BELLAIRE VOLLEYBALL ROCKS!

Ninth graders took a test.  Tomorrow we will review the test and learn how to write even better.

Juniors took a test as well.  We will review the answers to that test tomorrow.  Also your green vocabulary sheet is due tomorrow.  Also, if you did not take the additional 15 minutes to work on your Steve Jobs's essay, please do so tonight, and turn it in tomorrow - no penalty because I did not write about it on the blog on Friday - please forgive my brain fart.  Remember to have the following features in your essay:  (i) conclusion as to Jobs's character; (ii) evidence to support conclusion (support?  Dowd article); and (iii) rate Jobs's performance character according to the criteria(on) described in the Tough article.  Remember to cite to your sources.

Kyle Somers is playing music in the courtyard on Wednesday!

CONGRATULATIONS BELLAIRE VOLLEYBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TGIF

Juniors - scroll all of the way down past the red print.  Your stuff will be in blue on a yellow background.

Ninth graders took a quiz today, worked a puzzle, and began to write a story.  Homework for Monday and the subject matter of your test on Monday is explained on the review sheet below.  Also below is your homework handout.

Review sheet for test on Monday, October 28, 2011

1.       The scantron portion of your test will be a story with blanks.  The words you will need to know for this portion of the test are as follows:  adversary, appall, avenge, bliss, blunder, din, disdain, fend, heft, lag, ponderous, profusion, rogue, sage, stately, stoked, tactic, tidbits, titanic.  These are the words from your Odyssey #2 list.

2.       You will be required to write 10-15 sentences with some of the following words:  adversary, appall, avenge, blunder, din, heft, lag, rogue, sage, tactic, adversity, desolate, exile, forlorn, guile, immortal, indifferent, pine(v), solitude, versatile.  These words are from your Odyssey vocabulary lists #1 and #2.

3.       Your homework for Monday is the following: (i) complete the Odyssey Warm-up #2, and (ii) write a short story using with each of the following words: adversity, desolate, exile, forlorn, guile, immortal, indifferent, pine(v), solitude, versatile.  Underline or highlight each vocabulary word.

Have a good weekend!

Name:                                                                                               Date:

The Odyssey Vocabulary 2 Warm-Up

Complete each of the following sentences.

1. If Bellaire High School’s football team is going to conquer their adversaries in the playoffs, then the team will need to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        .

2. The teacher was appalled when the students began to                                                                                                                                                                                                    .

3. In order to avenge the deaths of innocent Americans killed by terrorists, the United States decided to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        .

4. Nothing brings a high school student more bliss than                                                                                                                                                                                                         .

5. As a result of the players’ blunder on the field, the coach decided to                                                                                                                                                               .

6. It is hard to study with the din of                                                                                    in the background.

7. Students are likely to disdain any teacher who                                                                                                                                                                                                                    .

8. The students entreated their teacher to let them                                                                                                                                                                                                                 .

9. In order to fend off the attacking enemy, the general ordered his troops to                                                                                                                                                     .

10. In order to heft the truck out of the ravine, rescue workers must                                                                                                                                                                                    .

11. You are likely to lag behind in the race if you                                                                                                                                                                                                                     .

12. In order to wedge open the ponderous iron door of the castle, the guards had to                                                                                                                                       .

13. Following the death of Michael Jackson, fans responded to his death with a profusion of                                                                                                                          .

14. Police were searching for a rogue villain who had committed the following crimes:                                                                                                                                    .

15. When I told my sage grandmother that I had gotten in trouble at school, she told me to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         .

16. We knew that the banquet was a stately affair as soon as we saw the room filled with                                                                                                                                           .

17. The king stoked the peasants’ anger when he declared that                                                                                                                                                                                         .

18. The best tactic to use when apologizing to a friend is to                                                                                                                                                                                                  .

19.  I try not to eat between meals, but occasionally I like to munch on tidbits of                                                                                                                                                            .

20.  Superman used his titanic strength in order to                                                                                                                                                                                                                   .

Juniors began writing a short essay on Dowd's version of Steve Jobs and graded Jobs on character according to the criteria described in the New York Times magazine article by Paul Tough.  We also began to discuss the article "The Ways We Lie."

You will have an AP-style, M/C test based on passages from Gulliver's Travels on Monday.  Best way to study is to confirm that you know all of the words from your first three vocabulary tests and get some sleep.

Tuesday your vocabulary sheet from K Boy is due.   Friday part one of K Boy should be read and annotated.

If you are interested in participating in the Scholastic Writing competition, please peruse the following website

http://www.artandwriting.org/ORG/AffiliatePages/Show/TX001W

Have a great weekend!

Friday Eve ...

Ninth graders took a quiz today on the following words: adversary, appall; avenge; blunder; din.

Homework due tomorrow is context-rich sentences with each of the following words:  heft, lag, rogue, sage, tactic.  You will have a quiz on these words tomorrow. 

We also read the Odyssey in class and discussed the charms of Calypso.

Juniors received some graded work back, and we discussed essay writing.  We also discussed the Dowd article about the Issacson biography about Steve Jobs and used this article to illustrate the difference between evidence and conclusions.  On the other side of this article is the first page of a WSJ article discussing research on optimal ways to study.

Tomorrow we will finish our discussion of evidence and conclusions as well as discuss "The Ways We Lie," which should be read and annotated before class starts.

Juniors, please remember to buy a copy of Kaffi Boy - part one (first 119 pages is due Friday, November 4, 2011).

Hump Day!

Ninth graders took a quiz, re-read the amazing story on your vocabulary test, and started reading the Odyssey.  Tonight's homework is to write compound sentences with the following words:  adversary, appall, avenge, blunder, and din.

Juniors finished their GsTs essays and turned in their books to be graded.  We also discussed briefly an article about failure and character education.  Tomorrow we will take a final look at Steve Jobs in relation to the description about character in that article.  If we have time, you will received your omnivore essays back.  Kaffir Boy books are here; please pay me $12 this week or early next.  Your first reading assignment is due Friday, November 4th.

Have a great night!

Sleep is the answer ... for juniors / Studying is the answer ... for ninth graders

Ninth graders ...

reviewed vocabulary words.  We will have a quiz tomorrow over the following ten words:  adversity, desolate, exile, forlorn, guile, immortal, indifferent, pine, solitude, versatile. 

We also completed the sheet on the background of the Odyssey, which I have copied below for your convenience.

Warm-up – Background on the Odyssey

Please complete the sheet while listening to the story.  Ask me to repeat or write on the board any words that are confusing to you.

The Iliad and the Odyssey are epic poems credited to the blind Greek poet _______ and composed around the dates ______________.  The Iliad and the Odyssey describe, inter alia,[1] the _______ War.

According to legend, the __________ War began after ______, a Trojan prince, kidnapped ________from her husband, Menelaus, the king of ______.  Menelaus recruited men from all over Greece to help him avenge his honor and recover his beautiful ______.  The Greeks attacked Troy for the next ___ years.

Odysseus brought the ______ War to an end by a clever scheme.  First, Odysseus ordered a giant wooden _____ to be built and left at the gates of __________.    When the _______ saw the giant _____, with no _____, their enemies, in sight, they thought that the _____ had surrendered and left a peace offering.  The _____ brought the giant _____ into their city and quickly discovered that the giant ________ housed __________ soldiers who infiltrated, attacked, and vanquished the city.[2] 

The Odyssey describes Odysseus’ adventures as he returns from ______ to his home, ________.  Odysseus leaves _______ with a fleet of ____ ships and _____ men.  This time, however, his opponents are not soldiers.  Indeed, various __________ try to devour him and enchanting _________ try to keep him from returning to his wife, ____________.

In addition to the “human” troubles, the Odyssey contains mythic elements.  In other words, Homer also describes in the Odyssey conflicts among the gods and goddesses on _________.  In Homer’s time, most Greeks believed that the gods and goddesses behaved in _____ ways; in fact, it was not surprising to learn of a god arguing about petty matters or acting in a jealous manner.  For example, _________, the goddess of war and wisdom, sided with Greeks in the ____ War, while __________, the goddess of love, sided with _____and his fellow _______.[3]

As Odysseus is returning home from _______, ________, the goddess of war and wisdom, is on his side, while the gods who sided with ______ during the war do not support him.  Odysseus also angers other gods as he attempts to return home.

---

[1] “Inter alia” means “among other things.”

[2] Odysseus’ scheme is clever and cunning.  In other words, this scheme reflects Odysseus’ ______ (vocabulary word).

[3] Why is it significant that Aphrodite, goddess of ______,  sided with the Trojans?  What did Paris do to start the war?

Juniors ...

wrote their essays on Gulliver's Travels.

Tomorrow you will have 15 minutes to finish your essay, and you will submit your GT annotations. 
Also, you need to have read and annotated the "failure" articles by the beginning of class tomorrow.  If you have misplaced your articles, links for said articles is copied below:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44278117/ns/business-us_business/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Have a great day - sleep!

Just another manic Monday

Ninth graders took a test!  With sentences!

Juniors took a quote test and started writing an essay.  For your persual, here are three of the essay prompts (so sorry sixth period - yours is at school):

Essay Question – First Period

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” Seneca  (first)

First, assume that Jonathan Swift endorses the views expressed in Gulliver’s Travels.  Now please answer the following question:

Would Jonathan Swift agree with Seneca’s famous quote?  Please support your answer with two quotes from each part of Gulliver’s Travels.

Essay Question – Third period

“Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.” Mason Cooley

First, assume that Jonathan Swift endorses the views expressed in Gulliver’s Travels.  Now please answer the following question:

Would Jonathan Swift agree with Cooley’s quote?  Please support your answer with two quotes from each part of Gulliver’s Travels.

Essay Question – Seventh period

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” Anatole France

First, assume that Jonathan Swift endorses the views expressed in Gulliver’s Travels.  Now please answer the following question:

Would Jonathan Swift agree with France’s quote?  Please support your answer with two quotes from each part of Gulliver’s Travels.

Please get your quotes ready tonight!

Early dismissal Friday - thanks, debaters!

Today in class, we did the following: (Juniors - scroll all of the way to the bottom!)

Ninth graders did the following warm-ups and pre-test, which they will turn in for homework on Monday.  If you missed class today, I have copied the documents for you below:

Name:                                                                                                           Date:

The Odyssey Vocabulary Warm-Up #1

adversity       contend       desolate       douse            exile

1. For Halloween, our neighbors made their house looked abandoned and _______________, as though only ghosts might live there.

2. Many people are faced with hardships in life, such as battling cancer or enduring the loss of a loved one, and they often learn that overcoming _______________ can make them stronger in the end.

3. Ortiz had to _______________ with much criticism, even from his greatest fans, after the fight, just as Mayweather also had to struggle against criticism, even though he was the winner.

4. When the scarecrow in the yard caught fire, we ran to the well for buckets of water so that we could _______________ the flames before embers ignited the house as well.

5. Which do you think is a worse punishment—being sent to prison for twenty years, or being __________(d/ed) from your homeland and forced to live abroad in a country you do not know?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

forlorn           formidable               guile               immortal       indifferent

6. George Washington is a(n) _______________ icon of American freedom—one that will never be forgotten.

7. Meeting your goal of remaining on the Honor Roll throughout high school will be a(n) _______________ challenge, one that will require great dedication and hard work.

8. Most students care one way or the other about the new dress code; in fact, very few are _______________.

9. The _______________ beggars pleaded with people passing by, who were so saddened by the beggar’s torn clothes and dirty, lonely faces that they wanted to do all they could to help.

10.  The students used their _______________ to figure out how to trick the substitute teacher without getting caught.

Name:                                                                                                           Date:

The Odyssey Vocabulary Warm-Up #2

mandate                  ornate           pine                plunder         prodigious

1. I know that you prefer a style of clothing that is more _______________, flashy, and showy, but I prefer a style that is more calm, subdued, and understated.

2. One is never too old or too young to _______________ over lost love; teenagers and senior citizens alike spend hours mooning over their lost loves.

3. The governor issued a(n) _______________ that required all residents of Galveston Island to evacuate ahead of the approaching hurricane.

4. The professional scouts thought that Jonathan’s spot as first-line quarterback was a(n) _______________ sign of a promising career as a famous professional athlete.

5. The villagers hid their most valued possessions from the enemy as the army advanced and sought to _______________ anything of value.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

pummel        solitude         valor              versatile        victuals

6. After spending all day surrounded by people, Jenn likes to go home, where she can enjoy peace and _______________.

7.  It is good to have at least one _______________ pair of shoes that you can wear to a formal affair, to a backyard party, or even to work.

8.  The fireman was rewarded with a gold medal for his _______________ after he saved the children from the burning building.

9.  Until I saw Roger _______________ the boy who had stolen his backpack, I didn’t know that Roger knew how to fight.

10.  While camping in the forest, you must keep your _______________ protected; otherwise, the bears, raccoons, and even skunks are likely to eat your food rations.

Name:                                                                                               Date:

The Odyssey Vocabulary Week #1

Pre-Test

DIRECTIONS:  Write a sentence correctly using each word.  Include abundant context clues in each sentence.

Example of a correct sentence:

forlorn  The forlorn farmhouse looked as though no one had lived there for years, for the barn was collapsing, the fence gone, and the front porch rotting.

Example of an incorrect sentence:

forlorn  The farmhouse was forlorn.

1. adversity

2. desolate

3. exile

4. forlorn

5. guile

6. immortal

7. indifferent

8. pine

9. solitude

10. victuals

Your test will be on the following words: adversity, contend, desolate, douse, exile, forlorn, formidable, guile, immortal, indifferent, mandate, ornate, pine, plunder, prodigious, pummel, solitude, valor, versatile, victuals.

Juniors -

Today we read about an impressive Norwegian  ( I know, that phrase is redundant) and participated in scintillating discussions about social norms and cutting off one's digits.

Gulliver's Travels test on Monday and half of Tuesday;

"Failure" pieces read and annotated by Wednesday.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Ninth graders:
Finished their answers to "The Hard and the Soft";
Worked on the packets regarding myths; and
Read about Muhammad Ali (thanks, Tyler!).

Tonight's homework?  Ten compound sentences with semicolons with the unstarred words.

Cole S. - I will post all of the handouts we do tomorrow on the blog tomorrow.  Thank you for your diligence is asking about class in advance of your absence.

Juniors:

First and third periods had a guest speaker.
Sixth and Seventh periods took a quote quiz and discussed Part IV.

Tomorrow ... we'll see!
Have a beautiful day!

Wednesday morning

Well, well, well, it is turning out to be such a good day!

Ninth graders finished their "hero" pieces, wrote two answers to Open Ended Questions, and a few started reading an article on myths.  Tonight's homework is to write ten compound sentences with a comma and one of the fanboys with the following words:  adversity, desolate, exile, forlorn, guile, immortal, indifferent, pine (v), solitude, versatile.

Juniors, identified a piece from the substitute day (last Friday) to bring to fruition.  You handed in your piece at the end of class.  Tomorrow - Part IV of Gulliver's Travels. 

Have fun, and do good work!

Tuesday

Ninth graders read a David Brooks's article about a Norwegian hero today.  You also wrote about heroism.
Tomorrow, we will start learning about the Odyssey and will receive new vocabulary words.

Juniors engaged in a peer review of their papers today. Remember that Part IV of Gulliver's Travels is due Thursday.

Just another manic Monday

Ninth graders took a test.  Tomorrow we will discuss and write about heroes.

Juniors took a test.   Tomorrow please bring two copies of a typed draft of your researched argument.

Thanks!

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Beautiful day!

Ninth graders practiced writing short answers and embedding quotes.  We then read Tony Hawk's "This I Believe" essay.

Test Monday on the following 15 words:  evanesce; flare; glisten; huddle; linger; lug; mar; mourn; prod; roam; scowl; shrivel; squawk; thud; wither.  You will also write short answers with embedded quotes on your test.

Homework for Monday:  sentences for words 6-15 from your list.  Each sentence must be a compound sentence, either with a semicolon, or with a comma and one of the fanboys (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

Juniors read Tony Hawk's "This I Believe" essay as well as Steve Jobs's Stanford 2005 commencement speech. Bring to class tomorrow: Hawk; Jobs; and Gulliver's Travels.

Juniors, please note the following dates:

Monday, October 17th - vocabulary test on ALL sheets;
Tuesday, October 18th - please bring to class two typed copies of your draft of your persuasive argument
Thursday, October 20th - Part Four of Gulliver's Travels read and annotated
Monday, October 24th - Quote test on Gulliver's Travels
Tuesday, October 25th - Two articles "What Steve Jobs Teaches Us about Failure" and "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" read and annotated

Be good tomorrow!!

Adios, PSAT!

Students today you all took the PSAT!

Ninth graders also received a new vocabulary sheet and started (many finished) their homework in class.  Tomorrow we will work on short answers and embedding quotes.

Juniors played a vocabulary game, except for seventh period who is still presenting. 

Tomorrow we will read about Steve Jobs and Tony Hawk. 

Vocabulary test is Monday, October 17th.

Please bring TWO TYPED DRAFTS of your researched argument to class on Tuesday, October 18th.

Part Four of Gulliver's Travels is due Thursday, October 20th.

Quote test on Gulliver's Travels is Monday, October 24th.

Have a good night!

10-11-11

Ninth graders reviewed for the PSAT today - riveting stuff - no homework tonight!

Juniors - BIG changes!!!  See below!

Today you all submitted your yellow sheet and reviewed for the PSAT.
Monday, October 17th - BIG vocabulary test
Tuesday, October 18th - bring two typed copies of your draft researched argument to class
Thursday, October 20th - part four of Gulliver's Travels
Monday, October 24th - Quote test on all of Gulliver's Travels

NOW ... here are the answers to the packet I gave you today (you don't have to do it).

Section 5
1.  A
2.  E
3.  D
4.  D
5  B
6  E
7  D
8  D
9  E
10  B
11 D
12 A
13 C
14  A
15  A
16  D
17  B
18  D
19  A
20  C
21  D
22  D
23  C
24 B
25  E
26  D
27  B
28  E
29  B
30  C
31  B
32  B
33  A
34  D
35  A
36  E
37  A
38  D
39  C

Have fun tonight!  Go to the choir concert!

Monday

Ninth graders turned in their homework (a paragraph with words 16-20), took a vocabulary test, and answers questions on "The Scarlet Ibis." 
Homework for tomorrow is to answer ten more questions on "The Scarlet Ibis."

Juniors practiced the PSAT today.
Tomorrow your yellow oral vocabulary assignment is due;
Thursday part four of Gulliver's Travels is due; and
Monday, October 17th, we will have a BIG vocabulary test.
Tuesday, October 18th, your researched argument on omnivorism, etc. is due.

Have a good night

Red, red, red, red ... white white white white

What a great Friday!

Ninth graders started a packet on the vocabulary words from "Scarlet Ibis."    Monday, please turn in for homework your packet AND a paragraph with words 16-20. 

We will have a vocabulary test on Monday and discuss how best to answer Open Ended Responses.

Juniors - please note a change of course.  Today you took a vocabulary check on the words from the front side of the blue sheet and a quote quiz on part three of Gulliver's Travels.  Please note, however, that we are NOT having a vocabulary test on Monday.  Instead, completely finish the PSAT packet that you received a while ago.  Monday we will review answers and complete another packet. 

Tuesday your yellow vocabulary sheet is due.

Thursday Part IV of Gulliver's Travels is due.

Happy Homecoming!