January 2013

Welcome back! Hope you all had a great winter break.  You will be given a January calendar when we return back to school on January 2, 2013.  The month of January goes very quickly and exams begin on Tuesday, January 22.  I will discuss the exam process with you in class and will provide you with a study guide sheet to help ease some of the anxiety you may have for your first ever high school English mid-term examination.   Upon our return, you will viewing O Brother, Where Art Thou? This film is connected to The Odyssey in so many ways.  It will be up to you to make the connections and fill out the viewing guide I will provide to you prior to our viewing of the film.  You will also be preparing for a group presentation for a mythology assignment I will be assigning you.  I will provide you with the necessary details in class.  I will also be giving you plenty of time in class to prepare as a group on this presentation. The calendar will list all of the due dates for January. 

Reminder:  Vocabulary Unit Test # 3 will be given on Monday, January 14.  Prepare for it in advance. 

The Odyssey-Week of December 17

The Odyssey Reading Assignments:
Book XXI & XXII (21 & 22) due Monday, December 17
*Pick out a passage from Book XXI or Book XXII - make sure it is significant, descriptive, has great word choice, etc.  -- Type it and make copies for classmates...remember how I explained to do this in class.  Be sure to include the book number and line numbers.  Example:  (XXI. 19-29)

End Test for The Odyssey:
Wednesday, December 18

The Odyssey websites:

Use this website to get a short version or a longer version of what happens in the books that you are finding difficult to understand and also to get a brief summary of the books we will not be reading in The Odyssey:
  http://www.mythweb.com/odyssey/index.html 

Use this website to gain a better understanding of the epic, the important themes and events found in each book, and some significant quotes from the epic:
 http://www.leasttern.com/HighSchool/odyssey/OdysseySG.html 

Learn about ancient Greece (Great Interactive Website):
 http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/GREECE/home.html

Vocabulary, Research Paper, & The Odyssey

*FYI...Quiz on The Odyssey on Friday, December 7. Review the events and characters in Books I, V, and IX, and X. 
 
The dates listed below are subject to change.  Please review this blog on a weekly basis to note any changes made and discussed in class.  I hope this helps keep you focused for the next few weeks.  Our goal is to complete the research paper and The Odyssey before we go on December break. 

Vocabulary Tests:
Unit 1 Test:  Monday, November 19
Unit 2 Test:  Friday, December 14

Research Paper Due Dates:
Rough Draft:  Monday, December 3
Final Draft:  Monday, December 10

The Odyssey Reading Assignments:
Book I (1) due Thursday, November 29
Book V (5) due Monday, December 3
Book IX (9) due Wednesday, December 5
Book X (10) due Friday, December 7
Book XI (11) due Tuesday, December 11
Book XII (12) due Thursday, December 13
Book XXI & XXII (21 & 22) due Monday, December 17

End Test for The Odyssey:
Tuesday, December 18 (?)

The Odyssey websites:

Use this website to get a short version or a longer version of what happens in the books that you are finding difficult to understand and also to get a brief summary of the books we will not be reading in The Odyssey:
  http://www.mythweb.com/odyssey/index.html 

Use this website to gain a better understanding of the epic, the important themes and events found in each book, and some significant quotes from the epic:
 http://www.leasttern.com/HighSchool/odyssey/OdysseySG.html 

Learn about ancient Greece (Great Interactive Website):
 http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/GREECE/home.html

Welcome Back!

We will be watching War Horse on 11/5-11/7 (Monday-Wednesday).  Please take notes while viewing the film, especially on the effects of war on towns, animals, soldiers, and families.  Write down any significant quotes from the film.

On Thursday and/or Friday (11/8 and 11/9), you will be contributing to the Socratic Seminar for Night.  Come to class prepared with your book, notes, etc. for the discussion.

The week of November 12:  We will begin the research paper.  The topic will be War. You will decide on the focus of your research.  We will be completing a plagiarism online test and going to the library on November 13-17.  Due dates for certain activities will be determine at a later date.


Plagiarism Test Website 
 The following websites will be used for the online test you will be completing in class on Monday, November 12:

This is the link to a practice test:
https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/practice.html

This is the actual test & you will need to print out the verification form:
https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/test.html

Unit 1 Vocabulary Test:  Monday, November 19.  In preparation, it is up to you to do the exercises and create your own style of studying the terms before the test. DO NOT WRITE IN VOCABULARY BOOKS!

Thesis Paper Due Dates and Reading Dates for All Quiet on the Western Front

Thesis Paper Dates

Due Thursday, Oct. 4:
Working Thesis Statement
Organizational Outline

Due Friday, Oct. 5:
Works Cited Page
Introduction/First Section of Paper (Rough Draft - Don't go crazy over it...it is a rough draft!)

Due Wednesday, Oct. 10:
Rough Draft of Entire Thesis Paper
(this includes works cited page)

Due Tuesday, October 23:
Final draft of thesis paper and revised works cited page (the rough draft and peer evaluation will be collected with the final draft, too.)

All Quiet on the Western Front Dates

Dear Students, 

Some of you are a struggling with the plot of All Quiet on the Western Front.  The following link will help you become an active 9 Honors reader: 

 http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/all_quiet.pdf 

I must remind you that a quiet reading area without distractions and reading earlier in the night will be beneficial to you when completing a novel for 9 Honors.  You may also want a notebook by your side to jot down notes, passages, and even characters.  The activities in the above link are not required; however, it will be helpful for you to review each activity before you begin reading each section.  A reading guide link, such as the one above, is much more appropriate for a 9 Honors student.  Using SparkNotes, Pink Monkey, Schmoop, etc. do not allow you to work on your critical thinking skills and literature analysis skills.  Such sites simply summarize and tell you what to think.  Please stay away from such sites.  

Due Friday, Oct. 12:

Chapters 1-4
Due Monday, Oct. 15:
Chapters 5 & 6
Due Thursday, October 18:  
Chapters 7 & 8
Due Wednesday, October 24:
Chapters 9-end of novel

Assignments and Assessments for All Quiet on the Western Front:
Poetic Language Passage Assignment:  Due Wednesday, October 17.

In-class Writing:   Friday, October 19 (this will include providing examples from Chapters 1-8)

End Test:  Either Thursday or Friday, Oct. 26 (The entire novel will be included in this test)

Webquest Links:

World War I Website
http://www.worldwar1.com/

The Christmas Truce
http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/xmas.htm

Thesis Paper

We will be discussing the steps to writing a thesis paper.  Please do not worry about the due date for the final paper.  Instead, worry about the due dates I give in class for the different steps in the process -- creating an outline, creating a thesis statement, creating a works cited page, creating a rough draft.  Eventually, you will have everything you need in order to prepare a well-developed, MLA formatted final draft.  Once you begin the final draft, I will provide you with the due date of the final paper.  Although I do accept final thesis papers late (up to two days with a letter grade penalty for each day late), you really should not have any problems having it in on time!  Any written work we do in preparation for the final paper, however, will not be accepted late.

YASMINA KHADRA NOVEL & SUMMER READING CHOICE

A reminder of long term assignments:

Due Thursday, September 13:  typed assignment for summer reading choice
Due Friday, September 14:  Read "Marriage is a Private Affair" and complete the questions found on the handout
Due Monday, September 17:  first half of Yasmina Khadra novel and typed assignment
Due Monday, September 24:  second half of Yasmina Khadra novel and typed assignment

The above assignments will not be accepted late.  Please have your book and assignment with you for the discussions. 

Short term assignments will be announced in class.  These will include assignments for:
"Marriage is a Private Affair"
Osama