Today we read the myths of Zeus and Hera. Make sure you're filling out the last three questions on the Pantheon sheet in your packets, and then, go to page 4 in your packets and fill in the chart for Cronos, Rhea, Zeus, Hera, and Pan! These will be due on Thursday.
English 9
Our short story today, "Lather and Nothing Else," is similar to "War" in that the setting is incredibly important. Think about why. Your questions for "Lather and Nothing Else" are due tomorrow before class begins. Don't forget to bring earbuds/headphones to school on Thursday! Irony quiz on Friday.
English 9 Honors
Your comparison questions for "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Necklace" are due by the beginning of class tomorrow. We're going to discuss the importance of setting with tomorrow's Wind-Down Wednesday video. Irony quiz on Friday.
Nicely done all around today, kiddos! Please contact me if you have a problem with Schoology, and I'll email you what you need. Then, contact your guidance counselor to help with Schoology, because you will need access to it.
ALL 9th GRADE STUDENTS!
You're virtual tomorrow and Wednesday. Make sure your Chromebooks are charged! Also, remember that you are having a quiz on the three types of irony on Friday!
Here's our daily recap!
English 8
You should have your independent reading books by now and should be reading about 12-15 minutes tonight if you haven't yet started your weekly hour of reading. You can always read more, though, so don't worry about making yourself stop if you get into the story!
Today's vocab word is pantheon, which means the group of gods connected to a specific culture or religion. We're learning about the Greek pantheon now, and tomorrow we'll read our first myths! Make sure that in-person students have books and packets in class every day, and virtual students will have all work available on Schoology.
English 9
Make sure to review the definitions of allusion and the three types of irony: verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony. Today we read "War" by Jack London, and your homework is the set of five questions on "War" found on Schoology.
English 9 Honors
Make sure to review the definitions of allusion and the three types of irony: verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony. Today we started to read "Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, and your homework is to finish reading the story. We'll be comparing it with other stories in class tomorrow.
We did it! We made it to the end of the week! I'm so proud of you all! Here's a recap of today's class. Have a wonderful weekend!
English 8
Today we did a review of symbolism by matching images with as many possible meanings as we could. We'll continue this activity and start talking about Greek mythology on Monday! Don't forget to get your independent reading book!
English 9
After our first reading of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," we looked at some of the literary devices used in the story. An allusion is when one story references another; in this case, the title is a Biblical allusion to the magi who, in the Christian Bible, brought gifts to the newborn baby Jesus. This allusion makes the meaning of Jim and Della's gifts more clear: the intent (love) is more important than the gift itself. The second literary device we discussed is irony, which has three different types. Verbal irony is sarcasm, dramatic irony is when the reader/audience knows something a character does not, and situational irony is when we expect one thing to happen and the opposite occurs. This story used situational irony when the gifts that were given turned out to be unusable.
English 9 Honors
To finish out our week on George Orwell's 1984, we practiced writing propaganda by choosing a mundane topic (a yogurt stand moving its location, students responding to a teacher, etc.) and writing a press release as if it were written by someone in the Ministry of Truth to promote The Party. You're all getting very creative! We'll jump into some short stories next week!
We're finally getting into our first units, and today's classes had a lot packed into them! Here's today's recap:
English 8
Today was great practice with the idea of symbolism as everyone in class shared one object that could be symbolic of themselves or their personalities! Remember, symbolism is when one thing represents something else. This is going to be a helpful thing to remember when we start talking about the Greek gods tomorrow and begin reading our stories, as each of the gods can be symbolized by different things!
Remember to have your independent reading book picked out by tomorrow!
English 9
As we continue to talk about the importance of close reading, we're starting off the unit with the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. Today's homework talks about the more surface-level information we gather about a story on our first reading. Tomorrow, we're going to go a bit more in-depth.
English 9 Honors
Our continuing discussion of George Orwell's 1984 led us to talk about doublethink and how dangerous that is for both societies as a whole and for the individual. Your homework is a brief recap of what you know about doublethink. Doublethink is a form of paradox, which is when two contradictory things exist simultaneously. Tomorrow, we're going to continue our conversation and see if we can crack the doublethink code.
Today was our first Wind Down Wednesday, which will (hopefully) occur every week and give us a chance to step back and look at our class topics in a different way. Here's today's recap!
English 8
We talked about symbolism today, which is when one thing represents another, and I asked that you think about an object that could symbolize you. Be prepared to talk about it tomorrow!
English 9
After watching clips from an episode of the BBC's Sherlock, we looked at how analyzing details can help us to understand the bigger picture. In high school English, we become text detectives by looking for clues on our own and using them to make inferences (or conclusions based on evidence). For homework tonight, you have an opportunity to earn a few homework bonus points if you can solve the mysteries on Schoology!
English 9 Honors
In our discussion of George Orwell's 1984, we're beginning to take apart the idea of the dangers of the single story being told by The Party and how such abuses of power lead to danger for society as a whole and the individual. In today's video, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about the dangers of the single story on a more subtle level. Be prepared to continue our conversation tomorrow about how the single story can cause damage in less obvious, less overtly violent ways than it does in 1984.
Tomorrow is the first day that all of the 9th grade is virtual, so make sure that you test out your Chromebooks.
Remember that if you can't log in with your Chromebook, you can call in for your Google Meet classes! All codes and phone numbers for English are on the class Schoology pages.
English 9
Remember that I'd like you to think about what it is that makes a story memorable. Think about the stories you read last year and be ready to talk about them.
English 9 Honors
Think about how the single story being told by The Party in 1984 was dangerous both for society as a whole and for the individual. We're going to talk more about this tomorrow.
Well, that was quite the first day of school! It was certainly a challenge trying to find our classes and work with all the technology, but we're going to get there! Here's a recap of the things we talked about in English class today.
Overflow Groups
In order to maintain social distancing, periods 4, 5, and 7 are split into two groups. This can get a bit confusing, so I'm going to post the specific instructions on Schoology for each period. Basically, you're with me every other day and I'm streaming to you in the overflow classroom on the opposite days.
Google Meet
Some people had trouble with the Google Meet for class today, so I want to offer some possible solutions. If you're having trouble logging in, your first step is to make sure that in Chrome (or another web browser like Firefox, though Chrome works best), you're logged in with your school email address instead of your personal email address.
Next, check your class Schoology pages for the links. I know there's the shortcut of using your teacher and period to log in, but this ONLY works if you're logged in with your school account, and some people were having trouble with that today.
Finally, I'm in the process of sending out Google Meet invitations that will arrive in your school email. Open the email and click "Yes" to accept the invitation. Then, go to your Google Calendar. You should see an event for every class you've accepted an invitation to. If you click on the event, there will be a link to the Google Meet class.
If you're not able to get online one day and you still need to get to class, there's a phone number you can call in each calendar event and on our class Schoology page.
Schoology
Since Schoology is a secure site protected by passwords and the school network, that's where I'm going to post class-specific information. That's also where I'd like you to submit your homework going forward, whenever possible.
Google Voice
For security reasons, I'm not going to post the number here, but I created a Google Voice number that you can text or call to leave a voicemail. Email is the best way to reach me, but I'll be checking this Google Voice number on school days after I get home until about 5:00 p.m.
Breathe
This is a weird year, but we're going to get through it together. If you get confused about something or feel frustrated/overwhelmed, reach out to someone. Your guidance counselor is the best person to reach out to, but you can also reach out to me. Hang in there. 🙂
I'm guessing that most of you could easily answer the question "are you good at English" right now. Questionable grammar aside, that's actually a pretty terrible question. It assumes that your skill is easily measured by grades you've gotten in the past and interest you may or may not have had in books you've read before.
What you're going to learn with me this year, whether in 8th or 9th grade, is how to be a critical thinker. This means that I'm going to teach you not only what certain vocabulary terms mean or how to write an argument essay, but also what it means to look at absolutely anything in the world and see it as a text you can question, pull apart, and find meaning in. Songs, paintings, video games, Tik Toks... believe it or not, you can analyze all of them.
Critical thinking basically means that when you look at something, you don't just accept it at face value. You figure out if what you're looking at is accurate, what the creator might have meant when creating it, what your interpretation of it is, what kinds of biases might have influenced it, and so on. Critical thinking means that you have to question the things you experience and consider what kind of impact they have on you and the world around you.
Some of you have been assigned specific summer reading, while others have been asked simply to read something over the summer. When we start up in September, we're going to talk about critical thinking in different ways. For now, I'd like you to think about different ways you can be critical of something you read, watch, listen to, or otherwise experience. What sorts of questions do you ask?
You will receive emails periodically, and not just for English class. It is absolutely mandatory that you check your school email at least once a day. If you have trouble accessing your school email, please let the school know right away so we can help you.
Use This Blog
Since some of you will be learning remotely, some will be in-person, and some will be a combination of both, I will be using this blog as well as our class Schoology page to make sure everyone is always aware of what's going on and what's due. It's important that you bookmark this blog and check it daily for updates.
Take a moment to read through the pages linked at the top of this blog, as well. There will be rules for using this blog.
Supplies
For all English classes (English 8, English 9, and English 9 Honors), it's important that you have a place to store handouts (which should all be available digitally as well) and notes. Please make sure to have the following items ready for class every day if you are in the classroom:
Chromebook and charger (if you are provided with one)
2 pocket folder*
1 subject notebook (if you use a 3 or 5 subject notebook, that’s fine, but there needs to be a dedicated English section)*
Blue or black pen(s) (it's sometimes very difficult to read other colors, so please use only standard blue or black ink for assignments)
Highlighter
*If you would prefer to use a 3 ring binder and looseleaf paper rather than a notebook and folder, that's fine, but whichever you use must be in class every day.
Optional Supplies
The following items are not required but may be useful for some students
3x5 index cards (these may be helpful for studying vocabulary terms or taking notes for research projects)
If possible, please provide one box of tissues for class
Since there have been a lot of questions, here's the quick rundown on the summer reading project for 2020. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you might have.
English 8
There will be no summer reading project for English 8 this year. Due to the huge adjustments we've had to make over the past few months, I don't want to add any additional stress for anyone, and I don't want anyone to risk their health or safety trying to go out to get a book. I also don't want anyone to have to spend additional money buying a book over the summer.
Still, I would encourage everyone to read at least one book over the summer of your choosing!
English 9
This year's summer reading project is optional. For all the reasons I've listed above in the 8th-grade section, I didn't want to require anyone to do this project. I do know, however, that with your entrance into high school, you're going to have to become accustomed to more work. Our expectations are higher, and I want you to have the opportunity to have a head start. With this in mind, you may complete the summer reading project if you would like to receive extra credit in September 2020. If you would like to complete the summer reading project, you can find it here. Please note that you cannot access this page without logging in with your Schoharie Schools email address.
English 9 Honors
This year's summer reading project comes from Mr. Cummins, who has taught 9 Honors for the past few years. I will be using Mr. Cummins' summer reading project this year. With your acceptance into the honors program, your expectations will be higher, and I want to ensure that your experience is consistent with the English department's expectations of our honors students. The assignment will require you to read George Orwell's novel 1984 and complete one of the essay topics described in the assignment here. Please note that you cannot access this page without logging in with your Schoharie Schools email address.
