The Necklace

Mathilde Loisel is a pretty woman who married a clerk and has a standard of living where basic necessities are nothing to worry too much about.  However, she believes she deserves a life more luxurious and rich than the one she has now.  She daydreams about fabulous parties, extravagant furnishings, and fancy foods.  Her inner conflict becomes more complicated when she receives an invitation from her husband's work to attend a fancy party.  She turns down the invitation because she doesn't feel that she has anything to wear good enough for such an event.  This is IRONIC because the narrator shows the reader how much she wants to be part of the aristocracy (high-class folks), yet when the opportunity comes around she does the opposite of what we would expect -- she turns down the invitation.  However, this doesn't stop her and she must find a way to "dress to impress".  What price will she pay to live one night of her dream-come-true?

This story is a popular one because of the surprise ending.  The author's use of SITUATIONAL IRONY really makes the reader think about CHARACTER MOTIVATION.  What could Mathilde have done to avoid that situation?  Why do you think she refused to tell her friend Madame Forrestier the truth?

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe uses an UNRELIABLE narrator in this tale of revenge to create suspense and add a mysterious dimension to the villain storyteller.  The story is told by Montresor whose elaborate plan for revenge on Fortunato leaves out a few details that has the reader questioning the narrator's credibility.  What did Fortunato do to insult Montresor?  Does Fortunato know if he did anything wrong?

If you liked this story as much as I have visit the site below for more Edgar Allan Poe:

http://www.poestories.com/

BELLWORK DUE!

Hello Scholars!

Eleven (11) Bellworks are due on Friday, December 9, 2011.  The list is posted in the yellow butcher paper in the classroom

Also, I will be grading the following items in your notes:

• TEN BAD LISTENING HABITS
• COMMON MISTAKES YOU BETTER NOT MAKE

PROGRESS REPORT IS COMING UP!!!

        

       MONDAY DECEMBER 19, 2011   

      EXTRA CREDIT for students whose PARENTS or GUARDIANS pick them up.

Marigolds by Eugenia Collier

In short, this is a story about 'Lizabeth, a 14 year old girl who grows up after her last act of childish behavior.  This story is told in first-person point of view with a shifting perspective.  The voice of the narrator moves from reflecting as a mature woman to retelling the episode with Miss Lottie's marigolds as a 14 year old girl.

This is also a story about BOUNDARIES.  Some boundaries are clearer than others such as a fence around a property or a line on a map.  Many boundaries, however, are not so clear.  Some examples include the boundaries between: personal and public space, appropriate and offensive behavior,  and childhood and adulthood.  One may argue that being a teenager is a time when a person lives ON that boundary.

Lizabeth sees Miss Lottie as an old witch as a child, her father for his strength and laughter, and childhood as innocence

As a woman, Lizabeth sees things much differently. She now has compassion which she says cannot exist alongside innocence.  You can't escape the feeling of guilt when you feel sorry for someone.

AMERICAN HISTORY by Judith Ortiz Cofer

In this story, Elena is infatuated with the new boy, Eugene, who lives in a small house across the street from her apartment building.  This story gives us a nice example of INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION.  This is where the author can build character traits by SHOWING the reader rather than telling us the kind of person he or she is.  This is done when the author shows the reader how a character feels, thinks, behaves, what they look like, what they say, etc.  Elena learns a lot about herself and her world after seeing how Eugene's mom reacts to her on the day they made plans to study for their American History class.  At the same time, on November 22, 1963, an event that will be written in American History had just taken place.  At the end of the story, Elena learns about herself and the American people by observing their reactions to this tragic event.

THANK YOU M'AM by Langston Hughes

YOU'RE SUCH A CHARACTER!

Have you heard that expression before? Its usually said by someone who has discovered an extra dimension to your personality that they hadn't seen before.   Perhaps they noticed you behave just like you speak, or maybe they noticed something about the way you think or feel that challenged their assumptions.  What do you think?

 Last week we read about a teenager named Roger who got caught up with Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.  Even though Mrs. Jones did all the talking, the reader could tell a lot about the kind of person Roger is by the way he behaves, looks, and what he says.

Who do you think is a rounder character:  Mrs. Jones or Roger?  Did the author -- Langston Hughes -- suggest that Roger's personality is a bit more complex than Mrs. Jones in this episode?

Welcome to the 2nd Quarter Edition of Kagman English 9!!!

Yesterday was the start of a new quarter this school year.  We went over a brief overview of what to expect this quarter.  We will read more short stories and work on developing our writing with punctuation and vocabulary.  Here are some concepts we will be exploring this quarter:

• Characterization (Protagonist, Antagonist, Round/Flat, Dynamic)
• Narrator and Voice (1st Person, 3rd Person Ltd, and Omniscient Point of View)
• Symbolism and Irony (Sarcasm, Situational and Dramatic Irony)

Our Final Exam will be based on an essay on a Coat of Arms that you will create using:

• A collection of symbols that best represent you as an individual.
• Punctuation: COMMA (,), SEMI-COLON (;), COLON (:), and DASH (--).
• New Vocabulary!

1st set of Bellworks are DUE on December 9, 2011>>>>>>>>Get Ready!

REMINDER:  Report Card will be given to the students to take home by the end of the week. 

The Final Stretch to the end of the 1st Quarter

Hello Scholars!

We are less than 2 weeks away from FINALS.

NOVEMBER 3, 2011 Thursday is the DATE TO REMEMBER!

• Restaurant Menu Projects are DUE.
• 30 Second Radio Commercials will be presented during Finals Week!
• Project Rubric and Information is available in the link to the right.
• 10 BELLWORKS and NOTES are DUE.
• Bellwork list will be published on Friday, October 28, 2011.

FINAL EXAM week is November 7-11!!!

Another Progress Report will be made available to you on Friday.  Please settle any concerns or questions about your grade BEFORE the FINAL EXAM.

STUDENTS and PARENTS:  There will be NO MAKE-UP WORK to boost grades after final exams.

Appealing to Audience

Good writers know their audience just like a good business should know their customers. They write in a way that appeals to the audience. Writers choose words that readers find appealing, attractive, or interesting.

Read some of the following excerpts and decide what kind of person would find this MOST interesting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet FRED! Fred is having a horrible horrible nightmare (or at least it FEELS like a nightmare). A new music teacher, Mr. Devlin (HMM...It looks an awful like a word) comes to town and he immediately suspects FOUL PLAY!!! With his trusty sidekick, Bertha, Fred makes it his mission to save the town from the maybe-evil music teacher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want To Graduate? Start By Showing Up!
Wondering how to make sure you graduate from high school? Start by coming to school, on time and every day.

Did you know that if you miss only five days of school in a semester your chances of graduating drop significantly? And if you miss 18 days in a year, you only have a 20 percent chance of graduating at all.

Here are some easy things you can do to make sure you don't become a statistic

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While cranes are made of high-strength steel, one should never exceed the crane’s rated load capacity. Attempting to move a load greater than the crane’s capacity can put undue stress on the equipment and can endanger workers. Second, controls must be inspected regularly to be sure that all motions agree with the controls as marked. When working with overhead and gantry cranes, be alert for excessive drift or irregular stopping distances. Check hooks and wire ropes for damage or fatigue (excessive wear, nicks, gouges, fraying, broken strands, kinks, or deformations), and be sure all wire ropes are properly reeved. Be sure that any damage noted on daily inspections is properly documented, marked, and reported to supervisory personnel. Wire ropes should never be wrapped around a load or used as slings unless specifically designed for this use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DONE? Now click on the excerpts to visit the websites that published them. Who is the intended audience? Do the choice of words match the audience these websites are trying to reach?

Student Survey Results

Q1 Vocabulary

Tumult
Nuisance
Silhouette
Introspection
Hypocrite
Metaphor
Stereotype
Enthusiastic
Plagiarized
Paraphrase
Impending
Desolate
Infatuated
Apprehensive
Unanimous
Dialogue
Excerpt
Foreshadow
Credible
Elaborate
Analyze
Complex
Evaluate
Eclectic
Flourished

The Most Dangerous Game

Here is a link to Richard Connell's story we started reading in class:
http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/danger.html

Read the rest of the story before we begin class on Monday.

On Monday,  we'll look at images of a few words that are written into the story such as astrakhan, chateau, sallow, and precariously.  This will help us visualize a lot of the setting details.

Week 3 Elements of Literature: Plot, Setting, and Mood

• PLOT
• Exposition:  part of the story in which the basic situation and main conflict is introduced (Somebody wants..., but...)
• Rising Action:  chain of events that takes place as the main character struggles to achieve his or her goal.
• Climax:  the point of highest emotional intensity; sometimes the reader learns the outcome of the struggle.
• Resolution:  events following the climax in which any remaining issues or resolved.

Okay, so where does our story take place?

SETTING

• Time of Day
• Location
• Time Period (past, present, future)
• Weather
• Temperature
• Culture

These details of where or when a story takes place creates MOOD!

What is MOOD?

It's that feeling you get (emotional response) when you read a story.   

LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT WORD TO DESCRIBE THESE MOODS? 

How about hostile, inclusive, or barren?

Classwork Due Friday 9/14

Here is the outline I provided after the Pre-Writing stage of our goal statement:

• What is your S.M.A.R.T. Goal?
• Why is this goal important for you to achieve?

• What kind of attitude/s do you need to overcome obstacles and keep you motivated?
• Provide examples of what attitudes motivate you and which attitudes discourage you.
• Provide examples of what obstacles you can predict will come your way.

• What kinds of skills do you need to develop in order to reach your goals? 
• Which skills are specifically related to your S.M.A.R.T. goal?

__________________________________________________________________________________

We will examine the writing rubric we will use throughout the school year tomorrow as you help your partner revise their goal statement.  

ON FRIDAY September 16, 2011 you must submit the following:

1. Original First Draft with your partner's evaluation symbols.
2. The 6+1 Scoring Rubric with your name on top and your partner's name as EDITOR or READER.
3. Your rewrite or 2nd Draft of the Goal Statement

LATE or INCOMPLETE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  

The History of English in 10 Minutes

These are the series of videos we discussed in class.  Thanks to the OPEN University for creating this animated series.  This is part 1 of 10.  Search "The History of English" for more videos.

We took notes and discussed the PEOPLE, PLACES, WORDS & PHRASES of each chapter in the video series.

Lecture- Personal Goal Draft from week 1

Part 1

Part 2

Homework Due Midnight on Saturday, September 17, 2011

Please fill out the survey at this link.   

http://goo.gl/0TMF9

The survey will be closed after Saturday 9/17/11.

Day 2: Responsibility, Evacuation and Goals

We analyzed characters in The Story of Harvey and wrote a paragraph about responsibility in response to the text.

You can read the story here:

http://charactercounts.org/pdf/lesson-plan-bank_handouts/The-Story-Of-Harvey.pdf

• What does our discussion suggest about responsibility?
• What did you learn from this process about communication, cooperation, and decision-making?

After you wrote your paragraphs I asked if it was fair to blame one person in this kind of situation.

We'll have to look at another pillar of character, FAIRNESS, later on in the course and revisit Harvey's situation later.

    

EVACUATION

e‧vac‧u‧ate

1 [transitive] to send people away from a dangerous place to a safe place

evacuate somebody from/to something

Several families were evacuated from their homes.

During the war he was evacuated to Scotland.

2 [intransitive and transitive] to empty a place by making all the people leave:

Police evacuated the area.

The order was given to evacuate.

3 [transitive] formal to empty your bowels

—evacuation noun [uncountable and countable]

the evacuation of British troops from the area

Police ordered the evacuation of the building.

Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

We started to work on setting our personal goals with a list of tangible and intangible assets. 

Tangible Assets:  objects, money, places, people, 

Intangible Assets: ideas, skills, relationships

Day 1 Feedback Questions

These are the "clarifying" questions the class turned in at the end of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period.

What will we learn? (3)

Officially, you will learn everything outlined in the curriculum map and syllabus.
In reality, you will learn more than I can control and not enough we have time for.

Is this class going to be easy or hard? (2)

My hope is that what you need to know to be successful will be easy for you.

It depends on the amount of effort and ownership you take in your own learning.

Sometimes the best things are the easiest to learn because they are difficult.

Are you married?

Yes.

How do you write a story?

We'll read short stories in the beginning of the year to begin so we can learn about what makes a good story.

What do you like to do the most?

Its hard to pick just one thing. I like to do many things like play guitar, paint, invent things and learn about the world around us. I guess I like to balance all the things I like to do in the best way possible for now.

What is your favorite color?  

I don't like any one color in particular. I like color combinations such as: yellow/green blue/green, or orange/blue. Right now I like orange yellow/blue.

Why is it important to learn world literature?

This is a great question because you are really asking two questions:  

Why is it important to learn about the world?

Why is it important to learn about literature and language?

What is 1+1=?

2

Are you willing to teach through the whole school year?

Of course. Why?

Happy 10th Birthday Kagman High School!

Welcome to Mr. Pangelinan's English 9 class blog.
I will be posting relevant class information such as learning objectives, notes, printed materials used in class such as graphic organizers, announcements, homework information, etc.  I will try my best to update this blog on a daily basis to reflect on the day's lesson.  You are welcome to make comments on any blog posts and I will be happy to address any concerns as we progress through the semester.


Thank you for visiting


You can download and view the class syllabus here:  http://goo.gl/7XsmD


9th Grade Language Arts Curriculum Map:  http://goo.gl/FXgIa