Of Mice and Men Audio

If you'd like to listen to Of Mice and Men as an aid to your reading, here is the link to the audio. You will find the individual chapters as well as the whole book available for download and for listening to online.

HOWEVER, the audio is NOT a substitute for reading. It's just to help you if you're having trouble. And, remember, there will be no audio on the Regents exam or on any test I give you. Don't use the recording as a crutch.

For help with the references and vocabulary in Of Mice and Men, click on this link.

Of Mice and Men WebQuest

You are about to embark on a WebQuest to discover what life was like in the 1930s. Of Mice and Men is set in California during the Great Depression. It follows two migrant workers, George and Lennie, as they struggle to fulfill their dreams. In order to better understand their plight, you will be exploring several websites to increase your background knowledge before getting into the book. Check out the websites listed below to help you answer the following questions.

Questions Answer the question assigned to your group after using the websites to conduct your research. Your group should have a well‐developed paragraph response for your question. For each question, you should reference at least two of the sources to get all of the points.

Group #1 What are the geographical features of the Salinas Valley? What kinds of jobs are available there?
Group #2 What were the main features of the Great Depression? (What are the basic, most important facts?)
Group #3 What were some of the causes of the Great Depression?
Group #4 How did the Dust Bowl/Great Depression affect California?
Group #5 Who were migrant workers and how did the Great Depression affect them?
Group #6 What were some of the struggles that migrant workers faced?

Websites Use the entire class to complete your research, spending at least a few minutes at each relevant website.

Migrant Workers:
http://www.neabigread.org/books/grapesofwrath/teachers/grapes_handout03.pdf
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fachap03.html

Dust Bowl/Great Depression:
http://www.neabigread.org/books/grapesofwrath/teachers/grapes_handout01.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/timeline/index.html
http://www.neabigread.org/books/grapesofwrath/grapes03_context.php
http://www.english.illinois.edu/MAPS/depression/photoessay.htm

Salinas Valley, California:
http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/visitors/history.cfm
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/mice/cal2.html
http://www.salinas.com/

Tennessee Williams WebQuest

DRAMA STUDENTS:

Below are links for the Tennessee Williams WebQuest. The WebQuest worksheet can be found as an attachment in Skedula.

http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc9.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Williams

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/tennessee-williams/about-tennessee-williams/737/

http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/williams_tennessee/index.html

Why no posts?

Why hasn't Ms. Xeni been posting to her blog? Because she's now linking to all her assignments and related readings using Skedula. To access her assignments, please log into pupilpath.skedula.com using your personalized log-in information. If you don't have this information, please go the front office to request it.

"A&P" by John Updike

I promised a link to the audio version of "A&P" but had never put it up. Here it is!

Homework for September 8-9/September 12-16

Homework for Grade 9

Name Assignment (due Friday, September 9 for 901; due Monday, September 12, for 902 and 903)

Write a paragraph about the connotation and denotation of your name. Due Tuesday, September 13, for all classes.

Work on the rough draft of your Name Project. [worksheet and due dates will be posted shortly]

Homework for Credit Recovery

Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" story here.

Complete "Ransom of Red Chief" worksheet.


Quiz on "Ransom of Red Chief"

Summer ShakeUp Theater Program!

If you are interested in attending the Summer ShakeUp Theater Program, click on this link to register: http://shakespeareinthepark.org/programs-for-teens/summer-shakeup/.

It's a one-day event that starts at 10 AM on Saturday, July 23, by the Queensboro Bridge. (It takes about an hour to get there from the Parkchester Station.)

2nd-quarter Credit Recovery

Due Wednesday, July 6: Copy of "A Retrieved Reformation" plus questions and vocabulary sheets.

4th-quarter Credit Recovery

Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry

Due Wednesday, July 6: Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" Vocabulary Worksheet

Due Wednesday, July 6: Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" Questions


For BOTH classes:

Rough Draft due Monday, July 11: Assignment Sheet and Rubric for "Ransom of Red Chief" Critical Lens (you may use the same assignment sheet for "A Retrieved Reformation")

Instructions for Writing Critical Lens Essay (you may use the same assignment sheet for "A Retrieved Reformation")

Revised draft due Tuesday, July 12.

Final draft due Wednesday, July 13, at the start of class.

Summer School Critical Lens Essay

Please look below for links to "The Ransom of Red Chief" or "A Retrieved Memory" work.

Also, if you'd like to listen to the stories, the recordings are below!


"The Ransom of Red Chief" Audio Recording:

"A Retrieved Memory" Audio Recording:

Credit Recovery Information and Documents

Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry

Due Thursday, June 16: Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" Vocabulary Worksheet

Due Thursday, June 16: Copy of "Ransom of Red Chief" Questions


Rough Draft due Monday, June 20: Assignment Sheet and Rubric for "Ransom of Red Chief" Critical Lens

Instructions for Writing Critical Lens Essay

Revised draft due June 21.

Edited draft due June 22.

Final draft due June 23.

Homework for June 6-10

Here is a link to the Odyssey Narrative Project and Rubric. A partial draft is due on Wednesday, June 8. The final draft is due Tuesday, June 14. More detailed information is available in the rubric and project description.

Homework for May 31-June 3

Make-up work! Students will be given an opportunity to make up missed on-line Odyssey quizzes in class on Wednesday, June 1.

Homework for May 23-27

See homework for May 16-20.

Homework for May 16-20

Critical Lens assignment due Wednesday, May 25. Click here for this assignment!

In addition, Book IX (9) Questions are due on Monday, May 23. There will also be a quiz on the past week's reading and notes on May 23!

Homework for May 9-13

Due Wednesday, May 11: One-page response to the following prompt: In The Odyssey, Telemachus's life changes profoundly after his father goes to war. Write about a time when the challenges faced by an adult in your life created challenges for you as well. In addition, relate your experiences to Telemachus's. How did your experiences differ? How were they similar?

Other homework to be announced. Keep working on questions in packet (see below)!

Homework for May 2-6

We will begin reading The Odyssey by Homer this week.

Confused? Need to look at some summaries? Here's a link to some basic information about each book [chapter]. It's not enough to help you pass a quiz but enough to give you an idea of what's going on!

On Monday, May 9, you will be quizzed on Book I of The Odyssey. The quiz will include questions based on your notes for the week. Click here for the questions (not just for Book I, but for all books of The Odyssey assigned in class!). The notes appear below.

Homework for April 27-29

Wednesday: Please complete the "Is Batman an Epic Hero?" worksheet by next class. (Due Thursday for 491, 492, and 493; due Friday for 494.)

If you have not turned in the Critical Lens Essay, you MUST do so no later than THIS week. (See details below.)

There will be a quiz on the conventions of the epic, the characteristics of the epic hero, and Homer on MONDAY, May 2.

Click here for a link to this week's Power Point presentations. You'll need this information for the quiz.

Homework for April 11-15

The Critical Lens Project is due on Thursday, April 14, for 391, 392, and 393, and on Friday, April 15, for 394.

Click here for the link to the Critical Lens Project guidelines.

In addition to the final draft of the essay, you must turn in:

• notes taken during the movie version of Romeo and Juliet
• draft of introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion with evidence of revision and editing

In addition, there will be a unit test that will cover the following concepts as they relate to Romeo and Juliet:
Blank verse

• Heroic couplet
• Prose
• Pun
• Oxymoron
• Soliloquy
• Aside
• Monologue
• Protagonist
• Foil
• Theme
• Motif
• Chorus
• Prologue
• All vocabulary covered during the poetry unit

Homework for April 4-8

The "Reacting to Act V" questions are due on Monday, April 11. (Scroll down to find the link to the packet.)

Homework for March 28-April 1

Questions for Act IV are due on Monday, April 4. Questions for Act V will be due on Monday, April 11. However, we STRONGLY suggest you answer the questions for Act V BEFORE the test next week!

Forgot Romeo and Juliet at school?

Don't worry! You can link to the entire play online at http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/.

Homework for March 21-25

Monday: Complete Character Analysis Worksheet. Due Thursday for 391, 392, and 393; due Friday for 394.

Reminder: Act III Questions are due on Monday, March 28, for ALL classes. (See link below.)

Homework for March 14-18

We will be reading Act III this week. The questions for Act III will be due the Monday that follows the day we finish Act III. Please see the link under "Homework for March 7-11" for a copy of the questions for all the acts. You should be working on the questions as we go along!

Other homework for the week will be announced.

Homework for March 7-11

We will be reading Act II this week. The questions for Act II will be due the Monday that follows the day we finish Act II. Please see the link under "Homework for March 7-11" for a copy of the questions for all the acts. You should be working on the questions as we go along!

Homework for February 28-March 4

Monday: No homework.

Tuesday: Create an outline based on pages 6-16 in your edition of Romeo and Juliet. You will take a brief quiz on this material on Thursday, March 3 (all classes except 394), or Friday, March 4 (394).

Wednesday: Catch up on any reading that you find confusing in Romeo and Juliet.


Thursday/Friday: The Romeo and Juliet packet includes questions for each act.

Answers are due on the Monday AFTER we finish reading an act in class. For example, if we finish an act on Thursday, March 3, questions are due Monday, March 7. If we finish on a Monday, answers are not due until the following Monday!

Homework for February 14-17

Monday: Choose a statement on your Romeo and Juliet Anticipation Guide and explain in a paragraph why you agree, disagree, or are neutral about the statement of your choice.

Tuesday: Finish Shakespeare Webquest section, if necessary. Create a worksheet that will teach your classmates the information you have found.

Shakespeare Webquest Link

Wednesday: Worksheets are due in class.

Thursday: No homework.

Homework for February 7-11

Monday: Work on rough draft of poet bio and rough drafts of poem analyses.

Tuesday: Same as Monday.

Wednesday: Poetry Biography and Analysis project due; poetry unit test tomorrow.

Thursday: No HW over weekend.

Homework for January 31-February 4

A major poetry project is due next Thursday, February 10. The rubric, biography worksheet, and poem analysis worksheet follow below. Students should have their poem analyses done by Monday, February 7.


Rubric and Task Description for Poetry Project

Poet Biography Research Worksheet

Poem Analysis Worksheet

Homework for January 18-21

Tuesday: Finish lyric poem analysis. (You can download your group's poem here; you can download the analysis sheet here.) Due Wednesday, January 19.

MAKE-UP WORK
The quarter ends on January 31. Students in Ms. Xeni and Ms. Megan's ELA classes will be given an opportunity on Thursday, January 27, to make up missed Of Mice and Men quizzes.

Other late work should be turned in as soon as possible!

Many people have not turned in their Of Mice and Men packets. The questions and charts appear below.

Chapter Questions

Plot Chart

Character Chart

Homework for January 10-14

Tuesday: Complete "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" worksheet. Due Wednesday, January 12.

Thursday: Complete "Interview" worksheet. Due Tuesday, January 18.

Homework for January 3-7

Monday: No homework.

Tuesday: No homework.

Wednesday: Complete Consonance and Assonance Worksheet. Due Thursday, January 9.

Thursday: Complete "Strawberries" poetry analysis worksheet. Due Monday, January 10. (Available in class.)