McDonald's ain't got nothin' on me.

There's a whole lot to cover, so let's just get into it and skip the preamble, okay?

Frosh
Last Wednesday, some of you brought in second drafts for revision. Everyone who had a second draft traded papers with someone else and participated in some peer editing. My hope is that you found this practice valuable on two ends: one, by having someone read your work and giving you constructive criticism, and two, by reading someone else's paper and gaining some insight on how you can better improve your draft. I have to admit that I was disappointed in how many chose not to complete their second drafts, and it doesn't bode well for the final drafts.

It's a plot! (Admiral Ackbar would
be proud.)

Everyone who had one turned in a final draft of the personal narrative essay on Thursday. We then switched gears and started our Elements of Literature unit, dealing first with plot. We'll be covering several different aspects of literature and reading a variety of short stories to illustrate them.

Then we had our second Forward Friday. Things did not go as planned, as is often the case when teachers implement new lessons that they haven't tried before. I'm hoping for more success and more focus next time. As we get further along, the plan is to focus on just the task at hand (whether those be released questions or our workbooks) instead of trying to tackle too many things at once.

Monday, we finished our notes on plot and discussed some of the reading strategies that we'll employ as a class.

Today, you received a plot diagram graphic organizer. You'll need to keep track of this as we read Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game, which we began today in class and will continue to do through Thursday. Anything left to read will be your homework that night.

Seniors
Wednesday, we started our second set of lit terms, which are as follows:

1. Symbol
2. External Conflict
3. Internal Conflict
4. Denotation
5. Antagonist
6. Protagonist
7. Point of View
8. Foreshadowing
9. 1^st person pov
10. 3^rd per. Limited
11. Dramatic Irony
12. Verbal Irony
13. Tone
14. Setting
15. Mood
16. Connotation
17. 3^rd per. Omniscient
18. Situational Irony
19. Irony
20. Simile

Again, keep these terms at the forefront of your mind while reading your lit project books because knowing how to find and identify them will be the key to doing well on the annotation.

On Thursday, you received the guidelines for the Article Selection assignment. Last year was the first year that I ever gave this assignment to students and it required a lot more explanation on my part because I had no experience with it. Students had more questions, probably because I didn't have as clear an idea as I do now about what I expect. This year, I planned for the same amount of time to explain it but found that I didn't need it. This is a half-period explanation now, at most. I'll have to take that into account next year if I choose to keep using the idea. Your first Article Selection will be due on September 23.

On Friday, we finished covering the lit terms.

After revisiting the guidelines for MLA format, we read the article Which High School Students Are Most Likely to Graduate From College? from last year's US News & World Report on Monday. Besides some interesting statistics, this article (or Allegory of the Cave) will serve as the basis for a practice precis  that is due Wednesday, September 15. This will also give you a chance for you to demonstrate that you know MLA format inside and out. 

Today, we took a look at advertising slogans. This is a continuation of our philosophy and media literacy unit that we'll tie back to Aristotle. I'm very much looking forward to having a discussion on this concept with you tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a compilation from the Mac Tonight advertising campaign of which my willful participation is now well-known.

Banner Day, Banner Weekend, and a New Banner

Banner courtesy of Samir's Photoshop skillz (with a z!)

Take the time to check out the new banner of the blog. The previous one was made with my woefully inadequate Photoshop skills where I did a poor job of using the clone tool. Now, however, thanks to Samir, we have a banner worthy of a high school English class blog. Seriously, Samir took time out of his schedule to create this awesome banner, and for that, everyone should give him a hearty pat on the back.

My wife and I finally moved into a home that we "own." The bank actually owns most of it for the next 15 years or so, at which point, she and I become the majority owners. We won't own it outright until 2040, but all the problems that come with owning property are now mine, so it gives me the appearance of ownership. After all of the hassles of getting to last Saturday (of which there were many), I'm going to give into the illusion and say that I am a homeowner. Amazingly enough, I will be 60 years old when 2040 rolls around, and it's hard to believe that between now and that year is the same amount of time between the year of my birth and today. Our concept of time is astounding sometimes.

Frosh
You received the personal narrative essay guidelines and prompts on Thursday. Through writing the essay, you'll showcase the skill of demonstrating the difference between concrete detail (CD) and commentary (CM) by writing a four paragraph essay with a total of four chunks. Remember that a chunk consists of three sentences, a concrete detail followed by two commentary sentences.

Friday was our first Forward Friday where you took a pre-test to provide a baseline for where you currently stand in your test-taking abilities. The idea here will be to provide you with tips, tricks and knowledge to do well on the CSTs in the spring and the CAHSEE next year. The effort you put into this will directly correlate into how well you ultimately do, so make sure to be here and take it seriously.

Tuesday, you finished the pre-test and we briefly covered MLA format. Formatting your essay in the MLA stye will not be a major priority for this essay, but the sooner you get the hang of doing so, the easier the rest of your high school English classes will be. The final draft of the personal narrative essay will be due on Thursday, September 9.

Seniors
On Thursday, we really got the chance to discuss Plato's Allegory of the Cave in depth. Much like DFW's This is Water, Plato's Allegory provides a way of looking at life from a different point of view than many aren't used to taking. Part of why I really enjoy discussing this text is its relevance. Nearly 2400 years later, we can find connections between the prisoners in the cave, the puppeteers and the enlightened to any number of institutions. In a media-fueled world on a 24/7 news cycle, it's probably more relevant today than it has ever been.

Corporations that own the few media outlets available to a majority of the populace decide what those people are able to see; they determine what qualifies as news. Oftentimes if a piece of news doesn't fit the narrative that they wish to be the driving force of a story, it doesn't make air. Those in charge -- the puppeteers -- will attempt to make it more difficult to achieve enlightenment. There are avenues that you are able to explore, though. And that leads us to our bonus time down at the bottom of the entry.

Friday, you took the first lit terms test. A second test will be coming up on Friday, September 17.

Meanwhile, just about everyone had a lit project book on Tuesday. We discussed some of the best methods to be successful when annotating said books. Here are the things we decided:

• examples of lit terms in action (especially the proceeding three)
• motif
• theme
• symbol
• unfamiliar words (define them)
• commentary on what happens (explain your thoughts & opinions)
• important/notable passages (briefly explain why you think said passages are notable or important)
• character development (note new characters, character descriptions, or major changes to characters)
• ask questions (provide answers later, when possible)
• chapter summaries (describe three important things that happened)

Keep in mind that I'm a big fan of making sure you have equal parts highlighting and writing in your annotations. The first annotation check will be on Thursday, September 23.

Bonus Time (10 points) - In a modern world, what is the best practical way to achieve enlightenment? Notice the word practical is emphasized here. Keeping an open mind and allowing yourself to accept new ideas are ways to achieve enlightenment, but what is a specific action that an individual can take? What is something that an individual can do in today's world to achieve enlightenment? Respond in the comments in a minimum of five sentences with your name and period. This is geared toward seniors, but it's an opportunity that is open to everyone. Freshpeeps that wish to take a stab at answering will seem extra cool and probably earn a few more points if the answers are impressive.  Answers must be submitted by 11:59pm on Friday.

P.S. I won't have Internet access at home until at least Friday, but I do receive email during that time, which means that I will have the ability to read your comments. Blog updates (for the five people that actually follow) will probably be light until then.