IT'S THE LAST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL!

This week students will work on a Regents Text Analysis Response and Writing from Sources.

The English Regents is on Wednesday, June 15th, at 8 am.

ALL MISSING ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, 6/10.

This week students will work on a Regents multiple choice and Text Analysis Response.

The English Regents is on Wednesday, June 15th, at 8 am.

This week students will finish The Perks of Being a Wallflower unit (we are currently watching the movie).

After finishing the movie, we will be moving on to the Challenged Books Writing From Sources argument essay. Students already have articles, and their close reading and graphic organizer are due Wednesday, 5/18, at the beginning of class.

Homework:

• Wed., 5/18: WFS close reading and graphic organizer

This week students will participate in their Junior Job Shadow on Tuesday, May 10th, and when they return, they will finish their Perks Playlist. The Perks Playlist project will be due Wednesday, May 11th by 11:59 pm.

Homework:

• Wed., 5/11: Perks Playlist by 11:59 pm

• Thurs., 5/12: Junior Job Shadow Report (handed in at the beginning of class)

This week students will be working on their final project for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They will be creating a playlist inspired by the quotes from the book using Google Sites, and it will be due by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, May 10th.

This week students will be writing a Text-Analysis response using a passage from The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It will be due by the end of class on Thursday, 4/28.

Students have finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and this week they will be discussing Part 4 and the Epilogue. They will also revisit the idea of "self-concept" and will chart Charlie's growth.

Students will also have the opportunity to watch and discuss Andrew Solomon's TED Talk "Depression, the Secret We Share." There will be a set of multiple-choice and short-answer questions for the video/article.

We did not get to read the article "Help-Giving" this past week, so we will read that on Monday. The article focuses on ways we can help the friends who depend on us for guidance and advice.

We will also work on a Regents multiple-choice passage.

Part 3 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss Charlie’s evolving relationships with the women in his life.

2. Assess Charlie’s coping mechanisms. How does he respond to various types of conflict?

3. Identify two quotes that stand out to you. Explain their significance to the plot and why you chose it.

Example: #1- I really like reading from Charlie's point of view. We, as readers, get to see how he views the world and the people he cares about.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

The reading flags for Part 3 are due on Thursday, 4/7.

On Monday we will begin reading and discussing Frank T. McAndrew's "Why High School Stays with Us Forever."

We will also read the article "Help-Giving," which focuses on ways we can help the friends who depend on us for guidance and advice.

Part 2 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss how the past and family history affect Charlie and his mental state.

2. Discuss the role literature and music play in Charlie’s life and his relationships with his friends.

3. Identify two quotes that stand out to you. Explain their significance to the plot and why you chose it.

Example: #1- I really like reading from Charlie's point of view. We, as readers, get to see how he views the world and the people he cares about.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

The reading flags for Part 2 are due on Wednesday, 3/30.

On Monday, students are going to finish up watching Dead Poets Society, and then we are diving into The Perks of Being a Wallflower. To begin the unit, we will also read Saul McLeod's "Self-Concept" and Frank T. McAndrew's "Why High School Stays with Us Forever."

Part 1 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss how the epistolary (letter writing) format assists in developing Charlie’s character and role as a narrator.

2. Discuss how Charlie’s interactions with his family and peers affect his behavior.

3. Identify two quotes that stand out to you. Explain their significance to the plot and why you chose it.

Example: #1- I really like reading from Charlie's point of view. We, as readers, get to see how he views the world and the people he cares about.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

The reading flags for Part 1 are due on Tuesday, 3/22.

Students will finish their Text-Analysis Response by the end of class on Monday, 3/14. And to finish the unit, we will be watching the classic Dead Poets Society!

We are going to finish analyzing our last poem of the unit on Tuesday, 3/8!

Students are going to be writing a Text-Analysis Response using one of the poems we have analyzed in class. Their graphic organizer will be due by the end of class on Wednesday, 3/9, and they should finish their essay by the end of class on Monday, 3/14.

We began our Poetry Unit last week and read Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII. We analyzed the poem using the mnemonic device SMILE.

Next week we will read and analyze Robert Herrick's "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" and A.E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young." Students will need to complete multiple-choice and short-answer questions for each poem. The due dates for those assignments will depend on what we are able to complete in class.

Last week students completed their graphic organizer for their Writing from Sources essay, and this week they will write their essay. We will also breakdown a sample WFS essay, so they will have a reference as they work.

The WFS essay will be due by the end of class on Thursday, 2/3.

On Monday, students are going to finish up a poetry multiple-choice that they began earlier in the week, and then the remainder of the week will be spent on our first Writing from Sources essay. Writing from Sources is the second task on the New York State English Regents and is an argument essay.

Students will read the four articles on Tuesday and Wednesday and will complete the graphic organizer on Thursday.

All missing work for Marking Period 2 needs to be turned in by the end of the day on Tuesday, 1/25.

This week we are going to finish our lesson on the extremism of the Taliban and how our daily lives would be impacted if we lived under such oppressive laws.

Mr. Tastor will be coming in on Thursday, 1/20, to discuss the ASVABs.

Students have finished reading The Kite Runner! They took their last reading quiz today, and we will discuss the ending of the book tomorrow (1/11). The rest of the week will focus on the extremism of the Taliban and how our daily lives would be impacted if we lived under such oppressive laws.

Homework this week:

• Tuesday, 1/11: "What Fear Can Teach Us" Google Form by 11:59 pm

This week students will be discussing The Kite Runner Chapters 20-22 and working with the chapter "Two Kinds" from Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club.

Homework this week:

• Tuesday, 1/4: The Kite Runner Chapters 23-24

Chapters 20-22 Reading Flags:

1. Identify and explain instances of healing of physical and emotional wounds

2. Characterize Sohrab

Flag Example:

#1- Because Amir is Pashtun, he has everything he could every want and need; however, Hassan, a Hazara, has to work as a servant and live in a mudhut out back... a MUDHUT!! That doesn't seem fair at all.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

** The Kite Runner will be due on Tuesday, 1/4.**

This week students will be discussing The Kite Runner Chapters 14-19 and working with Guy de Maupassant's short story "A Dead Woman's Secret."

Homework this week:

• Monday, 12/13: TAR- Baba's Funeral by 11:59 pm

• Monday, 12/20: The Kite Runner Chapters 20-22

Chapters 20-22 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss the carnage of war

2. Discuss violence in the name of religion

3. Identify and explain instances of valiant and virtuous actions

Flag Example:

#1- Because Amir is Pashtun, he has everything he could every want and need; however, Hassan, a Hazara, has to work as a servant and live in a mudhut out back... a MUDHUT!! That doesn't seem fair at all.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

** The Kite Runner will be due on Monday, 12/20.**

This week students will be writing a Text Analysis Response using an excerpt from The Kite Runner.

The Kite Runner Chapters 14-19 will be due at the beginning of class on Friday, 12/10, and students will take a reading quiz and participate in class discussion.

Homework this week:

• Friday, 12/10: The Kite Runner Chapters 14-19 Reading Flags

Chapters 14-19 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss the significance of changes/changing (personal, cultural, political)

2. Discuss the effects of revisiting the past

3. Identify and explain reasons and effects of misunderstanding

Flag Example:

#1- Because Amir is Pashtun, he has everything he could every want and need; however, Hassan, a Hazara, has to work as a servant and live in a mudhut out back... a MUDHUT!! That doesn't seem fair at all.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

** The Kite Runner will be due on Friday, 12/10.**

This week we will read and analyze William Blake's "A Poison Tree." When we read "The Lamb," we focused on the similarities between Hassan and the lamb, and now we are going to focus on Amir and the speaker.

The Kite Runner Chapters 8-13 will be due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 12/2, and students will take a reading quiz and participate in class discussion.

Homework this week:

• Thursday, 12/2: The Kite Runner Chapters 8-13 Reading Flags

Chapters 8-10 Reading Flags:

1. Identify and explain instances that depict guilt and how they develop character

2. Discuss true sacrifice vs selfishness

3. Discuss the use of setting to establish mood

Chapters 11-13 Reading Flags:

1. Identify and explain instances of assimilating in America

2. Identify and explain the role of pride and honor and their effects on the characters

3. Discuss cultural double standards and their effects

Flag Example:

#1- Because Amir is Pashtun, he has everything he could every want and need; however, Hassan, a Hazara, has to work as a servant and live in a mudhut out back... a MUDHUT!! That doesn't seem fair at all.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

** The Kite Runner will be due on Thursday, 12/2.**

We will finish our analysis of William Blake's "The Lamb" on Monday, 11/15, and students will discuss the similarities between the lamb and Hassan.

Students will also complete a Grammar quiz and a timed mulitple-choice assignment in class on Tuesday, 11/16.

The Kite Runner Chapters 5-7 will be due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, 11/17, and students will take a reading quiz and participate in class discussion.

Homework this week:

• Tuesday, 11/16: Grammar Quiz and timed multiple choice in class

• Wednesday, 11/17: The Kite Runner Chapters 5-7 Reading Flags

Chapters 5-7 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss the use of figurative language to create mood

2. Identify and explain instances that depict Hassan's complete devotion

3. Discuss the use of symbolism and possible meanings

Flag Example:

#1- Because Amir is Pashtun, he has everything he could every want and need; however, Hassan, a Hazara, has to work as a servant and live in a mudhut out back... a MUDHUT!! That doesn't seem fair at all.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

**Due to our shortened week and Thanksgiving break, the next two sections of The Kite Runner will be due on Thursday, 12/2.**

Chapters 8-10 Reading Flags:

1. Identify and explain instances that depict guilt and how they develop character

2. Discuss true sacrifice vs selfishness

3. Discuss the use of setting to establish mood

Chapters 11-13 Reading Flags:

1. Identify and explain instances of assimilating in America

2. Identify and explain the role of pride and honor and their effects on the characters

3. Discuss cultural double standards and their effects

The Kite Runner Chapters 5-7 are due on Wednesday, 11/17.

The Kite Runner Chapters 8-13 are due on Thursday, 12/2.

Students received their first novel last week: Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. The Kite Runner is about a young Pashtun boy, Amir, who faces a moral dilemma that affects the rest of his adolescence and young adult life.

Throughout the unit we will read and analyze informational texts relating to the turbulent history of Afghanistan, short stories, and poetry.

The book is divided into eight parts, and students will have to read one part per week as homework. While they read, they will have to complete reading flags on their post-it notes.

Chapters 1-4 Reading Flags:

1. Compare and contrast Amir and Hassan (personality, emotionally, culturally)

2. Discuss the reality of Amir and Baba's relationship vs their expectations and desires

3. Identify and explain instances that depict the power of words.

Chapters 5-7 Reading Flags:

1. Discuss the use of figurative language to create mood

2. Identify and explain instances that depict Hassan's complete devotion

3. Discuss the use of symbolism and possible meanings

Flag Example:

#1- Because Amir is Pashtun, he has everything he could every want and need; however, Hassan, a Hazara, has to work as a servant and live in a mudhut out back... a MUDHUT!! That doesn't seem fair at all.

Rules Attached to Flags: The flags must include the number of the flag being addressed. All flags must be addressed in order to receive full credit (and should be addressed throughout the section). There are to be no large gaps between post-it notes in books (five pages). Therefore, students will have to include post-its of choice that follow the plot if they cannot address a reading flag within the span of five pages.

The Kite Runner Chapters 1-4 are due on Tuesday, 11/9.

The Kite Runner Chapters 5-7 are due on Wednesday, 11/17.

Students are currently writing their Text-Analysis Response using "The Cask of Amontillado." As stated last week, all parts of the writing process will be completed in class, and the tenative due date for this assignment is by the end of class on Monday, November 1st.

Then we will officially move on to our next unit: The Kite Runner!

On Monday we will finish analyzing "The Cask of Amontillado" using the technique PPSSTC. This analysis- along with previous discussions- will help students with their first Regents prep writing assignment. After discussing and breaking down a sample Text-Analysis Response, students will write their own. All parts of the writing process will be completed in class, and the tenative due date for this assignment is by the end of class on Monday, November 1st.

We will continue to work with Poe's suspenseful short story "The Cask of Amontillado." After students finish reading the story, they will complete a multiple-choice and short-answer question assignment and participate in small group discussions.

We will continue to work with Poe's suspenseful short story "The Cask of Amontillado." After students finish reading the story, they will complete a multiple-choice and short-answer question assignment and participate in small group discussions.

**The PSATs will be on Wednesday, 10/13.**

This week we will begin Edgar Allan Poe's suspenseful short story "The Cask of Amontillado." Our focus for this story will be Poe's use of an unreliable narrator, irony, and setting to establish mood.

As we will not have school on Friday, 10/8, Free Read Friday will be on Thursday, 10/7.

We will continue our work with Kurt Vonnegut's "2BR02B." Students will complete a multiple-choice and short answer assignment, and then they will particpate in small group discussions using Task Cards.

If we have time this week, we will begin Edgar Allan Poe's suspenseful short story "The Cask of Amontillado."

We will begin our fiction unit this week! Throughout the unit, we will read and analyze five short stories. In addition to annotating and discussing each story, students will complete a multiple-choice and writing assignment (all of which will be completed in class).

Our first short story will be Kurt Vonnegut's "2BR02B," and our focus will be on how the values of the story's society affect the characters and their attitudes toward life. As the story's title is inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet and Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, we will examine how the soliloquy's message is reflected in the story.

This week students will be taking their preassessment, which will be a NYS ELA Regents. This preassessment will be used to measure an individual student's growth throughout the year. While students are encouraged to try their best and will receive a participation grade, they will NOT be given a test grade for the preassessment.

Every Friday will be Free Read Friday! FRF will provide students the opportunity to read books of their choosing and explore the many genres that are out there... or just read more of their preferred genre. While each student will need to read 100 pages per quarter, they are not required to read their FRF book outside of class, but they can if they want to.

We will continue to work with Poe's suspenseful short story "The Cask of Amontillado." After students finish reading the story, they will complete a multiple-choice and short-answer question assignment and participate in small group discussions.

This week students will finish The Perks of Being a Wallflower unit (we are currently watching the movie).

After finishing the movie, we will be moving on to the Challenged Books Writing From Sources argument essay. Students already have articles, and their close reading and graphic organizer are due Wednesday, 5/18, at the beginning of class.

Homework:

• Wed., 5/18: WFS close reading and graphic organizer