English 12B/175
Mar. 4:
1. Journal: How do you feel now that second trimester is over? Discuss your progress in the second
trimester and your goal for this last tri of English.
2. Handed out and discussed the course syllabus, expectations, AR, notebooks, and Senior Projects
3. Discussed Weebly website and Blog Assignment #1 Due Thursday! www.english12bdc175.weebly.com
4. Read in the Norton Introduction to Literature as a class pages 1-9
5. Checked out AR books
6. Homework: Complete Blog #1 by Thursday, December 7
Mar. 5
1. Journal: Argue for or against comic books and graphic novels as literature. Provide strong points either
for or against them.
2. Took a quiz over Introduction to Literature (pgs. 1-9) in Norton
3. Received Academic Vocab / Key Terms for the various chapters in the book (handout)
4. Read pages 12-15 in Norton as a class
5. Read “The Shabbot” (from Norton) in groups and practiced annotating
6. Homework: Read “The Cathedral” as homework and annotate it for discussion tomorrow and finish
Blog #1 Comment
Mar. 6
1. Journal: Discuss one of the themes of “Cathedral”.
2. Group Work assignment for “Cathedral”
3. Began discussing the story a bit
Mar. 7
1. Journal: Read the Doonesbury comic on page 81 of Norton. What is the message? How does it apply to
literature?
2. Finished discussing “Cathedral” and took notes
3. Did academic vocab—in medias res, dues ex machine, epiphany, discriminated occasion, metafiction
4. Read pages 79-86 as a class and then read the short story, “The Jewelry” and discussed it
5. Homework: Read “Sonny’s Blues” for tomorrow and annotate it…finish Blog #1
Mar. 8
1. Journal: What did you think about “Sonny’s Blues”?
2. Quiz over Plot
3. Group Discussion questions started over “Sonny’s Blues”—finish on Monday
4. Homework: Read “A Conversation with My Father” and “Happy Endings” for Monday and annotate
Mar. 11
1. Journal: How are the two stories you read for today considered metafiction? Which story did you
connect with and why?
2. Finished the group questions for “Sonny’s Blues”
3. Discussed the short story and took notes
4. Discussed “A Conversation with My Father” and “Happy Endings”
5. Worked on Research paper Rough Drafts
Mar. 12
1. DOL
2. Read AR
3. Read pages 128-135 in Norton Literature book and discussed the story “Stepdaughters” as an initiation
story
4. Homework: Read “A & P” and annotate it for tomorrow; complete Blog #2 by Friday night
Mar. 13
1. Journal: Senior Project progress check
2. Handed out and discussed “A & P” questions together as a class and placed them in their notes section
3. Read about Narration and Point of View in Norton (p. 156)
4. Received Academic Vocab—third person narrator, omniscient/unlimited narrator, limited narrator,
first person narrator, unreliable narrator, implied author, central consciousness
5. Homework: Complete Blog #2 and work on rough draft of research paper
Mar. 14
1. Journal: Imagine a time when you had difficulty communicating with a loved one. How did you feel?
Why was it difficult and how did you resolve the situation?
2. Academic Vocab given: dynamic character, archetype, static character, protagonist, antagonist
3. Read “Hills Like White Elephants” and complete questions
Mar. 15
1. Narration Quiz given
2. Students worked on Senior Project research paper
Mar. 18
1. Journal: “How” is a very short piece of fiction. What are your thoughts on it? Why?
2. Wrote a parody of “Girl”—due at the end of the hour
3. Homework: Complete 3 pages of Senior Project Research paper rough draft for tomorrow
Mar. 19
1. Checked Senior Project 3 pages of Rough Draft and Mentor Check #3
2. Received notes for “How”, “Girl”, and “Hills Like White Elephants”
3. Started Context Reading Discussion over “The Chaser”…finish for tomorrow
4. Homework: Finish annotating “The Chaser” and read “Barn Burning” for Thursday
Mar. 20
1. Journal: You were supposed to finish “The Chaser” for today. Now that you have read it, what does the
title mean?
2. Peer edited Senior Project Research Paper rough drafts
3. Read and annotate “Barn Burning” for tomorrow
4. Homework: Complete “Barn Burning”
Mar. 21
1. Journal: At one point in “Barn Burning”, Sarty think that “maybe” his father couldn’t help but be what
he is. Do you believe this is true? Explain.
2. Went over “Barn Burning” Group Questions as a class and put them in notebooks
3. Received notes for the story
4. Discussed “The Chaser”
5. Received Academic Vocab: general setting, particular setting, temporal setting, special setting, and
stock character
6. Homework: Read “The Monster” for tomorrow
Mar. 22
1. Took the “Character-Setting Quiz”
2. Discussed “The Monster”
3. Homework: Read “The Lady with the Dog”
April 1:
1. Journal: How do the weather and the seasons described in each section of “The Lady with the Dog”
relate to the action in that setting?
2. Discussed “The Lady with the Dog” and took notes
3. Received Academic Vocab: allegory, allusion, metonymy, synecdoche
4. Read the introduction to Figurative Language and Symbolism (308-313) and then started reading “A
Wall of Fire Rising” in the textbooks (339)
5. Homework: Read “The Thing in the Forest” for Wednesday
April 2:
1. Journal: Describe the father, Guy, in “A Wall of Fire Rising”. Why do you think he is so focused on the
hot air balloon?
2. Checked Senior Project Research Paper complete rough drafts for points and then peer edited
3. Homework: Read “The Thing in the Forest” for tomorrow
April 3:
1. Completed editing
2. Academic Vocab: theme
3. Discussed “The Thing in the Forest” and took notes
4. Read the end of “A Wall of Fire Rising”
5. Worked on Letter of Reasoning
6. Homework: Read “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” for tomorrow
April 4:
1. Journal: What was the theme of “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and how do you know?
2. Discussed “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and took notes
3. Worked on Senior Project Research Paper final drafts and Letters of Reasoning
4. Homework: Complete final drafts and Letters of Reasoning
April 5:
1. Handed in Final Mentor Evaluation Checks and Final Drafts of the Senior Project Research Paper
2. Worked on Letter of Reasoning and Portfolios—Due Monday
3. Homework: Finish Portfolios and Projects for Monday and Read “A Rose for Emily” by Monday
April 8:
1. Handed in Senior Project and Portfolios
2. Handed out “Fiction Essay Assignment” and explained it
3. Discussed “Fiction Exam” which will be Wednesday
4. Homework: Complete Blog #3 by Friday
April 9:
1. Journal: Why is poetry so powerful yet so difficult?
2. Gave notes for “A Rose for Emily”
3. Began Poetry Unit and read pages 820-821 as a class and read and discussed poems on pages 821-823
and 824-25
4. Academic Vocab word given: monologue
5. Homework: Finish Blog #3 and work on speeches for Presentations and study for Fiction Exam
tomorrow
April 10:
1. Fiction End of Unit Exam
2. Worked on Senior Project speeches
3. Homework: Work on Fiction Essay assignment and speeches for tonight
April 11:
1. Cleaned up after projects
2. Worked on Fiction Essay assignment and Blog #3 which is due tomorrow
3. Homework: Complete Blog #3 for tomorrow
April 12:
1. Journal: Which type of poems do you like to read and why? If you hate poetry, why?
2. Rough draft of Fiction essays moved to Tuesday and final drafts Friday
3. Read over Responding to Poetry: 8 Concrete Steps pages 833-838
4. Received Academic Vocab: auditor, sound patterns, and anapestic
5. Read “Romantic Love: an Album” (846)
6. Homework: For Monday, choose three of the poems we read and apply the 8 Steps to determine the
meaning
April 15:
1. DOL
2. Checked Poetry homework for the 8 Steps
3. Discussed poem homework
4. Academic Vocab received: tone and theme
5. Read pages 854-858 and discussed theme and tone with the poems on those pages
6. Homework: Write Fiction Essay draft for tomorrow
April 16:
1. Journal: Read the poem “Woodchucks” on page 862 and discuss its theme and tone and how you
know.
2. Checked Fiction Essay drafts for points and peer edited them using revision sheets
3. Read poems from “Family Album”—pages 870-873—as a class and discussed them
4. Homework: Received the poem “Mi Abeulo”, “My Father’s Song”, and “Gravity”—read them for
tomorrow and choose one and apply the 8 Steps for Responding Poetry to it
April 17:
1. Journal: Of the three poems you read last night, which was your favorite and why?
2. Checked Poem Homework for points
3. Discussed last night’s homework
4. Received Academic Vocab: stanza, narrative poem, lyric poem, dramatic monologue (poem)
5. Read about speakers in poetry in the literature book (Chp. 14) and read “We Real Cool” (p. 890)
6. Divided up the following poems into groups and analyzed them: “Death of a Young Son by Drowning”,
“In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus One Day”, “Hanging Fire”, and “To the Ladies”—shared out as groups
7. Homework: Read “Paper Matches”, “Bedecked”, and “What’s That Smell in the Kitchen” tonight
April 18:
1. Journal: Which of the three poems you read last night had the greatest impact on you
emotionally/personally? Why?
2. Discussed the homework poems
3. Received Academic Vocab: occasional poem, referential poem, aubade, and carpe diem poem
4. Read in Chapter 15 of the textbook about Situation and Setting and discussed poems in that chapter
5. Homework: Finish final draft of Fiction Essay and complete Blog #4 for Sunday
April 19:
1. Quiz: Poetry #1
2. Worked on Fiction Essay final drafts to hand in, completing Blog #4, and reading AR
April 22:
1. Journal: Read “My Papa’s Waltz” in the literature book (p. 951) and answer the questions in the gray
box.
2. Academic Vocab: diction, dramatic irony, denotation, connotation, syntax, and controlling metaphor
3. Read about Language in the textbook and read poems and analyzed them for their language use: “The
Golf Links Lie So Near the Mill”, “Of Time and the Line”, “At the San Francisco Airport”, “Lies”, “The Red
Wheelbarrow”, “This is Just to Say”, “At the Hospital”
4. Divided into groups to discuss poems: “Marks”, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”, “Dulce et
Decorum Est”, “The Leap”, “That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
April 23:
1. Journal: Read the poems “123rd Street Rap” (1022) and “Adam and Eve” (1255). Choose one and analyze
it for language, theme, tone, and situation.
2. Finished discussing the poems from yesterday
3. Academic Vocab: Sonnet
4. Discussed sonnets and read some: “When I consider how my light is spent”, “What lips my lips have
kissed, and where, and why?”, “I shall forget you presently, my dear”, “My mistresses eyes are nothing like
the sun”
5. Received Sonnet Writing assignment
6. Homework: Write sonnet
April 24:
1. DOL
2. Wrote sonnets
3. Homework: Study for Poetry exam and finish sonnets
April 25:
1. Poetry Unit Exam
April 26:
1. Journal: With only three weeks left in the trimester, how do you feel about the end being so near?
2. Academic Vocab: character, indirect characterization, foil, classical unities, situational irony, verbal
irony
3. Read “Drama: Reading, Responding, and Writing” pages 1382-1385
4. Homework: Read and annotate “Trifles” and answer the questions attached
April 29:
1. Journal: Are interracial marriages as taboo as they once were? Explain.
2. Checked “Trifles” homework for points and then discussed the play
3. Academic Vocab: euphemisms, hubris, hamartia, catastrophe, catharsis
4. Began reading Act I of Othello
April 30:
1. Journal: “I am not what I am” is a famous line from Shakespeare. What does it mean and can you apply
it to your own life experience?
2. Academic Vocab: comic relief, dramatic monologue, hyperbole, pun, mixed metaphor
3. Blog #5 up and Literary Essay assignment handed out to DC kids
4. Finished reading Act I of Othello
5. Received Act I Reading Questions
6. Homework: Complete Act I questions and DC kids come up with a thesis for paper
May 1:
1. Handed out Final Essay Assignment: Personal Morrie and explained it
2. Worked on completing Act I Study Guides
3. Began reading Act II of Othello
4. Homework: Work on Final Essay, Act I Study Guides, Blog #5, and DC Essays
May 2:
1. Journal: Do you believe Desdemona and Othello truly love one another? Explain.
2. Reviewed Act II and finished reading it
3. Homework: Finish Blog #5, Act I Study Guides, Final Essay, and DC kids—Literary Analysis
May 3:
1. Journal: Do you foresee any problems with Iago’s plans? Explain.
2. Worked on Act II Study Guide
3. Started reading Act III of Othello
4. Homework: Complete Blog #5 by Monday morning, work on Act II Study Guides, and DC students
complete outlines for Monday
May 6:
1. Finished reading Act III
2. Received Act III Study Guide and began working on it and completing Act II
3. DC students handed in outlines for Literary Analysis
4. Homework: Work on Final Essay for class; DC students work on Literary Analysis
May 7:
1. Took quiz over Acts I-III
2. Received academic vocab: anaphora, apostrophe, and chiasmus
3. Started reading Act IV of Othello
4. Homework: Work on Final Essay and complete Blog #6
May 8:
1. Journal: Do you feel Othello has it in him to kill his wife? Explain.
2. Reviewed and finished Act IV of Othello
3. Worked on completing Act III Study Guides, read AR, and worked on Final Essays