No Sonnet Due Monday...Tuesday

Hi class,

I hope you've been enjoying your vacation.  I've been sick with a cold up until today, unfortunately.  I will have the video up tomorrow explaining a Shakespearean Sonnet, but we will not have it due Monday...we will wait until Tuesday...so go have fun!

Healthy Relationships

Today we had a presentation from S.A.S.S. on healthy relationships.  So that means we will go over our typed rap drafts tomorrow - don't forget to bring them in!

Also, I've put my top three choices for your class' haikus...vote on your favorite!

Poetry Terms

Check off these terms...the first three you Must include...then identify ten of the remaining.  There are a few more (at the bottom of the list) that we will go over on Monday.

Pun
Verbal Irony
Allusion

Imagery
Full Rhyme
Assonance
Consonance
Alliteration
Oxymoron
Symbolism
    Metaphor
    Simile
Repetition
Enjambment
End-Stopped
Internal Rhyme
End-Rhyme
Hyperbole
Onomatopoeia
Refrain
Personification
Sibilance
Slant Rhyme
Denotation/Connotation

More Work on Rap Battles

Today we met our partners again and went over the first half of the rap battles, the boast.  This is where you boast about your accomplishments and why you are famous.  It is important to revise to include sound devices such as assonance, consonance, and alliteration, along with full rhyme and repetition.

You might find http://www.rhymer.com/ helpful to find rhymes.

Remember, the more specific, factual evidence you can include, the better off your raps will be.

Tomorrow we are talking about the second half of the battle, where you must "diss" or discount your opponent's boasts, proving that you are superior to them.

Homework:  Your second half of your battle is due tomorrow.

Haikus and Poetry Terms

Today, periods 6, 7 had to take the vocabulary quiz.  The rest of us were introduced to some basic poetry terms in preparation for tonight's assignment (and later the rap battle).

Imagery- creating a strong picture with words, usually involving sensory details.

Haikus - traditional Japanese poetry involving strong imagery and heavy symbolism.  It is three lines, 5-7-5 syllables per line, involves nature and a season.

Examples: (these are both translated from Japanese, so the syllables don't match)

The old pond
A frog jumps in -
The sound of water


No sky
no earth - but still
snowflakes fall.


Symbolism:  Having a thing (object, season, or color) represent some bigger idea.
       Metaphor: two things compared using a form of "TO BE"
       Simile: using "like" or "as" to compare two things.

Oxymorons: when you place two "opposite" things close together to show their contrast

Enjambment: when a line of poetry does not end in end-punctuation (periods, colons, or semicolons)

End-Stopped:  when a line of poetry does end in end-punctuation (periods, colons, or semicolons)

Homework:  Reply to the post on Edmodo, submitting a haiku of your own!

Puns and Vocab

Today only periods 1, 2, and 5 met.  We shared the puns we came up with (see video in prior post) and then took the vocabulary quiz.  It seemed to go quite well!

I may have mentioned that there will be a new video tonight, but alas, there is none.

Homework:  None

Periods 5, 7 - be sure to study for vocab quiz and have your pun ready!

Vocabulary Flash Cards for the Blizzard!

So, you have no school today...how about review your vocabulary for Monday's quiz?

Full and Half-Rhymes

The human brain is a pattern finding machine...it even tries to create patterns when there aren't any.  Rhyming are repeating sounds...and poets use these repeating sounds to form a pattern...which are therefor pleasing to the ear.

Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head?  There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!

Full Rhyme:  when the endings of two or more words sound the same.

                    rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.

Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same.  There are three kinds of half-rhymes:

• Alliteration: When two or more words begin with the same sound.

                    Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper

• Consonance: When two or more words share a consonant sound in the middle or ends of the words.

                    In basketball, I gave Mike the smackdown! 

• Assonance: When two or more words share a vowel sound in the middle or ends of the words.

                    We have a meeting every spring season. 

Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces:  at the ends of lines or within a line.

End-Rhyme:  When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.

Internal Rhyme:  When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.

Puns

Homework:  Reply to the Edmodo post for music lyrics and identifying alliteration, consonance, or assonance.  For tomorrow, watch the above video.

Epic Rap Battles and Vocabulary

We briefly touched upon the start of our next unit, which are Epic Rap Battles of History and Literature.  To do this, you need some poetry skills to become good rappers.  You will need to watch the below video to learn three of these terms.

The rest of class today we spent practicing lesson one of the iPad vocabulary unit.  The app is called Brain Snacks SAT, if you want to practice at home.

Homework:  Vocabulary quiz by Friday.  Watch the above video for one more checkin assignment.

The Introduction Paragraph

Today we went over the requirements for the introduction paragraph:

Intertextuality Essay

The FIRST paragraph: The Intro

For this particular essay, the main point is to compare how two protagonists from different “texts” compare and contrast as they go through the Hero’s Journey.  Now we have to introduce these protagonists to a reader (Mr. Stowell) who is somewhat familiar with the works.

Part 1: Hook

Get your poor, bored, tired teacher something interesting to read that separates your essay on heroes from the other 120.  Start it off with a thought-provoking question about heroism, a bold statement about heroism, or heck, if you if you can find a shocking statistic (make sure you cite your source) … awesome!  Don’t have it go over 3-4 sentences.

Part 2: Background

Remember that I (your teacher) have either read your book and/or watched your movie, or are at least somewhat familiar with them.  You don’t need to tell me everything.  What you do need to do is mention each protagonist, each “text,” and roughly describe what challenge they face and what reward they get as they go through the Hero’s Journey.  This is usually done within 6-8 sentences.

Part 3: Thesis

THIS IS ONLY ONE SENTENCE AND IS THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE PARAGRAPH!

It’s simple, it’s short, and it’s to the point.  It says what the essay is about.  What is the essay about?  It’s about how two protagonists from two different “texts” have some similarities and some differences as they go through the Hero’s Journey.  Don’t say “In this essay, I will show you...” because I’m sick of hearing that.

Homework: Submit a completed introduction paragraph to Edmodo tonight.  All paragraphs need to be "turned-in" to Edmodo, rough draft by Friday.

Intertextuality Essays

On Monday, you will have finished your novels and your movie.  We will begin to compare the two of them for an essay due Friday.

First, we'll go over what belongs in your body paragraphs, then we'll worry about the intro and conclusion paragraphs.

Your essays will be typed at home and turned in through Edmodo.

Homework:  You must come to class Monday with a completed Hero's Journey Worksheet for the movie you chose. You must also submit one of your body paragraphs by the end of the day, Monday to Edmodo.

Honors English class candidates:  You must fill out the form (see the last post) by Monday.

Do you want to be in Honors?

Finishing the Book!

Hi folks,

I expect you to have finished your book by Friday night, and finished watching your movie by the following Monday...because on Monday we will officially begin writing the essay!

However, some of you will be finishing your book tonight, and that means you will have two days to get a jump start on your essays.  Look over the rubric I gave you at the beginning of this unit, and tomorrow in class I'll have some graphic organizers for you to start on your body paragraphs!

Standard:  You will have to do three body paragraphs for three stages of the Hero's Journey.
College Prep:  You have four ... for four stages
Honors:  You have five ... for five different stages!

Continuing Film Study

Today we continued tracking the protagonist's progress through the Hero's Journey cycle.  Be prepared to do "Day 5" in your reading groups tomorrow.  If your movie needs to be finished, we will finish it on Wednesday.

Hero's Journey - Film

Today we began watching a film that follow's the Hero's Journey.  Each class has a different film.  One person in your book group may use that film for your comparative essay (see the rubric I gave you at the beginning of the unit).  Also, The Goonies and Wizard of Oz are also options you may use for the essay.

You are responsible for tracking the protagonist through the steps of the Hero's Journey.  We will finish the film on Monday.

Day 5 of the reading unit will recommence on Tuesday.


Homework:  You only have homework if you are behind for day 4 of the reading unit.  Do not read ahead.  Tuesday we will finish the film for the Hero's Journey progression in preparation for your essays.

Day 4 of 10: Allies, Enemies, and Trials

Today in class we will read, looking specifically for passages that show Allies (including god/goddess), Enemies (antagonist), and trials.

See the video below...

Homework:  On Edmodo, find a passage that shows either an ally, an enemy, or a trial that the protagonist faces.

Rhymes

The human brain is a pattern finding machine...it even tries to create patterns when there aren't any.  Rhyming are repeating sounds...and poets use these repeating sounds to form a pattern...which are therefor pleasing to the ear.

Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head?  There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!

Full Rhyme:  when the endings of two or more words sound the same.

                    rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.

Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same.  There are three kinds of half-rhymes:

• Alliteration: When two or more words begin with the same sound.

                    Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper

• Consonance: When two or more words share a consonant sound in the middle or ends of the words.

                    In basketball, I gave Mike the smackdown!

• Assonance: When two or more words share a vowel sound in the middle or ends of the words.

                    We have a meeting every spring season.

Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces:  at the ends of lines or within a line.

End-Rhyme:  When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.

Internal Rhyme:  When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.

Step 3 of the Hero's Journey: The Refusal of the Call

Steps 1 and 2 of The Hero's Journey

Hi Class,

Today you read the first tenth of your book.  In it, you were supposed to see how your protagonist has felt unsettled with their ordinary world.

Watch the video below.



Homework:

1)  Watch this video (above)
2)  Join your Edmodo class, and reply to the question posted there.

Homework AND Youtube blocked from school

Here is today's homework.  Unfortunately, they just blocked all Youtube videos from school, so you have to watch them from home.

You must diagram the two following sentences:


1)  The crazy sentence on the board isn't really hard.

2)  After their class, the students threw Mr. Stowell a tasty pizza party.

If you have a tough time with this, I'll post a video to give you some hints later tonight.

Diagramming and Literature Unit Discussion

Today we will briefly review indirect objects, direct objects, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, prepositional phrases and how do diagram sentences with them!  Don't forget that there is a sentence diagramming video posted right before vacation.

There is a quiz on Friday where you will be given the diagrams for four sentences and have to properly fill in the blanks, and then you will be given three sentence for which you have to draw the diagram completely by yourself.

Afterwards, we will introduce the next unit.  You should have begun reviewing the book talk videos on your own (they are below).  If you haven't finished, do so tonight.  We will pick groups tomorrow.

You need to have a group (within your class) of at least 3-4 people.  You need to decide the level of book you want to read as a group, so you all have to pick the same level.

The level of book you read (standard, college prep., or honors) does not necessarily have to be the level of essay you write.

Homework:
Watch book talk videos if you haven't already.
You need to pick your group by tomorrow in class, and book level.
Books need to be chosen by Friday, signed out or acquired by Monday (or lunch detention)
Sentence diagramming quiz on Friday.

Check out some of the videos below!

So...I just made a bunch of little book talk videos.  Check them out if any of them seem interesting.  You will have to choose one of these (be sure to check the level: Honors, College Prep., or Standard) by Friday (or find your own title).  You will also have to choose your group by Friday.

At the beginning of this List is an overview of the unit...you might want to check it out first!

SL - Rash

SL - Running Out of Time

Standard Level - Tuesdays with Morrie

CP - The Hunger Games Series

Oh yes, we have all three....

CP - Into the Wild

CP - Nothing But the Truth

CP - Ender's Game

College Prep. - Z for Zachariah

Honors - A Break with Charity

Honors - Flowers for Algernon

Honors - Kindred

Honors - Fahrenheit 451

Literature Unit - Watch this first!

I hope you had a lovely vacation!  Below you'll find the intro video for the next unit.  Choices must be made by Friday.  I'll be posting book talk videos for the options we have available tonight!

SVID and SVPnom/Padj.

Hi class,

Today we took some notes on the indirect objects and direct objects that go with action verbs, and the predicate nominatives or predicate adjectives that go with linking verbs.  See the last post for the information on that.  There are screenshots on the notes on Edmodo.  We will finish exercise 5 in class tomorrow - all you had to do tonight was...

Homework: finish crossing off prepositional phrases from exercise 5... and watch the video about sentence diagramming below.  If you lost exercise 5, I put a copy up on Edmodo.

Revisiting Verbs and Introducing Objects

Hi folks, remember when we talked about action verbs and linking verbs (and even helping verbs)?  Well, we are going to build off that discussion tomorrow!  Today we are going to learn about objects!  Below are the notes that you will need.

Action Verbs – These are things that you do.   They can have Indirect Objects and Direct Objects.  Remember the almighty pattern: SVID

Direct Objects = ask “Who?” or “What?” after an action verb.  They are always afterthe action verb.  They are always nouns or pronouns.

Indirect Objects = ask “To whom?” “For whom?”  or “For what?” “To What?” If you have an indirect object, there always needs to be an action verb and a direct object. REMEMBER SVID!

Linking Verbs – These link the subject to a word that describes (Predicate Adjective, which is an adjective) or renames (Predicate Nominative, which is a noun) the subject.

We have some exercises to do in class, and then we will take it one step further for homework.

Homework:  We are flipping again!  I'm going to be teaching you another lesson by video.  In the video, I will ask you to do do two simple tasks.  Bring those tasks into class the following day!

Test Moved to Monday

Test has been moved to Monday.  Today we reviewed.  See the image and video below.  Tomorrow we will discuss cinematography and we'll watch your videos...hooray!

Update...video fixed....sorry!

12 Angry Men Movie

Today we had the spelling bee team finals.  Congratulations to Tucker and Caroline!  We will be watching them compete against the rest of the school on January 31st!

The second half of the half-day was spent watching the brilliant movie, 12 Angry Men.  If you were absent, you can find it on Youtube (below).

Homework:  12 Angry Men objective test is on Friday.

Cinematography Intro

Hi folks!

In the video below, you will learn many of the elements of cinematography.  Your assignment: be able to tell me three terms that were discussed in the movie, and were NOT on the handout I gave you for tomorrow.

Homework:  Watch the video below.  12 Angry Men test on Friday.  Movie terms sheet due Thursday.

Cinematography in 12 Angry Men

A director uses these elements to enhance the TONE (overall emotional feeling) and the THEMES of the movie.  We'll be applying it to Twelve Angry Men.

Score: music composed for a specific film to enhance emotion.

Establishing Shot: a shot that introduces a location and/or character.  It gives us the context, the "big picture" of the movie...so we know where this is, what the setting is.

Pan: when the camera turns on a single axis.

Dolly Shot: a steady camera movement through a scene in a single shot.

Rack Focus: a shift of focus from one element on a screen to another.

Wide Shot: shows the whole character.  More of a distant feel to it.  It's used often in introducing characters.

Medium Shot: shows character from waist to head.  Often used for dialogue.  This is the most frequent type of shot used in American film, and most of a movie is at this distance.

 

Close Up: shows a character's head and shoulders (although it can be of an object like a knife).   This gives you a chance to see the character's facial expressions.  Often used when we need to see a character's emotions.

  

Extreme Close Up: shows only a portion of the the face, ex: eyes or mouth.  These are the closest shots you can get and are used to focus on emotion.

 

and another...

 

Filming

Today we created our short films in class and tomorrow will be putting some finishing touches on them and will be uploading them.

Those of you who prepared and brought in costumes...your effort really seemed to pay off!

Homework:  12 Angry Men objective test is this Friday.

Finish the Play and Bring in a Costume!

On Monday we're going to be using the iPads to shoot a little video of your character...that's why you need your costumes!

There are specific things that need to be in your video...that's why you need to watch the video below this weekend...so you can come prepared to shoot!

Only one class completely finished the play, so the rest of us will finish it Monday as well, right before we jump into the shooting.

We covered some intense parts of the play today...the video also has a little bit of review.

Homework:  Watch the video and bring in your character's costume.  The video will tell you what you need to have in your short film.

Acting Day 4

We will finish this play tomorrow!  We will have a little discussion and then watch the movie shortly thereafter next week.

Homework:  Watch the movie below.  It will ask you to post something on Edmodo...watch it to find out what!

Acting, Day 3

Today we went over the facts you posted on Edmodo, and continued acting.  You have another night to fix your post, or repost if you like!

Homework:  no new homework.  See last post.

Acting Day 2

Today we acted once again...and the tension is building!  Tomorrow we will continue acting.

Homework:  Read up to page 45. Watch the video below.  It has a question that you need to post an answer for on Edmodo.

Acting: Day 1

Hi folks,

Today we began acting.  Tomorrow we will continue.  If you had a classmate who has the same role, it will be their turn tomorrow.

Homework:  Watch the video below.  Write the answers down on a separate piece of paper, and be ready to be called upon in class tomorrow.

Angry Men

Today you signed out your copy of 12 Angry Men, the classic play by Reginald Rose.  You were also assigned a juror to pay special attention towards.

Homework:  Read up to page 30.   Look for a quote that shows your character's personality, and post it in a reply on Edmodo.

The Jury Deliberates

Today you were broken down into jury groups and charged with coming up with a unanimous verdict. You either need to all say guilty (beyond a reasonable doubt), or not-guilty, and acquit the defendant.  Remember, he is charged with the death penalty, and if convicted, will be sentenced for execution.  If he is acquitted, he cannot be recharged with the same crime twice, no matter what (double-jeopardy).

There may have been some arguments, disagreements, and even slight coercion.  Some people may have taken it more seriously than others.  Some may have been stubborn.

Homework:  Go on Edmodo and reply to the questions I posted about the jury deliberation process.  This is your chance to say how the group worked, and how it may have influenced your personal decision or not.  Due tonight.

Grammar and Justice

Today we had a brief review before taking the grammar quizzes on verbs and prepositional phrases.

Remember: a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition, ends with a noun (or pronoun), and never has a verb in it.

The quiz was on Edmodo.  Schedule a retake after school if you didn't do so well.

Afterwards, there was a fact sheet about a crime on Edmodo.  Read the facts, see the videos in the post below and make your decision: guilty or not-guilty.

Homework:  Five sentences turned in to the above-mentioned Edmodo assignment.

You Decide

Quick practice for identifying prepositions

 prepositions quiz: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/preps/ex1.htm

Cool explanation of prepositions here:  http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/preposition.htm

Bigger prepositions quiz:  http://lessons.englishgrammar101.com/EnglishGrammar101/Module1/Lesson1-40.aspx

Another one:

http://lessons.englishgrammar101.com/EnglishGrammar101/Module1/Lesson1-41.aspx


And another one:

http://lessons.englishgrammar101.com/EnglishGrammar101/Module1/Lesson1-42.aspx

Hope your vacation was wonderful!

When you get back, your prepositions poster will be due.  Look at the example posted below.

Tomorrow in class, we will review the posters, the prepositions song, and yes, more prepositions exercises.

How to get out of the prepositions part of the quiz

If you can recite the following song to me, verbatim, a day before the quiz, you get an automatic 100 on it...although you will still have to take the verbs portion.

The Mighty Prepositions Song

Sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy”

Aboard, about, above, across

Against, along, around

As, among, after, at, out

Except, for, during, down

Behind, below, beneath, beside

Between, before, beyond

By, over, of, in, from, off, on

Until, unto, upon

Under, underneath, up, since,

Like, near, past, through, throughout,

With, within, instead of, without,

To, into, toward, inside!

                                   

(and now for some compound prepositions!)

Because of, according to

In addition to…

Instead of, in back/front of

On top of, out of, next to!

The two things that you have to know

 About prepositional phrases:

First, they never roam alone;

Objects always follow close behind them-

Which of course are nouns or pronouns

Without those, preps are adverbs.

The second thing with these phrases -

they act as adverbs or adjectives!

Prepositions Song - Schoolhouse Rock

Study those roots!

Today we studied our Greek and Latin roots, and it is evident that many of you need to continue studying tonight.  That's the only homework.

We also introduced a discusion about verbs.  There are three types: Action Verbs, Linking Verbs, and Helping Verbs.

Action Verbs - these are the things you do!  Run, jumps, laughed, crying ... all action verbs!

Linking Verbs - these act as a link between the subject and a word that that describes or renames it.  They are usually "To Be" verbs.

Helping Verbs - these are little verbs like "To Be" verbs or "To Have" verbs.  They are always hanging on to bigger verbs.

Homework: study for roots quiz tomorrow!

Greek and Latin Root Flashcards

Here are the flashcards:

Last chance to spell

Today we had another practice spelling test.  Tomorrow is the real deal!

Also tomorrow we will have flashcards for Greek and Latin roots, for which we'll have a quiz on Friday!

Spelling and Root Work

Today we did more work on studying our Greek/Latin roots and our Spelling Lists.  Each student was assigned one of the roots (listed in last post) to create a poster.  The poster must have 5 words that use the root, the root and its definition, and be full-color.

Homework: Greet/Latin Root poster due Tuesday.  Spelling quiz is Wednesday.

Spelling and Greek/Latin Roots

Today you will get your spelling lists.  After taking a brief pre-test to see how many words on your list you can already spell, continue to practice them for homework.

The second activity you will do in class today is play Greek/Latin Root Baseball!  We will also be studying 30 of the most common roots, and their meanings.  Knowing these will ultimately help us do two things: 1) determine the meanings of larger words we don't know, and 2) be able to spell new words a little better since we know how to spell the roots.

Homework:  Spelling list quiz is next Wednesday.  Roots quiz is to be announced.

Below are the spelling words and all the list of all the Greek/Latin roots that we will be studying.

Spelling:

Standard List       CP List      Honors List

Greek/Latin Roots:

ROOT	MEANING	EXAMPLES
-ast(er)-(G)	star	asteroid, astronomy
-audi- (L)	hear	audible, audience
-auto- (G)	self	automatic, autopsy
-bene- (L)	good	benefit, benign
-bio- (G)	life	biography, biology
-chrono- (G)	time	chronic, synchronize
-dict- (L)	say	dictate, diction
-duc- (L)	lead, make	deduce, produce
-gen- (L)	give birth	gene, generate
-geo- (G)	earth	geography, geology
-graph- (G)	write	autograph, graph
-jur-, -jus- (L)	law	jury, justice
-log-, -logue- (L)	thought	logic, obloquy
-luc- (L)	light	lucid, translucent
-man(u)- (L)	hand	manual, manure
-mand-, -mend- (L)	order	demand, recommend
-mis-, -mit- (L)	send	missile, transmission
-omni- (L)	all	omnivorous
-path- (G)	feel	empathy, pathetic
-phil- (G)	love	philosophy, bibliophile
-phon- (G)	sound	phonics, telephone
-photo- (G)	light	photograph, photon
-port- (L)	carry	export, portable
-qui(t)- (L)	quiet, rest	acquit, tranquil
-scrib-, -script- (L)	write	ascribe, script
-sens-, -sent- (L)	feel	resent, sensitive
-tele- (G)	far off	telecast, telephone
-terr- (L)	earth	terrain, territory
-vac- (L)	empty	evacuate, vacate
-vid-, -vis- (L)	see	visible, video

The Heroic Journey

Today we finished the movie, The Goonies and discussed the Hero's Journey cycle.   See the link below for more information on what the Hero's Journey looks like in the movies Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Star Wars - A New Hope.

Homework:  Reply to the "Abyss" post on Edmodo, due tonight.  Hero's Journey worksheet due tomorrow.