Mrs. Kenyon's Blog

email address:  kathryn.kenyon@cobbk12.org

Synergy American Lit.

5/18 and 5/19 (Mon and Tues)

We are finishing up the play A Streetcar Named Desire in class and reviewing for the final. 

Items to be covered on the final include: representative selections from Transcendentalism through Modernism, A Streetcar Named Desire, grammar (primarily pronoun use, agreement, and commas), the research process (including basic MLA format characteristics), literary terms (see list given to you earlier in the semester).  Since we have had major tests covering The Great Gatsby and vocabulary, I am not going to repeat these items on the final.  It is important to be able to distinguish characteristics from the various literary periods.

Yearbook

Yearbook distribution will take place on May 15th.  All yearbook students will be needed to help make this run smoothly.  As many already know, Mr. Shaw has asked us to distribute after school this year to protect instructional time.  Seniors will receive their books after their second final and everyone else will have their books distributed between 3:30 and 6:00.

End of year yearbook staff party will take place on May 8th at 6:00 at Paradise Grill South of the Border.

Synergy American Lit

5/4 Monday

Grammar/EOCT Review; Gatsby movie

5/5 Tuesday

Grammar/EOCT Review; Gatsby movie

5/6 Wednesday

Harlem Renaissance; EOCT Review

5/7 and 5/8 (Thursday, Friday)

Continue EOCT Review; Open note/book Modernism Test

5/11 and 5/12 EOCT

Synergy American Lit

Sorry to be so late getting information on the blog for this week.

Monday (4/20) - Students read O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" while I was out.

Tuesday (4/21) - Students took their second Gatsby reading quiz (through chapter six)

Wednesday (4/22) - We all went to watch Act II of "Oklahoma."  Nora was awesome!

Thursday (4/23) - Students worked on their 1920's project in class.

Friday (4/24) - Students got their second Gatsby quizzes and research papers back.  They also worked on their 1920's project in class.

Monday (4/27) - Students need lit books - We will finally get to ee cummings; also will review grammar as time allows.

Tuesday (4/28) - Fishbowl on The Great Gatsby (entire novel).

Wednesday (4/29) - The Great Gatsby Test (both objective and essay style questions)

Thursday (4/30) - 1920's project is due (major grade).

Friday (5/1) - Grammar review (EOCT review); Gatsby movie.

Synergy American Literature

Monday, April 13

Vocabulary Unit 14 (last one!)

Tuesday, April 14

Gatsby Quiz (chapters 1-3)

Wednesday, April 15

10th grade diagnostic testing

Thursday, April 16

Fishbowl discussion - first four chapters of Gatsby

Friday, April 17

ee cummings

Synergy American Literature

Monday, 3/30

Imagist Poetry - Discuss Ezra Pound's essay regarding constructing imagist poetry; look at examples by Pound and William Carlos Williams and write our own.

Tuesday 3/31

Final due date for research paper; celebrate the completion of this project!

Wednesday 4/1

Wordmasters Challenge; read The Great Gatsby

Thursday 4/2

Practice EOCT in lab

Friday 4/3

Read Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" (need lit book)

Synergy American Lit

Upcoming dates -

2/27 - Early turn in date for research paper (bonus points for complete packet and minimums met)

3/30 - Vocab quiz Unit 13; Have The Great Gatsby

4/1 - Wordmasters Challenge

Synergy American Literature

Today I distributed the envelopes and checklists that students will use to turn in their research papers.  I also gave each student an additional copy of the final rubric with the correction indicating the four page minimum.

Homework tonight included reading the introduction to the Modernism unit in their liteature books (pp 706-713) and coming to class being able to answer the following questions.

What was the prevailing mood in the US prior to WW I?

What tragic event during WWI turned opinion in America toward the Allies?

How healthy was the economy during most of the 1920's?  Name the event that in 1929 started the economic downturn known as the Depression.

What caused the US to enter WWII?

What purpose was shared by Modernist writers?

What are common characteristics of Modernist writers?

Name three qualities favored by Imagist poets.

What prompted writers to leave the US and become expatriots in Europe?  Who are the best known expatriots?

What is the stream of consciousness technique pioneered by writers of this era?

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

Synergy American Literature

Monday, 3/23

 

Vocabulary Unit 13 -Complete exercises for this unit.  We also discussed the early turn-in date for the research paper which is this Friday.  Help sessions are available every afternoon after school beginning tomorrow for those that would like to have one on one assistance.  Interested individuals should bring their rough drafts and a revised paper to discuss.  Tomorrow I will distribute the envelope and check list for the packet that will need to be turned in.  I will also have instructions about submission to turnitin.com.  I also distributed the words for our next Wordmasters challenge, which will take place on April 1st. 

Get The Great Gatsby by Monday!

Mindmaps due today- major grade- you had all of last week in class to do this.

Tuesday and Wednesday, 3/24 & 3/25

We will begin our Modernism unit by looking at Eliot's "The Lovesong Of J. Alfred Prufrock."

Thursday & Friday, 3/26 & 3/27

We will continue by looking at the Imagist poets

Early date for research paper today - everything must be included to get bonus points and all minimums must be met.

Yearbook

We are finishing the last few pages of the book.   Senior editors have done a fantastic job leading the class.  I appreciate the efforts of everyone on staff to finish up their spreads, do name checks and identifications, and help each other so that we can try to finish before the final cut off date.  We have had some issues with pictures, which have slowed us down, but we are almost at the finish line! 

Junior editors and I will head to NYC next week for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Convention.  This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in Journalism.

After we return from our trip, we will plan a big celebration for a very positive and productive year!