Today we talked about vocabulary – as a reminder, you have a quiz on Tuesday (the word list is under the vocabulary section in case you lost your paper copy). Sentences for each word are due before you take your quiz – if you write a story (with all 30 words, bolded and numbered), I’ll give you 10 extra points.

We also talked about humor and literature. Here are two handouts that we discussed:

Different Theories of Humor

The Funniest Jokes in the World

Then we read David Sedaris’ short essay, “Let it Snow.” Here’s an electronic copy:

Let It Snow

Your homework for the weekend was to finish the one-paragraph analysis of “Let it Snow” that we started in class. Your prompt was to explain which theory of humor would demonstrate why that essay is funny. You should write it in PIE format (P, I, E, I, E, I, E) and highlight it (Period 1, I know you don’t know what that means yet, so don’t worry about that format – just write the paragraph).

I will not be at school on this date, so I’m posting our assignments early.

Students will spend the majority of the period doing an assignment on literary devices found in the short story “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.” Here is an electronic copy of that assignment for those of you who are absent. (It is to be turned in to the substitute at the end of the period.)

SLHFGRBW – Literary Devices – No Key

After you are done, please work on reading your free choice book. Remember that on Friday, you must bring a printed copy of five interesting quotes from your book with annotations.

Homework for Thursday night is to listen to the Radiolab podcast on the Iceman and answer questions and write a very short piece of creative fiction about him. Here is the link to that podcast, but I’m also going to try to embed it in this post:

Here is the page of questions that you need to complete:

Iceman Podcast Questions and Story

Please open the document, type your answers to the questions, save the completed file to your computer, and submit it via turnitin.com before Friday at 12:30 PM.

Lots of important announcements to kick off today!

1. I passed out the instructions for your self-selected book project today. You’ll be writing a letter to someone about your book. Here is an electronic copy – Free Choice Reading Letter-Writing Project – note that you need to turn in a paper copy of FIVE quotes from the first half of your book with annotations on Friday. I want to emphasize that expect your annotations to be substantive – I need to see sophisticated analysis and insight to give you full credit. If you submit something slapdash, don’t be surprised when your grade is mediocre.
2. I will be out on Thursday, so please bring your community class items (tissues, etc.) on Friday. The substitute should not take them. Those are very important, students!
3. Bring your free-choice book with you on Thursday in case you have time after you have completed the activity for the day.
4. You are required to get one of the PowerUp laptops for this class. If you have not already done so, you need to turn your form into the office with a $25 deposit. (If money is an issue, Mr. McDonough has told us the school is committed to finding a way to make it affordable for you.) I will be taking a grade on whether you have taken care of this business by Tuesday.

Today in class, we read the short story “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.” Here is an electronic copy of that story, in case you would like to continue reading at home:

SLHFGRBW – Story

Your vocabulary list will be posted shortly in the Vocabulary section. Your vocabulary assignment for the weekend will be to either write one sentence for each word or (10 bonus points) write a story using all the words.

Homework for tonight was to illustrate a quote from the story. I passed out the selected quotes to students today in class, but if you lost yours or were absent, just choose one from this file and print it:

SLHFGRBW – Plot Illustrations

Your illustrations are due to the substitute tomorrow. As I said in class, I won’t grade you on your artistic talent, but I will grade you on:

• Neatness
• Detail
• Whether the illustration is colored

Since I will be out tomorrow, I’ll post the agenda for Thursday some time this afternoon – you can begin working on tomorrow’s homework if you’re feeling peppy!

Today in class, we talked about post-colonial literature in preparation for the short story we are going to begin tomorrow. Here is the PowerPoint we discussed:

SLHFGRBW – Post-Colonial Literature

And here is the notes page that goes with it (which is for a grade):

SLHFGRBW – Presentation Notes

First period’s homework was to finish these notes and turn them in at the start of class tomorrow (period 3, 4, 6, and 7 finished in class).

Homework for periods 3, 4, 6, and 7 was to listen to a podcast about the Native American boarding school system and respond to some questions. Here are the links to those podcasts:

Part 1 – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865

Part 2 – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17645287

And here is the sheet of questions:

SLHFGRBW – Podcast Questions

Please read another 30 pages from your self-selected book tonight as well!

Also, students have been asked to bring one community item to class to help keep things running. This item is due by Friday. Here is the list of what students need to bring, by period:

Period 1: Clorox Wipes

Period 3: tissues

Period 4: tissues

Period 6: hand sanitizer

Period 7: colored construction paper

Finally, here is the video that we watched as part of the presentation about the Carlisle Indian School:

Today in class we:

1. Took our vocabulary quiz over “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “Who Killed the Iceman?” words.

2. Checked out books from the library. Your homework is read the first 30 pages of your book (at least) and go to www.turnitin.com and complete the questions for that reading. If you have not yet set up your turnitin.com account, see the posts from last week for instructions on how to do so. The questions to which you will be responding are:

1. Who is the main character? What strengths and flaws (think: physical, mental, emotional, supernatural, talents, etc.) does he or she possess?
2. In what kind of world does the story take place? (How is it like ours? How is it unlike the world with which you are familiar?)
3. What do you anticipate the biggest problem in the story will be?
4. Select one quote from the book that strikes you – something funny, interesting, or confusing – and explain why you chose it.

In today’s class, we went over some important announcements about policies and procedures for Pre-AP English 1. Here is that sheet, in case you would like to review them:

Spring Semester Updates

One of the most important announcements was the list of books you will need to find copies of – some of you asked me to post the Amazon link to those titles, so here you go:

• In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote (NB – this is the one we will need first, as we are beginning reading it on January 21)
• The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
• Winter’s Bone, by Daniel Woodrell

We continued to talk about our vocabulary words. As a reminder, you’ll have a quiz over those on Monday, and your homework for the weekend is to write sentences for each one.

In the remaining time, we read two articles that related to “Lamb to the Slaughter” from the textbook, and students worked on an accompanying reading guide.

Here is that reading guide:

Who Killed the Iceman – Reading Guide

And you can access the textbook by going to this website. The username is cralph40 and the password is w8v3j – click “go to the online textbook” and then under the “select a chapter” drop-down menu, choose Unit 5, then choose the two articles from the second drop-down menu. Your reading guide is due on Monday – no late work will be accepted.

And as a final important reminder, we are meeting in the library at the beginning of class on Monday. If you arrive at the classroom, you will find it locked and empty. If you have a book that you need to return or a fine that you need to pay, please be ready to take care of that business before you check out another book.

Have a great weekend!

PS – Here’s a cool video about forensic anthopology (one of our vocabulary words!):

Today we talked about the first 10 words from our vocabulary list for this week (check the vocabulary section for an electronic copy if you have lost yours). As a reminder, we will have a quiz over these words on Monday. Your homework over the weekend is to write one sentence for each word demonstrating that you understand its meaning.

We also finished the reading guide for “Lamb to the Slaughter” with partners, and in some classes, we got the chance to talk about this cool article from 1955:

Lamb to the Slaughter – Good Housewife’s Guide

If you were absent, here is the reading guide that you need to make up (your grade will be a zero until you turn this in):

Lamb to the Slaughter – Reading Guide

Your homework assignment for tonight is to choose one the top two-sentence scary stories and breathe life into it by expanding it to between 200 and 300 words. Craft your story by using beautiful, literary language – devices such as similes and metaphors, alliteration, hyperbole, foreshadowing, imagery, symbolism, etc.

Put your word count at the very bottom of your story.

*This assignment will count as a daily grade, not a homework assignment.

**You must turn your assignment in by going to the class website and following the directions to set up a turnitin.com account. I will not accept paper or emailed submissions. Your story is due by 7:30 AM on Friday morning.

Here are the award-winning stories:

By Popular Demand (Highest-Rated by Students)…

• My younger sister woke me up by whispering, “I’m going to kill you,” in my ear. My sister is mute.
• The little girl squeezed her doll tightly. The doll told her to stop because it couldn’t breathe.
• She takes a stroll in the park enjoying the sound of her feet crunching on leaves. She stops and the crunching continues.
• The man walked in his room and closed his door. He looked in his mirror and saw himself writing help.
• They’ll never find the bodies. And I definitely won’t be hungry.
• While reading his newspaper, he noticed something. His name, in the obituaries.
• When I finally save her from drowning, I swim back to the surface. It never occurred to me how fast the ice could freeze over.
• Girlfriend sleeping next to me. Got a phone call and she tells me that she’s coming home.
• My brother says daddy killed him. Daddy says I don’t have a brother.
• The excruciating footsteps grew increasingly louder, my sight allowing me to see the shadows cast under the door. I was born deaf.
• “You’re still having nightmares, sweetie?” my mother shook me from my sleep and smiled at me sweetly. She was murdered 6 months ago.

The Ms. Chapman Awards (Stories that I Picked Out)…

• The general said they were just robots. I shot one and it cried for its wife and children while bleeding to death.
• I heard a noise from my chimney on Christmas. It wasn’t Santa.
• I finally caught up with my one true love and held her in my arms. She sure can run fast.
• She calls out for her husband. He answers 25 years later.
• I love talking to my dad before I slumber each night. I ache to hug him, but my arms always go right through.
• Two girls. Three shadows.
• When I asked my mom what was for dinner she said biscuits. My dog is named Biscuits.
• My mother, calm as usual, innocently sliced vegetables in our kitchen. However, upon closer inspection, I swear, the tomato beat like a crimson heart.

Here is how you submit your story:

Go to www.turnitin.com, and click “create account.” Select the “student” option. Enter the class ID for the period that I have you:

Period 1 Class ID: 7465014

Period 3 Class ID: 7465042

Period 4 Class ID: 7465065

Period 6 Class ID: 7465080

Period 7 Class ID: 7465090

The password for all classes is “bellaire” – no capitalization.

Enter the rest of your information and follow the prompts. When you enroll, you should see an assignment called “Scary Story – It’s Allive!” Enter your text or attach the file and submit it by 7:30 AM on Friday morning.

ALSO – YOUR STORY MUST HAVE A CREATIVE TITLE!!!

Have fun! 🙂

Today in class, we read Roald Dahl’s excellent short story, “Lamb to the Slaughter.” Here is an electronic version if you would like to read it at home.

Your homework for tonight is to vote on your classmates’ two-sentence scary stories:

If your last name starts with A – M, click here to vote on this set of stories.

If your last name starts with N – Z, click here to vote on this set of stories.

Another very important announcement: On January 21, we will begin reading Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. You will need to get a copy of this book – Bellaire does not have many to check out. Other books we will be reading this semester that you need to find include Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle and Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone.

Here is the link to submit your three two-sentence scary stories.

Hey students!

I’m looking forward to seeing you in a few days. I just wanted to share something cool that I found. I’ve been reading this book, Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon about a record store in Oakland, California (I really like that author – he wrote an alternate history murder mystery about how the US allowed Jews to settle in Alaska to escape the Holocaust, and a story about the birth of the comic book that won the Pulitzer Prize).

Anyway, I came across this sentence in that book:

“The only hope for escape, her son knew, was to tell a version of the truth, to scoot your lie beneath the fingertips of her attention under a sheepskin of truth and pray for an instant of blindness.” (282)

Sounds like something we’ve read before!