Okay, folks, here's what you need to know about your semester exam. First of all, there's three parts, comprising 10% of your semester grade (the other two quarters account for the other 90%, obviously). Part 1 of the exam is a 100 question vocab exam that covers chapters 8-15 and is worth 25 points (in other words, .25 points each).
Part 2 of the exam is a 25 question exam on various topics and concepts we have studied in class this year, ranging from the tragic hero to the Hero Catch-Phrase Project to achetypes and the monomyth. This exam is worth 25 points as well (yep - 1 point per question - you catch on quick!).
Part 3 is an essay, worth 100 points. It has to do with The Hero Catch-Phrase Project, and you can use your notes on the essay portion of the exam only.
Good luck, and see me if you have any questions.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
CNF:
Hats off to you - very good discussion. For those of you who weren't paying attention, we focused on whether or not the Batman should kill the Joker (well, I guess we didn't really come to a definitive answer on that one...).
Sophomores:
Today we read some, did some HCPP work, and focused on the various characters we've studied this semester as we tried to determine their archetype. Please follow the reading schedule for Tuesdays With Morrie posted on the blog and don't forget to write your essay that's due Tuesday.
Freshmen:
Today we focused on preparing for your debate. Here is what you are to do: Distill your essay down into a 60 to 90 second spoken argument. It's okay to have notes, but you are not to read to us. Your argument should be at least 60 seconds, but should not exceed 90 seconds. During the debate, both sides will go, and then both sides will be afforded a 30 second rebuttal period. We will then decide as a class, who has the more persuasive argument.
Your homework is to prepare the debate, which will begin on Monday, and to read for 20 minutes tonight. Your final exam review guide is posted on an earlier post.
Your homework is to prepare the debate, which will begin on Monday, and to read for 20 minutes tonight. Your final exam review guide is posted on an earlier post.
Freshman English Second Semester Final Exam 2012 Study Guide:
Hi there. Here's what you need to know about your final.
1. It is 10% of your semester grade. The other 90% is split between the two quarter grades.
2. There are four parts to the test: a 25 point, 50 question vocab exam; a 43 question objective exam worth 43 points, an essay exam worth 100 points, and research you must do for said essay worth 32 points. So, that's four parts, 200 points total. Each part is explained below.
3. The vocab exam is self-explanatory. Focus on chapters 8-15.
4. The objective exam covers everything we learned this semester, from argument to haiku to sonnet and so on. Use your notes to prepare for this exam.
5. For the essay exam, you must do some outside research prior to the exam, and you will hand this research in with your final. The prompt you will be given is listed below, but you do not know which side of the argument you will be asked to take, so you must prepare for either side.
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 or AGAINST) this ban, citing evidence that you have collected. You must cite the evidence correctly, either in blocked or in-text citation form, or using a template from They Say I Say, as you build your case in order to get credit. You also must use one of the lead and conclusion techniques we have studied this year, stating it in your header.
6. Here is what you should do for your research: Find three facts that support the pro-cell phone side of the debate, and find three facts that support the anti-cell phone side of the debate. Write each fact on a 3x5 card, with the fact and source on the card. You will turn these cards in. Each is worth 5 points, for 30 total (I am throwing two points in free of charge just because I am a nice guy - no need to thank me).
1. It is 10% of your semester grade. The other 90% is split between the two quarter grades.
2. There are four parts to the test: a 25 point, 50 question vocab exam; a 43 question objective exam worth 43 points, an essay exam worth 100 points, and research you must do for said essay worth 32 points. So, that's four parts, 200 points total. Each part is explained below.
3. The vocab exam is self-explanatory. Focus on chapters 8-15.
4. The objective exam covers everything we learned this semester, from argument to haiku to sonnet and so on. Use your notes to prepare for this exam.
5. For the essay exam, you must do some outside research prior to the exam, and you will hand this research in with your final. The prompt you will be given is listed below, but you do not know which side of the argument you will be asked to take, so you must prepare for either side.
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 or AGAINST) this ban, citing evidence that you have collected. You must cite the evidence correctly, either in blocked or in-text citation form, or using a template from They Say I Say, as you build your case in order to get credit. You also must use one of the lead and conclusion techniques we have studied this year, stating it in your header.
6. Here is what you should do for your research: Find three facts that support the pro-cell phone side of the debate, and find three facts that support the anti-cell phone side of the debate. Write each fact on a 3x5 card, with the fact and source on the card. You will turn these cards in. Each is worth 5 points, for 30 total (I am throwing two points in free of charge just because I am a nice guy - no need to thank me).
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sophomores:
Today we had our final seminar on Hamlet and began Tuesdays With Morrie. See the earlier post for the reading schedule for the book.
Also, you have an essay due on Tuesday, June 5. The assignment is: Write an essay that describes your personal hero. This may be a factual or fictional person, living or dead (the only restriction is that you may not use a hero we have studied in class). However, you must explain why this person is your personal hero, and in so doing, touch on the following concepts from our class as it applies to this person: archetypes, the monomyth, and the stages of the hero. You must also integrate at least three quotes that come from either The Hero Catch-Phrase Project or the books we have read. Note - make these quotes a part of a larger sentence that explains something about your hero.
Your essay should be typed, double-spaced, with an interesting title. It is due in class on Tuesday, June 5. You may hand it in earlier if you wish.
Also, you have an essay due on Tuesday, June 5. The assignment is: Write an essay that describes your personal hero. This may be a factual or fictional person, living or dead (the only restriction is that you may not use a hero we have studied in class). However, you must explain why this person is your personal hero, and in so doing, touch on the following concepts from our class as it applies to this person: archetypes, the monomyth, and the stages of the hero. You must also integrate at least three quotes that come from either The Hero Catch-Phrase Project or the books we have read. Note - make these quotes a part of a larger sentence that explains something about your hero.
Your essay should be typed, double-spaced, with an interesting title. It is due in class on Tuesday, June 5. You may hand it in earlier if you wish.
Freshmen:
Today we focused on revising your essay. Your final copy is due Thursday at the start of class. We also did some vocab review for the final. Read for 20 minutes as homework.
Sophomore Tuesdays With Morrie Schedule:
Hi. Read Tuesdays With Morrie according to the following schedule:
5/31 Due is everything up through "The Orientation."
6/1 Due is everything from The Classroom through The Second Tuesday.
6/2 - Due is everything from The Third Tuesday through The Professor.
6/3 - Due is the 4th and 5th Tuesday.
6/4 - Due is the 6th and 7th Tuesday.
6/5 - Due is the 8th and 9th Tuesday.
6/6 - Due is the 10th and 11th Tuesday.
6/7 - Due is everything from The Audiovisual III through The Thirteenth Tuesday.
6/8 - Due is the book.
5/31 Due is everything up through "The Orientation."
6/1 Due is everything from The Classroom through The Second Tuesday.
6/2 - Due is everything from The Third Tuesday through The Professor.
6/3 - Due is the 4th and 5th Tuesday.
6/4 - Due is the 6th and 7th Tuesday.
6/5 - Due is the 8th and 9th Tuesday.
6/6 - Due is the 10th and 11th Tuesday.
6/7 - Due is everything from The Audiovisual III through The Thirteenth Tuesday.
6/8 - Due is the book.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Sophomores:
Today we took a vocab exam and read. Finish Acts IV and V for next Wednesday, along with five notes per act for seminar and a completed 3EJ.
CNF:
Today we talked about Three Cups of Tea for the final time. Have a copy of Batman and Philosophy for the last two weeks of school.
Freshmen:
Today we focused on your first draft of your argument piece. You should have a typed draft ready for grading when we come back from the long weekend. Read for 20 minutes twice over the weekend.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Freshmen:
Today we began writing the argument essay and used some templates from They Say I Say. Continue working on your argument essays. Read for 20 minutes as well.
Sophomores:
Today we focused on the concept of the monomyth. See http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/. Finish reading Hamlet for the next block period, have five notes per act, and conclude your 3EJ finished as well. Due Friday is Chapter 15 vocabulary.
CNF:
Today we finished the film Waiting For Superman and wrapped up our last day of reading Three Cups of Tea. We will talk about it tomorrow and begin Batman and Philosophy next week.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sophomores:
Today we listened to "Act V" from This American Life. Complete Acts IV and V of Hamlet for next week's block, have 5 notes per act, and complete your 3EJ.
CNF:
Today we viewed Waiting For Superman, tying together the notion of education in all aspects of what we have read and watched.
Freshmen:
Today we read several argument essays as a way to get inside the genre. Read for 20 minutes and bring your research and any parts of a draft you may have for tomorrow's class.
Monday, May 21, 2012
CNF:
Today we read. We will wrap up Three Cups of Tea this week and move on to Batman and Philosophy next week.
Sophomores:
Today we focused on your soliloquies and had a short seminar. Complete Acts IV and V for next week's block period. You should have five notes per Act and complete your 3EJ.
Freshmen:
Today we reviewed lead types and looked at your research. We focused on two questions: In which order should your research appear, and where are you going to place your naysayer? Read for 20 minutes tonight and tomorrow and remember that vocab is due on the block day.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Sophomores:
Today we read an article by Harold Bloom about Hamlet and Shakespeare, and we had a seminar on Acts II and III. Act IV is due next block with five seminar notes. Due next Friday is vocabulary Chapter 15. Due for
CNF:
Today we watched The Beauty Academy of Kabul. Get a copy of Batman and Philosophy for next week.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Freshmen:
Today we focuses further on argumentative essays in order to help prepare you for the ones you are writing. Remember to read for 20 minutes, that vocab is due during next week's block, and that Monday you have to have seven facts on separate index cards with your source on them (see the previous post on the argument project).
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Sophomores:
Due Friday: Your soliloquy, Acts II and III with five notes each, and three triple entry journals.
Freshmen:
Today we began the argument project detailed on an earlier entry. Read for 20 minutes. Due for tomorrow is your thesis and a brainstorm of support for your argument. Due Monday is the research.
Freshman English Argument Project Requirements
You have been assigned a partner and a controversial issue. To successfully complete this project, you must...
1. Pick a side opposite that of your partner.
2. Brainstorm reasons that support the side you have chosen. You can do this even if you don’t agree with the side you have - part of being a good thinker is looking at both sides of an issue logically and without emotion. This is due 5/17 or 5/18.
3. You must gather seven facts that support your side of the issue. Note the following:
-The facts are due 5/21.
-The facts must come from three different sources.
-Your must have at least one each of the following forms of facts: statistics or numbers, an anecdote, and a quote.
-You must write down each fact separately on a 3x5 cards with the source listed on the back side.
-You must use The Opposing Viewpoints and Library Resource Center via the Judge website to help with some of this. Go to www.judgememorial.com. Click on the academics pull down menu and click on library. It is at the bottom.
-One of these facts must include a short interview with someone on your topic (5 questions minimum).
4. You must craft a clear thesis stated early in the essay.
5. You must use one of the lead and conclusion techniques we studied. Go to bairdenglish.blogspot.com to find these if you need to review. Your header must have the lead and conclusion techniques used.
6. You must cite at least three of their sources using the templates in “They Say, I Say”, citing according to MLA method. You can also find examples of how to do this on the blog.
7. You must use a bibliography as a separate page in your essay (use www.easybib.com).
8. The essay should be a minimum of eight paragraphs and use a one sentence paragraph at some place in the essay. There should be no charts, graphs, or pictures in the essay.
9. The essay must use at least two of the rhetorical devices studied this year: compare and contrast, cause and effect, narration, or definition. Use Models for Writers to review.
10. Somewhere in the essay, you must “plant a naysayer.” See They Say I Say for more details, but essentially you are putting in a counter-argument to your thesis and addressing it in your essay.
11. The essay should have an interesting title that is formatted correctly.
12. After the essay is completed, you will engage in a short debate on your topic. More details will follow, but what I am essentially going to ask you to do is to summarize your argument in a two-minute speech. After both you and your partner give your speech, you will each be provided a one-minute rebuttal, where you can respond to whatever your partner has said.
13. Bring your materials to class as we will write the essays in class 5/24 and 5/25. The finished (typed) essays are due on 5/29 or 5/30; the debates will begin this day as well.
1. Pick a side opposite that of your partner.
2. Brainstorm reasons that support the side you have chosen. You can do this even if you don’t agree with the side you have - part of being a good thinker is looking at both sides of an issue logically and without emotion. This is due 5/17 or 5/18.
3. You must gather seven facts that support your side of the issue. Note the following:
-The facts are due 5/21.
-The facts must come from three different sources.
-Your must have at least one each of the following forms of facts: statistics or numbers, an anecdote, and a quote.
-You must write down each fact separately on a 3x5 cards with the source listed on the back side.
-You must use The Opposing Viewpoints and Library Resource Center via the Judge website to help with some of this. Go to www.judgememorial.com. Click on the academics pull down menu and click on library. It is at the bottom.
-One of these facts must include a short interview with someone on your topic (5 questions minimum).
4. You must craft a clear thesis stated early in the essay.
5. You must use one of the lead and conclusion techniques we studied. Go to bairdenglish.blogspot.com to find these if you need to review. Your header must have the lead and conclusion techniques used.
6. You must cite at least three of their sources using the templates in “They Say, I Say”, citing according to MLA method. You can also find examples of how to do this on the blog.
7. You must use a bibliography as a separate page in your essay (use www.easybib.com).
8. The essay should be a minimum of eight paragraphs and use a one sentence paragraph at some place in the essay. There should be no charts, graphs, or pictures in the essay.
9. The essay must use at least two of the rhetorical devices studied this year: compare and contrast, cause and effect, narration, or definition. Use Models for Writers to review.
10. Somewhere in the essay, you must “plant a naysayer.” See They Say I Say for more details, but essentially you are putting in a counter-argument to your thesis and addressing it in your essay.
11. The essay should have an interesting title that is formatted correctly.
12. After the essay is completed, you will engage in a short debate on your topic. More details will follow, but what I am essentially going to ask you to do is to summarize your argument in a two-minute speech. After both you and your partner give your speech, you will each be provided a one-minute rebuttal, where you can respond to whatever your partner has said.
13. Bring your materials to class as we will write the essays in class 5/24 and 5/25. The finished (typed) essays are due on 5/29 or 5/30; the debates will begin this day as well.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sophomores:
To write Hamlet's soliloquy from another point of view or not, that is the question. Actually, there's no question about it - that's what you have to do. The real question is from who's point of view will you write it? Talk with your partner and we'll complete it in class tomorrow. Also, Acts II and III with five seminar notes each are due Friday, as are at least three entries in your Triple Entry Journal.
CNF:
We read; I recommend salon.com's article on Three Cups of Tea for another perspective on the issues surrounding the text.
Freshmen:
Today we focused on haibun, a form of essay that incorporates haiku. Your task is to take the essays you wrote yesterday, and add at least three haiku at various points in the essay. Google examples if you need to see more than what I showed you today. Your typed version is due tomorrow. Vocabulary has been moved up to next week's block period rather than next Friday.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Sophomores:
Today we focused on Polonius and some of the facts you learned about your particular archetype. Read 3.1 from Hamlet for homework.
Freshmen:
Today we took the vocab exam and talked about about the concept of haibun writing. We will address it more next week. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes this weekend.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
CNF:
Today we watched the documentary Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden and answered questions about its intersection with Three Cups of Tea.
Sophomores:
Today our focus was on archetypes. You took a quiz to see which archetype you identify with most strongly. Your task is to research three facts about your archetype and bring it to class on Thursday. Vocab is due on Thursday as well. Act II is due on Friday.
Freshmen:
Today our focus was on haiku and its master, Basho. Your homework is to write seven poems for Thursday that adhere to the guidelines we laid out in class about the form. Read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday; vocab is due Friday.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Sophomores:
Today we had a seminar on Act I. Act II is due on Thursday with an other 3EJ and five seminar notes.
Freshmen:
Today we focused on a poem by Li-Young Lee called "The Gift" (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171752). The idea is to write a poem that thanks an adult (either implicitly or explicitly) for a gift they gave you (be it tangible or intangible). There are several aspects of Lee's poem that you might imitate: his use of story, symbol, and figurative language, just to name a few. Perhaps you might write something for your mother or father for either Mother's or Father's Day, though you don't have to write it for a parent. The poem is due next period. Read for 20 minutes on Monday and Tuesday night; vocab is due on Friday.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Freshmen:
Today we looked at another one of William Carlos Williams's poems, "The Locust Tree in Flower." Try your hand at three of these, perhaps one about a person, one about a place, and one about a thing. The idea is a short, disjointed poem that uses clear, precise language. They are due Monday. Read for 20 minutes and don't forget about vocab.
Sophomores:
Our primary focus was on the Hero Catch-Phrase Project (and yes, it is May the Fourth today). Finish Act I of Hamlet, with one 3EJ and five seminar notes for Monday.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
CNF:
We began reading Three Cups of Tea. The goal is to have half the book finished with a dozen notes for seminar for next Friday's class.
Sophomores:
Today we began listening to an audio version of Hamlet. I also introduced something called a Triple Entry Journal. You should finish Act I, have five seminar notes, and at least one Triple Entry Journal entry done for Monday's seminar.
Freshmen:
Today we returned to William Carlos Williams and wrote some poems modeled after his poem "This is Just to Say." The idea is to write a poem apologizing for something that you're not really sorry for, and using vivid language to describe that thing for which you are apologizing. You should have three poems like this for Friday's class period. Remember to read for 20 minutes each night.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
CNF:
Today we talked about some of the issues and controversies surrounding Three Cups of Tea. We'll start reading it tomorrow.
Freshmen:
Today we focused on Wallace Steven's "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." The idea is to write a "ways" poem, a poem where you focus on a single thing and view it in a number of different, interesting - and even strange - ways. You are to write your own "ways" poem and bring it to class on Thursday.
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