AMC 11th Grade English 08-09

Students used the textbook to find examples of “poetic devices” such as Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance, Parallelism, Anaphora, and Repetition. The attached hand-out can be used to find examples. Examples must be cited with Title/ page #/ words that show the example.

Example: “Frederick Douglass” p. 615 beautiful, needful (example of consonance).

Attached is a copy of the hand-out. This hand-out cannot be read by the viewer, but it will download.

poetic devices

This assignment should be at least one-page long. Remember to “Show not Tell.”

Example: Tell: I was so hungry.

Show: I entered the house and made a bee-line for the kitchen. Darn. All the counters were clean empty except for one small plate with three apples. Inhaling the first one, I grasped the cupboard door and opened it, looking for crackers, nuts, or just about anything that wouldn’t need to be cooked. Finally, I made it to the refrigerator. A luscious, lemon cheesecake sat cooling on the second shelf. Before I could think, my fingers found their way through the topping to scoop a huge hunk into my waiting mouth.

Please take a look at the PowerPoint prepared to help you with the special section on the CST’s.

Ms. DaLie prepared this to help you with vocabulary in context and logical relationships, two areas very likely to be on the test. These are also good concepts to review even if there were no test.

preparing-for-the-eap-part-of-the-cst.ppt

The best way to celebrate poetry is to write it!

Students are exploring models such as Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “Women Who Love Angels,” William Stafford’s “What’s in My Journal,” and Keith Jones’ “Street Poet.” Below, you will find a copy of Street Poet.

wimj-stafford.doc

Fourth and Fifth period conducted a seminar last week on  the William Saroyan story, The Filipino and the Drunkard in fourth and fifth periods.  Student led Socratic seminar practice is getting livelier and more in-depth every week.

A reminder: due this week is a one-page summary of your answer to the seminar question:

Who is most responsible for what happens in the story? Rate  the characters  and tell why you think the way you do. If you were present for the class discussion, tell whether or not it had an impact on your judgment.

The poem , by Judith Ortiz Cofer, provides much food for thought. Descriptive, elegant in its metaphors, the poem invites thought. Students were asked to read the poem silently, select one line, and write for five minutes. In groups, they read the poem aloud, and discussed their choices. We read it aloud, shared our thoughts, and discussed what we thought. Finally, using the outline of the poem, students wrote a poem of their own. Monday/Wednesday week of April 8.

Women Who Love Angels

Race is one of the most important topics of our time. Today, AMC students witnessed  presentations on Race by two professors from CSUN. Professor Owen Doonan spoke about the ancient world of Rome and Greece—how the art work reflects respect and perhaps admiration for people of different races. Professor Doonan spoke of how scholars believe that “race” is socially constructed, not biological. From the CSUN Speech and Communications department, Professor Allison Brownlow presented a photo quiz on races, presenting pictures and asking students to guess which race the people were. She also spoke about the language used to profile racial groups, and she too spoke of the origin of “race” and its relationship to slavery. The final part of her presentation contained “myths” about race and its continuing effect on life today.

Assignment: UCLA WRITING EVENT:

Your Thoughts on RACE

We had a great day on Tuesday, Mar. 20. Students were able to explore the CSUN art gallery and the theatre. Thanks to Professor Ken Sakatani, students explored political poster art in different media. Using the scavenger hunt Professor Sakatani created, students discovered themes and recurrent imagery of the world that surrounds us.

Across campus, we visited Dr. Barry Cleveland who took us on a great “backstage” tour of the CSUN theatre. We started in the “little theatre” where a rehearsal for “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” was in process. From there we headed for the main theatre where Dr. Cleveland demonstrated how the magic of theatre occurs with false floors, counter-balanced scenery, and lighting. Seeing the actual department where much of the machinery is actually constructed and built was eye-opening. We also went into the costume, props, and make-up departments. In costume, people were preparing for the next production.

Students also conducted interviews of college students to find out what tips they should know before beginning their own advanced education.

WORK DUE:  Scavenger hunt from CSUN gallery; Interview of Student; Reflection on tours and gallery visit.  Equals 2 Grades.

Hello, All:

The week of March 12th will be a very busy one. If you haven’t practiced writing to a prompt, this would be a great time to do it. THE English Placement Test will take place on campus during your WEDNESDAY or THURSDAY block. The test is 45 minutes long.  I think many of you have the potential to pass this test.  All the effort you put into planning and thinking will help you.

Also, the week of March 12 is our seminar on Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America.” Practice good seminar habits and review the poem, examine vocabulary (Locate words that are unfamiliar, new in context, or ambiguous.), and write 5 questions about the poem.

In addition to the test and seminar, we will try out our Readers’ Theatre effort for “Mother to Son.”

Last (but not least): Please try out your log-on and password for your email account. We will need it when we resume blogging next week.

A check-list of our first five weeks will “spring” us into the middle of the semester.

• Students completed a one-page report on a member of the Harlem Renaissance
• We began Socratic conversation with an analysis of the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Students continued the practice of READING TUESDAY. One “Thumbs Up” Book Report captured the essence of the reading.
• Students prepared and conducted a seminar on Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son.”
• Students practiced writing to prompts on the Educational Placement Test. This test is given to all Juniors in March. Passing it means beginning college without having to take remedial English.
• Students prepared a Readers’ Theatre script on “Mother to Son.”

I’d like to hear from you. What do you think you’ve achieved lately? Which of the assignments above do you think marked your high points in English? How  have you started your spring semester?  What are you looking forward to?