Extra Credit--Soundtrack to Life

Directions:
You have an opportunity to earn up to 5% extra credit for your overall grade in the class by creating your own soundtrack to life and writing about it. In order to get the extra credit you must do the following and submit your results to Mr. Hall by Monday, June 7th.
All songs must fit on one cd (the cd must be full—the equivalent of 80 minutes worth of music)
You cannot have more than one song by a single artist. For example, if I have one song by U2 on my playlist I cannot put another U2 song on the list.
The songs must have some sort of significance to your life—either the lyrics relate to some aspect of your life or the song reminds you of a particular experience or time.
You must list your playlist in sequential order.
You must write one paragraph for each song explaining what the song is basically about and why it is significant to your life.
Optional: you may burn a cd if you want Mr. Hall to listen to your soundtrack. This is not required.

Example : Mr. Hall’s Sountrack to Life Playlist
1. I’m From Barcelona—Treehouse
2. Death Cab For Cutie—Summer Skin
3. The Blue Van—Silly Boy
4. Savoy—Foolish
5. Frou Frou—Only Got One
6. Magne F—Time and Place
7. Bad Lieutenant—These Changes
8. The Whitest Boy Alive—Figures
9. Acid House Kings—A Long Term Plan
10. Club 8—Jesus, Walk With Me
11. Kate Havnevik—New Day
12. Peter, Bjorn, and John—Nothing To Worry About
13. Smashing Pumpkins—That’s The Way (My Love Is)
14. The Radio Dept.—I Don’t Like It Like This
15. Røyksopp—You Don’t Have A Clue
16. Regina Spektor—Eet
17. Ingrid Michaelson—Mountain and the Sea
18. Kings of Convenience—Summer On The Westhill
19. Carmen Rizzo—Ecouter
20. A-ha—The Summers Of Our Youth

1. I’M FROM BARCELONA--TREEHOUSE
I have chosen this song to begin my soundtrack because it reminds me of my earliest memories from childhood. All of the neighborhood kids used to get together every summer and build different forts, huts, and tree-houses either at people’s homes or more commonly out in the lemon grove or “jungle” which were two wooded areas near our homes. My favorite hut was a secret underground structure that we built in the lemon grove. We had dug two huge holes with a little crawl space between, then took huge boards to place over it. We then covered the boards with dirt so that nobody could tell that anything was there. We would then remove a small board that covered up the opening in order to get in and out of the little hut.

*To complete the assignment I would have to write a paragraph for each of the twenty songs (totaling 20 paragraphs).

Book Report Questions

Directions: You must read a book that is appropriate of your grade level and has at least 200 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.

Speech Options (Due June 1st)

Directions: Choose one of the following prompts on which to write and deliver a five minute speech in front of the class.

1. Choose a skill that you have mastered and give a Demonstrative (how to) speech, explaining the process of completing the skill. (for example, you may wish to speak about how to properly train and participate in a specific dance or how to build a computer, etc.)
2. Choose an experience from your life where you learned something that is valuable to you in some way and give a narrative speech, explaining the experience and what you have gained from it. (for example, you may wish to speak about a vacation that you took with your family and what you learned about the place to which you traveled or a time that you injured yourself and learned what you should avoid in the future, etc.)
3. Research a famous person, event, or topic and give an informative speech, explaining the topic and the importance for people to be aware of this information. (for example, you may wish to speak about the history of the Lakers or how people managed to survive through the great depression, etc.)
4. Research a controversial issue and give a persuasive speech, explaining the topic and clarifying your position and explaining why others should adopt your position. (for example, you may wish to speak about your thoughts on illegal immigration or how America should conduct the war on terror, etc.)

Homework or the Week of May 24th-May 28th

DUE TUESDAY
--Read "The Waking" p. 986
DUE WEDNESDAY
--Read "Tanka" p. 988
DUE THURSDAY
--Read "Haiku" p. 989
DUE FRIDAY
--Read "Sonnet 18" p. 990
--Review and Assess p. 991

*Book Reports Due June 1st
**Speeches Begin June 1st

Make Up Work (Due Friday, May 28th)

You may make up any missing or "0" score assignments so long as it is submitted to me by Friday, May 28th. I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY LATE OR MAKE UP WORK AFTER THIS DATE.

Visual Essay (Due April 30th)

Directions: Choose any theme that is classroom appropriate and write a visual essay on the theme. Be sure to include either photographs or artwork that corresponds with your theme. You must have a minimum of three pictures and must write at least one paragraph about each picture.

Advertisement Assignment (Due Thursday, April 1st)

Part I
1. Find a printed advertisement (from a magazine, newspaper, or from the internet)
2. Identify the purpose of the ad.
3. Identify the intended audience of the ad.
4. Identify the techniques used to persuade.
5. Identify whether or not the ad is effective. Explain why or why not.

Part II
6. Watch 1/2 hour of television and take notes on each commercial.
7. What techniques do the ads use to persuade?
8. What elements of the ad are or are not politically correct?
9. Choose one ad and explain why it is or is not effective.
10. What unintended messages are presented in the ad?

Homework for the Week of March 29th-April 2nd

Due Monday
--Review and Assess, p. 701
--Read "Marian Anderson: Famous Concert Singer" p. 702

Due Tuesday
--Review and Assess, p. 706
--Vocabulary Web, p. 711

Due Wednesday
--Read "Flood" p. 712

Due Thursday
--Advertisement Assignment

Homework for the Week of March 22nd-26th

Due Monday
--Read from "Nobel Lecture" p. 683
Due Tuesday
--Review and Assess, p. 686
Due Wednesday
--Read "Keep Memory Alive: p. 687
Due Thursday
--Review and Assess, p. 688
Due Friday
--Vocabulary Web, p. 693
--Read "A Child's Christmas in Wales" p. 694
--Precis Handout

Homework for the Week of March 8th-12th

DUE TUESDAY
--Exam: Night

DUE FRIDAY
--Essay: Night

Response to Literature Essay: Night (Due Friday, March 12th)

Night Essay Directions and Options
Directions: Choose one of the following options and write a five paragraph essay using MLA style. Be sure to have a clear thesis and to support your ideas through reasons, details, facts, and examples from the story as well as offering your own explanations, interpretations, and insights.

*Please see me if you need assistance. I am available to help before or after school, or at lunch if you let me know when you will be by.

1. There are various themes that exist in Night. Choose a theme and write about what the theme is, how it is portrayed in the novel, and what readers are supposed to learn from it.
2. Conflicts are a part of any story and certainly a part of any life. What conflicts exist within Night? How do these conflicts affect the characters involved? How are these conflicts resolved?
3. Night portrays the viciousness with which human beings may treat each other. What explanations are offered for this viciousness within the story? How does Weisel portray violence and viciousness within the novel and what is its purpose?
4. One of the challenges of life is to face adversity. Nobody is exempt, though some have greater adversity than others. Each person reacts differently to adversity--some become stronger and more hopeful while others become weaker and more bitter. What are the reactions of characters within Night as they face adversity? What may we learn from their extreme experiences?

Homework for the Week of March 1st-March 5th

DUE TUESDAY
• Read Night, p. 72-76
DUE WEDNESDAY
• Read Night, p. 77-81
DUE THURSDAY
• Read Night, p. 82-83
DUE FRIDAY
• Essay Outline

**Study For Night Exam

Homework for the Week of February 22nd-February 26th

--DUE WEDNESDAY: Read Night, p. 35-63

--DUE FRIDAY: Read Night, p. 64-71

*Work on Conflict Chart Handout (due at the end of the novel)

Sophomore English Language Arts 2010

To make homework and other important announcements easier for both students and parents to access, I will begin posting on this website in the hopes to improve student productivity within the class. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the format or purpose of this blog.

--Mr. Hall

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

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.

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

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

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).