Wednesday, May 31

Today we read two chapters from Tuesdays With Morrie. The topics under discussion were marriage and our culture. If you were absent, please read these chapters - there's a link to a PDF version of the text on a previous post. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes and prepare for the semester final.

A few periods also had questions about the final exam. One had to do with the various techniques we learned this year regarding how to set up a quote or textual evidence. Here are some examples of the three techniques we learned this year:

1. Blended or embedded citation:

In Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom recounts how Morrie once stopped students from chanting at a basketball game by asking “What’s wrong with being number two?” (159).

2. Use a comma and a verb:

In Tuesdays With Morrie, when Mitch Albom asks Morrie what he thinks about marriage, Morrie replies, “Personally, if you don’t try it, I think you’re missing a hell of a lot” (148).

3. Use a colon after a complete sentence:

Mitch Albom describes his book, Tuesdays With Morrie, as the final thesis he completes with his old professor: “Dying man talks to younger man. Tells him what he needs to know” (127).

Tuesday, May 30

Today, we read more chapters from Tuesdays With Morrie, a link to a PDF of which can be found on a previous post. We read the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Tuesdays and discussed topics ranging from money to aging. Read these chapters if you were absent. Read for 20 minutes for homework and prepare for your final. A study guide is on the blog and was sent out via a Canvas announcement.

Friday, May 26

Today we read pages 90-114 in Tuesdays With Morrie. You can find a link to a PDF on an earlier post. We also watched a Ted Talk that Mitch Albom gave, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr0COGuAA4U

Read for 20 minutes this weekend and start preparing for the trimester final.

Freshman English 9B Trimester 3 Final Exam Study Guide

The final exam is comprised of two parts. The first part is 42 questions long and will count for 126 points (3 points per question). These are the topics that you should study in preparation for the first part of the exam:
1. Introduction techniques.
2. Conclusion techniques.
3. The four parts of the introductory paragraph.
4. Thesis statements.
5. Body paragraphs.
6. Lead-in, or setup, techniques for textual evidence.
7. Sonnets.
8. Various language tricks, such as simile, metaphor, and personification.
9. A couple of things about Shakespeare, Bloom, and Campbell.

The second part of the exam is worth 74 points and takes the form of an essay. The prompt is listed below. You are allowed to have notes related to the essay exam only. The notes cannot exceed one side of one sheet of paper. These notes can take the form of an outline, quotes you want to use, and so on. However, it cannot be a rough draft - it can be notes, only. Your draft must be written during the exam period. Here's the prompt:

Essay Exam: Think about the books you’ve read this year, particularly To Kill a Mockingbird, Tuesdays With Morrie, and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, although you should consider the books you read independently as well. Think about some of the heroes in these stories - Atticus, Juliet, Morrie Schwartz, and Scout, among others. Consider Joseph Campbell’s assertion that the pedagogical function of myth is to teach us how to live a decent human life. In an essay, explain what you learned about life through the books you read this year. The essay is worth 74 points and should include the following components:

-An introduction and conclusion technique that we studied this year that is listed in your header: 24 points.

-An interesting title: 5 points.

-Be legible and easy to read: 10 points.

-A clear thesis that addresses the prompt: 10 points.

-Evidence and examples, from the books you read and your own life, that support your thesis: 25 points.

Thursday, May 25

Today, we watched the second of the three Nightline interviews Morrie did with Ted Koppel. It can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBaYzwB86Q8&t=1227s We watched from the 21:18 minute mark up until about the 40:00 minute mark. We also read pages 69-89, when includes the chapters "The AudioVisual, Part II", "The Professor", and "The Fourth Tuesday." A link to a PDF and audio version of the book can be found on an earlier post.

Wednesday, May 24

Today we read three chapters from Tuesdays With Morrie - pages 48-68, which covers their first three Tuesday conversations. We wrote and talked about those subjects. You can find a PDF link to the book on a previous post. Please read those chapters if you were absent. We also had a presentation from the counselors. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes.

Monday, May 22 and Tuesday, May 23

Monday, we began reading Tuesdays With Morrie. We read everything through "The Audio-Visual Part I" (pages 1-25 in our book). If you are ever absent, you can find a PDF version of the text here: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=cmVnaW9uLTEyLm9yZ3xyb2JpbnNvbmF8Z3g6Njc5YTIwNzFmYzkyMTliYQ

Tuesday, we read everything through "Taking Attendance." We also watched the interview Morrie did with Koppel, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBaYzwB86Q8

We watched the first 20 minutes on Tuesday.

If you were absent either or both of these days, complete those activities. If you were present, your only homework is to read for 20 minutes.

Friday, May 19

Today we concluded our final day of SAGE testing, and those of you who finished read an essay about Romeo and Juliet titled "A Modern Perspective" and wrote a letter to your future self, three years down the timeline from where we currently sit. The subject of the letter to yourself was what kind of person you want to be, who you want to become, three years from now.

Thursday, May 18

We continued with the SAGE test today; read for 20 minutes at home tonight.

Wednesday, May 17

We continued to work on the SAGE exam. Keep reading at home every night.

Monday, May 15

Today we took our first SAGE test. Read for 20 minutes for homework tonight.

Friday, May 12

Today our focus was on who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet's death, and on the things we can learn about life from the play. Read for 20 minutes this weekend and prepare for SAGE next week.

Thursday, May 11

Today, we discussed further who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet's death. In addition to reading 20 minutes tonight, finish your essay. It is due at the start of class tomorrow. Here are the instructions you were given:

Who Is Responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s Death

In a well-crafted three-to-five paragraph essay, argue for whom or what is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death. Your essay should have the following components:

1. A header that includes name, date, and introduction and conclusion techniques.
2. An introduction that fits one of the techniques we studied and provides context for the reader (title and author of text and brief summary of plot).
3. A clear thesis that states who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death.
4. Solid body paragraphs that prove your thesis using at least two pieces of textual evidence that are correctly set up and commented upon.
5. A conclusion that fits one of the techniques we studied this year and solidly wraps up your essay.
6. Adherence to standard form: Double space your essay, use standard spelling and punctuation, and write legibly.

Wednesday, May 10

Today we focused on Romeo's final speech and some of the language techniques that are used in it. We also focused on who is blamed, and accepts blame, for their deaths in the final 105 lines of the play. Read for 20 minutes tonight for homework.

Tuesday, May 9

Today we finished Act V of Romeo and Juliet and discussed the role Fate played in the Act, as well as in the play itself. Your annotated copy is due on Friday. Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Monday, May 8

Today we finished the film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and will finish the text of the play this week. Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Friday, May 5

Today we focused on concepts like fear, decisions, and balancing our obligations to others and society with our own personal wishes. We read the rest of Act IV, which you should do if you were absent, and you should read for 20 minutes for homework this weekend.

Thursday, May 4

Happy Star Wars Day to everyone out there in the galaxy.

Today we focused on a close reading of our recently-completed reading of Act III - particularly focusing on the Nurse's advice to Juliet - and began Act IV, focusing on subtext. We read 4.1 today in class and your homework is to read 4.2 along with your normal 20 minutes of reading.

Wednesday, May 3

Today we focused on 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5 and focused on a few important questions:
-What do we learn about Romeo's world view?
-Why is Juliet's father so outraged by her refusal to marry Paris?
-Is the Nurse's advice to Juliet good or bad? What is the role of a friend in a time like this?

Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Tuesday, May 2

Today our focus was on doing a close reading of 3.1 and 3.2 and exploring ideas like anger, word play, and the connotations and denotations of the word "night." Please finish reading 3.2, fill out the packet page for 3.2, and read for 20 minutes tonight.

Monday, May 1

Today our focus was on finishing the essay by Harold Bloom about Romeo and Juliet and finishing the film version we have been studying. Read for 20 minutes tonight, and we will finish reading the play over the next week or so.