Pre-AP English II: Six Weeks' Final

Write a well-developed essay responding to the following prompt:

Describe what you have learned in this class this year.

Be specific/supply examples.

English II (On-Level) & English I (Pre-AP): Name Project Rubric

Here's the grading policy for the Name Project:

70% - Completing all steps listed in the assignment
20% - Attention to detail: grammar, spelling, punctuation
15% - Creativity: larger format, color, design, etc.

Yes, you can get 105% on this project. Go for it!

English I (Pre-AP): Literary Devices

If you missed the presentation on new literary devices because you were out Tuesday or Wednesday when you weren't EOC testing, here's what we talked about.



You need to come up with one example for each literary device.

Pre-AP English II: Elements of Grammar

Missed today's presentation on Clauses and Phrases? Enjoy!



Write a sentence for each of the following devices:

• Appositive Phrase
• Absolute Phrase
• Prepositional Phrase
• Participial Phrase

.

Pre-AP English II: New Literary Devices

Missed today's presentation? Not any more.



You need to come up with one example for each literary device.

Pre-AP English II: Censorship Essay

Please respond to the following prompt:

Based on your reading of "Coda" and "Censorship and Book Banning," as well as your understanding of the Harry Potter/Satanism satire article, write a well-constructed essay on whether you feel any of the books you have read on the Banned Book List may have been legitimately banned or placed on a restricted reading list. Be specific. Quote two of the three texts.

Pre-AP English II: Ray Bradbury's "Coda"

If your edition of Fahrenheit 451 does not include the section titled "Coda" after the story, please read it here, online, before coming to class in the morning. (I'll have a few copies printed out that you can use in class.)

English II (on-level): The Pearl 1-3 Test Review

Here's today's Jeopardy game if you'd like to replay it.

Also, if you'd like to read them online, here are the three chapters you'll be tested on:

• Chapter One
   
• Chapter Two
 

• Chapter Three

Enjoy!

English II (on-level): What's in a Name Project

Authors often choose names based on what they symbolize (Grant is generous, Joy is happy) or what they may allude to (Adam or Eve to the Genesis account of mankind’s origin). Coyotito’s name in The Pearl acts as foreshadowing … you’ll see when we get there. As the protagonist of your own story, your life, what does your name say about you?

Collect the following information, then create a poster (8.5x11 or larger) displaying everything you know about your name.

What does your name mean (first, middle, last) – You may look it up in a baby-naming book at a bookstore or online at a site like babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com.

If possible, ask your parents why they chose the name(s) they gave you and write down their response(s).

How much is your name a part of your identity? What do you feel your name “says” about you? If you changed your name would you become a different person? Why or why not? Include this information in your poster, too.

Due: May ^24th – you may orally present your poster in class for extra credit.

Pre-AP English II: "Dover Beach" Analysis Test

Pick any four questions from the "Dover Beach" multiple choice test and analyze why and/or how Matthew Arnold's choice to compose the poem the way he did contributes to the poem as a whole.

For Question 1, for instance, do not just say Arnold compared faith to the ebb and flow of the sea when he wrote "The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full." This shows faith being compared to a sea at low tide.

Add to it by suggesting that this produces a tone of ______________. Or that by suggesting that because he shows faith at an all-time low when he compares it to the tide, the reader might hope that one day it might once again ___________________.

 As long as your response is thorough and plausible, you will get credit for it.

I will not be inputting grades for either the multiple choice or the analysis portions of the test until this weekend. As long as you submit your analysis, stapled to your multiple choice test, by the end of the day Friday, you'll get full credit. Otherwise, you'll get a "missing" grade on the multiple choice until your analysis is turned in, and your analysis grade will be reduced.

English II (on-level): Pearl Vocabulary and Meaningful Sentences

Write meaningful sentences for each of these vocabulary words:

• Benign (adj): not causing harm


• Deft (adj): skillful


• Diffuse (v): to spread in all directions


• Furtive (adj): secret (in an underhanded way), stealthy


• Germane (adj): important to the issue at hand, pertinent


• Irresolute (adj): indecisive, unsure how to proceed


• Malign (v): to insult, to lie about someone in order to hurt his/her reputation


• Petulance (n): unreasonable touchiness or irritability


• Precipitate (v): to cause to happen quickly


• Stalwart (n): someone who supports a cause with firm commitment

For instance, if the vocabulary word was:

Parable (n): a short story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

a meaningful sentence would be:

Steinbeck's Pearl is a parable about sudden gain and devastating loss; after reading it I learned the lesson that sharing with others can make you more wealthy than being selfish.

Due: Wednesday, May 8th.

Pre-AP English II: Fahrenheit 451 Socratic Seminar Questions

Be prepared to discuss these questions in class on Monday, May 7, 2012. Remember to support your answers -- even the World Connection questions -- with evidence from the book.

If you missed the seminar, submit well-thought out written responses to two questions (100%; one question=80%). You may NOT answer a close-ended question.

If you were in class and did not respond twice, use the back of your remaining half-sheets ("buns") to respond to the questions. If you respond to a question discussed in class, your response must refer to the text and add to the conversation we had. (+20 points for the first, +10 points for the second)

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
What book has had a significant impact in your life? How? --D.L. (1st)

How would you feel if something you liked was destroyed or banned? --E.M. (6th)

Are you happy? How do you know? --J.S. (6th)


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
Why does Beatty send the Mechanical Hound to Montag's house? --R.M. (7th)

Where does Montag hide his books? --L.C. (1st)


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Why do you think Clarisse became interested in things her friends weren't interested in? --M.R. (7th)

Why do you think Mildred tried to commit suicide? --Mon.M. (7th)

Why has reading been outlawed in Montag's world? --Mar.M. (7th)


UNIVERSAL THEME / CORE QUESTIONS
What do you have in your life worth dying for? --M.R. (1st)

If you were in a situation that you knew was morally wrong, would you stand up for what is right? --T.S. (7th)


LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
How does the irony of the firemen starting fires contribute to the novel? --J.L. (6th)

Why do the firemen wear the symbol of the Phoenix on their uniforms? How is it significant to the ending of the novel? --S.P. (1st)

English I (Pre-AP): Ender's Game Socratic Seminar Preview

Be prepared to discuss these questions in class on Monday, May 7, 2012. Remember to support your answers -- even the World Connection questions -- with evidence from the book.

If you missed the seminar, submit well-thought out written responses to two questions (100%; one question=80%). You may NOT answer a close-ended question.

If you were in class and did not respond twice, use the back of your remaining half-sheets ("buns") to respond to the questions. If you respond to a question discussed in class, your response must refer to the text and add to the conversation we had. (+20 points for the first, +10 points for the second)

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
If someone encouraged you to "rebel," what would you do? --F.H.

If a family member hated you, what would you do? --A.R.


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
At the beginning of the story, what piece of equipment did Ender wear and why? --D.C.

What are Ender's brother's and sister's names? What is significant about their names as well as Ender's actual name?--T.S.


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
What happens when Ender starts making friends with his battle school classmates? --M.B.

Why does Peter dislike Ender? --R.B.


UNIVERSAL THEME / CORE QUESTIONS
What effect can being "unwanted" have on a person's life? --S.A.



LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
Why does Card use the simile "I'm about as useful as a sneeze in a spacesuit"? --S.R.

What does the simile "as funny as a one-legged rabbit" contribute to the story? --B.C.

Pre-AP English II: Fahrenheit 451 Socratic Seminar Question Types

Submit one (1) of each of the following by Saturday, May 5. I will pick several and post them to the website Sunday evening (5/6). Be prepared to discuss them in class on Monday, May 7th. Questions may come from any section of Fahrenheit 451. Include answers with text support for each question.

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
Write one question connecting the text to the real world.

Example: What would your reaction be if books were banned


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
Write one question about the text that will help everyone in the class come to an agreement about events or characters in the text. This question usually has a “correct” answer.

Example: How does the Mechanical Hound work?


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Write one insightful question about the text that will require proof and group discussion and “construction of logic” to discover or explore the answer to the question.

Example: Is the world in the novel a better place (or worse) for having reading prohibited?


UNIVERSAL THEME/ CORE QUESTIONS
Write one question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text.

Example: How does adversity inspire/force someone to be heroic?)

LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
Write one question dealing with HOW an author chose to compose a literary piece. How did the author manipulate point of view, characterization, poetic form, archetypal hero patterns, for example?

Example: "Montag" is a brand of paper; "Faber" is a manufacturer of pencils. How does Bradbury's naming his characters after these things enhance the story?

English II (on-level): Song of My School Day

Sound and song is an important part of our novel, The Pearl, as you could tell from chapter one. Much like Kino, you will make a “soundtrack” of the different parts of your school day, from start to finish. The steps for this project are outlined as follows:

1. Think of songs that you could relate with the 8 periods of your school day:

- 1st period
- 2nd period
- 3rd period
- 4th period
- 5th period
- 6th period
- 7th period
- 8th period

2. On a clean sheet of notebook paper, write at least 5 sentences explaining your choices in songs, and why you hear them at those particular times. **Include the song title and artist.

Ex: Track 8 (When school lets out): The Good Life, Kanye West
I chose this song because it is very upbeat. It talks about how good life really is, even when there are tough times and haters trying to put you down. When Kanye West says “And if they hate, then let ‘em hate, and watch the money pile up,” it reminds me that I have to look after myself, and in the end my efforts will pay off. The mood of the song matches my mood when the bell rings at 4:22. It makes me happy again, after a boring day of classes.

3. Print out the lyrics to all of the songs you choose, and highlight the parts you talk about in your explanation.

** Important: Your songs must be SCHOOL APPROPRIATE. It may be hard to find a song without an occasional curse word, BUT your song cannot talk EXPLICITLY about anything. Just remember, I can hold you responsible for anything you turn in and write.**

Not having a computer is not an excuse. There is a brand new library on Webb Chapel that you can use.

EXTRA CREDIT: Burn a CD with your 8 songs on it! (worth 20 points)

Projects are worth 20% of your grade. This project is due Tuesday, May. 22nd. You may, of course, turn it in earlier, if you would like. If you have questions on anything, I suggest you talk with me before or after school to clear everything up.