AGENDA 4/22

Review citation guidelines -

Sample poetry citation:

Shakespeare, William. "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (Sonnet 130)." The Academy of American Poets. 1997. The Academy of American Poets, Inc. 20 Apr. 2009 .

Work on poetry projects and fixed form poems.

HW: Demonstrate progress on your project tomorrow. Fixed form poems due Friday.

AGENDA 3/31

Open House Letters!
Pass out Poetry Project Requirements sheet

HW: Begin thinking about the poet you want to study for your poetry project.

AGENDA 3/30

TPS-FAST Analysis of two poems: "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and "I, Too Sing America" by Langston Hughes

HW: Think about the poet you might want to study for your poetry project...

AGENDA 3/23

Everything you ever wanted to know about rhyme and sound but were afraid to ask:

onomatopoeia - words that sound like what they do--"Batman" words or "Rice Krispies" words (snap, crackle, and pop; buzz, clang, howl, flutter, etc.)
end rhyme - words that sound alike on the final syllable (contains assonance AND consonance) (begin and win)
masculine rhyme - words that sound alike on only one syllable (begin and win; undo and blue)
feminine rhyme - words that sound alike on more than one syllable (beginning and winning; fluttering, stuttering, and buttering)
eye rhyme - words that are spelled similarly but have different sounds (have and gave)
slant rhyme - the use of assonance or consonance--when words "kind of rhyme" (begin and sing; tenth and bell; trance and prince)
assonance - repeated vowel sounds (begin and sing; tenth and bell)
consonance - repeated consonant sounds (trance and prince; delicate and dark; clinking and thankful)
alliteration - repetition of initial consonant sounds, usually for a playful or humorous effect (dark, dank, and dreary) NOTE: This is a type of consonance.

Read and analyze "A Fire-Truck" by Richard Wilbur using TPS-FAST. Pay particular attention to sound devices.

HW: For Wednesday, write a poem about friendship, love, heartache, death, or something you see every day that uses sound and some kind of rhyme for effect.

AGENDA 3/20

TPS-FAST analysis for two poems:
"A Clear Midnight" by Walt Whitman
"The Fly" by William Blake
"The Parakeets" by Alberto Blanco, trans. by W.S. Merwin
"Spring is like a perhaps hand" by e.e. cummings


HW: For Monday, write a poem relating to an aspect of nature in which you use one or more of the following techniques: unusual punctuation, repetition of verb endings (-ing or -ed), rhetorical questions, or apostrophe.

AGENDA 3/19

TPS-FAST Analysis as a class: "Grass" by Carl Sandburg

HW: For tomorrow, write a poem in which you EITHER
1) compare two people
OR
2) reflect on an event from the perspective of an inanimate object
AND
use personification, metaphor, color symbolism, and/or repetition

AGENDA 3/18

Finish satire presentations

HW: None :-)

AGENDA 3/17

GOOD LUCK ON THE CAHSEE!!!
No class today- periods 2, 4, and 6 meet on the special schedule.

AGENDA 3/16

SATIRE TEA PARTY!!!

Enjoy tea, muffins, scones, and cucumber sandwiches while we celebrate the end of our satire unit: turn in satire projects with reflections and three satire terms entries (with all earlier terms entries drafts).

Thanks for a terrific unit and good luck on the English portion of the CAHSEE tomorrow!

AGENDA 2/20

Finish watching The Importance of Being Earnest
Read Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest

HW: Write a 3-Step Introduction paragraph and a body paragraph for the new practice CAHSEE prompt about success and failure, due Monday. Make sure your introduction has all 3 steps and that your body paragraph has all 4 elements--refer to yesterday's handouts for guidance.

AGENDA 2/19

CAHSEE Preparation: Review a partner's introduction and label the three steps

Tips for Body Paragraphs
Practice writing a body paragraph in class on the "arts, music, drama" prompt

View next segment of The Importance of Being Earnest in preparation for reading Act III tomorrow.

HW: read independent book :)

AGENDA 2/18

CAHSEE Essay Preparation:
Examine prompts and essay samples

Tips for the Three-Step Introduction
Sample Three-Step Introduction

HW: Write a Three-Step Introduction for the "arts, music, and drama" prompt.

AGENDA 2/17

Examine three editorial cartoons that satirize the use of Native American sports team names:

Lucy A. Ganje, Reality TV

Lalo Alcaraz, But I’m Honoring You, Dude!

Thom Little Moon, Which One Is the Mascot?

Read and discuss "Let's Spread the Fun Around," a "modest proposal" by Ward Churchill on the use of Native American sports team names.

HW: First satire term entry due tomorrow (typed) for feedback.

AGENDA 2/13

Pass out individual assignment for Satire independent reading books

Model of the assignment using The Importance of Being Earnest

Group discussion: submit one paper per group answering the following:

1) What do you see as the author's main focus? What aspect(s) of human nature or society does the author ridicule?

2) What passage(s) is/are particularly amusing? What device(s) does the author use to make the passage humorous?

3) Is this satire Horatian or Juvenalian? Direct or indirect? Explain your answers.

4) What connection(s) can you make between your independent reading book and The Importance of Being Earnest?

Turn in group paper at the end of the period.

HW: Continue reading independent book. Work on first independent book assignment, due Wednesday, February 18.

AGENDA 2/12

Finish reading Act II of The Importance of Being Earnest and discuss name symbolism. Predict what will happen in Act III.

Watch "The Most Beautiful Girl" and discuss the songwriters' use of understatement as a humor device and what ideas about human nature the song satirizes

HW: Indie book groups tomorrow - bring books and be ready to discuss the first 50 pages.

AGENDA 2/11

Read Act II of The Importance of Being Earnest and discuss
View portion of the film

HW: Indie book groups meet Friday--be ready to discuss the first 50 pages!

AGENDA 2/10

Read Act II of The Importance of Being Earnest and discuss


HW: Indie book groups meet Friday--be ready to discuss the first 50 pages!

AGENDA 2/3

Continue introducing new vocabulary
Begin reading Act I of The Importance of Being Earnest

HW: Get independent reading book and begin reading. Study vocabulary.