Begin The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

Handed out:

• Study guides for Act I
• Vocabulary Lists for Act I

Assigned roles for Act I.

Begin reading Act I and filling out study guides.

Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards, p. 45, excerpt from "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

• Figures of Speech (metaphor, simile, personification)--a combination of words that compares one thing to another, unlike thing.

1. Find the sentence that directly states Edwards' purpose for this sermon.
2. In paragraphs 5-7, Edwards develops three famous figures of speech. What are they?
3. Edwards uses fear as motivator for his listeners to change their ways. In your opinion, is fear a good motivator? What else might work better?
4. What is one Puritan characteristic that Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards share? (hand in questions)

Introduction to The Crucible. 

• Read historical background information on pp. 10-11 (The Salem Witchcraft Trials)
• Read "Why I Wrote The Crucible" by Arthur Miller on p. 1213

Puritan Traits (Anne Bradstreet)

Historical/Biographical Lens: Read the background information on Anne Bradstreet (27). Why were her works published when very few other women would have been?

Anne Bradstreet, “Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666” (29)

Term of the day: Plain Style - a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression. 

After reading Bradstreet's poem, answer the following questions (to turn in).

• Bradstreet uses inversion as a poetic technique to accommodate the demands of meter and rhyme.  In an inversion the words of a sentence or phrase are wrenched out of normal English syntax or word order.  For example:

Inverted structure:  In silent night when rest I took

Uninverted structure:  In silent night when I took rest

Inverted structure:  For sorrow near I did not look

Uninverted structure:  I did not look near for sorrow

            Find and uninvert five more lines (not lines 1-2).

• Some readers have felt that by so lovingly enumerating her losses, Bradstreet is crying out to heaven in a way that unconsciously reveals more attachment to her earthly possessions than she would admit to.  On the other hand, what Bradstreet does not reveal in this poem is significant:  Hundreds of books, as well as her papers and all her unpublished poems, were also lost in the fire.  Using specific examples from the text, explain why you are, or are not, convinced that the speaker means what she says.

•  Think about the major Puritan beliefs as you re-read this poem.  What philosophical beliefs about God and the purpose of human life are reflected in Bradstreet’s poem?

Encounters and Foundations to 1800

Textbook for this course:
Elements of Literature: Fifth Course, Essentials of American Literature. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007.

Read the Introductory Essay on "Encounters and Foundations to 1800" by Gary Q. Arpin (pp.6-19).

Answer the following questions (to turn in):

• What effect did European settlement have on American Indians--the people who already lived on this vast continent?
• Who were the Puritans, and what were their beliefs about human nature?
• How did rationalism differ from Puritanism, and what effect did rationalism have on the new American political system?

For your notes, summarize the main points of Puritan thought and writings and Rationalist thought and writings. See especially the blue boxes in the margins of pp. 14-15.

Welcome to English 11!

English 11A (Trimester 1)

Ms. Johnson
Ann.Johnson@anoka.k12.mn.us
(763)506-8562

Course Description

            In English 11, the major focus is American Literature, but aspects of both literature and composition will be covered.  Students will develop their writing skills by using a writing process to complete multi-paragraph essays that attend to purpose, audience, development, structure, and style.  Students will also continue to refine their research, documentation, and persuasion skills. Students will use their knowledge and understanding of literary techniques and rhetorical devices to comprehend, respond to, interpret, and evaluate fiction and non-fiction selections.  

In addition to the history of American Literature and the traditional canon that expresses the shifts in our culture, the Grade 11 curriculum provides a clear presentation of the importance of marginalized cultures.  As a way to help students identify with all dimensions of the American literary culture, the curriculum will begin with an initial assignment to explore the dreams Americans possess by examining some important values in contemporary America.  After initial work with contemporary culture, each of the collections will include work which asks students to explore the “dreams” of members of the primary literary movement and those of members of marginalized cultures of the period as demonstrated in their writings.

Units of Study:

Tri A

• Encounters and Foundations to 1800 (Puritanism and Rationalism)
• American Romanticism:  1800-1860 (Romanticism and Transcendentalism)
• Rise of Realism:  Civil War to 1914 (Realism and Naturalism)
• Critical Reading; Persuasion; Public Speaking; Research; MLA style/citation; Synthesis, On-Demand Writing

Tri B

• The Moderns:  1914-1939
• Contemporary Literature:  1939-Present
• Research Writing; Research; MLA style/citation; Synthesis; On-Demand Writing

Course Outcomes:

Literary Skills:  Students will be able to identify and analyze the elements of literature, style, figurative language, and rhetorical devices; they will understand and apply techniques of persuasion; they will identify and analyze several genres of literature; and they will identify and interpret elements of poetry and poetic sound techniques.

Critical Lenses:  Students will use the Reader Response, Historical/Biographical, and Cultural lenses (among others) to respond to, evaluate, and interpret literature.

Writing Skills:  Students will use a writing process including multiple drafts, revision, and editing skills to reach a final product; they will write and speak in a variety of genres and for multiple purposes; they will use an expanded research process to find and analyze sources, work with online libraries and search engines, create a hierarchy of ideas, and refine a thesis; students will use appropriate support and evidence, create coherence through effective organization and transitions, effectively use reflection, and will meet specific criteria of MLA format in style and citations.

Speaking Skills: Students, through, seminar, will learn to have thoughtful interchanges with classmates. Students will respectfully listen to the thoughts of others and effectively share their own interpretations of complex texts to better understand the complexities of fiction and non-fiction and gather meaning. Students will also utilize effective delivery during their speeches.

Grammar/Vocabulary Skills:  Students will learn and appropriately apply (or avoid) parallel structure, passive voice, antecedents, subordinating conjunctions, sentence combining, and subordinate clauses.  Vocabulary instruction will be combined with literature.

Materials (Need to have along every day!!):

• A three-ring binder or folder for notes, handouts, etc.
• Loose leaf paper or a notebook exclusively for this class.
• Pencil or pen, ink must be an easily readable color.

English 11 Grading Policy

Grades will be divided into the following categories: 

Formative Assessments: 10%

Summative Assessments: 80%

Final Test (essay and objective) 10%

Grades will be posted on A-H Connect and updated (minimally) weekly. If you do not have access to A-H Connect please see me before or after class to discuss missing work/grades. I DO NOT DISCUSS GRADES/MISSING WORK DURING CLASS TIME.

Late Work Policy

Daily Work:  50% credit

*Writing Assignments/Tests & Quizzes/Speaking/Projects: 10% per day late (up to 30% off)

Seminars:  cannot be made up if you were in class but chose not to speak (or were not prepared).

*Major assignments, even if you are gone on the due date, are still due on that day.

Other Notes About Grading:

• The use of a cell phone/unauthorized electronic device during a period where an assessment is given (test/quiz, etc.) will be considered cheating regardless of the intention, resulting in a zero for the assessment and referral to the office for possible disciplinary action.
• Plagiarism or any type of academic dishonesty will result in a zero. Proper citations must be used in all written work. 

Native American Oral Traditions

PART ONE : Reading Comprehension (Archetypes)

After reading the section on Native American Oral Traditions (pp. 20-25, answer the following questions):

·         (“The Sun Still Rises…”) What idea does Bruchac’s title suggest?

·         (“The Sky Tree”) What aspects of the settings in this myth are archetypes? What other stories have used the same archetypes?

·         (“The Earth Only”) What does the idea repeated in the last three lines of this chant signify about the position of old men in this culture?

·         (“Coyote Finishes His Work”) What does the archetype of the Earth-mother in this story reveal about the Nez Perce vision of nature?

PART TWO: Creative Writing

Think of a type of severe weather. Write a short story explaining the origin of this type of weather.

·         Use at least two animal characters in your story.

·         Include dialogue to help tell the story.

·         Draw a picture to illustrate the main idea in your story (on construction paper)

·         Write a creative title for your story on the construction paper with your illustration.

·         Tape the notebook paper with your story and the questions onto the back of the construction paper.

Last day of school!

per. 4 Final Exam

Have a good summer!