Ready to Review

Completed a novel for your "out-of-class" read? Now ready to write a book review?

Please click here to access the rubric for your book reviews.

Remember you may want to check out some sites and peruse some book reviews.

1. Mrs. Gillmore's Book Reviews
2. New York Times Book Reviews
3. USA Today ~ Young Adult Novels : These are too short but a good place to check out some of the newest novels.

What have your read lately?

I am reading Inkheart. So far? I definitely recommend this one!

Word by Word...Analyze Style

Please join me in congratulating NaTanya upon winning first place in English at the Arkansas State Beta Club Convention! Orlando, here we come! Wow!

Not turn in your analyisis of President Obama's speech? Please bring to class on Tuesday!

Your assignment is to read the first four chapters of The Call of the Wild and analyze Jack London's writing style utilizing five sentences of various lengths. Click here for the graphic organizer I had hoped to have prepared for you...just got electricity back last night! (I do hope you all have electricty now!)

Below are three sample sentences (source: The Literature Network):

"Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland."

• Complex sentence
• Two adverb subordinate clauses
• One participial phrase = subject-verb split

"His father, Elmo, a huge St. Bernard, had been the Judge's inseparable companion, and Buck bid fair to follow in the way of his father."

• Compound sentence
• Two appostive phrases (note punctuation)
• Infinitive phrase

Note London's use of participials within the next sentence:

"Straight at the man he launched his one hundred and forty pounds of fury, surcharged with the pent passion of two days and nights."

• Here he uses the participial phrases as a sentence opener and a sentence closing.
• What type of sentence is this one?

Please plan to continue using participial phrases to add vivid content to your sentences. Notice how much more detail this sentence conveys because of the author's purposeful use of participial phrases?

Enjoy reading novels online? Forget your novel at school or at home? You may access Call of the Wild by clicking here.

Icy Homework!

I hope everyone is warm and safe on this icy, beginning-to-get-very-white day! Those icy trees are beautiful (although dangerous), aren't they?

Gentle Reminders:

1. Read President Obama's speech and analyze for the six persuasive characteristics. Click here to access the graphic organizer, or, yes, you may identify each on the hard copy of the speech.
2. Please spend time adventuring to another world through the novel of your choice for one of your "outside-of-class" reads. REMEMBER: please post a book review for each read on your blog and GoodReads = the assessment on your chosen novel. I hope to finalize book review rubric today...so far, the electricity is only flickering! Check out these sites at GoodReads and Mrs. Gillmore's Book Reviews for my latest review of The Dangerous Days of Daniel X.
3. Blog Post Due! I will grade those while we enjoying this "cool" break.

What are you reading good right now?

Preparing for Wednesday?

What shall we accomplish during class on Wednesday (January 21)?

By the way, did you know that to be proper, one should use "shall" with first-person pronouns and "will" with second and third-person pronouns? Tis true!

Now to the agenda:

1. Grammar Time: Introductory elements ~ participials.
2. Test over Antigone. Remember, you must write a paragraph on the test convincing me...ah, yes...persuading me who the most tragic figure is within this drama. QUESTION: why is "who" correct in #2? Why would "whom" be incorrect?
3. Return papers. Confirm grades.
4. Type essay (due Friday) and blog (due this weekend).
5. Assign speech to read...guess whose? Yes, going to analyze this speech for persuasive techniques. Please refer to previous blog.

Planning ahead? Vocabulary test on Friday!

A Curious Review

I completed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button just now. Interesting read.

Please check out my review of this novelette at Mrs. Gillmore's Book Reviews.

The Art of Persuasion

As you draft your essay, consider the following persuasive techniques:

1. Claim: State your argument. Which sentence would contain your claim?
2. Big Names: Important people or experts can make your argument seem more convincing. To what characters from Antigone might you refer? What other important people or experts might support your claim?
3. Appeal to Logos: Facts, numbers, and information can be very convincing.
4. Appeal to Pathos: Getting people to feel happy, sad, or angry can help your argument.
5. Appeal to Ethos: If people believe and trust in you, you are more likely to persuade them.
6. Kairos: Try to convince your audience that this issue is so important they must act now.
7. Research: Using reliable research can help your argument seem convincing. Yes, Antigone would be considered research in this essay.

Please check the class wiki for the rubric for this essay assignment and the PowerPoint to which I will refer in class.

Has anyone checked out DailyLit yet? In answer to the question, may you subscribe to more than one novel at a time? Yes. I just subscribed to Persuasion by Jane Austen. Could I use this novel as evidence within this essay assignment?

Grades are updated in GradeQuick. If interested, you might attempt to access them online. I know they had to move our grades to another server...not sure if your log-ins and passwords will be updated. Should you see an assignment you think we need to discuss, please email me! We have Monday to finalize grades!

Have a great weekend!

For Thursday, January 15, 2009

Here's our agenda:

• Grammar Time: Review verb consistency. Test on run-ons, parallelism, and verb consistency on Monday.
• Discuss Antigone. Who is the most tragic figure in this drama?
• Draft of outline for "The Art of Persuasion" essay due in class! Reminder: Entry #2 in Writer's Notebook was to brainstorm ideas for this essay.

Assignments for Monday, January 19:

1. Grammar Time test.
2. Bring a draft of your essay.

What is next?

1. Review/complete discussion of Antigone and test on Wednesday.
2. Finalize essay.
3. Begin The Call of the Wild.

Have you taken any stands lately?