PowerPoint Presentation Requirements

Click here for PowerPoint Presentation requirements for the final expository essay.

Rough drafts are due on Thursday, May 24.

Romeo and Juliet 4/23-4/25

We are finishing Act V of Romeo and Juliet, including the Study Guide.  Test review on Wednesday, Test on Thursday.

Romeo and Juliet 4/19/12

Up to now, we have read through Act IV and completed Study Guide Questions through Act IV.

Reading of Romeo and Juliet to Date (4/2/12)

To date, we have read and completed Study Guide through Act II, Scene 4.

Romeo and Juliet Prequel Assignment

Prequel to Romeo and Juliet

How did the ancient feud begin, anyway?  Write the narrative of how the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets began.  Although you get to be as creative as you would like, leave the setting intact.  That is, you are still in northern Italy in the 1300s or 1400s.  (You will be able to mess around with the setting later this unit.)  Your narrative should be original, 4+ paragraphs in length, and full of interesting “showing” details and characterization.  It does not have to be written in iambic pentameter (you’re welcome).  You will hand-write your prequel (mostly in-class), and you will hand in a Pre-Write, a Rough Draft, and a Final Draft. 

Step One, Pre-Write:   Worth 10 points.  Plan your story before you write.  You may use an outline, idea web, plot chart, or any other organizational tool to plan your story.  You will attach your Pre-Write to your final draft.  Due:  Wed. 3/21

Step Two, Rough Draft:  Worth 10 points.  Write a 4+ paragraph draft of your prequel.  Please remember to what we’ve learned about characterization (think Steinbeck), plot structure (think short stories), and diction (think poetry).  On your final draft, spelling and grammar count.  If you are unsure of the spelling of a word, look it up.  DueThurs. 3/22

Step Three, Revision and Final Draft:  Worth 20 points.  Re-read your paper.  Where can you add more “showing” details?  Do you have any irrelevant information?  Have you fixed all run-ons, fragments, and spelling errors?  Do you have an original title? MLA format heading?  Neatly compose your final draft on a clean sheet of paper in your best penmanship.  Due Friday 3/23.

You will hand in your Pre-Write, your Rough Draft, and your Final Draft stapled together with your Final Draft on top. 

Romeo and Juliet, Friday 3/16

Please read through Act 1, Scene 1 and complete Study Guide Prologue and Scene 1 Questions.

Journal #19: Romeo and Juliet Prologue

Do your best to "translate" the Prologue of Rome and Juliet into words you can understand (100%).  Use a dictionary to help, as well as your notes on Shakespeare's language.  Every line should be translated into modern English for full-credit.  If you have no clue, take your best guess.

Journal #18: Love at First Sight?

We are now continuing with your original Journal, so fold over two pages to separate your Regular Journal entries from your Poetry Journal entries. 

Write one paragraph about whether you think love at first sight is possible or not.  Please explain completely. 

Poetry Journal # 13: A Poem About a Painting

Write a 15 line poem with TONS of imagery about one of the following two paintings:

Picasso's "Guitarist" or Jackson Pollock's "Stenographic"

Journal #12: Whimsical Poem

Write a poem that is simply a collection of images of one of your favorite memories.  Throw together a bunch of images, and don't worry about expressing anything deep.  Some examples of whimsical poems include E.E. Cummings' "In Just-" and Meryn Cadell's "The Sweater."

Journal #11: Implied Metaphor Poem

Write a poem that includes an implied metaphor, or a comparison that is not directly stated.  Examples of implied metaphor poems include Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice" and Carl Sandberg's "Fog."

Journal #10: Catalog Poem

After viewing Taylor Mali's "What Teachers Make" and reading "Daily" by Naomi Shihab Nye and "Woman Work" by Maya Angelou, write a catalog poem of your own.  You may choose to write about chores you have to do, dreams you have, annoyances/pet peeves, fears that you need to overcome, etc. 

You must use the following:  refrain, metaphor/simile
You should try:  rhyme, alliteration, or assonance

Journal #9: Personification Poem

Write a poem in which you use personification in at least three lines.  You may personify a natural phenomenon or any object you choose.  If you wish, you may make it speak, which is also a form of personification.

Journal #8: Ode, or Poem of Praise

Write an original ode, or praise poem, about something or someone you admire.  Feel free to use humor in this poem.  Two drafts.

Journal #7: Precis for "Ode to My Socks"

Please write a complete precis for Pablo Neruda's "Ode to My Socks."

Journal #6: Precis for "Ode to La Tortilla"

Write a precis for Gary Soto's "Ode to La Tortilla."

Reminder of how to write a precis:

 Sentence One:  Title of poem, author, and general subject of poem.

Sentences 2 and 3 (or more):  Explain how the poet makes their main point.  Who is the speaker?  What literary techniques are used? What is the tone?

Sentences 4 and 5: Examples from the poem supporting how the point is made.

Sentences 6 through 8:   Explain the author’s purpose.  Why has this poem been written?  What is the poet trying to express altogether?  Go a little deeper, below the surface of the poem.

Journal #5: Extended Metaphor for Family or Friends

Write 2 drafts of an extended metaphor for family/friends poem of at least 8 lines.  In this poem, you will compare your family or friends to something that is made up of parts, showing your reader how each member can be compared to a specific part of the whole. 

Some ideas:  Compare your friends/family to a box of chocolate, a car, a bike, a bookshelf, a medicine cabinet, a flower, etc.

Journal #4: Where I'm From

Write a "Where I'm From" poem of at least 6 stanzas of at least 4 lines.  Remember, in this poem, you're not specifying the location of where you're from, but rather, things that have shaped you, things you see and hear around your house, on your street, in your community, etc. 

Here are the class versions:

Where We're From (Period 4)

We’re from basketball hoops, broken-down and rusted pick-up trucks, poorly-executed graffiti, cows, dirt roads, dying blackberry bushes, bird poop, white picket fences, and black pot holes.

We’re from boxes of Hawaiian rolls, overfed pets, deer heads on the walls, piano music, way too many paintings of fruit, computer-addicted family members, costume jewelry, candles, toys strewn across the floor, and Call of Duty games.

We’re from Coco Pebbles, spaghetti, pepperoni pizza rolls, deer meat, bear jerky, German chocolate cake, tamales, feta cheese, parmesan and noodles, undercooked snicker doodles, and overcooked banana bread.

We’re from shut the hell up, Aunt Mary’s kicking my ass at Words with Friends, barking dogs and moms, Callate, meow, screaming siblings, yelled Jeopardy answers, awkward silence, and I love you.

We’re from Melissa, Michele, Audrey, Darius, Keith, and Otis the Dog.

We’re from being vampires, swimming in oceans with dolphins, getting into Stanford, fame, travelling the world, Santa’s real, and to float through life without a single care in the universe.

Journal #3: Favorite Place

1.  Write at least one page describing your favorite place using sensory details.
2.  Create a "found" poem:  Look at what you wrote, underline your favorite chunks of words, then arrange them on a page in the form of a poem (which doesn't necessarily need to rhyme).

Journal #2: Definition of Poetry

1.  Define the term poetry.  (1 sentence)

2.  Write 1 paragraph about how you feel about poetry.  Do you like it, love it, or not?  Explain why you feel the way you do thoroughly.  If you think it's amazing, explain exactly why.  If you think it is boring, explain exactly why. 

(5 points)

Poetry Journal #1: Found Poem

Grab a random book, and open to random pages and scan the pages for interesting words or chunks of words.  Write them down in your journal.  After you've written about 20 chunks of words, create a poem out of what you've written by arranging your favorite poems in an interesting way on the next page.

Short Story Unit Begins 1/3/12

Our first story will be focused on plot literary terminology.  We will be reading "The Most Dangerous Game" in our Holt Literature Textbooks.  Please write all vocabulary from this story in your notebooks.  They will appear on your semester final.