D. Brosius’ Virtual Classroom

You have all adjusted well to the structure of the paperless class, only a few warnings about appropriate computer usage.  I place a huge responsibility on all of you to make good choices about your time in class.  You will never hear me nag about your choice to zone out, unless it becomes a distraction to others.  Your choices will reflect in your final grade of the class, I am sure, but you may not pull others down with you.  I encourage all of you to make good choices.  Keep checking the grade book and the blog, as it is your responsibility to know your class standing.

Here is what to expect in the week to come:

Seniors- We started our unit with a focus on critical reading using lenses, specifically, feminism and or psychoanalytic. Frank O’Connell’s “Oedipus Complex”  was a brief example of strategies to read text using a critical lens. Now on to our class update… I wonder if you would have enjoyed House of D as much, had you not studied, intensely, the stages of development as theorized by Freud or the importance of viewing a film through a single lens.  I am going with a “no” on that conjecture.  This week you will gather your prewriting, questions and answers, and write an in class essay. Once the essay is turned in we will continue to the focus of our course-reading, analyzing, and loving Modern Literature.  Hemingway is our first author to study; are you ready to be blown away by great literature? Stop rolling your eyes, and get excited about this, I assure you you will develop an appreciation for Hemingway.  Let’s do this, I can’t wait!!

Juniors- We started out the week with a vocabulary test followed by a discussion on using good, better, best test strategies. I am confident vocabulary scores will improve after our discussion on strategies to “own” words. The focus of last weeks critical reading was to properly characterize Hester, Chillingworth, and Peal’s, thoughts, feelings and reactions to the events of the chapter. Keep in mind, once you understand the character fully then you ask the question; “What purpose does the thoughts, feelings and reactions, serve in the novel?”  Your diary entries were fantastic. In fact, the shared entries may have been intimidating to some; the examples were very well thought out. A little nudge to those that may not put as much time or thought into their homework; you get out of it, what you put into it!  A quick perusal of the in class essay made me smile… I am pleased with the composition and grammatical structure, but most of all the personal voice many of you have established in your writing. Continue to work hard, ask questions and seek understanding.

We had a busy week last week and an even busier week coming up.  Make sure you are keeping up with the pace of the class; ask questions when you are confused and or come in before or after school to play catch up.  If you are absent it is your responsibility to catch back up- I will not come and seek you out to collect your work but I will keep the zero in the grade book until the missed work is turned in.  Make sure you are using someone in your class/period to keep you informed of the missed work.  The website is a great resource but it is not a replacement for a living breathing body in your class.  This week is “Say No to Drugs” week, show your support by participating in the following activities:

Monday- Sock it to drugs (wear socks)

Tuesday- Black out drugs (wear black)

Wednesday-Team up against drugs (wear your red griffin gear)

Thursday-sweat out drugs (get comfy in those sweats)

Friday-Drugs are shady (wear your shades)

Seniors- Your Philosophy of Life essays were thought provoking! I appreciate the fact that many of you made a concerted effort to consider John Ashbery’s piece and work in your own life’s philosophy- your work reflected thought, more importantly, effort.  We have established the fact that our literature has changed radically over time because of our societies philosophical ideals.  This week we will investigate modern thinkers that theorized the psychological development of man.  After last week’s brief  author study on Sigmund Freud you have a foundation to move forward in his theory.  We will zoom in and analyze Freud’s theory of psycho sexual development. Keeping in mind that discussing the process of development and coming of age rituals will help you better understand the very popular themes used in modern literature.  Prepare for a week of intense study of stages of development.  I think you will find the information fascinating in the application to literature and to your own life.

Juniors- You should have some rhythm of our class by now.  We start each week with a test of understanding over words and concepts read in The Scarlet Letter. Some time, not much so you really should not waste it!!, is devoted to your Symbols Book assignment. Works from various authors are analyzed, focusing on, first and foremost, main idea, analyzing rhetorical strategies and effective devices.  Last week we differentiated modes, methods, strategies, and devices- be prepared to show what you know in your rhetorical analysis essay- coming sooon!!!  This week we will continue our study of The Scarlet Letter, and further discuss the various critical reading/ writing strategies.

Wow!! Seven weeks has already passed us by! Amazing how time flies when you are enjoying your job!  Thank you for making my job so enjoyable… A great homecoming game behind us- Yeah- Griffin football for putting another win to our name.  The game was very exciting, the band was EXCELLENT, cheerleaders were  AWESOME,  but most of all the crowd was a  great representation of students, parents, staff, and community pulling together to cheer on a common cause- being the best on and off the field.  Shout outs to all that participated in the  homecoming activities this week.  Enjoy your dance, make good choices, and represent LAHS.

Seniors- You should at the least be comfortable, if not feel like an expert, with the literary movements: Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Modernism, and Post Modernism. Your group presentations, power point lectures, visual tours, selected readings, and a unit test pounded the theory into your understanding. In the upcoming week we will move on to the focus of our course-reading and comparing literature from various literary movements. We discussed briefly how philosophies change as the culture changes- this week we will delve into a close examination of our own philosophy of life, by first looking at a great American Modern poet, John Ashbery’s “Philosophy of Life”.  Asbery’s poem has many elements of Modern Literature- such as staccato structure syntax, followed by long elaborate diatribes, interspersing line of stream of consciousness, and abstract meanderings.  The poem is a tough piece of literature, but chewed slowly and thoroughly really captures a valid philosophy many actually live by today.  You will have the opportunity to try your hand at a reflective piece that will essentially mold into your own philosophy of life. Stop rolling your eyes, and get excited about this, I assure you you will gain new insight into modernist techniques as well as take ownership in your philosophy of life.

Juniors- Our first set of quiz/test for The Scarlet Letter are tucked away into the grade book. If you did not do well, then turn it up a couple notches. Come see me for clarification, and possible study suggestions. You really should be working the study guide, the reading, and the vocabulary hand in hand. If you are completing them separately you are probably doing more work then necessary. Read, discover meaning of the words within the context of the novel and let the study guide questions help you focus your attention to specific details.  Last week we continued to focus on multi tasking as you read.  Remember first and foremost you are reading for understanding, then you are noticing the authors word choice, sentence structure, imagery, details, etc. all the components of the work that are clarifying the meaning of the text.  Do not read for entertainment, read for appreciation of the written work. Like art- don’t notice all the pretty colors, rather notice how the colors evoke meaning.  Yeah… Yeah… I know I sound like a broken record…pretty soon you’ll be hearing my mantras whispering in the back of your head as you are reading and it will CLICK!!  Next week we are going to put our paragraph writing skills and move it into essay writing- EXCITING huh?!

It is Homecoming week- The theme is Cirque De LA I realize how the concept of circus life is far removed from most so here is a little help to wrap your brain around the idea.

circus theme

The whole Circus du Soleil concept may help when thinking about costumes; just make sure you keep it school appropriate. Tickets for the dance are on sale all week. Seniors, it is your last homecoming so enjoy!

Below is the schedule for the week; show your school spirit and participate in the dress up days…

Monday Oct. 05-  MIX MATCH MONDAY

Tuesday Oct. 21 find someone that looks like you or has similar style and call them your twin for Twin Day!

Wednesday Oct 07 get out of bed and get to school no need to dress because it is Pajama Day!

Jersey Thursday Oct 08 wear your favorite team jersey

Free Friday Oct 09- you have a free day off enjoy!!!

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Seniors- After a week of group presentations, and LOTS of review- through questions and group discussions, are you ready for the unit final tomorrow?? Click on the literary movement below to view the group power point presentations. Remember you can use one page (front side only) of notes on the final.

Romanticism

Naturalism

Realism Realism

Postmodernism

Juniors-Continue to read The Scarlet Letter, and stay caught up on vocabulary, study guide and Book of Symbols.  We will move forward on perfecting our rhetorical analysis strategies, and blend in the study of argumentation. Remember you are expected to be studying rhetorical terms, such as tone words, and working on grammar and writing exercises that you need for your own personal training (see AP exercise central). Utilize the side bar resources- I didn’t include them to make our page look pretty!!

We had a busy week last week and an even busier week coming up.  Make sure you are keeping up with the pace of the class; ask questions when you are confused and or come in before or after school to play catch up.  If you are absent it is your responsibility to catch back up- I will not come and seek you out to collect your work but I will keep the zero in the grade book until the missed work is turned in.  Make sure you are using someone in your class/period to keep you informed of the missed work.  The website is a great resource but it is not a replacement for a living breathing body in your class. I know it is tough some time to find the time, in your incredibly busy schedules, to finish your work to the best of your ability, but if you are giving 100% the majority of the time you have some room to put aside work when the need arises.  However, if you are giving less than 100% that means you have no room for error.  Work hard, make good choices and play school the best you can. We are already five weeks into the school year; you can be proud of your progress, if you have worked hard . You still have time to turn it around if you have hardly worked. This year has started out great and each week it gets better, because I really do have the best and brightest kids at Los Al- Yeah me    Onward.. Three things you need to do: Stay positive, work hard, be nice to people!!

Seniors-Great job on the Seniors Only Section. The Senior Reporters have done a fabulous job with reporting the events of the day, and getting the articles turned in for “press” in a timely manner.  I really appreciate your tenacious work attitudes, the  bright eyes, and ready to go attitude, despite the early morning period.  I am glad that parking hasn’t hindered you from getting to class on time, and the early period hasn’t hindered your ability to stay awake.  You are all doing a great job in class!! Your post secondarys have been graded and handed back; check the online gradebook  and keep pushing yourself to maintain a solid passing grade. This week you will work in groups to prepare a teaching tool to use for an oral presentation. You will be teaching the class the fundamentals of the literary movement assigned to you. Make good use of your time in class, and at home, and get ready to inform your peers of your findings. Keep in mind-Group work is not the time to slack off, I expect each and every one of you to participate equally in the completion of the assignment. I do not give group grades, I give individual grades- if you are pulling your weight you will receive a decent grade.  The logistics of the assignment is linked in the course information section of our blog. Keep in mind the following due dates:   Visuals due Wednesday; Sept. 30, oral presentations start Thursday; Oct 1, Unit Final the following Tuesday; Oct. 5.

Juniors- The Duly Noted news has been great, beyond my expectations-I am very proud of the Ghostwriters thus far.  Our daily warms ups have generated some interesting conversation, keep thinking out side the box; it will help develop in depth analysis skills. Word choice for describing authors use of diction, detail, imagery, syntax and tone is critical to setting up an analytical paper. Your first true writing assignment, Ellison paragraph, had glimmers of understanding in terms of grasping Ellison’s purpose for mocking academia in the Charlie Parker piece.  However, we will spend more time in setting up the topic sentence that allows you to explore diction, and syntax when analyzing author’s purpose. Your first in class essay helped you to see the importance of reading critically, pacing a cold draft, and staying focused on purpose rather than plot or literary devices. Friday was a shortened class period, we checked out The Scarlett Letter in period 4 and will check it out on Monday in period 3. Homework was posted on the calendar, as a test of who is really using the resources we have for this class (period 3 students just kicked themselves reading that last line)   Next week we will have our first vocabulary test- it a modified short list due to late notice (you’re welcome).  We will also begin our study of Hawthorne and the classic Scarlett Letter. Continue to check the class calendar for reading deadlines.  I can’t emphasize the importance of reading in slow motion and taking in all the diction, details, description, and syntax that Hawthorne used to craft his masterpiece.  Don’t give up on the language rather embrace the inversions and structure and ask what purpose it serves. Once you have read, utilize the very helpful resources- specifically myrocketbooks.com.  Your efforts will pay off if you don’t cheat yourself.  I am looking forward to insightful discussion on our class core reading.

The I Am… assignments where definitely above and beyond my expectations…WOW!! Great job! I am thrilled to see work that reflects time, effort and most importantly thought.  Great start to your school year. I am very impressed with the transition you have made to our paperless class, accolades to you all  I hope you are finding the use of virtual folders suitable. Remember you always have plan B; the traditional pen to paper approach. Do not use technology failure as a reason to miss an assignment-the excuse is as bad as my pen ran out of ink. Continue working hard and staying organized!!  Check out the new pages of  our class website: Avatar Wars, Shout Outs, Duly Noted, and  Seniors Only Section. With the addition of the Ghostwriters and Senior Reporters sections you have yet another resource to refer to for work updates. Let’s move on and play school!!

Seniors- You all worked hard last week researching your college choices and organizing your work for the post secondary project.  It is my hope that after two weeks of study you have established a plan for pursuing your post secondary goals. Good job successfully setting up your turnitin accounts, and correctly turning in your first assignment.  In the upcoming week we will be focused on gathering information on the literary movements that led up to modern literature. You will use class resources, internet sites, and lecture materials, to prepare for a group project. You will be assigned to a group and collaboratively prepare a teaching tool depicting the general tenants of each literary movement. Keeping up with the research and the demands of your group will be crucial to your final grade on the assignment. Make good use of your time, in class, and at home. Senior Reporters, don’t drop the “ball” your peers will be counting on you to report the daily events.

Juniors- The last couple weeks we have been analyzing the use of diction, description, and imagery in text and has better prepared you to read the short essays assigned in the Bedford Reader. Your daily assignments should be pushing you to notice the positive and negative connotations words have in text. Last week we untangled the process and focused on the usefulness of explicating text. The class lectures and the practice explicating will prepare you for the rhetorical analysis essay. This week we will integrate your understanding of the power of words into your own writing. Continue working hard, and get excited about our new undertaking with our ghostwriters posting the daily updates in our “Duly Noted” section.

Be part of a special state-wide event happening on September 19th any time from 9 a.m. until Noon.

California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier yearly volunteer event focused on the marine environment.  “Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, clubs, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, take care of our fragile ocean, show community support for our shared natural resources – our beautiful beach and ocean, learn about the impacts of marine debris, how we can prevent them, and to have fun!”

Go to the link below for information and locations.

http://www.saveourbeach.org/photos/RiverCleanUps/RiverCleanUp.html

Show your support of our beaches and ocean! Step up and make a difference!

Three weeks down and we are moving forward.  I can’t wait to see your I am… assignments!! Here is what is going on in your course:

Seniors- I completely enjoyed reading the Senior Spotlights; I enjoyed getting to know you all a little better through the eyes of your peers.  The completed assignment proved to me that I have 36 highly motivated seniors that are ready to get on with the next phase of their life.  Hopefully, you are finding the post secondary assignment very useful.  After reviewing the Spotlight articles and the Post Secondary survey it is clear that you all have determined that high school is not the end of your education, but merely a stepping stone to the next level.  With that in mind, I am certainly looking forward to being a part of your journey to pursue your dreams.  This week we will continue to work through the arduous process of college plans.  I am expecting you to finalize your decision on the schools you will focus on for the research component of your project.  You will have some time to research the proposed topics in class, however, you will have to some of the work at home.  The post secondary assignment is due Friday- no exceptions. Look at your list of topics that still need your attention and get busy!!

Juniors- We read three narratives last week by the acclaimed-Angelou, Dillard, and Tan.  These authors represent some of the best in literary circles. Take time to study the biographical information on the authors, as you will assuredly see their works on the AP test.  After a week of studying the importance of word choice and detail you should be very conscientious of author’s intention for diction and description in any work of literature you read, including-speeches, letters, essays, short stories, novel or poems. Train your mind to consider each word and detail in everything you see, hear, and read. Over the weekend you were assigned to reread Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” and consider, closely, her word choice and syntactical structure. This week you will use a prescribed paragraph starter that will help you to focus on the function of diction, syntax and tone of the narratives assigned.

I hope you are wrapping your brains around is the importance of following directions.  As simple as ink rather than pencil, MLA format rather than your own format. Learning to follow simple rules helps you to pay close attention to detail.  When reading an AP essay prompt if you miss one detail in the directions you will not score higher than a 3 even if you have a perfect essay!!! The lesson to follow directions is preparing you for success on the AP test!!! Keep working hard, ask questions when you are confused and be sure to use my open door policy.

With the first couple of days of school behind us I hope you have some sense of what our class will be like. I am excited to get the year rolling and am really looking forward to a great year. Next week we will spend some time reviewing the class set up and continue to organize the virtual class folders. I appreciate those of you that have set up your gmail account and emailed me a message to verify the account.  I have set up a file system in my email account that is specific to your course. If you are sending an email to me, whether it is an assignment, a question, or a concern, please include your full name in the final salutation. As mentioned previously, your email access in class will only be through your English gmail account. I think you will find this system VERY easy to use, you’ll stay super organized, and it is the only way I will accept your work through email… Now lets move ahead and set up your English Virtual Backpack. If you are opting out of email, which is perfectly fine, then you will need a flash drive to transport work to and from home…DO NOT LEAVE IT AT HOME.. no work will be accepted with the excuse that I left my jump drive at home- it is your English notebook!! For those of you that are completely stressing out about the technological aspects of this class- no worries!! I am perfectly happy to assist you through the course using the old school approach: a notebook with dividers, college ruled paper, and blue or black pens brought to class daily will be required of you. Now on to the good stuff with one final word of encouragement-Come prepared to pursue Excellence from here on out!!!

Seniors- Wow! Doesn’t that feel great to know you have finally made it to the top of the “food chain” in high school!! You are a SENIOR. finally… Some of you may have a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think about it all.  Last year of high school, no more dress code, no more classes at 7:50 in the morning, no more 30 min. lunches, no more rules regulating your right to chew gum, listen to music, come to class, etc… the freedom… so now what! What will you be doing next year at this time? Wait!! Don’t answer that, just yet; it is a journal prompt this week.  This week we will begin the process of researching your choices for your next phase in life.  The post secondary assignment is a structured assignment that will help you make educated decisions on your future plans.  The assignment will require your attention to detail, organization and time management. Are you ready… Let’s do this, onward to the post secondary research assignment.

Juniors- A big sigh of relief… the summer read assignment is over, and safely turned in, the rhetorical terms test behind you, and the Elements of Style test finished.  Biggg breath, now put your seat belt on because we are getting ready to take off into the real course of study. Wait… you do have one more “fluff” assignment; I look forward to seeing your creative genius on your I am… assignment.  Don’t let me down, I can already see that I have some very creative students- I can’t wait to see what you come up with. This week we will finish setting up our virtual notebooks, and move into our Bedford reader.  Make sure you remember the homework rules- no late work will be accepted; we will be having at least 5 assignments a week, unless otherwise stated on the calendar.  Get organized and lets move forward!!

Check your schedule and make sure you are in the right place:

D.Brosius room 760

If you are in the right class, then settle in and peruse this site; if your schedule says something different-sneak out and nobody will notice your error.

You’ll notice a class of rubies and nice chairs, if you are swiveling in your chair STOP! you should be reading this post and then moving on to your next directive. Remember you want to make a good first impression-it really does go a lonnnnggg way!! You may be confused by the set up of the class. Why are there computers on every desk, isn’t this an English class? It looks like a computer lab. Rather than be confused get excited!! You are in a paperless English class. I know you didn’t sign up for paperless English, you just lucked out.  Don’t worry the curriculum is exactly the same as your scheduled English course; AP Language,  or Modern Literature. The only difference is the size and weight of your binder.  You will be using a flash drive or gmail account to transport work to and from class, rather than the giant three ringed binder. Don’t freak out, if you are not tech savvy, you can actually use hard copies, but you won’t want to. We will be saving so many trees, and you will be so organized… Can’t wait? Class is just about to begin, pay attention to the specifics and prepare to “play school”.