Binary Opposition

Today we studied binary opposition which "according to Ferdinand de Saussure, the binary opposition is the 'means by which the units of language have value or meaning; each unit is defined against what it is not' ". . . Terms and concepts are related to positives or negatives, with no apparent latitude for deviation: i.e. Man/Woman, Black/White, Life/Death, Inside/Outside, Presence/Absence, and so on." Citation: Fogarty, Sorcha. "Binary Oppositions". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 February 2005 [http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=122, accessed 31 October 2011.]

We also looked at Joseph Wright of Derby's works here and specifically discussed THIS painting. We had an activity where we discussed specific binary opposites. See the links below this post for directions.

Activity Directions

Everyone gets 5 Post-It Notes.
You must reply on a SEPARATE poster.
1. How the items are DIFFERENT? Compare
2. Drawing (explain)
3. Quote/cliche (famous motto/saying)
4. Respond to something someone else said--but not ABOUT someone else.
5. Which one do you prefer? Why?
6. What else do they remind you of? Why?
7. What is more valuable? Why?
PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR POST-ITS

Binary Opposites

These are 2 different things that are usually complementary that compared together fill in blanks or create shades of meaning when looked at together.
Loser/champ
Hot/cold
North/south
Black/white
Nerd/jock
Yes/No
In/Out
Wrong/Right
Up/Down
Left/Right
Heaven/Hell
Male/Female
Angel/Devil
Light/Dark
Crypts (East) Blue/Bloods (West) Red
Cops/Robbers
Cowboys/Indians
Spaceman/Aliens

Honors English

Today you took a final exam on The Chosen. You also got a new seating arrangement. Next time we will have a final discussion on The Chosen and we will turn the book in.

Term 2 Rules for New Book

1. Non-fiction (can't be made up)
2. You can't have read it before
3. Autobiography
Biography (professional)
Autobiography (professionally ghostwritten)
Memoir (one event in someone's life)
YOU MAY NOT CHOOSE A BOOK THAT IS UNAUTHORIZED.
4. It should be of adult, substantial length. No junior, elementary biographies. At least 200-ish pages.
5. Your person needs to have changed the world in a positive way. Do not choose someone who's famous for drug use or infamous reasons.

Symbol Test FINAL Exam for ALL Sophomores

A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works (like a short story) a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning.
    Choose one of the short stories provided, figure out the main symbol, and write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work.  Write about what it reveals about the characters or themes of the story as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

 ❖ 

Quiz on The Chosen

Why did Potok introduce each of these authors in the book?
Approx pgs 80-81 Hemingway
Approx pgs 145-147 Graetz
What were we supposed to learn from Danny studying Freud?
How did it parallel his study of silence?
What was Danny supposed to learn from silence?
What are the pros of raising Danny in silence?
Does your group agree or disagree with the method?
How does Reuven feel about Rev Saunders?
How does your group feel about him?
How does it parallel how the author feels about him?
How is the book intended to change the way people view Hasidism?

What's happening this week?

10/24 Monday B Day Late Book Reports, Binary Opposition
10/25 Tuesday A Day Late Book Reports, Binary Opposition
10/26 Wednesday, B Day Final Exam
10/27 Thursday A Day Final Exam
10/28 Friday LAST DAY OF THE TERM. Grades sent to the district.

Book Report Afterthoughts

Now that you have finished your book reports, write about what you learned from your book.
What did you like best about your book?
What did you like least about your book?
What was the theme of your book?
Why do you think your book had literary merit?
Which of the projects you saw was most clever? Which was least clever? (took the least amount of work?)
What do you wish you had done differently about your own project? What are you most proud of?
Have you chosen your book for next quarter?

Here is a LINK to the book report page online.
Message in a Bottle SPECIFICALLY (link here)
Theme (Specific link here)

LAST Extra Credit FLEX this quarter

The last extra credit flex this quarter will be Simon and Garfunkle's "The Sound of Silence" HERE.

After that, you may still do the extra credit available by going to a play at the Hale Center Theater, a play at a high school, or reading an extra credit book. If you do see a play, you must write a play CRITIQUE (not a SUMMARY). You may do a book PROJECT, (see one of 50 listed on this blog).

Flex TUESDAY! The Lighthouse Tale

Lesson plan here
Symbolism in Nickel Creek's "The Lighthouse Tale"

Checklist for the book report

Here's a book report checklist
https://sites.google.com/site/jillianphippen/reading-unit/book-report-page

Symbolism? The Cowboy

Are you MISSING something?

Are you missing a book write? Here are the prompts again. 

The LAST DAY to turn in ANY WORK is OCTOBER 19th.

This is BEFORE Fall Break.

Flex lesson for Thursday

We'll be doing "Holding Out for a Hero" and here is the link to the lesson plan. Should you be able to access YouTube, THIS would be the preferred link (blocked at school.) This is the original 1984 video, angels and all. :) blast from the past.

What did we DO today?

In class today we reviewed:

• You have only ONE WEEK to finish your book! (OH my!)
• You must do all of the writing assignments. The state core is comprised of 4 components:
• reading (your chosen book)
• writing (your book writes)
• speaking (your book report)
• listening (what happens in class)
• If you HAVEN'T done your book writes, you have until OCTOBER 19th to do so. 

NO LATE WORK AFTER FALL BREAK!!!

• We will be in the writing lab on October 11th-14th to work on your presentations. You may use Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Presentations, or Prezi.com to work in. Please be aware that I am running MS PowerPoint 2007. Convert accordingly. Your presentation NEEDS TO PLAY on the book report day. I am taking you into the lab, giving you 2 lab dates, and I expect you to be ready to present.
• Then we had a Calvin and Hobbes prediction activity where you learned a prediction reading strategy.

Acceptable Use Policy Directions

AUP CONFIRMATION DIRECTIONS These directions are courtesy of Michael Nagro. Thank you SO MUCH!

Online directions for parents to give approval for computer and internet use at school

After October 19, any student who does not have on-line permission from a parent/guardian will not be allowed to use computers or the internet at school. The paper permission form is no longer valid. The following instructions will walk parents through the process.

• Log-on to Skyward using the parent log-in and password (not the student) then go to the“Register for 2011-2012” link on the left side.
• Click on the tab in the center of the screen that says, “Start registration for (student name).” Four steps will appear. These must be completed in sequence.
• Click on the checkbox at the end of each step and a green check mark will appear indicating that the step has been completed.
• Step 1 – Student information (review and change if needed), click the check box
• Step 2 – Ethnicity/Race (review and change if needed), click the check box·
• Step 3 – Student acceptable use form (2 parts)
• Click box 1 – “I have reviewed the acceptable use policy”
• Click box 2 – “I grant permission”
• Click the save box in the upper right corner
• Step 4 – Personal information media release form (review), click the check box
• Final step – hit the button in the center of the screen that says, “Complete registration for (student) for the 2011-2012 school year.” A purple button will appear in the upper right corner of the screen that says, “Complete Online Registration”. Hit that and you are done!

Flex: Lights by Journey

For flex we'll be discussing LIGHT (binary opposition) and setting, nostalgia, and friendship.
      How does all that work together in your book, in The Chosen, and in literature? Be ready for a group discussion with some great '80's ROCK. You'll be glad you came!


Plus... there's some "Le Bad Video" to critique! Whoo! Video killed the radio star.

Suddenly I See QUIZ

Her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm

Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)
Why the h*ll it means so much to me

I feel like walking the world
Like walking the world
You can hear she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember
What you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on her word

Chorus

And she's taller than most
And she's looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from a page in a magazine
Oh she makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see

Chorus

Book Report Power Point

The Utah State Core says that student will speak, listen, and develop skills for life after high school. That means that you DO need to give this power point. No, you may not choose to do "something else" even if this is "hard." Everyone is doing a presentation.
10 slides
1. Introduce your book
Title of the book.
Author of the book
2. Cast your Characters
NO ACTOR that originally starred in your film may be in your film again.
You are going to need QUOTES to explain your casting choices. Your quotes are going to need to come from your book. You are going to need PICTURES to show your actors.
3. Setting

• You'll talk about where the book is set, 
• when the book happens, 
• and any important weather events that happen in the book.

4. Symbols
You'll talk about important objects and repeating objects and motifs that occur in the book.
5. Theme
You'll need to state the theme of the book clearly in one good sentence and explain how the author shows the theme of the book in one paragraph. The theme will be with the MESSAGE in a Bottle
6. Message in a Bottle
7. Tone
8. Bias of your Author (Author opinion)
9. Your opinion of the book (would you recommend this book)10. Extras you found that were cool about this book.