English 11A Assignments
- Instructors
- Term
- Fall 2008
- Department
- English
- Location
- 706
Upcoming Assignments
No upcoming assignments.
Past Assignments
Due:
Assignment
- Read The Crucible in your textbook (Act one is in the Interactive Reader).
- Annotate (take notes in book or on post in notes) as you read with questions, connections, or insights.
- Complete the study guide questions
- Complete the character charts. Choose two MAIN characters and complete for each one of the of Analyzing Character charts and one side of the Facing History Approach to Literature Charts. Choose one of the two and answer the more in-depth questions on the final sheet for that character.
Due:
Assignment
Book Review Guidelines and Rubric
A book review is a personal response to a book written to share with others your evaluation of a book. The book review should give the reader a general idea of what the book is about (characters, conflicts, themes), but is not a retelling of each and every event in the book. More importantly, you will tell the reader what insights, if any, you gained from reading the book. You should also mention any literary techniques the author used well or did not use well. For example, did the writer create characters that seemed real or interesting to you? If so, give examples of this from the book. If not, give examples of this from the book.
There is no right or wrong number of paragraphs for a book review; however, if you follow the guidelines below, you should have a solid book review. Once you have these basics, feel free to add your own sense of style, creativity, and voice to the piece.
Introduction (Paragraph 1):
Introduce the author, the title of the book, and the genre of the book. You may want to tell something about the author (any awards, type of story he/she is know for, have you read things by him/her before?). Next, tell us what the book is about and why kind of book it is. Do not give away the entire story. (Example: Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel about a black woman’s discovery of the meaning of life and love through the creation of her identity.) You want to create a sense of curiosity for your reader to continue reading your review and, perhaps, to read the book. To close off the introductory paragraph you should tell the reader something about the style of the book and how you liked it. (Example: Hurston uses a dreamy, poetical style to whisk the reader through the ups and downs of Janie’s life. Through this book, I was able to experience another’s woman struggle that is not so different than the struggle of women today though the story takes place in a different time and place. In reading this book, I not only enjoyed Hurston’s masterful prose, but I made a new friend in Janie.)
Body (Paragraphs 1-3 – more or less depending on your writing style and book)
In this section you will give more details about the characters and events in the book, but still will not fully give away the ending of the book. Remember, you want to inspire others to read the book, not ruin it for them. You should also focus on literary techniques that you think the author used particularly well or particularly badly. How you organize this depends on what you want to say about the book, but each paragraph must have a clear topic statement then give examples from the book and your interpretation of those examples to support the topic statement. You cannot and should cover ever detail of the book. (Examples: In your first body paragraph you may focus on the main character and good of a job the author did in making the character engaging and interesting. Your next body paragraph may focus on the conflicts the character had to face and overcome and how she/he did that. Your third body paragraph could focus on the major themes of the novel – that is, what insight about life does it give (or try to give) to the reader.)
Conclusion (Final Paragraph)
This paragraph will sum up your paper. You will restate your thesis statement (from the introduction) and your main ideas (the topic sentences of your body paragraphs. You will also give us your final impressions of the book and directly or implicitly tell your reader whether or not she/he would want to read it. You may qualify your recommendations for specific groups (Example: If you are a woman struggling to assert yourself in a world still run mostly by men, you would definitely enjoy and be inspired by Janie’s story.)
Remember, you must type and format your paper according my class guidelines (double spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins) and include the header with your name, period, and date.
Some other formatting notes:
• When using direct quotes be sure to correctly punctuate your quotations and use a proper citation. (Use class notes and examples in our daily paragraph editing. See me if you are still not sure how to do this.)
• Titles are underlined.
• After you give the full name of the author, you may use the author’s last name only when writing about her/him. Do not use the writer’s first name without using her/his last name.
• Whenever you make a new point, you must provide a quote or paraphrased reference to support your point and then give your interpretation of that reference (that is, tell the reader explicitly how you think the quote supports your point). Does this sound a bit repetitive? Maybe you it is, but your reader, it will be clear and convincing writing.
Remember this report is to express your opinions and reactions to the book as well as to show me what you learned from reading it. It may be a bit more informal (humorous or personal) than a traditional research paper, but should not include slang or informal language.
10th Grade: 100 point Independent Reading Grade
11th Grade: Extra Credit -- 40 Point Classwork Grade
A book review is a personal response to a book written to share with others your evaluation of a book. The book review should give the reader a general idea of what the book is about (characters, conflicts, themes), but is not a retelling of each and every event in the book. More importantly, you will tell the reader what insights, if any, you gained from reading the book. You should also mention any literary techniques the author used well or did not use well. For example, did the writer create characters that seemed real or interesting to you? If so, give examples of this from the book. If not, give examples of this from the book.
There is no right or wrong number of paragraphs for a book review; however, if you follow the guidelines below, you should have a solid book review. Once you have these basics, feel free to add your own sense of style, creativity, and voice to the piece.
Introduction (Paragraph 1):
Introduce the author, the title of the book, and the genre of the book. You may want to tell something about the author (any awards, type of story he/she is know for, have you read things by him/her before?). Next, tell us what the book is about and why kind of book it is. Do not give away the entire story. (Example: Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel about a black woman’s discovery of the meaning of life and love through the creation of her identity.) You want to create a sense of curiosity for your reader to continue reading your review and, perhaps, to read the book. To close off the introductory paragraph you should tell the reader something about the style of the book and how you liked it. (Example: Hurston uses a dreamy, poetical style to whisk the reader through the ups and downs of Janie’s life. Through this book, I was able to experience another’s woman struggle that is not so different than the struggle of women today though the story takes place in a different time and place. In reading this book, I not only enjoyed Hurston’s masterful prose, but I made a new friend in Janie.)
Body (Paragraphs 1-3 – more or less depending on your writing style and book)
In this section you will give more details about the characters and events in the book, but still will not fully give away the ending of the book. Remember, you want to inspire others to read the book, not ruin it for them. You should also focus on literary techniques that you think the author used particularly well or particularly badly. How you organize this depends on what you want to say about the book, but each paragraph must have a clear topic statement then give examples from the book and your interpretation of those examples to support the topic statement. You cannot and should cover ever detail of the book. (Examples: In your first body paragraph you may focus on the main character and good of a job the author did in making the character engaging and interesting. Your next body paragraph may focus on the conflicts the character had to face and overcome and how she/he did that. Your third body paragraph could focus on the major themes of the novel – that is, what insight about life does it give (or try to give) to the reader.)
Conclusion (Final Paragraph)
This paragraph will sum up your paper. You will restate your thesis statement (from the introduction) and your main ideas (the topic sentences of your body paragraphs. You will also give us your final impressions of the book and directly or implicitly tell your reader whether or not she/he would want to read it. You may qualify your recommendations for specific groups (Example: If you are a woman struggling to assert yourself in a world still run mostly by men, you would definitely enjoy and be inspired by Janie’s story.)
Remember, you must type and format your paper according my class guidelines (double spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins) and include the header with your name, period, and date.
Some other formatting notes:
• When using direct quotes be sure to correctly punctuate your quotations and use a proper citation. (Use class notes and examples in our daily paragraph editing. See me if you are still not sure how to do this.)
• Titles are underlined.
• After you give the full name of the author, you may use the author’s last name only when writing about her/him. Do not use the writer’s first name without using her/his last name.
• Whenever you make a new point, you must provide a quote or paraphrased reference to support your point and then give your interpretation of that reference (that is, tell the reader explicitly how you think the quote supports your point). Does this sound a bit repetitive? Maybe you it is, but your reader, it will be clear and convincing writing.
Remember this report is to express your opinions and reactions to the book as well as to show me what you learned from reading it. It may be a bit more informal (humorous or personal) than a traditional research paper, but should not include slang or informal language.
10th Grade: 100 point Independent Reading Grade
11th Grade: Extra Credit -- 40 Point Classwork Grade
Due:
Assignment
Extra Credit:
Listen and respond to speeches from the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to learn about current history and to learn more about persuasion.
NOTE: THERE ARE REVISED INSTRUCTIONS FOR SETTING UP YOUR BLOGGER ACCOUNT IF YOU LOST YOUR LAUSD EMAIL OR IF YOU CANNOT GET IT TO WORK WITH YOUR LAUSD EMAIL.
Listen and respond to speeches from the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to learn about current history and to learn more about persuasion.
11th Grade assignment: American Values and Persusaion
NOTE: THERE ARE REVISED INSTRUCTIONS FOR SETTING UP YOUR BLOGGER ACCOUNT IF YOU LOST YOUR LAUSD EMAIL OR IF YOU CANNOT GET IT TO WORK WITH YOUR LAUSD EMAIL.
Due:
Assignment
Post your response to one issue on the anticipation guide for The Crucible on your blog (revise what you wrote on page 48 of your notebook).
Respond to your classmates postings using accountable talk and receive extra credit (see blog assignment on my 11th grade blog site for specifics about responding).
New instructions for creating your Blogger account are posted in the Welcome blog.
Respond to your classmates postings using accountable talk and receive extra credit (see blog assignment on my 11th grade blog site for specifics about responding).
New instructions for creating your Blogger account are posted in the Welcome blog.
Due:
Assignment
Set up your blogger account and blogger page. Go to the link below for directions.
Complete the first posted assignment. Go to the link below for the first assignment.
Complete the first posted assignment. Go to the link below for the first assignment.
Due:
Assignment
Open the link PowerPoint below and answer the questions using the pictures and quotes.
You may work with a partner, but each student must turn in his/her own original work.
You may work with a partner, but each student must turn in his/her own original work.
Due:
Assignment
Read the Bradford piece in your Interactive Reader. Take notes on the values of the Native Americans and of the Colonists. Be prepared to add/revise the value charts we made today.