Purpose and Goals of THE BLOG

This year, I will be teaching more than just English 3 and 4, so I have re-oriented the blog to serve a few different features. I also want my work to be useful beyond my own classroom, so I have tried to make this site more accessible for other teachers looking for English classroom lesson ideas. From now on, I want to include my lesson plans here on the blog and plan to retroactively post my lessons to previous posts. I hope this will encourage relevant and engaging student learning locally and globally! Please give me any comments, questions, feedback, and your own ideas for ways to create meaningful learning!

NEW! Educator Resources links at the bottom of the left margin.

MOVED! English 3 and English 4 curriculum post labels are now at the following links:
     English 3 American Literature Assignments and Posts
     English 4 British/European Literature Assignments and Posts

NEW! Teachers Pay Teachers Store. Check out entire unit plans at my new, affordable TPT store!

Thanks for your support, willingness to learn, and collaboration!
Mrs. EGHeck

Time Machine Due TOMORROW

Remember these three things are due tomorrow at the beginning of class:

• Final Reflection for your Senior Project
• 2 of 3 Layer C
• Vocab One Quiz

Time for the Time Machine Projects

You should have 2 of the 3 required C Layer activities completed today. Each bullet counts as one activity. The list of C Layer Activities is listed after the jump.

Our reading of The Time Machine will continue today and next week, according to the calendar of activities. After you finish the activities for C Layer, be sure to begin working on B Layer and A Layer. A Layer will take you the longest of all the layers.

HONORS: Be sure to be working on your handouts outside of class. Topics and directions are found after the jump.

Perhaps an easier-to-navigate audiobook can be found at the following website: http://archive.org/details/time_machine_0805_librivox
This is the audiobook we will listen to for in-class readings.

Travels to Countries Afar, Travels into the Future

We have finished Gulliver's Travels and seen how a stranger can observe a new world with new social customs.

H. G. Wells published The Time Machine in 1895, almost two centuries after Swift published Gulliver's Travels. However, both novels are remarkably similar in social criticism and theme. While Gulliver's Travels is a satirical work (making fun of the English Parliamentary folly), The Time Machine uses problems with humanity to create a future-looking science fiction novel.

Soon, we will complete this comparison chart of the two novels.

The Time Machine is available in free audio book online at the following links:

• http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17401/17401-readme.htm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OroP6b_dBik
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3LI9UingiE

The Time Machine is available for free on the kindle app or online at these websites:

• http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WelTime.html
• http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/timemachine/1/
• http://www.literaturepage.com/read/thetimemachine.html
• http://www.bartleby.com/1000/

Senior Project PRESENTATIONS!

Got questions?

Any question you can possibly imagine can be answered by reading pages 73-83 of the Senior Project Handbook: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByVKpn2OdpFANVRScVdDcFN0VXc

Consult this for all your planning of your presentation speech and visual aids.

Mrs. Heck's FAQs ANSWERS!

1. You do NOT need both a trifold and a PowerPoint.
2. You DO need some form of visual aid (probably EITHER ONE of trifold, PowerPoint, pictures on a poster, pamphlets, etc).
3. We will practice speeches the week leading up to presentation night. I will have a sign-up in class.
4. Your FULLY COMPLETE PORTFOLIO is DUE to your ADVISOR on MAY 9TH. 
1. I will send you in class with a "receipt."
2. Your Advisor will be grading your portfolio.
5. Your PRESENTATION and PRODUCT are judged on the night of presentations by the Senior Project Judges.
6. THE HARDEST PART IS OVER! YOU HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED YOUR PRODUCT.

Gulliver's Travels

Now that you've read the first two excerpts of Gulliver's Travels, here is the video (!!!) to review and watch Sections III and IV of Jonathan Swift's famous satire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIxfV_4wiz8

Remember to complete the following question and satire worksheets that go along with Gulliver's Travels. You can find an extra copy of your work at the links above. 

A Modest Proposal

Today, we began the reading of "A Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift. Here is the analysis chart we are discussing in class.

The first proposal is, indeed, to eat these precious babies.

 

The second proposal is NOT to eat the twelve- to fourteen-year-olds because they are much too tough and gross.

The rest of the proposals, we will read tomorrow!

Letter to the Judges Format

Due MONDAY APRIL 14th

Senior Project Handbook (Page 68):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVKpn2OdpFANVRScVdDcFN0VXc/edit

1. Grab a computer and log in
2. Type up a corrected and grammatically correct Letter to the Judges. *This is in the Senior Project Handbook pg 68 that is posted on the blog.*
3. Format your Letter correctly:
     a. Hit Ctrl+A together. This should highlight everything.
    b. Single space by clicking the paragraph spacing button  and choosing “1.0.”
    c. There should be 3 blank spaces between Your Address and the Senior Project Judges Address.
    d. There should be 1 blank space between the Judges Address and “Dear Judges:”
    e. There should be 1 blank space between “Dear Judges” and the first paragraph.
    f. There should be 1 blank space between every paragraph.
    g. There should be 3 blank spaces between your closing and your typed name. You will sign in this blank after you print your letter.
    h. There should be NO INDENTS. Everything should be along the left margin.
    i. Speaking of margins, select Page Layout > Margins > Normal 1’’
4. After you have finished your letter, do one of the following:
    a. Email the letter as an attachment to yourself to print at home.
    b. Save a copy to YOUR NETWORK DRIVE and print the letter in the library or another classroom.
    c. Email the letter as an attachment to me to print.

Drafting your Reflections

Follow the directions posted in the Senior Project Handbook to create your MLA-formatted Reflections. Essentially, use your MLA heading and answer one full paragraph (7-10 sentences) for each of the questions. Do NOT write any numbers for each questions.

Here are the questions for each reflection:

Reflection One 

1. When you first learned about the Senior Project, what did you think? Explain your
reaction.
2. Why did you pick your topic and product?
3. What do you think will be difficult for you during this project? Explain why.
4. What do you hope to learn during the Senior Project Process?
5. What aspect of this assignment are you looking forward to completing and presenting?
Why?

Reflection Two 

1. What part of the Senior Project are you currently developing? Explain what you are
doing specifically to make this assignment successful.
2. Currently, what successes have you encountered while working on your project? What
skills have allowed you to be successful?
3. Currently, what challenges have you encountered while working on your project? What
has caused these challenges?
4. Explain how you are using and practicing time management skills in relation to
completing this project.
5. What have you learned about your topic, your product or yourself so far?
6. What has been your experience with your mentor so far?

Final Reflection 

1. In was ways has the Senior Project changed your concept of yourself? Are you more
confident of your abilities? Are you more focused and directed? Are you more willing to
take risks?
2. What would you change if you could do this again?
3. When you reflect on the entire process, of what are you most proud?
4. Which aspect of the Senior Project provided the greatest learning growth for you?
Explain why.
5. Now that you are nearing the completion of your project, what three tips would you
share with students who are about to start their projects? Explain why these tips should be
shared.
6. Who helped you the most and what is your final impression of working with a mentor?
7. How has this project influenced your future plans in terms of work, education or
personal interest?

Macbeth in Film

Comparison Chart

3 Versions of Act 1, Scene 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG8ha2D26g

Two Versions of Act 4, Scene 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3nyHy4s6ew   immediately followed by http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr8b9SQ68sw

and your favorite, the PBS version (which also stars Mrs. Catermole from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1 as Lady Macbeth), is also available on Netflix:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/macbeth/watch-the-full-program/1030/

REMINDER: Senior Project Hours DUE Friday!

English IVs! Remember that you need FIVE hours towards your project completed. At least TWO of these hours need to be spent with your mentor, but remember you may spend all fifteen hours with your mentor if you so desire.

Your hours log needs to be signed by your advisor BEFORE it comes to me. Otherwise. you do not get credit for your hours.

Outline --> First Draft!

Seniors! Remember the first draft of your research paper is due on Monday, March 3. Juniors, the first draft is due March 27. Key ideas to remember in order of importance:

1. Cite your sources! If you do not cite your sources in parentheses at the end of each notecard fact NOR include a Works Cited page, South View considers this PLAGIARISM!

2. Include analysis, which includes connecting facts together, commenting on facts, giving your opinion (without using first person ("I," "me," "we," "our")), and explaining significance.

3. Create a bang-up, awesome, totally insightful thesis.

4. Remove the outline format to create paragraphs.

No Heavy Books!--Macbeth Text Online

Here are some great resources for making Macbeth more accessible to read and to carry!

• In class, we will be listening to the dramatized audio version of Macbeth.
• SparkNotes has the entire text of Macbeth in both Shakespearean English and Modern English. 
• The entire text on a searchable website can be found from MIT. 
• The Google Play store has an android app to play Macbeth as an audio book.

Take any one of these to complete your Act dramatization

Fellow teachers and parents, read this well-crafted article that demonstrates how fun (and wild) reading Shakespeare in school can get!

Seniors: Editing to Create a Final Draft

Seniors,
Even though I'm a few states away, take today as a golden opportunity to finish up your research paper! They are each graded and it is now time for you to fix the problems I have identified. Follow the instructions below.

1. Log in to your CCS account and access your Drive. (CCS Email link above)
2. Open up your first draft. You will be fixing everything in this document.
3. PLEASE LEAVE THE HIGHLIGHTING AND COMMENTS. I will remove each when the corrections have been made.
4. To get help correcting various errors, check out these stick-figure videos. They are thorough AND entertaining!
1. For more grammar help (lots of pink highlights), check this out.
2. For more paper style help (lots of green highlights), check this out.
3. For more word choice and phrasing (lots of blue highlights), check this out.
4. For lots of comments about run ons and fragments or other more complicated punctuation matters, check this out.
5. For lots of comments on analysis or your lack of SOMEthing in the paper, check this out.
5. Remember that your Works Cited page AND in-text citations MUST BE PRESENT in the final draft of the paper or it will automatically receive a zero for "plagiarism" according to South View's policy. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. 

Midterms: MONDAY, March 24

ALL CLASSES:
Your midterm will be given on Monday, March 24. The first half will be a standardized test packet that includes reading passages and comprehension and analysis questions. The second half will be vocabulary practice with twenty words plus literary terms that you will more than likely see on the standardized test that will be your final exam, mandated by the state.

For some standardized test-taking skills practice, check out this blog post!

This midterm should be totally within your grasp and hopefully continue your flying aces in my class!

Elizabethan Sonnets

English IVs have begun a new unit on Renaissance and Elizabethean England. Today, we looked at the rhyme scheme and meter of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham to begin identification and analysis of poetic structure.

We also looked at the sonnet in modern times to notice the structure, theme, and format of this special type of poem before we add that crazy Early Modern English speech of Shakespeare, Spenser, and Sidney. Next time, we will continue analyzing sonnets from the Elizabethean era.

Check out one screen shot of our analysis here!

The Research Process

Here are the individual steps of the research process as we will complete or have completed in our English courses. I have created the following table to show when each assignment is due for each grade level. The due dates are school-wide and, therefore, cannot be extended for any student.

Where are we now?	Assignment	Associated Question	English IIIs %	English IVs Ö
	Topic Approval	What kind of projects can my research prepare me for?	2/5	1/30
	Honor Code and Forms	Where can I find these forms?	1/31	1/24
	Annotated Bibliography	How do I create an annotation? How do I MLA-format my bibliography?	2/19 REVISED: 2/26 Sample Works Cited	2/12 REVISED: 2/24 Sample Works Cited
	Notecards	Where do I find sources? How do I take notes?	(30) 2/28	(50) 2/7
%	Outline and Thesis	How do I create an outline? How do I MLA-format my outline? How do I write a hook and thesis?	3/12	2/14  REVISED: 2/24
Ö	First Draft	How do I take an outline and turn it into a paper? How do I MLA-format a research paper?	3/27	3/3
	Second Draft	What editing techniques should I practice in between drafts?	--	--
	Final Draft	What are some common writing errors?	4/30	4/2

To access your CCS Google Drive, click this link and sign in with your NCWise number and Birthday password.

• Here are a few other resources to find more information about the research process:
• from Cornell University
• from the University of Illinois
• from The Mildred F. Sawyer Library
• from an online video course on writing

Another step by step guide of how to do research after the jump!

The Pardoner's Tale

Over the past week, you have read several of the Canterbury Tales, Today, we will finish things up with The Pardoner's Tale. Full of greed, money, and death, the Pardoner certainly spins a morality tale to enchant those "yokel minds." Below, you will find the Tim McInnery version of the tale for review and comparison.

But don't think the Pardoner is the only one that can tell such a tale. Modern writer J. K. Rowling also tells a story of three brothers' interaction with Death. Watch below to see some similarities (as I am sure she must have had The Canterbury Tales in the back of her mind while writing)!

English IV: Test TOMORROW!

Tomorrow you will be taking an open-book, open-notes test after you finish watching A Knight's Tale. You may use any of the following handouts you have received for this unit, but you may NOT use your friends in class.
Handouts:

• Seven Deadly Sins
• The Pardoner's Tale
• Canterbury Tales Character Chart Introduction

Tuesday, we will share each other's stories and watch "The Pardoner's Tale." Do not complete this section of the test tomorrow.

Canterbury Tales (A Long Journey)

Today, we looked into the history behind The Canterbury Tales using this prezi. Our class also looked into the direct and indirect characterizations of several of the twenty-nine pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. There are plenty of images and interactives online that you can explore the Cathedral, the journey to Canterbury, or life in Chaucer's time. Get ready to listen to two pilgrim's tales next week!

If you want an entertaining summary and recap of our lesson today, 

just watch the video below by The History Teachers on YouTube. 

Enjoy!