Tuesday, January 31, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 34

Collect homework (or pink sheet): symbolism chart (20 items)

WARMUP: Using your book, list all the events that happened in the last half-hour of Doodle’s life (beginning on page 342 “As soon as I had finished eating…” until the end of the story)

Discussed the ending of “The Scarlet Ibis” – what happened? Is it the narrator’s fault?

·         How specifically did Doodle die?

o   What do we know for sure?

·         How do we know he didn’t die by lightning? A fallen tree?

·         Is his death the narrator’s fault?

1. In groups, we listed 20 events total that happened in the story that would help convict both Doodle’s brother and his parents of a guilty of murder verdict (10 each)
2. After reviewing our “guilty verdict” points and in our same groups, we listed 20 events that happened in the story that would help convict both Doodle’s brother and his parents of a NOT GUILTY of murder verdict (10 events for each)

(Was it easier to prove them guilty or not guilty?)

ENGLISH homework:

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test (Lesson 4: elude, fallow, blight…)

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PLAYWRITING – Day 34

Using Knott’s introduction, we drew a picture of the stage for Dial M for Murder.

Noted how different the interpretations were and why. Discuss the importance of getting the actors on the set in order to see if the set pieces would work with the script or if they would need to be altered in any way.

Read stage script Act I, Scene 1 of Dial M for Murder (by Frederick Knott, 1953)

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Monday, January 30, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 33

Pick up a copy of this week’s vocabulary words on the center table.

In your notebook, create a little poster (with words, drawings, or both) that depicts the events covered so far in the first few pages of “The Scarlet Ibis” pgs. 333 – 338

Listened to “The Scarlet Ibis” pgs. 333 – end (30 minutes) – adding to our list of possible symbols – totaling 20 (things we think may prove to be symbolic - a continuation of yesterday’s list)

Finish symbolism chart (see directions below):

Create a chart of your 20 possible symbols that looks similar to the following. Identify each entry as a symbol (yes or no), and if yes, what is its meaning:

For example (your chart should be set up like this):

WORD                                   SYMBOL?                             (if yes…) MEANING

1. Peacock                               yes                                           love, protection, kinder world

2.

3.

4.

Etc

ENGLISH homework:

Finish symbolism chart (see directions above).

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test (Lesson 4: elude, fallow, blight…)

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PLAYWRITING – Day 33

Performed each other’s scripts…including dialogue, on the school’s stage.

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Friday, January 27, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 32

½ day - 2012

• Quiet study time for prefix #3 test
• Take test - Unit 3 – ben, bene; bi-, bin-, bis-; etc.

ENGLISH homework:

None

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PLAYWRITING – Day 32

Continued blocking your assigned script…some performances in mime (no props)

Began to block with script/dialogue – considered necessary props

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Thursday, January 26, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 31

Parent teacher conferences (6:00 – 8:00 p.m.)

WARMUP:

1. Fill out new prefix/suffix vocabulary words (extra copies on center table) (Latin/Greek/Affixes – Unit 3)
1. Review test layout
2. REMINDER: TEST tomorrow, Friday
2. Review definitions of symbols and inferences (see Literary Terms handout)

1. Complete 4 symbolism scenarios
1. Complete work with symbols: drawing 4 symbols as pictures and making a COAT OF ARMS (shield) that symbolized 4 different aspects of each of us
1. discuss – are our drawings symbolic or literal?
2. Noted symbols for “The Cask of Amontillado”
3. Began work on “Symbolism” – reviewed answers

1. Began reading the first half of “The Scarlet Ibis” pgs. 333 – 338 – paying special attention to the symbols - list 10 things that MIGHT BE SYMBOLS

ENGLISH homework:

Finish reading first half of “The Scarlet Ibis” pgs. 333 – 338 – list 10 things that MIGHT BE SYMBOLS

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test - affixes - Unit 3 – ben, bene; bi-, bin-, bis-; etc.

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PLAYWRITING – Day 31

2012 Parent/teacher conferences – 6:00 – 8:00

Continued blocking your assigned script…some performances in mime (no props)

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 30

1. Collect homework: World’s Thinnest Book assignment – 10 titles and POSTER
2. Number a paper 1 – 20.
1. Take test on “The Cask of Amontillado”
3. After turning in your test…
1. Write up a new 3 or 4 word sentence that fits the structure “Doer, Doing, Done to” – then expand it to 15 words STOP AND WAIT
2. and then 35 words - marking each addition as belonging to Doer, Doing, Done to (or "x, y, z")
3. Return all graded homework and tests and added them to our classroom folders
4. 3 short Poe videos and Steve Jobs commencement video (time permitting)

ENGLISH homework:

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test - affixes - Unit 3 – ben, bene; bi-, bin-, bis-; etc.

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PLAYWRITING – Day 30

2012 Parent/teacher conferences – 3:30 – 5:30

In small groups, finished reading each other’s 5-minute scripts

Voted for top 5 scripts and then scripts were assigned.

Began blocking your assigned script…be ready to perform it tomorrow in mime (no props)

PLAYWRITING homework:

Be ready to perform your blocking tomorrow in mime (no props).

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 29

Collect homework: Number a paper 1 – 20…choose 20 points in the story, beginning on pg. 288 and ending at “…the clamorer grew still.” (pg. 292) For each point, (a) quote the text and then (b) ADD SUBTEXT from Fortunato’s point of view.

Read the last paragraph of “The Cask of Amontillado” and be ready to explain its meaning.

Announce test on “The Cask of Amontillado” – Wednesday – Q & A?

World’s Thinnest Book assignment:

            What’s the name of a book that the following characters have no authority to write:
                                   

THE 10 AUTHORS:

1.      Montresor ex. The American Girl’s Guide to Lasting Friendships

2.      Fortunato

3.      Luchesi

4.      Edgar Allan Poe

5.      John Allan

6.      Montresor’s servants

7.      The trowel

8.      The catacomb

9.      Fortunato’s jingling bells

10.  The bricks or mortar

ENGLISH homework:

World’s Thinnest Book assignment (10 titles – NO “guide to, how to, for dummies"..); 1 for each character listed above; then choose 5 titles for your poster – TO BE COLLECTED Wednesday

Study for tomorrow’s “The Cask of Amontillado” test (20 questions) - review the use of the following terms/ideas in the story: absconded, premeditated, motley, surmounted, irony, coat of arms

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test - affixes - Unit 3 – ben, bene; bi-, bin-, bis-; etc.

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PLAYWRITING – Day 29

2-hour delay - 2012

In small groups, nearly finished reading each other’s 5-minute scripts

Be prepared to vote for your top 5 favorite scripts

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Monday, January 23, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 28

• Collect homework: 15-word, 35-word, and 100-word expansions (if you didn’t already turn it in on Friday)
• Pick up this week’s prefix handout on center table
• WARMUP: Number a paper 1 – 10 and then below that, number it again 1 – 10. Then without writing on the handouts, complete the 2 “Foreshadowing” handouts on the center table on your paper.

Foreshadowing: planting clues about what will happen later in a story

Reviewed foreshadowing quotes we found before from “The Cask of Amontillado.”

Subtext: what we imagine a person is thinking while they say something else.

Number a paper 1 – 20…choose 20 points in the story, beginning on pg. 288 and ending at “…the clamorer grew still.” (pg. 292) For each point, (a) quote the text and then (b) ADD SUBTEXT from Fortunato’s point of view. Finish for homework.

ENGLISH homework:

Number a paper 1 – 20…choose 20 points in the story, beginning on pg. 288 and ending at “…the clamorer grew still.” (pg. 292) For each point, (a) quote the text and then (b) ADD SUBTEXT from Fortunato’s point of view.

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PLAYWRITING – Day 28

In small groups, began reading each other’s 5-minute scripts.

PLAYWRITING homework:

None.

Friday, January 20, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 27

Quiet study time for today’s vocabulary test (during attendance)

Vocabulary test (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.)

Grade today’s vocabulary tests

Post grades including yesterday’s open-notes Poe Introduction scores

Sentence structure unit – DWL: Lesson 5, 6

Begin classwork, TO BE COLLECTED AT THE END OF THE HOUR:
DIRECTIONS: Write a 3-word sentence (doer-doing-done to) like “Bayle collects shells” or “Jon hit the ball.” Next, expand it into a sentence of 15 words without losing the doer-doing-done to structure; Then again into a sentence of 35 words without losing the doer-doing-done to structure. And finally into a 100-word expansion…

As an example, here is a 15-word expansion for “Jon hit the ball.”

            In the middle of the sixth inning, Jon, the league leader, hit the curve ball.

Here’s a 35-word expansion example:

            In the middle of the sixth inning of a crucial game in last year’s pennant race, Jon, the league leader batting third, weakly but precisely hit on the nose the ball pitched with great velocity.

Here’s a 100-word expansion:

 In the middle of the sixth inning of a crucial game in last year’s pennant race, Jon, the league leader batting third, weakly but precisely hit on the nose the ball pitched with great velocity by the sure-to-be Hall of Fame hurler who had won his last five starts in an overwhelming fashion while going the whole nine innings and who therefore presented an intimidating image to anyone facing him, especially as the shadows lengthened over the mound, obscuring the mechanics of his delivery and rendering it difficult even to see the spheroid as it curved its sinuous way toward the plate.

ENGLISH homework:

None

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PLAYWRITING – Day 27

In the computer lab we FINISHED scripting our 5-minute scene (approx. 5 pages) considering situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality – 5 PAGES MINIMUM – due Monday

If finished with 5 pages, read about PROPER script format and make appropriate changes (time-permitting) RE: website: http://www.playwriting101.com/ - focus on items #5 - 11.

REMINDER: the script’s deadline has been changed to Monday, January 23.

PLAYWRITING homework:

5-minute script due Monday, January 23.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 26

Collect homework: 8 examples (2 of each) of mood, irony, foreshadowing, imagery from “Cask of Amontillado”

Number a paper 1 – 12…to take open-notes test on Edgar Allan Poe, “Letter to John Allan,” and “Alone” covering information on textbook pgs. 276 – 285.

After turning in your test, create 5 fill-in-blank sentences using 5 of this week’s vocabulary words (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.)

PICKUP: (optional) Please pick up any graded assignments that you want to keep on the side counter.

Read student work: yesterday’s POE-LIKE introductions

Watched short video of “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe and discussed the differences between the film adaptation and the written story

ENGLISH homework:

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.)

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PLAYWRITING – Day 26

In the computer lab we continued scripting our 5 minute scene (approx. 5 pages) considering situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality – 5 PAGES MINIMUM – due Monday

If finished with 5 pages, read about PROPER script format and make appropriate changes (time-permitting) RE: website: http://www.playwriting101.com/ - focus on items #5 - 11.

Due to today’s 2-hour delay, the script’s deadline has been changed to Monday, January 23.

PLAYWRITING homework:

5-minute script due Monday, January 23.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 26

COLLECT HOMEWORK: Follow up on “eye” – Write the opening paragraph of a POE-LIKE story that introduces the disagreeable characteristic that you have tracked/counted these past few days…

FINISH completing the exercises on the back of this week’s vocabulary words handout (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.) - reviewed words, definitions, pronunciations

Hand back tests – place in classroom folder

Reviewed “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe - Why did Montressor repeatedly offer to let Fortunato leave the catacomb? What did Montressor “dislike” about Fortunado? Etc.

Take out your Literary Terms packet and review definitions of: mood, irony, foreshadowing, imagery

REMINDER: tomorrow: Open-notes test on Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 276 – 285) – including “Letter to John Allan” and “Alone”

Found and wrote out 8 examples (2 of each) of mood, irony, foreshadowing, imagery from “Cask of Amontillado” (pgs. 286 – 292 in textbook or http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/amontillado.html ) – DIRECTLY QUOTING THE TEXT-  WORD FOR WORD for each example – TO BE COLLECTED

ENGLISH homework:

Finish “8 examples” assignment above

Open-notes test tomorrow on Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 276 – 285) – including “Letter to John Allan” and “Alone”

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.)

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PLAYWRITING – Day 25

Read another Christopher Durang short: “Canker Sores and Other Distractions”

Begin reading about PROPER script format and make appropriate changes to your script (time-permitting) using the website: http://www.playwriting101.com/

In the computer lab we continued scripting our 5 minute scene (approx. 5 pages) considering situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality – 5 PAGES MINIMUM – due Friday

PLAYWRITING homework:

5-minute script due Friday

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

PLAYWRITING – Day 24

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 25

• Collect homework: “cloze” reading (handout 1- 30) of annotated version of page 286 of “The Cask of Amontillado”
• Take plurals and possessives test
• Pick up this week’s vocabulary words (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.)
• Read “The Cask of Amontillado” (annotated version) by Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 286 – 292)
• Using a dry-erase board and the story “The Cask of Amontillado” (p. 286), create a DETAILED plotline (including exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) – photograph it with iPad
• TO BE COLLECTED TOMORROW: Follow up on “eye” – Write the opening paragraph of a POE-LIKE story that introduces the disagreeable characteristic that you have tracked/counted these past 24 hours…
• REMINDER: Thursday: Open-notes test on Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 276 – 285) – including “Letter to John Allan” and “Alone”

ENGLISH homework:

TO BE COLLECTED: Follow up on “eye” – Write the opening paragraph of a POE-LIKE story that introduces the disagreeable characteristic that you have tracked/counted these past 24 hours…

FINISH: Read opening introductory pages on Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 276 – 285) – including “Letter to John Allan” and “Alone” and TOOK NOTES ON THESE PAGES for an open-notes test on Thursday

Study for Friday’s vocabulary test (Lesson 3 – edifice, ambidextrous, etc.)

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Monty Python video clip – “Argument Clinic” (for dialogue inspiration)

In the computer lab we began scripting our 5 minute scene (approx. 5 pages) considering situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality – 5 PAGES MINIMUM

PLAYWRITING homework:

5-minute script due Friday

Monday, January 16, 2012

 ENGLISH 1^st trimester – Day 24
 

·         After attendance, clear desk and take Prefix test #2

·         Next, write down 5 characteristics that you like and 5 that you dislike in other people – how about yourself?

o   Rank your 5 dislikes in order from 1 – 5.

o   Write your #1 dislike on half and index card and keep it in your pocket until tomorrow.

§  Keep track of how many times you encounter it between now and then.

·         What is the “eye” in your life…that when you see it, you have strong, negative feelings? (popularity, bullying, ugliness, money, tale)?

·         Follow up on Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” – discuss “eyes” in “The Most Dangerous Game”, “The Interlopers”

·         Read page 286-287 (“…wringing his hand.”) and discussed our understanding

·         Completed “cloze” reading (handout 1- 30) of annotated version of first page of “The Cask of Amontillado” - see handout and pg. 286 in Literature book – TO BE COLLECTED

·         Hand back graded work

ENGLISH homework:

Keep track (on half an index card) of how many times you see your characteristic in others between now and tomorrow.

Finish classwork for today: Completed “cloze” reading (handout 1- 30) of annotated version of first page of “The Cask of Amontillado” - see handout and pg. 286 in Literature book – TO BE COLLECTED

Plurals and possessives test will be Tuesday, January 17, 2012

FINISH: Read opening introductory pages on Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 276 – 285) – including “Letter to John Allan” and “Alone” and TOOK NOTES ON THESE PAGES for an open-notes test on Thursday

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PLAYWRITING – Day 23

Continued with our work from Thursday: with a partner and choosing ONE of our headlines from our index cards, we outlined (and if time, began scripting) a scene considering Aristotle’s 6 elements - situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality – 5 MINUTE SCENE

Read 2 Christopher Durang shorts (as inspiration for our own scripting activity): “Funeral Parlor” and “DMV Tyrant”

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Thursday, January 12, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 23

Number a paper 1 – 44…then borrow one of the handouts from the center table and write out your 44 answers on your paper.

Plurals and possessives test will be Monday, January 16, 2012

Reviewed tomorrow’s prefix test FORMAT (same as last prefix test)

Watched an Encore introduction to Poe and a “The Tell-Tale Heart” animation

Began homework

ENGLISH homework:

Read opening introductory pages on Edgar Allan Poe (pgs. 276 – 285) – including “Letter to John Allan” and “Alone” and TOOK NOTES ON THESE PAGES for an open-notes test in the near future

Affix/vocabulary test on Friday, January 13 - Study the 5 entries in Latin/Greek vocabulary packet. Know the prefixes’ definitions and an example of how each is used to form a new word.

Study for Plural and Possessive test on Monday, January 16

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PLAYWRITING – Day 22

Discussed an excerpt from Roland Barthes essay “Baudelaire’s Theater” where he writes that theatricality is “theater-minus-text, it is a density of signs and sensations built up on stage starting from the written argument” (1972:26) and how it introduces the notion, promoted by the European avant-garde since the beginning of the twentieth century, that the “essence” of theatre was to be found not in the written text but in the nontextual elements of production. (re: Glen McGillivray – “The Discursive Formation of Theatricality as a Critical Concept”)

With a partner and choosing ONE of our headlines from the other day, outline (and begin scripting) a scene considering - situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality

Playwriting homework:

None

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 22

WARMUP:

Find your prefix handout – we’ll fill it in after attendance.

Reviewed this week’s new affixes (part 2 in original packet) for Friday’s test – also filled in the entire document with definitions

Show current grades

Announced test - Study for Plural and Possessive test on Monday, January 16

Grab a script from the center table and we will finish our group reading performance of “Lov’d Alone – The Tragic Story of Edgar Allan Poe” by Catherine Gourley

Reviewed Edgar Allan Poe’s life from our reading of “Lov’d Alone – The Tragic Story of Edgar Allan Poe” by Catherine Gourley

·         Discuss how like all of us, Poe had unfortunate things happen in his life…abuse, poverty, death of loved ones, loss. And like all of us, he got to choose how he was going to deal with these things. Do we ever consider someone’s past before passing judgment on them? Or do we have a gut reaction to them or their actions that forever locks them into a category?

ENGLISH homework:

Affix/vocabulary test on Friday, October 7 - Study the 5 entries in Latin/Greek vocabulary packet. Know the prefixes’ definitions and an example of how each is used to form a new word.

Study for Plural and Possessive test on Monday, January 16

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PLAYWRITING – Day 21

Having read “The Sure Thing” and discussed the subtext of lines, we will perform content-less scenes again today using subtext as our driving force.

Subtext: what we imagine characters are thinking while they say something else.

TO BE COLLECTED: Write out the SUBTEXT for each line of your content-less scene before you perform it.

PLAYWRITING homework:

None.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 21

1. Number a paper 1 – 18. Take test on “The Interlopers”
1. Return in 2 piles on center table (test and answers)
2. Pick up copy of this week’s prefixes (on center table) – test on Friday
3. Progress reports
4. Number a paper 1 – 20 (3^rd hour only)
1. Reviewed a few possessive problems
5. Take NOTES on plural and possessive forms
6. Grade yesterday’s vocabulary tests
7. Began Reader’s Theatre (group reading performance) of “Lov’d Alone – The Tragic Story of Edgar Allan Poe” by Catherine Gourley

English homework:

Prefix/suffix test on Friday - Study the 5 entries in Latin/Greek vocabulary packet. Know the prefixes’ definitions and an example of how each is used to form a new word.

Bring Literature book.

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PLAYWRITING – Day 21

Performances: content-less scenes with added theatricality – for each line of dialogue, we wrote down what specifically motivates it

Defined acting as the ability to say one thing and do something else. As writers, we need to keep this in mind as we write dialogue.

Read (abridged version) “The Sure Thing” by Davis Ives (1988) – from a collection called All in the Timing – then discussed it and identified the “theatricality” that Ives added.

PLAYWRITING homework:

None.

Monday, January 9, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 20

Vocabulary test – Lesson Two vocabulary words (amalgamate, demented…)

After your test, use your literary terms handout for definitions, and look through “The Interlopers” and write down an example of each of the following:

1.      irony,

2.      internal conflict (man vs. himself), 

3.      omniscient narration,

4.      part of the setting that suggests something bad is going to happen

Complete page 8 in Plural Rules packet (#1-20) – reviewed answers

Took notes on Plurals rules

Study for test on “The Interlopers” pgs. 232 – 243 on Tuesday

ENGLISH homework:

Study for test on “The Interlopers” pgs. 232 – 243 on Tuesday

Finish Works Cited/Bibliography assignment (from Library Orientation) – see Mrs. Blunt in library for details (turn it in to the Mrs. Blunt).

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PLAYWRITING – Day 20

Checked homework: 3 news stories

Took notes on the meaning of theatricality and what it looks like on stage.

With each of our stories (last night’s homework), we identified the situation, conflict (real or imagined), journey, and theatricality

Looked at content-less scenes and added theatricality to them – for each line of dialogue, we wrote down what specifically motivates it

PLAYWRITING homework:

None

Friday, January 6, 2012

ENGLISH – 1^st trimester – Day 19

Collect classwork from yesterday: Interloper’s chart of 9 themes

Reminders:

• Study for Monday’s vocabulary test: Lesson Two vocabulary words (amalgamate, demented…)
• Test on “The Interlopers” pgs. 232 – 243 on Tuesday

Day 2 of 2 - Library Orientation

ENGLISH homework:

• Study for Monday’s vocabulary test: Lesson Two vocabulary words (amalgamate, demented…)
• Study for test on “The Interlopers” pgs. 232 – 243 on Tuesday
• Bring Literature book next week.

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PLAYWRITING – Day 19

Checked homework – 20 responses ½ phone conversation as persuadee

Switched papers – wrote the other half of the conversation, this time as the persuader.

Performed all phone conversations…

Listed all the things that really bother you - things that are just not right – classified them as either personal (P) or global (G).

Chose one concern off your list and in 5 minutes, listed as many questions as possible about that concern – then classified them as factual, wonder, or silly (if time)

THE POINT: Whenever you get stuck in your writing, try asking questions.

PLAYWRITING homework:

Using newspapers or the internet, find 3 articles about stories that CONCERN you. Bring these to class either printed, cut out, or handwritten.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 19

Effort trumps talent.

Effort grows connections in your brain which make you smarter.  (Carol Dweck)

1. While I check homework: back page this week’s vocabulary handout (Exercise 2)
2. PLEASE begin the WARMUP: Write a paragraph about:

                                                              i.      something you want really badly in your life

                                                            ii.      what you are willing to do to get it

Read the first paragraph on page 236. “He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders. If only on this wild night, in this dark, lone spot, he might come across Georg Znaeym, man to man, with none to witness - that was the wish that was uppermost in his thoughts. And as he stepped round the trunk of a huge beech he came face to face with the man he sought.”

·         Ultimately, does Ulrich get what he wants?

·         What does he have to do to get it?

In Demetri Martin’s new book, This Is A Book, he write from a genie’s point of view and he comically responds to all the people who find his lamp and wish for money. He argues that the conservation of wealth states that if a genie grants somebody’s wish for money, the genie must take the money away from families who are already quite poor or from the economies of developing countries or both.

Is there anything for which you would hurt needy people in order to get?

Discussed feuds and fights – including Huck Finn’s thoughts – and how feuds resemble rivalries – wrote definitions in our notes

“The Interlopers” is a story about:

1. feuding, hatred, revenge, tragedy, death
2. pity, change of heart, forgiveness, hope
1. Make a chart that lists the nine items listed above.
2. Find a quote from the story that shows each of the above traits.
3. Finally, identify which type of conflict each one represents (man vs. ____)

English homework:

Study for Monday’s vocabulary test: Lesson Two vocabulary words (amalgamate, demented…)

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PLAYWRITING - Day 18

WARMUP:

On the dry erase boards (and in a group of your choice)…without any dialogue, write down a list of 8 different, 2-part ACTIONS that would show the audience that WAR IS BAD.

Read The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter and discussed how it relates to our theme on war and playwriting.

Next we chose one of our 8 actions from above and wrote our the moments that happened before it and after it, creating the “chain reaction” - where an act performed by one character causes another character to perform yet another action…etc.

PLAYWRITING homework:

• Write down 3 more times in your past that you were persuaded to do something that you initially didn’t want to do and chose 1 of them.
• Next, write ½ the conversation from the persuadee’s point of view (as if he was on a phone and we could only hear his side of things). Do not write down what the persuader is saying to him. The persuadee is buyer and the persuader is the seller. We’re focusing on the buyer’s side of the conversation.
• Include 20 different responses for the persuadee.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

ENGLISH - 1^st trimester – Day 17

"Everybody is a genius.  But, if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."   Albert Einstein

WARMUP:

1. If you did not yet pick up this week’s vocabulary words on the center table yesterday, do so now.
2. Complete Exercise 1 on the back page this week’s vocabulary handout – we’ll do exercise 2 for homework.
1. Reviewed pronunciations and phonetic spelling
3. Return graded papers (inanimate object) and read your story through the eyes of something else.
4. Check grades.

Checked our understanding of noun plurals with page 1 of handout - Made 20 guesses from page 7 of plural packet (handout) – then reviewed answers

Reviewed omniscient narration (pg. 233)

Previewed “The Interlopers” (read bits of beginning, middle, end; looked at illustrations; made predictions)

Read “The Interlopers” by Saki – pgs. 232 – 240.

ENGLISH homework:

Complete Exercise 2 on the back page this week’s vocabulary handout.

Study for Monday’s vocabulary test: Lesson Two vocabulary words (amalgamate, demented…)

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PLAYWRITING - Day 17

THEME OF THE DAY: Persuasion

WARMUP: (answer the following questions)

1. Think of a time when you were persuaded to do something you didn’t want to do but were FINALLY persuaded to do. What did they do or say to persuade you?
2. What makes someone agree, even reluctantly, to do something? What works on you?
1. When the roles are reversed, these can become tools to persuade others.

                                                              i.      Re: “The Sound of Persuasion” (per Barry Lane)

2. Discussed

Our list of persuasive tools might include:

1.       Minimize the consequences; 2.       Threats; 3.       Money; 4.       Guilt; 5.       Pity – relieve my hurt; 6.       Verbalize the result;

7.       Promise of something better; 8.       Once in a lifetime; 9.       Repetition; 10.    Compliment – sweet talk; 11.    Reason – common sense

Next, in 2 minutes, we listed all the things that “I’ll Never Buy.”

Wrote a radio/TV commercial that persuaded a classmate to buy one of the items on his/her I’ll-Never-Buy list. Also noted what kind of persuasion we used in our commercial.

Read scene from The Decendents (new film, 2012) and analyzed it according to the 4 steps of dramatization (see yesterday’s notes) as well as techniques of persuasion.

PLAYWRITING homework:

None.