Friday, February 28, 2014

Sample Sentences


Name____________________
English I Honors
Mrs. Rock           
Vocabulary Unit 6 Sample Sentences
1.       The conductor quickly sublimated the train to the left track to prevent a freak accident. (Khadijah Coleman)
2.       The school abrogated the “no pajama” rule and everyone showed up the next day in their pajamas.  (Jessica Ketschek)
3.       My brother is so exacerbating sometimes I can’t even stand it.  He makes me want to rip my hair out.  (Ashley Lemise)
4.       The lie “the dog ate my homework” is flagrant; that’s why I say that the fish ate mine.  (Bryan Marengo)
5.       Headmaster Dumbledore awarded the House Cup to Gryffindor after recalling the students’ commendable actions.  (Melissa Vargas)
6.       Everyone explained to all my classes that we should convince someone to go to the referendum meeting on February 26th.  (Teagen Hay)
7.       The unusual silence and stillness that filled her house made her quite circumspect.  (Dana Schultheis)
8.       The litigator was very biased in the case because he was the defendant’s uncle.  (Altea Parlapiano)
9.       I manifested signs of OCD when my parents saw that I was always washing my hands and acting up.  (Sam Adamo)
10.   The vehement work she put in ended up awarding her a varsity letter.  (Bre Stringer)
**Study for the quiz Monday!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Watch This!

For homework this weekend, please watch the following clip from 1942's Holiday Inn.  On a separate piece of paper(that can be handed in) please tell me, in one paragraph or more, what is wrong with this clip.  Use visual details and your own emotional reaction as evidence.

"Abraham"

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Midterm Review Time


First, the schedule:

Period 4/5: Day 2(1/31) 10:00am-12:00pm

Period 11: Day 4(2/4) 7:55am-9:55am

Period 12: Day 4(2/4) 10:00am-12:00pm

Here's what you will need to know. Get organized and review!


Review the following concepts/terms/stories:

· Voice/Tone/Literary Devices
· Thesis Statements
· Dos and Don’ts of Writing
· Hallmarks of good persuasive writing
· Reading logs/thinking like a writer
· Tragic Hero-Definition
· Oedipus Rex as Tragedy/Oedipus as Tragic Hero?
· Themes/Major Events/Characters of  Oedipus
· Close reading/annotation

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Tonight, you type and read.

Tonight's homework:

-Read this story and mark ANY and ALL literary devices you see.  "Like the Sun"

-Type your essay.  Do not put your name on the top.

Tomorrow, we will do an activity to test your "voice" and we may start our story activity...it all depends on our progress with your essays.

By the way, if you feel uncomfortable sharing your essay with your class, let me know during an off period or privately before class.  We can figure out another way to evaluate you.

Have fun!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Tonight's Common Homework

Hey.  Here it is.  The common app essay prompts.  Choose one tonight, and prewrite.  Make a list of five ideas that you want to include in your completed essay.  No, you cannot change your topic once you walk in tomorrow.  We'll be writing during the first fifteen minutes of class.




•Option #1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
•Option #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
•Option #3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
•Option #4: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
•Option #5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.


My example:

Prompt #1
1.  My dad is a no-show.
2.  Mom left when I was 11.
3.  Lived with my brother from 11-19.
4.  Experienced extreme poverty that affected school life.
5.  Eventually, chose to overcome my circumstances.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Oh, Oedipus...You So Tragic!


Your assignment: Find a parallel tragic hero in modern history, literature, movies, television,etc.

Complete a full, written sketch of your modern tragic hero. Follow Aristotle's definition. You have a chart(which we will discuss tomorrow) that very nicely illustrates these qualities. Use the chart!!!

Yeah, you can probably Google this. You can find millions of professor-given examples online. But c'mon, this isn't so hard. Utilize your interests to get this done. Me, I love celebrity gossip, so I'm likely to pick some sad starlet. Or Steve Jobs. Maybe.

Is anyone off-limits? Of course. Actual tragic heroes, from literature? Off-limits. And what constitutes modern, you may ask? For me, it should be a figure that existed or was created anywhere from 1900 to the present. That's a pretty big window.

This can't be emailed to me because I'd like it to be pretty. I'd like a picture of your hero, surrounded by their Aristotlian, (is that a word?) tragic qualities. You should be as specific as possible. If every hero needs a flaw, for example, you should name that flaw. Maybe even give an example of it in action. If I was doing Steve Jobs(ahem...this another no-no for you guys), then I may say his flaw was his ego. That ego was deadly, in fact, because it led to him believing he could cure his cancer without modern medicine, which, in turn, killed him. Tragic stuff.

Here's my pathetic example...here

I only completed one of the six characteristics, but I hope you get the point. Contact me at any point before the due date(January 2nd!) if you have a question.

Rock out.

Friday, December 13, 2013

The Day Room 230 Stood Still...

It was so empty today.

I did show up, three times, to teach my kids.  We read Oedipus for the second time, and I think it only gets better.  I had such a great time today in class; days like today remind me why I love my job so much.

If you weren't there, it was awesome and the story progressed a bit.  Oedipus talked to a prophet, Tiresius(who happens to be blind) and was incensed that Tiresius wouldn't tell him all he knew about the murderer in Thebes.  Tiresius and Oedipus insulted each other for pages until finally, Tiresius told Oeddy that he knew something about his family that would devastate him.  That's where we left off.

This weekend, read and annotate the following article.

Tragedy and the Common Man

If you can't print, please take notes instead of annotating.  We'll discuss the article AND continue reading on Monday.

I'll be posting a few other tidbits this weekend.  Until Monday, enjoy: )