Friday and Monday; September 30 and October 3

Still have these to turn in? Equiano, Crevecouer

Discuss and turn in : Six stations

American Made: I can't show you this film except at school. As far as I know, there are no youtube videos that I can find. The film should answer these questions:

What stereotyping is addressed in the movie?
How did characters adapt to a different culture?
If I told you this was written within a few years of 9-11, what would you say is the message?
What are humorous events or words in the movie?
“You wouldn’t want to be stranded out here. Believe me, I know.” What does that mean literally and also in a larger sense?
When the father takes off his turban, who does he resemble? Why do you think the filmmakers did this?

Quotations on page 9 of your new packet, the grammar packet. We did the practice in class. Later in the quarter, there will be an open book test over what we cover in class. Therefore, it would be wise to make notes on your own packet.

Future important dates
Mon 10-Oct Rough draft due Coming to America
Wed 12-Oct Turnitin due Coming to America

Friday & Tuesday; September 23 and 27 Wednesday & Thursday; September 28 and 29

Still have these to turn in?
Syllabus signature? Colossus paragraph? Freewrite? Blog comment?

Turn in Equiano. It is the first page of your packet. Make sure you name and period number is on it.

Turn in Crevecouer T= chart: You should have five points made, with good reason or evidence for your answer.


Six stations were done in class. The questions for the six stations should now be the front page of your packet. If you missed one of the two days, see me to pick up some packets.

Future important dates
Mon 10-Oct Rough draft due Coming to America
Wed 12-Oct Turnitin due Coming to America

Still have these to turn in?
Syllabus signature? Colossus paragraph? Freewrite? Blog comment?

Finish Equiano. We did not hand this in yet. It will be turned in next class.

Crevecouer T= chart.
Make a T on your paper. On the left side, write 1783. On the right side write Today.
ON the left side, write what he says is true. On the right side, write if you agree and give evidence of some kind.

Future important dates
Friday (23rd)/ Tues (27)/ Equiano assignment hand in
Friday (23rd)/ Tues (27)/ Equiano answers due
Mon 10-Oct Rough draft due Coming to America
Wed 12-Oct Turnitin due Coming to America

Syllabus: parent signatures. . . .  Colossus paragraph: turned in

Freewrite over coming to America. Teacher check.

Newsroom excerpt: We watched and discussed 

Equiano: first half of the packet: Write answers on the first page of your Coming to America packet. 

America in  4:00: We watched the video (2 different versions). Your assignment is to go on the blog and have a meaning comment. A good way to do that is to select a phrase or sentence, and then make a claim about it. It would be best to explain why your evidence proves your point. 

Thursday & Friday; Spetmeber 15 & September 16, 2016

Syllabus: parent signatures. This should really be in by now.


Where are you from? Watch this video and consider the details that demonstrate stereotyping. Be able to discuss what makes this humorous.





Magic Four on "The New Colossus"
Finish and hand in magic four today or by next class.


Origin of American Dream: where did the term come from?


Wickham, read and discuss. This is a true story of an immigrant's journey. After discussing, we assigned a free write about coming to America. This can be made up or factual. This is brainstorming activity. Don't stop and edit. "Write the first draft with your heart. The second draft write with your mind." Sean Connery in "Finding Forrester."

Wickham Pages 1 and 2

Wickham page 2

Tuesday & Wednesday; September 13 & 14, 2016

Syllabus: parent signatures, If you haven't gotten your parent signatures in yet, get it done this week. I am ready to enter it as an assignment.


Lit terms: Metaphor, simile, personification. Fill the blank in your packet on the list of literary terms.        The blanks should be filled with the following words:  unlike, unlike, resembles, human

        We watched the above video to have some fun with similes and metaphors.

Magic Four: In our Coming to America packet, we discussed and then read through pages 8 and 9. Each student needs to write their own sample Magic Four paragraph about the poem "The New Colossus."  It is okay to use one of the claims from the packet. If students work together on this, they should not use the same claim. We spent thirty minutes writing a rough draft today. We included the MLA heading in our training. Next class, we will look at each other's papers to edit any errors. Then they will be turned in. These do not need to be typed, although that is always okay. This will be a 40 point assignment due next class. There will be some time to edit in class.

Friday &Monday; September 9 & September 12, 2016

Syllabus: parent signatures: Full credit for this assignment if you get it in to me in the first two weeks. I did get those back from 70% of the class.

Literary terms for the day: Allusion, alliteration (Dragnet), rhyme, sonnet
       These words are from your Coming to America packet. We will cover these words throughout the year. The list is divided into words you should already know and words you may not have been taught. The word "alliteration" is illustrated in the following video from the Johnny Carson Show from 1968,

Discussion of the poem “The New Colossus”: We re-watched the video from the previous class. We discussed the entire poem. Students brought information in to add to the discussion. This information could have been regarding the poem itself, the Statue of Liberty, or the Colossus.

The tone of the poem was discussed. Students talked about whether the poem was true at the time it was written, and also if it is true today.

Neil Diamond America

What is the tone of the Neil Diamond song. This song came from the movie "The Jazz Singer." This was a remake of the very first talkie movie ever made, in 1929.

First Day of Class. Wednesday and Thursday, September 7 and September 8

Welcome!

-Topics for the first day included handing out the syllabus and work packet for "Coming to America." If you missed either of these please see Mr. O'Connor for copies.


-Look up information about The Statue of Liberty, The Colossus of Rhodes, Emma Lazurus or anything about those who came to America from other countries. Be prepared to share that info in class or on the blog.


Only a few extra credit opportunities are given each year. During the Coming to America unit, memorize and recite "The New Colossus" poem, either to the class or to the teacher. One extra credit point will be awarded for each line recited correctly. Bonus points might be awarded for reciting the entire poem to the class, particularly with some flair.

Wednesday/Thursday early information.

It was good to meet many of you for the first time today. To those on thursday(per 5/7, my name is Mr. O'Connor and I am a student teacher in Mr. Dessert's American Lit classes. I will be around the next few weeks quite a bit, then now and then for a month or so and return towards the end of november more consistently. Please feel free to email me with any questions regarding class activities, notes and assignments. I will also provide feedback on papers and any other written assignments(as quickly as I am able to). I will also be in our room most mornings before school if you need more assistance.

Thank you again,

Mr. O'Connor
spo@pdx.edu