Week 1:4 (Aug. 31–Sept. 4)

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Pre-IB English 2: FAST Practice, Four Questions, Journal Setup, Analytical Thesis Frame & Verbs, Weaving & Citing, Transitions & Commentary, Wheel of Feels (Tone), Colormarking Guide, Colormarking #1, Colormarking #2; Short Stories: “Harrison Bergeron” E-text, Vonnegut Background, “Once Upon a Time” E-text, Gordimer Background, Short Stories Journal #1, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” E-text, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Task, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” E-text, Comparative Analysis Task / Persepolis: Info Card, E-text

Approaches to Learning 1: Planner Task (1:4–5), Learner Profile, ManageBac, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, Smart Goals Presentation, MLA Citation

IB Diploma Support: Mr. Benton’s Printer, Rotation Calendar, 5th Period Rosters, Say Something Anonymous Reporting System; Research: Gale Databases, Google Scholar, JSTOR, Sci-Hub; Extended Essays: English Guide, Cross-disciplinary Guide, MLA Template (Docs), MLA Template (Word),  MLA Sample Paper, Prescribed Reading List

Week 1:3 (Aug. 24–28)

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Pre-IB English 2: FAST Practice, Four Questions, Journal Setup, Analytical Thesis Frame & Verbs, Weaving & Citing, Transitions & Commentary, Wheel of Feels (Tone); Short Stories: “Little Red Cap” E-text, “Harrison Bergeron” E-text, Vonnegut Background, “Once Upon a Time” E-text, Gordimer Background, Short Stories Journal #1, Colormarking Guide, Colormarking #1, Colormarking #2

Approaches to Learning 1: Learner Profile, ManageBac, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, 1:2–3 Planner Task, Learner Profile Presentation, Smart Goals Presentation, MLA Citation

IB Diploma Support: Mr. Benton’s Printer, Rotation Calendar, 5th Period Rosters, Say Something Anonymous Reporting System; Research: Gale Databases, Google Scholar, JSTOR, Sci-Hub; Extended Essays: English Guide, Cross-disciplinary Guide, MLA Template (Docs), MLA Template (Word),  MLA Sample Paper, Prescribed Reading List

Week 1:2 (Aug. 17–21)

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Pre-IB English 2: Syllabus, Four Questions, Journal Setup, Analytical Thesis Frame & Verbs, Weaving & Citing, Transitions & Commentary, Wheel of Feels (Tone); Short Stories: “Little Red Cap” E-text, “Harrison Bergeron” E-text, Vonnegut Background

Approaches to Learning 1: Syllabus, Learner Profile, ManageBac, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, 1:2–3 Planner Task, Learner Profile Presentation Directions & Rubric

IB Diploma Support: Mr. Benton’s Printer, Rotation Calendar, 5th Period Rosters, Say Something Anonymous Reporting System; Research: Gale Databases, Google Scholar, JSTOR, Sci-Hub; Extended Essays: English Guide, Cross-disciplinary Guide, MLA Template (Docs), MLA Template (Word),  MLA Sample Paper, Prescribed Reading List

Week 1:1 (Aug. 11–14)

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  • Blue GETs or ► indicate a handout or notes begin given out in class.
  • Green ►s indicate classroom activities (e.g. groupwork, lectures, lessons).
  • Red text like DUE or QUIZ indicate an explicit due date or assessment.

Welcome to a new school year, everyone! I’ve posted the week’s schedule here, and I do this every week — usually on Thursday for the week ahead. Please refer to the key above to make clearest sense of the schedule. You can also click on the schedule itself for a larger zoom-able image. Below, you’ll find digital versions of this week’s in-class handouts along with a few other helpful bits and bobs.

Pre-IB English 2: English Syllabus, Four Questions, Fairy Tale (to Annotate), Journal Setup & Lit Terms, Analytical Thesis Frame & Verbs, Weaving & Citing, Transitions & Commentary, Wheel of Feels (Tone), Success Camp Bonus

ATL: ATL Syllabus, Learner Profile Document, ManageBac, S.M.A.R.T. Goals

IB Diploma Support: First-Day Homeroom List, Rotation Calendar, 5th Period Rotations, DS Contract, IB Academic Guidelines, Say Something Anonymous Reporting System; Research: Gale Databases, Google Scholar, JSTOR, Sci-Hub; Extended Essays: English Guide, Cross-disciplinary Guide, MLA Template (Docs), MLA Template (Word),  MLA Sample Paper, Prescribed Reading List

14 Words You Need to Know

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Below is a table containing the words that make all the difference in a competent user of English, because according to James I. Brown, Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Minnesota, in his book Programmed Vocabulary, they contain the twenty most useful prefixes and the fourteen most important roots in our language. These constituent parts make up over 14,000 words in a collegiate dictionary size or close to an estimated 100,000 words in an unabridged dictionary. In other words, you should know these words and understand why they mean what they mean since doing so will grant you a superior vocabulary.  Click it for a slightly larger view.

 

100 Books Worth Reading

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If you’re looking for a book to challenge yourself with this summer (on top of summer reading), peruse this list.  Each of these works is very meaty, deep in meaning, ambiguous enough for interpretation, yet forceful enough to have had a lasting impression on Western culture.  Some are old; some are new.  There are writers of all nationalities included here, and the books’ years of publication range from the 16th century to today.  They have nothing in common other than the fact that they’re all legit literature.  Look a few up on Wikipedia; read the first chapter/scene: get a feel for the work.  If you find one that grabs you, read it in a scholarly way.  You’ll enjoy it more anyway if you grab onto some big theme early on.  Plus, you’ll remember it all the better.  I’ve intentionally avoided listing books that are already a part of SPHS’s assigned reading, so this is a deeper cut of works.  (A note of caution to sensitive minds: Some of these stories do include some sketchy content, so read at your own peril.)

  1. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (not the sci-fi story by H. G. Wells)
  2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevski
  4. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
  5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  6. King Lear by William Shakespeare
  7. Billy Budd by Herman Melville
  8. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
  9. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
  10. The Awakening by Kate Chopin Continue reading →