Thursday, May 7, 2009
Essay: The Censors (Due May 15th)
In Luis Valenzuela’s “The Censors” we read the tragic tale of a young man living in a country where freedom of speech does not exist. Over time, the young man’s desire to “beat” the system turns to his over-zealous support of the system itself, which ironically leads to his own tragic death. In an essay, write how Juan changes over time in his attitude towards censorship and how a restrictive government can produce both individual protest and individual allegiance within a person. Based on Juan’s experience, what are the dangers of censorship?
Homework for the Week of May 4th-May 8th
Due Tuesday
• Read “Star Wars: An Epic For Today” p. 1046
Due Wednesday
• Read “Rama’s Initiation” p. 1050
• Review and Assess, p. 1059
Due Thursday
• Read “Sundiata” p. 1062
Due Friday
• Review and Assess, p. 1073
• Read “Star Wars: An Epic For Today” p. 1046
Due Wednesday
• Read “Rama’s Initiation” p. 1050
• Review and Assess, p. 1059
Due Thursday
• Read “Sundiata” p. 1062
Due Friday
• Review and Assess, p. 1073
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Make Up Work
I am offering a three week window for make up work this semester (as was announced in class on March 27th). You may make up any missing or poorly completed assignment between now and April 17th. After the 17th I will not accept any late or make up work, so take advantage of this one opportunity that you have.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Homework for the Week of March 30th-April 3rd
Due Tuesday
• Read “My Left Foot” p. 166-174
Due Wednesday
• Review and Assess, p. 175
Due Thursday
• Integrate Language Skills, p. 176
• Read “Speak, Memory” p. 340-346
Due Friday
• Review and Assess, p. 347
• Integrate Language Skills, p. 348
ONGOING
• Book Report #2: Farewell To Manzanar
• Read “My Left Foot” p. 166-174
Due Wednesday
• Review and Assess, p. 175
Due Thursday
• Integrate Language Skills, p. 176
• Read “Speak, Memory” p. 340-346
Due Friday
• Review and Assess, p. 347
• Integrate Language Skills, p. 348
ONGOING
• Book Report #2: Farewell To Manzanar
Monday, March 23, 2009
Homework for the Week of March 23rd-27th
DUE TUESDAY
--Read "The History of the Guitar" p. 980-983
--Analyzing Patterns of Organization Questions, p. 983 # 6-9
DUE WEDNESDAY
--Read "Imitating Nature's Mineral Artistry" p. 746-752
--Review and Assess Questions p. 755 # 1, 7, & 8
DUE THURSDAY
--Poetry Unit Exam (Use "Poetic Terms and Examples" as your study guide--see previous post)
DUE FRIDAY
--Read Cause and Effect Articles p. 522-525
--Applying the Reading Strategy p. 525 # 1-3
--Contrasting Informational Materials, p. 525 # 1-3
--Creative Writing Poetry Project
--Read "The History of the Guitar" p. 980-983
--Analyzing Patterns of Organization Questions, p. 983 # 6-9
DUE WEDNESDAY
--Read "Imitating Nature's Mineral Artistry" p. 746-752
--Review and Assess Questions p. 755 # 1, 7, & 8
DUE THURSDAY
--Poetry Unit Exam (Use "Poetic Terms and Examples" as your study guide--see previous post)
DUE FRIDAY
--Read Cause and Effect Articles p. 522-525
--Applying the Reading Strategy p. 525 # 1-3
--Contrasting Informational Materials, p. 525 # 1-3
--Creative Writing Poetry Project
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Poetry Terms and Examples
ALLITERATION
Definition: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Writers use alliteration to give emphasis to words, to imitate sounds, and to create musical effect.
Example (“The Weary Blues”, p. 268):
“Droning a drowsy syncopated tune. . .” (line 1)
Explanation: The repetition of the consonant “D” sound is used to portray the sounds and rhythms used by jazz musicians. This creates a musical effect just as the poem itself is centered around music.
ALLUSION
Definition: An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. Writers often make allusions to famous works such as the Bible and William Shakespeare’s plays. They also make allusions to mythology, politics, and current events.
Example (“A Tree Telling of Orpheus” p. 514)
The title of the poem has an allusion as it references Orpheus--a poet and musician from Greek mythology.
ASSONANCE
Definition: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two ore more stressed syllables.
Example (“The Wind--Tapped Like A Tired Man” p. 950)
“The Wind--tapped like a tired Man-- / And like a Host-- “Come in” / I boldly answered--entered then / My Residence within”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Defintion: Figurative language is writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. Figurative language is often used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things.
Example (“Right Hand”, p. 954):
“Grandfather carried his voice in the seamed / Palm of his right hand. . .’”
*Grandfather did not literally carry his voice--this is a figurative expression.
HYPERBOLE
Definition: Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
Example: (“All” p. 218)
“Every speech a repetition / Every meeting a first encounter / All love buried in the heart, / All history prisoned in a dream, / All hope hedged with doubt, / All faith drowned in lamentation.” (line 7-12).
Explanation: The poet is exaggerating the concept of every and all. Not all speeches are repetitions, not all hope is filled with doubt, and etc.
IMAGERY
Definition: Imagery is the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for readers. These pictures, or images, are created by details of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and movement.
Example (Jade Flower Palace, 970):
“There are / Green ghost fires in black rooms.”
METAPHOR
Definition: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. Unlike a simile, which compares two things using like or as, a metaphor implies a comparison between them.
Example (Metaphor, p. 953)
“Morning is / A new sheet of paper / For you to write on.”
METER
Definition: The meter of a poem is its rhythmical pattern. This pattern is determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats, in each line. To describe the meter of a poem, you must scan its lines, marking the syllables.
Example (Sonnet 18, p. 990):
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:”
Shall-I-com-pare-thee-to-a-sum-mer’s-day (10 syllables)
Thou-art-more-love-ly-and-more-tem-per-ate (10 syllables)
Rough-winds-do-shake-the-dar-ling-buds-of-may (10 syllables)
And-sum-mer’s-lease-hath-all-to-short-a-date (10 syllables)
ONOMATOPOEIA
Definition: Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate sounds. Whirr, thud, sizzle, and hiss are typical examples.
Example (“The Weary Blues”, p. 269):
“Thump, thump, thump went his foot on the floor.”
PERSONIFICATION
Definition: Personification is a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics.
Example (“The Weary Blues”, p. 268):
“With his ebony hands on each ivory key / He made that poor piano moan with melody.”
REPETITION
Definition: Repetition is the use of any element of language--a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence--more than once.
Example (“Africa” p. 216)
Africa my Africa / Africa of proud warriors in the ancestral savannahs / Africa my grandmother sings of / Beside her distant river”
RHYME
Definition: Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. End rhyme occurs when the rhyming words come at the ends of lines. Internal rhyme occurs when the rhyming words fall within a line. Near rhyme is when the sounds or spelling of words is close but not the same.
Example (“In Flanders Fields” p. 938)
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row”
RHYME SCHEME
Definition: A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem. The rhyme scheme of a poem is indicated by using different letters of the alphabet for each new rhyme.
Example (“The Kraken” p. 939):
Below the thunders of the upper deep; (a)
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, (b)
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep (a)
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee (b)
SIMILE
Definition: A simile is a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two unlike ideas.
Example (“Jazz Fantasia” p. 270):
“Cry like a racing car slipping away from a motorcycle cop.”
SPEAKER
Definition: The speaker is the imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem. In many poems, the speaker is not identified by name. The speaker within a poem may be a person, an animal, a thing, or an abstraction.
Example (“A Pace Like That” p. 951)
“I’m looking at the lemon tree I planted. / A year ago. I’d need a different pace, a slower one / To observe the growth of its branches, its leaves as they open.”
STANZA
Definition: A stanza is a formal division of lines in a poem, considered a unit. Often the stanzas in a poem are separated by spaces. Stanzas are sometimes named according to the number of lines found in them.
Example (“La Belle Dame Sans Merci” p. 961)
What can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering? (Stanza 1)
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.
What can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone? (Stanza 2)
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.
SYMBOL
Definition: A symbol is anything that stands for, or represents, something else. An object that serves as a symbol has its own meaning, but it also represents abstract ideas.
Example (“A Man” p. 267)
“And where the arm had been torn away / A wing grew.” (line 17-18)
Explanation: The wing is symbolic of the man’s attitude and determination to make things work in the face of adversity.
THEME
Definition: A theme is a central message or insight revealed through a literary work. It is a generalization about people or about life that is communicated through the literary work.
Example (“Conscientious Objector” p. 266)
“I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death.” (line 1).
Explanation: The theme is one of clashing forces. The concept of life vs. death are two forces that are pitted against one another, and although the speaker must one day die, she will fight against.
TONE
Definition: The tone of a literary work is the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject. The tone can often be described by a single adjective, such as formal or informal, serious or playful.
Example (“All” p. 218)
“All joys grave, / All griefs tearless.” (line 5-6).
Explanation: The tone is one of hopelessness and sadness.
ENJAMBMENT
Definition: A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. An enjambed line differs from an end-stopped line in which the grammatical and logical sense is completed within the line.
Example: (“Some Like Poetry” p. 976)
“But I do not know and do not know and
Clutch on to it,
As to a saving banister.” (lines 17-19).
Definition: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Writers use alliteration to give emphasis to words, to imitate sounds, and to create musical effect.
Example (“The Weary Blues”, p. 268):
“Droning a drowsy syncopated tune. . .” (line 1)
Explanation: The repetition of the consonant “D” sound is used to portray the sounds and rhythms used by jazz musicians. This creates a musical effect just as the poem itself is centered around music.
ALLUSION
Definition: An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art. Writers often make allusions to famous works such as the Bible and William Shakespeare’s plays. They also make allusions to mythology, politics, and current events.
Example (“A Tree Telling of Orpheus” p. 514)
The title of the poem has an allusion as it references Orpheus--a poet and musician from Greek mythology.
ASSONANCE
Definition: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two ore more stressed syllables.
Example (“The Wind--Tapped Like A Tired Man” p. 950)
“The Wind--tapped like a tired Man-- / And like a Host-- “Come in” / I boldly answered--entered then / My Residence within”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Defintion: Figurative language is writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. Figurative language is often used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things.
Example (“Right Hand”, p. 954):
“Grandfather carried his voice in the seamed / Palm of his right hand. . .’”
*Grandfather did not literally carry his voice--this is a figurative expression.
HYPERBOLE
Definition: Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
Example: (“All” p. 218)
“Every speech a repetition / Every meeting a first encounter / All love buried in the heart, / All history prisoned in a dream, / All hope hedged with doubt, / All faith drowned in lamentation.” (line 7-12).
Explanation: The poet is exaggerating the concept of every and all. Not all speeches are repetitions, not all hope is filled with doubt, and etc.
IMAGERY
Definition: Imagery is the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for readers. These pictures, or images, are created by details of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and movement.
Example (Jade Flower Palace, 970):
“There are / Green ghost fires in black rooms.”
METAPHOR
Definition: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. Unlike a simile, which compares two things using like or as, a metaphor implies a comparison between them.
Example (Metaphor, p. 953)
“Morning is / A new sheet of paper / For you to write on.”
METER
Definition: The meter of a poem is its rhythmical pattern. This pattern is determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats, in each line. To describe the meter of a poem, you must scan its lines, marking the syllables.
Example (Sonnet 18, p. 990):
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:”
Shall-I-com-pare-thee-to-a-sum-mer’s-day (10 syllables)
Thou-art-more-love-ly-and-more-tem-per-ate (10 syllables)
Rough-winds-do-shake-the-dar-ling-buds-of-may (10 syllables)
And-sum-mer’s-lease-hath-all-to-short-a-date (10 syllables)
ONOMATOPOEIA
Definition: Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate sounds. Whirr, thud, sizzle, and hiss are typical examples.
Example (“The Weary Blues”, p. 269):
“Thump, thump, thump went his foot on the floor.”
PERSONIFICATION
Definition: Personification is a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics.
Example (“The Weary Blues”, p. 268):
“With his ebony hands on each ivory key / He made that poor piano moan with melody.”
REPETITION
Definition: Repetition is the use of any element of language--a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence--more than once.
Example (“Africa” p. 216)
Africa my Africa / Africa of proud warriors in the ancestral savannahs / Africa my grandmother sings of / Beside her distant river”
RHYME
Definition: Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. End rhyme occurs when the rhyming words come at the ends of lines. Internal rhyme occurs when the rhyming words fall within a line. Near rhyme is when the sounds or spelling of words is close but not the same.
Example (“In Flanders Fields” p. 938)
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row”
RHYME SCHEME
Definition: A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem. The rhyme scheme of a poem is indicated by using different letters of the alphabet for each new rhyme.
Example (“The Kraken” p. 939):
Below the thunders of the upper deep; (a)
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, (b)
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep (a)
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee (b)
SIMILE
Definition: A simile is a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two unlike ideas.
Example (“Jazz Fantasia” p. 270):
“Cry like a racing car slipping away from a motorcycle cop.”
SPEAKER
Definition: The speaker is the imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem. In many poems, the speaker is not identified by name. The speaker within a poem may be a person, an animal, a thing, or an abstraction.
Example (“A Pace Like That” p. 951)
“I’m looking at the lemon tree I planted. / A year ago. I’d need a different pace, a slower one / To observe the growth of its branches, its leaves as they open.”
STANZA
Definition: A stanza is a formal division of lines in a poem, considered a unit. Often the stanzas in a poem are separated by spaces. Stanzas are sometimes named according to the number of lines found in them.
Example (“La Belle Dame Sans Merci” p. 961)
What can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering? (Stanza 1)
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.
What can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone? (Stanza 2)
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.
SYMBOL
Definition: A symbol is anything that stands for, or represents, something else. An object that serves as a symbol has its own meaning, but it also represents abstract ideas.
Example (“A Man” p. 267)
“And where the arm had been torn away / A wing grew.” (line 17-18)
Explanation: The wing is symbolic of the man’s attitude and determination to make things work in the face of adversity.
THEME
Definition: A theme is a central message or insight revealed through a literary work. It is a generalization about people or about life that is communicated through the literary work.
Example (“Conscientious Objector” p. 266)
“I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death.” (line 1).
Explanation: The theme is one of clashing forces. The concept of life vs. death are two forces that are pitted against one another, and although the speaker must one day die, she will fight against.
TONE
Definition: The tone of a literary work is the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject. The tone can often be described by a single adjective, such as formal or informal, serious or playful.
Example (“All” p. 218)
“All joys grave, / All griefs tearless.” (line 5-6).
Explanation: The tone is one of hopelessness and sadness.
ENJAMBMENT
Definition: A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. An enjambed line differs from an end-stopped line in which the grammatical and logical sense is completed within the line.
Example: (“Some Like Poetry” p. 976)
“But I do not know and do not know and
Clutch on to it,
As to a saving banister.” (lines 17-19).
Poetry Project--Poetic Terminology and Recognition (Due March 20th)
Directions: For each of the following poetic terms you will: 1. Write the definition for the term, 2. Find two examples of how the term is being used in a poem within your text book (be sure to include the title of the poem, the page number and the line number when you are quoting), and 3. Explain the way that it is being used in the text and what we learn from it.
1. Alliteration
2. Allusion
3. Assonance
4. Figurative Language
5. Hyperbole
6. Imagery
7. Metaphor
8. Meter
9. Onomatopoeia
10. Personification
11. Repetition
12. Rhyme
13. Rhyme Scheme
14. Simile
15. Speaker
16. Stanza
17. Symbol
18. Theme
19. Tone
20. Enjambment
1. Alliteration
2. Allusion
3. Assonance
4. Figurative Language
5. Hyperbole
6. Imagery
7. Metaphor
8. Meter
9. Onomatopoeia
10. Personification
11. Repetition
12. Rhyme
13. Rhyme Scheme
14. Simile
15. Speaker
16. Stanza
17. Symbol
18. Theme
19. Tone
20. Enjambment
Creative Writing Poetry Project (Due March 27th)
Directions: You will be writing your own poetry for this assignment. You must be familiar with the different types of poems that exist and attempt writing your own poems in the same format. The following is a list of types of poems. You must write one poem for each type. In all, you will have written 12 poems.
1. Ode (example p. 513)
2. Lyric (example p. 970-971)
3. Sonnet (example p. 990)
4. Villanelle (example p. 986)
5. Ballad (example p. 960)
6. Epigram (see example from notes)
7. Lymerik (see example from notes)
8. Haiku (example p. 989
9. Tanka (example p. 988)
10. Blank Verse (example p. 841)
11. Free Verse (example p. 974-976)
12. Write one additional poem of any type
1. Ode (example p. 513)
2. Lyric (example p. 970-971)
3. Sonnet (example p. 990)
4. Villanelle (example p. 986)
5. Ballad (example p. 960)
6. Epigram (see example from notes)
7. Lymerik (see example from notes)
8. Haiku (example p. 989
9. Tanka (example p. 988)
10. Blank Verse (example p. 841)
11. Free Verse (example p. 974-976)
12. Write one additional poem of any type
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Homework for the Week of February 17th-20th
DUE WEDNESDAY:
--Read Night Chapter 8
DUE THURSDAY:
--Read Night Chapter 9
--Night Conflict Chart (Worksheet)
--Night Vocabulary (Worksheet)
ONGOING:
--Study for Night Exam (Exam on February 25th)
--Work on Book Report #1 (Due March 3rd)
--Work on Night Essay (Due February 27th)
--Read Night Chapter 8
DUE THURSDAY:
--Read Night Chapter 9
--Night Conflict Chart (Worksheet)
--Night Vocabulary (Worksheet)
ONGOING:
--Study for Night Exam (Exam on February 25th)
--Work on Book Report #1 (Due March 3rd)
--Work on Night Essay (Due February 27th)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Homework for the Week of Feb. 10th-13th
DUE WEDNESDAY
--Read Night Chapter 6
DUE FRIDAY
--Read Night Chapter 7
ONGOING
--Work on Night Characterization Handout (Due February 19th)
--Work on Night Vocabulary Handout (Due February 19th)
--Work on Night Group Work (Due Febraury 19th)
--Work on Book Report #1 (Due March 3rd)
--Read Night Chapter 6
DUE FRIDAY
--Read Night Chapter 7
ONGOING
--Work on Night Characterization Handout (Due February 19th)
--Work on Night Vocabulary Handout (Due February 19th)
--Work on Night Group Work (Due Febraury 19th)
--Work on Book Report #1 (Due March 3rd)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Homework for February 2nd-6th
Due Tuesday:
--Read Night Chapter 3
Due Wednesday:
--Read Night Chapter 4
Due Friday:
--Read Night Chapter 5
ONGOING:
--Work on Night Vocabulary Handout
--Work on Night Conflict Chart
--Work on Book Report #1
--Read Night Chapter 3
Due Wednesday:
--Read Night Chapter 4
Due Friday:
--Read Night Chapter 5
ONGOING:
--Work on Night Vocabulary Handout
--Work on Night Conflict Chart
--Work on Book Report #1
Book Report #1 (Due March 3rd)
Directions: You must read a book that is appropriate of your grade level and has at least 100 pages that you have never read before and complete a book report on it. Identify or answer the necessary information from the following questions.
1. Your Name, class period, and date.
2. Title of the book and number of pages.
3. Author
4. Identify the theme of the book and explain how the author supports this particular message.
5. Identify the main characters, give a brief description of each and identify whether they are the protagonist, antagonist, foil, static, or dynamic character. Explain how they receive this title.
6. Describe the setting of the story.
7. Identify five examples of figurative language from a fiction story (e.g. metaphor, symbol, ironic statement, foreshadowing, etc.) or five examples of objective writing (facts) and subjective writing (opinions) from a nonfiction text.
8. Give a brief summary of the beginning of the story.
9. Give a brief summary of the middle of the story.
10. Give a brief summary of the ending of the story.
11. My favorite part of the story was. . .
12. My favorite character was _____ because. . .
13. Write four memorable quotes from the story (be sure to include page numbers).
14. I do/do not recommend this story because. . .
15. Draw a picture to illustrate a favorite part. Write one sentence to explain the picture.
1. Your Name, class period, and date.
2. Title of the book and number of pages.
3. Author
4. Identify the theme of the book and explain how the author supports this particular message.
5. Identify the main characters, give a brief description of each and identify whether they are the protagonist, antagonist, foil, static, or dynamic character. Explain how they receive this title.
6. Describe the setting of the story.
7. Identify five examples of figurative language from a fiction story (e.g. metaphor, symbol, ironic statement, foreshadowing, etc.) or five examples of objective writing (facts) and subjective writing (opinions) from a nonfiction text.
8. Give a brief summary of the beginning of the story.
9. Give a brief summary of the middle of the story.
10. Give a brief summary of the ending of the story.
11. My favorite part of the story was. . .
12. My favorite character was _____ because. . .
13. Write four memorable quotes from the story (be sure to include page numbers).
14. I do/do not recommend this story because. . .
15. Draw a picture to illustrate a favorite part. Write one sentence to explain the picture.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Homework for January 26-January 30th
DUE WEDNESDAY:
--Read Night chapter 1
DUE FRIDAY:
--Read Night chapter 2
--Read Night chapter 1
DUE FRIDAY:
--Read Night chapter 2
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