Mrs. Young’s English Notebook
Tab One: Class policies; notebook order page (this piece!); grade record sheet; general handouts; etc.
Tab Two: Writing – all handouts concerning composition, including the research assignments; all
returned writing assignments, graded or ungraded; etc.
8 count rule, Ratiocination/Self-editing, Alternative Example, Those Killer B Verbs, ACE Paragraph Outline,
Commonly Confused Words, Commonly Overused Words, Sentence Variety, Parallel Structure
Tab Three: Grammar – Daily Grammar Practice sheets; any handouts on language or usage; etc.
Grammar cheat sheet
Tab Four: Literature – Record keeping of literary terms; handouts on literature; vocabulary; supplemental
material for novels and plays; etc.
Into the Unknown—plot and setting
Richard Connell, Truman Capote
On Your Own—analyzing character
Kurt Vonnegut, Langston Hughes, Carlos Capellan, T. J. Saftner, Peter Ames Carlin & Don Sider
Truth and Consequences—analyzing narrator and voice
Saki, Guy de Maupassant, Edgar Allan Poe, NY Times, Burton R. Pollin & Robert E. Benedetto,
Michael Benitez, M.D.
R.
Hard Choices—analyzing irony and ambiguity
Roald Dahl, O. Henry, Frank R. Stockton, Robert Frost, James Thurber
Of Mice and Men—a novella by John Steinbeck
Ties That Bind—analyzing symbolism and allegory
Ray Bradbury, Albert Einstein
The Giver—a novel by Lois Lowery
Imagine—analyzing poetry
Martin Espada, Abraham Chang, Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, Robert Francis, Essex Hemphill
Can This Be Love?—analyzing drama
William Shakespeare, Lisa Banon, Bob Herbert
Heroes and Monsters—analyzing epic and myth
Homer, Suanne Vega, Nikki Giovanni
Tab Five: Returned Tests/Quizzes – All graded test or quizzes that are returned should be kept in this
section unless otherwise directed.
When you are given a handout or have an assignment returned to you, you should immediately
put the date in the upper right-hand corner. If need be, a three-ring hole punch will be provided. Each
piece, then, will be in the appropriate section in chronological order, the first pieces being the earliest in
the semester, the last pieces being the most recently received items. Participation grades will be based in
part on this notebook, as well as access for a cumulative final for each semester.
This requirement may seem busy work or unnecessarily legalistic, but I think it serves at least two
purposes. First, it keeps you organized. Ninety-nine percent of success comes from staying on top of
things. In addition, keeping the notebook in order with all requirements met allows you to keep up with
your grade at all times. Then if a parent calls me asking about your grade, I will direct that parent to ask
you to see your notebook. If the notebook is up-to-date, determining the grade will be a matter of simple
math. Also, if a question arises over the grade, you will have all the material you need to make your case
in your notebook. The notebook, then, protects you from any mistakes I might make. (And, yes,
wonderful as I may be, I sometimes make errors!)