Latimore, Dennis

Nov.16 - Performance  2-3 minutes. (hand-in one typed script). ENJOY YOUR BREAK!

Nov. 13 - 15  ASSESSMENT:  Work with a group 3 to write and perform an original dramatic script in which you make a statement about a conflict that faces society. By doing so, you should be able to demonstrate your understanding of how Arthur Miller spoke out about a contemporary issue (persecution of suspected communists) while setting his drama in a time period with corresponding events (persecution of suspected witches).

Contemporary Societal Concern-----Underlying, Universal Issues----------Parallel Setting

Ex:  

McCarthy trials/political injustice due to paranoia------Political manipulation-------Salem witch trials

Due Friday November 16th (presentation and typed script for teacher)

RUBRIC:  performance

Nov. 8/9 - Develop a short scene and script based on one of the scenarios. Write a script for your scene and assign character roles. 

Use the elements of script writing:  screen heading, action, characters, dialogue, transitions. 

script.examples

Scenario A: A friend convinced you to donate money to an environmental group last year. You attended one of its meetings six months ago but did not get actively involved. Last week, you heard that a member of the group blew up logging equipment to protest logging in the area. The FBI arrested that person, but it wants to collect the names of everyone involved in the group to prevent further violence. The FBI agent tells you that you have to give him the names of all the people at the meeting you attended. If you do not give him the names, you will be held in contempt and you could be put in jail until you give him the names. What will you do?

Scenario B: You are an accountant for a large corporation. Your boss asks you to make some transactions that are possibly illegal. These types of transactions had been going on for some time, and the IRS is investigating the company and the transactions. You and a co-worker are considering being “whistle-blowers.” A whistle-blower is someone with inside information who shares it with authorities. If you become known as the whistle-blower, you could be fired by the company. Other companies might also be wary about hiring you as an accountant. You have been interviewed once by the IRS, but you have not yet told them all that you know. What will you do?

Scenario C: After the attacks of 9/11, a number of Arab-Americans and other foreign-born citizens and residents were questioned by the FBI. Imagine that you are one of these people. The FBI tells you that you will be deported unless you give the names of other Arab-Americans you know, including some of your own family members. If you give the FBI these names, others will find themselves in the same position in which you find yourself. What will you do?

Nov. 7 - Test on The Crucible 

Nov. 5/6 - Read "Why I Wrote The Crucible" by Arthur Miller  (class packet) and take notes on the following questions/topics:

1.) What are Millers feelings about McCarthyism?

2.) What was Hollywood’s and society’s response to McCarthyism? 

3.) Why was Miller fascinated by the witch trials?

4.) What is the connection between witchcraft and Communism?

5.) What was a critical and public reaction to the The Crucible and the other Miller plays?

6.) What is the lasting legacy of the crucible?

Nov. 2 - Read the end of the The Crucible p. 135 - 145 and Echoes Down the Corridor on the following page.  Create a plot diagram graphic with the different elements of the plot. 

Nov.1 - Reading Assignment Part 1: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues.  After completion, read pages 121-135 in The Crucible. 

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words means.  A list of definitions are also included 
1. Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more.
2. . . . reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now.
3. If retaliation is your fear, know this--I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law, and an ocean of salt tears could not melt the resolution of the statutes.
4. Is he yet adamant?
5. Giles is dead. He looks at her incredulously.
6. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they's hang him surely, and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died Christian under the law.
7. I have confessed myself! Is there no good penitence but it be public?

 statement of criminal charges/ a law decree or edict/  showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong/ disbelievingly/ postponement of punishment/ firm in purpose or opinion; unyielding/ delude; cheat; divert

Oct. 31 - Watch the end of Act 3 in The Crucible.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyew2GNI1k0 

(1:11 - 1:20) 

In paragraph format, summarize the end of Act 3 from the video and explain how the Act 3 ends differently from the video and book. 

Oct. 30 - View the politcal cartoons below, published from the McCarthy era.  Create your own politcal cartoon with a caption/quote and analysis from The Crucible.  

political cartoons

Read pages 102 - 113 (Act 3). 

Oct. 29 - Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text (Act 3). Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean in the space provided.  You may use a dictionary if you cannot define the word. 
1. How do you dare come roarin' into this court! Are you gone daft, Corey?
2. Giles Corey, sir, and a more contentious-
3. And how do you imagine to help her cause with such contemptuous riot? Now be gone.
4. Mary Warren, hardly audible: Aye.
5. But if he hide in anonymity I must know why. Now sir, the government and central church demand of you the name of him who reported Mr. Thomas Putnam a common murderer.
6. This is a court of law, Mister. I'll have no effrontery here!
7. . . . I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of conscience may doubt it. 

Read pages 83-102 (Act 3) and answer the following questions.

1. Why do Giles and Francis want to talk to Danforth?
2. What is Parris's argument against Proctor?
3. What does Mary tell Danforth?
4. When Danforth hears that Elizabeth is pregnant, what does he allow?
5. What paper did ninety-one people sign?
6. ". . . a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between." Explain the importance of Danforth's statement.

Oct. 26 - Read "The Very Propher Gander" in the literature packet and explain how the fable relates to the action in Act One of The Crucible (p.48).  Use details and evidence from each of the texts to write a well-developed paragraph.  

Oct. 25 - Explain the meaning of each metaphor below found in Act 2.

Proctor: “a funeral marches round your heart”

Elizabeth: “the magistrate sits in your heart”

Proctor: “I will curse her hotter than the oldest cinder”

Hale: “Theology is a fortress”

Francis Nurse: “My wife is the very brick and mortar of the church.”

Proctor: “Vengeance is walking Salem”

READ PAGES 70-81. 

Oct. 24 - Determining the Meaning by Matching the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions. Write the word and defintition. 
19. condemnation  20. fraud  21. pallor  22. perplexed  23. indignant    24. avidly   25. sarcastical   26. base

A. bewildered; puzzled; confused  B. expressing mocking or contemptuous remarks  C. severe reproof; strong censure  D. having low moral standards; contemptible; inferior  E. enthusiastically  F. deliberate deception for unfair or unlawful gains  G. extreme paleness  H. filled with an anger aroused by something unjust or unworthy

Read the following link related to the politcal stage of the McCarthy era and answer the following questions.

politics

The Crucible was written in 1953, a time in American history that has been labeled the “witch-hunt” of McCarthyism. Many literary analysts claim that Arthur Miller wrote the play as a deliberate comparison between the mass hysteria of 1692 and the frenzy against Communism in mid-20th century USA.

1.)  Who was Senator Joseph McCarthy and why is his name linked to the term “witch-hunt”?
2.)  How did the Communist witch-hunt affect Hollywood celebrities and artists in the 1950s?

3.) What was the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)?
4.) How were the experiences during the McCarthy era related to other tragedies around the world? 

5.)  How is McCarthyism related to what you have read about The Crucible so far? 

Oct. 23 - Finish reading Act 1 of the The Crucible and summarize pages 41-48 in one paragraph.  

Create a t-chart and identify characteristics of John Proctor (p.20) and Hale (p. 36) that show the character foil (secondary character who is contrasted with the main character to offer insights into facets of the main character). 

Oct. 22 - Watch or read middle of Act. 1 from The Crucible 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyew2GNI1k0     (12:00 - 26:30 on video)

or read pages 18 - 42

Identify 5-7 conflicts from the play so far and support with a quote from the text.  

Ex:  John Proctor and Abigail's affair is a major conflict in the story

Evidence:  Abigail says, "You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you loved me yet." (page 24)

Reading Assignment 2 Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean.  There is a definition bank below.  

1. This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at least been publicly called for.
2. Evidently we are not quite certain even now whether diabolism is holy and not to be scoffed at.
3. And it is no accident that we should be so bemused.
4. . . . he is called up and damned not only by our social antagonists but by our own side, whatever it may be.
5. I have no doubt that people were communing with, and even worshiping, the Devil in Salem, and if the whole truth could be known in this case, as it is in others, we should discover a regular and conventionalized propitiation of the dark spirit.
6. How could it be the Devil? Why would he choose my house to strike? We have all manner of licentious people right here in the village!
7. You cannot evade me, Abigail. Did your cousin drink any of the brew in that kettle?
8. On their ecstatic cries, the curtain falls.

 A.) appeasement    B.) in a state of exalted delight     C.) find out; detect     D.) having no regard for accepted rules or standards   E.) witchcraft; sorcery  F.) escape or avoid by cleverness or deceit     G.) confused     H.) adversaries; opponents

Oct. 19 - Reading Assignment 1 Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Contextual Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text, The Crucible. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words means.  

Read pages 8-20 in The Crucible 

1. But we never conjured spirits.   
2. There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?
3. Abominations are done in the forest-
4. But Betty collapses in her hands and lies inert on the bed.
5. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites.
6. In Proctor's presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly -- and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore.
7. That is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot, Goody Nurse, a prodigious sign!
8. It's somewhat true; there are many that quail to bring their children-
9. Why, we are surely gone wild this year. What anarchy is this?

Oct. 18 - Read The Crucible : A Note on the Historical Accuracy of This Play and ACT ONE (An Overture) only p. 2-8 [read up to character dialogue].

Find and record (in your notebook) 5 facts about Puritan life in Salem, Massachusetts.

Oct. 17 - Read "The Lessons of Salem" and sequence the events (girls meet in kitchen----then....----what happens next) that take place in Chunk 2 on a seprate sheet of papers.  In addition, answer the following questions from Chunk 3:

What was really wrong with the girls in Salem?

Why did the people of Salem accuse others who were innocent? 

Oct. 16 - Read and investigate the following PowerPoint and take notes on the following topics:  Puritanism, Witchcraft, McCarthyism, Arthur Miller, 

Crucible Background

Oct. 15 - START OF UNIT #2 - Vocabulary work for Unit 2.  Define the following words with the dictionary definition and give an example sentence for each word.

foil, subtext, motif, dramtic iriony, sistuational irony, alliteration, syntax

Oct. 12 - PROJECTS DUE.  

Oct. 11 - Final work day.  Essays and PowerPoints DUE TOMMORROW. 

Oct. 10 - Discuss copy/paste and enlarging pictures for presentations.  Work Day.  

Oct. 9 - Discuss rubric for essay and Power Point.  Work day. 

PowerPoint rubric

Essay rubric

Oct. 8 - Works Cited Page:  The Works Cited page is the list of sources used in the research paper. It should be its own page at the end of the paper. Center the title, "Works Cited" (without quotation marks), at the top of the page. Create a Works Cited page and include 3-5 sources (3 must be from class texts).

Example for class texts:

Yeszierska, Anzia. “America and I.” 1923. Rpt in SpringBoard: English Language Arts.

         College Board. 2014.

Rules:  Indent all lines below first line.  Author last name, first name.  Title of Work in Quotations (books in italics). Original pupblication year.  Rpt = Repeated within name of curriculum/anthology book (use italics). Publication year.  Place periods after each new piece of information.  

Oct. 5 - Review Assessment #2.  4-Page essay or 20 slide Power Point.  Works Cited Page included (5th page or 21st slide).  DUE OCT. 12

Your assignment is to synthesize at least three to five sources and your own observations to defend, challenge, or qualify the statement that “America still provides access to The American Dream.” This question requires you to integrate a variety of sources (3–5) into a coherent, well-written argumentative essay. Be sure to refer to the sources and employ your own observations to support your position. Your argument should be central; the sources and your observations should support this argument.

Oct. 3/4th - Socratic Seminar preperation and presentation (in-class only). 

Debate:  Does the United States still provide access to the American Dream for everyone?

Oct. 2 - Read "The Right to Fail" by William Zinsser and answer the following questions and graphic organizer.

1.) Summarize how Zinsser characterizes the American Dream in paragraph 3.

2.)  How is this different from Obama’s presentation of the American Dream?

3.)  Zinsser applauds failures – “eminent dropouts,” loners, rebels,”—can you think of any examples?

4.)  How does the author use negation in the essay by describing what failure is not, how is this a useful strategy? 

Identify the following elements of the argument (below).  Write in quotations and/or paraphase ideas from the text. 

Hook

Claim

Support

Counter Argument 

Rebuttal 

Conclusion 

Oct. 1 - Read the Key Note Address to the Democratic National Convention (2004) by Barack Obama.  Annotate the speech for language related to the concept of the promise of the American Dream. Identify the following elements of the argument (below).  Write in quotations and/or paraphase ideas from the text. 

Hook

Claim

Support

Counter Argument 

Rebuttal 

Conclusion 

Sept. 27/28th - Read "Robert Acuna Talks About Farm Workers" and answer the questions below.

1.) Why does Acuna make the point that farm tools and farm animals are treated well by their owners?

2.) Why does Acuna resist joining the Union?

3.) Work is clearly important to Acuna, but respect is equally important. How is respect for work and workers shown by employers?

4.) Why does Acuna want to “take busloads of  people” out to the fields?”

5.) What is the connection between this idea in question #4 and the realization Espada makes in “Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper?”

Sept. 26th - Read the poem "Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper" by Martin Espada and complete the TP-CASTT graphic organizer and questions.

TITLE: Consider the title and make a prediction about what the poem is about.

PARAPHRASE: Translate the poem into your own words on a literal level. Look for complete thoughts and look up unfamiliar words (3-5 sentences)

CONNOTATION: Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for figurative language, imagery, and sound elements.(3-5 examples)

ATTITUDE/TONE: Notice the speaker’s tone and attitude. Humor? Sarcasm? Awe?

SHIFTS: Note any shifts or changes in speaker or attitude. Look for key words, time change, punctuation.

TITLE: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.

THEME: Briefly state in your own words what the poem is about (subject), then what the poet is saying

Create a statement that reflects what the speaker learned from his work.

Write out a descriptive visual of the last line in the poem. Describe how this would look.

Sept. 25th - Read the excerpt from "A Raisin in the Sun" and annotate the script for characters' attitude toward money and the American Dream.  

Complete one of the three writing prompts below and write a 1/2 page paragraph. 

• Prompt 1: Choose three separate quotations—a money quote, a line from the poem “Money,” and a line from A Raisin in the Sun—that could provide evidence or a jumping off point for your discussion of the question: How important is money to attaining the American Dream?
• Prompt 2: Express a personal attitude toward money (perhaps agreeing or disagreeing with one of the quotes about money) incorporating direct support of your thinking from three of the texts in this activity.
• Prompt 3: In an essay that synthesizes ideas from three of the texts in this activity for support, take a position that defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim the money is an essential part of achieving the American Dream.

Sept. 24th - Re-write each statement in your own words (number 1-8) and circle the statement that you feel is most important.  

1.) “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (from the Bible)

2.)  “Remember that time is money.” (Benjamin Franklin)

3.) “A good reputation is more valuable than money.” (Pubilius   Syrus)

4.) “If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master.” (Sir Francis Bacon)

5.)  “Those who believe money can do everything are frequently prepared to do everything for money.” (George Savile)

6.) “Money cannot buy happiness.” (Anonymous)

7.) “A fool and his money are soon parted.” (Benjamin Franklin)

8.)  “A penny saved is a penny earned.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Read the poem "Money" and annotate for personification and synecdoche (when part of something represents the whole). 

Answer the questions:

1.)  List examples of synecdoche

2.)  List examples of personifcation 

3.)  What does the poem specifically say money does?

4.)  Summarize the poem in 2-3 sentences.  

Read the poem Europe and America, create a graphic organizer and identify the denotation (dictionary definition of a word) and connotation (idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word) of key images from the poem.  

Sept. 21st - Read the poems:  Ellis Island and Africa to America

Annotate for negative and postive images in the poems.  Write a one sentence summary for each poem. 

Sept. 20th - Read The Declaration of Independence and identify the argumentative structure.  

Sept. 19th - Read the article, "Is the American Dream Still Possible?" and annotate the text for agrument structure, main ideas, evidence, and question posed by you, the reader.  Answer the following questions on a seperate sheet of paper and turn in the basket.  

1.)  In the first paragraph of the article the author begins by defining the American Drea.  How does it compare to your definition?  

2.) Why does the author spend time in the opening paragraphs detailing the extent of the study?

3.) How does the author establish credibility or ethos in writing this article? Use details from the text to support your thinking.

4.) The story of Randy and Cherie is used as evidence for what claim?

5.) Explain how the author appeals to pathos or the emotions of the audience to strengthen his argument.

6.) How does Wallechinsky organize or structure his discussion? Why is this structure effective?

7.)  How does the auhtor's "call to action" show another basic element of "the American Dream?"

Sept. 18th - As you read each statement below, use a scale from 1—10 and decide to what extent these ideas are prevalent today. If the idea presented in the statement is something you are exposed to on a regular basis, rate it a 10. If you do not see evidence of the statement at all, rate it a 1 (and remember there are plenty of numbers in between).

1. 1. Education is the foundation of a free society.
2. Individuals’ rights are superior to the needs of society.
3. All religious beliefs are protected.
4. 4. Our government was created to guarantee freedoms.
5. 5. Education is important primarily to get a job.
6. 6. Community provides strength and support to individuals.
7. 7. Human beings are basically good and getting better.
8. 8. Individual liberties must always be controlled by government authority.
9. 9. Self-reliance and independence are important to a good life.
10. 10. Science and progress are closely related.
11. 11. The American Dream means making lots of money.
12. 12. Hard work equals success.
13. 13. Everyone can achieve The American Dream.
14. 14. The American Dream includes freedom from want.
15. 15. Sacrifice is part of achieving success and prosperity.

Sept. 12th - 17th   Your assignment is to write a multi-paragraph essay that defines your interpretation of what it means to be an American. This essay should use the strategies of definition and different perspectives from the unit to help you develop a complex and thoughtful definition.

DUE TUESDAY:  SEPT. 18 Definition Essay Rubric

• 3 full pages minimum typed
• 12-pt, Times New Roman font
• Double-spaced
• Indent paragraphs
• Use, evidence from texts, definition strategies, and personal experiences.

MLA SAMPLE

Outline:  

• Possible Titles – be creative
• Thesis Statement: How are you defining America = multiple concepts
• Body Paragraphs: Discuss each concept with supporting evidence from the literature packet =

Include in each Paragraph:  Quotes, explanations, statistics, dates, author names, poems

• Conclusion: Restate your definition of America and finish with a creative and impactful statement

Textual Evidence Sentence Starters

Sept. 11 - Read "What is Freedom?" and summarize the essay in one paragraph.  Find two examples of defining by negation and explain how negation adds to your understanding of the authors’ definition of freedom.

Negation:  Explaining what something is by showing what it is not. Using negation helps to contrast your definition with others’ definitions.

Find examples of the definition strategies from the many readings this semester and cite examples on the graphic organizer below.

Sept. 10 - Read "The Four Freedoms" by Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Bill of Rights.  Creat a graphic organizer and identify the four freedoms discussed by FDR and match each of the freedoms to an Amendment in the Bill of Rights. 

Example:

Sept. 7- SUB:  Don't forget to do your "highs and lows"

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, by Joe Rosentha

Researching an Iconic Image

Some images have become a part of the story of the United States of America. Photographs from an event or of a person often capture some of the essence of what it is to be an American. What makes some images more iconic than the rest is the impact they have on the person viewing the image. There is a point at which an image has a strong enough impact that it becomes a part of our national story and collective memory.
Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites define the term iconic image in their article, Performing Civic Identity: the Iconic Photgraph of the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima: “Iconic photographs are widely recognized as representations of significant historical events, activate strong emotional response, and are reproduced across a range of media, genres, or topics.”

Research (ON YOUR PHONE) and find your own idea of an iconic American image. As you research your iconic American image, keep in mind the three elements of significant images:

• The image is widely recognized as representative of a significant historical event.

• The image evokes strong emotional response.

• The image has been reproduced across a range of media, genres, or topics.

After you have researched numerous images, select one image and complete the following on a seperate sheet of paper:

Your image title and subject: 
When it was created:
Why it is iconic (1 paragraph):  

TURN PAPER IN BASKET DURING CLASS.  HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!

Sept. 6 - Read "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes and annotate language that uses imagery to evoke American history. 

Answer the following questions:

1.) Each of the first three quatrains uses an image to evoke the dream of America. What images does Hughes use to evoke the promise and possibilities of America?

2.) Generate a list of types of people represented in the poem by those who are “mumbl[ing] in the dark.” What do the groups have in common?

3.) The two voices introduced early in this poem represent two conflicting themes. Hughes wants us to see that these themes inhabit the American sense of who we are. What are the two contrasting points of view, and how are they developed in the poem?

4.) According to the poem, who has not enjoyed freedom in America?

5.) How does the tone change by the end of the poem? Has the speaker given up on the promise of America?

6.) What was the most powerful image to you as a reader? What made it powerful to you? What point was Hughes trying to make by using the image?

In groups, complete the TP-CASTT graphic organizer.  

• TITLE: Consider the title and make a prediction about what the poem is about.
• PARAPHRASE: Translate one quatrain from the poem line by line into your own words on a literal level. Look for complete thoughts (sentences may be inverted) and look up unfamiliar words.
• CONNOTATION: Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for figurative language, imagery, and sound elements.
• ATTITUDE/TONE: Notice the speaker’s tone and attitude. Humor? Sarcasm? Awe?
• SHIFTS: Note any shifts or changes in speaker or attitude. Look for key words, time change, punctuation.
• TITLE: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
• THEME: Briefly state in your own words what the poem is about (subject), then what the poet is saying

Sept. 5 - Read "Growing Up Asian in America" by Kesaya E. Noda.

Analyze the structure of the story and notice that this essay has three major parts. Explain the central ideas she uses in each structure as she seeks to define herself.  Give 3 examples for each part of the story. 

Choose one passage from the paragraph and paraphrase the information.

Example:

Quotation: “I had not been able to imagine before what it must have felt like to be an American—to know absolutely that one is an American—and yet to have almost everyone else deny it. Not only deny it, but challenge that identity with machine guns and troops of white American soldiers.”

Paraphrased Example: The writer, Kesaya E. Noda, begins to understand the pain of knowing yourself as entirely American while others deny you as an American and actually challenge your sense of identity, simply because you are different looking.

Sept. 4 - Read the letter "What is an American?" by J. Hector John de Crevecoeur

Create a "T-Chart" with examples of classification and function from the text.  

Classification: 

• Explain to what group(s) something belongs
• What groups belong to America or have access to being an American?

Function:

• Show what something does or how it operates in the world
• What does an “American” do?

 How to get started...?

Annotate the 

Sept. 3 - Labor Day: No School

Aug. 31 - Select a quote from "America and I"  Cite quote and explain significance (short paragraph)  

Aug. 29/30 - Read "America and I" (chunks 1-6) by Anzia Yezierska 

Chunk 1:  Annotate langauge that reveals the author's tone toward America

Chunk 2:  Annnotae langauge related to "wages"

Chunk 3:  Annotate main ideas and details

Chunk 4:  Annotate main ideas and details

Chunk 5:  Annotate main ideas and details

Chunk 6:  Annotate main ideas and details

Questions

1. In the first seven paragraphs, what are some of the images and diction used by the narrator that evoke the "dream of America"?

2. What does the author mean by the phrase "Americanized family"? 

3. Review the author's use of the word "American" throughout chunk 2.  How is the narrator using the word to convey her feelings about America? 

4. Reread paragraph 44.  What can you infer about the narrator from this passage?

5. What is ironic about the following statement? “That sweat-shop was a bitter memory but a good school.”

6. In chunk 5 the narrator hopes that, "Maybe this welfare man came to show me the real America that till now I sought in vain."  How do you think that narrator defines the real America?

7. How is the story representative of an immigrant's rise in life and assimilation into becoming Americcan?  How is it the American story of rags to riches through hard work and a will to succeed?

8. The opening paragraphs of chunk 6 are especially rich in figurative language, expressing a sense of disillusionment. Quote some of the images.

9. How do the last two paragraphs provide a definition of America?

10.  What can you infer the author's tone toward America is by the end of the story? 

Aug. 28 - Create a graphic organizer for two poems and complete one of the writing prompts. 

Graphic Organizer

• Prompt 1: “I Hear America Singing” and “I Too Sing America” both refer to “singing” of America. Think about the definition and connotation of “to sing.” How are these two poems similar and how do they differ? Explain your answer by using details of diction and imagery (1 PAGE).

or

• Prompt 2: Claude McKay and Langston Hughes wrote during the same period in America’s literary history. Their writing deals with similar themes concerning the experience of African-Americans. After analyzing the poem, “America,” explain how the tone and theme of Claude McKay’s poem is similar to that of Langston Hughes’s poem, “I, Too, Sing America.” Use support from the diction and imagery of the poems to support your thinking (1 PAGE).

Aug. 27 - Picture day:  No class work

Aug. 24 - Read and discuss aloud three poems by Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay.

Aug. 23 - Read the speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt addressing the 50th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. 

Complete a SoapsTone graphic organizer and complete the writing prompt (1 paragraph).  

Write a well-developed paragraph using details from the illustration, the speech, and the poem to define the promise of America for those who come to the United States. Use the definition strategy of exemplification, or defining with examples. Be sure to:

• Include a clearly stated thesis that states the definition of the promise of America.
• Explain the most significant and relevant details from the texts with commentary.
• Use definition strategies effectively to define the promise of America.

Aug. 22 - Read the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus.  Answer the questions below.

• Paraphrase the poem in your own words (line by line).
• Why is the Statue of Liberty called “the Mother of Exiles” and what does the torch symbolize? Quote evidence from the poem as a basis for your answer.
• Make a list of words revealing strong imagery
• How is this poem connected to the illustration below?

Aug. 21 - Read "A Cause Greater Than self" by John McCain. 

Answer the following 4 questions and writing prompt below: Restate the question in your answer. 

• How do the title and the thesis immediately set McCain’s purpose?
• Take a careful look at paragraph 2. How is this part of the definition an extension of the common definition of patriotism?
• What examples of patriotism are used when the author mentions Arlington Cemetery?
• What are all the examples used by the author for patriots or patriotism throughout the essay and how does this add to the author’s definition?

Using a passage from McCain’s essay, write (1 paragraph) about one way this extended definition expanded your understanding of the word patriot. Be sure to:

• Indicate what passage you are using as a reference.
• Explain your expanded or new understanding.
• Use appropriate transitions to connect ideas.

Aug.20 - Vocabulary - For each word: definition, synonym, antonym, sentence

primary source, defend, challenge, qualify, exemplification, imagery, personification, synecdoche

Aug.17 - Character trait online survey results

http://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-Z9G6Z78/

Aug.16 -  The Science of Character   

Review the 24 character strengths and write about 5 traits that connect with you.  Explain the importance of each and how you can begin or continue to develop these 5 traits within yourself, home, and community (1 page).  

Aug.15 - Select 2 American authors from the list on the class webpage. Research online and answer the questions from the list below the authors.  Record information about a 3rd author from a classmate (must find someone who has a different person).  Share information aloud about 1 author at the end of class.

• Walt Whitman
• Langston Hughes
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Phillis Wheatley
• Lorraine Hansberry
• Barack Obama
• Arthur Miller Abraham Lincoln
• Mark Twain
• John F. Kennedy
• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Henry David Thoreau
• Emily Dickinson
• John Steinbeck
• Zora Neale Hurston

Complete the questions below for each author:  

Authors Name:

Date of birth: 

Literary period:   

List 3 important published works (books, speeches, plays, poems) from this author:

Find a quote you enjoy from this author and explain why you enjoy the quote:

Have you read any literature from this author in the past? If so, do you remember the work? 

Aug.14 - Syllabus, Seating Chart, Rules and Procedures

Aug.13 - WELCOME BACK STUDENTS!