HONORS ENGLISH BOOK REPORTS DUE MONDAY

Outside Reading Books (NOT The Chosen) need a creative project found  here: http://jillian.phippen.googlepages.com/seethispageforcreativeprojects

See you Monday!

Extra Credit Book Report Presentations

For each presentation students
1. Told the title of the book (5 points)
2. Told the author of the book (5 points)
3. Explained why they chose the book (5 points)
4. In a full sentence, they explained the theme of the book (20 points)
5. Explicated (played and explained) the theme song (15 points)
6. Show your 3 symbolic items and explain them (20 points)
7. Are you recommending your book? Why or why not? (5 points)
8. Is it OBVIOUS the student READ the whole book? (15 points)
9. Do they have good quotes? (10 points)

Total = 100 points

Other directions here: http://phippenenglish.blogspot.com/2009/10/better-directions-for-book-reports.html

Better Directions for the Book Reports

Bring your THEME SONG
Use QUOTES whenever possible
3 OBJECTS that are symbolic

1. Your theme song should relate to the message of the book. Use quotes to show the relationship of your theme to plot and characters and symbols. Show how your book taught the lesson.

2. The 3 objects should represent your book. It could represent characters, setting, or theme. Use a quote for each object that explains how the object symbolizes the setting, character, symbol, event, conflict, plot.
3. Strive for a minimum of 5 quotes.

You will be graded on having 3 items, how well they symbolize the or express the theme of your book, how accurate you are with the theme of the  book, and how well you support your theme song/book theme.

Thursday: Binary Oppositon & The Chosen

I handed out "Handout 10" and "Handout 12" both dealing with binary opposition and themes in The Chosen.


One was about "Changing Views" and one was about "Intellectual Freedom." We also had a class discussion after the quiz where we discussed chapter summaries & important elements in the reading.


Today's quiz was about critically reading the text. We do get caught up in plot, characters, etc. that we miss theme and symbolism. You should also have a sense/feel for binary opposition (again). We often call this in literature: Parallelism.


See here on the website: http://phippen.english.googlepages.com/binaryoppositioninthechosen

Wednesday, English 10

Today we reviewed nemesis, protagonist, antagonist, static and dynamic characters. You wrote about the characters in your book (3 paragraphs, 200 words).

We reviewed the directions for your book report: http://phippen.english.googlepages.com/symbolismbookreports

Your theme song MUST HAVE WORDS and must share the message and tone of your book.

We reviewed the calendar, ARC, and extra credit (available here: http://jillian.phippen.googlepages.com/extracreditopportunities ).

Tuesday, English 10 (Co-taught)

To start class, we discussed the calendar and coming events. We talked about ARC and Fall Break.

Book Reports are on Monday, October 12th. Students need to bring a
THEME SONG and
THREE OBJECTS that are representative of the book (3 symbols)

We talked about chronological order and color symbolism in their books, and then they wrote a journal write where they wrote about everything they knew about 3 of their important characters.

Tuesday, Honors English 10

Today in class, there was a group quiz.
1   Reuven's house vs Danny's House: why are they so alike? What are their differences?
2   Jewish History--why did this get included?
3   Solomon Maimon: Why is he included? Why does he matter? What do you know about him?
4   Rebbe Saunders: What do you know? Look at pages 116, 117, 124.
5   What are the BIG ISSUES in the book? What are the items of worry, stress, problem, conflict?
6   What is the book saying about "Being perfect" and "Chosen"so far?

Book Reports due 10/12:    http://jillian.phippen.googlepages.com/honorsoutsidereadingrequirements

Creative Projects: http://jillian.phippen.googlepages.com/seethispageforcreativeprojects

The Chosen reading assignments here: http://phippen.english.googlepages.com/hasidismandthechosen

Friday, English 10

Today in class we had a quiz. It was on theme. Students needed to define theme, identify the theme in their book, and then write about a common cliche or aphorism (motto) that was similar to their book. Then they needed to identify: 1. Why they thought the author wrote the book (what was the lesson or message their author wanted to share?) 2. They needed to identify 3 specific times the book seemed to point out that message.

We talked about SYMBOLISM today in class. We discussed that symbolism is when an object (noun: person, place, thing) symbolizes another thing (person, place, concept). Money is a symbol (it's all the same size, shape and color---but some is worth more than others). We looked at the cover of Twilight and discussed the apple. Other "controllable" items in a book can be symbolic: weather, setting, character names, color.

We used the song "Something in Red" and discussed color symbolism.

Honors English, Thursday

DUE: Handed in your Thought Exercise on Book One of The Chosen. Then, we discussed theme. Theme is a subject + an opinion expressed. It's a complete idea.

Quiz on Book One: Choose a central theme from book one of The Chosen. Write a good paragraph (8 sentences, Topic Sentence, Concrete Detail, Commentary, Commentary, Concrete Detail, Commentary, Commentary, Concluding Sentence) that explains/explicates/analyzes that theme. Try to choose a different theme or concept than one you may have used in your thought exercise.

Homework for next time: Read chapters 5, 6, and 7 (to page 148). Think about Rebbe Saunders (Danny's dad) and contrast him and the Hasidic life to what you see in Reuven's life. They are parallel, but are they the same? How would they be different?

Pick out 5 interesting ideas or concepts. Bring the quotes, and write good questions about them to share in group discussion. You don't need to write a thought exercise for this class period, but you will use these questions to write an essay later, so make sure you have good quotes you can use later so you don't have to re-read this section.

Frequently Asked Questions about Hasidism http://annettelaselle.com/2008/09/20/hasidic-ultra-conservative-jewish-customs.aspx

Lubovitcher Hasidim, however, do not wear payos, except for the young boys until the beard grows in. And some non-Hasidic Orthodox wear them also, including many Sephardic and Yemenite Jews. In fact, the website of Ohr Sameach (a non-Hasidic Orthodox org) even has instructions for how to curl your payos properly. So you really can't tell if someone is a Hasid based on whether or not he has payos.

Judaism 101 (Judaism FAQ's) here: http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm

Keeping Kosher ideas here: http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm
Donin also points out that the laws of kashrut elevate the simple act of eating into a religious ritual. The Jewish dinner table is often compared to the Temple altar in rabbinic literature. A Jew who observes the laws of kashrut cannot eat a meal without being reminded of the fact that he is a Jew.

General Rules

Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules:

1. Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.
2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
3. All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
4. Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
5. Fruits and vegetables are permitted, but must be inspected for bugs
6. Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).
7. Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.
8. Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.
9. There are a few other rules that are not universal.

Separation of Meat and Dairy

On three separate occasions, the Torah tells us not to "boil a kid in its mother's milk." (Ex. 23:19; Ex. 34:26; Deut. 14:21). The Oral Torah explains that this passage prohibits eating meat and dairy together. The rabbis extended this prohibition to include not eating milk and poultry together. In addition, the Talmud prohibits cooking meat and fish together or serving them on the same plates, because it is considered to be unhealthy. It is, however, permissible to eat fish and dairy together, and it is quite common (lox and cream cheese, for example). It is also permissible to eat dairy and eggs together.

This separation includes not only the foods themselves, but the utensils, pots and pans with which they are cooked, the plates and flatware from which they are eaten, the dishwashers or dishpans in which they are cleaned, and the towels on which they are dried. A kosher household will have at least two sets of pots, pans and dishes: one for meat and one for dairy. See Utensils below for more details.

One must wait a significant amount of time between eating meat and dairy. Opinions differ, and vary from three to six hours. This is because fatty residues and meat particles tend to cling to the mouth. From dairy to meat, however, one need only rinse one's mouth and eat a neutral solid like bread, unless the dairy product in question is also of a type that tends to stick in the mouth.

Notes on Yiddish: http://www.jewfaq.org/yiddish.htm

English 10, Wednesday

We started class with a quiz on static/dynamic (round/flat) characters. The quiz was worth 20 points and was on a separate sheet of paper.

We then discussed THEME and TONE. Theme is a combination of a subject plus the author's opinion or bias. Theme is a complete sentence or idea.  It expresses a whole idea, not just a subject or a single noun.

THEME: Subject + Opinion (bias) of the author.
TONE: Emotion/Tone/Voice/Word Choice.

More notes about theme: http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/read/theme1.html.

Finding the Theme
Here are some ways to uncover the theme in a story: Check out the title. Sometimes it tells you a lot about the theme.
Notice repeating patterns and symbols. Sometimes these lead you to the theme.
What allusions are made throughout the story?
What are the details and particulars in the story? What greater meaning may they have?
Remember that theme, plot, and structure are inseparable, all helping to inform and reflect back on each other. Also, be aware that a theme we determine from a story never completely explains the story. It is simply one of the elements that make up the whole.