November 13 - 17

I hope everyone had a spectacular three-day weekend!  We finish Frederick Douglass and write the second rhetorical analysis/SAT-style essay about Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; see the details below.

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Discuss the ending of Frederick Douglass. Overview of the process of writing a rhetorical analysis essay.  Write a rhetorical analysis essay analyzing Douglass' argument against slavery.

Note: you'll have just over an hour to write out the essay and it will be due at the end of the class.  It's an in-class essay, but open note and open book.  Rough outlines and notes are fine; please do not write out an entire essay that you bring with you and simply copy, either in notes or written in the book.  You'll turn in any notes along with your essay, and show me the book (if used) as you turn it in.  I'm asking that the essay be written in class so that you get practice with supports first and you're confident when you're writing the SAT and/or ACT essays.    

Due: Please finish Chapter 11 of Frederick Douglass (finish the book).  Please be sure to bring your book , notes, and/or annotations to class with you! 

Please read 20 pages of your independent reading book.

Homework: Study for the quiz on Thursday/Friday.

Please bring your independent reading book with you to class on Thursday/Friday.

WEDNESDAY: (2nd period only) Journal warm-up, vocabulary activity.  Healthy survey.
Due: n/a

Homework: Study for the quiz.

Please bring your independent reading book to class on Friday.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz covering vocabulary, grammar, and Frederick Douglass.  Read and annotate articles about what to do about the homeless issue in Los Angeles in preparation for a roundtable discussion/debate for Monday/Tuesday.  Reading/work time with independent reading book.

Due: Please bring independent reading book to class with you.

Homework:  Please read another 20 pages of your independent reading book and post a response to the Independent Reading Turnitin.com Discussion Board, Post #3, before next class.  You should be up to about 180 - 200 pages in the Independent Reading Book.

November 6 - 9 - Short Week

Welcome! We're officially entering the holiday season this week as we celebrate Veteran's Day this Friday with a day off.  Please note: there isn't a vocab quiz this week, Vocab #8 is for next week.

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over Frederick Douglass, Chapters 7-9 figurative language.  Figurative language challenge winners and samples.  Begin reading Chapter 10 in class.  (Feedback from first rhetorical analysis essay, samples - 2nd period.) 

Due: Please read and annotate Chapters 7-9 of Frederick Douglass.  Bring 2 examples of the most effective figurative language from these chapters.

Homework: Please finish reading and annotating Chapter 10 for next class.

WEDNESDAY: (2nd period only) Journal warm-up. Current event day - read and annotate two opposing viewpoints and perform an SAT-style rhetorical analysis as a class.  Discuss and debate, vote.  Outline the majority opinion in a synthesis/ACT-style outline response based on the discussion.

Due: Finish reading and annotating Chapter 10 of Frederick Douglass for next class.

Homework: For Monday, please finish Chapter 11 of Frederick Douglass (finish the book).  Please be sure to bring your book and annotations to class with you!  We will write an in-class rhetorical essay that day.

Please read 20 pages of your independent reading book. 

THURSDAY: (4th and 6th only) Journal warm-up. California Heath Survey.  Punctuation/style activity. (6th period only - go over essay results for first rhetorical analysis essay.)

Due: Finish reading and annotating Chapter 10 of Frederick Douglass for next class.

Homework: For Tuesday, please finish Chapter 11 of Frederick Douglass (finish the book).  Please be sure to bring your book and annotations to class with you!  We will write an in-class rhetorical essay that day.

Please read 20 pages of your independent reading book.

FRIDAY: Veteran's Day Holiday - no school

Enjoy the three-day weekend.  See you next week!

October 30 - November 3

Happy Halloween!  We will celebrate Halloween, the end of a long month without any holidays or breaks, and, last but not least, the full, solid rough drafts that the class finished and uploaded. 

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Special Halloween reading of classic American horror writer Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amantillado, The Raven with modern anime-style drawings and lyrics, and a modern sci-fi horror short.  I'll bring some treats; feel free to bring food to share with no peanuts or tree nuts, please.

Due: For this Sunday night, October 29, please upload your final draft of the Green/Carson/Kelley rhetorical analysis prompt to your class period's Turnitin.com section by 11:00 p.m.  Be sure to get a confirmation that shows you submitted it and e-mail it to mogilefskya@pvpusd.net if you have any issues.  

Homework: Study for vocab quiz at the end of the week.

WEDNESDAY: (4th and 6th periods only) Current event day - read, annotate, and analyze two arguments on different sides of an issue, debate and discuss, and vote.  (SAT/Rhetorical analysis practice with the reading and analysis, and ACT/Argument/Synthesis practice with the discussion and debate using evidence.)

Due: n/a

Homework: Study for quiz on Friday.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz covering vocab and grammar only. Frederick Douglass reading - Chapter 6.  Figurative language challenge in groups.

Due: n/a

Homework: Please read and annotate Chapters 7-9 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.  Bring 2 examples of the most effective figurative language from the weekend reading for next class.

October 23-27

Welcome! It's going to be a warm week, but fortunately we'll be working on essay drafts in the (much cooler) computer lab. We'll also get a chance to preview the school's Little Shop of Horrors production and begin Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. I'm looking forward to it!

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.   Introduction to Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, read Chapter One together. Notes: types of thesis statements and pros/cons of each.  Create Turnitin.com class for your period.  Access essay drafts and begin polishing them into final drafts on computers.

Due: Type up a rough draft of the rhetorical analysis essay, and make sure you can access it electronically for next class (or have a paper copy with you).  You could upload it to a Google drive, or e-mail it to yourself, for example. The essay should be in full sentences, but it is still a rough draft.

Please get a copy of A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and bring it to class next week.  It's available on Amazon for $3, I can sell you a copy in class, or I'm happy to provide a copy if you're not able to purchase it, please let me know.

Homework: Work on essay drafts, and be sure you can access your work for Thursday/Friday.  The due date for the final draft is this Sunday night, October 28, to your class period's Turnitin.com class by 11:00 p.m.

Read and annotate Chapters 2 - 5 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

(Please click here for an online copy of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This is to tide you over until you receive an online copy and/or a library hard copy of the book. Be sure to take notes if you're using the online version or a library version. You'll eventually need the notes/hard copy for an in-class essay.)

Study for vocab/grammar quiz.
  
WEDNESDAY: (2nd period only)  Play preview from 11:25 - 11:55.  Journal warm-up/essay check-in.

Due: n/a

Homework: (same as Monday/Tuesday)

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: (4th and 6th only - play preview) Journal warm-up.  Quiz over vocab, grammar, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass reading.  Suggestions for conclusions to essays PPT.  Leftover time on laptops working on essays.

Due: Read and annotate Chapters 2 - 5 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. 

Homework:
For this Sunday night, October 29, please upload your final draft of the Green/Carson/Kelley rhetorical analysis prompt to your class period's Turnitin.com section by 11:00 p.m.  Be sure to get a confirmation that shows you submitted it and e-mail it to mogilefskya@pvpusd.net if you have any issues.  

October 16 - 20

Welcome!  Here's what's on the agenda for the week:

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Go over the prompts and class annotations. Discuss outline styles.  Cumulative sentences: definition, activity.

Due: 
1. Read and annotate 3 rhetorical analysis prompts.  Think about which one you would like to use to write into a full, take-home essay.

2. Please read 10 pages of your independent reading book.

3. Please leave warm-up journals in the bin - 2nd and 6th periods.

Homework: For Wednesday or Thursday: 

Complete outline for one of the three rhetorical analysis prompts.  You may use phrases instead of full sentences, but please do write it on a separate piece of paper in outline format.

WEDNESDAY (4th and 6th periods): Journal warm-up.  Collect outlines.  Current event day: read and annotate articles from multiple perspectives, discuss and debate, outline, and vote.

Due: Outlines, (4th period only - journals).

Homework: Study for quiz.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Vocab quiz covering grammar, vocabulary from list #5. Go over outlines in class on projector, receive them back.  Read class example of a full rhetorical analysis essay.  Figurative language challenge.

Due: (For 2nd period only - outline.)

Homework: Type up a rough draft of the rhetorical analysis essay, and make sure you can access it electronically for next class (or have a paper copy with you).  You could upload it to a Google drive, or e-mail it to yourself, for example. The essay should be in full sentences, but it is still a rough draft.

Please get a copy of A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and bring it to class next week.  It's available on Amazon for $3, I can sell you a copy in class, or I'm happy to provide a copy if you're not able to purchase it, please let me know.

October 9 - 13

It's PSAT week for juniors; be sure to note the change in schedule for Wednesday morning.  Here's what we'll be doing in English class: 

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  (Hearing test for Monday A Day only.)  Talk about Santa Ana Winds and the annotating suggestions from the weekend reading.  Pass back Carter Rhetorical Analysis, and walk through the steps to answer a rhetorical analysis essay prompt about it.  Pass back Kaepernick assignment.  Definition: paradox, oxymoron. Independent reading discussion groups.  

Due:  Please read pages 4- 10 in the Close Reading packet, including Joan Didion's Santa Ana Winds.  Please annotate it yourself in your current annotation style in the Close Reading packet on page 6.  Then, read the information about annotating on pages 7-10.

How can you sharpen your reading and annotating skills?  Be ready to discuss.

Please read another 20 pages of your Independent Reading book and be ready to meet in person with others reading the same category.

Homework for Thursday/Friday:

1. Read Death of the Moth from the Close Reading Packet and annotate it. Though this is a short passage, it's challenging.  What conclusions about life does Woolf's speaker come to in this piece?  Can you identify any rhetorical devices that help her make a statement about the nature of human life?

2. Please read 10 more pages of your Independent Reading book. 

WEDNESDAY: (PSAT Schedule - no Late Start today, classes are 50 minutes long.) Journal warm-up. Vocab Story Rounds.

Due: n/a

Homework: (for Friday, same as Monday's homework):

1. Read Death of the Moth from the Close Reading Packet and annotate it. Though this is a short passage, it's challenging.  What conclusions about life does Woolf's speaker come to in this piece?  Can you identify any rhetorical devices that help her make a statement about the nature of human life?

2. Please read 10 pages in your Independent Reading book. 

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz covering vocab, tone.  Class discussion about Death of the Moth.  Notes: definition of satire and how to write about it. Read Groucho Marx's letter,  other written and video samples of satire.

Due:

1. Read Death of the Moth from the Close Reading Packet and annotate it. Though this is a short passage, it's challenging.  What conclusions about life does Woolf's speaker come to in this piece?  Can you identify any rhetorical devices that help her make a statement about the nature of human life?

2. Please read 10 pages of your Independent Reading book. 

Homework:

1. Read and annotate 3 rhetorical analysis prompts.  Think about which one you would like to use to write into a full, take-home essay.

2. Please read 10 pages of your independent reading book.

October 2-6

October is here.  Crisp(er) mornings, costumes, caramel apples, and...English class!

I am excited to continue adding rhetorical terms to your list, and to share another reading and activity packet this week: Close Reading and Analysis. I admit, it may not have the most exciting title, but it does have some interesting passages as well as a lot of good reference sheets in the back for writing essays and papers.  Here's what's on the agenda for the week:

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Discuss and analyze Apollo articles, define syntax, anaphora, repetition as rhetorical terms. Pictures as arguments, and how to write about them.  Notes: tone. Tone activity.  Pass out Close Reading and Analysis packet (Packet #2).

Due: Please read and annotate the 3 Apollo articles on pages 10-14 of the Rhetorical Analysis Packet and perform a SOAPS analysis on each of them, (not the cartoon on page 15).

Please respond to Independent Reading Discussion Post #2 in Turnitin.com before next class.

Homework: Read and annotate Elizabeth I's Speech to the Troops at Tilbury on page 1 of the Close Reading packet.  How would you describe her tone in throughout this speech?  Does it shift?  Is this an effective speech? Be ready to share annotations and discuss.  

Read On Bird, Bird Watching, and Jazz in the Close Reading packet, and read through the questions on page 3, jotting down answers and ideas in your own packet.

WEDNESDAY: (4th and 6th period only). Journal warm-up.  Presentation from the College and Career Center.

Due: n/a

Homework (same as Monday): Read and annotate Elizabeth I's Speech to the Troops at Tilbury on page 1 of the Close Reading packet.  How would you describe her tone in throughout this speech?  Does it shift?  Is this an effective speech? Be ready to share annotations and discuss.  

Read On Bird, Bird Watching, and Jazz in the Close Reading packet, and read through the questions on page 3, jotting down answers and ideas in your own packet. 

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz covering vocab #4, grammar.  Go over Speech to the Troops at Tilbury, watch video of reenactment. Go over answers to page 3 in Close Reading packet. Definition of irony, irony videos demonstrating the definition.

Due: Read and annotate Elizabeth I's Speech to the Troops at Tilbury on page 1 of the Close Reading packet.  How would you describe her tone in throughout this speech?  Does it shift?  Is this an effective speech? Be ready to share annotations and discuss.  

Read On Bird, Bird Watching, and Jazz in the Close Reading packet, and read through the questions on page 3, jotting down answers and ideas in your own packet.

Homework:   Please read pages 4- 10 in the Close Reading packet, including Joan Didion's Santa Ana Winds.  Please annotate it yourself in your current annotation style in the Close Reading packet on page 6.  Then, read the information about annotating on pages 7-10.

How can you sharpen your reading and annotating skills?  Be ready to discuss.

Please read another 25 pages of your Independent Reading Book, (approximately up to page 110).