Syllabus June 1st to June 5th

Monday
In class:
MA Book II: Study Questions (this was supposed to be HW, but we are going to do it in class today instead).

HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: MA Book II: Study Questions (handout)
Due tomorrow: MA Book III: Study/response questions on Blog
Due Thursday: Finish reading MA. You will have class work based on your reading. QUIZ GRADE!


Tuesday
In class:
DUE: Book II class work AND Book III questions
Animal Farm Power point: symbols, satires and modern connections
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: none


Wednesday
In class:
Due: nothing :)
Animal Farm Power point: symbols, satires and modern connections
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: Finish reading MA. You will have class work based on your reading. QUIZ GRADE!


Thursday
In class:
DUE: Finish reading MA.
You will have class work: Essay
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: nothing


Friday
In class:
DUE: none
Notes on MA, reviewing the novel as a whole
HOMEWORK:
Due Monday: TEST: ALL MATERIALS.
Due Monday: Organize your notebook and bring it to class. Hint Hint.
Due Tuesday: Bring Table of Contents section for ALL TERMS. We will begin reviewing.

My Antonia: Book II and Book III

BOOK II: Chapters 10 to 15

• What is a hired girl? Why might the townspeople dislike them? Why might an immigrant or a foreginer be disliked? Compare/contrast the Harlings' and the Cutters' home life. How do the gendar roles differ between Mr. and Mrs. Harling and Mr. and Mrs. Cutter?
• Jim's commencement address to Antonia focuses on nostalgia and emotional success after the death of Antonia's father. What is emotional success? Why do you think that the event was an emotional success for Jim Burden? How do the feelings of Nostaligia affect the characters of Jim and Antonia? Their relationship with eachother? Is memory a reliable source of the past? How do memories mold and shape us?

BOOK III: All chapters (due Tuesday 6/2)

• A whole book in the novel is dedicated to Lena Lingard yet the book is titled My Antonia. Is My Antonia a book about Antonia? Why or why not? What might the author's intentions be dedicating a book to Lena Lingard?
• What two quotations from Virgil arrest Jims attention? How do these words give some insight into what Cather has done in My Antonia?
• How has Lena changed? Why does Jim find her interesting? What are her failings as a dressmaker? Why do her customers forgive her for them? Why does she care nto to get married? What does all of this indicate about her character?

Syllabus: May 25 to May 29

COME TO CLASS PREPARED!!!!

Bring your LIT BOOK and MY ANTONIA to class!!!

We are reading BOTH! Be prepared!

Monday
NO SCHOOL.

Tuesday
In class:
If you were absent on the day of the quiz, you MUST see me during a study or after school on TUESDAY in order to get credit. If you have any other problems, speak to me prior to this.
DUE: Ch 6 and 7 in Animal Farm
Begin Ch 8 and 9 and answer “Interpreting Meanings” # 6 to 14 on pg 850.
Finish for homework
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: MA: Book II: chapters 1 to 9, questions on the blog
Due Thursday: Read AF ch 10 and complete # 1 to 13 on page 855
Due Friday: MA Book II: ch 10 to 15 and response question on the blog.

Wednesday
In class:
Due: MA: Book II: chapters 1 to 9, questions on the blog
Review Animal Farm ch 8 and 9
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: Read ch 10. and complete the study questions
Due Friday: MA Book II: ch 10 to 15 and response question on the blog.

Thursday
In class:
DUE: Animal Farm: ch 10:Facts/interpreting meanings
The Novel as a whole
Plot structure, theme, satire, intent, etc.
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: MA Book II: ch 10 to 15 and response question on the blog.

Friday
In class:
DUE: MA Book II: ch 10 to 15 and response question on the blog.
QUIZ: Animal Farm ALL chapters.
HOMEWORK:
If you were absent on the day of the quiz, you MUST see me during a study or after school on MONDAY in order to get credit. If you have any other problems, speak to me prior to this.
Due Monday: MA Book II: Study Questions (handout)
Due Tuesday: MA Book III: Study/response questions on Blog

My Antonia: Book II, Ch 1 to 9

DUE: WEDNESDAY

Book II: The Hired Girls

As Jim's grandparents age, the Burdens move to the city of Black Hawk to escape the hardships of the farm and country life. The Burdens make an arrangement to bring Antonia to Black Hawk as hired help of the Harlings, who live next door. This arrangements allows Antonia to escape the hardship on the farm, the lowly expectations of her family, and to develop skills in housework. These chapters are filled with happiness and comfort and the reader can experience the relationship between Jim and Antonia.

• My Antonia focuses on the right thing to do. Antonia does what the Burdens feel is proper and right. How would the voice of these chapters change if Antonia were writing the novel instead and instead of Jim? It is also a novel where numerous characters appear and disappear. In the midst of chapters of contentment, how do the appearance and disappearance of characters ling to the characters joy and grief?

Lena Lingard, the beautiful daughter of Norwegian immigrants, moves from the country to Black Hawk and visits Antonia and the Harlings. Lena has been hired to assist in dressmaking. Many Stories surround Lena concerning her immoral and promiscuous nature. These chapters of MA are the climax of joy: dancing, music, parties, stories of visitors all inhabit their lives.

• What does Lena's character resemble or signify? How do the entry and disappearance of characters of joy affect the mood of the novel? Use rhetorical analysis to indicate what the mood is and the use of a disappearing character. What might characters such as Samson symbolize? Does any gloom exist among the gaiety of Black Hawk?

My Antonia: Ch 15 to 19 Response questions

Book I: Ch 15 to 19

Elaborate using specific evidence from the novel mixed with your own personal views. Each response question should be about 300 words in length.

1. How does religion determine the proper way to bury Mr. Shimerda and how does the country determine what is proper? Why is it significant that Mr. Shimerda is buried at a crossroads? How do the grandfather and Mrs. Shimerda have different views on the significance of being buried at a crossroads?
2. Hoe does hardship change a person? Positive example AND negative. How does Antonia change once her father dies? How about the Shimerda family? Are Jim's transformed feelings for Antonia justified, why or why not?

Syllabus: May 18th to May 22nd

BRING LITERATURE BOOK AND MY ANTONIA BOOK TO CLASS ALL THE TIME!

Monday
In class:
Due: I In MY Antonia, read Book 1: introduction and chapters 7 – 14 and complete response questions on blog.
Compare/Contrast experiences with characters to interviewee
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: Propaganda assignment
Due Wednesday: My Antonia: Book I: Ch 1 – 14 study questions
Due Friday: MA: Finish Book I: ch 15 to 19 and answer discussion questions (on Blog)
Due Friday: QUIZZZZZZZZZ! AF Ch 1-5, MA Ch 1 to 19 and background info for both.

Tuesday
In class:
DUE: Propaganda Assignment
Review
Discuss Examples
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: My Antonia: Book I: Ch 1 – 14 study questions

Wednesday
In class:
Due: My Antonia: Book I: Ch 1 – 14 study questions
BRING LITERATURE BOOK: Read Animal Farm Ch 5
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: AF: Finish ch. 5 and answer study questions.

Thursday
In class:
DUE: Animal Farm: ch 5
Plot analysis and Character development
Use of Satire/allegory
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow MA: Finish Book I: ch 15 to 19 and answer study questions, STUDY FOR QUIZZZZ…

Friday
In class:
DUE: MA: Finish Book I: ch 15 to 19 and answer study questions
QUIZ: Communism background info, George Orwell, Animal Farm, My Antonia!!
HOMEWORK:
NO SCHOOL MONDAY (MEMORIAL DAY)
If you were absent on the day of the quiz, you MUST see me during a study or after school on MONDAY in order to get credit. If you have any other problems, speak to me prior to this.
Due Tuesday: AF: Read chapters 6 and 7, complete BOTH sides of EACH handout
Due Wed: MA: Book II: chapters 1 to 9, questions on the blog

My Antonia: Chapters 7 to 14 response Questions:

Response Questions:

BOOK I: Chapters 4 – 8:

The untamed land of Nebraska is difficult for the new immigrant family, and Mr. Shimerda encounters great hardships. Mr. Shimerds’s hopes brighten when he meets two Ukrainian friends, Peter and Pave. The two Russian immigrants escaped the Ukraine and came to the United States (and for some of you, this is similar to your interview assignment) after a tragic evening: an entire wedding party was over taken by wolves! Also, in these chapters, Antonia and Jim Burden’s relationship blossoms and develops around one of varying roles: age, gender, strength, language, and origin.

• What hardship does Mr. Shimerda Face? How do Peter and Pavel help to lighten his depression? Hoe does the story of Peter and Pavel in the Ukraine affect their new lives in the United States? What are the various factors that affect Jim and Antonia’s relationship? How do the other characters’ experiences change/affect their perspective on gender, age, education, language, and origin?


BOOK I: Chapters 9 – 14:

In this section two major concepts are in focus: religion and hardships. The Shimerdas are struggling during their first winter in Nebraska’s countryside while the Burdens are enjoying a snowy comfortable Christmas in the same region. The Shimerdas living conditions, food supply, and mental and physical health are in jeopardy. As a result, the Burdens take care of them. Despite their different religious beliefs, the Shimerdas find that differences in religion are overridden by the goodness in people

• How does religion play a part in setting the TONE of My Antonia? Find THREE passages that indicate the tone and explain how religion is important in those passages. Do religious differences divide or separate the Shimerdas and the Burdens? How do the hardship that the Shimerdas face during their first country winter and the family’s strong faith in religion connect?

Syllabus: 5/11 to 5/15

Monday
In class:
Due: In MY Antonia, read Book 1: introduction and chapters 1 – 3 and complete response questions
Mini Rhetorical Analysis
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: Using chapters 1-3 in Book One: complete the Rhetorical Analysis Handout
Due Wednesday: Animal Farm: Read chapters 1-2 on pages 810-817 in Lit Book.
Due Thursday: Nebraska Worksheet
Due Thursday: Please have your parents sign and date the open notebook test from Term 4. This will count as a HW grade.
Due Friday: Interview!!!


Tuesday
In class:
DUE: Chapters 1-3 rhetorical analysis
Read MA chapters 4-6 and complete a Rhetorical Analysis, finish for HW
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: Chapter 4-6 reading and Rhetorical Analysis
Due Tomorrow: Animal Farm: Read chapters 1-2 on pages 810-817 in Lit Book and complete handouts


Wednesday
In class:
Due: Chapter 4-6 reading and Rhetorical Analysis
IN LIT BOOK: we will read/complete character charts for AF.
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: Animal Farm: Read chapters 3-4 on pages 818 to 823 in Lit Book and complete handouts
Due tomorrow: SIgned Test from Term 4
Due tomorrow: Nebraska Worksheet (given to you on Monday 5/11)


Thursday
In class:
DUE: Animal Farm:: chapters 3 and 4/handouts, Signed Test, Nebraska
Review Propaganda Assignment
HOMEWORK:
· Due tomorrow: INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT: IF YOU ARE NOT IN SCHOOL YOU MUST GET IT TO ME SOMEHOW!


Friday
In class:
DUE: Interview: You MUST get your interview to me if you are not here or ZERO
Group assignment

HOMEWORK:
Due Monday: In My Antonia, read Book 1: introduction and chapters 7 – 14 (pages 24 - 52) and complete response questions on blog.
Due Tuesday: Propaganda Assignment

Songs for Spring

Hey team...
I thought I would put this on here to spread some spring time smiles.
Here is a clip from Britains Got Talent. Shaheen is 12 years old and this kid has an amazing set of pipes; it almost makes me cry - he is that good! I couldn't embed the video, so I posted the link below (it picks up about the :58 mark).


Click here: Shaheen Jafargholi sings Michael Jackson


I am a big fan of a capella groups and came across this yesterday. Both songs by musical greats, are often duplicated but never replicated, although this guy does each song some justice; you can't help but dance and sing along. The performer's name is Nate Tao and I think he is fantastic. I hope you enjoy!

"Isn't She Lovely"






"I Want You Back" (he kills it all the way through the end...)







If you want to learn more about Nate Tao, you can go to his website: www.natetao.com

If you want to share you thoughts on his "awesomeness" you are free to leave them in the comment section below!

Enjoy!

~Ms. G

Julius Caesar and The Odyssey

TOPIC:

Compare the two works of literature. Use your brainstorm, find a connective thread, and prove it to be true using evidence of the text.

RUBRIC:

_____/5: Introduction: engaging hook, stated topic, indicates the titles and author of each work, thesis

_____/15: Body Paragraphs: topic sentences that support your thesis, examples and citations from the text are used to support your topic sentences and your thesis. Analysis of the citations indicates an understanding of the literature and shows a strong connection between the two.

_____/5: Conclusion: Summarizes the essay, adds the “so what” and give some food for thought, lesson, moral, etc


_____/10: MLA format: heading, headers, title, margins, works cited page, proper citations, final copy ready!

_____/15: Turnitin: submitted and uploaded to turnitin.com by the start of class.

My Antonia

Book I: Introduction

The First Narrator in MA is an unnamed speaker who grew up with Jim Burden and meets him years later on a train. Jim tells his story in response to this mysterious figure, who disappears from the novel as soon as the introduction is over.

• Why might Willa Cather begin her novel with an introduction from an unnamed female acquaintance of Jim Burden?
• How does this first narrator's disappearance foreshadow other with drawls within this novel, which at times resembles a series of departures, the events, the mood and the tone of the novel?
• what effect does this device have on the reader? Why might Cather have chosen to frame her narrative this way?
• Why does Jim title his manuscript "My Antonia"? What does he mean when he states, "It's through myself that I knew and felt her"?

Book 1: Chapters 1 - 3

At the start of the novel, Jim Burden is moving to his grandparents' farm new Black Hawk Nebraska as a result of his parents death. Once there, Jim learns that a new family of Bohemian immigrants, the Shimerdas, had moved into a home near Black Hawk. The Shimerdas' journey to their new home was difficult: they were cheated out of money upon purchasing their new farm, inhibited by language barriers and struggled against the hardships of being a new immigrant in the strange and untamed land.

• Compare and contrast Jim Burden's move out west with the Shimerdas move. How would the voice of the book differ if Mr. Shimerda, Jake, Antonia or the grandmother wrote the first few chapters?

Syllabus: 5/4 to 5/8

Monday
In class:
WELCOME TO TERM 5!!!! HOME STRETCH!
If you missed the TEST from last week, you need to see my during study hall By the close of school on TUESDAY!!! Otherwise, you will earn a ZERO.
Due: Complete Outline
Begin Rough Draft
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: Bring notes, outlines to class.
Due Thursday: essay!!!!! Final copy ready, uploaded to turnitin by the start of class.

Tuesday
In class:
DUE: notes, outlines, JC/Odyssey Book
Work on Rough Draft
HOMEWORK:
Due Tomorrow: Finish Rough Draft if possible, TYPE for tomorrow)

Wednesday
In class:
Due: Rough Draft
Peer editing
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: ESSAY: FINAL COPY READY/Turnitin, MLA format

Thursday
In class:
DUE: ESSAY, FINAL COPY READY!!!
Pass out My Antonia
Review Interview assignment: Due Friday May 15th
HOMEWORK:
Due tomorrow: Read/mark up background information on George Orwell and Animal Farm.

Friday
In class:
DUE: Background information on Animal Farm, Communism, Socialism
HOMEWORK:
Due Monday 5/4: In MY Antonia, read Book 1: introduction and chapters 1 – 3 and complete response questions (Posted on the Blog)
Due Friday May 15th: Interview