Final Post

Thank you to all of you for the good year. I had a really good time in class each day and learned a lot from you. Be sure to prep for your exams, and remember, I will give you extra credit if you donate your books to the classroom - bring them in the day of the final. Have a great summer.

Thursday and Friday - Freshmen:

We will finish presentations next week; be sure to prep for your final.

Wednesday, May 13

Freshmen: Read 20 minutes; finish 11 and 12 vocab.

Sophomores: Finish Act 4; have at least 4 entries in your 3EJ; bring Tuesdays With Morrie to class on Friday.

Tuesday, May 12

Freshmen: We continued presentations... Finish chapters 11 and 12 in vocab and prep for your final.

Sophomores: We read 4.4 and part of 4.5 and continued our study of the monomyth. Finish 4.5 and start prepping for the final.

Freshman and Sophomore Second Semester Final Prep:

Freshmen: Your exam will have two parts: an objective exam and an essay exam. The objective portion will cover everything we we studied related to poetry and argument essays this semester. The essay exam requires you to do some outside research on both sides of the issue. You must come with a maximum of one page of notes (both sides) to support your opinion, and you must cite at least two pieces of evidence in MLA format - one in text an one blocked. Prepare for both sides of the issue - you don't know which side you will be assigned. You must use one of the lead and conclusion techniques you have been taught and identify them on your essay. Here is the prompt: you will be assigned a position the day of the essay:

Argumentative essay: Recently, cell phones in schools have become a hot-button topic, with strong reasons for and against allowing cell phones in schools. Imagine your school is going to ban all cell phones from the campus, even from lockers and backpacks. Anyone caught with one will be immediately suspended, regardless of circumstance. In an essay, argue FOR/AGAINST this ban, citing evidence that you have collected. You must cite the evidence correctly, either in blocked or in-text citation form, as you build your case in order to get credit. You also must use one of the lead and conclusion technique we have studied this year, and if you use a question technique, either in the lead or conclusion, your essay will earn a grade of zero.

Sophomores: You are to read Tuesdays With Morrie once we finish Hamlet. The day of the exam, you will write an essay about the text and then participate in a seminar afterward. The essay will count for 75% of of your exam grade; the seminar will count for 25% of the grade.

Friday, May 9

Freshmen: We continued with some great presentations. Finish chapter 10 for Monday. You will work on chapters 11 and 12 from the vocab book next week.

Sophomores: Today we handed your essays and continued working on your version of Hamlet's soliliquy. Act III is due for Monday.

Thursday, May 8

Freshmen: We continued with some excellent presentations. Read for 20 minutes, finish chapter 10 vocab.

Sophomores: Today we rewrote Hamlet's famous soliliquy from another person's point of view - a valley girl, Yoda, Elmo, Adah, a gansta rapper's, Rush Limbah's... be creative and do a good job. You must capture the essence of what Hamlet was saying as well as how your character would feel about those ideas.

Letter to the Editor Rubric

Letter to the Editor Rubric:
Unsealed envelope with To and Return address: /20
Stamp: /20
Letter is typed: /20
Phone number is included: /20
Letter is well-written and interesting: /20
Total: /100

Wednesday, May 6

Freshmen: We had some presentations and will continue through the duration of the year. For Monday, finish chapter 10 in vocab.

Sophomores: We read 3.1 from Hamlet today; finish Act III for Monday. Your mother essays are due on Friday, and I think if they are positive in nature and well done, they would make a great Mother's Day present on Sunday as well.

Tuesday, May 5

Hello - looks like we're closed today. Since I don't know when we will be back in class, or what the schedule will look like once we are, what I would like is for any freshman who was supposed to have presented already, or is scheduled to present on a date we return to school, to be ready to go the day we return. We will squeeze in who we can that day and then decide where to go from there. I'm sorry to keep you in limbo, but that's the best we can do right now. Stay in good health.

Sophomores: I really think you should just work on your essays and be ready to start Act III when we return.

School Closure Update

Hi everyone - I hope you all are in good health, though I imagine many of you are going through a deep depression missing school, especially English. It's all I can do to keep from weeping as I write this myself. Anyway, please pass this along to your homeboys and homegirls (Ofizzle - holla!) regarding class:

Freshmen: Clearly recent events have compromised our presentation schedule. Here's what I want to do - if your presentation date has been affected by this, be ready to go when called upon. I am going to stick to our schedule, meaning those who are supposed to go Tuesday and Wednesday will go those days, and anyone who's missed is now a floater and must be redy to go when called upon. That is my best solution, for now. We also need everyone to be sure they do not exceed 20 minutes, and as stated, should be able to access their presentation from my account to speed things up. No, your grade will not be adversely affected due to the school closures.

Sophomores: You must finish all of Act II and your essay for class on Wednesday, and we're going to go from there.