First Quarter Syllabus

Below is a list of things we have covered (or will cover) during the first 9 weeks of this school year. There are some things that will be pulled in as well to support the things I need you to learn (example: "Seventh Grade", the short story by Gary Soto, helped explain plot and character development).

Homework

Tonight, read and annotate chapter 2 of A Separate Peace. Don't just carry the book around - turn off your electronics for 30-45 minutes and READ!!!

Also, with the boys at Devon headed toward action in World War II, it reminded me... I visited the Air Force Academy this past weekend in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Remind me to tell you about it. Below is a picture of the campus chapel.

Four Weeks Down!

We're almost at the halfway point of the 1st 9 weeks. Progress Reports go out at the end of this upcoming week.

Starting Monday, you MUST have a copy of A Separate Peace. Not an electronic version of it - the actual book. I'll go ahead and tell you now, your reading assignment on Monday will be to read Chapter 1. It's only about 10 pages, but we meet the main characters and get to know the setting.

At this very moment, I am downloading an audio copy of the book onto my iPod. I will play Chapter 1 in my room before school on Tuesday for anyone who happens to come to morning tutorials. I won't be there Monday to write you a pass, but your parents can write one. And it's Mrs. Duncan at the front door, so maybe she'll let you by.

We make our first trip to the library on Tuesday, but we won't be checking out books. Our reading time needs to be focused on the novel we are starting. In fact, be prepared for a quiz when I return on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend. I'll be in Denver to watch the Colorado Rockies play baseball. Maybe I'll post a picture or two. Don't be jealous!

TPCASTT of "Invictus"

Your homework is due at the start of class Monday. Your homework is to TPCASTT the poem "Invictus." To get you going in the right direction, I will try to help you out. The parts highlighted are actual answers you can use if you want. The parts NOT highlighted are just tips for you to follow.

T - The title Invictus could mean any number of things. But without reading the poem, my best guess is that it has something to do with the definition for invictus, which means undefeated or unconquerable.

P - I am coming out of the night time, which was all around me
It was so completely dark from end to end that it was like being in a deep well
I give praise to whoever is responsible (the gods? God?)
for giving me this invincible character

That's one stanza. Surely you can do the other 3 by yourself.



C - repetition - lines 15-16 both start "I am the..."
repetition - line 12, finds and shall find me
rhyme scheme - ABAB (and it stays completely true to that in every stanza)
In line 10, the word Horror is capitalized. That can't be an accident; it is being used as a proper noun, maybe because it symbolizes the thing or person (the devil?) that causes me to suffer.

Boom, that's 4 things. You can thank me later. Now... find some more.



A - I have yet to give you the list of tone words, so for now, you are on your own to come up with the speaker's attitude. You've heard the poem several times. How do you think the speaker in it feels?

S - Think of the shift in time for this one. The speaker is talking about what has happened before, but he also talks about the here and now. He even refers to the future. There's also a shift in the third stanza. Can you find it? It should be recognizable because of the conjunction that often signals a shift.

T - Look back at the title. Why use this title? What could the poet have meant by using this title?

T - We have talked about this. What is the speaker's message to us? And really, why do I say this poem so often? The answer should reveal the theme of the poem.

TPCASTT Notes

T - Title - Examine the title of the poem before reading it. Predict what the poem is about based only on the title. If the poem doesn't have a title, use the first line. (This should take you 1-3 lines. It counts 10 points.) After doing this, read the poem. Read it more than once.

P - Paraphrase - After reading the poem, put the lines of the poem into your own words. Don't try to interpret the meaning of the poem - that comes later. Go line by line, rephrasing every line into your own words. (This should take as many lines as the poem is long. Skip lines between the stanzas. It counts 25 points.)

C - Connotations - This is where you start looking at the poem like a poet would. What literary techniques does the poet use to convey his/her message? Some of the things you might see are similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, repetition, rhyme, assonance, consonance, allusions, onomatopoeia... Or maybe the way the poem is designed is physically unique. Maybe the punctuation is different in places. What is the mood of the poem? What is the rhyme scheme? Does the poet use symbolism? By noticing these things, we begin to get a better idea of what the poet is trying say. Note the line(s) you find the technique, but also explain it. You can't just make random guesses; you have to be able to support your comments with text evidence. (This should take you about as many lines to complete as the poem has in it. It's okay to have more. It counts 25 points.)

A - Attitude - How does the speaker in the poem (or the author) feel about this poem? Refer to your list of tone words for some ideas. (This should take 1-3 lines. It counts 10 points.)

S - Shift - Look for shifts in tone, attitude, meaning... Where does the author/speaker shift from one idea to another? Where does the author/speaker shift from one mood to another? Where does the author/speaker shift from asking questions to answering them? Note the line and explain. (This should take 1-3 lines. It counts 10 points.)

T - Title - Look at the title again now that you have read the poem. Does the title give any insight into the message the author is trying to convey? What is the significance of the title? Were you right in your earlier prediction? (This should take 1-3 lines. It counts 10 points.)

T - Theme - What is the message the author is trying to make with this poem? Look for a global message because themes usually apply to everyone. Poets often use simple things to make a more universal comment, like using a fork in the road to symbolize choices in life. (This should take 1-3 lines. It counts 10 points.)

Three Week Assessment

(Sorry, Dylan. This one's for you.)

Today we wrote our first draft on a personal narrative about technology and how it influenced a decision you have made. This first draft will be scored this weekend and will count as a major grade (the Q1W3 Assessment). We won't be finished with it, however. We will discuss ways to revise our papers. Then we will have writing conferences where I give you specific feedback on your paper. After the conferences, you will revise your paper at least once, eventually writing a final copy.

Tomorrow, after we finish TPCASTTing "The Courage That My Mother Had", we will turn in both of the poems we have analyzed and then TPCASTT "Invictus" individually.

Soon, I have a book to read to you. It's short; we can read it in one day. We will try our hand at writing our own original poems. We still have a couple more poems to analyze in depth (TPCASTT).

The other thing is something new and special. I'm not going to tell you about it yet, but I CAN say that I'm looking forward to giving it a try. It should be fun.

We start reading A Separate Peace the week after next. Don't delay! Get your book now!

Two Weeks in the Books

Another week is behind us. 7th grade is already flying by. I am getting to know the young men, and they are getting to know me. Writing and talking about our personal narratives will do that.

This past week we started working on our first personal narrative of the year. We looked at mentor text and even watched a couple of videos of Bill Cosby verbalizing his personal narratives.

We worked on using the BaDaBing sentence as a way to start the personal narrative.

We continued our work with prepositional phrases.

We read "Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto and discussed plot, characterization, and point of view.

We added several literary terms to the vocabulary section of our IRWIN.

And many of the young men have started reciting "Invictus" with me.

Next week, we start poetry. As an introduction to poetry, we will see a few classroom scenes from Dead Poet's Society. We will learn the aspects of TPCASTT and begin to analyze some excellent poems, including "Invictus."

We also have our 3 Week Assessment towards the end of the week. It will be a personal narrative. Hopefully, the work we've already done will help us on this. We will do writing conferences and multiple revisions, but the Assessment grade will be for the first draft of your paper.

In two weeks we begin reading A Separate Peace by John Knowles. You need to get yourself a copy now. Try Half Price Books or buy one on Amazon.com. I just checked, and Amazon has used copies for a penny. Even with the shipping and handling, it's just $4. But order soon! I might have a few books for loan. Come see me if you need one.

Have a great, restful weekend. If you need something fun to do, visit the Fall Festival at St. Michael's church, across from South Grand Prairie H.S. And remember, Meet the Teacher Night is Tuesday night. I really hope to meet all of you then.

Grades Posted

The first week's grades are posted on Skyward. Be sure and keep track of your son's grades via the Parent Portal. Or email me and I'll tell you his grades. There are quite a few with averages in the 90s right now, but there are even more with averages below 70. All of those are because they didn't do the summer reading.

Their grades are also posted outside my door (using ID numbers instead of names) so the students always know where they stand.

We're writing!