SUMMER READING

If you've bounced to this page, you may or may not have already seen the summer reading lists on the BHS website. If you have, great! You can skip this! If not, though:

RISING GIFTED ENGLISH II (NON-MAGNET) STUDENTS:

Please read The Stranger by Albert Camus and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. There will be a test on Tuesday, August 24 that separates the readers from the SparkNoters, so be prepared.

RISING APEES:

The summer reading packet is on the BHS website in its entirety, but the reading assignment is as follows:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

and one of the following:

The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

You will need to submit a completed focus paper on Friday, August 27 by 3 p.m. that fuses a theme from the three works you study this summer. We discussed some of these possibilities in the spring meetings.

If any of you have any questions, you can reach me at hilleyj@gmail.com OR at jennifer.hilley@ocps.net.

You have a little over a month, so get crackin'! Love to all.

Adjusted Lesson Plans

Dear Students,

Due to the scheduling snafu of last week, some of you are still adding to the class, and some of you are still planning to leave. Thus, I'm retooling some of my original (patented, highly inventive, and totally awesome) lesson plans to ameliorate any concerns some of you might have.

SOPHYS: If you did not have Mrs. Padgett last year, then you may opt for the adjusted schedule for the summer reading assignment. The assignment was on the BHS website and was heavily advertised, but I'll err on the side of compassion and give you an additional couple of weeks to catch up. For everyone else: The rough draft of the paper evaluating Mersault and Willy Loman is due in class tomorrow for peer evaluation, while the newer students may read. The final copy will be due at the end of the week (September 4) instead of the original due date of Tuesday. We will discuss all of this in class tomorrow.

The check-reading test for most of you will be on Tuesday, September 1--bring a pencil. Again, new students may read during the administration of the test.

APees: Our schedule wasn't as altered, since most of the students moving from class to class were switching from Mrs. Covert to my class or vice-versa, and she and I are pretty much on the same page. However, we did have fire drills and such to contend with, so I am adjusting a little bit--the discussion questions for MB will be in class on Monday, instead of last week as I had originally planned.

APees: First Major Test

The AP students took their first major test today, and the results were underwhelming. I curved it three points, since after careful re-reading I decided that #52 could be interpreted in more than one way, depending on how you read the passage. I never want subjectivity to get in the way of academic success.

A three-point curve doesn't make much of a difference, though, to ameliorate low scores. Here are the averages:

Period Three: 74.8

Period Five: 75.8

Period Six: 75.9

Period Seven: 64.6

Now, from a strict bell-curve perspective, these are not bad averages. They represent a bell curve, after all, with a handful of truly low scores and a handful of truly high ones, and the bulk right in the middle. I spent some time this afternoon reviewing what appeared to be frequently-missed questions, and disaggregating data (doesn't that sound impressive? It really just involved a calculator and three cans of Diet Coke) and I have three theories:

1. Some of you are not comfortable test-takers.

2. Some of you read the novels quickly and/or a long time ago, and consequently had difficulty remembering salient details.

3. Some of you did not read actively (or at all) and these test scores are the bitter fruits of such procrastinatory deeds.

Then, as the mighty power of Diet Coke coursed through my veins, I wondered how we could solve all three problems. Here are my suggestions:

1. We will work on multiple-choice strategies this year, since the AP exam has 55 multiple choice questions like this test did. I want to ameliorate test anxiety, and show you various ways to address MC questions and enhance your recall.

2. We will also work on high-yield reading strategies to help you retain information longer and with more understanding.

3. I will symbolically smack you for being adolescents and repeatedly finding more interesting things to do with your time than read your assignments. Actually, I'm kidding about that part--You HAVE TO READ CAREFULLY, CLOSELY, and MEANINGFULLY. I cannot do this part for you!

That said, a handful of students made As on this adventure, and your next opportunity to impress is due Friday with the first focus paper. Be well. Really.

Love to all.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Welcome to the first day of school!

Every student will need to report to HOMEROOM. Alphabetical lists will be posted at Guidance, the Media Center, the 1300 building, and every hallway. If you are lost, find a teacher and see where you need to go. We will all help you. Homeroom should only last about ten minutes.

Gifted English II: Please bring your two summer reading books with you each day this week. You will not be picking up your course textbook until next week, but honestly we don't use it that much. Most of our material is either given directly to you in class or out of a paperback novel. Today's agenda:

1. Syllabus and course expectations--please share with your parents. It's a little snarky in places but that's just how I roll.

2. Distribution of the material you need for the week, including:

A. 120 Literary Terms (6 units of 20 words each)

B. The Death of a Salesman essay assignment, rough draft due Friday

C. Writing Log

3. Each of you will fill out the requisite index cards I need for info about you.

4. We will discuss elements of both works for tomorrow's check-reading test.

Please bring a pencil tomorrow!!! Author of the Day will begin Wednesday and I will explain more in class.

AP Literature and Composition: Welcome to class! Please bring your summer reading materials all week.

1. Syllabus; you can read, but I do want to go over a couple of policies regarding e-mail. Please share with your parental units.

2. Index card

3. Distribution of materials:

A. AP FRQ Questions (keep all year in your notebook)

B. Literary Terms for review

C. Madame Bovary discussion questions

D. AP grading rubric for Friday's focus paper

E. Homework for tonight (don't worry--it's fun!)

4. Discussion of Friday's paper and possible topics. Lecture elements include le mot juste, naturalism v. realism v. Romanticism, the focus of materialism and class consciousness in Flaubert's vision, and female archetypes.

Plan Ahead:

Sophomore Assembly is Thursday period 3 in the gym.

Senior Assembly is Tuesday period 2 in the gym.

I will be taking ALL of my seniors to College and Career on Thursday to go over FAFSA and college applications. This is very important for your futures, particularly considering that most colleges opened their admissions on August 1. Mrs. Cadman is the single best advocate you can imagine.

I will be hosting a travel meeting on Thursday, September 3 at 7 p.m. for my last two overseas adventures with BHS kids. During the week-long Thanksgiving break, students who are 18 or older (or seniors with parent permission) can accompany me and a small group of art lovers to Paris for the whole week. Next Spring Break is the all-ages trip to Ireland. I have a few spots left for each, so if you are interested, see me ASAP and plan to attend this meeting. My past trips have been fabulous experiences for kids; we went to Germany last spring break, and last fall's grad trip was to Prague and Vienna. Over the past ten years, I've traveled with students through Italy, England, France, and Greece, and I have loved it, but now that I'm hurtling towards forty I'm losing my mojo a little. I know international travel is expensive, but it can be really worthwhile.

If you have any other questions about ANYTHING you can e-mail me at jennifer.hilley@ocps.net OR hilleyj@gmail.com.

Summer Session 2009

I am teaching the second half of English III/IV in room 205 this summer.  I will be posting our lesson plans here each day in case you need to review what we're doing in class.

We generally do not assign homework in summer session, due to the intensity of daily instruction.  However, if you need additional time to finish an assignment (not a quiz) you may take it home and work on it. 

If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me at jennifer.hilley@ocps.net or by clicking my name on the Boone website.  Two weeks=the second half of the credit you need, so let's do it!

June 25, 2009

Introductions and New Student Information

Author of the Day (notes on the board--there will be an open-note quiz later)

Spelling List

Vocabulary List

Grammar:  Adjectives v. Adverbs

Lecture:  How English is Formed (etymology)

Grammar:  Participial Adjectives

Literature:  Poe

Writing Sample:  Dinner Guest

Film related to the literature of America or Great Britain with study guide

Total points for today:  Up to 120

NOTE:  I will update grades every two days, so that you will know exactly how you are doing.  Best wishes for a great summer session!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Short Wednesday for ya'll; guest speaker after school for me. And, apropos of nothing--Project Runway is on tonight.*

Gifted English II (Sophys): Our first reading day for The Count of Monte-Cristo! After featuring Alexandre Dumas as our A of D, you will have an opportunity to spread out and read. Your first reading quiz is next week, so read. You may bring a beverage, a pillow, or whatever stuffed animal makes you feel comfortable when you read. This book is so, so awesome--not the greatest literature of all time, certainly, but well-plotted and well-paced, and very exciting. Do you like pirates? Revenge? Escapes from horrible traps? Ladies in tight corsets? This novel is what even allowed the revenge genre to flourish, so read, read, read.

APees: More ORex and related concepts. We have intensive reading to do with ORex.

Word of the Day: hegemony (noun): the leadership of one state over its allies. (Even though this is a political definition, can you see its symbolic significance regarding any human relationship?)

NOTE: Derek H. in fifth suggested another word for Word of the Day: Magnanimous: Adjective: lofty and king-like

*A brief commentary regarding Project Runway: I am not a fan of the so-called "reality" genre, but I love Project Runway. Part of my fixation is an ongoing fascination with fashion, but most of it is related to how much of a meritocracy this contest is compared to others where people are voted off of islands or have the audience post votes. Each week, contestants are given ridiculous creative challenges, time limits, and budgets, and have to "make it work" with limited resources. I think it's analagous to the writing process itself--you come up with a concept, sketch it out, fit the concept to your dressmaker's form, work with the fabric, edit, edit, edit, and then sell the final product with a human being sashaying down a catwalk. See the analogy? You come up with a concept, prewrite it in graphic form, mess with the ideas, write, write, rewrite, edit, tinker, submit. . .it's the same thing, but one is on TV and one is just in a classroom. Oh, Project Runway, how I love thee.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

REMINDER: Sophomore assembly during third period in the auditorium today. Report to your third period class first, then await dismissal.

Gifted English II: Collect HW questions for assessment. Check-reading quiz on The Stranger and Death of a Salesman. New students to the course will be reading silently during this time--you will have three weeks to catch up on this particular assignment. Afterwards, I will go over the other ten words on your first vocabulary list. Author of the Day today is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Rough draft of your paper on The Stranger is due Friday for peer review. The vocabulary quiz will be postponed until next week due to Semi-Hurricane Fay.

APees: After we take our short quizlet on The Awakening, we are going to start our discussion of Flaubert and Chopin's writing styles. Your focus paper is due tomorrow night by midnight on www.turnitin.com. See me if you have further existential crises related to this website--it isn't perfect, but I can troubleshoot problems for you.

Also--remember that I will be hosting office hours tomorrow morning for college application conversations. We are going to see Mrs. Cadman tomorrow in College and Career during class to further shed light on your application process.