Week 38: Monday, 5/2/16

* Open

• Dear students: I need to stay home to help my wife who is sick.  AP will be writing an in-class essay, and English IV will be working on the senior project essay. 

* AP: This is your last chance to beat your current essay score

• You will be responding to Passage 2 (the prose passage) of the green packet.  Assume the student notes in your packet are incorrect.  If you see any, ignore them.  
• Write in pen.
• You have the entire period.
• Place the essay in the top of the silver tray if you think it may beat the essay score currently in Focus.  Place the green sheets in the bottom silver tray.
• You may NOT use any notes or electronic devices.  You may use the paper dictionary only. 
• I will check the weekend homework (M.C. test and paper cards) when I return.  I will also return any essays from last week then (I expect to return tomorrow).

* Regular English 4: Senior Project Essay Work

• You need to show me at least one page of your rough draft tomorrow. 

Homework:

AP

• Study for the AP Exam (literary terms, prompts AND sample essays, note cards, AP Review Page) 
• Get good rest tonight and tomorrow night
• Plan on layers of clothing (room usually starts cold at 8:00 am...then warms up) for your test on Wednesday
• Get your pens, pencils, erasers, water, and snacks ready

English 4

• Rough Draft: AT LEAST one page due tomorrow

Periods 1 and 3 Only

Here are the prompts from the green-sheet I gave you for your poetry essay:

• 2008 Free-Response Questions

Here are the sample student essays for your prompt (and the two others).  Look them over:

• 2008 Sample Responses Q1 (Keats and Longfellow)
  2008 Sample Responses Q2
  2008 Sample Responses Q3

Periods 6 and 7 Only

Here are the prompts from the green-sheet I gave you for your poetry essay:

• 2007 Free-Response Questions

Here are the sample student essays for your prompt (and the two others).  Look them over:

• 2007 Sample Responses Q1 (Wilbur and Frost)
  2007 Sample Responses Q2
  2007 Sample Responses Q3

Regular English 4 Only

* English 4

• Work on the Senior Project
• Please read or skim: Sample Student Essay Example
• Yours only has to be 3-5 pages (they did not have to do an annotated bibliography last year).  
• Essay RD, 50 HW points: May 12-13
• Essay FD, 100 Essay points (Final Essay): May 19-20

Block Day, Week 27

* Opening

• Pledging Allegiance 

* AP Exam



HW:  AP:

• 1. Do a Second AP M.C. Exam and Check the Answers  (time yourself to 60 min., this time)
•  1987 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam
  
• The key for 1987 is on .pdf pg. 24 (paper pg. 26).

OR
                  1999 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam

• The key for 1999 is on .pdf pg. 41 (paper pg. 35).   

OR            1994: I have the test on paper in class that you may borrow or as a .pdf here

• Here is the Answer Key

• 2. SHOW ME MONDAY: Five Paper AP Test Review Cards (complete with quotations)

• Cards may include
• Pride and Prejudice
• The Tempest
• Heart of Darkness or A Tale of Two Cities
• Beowulf
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• Any other work of recognized literary merit from this course or another course or your personal reading.

And continue reviewing:

• Key Terms List (Review this Regularly) 
• SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAYS 
• Your study cards

Wednesday, 4/27

* Open

* AP: Wonderful, Glorious Poetry Essay

• If you think this could beat your current ICE essay grade, please turn it in the the silver tray. 
• You will have one more chance after this to beat that score next week. 
• Poetry Forms

HW:

• Due Block Day: Study Guide: The Importance of Being Earnest (.pdf version)

Week 37: Tuesday

* Open

The Pledge of Allegiance

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."


The Pledge to the Christian Flag

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior, for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe."

 

* Rhyme, Scansion, and Poetic Practice

• You may do this assignment on paper or on this .pdf.  I created the .pdf for ease and to make the blog entry more orderly. 

HW:

• Due Block Day: Study Guide: The Importance of Being Earnest (.pdf version)
• AP Only Due Tomorrow: Journal: Rhyme, Scansion, and Poetic Practice
• More time to study? Review Sample AP Essays

Monday, 4/25

* Open

• The Pledge of Allegiance
  
  "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
  
  
  The Pledge to the Christian Flag
  
  "I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior, for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe."
  

* Review:

• AP LITERATURE EXAM REVIEW PAGE

* Read and Work on Your Wilde Study Guide (due Block day)

HW: Wilde and Test Review

Week 36 Block: "Is this [Mr. Schwager] a [male] of repellent aspect, remotely connect with education?"

* Open

• Remember, your list of terms is on the right side of the blog: Key Terms List: review this now and often. 

* Movie

• Show me your three responses, please.

* AP English: Musicality Part 1, Rhyme

• I will teach you the elements you need from this.  If you would like more practice with these ideas, go to the chapter: Perrine's Poetry Ch. 11: Musicality (Part I)

Honors English II Review:

• The Sonnet (you must know this form)
• Riddles 
• Meter
• The Villanelle (you should know this form)
• A French verse form consisting of five three-line stanzas and a final quatrain, with the first and third lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the following stanzas. These two refrain lines form the final couplet in the quatrain.
• The Triolet
• The Limerick
• The Clerihew
• Spoken Word 
• More Forms

* Regular English: Senior Research Project

• Rough Draft of the Essay Due May 12
• 3-5 Pages
• MLA
• Clear thesis, clearly defended 
• Well organized (use the standard five-paragraph model or a close variation)
• Works cited (but not the annotated bibliography)

HW: Read and annotate (see the study guide) The Importance of Being Earnest by Tuesday.

• AP Finish at least one whole AP practice test. 

 1987 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam

• The key for 1987 is on .pdf pg. 24 (paper pg. 26).

1999 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam

• The key for 1999 is on .pdf pg. 41 (paper pg. 35). 

White Ivory May Still Reveal Heart(s) of Darkness

Reuters / Wednesday, April 20, 2016: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers stack elephant tusks, part of an estimated 105 tonnes of confiscated ivory to be set ablaze, on a pyre at Nairobi National Park near Nairobi, Kenya.

Keep Studying Passages of the M.C. Test Whenever Possible

1987 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam

• The key for 1987 is on .pdf pg. 24 (paper pg. 26).

1999 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam

• The key for 1999 is on .pdf pg. 41 (paper pg. 35). 

Wednesday 4/20: "Isn't Language a Curious Thing?"

* Open

* Movie

• The Importance of Being Earnest 
•  Here is your Study Guide

HW:  Journal:

Choose at least two (standard English, one) of the essential questions from the study guide to answer in complete sentences for tomorrow.  Note that I added a few questions since Monday.

Tuesday, 4/19/16: Metaphors Drawn from Bees

* Open

* AP TEST REMINDER: Theater, during Flex

Wednesday, April 20, 8:05 AM – Last name starts with A-I

Thursday, April 21, 8:05 AM – Last name starts with J-Q

Friday, April 22, 8:05 AM – Last name starts with R-Z

Please bring a hard surface to write on...and a pencil. 

* Movie

• The Importance of Being Earnest 
•  Here is your Study Guide
  

HW: Review all the vocabulary tonight (parts I-III) so that you can understand the most challenging words you'll hear in the final 30-40 minutes of the video tomorrow.

• Vocabulary (you need to know these words for any reading quiz at matching or m.c. level of response)

• Act I
• Act II
• Act III

Chapel Announcement Reminder

On May 2, MVCS will have a baptism and life dedication chapel. 

On May 9, MVCS will have its annual senior chapel day with seniors sharing Christ.

For more information on either day, please talk with Mr. Davis, Mr. Talley, or your Bible teacher.

Monday, 4/18/16: Developing in Many Directions

* Open: Review

• AP M.C. Question Stems

* A Few AP Notes

• Essay: Imagined Audience
• M.C.:To guess or not to guess?

* Movie

• The Importance of Being Earnest 
•  Here is your Study Guide
  

HW:

E4: Begin Learning Your Terms and Vocabulary from the Study Guide (Act I)

AP: Take and score at least one new passage tonight:

• 1999 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam  
• 1987 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam
  Barron's Online Test Practice 

Friday Bible Study

Dear friends,

A favorite teaching series is just beginning anew!

Thru the Bible is now embarking on its 10th time through the Bible (a five-year study). 

You will travel though Old and New Testament books alternately.  You will learn about needs in various parts of the world to pray over (the broadcast/podcast reaches thousands, if not millions, with people studying in over 100 languages across the globe).  You will grow in grace and knowledge of God.

What We'll Do:

• Subscribe and Listen Via Device or Podcast Daily (if you miss a day, that's ok...or catch up with two in a day, etc.). 
• Meditate on What You Hear and Read 
• Come on Friday to Pray and Discuss the Week's Ideas

For Richer Study:

• Read a chapter or two of the Bible ahead of Pastor McGee.  For now, that would be Genesis 1-2...then following on as we go.
• Download His Notes and Outlines to See the Larger Picture
• Guidelines for the Understanding of the Scriptures
• Genesis 

See you Friday!

Mr. S

Week 35, Block Party

Open

• See the post on free indirect discourse

* Party Begins

* Essay Part I

• Look Over These Open Prompts (start at the end, 2015, and read back to 2000)

• Your class will choose one prompt that must apply to either A Tale of Two Cities or Heart of Darkness.   
• These are years you may not choose:
• 2005 FORM B
  2006
  2014

* Essay Part II

• AP: Full Essay Exam (3-4 pages)
• English 4: 1 Page
• Once your class has chosen a prompt, copy the prompt onto your page and write the essay (40 min.).

* Movie

HW:AP: From Your AP Test Preparation page:

• Review M.C. Practice and Begin Testing Yourself (the answers are included in the .pdf exams):
• College Board's Released Exams (for extra practice)
• 1999 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam  
• 1987 AP English Literature and Composition Released Exam
• Barron's Online Test Practice
• AP M.C. Question Stems

Free Indirect Discourse

Proposal:
"Her astonishment, as she reflected on what had passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! that he should have been in love with her for so many months! so much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend’s marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case, was almost incredible!" (Pride and Prejudice). 

• Notice that the third-person narrator dips into Elizabeth's perspective without quoting.  

For more examples from the text, see this blogpost. 

Some scholars call this dual voice: Scholarly Article: "'Dual Voice' of Free Indirect Discourse"


 

Week 25: Wednesday, 4/13

* Open

• Sign up for the party
• Let's write the essay on block day.  I still may not have the last essays scored...but I will try!

* Calendar Note

* On Paper, Make a Pride and Prejudice Study Card (due block day)

• Climax
• Narrative Perspective
•  Example on quizlet

HW: Pride and Prejudice Card

IMPORTANT! AP EXAM SETUP FOR YOU

We need to fill out our AP test forms.  This will be done in the theater on the dates given by last name:

Wednesday, 4/20, 8:05 am: A-H (no I’s!)

Thursday, 4/21, 8:05 AM: J-Q

Friday, 4/22, 8:05 AM: R-Z

Please put this on your calendar and do not miss it!

College Essay From Business Insider, Spring, 2016

 High-school senior Brittany Stinson learned Thursday she was accepted into five Ivy League schools — Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, and Cornell.  She also got into Stanford, which has an acceptance rate of 4.69% — a lower rate than any of the Ivy League schools.

Tuesday, 4/12

* Open

• Did Your Sign Up to Bring Aught for the Pahr-tay? 

* Discuss ch. 10 a bit

* Journal Ch. 10 Part II

• In one paragraph, discuss how two poems in this chapter operate in illuminating opposition. 

* On Paper, Make a Pride and Prejudice Study Card (due block day)

•   Example on quizlet

HW: Journal 10 Part II; work on note card

Assembly Schedule

First 8:10-8:50 40 min.

Second 8:55-9:35 40 min.

Break 9:35-9:45 10 min.

Third 9:50-10:30 40 min.

Fourth 10:35-11:15 40 min.

Chapel/Assembly 11:20-12:25 65 min.

Lunch 12:25-1:05 40 min.

Fifth 1:10-1:50 40 min.

Sixth 1:55-2:35 40 min.

Seventh 2:40-3:20 40 min.

Buses leave at 3:30

Monday, 4/11/16

* Open

• Sign up for party time to be excellent (down below on the right side of the blog)

* Before you write your next essay, it is wise to consider tone more carefully.  Let's do that first, then return to our novels...and then watch a video and have a class party as we head into Oscar Wilde this week!

* Tone

• Tone: Perrine's Poetry Ch. 10, pp. 880-898
• Review the first two poems together
• Of the first two poems, which one is darker in final tone and meaning?  How do you know? 

• Journal: Perrine's Poetry Chapter 10: Respond to Three Poems Total
• ONE: In Groups, Answer Questions for "Since There's No Help" 
• TWO, THREE: Homework: Answer questions for any two more (choose two poems that work in opposition...choose poems that we haven't studied together in class)

TW: Journal Chapter 10 of Perrine's Poetry

Your Previous AP Test Scores

Hi,

Someone (I don't remember who it was) asked me for a previous AP test score, and I thought Focus might show that to me, but I do not see it.  Please see your adviser for that information.

All the best,

Mr. S

Week's Reminders and the Senior Project

First, we have a quiz on block day covering your Easter reading.  You may use paper resources that you created (your note card and book).

Second, the only card due on block day is from your Easter reading (Dickens or Conrad).  If you finish your work early on any day, then please make a Pride and Prejudice card for later study...but I will not be checking for Austen at this point. 

Third, the senior project will move into the background until we take the AP exam.  I noticed how much work some need to do (novel writing, etc.), how many people need to update their sources (based on the annotations), and how much wiser it would be to leave the most time possible open to prepare for the AP exam.  Of course, you may turn your project in any time before these dates, but the deadlines are now set to the weeks following the AP exam and can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the assignment overview (RD by May 12-13; FD by May 19-20).

Although this extension is best suited to my AP students, I think it would help all my senior students, so it applies to all regular and AP courses that I teach.

The senior project will then be your final essay for our course.  Anyone taking the AP exam will have no other final exam.  Regular students and those not taking the AP exam will have a final M.C. test.

Thank you,

Mr. S

Block Day, Week 34

* Open: Please read the week's reminders for the Senior Project Update.

• If the updated schedule does not work for you for some reason, please let me know.  You may turn it in any time before the dates listed.  If there's any issue, FINISH IT EARLY.

* Quiz Pride and Prejudice Quiz in Detail

* Take Your Next Quiz

* Read and Take Notes On Tone: Perrine's Poetry Ch. 10, pp. 880-887. Read the questions for the poems, but you do not need to write out answers.

HW: Finish the Assignment Above

Are Your Eyes Tone Deaf?

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 5-6

* Open

* Work On Your Note Card and Study Guide Today and Tomorrow

• Answer at least 20 questions in your respective guide (you may do this on your iPad; it will help you create better cards)
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Heart of Darkness

* I will continue checking annotations

* If you Finish Early, Make a Study Card for Pride and Prejudice

HW: Work on Note Cards and Guide

Monday, April 4, 2016

* Open

• The Dark Knight Rises: The Death of Batman:
• Part I
• Part II 
• Where Have You Read This? 

* Read Over This Example Note Card on Pride and Prejudice

* On Paper, With a Friend or Two: Make a Study Card for Your Easter Reading

•  Each person needs to make their own paper copy

* Annotation Check

HW: Note Card (due block day)