Contents of a Dead Man's Pocket

Here is a link to the short story we read in class:
Contents of a Dead Man's Chest by Jack Finney

We stopped at the part when Tom was trying to break his apartment window open.  Please finish the rest of the story at home.

When we come back on Monday we will:

• Analyze Setting and Mood
• Analyze Cause and Effect
• Write an adrenaline fueled scene with a partner that plays with time sequence and pacing (slow motion/fastforward)

Week 3 Elements of Literature: Plot, Setting, and Mood

This is review for many of us, but practice always makes perfect.  We took notes, read a variety of sample text to identify and analyze ELEMENTS of LITERATURE:

• Plot
• Flashback/Foreshadowing
• Internal/External Conflict
• Setting and Mood

ALSO...

We focused on using a simple formula to analyze plot.

Somebody wants...but...so... (but...so..., but...so.., but... so...)

• Somebody=Character
• Wants...But...= main conflict
• So...= rising action begins the series of events

The History of English in 10 Minutes

This is an OPEN University animated series "The History of English in 10 Minutes"

This is part 1 of 10.  Search for the title on Youtube to find the rest.

Which groups of people influenced the English language we know today?

How did individuals contribute to the English language?

Which words or phrases that have been added to the English language over the centuries surprised you the most?


Next, we will go over our notes as a whole and write a summary of each chapter and a summary of the whole 10 part presentation.

Lecture- Personal Goal Draft from week 1

Part 1

Part 2

Homework Due Midnight on Saturday, September 17, 2011

Please complete the survey at this link.

http://goo.gl/0TMF9

The survey will be closed after Saturday 9/17/11.

Day 2: Responsibility, Evacuation and Goals

We analyzed characters in The Story of Harvey and wrote a paragraph about responsibility in response to the text.

You can read the story here:

http://charactercounts.org/pdf/lesson-plan-bank_handouts/The-Story-Of-Harvey.pdf

• What does our discussion suggest about responsibility?
• What did you learn from this process about communication, cooperation, and decision-making?

After you wrote your paragraphs I asked if it was fair to blame one person in this kind of situation.

We'll have to look at another pillar of character, FAIRNESS, later on in the course and revisit Harvey's situation later.

    

EVACUATION

e‧vac‧u‧ate

1 [transitive] to send people away from a dangerous place to a safe place

evacuate somebody from/to something

Several families were evacuated from their homes.

During the war he was evacuated to Scotland.

2 [intransitive and transitive] to empty a place by making all the people leave:

Police evacuated the area.

The order was given to evacuate.

3 [transitive] formal to empty your bowels

—evacuation noun [uncountable and countable]

the evacuation of British troops from the area

Police ordered the evacuation of the building.

Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

We started to work on setting our personal goals with a list of tangible and intangible assets. 

Tangible Assets:  objects, money, places, people, 

Intangible Assets: ideas, relationships

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”-- Jimmy Dean

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”-- Larry Elder

Day 1 Feedback Questions

Whats the difference between the work this year and last year?

Like I mentioned in class, it will follow the same format as your freshman year. See the curriculum map on the link to the right. Since this is a pre-honors class, we will be using reading and writing strategies such as SOAPSTONE I learned during the AP English course I took over the summer. We will be using more strategies to delve deeper into the text instead of just touching on a wide variety of text. The new textbook will also have text we haven't seen in your freshman class last year.

How are you?

I'm okay. I caught a cold two days before school started and I'm just getting over it. Must be the stress of the first day of school.

Are we going to use our books more?

It depends on the material we encounter. Sometimes a story might segway to a news article or speech not available in the textbook.
How much work do we get?

It might be less than what you had last year. We want to focus on quality instead of quantity.
Are we required to participate in the Def Jam this year?

I am leaning towards making it a requirement. I think as freshmen last year we had an excuse to sit out Poetry Jam as spectators because we were "new". I think we need to step up to the bat this year to set an example for the freshmen. That way they can entertain you for the next two years!
Are we going to use the textbooks a lot?

At least until the 3rd quarter.
Will we be making another movie?

I think we should try an expository format. Any suggestions? It will give us the opportunity to hone our video editing/ production skills.
Is the bellwork going to be from the news?

Not as much as last year. It depends if the news articles/ reports are relevant to the literature in the textbook or if it warrants special attention because of situations that directly affect our lives in some way.
Is it easy to get an A?

With the right effort, goals, and attitude; anything seems easy to accomplish.
Why is character counts only worth 5%?

I expect that you have matured a bit since last year and have a deeper sense of responsibility. This also means that the other 5% of your grade (character counts was 10% last year) will go into the effort placed in your work rather than your behavior.

Happy 10th Birthday Kagman High School!

Welcome to the Kagman High English 10 Pre-Honors class weblog.  I will be posting relevant class information such as learning objectives, notes, printed materials used in class such as graphic organizers, announcements, homework information, etc.  I will try my best to update this blog on a daily basis to reflect on the day's lesson.  You are welcome to make comments on any blog posts and I will be happy to address any concerns as we progress through the semester.