You're bound to find something you like . . .

in the Times Summer Reading edition of the Sunday Book Review.

"The Summer We Read Gatsby"

Jay, Daisy, Nick and Cassie

By LIESL SCHILLINGER

Published: May 27, 2010

In this plucky homage to Fitzgerald, “Gatsby” functions less as literature than as a status symbol for two women husband-hunting in the Hamptons in 2008.

Proof-reading checklist.

Before submitting your Gatsby essay, proof for:

• correct formatting (heading, header, margins, etc.)
• correct spelling and consistent tense
• active voice and third person formal language
• correct punctuation usage, especially comma splices
• omit fragments and run-ons and pare down wordy sentences
• smooth transitions between sentences and paragraphs, logical organization of ideas
• correct quotation integration and citation usage
• clear, focused, and concise thesis
• omit any excessive plot summaries
  
• appropriate length

Q4, week 8 skedj.

Monday
In Class: Quotation integration revisited.
Homework: Continue working on first draft.

Day 2
In Class: Complete full first draft by end of class.
Homework: Self and peer edit.

Day 3
In Class: Writing workshop.
Homework: Complete final draft. Submit via Turn It In before class meets on Friday.

Friday
In Class: TBD.
Homework: Read a few good books, get outside, play, laugh, write, avoid misusing the term "irony," eat popsicles (but not in bed), use Facebook to have a sophisticated and intelligent conversation about something worthwhile, go to a drive-in theater, learn new words, start a band, call a friend from class in the middle of the night and rehearse lines lines from an American Lit book, buy a Slip n' Slide, and support your local lemonade stand. Have other ideas? Post them below.

Q4, week 7 skedj.

Monday
In Class: Filling in the narrative gaps.
Homework: Gatsby ch. 9, pp. 163-180 (18).

Day 2
In Class: Gatsby's funeral.
Homework: Close annotation of last passage.

Day 3
In Class: Final discussion re: last passage. Discuss Gatsby passage analysis essay.
Homework: Close annotation of selected passage.

Friday
In Class: Intro & thesis.
Homework: Begin first draft.

"ABC" author in town.

The Hennepin County Library and the Loft Literary Center present a Graphic Novel & Comic Writing and Illustrating Conference, featuring American Born Chinese author, Gene Yang. The events--which are free, though registration is required--will take place at Open Book in downtown Minneapolis. See flyer for details.

Q4, week 6 skedj.

Reminder: Your summer reading choice is due this Wednesday. Find the list of selections here. Once you've made your selection, sign up in my classroom.

Monday
In Class: "[Daisy:] The colossal vitality of his illusion."
Homework: Gatsby ch. 6, pp. 97-111 (15).

Day 2
In Class: Inventions and incarnations.
Homework: Gatsby first half of ch. 7, pp. 113-125 (13).

Day 3
In Class: Fitzgerald cranks up the heat. (A shame they didn't have air-conditioning in the 20s.)
Homework:

• Close annotation of "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: 'I never loved you'" . . . "But they made no sound and what I almost remembered was uncommunicable forever" (109-111).
  
• Read second half of ch. 7, pp. 125-145 (21).

Friday
In Class: "[A] rotten crowd."
Homework: Gatsby ch. 8, pp. 147-162 (16).

Keep your books!

If you are planning on taking the AP English test next year, it is a good idea to keep your tenth grade texts until then because you'll want to review them in preparation. Plus, keeping them on your bookshelf makes you look smarter.

Close annotation for Day 2.

Choose one of the following passages on which to conduct a close reading/annotation:

• Nick's house: "I lived at West Egg . . . all for eighty dollars a month" (5).
  
• Tom & Daisy Buchanan's house: "And so it happened" . . . "with his legs apart on the front porch" (6) and "We walked through a high hallway" . . . "as wind does on the sea" (7-8).
  
• valley of ashes and the Wilson's garage: "About half way between West Egg and New York" . . . "I first met Tom Buchanan's mistress" (23-24).
  

See you "close annotations" handout for a refresher on the steps you must execute. The steps are also listed here: "A refresher on annotations."

Find your passage from the online text of the novel here. Copy and paste it into a Word document. Change the page format to "landscape" (horizontal justification). Fit the passage to no more than one page and be sure that you have enough space in between each line to adequately mark up the passage.

Once you've done your close annotation, address the following questions:

• In what ways does the setting (place, specifically) of your passage reflect the character(s) who occupy it?
• Is it significant that the place is described by Nick and not someone else? Yes. Why? (Consider that narrative point of view is, essentially, a filter through which the reader understands the events of the novel. Consider, too, the way in which Nick is characterized.)
  

Q4, week 5 skedj.

Monday
In Class: More on characterization.
Homework: Close annotation on setting. (See post above.)

Day 2
In Class: Ch. 1 & 2 close annotations.
Homework: Gatsby ch. 3, pp. 39-59 (21).

Day 3
In Class: Gatsby's party.
Homework: Gatsby ch. 4, pp. 61-80 (20).

Friday
In Class: Back story revealed.
Homework:

• Write a solid paragraph synthesizing the following lines from chapter four:
  
  • “‘I tried very hard to die, but I seemed to bear an enchanted life’” (66).
  • “‘Anything can happen now that we’ve slid over this bridge’ . . . Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder” (69).
  • “Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor” (78).
• Gatsby ch. 5, pp. 81-96 (16).

Gatsby Historical Context.

This one's decent, too, but won't allow me to embed: The Roaring 20s

Q4, week 4 skedj.

Note: Their Eyes Were Watching God essay due before class this Wednesday via Turn It In.

Monday.
In Class: Block 5: English Dept. candidate lesson. Block 6: Comma splices.
Homework: Their Eyes essay.

Day 2.
In Class: Their Eyes wrap up.
Homework: Their Eyes essay polishing. Proof for:

• agreement of thesis, supporting evidence, and title
  
• organization of ideas at both sentence and paragraph levels
• wordiness, redundancies, wordiness, word and sentence variety
  
• quotations integration and citation
• spelling, grammar, and mechanics
  
• MLA formatting
  

Day 3.
In Class: Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Great Gatsby, blues, and jazz
Homework: Gatsby ch. 1.

Friday.
In Class: Close passage analysis.
Homework: Ch. 2.

Summer Opp.

ThreeSixty Journalism brings new voices into journalism through intense instruction of civic literacy, writing skills and college-readiness of Minnesota teens. Read more about their summer camp opportunities here. Application deadline is May 3.

Reading Tim 'O Brien in Hanoi.

In the Times recently:

Reading Tim O’Brien in Hanoi

By MATT STEINGLASS

Published: April 4, 2010

The Vietnamese seem largely uninterested in foreign accounts of what they call the “American War.”

Q4, week 3 skedj.

Note: Course evals are the first 20 minutes of class this week Wednesday. Report to the computer lab before coming to class.

Monday.
In Class: Vergible Woods, part two; essay introduction.
Homework: Ch. 16-18, pp. 138-167 (30).

Day 2.
In Class: Mrs. Turner, Motor Boat, et al.
Homework: Ch. 19 & 20, pp. 168-193 (26). Also, generate a final discussion question for student-led discussion. Question must be cumulative in nature and must address the resolution of a particular aspect of the novel, for example, with respect to character, theme, symbol, extended metaphor, etc.

Day 3.
In Class: Open topic graded discussion.
Homework: Afterword, pp. 195-205 (11) and essay thesis and supporting evidence.

Friday.
In Class: Writing day.
Homework: Their Eyes Were Watching God essay. Due next Wednesday via Turn It In.

Cartoon channels "Their Eyes," pp. 10-11.

Hurston supplements.

Zora's Roots.
The new documentary, Zora's Roots, pays tribute to the most prolific woman writer of the Harlem Renaissance. The film traces Hurston's life and work from her childhood in the all-black township of Eatonville, Florida, to her days as a Barnard student in New York City, to her anthropologic field work in Honduras and Haiti, and eventually back to Florida, where she died penniless and was buried in an unmarked grave.

During the Roaring Twenties, Hurston was central to Harlem's evolving literary scene alongside Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman. She was Barnard College's first black graduate, and her studies in anthropology contributed to a lifelong exploration of language, culture and the African American experience. More than 40 years after her death in 1960, Hurston's writing remains an integral piece of America's literary fabric. In addition to her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, which has been cited as one of the 100 greatest literary works of all time, she is renowned for her journalistic, cinematic and non-fiction work.

"Zora['s] courage and determination to look at black culture with an analytical eye enabled her to express so beautifully the richness of the culture, its complex history and diasporic nature." said Barnard English Professor Monica Miller, who appears in the film.


Hurston Plays at the Library of Congress.
The Zora Neale Hurston Plays at the Library of Congress present a selection of ten plays written by Hurston (1891-1960), author, anthropologist, and folklorist. Deposited as typescripts in the United States Copyright Office between 1925 and 1944, most of the plays remained unpublished and unproduced until they were rediscovered in the Copyright Deposit Drama Collection in 1997. The plays reflect Hurston's life experience, travels, and research, especially her study of folklore in the African-American South. Totaling 1,068 images, the scripts are housed in the Library's Manuscript, Music, and Rare Book and Special Collections divisions.

Q4, week 2 skedj.

Monday.
In Class: Graded, student-led discussion. Topic: Characterization of Joe Starks. Crucial to this will be essential lines/passages and their implications.
Homework: Ch. 6, pp. 50-75 (26).

Day 2.
In Class: Mule stories.
Homework: Ch. 7-9, pp. 76-93 (18).

Day 3.
In Class: "That strange being with huge square-toes."
Homework: Ch. 10-12, pp. 100-115 (16).

Friday.
In Class: Vergible Woods.
Homework: Ch. 13-15, pp. 116-138 (23).

Maximize net searches.

New York Times: "Ten Simple Google Search Tricks."

A refresher on annotations.

General annotations
Annotations are notes for the future. They’re how you hold up your end of the conversation with the text. You are expected to annotate—annotations checks can occur at any time, without notice)—but the way in which you do so is up to you. Here are some suggestions:

• Highlight key words, images, and patterns and mark significant passages.
• Flag or ear-mark critically important pages.
• Raise discussion-worthy questions in the margins.
• Draw connections through page number references. (For example, “See page xx.”)
• Write a summary at the end of each chapter. Address questions such as: What happened? How and why? What purpose does the chapter serve? In other words, why does it exist? What is it doing to/for the narrative or text as a whole?
• Keep a list, or index, of important themes, symbols, and motifs on the inside cover of your book. Write corresponding page numbers for each.

Close annotations
A close annotation is when one examines a significant passage (of no more than one page) closely, as if under a microscope. To do so, first retype the passage so that it takes up one complete, double-spaced page in landscape format. Then, mark up the passage by following the directions below.

• look up unknown words.
• circle words that carry considerable weight, have “heft.”
• mark images, symbols, metaphoric language.
• consider denotation (what words mean) and connotation (what words imply).
• consider text (what’s on the page) and subtext (what meanings it may carry).
• Make connections to elsewhere in text.
• Draw conclusions. What statement is being made? By who? What about? What are its thematic or symbolic implications?

Homework for Day 2: Authentic Dialogue.

Record three different forms of communication in your life. Transcribe the conversation verbatim—not only word for word but also as the language is heard. In other words, try to capture the actual language of the people involved. (“Going to” might actually be “gonna,” “What’s up” might be “sup,” “What are you doing tonight” might be “whutterya doin’ t’nite,” etc.)

Examples of different forms of communication:

• dialogue between friends or family
• writing at school or a journal
• nightly news cast
• online conversations (email, IM, Facebook, etc.)
  

Bring a hard copy of your three different kinds of conversation with you to class tomorrow. You should have about three-fourths of a page of dialogue per form of communication.

Q4, week 1 skedj.

Note: A reminder to bring Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston to class on Monday.

Monday.
In Class: Their Eyes intro and Hurston background; "How it Feels to Be Colored Me."
Homework: Authentic Dialogue. (See post above.)

Day 2.
In Class: Authentic Dialogue.
Homework: Ch. 1 & 2, pp. 1-20 (20).

Day 3.
In Class: "Ships at a distance . . .", Ms. Washburn, and the pear tree.
Homework: Ch. 3 & 4, pp. 21-33 (13).

Friday.
In Class: Logan Killicks and Joe Starks.
Homework: Ch 5, pp. 34-50 (17). Prep for Monday's student-led, graded discussion on the characterization of Joe Starks (essential lines and their implications).

Q3, week 9 skedj.

Monday.
In class: Dialogue and subtext in "Hills Like White Elephants."
Homework: Read Flannery O' Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" with an eye toward context (given the introductory reading).

Day 2.
In class: Southern Gothic and the Grotesque.
Homework: Read first half of Colson Whitehead's "The Gangsters."

Day 3.
In class: Who's the real Misfit?
Homework: Finish "The Gangsters."

Friday.
In class:
Homework: None.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All revisions and any other outstanding work is due by the end of the week, as the quarter three grade book will be closed as of 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 19.

Punctuation Challenge.

Use a semi-colon correctly in a sentence of your own. Post your sentence as a comment below. There may be something in it for you; then again, there may not be.

MPR's "Talking Volumes" with Sherman Alexie.

In the past few years, author Sherman Alexie has ventured into young adult literature with two new books, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Flight. His books are sharp observations of growing up Indian among whites.

Alexie joined Kerri Miller on the stage of the Fitzgerald Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007.

Listen to the program: Talking Volumes with Sherman Alexie.

Short story unit:

• "What You Pawn I Will Redeem," Sherman Alexie
• "A Pair of Tickets," Amy Tan
• "Cathedral," Raymond Carver
• "Hills Like White Elephants," Ernest Hemingway
• "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery 'O Connor
• "The Gangsters," Colson Whitehead
• "Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin
• "The Open Boat," Stephen Crane
• "The Gilden Six-Bits," Zora Neale Hurston
• "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," J.D. Salinger
• "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities," Delmore Schwartz
• "Roman Fever," Edith Wharton

Any stories we don't get to by the end of the quarter you're encouraged to read over Spring Break. This is not homework; it is optional.

Wayne's World 2 spoof on "The Graduate" ending.

Speaking of "The Graduate" . . .

This was in this week's New Yorker:

Critic's Notebook
AND HERE'S TO YOU

Despite its abject flattery of youth and its sour slander of anyone over thirty-five, Mike Nichols’s “The Graduate” (1967) is still funny. Dustin Hoffman’s virginal panic when the leggy Anne Bancroft methodically bullies him into bed is a classic of mimicry, almost Harold Lloyd-like in its portrayal of courage barely conquering fear of the unknown. What has changed, however, is our perception of Bancroft’s Mrs. Robinson. As Hoffman’s Benjamin gets interested in her pretty but vapid daughter, Elaine (Katherine Ross), Mrs. Robinson becomes a fairy-tale monster. The movie’s view of her is priggish; all she wants, after all, is sex with a nice-looking boy. Yet Bancroft, whose films are on view March 8-11 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, gives a terrific performance as a bored, frustrated Beverly Hills woman who doesn’t know what to do with her brains. Look at her expression and you see intimations of an entirely justified despair. Mrs. Robinson is the heroine of “The Graduate,” and Bancroft gives the movie its soul. ♦

Q3, week 8 skedj.

Monday.
In class: Closing discussion on Catcher & The Graduate.
Homework: Read Sherman Alexie's "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" with an eye toward extended metaphor. Optional: Alexie & Louis bios.

Day 2.
In class: Short story as a form; extended metaphor (allegory). Read Adrian C. Louis poems.
Homework: Read Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets"with an eye toward setting; prep for graded discussion.

Day 3.
In class: Graded discussion. Prompt: The mother of Jing-mei Woo told her that being Chinese is a matter of genetics. Jing-mei finds that to be true. What is the role of place and time (in other words, history), then, in this story?
Homework: Read Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" with an eye toward characterization.

Friday.
In class: Bringing characters to life on the page.
Homework: Read Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" with an eye toward dialogue.

Q3, week 7 skedj.

Monday.
In class: Writing day.
Homework: Finish Catcher writing assignment.

Day 2.
In class: The Graduate.
Homework: Moodle forum.

Day 3.
In class: The Graduate.
Homework: Catcher/Graduate snapshot.

Friday.
Conferences; no school.

From The Onion: "Bunch of Phonies Mourn J.D. Salinger"

CORNISH, NH—In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud. "He had a real impact on the literary world and on millions of readers," said hot-shot English professor David Clarke, who is just like the rest of them, and even works at one of those crumby schools that rich people send their kids to so they don't have to look at them for four years. "There will never be another voice like his." Which is exactly the lousy kind of goddamn thing that people say, because really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even, and it's just a perfect example of why you should never tell anybody anything.

January 28, 2010 | Issue 46•04

Q3, week 6 skedj.

Monday.
In class: Kivel; "Comin' through the rye."
Homework: Ch. 24, pp. 235-251 (17).

Day 2.
In class: Mr. Antolini.
Homework: Ch. 25 & 26, pp. 252-277 (26).

Day 3.
In class: Graded discussion: synthesizing Catcher.
Homework: Discussion reflection and get a start on Catcher writing assignment.

Friday.
In class: Writing day.
Homework: Continue to work on Catcher writing assignment. Have a first draft for Monday.

Writing contest.

ThreeSixty--an organization whose aim is to strengthen the civic literacy, writing skills and college-readiness of Minnesota teens--wants to hear how middle- and high-school students in Minnesota see themselves and their place in America. In 200 words or less, describe who you are--your age, race, culture, class, gender, religion. Then, describe how you fit into the picture of what it is to be an American. What does that mean in your life, in your family, and for the communities you belong to? Submit your piece of writing here.

Coming thro' the rye.

by Robert Burns, National Poet of Scotland (1759-1796).



Coming thro' the rye, poor body,
Coming thro' the rye,
She draiglet a' her petticoatie
Coming thro' the rye.

O, Jenny's a' wat, poor body;
Jenny's seldom dry;
She draiglet a' her petticoatie
Coming thro' the rye.

Gin a body meet a body
Coming thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body—
Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body
Coming thro' the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body—
Need the warld ken?

Q3, week 5 skedj.

Day 1.
In class: Close readings.
Homework: Ch. 18 & 19, pp. 175-193 (19).

Day 2.
In class: Holden's musings on Jesus, war, sex, and psychoanalysis.
Homework: Ch. 20 & 21, pp. 194-215 (22).

Friday.
In class: Open topic graded discussion.
Homework: Ch. 22 & 23, pp. 216-234 (19) and Paul Kivel article, "Young White Men."

A modern Norman Bowker, but with a better ending.

From Minnesota Public Radio:

Duluth, Minn. — More than 1.6 million U.S. troops have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The Defense Department estimates that up to 20 percent of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. The "thousand-yard stare," shell shock, combat fatigue. PTSD has had many names throughout history. Many returning veterans find ways to cope. Some get help, and many recover. Here is one Minnesota man's story of PTSD. Listen to the full segment below.

Q3, week 4 skedj.

Monday.
In class: "You'd like her. . . . I swear to God you'd like her."
Homework: Ch. 11 & 12, pp. 99-114 (16).

Day 2.
In class: "Jane on the brain again" and "People are always ruining things for you."
Homework: Ch. 13 & 14, pp. 115-136 (22).

Day 3.
In class: Open topic graded discussion.
Homework: Ch. 15-17, pp. 137-174 (38!).

Friday.
School for me; no school for you.

Re: Friday.

Friday's graded discussion topics are as follows: 1) Stradlater's composition and/or 2) "So damn lonesome."

You will be assessed based on only two criteria, the extent to which you:

• Engage in a full, balanced discussion. Every voice must be heard multiple times.
• Offer connections, conclusions based on a close reading of the text. Your books must be in hand and open with your eyes in them. Pursue meaning with relentless verve and rigor. Page numbers are crucial.
  

About the author, J.D. Salinger.

J.D. Salinger
January 1, 1919 - January 27, 2010

• Biography.
• Obituaries & other posthumous reflections: New York Times, Associated Press, The New Yorker.
  
• Audio essays: "J.D. Salinger Remembered", "What Salinger Mean To Me", "Meeting J.D. Salinger", and "Rest in Privacy".
  
• New York Times archives: news and reviews.
• BBC News: "A Glimpse Inside the Life of a Recluse."
• New York Review of Books: "Justice to J.D. Salinger."
• Time Magazine: "All-Time 100 Novels."

Also, Catcher was in the news this time last year because of a Swedish author's attempt to publish a so-called sequel that contains a 76-year-old version of Holden. The author went by the not-so-subtle pen name "J.D. California." If you're interested in reading more about it, check out the two Times articles below.

• Get a Life, Holden Caulfield
• Judge Rules for J.D. Salinger in ‘Catcher’ Copyright Suit

Q2, week 3 skedj.

Monday.
In class: Vignette showcase and HMS wrap up.
Homework: Begin Catcher in the Rye, chapters 1 & 2, pp. 3-21 (19).

Day 2.
In class: Narrative voice and tone.
Homework: Catcher ch. 3 & 4, pp. 22-45 (24).

Day 3.
In class: I could tell you what we're going to do today, but "I'm not in the mood right now."
Homework: Catcher ch. 5-7, pp. 46-68 (23).

Friday.
In class: Graded discussion. Topics: 1) Stradlater's composition and/or 2) "So damn lonesome."
Homework: Catcher ch. 8-10, pp. 69-98 (30).

Weekend homework.

Vignette assignment details here: Painting from the Palette of Memory. Read an example here: "Fly With These Birds."

Cisneros on "Talking Volumes."

Last April, author Sandra Cisneros and host Kerri Miller met before a full house of students and adults at Washburn High School in Minneapolis for MPR's "Talking Volumes." Cisneros' groundbreaking work, The House on Mango Street, was published 25 years ago. Singer and spoken word artist Dessa also performs.

Listen here:

Coming-of-death musing.

According to The Death Clock, I am going to die at the age of 74 on Sunday, September 19, 2055. I was able to stave death off 15 years simply by changing my "Mode" from "Pessimistic" to "Normal."

Q3, week 2 skedj.

Monday.
In class: Why use poetic language?
Homework: HMS pp. 39-64 (26).

Day 2.
In class: Narrative shift.
Homework: HMS pp. 65-87 (23).

Day 3.
In class: Shoes, trees, and home.
Homework: HMS pp. 88-110 (23).

Friday.
In class: HMS wrap up.
Homework: Another vignette. See example.

On memoir.

A recent New Yorker article explores the history of memoir and addresses the blurring between reality and fiction. Read it here: "But Enough About Me".

An announcement from FLASH.

FLASH is well into third gear: We have editors, editors-in-chief, a submission process, even a Facebook page. Now, we need your help to garner more submissions.

If you write poems, stories, or thought pieces--either for class or leisure--please send Word documents to FLASH at flash@blakeschool.org. Every submission gets a note with respectful feedback from our board of editors.

Congrats to the editorial board, who is made up of the following students: Heather Pearson, Babs Laco, Emily Wells, Kate Abram, Krista Rud, Frieda Yeung, Alex Beard, Annabel Cater, Emma Woodsworth, and Masha Berman. At the last meeting on January 15, the board elected Jacqui Crane, Carolyn Winslow, and Shaina Rud as editors-in-chief. Congrats to them as well.

This next week, FLASH is having a poetry contest. Winners get Chipotle gift certificates; hence, it's a Chipoetry contest! Again, email submissions as Word documents to flash@blakeschool.org.

Who Dat?

Mango in the news.

• Cisneros critical of Chicago despite Mayor Daley's praise of Mango St.
• "The Story Teller," adapted from the introduction to the recently published 25th Anniversary Edition of The House on Mango Street.
• And this, from a while back: A San Antonio Journal article about an uproar over Cisneros' house paint selection: "Novelist's Purple Palette is Not to Everyone's Taste."

Q3, week 1 skedj.

Monday.
MLK Day; no school.

Day 2.
In class: Intro to House on Mango Street and vignettes.
Homework: HMS introduction and pp. 3-13.

Day 3.
In class: Vignette study.
Homework: HMS pp. 14-38 (25).

Friday.
In class: Like, like, like . . .
Homework: Using one of your journal prompts, or starting a new one, write a vignette of no more than 250 words (typed, double-spaced) that addresses a personal experience of yours. Use poetic language with intention. This might include imagery (sensory details), figurative language (metaphor, simile, symbol), or repetition of words or sounds (alliteration, consonance, assonance, anaphora). Finally, give your vignette an appropriate, creative title. I'll take a hard copy.

Q2, week 9 skedj.

Monday & Tuesday.
In class: Finish Vietnam films critique.
Homework: All missing work needs to be in by Thursday. Bring House on Mango Street beginning next week.

Wednesday & Thursday.
Project Days.

Friday.
Grade Activities Day.

The Year in Language.

Check out this New York Times article on new words and phrases coined in 2009: "The Buzzwords of 2009."

Q2, week 8 skedj.

NOTE: A reminder to bring The Things They Carried to class this week for an annotations check.

Monday - Friday.
In class: Vietnam films critique.
Homework: TTC essay: A Soldier's Baggage, due before class on Friday via Turn It In.