Mrs. Kenyon's Blog

Honors British Literature

Important Reminder:  Your speech is due on Wednesday.  If you are not here for some reason, you will need to email me the text of your speech to avoid a late grade.  Remember, you will need to make sure to turn in a glossed copy of the speech upon your return and, of course, deliver the speech.

On Monday we reviewed documentation guidelines for internal citation and Works Cited pages.  Remember a requirement is to utilize two outside sources.  You need to show evidence of this by documenting your sources.  On Tuesday we will return to the computer lab for last minute revisions and/or research.  On Wednesday through Friday students will deliver speeches.

Honors American Literature

Important reminders:  Vocabulary quiz on Wednesday; Test on The Things They Carried on Friday.

On Monday students will participate in a socratic seminar on The Things They Carried.  On Tuesday we will be looking at Crane's poem "War is Kind" and discuss connections between the poem and the novel.  We will also take the opportunity to review important literary elements.  On Wednesday classes will go to the computer lab to practice for the EOCT on USA Test Prep.  This will be a grade.  On Thursday we will continue reviewing poetry from the modernist and post-modernist eras.  On Friday students will sit for the test over The Things They Carried.

Current vocabulary words include:  scapegoat, peremptory, atelier, axiom, dulcet, usurp, patronizing, iniquity, archaic, vacillate, perspicacious, abstemious, talisman, expurgate, pellucid.  Students will also have one word from previous units on the quiz and should review their notes from previous units.  With the exception of the Gatsby vocabulary (which was a handout), students have been instructed to write the words down for each of the other two units.

Honors American Literature

Reminder:  Complete The Things They Carried by Monday!!

Honors British Literature

The due date for the persuasive speech has been moved to Wednesday, April 27th.  Please note that the assignment is posted under "persuasive speech" on the "Pages" section on the left-hand side of this blog.  Students were given a hard copy of the rubric, but this will also be posted.

Honors American Literature

On Monday students who elected to participate in the extra credit project presented their projects.  We have completed this in 7th period and have two more to do in 4th period.  Therefore, 4th and 7th will not be quite lined up this week.  All classes will complete the rewrite of The Great Gatsby paper this week.  Once we finish, we will complete our study of the modernist period and The Harlem Renaissance, and begin making some connections between post-modernism and The Things They Carried.  We will also continue reviewing pronouns (in particular, pronoun case), and the vocabulary quiz which was postponed last week has been rescheduled for Friday.

Honors British Literature

Reminder:  Persuasive speeches (including glossed document) are due on Monday, April 25th.  This is a major grade and late penalties will apply for students who are not prepared on time.  The assignment is posted on the "pages" section of this blog.

Students are spending Monday and Wednesday in the computer lab doing the research for their persuasive speeches (two outside valid sources required).  On Monday, our media specialist Mrs. Vinyard showed students some of the databases available for the research.  On Tuesday we will review Patrick Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention and talk about the rhetorical strategies used within the speech.  OnThursday and Friday we will look at other examples of effectively delivered speeches and also participate in a process to enable students to practice delivery without being focused on content. 

Honors British Literature

Please be aware that the persuasive speech assignment is posted on the pages side of this blog.  The speeches are due on April 25 and are a major grade.  Students will have to turn in a "glossed" written copy of the speech the day it is due, regardless of whether they actually present on that day.  Students who are absent will need to email me a copy of their speech to verify that it was done on time; otherwise, they will have a late grade.  They will still need to turn in a glossed copy the day they return.  If for some reason a student had a doctor's appointment or a field trip, he or she should let me know ahead of time.  Thank you.

Honors American Literature

Important Reminders:  Students will participate in their last Wordmaster's Challenge on Tuesday.  They were given the words prior to the break.  Their next vocabulary quiz will take place on Friday.

We will spend the week revising the in-class essays on The Great Gatsby.  After grading the essays over the break, it has become apparent that we need to break down how to write a literary analysis and how to document passages from the novel.  Prior to students writing the essay, they were given a topic to track throughout the novel, and each student was to keep 3 X 5 notecards with documented passages pertinent to the topic.  Students actually had the essay topics prior to the in-class write and were allowed to use their notecards to write the essay, though it seems apparent that either they did not spend enough time preparing or they need further instruction on writing analysis.  While students placed the passages in their essays, they did not always facilitate analysis and some were not pertinent to the topic.  Some evidence used was not accurate.  I will post the first grade, but will give students the opportunity this week to improve their grades by revising their papers.  This will all be done in class and will need to be done by Friday.  If a student is absent during the week, he or she will need to come in after school to make the revisions.  

In the meantime, students will be expected to read The Things They Carried at home.  They will be provided the pacing for this on Monday.  We have already completed about one third of the book.  Since it is necessary to spend more time on the Gatsby essays than anticipated, we will not be able to explore The Things They Carried to the extent I originally planned.

Honors British Literature

Important Reminders:  Last Wordmaster's Challenge of the year is Tuesday.  Students were given the word list prior to Spring break.  The vocabulary quiz will take place on Friday (unit 11).

On Monday we will be going over the vocabulary and grammar exercises completed prior to break.  We will also begin reviewing effective strategies for persuasive writing.  

On Tuesday students will participate in their last Wordmaster's Challenge for the year.

On Wednesday and Thursday we will continue looking at examples of strong persuasive writing and begin identifying specific techniques used to persuade.  We will be looking at Patrick Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention (okay, he started out being British!).

On Friday students will take their vocabulary quiz.  I will also go over their persuasive speech assignment and give them the topic list.   Time allowing, we will view effective speeches in history.  Students can sign up for their speech topic beginning Monday.  The assignment and topic list will be posted on the blog.