Ms. Lepianka

Aware of Tone

Monday & Tuesday - finish the graphic organizer on tone for the memoir "A Choice of Weapons" but don't forget to use the handout you received with the lists of various types of tone.  Then you will take the comprehension & vocabulary quiz on the memoir.

Wednesday & Thursday - go over the results from the quiz, review hyperbole & explain a new term "deadpan humor", then review the parts of the plot (these were the types of questions you say on the pretest), & begin reading "The Baddest Dog in Harlem"

Friday - Finish reading "The Baddest Dog in Harlem", complete the graphic organizer on point of view.  We will be looking at an interactive map of Harlem as well as watching scenes from a website on Harlem.  Please be present since class is more interesting when you are here to ask questions & join in the discussion!

 

From Poe to Dickenson

Monday & Tuesday - We will be finishing Poe by reading an excerpt from "The Fall of the House of Usher" & your HW will be to answer the EOCT questions about the passage.  You will receive your graded quiz on "The Raven".   We will begin reading the background on Emily Dickenson pg. 404-405 in the textbook.

Wednesday - Friday-  Poems to be read, discussed & analyzed by Emily Dickenson starting on pg. 406 "Because I Could Not Stop For Death", "I Heard A Fly Buzz"& "There's a Certain Slant of Light"

Homework - from the Adapted Reader's Notebook - exercise A pg. 152 & Literary Analysis:  Rhyme & Paradox - handouts

Don't write the way you speak or text!

Monday & Tuesday - Strategy 19 - Transitions - turn in Homonyms Lesson 6 - those who are late will lose 10 points which is better than a ZERO!

Wednesday & Thursday - Strategy 20 - Recognize Paragraph Unity - identifying what belongs & what doesn't in a paragraph. Strategy 21 - Write Single & Multiple Paragraph Essays - the importance of graphic organizers in the planning stage of writing - H.W. - Homonyms Lesson 7

Friday - Quiz on Chapter 5

Keep Up with your Reading!

Well nobody expected to have a whole week off, but we did and now we have to play catch up. 

This week we will finish reading "The Raven" and then you will take the quiz on the poem.  Then we will read another one of Poe's poems "Annabel Lee".

Make sure to turn in your research on the biography of Edgar Allen Poe.

In class we read most of Chapter 14 in Shiver, and for HW you are expected to finish that chapter AND read Chapter 15.

In class, we will read an excerpt from a short story by Poe and then you will have to answer questions about the passage.

Think Positive & Try Hard

I was really inspired by reading your New Year's Academic Resolutions, and I can't wait to post them all to the bulletin board so that you can inspire other students who feel that these resolutions are too difficult to achieve.  I believe each one of you can achieve these "goals" you've set for yourselves by thinking positive even when it is not so easy, and by trying harder than you have in the past.  Remember you have 5 months to work on these resolutions and that nothing this important can happen overnight.  It will require you to work continuously until you have succeeded.

This week:

Pretest - 1/4 - 1/5

Midterm results, review & discussion - 1/4 - 1/5

Strategies 18 & 19 - all week.

Thinking About Your Future

Some of you may have been surprised by me asking each of you, "What do you want to do after high school?"  I wanted to know if you've been thinking about your future.  May is not far away.  I want you to start seriously thinking about this.  Mommy & Daddy can't decide your future for you, although they may want to.  Ultimately, it is up to you to make that decision, and it's not an easy decision to make.  Especially, when you haven't given it much thought.  So, start thinking and make it easier on yourselves.  We will be going to the media center to start help you on your way to make the right decision for each of you.  

This week:

Pretest - 1/4 - 1/5

Midterm results & review of misunderstood concepts - 1/4 - 1/5

New story - a memoir  (nonfiction)- "A Choice of Weapons" with new vocabulary - all week. 

Website to check out - http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/idex.html

 

Show Me the Effort!

Hope you had a restful break.  It seems as if some of your brains are still on vacation! I need your brains & body present for you to be successful in class.  I enjoyed reading your New Year's Academic Resolutions.  Almost everyone said they want to pass their classes, improve their grades & graduate.  It's easy to say that, but much harder to actually DO!  DOING REQUIRES EFFORT!  The effort is not easy, but it is NOT impossible! Show me you are trying by:  1.  coming to school prepared with pencil, pen, paper, homework, & previous class assignments 2. ask ME questions when you do not understand, not your classmate sitting next to you 3.  if you are too shy to ask a question in class, come & see me before or after school - my door is usually open.  The effort on your part will help you more than you can see right now.

Remember a passing grade in  American Literature is required for a high school diploma!

This week:

Pretest - 1/4 - 1/5

Shiver Checkpoints on Chapters 7 - 13 - 1/4 - 1/5

Discussion of midterm results - most of this week since you will see all this on the GHSGT, the EOCT & the final exam.  Knowing the right answer is NOT learning, know WHY it is the right answer is learning.

Homework - Edgar Allen Poe research questions

Reading of "The Raven" - 1/6 - 1/7 - quiz on "The Raven" next week.