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.