Lord, what fools these mortals be! - Midsummer Post #1

This post is due before class starts Friday, May 2

Welcome back to Millers English 10 Blog. We are starting A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is a complex, fanciful play that lays bare the humor and foibles of young love.

To get us started, we tackled the twisted, complex plot. You have been given a basic summary of the storyline of the play, (titled "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"), which covers the play up to the end of Act III. For your reference, there is a version of the summary here.

Your assignment now is to take this mixed-up love mess and bring it to a conclusion with a happy ending. As it stands right now, everything is messed up and needs resolution. Assume the role of a narrator and finish the story. This is your chance to predict how this all turns out in the real play.

A couple things to remember before completing your posting: 1) your story must have a happy ending, just like a Shakespearean comedy would. 2) you must come up with a way to solve the problems of a majority of the characters. 3) your creative ending must be in the form of a story, continuing the storyline you've been given. Try to be creative and come up with an original, even outrageous, way to wrap up this storyline.

As with all entries, you might consider writing on a word processing program first so you can proofread, edit, and continuously save before your final posting. Saving it in a word processing program will also cover you in case there's a problem posting.

photocredit: Shakespeare by johopo on Flickr.

Predicting what your books will be about.

One way to get started with our new books is by making predictions about how we think the stories will turn out. Depending on which book you are reading - Black Boy, Frankenstein, The Color of Water - Please complete the following prediction quiz:

Make a prediction about the book based on a specific passage from the first section. Select a passage that has something to do with one of the main characters. Explain how that passage illustrates something significant about that character. How will the character change over the course of the story? What lessons will he/she learn. Use the passage as the starting point for your response.

Alienation & Isolation

Our next unit of study will focus on the idea of alienation and isolation, and specifically how those concepts are reflected in one of three novels, either Frankenstein, The Color of Water, and Black Boy.

To get us started, we will read the first chapter or chapters of each novel, then use that to help you decide which novel you'd like to read in its entirety. Although each of the novels is quite different, All three novels address these concepts in various ways. The following slideshow helps provide an overview of alienation and isolation.

What do you fear most? Public speaking? You're not alone

Throughout the film Dead Poets Society, Mr. Keating teaches his students the importance of finding their own voice - a lesson that Todd Anderson took to heart. In the spirit of the film, you have been assigned to make a speech to the class on one of three topics. (See assignment here)

Unfortunately, getting up in front of an audience - especially your classmates - is not as easy as it seems on the big screen. The fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias that people have, right up there with death and divorce.

To prepare for next week's speech we will discuss some of the different characteristics of effective presentations. We will talk about what makes a speech good, what kind of preparation can be done, and how we can work to improve our public speaking. Read this article from The Guardian newspaper and this one from Forbes magazine, both of which deal with the fear of public speaking and how to overcome it.

What can we do to make our speeches strong and memorable? What are the criteria of a good speech? Develop a list of five criteria of a good speech. Briefly describe each one and be ready to present it to the class so we can use it to develop a scoring rubric for the speeches. Remember, speeches start Monday, March 17.

photo credit: Public Speaking for Success by wardomatic on Flickr

Seize the day - and this assignment!

As part of our unit on "Dead Poets Society," you are being asked to find your own voice and make a creative speech in front of your classmates. The assignment, with the three options, is linked here (as a Microsoft Word document.)

In addition, if you are interested in selecting one of the poems, here is a page with links and brief explanations for each.

Above all, this is an assignment that will test your abilities to prepare and present a speech in front of your classmates. Like Mr. Keating taught his students in the film, find your voice and don't let your work be ordinary.

Dead Poets Society and vocabulary

As we watch "Dead Poets Society," we will be using some of the following vocabulary to help us understand and analyze the film. Once we finish, we will all give speeches in front of the class as we seek to find our own voices.

The following embedded presentation contains all the vocabulary, definitions, and questions you are being asked as part of the film. If you click on the square below, you will be able to view the presentation.

| View | Upload your own

You can also view the presentation here as a 2007 PowerPoint file.

Getting ready for the CAPT

For the last several weeks, the state's mandated CAPT for all 10th graders has been at the forefront of our classroom work and discussion. We've read a variety of literature and non-fiction, prepared for the different assessments that face you, and discussed numerous different strategies to read and write.

You have also written to plenty of prompts, not just in the last few weeks, but throughout the year. I hope that what we've done will prepare you for what's ahead.

But before we officially send you off into hours of standardized testing, let's look back on two of the major reading and writing tasks that you will face - the Response to Literature and Interdisciplinary Letter tests. We are using the two slideshows below in class as part of learning activity to provide an overview of the two tests and review the writing done in class up to this point.

View Upload your own

View Upload your own

Some comma quizzes to sharpen your skills

After reviewing your essays in MyAccess, we've noticed several comma and other punctuation problems. One way to improve in this area is through repetition and quizzing on the skills. Below are three online quizzes that will test your knowledge in the use of commas and punctuations.

In class today, complete all three and show me the screen after you do it, so I know you completed it.

Take this fill in the blank comma quiz.

This one is more a multiple choice quiz assessing different grammatical problems and sentence combining.

Finally, this quiz tests several different punctuation issues.

Dystopian novel vocabulary - wiki post #1

This posting is due before class starts on Friday, Feb. 1.

We've begun creating our wiki resource page on our dystopian novels. For this unit, all assignments will be posted there, rather than in the comment section of this post.

This assignment requires that you find a vocabulary word from your novel.

When you find a good word (and one that hasn't been used yet this year), please add it to the vocabulary page, along with the sentence from the novel, the page number, and a short definition in your own words. Your word should be unique in the class; that is, you shouldn't post the same word as someone else. Therefore, before you post your word and definition, read through the existing words to see if your word is there already. If it is, you need to find another word.

Post your word on the vocabulary page here. Remember you need to log in and use the password key to be able to edit the page.

Record the following for your word: 1) the word and sentence from the book in which it is used; 2) page number as it appears in the book; 3) easy to understand and accurate definition; and 4) your name, so we can keep track of who is contributing what.

Link to vocabulary page
Link to Dystopian novel wiki resource

1984 and Fahrenheit 451: Just what kind of world are they?

Note: This blog spells out the assignment for the wiki post #1 due Tuesday, Jan. 29 on the class calendar.

As we continue with our Dystopian Literature unit, we will begin using the class wiki page to compile and gather ideas about the novel. Directions for creating this wiki resource page can be found at that site, but I will continue to post information on assignments here.


Each group will create their own page where they will record their ideas. It is expected to grow and evolve as more ideas are added. The first posting I'd like each group to create involves describing just how the world of their novel is a dystopia. Describe what makes the London of 1984 or the nameless country in Fahrenheit 451 a dystopia. What are the dystopian characteristics of those worlds?


Each group should collaborate in class to write and post a well-developed paragraph that makes mention of events and ideas in the novels and connects it to the definitions of dystopia we've used in class. Post your paragraph on your new wiki resource page.

The Future is Now? - blog posting #1

This blog posting is due before class starts on Tuesday, Jan. 8 - click here for the calendar of due dates

By now, you should be started on the first part of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451. If you remember from the introductory PowerPoint presentation, we discussed the four perspectives from which we are going to look at the novels.

• Threats to individual privacy
• Dangers of governmental power
• The power of information, propaganda, and language distortion
• The potential for mindless entertainment to stifle individual thinking

For your first blog response on these novels, I'd like you to go back to the first few pages of your novel. Select a telling quote and write a response that discusses how one or more of those four perspectives is revealed through the quote and why it may be important to larger ideas in the novel. What is the author trying to show?

In addition to your response, record the quote in proper MLA format with book title and page number, like this: "...text of quote, blah, blah, blah" (Fahrenheit 451, 13)

Our laptops, our situation, and our responsibility

We have been blessed in F14 - and at Branford High - to have access to plenty of the latest computer technology to enhance our learning. As you know, this year is the first year using a portable laptop cart to provide easy, in-class computer access for each student.

And as you also know, not everything has gone perfectly. We've had problems accessing the Internet or even just signing on. Glitches in the computers have surfaced, making our work sometimes difficult, sometimes frustrating. Maybe we haven't completely tapped into the full potential of these machines. However, with a new year, I got to thinking that despite any minor malfunctions, just how fortunate we are. Not everybody in the world is so fortunate.

This lead me to consider about just how powerful a tool a computer can be for our learning. Maybe we haven't fully tapped into the full potential of these machines, but trust me, there are limitless possibilities for what we can do. So why not do something productive, something that reaches beyond the walls of the classroom, and this school, to make a difference somewhere else.
I stumbled across the One Laptop Per Child project, which ships inexpensive computers to children in third world countries who have minimal resources for learning. For $200, an XO Laptop - designed to be durable, easy-to-use, and accessible to the Internet - can be shipped to a student in a third world country. See more details here.

Don't we have a responsibility to help those out who are less fortunate? How could we get involved in something like this? What could we do to help? Are we capable of collaborating as a class and coming up with ideas to make this happen? Can we make it happen? Can we raise at least $200 to purchase a laptop?

From now until February break I'd like to find out. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Learning vocabulary and feeding the world

Learning new vocabulary words is an important component of our class this year, and it's a skill that will help you in your writing and reading comprehension. So far this year, we've compiled a list of 52 new words from the literature we've read. In addition, students pursuing the honors option will have a separate vocabulary component, this one modeled on a sample SAT-type vocabulary test. One way to prepare for the midterm is to review all the quizzes you've taken this year. All the words and definitions are there.

But wouldn't it be great if you could improve your vocabulary AND help defeat world hunger? Well you can. Here is an online vocabulary quiz that raises money for the hungry – This unusual website – http://freerice.com/ - has a multiple-choice vocabulary test with instant feedback (words get harder if you are more successful, easier if you get words wrong). For every word you get correct, ten grains of rice are donated to the world’s needy through the United Nations.

Any site that can promises both an improved vocabulary and feeding the hungry is worth a try. If you do, I'd like to hear what you think. Post a comment if you'd like.

Just what kind of mother is Beatrice? - Gamma Rays post #5

This is the 5th, and final homework blog posting of Gamma Rays... Have you completed them all to earn full credit?

Now that we've gotten to see Mrs. Beatrice Hunsdorfer in the play, how would you categorize her as a mother? Go back and re-read the article on dysfunctional families that we studied in an earlier post. Using information from the article, decide what type of parent category Beatrice fits into. In what way will her parenting style affect her children, either now or in the future? Explain your reasoning by pointing to specific examples from the play.

More dreams - Gamma Rays post #4

This is the fourth homework blog posting for Gamma Rays. The calendar says it's due Monday, but we'll extend it to before class on Tuesday, Dec. 18.

Langston Hughes, the poet who wrote "Dreams" from an earlier post, also wrote "A Dream Deferred." In both poems Hughes address the power of dreams. Likewise, Zindel's play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds deals with the impact dreams have on human beings, both for the power they have to instill hope and the emotional havoc wrought by broken dreams. Now that we've read most of Gamma Rays, read "A Dream Deferred." Which character do you think this poem speaks to the most in the play? Hughes uses several evocative similes. Choose some lines that you can connect to incidents and events from the play. Explain the connections.

A Dream Deferred*

What happens to a dream deferred*?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

by Langston Hughes

* deferred = to put off action, to delay

Assignment: Submitting an essay from MyAccess

Twice this semester, we have used the MyAccess writing program to write, submit, and revise an essay assignment. Both essays that we completed - An Important Change and A Lesson Learned - are now part of your portfolio in MyAccess. You are required to have both of those essays submitted to the MyAccess online scoring program.

In addition, you are required to hand in one of the essays to be graded outside the online scoring program. To do this, you need to print out your essay. Select the one essays you like the best and make any final revisions and submissions. I expect that what you submit will be final essay qualilty work. Use the feedback from MyAccess to help you achieve that. Once you are done editing, print it out from MyAccess and turn it in.

For printing, the best way to do it is to select the publish icon from the My Portfolio screen. See diagram below. Once you select publish, you will be given a choice on the layout you'd like.

A copy of your printed essay from MyAccess is due in class on Tuesday, Dec. 18. You will not be given class time to print. If you have problems accessing MyAccess and printing your essay, please let me know BEFORE the day it's due.

Dreams and the Hunsdorfers - Gamma Rays post #3

This is the third homework blog posting and it is due before class starts on Thursday, Dec. 13

So far in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, we have been introduced to the Hunsdorfer family - Tillie, Beatrice, and Ruth. Tillie is working on a science project, which has gained her some attention at school. Read the following poem by Langston Hughes. Who in the play do you think this poem speaks to the most - Tillie, Beatrice, or Ruth? Who has dreams? What line or lines stand out that seem to speak directly to her situation? Make specific references to incidents in the play and explain your connections.

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

- by Langston Hughes

Why marigolds? - Gamma Rays post #2

This is the second homework blog posting... Did you already complete the post on good literature?

It is due before class starts on Wednesday, Dec. 12

In The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Tillie conducts an unusual science project. She subjects three different batches of marigolds to the potentially damaging effects of gamma rays - a topic we addressed in a previous blog post. But why did the play's author, Paul Zindel, choose marigolds as the flower to use in the science experiment? Check out some information on marigolds at wikipedia and this information site on growing marigolds. Focus on the characteristics of the flower and how they grow... Then post your ideas about the use of marigolds in the story. What makes marigolds unique? When do marigolds bloom? How might the characteristics or qualities of this particular flower be a symbol that connects to important ideas in the play? Why might have Zindel used marigolds as the flower?

photo credit: Marigold by Floridapfe on flickr.com

What is good literature? - Gamma Rays post #1

This posting is due before class starts on Tuesday, Dec. 11

One of the most difficult questions you are asked in an English class is "What makes this a good piece of literature?" As we read The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, we will ask ourselves that on a regular basis. There will also be an in class essay quiz that asks you to evaluate the quality of the play.

However, before you can come up with a good answer, you should have clear ideas for a definition of good literature. For this assignment, I'd like you to define the characteristics of good literature. Remember to avoid meaningless reasons like "it keeps me interested" or the like. Good literature, by definition, should keep you interested - you have to point out just what the author does to make it interesting. Think about the literary terms we studied with previous literature we've read. If possible, use some of them to help you craft a concise, clear definition. Once you have your definition, tell us your favorite piece of literature that we've read in class this year. Evaluate your selection using your criteria.

Vocabulary for Gamma Rays unit

We are beginning a new unit on the play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel. The play, with it's long, strange name, tells the story of the Hunsdorfer family. At times disturbing and hilarious, Gamma Rays shows us just how fragile human beings can be.

In anticipation for the unit, there are 12 vocabulary words assigned. There will be a quiz Friday, Dec. 14. A cumulative list of the words is linked here.

Some of the definitions are linked below; the rest you are responsible for looking up the definitions.

chronic - continuing a long time or recurring frequently
omission -
sterile - lacking imagination, creativity, or vitality.
precedence - priority in preference or order
convulse -
balustrade -
debark -
oblivious -
pervade -
explicit -
gargantuan -
saccharine - exaggeratedly sweet or sentimental