Ms. Neville's Class Resources

English IV — Due to the 2nd period senior class meeting we held off on starting literature for one more day.  You’ll need to print Vocabulary List #1, which the rest of us (9th period) went over before I explained the procedure for vocabulary units and the format of the quizzes. I also handed out passwords to access your textbook online. Please note that you have a Study Island (yes, good ol’ Study Island!) assignment due on Wednesday, Mrs. Hanratty will be with us on Thursday to go over your Career Portfolio requirements, and AoW #1 is due on Friday.

Pre-AP English — Good job with the Catcher in the Rye activity today! I apologize that we got cut off at the end of both classes, but I snapped images of what you put on the board so your work is not lost. We’ll finish up the last few minutes of discussion at the beginning of class tomorrow before we move on to new material.

English II — Everyone was in class today, so you should all have your new vocabulary list. Please check Progress Book and/or Study Island to be sure you’re keeping up with recurring assignments.

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Thank you to all of my students for a good start to the year. I am looking forward to working with you and seeing the great work you are capable of doing.

Here is your first daily update post. Be sure you’re reading the correct class’s update!

ALL CLASSES:  Please begin looking for your first Independent Reading book if you haven’t already. Due dates for commitments are creeping up!

Pre-AP:   We will be focusing on The Catcher in the Rye this upcoming week, so if you have your own copy of the book please bring it to class with you. I will return your graded study guides to you on Monday, and there will be a test over the novel on Friday. Please bring your Reading Journals with you to class on Monday — you’ll be doing one more entry and then leaving them with me for the week to be graded.

Also, I’ve put three pretest assignments in Study Island for you to complete so I can gauge where each of you is  with reading, grammar, and other English-related skills. They are also listed in Progress Book; please note the due dates for each.

English IV:  Please bring your textbook to class on Monday. Also, don’t forget that Article of the Week #1 is due on Friday — follow the directions at the top of the article I distributed. If you weren’t in 9th period because you were setting up for The Great Class Challenge, I will give you a copy on Monday.

English II: Please check the Study Island schedule that is in your syllabus. Your first assignment is due by the end of the day tomorrow, and I noticed that no one has done it yet. If you need your login information from last year, please ask and I can get it for you.

Also, please have your binder set up for class on Monday. You’ll need it!

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Hello to all new visitors who are enrolled in Pre-AP for next year! I hope everyone has read through their summer assignment instructions by now and has a plan for getting it all done. The readings should give you lots to think and write about, but still leave you time to relax and recharge for your sophomore year.

If you’re one of the two people who didn’t pick up your envelope of assignments before the end of exams, you should get to I.H.S. as soon as possible to pick it up. I left them on the counter in the main office — your names are on them and Ms. Lechman knows you’ll be stopping in to get them.

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I was cleaning out my file cabinets today when I came across an absolute gem — a handwritten page of haiku from a student I had back in my first year at IHS. I doubt he’d mind them being posted, so here they are:

1.

when the school year ends

kids reign free from restrictions

happy to be young

2.

seniors won’t return

they have better plans for life

move forward now

3.

friends never come back

but new ones take their places

to fill emptiness

4.

relishing only

memories of nobody

an old door closes

5.

begin with new hope

new faith and new memories

a new path taken

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Everyone I’m advising for Senior Project: please BE @ SCHOOL in ROOM 212  on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1st at 12:00 (NOON). You will briefly present your experiences to each other and turn in your time sheets/journals. We should wrap up just in time for you to go outside for your senior group photo,  attend your commencement practice, and enjoy your class picnic. If you have any questions, please email me. I look forward to seeing you!

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Students, you’ve probably heard me refer to “the boys I work with on Saturdays” before. They were featured on the front page of this Saturday’s Akron Beacon Journal (which I would have totally missed had I not been down there doing Myth, Muses, & Scribes with them that day). I can’t explain how proud I am to work with this amazing group of young men! Working with them for the past two years has been one of the most inspiring experiences I’ve had as a teacher. Read the story and see the pictures here. You can also see the organization’s official website here.

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Here is the article about wealth/power distribution in the United States that I mentioned in English IV and several people expressed interest in reading: http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

It’s relevant to several dystopian novels you’ll encounter in your reading life. Eerie.

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If you’re having trouble getting into Turnitin.com because you don’t remember your old password, go to here: http://turnitin.com/static/helpCenter/forgotten_passwords.php

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Assignment: Over the weekend, answer each question for your chosen approach to the essay. My writing workshop lesson plan for Monday is based on the assumption that you will have quality, thorough answers to at least 80% of the questions to work from.

Option 1: Feminist analysis of either Hamlet or Frankenstein

Option 2: Psychoanalytic/Freudian analysis of Hamlet or Frankenstein

Option 3a: Exploration of a theme evident in BOTH literary works

Option 3b: Comparison/contrast of one character from Frankenstein and one from Hamlet

(Option 3b is a completely separate paper than 3a.  I apologize if the labels are confusing… in retrospect, I should have just named them “3” and “4”.)

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Now that you’ve read the play, you’ll enjoy the following videos:

Hamlet #1

Hamlet #2

Hamlet #3

There are of course many more fun versions available (yes, I’m aware of the cheeky flamboyant pal one), but I’m only posting ones I would show to my classes.

As you look over your notes, study guides, etc. tonight, please consider the following:

* Do you know what the PURPOSE of a soliloquy is? What are the main ideas of each of Hamlet’s soliloquies?

* Do you know the difference between an ASIDE and a soliloquy? Where in the play does Shakespeare use asides?

* What is a foil? Who is Hamlet’s foil? How do we know?

*  Do you know how each character is related to or associated with the other characters?

* See if you can list FIVE cause-and-effect relationships in the plot.

* Think about how the four pieces of anticipatory writing you did right before we started reading Hamlet relate to the play.

* See how many pieces of Polonius’ advice to Laertes you can remember… then look up the ones you can’t remember.

* How does Polonius’ advice to his son differ from his advice to his daughter?

* What do you think is the CLIMAX of the play?

* Why is this play embraced by so many different cultures? (Hint: you’ll find the answer in the essay “Hamlet: A Modern Perspective”)

Happy studying.

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