Saturday, January 26, 2013

9th Grade English January 28, 2013 - February 1, 2013

Monday, January 28th:
Grammar homework is due: Adding Sentences Together with Conjunctions, Semi-Colons, Coordinating Adverbs. Go over in class
Go over the requirements for the essay on THE ODYSSEY
Work on in class

Tuesday, January 29th:
The essay is due!
The reading logs for THE ODYSSEY is due today!
Grammar assignment: Improving Stringy Sentences

PERSPECTIVES in MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE; The Exposition Chapter
Academic Vocabulary; pages 65 in PERSPECTIVES IN MULTICULTURALISM
Ambiguity: Students break into groups of three to demonstrate ambiguity
Irony: Students break into groups of three to demonstrate the three types of irony: situational, verbal, dramatic

Read pages 66 - 67 in PERSPECTIVES IN MULTICULTURALISM
"Before You Read" and create a chart for each source
Begin reading "Homecoming" by Richard Rodriguez

 Wednesday, January 30th: 
Handout on "Improving Stringy Sentences" is due today. 
For homework: HOLT HANDBOOK; pages 303 - 305; Exercise 3; "Correcting Sentences by Adding Colons"; this will be due tomorrow, Thursday, January 31st.

Read "Wild as It Ever Was" by Jeff Rennicke (page 73)

Class Notes for Wednesday, January 30th:
jkatbridge@aol.com
PERSPECTIVES in MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE
Page 69; “Homecoming”
Anthropologist: a scientist who studies human culture and foreign sociology.

“In those same years, I did not recognize the living Indian staring at me, my reflection in the mirror...” which reveals that the author, Richard Rodriguez is Native American.

Why was Ishi so afraid of the white man when he was discovered in 1911, naked and starving by a slaughterhouse?  Why would he rather risk death by starvation then approach white people for help?
In the past, his family, his friends, his tribe had been wiped out by the white man.

Defiled: to be made impure; to be impugned, to be degraded.

Autopsy: the body is opened up after death to determine the cause of death.
 Biopsy: when a living person’s body is opened and tissue is extracted to determine malignancy. (cancer)

Repatriate: to return to one’s native country or homeland.

Was Ishi treated with respect after death or was his body treated as if he were a specimen?

Why do you think a tribe buried Ishi where his body will never be found?
David: Because the tribe treated the body as if it were a sacred.
Robert: The tribe wanted to bury the remains so that no one could bother or disrespect the body.

Thursday, January 31st:
“Wild As It Ever Was” page 73
Elizabeth: “Wild As It Ever Was” begins with a dramatic anecdote.

“The Homecoming” is more factual; it is exposition.

Who are the "we" in the story: Backpack editor Tom Shealey and Jeff Rennicke. They are looking for the countryside where Ishi lived with his tribe.

Describe how the Yahi lived during the summer.
Describe how they lived during the fall and winter.
What happened in 1849 that changed everything?

Page 74:
Why did the Yahi Tribe die off?
Robert: Their weapons, bows and arrows and spears, were weak compared to the white men's, which were guns and rifles.  The Native Americans' weapons were for fishing and deer

Isabel: The battles with the white men were more like massacres.

Renatta: Diseases, like measles and chicken pox, killed many Yahi tribespeople.

Daniel: The food sources dried up and disappeared.

Melissa: Most white people thought that the Yahi Tribe had been wiped out, along with 50 other tribes, but they were wrong.

Write a brief description of the land that the Yahi tribe lived on during the 1800's, and the white men are now camping in the 21st Century. 
Ake: It’s snowy. The hillsides are draped in white. It’s still rainy. It’s flooded. There is poison oak. There are jagged rocks. It is a rugged and broken country. The sticks look like rattle snakes. The brush claws at your eyes like talons. The land is inhospitable.

Why does Jeff Rennicke smile when he tells Tom the Yahi name for April is “Moon of the Last Snow”?
April is generally associated with spring; however, in this part of the country, April is still snow bound and wintry.  The Yahi, in acknowledgement of the severe terrain and weather, named the spring month “Moon of the Last Snow”.

How is the story by Rennicke organized?
It starts off with an anecdote about an historical event a hundred years ago.
Then the story shifts to contemporary first person narrative.  The writer shifts back and forth between an historical narrative and a first person narrative.

Flakes of obsidian: a type of stone used by native Americans to make arrowheads.

Cremated: to burn a dead body and to preserve the ashes in an urn.

What compelled Ishi to step into the midst of the white settlers’ community?
Melissa: There was nothing on his land but pure sorrow.  He went to represent his tribe and his people.

Vicki: Ishi went to the slaughterhouse to see if there was any food. He was starving.

What do you think his thoughts were as he heard the barking dogs and the approaching men?

Friday, February 1st:

Mor tu ar y
Mort  uary
Re pa tri ate

Linguist: a person who is an expert in language.

After You Read:
Homecoming:
What is the purpose of the statement that appears below the essay’s title?

Identify:
What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

Clarify:
What do you learn about the relationship between Ishi and the people who came to see him in lines 23 - 28?

Compare and Contrast:
Re-read lines 38 - 49. How would Ishi’s account of life differ from the accounts of most other people from the time?

Interpret:
What point about American Indian culture does the writer make with his description of current time in lines 61 - 69?

Interpret:
In your own words, describe the author’s purpose in writing this piece?

For homework this weekend:
Answer in complete sentences the questions on pages 79 - 80 in PERSPECTIVES in MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE. Page 81: Write out the chart and fill it with your own answers, synthesizing the information from all three stories.

Also for homework: Modifier; exercises A and B; Adjective or Adverb?; exercises A and B; Combining Sentences by Inserting Words and Phrases; exercises A and B.



Friday, January 25, 2013

List of Topics for THE ODYSSEY ESSAY

1. Explore the depiction of women in THE ODYSSEY.

2. Discuss how the film differs from the book, THE ODYSSEY.

3. Discuss how Odysseus is a hero in the epic sense of the word hero.

4. Discuss how Odysseus contributed to his hardships.

5. Give two examples of failing to honor the sacred ties between guests and hosts contributed to tragedy.

6. Discuss the role of disguise in the story of THE ODYSSEY

The essay should either be NEATLY written on nice paper (not crumpled, not torn out of the notebook, not scribbled or with scratch outs) or typed.  If it is typed, it should be double-spaced, with 12 font.  Both typed and hand written essays must be 1500 words. Your essay should be a product of your best efforts.

Remember:
12 FONT
Double space
1500 word minimum

Monday, January 21, 2013

January 22, 2013 - January 25, 2013 9th Grade Agenda

January 22, 2013 - January 25, 2013 9th Grade Agenda

Monday, January 21st:
No school today.

Tuesday, January 22nd:
Finish watching the film THE ODYSSEY
Go over last week's homework: Independent and Subordinate Clauses

Wednesday, January 23rd:
THE ODYSSEY

Thursday, January 24th:
THE ODYSSEY
Go over Phrases
Assign grammar homework: Adjective and Adverbial Phrases

Friday, January 25th:
Go over last night's grammar homework on adjective and adverbial phrases
Go over essay for THE ODYSSEY

THE ODYSSEY Essay will be due on Tuesday, January 29th.