Friday, November 28, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
English 10H Students!!! Please refer back to this passage while writing, and especially while revising, your memoir. Do not just write a summary of an "important" event in your life. It is about YOU!
William Zinsser: Excerpt from interview on writing memoirs
Most people embarking on a memoir are paralyzed by the size of the task. What to put in? What to leave out? Where to start? Where to stop? How to shape the story? The past looms over them in a thousand fragments, defying them to impose on it some kind of order. Because of that anxiety, many memoirs linger for years half written, or never get written at all.
What can be done?
You must make a series of reducing decisions. For example: in a family history, one big decision would be to write about only one branch of the family. Families are complex organisms, especially if you trace them back several generations. Decide to write about your mother's side of the family or your father's side, but not both. Return to the other one later and make it a separate project.
Remember that you are the protagonist in your own memoir, the tour guide. You must find a narrative trajectory for the story you want to tell and never relinquish control. This means leaving out of your memoir many people who don't need to be there. Like siblings.
My final reducing advice can be summed up in two words: think small. Don't rummage around in your past — or your family's past — to find episodes that you think are "important" enough to be worthy of including in your memoir. Look for small self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you still remember them it's because they contain a universal truth that your readers will recognize from their own life.
William Zinsser: Excerpt from interview on writing memoirs
Most people embarking on a memoir are paralyzed by the size of the task. What to put in? What to leave out? Where to start? Where to stop? How to shape the story? The past looms over them in a thousand fragments, defying them to impose on it some kind of order. Because of that anxiety, many memoirs linger for years half written, or never get written at all.
What can be done?
You must make a series of reducing decisions. For example: in a family history, one big decision would be to write about only one branch of the family. Families are complex organisms, especially if you trace them back several generations. Decide to write about your mother's side of the family or your father's side, but not both. Return to the other one later and make it a separate project.
Remember that you are the protagonist in your own memoir, the tour guide. You must find a narrative trajectory for the story you want to tell and never relinquish control. This means leaving out of your memoir many people who don't need to be there. Like siblings.
My final reducing advice can be summed up in two words: think small. Don't rummage around in your past — or your family's past — to find episodes that you think are "important" enough to be worthy of including in your memoir. Look for small self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you still remember them it's because they contain a universal truth that your readers will recognize from their own life.
English 12: Read the introduction to the Canterbury Tales prologue and discuss the purpose and general background. For Monday's vocabulary test, each of your 5 written sentences needs to be about one of the characters from the CT prologue. The focus of the sentence needs to be about what element of that character is being made fun of or is different than you would expect. For instance, we talked about the knight in class and how he is the opposite of Beowulf. He doesn't brag or boast or think highly of himself. Instead, he is humble and chivalrous and he even "lowers" himself socially by mingling with the other pilgrims.
English 10H: Individual meetings regarding memoir. Read this article about writing titles for Monday. We will discuss it then. "I am..." statement portion of memoir assignment due Monday Nov. 24. For Monday, bring 3 potential titles for your memoir.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
English 12: Vocabulary 7- abstain, lobby (verb), scrutinize, suppress, recluse, prudent, emulate, digress, camaraderie, aesthetic. Read and discussed the Human Nature satire piece from yesterday. Vocabulary test 7 will be Monday Nov. 24th.
English 10H: Vocabulary test 6. Discuss source material for sentences after test. Discussed memoir (Due Monday the 24th and Monday Dec. 1st) so check the assignment sheet.
English 10H: Vocabulary test 6. Discuss source material for sentences after test. Discussed memoir (Due Monday the 24th and Monday Dec. 1st) so check the assignment sheet.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
English 12: Introductory responses and notes over Satire/Parody on Google Classroom. First satire piece we will look at is posted here and on classroom. Human Nature Satire
English 10H: Group work on Section 2 of Glass Castle (50-125) chapter endings. Assigned and discussed the 2 part memoir assignment. Remember that Vocabulary 6 test is Wed/Thurs of this week.
English 10H: Group work on Section 2 of Glass Castle (50-125) chapter endings. Assigned and discussed the 2 part memoir assignment. Remember that Vocabulary 6 test is Wed/Thurs of this week.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Students and families,
I would appreciate your help on this one. My dad is the director of shelter services at Wayside Waifs. As you can imagine, this time of year can be pretty tough on animal shelters due to the weather and the intake of animals that comes as a result. Spin Pizza is donating money to a local charity and all you need to do is click on this link, click the red "vote for your charity" button, and then type Wayside Waifs. No sign up, no email needed, no money from you. Vote for Wayside Waifs. Thanks, and this little guy appreciates it too. (Votes must be in by 4pm on Sunday 11/16)
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
English 12: Just to make sure you're ready for the Grendel test on Friday 11/14. 8-9 Reading Guide and 10-12 Reading Guide. Vocabulary 6 Test was today so make sure you get it done if you were absent.
English 10H: ACT Plan Test rest of week. Vocabulary pushed to next week. Read through 125 in GC for Monday.
English 10H: ACT Plan Test rest of week. Vocabulary pushed to next week. Read through 125 in GC for Monday.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
English 12: Grendel test will be Friday 11/14. The following material will be directly referenced:
You will need to identify and explain specific instances from the novel where the following quote is applicable:
The novel Grendel, it seems to me, is essentially a novel about faith and reason. Grendel is again and again given the opportunity of believing something which western civilization has held up as a value. For instance, heroism is one of the subjects taken up in the book very explicitly. A young man named Hrothgar decides he is going to be a hero. Just on faith he believes in heroes--he hasn't really thought about it--and he's willing to die for this principle. Grendel, who doesn't believe in anything, that's why he's a monster, makes fun of him and makes him doubt the idea of heroism. He gives you all the good arguments, like, only the young are heroic, they go out because they're stupid and they run up the hill at the machine gun. Or, heroism is a knee-jerk response, it's not a free will response, and so on . . . Grendel is given the opportunity to believe in love. Freud can prove to you, if you are willing to listen to proof, that love does not exist, that it's an illusion. It's mutual need or something like this. Any value that we have can be rationalized out of existence, reasoned out of existence. At some point you just have to say I don't care, here I stand. But until that last moment of the novel Grendel is unable to make that leap, and then he makes it because he's sort of pushed over the ledge and driven to it. So that's a book of faith.
-John Gardner
You will need to be familiar with the general theme of the poem Cartoon Physics and how it relates to Grendel.
You will need to pay special attention to the "young Shaper" on page 165 and his words. Juxtapose this against what Grendel says from the middle of 173 to the end.
The irony in Grendel and Beowulf's battle at the end and how it serves as a reflection of the entire novel's philosophies.
Be able to explain how one of the philosophies is fully realized through the course of the novel.
English 10H: Glass Castle/Memoir discussion. Individual project group meetings.
You will need to identify and explain specific instances from the novel where the following quote is applicable:
The novel Grendel, it seems to me, is essentially a novel about faith and reason. Grendel is again and again given the opportunity of believing something which western civilization has held up as a value. For instance, heroism is one of the subjects taken up in the book very explicitly. A young man named Hrothgar decides he is going to be a hero. Just on faith he believes in heroes--he hasn't really thought about it--and he's willing to die for this principle. Grendel, who doesn't believe in anything, that's why he's a monster, makes fun of him and makes him doubt the idea of heroism. He gives you all the good arguments, like, only the young are heroic, they go out because they're stupid and they run up the hill at the machine gun. Or, heroism is a knee-jerk response, it's not a free will response, and so on . . . Grendel is given the opportunity to believe in love. Freud can prove to you, if you are willing to listen to proof, that love does not exist, that it's an illusion. It's mutual need or something like this. Any value that we have can be rationalized out of existence, reasoned out of existence. At some point you just have to say I don't care, here I stand. But until that last moment of the novel Grendel is unable to make that leap, and then he makes it because he's sort of pushed over the ledge and driven to it. So that's a book of faith.
-John Gardner
You will need to be familiar with the general theme of the poem Cartoon Physics and how it relates to Grendel.
You will need to pay special attention to the "young Shaper" on page 165 and his words. Juxtapose this against what Grendel says from the middle of 173 to the end.
The irony in Grendel and Beowulf's battle at the end and how it serves as a reflection of the entire novel's philosophies.
Be able to explain how one of the philosophies is fully realized through the course of the novel.
English 10H: Glass Castle/Memoir discussion. Individual project group meetings.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
English 12: Vocabulary 6. Death by Treacle for Friday. This article will play a major role on your Grendel test next week as well as be part of your vocabulary test sentence material. We will spend some time on it in class, but use time in class today to read and take notes/annotate. I will give specific elements and sections of it that you will need to focus on. Senior paper discussion/fact finding in class.
English 10H: Vocabulary 6. Glass Castle part 1 (pg. 1-41) open book short answer quiz.
English 10H: Vocabulary 6. Glass Castle part 1 (pg. 1-41) open book short answer quiz.
Monday, November 3, 2014
English 12: Grendel 5-7 Essay Response on Classroom. Will discuss tomorrow.
English 10H: Read the excerpt from Dave Eggers' memoir and then, as a group, work on formulating a question specific to the text for each of the following categories. The questions will be used tomorrow in a Socratic style seminar.
1. Class connection question connecting the text to our class discussion about writing memoir.
2. Close-ended question that will allow class to come to agreement about events or the author and his experience. There should be a "correct" answer or answers.
3. Open-ended question that will require proof, group discussion, and a "construction of logic" based on what we have to work with that will allow us to discover or explore possible answers.
4. Core issue question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universal aspect of the text.
For Wednesday/Thursday these are the following concepts from section 1 (pg.-1-41 of The Glass Castle that you will need to focus on: Checking out Rex Walls style. Rose Mary's pride at staying resilient despite adversity. The Joshua Tree. Stars as Christmas Presents. The Glass Castle (the structure) and The Prospector. Fire.
English 10H: Read the excerpt from Dave Eggers' memoir and then, as a group, work on formulating a question specific to the text for each of the following categories. The questions will be used tomorrow in a Socratic style seminar.
1. Class connection question connecting the text to our class discussion about writing memoir.
2. Close-ended question that will allow class to come to agreement about events or the author and his experience. There should be a "correct" answer or answers.
3. Open-ended question that will require proof, group discussion, and a "construction of logic" based on what we have to work with that will allow us to discover or explore possible answers.
4. Core issue question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universal aspect of the text.
For Wednesday/Thursday these are the following concepts from section 1 (pg.-1-41 of The Glass Castle that you will need to focus on: Checking out Rex Walls style. Rose Mary's pride at staying resilient despite adversity. The Joshua Tree. Stars as Christmas Presents. The Glass Castle (the structure) and The Prospector. Fire.
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