Fall 2013 Letter to Parents
parentletter.pdf | |
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Autobiography due Monday, August 19th (30 points)
In this writing assignment, I want you to tell me about yourself and reflect on your life so far. In addition, I would like to hear about your strengths, skills, and weaknesses in school and in English class. Use this assignment to be creative and express what you would like to express, especially ideas you have about life. Minimum of 1 full page. Please use your best grammar because I will be using this to start assessing your strengths and weaknesses. And include the goals we come up with in class and any life goals that you have. It can be typed or hand-written. If it is handwritten then it needs to be fully legible. You will have time to outline and write during class but if you do not finish then it will be homework. I greatly encourage you to read it through a few times and adjust and correct before you turn it in. This is going to go under informal writing.
Fahrenheit 451 Notes Materials: Below is the document with vocabulary, concepts, Montag quote directions, and daily notes (check the calendar on the home page for book pages to read if you are absent)
fahrenheit451notesmaterials.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
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Fahrenheit 451 Essay due Monday, October 14th (100 points)
We will watch the movie version Wednesday through Friday. Then the following week, we will write the essay with one lab day for you to type it up. The last workday for it will be on Thursday, October 11th then you will have the weekend if you need to do anything else to it.
Schedule: (October 7th-11th)
Your paper will describe, explain, and analyze the differences and similarities between the book and the film. You will also talk about the important themes between the two especially if there were differences but also if there are similarities in ideas. A book and a film differ in obvious technical ways too and that's also important to describe. You'll be able to give your opinion on any differences in impact on you, the audience, as well.
Requirements:
Basic Outline (for those who want some help in structuring your essay)
I. Introduction: should include one interesting opening sentence about the big ideas. Then you can give a one sentence summary of the book and the film (could be two sentences if needed). Then you might explain some of your general ideas about the two. Then you'll need to give your thesis here showing your argument between the film and the book.
II. Body paragraphs:
a. Start with extra explanation of your ideas with evidence on a general level. Talk about big ideas here or in b and c.
b. Then next paragraph could be descriptive of the book or the film
c. Same but now describe the one you didn't in b.
d. Go into specific scenes between the book and the film
e. Optional additional scene analysis paragraph
III. Conclusion: Quick summary of your important ideas including your thesis -- describe them in new ways. Then talk about some additional thoughts (do not include new details) to help your reader think more about what this all means. It could include thoughts about some of the themes from the book and film and how they may impact life later. Or you could add some last thoughts about the book and film overall.
Name: _______________
Essay Writing Reflection
1. Notes/Ideas to Put in Your Essay:
2. Thesis:
3. Outline:
I. Introduction
II.Body Paragraphs:
A. Paragraph 1
B. Paragraph 2
C. Paragraph 3
D. Paragraph 4
III. Conclusion
4. What to Revise from Draft 1:
5. What to Revise/Edit from Draft 2:
6. What improvements do you feel you made from draft 1 to the final draft?
7. What writing/grammar issues were noted during any draft? Which of those do you still need to work on?
Sample Introduction and Do’s/Don’ts
The biggest issues in our society are problems within ourselves and the possibility that these could lead to the issues in Fahrenheit 451. “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years,” Montag explains to Faber in Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury, 82). People can be unhappy even when things are going well, they can be uncaring, and they can stop thinking for themselves which all lead to the dystopia we all fear. The book includes so much to analyze and interpret, especially with all of the figurative language that was used in the book, which is really what Bradbury was trying to get his readers to do all along so that just by reading his book we could prevent it all from happening. While making a film of a book that goes against watching ‘wallscreens’ could be ironically going against the ideas from the book, the film adaptation stays true to the ideas of the book and keeps the audience thinking because it has plenty of amazing details, symbolism, and great cinematography to analyze and interpret.
Do’s:
1. Use detailed evidence from the film or book to back up anything you say.
Example: The acting in the film showed that society is numb. A lot of the facial expressions were under-dramatic like when Beatty was about to be killed he says, “Montag,” but he does so without looking scared, sad, or angry. His eyebrows and eyes do not react at all.
Don’ts:
1. Do not use any I, me, or you statements to state your opinion or what you think readers think. Avoid saying anything like “My thesis is” or “The topic of my essay is”
Example to not use: I think the film stayed true to the book in most respects.
Example to use: The film stayed true to the book in most respects.
2. Avoid generalizations: meaning statements that are too general that you are actually assuming something without being able to back it up with evidence. It’s easy to avoid if you are specific and you don’t say what you think all people would enjoy or not enjoy.
Examples to not use: The acting was bad. The film sucked. People would not like the film.
Examples to use: The book had a lot of figurative language which made it difficult to understand. The film had some strange great cinematography such as the scene where the camera is at a high angle looking over the tract homes and people come out of their homes to look for Montag and then we move out a little to see Montag on top of a building.
Some film terms to use: cinematography, scene, shot, soundtrack, music, dialogue, point of view shot camera movement, frame, camera angles (high, low, close-up, establishing shot, full shot, etc.), symbolism, sequence, static, traveling shot, opening/closing credits, sound effects, special effects.
Schedule: (October 7th-11th)
- Monday: Quick discussion in groups, get your ideas out on paper, and then start first draft of essay
- Tuesday: Write and finish first draft (sentence of the week). Must turn in first draft to me. Meet with me and get feedback and get feedback from a peer either today or tomorrow
- Wednesday: Revision. Must turn in second draft to me for editing.
- Thursday: Final revision by typing it up in the lab
- Friday: Revisit goals, final discussion, and journal about unit goals
Your paper will describe, explain, and analyze the differences and similarities between the book and the film. You will also talk about the important themes between the two especially if there were differences but also if there are similarities in ideas. A book and a film differ in obvious technical ways too and that's also important to describe. You'll be able to give your opinion on any differences in impact on you, the audience, as well.
Requirements:
- 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced throughout except for the header (header needs to have name, date, and period)
- Must be a minimum of 2 full pages. (You will write at least two drafts for it.)
- Must have a creative title
- Must have a thesis showing your overall opinion of the film vs. the book.
- Must have good details from the book and the film (describe scenes very specifically).
- Must talk about themes from the two.
- Must back up any opinions with evidence from the book or the film.
- Must describe any changes from the book to the film if they changed the meaning or themes.
Basic Outline (for those who want some help in structuring your essay)
I. Introduction: should include one interesting opening sentence about the big ideas. Then you can give a one sentence summary of the book and the film (could be two sentences if needed). Then you might explain some of your general ideas about the two. Then you'll need to give your thesis here showing your argument between the film and the book.
II. Body paragraphs:
a. Start with extra explanation of your ideas with evidence on a general level. Talk about big ideas here or in b and c.
b. Then next paragraph could be descriptive of the book or the film
c. Same but now describe the one you didn't in b.
d. Go into specific scenes between the book and the film
e. Optional additional scene analysis paragraph
III. Conclusion: Quick summary of your important ideas including your thesis -- describe them in new ways. Then talk about some additional thoughts (do not include new details) to help your reader think more about what this all means. It could include thoughts about some of the themes from the book and film and how they may impact life later. Or you could add some last thoughts about the book and film overall.
Name: _______________
Essay Writing Reflection
1. Notes/Ideas to Put in Your Essay:
2. Thesis:
3. Outline:
I. Introduction
II.Body Paragraphs:
A. Paragraph 1
B. Paragraph 2
C. Paragraph 3
D. Paragraph 4
III. Conclusion
4. What to Revise from Draft 1:
5. What to Revise/Edit from Draft 2:
6. What improvements do you feel you made from draft 1 to the final draft?
7. What writing/grammar issues were noted during any draft? Which of those do you still need to work on?
Sample Introduction and Do’s/Don’ts
The biggest issues in our society are problems within ourselves and the possibility that these could lead to the issues in Fahrenheit 451. “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years,” Montag explains to Faber in Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury, 82). People can be unhappy even when things are going well, they can be uncaring, and they can stop thinking for themselves which all lead to the dystopia we all fear. The book includes so much to analyze and interpret, especially with all of the figurative language that was used in the book, which is really what Bradbury was trying to get his readers to do all along so that just by reading his book we could prevent it all from happening. While making a film of a book that goes against watching ‘wallscreens’ could be ironically going against the ideas from the book, the film adaptation stays true to the ideas of the book and keeps the audience thinking because it has plenty of amazing details, symbolism, and great cinematography to analyze and interpret.
Do’s:
1. Use detailed evidence from the film or book to back up anything you say.
Example: The acting in the film showed that society is numb. A lot of the facial expressions were under-dramatic like when Beatty was about to be killed he says, “Montag,” but he does so without looking scared, sad, or angry. His eyebrows and eyes do not react at all.
Don’ts:
1. Do not use any I, me, or you statements to state your opinion or what you think readers think. Avoid saying anything like “My thesis is” or “The topic of my essay is”
Example to not use: I think the film stayed true to the book in most respects.
Example to use: The film stayed true to the book in most respects.
2. Avoid generalizations: meaning statements that are too general that you are actually assuming something without being able to back it up with evidence. It’s easy to avoid if you are specific and you don’t say what you think all people would enjoy or not enjoy.
Examples to not use: The acting was bad. The film sucked. People would not like the film.
Examples to use: The book had a lot of figurative language which made it difficult to understand. The film had some strange great cinematography such as the scene where the camera is at a high angle looking over the tract homes and people come out of their homes to look for Montag and then we move out a little to see Montag on top of a building.
Some film terms to use: cinematography, scene, shot, soundtrack, music, dialogue, point of view shot camera movement, frame, camera angles (high, low, close-up, establishing shot, full shot, etc.), symbolism, sequence, static, traveling shot, opening/closing credits, sound effects, special effects.
The Taming of the Shrew and The Changing Roles of Women: Articles
If you are able, please print off one of the articles below (Iwill assign you to an article on Monday) for Tuesday so we can read them in class:http://www.txstate.edu/news/news_releases/news_archive/2002/10/roleofwomen102102.html
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/02/05/to-be-happy-must-admit-women-and-men-arent-equal/
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/02/05/to-be-happy-must-admit-women-and-men-arent-equal/
Extra Credit: Much Ado About Nothing, due November 8th
Much Ado About Nothing play Right Up for Extra Credit 30 points (it’s playing next Friday and Saturday or 1st Friday and Saturday of November)
- Write a review of the play (1 page)
- Include a detailed paragraph about 1 actor’s performance
- Include 1 line word for word from the play as evidence and breakdown the meaning of it
- Write a review of the play (1 page)
- Include a detailed paragraph about 1 actor’s performance
- Include 1 line word for word from the play as evidence and breakdown the meaning of it
Monthly Independent Reading Packet due the last day of each month
1. Half a page's worth of text with annotations throughout (can make a copy of the text or write thoughts on a regular piece of paper.)
2. Write out 5 words you do not know the meaning of and either figure it out using context clues or look up the word in the dictionary. (You'll turn in the words and definitions).
3. Grammar Field Notebook: Write 5 key details about what you notice about your author's writing and 1 example of your author's writing.
2. Write out 5 words you do not know the meaning of and either figure it out using context clues or look up the word in the dictionary. (You'll turn in the words and definitions).
3. Grammar Field Notebook: Write 5 key details about what you notice about your author's writing and 1 example of your author's writing.
Tentative Schedule through December
Week 11: October 22nd through the 25th -- Looking more at the play, working with the language, and spending two days in the library to research a topic about Shakespeare or his times in your partner groups to make a poster and give a short presentation.
Week 12: October 28th through November 1st -- Finish research and poster. Present findings.
Week 13: November 4th through the 8th -- Start reading scene in depth with annotations, discuss, and try to figure out the language. Write literary criticism piece.
Week 14: November 12th through the 15th -- Meet with group to discuss changes to your scene, who's playing what, do read through and start practicing.
Week 15: November 18th through the 22nd -- Practice scene.
Thanksgiving Week
Week 16: December 2nd through the 6th -- Scene Performances (Parents welcome)
Week 17: December 9th through the 13th -- Write new creative writing piece of your choosing and work on portfolio.
Week 18: December 16th through the 20th -- Finish portfolio and finals.
Week 12: October 28th through November 1st -- Finish research and poster. Present findings.
Week 13: November 4th through the 8th -- Start reading scene in depth with annotations, discuss, and try to figure out the language. Write literary criticism piece.
Week 14: November 12th through the 15th -- Meet with group to discuss changes to your scene, who's playing what, do read through and start practicing.
Week 15: November 18th through the 22nd -- Practice scene.
Thanksgiving Week
Week 16: December 2nd through the 6th -- Scene Performances (Parents welcome)
Week 17: December 9th through the 13th -- Write new creative writing piece of your choosing and work on portfolio.
Week 18: December 16th through the 20th -- Finish portfolio and finals.
Reading Log and Record for printing
reading_log.pdf | |
File Size: | 196 kb |
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readinglogrecord.pdf | |
File Size: | 231 kb |
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Shakespeare Partner Research and Poster due Wednesday, October 30th
Research your topic chosen in class. 3 sources in MLA format minimum below the information written in your own words. Thoroughness is important and visuals are necessary. Presentations will be Wednesday through Friday.
Make-up Work Deadline
All make-up work is due by March 7th, n0 exceptions. Also due is the reading log with 25 hours, signed by a parent.
Independent Reading Workshop Thought Organizer
independent_reading_thought_organizer.pdf | |
File Size: | 106 kb |
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finished_independent_novel_quiz.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |