Orange Power!

Today in class, you did the following:

Completed two SAT QODs;

Took a quote quiz through page 289 of Kaffir Boy;

Read and discussed portions of Kaffir Boy; and

Wrote in response to a prompt.

Soooo, if you missed class, you missed at least three grades.

On Tuesday, December 4, 2012, we will have a TEST on ALL of Kaffir Boy.  Read, re-read, and annotate that sucker.  BTW, your annotations are also due on Tuesday, December 4, 2012. 

Saturday school is from 10-1 tomorrow morning. 

Have a great weekend!

Hump day

Fourth and fifth periods:

Today in class, you completed two SAT QODs, listened to a TAKS story, and read and annotated a bit in Kaffir Boy.

Please finish the book by the beginning of class on Friday.  You will have a quote quiz and a graded discussion.  You will have a test on the book as well as had in your annotations on Tuesday.

Have a great day!

Tuesday after T'giving

Fourth and Fifth Periods:

Today we completed a revising and editing page, and you wrote a page on the subject matter of your choice.  You perused the contents of your folders and noted, in writing, what you do well and an area in which you could improve.

Finally, we read portions of Kaffir Boy and discussed same. 

Kaffir Boy is due on Friday - it must be read.  We will probably have a quote quiz on the book as well as a graded discussion.  On Tuesday we will have a test on Kaffir Boy.  I will collect your annotations on Tuesday.

Read often; you can get a lot of pages read this way without even knowing it.

TGIT (almost Turket Day)

Today in class you worked on the DLA.  I have graded the multiple choice and the OER, and those scores have been sent to the district.

If you have not yet finished your essay, you must do so by Friday, November 30th, which is also the day that you must finish reading and annotating Kaffir Boy.  If you are behind, this is the time to catch up!  Do NOT skip ahead.  Please read and consider every ... single ... word ... on ... every ... single ... page.

Thank you for being delightful students.  You are capable of great things if you are willing to put forth great effort.

Early Dismissal

Fourth and Fifth Periods:

We had a quote quiz through page 211 of Kaffir Boy today.
Friday you will watch a film, Cry Freedom, which is the story of South African freedom fighter Steve Biko.  You will take notes and write a film review.

Please finish your book by Friday, November 30, 2012.

See you Tuesday!

Not another *(&*$ &** test!!!

Fourth and fifth periods:

Today you turned in a vocabulary paragraph and began a District Level Assessment.  We will finish this test one week from today, Tuesday, November 20th, the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break!!!!

You will have a quote quiz through page 211 of Kaffir Boy tomorrow.  If for some reason you cannot read through page 211, please read as much as you can for partial credit,

You will need to have finished the entire book by Friday, November 30, 2012.

See you tomorrow!

Congratulations, Mr. President

Today, in honor of the election, we worked to become smarter and stronger.

Specifically, you began writing a synthesis essay on which candidate for president is better suited for the job.  You will have 30 minutes to finish your essay on Friday.  After that, you will have a quote quiz on pages 54-119 of Kaffir Boy.  You may also turn in your annotations for a grade.

Have a great day on this beautiful Wednesday!

P.S.  Why did I use the word "better" in the essay prompt instead of "best"?    Give me the answer to this question on Friday for some extra points.

Exam This!

Fourth and Fifth Periods did the following today:

We analyze a New Yorker cover depicting Barack Obama as a terrorist and recalled the power of satire.  If you would like to peruse this cover, please copy and paste the following link:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/covers/slideshow_blittcovers#slide=1

We also read and discussed AP English Language Exam.  To peruse the questions from the 2012 exam, please copy and paste the following link:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap2012_frq_eng_language.pdf

We also read and discussed an excellent synthesis essay from the 2012 exam.  To peruse this excellent student sample, please copy and paste the following link:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap12_english_language_q1.pdf

Finally, we read David Brooks's article "The Final Reckoning," the link to which is as follows:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/opinion/brooks-the-final-reckoning.html?_r=0

Tomorrow you will write a synthesis essay using the Obama packet and "The Final Reckoning" as your sources.  Bring these materials to class.

Also, because we will be writing all class period tomorrow, your homework in Kaffir Boy (annotate the first 119 pages) is not due until Friday, November 9, 2012.

Have a great day!

TGIF

Fourth and Fifth periods:

Today we did the following:

Two SAT QODs (what does "aesthete" mean?);

Two OERs on the beloved story "Breakfast in Virginia";

Discussed and analyzed the Obama packet; and

Discussed and analyzed three pieces of cover art from the New Yorker.

Therefore, if you missed class, you missed at least four grades  Please come in and make them up!

Remember that you are writing an essay on Tuesday on the Obama packet and that you must read and annotate through page 119 of Kaffir Boy by the beginning of class on Wednesday.

Remember to encourage every voter you know to vote regardless of their political affiliation.  All Democrats, Republicans, and Independents should vote in this great country of ours.

Have a good weekend!

Copy of "The Flea"

Look below for a copy of "The Flea."

MARK but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is ;
It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead ;
    Yet this enjoys before it woo,
    And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two ;
    And this, alas ! is more than we would do.

O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, we're met,
And cloister'd in these living walls of jet.
    Though use make you apt to kill me,
    Let not to that self-murder added be,
    And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it suck'd from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself nor me the weaker now.
'Tis true ; then learn how false fears be ;
Just so much honour, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.