No Holds Barred: YOU get to evaluate the class!

As you well know, I value your opinion.  Each year I try to reflect on what I can do better as your teacher and how the course can better meet your needs. I ENTREAT you to please offer me some of your feelings now.  I respect your candor; don't be afraid to put your name to this (up until this Friday, you will still earn B-squares).  This will ABSOLUTELY not impact on your grade or my love for you.  However, if you are too frightened to tell the truth, you may sign in with an anonymous name (just make up a fake gmail account).  I want the truth, but please remain respectful.  No bad language or insults or I will be forced to shut down the thread entirely. 
You may share what worked for you (the website, the blog, the mailbox system, the participation points, favorite books, favorite note system, vocab, grammar or literary games; etc) or what didn't work for you.
For instance, Period 9 never finished the heated debate on whether or not extra credit should be granted to everyone who wants it.  Evaluate the final exam...other unit tests.... everything!  Do you feel you had enough time to complete your assignments?  I am also looking for suggestions on how to make things better.  What do other teachers do that I do not that you wish I did?
I, myself, already know that my attendance and turnover time for graded papers was lacking this year.  I will acknowledge, though, that tests were not returned because I don't think we had ONE unit test for which everyone in the class was healthy.  I hope we ALL have better health next year.
I would rather you be honest here (and earn points) than vent on ratemyteachers; if you share your feelings here, I will see them and possibly be able to make myself a better teacher.

The FINAL Forum

As the largest part of the exam will be to analyze the critical lens prompts and the essential questions, here is a forum for you to ponder, muse, ask questions, and offer support.  Please see the link from our website that provides the possible prompts.
This is for your use...I will not get angry if someone needs to ask help about remembering a character's name.  This will close for extra credit as of Saturday at midnight; however, it will remain open until after the final exam is over to give you a place to study or seek moral support!
...BTW: did you notice that the right-hand column of this blog homepage has grammar and SAT-practice questions that might be helpful for the grammar section of the final?

Literary Superlatives - Strictly for Fun!!!!

We did not do a final yearbook project for all of our literary texts, but I thought for one last bit of extra credit, you might enjoy coming up with the Senior Superlatives for the characters.
Think of creative ways to immortalize all of the literary characters (sans Mythology) that you have encountered this year. From And Then There Were None to Lord of the Flies, many characters would win some fun and interesting senior superlatives if they were high school students.



Hottest wheels? Dreamiest Date? Best hair? Most likely to end up in a straight jacket? Be ironic or serious, just be appropriate and have some fun!

Romeo: Tragic Hero or "Fortune's Fool"?

Scholars still debate whether is a pawn of fate or a victim of his own tragic flaws (just pick one of the many).  You decide!  Don't forget to support your arguments with proof from the text.

Advice for the Class of 2014 (Incoming 9 Honors Students)

While I cannot invite you into the 8th grade classrooms, you know how much I value your opinions and experience in the class. What would you like to advise (or warn!) your 8th grade peers? Any tips for handling summer reading? How can they learn from your successes and mistakes?


Please remain appropriate! And try not to insult me too much, please!
 

...and for those of you who have requested a picture of Sawyer, he thanks you!  This one has both of them!

Random Musings - Quarter 4

Please use this forum to ask questions about an unclear assignment, to ask for help from your classmates, or to continue a discussion from class.

Those Crazy Kids...Romeo and Juliet

The vast majority of you have extremely strong feelings about this pair of star-crossed lovebirds (swan, dove, crow, whatever!)...
Use this forum to ask questions, offer insights, or just share your favorite line from the play (of course, this line may be your favorite to mock!).
You should also comment on the characters' behaviors and actions (not just the title characters...all of them).

KEEP THE LAUGHTER GOING -- FAVORITE CLASSROOM MOMENT pt 3

For the last time.... :-(
It happens to everyone: words get jumbled between the brain and mouth, we enter into a conversation a moment too late... or we are simply confused. Ironically, these are the moments that help us remember the important information from class; laughter is a powerful learning tool. This is an opportunity to remember the special moments, lessons, activities, characters, and, of course, the miscommunications from our class. Help me to keep track of them and I will compile these into a booklet at the end of the year. Please remember that class rules apply: I will not tolerate any malicious attacks on any student or teacher. This is not meant to poke fun at anyone; it is meant in a spirit of reliving the occasional happy moment in our very special circle of hell :-)


Period 4 - PLEASE add some moments....it cannot all be so bad, can it?!?!  uh oh...

Romeo and Juliet...Meet Edward and Bella - TWILIGHT & Allusions

I give up! Since we seem to be connecting Twilight (and the rest of the series) to class curriculum every single day, let's be serious about it. Use this thread to:

* find thematic and characterization connections to the literature we cover in class


* compare Edward, Bella, Jacob, etc. to the characters we have encountered this year.


* discuss the characters, themes, plot developments, and possibilities within the series itself.

*  locate possible allusions to Romeo and Juliet within the Twilight series

* compare the books to the films.


Did I miss anything?

Journal #2 - The Blogs vs The Critics

A forum to discuss the two types of reviews of To Kill a Mockingbird: those of the general public in an informal blog setting vs. those of scholarly critics.

You may ask questions, plan your paragraphs, or just share your favorite golden "tidbits" from the reviews...there are so many to comment on, right? 

Journal 1: Not wanting to be featured in a writing seminar

Since so many of you fear having your future writing assignments featured as a class exercise, I am going to post a new thread for each journal.  Dialogue with one another so that you can ask grammatical, stylistic, mechanical, and content questions of each other....or just converse for moral support.

Topics for Journal 1: 

a)  Discuss the thematic concept of outsiders in To Kill a Mockingbird.

b)  Were Atticus's actions regarding the death of Bob Ewell hypocritical, immoral, or illegal.  NOTE: If you choose to do this one (a persuasive essay), you may do an introductory paragraph, one con paragraph and one pro for practice.

Random Musings Quarter 3

Please use this forum to ask questions about an unclear assignment, to ask for help from your classmates, or to continue a discussion from class.

How Can I Help?

Please take a moment and reflect on the activities and lessons from the first semester. Then share what you think we need to have more practice in (obviously grammar, but what specifically?). Do you feel weak in writing introductions? topic sentences? embedding (ICE'ing) quotes? finding those tiny nuances and symbols in your reading? vocabulary?

Then consider what activities and procedures / routines we have in class that do work for you so we can continue (or do more). For example: participation points (believe it or not, some people do not like them); vocab LINGO, walkaround reviews; mailbox system; agendas; what type of extra credit would you like to see?

Use this forum to OPENLY and HONESTLY share your ideas, concerns, questions, and goals for the upcoming semester.

Favorite Classroom / Literary Moments

This thread has been neglected for so long and I wonder if it is because it is buried under so many other posts....let's see what happens now that I've moved it up!

It happens to everyone: words get jumbled between the brain and mouth, we enter into a conversation a moment too late... or we are simply confused. Ironically, these are the moments that help us remember the important information from class; laughter is a powerful learning tool. This is an opportunity to remember the special moments, lessons, activities, characters, and, of course, the miscommunications from our class. Help me to keep track of them and I will compile these into a booklet at the end of the year. Please remember that class rules apply: I will not tolerate any malicious attacks on any student or teacher. This is not meant to poke fun at anyone; it is meant in a spirit of reliving the occasional happy moment in our very special circle of hell :-)

Did the children truly give Boo, "nothing"?

At the end of the novel, Scout remarks that “Boo gave us a broken watch, two dolls, and our lives ...neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad” (320). In fact, they never even got to put the thank you note inside the oak tree.
Is this true, however? Did they realize give nothing to Boo? Please support your response.

Is Atticus a Criminal?: Bob Ewell's death

In class, we have begun to discuss if Atticus can be called a hypocrite. Let's push this further. In failing to arrest Boo Radley at the end, Sheriff Tate is breaking the law, as is Atticus, who knows the truth of Ewell's murder. Do you agree with some critics that Atticus's actions are hypocritical, immoral, as well as illegal? Support your position.

Random Musings for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD...and SYMBOLS!

I have really been impressed by some of the insights you have shared in class. As we cannot possibly devote enough time, in my opinion, to this novel and we only have a short time left in which to discuss it, please continue to share your scholarly brilliance here:

Have you thought of another meaning for a symbol? Have you found some significance in a particular passage or event? Would you like to continue, amend, augment (add to), or dispute an interpretation of a symbol or passage discussed in class? Do you have a question about our discussion ...or do you need clarification?

I look forward to having you continue to dazzle me!

From mockingbirds to mad dogs to mobs to geraniums at the Ewell "house": let's talk!

Epiphanies: Learning Something New Every Day

Last year, one of my 9th grade students adorably said, "I want to read Mockingbird again; I think I read a different book this summer!". Currently, some of you have expressed that you feel you have missed some of Harper Lee's more subtle points (MARSHMALLOWS!) when you read the book before. Some of you have even begun to hop up and down in your seat when something "click's" for you. Soooo........

After discussing TKM in class, what is your favorite epiphany or revelation? What symbol, motif, or stylistic device have you found the coolest ? What passage did you reread for class that you missed the meaning of before? Which passage, event, moment, character, or quote now has a deeper meaning for you or has evoked a new emotion from you?

Share with the rest of us, please!