LATEST NEWS: Final on Friday at 8:40 a.m.

Mrs. Rachael S. gave you the information about the AP English final. Be sure to STUDY the 36 vocabulary words from the list you've been given!

The new time for the test is Friday, 29 Jan. 10 from 8:40-10:40 a.m.

Good-byes and Hellos

I've passed the baton to Rachael S., the other Mrs. S. Now onward toward the finish line, one and all! The next post will probably be from her.

Graded papers to follow. One day. Soon.

Love ya!
Mrs. Pam S.

P.S. What did you think of the ending of The Mosquito Coast? Gruesome, but...what? Poetic justice? I'd be interested in hearing your feedback.

Punctuation. Again.

Here are some interesting sites dealing with quotation marks and apostrophes. I laughed out loud--and I think you will too--at some of the things said.

APOSTROPHES:

• The Campaign to Abolish the Apostrophe
• Swatting Apostroflies

QUOTATION MARKS:

• Please Don't "Quote" Me
• The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks

------
cartoon #1:www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
cartoon #2: www.margaretsoltan.com

Homework for 4-11 January 2010

DUE MONDAY, 4/1/10: Read ch. 1-12,The Mosquito Coast.

DUE TUESDAY, 5/1/10: study for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn test. See previous post for more information.

DUE THURSDAY, 7/1/10: (1) Read ch. 13-16 The Mosquito Coast. (2) Read pp. 201-205English Fundamentals (grammar book). Do exercises 207, 208.

DUE FRIDAY, 8/1/10: (1) Read ch. 17-19 The Mosquito Coast. (2) Vocabulary quiz list 11. In-class writing: correctly spelled word, definition, epistrophe sentences. e.g., "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies withing us." (=Ending a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words.)

DUE MONDAY, 11/1/10: (1) Read ch. 20-22 The Mosquito Coast. (2) Grammar exercises 209-210.

Unit Test over THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

On Tuesday, 5 January you will have a unit test over THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, worth 60 points. Review story elements, class notes, and handouts. If you need to borrow an AHF book to review, please do. This is a closed book test, however.

Here are the test parts:

1. Part 1: 16 characters (matching)(8 points)


2. Part 2: 12 short answer questions regarding story content (12 points)


3. Part 3: 5 characters and why they were included in the story (10 points)


4. Part 4: essays (30 points). Consider these things in preparation for the test:
   --Mark Twain's intent for writing AHF (entertainment, persuasion, information).
   --AHF as a Melodrama vs. picaresque novel vs. coming of age novel (see lecture notes)?
   --main conflicts in the story and how they are resolved (or not)
   --Huck Finn as a dynamic character (or not)
   --Use of humor, satire, and characterization to develop story themes such as religion, education and freedom
   --The river as a symbol for spiritual growth in Huck

Poetry, for Beauty's Sake

Thought you might find this interesting:

“Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside a poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to water-ski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

----------

picture: eplteen.wordpress.com
poetry: http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/viewpoint/13968-just-plain-fun-mostly?awt_l=6InL_&awt_m=1a1A9xmkMccIQ4