Term 2 Notes and Errata

The Rules remain the same, but they will be strictly enforced this term.

Binder Organization
Your binder should have six sections, divided by index tab dividers.
- Do Now
- Notes
- Tests/Quizzes
- Vocabulary
- Homework
- Independent Reading

You MUST have these items in your binder at all times or you will receive a FAILING BINDER GRADE.

- Syllabus
- Term Planner
- Table of Contents

Do Now Assignments
There is no time to socialize when you arrive to class. There will always be an assignment posted. I will no longer go by the honor system. I will come around after the start of class to stamp Do Now’s. There will be penalties for those who have not finished their assignment.

Class Materials
You are required to have your binder, Elements of Literature book, and a black or blue pen EVERY day. You are required to have your PowerPlus vocabulary book or Wednesdays and Fridays. I will tell you when you need the Elements of Writing book. Work done in colored pen or pencil will not be accepted.

Essays and Writing Projects
Unless it is an in-class writing prompt, you MUST type all work, print it yourself, and submit to Turn It In. I will no longer print work or submit work to Turn It In for anyone. The school library is open at 6:30 am and 2:00 pm. The Boston Public Library also has computer and printer access. You are responsible for getting your own work in on time. Please make sure you are using a program that the school's computers can access. The computers have Microsoft Word. Turn It In accepts MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text.

Absences
You have one day to make up missed homework and three days to make up a missed test/quiz. If you are absent when a project or writing assignment is due, you will receive no credit for the assignment and there will be no make-ups.

Extra Credit and Tough Love

The end of term 1 approaches and many of you are not happy about your grades. Many of you are not happy about your grades because you unwisely did not take the advice I offered at the beginning of school and nearly every week since school began. That advice?

DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!!!!

Let me stress again: Homework is 20 percent of your grade. If you do not make homework a regular part of your educational plan, you would have to ace every test, quiz, project, or paper just to get a B -. Seems kinda impossible, right? Homework is not only the easiest thing you can do to improve your grade, it also reinforces the daily lesson. So you can learn. That is our goal. Learning.

That being said, the only opportunity for extra credit is by finding something that I would deem interesting or important enough to be posted on our blog. The extra credit points will be given at my discretion.

Upcoming Project Dates

Please remember that your Independent Reading Book Review is due on 10/26 on Turn It In. If you still need help after reading my exemplar, The New York Times publishes excellent book reviews. Follow this link for inspiration.

Short story rough drafts are due on 10/22. They need to be typed and printed before our class session. If you do not have a rough draft, you will not be allowed to upload a final draft and will receeive a zero on the project. Final Drafts are due on 10/26.

Please see me with any questions or concerns.

The Irony of it All...

Most groups did a fantastic job on their presentations today. Are there future teachers among you?

Remember when thinking about irony, there are three types:

• Situational
• Verbal
• Dramatic

Situational Irony is a part of the plot. It is when what we expect to happen and what actually happens.

Verbal Irony is when the authro says one thing, but means something else. Often confused with sarcasm, verbal irony is more subtle.

Dramatic Irony occurs when the audience or reader knows something that a character does not.

Like the ironic twists? Go here for a list of stories you will enjoy.

Goal Seeking?

Hey guys! Have you logged on to ThinkWave yet? Are you unsatisfied with your current grade? The term ends on 10/26 and many of you have asked what you can do in order to secure a better grade before the end of term. My ThinkWave has a neat little feature called Goal Seeking. You tell me the grade you want, and I tell you exactly what you need to do on future tests and assignments in order to secure that goal. Interested? Make an appointment to see me after school.

Welcome to our class blog!

This blog will be a way for me to communicate with you, you to communicate with me and with each other. I will try to post daily updates with homework information, upcoming due dates, interesting English tidbits and extensions of the daily lesson. I am the blog administrator, therefore I am the only one that can create a post. If you have some information that you feel should be spotlighted in a post, please email it to me or leave it in the comments section.

What's my Thesis?

In short, the thesis of an essay is what you believe and what you intend to prove in your paper.

Think of it this way.

Say I ask you to write a paper in which you tell me if you prefer McDonald's or Burger King.
You say, "McDonald's is MUCH better than Burger King." That is your thesis! So in the following three paragraphs, you need to prove to me that McDonald's is superior. That means you need THREE solid reasons detailing why McD's is better. Is it:

• fries
• cost
• customer service
• location
• quality of happy meal toys
• price

For more help, see me after class or check out this online help tool.

Character

Our next literary element is character.

Character can be revealed by:

• the character's actions
• speech
• appearance
• comments of other characters and the author

Certain types of characters are:

• protagonist - central character
• antagonist - force in conflict with the protagonist
• character foil - character whose traits are in direct contrast to those of the main character
• stereotype - character that possesses expected traits of a group, rather than being an individual.

Character development is achieved by showing the multitude of traits and behaviors that give a character the complexity of a human.

• a flat character is NOT fully developed
• a round character is fully developed, with many traits --bad and good-- shown in the story

Characters can also experience change over the course of a story. The amount of change in a story also affects its quality.

• a static character is one that doesn't experience a basic change during a story (Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet)
• a dynamic character is one that experiences a basic change during a story (Romeo)

Parts of Speech - The Review

Remember, there are 8 parts of speech. Clink on the links to see how we learned this back in the day.

Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection

The Parts of Speech Review test will be on October 25, 2007. Please see me with any questions you may have about ideentifying parts of speech.

Elements of a Short Story

So far, we've talked about plot and conflict.

Remember that plot is how the author arranges events to develop his/her idea; it is the sequence of events in a story or play. The elements of plot are: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution and the denouement. You can map plot by using Freytag's Pyramid.

Conflict is essential to plot. If there is no conflict, there is no plot! There doesn't have to be an open argument for there to be conflict. A short story usually has one major conflict and other smaller ones. The types of conflict are external and internal. Within those two types are four kinds of conflict: man vs man, man vs circumstance, man vs society, and man vs himself/herself.

To add to your understanding, try applying these elements to works that you have read.

Theme, Theme, Everywhere!

One of the most important literary elements is theme. You can almost get away with (although it is NOT recommended!) knowing some of the other elements. But theme will always come back to haunt you.

Remember:

The theme in a work of fiction is the author's controlling message.
The theme in a fable is its moral.
The theme in a parable is its teaching or lesson.

Master theme now and the MCAS, writing prompts and college English classes will be a snap!

Practice identifying theme using Aesop's Fables.