Friday, February 24

English 9A: Today we finished To Kill a Mockingbird and discussed many of the motifs, symbols, and ideas in the text. Your annotated text and your Words of Wisdom assignment are due on Monday.

English 9B: Today we discussed soliloquy, the notion of fear, and read 4.3 and Romeo and Juliet. Read for 20 minutes this weekend.

Thursday, February 23

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we talked about journeys and quests, reading Chapter 1 from How to Read Literature Like a Professor (you can find this online). We then applied the concepts Foster addresses to To Kill a Mockingbird. You should be done with everything through page 357 for Friday's class.

English 9B (period 3): Today we focused on the Nurse's advice at the end of Act III and Juliet's response to her dilemma in 4.1 and 4.2. Read for 20 minutes as homework.

Wednesday, February 22

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we focused on the social hierarchy and class divisions of Maycomb, and read Chapters 25, 26, and 27. Make sure they are finished for Thursday's class.

English 9B (period 3): Today we focused on finishing both Act III and the film version of Romeo and Juliet. Read for 20 minutes for homework tonight.

Tuesday, February 21

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today our focus was on classism, racism, and violence in Maycomb as we see it in To Kill a Mockingbird. Read Chapter 24 (pages 304-318) for homework tonight. Also, I want you to consider what kinds of violence we see in this text, who the victims are, and what the violence might symbolize or stand for?

English 9B (period 3): Today our focus was on finishing Act III from Romeo and Juliet. If you missed class today, read 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5 for homework; otherwise, read for 20 minutes tonight.

Friday, February 17

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we focused on the themes revealed by various characters' words of wisdom in To Kill a Mockingbird. You should be through page 304 for Tuesday's class. Enjoy your long weekend.

English 9B (period 3): Today we focused on 3.2 from Romeo and Juliet; we also focused on the use of the word "night" in 3.2. Read for 20 minutes twice over the long weekend.

Thursday, February 16

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we read Chapters 21 and 22 from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, which you can find online if you were absent and applied the concepts to To Kill a Mockingbird. We also read Chapters 20 and 21 from Mockingbird. 

English 9B (period 3): Today we focused primarily on 3.1 from Romeo and Juliet. Read for 20 minutes for homework.

Wednesday, February 15

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we read through Chapter 19 today in To Kill a Mockingbird and completed some writing prompts. There is no homework tonight.

English 9B (period 3): Today we read an essay about Romeo and Juliet by Harold Bloom and then focused on the end of Act II and some of the language tricks Shakespeare used. Read for 20 minutes.

Friday, February 10

Freshmen 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we focused on getting a better understanding of some of the dynamics that will be at play during the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill a Mockingbird by watching the first 25 minutes of an episode of Eyes on the Prize that deals with the Emmit Till trial. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts10IVzUDVw&t=1531s. Read through page 192 for Monday's class.

Freshmen 9B (period 3): Today we finished taking the SAGE exam. Read for 20 minutes this weekend and we will resume with Romeo and Juliet on Monday.

Thursday, February 9

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we had several short discussions about various literary elements present in To Kill a Mockingbird. Read Chapters 12 and 13 tonight, finishing through page 179.

English 9B (period 3): Today we took the SAGE exam again and will complete it tomorrow. Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Wednesday, February 8

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we focused on the power of language and some of the words of wisdom we have come across in To Kill a Mockingbird. Your homework is to finish Part I for class tomorrow and start on the second part of the "Words of Wisdom" assignment I gave you. We also read the poem "The Courage That My Mother Had", which can be found here: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2013/03/09. Those of you that wish to write a poem about an attribute of your mother's that you admire may do so for up to 25 points extra credit.

English 9B (period 3): Today we continued with SAGE; read for 20 minutes for homework.

Monday, February 7

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we read Chapter 5 from How to Read Literature Like a Professor. If you were absent, please read it. It can be found here: http://ziveuniverzity.sk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Foster-How-to-Read-Literature-Like-a-Professor.pdf

We also read from To Kill a Mockingbird. Finish everything through Chapter 9 for Tuesday (everything through page 117).

English 9B (period 3): Today we took the SAGE test and will continue it through this week. Read for 20 minutes this week.

Thursday, February 2

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today we spent a little bit of time on characters. Remember to keep your character chart with you as you can add to it as we read and use it on any test or quiz we have. You need to read through chapter 8 for Monday (page 98). I am suggesting the following schedule: Thursday read 55-66, Friday read 67-78, Saturday read 79-90, and Sunday read 91-98.

English 9B (period 3): Today we focused a bit on grammar as a break from Shakespeare, and I'd like you to read for 20 minutes twice over the weekend.

Wednesday, February 1

English 9A (periods 1, 2, and 4): Today our focus was on what was happening at home and in the world during the 1930s so as to better understand the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. Read Chapter 4 for homework tonight and remember you can find a link to a PDF of the text on the blog and on Canvas. Your essay is due by midnight tonight.

English 9B (period 3): Today our focus was on doing a close reading of the lines of some characters from Romeo and Juliet and making inferences about what those lines reveal about the characters' attitudes about love. We also began a project of gathering "words of wisdom" from various characters in the text. Read for 20 minutes tonight.