Fishbowl Preparation Questions for FRIDAY, November 1st

Happy Halloween, English 98-ers!

In case you need a second look at them, here are the fishbowl prep questions for this Friday's discussion on OMAM, chapters 1-3.

Fishbowl Preparation

 

Main Text: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Chapters 1,2, and 3

 

Directions: In preparation for the fishbowl discussion on Friday, 11/2, answer these guiding questions with your thoughts, opinions, personal experiences, and evidence from the first half of Of Mice and Men. Each response should include at least 1 quote from the text to support. Answer on a separate sheet of paper.

 

1.     Talk about Lennie and George’s friendship. Would you qualify it as a true friendship? What does each character “bring to the relationship”?

 

2.     Of Mice and Men has an allegorical quality, with each character possessing a specific trait that represents something in society. (Allegories are stories that symbolize some bigger idea in a culture.) Choose 2 characters and figure out what “bigger idea” Steinbeck is exploring through them.

 

3.     How does Steinbeck make the reader sympathetic toward Lennie?

 

4.     Analyze Steinbeck’s descriptions of the natural world. What role does nature play in the novel?

 

5.     Steinbeck uses several characters and scenes to develop his theme of dreams/The American Dream.  What he seem to be telling us about achieving dreams? (Think back also to question 5 on your opinionnaire from Monday.)

 

Questions: Write down at least 2-3 questions you would like to explore further or that comes out of your thinking from the previous questions.

Quizlet Vocab and Characterization Terms Study

Hi Ladies and Gents,

Here is a link to a site that lets you create free flash cards (for anything that you'd like to study, not just English!) I took the liberty of making a set for "The Possibility of Evil." Remember, we have a test on this story this Friday before you head off for fall break.


Besides flash cards, the site has built-in games you can play to sharpen your vocab skills. Check it out if you're interested.

 http://quizlet.com/15099280/the-possibility-of-evil-vocabulary-flash-cards/

 Have fun!

MLA Header and Heading

Hi English 98ers,

Below are a couple of tutorials on YouTube that might be helpful as you're finishing up your final drafts.

Here's one for using Word 2010 on a Windows computer. (Only the first 6-7 minutes or so are what you need - the rest is about creating a works cited page, which we're not doing with this essay):

If you have an older computer like mine and are using Word 2007, here are some slightly different directions:

Here's another for using Microsoft Word on a Mac:

If you're using Pages on a Mac, try the Microsoft Word for Mac directions, as I couldn't find a tutorial for that one. If you do find a good one, send it to me!

Homework - Fishbowl preparation for Friday, Oct 5th

Fishbowl Preparation

Main Text: The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

Directions: In preparation for the fishbowl discussion on Friday, answer these guiding questions with your thoughts, opinions, personal experiences, and evidence from The Most Dangerous Game. Each response should include at least 2 quotes from the text to support. Answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1.      Civilized vs. Uncivilized? At what point does a person cross that boundary? Who or what can we consider “civilized” in The Most Dangerous Game?

 IIs it inhumane to kill animals? How about humans? Where do Rainsford and Zaroff draw the line? Where do you draw the line?

3.      What does Richard Connell want to communicate to us as readers about humans in general? Consider the background information about big game hunting and General Zaroff’s game. Are humans naturally good, evil, selfish….? What evidence from the story gives the author’s opinion on that?

 

Questions: Write down at least 2-3 questions you would like to explore further or that comes out of your thinking from the previous questions.

Autobiography Journal #1 - 9/27

Autobiography Journal Topics:

 

Choose ONE and write a longer journal entry about it (about a page and a half).

 

Don’t worry too much about grammar, spelling, or organization at this point. Those things will come later!

 

1.   Jim McLaren’s life was changed forever in two separate moments. Think of a “moment” in your life that you recall vividly, which taught you something you’ve never forgotten, and describe that moment.

 

2.   What is the best gift you’ve ever given OR the best gift you’ve ever received? Describe the gift, when you gave/received it, and what the experience made you realize. What made it such a great gift?

 

3.   First impressions are tough to overcome, but often they are wrong. Write about a time when you misjudged someone upon first meeting them OR a time when someone misjudged you upon first meeting you.

 

One of these topics will eventually form the basis of your autobiographical narrative. For today, you’re just writing about 1 ½ pages to get your brain moving.

Journal Entry 9/25

Hi English 98-ites,

In case you were absent, here is the journal entry from yesterday (Tuesday, September 25th):

9/25 ASP/Emmanuel's Gift Journal

Because of an accident, Finny lost his leg and also his athletic dreams. Think of something you are really good at or enjoy doing. Now, imagine life without being able to do that activity. How would you react? Would you try to do something else? Would you become bitter? Etc...

ASP Response Packet Requirements

Chapters 1-3 - Questions and 1 quotation response

Chapters 4-6 - Questions and 1 quotation response

Chapters 7-9 - ONLY one quotation response

Chapters 10-11 - TWO quotation responses

Chapters 12-13 - TWO quotation responses

Make sure that you rewrite any responses that might not be legible (for instance, if you wrote them directly onto your questions/quotations sheet and they got a little cramped, etc.) They can be handwritten or typed, as long as you attach the original page (the one with the stamp).

Please have these stapled in order by the time you come to class on Tuesday. If you need to staple at school, staple BEFORE the bell rings. Thanks!

Journal Check September 18th

Journal entries that you should have up to September 13th:

1. 8/24 - Impressions of your first week of high school

2. 8/28 - What is bullying? How would you define it in your own words? Tell me about a time you witnessed bullying.

3. 8/31 - ASP Journal #1 What makes someone a true friend? Can you be friends with someone you feel like you have to compete against? Why or why not?

4. 9/5 - ASP Journal #2 - What might go through your mind if you returned, after many years, to a place where you learned an important lesson about life? Have you ever done this? If so, what was it like?

5. 9/6 - ASP Journal #3 - In chapter 5, Gene visits Finny at his house. If you were Finny, what would you say to Gene about the accident? Why?

6. 9/7 - ASP Journal #4 - Is there ever a time when telling someone the truth can hurt them more than lying to them? Or is it always better to be completely honest? Give examples to support your opinion.

7. 9/11 - ASP Journal #5 - Our country is at war right now (much as it was in A Separate Peace.) We don't currently have the draft (a requirement for young men to go to war), but there is sometimes talk of bringing it back. 1 - If we did, would you wait to be drafted, choose to enlist, or try to avoid the war entirely? 2 - What do you see as our "patriotic duty" today?

8. 9/13 - ASP Journal #6 - Which character do you admire the most, and why do you admire them? Which character do you admire the least, and why?

Weekend Reminders

Due on Tuesday, September 18th

1. Journal check (all journal entries so far.) Please search your notebooks (and see the separate post if you think you might be missing any) and have these ready to go Tuesday.

2. ASP Responses - Please find these, staple them in order by chapter, and have them ready to go for Tuesday. If any are not legible, please type or re-write them. Only responses with a stamp (to show that it was on-time) will be counted towards your grade.

3. ASP and/or mythology test makeups - see the entry below for full details (deadlines, etc.)

Please email if you have any questions or want to schedule a test makeup time and have an excellent 3-day weekend!

A few reminders

Hello English 98ites,

Here are just a few reminders that I'd like to share with you here (and will share with you in class as well tomorrow.)

1. HOMEWORK - Our last set of ASP quotations are due tomorrow for stamping! (Chapters 12-13) The stamp you get on these tells me that your work was complete on the day it was due. At the end of our fishbowl discussions, I will collect these into a big stapled packet and I will give you one big grade for them once all chapters have been discussed.

One last rundown of what I'm looking for in each of your TWO quotation responses: a short paragraph telling me 1) where the quotation came from (who was speaking and in what situation?), 2) why is it significant to the overall story?, and 3) why you personally liked it/found it interesting/connected to it.

2. GRADES - Now that you and your parents can log in to Zangle/Q and see your grades, a lot of questions have been coming up about how the fishbowls are graded and about overall grades in general. To answer some of those questions, I'd like to offer the following reminders:

*Fishbowls are decided by an average that has to do with the number of students in a circle and the number of minutes that each group discusses each day. From this I figure out the number of times I would reasonably expect a student to participate on that day, and compare that to the number of times your partner observes you participating as well as my own notes and observations of you throughout the day. From there I assign you a number of points that go into the gradebook. Observing you all last week has given me some ideas for how I might make the system even a bit more fair this week, so there may be some changes here and there as I look at your participation this weekend.

One important thing to consider: first, some of us find it easier to publicly share our thoughts than others do. That's perfectly normal and as an example, I offer myself - I didn't really find it easy to talk about my opinions in a group of any size until I was in college (really!). I would often feel that I didn't know enough about the book, or someone could say it better than I could, or I would never know quite when or how to jump in.... some of this is probably sounding familiar to you, yes? That's why we're practicing - to get more comfortable at it.

That said, know that even if you aren't 100% certain that what you have to say is worthwhile or well-phrased enough, IT DOESN'T MATTER! That's the beauty of our discussions. You can ask one of the discussion questions from the summer reading, reading it straight from the page. You can also read your quotation response right from the page (you ARE coming prepared with your homework every day, right? Right???) You can agree with something someone else said and just rephrase it. You can read part of your journal entry or ask someone else to share theirs. You have a lot of resources available to you and you shouldn't feel like you have to invent something new every time you speak in the fishbowl. I know that can be tough! Fishbowl discussions are times for us to test new ideas and to use your peers help you through confusions.

If you're still feeling uncertain about the fishbowls, know that although it seems like it's a big part of your grade these past two weeks, there will be plenty of ways for you to shine in the writing and other types of assignments we have coming up in the next couple of weeks.

* Many of you still haven't taken one or both of the Mythology and A Separate Peace tests that we took on the second day of school. Having one or both of those as zeros in your grade right now is a BIG chunk of missing points (50 for ASP, 58 for Mythology). Right now that is probably the biggest percentage of your grade, so if you are missing either of those tests, please come see me to make an appointment to make these things up.

*On a similar note, many of you took the tests but ended up not doing so well. In fairness to the students who added into the Honors right as school was starting, everyone gets the chance to retake either or both of these tests in hopes for a higher grade. Please come see me about scheduling a time to take care of these things.

****You have until Wednesday, October 17th to take care of this. Be aware that you have to take your test by Friday, September 21st (next Friday!) if you would like your score to be included on your upcoming progress report.****

3. A big thank you to those of you who came to Back to School Night last night - it was so nice meeting your families. They support you and that's a really special thing!

See you tomorrow and thank you for reading,
Ms. Zero

Ps: I hope you enjoy feeding the fish!

A Word About Grades....

Good evening, English 98ers,

I've spoken to a couple of you about this already, but I just wanted to remind you (or tell you for the first time) that my computer grade book is having problems, problems which have caused a few of my classes to get stuck with giving Fs to everybody (sounds like a nightmare, right?) Many other teachers have been having problems as well and I have been talking with them to figure out what has gone wrong. It looks like I've cracked it, but I won't be able to fix it up until probably Saturday or Sunday. So be on the lookout Sunday night for things to be normal!

In the mean time, keep coming to class prepared with your excellent questions and thoughts about A Separate Piece. See you tomorrow for chapters 4-6!

ASP Reading/Discussion Calendar

Greetings, English 98!

Here's a bit of a calendar for when you need to be ready to bring in your written ASP homework for each set of chapters.

Thursday, September 6th: Chapters 4-6 due, part one of 4-6 discussion.

Friday, September 7th: Part two of 4-6 discussion.

****

Monday, September 10th: Chapters 7-9 due, part one of 7-9 discussion.

Tuesday, September 11th: Part two of 7-9 discussion.

Wednesday, September 12th: Chapters 10-11 due, part one of 10-11 discussion.

Thursday, September 13th: Part two of 10-11 discussion.

Friday, September 14th: Chapters 12-13 due, part one of 12-13 discussion.

****
Monday, September 17th: No school!

Tuesday, September 18th: Finish 12-13 discussion.

Please let me know if you have any questions by coming to see me in class! (Lunchtime/after school/right at the beginning/end of class.)

A Separate Piece Discussion Questions and Quotations

Greetings English 98 Students!

For each set of questions and quotations for ASP, please do the following:

1. Answer the questions at the top of the page. Those of you who did your summer homework should have no trouble completing these - it's fine with me if you use the same information.

2. Choose one quotation and write a short paragraph telling me the following:

1. What is the context of this quotation? (Who said it, what is happening at this point in the story, etc.)
2. Why is it a significant quotation? (What does it show us about a character or a big idea in the story?)
3. Why did you connect to it? (Did it remind you of something you've seen or experienced, etc.?)

You may write this information on a separate piece (ha!) of paper, either handwritten or typed. These responses will help you prepare for our class discussions each day, so please complete them carefully!