Summer Reading Assignment

I will be passing out the BPS summer reading assignment. This reading will be assessed next fall (for sure this time) by the city and will count towards your first quarter average. If you are not in attendance, or lose it, you can obtain another copy here: Buffalo Public Schools Summer Reading Program link.

Last Exit Response--Course Reflection

I have genuinely enjoyed spending the year with this group. I hope you will take what you learned in this room on to the next level. As a final response, I would just like to know what you really thought of the class. Here are a few points to ponder:
1. Do you believe this class helped you improve your reading and/or writing skills?
2. Do you believe I genuinely cared about your success in this room?
3. How do you feel your behavior/motivation has affected your grade in this class?
4. Do you feel the grading process was fair and clear to you?
5. What do you feel helped add or take away from your learning experience in this roon?
6. What was your favorite piece of lit. we read this year and why?
7. Any final thoughts for me, on your work this year, hopes for the future?

A Lesson Before Dying Movie Trailer....

I think it turned out great--Congratulations on a great year! Have a wonderful summer!

Controlling Idea Help

*A good format sheet

Literature We Have Read This Year/ Common Literary Elements and Techniques

1. Of Mice and Men , by John Steinbeck, (George and Lennie)
2. Stuck in Neutral, Terry Trueman, (Shawn)
3. Twelve Angry Men, Reginald Rose, (mainly jurors 8 and 3)
4. A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines, (Grant, Jefferson)

Conflict--meeting of opposing forces (mainly internal and man vs. man)
Setting--time and place of events
Characterization--how the author makes the character come to life (what he/she says and does, author/narrator's direct comments, what/how other characters act towards/ say about him/her)

Last Project (Hopefully).....

A Lesson Before Dying movie trailer

I would like to complete one last video project with the class before we leave for the year. As a group, we will attempt to make a movie trailer for A Lesson Before Dying. It will be difficult because there are over thirty of us, so we will have to break it down into parts. Each group will come up with a storyboard segment and I will piece them together. As a group we will choose music, and someone will have to volunteer to do the voice over..and act of course!

Final Novel Response:

Please try to give specific examples from the novel to support your answer.

1. How does Jefferson change Grant's life? How does Grant change Jefferson's life?
2. The definition of a hero is: a man/woman distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, and strength;one who in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice--for some greater good. Is Jefferson a hero? Is Grant?

Jefferson's Diary...

Here is a link to the Sparknotes explanation/summary of Ch. 29: Jefferson's Diary

1. What is your reaction to this picture? To the idea of the death penalty or the electric chair in general?
2. What does the look on the man's face say about him/his feelings?
3. What do you think the photographer wanted you to get out of this picture?
4. Why do you think there are so many white men in this picture? Is it an actual picture or one that is staged to make a point?

picture from (http://civilliberty.about.com/od/capitalpunishment/ig/Types-of-Executions/The-Electric-Chair.htm)

quiz ch. 20-21: The date is set/Grant's explanation

Grant attempts to explain to Vivian on pages 166-167 the importance of : him (Grant) and Jefferson becoming a man before he dies, to the women of the community. So your quiz question is this (3 parts):
1. Why does Grant feel he is so important to the women of the community (especially Irene, Ms. Emma and Tante Lou)?
2. How is this need for him to be successful and strong and stay in Bayonne for them an impossibility--which causes his internal conflict?
3. Why is it so important to Ms. Emma that Jefferson die like a man and not a hog?

quiz reading ch 18+19

1. How does Ms. Emma's mood change when she visits with Jefferson in the dayroom instead of the cell?
2. Why does Jefferson fear the coming of Christmas?
3. Why does Vivian say that they (her and Grant) cannot run away from all of this?
4. What do you think was the point of ch. 19 (the Christmas play)--why did the author include a whole chapter on it?

Hw quest #2 (BDF) Quiz on Monday! Tuesday (ACE)

1. Explain the influence of women in the plot? Vivian, Ms. Emma, and Tante Lou. How are they important to Grant and Jefferson and influence the decision making of the men in the story? Give examples.

2. Why might Ms. Emma want to have Jefferson meet in the dayroom instead of his cell?
Think about his behavior and progress so far.

3. On pg. 123 Tante Lou tells Grant," You ain't going to run away from this, Grant," referring to quitting on Jefferson. What do you think she is really referring to---what has Grant quit on before or why does he seem to give up quite often. Think about his attitude towards his life.

Informational Links for A Lesson Before Dying

"Ivy Day in the Committee Room" by James Joyce

Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis

"Save Me Joe Louis"

Ch. 10/11 Response A Lesson Before Dying

1. Do you think Grant is making any progress with Jefferson--why or why not?

2. Do you think Grant is TRYING very hard to make progress---why or why not?

USE EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT IN YOUR ANSWERS.

SOAPSTone Poetry Analysis

Class Example:
"If We Must Die" by Claude McKay

Quiz:

"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes

Keeping a Dual-Entry notebook/journal (Look under class notes for A Lesson Before Dying)

Double Journal Model:represents a method of having a conversation with a work of literature. It is a type of note­taking where students write notes that dialogue with one another, thereby developing critical reading and reflective questioning.
Journal entries may take several forms:
1.questions about material not understood
2.comments to explain a statement
3.facts to remember for later
4.comments on interesting diction, imagery, characters, or literary devices
5.definitions to vocabulary
6.questions regarding what may be a flaw in the writer’s logic
7.an assertion about a character, or other interesting aspects of the novel and the
writer’s craft.

Your journal should be set up on your own paper like the model below.
This is the “note­taking” side. On this side, write down
quotes from the story, or images, or other points. Use page
numbers so that you can find the passages later.
This is the “note­making” side. On this side, write down
your responses to the quotes, images, or other points you
listed on the left side. Ask questions, raise insights, react to
the ideas.

Videos BDF class

"Here--Hold My Hand" by Mari Evans

"The Artilleryman's Vision" (excerpt) by Walt Whitman

"The Sun" by Mary Oliver

"Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou

Quiz--Identifying Speaker in SOAPStone

Identify some possiblities about the speaker using textual clues: give both the words (adjectives) that describe him/her and the textual clues that gave you this information:
"Harlem"--Langston Hughes
Here on the edge of hell
Stands Harlem—
Remembering the old lies,
The old kicks in the back,
The old "Be patient"
They told us before.
Sure, we remember.
Now when the man at the corner store
Says sugar’s gone up another two cents,
And bread one--
And there’s a new tax on cigarettes—
We remember the job we never had,
Never could get,
And can’t have now
Because we’re colored.
So we stand here
On the edge of hell
In Harlem
And look out on the world
And wonder
What we’re gonna do
In the face of what
We remember.

Preparing for the Oral Book Report...

Sample Questions I may ask you:
*Who is the main character and why?
*What is the setting and how is it important to the story?
*What is the central conflict in the story?
*Who is_____? How are they important to the story?

Sample visual aid (pretending I read Of Mice and Men)
"The Dummy"

cliche--an overused statement

Book Report--Due the First Week Back from Break

There will be a sign-up on the wall Tues/Wed:

First, you will need to bring in some sort of visual aid that explains an aspect of your book:
It can be a poster you make, an object, music, a webpage (use computer)
and you will explain how it is significant to the meaning of your book.
Things to know: plot, characters, setting, conflict, point-of-view, climax.

Grade: Presentation--20
Visual Aid--20
Infomation--20
Preparation--20
Analysis--20

*****You must have your book with you on the day of the report in order to get a grade

ACE--Video interpretations of Poetry...not too bad for a first effort

"It's Dark in Here" by Shel Silverstein

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden

"The Moon Rondeau" by Carl Sandberg

"Time Wasted" by Paula A. Norris

"Love Without Love" by Luis Llorens Torres

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

"Do not weep maiden, for war is kind" by Stephen Crane

How not to make a "literal" interpretation of a poem

Literal-the exact meaning (kind of like denotation that we learned)

1. What happens to cotton candy when it gets wet? Picture it.
2. Why would someone compare him/herself to cotton candy--what would he/she be trying to say about him/herself?
3. What is the tone of this poem? (author's attitude towards the topic)
4. Give me a brief summary of what you think this poem is about--not an analysis--just a general reflection about what she is trying to get across.

One-shot video project

A one-shot video is exactly what it sounds like: you get one shot only to capture your message (there are no cuts/separate scenes). The video can only be 30 sec-1 min long and therefore you will have to plan very carefully. Your group will consist of:
1)Focus Director-who is in charge of keeping the group on task/choosing a "good" poem
2)Artistic Director--will be responsible for the storyboard/turning the storyboard
3)Producer-will film the movie, get any movie "extras" line up the shots, frame
4)Sound Director--music if any,voice over, sound line-up on the storyboard

*All group members will have to complete a storyboard/copied version of the poem in order to be approved for filming

Test Help

"Those Winter Sundays"

This is the poem that will be on the test.

Assignments for the 1st 5 Weeks--- due by Friday 3/6

1. Book Report (2nd or scary story)
2. Letter to a child
3. Rosa Parks questions #1-3 (Montgomery bus boycott)
4. Questions. Autobiography of Malcolm X (Why do you think the chapter was called "Saved"?)
5. Questions Emmett Till
6. Points of view of Dee and Maggie of major plot events ("Everyday Use")
7. Quilt --10 things and explanation you would put in an heirloom quilt
8. Parental explanation to child (denotation/connotation)

Denotation/Connotation/Diction

Countee Cullen's "Incident"

denotation- the actual meaning of the word
connotation- the implied meaning of the word/associations

ex. It was a dark day in America.
denotation-literally dark, black, colorwise/weather
connotation-sad (9/11)day of mourning, etc.

diction-author's word choice
*Think of the Countee Cullen poem "Incident". If he chose to instead say "he called me a bad name" instead of the word that he used, the meaning would have less of an impact.

Quilt Project--"Everyday Use"

A quilt is a type of cover or blanket whose top usually consists of cloth sewn together in a design. As in the story "Everyday Use", many quilts are composed of pieces of cloth that are important or significant to family history somehow.
Your assignment: Make a "quilt"---if you were to make one--what 10 items would you put in it. For example, a piece of my mother's wedding dress. Attach to the worksheet, an explanation of why each piece is significant and why it was chosen. This is a project--design it--make it colorful. FINAL COPY QUALITY.
30 pts.

Questions: Emmett Till

1. What new information did you learn about the Emmett Till case that you did not know before?
2. What details of the story were most disturbing to you? Other than the photos of the body, what images will stay with you?
3. How was the Emmett Till case important in helping the Civil Rights movement?
4. How does the idea of double-jeopardy come into play with this case? How does it show some of the injustices of the legal system?
5. What do you think would have been the most difficult thing(s) about living in the south during the pre-Civil Rights Era? What group of people do you think still have the hardest time dealing with prejudice today--why?

How to set up a Google Account

1. go to the Google page
2. My Account
3. set up account-**if you have an email already--you will be asked to input it--you need to go into your email and open up the message from Google to activate your account
**If you do not have an email, you need to set up a Gmail (Google email account) so do that first (from the Google home page, go to Gmail and proceed)

Hw: Rosa Parks/Bus Boycott (Mon/Tues. 2/9-10)

1. What went through your mind while reading the selection/watching the film? Describe your thoughts using examples from the text/film.

2. What is your opinion of Rosa Parks and her accomplishments? Do you think she has affected your life today in any way?

3. Based on your understanding of the "Montgomery Boycott" what qualities do you think were valued by the early participants of the civil rights movement? How do you know?
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3 paragraphs=30 pts. (You may post response to the blog)

"My Dungeon Shook" Questions

1.According to Baldwin, why was his father defeated in life?
2.What does Baldwin tell his nephew to trust?
3.In Baldwin's view, what is the danger most white Americans experience?
4.Why do you think the author refers to his nephew's father and grandfather?
5.How does he emphasize the importance of love in surviving bad conditions?
6.What does he see as the problem with words such as "acceptance"?
7.What is the central theme or the advice of the piece in your eyes?

Edgar A. Poe Bio Notes

*Born in Boston January 19, 1809
*Mother dies when he is very young
*Father deserts him
*He is taken in by John and Francis Allan (family friends)
*Foster mother dies
*Foster father disowns him
*Became close with his aunt Maria Clemm and daughter Virginia
*Marries Virginia (14)1836
*Wife dies of tb in 1847
*He dies at age 40, Oct. 7, 1849--no one knows why
*He was found wandering around Baltimore, semi-conscious, in someone else's clothes
*possibly died of alcoholism, brain problems (congestion)
*"claim" that his final words were "Lord help my poor soul"

Hw: Letter to a Young Child...

Over break I would like you to draft a letter, a real letter, with an envelope, heading, closing, etc. in part, because it seems to be a lost art form. This letter should be written to a young child (family member or child whom you care about, or a future child you will have), telling him or her about:
1. The world as it is in your eyes today. This could include world/current events, condition of your immediate world, your thoughts/feelings etc.
2. Your hopes for the future, for him/her and yourself, and any advice you would like to give to help him/her (what you have learned about the world and life so far).

Make it serious. It will be written in preparation for the piece we will read when we return from Regents Week.

Notes on "TheTell-Tale Heart"

Major plot events of "The Tell-Tale Heart"
*Narrator begins by telling you he is not crazy-- he just hears everything in heaven and hell( Would a crazy man be able to describe the murder he committed so calmly?)
*tells you the old man never did him wrong, he doesn't want his money, the old man loves him---it's his "evil eye" he hates!
*he is nicer to him than normal, not mean
*goes into his room each night and shines a light on the eye, waiting for it to open
*finally decides to kill him by suffocating him
*chops up his body and hides it underneath the floorboards
*feels so confident in his plan that he invites the police in to have tea over the body
*thinks he hears the old man's heart beating beneath the floorboards *he can't take it anymore and the police are shocked when he confesses the deed

The midterm...

Our 10th gr. midterm will take place next week Jan. 12-16th. You will most likely need 2 class days (4 periods) to finish. It will consist of a controlling idea essay and multiple choice questions, critical lens essay, and factual report (reading/mult. choice/no essay). For the lens you may use any literature we have read so far this year including your independent novels.