Week of September 29th, 2014

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

The goal of this English class is to produce critical thinkers. Students are not only reading for comprehension but for meaning and relevancy of the work as a whole. Literature is also an example of good writing. The writing improves when a student reads. Vocabulary also improves because the student is learning to read in context. We want successful students who can think critically and communicate effectively.

Academic English 9:  Students will continue reading and responding to the novel, Night. The students will be required to add to their novel notes due on Thursday, October 2nd.  They will be required to identify conflict, climax, metaphor, symbolism, allusion, foreshadowing, character development, major and minor themes.  Vocabulary Unit 2 and Grammar Test is on Wednesday, October 1st.  The students will complete the Documentary for Thursday, October 2nd.  Creation requires critical thinking skills, application of knowledge, use of creativity, and attention to detail.  They will demonstrate the relevancy of Night for today's reader through the parallelism of meaning found in the novel and current conditions in the world today.

Practical English Literature 10: Students will focus on applying literary devices and elements for relevancy of Poes' "Masque of the Red Death".  They will be able to identify and apply allegory, the use of metaphor, and imagery.  Students will be responsible for demonstrating meaning for today's reader by applying it to modern times. 

Public Speaking:  Students have begun preliminary research for the Informative Speech.  They will locate and identify valid sources.  They will create purpose statements.  They will identify topic and audience.  They will create theses statements.  They will organize and synthesize information.  They will be required to create visual aids for their speech presentations.  MLA citation will be required for the hard copies of the speech.

10th Grade SAT Prep: Students will identify colleges to which they will apply.  They will be given criteria to research to help their search become more focused.  They will apply the strategies and skills they have learned to timed practice tests.  They will practice strategies with online websites.