Monday, January 30, 2012

Pre-APENGLISH 10: Decemnber 30-February 3

Greetings young APEs!
I trust you had a restful weekend. We have SO much to do this week that I am not sure we can accomplish everything. But before I begin, let me remind you that you were to have uploaded a Major Works Data Sheet for the novel The Scarlet Letter last week, but half of you have FAILED to do so. I will be magnanimous enough to leave the assignment open until Friday, but after that day, NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. It is IMPERATIVE that you complete and turn in assignments. Not doing so will result in a poor grade. This assignment counts as an essay grade, which is heavily weighted, so please do not neglect it. 

That having been said, let us move on to more pleasant matters: our tasks for the week.

Last week we began a multiple choice activity on excerpts from The Scarlet Letter. This week we will finish this activity in small groups. We will have a class discussion of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, a discussion of The Scarlet Letter, and a writing assignment on each, on in class, and the other to be done at home and uploaded to Moodle. I will give you more information on these assignments later in the week and will update my blog to reflect that information.

In addition to the MC activity and discussion and writing, we will have a test review for the Puritan period. That test will be next week. We will also have a quiz this week on lesson 12. I will give you a handout of the words for that lesson.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

English 12: January 30-February 3

Greetings Seniors!

I hope you had a restful weekend. This week we will continue our study of Renaissance literature. On Monday we will look at several John Donne poems, including "A Valediction Forbidding Weeping" and "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." These two poem show a marked contrast in the younger "Jack" Donne and his more mature counterpart John. The older, more serious, more introspective Donne is also known for his holy sonnets and religious meditations. We will read two of his sonnets, "Death be not Proud" and "Batter My Heart, Three Personed God," and one of his meditations, Meditation 17. I am not certain we can complete all this reading and discussion on Monday, but we will try. Any remaining reading will be done (no pun intended) on Thursday.

Thursday, we will have a quiz on lesson 15 vocabulary, so study those words even if we do not get to them in class. We will also read and discuss more poetry and essays from the Renaissance, and we will review for a test on this periods shorter works on Monday of next week. After your test, we will delve into Shakespeare.

I just checked my Moodle, and as I feared, only about half of you have uploaded your Dr. Faustus papers. These MUST be uploaded. I will close the assignment on Friday. Any late assignments after that date will NOT be accepted, and you will earn a ZERO for an essay grade. Speaking of essays, it's nearing the time for research papers. I will discuss them with you in the coming weeks.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

English 12: January 23-27

Hello Seniors!

I hope you had a great weekend. This is an A week, so we will make up for last weeks shortness by meeting three times! 

On Monday, after we have discussed Dr. Faustus and reviewed the topics for your essays, we will continue our study of Renaissance Literature with Carpe Diem poetry, among which is Herrick's "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time" and Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." Please upload your completed essays to my Moodle by the appointed date.

In this unit, we will examine several of John Donne's works. Be aware that Donne's life experiences can be marked by his writings. His youthful poet persona is often called "Jack" Donne, and his older more serious texts, including his meditations and his Holy Sonnets. But before we look closely at Donne, we will familiarize ourselves with the play Wit, originally spelled W;t, which explains part of the complexity in Donne's writing. An excerpt from the play is in your textbook, and I have a complete copy of the text.

We should complete the aforementioned play on Thursday, take our quiz on lesson 14 vocabulary, and begin our study of Donne's works.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

English 10: January 23-27

Hello Sophomores!

I hope you had a restful weekend. This week we will finish our study of The Crucible, review lesson 15 vocabulary for a quiz on Friday, and review Monday for a test on the literature of the Puritans and related texts. After our discussion of the crucible, you will write a journal response for each act. Here is a link to the journal entries from which you may choose. We will write the journal responses in class on Friday.

Here is a fasinating web page on the Salem trials for your perusal. 

See you in class,

Mrs. SO

Monday, January 23, 2012

APEnglish 12: January 23-27

Greetings APEs!

This week, in addition to your upload of the MWDS for Turn of the Screw, we will continue our study of John Donne and his "Meditation XVII." We will also continue with the poetry that I indicated in last week's blog. Bring your massive text books. On Friday we will have a quiz on the first half of the "P" words from the SAT list. We will also have a class discussion on the novella The Turn of the Screw. Be prepared with quotations for discussion and questions for the class. The primary questions I would like you to address is about the frame structure of the text and the reliability of the narrator of the text within the text. Can we believe the governess? Are the ghosts real? What evidence is there to support their existence or lack thereof? If they do not exist, what does this mean about the narrator, and what happened to Miles? What does all of the aforementioned contribute to the meaning of the text?

Fun, fun, fun!

See you in class!

PreAPEnglish 10: January 23-27

Hello Young APEs!

This new semester is flying by. I hope that you have all completed your Major Works Data Sheets on The Scarlet Letter and have uploaded them to Moodle. If not, please do not delay further. Also, let me congratulate you on your fabulous illustrations of Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. These will be compiled and made into a slideshow.
This week we will review the play The Crucible. Be prepared to write about the themes in it. Do not confuse the depictions in the play with the very real testimony in Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World, which we read excerpts last week. You should be familiar with the reasons Miller states for having written the former and examples of bias and the implications thereof in the latter.

This week you will take the quiz on vocabulary 11. Please study.

Also, be prepared to discuss the novel The Scarlet Letter in class. You will be expected, after the discussion, to write a timed in-class essay on this text. Remember that though the novel is set in Puritan Boston, it was not written by a Puritan, but rather by a descendant of on of the Salem judges who is critical of Puritanism. The most important question you must answer about the novel is what is it's theme...in other words...what is the meaning of the text? The second most important question is how do you know? ...In other words, what parts of the text prove your claim about meaning.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

English 12: January 17-20

Hello Seniors!

This will be a very short week for us. We will meet but once, since Monday was a holiday. So, on Thursday we will review vocabulary for next week's quiz on lesson 14, and we will finish reading the play Dr. Faustus. We will discuss the various themes of the play and revisit the opening Chorus to discuss the implications in it and its incongruity with other scenes in the play. What, specifically, are the play and the Chorus saying about predestination and free will? Why is it significant that they seem to not match up? What might have been Marlowe's purpose in writing this conflicting message?

Do not forget that you will be required, in lieu of a test, to write an essay on Dr. Faustus. Read the list of topics and choose one. Your essays are due January 23 and must be uploaded to Moodle.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

English 10: January 17-20

Greetings Sophomores!

I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday.

This week will be a continuation of our study of Puritan literature and thematically related materials. Some of you will meet with me only once and will have to be diligent in order to keep pace. We will finish reading and illustrating the infamous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." It is my hope to put all the illustrations into a slide show that I can publish on my blog.

After the sermon, we will look into the Salem Witch Trials. Wonders of the Invisible World, written by Puritan minister Cotton Mather, records the court proceedings. The text, however, seems biased by today's standards for court records, and the testimony, likewise, seems less than credible. What sorts of Puritan ideals could have led to such trials? What do they say about the community. How do these trials and Edwards' sermon seem incongruous with, say, poetry by Taylor and Bradstreet?

Of course, no literary discussion of the Salem Witch Trials would be complete without a look at the play The Crucible. I hope to get to this play this week. The play, while set during the infamous trials, is not historically accurate nor meant to be. We will discuss the thematic value of the play and Miller's purpose in writing it.

You will have a vocabulary quiz on lesson 15 this week. Bring your workbook for review.


See you in class!

Mrs. SO

PreAPEnglish 10: January 17-20

Greetings Sophomores!

I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday.

his week will be a continuation of our study of Puritan literature and thematically related materials. Some of you will meet with me only once and will have to be diligent in order to keep pace. We will finish reading and illustrating the infamous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." It is my hope to put all the illustrations into a slide show that I can publish on my blog. 
After the sermon, we will look into the Salem Witch Trials. Wonders of the Invisible World, written by Puritan minister Cotton Mather, records the court proceedings. The text, however, seems biased by today's standards for court records, and the testimony, likewise, seems less than credible. What sorts of Puritan ideals could have led to such trials? What do they say about the community. How do these trials and Edwards' sermon seem incongruous with, say, poetry by Taylor and Bradstreet?

Of course, no literary discussion of the Salem Witch Trials would be complete without a look at the play The Crucible. I hope to get to this play this week. The play, while set during the infamous trials, is not historically accurate nor meant to be. We will discuss the thematic value of the play and Miller's purpose in writing it.

You will have a vocabulary quiz on lesson 11 this week. I posted the link to the words on last week's blog. 

Upload your Major Works Data Sheets on the novel the Scarlet Letter to my Moodle by Saturday, Jan. 21. Come to class next week prepared to discuss the novel and write and in class essay on it.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

APEnglish 12: January 17-20

Greetings APEs!

Ahh, another week, another round of poetry.

On Tuesday we will review the two poems from the MC section of your midterm exam. One of those poems, "Love's Diet," is a Donne poem, and as such is a good example of metaphysical conceit. It is important when reading poetry from the 16th-17th centuries to paraphrase first. If you don't, you are likely to lose the meaning. Also remember that poets like Donne were very fond of metaphors, so whenever reading them, you must determine what the metaphor means.

On Wednesday and Friday we will continue our look at poetry, specifically poetry by Donne. To this end, we will examine, paraphrase, and unravel the following poems:

"The Cannonization"
"A Valediction Forbidding Mourning"
"Go and Catch a Falling Star" or "Song"
"The Bait"
"A Valediction of Weeping"

For homework read the following poems from your text book and be prepared to discuss them in class:

"Schoolsville" 659
"The Naked and the Nude" 695
"Disillusionment of Ten O' Clock" 716
"Dover Beach" 732
"A Work of Artifice" 811
"Metaphors" 812
"A Supermarket in California" 941
"Sonnet 73: That Time of Year Thou May'st in Me Behold" 954
"Women" 956
"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" 957
"To his Coy Mistress" 994
"Second Coming" 999

On Friday you will also have a quiz on the following P words from the SAT word list:
  1. palliate
  2. pallid
  3. panacea
  4. paragon
  5. pariah
  6. parsimony
  7. pathos
  8. paucity
  9. pejorative
  10. pellucid
  11. penurious
  12. perfidious
  13. perfunctory
  14. pernicious
  15. perspicacity
  16. pertinacious
  17. petulance
  18. pithy
  19. platitude
  20. plethora

Do not forget that your MWDS for The Turn of the Screw must be uploaded to my Moodle by Saturday, Jan. 21.
Come prepared Tuesday to discuss the novella. Bring passages that you find most intriguing to discuss, and consider the intentional ambiguity of the text.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Monday, January 9, 2012

APENGLISH 12: December 9-13, 2012

Greetings APEs!

Thanks to those who came for the mock exam on Saturday. I appreciate your extra effort. And for those who did not, do not think this means you cannot learn from the March session that reviews the exam. I expect to see more of you there.

Keep reading The Turn of the Screw at home, and be prepared for a discussion session and essay on that text. Also, complete a MWDS on the novella and upload it to Moodle by Jan. 21. In the interim, we will delve more deeply into poetry, beginning with a discussion of the play W;t. It may seem odd to start a study of poetry with a play, but trust me, it is not. The play revolves around a professor of 17th c. poetry, specifically John Donne's Holy Sonnets, and her epiphanic (yes, that is a word) understanding of them, not as a teacher of poetry, but as a student of life...and death.

I will be giving a list of poetry to read at home for discussion in class. Be prepared. Don't come cold...I will know.

Next week we will resume our vocabulary quizzes.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Sunday, January 8, 2012

ENGLISH 12: December 9-13, 2012

Greetings Seniors!
This marks our first full week of our last semester! Boy time sure does fly!

As I told you last week, we are now studying Renaissance Literature, which includes such authors as Donne, Shakespeare, and Marlowe, among many others. This was a of rebirth of knowledge and technology. Changes in the church and the end of the Feudal system are reflected in the literature of the period. This is a period rich in a plethora of new literature, and while we cannot possibly read all of it, I hope we can get a good overview of the period.

To begin our study, we will read the play Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. Pay attention and participate in discussion because you WILL be expected to write an essay on this play. I will post topics and upload dates on my Moodle next week.

Also, we will have a vocabulary quiz on Thursday on lesson 12.

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

English 10: Jan 9-13, 2012

Greetings Sophomores!

This marks your first full week of the semester. This week we will continue our look at Puritan literature, contemporaries of Puritans and literature about Puritans. To begin our week, we will analyze the poetry of Edward Taylor. Taylor is interesting in that he only published one stanza from one of his poems during his lifetime. The rest were found over 100 years later and published posthumously.  Two poems by Taylor that we will examine are "Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold" and "Huswifery," the latter of which is in your textbook. "Huswifery" is a more complex conceit than the one "The Author to Her Book," so it will take a bit more effort on your parts to unravel its mystery.

We will also read excerpts from an infamous Puritan sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," by Jonathan Edwards. You will be expected to recognize the imagery in this sermon and discuss it as a form of persuasive writing/speaking. What sorts of appeals does Edwards make? How effective are they?

Also, we will examine and discuss testimony recorded by Cotton Mather in his book The Wonders of the Invisible World from an actual witch trial, the trial of Martha Carrier. You will be expected to judge the validity of the testimony and recognize instances of bias.

On Friday you will take a quiz on Lesson 13 Vocabulary, and we will review Lesson 14 words. We will also review commonly confused words and learn to differentiate between them.

See you in Class!

Table of contents for Wonders of the Invisible World

Mrs. SO

Friday, January 6, 2012

PreAPEnglsh 10: January 9-13, 2012

Greetings young APEs!

We have so much to do and so little time!
This week we will continue out study of Puritans and their literature. Last week we looked at the poetry of Anne Brastreet and discussed how to complete a Major Works Data Sheet. This week we will revisit one of Bradstreet's poems and compare and contrast it will that of a non Puritan poem by Sor Juana on a similar thematic topic to see if we can differentiate between them based on style or content.

We will also read and discuss two poems by Edward Taylor, "Huswifery" and "Upon a Wasp Chilled With Cold," and further discuss and analyze the use of conceit in poetry. Should time permit, we will read and illustrate the imagery in the infamous sermon by Jonathan Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

Don't forget to upload your MWDS on The Scarlet Letter on or before January 21. There is a link to a blank MWDS on my moodle as well.  We will also be writing an in-class essay on the novel in class in the coming days. And don't forget to study your Lesson 11 vocabulary for a quiz this week.

Like I said...so much to do....so little time!

See you in class!

Mrs. SO

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Welcome Back! Jan. 5-6, 2012

Greetings students!

I hope you all had a restful vacation and are ready to get back into the swing of things. Every class will meet but once this week, but we still have plenty to do. Next week will be an A week, so plan your schedule with that in mind.

Prepare for the following activities this week:

Grade-Level English 12:

We've just completed the section on Medieval Literature, so be prepared for some Renaissance reading. We will begin with a brief lecture on and introduction to Christopher Marlowe's writings, including poetry and one of my favorite plays, Dr. Faustus, the first written Faustian tale, which predates the other well-known Faust, by Goethe by about a century. You should be easily able to distinguish this writing from the previous texts we have read. No longer are we dealing with early or middle English. Like Shakespeare, his contemporary, Marlowe wrote in early MODERN English. I know many students feel that this archaic writing is anything but modern, but comparatively speaking, it is. Still, to assist you in your understanding of this text, I will post an annotated version with helpful explanations for your perusal. We will read the original version in class.

APEnglish Literature 12:

You should have read The Turn of the Screw over the holiday, but in case your family plans did not allow for such, we will delay our discussion of, writing about, and MWDS for this text for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, we will look at a variety of poems in your text book. You will need to bring it to class next week. On Friday of this week, we will break into groups for two activities. First we will review some of the MC from your midterm, and then we will develop thesis statements with controlling ideas such as those you will need to use when writing timed essays. These thesis statements need to be more concise and exact than those of longer, take-home papers.


Pre-APEnglish 10

As you know, you were to read Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter over the break. Some of you, however, did not get a copy of the text. Others, I am sure, were inundated with family and holiday activities; therefore, I will not expect you to complete the novel for several more days. Keep reading, and fill out a Major Works Data Sheet. I will give you a link to a MWDS, but you can easily find a blank one by googling AP Literature Major Works Data Sheet Blank. If they are not formatted exactly the same as the one I link to, that is fine, so long as the information is basically the same. You may even choose to write the information simply under bold headings instead of typing in the boxes. I would like you to upload your MWDS to Moodle before Jan. 20.

All English 10 Classes

This week we will continue our study of Puritans and delve into Puritan poetry. We will read "Upon the Burning of our House, July 10 1666" and "From the Author to her Book" by Ann Bradstreet. While studying these poems we will discuss the use of and effectiveness of conceit, or extended metaphor. If time permits we will also read poetry by Edward Taylor. Tayor's poems also employ conceit, and it will be your task to decipher what the metaphor is each of the poems, "Huswifery" and "Upon a Wasp Chilled with Cold," and how to interpret the poem based on the conceit.