Book Review

Don't forget to keep up with your book review book. Do you know how many pages you need to read a day in order to finish it in time to write about it? Keep in mind that during the week you won't have as much reading time as on weekends.

I strongly suggest reading the requirements if you have not done so already. See important documents.

Mr. J

DUE WED 2/21 Fahrenheit 451 Rewrites

The Fahrenheit 451 rewrites are due on Wed. Take into account the suggestions made by the person who evaluated your essay and don't forget to reread it yourself.

There will be homework on Tuesday, so if you have the time you might want to get a head start on this.

Remember, writing is revision!


There is no other homework. Happy three day weekend!

Mr. J

DUE FRIDAY 2/16 Peer Eval of Fahrenheit 451

As discussed in class, do the peer eval of Fahrenheit 451.

Mark the author's text with suggestions and focus on his/her use of evidence.

You do not have to fill out the entire "writing checklist" rubric (but it would not be a bad idea). What you should do is read each paragraph closely, looking for specific scenes, quotes, or other details from the book that supports each topic sentence.

For each paragraph you can ask yourself one or more of the following questions to help you think about the use of evidence.



Skill: Using Evidence and Details

Is the topic sentence clear? Can you clearly understand it?

Does everything in the paragraph support the topic sentence?

Does the author use particular scenes from the book to support an idea (i.e. thesis or topic sentence)?

Does the author use direct quotes as evidence to support an idea?

Does the author use direct quotes as the starting point for analysis (i.e. is the thesis or topic sentence bases on a quote)?

Does the author “break down” a particular scene by analyzing its parts? – For example, “In the scene where Beatty came to visit Montag at home, Montag was nervous when Mildred was fluffing up his pillows. This shows that he was afraid of being caugh

DUE FRIDAY, 2/16 Iliad Assignment

Read lines 334-407 (pp. 87-89)

In your Iliad notes answer the question, what is the most important thing that happens?

Highlight or underline a specific section that is difficult to understand. On the margins of the text try to explain why it is difficult to understand. What words or phrases trip you up?

Circle other words that you don't know or that confuse you.

Be prepared to share this with the class.

DUE THR 2/15 Commenting Assignment

Comment on the 2/13 “My Rage” blog entries for the people in your blog group. Of course you can also comment on people outside your group, but comment on those in your group as a minimum. If people in your blog group did not do the assignment, comment on someone of your choice outside the group.

Some suggestions for commenting:

• Tell them why you like it

• Tell them that you can relate to it and explain how/why you can relate to it

• Give them suggestions on things to write about – how can it be more descriptive or how can it explain with more detail.

Remember: Be specific. Use words like “because …” to explain yourself. In the next week or two I will ask people to share with me who wrote the most helpful blog entries.

Due THR 2/15 Iliad Assignment

Due THR 2/15 Iliad Assignment

Read lines 222 – 261 of The Iliad Book One (pp. 83-85)

For each stanza add to your Iliad notes – the ones in your binder, by using the reading strategies:

1. Ask - What it’s about?

2. Question – What don’t I understand?

3. Summarize – What are the summary bullets?

4. Predict – What is going to happen next?

On Thursday I will do a homework check during silent reading.

I think we are getting close to the point where I can turn you loose on The Iliad a little, with longer assignments on your own, but for now we will continue to take it slow and read parts of it in class.

You should start filling out the list of important characters and character sheet on the gods. Don't worry about the names that are not familiar to you, just fill it out what we cover, as we cover it.

Mr. J

DUE WED 2/14 Reminder

You must come to school with a copy of the Fahrenheit 451 essay. Most of you have one in your folders already, please confirm that. This is a requirment for peer evaluation purposes. You will not be able to do classwork or homework without it.

Mr. J

DUE WED 2/14 The Iliad Assignment

Reread what we have read so far from The Iliad. That's lines 1-118 pp. 77-80. Ask any questions you have and any other comments or observations. Post this on your blog.

At this point I'm just concerned with comprehension, but later we will move on to larger issues. This is not much homework, so I would use the time wisely, perhaps reading your book review books. Later you will have Iliad homework assignments where you will be reading the Iliad on your own.

If you did not finish the classwork in class you should finish it at home:

The classwork was to add to your Iliad notes - the ones in your binder.

1. Read lines 78-118 pp. 79-80 (that's three stanzas worth of reading)

2. Write a summary bullet for each stanza

3. Write a question for each stanza - be specific - don't just say "I don't get it" say "I don't understood who Calchas is on p. x "

4. Make a prediction when you finsish the three stanzas.

F451 Requirement

The following students have not turned in the Fahrenheit 451 essay on turnitin.com. Please do so as soon as possible. It is a requirement.

Period 1

Austin J.

Anjelica

RG

JV

Kate

Brittany

Martin

Lishane

Period 4

Brianna

Cindy

Dylan

Nick

Dulce

Julian

Yesenia

Agenda and Announcements for Monday 2/12

Agenda and Announcements for Monday, 2/12

I will not be in today so Ephraim and Mr. Commerson will be leading the class. I became sick on Friday. Although I’m feeling better this Sunday afternoon, I’m going to try and make a Doctor’s appointment for Monday.

Announcements:

1. GRADES:

I have put in a new round of blogging grades. In case you missed it during the first round, I give three points for each assignment and add them up every two weeks or so. This time around it was 8 mandatory blog assignments for a total of 24 points. The grading is also based on the quality of what you write. If you just wrote a couple of sentences for an assignment you might not have gotten the full three points. Some of you will ask me about the “due date” on powergrade. That is just the date that I added up the assignments since the last time, not the due date of any particular blog assignment.

Eli and Yesenia, see me when I return because I’m still having problems with accessing your blogs.

I was in bed for all of Saturday and did not read your F451 essays. Did you turn it in? Did you put it on turnitin.com ?

2. BLOG COMMENTS

I have made a few comments on student blogs here and there, but have not commented on everyone’s. Remember to scroll down on your blogs once and awhile to check to see if you have comments from me or classmates.

3. NEW BLOG PROCEDURE

If there is something in particular that you want me to read on your blog you should put a couple of asterisks in front of it, like this ** in the title space . That way when I check your blog I can easily see what you want me to comment on and you don’t have to send me a URL. For example, if you want me to comment on the assignment entitled Fahrenheit 451 pp. 154-165 on your title page write ** Fahrenheit 451 pp. 154-165. Try to direct me to more recent assignments.

Agenda

1. Silent Reading (book review books)

2. Blog Time/Independent Writing (Scroll down for the assignments)

3. Troy video (20-30 minutes, not more)

DUE TUE, 2/13 My Rage - Cause

We have been reading about Achilles’ rage; now let’s hear about yours (on your blog).

The title of this should be “My Rage – Cause.” This is simply for grading purposes. If you want another title, indicate that title in the body of your post, at the top.

Write about a time when you were angry. Focus on the cause of your anger. In other words, what made you angry? This should be a minimum of one full paragraph with an easily understood topic sentence. For example, “I was angry when …” The key to doing well on this type of writing is to provide explanations.

Mr. J

DUE TUE, 2/13 - Iliad notes

The Iliad Assignment:

Read the next three stanzas from where we left off in Book One, “The Rage of Achilles.”

That’s line 38 to line 77 on pages 78 – 79. If you don’t understand it the first time, try reading it a second time, slowly and carefully.

If you have not done so already, start a reading notes section in your Humanities binder for The Iliad. In your reading notes you should indicate the Book number (in this case it’s Book One), the due date of the assignment, and the pages and lines. You can post this on your blog also, but it is not required. It will be much easier to keep track of your Iliad notes in a binder than dispered thorughout your blog.

In your reading notes for today’s reading you should:

1. Summarize with one or two quick bullet points per stanza - ones that you will be able to understand when you read your notes later.

2. Ask questions about the reading from one or more stanzas

3. Predict what will happen next

Reading Hint: Phoebus Apollo is the god Apollo’s full name, so don’t let the Phoebus throw you off. The god Apollo is obviously an important player in the early part of the epic and is one of the most powerful of the Greek gods. He was the god of reason, prophecy, music, light and plague. For more on Apollo you can follow this link:

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/apollo.html

If you have a hard time “getting” the second stanza of today’s reading, try to look at it figuratively instead of literally and see if the next stanza helps you understand. Homer uses an “extended metaphor” in today’s reading – that’s a metaphor that lasts for more than one sentence or that reoccurs throughout the work. I at least like to think of it as a metaphor, but some ancient Greeks might have taken it literally. The use of figurative language in Homer can sometimes be a stumbling block for reading comprehension. Once you feel more comfortable with it the easier the reading becomes, like with Fahrenheit 451.

Mr. J

No Weekend Homework - Book Review

There is no homework over the weekend. I suggest you use the time to read for your book review book. Do you know how many pages you need to read per day to finish the book early enough to write about it? You should consider that during the week you will have less time to read and figure that into your reading schedule for the weekends.

Mr. J