Friday

• We shared main points from the articles on Sonnet 29
• Gratitude letters 
• Due Tues. 11/28/17: ZERO. ZIP. NADA. Enjoy your break!

Wednesday

• Character analysis papers turned in: 
• 1st draft with peer review pages turned in during class
• Final draft shared on Google by class time

• Poetry Analysis: Sonnet 29
• Group assignment
1. Work together to create a paraphrase of the sonnet. 
• NOTE: A paraphrase is not a summary. A summary is a shortened statement of something written. A paraphrase is a "translation" of the original text, so it should be about as long as the original.
2. Read one of the assigned articles and agree upon a summary of the main points. 
3. Present the main points to the class.
• If you were absent, complete the paraphrase and read the articles.
• Due Fri. 11/17/17: Make sure your group is ready to present the main points of your assigned article.

Monday

• Fiction Analysis: "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde
• Discussion of Fiction terms: Characterization 
• Character Analysis Essay: Today we did a peer review activity to gain feedback from each other on the first drafts of the character analysis on "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde.
• Due Wed. 11/15/17 at class time: Make a final draft of your character analysis of the nightingale or the student. Share the typed final version online via Google. Turn in your first draft with the peer review sheets when you come to class.
• Resources for completing the final draft:
• Template for final in Google Docs
• Grammarly for proofreading
• Double check for the following since points will be taken off for each occurrence of these errors:
• Capitalization errors of any sort 
• Capitalization rules
• Not indenting the beginning of paragraphs
• Using contractions (didn’t, won’t, isn’t…)
• Not using quotation marks to indicate material taken from a source
• Proper use of quotations
• Run-on sentence
• Identifying and fixing run-on sentences
• Resources for writing character analysis:
• Character analysis tutorial page using "We Show What We Have Learned"
• How to Write a Character Analysis - Dr. Davis
• How to Write a College Character Analysis Essay (See also the references at the bottom of the page.)

Thursday

• Poetry Analysis
• In-class assignment: Read and analyze a new Shakepearean sonnet in order to answer an AP-style essay question. 45 minutes. If you were absent, see me for a time to make this up.

• Fiction Analysis: "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde
• Discussion of Fiction terms: Characterization 
• HW due Mon. 11/13/17: Write the 1st draft of a character analysis on either the student or the nightingale from "The Nightingale and the Rose". Bring a physical copy of your draft to class on Monday (handwritten is fine). 
• Character analysis tutorial page using "We Show What We Have Learned"
• How to Write a Character Analysis - Dr. Davis
• How to Write a College Character Analysis Essay (See also the references at the bottom of the page.)

ALL DRAFTS OF THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY NEED TO BE EMAILED & TIMESTAMPED TODAY IN ORDER TO AVOID A PERMANENT ZERO.

Tuesday

• Fiction Analysis: "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde
• Discussion of plot and interpretive questions from homework
• Due Thurs. 11/9/17: Define Fiction terms: Characterization in your notes
• Literary terms dictionary: "A Literate Vocabulary" K. Wheeler
• Wikipedia glossary of literary terms

• College Admissions Essay: 
• TO TURN IN YOUR DRAFT: You must email me in a separate email that a draft is ready in your folder. I will not be notified by Google Docs that you have added a document to the folder or that you are ready for me to look at it.
• I believe I am up to date with looking at 3rd drafts. If you turned in a new draft since our conference, check to see if you have comments in the doc and an email. If you don't, send me an email that your draft is ready so I know to look for it in your folder.
• All college admissions essays must be finalized (final draft graded) by Friday, Nov. 10 so the last day I will accept them is Wed. Nov. 8. 

Friday

• Fiction Analysis
• NOTE: I am keeping a running list of terms you are responsible for knowing and being able to apply. You can check that list here.
•  "We Show What We Have Learned" by Clare Beams
• Discussion of the discussion thread topics that were completed for homework.
• In-class assignment- Discussion thread question on Google Classroom: Write an interpretive question and answer two others'. If you were absent, you need to contribute to this thread.
• HW due Tues. 11/7/17: Read "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde. Mark the story for the following:
• Identify the location of the five parts of plot and justify your choices.
• Characterize the nightingale and the student by:
• identifying descriptive passages about the characters AND
• making notes in the margin that interpret the passages you select.
• FYI: Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard

• College Admissions Essay: 
• TO TURN IN YOUR DRAFT: You must email me in a separate email that a draft is ready in your folder. I will not be notified by Google Docs that you have added a document to the folder or that you are ready for me to look at it.
• I believe I am up to date with looking at 3rd drafts. If you turned in a new draft since our conference, check to see if you have comments in the doc and an email. If you don't, send me an email that your draft is ready so I know to look for it in your folder.
• All college admissions essays must be finalized (final draft graded) by Friday, Nov. 10 so the last day I will accept them is Wed. Nov. 8. 

• POW: Shakespearean Sonnet- Discussion of the how the elements of a Shakespearean (English) sonnet help us find meaning in the poem. We will need to use these ideas next week because I will give you the poem to work out and write about in class.

Wednesday

1B:

• College Admissions Essay:
• TO TURN IN YOUR DRAFT: You must email me in a separate email that a draft is ready in your folder. I will not be notified by Google Docs that you have added a document to the folder or that you are ready for me to look at it.
• I believe I am up to date with looking at 3rd drafts. If you turned in a new draft since our conference, check to see if you have comments in the doc and an email. If you don't, send me an email that your draft is ready so I know to look for it in your folder.
• All college admissions essays must be finalized (final draft graded) by Friday, Nov. 10 so the last day I will accept them is Wed. Nov. 8. 

• POW: Shakespearean Sonnet- Discussion of the elements of a Shakespearean (English) sonnet
• "Sonnet LV" by William Shakespeare
• For Fri. 11/3/17: Analyze your assigned poem:
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.

• NEW UNIT: Fiction Analysis
• NOTE: I am keeping a running list of terms you are responsible for knowing and being able to apply. You can check that list here.
•  "We Show What We Have Learned" by Clare Beams
• In-class assignment- Discussion Threads DUE AT 11pm THURS. 11/2/17
1. Go to the Google Classroom for our class. You should already be enrolled, but in case there is a problem logging in, here are the class code = bn32a9
2. I have listed two topics for your response. For each one,  you will need to enter a short paragraph response AND comment with a complete thought on two of your classmates' entries. You will be graded on your response and your comments.

4B:

• I'm sorry I couldn't be in class today. I'm in Ms. Krink's office in the 300 wing with the other English 4 teachers. If you have any questions, send someone to get me. In class today, please complete the assignments I have highlighted in green.

• POW: Shakespearean Sonnet- "Sonnet XCVII" by William Shakespeare
1. As a class, review and discuss your notes on the qualities of a Shakespearean sonnet. 
2. Go to THIS GOOGLE DOCUMENT and have everyone contribute to making a list for me of the sonnet qualities. Everyone in class today should add something to the document. If someone already wrote your idea, find out more information about one of the qualities (what does "iambic" mean??)
• For Fri. 11/3/17: Analyze your assigned poem:
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.

• NEW UNIT: Fiction Analysis
• NOTE: I am keeping a running list of terms you are responsible for knowing and being able to apply. You can check that list here.
•  "We Show What We Have Learned" by Clare Beams
• In-class assignment- Discussion Threads 
1. Go to the Google Classroom for our class. You should already be enrolled, but in case there is a problem logging in, here is the class code  = nw4v05e
2. I have listed two topics for your response. For each one,  you will need to enter a short paragraph response AND comment with a complete thought on two of your classmates' entries. You will be graded on your response and your comments.

• College Admissions Essay:
• I believe I am up to date with looking at 3rd drafts. If you turned in a new draft since our conference, check to see if you have comments in the doc and an email. If you don't, send me an email that your draft is ready so I know to look for it in your folder.
• All college admissions essays must be finalized (final draft graded) by Friday, Nov. 10 so the last day I will accept them is Wed. Nov. 8. 

Monday

• Beowulf concluding assignments were due yesterday.

• College Admissions Essay:
• TO TURN IN YOUR DRAFT: You must email me in a separate email that a draft is ready in your folder. I will not be notified by Google Docs that you have added a document to the folder or that you are ready for me to look at it.
• I believe I am up to date with looking at 3rd drafts. If you turned in a new draft since our conference, check to see if you have comments in the doc and an email. If you don't, send me an email that your draft is ready so I know to look for it in your folder.
• All college admissions essays must be finalized (final draft graded) by Friday, Nov. 10 so the last day I will accept them is Wed. Nov. 8. 

• POW: Shakespearean Sonnet
• 1B: "Sonnet LV" by William Shakespeare
• 4B: "Sonnet XCVII" by William Shakespeare
• For Wed. 11/1/17: Research the qualities of a Shakespearean sonnet and apply it to this week's poem. Be able to discuss these elements on Wed.
• For Fri. 11/3/17: Analyze your assigned poem:
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.

• NEW UNIT: Fiction Analysis
• NOTE: I am keeping a running list of terms you are responsible for knowing and being able to apply. You can check that list here.
• Fiction terms notes: PLOT #1-6
• In-class reading: "We Show What We Have Learned" by Clare Beams
• Identify and mark on the story where the sections of plot shift.
• HW due Wed. 11/1/17:
• Mark and annotate your copy of "We Show What We Have Learned" for character analysis of Ms. Swenson. This means you will identify key words / phrases / sections of the story and make a note about what we learn about Ms. Swenson through the description, what the author is trying to suggest to us.
• Work out your ideas on this interpretive question: What lesson was Ms. Swenson trying to teach the class? Do the children learn it? Is it a good lesson?

Thursday

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• AP essay practice. On the sample prompt, make notes that show you have analyzed the topic and annotate the poem for ideas that would help you respond to the topic. Then, write a thesis statement at the bottom of the prompt page that fully answers the prompt. Turn in this page with your homework annotations on the poem.
• HW due Mon. 10/30/17: Read the sample essays for the prompt. Pay attention to qualities in the sample essays that are strengths and weaknesses. I will ask you to share your ideas on the three essays on Monday.
• 1B: "Crossing the Swamp" by Mary Oliver
• AP Prompt
• Sample Essays
• 2B: "Modern Love" by George Meredith
• AP Prompt
• Sample Essays
• **NOTE: You will need to log in to your school account to access the AP prompts and sample essays. I'm not allowed to put them on the web.

• Beowulf 
• Concluding Assignment for Beowulf - Due Sun. 10/29/17 by midnight. SHARE your assignment with me on Google Drive.
• Resources:
• Click here to listen to me talk about the project
• Research Paper
• Purdue OWL 
• Sample paper in MLA8 format
• MLA8 Citations for Beowulf, Halverson article, and Anglo-Saxon Video series
• "Understanding MLA Style- 8th Ed." (video)
• MLA Works Cited citations (video)
• Using In-Text Citations in a research paper (video)
• Infographic
• What is an infographic? / Examples
• Make an infographic using Canva
• Tutorial for Canva
• Make an infographic using Easel.ly
• Tutorial for Easel.ly
• Video
• iMovie beginner tutorial (NOTE: You do not have to use iMovie, but it is an easy software platform to learn. The video output on your file should be .mp4.)

• College Admissions Essay Conferences are finishing today. You have one week from the date of your conference to put a 3rd draft in your folder. You MUST email me when it is ready as I will not get a notification that you have added the document. All college admissions essays must be finalized (final draft graded) by Friday, Nov. 10.

Tuesday

 THIS WEEK'S WRITING CONFERENCES

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• Notes on writing poetry analysis essays. [Handout]
• Practice responding to AP prompts by outlining for this week's poem. 
• 1B: "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop (prompt & outline)
• 4B:  "Digging" by Seamus Heaney (prompt & outline)
• If you were absent, listen to the audio explanation of how to write a basic poetry analysis then work out an outline that responds to the prompt for your poem (links above). Turn in poem and outline.
• HW due Thurs. 10/26/17: 
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.
• 1B: "Crossing the Swamp" by Mary Oliver
• 2B: "Modern Love" by George Meredith

• Beowulf: 
• Concluding Assignment for Beowulf - Due Sun. 10/29/17 by midnight

• College Admissions Essay Conferences are ongoing. See schedule with the link at the top of this post.

Friday

THIS WEEK'S WRITING CONFERENCES

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• Annotated poems were turned in
• 1B: "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop
• 4B:  "Digging" by Seamus Heaney

• Beowulf: 
• TEST for sections 3 & 4
• Concluding Assignment for Beowulf - Due Sun. 10/29/17 by midnight

• College Admissions Essay Conferences are ongoing. See schedule with the link at the top of this post.
 

STUDY SESSION THURS. 10/19/17

Click to watch the study session from Thurs. 10/19/17 covering sections 3&4 of Beowulf, the Halverson article, and the video series "Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons". I also throw in some vocab :)

Wednesday

THIS WEEK'S WRITING CONFERENCES

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• Analyze and annotate this week's poem for class on Fri. 10/20/17
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.
• 1B: "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop
• 4B:  "Digging" by Seamus Heaney

• Beowulf: 
• The test for sections 3 & 4 of Beowulf will be on Fri., Oct. 20. Test will also include the Halverson article and the Anglo-Saxon video series. Here are some resources for studying:
• Watch live study session from Tues. 10/17/17
• Watch live study session from Thurs. 10/19/17
• Watch live study session from Sun. 10/22/17 
• Timeline of events in the entire epic poem
• Study Guide section 3
• Study Guide section 4
• I will have a live study session on Thurs. 10/19/17 @ 8pm. Check here and on Twitter for link one hour prior.
• "The Struggle Between Chaos in Beowulf" by John Halverson
• Note guidesheet for Halverson article
• "Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons" video series
• YouTube playlist
• Google folder
• Note guidesheet
• Class collaborative vocab lists: 
• 1B list
• 4B list
• Concluding Assignment for Beowulf - Due Sun. 10/29/17 by midnight

• College Admissions Essay Conferences are ongoing. See schedule with the link at the top of this post.

• FAFSA
• We went to the computer lab during class to meet with the counselors for financial aid applications today. Students signed up for FAFSA ID#.
• Financial Aid Night will be Tues. 10/24/17 from 6-8 pm. The counselors and other agencies will be available to help you and your parents complete the application. 

TUES 10/17/17 STUDY SESSION

You can view the live stream study session for the last Beowulf test here.

Monday

THIS WEEK'S WRITING CONFERENCES

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• Analyze and annotate this week's poem for class on Fri. 10/20/17
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.
• 1B: "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop
• 4B:  "Digging" by Seamus Heaney

• Beowulf: 
• Q&A for "The Struggle Between Chaos in Beowulf" by John Halverson. 
• Articles collected 4B.
• The test for sections 3 & 4 of Beowulf will be on Fri., Oct. 20. Test will also include the Halverson article and the Anglo-Saxon video series. Here are some resources for studying:
• Timeline of events in the entire epic poem
• Study Guide section 3
• Study Guide section 4
• I will have a live study session on Tues. 10/17/17 @ 8pm. Check here and on Twitter for link one hour prior.
• "The Struggle Between Chaos in Beowulf" by John Halverson
• Note guidesheet for Halverson article
• "Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons" video series
• YouTube playlist
• Google folder
• Note guidesheet
• Class collaborative vocab lists: 
• 1B list
• 4B list
• Concluding Assignment for Beowulf - Due Sun. 10/29/17 by midnight

• College Admissions Essay Conferences are ongoing. See schedule with the link at the top of this post.

• FAFSA
• We will go to the computer lab during class to meet with the counselors for financial aid applications on Wed. 10/18/17.
• Financial Aid Night will be Tues. 10/24/17 from 6-8 pm. The counselors and other agencies will be available to help you and your parents complete the application. 

Thursday

 NEXT WEEK'S WRITING CONFERENCES

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Poem of the Week (POW): We worked on AP multiple choice questions for the poems. I did not collect the poems.
• 1B: "The Writer" by Richard Wilbur
• 4B:  "To Be of Use" by Marge Piercy

• Beowulf
• Annotated articles ("The Struggle Between Chaos in Beowulf" by John Halverson) were collected.
• The test for sections 3 & 4 of Beowulf will be on Friday, Oct. 20.
• Class collaborative vocab lists:
• 1B list
• 4B list

• College Admissions Essay Conferences are ongoing. See schedule with the link at the top of this post.

• FAFSA
• We will go to the computer lab during class to meet with the counselors for financial aid applications on Wed. 10/18/17.
• Financial Aid Night will be Tues. 10/24/17 from 5-8 pm. The counselors and other agencies will be available to help you and your parents complete the application. 

Tuesday

THIS WEEK'S WRITING CONFERENCES

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

**Senior Portraits will be taken during class on Thursday.**

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• Analyze and annotate this week's poem for class on Thurs. 10/12/17
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.
• 1B: "The Writer" by Richard Wilbur
• 4B:  "To Be of Use" by Marge Piercy

• Beowulf: Section 4
• The test for sections 3 & 4 will be Friday, 10/20/17
• Discussion of Study Guide 
• Class collaborative vocab lists 
• 1B list
• 4B list
• HW due Thurs 10/12/17: Read and take notes on the article, "The Struggle Between Chaos in Beowulf" by John Halverson.  Use this guidesheet to mark your article. I will be checking.

• College Admissions Essays
• Your "College Admissions Essays" folder should look like this (1st draft essay with paperrater report copied to the end + new, improved 2nd draft for me to review)
• Everyone should be working on the second draft of their essays. That draft should be ready for me the day before your conference appointment. (See sign up sheet at the top of this blog entry.) Use the feedback you received from paperrater to improve your draft. Here are some other resources to help you:
• Search to find application requirements (including essays) by university
• Scoring Guide for essay
• Sample essays
• Apply Texas Topics 
• Grammarly
• VIDEOS TO HELP WITH THE ESSAY
• College Essay Advisors
• 5 College Essays That Suck (SuperTutorTV)
• What Colleges are Looking For (SuperTutorTV)

Thursday

VIEW ESSAY CONFERENCE SIGN UP HERE

Taking ACT or SAT soon? VIEW TEST PREP DOC HERE

• Voter Registration Cards
• See if you are eligible here
• If eligible, get a card from me and fill it out.
• Turn in completed cards to the table at both lunches Wed. through Fri. this week.
• You will get your voter card in the mail in time for you to use it on Nov. 7.

• Poem of the Week (POW): 
• We discussed the poem for this week and had an opportunity to revise original poetic idea statements. Annotated poems were turned in to be graded. 
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.
• 1B: "How to Write a Poem" by Allen Lee Taylor
• 4B: "How to Read a Poem" by Al Zolynas

• Beowulf: Section 4
• Study Guide 
• Group discussion & presentation of ideas for study guide
• Class collaborative vocab lists 
• 1B list
• 4B list
• HW due Thurs 10/12/17: Read and take notes on the article, "The Struggle Between Chaos in Beowulf" by John Halverson. 

• College Admissions Essays
• Your "College Admissions Essays" folder should look like this (1st draft essay with paperrater report copied to the end + new, improved 2nd draft for me to review)
• Everyone should be working on the second draft of their essays. That draft should be ready for me the day before your conference appointment. (See sign up sheet at the top of this blog entry.) Use the feedback you received from paperrater to improve your draft. Here are some other resources to help you:
• Search to find application requirements (including essays) by university
• Scoring Guide for essay
• Sample essays
• Apply Texas Topics 
• Grammarly
• VIDEOS TO HELP WITH THE ESSAY
• College Essay Advisors
• 5 College Essays That Suck (SuperTutorTV)
• What Colleges are Looking For (SuperTutorTV)

Tuesday

• Poem of the Week (POW): You have until Thurs. 10/5/17 to analyze and annotate the assigned poem. Focus on:
• topic- general subject of the poem; one word or a short phrase
• poetic idea- what the poet is trying to communicate about the topic; theme
• figurative language- identify and explain how poetic devices (metaphor, imagery, etc.) contribute to the poetic idea.
• 1B: "How to Write a Poem" by Allen Lee Taylor
• 4B: "How to Read a Poem" by Al Zolynas

• Beowulf: HW due Thurs. 10/5/17- Review and add annotations for section 4 (to the end of the book)

• College Admissions Essays:
• Your first draft was due in class today as we used it for development in writer's workshop. Use paperrater.com to analyze your first draft. Copy the paperrater report to the end of your first draft. Make improvements and create a 2nd draft for me to evaluate.
• Your "College Admissions Essays" folder should look like this (1st draft essay with paperrater report copied to the end + new, improved 2nd draft for me to review)