End of Week 1

Ms. VincentSeptember 18, 2020Leave a comment

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!

Getting into our first units!

Ms. VincentSeptember 17, 2020Leave a comment

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.

Wind Down Wednesday: What to Expect

Ms. VincentSeptember 16, 2020Leave a comment

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.

Summer Reading 2020

Ms. VincentAugust 1, 2020August 12, 2020Leave a comment

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.

Good luck!