Weekly Schedule 1/31 - 2/4

Monday: 1/31
IC: You will work with a peer to complete a Lesson Four Vocabulary Review Exercise. We'll complete a verbal vocabulary review of Lessons Three and Four. Then I'll distribute a paper assignment that involves poetic analysis and connections to the text of Huck Finn. We'll read and discuss together and you'll have time to begin a poetic analysis using the TP-CASTT technique.
HW: You must bring your completed TYPED, MLA formatted paper to class on Monday, 2/7 to workshop with your peers.
Materials: Bring your vocabulary book to class, copy of Huck Finn, and class notes.

Tuesday: 2/1 - Happy birthday, Nick!
Change of plans: SNOW DAY!
HW: You must bring your completed TYPED, MLA formatted paper to class on Monday, 2/7 to workshop with your peers. **Also, complete Writer's Notebook Entry #4.

Wednesday: 2/2 - Two SNOW DAYS in a row?! I guess that's a sign that we simply won't have time to get to everything in class this week. Consider your last two reading quizzes over Huck Finn cancelled, but make sure that you're prepared to discuss and write about the end of the text.
HW: You must bring your completed TYPED, MLA formatted paper to class on Monday, 2/7 to workshop with your peers.

Thursday: 2/3
IC: You will begin class by completing the Lessons Three and Four Vocabulary Test. You will also turn in any completed extra credit vocabulary work. We will revisit the concept of pronoun antecedent agreement, and you'll complete and discuss a grammar worksheet to demonstrate your understanding. Finally, we'll discuss the end of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and return to the two author's notes at the beginning of the text. We'll discuss the relationship of the author's notices to the satirical nature of the work.
HW: You must bring your completed TYPED, MLA formatted paper to class on Monday, 2/7 to workshop with your peers.
Materials: Bring your copy of Huck Finn, class notes, and vocabulary book.

Friday: 2/4
IC: I will introduce Lesson Five Vocabulary. We'll review the expectations for engaging introductions and strong arguable theses to prepare for Writer's Workshop on Monday. We'll look at and discuss some examples of beautiful thesis statements. You'll have time to complete Writer's Notebook Entry #5 in class. We'll end the week with discussion of the concepts of fate and free will, and a Friday poem.
HW: You must bring your completed, typed introductory paragraph to class on Monday, 2/7 to workshop with peers.
Materials: Bring your class notes, vocabulary book, and Writer's Notebook Entries.

Weekly Schedule 1/24 - 1/28

Monday: 1/24
IC: We will complete and discuss a review activity for Lesson Three Vocabulary. Next, we'll review John Dryden's definition of satire as "corrective raillery" and take a look at a few examples, including visual representations. You'll be responsible for identifying the behavior that each example wishes to correct.
HW: Your humorous but class appropriate column that makes a social criticism is due Wednesday, 1/26.
Handout: I will distribute a Lesson Three Vocabulary Review Activity.

Tuesday: 1/25
IC: We'll begin class with a reading quiz over chapters 23-29 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We'll discuss the reading selection, noting the continued character development, and the recurring themes of morality/immorality as they contribute to the satire within the text. We'll take a second look at the examples of satire that you analyzed for homework last night. With time, we'll also complete a brief vocabulary review.
HW: Your humorous but class appropriate column that makes a social criticism is due Wednesday, 1/26.

Wednesday: 1/26
IC: We will go over an introduction to Lesson Four Vocabulary. (You'll also turn in your extra credit Lesson Three Vocabulary Exercises.) Then, you'll share and workshop your humorous columns.
HW: Use peer feedback to revise and edit your column. Your polished, TYPED, column is due Friday, 1/28. **You must also turn in the copy that you circulated during workshop, and the workshop notes.

Thursday: 1/27
IC: We'll begin with a reading quiz over chapters 30-33 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We'll discuss the reading selection, focusing on the continued development of the satirical dilemma in which Huck finds himself concerning his friend, Jim. You'll begin reading a collection of articles about a satirical cover of The New Yorker by artist Barry Blitt.
HW: Use peer feedback to revise and edit your column. Your polished, TYPED, column is due Friday, 1/28. **You must also turn in the copy that you circulated during workshop, and the workshop notes.
Handout: I will distribute a collection of articles about Barry Blitt's cover of The New Yorker.

Friday: 1/28
IC: You will hand in your polished column with the original column and workshop notes stapled underneath. We will briefly discuss each of the articles you received yesterday about the controversial magazine cover by Barry Blitt. Finally, you will complete a poetic analysis over a protest poem by Siegfried Sassoon.

Special Assembly Schedule for the Loud & Proud celebration on Fox Network on 1/19

6:40 - 7:30 -- Zero Hour
7:35 - 8:20 -- 1st Period
8:25 - 9:10 -- 2nd Period
9:15 - 10:00 -- 3rd Period
10:05 - 10:25 -- Assembly
10:30 - 11:20 -- 4th Period
11:25 - 12:15 -- 5a/1st Lunch
12:20 - 1:10 -- 5b/2nd Lunch
1:15 - 2:05 -- 6th Period
2:10 - 3:00 -- 7th Period

Weekly Schedule 1/17 - 1/21

Monday: 1/17 - No school in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Tuesday: 1/18
IC: You will complete a reading quiz over chapters 15-19 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We will catch up with our discussion of the reading from chapters 11-19. We'll focus on character development as it contributes to the developing satire within the text. We'll also look at the theme of morality within the text as presented by the characters that Huck and Jim meet on their journey. Finally, you will complete a vocabulary review activity, and we'll complete two review analogies as a class.
HW: Complete Writer's Notebook Entry #3.

Wednesday: 1/19 - Special Assembly Schedule for the Loud & Proud celebration on Fox Network - Wear MAROON & WHITE!
IC: You will take the Lessons 1-2 vocabulary test. You will then read a selection of script from Norman Lear's All in the Family. You will be presented with two questions about the satire presented in the reading selection. It will be your task to address one of the two questions in a thoughtful, well-organized 1-2 page (handwritten) essay. We'll review techniques for organizing an essay response, and then you'll have class time to work on your writing.
Handout: Script and questions from Norman Lear's All in the Family.

Thursday: 1/20
IC: You will complete a reading quiz over chapters 20-22 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We will discuss the reading selection, focusing on the characters of the king and the duke, and continuing our discussion of the moral questions posed by the text. We will revisit your writing from yesterday, addressing organization and clarity. Finally, I will introduce Lesson Three vocabulary.
HW: Complete your essay response to the script from Norman Lear's All in the Family.

Friday: 1/21
IC: You will hand in your essay responses to the All in the Family script. We will continue our discussion of comedic rhetorical devices by reading and analyzing an article by humor columnist Dave Barry. Then, we will work together to brainstorm a class list of possible topics for your own writing. You will write a humorous piece of social criticism, imitating the style of Dave Barry.
HW: Complete a draft of your own column, using humor to make a meaningful social criticism.

Delayed Start Schedule for 1/10 - 1/11

Delayed Start Schedule

9:00 - 9:35 -- Zero Hour
9:40 - 10:15 -- 1st Period
10:20 - 10:55 -- 2nd Period
11:00 - 11:40 -- 3rd Period
11:45 - 12:20 -- 4th Period
12:25 - 1:00 -- 5a/1st Lunch
1:05 - 1:40 -- 5b/2nd Lunch
1:45 - 2:20 -- 6th Period
2:25 - 3:00 -- 7th Period

Weekly Schedule 1/10 - 1/14

Sunday: 1/9 - Happy birthday, Tyler!

Monday: 1/10 - Happy birthday, Shelby! - Delayed Start Schedule
IC: We'll begin class by going over a brief history of American Literature. You will receive an interactive notes sheet to fill out during our discussion. We'll end class with a review of Lesson One Vocabulary.
HW: Complete Lesson One Vocabulary Exercises A-D, due 1/12.
Handout: A Brief History of American Literature interactive note sheet will be distributed in class.

Tuesday: 1/11 - Delayed Start Schedule
IC: You will begin class by completing a reading quiz over chapters 1-10 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We will discuss the reading selection, focusing on elements of characterization. We will also discuss the Notice and Explanatory Note at the beginning of the text.
HW: Complete Lesson One Vocabulary Exercises A-D, due 1/12.

Wednesday: 1/12
IC: You will hand in your vocabulary homework and complete a Lesson One Vocabulary review exercise. We will spend the rest of the class period reading and analyzing a letter written by Mark Twain to a Gas and Electric Lighting Company in Hartford. We will discuss the rhetorical situation and tone of the piece.
HW: Complete Writer's Notebook Entry #2.
Handout: "To a Gas and Electric Lighting Company in Hartford" by Mark Twain, and a Lesson One Vocabulary review exercise will be distributed in class today.

Thursday: 1/13 - Happy birthday, Cori!
IC: You will begin by completing a reading quiz over chapters 11-14. I will distribute a handout about satire which we'll read and discuss. We'll finish class by going over an introduction to Lesson Two Vocabulary.
HW: Study for Lesson 1-2 Vocabulary test on 1/19.
Handout: John Dryden on Satire handout (with important definitions) to be distributed in class.

Friday: 1/14
IC: We will view an episode of All in the Family, discussing elements of satire. You will make connections between the character of Archie Bunker and Pap Finn.
HW: Study for Lesson 1-2 Vocabulary test on 1/19.

Writer's Notebook Entries - Second Semester

Entry #1: 1/6
Many societies and cultures have formalized ceremonies or rites of passage to mark the initiation of a child or teenager into adult society. What does it mean in our culture to become a man or woman? Are there ceremonies or rituals involved? What practices within your own family mark the transition into adulthood - are there family traditions? Also, according to your own personal observations and ideas, what does it mean to be an adult? Are there specific differences for boys and girls when it comes to "growing up" and entering "the real world"? **Remember to reflect on these questions in writing for at least fifteen minutes.**

Entry #2: 1/12
Okay, we've been talking about the controversy surrounding The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for a full week. We've also spent time discussing the purpose and nuances of satire. It's time: I want to know your opinion of the text. Do you find it offensive? Dangerous? Controversial? Explain your ideas - I want to know WHY you feel the way you feel about the text. How about other texts? Have you encountered other books that you feel should be censored? Are you against censorship all together? If not, when do you feel that censorship might be appropriate? (This is certainly topical in light of recent arguments in the news surrounding political rhetoric.) Again, I want to know how you feel, and WHY you feel the way you do. Feel free to consider other forms of expression that have been deemed controversial: television, films, holy texts, music, etc.

Entry #3: 1/18
Recall a time when you were either ill or injured. Write an entry in which you describe your injury or illness using as much sensory detail as you can possibly pack into fifteen minutes of writing. I challenge you to overload me (your reader) with sensory detail.

Entry #4: 2/1
Our school is scheduled to begin daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance today. What are your thoughts and opinions about the pledge? What do the words of the pledge mean? What does the American flag represent? What does it represent to you personally? Have you or anyone in your family made sacrifices for others in our country? Explore you own personal and unique relationship with America. How do YOU feel about "the republic for which it [the flag] stands"?

Entry #5: 2/4
This entry is to capture where you are in your life. It might be a good idea to begin with a comment on your general situation as you sense it. Begin with a broad comment; then let your mind sweep through your recent life. Record specifics, bits of dialogue, frustrations, pleasures, questions, dreams - everything that comes to you. Be specific.

Entry #6: 2/11 - Borrowed from Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Okay. Choose a specific process to write about. It can something you've done only once, or something that you do every day. Let's say the experience of carving a spoon out of cedar. Tell me all the details, but try to do so without becoming myopic. As you become single-minded in your writing, at the same time something in you should remain aware of the color of the sky or the sound of a distant mower. Just throw in even one line about the street outside your window at the time you were carving that spoon. It is good practice. When we concentrate in our writing, it is good. But we should always concentrate, not by blocking out the world, but by allowing it all to exist. This is a very tricky balance.

Entry #7: 2/15
Begin by crafting a list of formative experiences in your life. List things, situations, people, lessons, etc. that have changed you forever and made you into who you are today. Your list might be long, or it might be short - just make sure that you've put thought into compiling it. Then, select one or two of the entries on your list to write about in as much detail as possible for fifteen minutes. If you stall out on writing about one experience, switch to another and keep going.

Entry #8: 2/22
At the beginning of Chapter Four, Billy Pilgrim watches a war movie backwards while waiting to be abducted by the Tralfamadorians. How does the message of the war movie change when viewed backwards? Select an event (big or small, personal or global) that you would like to see undone by rewinding time. Write it. Like Vonnegut, do your best to take the story all the way to the end/beginning, in order to give the same images very different meanings.

Entry #9: 3/7
Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything." Write a response to Vonnegut's thought in which you explore your own experiences. Have you experienced disappointment as part of attaining your current level of maturity? How has loss been a part of your own growth?

Entry #10: 3/29
A crucible is a severe test or trial. Before we begin reading Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, about one man's most difficult personal trial, I would like you to reflect on your own struggles. Specifically, I want you to identify the hardest thing you've ever done or been through. Then, I want you to write about it for fifteen minutes, without pause. Here are a few guiding questions to stimulate thought and keep your writing flowing, but feel free to allow your writing on this subject to take whatever direction it may: Describe the experience. Why was this the most difficult thing for you? What got you through your crucible? Is this still difficult for you? Did you gain anything from this experience? If you could go back in time and erase this experience, would you? Why or why not?

Entry #11: 4/5
In Act One of The Crucible, Arthur Miller writes of "the necessity of the Devil." Miller argues that the nature of our view of cosmology necessitates a concept of evil in order to conceive of good. However, Miller goes on to note that the Devil may be used by different ideologies and institutions to achieve control over others through fear. Obviously, this is true of Reverend Parris's approach to leadership of the church in Salem. Miller extends the analogy to make the argument that political leaders in the 1950s also appropriated the Devil in order to instill fear of Communism in Americans. As history shows, time and again, people tend to turn on each other when they are afraid. In this way, Miller shows the practice of accusing an enemy of evil to be useful in achieving one's aim of turning others against the enemy, but dangerous in that it can lead to fragmentation or dissolution of the group one is trying to protect.

For your Writer's Notebook Entry today, I want you to extend Miller's analogy to modern times. While non-Puritans (or people who weren't good enough Puritans) were the victims of the Salem Witch Trials, Senator McCarthy's attack on suspected Communism in America during the 1950s targeted people believed to be evil due to their political leanings. What group of people, lifestyle, or set of beliefs do you see as the modern equivalent? Who are current societal/political/religious leaders targeting for being "evil"? Does the analogy hold true - are those currently seen to be aligned with the Devil simply people with whom the majority does not agree, or are they actually evil?

Entry #12: 4/12
Twain uses Huck's narrative voice to richly develop the young man's character. This is an especially effective device when used to suggest changes in Huck . Although nothing like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I've recently read a few other books that also make interesting use of narrative voice. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is narrated by Death, while The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein) is narrated by a dog named Enzo. These are two very different books, but they both use the narrator's own strengths and weaknesses to develop beautiful stories. For instance, there are things that Death just doesn't understand about the apparent human motivation to destroy each other. That's a revealing tidbit - not just about Death, but about the nature of human existence. Think about Huck. What does his point of view reveal to the reader?

Okay, here's your writing task. Get ready to flex those creative muscles. I want you to experiment with writing in a narrative voice that you've never tried on before. So... you might choose an African Elephant, you might choose a specific animal whom you know well (maybe I should try my cranky cockatiel), you might choose a famous historical figure, a neighbor, a tree, a rock... you get the idea.

Weekly Schedule 1/5 - 1/7 - Welcome to 2nd Semester!

Wednesday: 1/5

IC: We will begin class with new seating chart assignments. Then, I will distribute two books to each of you: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and Vocabulary From Classical Roots, your vocabulary text for second semester. As I distribute the texts, you will be responsible for writing a response to the author's notice at the beginning of Huck Finn. Write a brief explanation of what you think the author might mean by this statement. What reasons can you think of for why Mark Twain would place this notice at the beginning of his book? Save this response in your notes for future reference - we'll be coming back to it for discussion. After I have distributed copies of each book, we'll take a look at the reading schedule for Huck Finn. Finally, we'll go over Lesson One in your vocabulary text.

HW: Complete Lesson One Vocabulary Exercises A-D - due 1/12.

Handouts: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and Vocabulary From Classical Roots

Thursday: 1/6
IC: We will begin viewing and discussing the documentary, Culture Shock: Born to Trouble - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
HW:

• Complete Lesson One Vocabulary Exercises A-D - due 1/12.
• Complete Writer's Notebook Entry #1.
  

Friday: 1/7
IC: We will finish viewing and discussing the documentary, Culture Shock: Born to Trouble - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
HW: Complete Lesson One Vocabulary Exercises A-D - due 1/12.

Reading Schedule - Huck Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain

Reading Schedule: Be sure to read the following selections by the dates listed below. Remember to expect a brief reading quiz over each selection on the date listed. **Since this is an ongoing assignment, you are responsible for keeping up with the reading schedule regardless of absences. This means that even if you are absent on a day before reading is due, you are still responsible for the reading quiz on the day you return. Be prepared so that you can learn as much as possible in class each day.

Tuesday 1/11 - Ch. 1-10
Thursday 1/13 - Ch. 11-14
Tuesday 1/18 - Ch. 15-19
Thursday 1/20 - Ch. 20-22
Tuesday 1/25 - Ch. 23-29
Thursday 1/27 - Ch. 30-33
Tuesday 2/1 - Ch. 34-41
Thursday 2/3 - Ch. 42-43