Monday, May 3, 2010

So one of my 46 major character flaws upon which I am working is an intense level of laziness, which is why I neglected to post Friday's lessons. The sophomores took the Author of the Day quiz with varying degrees of success, and the seniors all rec'd the Prom Speech, with varying degrees of success.

Today, however, is another day.

I know several students will be out for the AP Gov test today, but lessons go on despite ourselves.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day is Bill Bryson, word of the day is je ne sais quoi, and the holiday today ranges from Accountant Appreciation Day to Melanoma Monday. And then, unfortunately, we have a timed writing from the State of Florida. Fortunately, this is the adjusted topic for Gifted/Honors, and it has a literary bent. I actually almost like it. Ten points for doing it, plus a grade for your actual score out of 36.

APees: Depending on how many people are out today, we are probably doing small-group preparation for the AP exam this Thursday. All students will be assigned the next (final!) focus paper on Heart of Darkness, though--check this site tomorrow for the prompt if you are out for AP Gov.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Can y'all believe it's the last day of November--already? Oh, my!

We have a very busy week ahead of us, peeps, with both the Honors Breakfast and the Senior Breakfast during the morning periods AND final deadlines for some colleges AND preparation for a Hamlet test AND a satire essay for the sophys. Much to do, much to do--and progress reports, supposedly, will go home Friday.

We are on a downhill train ride to Winter Break, and we have much to do in the interim.

APees: Today, we need to talk about the semester test; we are going to take it in two parts. The first part will be the day before Winter Break, and will be strictly content-based, multiple choice, on everything from The Awakening and Bovary to Hamlet. The second part, based on an actual AP exam, will be given during the normal testing window in January. I am doing this, like some other AP instructors, because when we resume instruction in January I need to move on quickly to new content in order to prepare you for the national exam in May, and also because I watched the scores plummet last year when we moved exams back those few weeks. Taking a content-specific exam after two weeks of inertia is deleterious to your studies, and I want you all to be successful. ALSO--today, we start really discussing Hamlet, using some guided questions on Act V as a starting point. Why did he fail to avenge his father, but instead ended up avenging his mother (one interpretation)? Why did he fail to act for so long? Is he, as Harold Bloom famously postulated, the first real human being in literature? Why or why not?

Sophys: Catch up, clean up--new content vocabulary is on the board (also from Candide) and the Candide check-reading test will be Thursday. The number of the counting to the day of the test shall therefore be three, not five, nor two, except that thou goest on to three. We need to reintegrate into our satire unit, and I have a creative way of doing that, and then we need to establish due dates and expectations for the Author of the Day presentations. Edusoft Benchmark testing is next week, peeps, but you will earn points for participation.

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.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Can you believe it's already October? At least there is a sense of coolness in the air. Autumn is upon us!

Today is National Vegetarian Day, and something about Circles. Many thanks to both Eric K. and Megan B. for providing us with all of the wacky days in October--hilarity will ensue.

Sophys: Count of Monte Cristo Final Reading Day As Voted on Democratically by Most of You. Yes, I know some of you don't like reading in class--it's too quiet, or it's too visually distracting, or you're not in the mood at this hour in the morning. If you'd rather read this amazing critical essay ABOUT CMC you can read that instead. Regardless, Dumas is getting his claws into your psyche this morning, and hopefully this will help all of you catch up.

Planning Ahead, Sophomore-Style:

1. This Friday, October 3: Mastery Test for 120 Literary Terms. Multiple Guess; bring a pencil.
2. Next Thursday, October 9: Count of Monte Cristo Test (essay and short answer format.) Bring a pen.
3. Wednesday, October 15: PSAT. You have all been signed up to take this test, and the 20.00 fee has been covered by school improvement funds. You will be excused from your first three classes that morning for testing, and you will need to bring a pencil. This test is important to you in several ways; as we discussed in class, it's A) the best way to prepare for national merit Qualifying next year; B) a measure by which we can best place you in AP classes next year and the year afterward, and C) terrific practice for the SAT and ACT. Pleas take this seriously. It is a highly respected, nationally recognized exam that is actually interesting in content.

APees: Sixth period needs to take the Act III quiz, due to ongoing delays from last week's Senior Panoramic Picture. Everyone else will forge straightaway into Act IV, scene i analysis, and develop thesis statements for the MacFocus Paper that is due next Tuesday. (You still need to bring your finalized thesis statement and rough materials with you Friday for in-class conferencing.) MacGoodness all around! And more cartoons on the board.

Monday, September 8, 2008

ALL SENIORS: Meet in Guidance; this is your one-on-one opportunity with your counselor to go over your SAIR (student academic involvement report) and plan for college. I'll have a sign on the door in case you forget. If we finish early, back to 313 for more revelry and goodness.

Sophys: Tomorrow is Edusoft Benchmark Testing. Please bring a pencil OR a black-ink pen. It's a reading diagnostic, and I'll give you points for taking it. It will probably take all period and prevent us from Author of the Day. My apologies.

Today, though, is Monday!!! Our Author of the Day is Vladimir Nabakov, who I intended to share with you earlier but then Fay got in the way. He is awesome and he was an amateur lepidopterist. Do you know what that means? It's a person who collects butterflies! Afterwards, finish up Tim O'Brien and prepare for our next Unit: Genre Study. Wheeeeee.