sloanspace

Go to my contest web page and find one to enter.  Bring a draft to class on the block day 11/13.

“Sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going … I would stand and look over the roofs of Paris and think, ‘Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’ So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.”

– excerpt from A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

For today’s class you looked over the Princeton Hit Parade lists and wrote 10 superb sentences. Now let Hemingway’s advice guide you. Write the truest sentences you know by revising the ones you have. The first ten and the revisions are due next class.

For Tuesday, 10/23: Write a 300-word review of a book you’ve read recently. Here’s what should be in your review:

Present the subject

• Identify the main characters, tell some of the plot
• Remember that a review is more than a plot summary

Assert an overall judgment

• Say whether or not it’s good or bad; better or worse than something comparable
• Usually explicitly states a judgment up front and may restate it later

Give reasons and supporting evidence

• Use direct quotations
• Reasons are appropriate for evaluating the particular subject

Establish credibility

• Know a lot about the subject
• Judgment is based on values and standards readers recognize as valid

Cut out an example of a movie review in today’s Tribune. Glue it into the notes part of your writer’s notebook and write the following:

• title
• type of film
• summary of the content (story) of the film
• theme or central idea, moral, or lesson of the film
• lead actor’s name and the name of the character he or she plays (note the use of parentheses)
• names of the supporting actors and the characters they play
• director’s name
• commentary on the direction
• commentary on the acting
• overall assessment of the film
• mention of the scriptwriter, cinematography, editing, or special effects (if any)
• comparison to other films of the same type or by the same actor

The book 1984 is divided into three parts. For the next three weeks you’ll read one part of the book, due on the block day of each week. Here’s the schedule:

• Part One – 10/23 or 10/24
• Part Two – 10/30 or 10/31
• Part Three – 11/6 or 11/7

Read pages 124-127 in Frames of Mind and answer the four questions in your writer’s notebook for Friday, 10/19.

Read pages 130-135 and do all of the questions after the essay for Monday, 10/22.

We are going to participate in the NVC this year. It will be largely an independent-study activity; it is mandatory, however, and there will be assignments that correspond with your participation in the NVC.Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to www.winwithwords.com. Check out the Overview. We will participate via the National Qualifying Competition.
2. Check out Study Tools. There are ten Modules. Read all 10. You do not need to do this all at once – read one every couple of days. All ten modules need to be read by the end of the quarter – October 26. The following week, there will be a quiz that references several key points from the modules.
3. Below the Modules, there are five Princeton Review Hit Parade word lists. Pick one and read through the words and definitions. Write down the name of the list you picked, and write 10 superb sentences, each one containing a different word off the list. This is due the first day of the second quarter: October 29.
4. Under Fun and Games, there are several games to try. Pick one of the following, and if it gives you a score, record it: Phrase Frenzy, Chain Reaction, Word Search, Camouflage, Lingo, or Ultimate Word Challenge.
5. In the month of November, every student must take the on-line test. This will be done on your own time, and you will need to print confirmation that you took the exam, as well as your score. More info about this will be forthcoming.

Monday: Do the Review Units, 1-3 on pages 41-50 in the vocabulary book.

Tuesday: Write a column. If you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a link to a web site with links to newspaper columnists.

For Monday: We will write the Prejean essay in class.

For (block day), read the opening pages of Chapter Five: Narration, 115-123. Answer the three questions on page 123.

Vocabulary Unit 3 is due Monday, October 8. For those of you who weren’t in class Friday, I collected the Writer’s Notebooks.