Semester 1 ACP Blueprint

To see the types of questions, and number of each, that will appear on your semester final, click this link: click me!

Do your best. Make yourself proud.

Annie Dillard "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" excerpt

Answer the following questions in the space provided. Support each 3-5 sentence response with embedded text evidence. (If you've lost your copy of the text, read it online, here.)

1. In the first paragraph, how does the description of “[t]he Polyphemus moth in the picture” prepare you for what happens later?
   
   
2. What effect does the “urgent through” anaphora in the second paragraph produce? What connection/similarity is there between the direct objects of the “urgency”?
   
   
3. What effect is produced by the repetition of the verb “fade” in the third paragraph? How is Dillard’s technique similar to a special effect in a movie?
   
   
4. What tone is produced by the final two sentences of the fourth paragraph? What corresponding mood results? Which words are responsible for creating the tone/mood?
   
   
5. In the fifth paragraph, how does Dillard contrast the school children and the moth? How does this contrast make the moth’s “freedom” tragic instead of celebratory?
   
   
6. The final sentence of the final paragraph (“The Polyphemus moth is still crawling down the driveway…”) echoes something Dillard writes in an earlier paragraph. What does it echo? How does it provide a satisfying, if tragic, ending to the excerpt?
   
   

BONUS! If you read The Odyssey last year and remember Polyphemus the Cyclops from the story, what connection(s) can you make from that character and the moth in Dillard’s memoir?

Revising / Editing Packets

In class we reviewed revising and editing sections from several released STAAR tests. Below are the packets; answers appear on the last page of the PDFs.

For "The Piper of D-Day" and "Law and Order in Ancient Times," click here.

Click here for "Think Twice about TV Commercials" and "March!"

Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry"

After reading the poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. Support each 3-5 sentence response with embedded text evidence.

1. What words and images stand out in this poem? Choose one that really speaks to you. What about it intrigued or appealed to you?
   
   
2. What do you think Collins is saying about the study of poetry? According to Collins, what is the real goal of reading poetry?
   
   
3. Compare stanzas 5 and 6. How does the humor used in these stanzas bring his theme to light?
   
   
4. “Introduction to Poetry” is divided into seven stanzas. Three of the stanzas have two lines and three of the stanzas have three lines. One stanza, stanza 2, only has one line. Did Collins make a mistake? Did he just get lazy? Why do you think Collins chose to make line 4 its own stanza? What effect does this structural decision have on the reading of the poem?
   
   
5. How would you describe the speaker's tone in the poem? Is this poem meant to be funny or serious? How are we meant to feel about the situation the speaker describes? How are we meant to feel about poetry by the end of the “Introduction”?
   
   
6. Why does Collins use personification when he describes “the poem” in the last two stanzas? What effect does the personification have on the poem's ending?
   
   
7. The speaker asks the students to “feel the [poem’s] walls for a light switch,” something to shed some light, illuminate, excite. Did you find any light switches in “Introduction to Poetry,” any places that made you happy, or inspired, or interested? Where were they (what lines or words), and what attracted you to them?
   
   

Question sources: here and here.

Christmas Carol Stave Five Test Preview

Tomorrow's test (comprised of student-inspired questions) covers from the beginning of Stave Five

Yes! and the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in!

through

The chuckle with which he said this, and the chuckle with which he paid for the Turkey, and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab, and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy, were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again, and chuckled till he cried.

You need to know your literary devices, as well as the difference(s) between denotations and connotations.

Be prepared. Be very prepared.

DIY Christmas Carol Test Questions

Please use the following stems to create multiple-choice test questions for Stave Five of A Christmas Carol. Provide four possible answers; the correct answer will be A (your actual test will not have A as the correct answer more than 25% of the time).

The paragraph that begins [blahblahblah] suggests that this story explores the theme —

From the paragraphs that begin with “X” and ends with “Y”, the reader can infer that —

The reader can infer that [vocabulary word] means —

How can [the character] be best characterized?

Which sentence hints at [the character’s] later [character development]?

The dialogue in paragraphs that begins with “X” and ends with “Y” suggests that [the character] considers [something] very —

Read this sentence from the selection.

… The tone [or other literary element] of this sentence can best be described as

By telling the story from the point of view of [whatever], the author can —

The [literary device] [whatever] suggests that —

Test Preview

It appears school's on for tomorrow. Please be prepared for your test. Although you should have read all of the first three staves (chapters), tomorrow's test will focus on the final 20 or so paragraphs of Stave Three. Please review your literary devices and make sure you understand what's going on at the end of the stave.

Amy Tan: "Fish Cheeks"

Sentence Pattern 3

Christmas Carol: Stave One

Show Time!

I'll be at the 1:25 showing of Ender's Game at the NorthPark AMC theater on Sunday, Nov. 17. If you'd like to see the movie in the same time and place as me, that's the when and the where.

Enjoy!

Charles Dickens/Christmas Carol Prezi

Missed class? Want to re-visit today's presentation (or finish it if we ran out of time)? Check it out, below.

The Trial of Arthur Miller

Miss today's presentation? Need the definitions of the "3 types of evidence"? Want a sneak peek at the end of the presentation? Check it out below.

EOC TEST PREP STILL ON

Spread the word via Facebook and texting.

Regardless of the announcement at the end of 7th Period today, I will still be in my room for Reading/Writing EOC Test Prep tomorrow.

I will still be awarding BONUS TEST POINTS for students who come and participate. (If you need to take the Algebra 1 retest, please check in with me and I'll check with the Algebra 1 tutor afterward to see if your participation merits points.)

Attend! Learn! (get bonus test points.) Succeed!

This is how I roll.

Coupons at Half Price Books

This week Half Price Books is offering discount coupons, providing even more than their usual savings. In order to receive the coupons, go to their website and sign up for their mailing list. You'll receive coupons by e-mail for 40% off today (11/5); 20% off tomorrow and Thursday (11/6 & 11/7); 30% off Friday and Saturday (11/8 & 11/9); and 50% off on Sunday (11/10). Although the biggest savings is on Sunday, the stores will also have the least inventory (having been picked over the previous days).

If you aren't going to acquire the free Kindle version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, please pick up a hard copy for cheap! (We'll be having a book check through Wednesday (11/13) next week.)

Judging a Book by Its Cover (Understanding Graphic Appeal)

If you missed class today, please run through the following presentation and answer the questions in detail. Take into account colors and graphic "tone" when responding to how the covers make you feel (don't just look at the images).

Vocabulary Mini-Poster

Select a vocabulary word from The Pearl. On a blank sheet of paper create a mini-poster (see example), including:

1. Vocabulary word
2. Definition
3. The sentence from the novel where the word appears
4. An illustration based on the sentence from the novel

Song of My Schoolday (Extra Credit Opportunity)

Sound and song is an important part of our novel, The Pearl, as you could tell from Chapter One (“Song of the Family,” “Song of Evil”). Much like Kino, you will make a “soundtrack” of the different parts of your school day, from start to finish. The steps for this project are outlined as follows:

1. Think of songs that you could relate with the 7 periods of your school day:
- 1st period:
- 2nd period:
- 3rd period:
- 4th period:
- 5th period:
- 6th period:
- 7th period:

On a clean sheet of notebook paper, write at least 3 sentences explaining your choice for each song, and why they are appropriate for those particular times. **Include the song title and artist. **

Ex: Track 1 (When marching band practices): “Downeaster Alexa” by Billy Joel. I chose this song because I hear it every morning during first period. At first it was kind of annoying (sorry band), but after Mr. Woody dedicated the song to me for the rest of the year, I’ve found renewed appreciation for it. The lyrics speak of “work[ing] my fingers to the bone” for the “people…who count on me.” These sentiments speak volumes about the work I do starting with First Period every day.

2. Print out the lyrics to all of the songs you choose, and highlight the parts you talk about in your explanation.

** Important: Your songs must be SCHOOL APPROPRIATE. It may be hard to find a song without an occasional curse word, BUT your song cannot talk EXPLICITLY about anything. Just remember, I can hold you responsible for anything you turn in and write.**

Not having a computer is not an excuse. You can do this on a computer at the public library. You can make a friend.

EXTRA EXTRA CREDIT: Burn a CD (or load a USB drive) with your 7 songs on it! (+10 points)

Successful completion of this opportunity will replace one missing classwork grade assigned prior to the deadline, which is Monday, November 4th. You may, of course, turn it in earlier, if you would like. If you are absent on the 4th and did not turn it in beforehand, I suggest you pick a Blues song for my class, as I will not accept late work for extra credit.

If you have questions on anything, please talk with me before or after school to clear everything up.

As mentioned above, the deadline is November 4, 2013.
No late work will be accepted.

Free Christmas Carol e-Book

If you have the Kindle app on your computer or smart device, you may download a copy of A Christmas Carol from the Amazon store for free. (You must download the book from your computer or web browser on your smart device; the book will by synced to the app the next time you run it.)

This Is Just to Say... Poem & Poster

Using William Carlos Williams' poem, below, as a guide, create your own "apology" poem.

Preserve Williams' three four-line stanzas, the anaphora (repetition of "so") at the end, and his tone. Write your poem on a single sheet paper and include a classroom-appropriate image (the subject matter of your poem must be classroom-appropriate, as well).

You are not limited to changing just the words in boldface below, but they are the most likely.

*   *   *

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

      —by William Carlos Williams

Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach"

If you were absent, please add the following terms to your literary terms dictionary:

Symbol:

Allegory:

Allusion:

or were assigned the poetry analysis assignment, please read the poem and respond to the following questions.

1. What is your understanding of the poem's meaning?
2. How did the connotations of the literary devices in the poem (simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, anaphora, personification, allusion, rhyme scheme, etc.) help you arrive at your understanding?

Dover Beach
Matthew Arnold

The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Expository Essay PDF/Powerpoint

Follow this link for the presentation we took notes on in class. If you were absent, please make sure you take notes on pages 5 through 8.

Once you have the notes, please run through the sample theses and essays beginning on page 9.

Short Answer Responses & Sophocles' Antigone (Theme, Day One)

Below is today's presentation. Homework on the last slide. Enjoy!

Connecting to Conflict/Contrast to Theme

Today's presentation on connecting contrast/conflict in a novel/story to thematic subjects is below. Check it out!

Direct/Indirect Characterization

Relive the two-day presentation on Direct and Indirect Characterization. Good times.

Meet Maggie Stiefvater

Over the summer I posted links to free audiobooks, one of which was Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys

This post is primarily for students who I had last year (since they'd have known about the blog), but even if you're new, please keep reading. Author, Maggie Stiefvater will be at the Northwest Highway Half Price Books (5803 E. Northwest Hwy., just past Central) on Wednesday, Sept. 25. at 7pm. If you'd like to meet her, you'll need a HPB receipt for one of Stiefvater's books; but, hey, they're half price!

Details for this and other events at the NW Hwy. location can be found here. Check it out!

Summarization (Powerpoint)

Below is today's assignment on summarization. Enjoy!

Homework: Topic Sentences

Go through the Chabon "Keynote" and underline/highlight the topic sentence of each paragraph. (Every other sentence in the paragraph should relate back to/support the topic sentence.) If a paragraph has one sentence, finding the topic sentence is very easy. (Hint: the topic sentence is often (not always, but often) the first sentence in the paragraph.)

Here's and example:

By the wide world, for at least the first forty years of their existence, comics were universally branded as juvenile. They were the ultimate greasy kids’ stuff. They were viewed as the literary equivalent of bubblegum cards, meant to be poked into the spokes of a young mind where they would produce a satisfying—but entirely bogus—rumble of pleasure.

The second two sentences support the idea of the first; they explain what he means by juvenile.

Due: 12 Sept 2013

No Powerpoint Today

Due to unacceptable behavior of one of my classes, I cannot provide today's presentation online. If you were absent, please email me and I'll send you a copy.

Thank you for your understanding.

—Mr. Mikesell

Prosody, Rhyme and Other Poetry Details

Below is today's presentation. Get notes on Iambic Pentameter, Blank Verse and Free Verse from a friend.

"Boundless Writing" eBook for Kindle

Amazon is offering free downloads of a Kindle version of Boundless Writing. This is a college-level textbook that covers much more about successful essay writing than I'll have time to teach you for a while. Some of it may be over your head right now, but that's how you grow.

You'll need a Kindle app for your portable device or computer in order to download/read the text, but those are free, too.

Text and Graphics (Powerpoint)

It doesn't have everything we talked about in class, but it has a bit. Enjoy! Here are links to some of the things mentioned in the PowerPoint:

• Video of "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone"
• Video of "Kiss Me"
• Full text of Tennyson's "Ulysses"

Character Development/Literary Analysis (Powerpoint)

The presentation below contains the class notes and examples from our discussion about character development and how to analyze the connotations of literary devices to reveal character growth.

Summer Assignment Thesis Paragraph Generator

Consider using the following as a thesis paragraph for your Summer Assignment essay.

If you are going to defend or challenge Mr. Hickey's assertion, use this template:

Mr. Hickey, author of "Why I Hate Ender's Game," is choose a thesiscorrectincorrect when he claims that "[n]obody ever grows or changes during the course of [the novel]." This becomes clear when you look at Card's use of choose a literary devicemetaphorallusiontonesimileanaphoraparadox when considering choose a characterEnderValentinePeterGraffBernardAlai .

If you are going to qualify Mr. Hickey's assertion, use this template:

Mr. Hickey, author of "Why I Hate Ender's Game," is partially correct when he claims that "[n]obody ever grows or changes during the course of [the novel]." This becomes clear when you look at how Card's use of choose a literary devicemetaphorallusiontonesimileanaphoraparadox when considering choose a characterEnderValentinePeterGraffBernardAlai shows a lack of character development, but on the other hand, how his use of choose same literary devicemetaphorallusiontonesimileanaphoraparadox does show some development of choose a secondary characterGraffBernardAlaiRackhamPetraBonzo .

Feel free to use the exact wording, punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc., above. You may choose other characters or other literary devices if you prefer.

Embedding Evidence (Powerpoint)

Took me a while to figure out Google's changes to their publishing system, so we're a day behind. If you missed Wednesday in class, here's what we did. (Don't skip the bellringer.)

Ender’s Game: Vocabulary 1

If you missed class on Sept. 5th, use a dictionary to identify the proper definition for each word. The sentences from Chapter 10 where the vocabulary words appear is provided at the bottom of the page. Use context clues from the text to help you arrive at the proper definition. Do not use part of the vocabulary word in its definition (e.g., “In an adroit manner” is not an acceptable definition for “Adroitly.” Look up the definition of “Adroit” and incorporate it into the definition.)

Adroitly (adv):

Celebrated (adj):

Concession (n):

Deft (adj):

Elimination (n):

Equivalent (n):

Impression (n):

Milling (part):

Prestigious (adj):

Quarters (n):

Shored (v):

…and his evening practices had become the most prestigious group in the school. (p. 155)

Anderson took him first to his new quarters. (p. 155)

Now that he’d got quite deft at maneuvering without [a hook], here he was. (p. 156)

We’ve assembled an army by advancing the equivalent of an entire launch course early…. (p. 156)

It was how commanders always shored up their weak points…. (p. 157)

They were there already, milling around near the entrance. (p. 157)

Some he didn’t even recognize, they had made so little impression. (p. 158)

They recognized Ender, … the most celebrated soldier in the school. (p. 158)

Ender tried to decide whether to like the little kid for refusing to take a concession or to be annoyed at his insubordinate attitude. (p. 159)

The only process you’ve mastered is the process of elimination. (p. 160)

The littlest kid … was the first to arrive at the correct wall, and he caught himself adroitly. (p. 160)

Allusion analysis: Ender's Game, Chapter 7

Read the following excerpt from Chapter 7 of Ender's Game (it's the opening dialogue scene), then answer the question below:

"Isn't it nice to know that Ender can do the impossible?"

"The player's deaths have always been sickening. I've always thought the Giant's Drink was the most perverted part of the whole mind game, but going for the eye like that--this is the one we want to put in command of our fleets?"

"What matters is that he won the game that couldn't be won."

"I suppose you'll move him now."

"We were waiting to see how he handled the thing with Bernard. He handled it perfectly."

"So as soon as he can cope with a situation, you move him to one he can't cope with. Doesn't he get any rest?"

"He'll have a month or two, maybe three, with his launch group. That's really quite a long time in a child's life."

"Does it ever seem to you that these boys aren't children? I look at what they do, the way they talk, and they don't seem like little kids."

"They're the most brilliant children in the world, each in his own way."

"But shouldn't they still act like children? They aren't normal. They act like--history. Napoleon and Wellington. Caesar and Brutus." [emphasis added]

"We're trying to save the world, not heal the wounded heart. You're too compassionate."

"General Levy has no pity for anyone. All the videos say so. But don't hurt this boy."

"Are you joking?"

"I mean, don't hurt him more than you have to."

---

After Researching/Googling/Bing-ing "The Battle of Waterloo" and "Marcus Junius Brutus," hypothesize what the allusions might foreshadow in the novel.

Oral Instructions Assignment

Click me.

Need the document mentioned in the instructions? Here you go!

This Weekend: 20%-off at Half Price Books

This weekend (beginning Thursday, actually), Half Price Books is discounting everything an additional 20%.

(20% off 50% is a total of 60% off, but they're not going to change their name to 40% Books.)

Find Metroplex locations here.

Ender's Game Essay Prompt

Prompt
In his article, “I Finally Figured Out Why I Hate Ender’s Game,” Walter Hickey claims that one of the flaws of the novel is that “[n]obody ever grows or changes during the course of Ender’s Game.”  In a well-organized essay, defend, challenge, or qualify the validity of this statement. Use examples from your own reading, observation, or experience to support your position.

Due date
9 Sept. 2013 (if you had Pre-AP English I last year); otherwise, 23 Sept. 2013. The due date is the LAST day I will accept your paper. If you finish early, I will do my best to give you feedback that you can use to improve your paper before the deadline.

Requirements
Your thesis paragraph should be two sentences long. Your first sentence will simply state your thesis. Your second sentence will specify the literary or rhetorical strategies you will analyze to explain your thesis.

Regardless of your thesis, you must include six (6) pieces of evidence to support your essay. As your essay will cover the entire book, your evidence should cover as much of the text as possible: Two of your pieces of evidence must come from different chapters in the set of Chapters 1-5, 6-10, and 11-15. Although you can use your own observation and/or experience, the bulk of the essay should come from analysis of the text.

Do not use first-person perspective in writing the essay. You don’t need to say “In my opinion/experience” or “I believe.” You’re the one writing the paper, I will expect that all the opinions, experiences, and beliefs belong to you.

Do not use second-person perspective, either. Don’t say “you should know” or “you now understand.” You’re not the boss of me. If your essay is persuasive, I will naturally agree with you.

This is not a research paper. Stay off the Internet.

Standard spelling, grammar, punctuation, please.

Article: Why I Hate Ender's Game

This is the article referenced in the Summer Assignment Essay Prompt: Why I Hate Ender's Game. The essential part of the article is

This also leads to another thing I realized.

Nobody ever grows or changes during the course of Ender's game.

Sure, people get new jobs, or go to different schools, or grow in prestige. But at no point over the course of the novel do we see a demonstrable growth or change in any of the characters, despite the fact that Ender ages from six to roughly eleven.

I'm willing to grant Card the "exceedingly young hero" just because every science fiction novel geared toward young adults — and many that aren't — runs into this problem.

But to see no demonstrable character growth just sort of removes the stakes from it. Card in many ways suffers from the same problem that Asimov faced in some of his great novels, the fact that he had a rocking plot concept but his characters were two-dimensional cardboard cutouts just going through the motions to make that awesome plot happen.

Any other part of the article dealing with static characters is fair game to add to your essay, but avoid bringing in other points like "lack of futurist vision" or "sexism." They may (or may not) make for a poor book, but they don't belong in your essay. Read more: Business Insider.

Homework: Literary Device Mini-Poster

In class you were given a literary device to find in Pablo Neruda's "Poetry." They were:

1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Alliteration
4. Personification
5. Anaphora
6. Paradox
7. Hyperbole
8. Onomatopoeia
9. Allusion

On a single sheet of paper, write the name of your device, its definition (the in-class definitions are fine), an example (using the internet to find one is fine, just give credit to the person who said/wrote the example), and an illustration that goes with your example.

Due: Beginning of class, Thursday, August 29, 2013

Personal "Poetry" Poem

Fill in the blanks to create your own poem, based on Pablo Neruda's "Poetry." (see, here, for original poem)

And it was at that age ... ____________ arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from __________ or a ____________.
I don't know how or when,
no they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a ___________ I was _____________,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among ____________   _____________
or returning alone,
there I was without a ___________
and it _____________ me.

Personal Response to Pablo Neruda's "Poetry"

After reading the poem, below, find a word or phrase that describes how you feel now, at the beginning of this school year. Copy down that word or phrase and then write why it applies to your life.

Poetry (1964)
by Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

And it was at that age… Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.

I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names,
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire,
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating plantations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.

And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.

(From: 'Memorial de Isla Negra')

If you missed this assignment on the first day of class: Grades of 85% will be given for written-only responses. Grades of 100% will be given for presenting orally, in front of the class.

You must write in complete sentences. Do not just write down the word/phrase and then write a statement beginning with Because. Those aren't sentences and won't be accepted.

Summer Assignment: Ender's Game

For freshmen advancing Pre-AP English II next year, please read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card at least once. Twice, or even three times, would be preferable. Be familiar with the plot, characters, and to the extent possible, the novel's major themes (you'll have to decide what those are).

We will begin work with the novel when we're back-to-school in August. Be prepared.