Welcome to English 12
From literature to life...
A year of reading
literature from around
the world, and writing
about the lessons
we can learn from it.
Bell Work
Please prepare for bell
work by having your
Bell Work should begin at
journal
out
and
a
pen
or
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this pencil ready.
in your participation grade.
Regular journals are worth
5 pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Listening to
announcements quietly
and respectfully is part of
our participation in this
class.
Journal #19
1-11-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Finishing well…
As you look towards the end of the
year, what things do you want to
do between now and when you
say farewell to Holy Names?
What do you want to do to prepare
yourself for life after high school?
What do you want to do to
complete your experience here?
What business do you need
finished?
Journal #20
1-18-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
What does it mean to be a man?
What does it mean to be a
woman?
Where do you get these ideas?
Do you agree with them?
What if anything would you
change about people’s
perceptions of being a woman?
Or being man?
Journal #21
1-25-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Honor is the reward of virtue.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
What is your idea of
honor? How do you
define it? In school? In
your personal life? In your
relationships? In your
responsibilities? Do you
try to live up to it? How
well do you do? Do those
around you live up to it?
Journal #22
2-1-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
What do you think are your
best attributes? What do you
find attractive about yourself?
What would you like others to
find attractive about you?
What, if anything, would you
change about yourself, on the
outside or inside. If it’s too
hard to answer about yourself,
then you may write about
someone else you find
attractive (platonically) and
describe their attributes
instead.
Journal #23
2-8-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Describe the most significant
celebration you’ve ever had.
Describe it in as much
detail as possible.
Why was it significant?
Journal #24
2-15-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Write about anything
you want for five
minutes.
If you can’t think of
anything, write about
your plans for this
weekend.
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Please take out your
anthology and prepare
to review literature for
your midterm.
Take out a pen and be
ready to use the
graphic organizer on
your desk.
Journal #25
2-22-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Write a letter to a recent immigrant
to the United States.
What advice do you give them to
understand our country’s culture
and how they can succeed in it.
What, if any, warnings would you
give them.
Journal #26
3-1-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Write an informal “Dear Reader” to
your audience of your MG Project.
Describe what’s in your project so
far, and what you think it says
about your topic. What have you
learned about your topic and what
new insights do you have about
it?
What do you hope the audience
understands better as a result of
reading your project?
Journal #27
3-15-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
What are your impressions of your
independent reading book?
Why did you choose it?
What are you interested in
learning from it?
Which of the four roles described
do you think will be the easiest for
you, and which will be the
hardest/least interesting?
Journal #29
3-29-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Write about your long weekend.
If it was boring, make things up!
Journal #28
3-22-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Would you rather be able to fly or
turn invisible. Why would this be
your preferred choice?
What would you do if you had this
superpower?
Would there be any aspect of your
life that would remain the same?
Journal #30
4-05-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
What do you remember about
your childhood dreams?
What did you want to do with your
life when you were little?
What do these goals say about
you as a person?
Do you think this is still true about
you?
Journal #31
4-12-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
What do you think the major
themes of your independent
reading book are?
What do you think the major
arguments or lessons are from the
story?
Us specifics to support.
Journal #33
5-10-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Write a story to support one of the
following six word memoirs.
Bring to life a scene that
illustrates this, and make sure to
develop it with details.
1. Personally I just blame the
hormones.
2. I miss all my imaginary
friends.
3. It is very very very
complicated.
4. Finally learned weird is a
compliment.
5.We're the family you gossip
about.
6. My brain is a box of crayons.
Journal #34
5-17-11
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Journals are worth 3 pts
and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
What are your plans for the day
after school? How will you
commemorate your biggest
accomplishment to date?
Are these related to your summer
plans? Do you have summer plans
already? What are your thoughts
as your future stretches before
you.
Life's full of awkward turtle
moments.
I don't rock. Guitar Hero lies.
I never got my Hogwarts Letter.
Hoping your jealous of my
shoes.
Hair's pink to piss you off.
Personally I just blame the
hormones.
We're the family you gossip
about.
I can be my own hero.
My diary is read by everyone.
Note to boys - I quit.
Staring upward pretending to be
elsewhere.Finally learned weird
is a compliment.My bran is a
box of crayons.
Staring upward pretending to be
elsewhere.
Finally learned weird is a
compliment.
My bran is a box of crayons.Mom just
revoked my creative license.
My life is based upon lies.Considered
joining circus, foolishly chose
college.
Aspiration: Colonize Mars. You're not
invited.
I miss all my imaginary friends.I've
written a lot of beginnings.
But I'm working on my endings.
If not through whispers, in texts.
I'm still scared of a B+I
t is very very very complicated.
I live bigger than your labels.
I would have. You never asked.
Speaker: Randy Pausch
Company: Carnegie Mellon University
Expertise: Professor of Virtual Reality/AI Studies
Topic: Realizing Childhood Dreams
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin
at the bell and is done
quietly. You will be
graded on this in your
participation grade.
Multi-Genre Research Project
1-20-11
Please get out a piece of paper
and answer the following
questions on your chosen topic.
What do you know about your subject?
Why are you interested in this topic?
What do you want to know about your
subject?
Does this topic relate to you at all?
What are some questions you might ask
about your topic?
Where do you think you might get
information about your topic?
Beyond your research paper, can you think
of any other types of writing you might want
to include in your project?
Bell Work
The Things They Carried
Please get out a piece of paper
Bell Work should begin and prepare to do some notes
at the bell and is done and quotes.
quietly. You will be
graded on this in your
participation grade.
Bell Work
Kiss of the Spider
Woman Prompt
1-27-11
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Please take out a piece of
paper and get ready to write
about the prompt for Kiss of
the Spider Woman.
Lit Prompts are worth 10
pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
This should be a minimum
three paragraph essay with
an intro, body and
conclusion.
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Manuel Puig
Choose either the character of
Valentin or Molina and write
about their sense of honor.
What does it mean to them, to
do the right thing.
Again, this essay should be a
minimum of three paragraphs
with an introduction and
concluding paragraphs.
Practicing the skills of:
-Evaluating Author’s Argument
-Analyzing Character
Development
-Visualize What You Read
Make sure your thesis clearly
articulates what each
character thinks it means to do
the right thing.
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Manuel Puig
Character or Argument Essay
How does Puig juxtapose
Molina and Valentin’s
difference senses of honor?
Your thesis can be about the
difference between them or
the effect of this difference.
Or
Min 2 1/2 pages
Intro, body conclusions.
Remember your writing goals.
Choose either Molena and
Valentin and trace how the
character develops/changes/
evolves through the play.
You may instead choose
how their perception of the
other character changes
instead.
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Lit Prompts are worth 10
pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Another Evening at
the Club Prompt
2-10-11
Please take out a piece of
paper and get ready to write
about the prompt for Another
Evening at the Club
This should be a minimum
three paragraph essay with
an intro, body and
conclusion.
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Lit Prompts are worth 10
pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Please fill out your
participation rubric for
February at the bell.
Another Evening at the Club
Alifa Rifaat
In Class Prompt
Please write on one of the
following ideas in a three
paragraph essay. Please
include at least two quotes to
support.
Practicing the skills of:
-Understanding Literature in
Context (Cultural)
-Describing an author’s style
-Analyzing an author’s
argument
1. What is the author’s
argument?
2. To what effect does the author
use style in her story?
3. How does the author’s
description of the cultural
context set up the author’s
story or help us understand
the story better?
Bell Work
Personal Essay
Prompt
2-17-11
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Please take out a piece of
paper and get ready to write
a short essay on a choice of
two personal topics.
Lit Prompts are worth 10
pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
This should be a minimum
three paragraph essay with
an intro, body and
conclusion.
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Lit Prompts are worth 10
pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Research Essay
Prompt
3-17-11
Please take out a piece of
paper and write a short (3
paragraph) expository essay
describing your research
paper. Include your thesis
and continue with a concise
explanation with specifics.
In academic terms this is
called an “abstract”.
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done quietly.
You will be graded on this
in your participation grade.
Lit Prompts are worth 10
pts and are graded on
thoroughness of answer,
and writing style
Research Essay
Rubric Review
3-24-11
Please get your
research paper
rubric out from
your folders.
Bell Work
4-14-11
Character Development
Prompt
Bell Work should begin at
the bell and is done
Your prompt should include a
quietly. You will be
sense of how the character
graded on this in your
lands at the end of the story and
participation grade.
how her/his perception of self
Lit Prompts are worth 10 has changed, or how his/her
pts and are graded on actions or thoughts have
thoroughness of answer, changed by the end of the story.
and writing style
Bell Work
Bell Work should begin
at the bell and is done
quietly. You will be
graded on this in your
participation grade.
Lit Prompts are worth
10 pts and are graded
on thoroughness of
answer,
and writing style
The Yellow Wallpaper
Prompt
This should be in a structured
format that includes the
following:
-Introduction with a thesis have an idea about what you
believe Gillman’s argument is.
-Support these with specifics
from the story.
-Conclusion -relating it to the
story or life in general.
Lit Circles
1. Kate
LettaJoe
Grace
Haroun
5.Laura
Sam B.
Samfe
Nicole
Like Water
2.Tram
Kaiya
Samurai's
Garden
6.Mhyls
Toni
Karae
Like Water
3.Taylor
JeriAna
Lily
Like Water
4.Sam A.
Brea
Miko
Like Water
7.Brenda
Carolyn
Sarah
Jasmine
8.Samari
Marah
Tram
Jasmine
Lit Circle Beginnings
1. Read independently for fifteen minutes
2. Prepare for you discussion by thinking about the following questions
How do you see the author starting out his/her book?
How does it start? With action? Description?
How does the author set the scene? Who? What? When? Where?
What does he/she choose to tell us at the front?
What does this tell you about the style of the novel?
Images, Similes, Metaphors, Tone, Langage (Diction), Sentence
Types (Syntax)
How does this predict to you about what the novel will be like?
What words do you particularly notice?
3. Be ready to discuss these things with your group.
Lit Circle Part 1
1. Discuss your questions in your lit circle. Discuss the
findings of you individual roles. Make sure you’re using
the text and being a good participant in the discussion.
2. Make sure to do housekeeping and assign roles and
pages for the next week.
3. If you are reading “The Guest” please write your one page
response on the character question provided for you lit
circle book.
Personal Essay Pre Write
In-Class Prompt
Please write on one of the
following ideas in a three
paragraph essay. Please
include at least two specific
pieces of evidences.
Please include:
-Intro paragraph
-One or more body paragraphs
-Conclusion
1. What piece of art, music,
literature has opened your
eyes or taught you
something? What did it
teach you?
Or
2. What unsuccessful
experience or hardship
have you experienced, and
what did you learn from it?
Personal Essay
Due February 24th
Please choose one of the
topics offered in the prewrite and write a personal
essay (two page minimum).
Include multiple specifics
and make sure to develop
them with analysis or
interpretation.
Please include:
-Intro paragraph
Topic Options:
1. What piece of art, music,
literature has opened your
eyes or taught you
something?
-3 or more body paragraphs
-Conclusion
2. What unsuccessful
experience or hardship
have you experienced, and
what did you learn from it?
Please consider using the following format which will ensure that you meet all of the requirements
of the prompt.
Intro Paragraph
Provide opening lines that draw reader in. Provide background information necessary (at least
author and text reference) State your thesis and make sure it is specific and clear.
Thesis: I.e. In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the ease with which Gregor gives up his life at the end of
the story shows that he thought his life was important to begin with.
Body Paragraph
•
Introduce paragraph with topic sentence that introduces first evidence.
Topic Sentence: Kafka shows the idea that Gregor doesn’t think his life is important by his never
thinking of himself.
2. Provide a specific (or a quote) including the scene and lines. A specific is a statement,
conversation, speech, action, etc.
3. Analyze (interpret) to show how this supports your thesis. (I.e. what this means is…)
4. Transition to next quote or give another reason why. (I.e another example of this is…)
Transition: Even as it becomes clear that Gregor’s own family doesn’t care about him, he still
cares more about them than he does his own life.
5. Include second specific instance or quote to support.
6. Analyze specific instance to show how this supports thesis.
Concluding Paragraph (3 sentences)
Restate thesis, and include your final thoughts, relating your thesis to larger ideas in the story or
life.
May I become at all times, both now and
forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need.
–Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
May I become at all times, both now and
forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need.
–Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
IS HOMEWORK REALLY NECESSARY?
Homework is an important part of the learning process in school. One reason is that
homework gives students additional practice of skills covered in class; even though, sometimes it
is time wasting and busy work at home that does not guarantee an effective learning. From north
to south, and from east to west school classes are too short to teach a new concept and practice
it sufficiently for students to master. Students need both guided practice in class and independent
practice at home. Another reason for homework is that it provides time to complete longer
assignments. For example, the ideal composition process allows time for students to think and to
reflect on their ideas, as well as time to revise and to proofread their writing; likewise a persuasive
essay. Also, reports and special projects often require research that cannot always be done at
school. In addition, since all students do not work at the same speed, giving students time at
home to finish work keeps them from falling behind. How about answering the following question:
How much amount of task is required? A review of more than 60 research studies showed that,
within certain limits, there is a positive correlation between the amount of work done at the
achievement of students. The synthesis of the investigation also revealed that an excess of tasks
can be extremely counterproductive. The task overload can cause children “burn out”. Supported
by research, it was launched a “10-minute rule”, the commonly accepted practice of allocating 10
minutes of homework per day per grade level. For example, under this system, a 1st grader would
receive 10 minutes of homework per night, whilst grade fifth students would get 50 minutes worth;
9th grader- 90 minutes of homework and so on. Some students, however has the capacity of
doing homework in less time. Finally; the most important reason for homework is that it ensures to
review new material and old material by practicing in daily assignments. Students who do their
homework daily are prepared for tests and make better grades. In conclusion, not only is
homework essential to mastering new skills and maintaining previously learned skills, but it also
guarantees constant review and provides time for longer assignments, as well as additional time
for students who need it. Students, do your daily homework, make better grades, and learn more!
And do not complain.
Bell Work
Vocab Lesson 13
Please have your
books out and be ready
to correct at the bell.
Bell Work
Vocab Lesson 13
Review
Please have your
books and a piece of
paper out to prepare for
Vocab Review
Lit Circles
We will be meeting and
discussing novels over
the next four weeks.
Some feel that largesse amongst privilege upper class people ends up being more
condescending than helpful.
I saw the students asking questions but realized they were temporizing because the quiz was
next.
He accosted me outside the supermarket to sign a petition for human rights in Tibet.
Her overt attempt to copy off my paper made me feel sorry for her and her future.
She tried to impress him with the verbiage she had learned from her new job at Jamba Juice.
He just thought the feckless girl should have have gone to college.
Distraught by his insulting attitude, the teacher thought it incumbent on her to give him the bad
news about his grade.
He was not able to glean the meaning of the foreign film, so he quickly looked up a synopsis on
his Iphone to impress his girlfriend.
Some think vocabulary is an esoteric discipline, but we are judged by the words we use more
than we realize.
The teacher’s idiosyncratic manner of spitting when she spoke excitedly caused students to opt
for the back row.
She was a neophyte to football, but she had studied up in order to impress the quarterback
because she really wanted to be prom queen.
The elementary production of Rent was a travesty because they cut all of the naughty parts out
to make it age appropriate.
First Personal Essay
What does it mean to end well?
Finishing well means ______________ and to
do this I must _______________ .
3 Paragraph Essay
Intro
At least one body paragraph
Conclusion
Something something. (NO INTRO) I have officially gotten to the age
where I am conscious of the fact that life is not forever. Not that, I am
looking forward to dying, but the truth is I am aware of the fact that my
life is passing faster than I ever imagined possible. This puts me in
mind of the fact that more than anything, I would like to finish life well.
(MIDDLE PART KIND OF OBVIOUS AND NOT INTERESTING)
Finishing well means having made the best use of what I have been
give in life, and to do this I must know what I have to work with and use
this to help others and live out my passions. (THESIS VAGUE)
I have been blessed with a lot of things, but I don’t often think about them
or make a list. For example, I have a wonderful family, good health,
opportunities to do things I love (like writing) and a job I enjoy (not to be
taken for granted). Some of these things are things I haven’t had any
responsibility for, and some of these things have been the results of har
work, and choices I think I’ve made well. When I think of using what I
have to help others, I realize that to finish well I want to live with my family
in a way that builds them up and encourages them. I am grateful for
everything they do for me I want to make sure that I am paying them back
at least in that way. (INSERT SPECIFIC HERE) I also have a lot of
resources that would allow me to help people outside of my own world.
Laura James' painting Maypole Mother uses symbolic imagery to explore
the complex relationship between a mother and her children. The mother
figure sits in a chair as the center, painted with soft colors and pronounced
curves. On the edges of the room, three small figures exit via arched
doorways. The dashing figures appear childlike with their long braids and
maryjane shoes. As the children leave the room, the outside world also
encroaches with the clouds moving in through the doorways, the ceiling
removed for a visible sky, and grass-like plants visible along the edges of
the walls. The painter shows the inevitability of the children's departure in
this way. The mother's expression is pensive even as she sits still and can do
nothing to stop the inevitability of this leaving. At the same time, however,
strings extend from knitting held by the mother and connect her to her
children in ways that may almost seem unconscious to the children. This
symbolically depicts the continued ties to their mother these children have
that are not severed even as they leave.
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Manuel Puig
Practicing the skills of:
-Evaluating Author’s Argument
-Analyzing Character
Development
-Visualize What You Read
An intensely moving play about love,
fantasy, and victimization, Manuel
Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman
takes place in a Latin America prison
during the backdrop of the horrors
that happened under the dictatorship
ruling Argentina in the late 1970’s. At
its heart, the play is about the
relationship between Molina, a
romantic fantasist condemned for his
sexuality, and Valentin, a young
Marxist rebel punished for his ideals.
In this intricate and powerful portrayal
of two strikingly different men, it is
the glamorous world of movies that
allows them to form an unlikely
friendship that imbues both men with
a hope for survival. As Puig writes,
“The two characters are oppressed,
prisoners of their roles, and what’s
interesting is that at a certain
moment they manage to flee from the
characters they imposed on
themselves.”
Telephone Conversation
Wole Soyinka
In “Telephone Conversation”,
the author/narrator relates a
conversation between herself
and a potential landlady. After
a self-confession to the
landlady of being Africa, a
discussion ensues about the
darkness of the narrators skin.
Practicing the skills of:
-Evaluating Author’s Argument
Please read this and be
prepared to write a prompt
articulating what you believe
the author’s argument to be.
Telephone Conversation
Wole Soyinka
Please write a three paragraph
prompt (intro, body, and
conclusion) on the poem’s main
idea.
Articulate what you believe the
author’s major idea or argument
is for the piece.
Practicing the skills of:
-Evaluating Author’s Argument
Use at least two quotes to
support this.
Another Night in the Club
Alifa Rifaat
Practicing the skills of:
-Understanding Literature in
Context (Cultural)
-Describing an author’s style
-Analyzing an author’s
argument
Fatma Abdullah Rifaat was born in Cairo to a
well-to-do architect and his wife. Raised in
the countryside, Rifaat was a precocious
child who demonstrated early her gift for
writing. By the age of nine, she had written
poetry describing "the despair in our village,"
and for which she was punished. Rifaat
attended the British Institute in Cairo from
1946 to 1949. Despite her wishes to
continue her education, her father forced her
to marry a mining engineer; this
unconsummated marriage lasted eight
months. In July 1952 Rifaat married a
cousin, Hussein Rifaat, who was a police
officer and with whom she had three
children. Traveling with her husband for his
work, Rifaat had the opportunity to observe
Egyptian life in all its diversity.
(Cont.)
Another Night in the Club
Alifa Rifaat
Practicing the skills of:
-Understanding Literature in
Context (Cultural)
-Describing an author’s style
-Analyzing an author’s
argument
Rifaat began writing again and published a
short story in 1955 as Alifa Rifaa, a
pseudonym she used until 1960, when her
husband demanded she stop writing
altogether. For more than a decade, she
complied with his wishes, during which time
she avidly studied literature, science,
astronomy, and history. After a bout of illness
in 1973, her husband permitted her to
resume her writing. Beginning in 1974, she
published a number of short stories in a
literary journal, followed by a collection of
short stories, Eve Returns with Adam to
Paradise (1975), and a novel, The Jewel of
Pharo (1978). She continued to publish short
stories through the 1980s following the
death of her husband. In 1984 Rifaat won
the Excellence Award from the Modern
Literature Assembly. She has contributed
nearly one hundred short stories to Arabic
and English magazines, and her work has
been produced for television. Her novel Girls
of Baurdin was published in 1995.
The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gillman
Practicing the skills of:
-Analyze Character’s Development
-Analyzing an Author’s Argument
-Describing an author’s style.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was best known in her
time as a crusading journalist and feminist
intellectual, a follower of such pioneering
women’s rights advocates as Susan B. Anthony,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Harriet Beecher
Stowe, Gilman’s great-aunt. Gilman was
concerned with political inequality and social
justice in general, but the primary focus of her
writing was the unequal status of women within
the institution of marriage. Gilman argued that
women’s obligation to remain in the domestic
sphere robbed them of the expression of their
full powers of creativity and intelligence, while
simultaneously robbing society of women
whose abilities suited them for professional and
public life. An essential part of her analysis was
that the traditional power structure of the family
made no one happy—not the woman who was
made into an unpaid servant, not the husband
who was made into a master, and not the
children who were subject to both.
Roselily
Alice Walker
Alice Walker is the award winning author of The
Color Purple.
Practicing the skills of:
-Descrbing an Author’s Style
-Analyzing an Author’s Argument
-Literature in Context - Culture
Bellwork
Jasmine - In Class Prompt
Bharati Mukherjee
Please take out a piece of paper to write
about what you have observed about
Jasmine’s character.
Choose one or two characteristics and
explain how Mukherjee shows this/these with
examples (2 quotes from the text).
Practicing the skills of:
-Analyze Character’s
Development
-Analyzing an Author’s
Argument
This essay should include an introductory,
body and concluding paragraph.
You will have 30 minutes to complete this.
The Lost Sister
Cathy Song
Practicing the skills of:
A native of Honolulu, Cathy
Song received her B.A. at
Wellesley College and her M.A.
from Boston University. She
lives and teaches in Hawaii.
Her first volume of verse was
Picture Bride (1983), for which
she received both the Yale
Series of Younger Poets Award
and a National Book Critics
Circle Award. Her collection
School Figures was published
in 1994.
-Analyzing an Author’s Argument
wps.prenhall.com
Foot Binding - as a custom practiced on young girls and
women for approximately one thousand years in China,
beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of
20th century.
Jasmine
Bharati Mukherjee
From english.emory.edu
Bharati Mukherjee was born on July 27, 1940 to wealthy
parents, Sudhir Lal and Bina Mukherjee in Calcutta, India.
She learned how to read and write by the age of three. In
1947, she moved to Britain with her family at the age of
eight and lived in Europe for about three and a half years.
By the age of ten, Mukherjee knew that she wanted to
become a writer, and had written numerous short stories.
Practicing the skills of:
-Analyze Character’s
Development
-Analyzing an Author’s
Argument
After getting her B.A from the University of Calcutta in 1959
and her M.A. in English and Ancient Indian Culture from the
University of Baroda in 1961, she came to the United States
of America. Having been awarded a scholarship from the
University of Iowa, earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing in
1963 and her Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature
in 1969. While studying at the University of Iowa, she met
and married a Canadian student from Harvard, Clark Blaise,
on September 19, 1963. The two writers met and, after a
brief courtship, married within two weeks. Together, the two
writers have produced two books along with their other
independent works. Mukherjee's career a professor and her
marriage to Blaise Clark has given her opportunities to
teach all over the United States and Canada. Currently she
is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Alicia Partnoy (born 1955 in Bahía Blanca,
Argentina) is a human rights activist, poet,
and translator. (cont.)]
She was taken from her home and her twoyear old daughter on January 12, 1977, by
the Army and imprisoned at a concentration
camp named The Little School (La
Escuelita).[2][3] For three and a half months,
Partnoy was blindfolded. She was brutally
beaten, starved, molested, and forced to live
in inhuman conditions. She spent a total of
two and a half years as a prisoner of
conscience, with no charges.
In 1979, she was forced to leave the country
and moved to the U.S. where she was
reunited with her daughter and her husband.
In 1985, she told her story of what had
happened to her at The Little School, in an
eponymous book.[4] The world began to
open its eyes to the treatment of women in
reference to the disappearances of Latin
America.
Maria Hathaway
Nguyen Minh
Son
behind me
the autumn wind
blows
me home
-issa
A Blessing – John O'Donahue
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be
yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
No More Clichés
By Octavio Paz
Mexican poet, writer, and diplomat, who
received the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1990. With Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo,
Paz is one of the several Latin American
poets whose work has had wide international
impact. Although many of Paz's poems are
developed within the discipline of regular
meter and rhyme, he has also experimented
with the form.
We are practicing:
-Evaluating an author’s argument
The Things They Carried
By Tim Obrien
O’Brien’s series of short stories about
experiences in Vietnam was categorized
as a fiction although the narrator’s name
is the same as O’Brien’s and the stories
were admittedly based on his own
experiences in Vietnam as a soldier.
This psudo memoir relates the banal
details of soldier’s lives as it relates to
their negotiating death and the larger
questions of the justice and purpose of
the war.
We are practicing:
-Evaluating an author’s argument
-Describing an author’s use of style
The Things They Carried
By Tim Obrien
Prompt (At least 1 1/2 pages typed)
How does O’Brien’s style of writing
(tone, diction - his use of details) help us
understand the main idea or theme of
his piece.
Your essay should be in three part
structure with an introductory paragraph,
a support paragraph and a conclusion.
It should include two quotes covering the
breadth of the stories.
We are practicing:
-Evaluating an author’s argument
Peer Evaluation
Please take out a piece of paper and divide it in 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4
depending on how many people there are in the group.
Answer the following questions for yourself and your group members
by rating yourself and others on a scale of 1-5 - Five being the
most.
To what extent did I (Name) help in the following:
1. Discussion of theme, development of ideas for presentation. 1 2 3
45
2. Helped in communication of these ideas and their implementation
and assignment. 1 2 3 4 5
3. Work to create or make items for the presentation, Powerpoint
slides, examples, etc. 1 2 3 4 5
4. Helped in the actual presentation of the material 1 2 3 4 5
Confession
dmitry
guskov
To say I'm without fear-It wouldn't be true.
I'm afraid of sickness,
humiliation.
Like anyone, I have my
dreams.
But I've learned to hide
them,
To protect myself
From fulfillment: all
happiness
Attracts the Fates' anger.
They are sisters,
savages-In the end they have
No emotion but envy.
Louis Gluck
A Homespun Love
Alicia Partnoy
Because this humble and homespun love
-just as you see it, simple, unadornedis what keeps our feet on the ground,
is what engenders the fruit of our nonconformity,
and throws us a lifeboard amidst the shipwreck.
Every so often our love blazes like thousands of stars,
gets dressed up to go out and uncorks
bottles of effervescence, cases of laughter.
You see, every so often, when the moment is right,
our love recalls that is it, like we are, a survivor.
Rage
Alicia Partnoy
I carry my rage like a dead fish,
limp and stinking in my arms.
I press it against my breast,
whisper to it,
people on the streets flee from me …
I don't know: is it the smell of death
that makes them flee
or is it the fear
that my body's warmth
Maria Hathaway might bring rage back to life?
Alicia Partnoy (born 1955 in Bahía
Blanca, Argentina) is a human rights
activist, poet, and translator.
After Argentinian President Juan Perón
died, the students from the left of the
Peronist political party organized with
fervor within the country's universities and
with workers, were persecuted and
imprisoned. There was a military coup in
1976 and people began to
disappear.Partnoy was one of those who
suffered through the ordeals of becoming
a political prisoner. Partnoy became an
activist of the Peronist Youth Movement
while attending Southern National
University.
Maria Hathaway
Rage
Alicia Partnoy
I carry my rage like a dead fish,
limp and stinking in my arms.
I press it against my breast,
whisper to it,
people on the streets flee from me …
I don't know: is it the smell of death
that makes them flee
or is it the fear
that my body's warmth
might bring rage back to life?
Maria Hathaway
Spencer
Midterm Review
Short Answers
4 Sentences
1 Specific
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Midterm Review
Short Answers
What is the main idea
of “Evening”
Societal expectations define Samia who
knows that it is her husband and culture’s
expectation that she be carefree and
beautiful. This shapes her response over
her husband’s decision to allow a woman
to be tortured. In the final image of the
story, despite her internal anguish, she
changes her expression to a smile (p355).
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Midterm Review
Short Answers
What is the main idea
of “No Cliches”
Octavio Paz is arguing that images of
women presented in media are clichés.
They are a manufactured fantasy. He
points out the need to celebrate women
for their strength, their voice, and their
character, which is why (in stanza five) he
dedicates his poem to those attributes in a
woman.
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Midterm Review
Short Answers
What is the main idea
of “Lost Sister”
The main idea of “The Lost Sister” is that
we are always defined by our background
no matter where we are. This is shown by
the fact that the “lost sister” who came to
America is still defined by her Chinese
heritage, the image of a jade handcuff
(tenth stanza). Even as she tries to get
away from her background by moving she
is reacting to it by her rebellion (last
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stanza).
Midterm Review
Short Answers
What is the use of
flashbacks in of
“Evening”
The flashbacks in “Evening at the Club”
serve to give us insight into the culture
that defines Samia’s expectations of life.
In her conversation with her mother in the
kitchen when first meeting Abou, her
mother tells her that she is lucky to have
caught such an eligible bachelor (p351).
She makes it clear that Samia should
agree to the marriage because marrying
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well is the most important thing.
Midterm Review
Short Answers
What does Jasmine
learn about success?
Jasmine learns….
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Semester Exam
1. Vocabulary
2. Writing/Grammar
Lessons
3. Anthology Literature
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Semester Exam
Semester Exam Review
80 Points and
10% Total Semester Grade
Your exam will be broken down
into three sections:
1. Vocabulary (1-6) 30
Questions - 15 Points
This will be your standard
Sadlier/Oxford quiz.
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Semester Exam
2. Writing/Grammar Lessons 7
Questions - 15 Points
* This will require you to identify the
parts of a sentence: phrase, clause, and
the types of sentences simple, complex,
compound, compound/complex.
* This section will also require you to
identify and fix common sentence
errors: fragment, comma splice, fused,
and run-on sentences.
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The example sentences that will require
repair will come from Grammar Bytes
sections that we have practiced. Please
see Grammar Bytes
(chompchomp.com) to practice in
advance.
Semester Exam
3. Anthology Literature
6 Short Answer Questions - 30 Points and
1 (3 Paragraph) Essay - 20 Points
Please be prepared to show off your skills in
analyzing an author's argument, showing
how context helps us understand literature,
describing an author's style, and analyzing a
characters development with the literature
we've studied this quarter.
Please bring your anthology to class on
exam day as you will need to provide
specifics/quotes for these pieces of literature.
The literature you will be responsible for on
your exam follows:
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Conduct of Life
Girl
Homespun Love
Dead Man's Path
Metamorphosis
Smells of Home
Picnic on a Battlefield
Semester Exam
Your questions will come in the form of short
answers, and one longer essay that compares two
pieces of literature on one theme.
Short Answers: These will be answered in three to
four sentences, and will address a specific idea
we discussed in class about the literature we have
read and the skills we've worked on reading it.
Your answer should include a thesis (answer) and
evidence. You will need to use specifics or quotes
as a part of your evidence.
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Example Question:
How does Kafka use syntax in Metamorphosis?
How does Savitri's character develop throughout
"Smells of Home"?
How does knowing the personal context of Alicia
Partnoy help us understand her poetry?
Review of Instructional Points:
*Analyzing an author’s arguments: Metamorphosis, Conduct of Life,
Picnic on
the Battlefield, “Dead Man’s Path”
*Understanding literature in context:
Personal Context (Partnoy)
Cultural Context (“Girl”, Conduct of Life)
Genre Context (Picnic on the Battlefield)
*Describing author’s style:
Tone (Metamorphosis)
Diction/Specifics (Metamorphosis)
Syntax (Metamorphosis)
Imagery (“Smells of Home”)
Diction/Sensory (“Smells of Home”)
*Analyzing character development (“Smells of Home”/Dead Man's Path)
Semester Exam
Essay:You will write a short essay (3
paragraph) comparing two pieces of
literature. You will be able to choose any
two pieces of literature.
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1st Semester Exam
You will need:
•Anthology
•Pen/Pencil
•Paper (for vocab and essay)
•Graphic Organizers
(Placed under blank
paper until essay is
being written)
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GOOD LUCK!