September 20 and 21

We all did a vocab review using synonyms and antonyms (quiz next class!)

1st block: We did a second reading on quinceanera and answered more text dependent quesitons (this time on our own).

2nd and 3rd block: We had a discussion on quinceanera using Kahoot to share our responses. After that we went over the requirement for the final writing assignment in which we will write argumentative essays on one rite of passage.

September 18 and 19

We did the last four vocab words: affluent, differentiate, defer, hiatus

We read our first piece on rite of passage (the quinceanera)

In teams we answered text dependent questions and turned them in on google classroom

September 14 and 15

Three new vocab words today: lavish, prevalence, disparity

Intro to Rites of Passage: define, brainstorm examples, analyze each example

September 12th and 13th

We began our "Rites of Passage" vocabulary study. We started with the first three words: ritual, endorsement, and fathom. We will read these words in the texts and also try to use them in our argumentative papers.

After that, we took a pre-test on conventions. Keep track of your data, so you know which areas you will need to study for the post-test.

Also, more name practice!

September 8th and 11th

More learning of names!

After that, we wrote letters of introduction.

I'm looking forward to learning more about you than just your name.

September 6th and 7th

Today we learned about the course. We went over the syllabus and class procedures. After that Mr. Wilson tried to learn all your names.

Welcome the the 2017-18 school year!

Come here to see the daily agenda of each class. You will also find some helpful links in the margins.

American Lit final essay topics and example thesis statements

American Lit journal #4

Pick one of these topics. Write 150 words or more.

Topic #1: Make a Comparison

Compare your book to one other we’ve read this term. Pick one specific thing to compare and then elaborate on that. Suggested topics: character, setting, conflict, scene, theme
symbolism

Topic #2: Dreams

Finish this sentence in the voice of one of the characters from your novel: “I have a dream…” Consider your characters motivation, desires, and perhaps obstacles faced.

American Lit journal #3

The most important passage so far…

Copy the passage into your notebook.

Explain why you think it is important.

American Lit journal #2:

So far, I think this is a book about…

money

freedom

happiness

success

opportunity

equality

… or something else

Rate Mr. Wilson's vocab jokes

Click HERE to rate Mr. Wilson's vocab jokes.

American Lit Journal #1

First impressions:

Write about your first impression of the book so far. Here are some suggested topics:

Characters

Setting

Conflicts

Style

Predictions

The American Dream?

A Raisin in the Sun act 3 review

1.      The obstacle the Younger family will most likely face in Clyborne Park is…

2.      Mama seems to give up the plan to move to Clyborne Park when she…

3.      Walter plans to reconsider Lindner’s offer in act 3 by doing what?

4.      Why does Mama insists that Travis stay to witness Walter’s discussion with Lindner?

5.      What does Walter ultimately tell Lindner?

6.      Which character’s views most strongly contrast with Mama’s world view?

7.      When Beneatha mentions “assimilationist negroes” she most probably is referring to…

8.      How do we know that Mama’s and Mrs. Johnson’s opinions about African Americans greatly contrast?

9.      The deceased Walter Lee Younger Sr. can best be described as…

Who said it?

10.  “That money is made out of my father’s flesh!”

11.   “The Youngers is too much for me! You sure one proud-acting bunch of colored folks.”

12.   “Could I maybe go carry some groceries in front of the supermarket for a little while…”

13.   “Good night, Prometheus!”

14.   “I seen him grow old before he was forty working and working and working like somebody’s old horse…”

15.   “There simply is no God—there is man and it is he who makes miracles.”

16.   “Girl, if you don’t get all them silly ideas out your head!  You better marry yourself a man with some loot…”

17.   “The overwhelming majority of our people out there feel that people get along better, take more of a common interest in the life of the community, when they share a common background.”

18.  “What’s the matter with you, Walter!  When a cat take off with your money he don’t leave you no road maps!”

19.  “No Travis, you stay right here.  And you make him understand what you doing. You teach him good. Like Willy Harris taught you.”

Here is a cool short film someone made for an IOP

Here is a nice example of a speed drawing for an IOP

A Raisin in the Sun act 2 review questions

1.      When Mama says “we a people who give children life, not who destroys it,” she is referring to…

2.      Ruth’s reaction to the news that Mama intends to buy a house can best be described as…

3.      Walter’s reaction to the news Mama intends to buy a house can best be described as…

4.      Mrs. Johnson’s attitude toward the Younger’s move to Clyborne park can best be described as…

5.      The Youngers’ attitude toward Mrs. Johnson can best be described as…

6.      Walter stops going to work because…

7.      After Walter stops going to work, he spends his time…

8.      Mama ultimately decides to give Walter money because…

9.      Karl Lindner presents his buyout offer to the Youngers as…

10.  Serving as a symbol of Mama’s nurturing of her family’s dreams is…

11.  Walter loses his and Beneatha’s money when…

12.  Mama reacts to the news of the lost money by…

Literary lens

Try this LINK.

Raisin in the Sun act 1 review

1.      The apartment that the Younger family lives in can best be described as…

2.      The furnishings of the Younger apartment are mostly portrayed as…

3.      Upon her first appearance Ruth Younger is mostly characterized as…

4.      Walter hopes to use the $10,000 to…

5.      Beneatha’s ultimate aspiration is to…

6.      The conflict between Walter and Ruth at the beginning of the play is ultimately over…

7.      Ruth asserts that Travis has trouble getting up in the morning because…

8.      One indication in the beginning of the play that Walter hopes to be a “big shot” is…

9.      Walter’s attitude toward Beneatha’s desire to be a doctor can best be described as…

10.  Walter often blames the source of his struggles to get ahead in life on…

11.  One key conflict between Beneatha and Mama is over…

12.  One significant conflict between Ruth and Mama is over…

13.  Mama dislikes the idea of investing in Walter’s liquor store plans because…

14.  Mama and Ruth believe Beneatha should marry George because…

15.  Beneatha is reluctant to commit to George because…

16.  Ruth fainting at the end of the first scene is most likely caused by…

17.  When Asagai visits, Beneatha worries that Mama might…

How to study for the Gatsby test

1. Complete all of the questions in your study guide.

2. Make sure you know who/ what these are:

Jay Gatsby

Nick Carraway

Daisy Buchanan

Tom Buchanan

Jordan Baker

Myrtle Wilson

George Wilson

Catherine

Meyer Wolfsheim

Dan Cody

Doctor T.J. Ekleburg

The Owl-Eyed Man

West Egg

 East Egg

The Valley of the Ashes

Henry C. Gatz

The first three parties

Flashbacks

3. Do some practice online. You can google "Gatsby quiz" or "Gatsby "test" to find some good resources. Here are a few I've found.

Sparknotes quiz

Cliffs Notes quiz

Grade Saver quiz

Goodreads quiz

ProProfs quiz

Quizlet quiz

Gatsby sample test #1

Gatsby sample test #2

Citations

Follow this LINK for how to cite correctly in your essay.

Rumspringa

How much would you spend on a Quinceanera?

How much would you spend on prom?

Click the picture to read the story.

 

Review for Huck Finn test

Here are some places you can go to review for the Huck Finn test:

Characters quiz

Proprofs test review

Sparknotes quiz

Cliffnotes quiz

Videos about finding theme

Sample thesis statement for The Crucible essay

What is the character’s ultimate challenge, and does she pass or fail it?

Elizabeth finds it a challenge to forgive John for his infidelity; her ultimate challenge is to overcome her judgment of his transgression and to see goodness in him.

No Fear Othello act 1 scene 1

Click HERE for the No Fear version of Othello act 1 scene 1.

Animal Farm 1954 Halas

American Lit Journal #5

Copy down what you think is the most important passage in your book.

Write 150 words or more explaining why it is the most important passage.

American Lit independent reading final essay rubric

Rubric for A Raisin in the Sun eulogy

Animal Farm IOP sample

Raisin in the Sun vocab 2 review

Click HERE to see answers.

What an IOP outline might look like

IOP playlist

Click HERE to see my IOP playlist on Youtube.

Denzel Washington as Walter Younger

Here a picture from last year, when he played Walter on Broadway.

Looks like Malia Obama is taking a gap year

Click HERE to read the full article in the New York Times.

Raisin vocab review 2 answers

Sophomores take this little quiz

Click HERE.

Go Blazers

D'Angelo explains Gatsby

Link to Rumspringa piece on NPR

Click HERE.

Fillable graphic organizers

Click right HERE.

Huck Finn study list

Make sure you know who these characters are.

Huck Finn

Jim

Tom Sawyer

Sid Sawyer

Widow Douglas

Miss Watson

Pap

Judge Thatcher

Buck Grangerford

Boggs

Sherburn

Aunt Sally

The Duke

The King

Miss Sofia

Miss Charlotte

Peter Wilkes

The Doctor (x2)

Huck Finn: Thinking

Shakespeare Uncovered: Othello

Here's a good list of transitional words and phrases

Click here: Transitional words and phrases

Block style quotations

This site has pretty good instruction on using block style quotations. Scroll to the bottom to see their example for plays.

Stylebook: Citing Literary Works in the Text

Traditional academic essay in three parts

Click the link below for the basic three parts that your essay must have:

Traditional Academic Essay in Three Parts

Sample character analysis essay

Click the link below to view a sample character analysis essay:

Sample essay

Writing a good hook

Here's a good article on writing a hook for your essay.

How to Write a Good Hook for Your Essay

Inverted triangle introduction

See this:

Inverted Triangle Introduction

Integrating quotations

Here are some good guides for integrating quotations:

OWL: MLA formatting quotations

UNC writing center: quotations

I like these four rules from the UNC writing center:

1. Provide context for each quotation.
2. Attribute each quotation to its source.
3. Explain the significance of the quotation.
4. Provide a citation for the quotation.

Writing a conclusion

Here are some places to go for good advice on writing a conclusion:

OWL on conclusions
UNC writing center on conclusions

I think this one is my favorite:

Harvard writing center on conclusions

Rules for Capitalization in Titles

Click here.

No Fear Shakespeare: Othello

Click here to read the No Fear Shakespeare version of Othello.

Learn about the free Swipespeare app here

Crucible characters (spoiler alert!)

If you are having trouble keeping up with all the characters, this might help:

1. John Proctor - A local farmer who lives just outside town; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. Nevertheless, he has a hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—that proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
2. Abigail Williams - Reverend Parris’s niece. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail is smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed. 
3. Reverend John Hale - A young minister reputed to be an expert on witchcraft. He is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter Betty. Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused. 
4. Elizabeth Proctor - John Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold. 
5. Reverend Parris - The minister of Salem’s church. Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community. 
6. Rebecca Nurse - Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess. 
7. Francis Nurse - A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife. 
8. Judge Danforth - The deputy governor of Massachusetts and the presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest and scrupulous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft. 
9. Giles Corey - An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, and he himself is eventually held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones. 
10. Thomas Putnam – Salem’s wealthy, influential citizen, he holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth, accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land. 
11. Ann Putnam - Thomas Putnam’s wife. Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means. 
12. Ruth Putnam - The Putnams’ lone surviving child out of eight. Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods.
13. Tituba - Reverend Parris’s black slave from Barbados. At the night of dancing in the woods,Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request. 
14. Mary Warren - The servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her, who tried unsuccessfully to expose the hoax and ultimately recanted her confession. 
15. Betty Parris - Reverend Parris’s ten-year-old daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft. 
16. Martha Corey -Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s reading habits lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft. 
17. Ezekiel Cheever - A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice.

Examples of annotation

See this speech by President Obama that's been annotated pretty thoroughly.

See this poem by Seamus Heaney.

Great collection of Ellis Island immigrants in this story

What America’s immigrants looked like when they arrived on Ellis Island

Here is a good question for our "What is an American?" discussion: Where are you from?

Beasts of English (Ukulele Version)

To go along with our "Coming to America" stories, here's a recent story about the Wet Foot/ Dry Foot policy.

Cuban migrants make landfall on South Beach

I Hear America Singing

I, Too, Sing American

Beasts of England (with lyrics)

Beasts of England-- Punk Rock Version

Cornell Notes training

The New Colossus

Here are some videos from the National Shakespeare Competition

Helpful links for Shakespeare teachers

Here are some local theater's that often do Shakespeare and offer students discounts and/or student matinees:

Post 5 Theatre

Artists Repetory Theatre

Portland Center Stage

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival offers teacher and a student workshops, as well as discounted group tickets for school groups and school visits.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival main page

Oregon Shakespeare Festival education page

The Folger Shakespeare Library offers a number of programs for teachers and students. You will find them here:

Fogler Teach and Learn

The English Speaking Union is a non profit civic organization that offers a great student monologue and sonnet competition. Our local branch will be offering a scholarship to London next year for an Oregon teacher to study for three weeks, all expenses paid except for airfare. Ask me for a contact if you are interested in applying for the scholarship. You can find their main page for the competition here:

National Shakespeare Competition

RSC act 1 scene 3

RSC act 3 scene 2

RSC As You Like It act 3 scene 2

As You Like It: 1936 film

As You Like It-- A San Francisco Love Story

The RSC As You Like It act 3 scene 2

For middle school teachers

There are some great abridged editions of Shakespeare's plays called Sixty Minute Shakespeare that might work really well for middle school students. Click the titles below the check them out.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Twelfth Night

Much Ado About Nothing

Macbeth

Romeo and Juliet

There's even a 30 minute As You Like It.

Laura Marling's version of Under the Greenwood Tree

Check out this rather somber interpretation of As You Like It.

Shakespeare Uncovered: Comedies

Click HERE to watch this video.

Macbeth Witches--Three Versions

As You Like it thinking topics

Click HERE to check out my As You Like It thinking topics.

William Shakespeare's jokes are just not funny, Sir Richard Eyre admits

Read it HERE.

The Shakespeare Sessions

Shakespeare's original pronunciation

Images of Othello

Ewan McGregor on Iago

White actors playing Othello

Tom Hiddleston on Cassio

B or not a B

Out Damned Spot

Some Macbeth images

Shakespeare: verse and prose

This is the best quick read I have found online regarding Shakespeare's verse and prose:

Shakespearean Verse and Prose by Dr. Debra Schwartz, Cal Polytechnic University

Shakespeare Uncovered preview: Macbeth

Shakespeare Uncovered preview: Hamlet

For every schoolboy and school girl for the next 400 years

Shakespeare-- to teach, or not to teach?

Read this teacher's thoughts:

 Why I don't want to assign Shakespeare anymore

And this response:

Why it is ridiculous not to teach Shakespeare in school

Muse of Fire trailer