Field Trip!

Seniors,

Tomorrow, I will send home permission slips that need to be signed and returned before Wednesday, January 25 if you plan on attending the Story Telling Festival. The event is scheduled for Friday, January 27. Students will be off campus from 10:30 until 1:00. Students will eat lunch in the Trojan Center, so bring cash. We will attend the 11:00 performance for students that is free of charge.

I am so excited! This trip will be enjoyable, no doubt. The storytellers are some of the best in the nation. We are fortunate to have this opportunity, so take advantage!

Government Club

Dear Government Club Members,

Please go online and register for Youth Legislature. Remember to print a copy of your receipt and make sure you record the confirmation number in case changes need to be made to your account.


As long as you register before January 27, there will not be a late fee added to your bill. Also, your bills need to be submitted before January 27. Send me a copy of your bill before submitting it, and remember to ask senior members for advice. If your parents have any questions, please encourage them to call or email me.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR YOUTH JUDICIAL
Youth Legislature will take place February 24-26 in Montgomery. The total cost for the trip is $235.

MACBETH - abridged version

Seniors,
By clicking on the link below, you will be able to access the abridged version of Macbeth. Once the page loads, scroll down and click on the title of the play. The document is a pdf file, so you might need to download Adobe.
If the link does not work, google Shawn Peters abridged Macbeth.

Remember to bring your plot overview and summary of your assigned act. I can't wait to see how you all decide to modernize this classic!


CLICK HERE FOR THE ABRIDGED MACBETH SCRIPT!

In case you were wondering...

I have not posted any grades to edline. After I finish grading the literacy narratives, which count as the first major grade of this period, I will send out the report.

Don't forget to submit your embellished winter-themed haiku tomorrow!

A Look Ahead...

I can't wait... next week we will finally read Macbeth!                                                                              I attended several workshops at the NCTE conference and have some lesson plans that are truly fun. Gear up for some interactive lesson plans. I will be needing some brave souls to help act out some bloody, spooky scenes from "The Scottish Play." Do not fear the language. We are going to have a good time-guaranteed! 

Literacy Narratives

After reading students' responses on the class survey that was on last semester's exam, I decided to start 2012 with a writing assignment that allows for reflection and creativity. Last semester we worked on writing academic papers, so this assignment comes as a result of student feedback. You all wanted more time to write in class and wanted to write personal stories...so the literacy narrative requires just that.

On Friday, January 6, at least three handwritten pages of your narrative are due at the beginning of class. You will be given credit in the form of a quiz grade for completing the minimum requirement. We have been working on them in class and brainstorming ideas, so all of you should come prepared. Tomorrow is peer review day, so be ready to provide constructive criticism.

On Monday, January 9, your typed three page rough draft is due. Follow proper MLA formatting and remember that the rough draft will count as a major grade. If you wish to revise the rough draft, the final draft's grade will be averaged with the original score. The revised rough draft due date will be announced at a later date. More than likely, they will be due on Friday, January 13.

Avoid creating unnecessary work and turn in an A paper on Monday. 

Included below is the rubric I will use to assess the writing.

Rubric for Reflective Writing

Quality	5	3	1
FOCUS/PURPOSE	·       Makes a point (or points) about the importance of an event or events involving text(s) in the writer’s life ·       Selectively includes details and events that relate to the larger point(s) of the narrative	·       Attempts to make a point (or points) about an event or events involving text(s)  in the writer’s life ·       Chooses mostly relevant details and events, but some details and events seem unrelated to larger point(s).	·       Leaves point(s) about an event or events involving text(s)  in the writer’s life uncertain ·       Provides little rationale for selection and inclusion of details and events
DEVELOPMENT	·       Provides appropriate level of detail for audience of instructor/classmates ·       Includes significant reflection & awareness ·       Establishes significant connection to wider world	·       Occasionally provides insufficient detail for audience of classmates/instructor ·       Incorporates some reflection & awareness ·       Provides some connections to wider world	·       Provides insufficient detail for audience understanding ·       Incorporates minimal or no reflection ·       Includes limited connection wider world
ORGANIZATION	·       Connects narrative components clearly and effectively	·       Provides discernable overall structure, but some narrative components seem out-of-place or disconnected	·       Uses very unclear or confusing order of components
TONE	·       Employs a tone that is appropriate for audience of classmates/instructor	·       Includes occasional areas where tone is not appropriate for audience of classmates/instructor	·       Contains many areas with a tone that is not appropriate for audience of classmates/instructor
WORD CHOICE	·       Uses precise terms ·       Avoids clichés ·       Makes us of rich, descriptive language	·       Includes some imprecise use of language ·       Uses some clichés ·       Uses prose that is occasionally labored and/or unengaging	·       Contains many instances of imprecise language ·       Includes several clichés ·       Relies on literal language ·       Uses words repetitively
SENTENCES	·       Includes very few errors in usage and grammar. ·       Employs sentence construction effectively to convey meaning.	·       Includes occasional errors in grammar and/or usage ·       Includes errors in grammar and/or usage that occasionally obstruct meaning	·       Includes frequent errors in grammar/usage ·       Includes errors in grammar and/or usage that frequently impede reading/understanding of narrative

 CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE NORTON FIELD GUIDE'S WRITING A LITERACY NARRATIVE PAGE!

By clicking on the link above, you can access the Norton Field Guide's page that walks you through the steps necessary for writing a literacy narrative. Sample narratives are provided along with the organization charts that we viewed in class.

I can't wait to read your narratives! 

Semester Exam Study Guide

Do not be dismayed; we shall cover all of the material included on the study guide in depth this week. I must stress the importance of studying prior to the night of the test. I will try my best to make the necessary steps for acing this test as transparent as possible, but there is a great deal of information covered on the exam and some preparatory work must be completed outside of class. Without trying to increase test anxiety, I must remind all of you that this grade constitutes twenty percent of your final grade. Do not underestimate its importance. 

One more thing: sorry for the crazy formatting. I will provide hard copies of the study guide. For some reason the text always appears beautiful and symmetrical when I type it and then after it is posted, the words appear as if I flung them on the screen. Perhaps one of you technically-savvy students could provide me with a tutorial?  Okay, I will stop the incessant blahging (newly coined word?) and let you scroll on down to see what's on the test. Hmmm...for those of you who were patient enough to read my little message, I just might provide a bonus on the test that asks you to write the newly coined word that appeared on my blog. Here's a followup bonus: when two morphemes are blended together to make a newly constructed word, it is called this. Yes, I enjoy watching Jeopardy. No that was not the answer. And just so we are clear, if I ask you to use the word "jeopardy" in a sentence on the vocabulary section of your exam, you will not receive credit for using it as the name of the TV show. Cheerio, Mrs. M

Vocabulary

benevolent     hedonist         lassitude         incredulity     providence     omnipotent

urbane           elusive            dictum                     gestate            intrinsic          disseminate

inimical           insatiable       narcissistic     harbinger       mute               concord

suppressed    valor               treachery       suppressed    congeal           vain                            

mortal             subdue           tempest          doom              tread               alteration

peril                doleful                        jeopardy         brandish

Literary Terms

epic                 dystopia         ballad             sonnet                        simile              metaphor

tone                octave             couplet           sestet              quatrain         literary ballad

folk ballad      legend                        mystery play  morality play            

irony (situational, dramatic, verbal)           conflict (external and internal)

                       

Application & Historical Context

How might the rise of Christianity affected Britain’s literary history?

What events contributed to the shift from Old English to Middle English?

What historical events ignited the change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance?

Draw the model for Joseph Campbell’s journey of the hero and label the steps necessary for the transformation.

A brief excerpt from a non-fiction book will be provided. Following MLA citation methodology, complete the following tasks: 1) Cite the source as it should appear on the works cited page. 2) Write a context sentence using the information. 3) Compose a sentence paraphrasing and citing the information. 4) Compose a sentence incorporating the information in a direct quotation and cite the information appropriately.

Reading Comprehension

There will be a multiple choice section that requires you to answer questions based on the literature we have covered. Because transfer students were not required to read the assigned reading for summer, 1984, it will not be covered. We will be generate most of these questions in class as we review this week.

Essay: Respond to one of the following questions in a thesis-driven essay.

Using Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” relate the prisoner’s journey to enlightenment to your own growth this semester.

Using Joseph Campbell’s model for the hero’s journey, select a protagonist from one of the pieces of literature we have studied and argue whether he or she meets the criteria necessary to be classified as a hero. Remember to support your assertion with specific references to the text.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is an estates satire, a type of medieval literary work that makes fun of the professions and classes in society. What flaws is Chaucer exposing in secular society and within the church?