Pre-AP: Vocabulary Notes to Study!

Here are some notes to help you study:

On-Level ONLY: Vocabulary Extra Credit

We have 10 vocabulary words. Do 1 Frayer model for each word, for +10 points on next Friday's vocabulary quiz. Vocabulary quizzes count twice, so this can help you a lot!

Click here for the Frayer model!

Click here to study the Unit 1 Quizlet!

On-Level: Theme in Poetry

On block day this week, we looked at theme in poetry. Here is the poem we read, with the annotations we discussed:



Poem 1/3



Poem 2/3



Poem 3/3

 After we talked about symbols, images, and figurative language, we turned our attention to theme.

Here are the thematic subjects I found:

I pulled text evidence to prove the essential ideas in the theme statement:

And here is the theme SAR:



Isn't it beautiful? Not perfect, but beautiful.

On-Level: Theme in Poetry

On block day this week, we looked at theme in poetry. Here is the poem we read, with the annotations we discussed:



Poem 1/3



Poem 2/3



Poem 3/3

 After we talked about symbols, images, and figurative language, we turned our attention to theme.

Here are the thematic subjects I found:

I pulled text evidence to prove the essential ideas in the theme statement:

And here is the theme SAR:



Isn't it beautiful? Not perfect, but beautiful.

All: Picture Day!

PICTURE DAY for all of my classes will be Monday, September 26, 2016.

I will give you a few minutes in class to "freshen up" before we go, but please come to class ready!

On-Level: Vocabulary Unit 1 Notes and Quizlet

CLICK HERE to find the Quizlet for Unit 1.
The quiz over Unit 1 will be on September 23, 2016.

Pre-AP: "The Most Dangerous Game" PDF

Read this before class on Monday: The Most Dangerous Game
It's a PDF, so you should be able to open it even if you don't have Microsoft Word on your computer or phone.

There will be a plot-based reading check (formative grade) on Monday. This story is in our textbook, so you do not need to print it out or buy it. However, if you would like a copy of your own to annotate, you are welcome to print and bring a copy of your own. I have a class set of textbooks, too.

Pre-AP: Grammar Review

Don't panic about grammar.

True story: When I was in high school doing English Pre-AP and AP, they never taught us grammar. It was a scary time in English-Teacher-History when they thought that just by reading and writing a lot, we'd have good grammar. This is partially true; I had good grammar, but I had no idea what anything was called. I just knew what "sounded right" - which I'm sure is what a lot of you rely on, too.

I had to learn all my grammar from my German classes, and let me tell you, German teachers are not known for understanding and careful remediation.

Be calm. Let me clarify:

An independent clause just has to have two things. A subject and a verb.

For example:

• He goes.
• You write.
• She smells.

Notice that each one of those also expresses a complete thought.
Simple sentences can also have other things, like prepositional phrases, adverbs, adjectives.

• He goes slowly. Slowly is an adverb. It modifies goes. This is still a simple sentence.
• You write on the board. On is a preposition; on the board is a prepositional phrase. It gives the location of the writing.
• She smells the scratch-and-sniff sticker. The scratch-and-sniff sticker is a noun, yes, but it is not the subject. The subject of a sentence is who or what is doing the action.

REMINDERS: An independent clause is also known as a simple sentence, which makes sense. That's easy to remember because "independent" pretty much means that something can stand alone, right? And that's what a simple sentence can do. Simple sentence = can stand alone = independent clause. (Or at least that's how I remember it.)

Now you write a few independent clauses.

A dependent clause is the same thing as an independent clause, but it has a subordinating conjunction stuck to the front of it. (Google "AWUBIS" for a complete list of these conjunctions.)

For example:

• Before he goes... notice that this is the same subject and verb combo I used above. I just added an AWUBIS on there. Without the AWUBIS ("He goes.") it makes sense on its own. It expresses a complete thought. With the AWUBIS, it no longer expresses a complete thought.
• Because you write... same deal, right? There's a subject and a verb, but because there's the word because (an AWUBIS) in front of it, it no longer makes sense on its own.
• Since she smells... same deal. There's a subject and verb, but it doesn't make sense now that since is there.

Now you write a few dependent clauses.

A prepositional phrase often tells where something is in relation to something else physically (above, below, behind), or chronologically (before, after). These are very basic; I'm sure you remember them from middle school. Most importantly, a prepositional phrase can contain a noun, but the subject of a sentence cannot be in a prepositional phrase.

Google a list of prepositions. Look at the warm-up where we wrote some.

Read this:
After the long Friday, I ordered queso at my favorite Mexican food place in town instead of ordering take-out.

All the stuff in orange are prepositional phrases. If I'm trying to determine where the subject and verb are, the first thing I'm going to do is find and cross out all the prepositional phrases, because the subject can't be in there. This is a simple sentence.

Compound sentences are easy. Just put two independent clauses together with a FANBOYS (coordinating conjunction) + comma in between them.

• I ate the chips, and I got fatter. Notice that there are two complete sentences. They're just stuck together. If you read both of them independently, they both make sense.
• I wanted queso, so we went out to eat. Two complete sentences stuck together with a FANBOYS and a comma.

Write a few compound sentences. Double-check that you have an independent clause (AKA complete sentence) on each side.

The ONLY variation is that you can use a semicolon instead of a FANBOYS + comma. Save this for a dramatic moment in your writing.

Write a compound sentence with a semicolon. Double-check that you have an independent clause (AKA complete sentence) on each side.

Clear as mud? If you need more help, it's easy to find tutorials on YouTube, or try my favorite grammar website - http://chompchomp.com/

On-Level: Review for Exam

"Mrs. Wise, what is going to be on the test on the block day?"

Exam review:

Test Review-Reading Test 1
5 matching questions over the terms:

• Characterization-the way the writer creates and develops characters’ personalities.

• Internal conflict-the struggle within an individual character. 

• External conflict-the struggle a character has with an outside force.

• Setting –the time and place of the story.

• Inference-a conclusion based on observation and reasoning.

5 questions over “Everyday Use” in which you are allowed to use the book practicing:

• Inference-how quotes support and idea.

• Characterization-describing a character physically and emotionally. 

• Conflict-internal and external examples from the story

2 Cold Reading passages

• Multiple choice questions testing the terms above.

• Dictionary skills questions, asking which definition best matches the use of the word. 

1 short answer

• Characterization- A question over one of the cold reading passages where you are to describe through characterization a major character. 

• The short answer response will test your knowledge of the ACES format.

A-Answer the question.
C-Citation (embedded quote)
E-explanation of how your quote supports your answer
S- Significance or why is it important?  What is this information adding to the story?

Pre-AP: Exam review

This exam covers the book Alas, Babylon and the material we've covered so far. It will have a pre-write on it, in the exact same style we've been working on in class.

To review:
CHARACTERS and CHARACTERIZATION

• List all the characters
• Who is a protagonist? Who is an antagonist?
• Who is static? Who is dynamic?
• What character foils exist?

CONFLICTS

• What are the internal/external conflicts of each character?
• What conflicts do they have in common, and which ones are unique?
• Where do we see:
• Man vs. Self
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. God
• Man vs. Fate
• Man vs. Environment

SETTING

• Describe Fort Repose. How did it get its name?
• How does Fort Repose change?
• How is Fort Repose lucky?
• How is Fort Repose unlucky?

THEME

• How does the author feel about:
• human nature?
• teamwork?
• the role of children? parents? the elderly?
• gender roles?
• technology?
• the military?
• the role of government?
• the role of commerce/the economy/money?

On-Level: Link to the text

Here is a link to the story just in case you need it to finish an assignment: Click here for the short story

Pre-AP: Homework due Tuesday

1. Finish the Pete/Beck prewrite.

2. Finish the Band-Aid prewrite.

• Look at your band-aid prewrite.
• Analyze: Finish marking the CD and CM. Do you have a good amount of both? If not, add some.
• Extend: Look for any surface-level things you wrote. Is there anything you have written that you can extend, explain, or give more details about?
• If possible, please write on the same paper. If you’re out of room on your paper, just write additions on another piece or on post-its. I’d prefer to have it today, but if you need to take a picture of these directions and finish it for Tuesday, that’s okay, too. I’d prefer a high-quality job over a rush job.