August 28th Class assignment

We worked on literary terms for most of the class. I hope you are able to see their value beyond just definitions! This is something we will continue to use throughout the year, so keep working on this. Mastery is the goal.

Please read the first ten chapters of The Hatchet for next week and prepare for your literary circle. Please take your role seriously. It is important that you participate fully in this project. You will learn from each other how to read a text in a more meaningful way.

You will also have a quiz over the definitions from weeks 1-3. Please study for this. I know you will do well.

For your team points, I would like for you to write me an example of a comma splice, a run on sentence, and a fragment. Next, show me how to correct them with a revised example below them. If everyone on your team participates, you will earn 3 points for your team. If not, your team will only earn 1 point.

Week 4 Vocabulary

1. bemoan (v): express discontent or sorrow over

2. misogynist (n): someone who hates women

3. abhor (v): hate

4. talisman (n): an object with magical powers to bring good luck

5. placid (adj): not easily upset or excited

Just a friendly reminder:

You will be tested on your literary terms this Tuesday. :) Instead of just knowing the definition, I will provide examples and ask you to identify them by their literary term.

Week Three

Hi Class,

I hope you were well entertained by Preston’s visit to class today. I’m sure you were. JI am typing this up while I wait at the hospital for my husband’s surgery. I’d like for you to be ready for your vocabulary quiz and your literary terms quiz when I come back to class next week. I will post a link to a couple of short stories I’d like for you to read over the week. The first is “Harrison Bergeron” and the second is “The Scarlet Ibis.” I would like for you to focus on theme. We will discuss this in class, so have an answer ready if I call on you. JYou will also need to answer the following questions listed under the links. 

You will need to pick up the book The Hatchet, if you haven’t already for next week. 

“Harrison Bergeron”—try this site: https://archive.org/stream/HarrisonBergeron/Harrison%20Bergeron_djvu.txt

Please answer five of the following questions about this story:

1. In 2081, there have been 213 Amendments added to the U.S. Constitution. What does this show us about government in the story? 

2. Find and write down the simile Vonnegut uses when he describes George Bergeron’s thoughts. Then, explain what’s compelling about the use of this particular simile. What can the reader infer from the use of this simile? 

3. In this story, equality is highly valued and extreme steps are taken to ensure that no one has an advantage over anyone else. List three ways that a person who is seen as more attractive, intelligent, or athletic might be handicapped by the government. 

4. Give two concrete examples from the text showing that, despite the government’s extreme efforts, people still aren’t equal in this society. 

5. After the announcer fumbles the bulletin and has to be replaced, Hazel says that he should still be given a raise because “he tried. That’s the big thing. He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him.” Is Hazel right? Should people be given credit at their workplaces or in school simply for trying, regardless of the result? Give a real-life example from your life, studies, or observations to support your stance. 

6. Harrison Bergeron, a genius and stellar athlete, must carry three hundred pounds in “the race of life.” In today’s world, is there a burden that exceptional people must carry? Think about both classmates and famous people as you examine this issue and explain your answer. 

7. What does Harrison’s declaration as he frees himself from his shackles show us about power? About liberation? 

8. Look at the narrator’s description of Harrison and the ballerina. What simile does the narrator use to describe the couple? How does this simile serve as an element of foreshadowing? 

9. Why aren’t Harrison’s parents more emotionally impacted by the death of their son? In what way are some Americans today similar to George and Hazel Bergeron? 

10. At the end of the story, what is George’s advice to his wife? Is this good advice? Explain your answer. 

11. “Harrison Bergeron” was published in 1961 in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, and many scholars have suggested that the story should be viewed as a parable. Given the tensions in the U.S. during this period of history, what larger point might Kurt Vonnegut Jr. have been trying to make to the reader? 

“The Scarlet Ibis” This link should work: 

http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/Zobel/documents/TheScarletIbisText.pdf

Please answer the following question on this story: 

Symbolically connect Doodle to the Scarlet Ibis. First, give three specific similarities that prove the author wanted us to see a connection between the boy and the bird. Then, explain the message of the writer. What larger point was he trying to make to the reader? 

As far as the house point challenge this week, I’ve been thinking. This week, many folks have shown us kindness during my husband’s surgery, and it has made a tremendous difference. I’d like to challenge each of you to perform your own random act of kindness for someone outside of your family. Tell me about it here on the blog, and I’ll give you points accordingly for your team. Bonus points if you can get pictures. J

Week 3 Vocabulary

1. jingoistic (adj): overly patriotic

2. implacable (adj): unable to be soothed

3. affinity (n): a natural skill or talent

4. coquette (n): a woman who flirts to get what she wants

5. harangue (v): lecture at length in an aggressive way

Week 2 Homework Assignment

Dulce Et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owens

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, 

And towards our distant rest began to trudge. 

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, 

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; 

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots 

Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. 

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling 

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, 

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling 

And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—

Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, 

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. 

In all my dreams before my helpless sight, 

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. 

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace 

Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 

His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; 

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud 

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— 

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest 

To children ardent for some desperate glory, 

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est 

Pro patria mori.

Source:Poems(Viking Press, 1921)

Assignment:

Your assignment this week is to write a paragraph response to ONE of the following prompts:

1.  The Latin quotation from the Roman poet Horace, means “It is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country.” What is the poem’s comment on this statement?

2.  List the elements of the poem that seem not beautiful and therefore “unpoetic.” Are there any elements of beauty in the poem?

3.  How do the comparisons in lines 1, 14, 20, and 23-24 contribute to the effectiveness of the poem?

4.  What does the poem gain by moving from plural pronouns and the past tense to singular pronouns and present tense?

Remember to follow the academic paragraph guidelines. The response should be between 125 and 150 words, or half a page (double-spaced).  

1.   Begin with an introduction to the poet, name of poem, and a claim that responds to the prompt you are addressing. For example, you might say something like, “Wilfred Owen’s war poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” defies the standard beautiful poem by using elements that leave the reader disturbed. 

2.   Next, you’ll define or back up your claim with a definition, explanation, or concession. For example, “Owens’ use of language conjures imagery of horror and loss.”

3.   Get into the text and demonstrate what you mean.  “His heroes are tormented by the enemy “guttering, choking, and drowning.” You can give a couple of examples here to make your argument stronger. “Blood comes “gargling from froth-corrupted lungs” and the reader is left with anything but a serene scene.

4.   Conclude your paragraph by tying your argument together. “Wilfred Owen’s nostalgic Latin phrase teases out the irony in the poem by working together with the horrific imagery and shocking word choice to remind the reader that war, like some poetry, is not beautiful.”

This assignment is due at the beginning of class next Tuesday.  You will be given some time to work on this in class with your peers. The final draft will be due August 28th. Remember, Mr. Preston Atkinson will teach for me next week, since my husband is having surgery. I am available by text or email if you need any other help! We will pick up with short stories when I return, the 28th. 

Your house point challenge this week is to find a modern song (this can be pop, Christian, country, rock, rap, or whatever you enjoy) and do a literary analysis. Find a similie, or a metaphor, or symbolism. The more literary devices you can correctly find, the more points you earn for your team! You must send me your annotated lyrics or a copy of the lyrics of the song and your evaluation of which devices are seen and where. Have fun with this one!

Week 2 Vocabulary

1. slipshod (adj): showing a lack of care or thought

2. nefarious (adj): wicked or criminal

3. precursor (n.) : a person or thing that comes before another of a similar kind

4. impregnable (adj): unable to be broken into or captured

5. demure (adj): shy or modest

House point challenge

In class today, we worked on reading texts in more than one way. The first person to send me an image of a photograph or painting with a short write up on two ways it can be interpreted will win 5 points for their team. You can email them to me. :)

Ready? Set. Go!


This challenge has been awarded to Jessica's team, "The Vengeful Basilisk!" 

An extra five points went to Owen's team for his encouraging comments posted on the blog for his rival team! Kindness is certainly point-worthy! 

Great job!

Week 1 Class assignment

Class,

It was great working with you today! I sure hope you walked away with something useful. For your homework this week, I just want you to spend some time looking through the Elements of Style. This book is the only grammar book we will use this year, so get to know it well. Read the introduction and check out the different sections of the book. We will use this throughout the year. Next, go ahead and review your vocabulary words. If you master one word a day, you'll have them down before we meet again. Your new list will post next Tuesday. Meanwhile, continue looking at the messages around you and try to see if you can "read" them in more than one way. :)