Friday, June 11, 2010

Tragedy and the Common Man

Here is the link for the essay you'll need for your exam.

http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/tragedy/milleressay.htm

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

vocab for Friday, 5/21

Word Wealth
Part III: unit 8

Distinctive Nouns

1. Amenity- a pleasing way or custom
2. Criterion- a basis or standard for judgment
3. Hyperbole- exaggeration for effect
4. Integrity- moral soundness, uprightness
5. Intuition- instinctive knowledge
6. Nonchalance- indifference, unconcern
7. Optimism- tendency to take the most hopeful view
8. Pertinacity- stubborn perseverance
9. Pessimism- tendency to expect the worst
10. Rapacity- violence or greed, eagerness for plunder

Precise Adjectives

11. Clandestine- secret, stealthy
12. Coherent- sticking together, connected
13. Compatible- capable of being harmonized
14. Concomitant- an attendant condition, varying at the same rate
15. Crucial- supremely important or decisive, severe
16. Deleterious- harmful to health, injurious
17. Impervious- impenetrable, unaffected by
18. Iridescent- glistening with colors, glittering
19. Peremptory- imperative, positive, dictatorial
20. Specious- fair-seeming, deceptive, plausible but not genuine

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Julius Caesar Paper

Julius Caesar paper assignment
Ms. Ware
English 10

1. The conspirators convince Brutus to kill Caesar because he might become power hungry. Using both the play and modern society as examples, explain how this idea is relevant today.

a. SAMPLE: People often take action based on assumptions. This is true in modern society as well as Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar.

2. The plebeians first agree with everything that Brutus says at Caesar’s funeral. However, when Antony speaks he convinces them of the exact opposite. Using both the play and modern society as examples, explain how people can be naïve and easily persuaded.

a. SAMPLE: People can be easily persuaded by people who they believe hold authority. The plebeians in Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar quickly change alliances at Caesar’s funeral while people in modern society are easily persuaded by politicians and the media.

3. The conspirators assume that Caesar will not be a good leader. What are the characteristics of a good leader?
a. Political leaders need to strong but sensitive to the needs of their people, stern with their enemies but forgiving and flexible. These qualities are necessary both in modern society as well as Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar.

4. A tragic hero has the potential for greatness but is doomed to fail. He is trapped in a situation where he cannot win. He has some sort of tragic flaw, a serious error in judgment and this causes his fall from greatness. Even though he is a fallen hero, he still wins a moral victory and the audience is sympathetic. In what way is Brutus a tragic hero?
a. SAMPLE: Brutus is a tragic hero because the audience realizes that he does what he thinks is right, realizes that he’s done wrong once it is too late and his life ends tragically.

Reading GSEs
10-5.1-3 14.2
Writing GSEs
10-1.1-4 2.1,3 3.1a2-4 4.1-3,6 9.1-3,5 Student learning expectations
A2- response to literature

P.S. Sorry this took so long to post

Friday, May 7, 2010

Julius Caesar Act III Reading Questions

Scene 1:
1. What reason does Caesar give for not reading Artemidorus’s letter?
2. What Roles do the following characters play in the conspiracy?
Trebonius:
Metellus Cimber:
Casca:
3. What is Caesar’s opinion of himself?
4. What does “Et tu, Brute?” mean? How do these words relate to the theme of friendship in the play?
5. Where does Caesar’s dead body lie? How is this ironic?
6. What does Brutus tell the conspirators to do after killing Caesar?
7. After being assured he is in no danger, what favor does Antony ask of the conspirators?
8. What does Cassius think about granting Antony this favor?

Scene 2:
1. According to Brutus’s speech to the commoners, what reasons does he give for Caesar’s death?
2. What is the mood of the crowd as Brutus finishes his speech?
3. What does Brutus offer at the end of his speech?
4. List three points of Antony’s speech that work to persuade the crowd to turn on the conspirators.
5. What reason does Antony give for why he cannot read Caesar’s will?
6. How does the crowd react to Antony’s speech?

Scene 3:
1. What happens to Cinna the Poet? Why?

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Julius Caeser Act II Reading Questions

Scene 1:
1. According to Brutus, why is it is necessary that Caesar be killed?
2. What is Brutus’s internal conflict?
3. Why does Metellus think it would be a good idea to ask Cicero to join the conspiracy?
4. Why does Brutus say they should not ask Cicero to join the conspiracy?
5. What does Brutus say about killing Marc Antony?
6. Why is Portia, Brutus’s wife, worried about Brutus?
7. How does she prove her strength to Brutus?
Scene 2:
1. Why does Calpurnia want Caesar to stay home?
2. How does Decius interpret the interpret Calpurnia’s dream?
3. What arguments does Decius use to change Caesar’s mind about going to the Capitol?
Scene 3:
1. What does Artemidorus plan to do?
Scene 4:
1. Why is Portia so nervous?
2. What does Portia want Lucius to do?
3. What does the soothsayer tell Portia?

Thursday, April 29, 2010

vocab unit 6

Word Wealth
Part III unit 6

Verbs
1. Adumbrate- to outline in a vague way; to foreshadow
2. Aggravate- to make worse or more severe
3. Annihilate- destroy utterly
4. Capitulate- surrender on certain terms
5. Extenuate- make less serious, diminish
6. Fulminate- to explode, erupt, shout violently
7. Instigate- provoke, incite
8. Mitigate- lessen or make milder
9. Procrastinate- to delay, put off
10. Propitiate- appease, conciliate

Adjectives
11. Auspicious- promising, favorable
12. Egregious- remarkably bad, flagrant
13. Equivocal- vague, ambiguous, questionable
14. Expedient- suitable, advantageous but not necessarily right
15. Fortuitous- occurring by chance or accident
16. Intrinsic- actual, essential or inherent
17. Mystical- participating in mysterious spiritual experience or knowledge
18. Sacrilegious- irreverent, blasphemous
19. Salubrious- healthful, promoting health
20. Synthetic- artificial, manufactured

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

online text

Hi folks,
I know a few of you have books in really rough shape. Here is a link to the full text of the play. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/script-text-julius-caesar.htm
Have fun!
M. Ware

Julius Caeser Act I Reading Questions

Remeber, these are completely optional, and serve to help you better understand what's happening.

Scene 1:
1. What is the setting?
2. What holiday is being celebrated?
3. Who are Marullus and Flavius?

Scene 2:
1. What does Caesar tell Antony to do to Calpurnia?
2. Why might Caesar ask Antony in front of everyone else?
3. What is a soothsayer? Of what does he warn Caesar?
4. What does ides mean?5. Does Marcus Brutus like Caesar? What does Brutus think of Caesar’s rise to power? Use lines from play to support your answer.
6. How many times was Caesar offered a coronet, or a small crown?
7. What sickness does Caesar have?

Scene 3:
1. What unusual events occur during the storm?
2. What meaning does Cassius interpret from the storm?
3. According to Casca, what are the senators planning to do to Caesar tomorrow?
4. Who is definitely part of the conspiracy?

Friday, April 9, 2010

Vocab unit 5

Part III unit 5

Behavioristics

1. Aggressive- assertive, vigorously active, quick to attack
2. Arrogant- haughty, overbearingly proud
3. Captious- fault finding, hard to please
4. Cynical- scornfully distraught
5. Dogmatic- unduly positive, dictatorial, pertaining to an established doctrine
6. Fastidious- daintily refined, very discriminating
7. Fatuous- complacently stupid or silly
8. Garrulous- talkative
9. Gregarious- sociable, inclined to go in groups
10. Impetuous- rushing with great force; impulsive, rash, hastily
11. Ingenuous- frank, genuine, free from reserve
12. Nostalgic- homesick, longing for the past
13. Ostentatious- fond of display, pretentious
14. Sinuous- curving or winding, devious
15. Taciturn- habitually silent, uncommunicative
16. Truculent- fierce, savage, cruel
17. Unctuous- excessively suave or bland, oily
18. Valid- sound, effective, well founded
19. Versatile- many sided in abilities
20. Volatile- changeable, spirited, explosive

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Vocab!

Part III unit 3

Nouns

1. Perspicacity- (pur’ spe kas’e te) mental penetration, discernment
2. Predilection- preconceived preference or partiality
3. Prerogative- privilege, right
4. Propensity- natural tendency, bent
5. Propriety- conforming to accepted standards of behavior, rightness or suitability
6. Prostration- a falling down in worship, exhaustion
7. Restitution- restoration, reparation
8. Sagacity- shrewdness, sound judgment
9. Surfeit- excess, disgust from excess
10. Vicissitude- irregular change, ups and downs

Adjectives
11. Lambent-softly radiant, playing lightly over a surface or subject
12. Latent- hidden or unrevealed, potential
13. Marital- of or relating to marriage
14. Partisan- one sided; partial to a party or cause; supporter of an idea or person
15. Recumbent- reclining or leaning, inactive
16. Salient- prominent, conspicuous, outward projecting angle
17. Seditious- inciting discontent or rebellion
18. Succinct- terse, concise
19. Tangible- real, substantial, palpable
20. Tentative- provisional, experimental

Monday, March 15, 2010

Group 1 Socratic seminar questions

1. How does the author use hurricanes as a metaphor? What does the
rain symbolize?

2. What are Victor's and the Spokane woman's expectations of each
other and how do they affect Victor and the Spokane woman's thoughts
of one another in the story "Crazy Horse Dreams"?

3. How does the drug Victor and his friends take represent the
reservation lifestyle?

4. Why is Jimi Hendrix and his version of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
so important to Victor's father? How does he base life decisions
around it?

Friday, March 12, 2010

vocab for Friday, March 19

REMINDER: The final copies of your persuasive papers are due on Monday, March 15. Please remember to submit them to turnitin.com

Part III unit 2
Adjectives

1. Altruistic- unselfishly concerned for others
2. Astute- shrewd, crafty, keen of mind
3. Authentic- genuine, entitled to acceptance
4. Cumulative- tending to increase or accumulate
5. Despondent- dejected, despairing
6. Didactic- morally instructive
7. Ecclesiastical- pertaining to church or clergy, especially as an established institution
8. Felicitous- fortunate, aptly chosen, happily conceived
9. Imperial- majestic, befitting an emperor
10. Odious- hateful, offensive

Verbs
11. Emancipate- liberate, set free
12. Meditate- to act as a go-between, serve as a harmonizing agent
13. Reciprocate- repay an obligation, social or otherwise, exchange favors or courtesies
14. Reconcile- to bring to agreement, harmonize
15. Relegate- to banish or reduce to lower status
16. Repudiate- to disavow, disown, reject
17. Subsidize- to provide financial aid
18. Temporize- to act evasively to gain time, yield temporarily to circumstances
19. Usurp- to seize (power or control) unlawfully
20. Vindicate- to justify, clear of a charge or criticism

Monday, February 22, 2010

Of Mice and Men seminar questions

Reminders:
Socratic seminar Thursday, 2/25
Persuasive drafts (with WC page and citiations) due Friday, 2/26
Of Mice and Men in class essay Monday 3/1

Here are the seminar questions
1. Compare and contrast the main themes in East of Eden and Of Mice and Men.

2. What does the farm say about human nature? How is their dream similar to the American dream? Is the dream of this farm worth pursuing now that Lennie is dead?

3. How is Of Mice and Men symbolic of the bible?

4. Were George’s actions more or less justified than Carlson “putting down” the dog? Did George make the right decision?

5. What does Lennie’s connection to animals say about him? Is there symbolism here?
a. Candy’s dog
b. The mice and rabbits
c. The puppies
6. How do his relationships with animals compare with his relationship with people?

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Persuasive speech Schedule

I wanted to give you the schedule so you can start planning. I will also give you a hard copy of the schedule when I have everyone's topics.

Persuasive Speech Schedule

Date Assignment/Activity
Monday, February 1 Topics due- start visual organizer
How to evaluate sources for scholarly research
Tuesday, February 2 Portfolio day for seniors- no school for underclassmen
Thursday, February 3 Library research
Friday, February 4 Library research
Monday, February 8 Preliminary annotated bibliography
Tuesday, February 9 Identifying and using persuasive appeals (Revisit Letter)
Wednesday, February 10 Outlines due
Thursday, February 11 Rhetorical devices
Tuesday, February 23 Maddy C Lanie RJ Kathleen
Wednesday, February 24 Taylor Laura Ethan Nicole
Thursday, February 25 Of Mice and Men Socratic seminar
Friday, February 26 Ally Sam M Julia Mackenzie
Complete rough drafts due (Drafts MUST include a works cited page and citations in the text)
Monday, March 1 Of Mice and Men in class essay
Wednesday, March 3 Hannah Tina Sean
Thursday, March 4 Olivia Erin Billy
Friday, March 5 Amanda Soukie Conner Sam C
Monday, March 8 Victoria Maya Maddy T Sam V

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Socratic seminar reflection- process

Sorry I surprised you with the whole group seminar, but I didn't want you to get all worried ahead of time. I read your immediate reactions after class, now I want you to reflect on the process and compare it to our past seminars. What did you like? What could we improve?

Socratic seminar reflection- content

Reflect on what your classmates discussed during the seminar. Did someone say something that changed or expanded your way of thinking? Who said something that you found profound or interesting? What was it?