MUG #4

To entice a kitten off of the roof Roberto
opened a tin of tuna fish immediately the
kitten lept for the treat and landed at
Robertos feet.

Shreya hasnt paid her school libary fine
consequently she can’t neither lend more
books or recieve her report card

Here's a copy of Chapter 1 of The Scarlet Letter, which I distributed in class today.  Your assignment is to closely read AND annotate. Here is a handout with pointers on annotation.  Any words you don't know you should look up and learn.  You will need to annotate the rest of the chapter the way we did sentence one together.  You don't need to re-annotate sentence one on this handout, just the remaining two paragraphs. Sentence one should be handwritten (skip lines) on loose leaf paper and annotated. for WE #1.  Look for diction, figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, oxymoron, paradox), allusions, and symbolism which reinforce the somber scene.

WE #3

Paraphrase Chapter 1.  In your own words, rewrite what the speaker says in each sentence.  You should have at least one sentence for each sentence of the chapter (including the first sentence).  This exercise is not summarizing; it is paraphrasing.

WE #4

After you have closely read and understood and annotated the chapter, you can identify examples of the author's use of diction, figurative language, allusions, and symbolism which contribute to the chapter's gloomy atmosphere and somber tone.

REMINDERS:

Vocabulary Quiz List 2 is Tuesday and the combined vocabulary lists test is Thursday.

The Scarlet Letter Reading check test is Wednesday.

If you have not yet found a nonfiction selection to read this six weeks, you need to do so ASAP.  Next week you will need to bring the book with you along with a typed proposal.  Here are the instructions.  Here is a sample proposal.

Visit Shmoop if you haven't already.  You will receive your username and password next week to access the test prep; however, there are free resources available you can access, including resources to help you with The Scarlet Letter.

Practice Quiz Vocabulary List 1 Today

If you missed it, you have the option to take it tomorrow.

Here are the flashcards for Vocabulary List 2

MUG #3

preparing our dinner the smell of the chicken
made Ben hungry

Thaddeus a brilliant student will probably get a
higher grade then i will Toby remarked

MUG #2

The cracked windsheild along with the ripped
upholstery and rusty body, made Erics car near
impossible to sale.

Sally I need you to sit still while I trim you're
bangs Sophia ordered.

WE #2

Sentence Imitation

Recreate the opening line of Hawthorne’s opening chapter.  You must maintain the identical grammatical structure, but your diction should alter both the tone of the original sentence and the atmosphere which it helps create for the remainder of the chapter.

A ______ of ______   ______, in ____-_____   _____  and _____  ____-____    _____, inter-mixed with _____, some _____ing _____, and others _________, was _______ in front of a _______    _______, the ________ of which was _______     ______ with ______, and ______ with ______   ______. 

You can access the syllabus, calendar, and honor statement here.

Here are the flashcards for Vocabulary List 1.  Your first quiz is Thursday.  Please study.

We will work on daily MUG shots.  These are Mechanics, Usage, and Grammar corrections.  On loose leaf paper, write the date and corresponding number of the MUG set.  Copy the sentences as written, and we will make corrections at the beginning of class.  I will collect them after we have completed 20 sets (20 days) for a daily grade. If you are absent, work on the MUGs on your own and then check the corrections when you return to class.

Here's today's set:

#1
This year writing will be a major focus, its'
important to understand grammer rules, without
them you're writing is difficult to understand.

Once a week well begin class with one of these
sets of M.U.G. sentences, M.U.G. by the way is an
abbreviation of "mechanics, usage and grammer"

Today's Writing Exercise (WE #1)

Write down the first sentence of Chapter 1 of The Scarlet Letter (skip lines). Annotate (mark) the sentence with careful attention to the writer's DICTION (word choice), SYNTAX, (arrangement of words).

The writer begins with the simple subject of the sentence, identifying it as a "throng."  He wants the reader to notice this large group of people.  He points out that they are "bearded men" which emphasizes that they are a patriarchal (men) society who abide by the wisdom of their traditions (bearded).  The writer points out that they are wearing "sad-colored garments."  These men don't consider  their garments sad-colored; this is the writer's opinion.  Why sad?  Why use the word "garments" instead of "clothes"?  Then he says the are wearing "steeple-crowned hats," which indicates that they are a theocracy.  He says the group is "intermixed with women," which reinforces the patriarchal nature of this society which relegates the women to secondary citizens.  He offers little to describe them other than to say that some of them are "wearing hats and others [are] bareheaded, simply remarking on how some are married and some are not, reminding the reader that during this time period, women were only important as wives or prospective wives.  Finally, in the middle of the sentence after this long description of the throng, he tells the reader that these people are "assembled," which means they are gathered with a purpose, and not just standing around.  He says they are in front of a "wooden edifice."  It is possible that the only building material available to the early colonists would have been wood, so he might simply be emphasizing the time period but quite possibly making a symbolic connection to the forest from which the trees came which was used to build the prison, the symbol of punishment for evil/sin/crime.  The word "edifice" seems much more formal diction than building or prison (which it actual is), reinforcing the formality of their justice system.  The door of this prison, which is "heavily timbered with oak" and "studded with iron spikes" intentionally intimidates the onlookers who fear the punishment the prison represents both on earth and in the afterlife.

Welcome Back!

Get ready for an interesting journey.  Tomorrow I will distribute your syllabus and calendar.

If you haven't finished reading The Scarlet Letter, please do so.  You don't have much time left until the reading check.

Also, you should have searched for a nonfiction selection to read this six weeks.  My list of recommended titles which are available at the public library is found at the top of this blog.  Happy reading!