Fat Kid quotes in context

Here is the worksheet we are doing in class for the rest of this week. This is in preparation for your final, which will be an in-class essay on Fat Kid Rules the World.

Fat Kid POV writing prompt - BLOCK 5 ONLY

Fat Kid Rules the World is told from Troy's point of view. Most of what Curt says and does is interpreted by Troy in the narrative. But what if it were Curt writing the book and we read his thoughts, idea, worries and needs in between the dialogs?

Write a short "Chapter" (about 300 words) from Curt's point of view. This chapter takes place just after Curt gets five dollars from Troy and goes to McDonalds, leaving Troy alone with Ollie, the band member Curt has asked to teach Troy the drums.

Write about the trip to McDonalds, the reason for delay, the broken promise to bring back a hamburger for Curt, and anything else you think is going on with Curt during this period.

Having trouble getting started? Look closely at the last half of page 63 (when Curt leaves) and the bottom of 66/top of 67 (when he returns) for ideas. If you want, you can start with: So I left Big T with Ollie and headed out for some chow...

Reading Calendar for FAT KID RULES THE WORLD

By this day		Be up to this page
Block 5	Block 1
Wednesday 11/28	Thursday, 11/29	39
Tuesday 12/4	Monday, 12/3	92
Thursday 12/6	Wednesday 12/5	133
Monday 12/10	Friday 12/7	163
Wednesday 12/12	Tuesday, 12/11	End (183)

Character Study

Choose one of the characters we've read about in a short story and pretend you are making a MySpace profile for them.

Please do not actually go on MySpace for this assignment; use this worksheet instead. If you think the worksheet is missing important categories, you are free to add them.

Homework for Thursday 11/15, and Friday 11/16

Read John Updike's "A&P" before class on Thursday, 11/15 (block 1), Friday 11/16 (block 5). It is on page 220, but you can also read this version if you don't have your book with you.

The Stone Boy

After reading The Stone Boy, complete this worksheet.

If you need to reference the text, but don't have your book with you, you can use this PDF version of it.

Doby's Gone

Please note: This assignment is not for everybody -- I talk to you personally or email me if it's something you are going to do.
When you are reading "Doby's Gone" from Points of View, the anthology of short stories that was handed out this week, try to notice what aspects of Sue's life cause her to depend on Doby, and later what events cause her to not need Doby.

Complete this worksheet when you are done reading the story.

Here is a copy of this story, in case you don't have your book with you.

Modern vs. Julius Caesar Essay Assignment

Essay Assignment – English 9

The Prompt

Modern politicians and other people famous for speaking address many of the themes found in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Chose one well-known orator (person who gives a lot of speeches) from the 20^th century and compare their themes to the themes in Julius Caesar.

A “theme” can be…

Power – ways in which orators assert their own power or make you believe in the power (or lack of power) in others.

Fear – how and orator might try to scare listeners – sometimes subtly, sometimes not – in order to persuade them.

Patriotism – look at how speakers talk about their own loyalty to their country, or countrymen, as well as what they think their countrymen owe the country.

Loyalty – this is close to Patriotism, but is more about relationships not based on nationality or governance.

You are free to come up with other themes!

Intro

The first paragraph must be an introduction, containing a hook, a topic sentence and a thesis statement.

Conclusion

The last paragraph must be a conclusion, containing a progressive re-statement of the thesis and summation of the ideas and information you have provided. There can be no new information in the conclusion, but be careful not to sound repetitive either.

Body Paragraphs

Between the first and last paragraph are two body paragraphs.

Each body paragraph must contain a topic sentence, at least one sentence including a quotation from your modern speaker and one quotation from the play. These sentences are called the concrete details, because they simply state that someone said something, but do not contain any opinion or commentary from you. After each concrete detail, you will write two sentences that do contain your opinion about how the theme is used in the quote and what this means in the overall idea you are writing about. At the end of the paragraph, wrap it up with one sentence that lets the reader know you have proven your point. This is called the concluding sentence.

Make sure when you are done writing that you check what you’ve written against these requirements.

Due date

The first draft of this essay is due Friday, November 9, by email.

Mind Map Caesar and Modern Quotations

Here is a PDF of the Mind Manager Map we did in class. Some of you will find this helpful in organizing the body paragraphs of your essay.

Obviously, there is more information that you can use in this document, but feel free to pick and choose from the quotations.

Remember, when you are writing your essay, all of your modern quotations must come from the same person (though not necessarily from the same speech).

Modern Political Speech

Here is a word document with the text of the Bush speech from 9/20/01.

Here is the AUDIO of the Bush speech from 9/20/01

Library Field Trip TUESDAY 10/30

Here is Sherry's email, in case you see it here first.

This is a second reminder about our field trip to the LA Public Library downtown next Tuesday, October 30.

• We need all students at the NoHo Metro Station (NE corner of Lankershim and Chandler) by 8:30 AM. Our train leaves before 9.
• Pick-up will be at the same location by 3 PM.
• Barry is making arrangements for those who are participating in the cross country meet at Pierce Tuesday afternoon.
• Your kids will need $5 (in ones or a five) for the subway, and either a sack lunch or money to buy lunch at Olvera Street. They should also have an LAPL library card.
• NO LAPTOPS or big backpacks.
• My cell phone is (818) 430-2254. I should be reachable except between 10-12 when we’re in the library, or when we’re on the subway.

Please let me know by MONDAY if you’re having transportation problems!

Shaper

Here is the Shaper Worksheet

Pre-Writing Worksheet for Julius Caesar Essay

Click here for the worksheet.

Find a political or motivational speech

Today (Monday for Block 5, Tuesday for Block 1) we used the internet to locate interesting political speeches. The speech you choose needs to contain themes that can be related in some way to Julius Caesar. The themes from the play that we've discussed most often are Power, Patriotism and Loyalty. However, if you have discovered some other theme you want to write about, go for it.

Here are the requirements for the work today:

• Choose a modern political speech that contains a theme that can be compared to those in Julius Caesar
• Copy and paste the speech into a new MS Word document
• Save and name the document; the document name must include the name of the person who made the speech, and the word "speech." For example, if the speech is by Barack Obama, you can call it ObamaSpeech.doc .
• Go through the speech carefully and make comments where the theme is most evident. To do this, select a few words of the text, then go to the Insert menu and choose Comment. A pink box will show up and that's where you write your comment; something like "this is an example of Obama's desire to shift the power from one group to the group he represents. (Note: You need to be viewing the document in Print Layout format to be able to see the comments.)
• When you are finished, and have made at least five comments (but you can do more) email to document to me at terry@bridges.edu.
• The Subject of the email must be the word SPEECH
  

Links you'll need today

Bush Speech
Rhetorical Terms

Pitch a Production assignment

English 9

October 1, 2007

Pitch a Production

You are a theater director writing a letter to someone who can finance your production of Julius Caesar. But you will only get the money if this person – sometimes called a “backer” – believes that your vision is worth it.

You already know that the backer will not go for a traditional interpretation because he/she feel like everyone has already seen the play done in togas with big Roman columns in the background.

This backer is looking for a high concept production. You can only change a few words of the original text (no more than were changed in the production we saw yesterday) but your set, costumes, special effects, casting… all of these things can be completely original.

You might decide that everything looks like the 1950s, with the women looking very housewife-y and the men in suits and ties. Or maybe it’s set in the Iraq war, and your Caeser is David Patreus. Maybe everyone will be played by children, and the “war” they are fighting takes place on a playground.

Be creative, be original. But remember that the basic ideas of loyalty, patriotism and power should still be able to come through, no matter how you dress up the play.

Guidelines

At the very beginning of your letter, boil down your concept to one convincing sentence, such as: In this exciting re-thinking of the themes of loyalty, power and patriotism, my concept is based on the characters of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, in which all the stuffed animal decide to assassinate Christopher Robin, for fear he is becoming too powerful.	5 points
Describe your set in detail. What type of locations will you try to create on this set?	5 points
Casting the major characters: Describe the age, gender and appearance (including race/ethnicity, if applicable) of each actor. The major characters are Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Marc Antony, Portia and Calpurnia – but you can do more characters if you want.	5 points
Describe the costumes. Are there uniforms? Styles specific to one place and time (i.e., a confederate soldier, or a Vegas showgirl)? Use costumes to further clarify your concept for this production.	5 points
Other Elements – choose some other element of stagecraft to help further your concept. You can use lighting effects, pyrotechnics, music, dance, video projection, theater-in-the-round. Think of memorable devices you have seen in other plays and see if they would work here.	5 points
Theme – In addition to your convincing sentence, you must regularly address one or more of the themes throughout your letter. You do not have to cover more than one theme if you don’t want to.	10 points
Formatting – This must be formatted like a business letter, with your name address in the top right and the recipient’s name and address on the left, below the date. Feel free to use one of the Microsoft Word templates for your format.	5 points
Total	40 points

Worksheet for Play Pitch

One-sentence concept
Set
Casting
Costumes
Other elements

Power, Patriotism and Loyalty Worksheet

This work is due this Friday 9/27 for Block 1 and due Monday 10/1 for Block 5.
Please note: There is space for twelve responses, but you should only do ten. It's important that you leave two of them blank.

Click here for the worksheet.

Worksheet Due...

Due Wednesday 9/24 for Block 1
Due Thursday 9/26 for Block 5

Here is the worksheet.

Online Texts of Julius Caeser

Hey folks,
I made this web page that links to several excellent on-line text editions of Julius Caesar. You will probably find them useful for doing word-searches or for explanations that you do not find in the Folger edition that we are reading in class.

Take Home Quiz

This take-home quiz is due Friday for block 1, and Monday for block 5.
You can either type the answers in the document, or print it out and handwrite them.
You can turn in a hard copy or email it if you want, as long as it is done BEFORE class begins on Friday.

Block 1

Today we completed items 1 through 9 on the Julius Caesar Quotations Worksheet.
Some of you were able to jump ahead and complete the next few items, covering everything in the first act, which is great.

If you are not done with 1-9, don't panic. But it would be a good idea to use your homework study time tomorrow to finish up. Just come in to the room and get the worksheet out of your mailbox.

Quotations Worksheet for Julius Caesar

If you prefer to use your computer (instead of handwrite) you can use this MS Word worksheet to type in your quoatations. Don't forget to include the Act, scene and line number in the proper format. (I.i.1)

BLOCK 5

Today we read the first scene and a half of Julius Caesar out loud in class. I was impressed by everyone's willingness to participate and was glad that none of you seem to suffer from Shakespearephobia, which often afflicts 9th graders.

As I mentioned in class, I was especially thrilled when, during one student's reading of a difficult passage, no one interrupted with corrections. Very often I have to start out the the year with a speech on respecting your peers, but it seems like you have an excellent sense of this already.

Of course, there were a lot of giggles and distractions, sometimes to the point of slowing down the work we were doing. But I'm pretty sure we can work out a way over the next few weeks, to work more efficiently without losing any of the terrific humor you all bring with you.

There is no homework over the weekend, as we are reading whole play in class. However, once we get good at doing the quotations worksheet (which we started today) you will continue working on it at home.

See you Tuesday!

Syllabus

The Syllabus for English 9 for the 2007/2008 school year is available here.

English 9 Syllabus

Syllabus

9th Grade English

Taught by Terry Haley, Bridges Academy

2007 – 2008

terry@bridges.edu

Essential Understandings for this course

Ninth grade English introduces students to new types of literature and new ways of thinking about it, then putting those new thoughts into words. Every one of us has struggled with writing in some way, and my class will be a supportive environment where you rely not just on me for guidance, but on each other.

This course will offer opportunities for you to see literature from new angles. It’s not so much the first reading, but rather the re-reading and specific focus on elements of literature where we will make our discoveries.

We will often discuss literature in groups, large and small. We will question the author’s purpose, examine things from varying points of view and learn how to connect our opinions to the support needed to make them credible.

Reading List

Points of View – an anthology of short stories

Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fat Kid Rules the World, by K.L. Goin

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

Grading Scale 89.5-100% A 79.5-89 B 69.5-79 C 59.5-69 D 59.4 or below F

Assignment Categories Percent of Grade In-Class Assignments 15 Homework 15 Essays and Projects 40 Tests and Quizzes 15 Class Participation 15

Social Skills

Students in this class will work in pairs, small groups and as a whole class. Participation is essential, and we will work together to maintain a safe environment for learning and exchanging ideas. In the first week of class, we will do some work to establish our norms (a sort of code of behavior during class, but one we can all agree on up front). By adhering to these norms, and by knowing when to suggest they be changed, we will develop strong communication and social skills.

Study Skills

There are many pathways to understanding literature. Your job will be to find what pathways work for you. When you find that something is not working (“I did all the reading, but I can’t remember any of it!”) we will need to discover new methods, such as making brief notes after every three pages, reading out loud, or supplementing the reading with a video that helps you see what the story looks like.

We will also work on notebook organization – so that your backpack doesn’t look like mine did in high school (as if someone had dumped the contents of a paper shredder inside). For the essay assignments, there will be a number of graphic organizers available, and we will find which one works best for you.

Some of us develop study skills through trial and error. Errors we can deal with, but your key responsibility here is to always be willing to try a new method.

Late Work Policy

Meeting deadlines is an important aspect of this class and of classes you will take in the future. When you get to college, it will be much more difficult to get extensions on assignments, so it’s good idea to work on this now.

Multi day assignments that require some work at home will usually have two due dates.

• The earlier date marks the amount of time most students at your grade level should need to complete the project or essay.
• The second due date will be later (usually about a week) and if this is an accommodation you need, you may take the extra time. If you do not turn your project in on the first due date, I will speak with you, and probably your advisor, to let them know you are using this extra time to do your work.

There is no penalty for missing the first due date. However, if you fail to turn in an assignment by the second due date, your grade for that assignment will be lowered 10% for each class period that it is late, but the penalty will not go past -30% no matter when it is turned in.

In-class assignments

In-class assignments begin and end in a single class period. Generally this work cannot be taken home. The reason for this is to build your skills of adapting to various learning situations and working with your peers. I will create a safe, minimum-stress environment for this to occur, and your half of the bargain will be to produce work that shows effort.

Problems may arise with individual class work and group work. Please be patient with this and honest about what you think is needed to get past the problem and get on with the work.

Homework

Most homework assignments will simply be reading. We will usually be working on a novel or short stories, and for each class meeting you will be expected to have read 15-30 pages at home. These assignments are connected only to the quiz grade. But there will be some short worksheets or writing assignments that you take home, and these will apply to the 10% of your grade that covers homework.

Essays and Projects

You will write at least two long essays each semester, and several shorter writings. Because the essays are re-written two, sometimes three times, you will receive several grades for one essay. The shorter assignments will be paragraphs, which will be structured like mini-essays.

Projects will require about the same amount of work as essays. These assignments will be handed out with detailed criteria two or three weeks before the due date.

Class participation and Behavior

The surest way to get credit for class participation is to be an active contributor in all class discussions. A contribution can be an insight, idea, a question, or simply speaking up when you don’t understand something. However, if you are not ready to jump in, you can participate in other ways, such as helping or seeking out help from one other student, doing research on our topic that can benefit the whole class, or perhaps you will think up something I haven’t…

Behavior is connected to this grade as well. If you treat your teacher and fellow students with respect, you will get full marks in this area.

Quizzes

Quizzes are frequent but very low key and will pertain only to reading. Sometimes the quizzes will be multiple-choice, other times I will ask for short answers. We will have a short quiz almost every time reading is assigned, so they are not announced in advance; if you’ve done the assigned reading, you will pass the quiz.

Tests

To be honest, I don’t like to give tests. But the rest of the world does, including college classes, so we will need to do it for practice. Tests will always be announced at least a week in advance. The questions will be similar to the type you might find on a test for a college class, and you will answer in writing (not multiple choice or true/false).