10
Vocabulary Test 3
Guiding Questions for F451 reading section two:

In regards to the mechanical hound at the fire station, why does Montag somewhat feel sorry for it? (“That’s sad,” said Montag.)

Describe the difference between Clarisse’s view of being “social” and her school’s view of being “social”.

What reason does Clarisse have for being afraid of children her own age?

Explain what the woman with the books did on her front porch when the firemen were trying to get her out of the house.

What is the question Montag asks Mildred that neither of them know the answer to and how is it symbolic of how his view on life is changing?

How does the following quote help define Montag’s marriage?
“Well, wasn’t there a wall between him and Mildred, when you came down to it? Literally not just one wall but, so far, three!”

10H

Vocabulary Test 3 Review

Vocabulary List 4: berate, estrange, euphoric, impetuous, infallible, maudlin, regress, relinquish, ubiquitous, zenith

Finish Gic to Har

Go over short story/poetry test content

Distribute Nabakov's "Good Readers and Good Writers"

In class time to prepare for test (open note/book) on Friday

If you have work to make up, it is your responsibility to establish a time to do it and to get it done.

10
NRI survey. F451 guiding questions in class. Quiz 2 question preview. Vocab test tomorrow.

10H
NRI survey. Gic to Har explication. Short story/poetry test this Friday.

Monday 9/28

I was absent.  All classes worked on previously assigned material.

10
F451 Introduction Analysis
F451 open book quiz
NRI

10H
Finish Lying in a Hammock analysis/discussion.  Breakdown of the last line (I have wasted my life) on its own.
Read and complete the following for Monday:

Gic to Har

by Kenneth Rexroth

It is late at night, cold and damp
The air is filled with tobacco smoke.
My brain is worried and tired.
I pick up the encyclopedia,
The volume GIC to HAR,
It seems I have read everything in it,
So many other nights like this.
I sit staring empty-headed at the article Grosbeak,
Listening to the long rattle and pound
Of freight cars and switch engines in the distance.
Suddenly I remember
Coming home from swimming
In Ten Mile Creek,
Over the long moraine in the early summer evening,
My hair wet, smelling of waterweeds and mud.
I remember a sycamore in front of a ruined farmhouse,
And instantly and clearly the revelation
Of a song of incredible purity and joy,
My first rose-breasted grosbeak,
Facing the low sun, his body
Suffused with light.
I was motionless and cold in the hot evening
Until he flew away, and I went on knowing
In my twelfth year one of the great things
Of my life had happened.
Thirty factories empty their refuse in the creek.
On the parched lawns are starlings, alien and aggressive.
And I am on the other side of the continent
Ten years in an unfriendly city.



Assignment:
-Two dialectical journal entries with specific lines
-1 observation for each of the 10 primary literary terms: theme, tone, mood, characterization, syntax, diction, imagery, irony, universal quality, big picture.  These should focus on use/purpose rather than just identification.
-1 five step paragraph up to your interpretation. If you focus on the poem, use lit terms as examples of how your interpretation is achieved. If you focus on a lit term or terms, use examples from the poem to show how/what the purpose of those terms is.

Wed/Thurs
10
Hand back and review/discuss Vocabulary Test 2, including best examples.
Vocab List 3
ambiguous, ambivalent, juxtapose, lethargic, dissident, sporadic, embellish, subsidize, fritter, inane
Hand out Fahrenheit 451 books: read through pg. 25 for Friday
Read F451 Introduction and complete the following for Friday: 1 observation about writing sci-fi.  2 observations about why Bradbury wrote F451.  1 observation about how to interpret Bradbury/F451's message.

10H
Vocabulary Test 3
In class poetry explication

Tuesday 9/22

10
In class essay

10H
Response journal #4 on GC.
Finish triangular comparative analysis of Ice Storm and Opportunity

Tuesday, September 22, 7:00pm, Suicide Prevention Forum Event in the SM South Auditorium. 

Students and parents are invited to attend the session with panel experts from Johnson County Mental Health Suicide Prevention Coalition, Kansas Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and KU Medical Center Marillac Campus.

10
Discussion of "Opportunity" and "What Happened During the Ice Storm"
Discuss and go over answers for GC assignment from Friday
We will begin Fahrenheit 451 later this week
We will have our first in-class writing assignment this week

10H
Continuation of Friday's "Why do author's write" notes/discussion
Full breakdown of "...Ice Storm" including establishing the "world" that the author creates

10
NRI Quiz #4
NRI makeup work.
GC assignment.  Check there for details.

10H
In the Shadow 5 step brainstorming/prewriting.  Thanks to 4th hour for being the test group, even though it wasn't planned that way.  We'll go over a review of how the day evolved on Monday. However, you can start by giving as many answers to these questions as you can come up with: 1. Why do authors write?  2. Why did Jane Goodall write In the Shadow?
GC assignment.  Check there for details.

10
Vocabulary Test 2
Take care of NRI assignments that aren't done
Read "What Happened During the Ice Storm" in the textbook and "Opportunity" (previous blog post) for Friday.  We will be "comparing" (hint, hint) these two works and "In the Shadow of Man"

10H
Vocabulary List 3: ambiguous, dissident, embellish, fritter, ambivalent, inane, juxtapose, lethargic, sporadic, subsidize
Group Presentations

10
Opportunity

by Edward Rowland Sill

This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:--
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle's edge,
And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel--
That blue blade that the king's son bears, -- but this
Blunt thing--!" he snapped and flung it from his hand,
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword,
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle shout
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down,
And saved a great cause that heroic day.

Parents and students:
Do you have questions you would like to ask Dr. Jim Hinson?  If so, here are some great chances:

Super Chats with SMSD Superintendent Dr. Jim 

Sponsored by Shawnee Mission Area Council of PTA 

You are welcome to attend any of the chats. 

Scheduled Dates and Locations

September 22, 2015—Tuesday

7:00pm - Hocker Grove Middle School Library

October 21, 2015—Wednesday

9:00am - Trailridge Middle School Library

November 12, 2015—Thursday

12:00pm - Westridge Middle School Library

January 20, 2016—Wednesday

7:00pm - Indian Woods Middle School Library

March 31, 2016—Thursday

10:00am - Indian Hills Middle School Library

10
Vocabulary Test 2 on Wednesday/Thursday this week
Video/Kahoot followup
NRI Diagnostic #4 Commonly Confused Words

10H
Video/Kahoot followup
Group presentation work for Wed/Thurs presentations

Follow this link for the video for both classes: Strangeness

10
Discuss "Where Have You Gone Charming Billy"
Short Story Mini-Test
NRI Quiz 3

10H
Response Journal #3 on GC over your biggest concerns about your writing.
Class discussion of common concerns and strategies for dealing with them.
Small group work:  How does "In the Shadow of Man" fit into the discussion with the first three stories in regard to each of the following: Group 1- Theme, Group 2 -Character/Conflict, Group 3- Mood/Tone, Group 4- Universal Human Experience, Group 5- Big Picture/Author's Purpose

Friday 9/11

10
Read "Where Have you Gone, Charming Billy" on own.  Pg.128.   Answer questions on GC.  NRI Diagnostic and Practice 3.  Short story quiz Monday.

10H
Work through GC questions in conjunction with Charming Billy, Pedestrian, By the Waters, and Fahrenheit.  Begin building cross-reference chart using the 5 step questions and the 4 stories.

English 10
Vocabulary list #2: collaborate, despondent, instigate, resilient, retrospect, rudimentary, scoff, squelch, venerate, zealot
Finish 5 step paragraph writing practice for "Self fulfillment" prompt.  NRI Diagnostic 3.  Please make a point of completing NRI quizzes on your own if you miss a day when they are done in class so that you get credit and don't start a logjam of makeup work.

English 10H
Vocabulary test #2.  Take NRI quiz 2.  Read "Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy" on pg. 128 in the textbook.  Come to class on Friday with the story read and the corresponding questions on GC answered.  The guiding questions coincide with the 5 steps in the writing model that we have been working on.

Talk saves lives. National Suicide Prevention Week

Saying nothing is never the answer. Talk to someone.

10
Continue work on 5 Step Paragraph practice.  You should continue to revise your GC Assignment for the practice steps 1 and 2.  Remember, step 1 answers the "What are we talking about?" question, while step 2 tells us why step 1 matters.  Based on the "Barefooting" article, the initial model we came up with was Step 1: Everyone has a need for self-fulfillment.  Step 2: Finding things that fulfill our personal values enables us to find our "happy place," which gives life mental, physical, emotional purpose.

10H
F451 Test.  Complete Quiz 2 on No Red Ink

The National PTA Reflections program has announced the theme for the 2015-2016 program. It is "Let your imagination fly..." It should be a wonderful theme for all artists. There are six categories: visual arts, photography, musical composition, literature, dance choreography,  & film production. Students may enter the Reflections Program in one or more arts categories as many times as they would like.

 Just  a reminder, there is a division for "special artist" for those students with disabilities. All SMS students are encouraged to enter. Entry forms and rules may be found at: http://www.kansas-pta.org/node/24

If The Pedestrian made you think about a world consumed by industrialized living, this might interest you as well:  Whom is Nature For?

10

Vocabulary Test 1.  5 step paragraph practice.  Steps 1 and 2 on GC.

10H

Discuss Vocab Test 1.  NRI Diagnostic #2.  F451 test prep.

Vocab List 2: collaborate, despondent, instigate, resilient, retrospect, rudimentary, scoff, squelch, venerate, zealot. 

10 and 10H:
4 critical self reflection questions for written work:
1. What is the question/prompt asking for?
2. What is a common link between elements of the question or between the question and an outside comparison?
3. What is an example I can use as evidence?
4. Why is the example relevant to the question and to the reader?

Begin work on 5 step paragraph writing template. You can find this on the writing resource page.

10
Finish/revise the GC take home quiz. Vocab test 1 is Wed/Thurs.

10H
Expand discussion of By the Waters and begin development of model paragraph.