Extra Credit for Honors English 10

Join me after school in the Little Theater to watch the documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. There is a viewing guide here. All sophomore honors English 10 students are invited to attend. There is no cost involved... just come to learn more about Hasidism and perhaps understand why someone who is an Orthodox Jew could still be considered "Apikorsim." Leonard Nemoy (Spock, from Star Trek) narrates.

See you there!

Tuesday, Honors English 10

Today we had a quiz with 31 questions (22 points, 9 bonus points). We discussed Binary Analysis and Binary Opposition in the The Chosen.

Homework:  (1) Read chapters 3-4 of The Chosen. (2) Choose five insightful, meaningful, or otherwise significant quotations, copy and cite them (author page). (3) Choose one and compose a good Thought Exercise (TE1) (don't forget to compose an interpetive or evaluative question).

Monday, English 10

Today we had a quiz on genre (35 questions) on a Scantron sheet. 23 questions True/False, and 12 questions multiple choice.

We discussed static versus dynamic characters (flat/round; antagonist/protagonist). Listened to a song and next time there will be a quiz on another song that has flat/round characteristics.

Forster, in Aspects of the Novel (1927): the novelist has difficulties enough, and today we shall examine two of his devices for solving them--instinctive devices...the first device is the use of different kinds of characters. The second is connected with the point of view.

I. We may divide characters into flat and round. Flat characters were called "humours" in the seventeenth century, and are sometimes called types, and sometimes caricatures. In their purest form, they are constructed round a single idea or quality; when there is more than one factor in them, we get the beginning of the curve towards the round....

....the test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises, it is flat. It if does not convince, it is a flat pretending to be round. It has the incalculability of life about it....All of us, even the sophisticated, yearn for permanence, and to the unsophisticated permanence is the chief excuse for a work of rt. We all want books to endure, to be refuges, and their inhabitants to be always the same, and flat characters tend to justify themselves on this account." http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/evolit/s07/dayo15.html

TGIF, Honors English 10

Discussed Allegory of "The Trees" compared to "Allegory of the Cave." Talked about irony and meanings of "hatchet, axe & saw."

Received copies of The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Got gold glossary sheet. Read chapter 1 to page 6.


Homework: Read Chapters 1 & 2; create a "T" chart of Reuven and Danny (Get it? T chart for Homecoming weekend...?)


T chart DUE NEXT TIME. Quiz on Chapters 1 & 2, to page 53 in the book. There will be questions about the setting and characters.

Friday, English 10

Took the Genre Test in B4. Average grade? 29/35 or 90%.

Honors English, Wednesday

Today is Parent/Teacher Conference after school from 3 until 9pm in the main gym,

No homework due today. Homework for next time: Do a second thought exercise on your book. See the link here: http://jillian.phippen.googlepages.com/thoughtexercises


In class, we had an exam. It was on "Allegory of the Trees" and included a 20 point essay, 6 points for symbolism, and 15 points for a Venn Diagram. Then we listened to "Trees" by Rush and discussed tone and theme and how tone affects the way we think about the theme of a piece. We discussed that lyrics are still meaningful even when we reject the author (Death of the Author).

We did the "Tip of the Iceberg" activity where we discussed "keys" (applicable to trees+ power, knowledge = light), and pens/pencils being the "sum total of written human experience." Great photo to illustrate the concept. Photo called "The Essence of Imagination" by Ralph A. Clevenger. Copyright 1999.

Tuesday, Sophomore English

Homework Due: Character Poster

Presentations done in class worth 25 points.


Handed back all graded work to created portfolios for Parent/Teacher Conference tomorrow.

Monday, Honors English

Reviewed for the comparison/contrast test on "Allegory of the Cave." Mrs. Phippen was sick.

Test next time.

Friday, English 10

Homework: Study genres for TEST next time! You will NOT be able to use your notes. Test for A Days: Tuesday, 9/22; B Days: Wednesday, 9/23. 

DUE: Your character quotes and project.

Presentation directions:
1. Stand and show us your project.
2. Read us your quotes, one at a time, and then explain each image.
3. Why did you choose this image for this quote?
4. Why did you choose this format for the the project?
5. What did you learn about your character from this assignment?

Honors English, Thursday 9/17

Homework: Make sure you have your "Allegory of the Cave," notes, etc. with you in class next time.

1. We discussed that tomorrow (Friday, 9/18) is midterm. Students should have turned in "Did I Miss Anything?" (binary opposition exercise) and all writing done in class. Still to be entered into grades: "Did I Miss Anything?"  (20 points), "Learning Resistances" (20 points),  Presentations of "Allegory of the Cave" (50 points), Thought Exercise #1 on the Home Reading book (20 points), and discussion paragraph on the Thought Exercise (5 points).

2. Thought Exercise "share" with one or two other classmates. Then write a paragraph that:
1. Evaluates your thesis (topic sentence) and your partner's ideas
2. Why you included your specific details/facts
3. How you did your format, and could it be improved?

3. Discussed symbols and big ideas in "Allegory of the Cave" and handed out note sheets they can use on the comparison/contrast test next Wednesday, 9/23.

Wednesday, English 10: Mystery Novels!

HOMEWORK for NEXT TIME: Using your outside reading book, and the 10 Post-in Notes with quotes and details about your character, create a visual project to help us see your character. Use pictures, quotes, and details to show your character. You need to have at least 10. This can be a poster, collage, mobile, etc.

Wednesday A2 and A4 (Thursday for B4) first reviewed what was on the website and compared in-class notes with the notes online.

Second, we finished the genre flip chart covering types of mystery detectives and mystery rules. Please see this link for all the genre notes.

Third, we discussed Dan Brown and his new, run-away success and his other books as "industry standard." We also looked at www.amazon.com at Mary Higgins Clark and other authors that people who read MHC read.

Mystery Notes
There are 6 kinds of detectives:
1. The amateur detective (examples: Nancy Drew, Scooby Doo.) These are ALTRUISTIC detectives who are solving crimes because "it's the right thing to do." 

2. The Neighborhood Detective (example: Murder She Wrote, Encyclopedia Brown.) This detective solves crimes in their town as a benefit to the town. These are often amateurs and are doing it to benefit the people they live with. They take place in a specific area, have a local sheriff, and local characters---like pastor/religious leader.

3. The Private Investigator.(Examples, Magnum, P.I., Sue Graftons's Kinsey Milhone, Psych.) These detectives solve crimes they are paid to investigate. This is their job, but they could quit at any time because they are motivated by money. It's not the same as a police investigation, but the private investigator is often a former policeman or someone involved with law enforcement.

4. The "Law and Order" Detective (Examples: CSI, NCIS, Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club.) These are detectives with titles (like doctor, Detective, Inspector, Crime Scene Investigator, Special Agent). They investigate crimes because "That's my job!" to uphold the law and bring criminals to "justice." They are motivated by right and wrong, legal definitions, and often led by science.

5. The SPY (Examples: Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider, Jason Bourne from The Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible) These detectives are discovering mysteries and solving crimes that are world-wide and involve the lives and issues of entire countries. They have gadgets and rules that are above and beyond normal standards.

6. The Personal Detective (Examples: Mary Higgins Clark characters, Dan Brown's Robert Langdon, romance-mysteries) This detective is motivated by life-and-death situations where he/she MUST solve the crime to stay alive. The initial murder being investigated is personal (a loved family member or close friend) and "it's personal" and they are on a "quest" to solve an unsolved murder the police haven't been able to solve.

Satisfying mysteries follow these 6 rules

Rule ONE: (clues) All the clues MUST be in the book. No clues are left out and suddenly appear at the end of the book. We want a chance to evaluate the evidence.

Rule TWO: (crime) The crime must be significant and we must care about it to want to solve it.

Rule THREE: (criminal) The actual criminal must be introduced early into the book. While we may not know his name, we know things about him.

Rule FOUR: (detective) The detective must WORK at solving the crime. It can't be too easy or we feel cheated.

Rule FIVE: (suspects) There must be a defined list of suspects, and the actual criminal must be among them--or connected to the list.

Rule SIX: (non-sequitur) All the clues must make sense at the ending. There should be no random pieces of information (no red-herrings).

At the end, the mystery MUST be solved.

Most mysteries start "in media res" which is Latin for "in the middle" of the story.

Notes on Drama as a Genre

The "Drama" or "Problem" Novel

A strong, interesting, believable plot that centers around a problem a young person might actually experience.
Transports the reader into another person's life and problems/issues.
The characters are round (dynamic) and have a balance of good and bad qualities or characteristics.
The issue (problem) adds to the the story (moves the story along/is central to the plot).
The story, issue, author leaves the reader with something to deeply consider, think about or ponder.
The story should be smooth and it should have mass, wide, or large appeal so that it speaks to a broad audience.
There should be time so that the reader has to think.
Dramas have conflict.
They have a resolution at the end, not a happy ending.
There are 2 main characters, an antagonist (against change) and a protagonist (wants change).
These are not "good guys" or "bad guys." They are simply working at an issue from different perspectives.

Tuesday, "Allegory of the Cave" Presentations Honors English 10

Today in class we discussed that MIDTERM is this Friday and that Parent Teacher Conference is next Wednesday.

Homework for next time: Thought Exercise. See sample here. The assignment is explained here. Mr. Nagro also has a sample here.


Then, the class did presentations on their group's page of "Allegory of the Cave." Each group was graded on this scale (50 points total):

• Covering the page of "Allegory of the Cave." Did you summarize? Did you share insights?
• Was your presentation interesting and informative?
• Did you share and teach the concepts from your page of "Allegory of the Cave"?
• Did you answer all the questions given in class for your page?
• Was everyone in your group part of the presentation?

Then, after the presentations, students wrote a Schaffer Model paragraph on "Out of the Cave" in preparation for the first "Thought Exercise" on their outside home reading. Here's Mr. Nagro's "Essay Template" which was handed out (in a slightly different format) in class.

Sign up for Twitter if you want reminder text messages sent to your phone. Set your profile to private if you don't want strangers to "follow" you. You will be following me; I won't be following you.

Monday, English 10

We discussed genre and expectations. Notes on Romance, Fantasy, Drama, and Science Fiction to follow:

Romance

1. A "romance" must, by definition end happily.

2. Most romance novels have a girl as the main character.

3. Romance books are often formulaic which means they follow a pattern and are predictable.

4. There must be an ordeal or a problem and the right couple must end up together.

5. The book often ends with a wedding and the ultimate connection: a baby/child.

Fantasy Novels

1. There must be a quest (adventure) with a grand purpose.

2. There's a hero who's usually young and untrained in the beginning.

3. The purpose of the quest is to right a wrong or save the world.

4. There must be a battle of good vs. evil and good must win (If evil wins it's an anti-hero).

5. There's always a side-kick and his/her job is to help the hero.

6. There's usually a wise old man or guide (often a female oracle)

7. The hero must save the world but he or she may die in the process.

Science Fiction: http://www.underdown.org/sffantasy.htm

Science fiction must stick to natural laws. (Gravity, sound in space, etc. Time travel and faster-than-light are often ignored entirely, however.)

Laws must be clear and defined.

Most writers of science fiction are male.

Characters voyage in space. They must save the universe.

Science fiction is more action than science.

It always takes place in the future.

However, the problems are always current.

The target audience for science fiction is male, ages 15+

Science fiction sometimes combines with fantasy.

2 kinds of this are utopian and dystopian. Utopian means a perfect world. Dystopian means a messed-up world.

A movie with a utopia in it: Star Trek

A movie with a dystopia in it: City of Ember, The Matrix, Corraline

My Genre Notes

What is genre? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_genre

Why does genre matter? There are a specific set of rules for each type of fiction. Readers know what the rules are, based on their previous experience with that genre.

What is an "industry standard" in books? This is the book "every" book in the genre (target market/age/genre) wants to be. Ex: Twilight, Harry Potter, Eragon. Mary Higgins Clark.

When is a book a "best seller"? When it sells enough copies to make it to a list somewhere. Books can be regional "best sellers," too, but the preeminent list is the New York Times Bestseller List published every Sunday. HERE

How do I tell the "intended audience" for a book? "Read" the cover of the book. Look for color, shape, image/symbol, and the interior print of the book.

What does the Library of Congress do? See this link

What is the ISBN number for a book? These are very specific numbers for every book published internationally. They are different for different editions.

How do I figure out which copyright date to use? Always use the earliest copyright date for the text. It will say "text copyright (c) year"--and there are rules for how long the copyright is valid.

What is the symbol for copyright? See here

Where is the name of the publisher located? On the bottom of the title page, the Library of Congress page, and somewhere on the dust jacket (spine or back of book).

Why should I care who published my book? It determines paper, quality, length, and style of the book.

Why does it matter where the book was published? Location determines spelling, grammar, and punctuation. New York? US spelling & punctuation. Toronto? Canadian. London? British. Sydney? Australian. All different.

Friday, Honors English 10

Today in class, you got into groups of 4 or 5 and discussed individual pages of Allegory of the Cave. Each group got a separate page with questions. To complete the learning experience, each group will discuss the answers to their questions, and then teach their page to the class next time. Posters, answering the questions, will be hung in the hallway.

See last class period's blog entry for "Allegory of the Cave" study links.

Thursday, English 10

Homework DUE: Turn in your "Book Jacket Discovery" (25 points) assigned last time. Your www.Amazon.com reviews (10 points) should have been stapled to it.

We discussed the Twitter feed and that if you wanted to sign up for Twitter, you can set your own profile to PRIVATE. You will get "tweets" from people you are following, but no one can follow you without your permission.

My user ID for English 10 is: TimpPhippEng10

The Twitter feed also runs down the R side of the blog. You do NOT need to sign up for it.

We did talked about "Genre Rules" and finished the white page of the Genre Flip Book. Come see me in room 611 if you have lost yours.

I posted due dates for your home reading book: You should finish reading your book by 10/9/2009 (A Day), 10/12/2009 (B Day). That gives you 10 class periods to finish your book. Oral book reports will be on 10/13. If you will be gone for Fall Break, please make arrangements in advance of your holiday. Extra credit presentations will be on 10/9/2009 for A Day and 10/12/2009 for B Day.

Homework: Using Post-it Sticky Notes, mark references in your book that describe the characters in your book. You will keep track of these most of the way through the book. I'll let you know what to do with them next week (on Friday).

Vocabulary discussed today:

Pagination (rules: Left side always even; Right side always odd.)

Copyright, Trademark, Registered Trademark

In most of the world, the default length of copyright is the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years. In the United States, the term for most existing works is a fixed number of years after the date of creation or publication. In some countries (for example, the United States and the United Kingdom), copyrights expire at the end of the calendar year in question. Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 - extended terms to 95/120 years or life plus 70 years.

Anachronisms

Continuity

Wednesday, Honors English 10

Half-way through the week! YAY!

Homework for NEXT TIME: Finish reading Allegory of the Cave.

1. Today, you handed in your Learning Experience prompt (see prompt from last Friday). You were NOT given specifics (did it need to be typed, did you need to write a 5 paragraph essay). In class, we do a lot of pre-testing. This was a "test" (assessment) of what you write when you are simply told to "write."

2. We discussed 5 paragraph essays and how they are organized. (Triangle at the top, 3 squares, triangle at the bottom). We discussed that each essay would routinely be *about* 30 sentences. We looked at 2 ways of outlining the essay (one in graphic form, one in traditional outline form). This English department teaches the "Schaffer Model" and 5 paragraph essays as they build to clear writing. However, no teacher assumes that the "Schaffer Model" is the only way to write papers. It's just a basic framework.

I. Introduction

A. Grabber

B. Thesis

C. Transition

II. Topic Sentence

A. Concrete Detail

1. Commentary

2. Commentary

B. Concrete Detail

1. Commentary

2. Commentary

C. Transition

3. We discussed words that are syonyms of Concrete Detail:

Quote, specific , example, support, description, illustration, evidence, plot reference

4. We discussed words that are synonyms of Commentary:

Opinion, insight, analysis, personal response, relevance, application, explication, reflection

5. We started to read "Allegory of the Cave" and read all of page 1 and 1/2 of page 2 as a class. Your homework is to finish reading it on your own. Next time, you'll be in groups discussing "Allegory of the Cave."

Links:

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/greek/philosopher/myth_allegory_cave_plato.html

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html

http://platosallegory.com/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080328161144AA2GfjJ

Tuesday, English 10

In A2, we had the opportunity to watch President Obama speak to the children of the nation about the importance of education. Full text and video of the speech is located here. In English, specifically, we discussed the importance of word choice and audience.

The other items we covered today:

1. How to read a book by its cover. What goes on a book jacket? Here's an article that might interest you. We did NOT use it in class.

2. Here's a great article aboutdust jackets.

We did a journal write called "Book Jacket Discovery." Stop by to get your copy!! (I do not have a digital copy online).

I want to see your book and I want to see your www.amazon.com reviews of the books. Both are entered into the computer.

Happy reading! Write your journal write for next time.

TIGF, English 10 Honors

1. Mrs. Sloat discussed the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship. Sign-ups END on September 24, 2009. Cost is $15, and fee-waivers are available. (See Taunia Sloat in the counseling office: sloat786@alpine.k12.ut.us).

2. Discussed Outside Reading. Turned in 3x5 card with this information:

Your name, class period

Title of the book you chose.

Author of the book you chose.

What list/how did you choose this book?

What do you expect to gain/learn/get from reading this book? How will you use it?

3. Looked at website and blog.

Discussed Twitter feed.

4. Looked at writing prompt:

Learning Experiences and Resistances

Please use all of the time to write ¾ of a page or more about the topic. Choose one or more of the prompts below.

1. Try to think of a time when you learned something that was difficult for you to accept, but that eventually changed your perspective in a major way—a time when you felt like a veil had suddenly been lifted from your eyes and you now saw things clearly. Describe it. What did you think before, and what did you think after? How

did you acquire your new knowledge? How and why was it difficult for you to accept it? How would you feel about returning to your old way of thinking? Would remaining ignorant have been more blissful? After you learned it, did you feel any obligation to share your knowledge with others?

2. Why do people, generally, resist learning and accepting new ideas? How can we overcome our innate resistance to new ideas?

3. What obligations, if any, do we have for sharing our learning? Should we share our knowledge with others or should others share their knowledge with us? Or do we live in a competitive dog-eat-dog world where people should look out for themselves and we should let the ignorant waste away or work in wage-slavery? Is there a middle ground between those binary poles (entirely obligated/no obligation whatsoever)?

Homwork: Look at the blog. Click for the information and reading. Write your journal prompt. Read in your outside reading book.

Mrs. Phippen's Labor Day Weekend Goals: Grade everything; clean up the classroom clutter.

English 10, Thursday

1. First item discussed, the PSAT (a practice test for the ACT/SAT). Prepares you for taking the SAT.

2. Homework: Choose a reading book, at least 300 pages, on a high school reading level. Bring in with you next time the book and the reviews from Amazon.com.

3. Your journal writes about what you enjoy reading were handed back to you. Whenever possible, I tried to suggest books you might try reading. I tried to suggest them in levels: easy, "best selling," and harder reading.

Honors English, Wednesday

1. Listening QUIZ: "Galileo" by the Indigo Girls.

Focused on Critical vs. Casual Reading

Vocabulary word: Allusion allusion (a-LOO-zhuhn): a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/allusion.htm

Reviewed Death of the Author concepts

Discussed Theme as subject + opinion

2. We went over the requirements for choosing a book for outside reading: it should be something that they can use on the AP English exam OR something they will use again in college. See Mr. Nagro's list here. You may also choose to google a list. Try this search: AP English recommended reading list

3. We read "Did I Miss Anything" and discussed binary opposition. Another reference here: http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=122 or http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O56-binaryopposition.html

Homework: Pick your outside reading book.

English 10, Tuesday

What we did in class:

1. Writing Prompt: Evaluate your personal reading habits. Where do you usually read? What do you need when you read? (When, where, how, why) Paragraph #2: What do you read in an average week. List everything you can think of and evaluate what you read the most. Paragraph #3: What is your favorite book? What is your favorite movie? What is your favorite TV show?

2. Take notes for Genre Flip Book. We covered

What is genre?

Why does genre matter?

What is an "industry standard" in books?

When is a book a best-seller?

What does the Library of Congress do?

What is the ISBN# on the back of every book?

3. We went to the library for a library orientation activity.