre, Chapters 1-5. Then more Bronteness.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Word of the Day: norm-referenced

Holiday of the Day: Among a myriad of other weird days, the one I like the most is "March Forth--Do Something Day." I do think that everyone can benefit from a little bit of anti-procrastinatory impetus, so get to it! Whatever you have been postponing, from a HW assignment to a personal chore--get it done!

Gifted English II: We need to go over some FCAT stuff for next week, from test prep questions I will be sending home with you to the actual testing schedule. Afterwards, we will review The Elements of Style and take an awesome, if brief, quiz, before resuming our study of Othello. NOTE: There will be a quiz tomorrow on Othello, Acts I-III. If you have been conscious for the past few days you should be fine.

APees: Per my e-mail to each of you, today is Eyre in the Air! You will be given a reading pass and permission to sally forth and find a comfortable spot in which to engage in the world's most delicious activity: READING!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Today's word: truthiness

Today's weird holidays: I Want You to Be Happy Day, National Anthem Day, Peace Corps Day, and What if Dogs and Cats Had Opposable Thumbs Day?

Gifted English II: Othello, Act III--handkerchief, handkerchief, handkerchief.

APees: Jane Eyre, close reading of the text; 3rd period needs to read "The Chimney Sweep" by Blake; "A Poison Tree" if time permits. Eyre in the Air may well be tomorrow, if the weather holds. Most likely, it will be Friday. And Senior Brag Sheets!!! Prepare to brag about your innate awesomeness.

Monday, March 1, 2010

REMINDERS

1. Registration starts this week for rising seniors; it is online this year. Sophys: Go ahead and look over the curriculum guide on the BHS website and make some pre-selections, as you will be registering online at the end of this month, right before Spring Break. Although we anticipate some glitches, I think this is far better for you and gives you a LOT more control over your schedule.

2. If you are going to Ireland with me this Spring Break, the pre-trip travel meeting is tomorrow night at 7 in my classroom. This is not for people signing up--sorry, that train has sailed. If you can't make it let me know and we will get the info on Euros, weather, travel advisories, and packing directly to you.

FCAT IS NEXT WEEK. On Tuesday and Wednesday, our administration is encouraging seniors who have already passed the FCAT to avail themselves of the opportunity to visit colleges. If you have a note from a parental unit and/or documentation demonstrating a college visit (DBCC, if you know what I mean, ha ha) then it is an EXCUSED ABSENCE.

Now on to curricular things:

Word of the Day: vituperative

Holiday of the Day: Peace Corps Day, Beer Day (not for y'all), National Refired, not Retired Day, Pig Day, and Plan a Solo Vacation Day.

Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, Othello Act III, the final attempt to get Author of the Day off the ground. Goodness. Love to all. . .

APees: Close reading of Jane Eyre suggestions; William Blake.

Gifted English II:

Friday, February 26, 2010

Word of the Day: indefatigable

Today's Holiday: For Pete's Sake Day, Levi Strauss Day, and National Personal Chef's Day.

Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, Rules 1-11 (further review and application); Othello, Act III. Your Act II questions are due today by the end of business. See me if you have any questions. I will be finishing the last of the Julius Caesar papers this weekend and returning them to you Monday; the next paper is Othello-related and is a really intriguing topic. Go team!

APees: Yesterday, I had you construct a timed writing response to a DBQ related to a letter Charlotte Bronte had written to the then-famous poet Robert Southey, and his snarky response to her, and her snarkier response back. (I love the line where she assures him "I try not to think. . .") Today, we are going to look at viable approaches to thesis statements, do a peer review on our writings, and then look at student samples in the guidebook that were scored by College Board as rubrics. This may sound dry, but this is VITAL for success in May. Your reading assignment this weekend for Jane Eyre is through Chapter 5, please. Thanks!

MARY SHELLEY PAPERS ARE DUE BY 3 p.m. I will be in a meeting with Dr. McMillen, so you can either leave it under the door (risky) or drop it at the main office (much more solid option.)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Word of the Day: averse

Holiday of the Day: Inconvenience Yourself Day. (Does this mean to avoid 7-11 all day, or take alternate pathways around buildings, or what? I have no idea. Anyone who can shed light on this little mystery will be gratefully acknowledged.)

Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, Rules 1-11. We discussed Webster's definition of grammar yesterday, and today the Real Fun begins. At long last. And then, more Othello-osity. Although some of the choicest lines were uttered yesterday. . .

APees: Now that you have survived Multiple Choice Practice Session Infinity, I'll give you back your scan sheets and you can weep privately. AND we are going to discuss "The Cormorant" by Rosanna Warren (awesome, if sad) and Jane Eyre, chapter one. Nothing like a little old-fashioned explication de texte to get things rolling.

Note: See upcoming post later this evening on registration and FCAT. Importante!!!!

Shelley paper is due by Friday, February 26, oh APees. Although I will take it early and in fact already have a few. . .

Monday, January 4, 2010

Welcome to the new year, if not the new semester--we still have until January 25 or so to finish this quarter. I've been reading online about the debate between pronouncing this year "two thousand ten" vs. "twenty-ten" and I have to say that I am partial to the brevity and power of the latter. Regardless of what you call it, though, we have entered a new decade, and I truly hope that each of you finds great fortune, knowledge, and understanding in your future endeavors.

Announcements:

1. For those of you who still need service hours for NHS, I have an opportunity for you--I could really use some help this week cleaning 313 in preparation for district and state level visitors from the Advanced Studies Department. The first item on the rubric they are using states "A clutter-free classroom is evident," and man am I in trouble. Right-brained over here; need some help.

2. If you are on the Project X-Mas committee, thank-you note season is upon us! Many, many people helped us reach our goal this fall, and we need to thank them appropriately. I've already sent e-mails to the entire faculty indicating our gratitude, but see Mary Claire for individualized thank-you note plans. Service hours, as always, are given for your work on this committee.

3. Sophys: You will need to acquire a personal copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White before the end of January. It will be our primary grammar guide for the spring term.

4. Seniors: You will need to acquire a personal copy of Jane Eyre IF you wish to annotate as you read. Our first reading in the Romantic unit will be Frankenstein, available in the BHS library, but JE lends itself more to marginalia. If you are so inclined, it's a worthwhile investment--and you can take it with you to college next year for literary magic 8-ball purposes!

Today's Lessons:

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar--review key concepts from December, review Act I main points, and distribute thought questions for Act II. We will also be going over the memorization assignment, which is due by the end of this month as well. Two of you are already finished. Bravo! I will have a finished calendar for you by the end of the week with all of the registration dates for next year's classes, as well, and can start meeting with you one-on-one to help make decisions about your schedule.

AP Lit and Comp: I asked each of you to annotate "Preludes" by T.S. Eliot; today in class, we are going to analyze the heck out of this lyric poem. Come prepared to TP-CASTT and beyond, and to massage a lot of diction. Mere months to go until the national exam, my peeps. Months to go.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I actually bought a green handbag for the occasion. And green nail polish!

Gifted English II: Othello Unit Test. Bring a pen or pencil--it will definitely take all period.

APees: Review for Romanticism Unit Test, with a classy handout to help you. Don't forget that the Jane Eyre paper is due by midnight tonight on www.turnitin.com.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Notes to Self: AP teacher meeting at 8:45 a.m.; senior teacher meeting at 3:30; enter grades.

Sophys: Post-It Note Quiz! Five questions on Othello before we launch into Act IV and see the chaos Iago and his bruised ego (or machination-seeking id) has caused. New content vocab list, too. Warning: Paper coming up!!! Think about Iago, and defending him. If you can.

APees: I'm in a quandary; I would dearly love to give you the creative assignment related to Chapter 19 but I'm not sure how manyof you are there yet (notwithstanding the Chapters 17-22 quiz you are taking on Thursday, but hey. . .) so I might poll the electorate and see what ya'll think. I would love to see what you could come up with, but I fear plot spoilers so we might just go into the close reading of the text from Chapter 18 today and reinforce understanding of Bronte's use of physiognomy. So many choices, so little time!!!

Reminders: JE quiz Thursday; Romanticism project due Friday.

If you are going to Germany with me this spring break, don't forget our pre-trip meeting next Tuesday night, March 3, in my classroom at 7 p.m. And if you are suddenly in the mood to go, let me know ASAP. We have room, but we would need to get your plane ticket immediately. Let me know!