April 30th

Remember that your Brave New World characterization projects are due tomorrow by 7:30 AM to Google Classroom. 

Please review for Wednesday, May 2nd. 

Session 2: Blended Writing Test
Wednesday, May 2nd (2nd/6th Hour)
Thursday, May 3rd (1st/3rd Hour)

Review the following handouts/scoring guides for Session 2:

• Blended Writing Handout
• Transition words

Review the THREE scoring guides for the Blended Writing test:
    4 point- Content development: Blended Writing- Content Development (4 Points)
    4 point- Organization and flow: Blended Writing- Content and flow (4 points)
    2 point- Conventions: Blended Writing: Conventions (2 points)

April 27th

1. Turn in practice Blended writing outline for EOC test.

2. Do practice EOC test questions on test software... review tutorial on how to use software tools.

Homework(ish) for this weekend: 

Session 1: Multiple Choice Test
Monday, April 30th (2nd/6th Hour)
Tuesday, May 1st (1st/3rd Hour)

Review the following EOC Quizlets a few times each:
EOC Literary Terms Quizlet
EOC Comma Rules Quizlet
EOC Grammar Rules
EOC Standardized Test Language

Session 2: Blended Writing Test
Wednesday, May 2nd (2nd/6th Hour)
Thursday, May 3rd (1st/3rd Hour)

Review the following handouts/scoring guides for Session 2:

• Blended Writing Handout
• Transition words

Review the THREE scoring guides for the Blended Writing test:
    4 point- Content development: Blended Writing- Content Development (4 Points)
    4 point- Organization and flow: Blended Writing- Content and flow (4 points)
    2 point- Conventions: Blended Writing: Conventions (2 points)

UPCOMING ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Brave New World  characterization project due: Tuesday, May 1st at 7:30 AM to Classroom.

April 25th

1. Brave New World quiz- Chapters 1-8.

2. EOC Practice Writing Test:

1. Turn to page 41 on the pdf found below.
EOC Practice Writing Test
2. Open a Google Document and take out a piece of paper.
3. Read through the prompt on page 48 first.
4. Look over the Blended Writing Handout found here: Blended Writing Handout
5. Review the THREE scoring guides for the Blended Writing test:
    4 point- Content development: Blended Writing- Content Development (4 Points)
    4 point- Organization and flow: Blended Writing- Content and flow (4 points)
    2 point- Conventions: Blended Writing: Conventions (2 points)

6. Sketch out an outline for the prompt. Consider where you will be integrating the three styles of writing (narrative, expository, argument) in your response.
Mark these on your outline with a: N, E, A.  You will be turning in your outline. Remember this is only the body of your paper.

7. From your outline, start your paper. Write your body first. Intro. Conclusion. Submit your practice draft to Google Classroom.

Homework:
Be through chapter 9 for Friday.
Don't forget about BNW characterization projects.

April 24th

1. EOC practices on USATESTPREP.  Please have these completed by April 25th.
You will find 4 practice exercises addressing:

• Citing textual evidence- literary texts
• Finding central idea- literary texts
• Evaluating argument- info texts
• Determining meaning of words- info texts. 

2. Before block day, please review the EOC literary term quizlet at least 3-4 times.

3. Before your block day, please review the EOC comma rules quizlet at least 3-4 times.

Don't forget your BNW characterization project.

Just when you are feeling down... overwhelmed by life... think, you could be this guy..
This guy...

April 23rd

1. For Wednesday/Thursday- Be through Chapter 8 in Brave New World. We will have a quiz over the first 8 chapters.

2. Characterization: The manner in which the author creates a character.

Characters are the vehicle of the author's purpose/message in a book. As we experience a character we learn what to do/think/react... or what not to do/think/react. Though an author can explicitly describe a character (physical descriptions, personality traits.. and how we should ingest these offerings), now that you are reading more nuanced texts, the characterization is often implicit (we must ingest characters' dialogue, interactions with other characters, perspectives, etc. in order to come to conclusions of purpose).

Brave New World Characterization Presentation

 You will be creating a fabulous Google Presentation which will show your analysis of the major characters of Huxley's Brave New World.

The characters you will need to address for this project are: Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, Hemholtz Watson, Mustapha Mond, and John the Savage.

 In your analysis, you will need to address the following:
1. What historical individuals served as inspiration to each character's names? Research. Cite sources.
2. How is Huxley using that historical individual to create his character? Have they been created to mirror certain characteristics or to contrast them?
3. A general explanation of who the character is within BNW.
4. 2 personality traits that accurately depict each character within the book. Think to personality traits.. not results of the trait. Psychoanalyze them, Dr. Freud.
5. 2 VERY accurate quotes PER TRAIT from BNW. Cited correctly.
6. Explanation of how the quote represents the specific character.
7. For EACH character, you will need a "final analysis". This means YOUR personal explanation of relevance and purpose of this character... how Huxley is using him/her in the book... What are we supposed to learn from them? How do they support Huxley's purpose for writing BNW.
8. For each character, you will need to settle on a real-life individual that you feel would best "play" this character. Upload their image with each character and explain why you chose this individual to represent this character.

This characterization study is due to Google Classroom by May 1st at 7:30 AM.

April 18th

1. Practice EOC Test. Today we are going through the practice EOC test in pairs.

• Practice test found here: EOC Practice Test
• You will be paired up to work on this test. 
• Take out a piece of paper between the two of you. 
• Together, you will be taking the test, but submitting one answer sheet. 
• On the paper, together, you will be jotting down what you notice about each question. This can be: what content is being asked about? What do you notice about the wording? What literary/language terms/jargon do you notice? What type of questions do you see? Bloom's taxonomy/or educational terms do you notice? YOU WILL TURN THIS IN to Mrs. Cole. 

For FRIDAY:
1. Select ONE characteristic that you feel is exemplified in the first chapters of Brave New World. Open Google Classroom and submit in comments you characteristic and your explanation of why you feel it is the most prominent with evidence to back up your selection.

2. Be through Chapter 6 in Brave New World. 

Chapters 4-6
1. What does the narrator suggest is the source of Bernard’s self-consciousness and dissatisfaction with society? Describe Bernard’s friend Helmholtz. How are Helmholtz’s self-consciousness and dissatisfaction with society different from Bernard’s?
2. What is the function of the Solidarity Service? Discuss the various ways in which this purpose is accomplished (the various facets of the Service). Why do you think most of the attendees react so strongly to the Service? How does Bernard react, and why? What aspects of Christianity do you recognize in the Service, and why would these things have been preserved?
3. What do you think Bernard means when he speaks of wanting to be “free to be happy in some other way”? What does he mean when he says that he wants to “try the effect of arresting [his] impulses,” and how does that idea apply to his relationship with Lenina? What does he mean when he says that he wants to be an adult all the time—how are the people of this society “infants where feeling and desire are concerned”? What does Lenina’s reaction to Bernard’s unhappiness about their date show about her? (Refer to these lines near the end of Part 1: “Lenina felt all her triumph suddenly evaporate. Perhaps he had found her too plump, after all.”)
4. Why is talking about the “remote past” (probably anything more than a year before) a taboo?What do you think drives the Director to unconsciously violate this taboo? What do Bernard’s initial reaction to being reprimanded, his bragging to Helmholtz, and his reaction upon learning of his impending transfer to Iceland (Part 3) show about his character?
5. Why do you think the Reservations are maintained? What is shown about the people of this society by their attitude toward and treatment of the “savages”?

6. How does the novel suggest that the average person of this society would react to being exposed to images of nature such as the ocean and the night sky (recall Lenina’s reaction when Bernard makes her look at the ocean)? Why do you think they would react this way?

April 17th

1. BNW questions are due today at the beginning of class.

2.  Review the Dystopian Literature Characteristics (received on first day of BNW. See April 9th post).  For class Wednesday, have multiple examples of how BNW functions as a dystopian text. Search for a minimum of two examples for each characteristic. Put these in your notes.

3.  EOC Prep: Please review the EOC Literary Terms Quizlet a minimum of 5 times before class on Wednesday. AS10 Lit Terms Quizlet- EOC

4. Read Chapter 5 of Brave New World for Wednesday 

April 16th

1. For Tuesday, read chapter 4 of Brave New World. 
2. Complete the following questions on paper.. to turn in... on Tuesday!

Chapter 4
1. What is life like for the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron who runs the elevator?
2. How do the other Alphas relate to Bernard?
3. What does Lenina do on her date?
4. What does she think of the lower castes?
5. Why is Bernard the way he is? What does he really want?
6. Why is Helmholtz the way he is? What does he want? How is he different from Bernard?

April 13th

Happy Friday!

Today we are going to examine the first 3 chapters of Brave New World. 

1. You will be getting into groups of 4. Take out your BNW anticipation guide. In your small groups, go over the questions and your responses to each question. You will turn in your guides after your discussion.

2. As a group, you will go through the first 3 chapters of discussion questions. This is to make sure that you are grasping the significant events that occurring in each chapter, so you can move on to analysis.

DUE MONDAY:
Read Chapter 4-5 of Brave New World. 

April 11th.

1. Have your BNW anticipation guides for Friday, April 13th.

2. Read through Chapter 3 for Friday, April 13th.  Annotate your text. Make sure that you have notes on Chapter 1-3 in your notebooks. The last part of chapter 3 has 4 different conversations going at once.

Questions to help your annotations and notes.

Chapter 1:
1. Why is the first sentence strange? What does it set up?
2. What is the meaning of the World State’s motto “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY?”
3. Why does the fertilizing room look so cold, when it ia actually hot inside? What goes on there?
4. Why do particulars “make for virtue and happiness,” while generalities “are intellectually necessary evils?”
5. How do people know who they are in this society?
6. Why use the Bokanovsky process at all? How is it an instrument “of social stability?”
7. Why don’t the Epsilons “need human intelligence?”

Chapter 2
1. What work does the conditioning do? Who gets conditioned? How does hypnopaedia work?
2. Why condition the Deltas to hate nature but love outdoor sports?
3. How does time work in this book? History? Why does Ford say “History is Bunk?”
4. What are the various castes like, and why?
5. How do the students demonstrate their own conditioning?

Chapter 3
1. How do the children play together? What is childhood like?
2. How is our world depicted? How do we get from here to there?
3. Why must games be so complex in this society?
4. Why are strong emotions dangerous? Family relationships? Romance? Religion? Art? Culture?
5. How is sexuality used in this novel? Do you see any problems with it?
6. What does Mustapha Mond do? What is his relationship to history?
7. Is there anything unusual about Lenina Crowne? Bernard Marx? What? Why?
8. How does Huxley use the cinematic technique toward the end of this chapter?
9. What is soma? What are its uses?
10. How do people age in this society?

April 10th

1. Complete the following Brave New World anticipation guide. Anticipation Guide- BNW
- Open document. Make a copy of it for yourself. Close my copy.
- Print off finished guide for class on Wednesday, April 11th.

2. Read chapter 2 for Wednesday, April 11th.  Make sure that you have notes on Chapter 1 and 2 in your notebooks.

Questions to consider for Chapter 2:
- Why are the babies being conditioned to hate books and flowers?
-  How is the conditioning reinforced?
- What is the name of the deity in this world?
-  Why is "mother" such an obscene word?

April 9th

1. Taming of the Shrew "Ten Things" projects are due by the beginning of class.
2. Receive Brave New World.  Read chapter 1 by Wednesday/Thursday.

Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics,
laws, customs, and conditions.

Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and
the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic,
technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated
worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or
political system. 

Characteristics of a Dystopian Society
• Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.
• Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.
• A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society.
• Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.
• Citizens have a fear of the outside world.
• Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
• The natural world is banished and distrusted.
• Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.
• The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

Questions to consider when reading Chapter 1: 

•      Who is the D.H.C.?
•       What is Bokanovsky's Process?
•        Explain why Bokanovsky's Process is one of the major instruments of social stability.
•       What is the point of conditioning?
•      Why does Huxley fill the first chapter with such complex scientific descriptions? What is the effect on the reader?

April 4th

Today marks 50 years since a powerful light was extinguished in Memphis, Tennessee. April 4th, 1968. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.

Just the evening before, King delivered one of his most powerful, yet prophetic speeches, "I've Been to the Mountaintop".

Find the full text here: King's final speech

Video clip: I've Been to the Mountaintop

Robert Kennedy speech: RFK announcement



For class today:

We have just finished Ten Things I Hate about You. You have finished Taming of the Shrew. 

You will be constructing a Google Slide Presentation continuing the "Ten Things" motif. Your Google Slide Show will include the following:

Title Slide
A. Ten Things... about Elizabethan England
B. Ten Things ... about Shakespeare's Biography
C. Ten Things...  about Shakespeare's Plays (play titles.. genres... topics... )
D. Ten Things...  of similar nature between Taming of the Shrew and Ten Things I Hate About You. 
E. Ten Things . . . about the characters in Taming of the Shrew.
F. Ten Things...  of significant quotes in Taming of the Shrew... explained meaning AND significance to the meaning of the play.  Cite Shakespeare (Act. Scene. Line)  (4.3.22-25).
G. Ten Things . . . about the literary nature of Taming of the Shrew... themes... symbolism... diction choices. . etc.
H.  A final reflection. This is where you will discuss what you learned about Shakespeare, literary devices, etc. through the reading and this project.

Please cite your sources both on the slide where the biographical/historical information is found... as well as referenced on the Works Cited slide. Your work cited slide will also list the film and the primary text.

Due: Monday, April 9th by the beginning of class uploaded to Google Classroom.