Final AP Prep

Hurray! Today you took your last practice with the AP test stuff. Next week we will just review the different parts of the tests but no stressful practice or graded stuff. Tomorrow we will work with Tortilla. Make sure you finish the book!! There will be a test on the book. I want you to have the book finished so you have at least one other book to use for the open essay question.

Upcoming: Some of you have papers due tomorrow others have them due Monday. Come see me if you need some help or want some feedback.

Random thought: There really needs to be a "sarcasm" font, especially for texting. I feel this would greatly add to my life.

What's in a 9????

Today we looked at the five different types of essays you'll have to write for the two English tests. You read a sample 9 for each one and then made a list of what they have in common. I made a compilation list of all your ideas and I'll make copies for you by next week, but if you are really excited and can't wait click on the blog title and it will take you to the list online.
As an update for the vocab extra credit videos the following lists have been taken.
1, 2, 8, 11
The vocab videos need to be done by June 3rd

Upcoming: Final MC test tomorrow!
Finish the entire novel for Thursday and possibly your Cuckoo paper
Slacker deadline 4/28
Non-slacker deadline 5/2

Slackerville

Okay this will be short because I am behind on correcting. I will list all the students that had an adequate rough draft for me today. If your name is listed here your due date is 5/2. If your name is not listed here it is due 4/28. I believe in rewarding hard work.
Again I will be gone on Monday but feel free to take your corrected work out of the bins. Maybe someone could even be nice and pass it all out. Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to keep reading Tortilla. Since I didn't do a quiz the first round it's pretty much a given I will for the completion of the novel.

Non-Slackers
Carter
Nina
Evan
Rebecca
Megan
Craig
Reid
Michael
Keith
Tyler
Mabel
Gina
Kayla
Peder
Angela
Claire
Sydney
Jabray
Mak
Dean
Kristel
Pa Houa
Michelle
Panra
Joel
Siri
Alex
Tiffany
Haley
Sergio
Grace
Rachel

Language Test Practice

Today we did a practice with the language test as a class. The language test usually has the longer and what I consider more boring passages so the trick is to try and keep your focus. If you have trouble with your mind wandering while reading you should really try the whisper reading. The physical act of moving your lips while reading has been proven to increase attention span.
We only did two passages from the text but if you want to borrow a copy of the test to practice on your own just let me know. We will have our last official practice one next Wednesday.
Upcoming: Cuckoo papers due tomorrow with two copies
Finish Tortilla for 4/28

Final Vocab List

Today we watched our last vocab video :( If you need the list of words or want to watch the video again click on the blog title.
After the video we had our discussion on the first part of the novel. Now I was kind and didn't give you a test today but it was very clear that not everyone finished the reading. Please make sure you finish the book by the 28th so we can have a full discussion. If you are taking the literature test it is also helpful to be familiar with another book to use for the open question. I promise things will slow down after the tests but you need to keep working hard until then.
Upcoming: Thursday final drafts of your Cuckoo paper. I will base the final due date on how well the original drafts are written.
Vocab test 5/3 The Last One!

Remember that if you're interested in extra credit pick out which vocab list you want and let me know. I would prefer you pick some of the lists that I didn't have videos for or that I had bad ones for.

Language Timed Write

Happy Monday everyone!
We are nearing the end of the pain. Today was your second to last time write (the last one will be next Monday) and tomorrow is the last batch of vocab words. Nothing much to report today because you were just writing. Tomorrow make sure you finish the reading and come in with two discussion questions.

Upcoming: Cuckoo Paper due Thursday
Finish the novel for 4/28

Random fact of the day:
What we now call prom was first labeled “the prom” in the 1890s. The word is a shortened form of promenade, meaning a march of the guests at the beginning of a ball or other formal event. Basically it was a way for Middle class parents and kids to mimic the debutante balls of the upper class. It was used to teach social skills and etiquette. The dances were strictly chaperoned and were often restricted to only the senior class.

Vocab Test

First part of the hour was occupied with the second to last vocab test. Hopefully you are feeling quite intelligent with all these new words you know. Remember the extra credit for fourth quarter is to make a new vocab video for one of the sets we have. It will be first come first served so if you have a list you want come see me early.
After the test we worked with some sample texts from a synthesis prompt about immigration in groups.

Upcoming: TC part one for Tuesday and two questions for discussions
Cuckoo Paper due Thursday

Daily Observation: Rebecca laughed today!

Have fun at prom and be safe.

Sentence Type Links

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5000099234677133181
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/sentence_types_quiz.htm
http://itech.pjc.edu/writinglab/senpat.htm

Border Debate

We started the hour talking about love and how it is misinterpreted by so many sigh...
Actually we talked about the essays you wrote on the poems about Eros. The scores you got back were straight scores so congrats most people were in the passing range. After the essays we had a brief debate/discussion on the pros and cons of Mexican immigration to the U.S. The discussion was surprisingly more heated than I had anticipated but I think the point was made that it's a very complicated issue. Keep these things in mind as you are reading the novel. The next step is to try and come up with some valid solutions.
The last 10 mins. of class we went over some sample sentence types. If you are still struggling do some more practice ones.


Upcoming: Vocab test tomorrow
Finish part 1 of Tortilla for Tuesday

Random thought: If a cannibal ate a clown would it taste funny?

Outline Day

In our brief time together we talked about the thesis statements and outlines for your Cuckoo paper. I'm sorry I didn't get around to everybody today but please feel free to come see me before or after school or during advisory if you want me to check your topic. Remember to connect with the "so what" to make your paper interesting. I know that's the hard part but it will make your paper a lot stronger and easier to write once you have it down. I will post a sample of the outline for my Turn of the Screw paper too so you have a model to look at.
I suggest writing your outline or reading Tortilla outside today!
Upcoming: Vocab test Friday (look over the sentence types)

Welcome to the border

Today started out with some very confused students. It's amazing how a little change sends you all in a tizzy. Remember the sign of a strong person is being able to easily and happily (Rebecca) adapt to change. As part of the new room arrangement we started our final class novel (try not to be too sad). We spent the hour talking about some immigration issues and just some basic background on the border issue and what the actual Tortilla Curtain is.
Enjoy the new books and start reading your twenty pages tonight. I will forewarn you that since there is no reading assignment with it I will most likely have to test you to make sure you're completing the reading.

Upcoming: Cuckoo paper topic for tomorrow
TC part 1 due next Tuesday
Vocab Test this Friday

Random thought of the day: why do we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?

End of a quarter

Today was a short day so all we did was finish up the presentations on Cuckoo's Nest. Make sure you are thinking about your paper topics. Start with just something that stands out to you and then try to work that into a claim. I'll attach my notes from the presentations which might help spark a unique topic.

Upcoming: Eros essays are due Monday--make sure you read the prompt carefully.
Monday we also start our last book as a class!

Enjoy your actual spring weekend :)

Cuckoo’s Nest Notes Part 1

Fog—represents an escape from reality and is comforting but there’s also the possibility of getting lost in it
Examples of fog: sex, drugs, drink, work, gambling

Chief—unique narrator, able to see/hear both sides of the hospital, confusing but insightful, biased towards Ratched
Key Quote: “But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen” (8). What does this mean?

Nurse—thinks she’s doing the right thing, shock therapy was the new way to treat people effectively
Patients do need some type of help: peeing, Chief, chronics

Mac—violent been in several fights, raped a 15 year old girl, gambles for the patients money, faking crazy to get out of jail, big on laughter and his sexuality

Combine—treats humans like machines, no longer individuals, everyone must conform, treatment is the same for everyone, shock therapy acts like a restart

Role reversals—Blacks and females are in control of white males but how is it working?

Microcosm—the hospital is a smaller version of society as a whole

Sexuality—used as tool, combine needs to repress to dehumanize,
Nurse covers her boobs
Harding possibly homosexual
Billy innocent and naïve
Female in power seen as a bitch would it be the same with a male?
Mac flaunts his and gains status and power from it

Part 2
Harding’s wife—overly sexual puts her husband down for not satisfying her

Dog and car scene—Chief actually looking outside of the hospital, nature vs. machine

No-win situation—epileptics and the drugs, Mac and his rebellion, patients in/out of hospital

Cheswick—suicide after he loses faith in Mac; can’t rebel on his own
His death sparks Mac back into action

Decisions: Rebel or submit, Friend or foe, Clear or fog, silent or vocal

Consequences: medicine, restrictions, shock, lobotomy

Nurse: she won’t release Mac; needs to keep him until she can break him; destroy his image so he doesn’t leave as exceptional

Setting: isolated hospital out in the country; need to put any non-conformity away from rest of society


Part 3
Emasculation—several castration references, what does it mean to be a man?
Chief took his mother’s name, govt. only listened to her not his father

Chief—thinks he’s small, Mac will make him grow, literally gives him part of his manhood back
Starts to become human again: talking, no longer just sweeps, laughing

Basketball—actual therapy where the men work together, fight back against black aides

Mac—returns as hero after initial defeat in part 2

Laughter—brings the men out of the fog, makes them human again

Fishing trip—independence, they finally act on their own,
Contrast with sterile hospital setting, out in nature on the water,
uncontrolled environment men in control of selves; controlled environment unstable men
Biblical—12 disciples, fisher or men, picked misfits and sinners, changes the men’s behavior and attitudes, Mac is drained by the effort

Part 4
Women—bitch, whore, religion

How much of the story actually happened? Chief’s quote on page 8
Native American as narrator—outcast of society given a voice

Humanized Nurse by exposing her boobs and she lost her power/control

Historical—question the status quo, rebel against the norm (Civil rights, women’s lib. War)

Did Mac kill himself? Knowingly went after Nurse even though he knew possible consequences

Patients also knowingly let Mac be a sacrifice. He was the person with the most to lose yet they let him take the fall.

Biblical—Last supper with the party scene, no one stays awake to warn Mac
Mac “crucified” to save the others, Billy (Judas) betrayed him then killed himself out of guilt,
the followers initially deny him, Chief spreads the Gospel, the novel is the Gospel (the Truth p. 8)

Mac had to die in order to be a legend and an inspiration. A living vegetable would have been a visible warning to all who tried to rebel again.

Chief literally destroys the Combine in the end by ripping out the control panel.

Ratched as a dictator/communist ideas—ration out privileges, make everyone the same
Mac as America/capitalist—loud, liberal, sexual, out for his own good, wants people to embrace themselves

Mac and Chief on parallel paths—silent to talking, constrained to free, Mac saves Chief then Chief saves Mac

Nurse is finally destroyed when Mac shows her as human by exposing her sexuality (boobs) and literally takes her voice from her

Extra Credit Day

Today was a day of mercy. I gave you the 2009 MC test to work on with a partner and offered extra credit based on the percentage you got correct. It was essentially an hour to just boost your grade.(What a nice teacher you must be thinking)
I think the spring weather must be getting to me, but I'll fight hard against it for future class purposes.
Tomorrow we finally finish up both the novel and the quarter.
Remember it is early release so Sophie N. don't forget to come to per. 9 first instead of Broadcast.
Sophia L. and Eric no advisory tomorrow so I'll only see you twice sad :(

Upcoming: Eros essay for Friday or Monday
Cuckoo's Nest paper topic for Tuesday

Part 4 Discussion

Well I've been a little remiss in my postings lately, but I'm back on the horse now. (Notice the use of a comma and a fanboy making the previous sentence a compound one)
Today we went over the space synthesis essays. Please remember to read all essay prompts carefully. You are all capable of writing an essay with a passing score (except maybe Sophie but she's working on it :-) but you have to understand the prompt first. You also have to look at the sources carefully. They aren't all created equally.
The rest of the hour was used for group discussions on the last section of the book. You really should be thinking about your paper topics now. You want them to be something interesting and something you really feel you can prove.

Upcoming: Poetry essay "Eros" due either Friday or Monday. If you want revenge on me you could turn it in Friday so then I have homework this weekend to correct it.

Thanks for reading you can now return to Facebook.