Diary of a Young Girl Question #5

Think about the ways in which Anne reacts to the everyday struggles of living so closely with her family and other occupants of the Secret Annexe.  How are her emotions a testament to the timelessness of literature?  In other words, discuss the ways in which Ann’s emotions, though she lived so long ago, are similar to emotions you yourself encounter today.

*Support your answer with examples from the book.

Diary of a Young Girl Question #6

Before Hitler and the Nazis began transporting Jewish people to concentration camps, they first enacted Nuremberg Laws that restricted Jewish people’s freedom.  Discuss which restrictions you felt were harshest and analyze what they did to the Jewish population’s morale.

*Support your answer with in-text citation

Diary of a Young Girl Question #4

I’ve told you in class that one of the reasons I feel it is valuable to still read Anne’s Diary is because I feel reading the Diary helps prevent society from making the same mistakes that enabled the Holocaust to happen.  Do you agree or disagree with my justification? Support your answer as best you can by providing specific examples from knowlege you base your decision on.

*All teams must reply and respond to one another’s answers

Diary of a Young Girl Question #3

Discuss your involvement with the Diary. Are you feeling as though you “know” Anne? Are you pondering what happened to the millions of Holocaust victims? Do you feel indifferent? Do you feel as though the Diary reads like a fictional story?

*Please support your answer by including at least one passage

*Remember that each group must not only respond to the question, but to other’s answers as well

Diary of a Young Girl Question #1

By page 88, things are getting pretty tight in the Annexe. They have more people hiding there than they began with and, as is natural for humans, the closer they have to live with others, the more they begin to get on one another’s nerves. Anne begins to feel as though everyone thinks about her in a negative way. Is she justified in feeling this way? Find passages that support that she is an “ill-mannered” girl or passages that would argue that her feelings are unwarranted, that truly everyone thinks of her as a delightful child.

*Reminder–Each group is responsible for posting an answer and then responding to other people’s posts (you might, for instance, disagree with their analysis of the passages, or you may further clarify the passages–or you may use the reader-response technique of discussing how the passages made you feel/what they made you think of, etc.)

Diary of a Young Girl Question #2

Anne talks of her fears of capture with the use of metaphor:

I see the eight of us with our “Secret Annexe” as if we were a little piece of blue heaven, surroundedby heavy black rain clouds. The round, clearly defined spot where we stand is still safe, but the clouds gather more closely about us and the circle which separates us from the approaching danger closes more and more tightly. (115)

* Find another place where she uses figurative language. Describe what she is referring to and give the passage just as I have done above.

*Reminder–Each group is responsible for posting an answer and then responding to someone else’s post (you might, for instance, disagree with his or her analysis of the figurative language, or you may further clarify the passage–or you may use the reader-response technique of discussing how the passage made you feel/what it made you think of, etc.)

Facts With In-Text Citation

Post two facts from outside sources that support your thesis. You must incorporate your facts into a paraphrase or a direct quote within the context of a larger idea from you (i.e., NO DROP QUOTES). You may not use a website with a .com domain name, nor a wikipedia source.

After you have submitted your facts, create a TYPED works cited citation for those facts to turn in tomorrow in class. Example:

Many students report that they, “despise MLA documentation” (Jones 4).

My Works Cited would look like this:

Jones, Freddie. Student Opinions. New York:  Bacon Press, 1984.

Introduction to Research and Documentation — Thesis Statements

Please post and respond to thesis statements here. Remember that each thesis statement you come up with should be reflective of something you are truly thinking of researching. Therefore, each statement must have some association with class material in English class as a whole, or perhaps Ancient Civilization class.

*Reminder

Thesis statement rules:  a) never a question, b) never a verified fact, and c) always conveys the writer’s opinion about the topic.

The Chosen Discussion

Possible prompts:

What were your first impressions of Danny and Reuven?

Why did the author decide to have Danny and Mr. Malter already have an established relationship by the time Danny and Reuven met? How did this impact the characters in the novel?

*Don’t forget to respond to other’s comments and ask questions of your own (refer to Billy’s good example).

“Seven Ages of Man” and “Pain for a Daughter”

Use this space to discuss the two poems we read in class. Your assignments requires you to submit at least three comments total. You may respond to my prompts or you may respond to what others have said, but please remember the classroom expectations.

First names, last initials ONLY. Complete Sentences. Be POLITE when responding to or disagreeing with a fellow classmate. No text jargon (i.e., lol, omg, etc.) Check your spelling and use complete sentences.

Possible Prompts (Defend your answers) You do NOT have to answer all of them:

What is the tone of each?

Do you feel as though Pain for a Daughter expresses a beautiful thing despite its use of figurative language?

Which stage of man, according to the poem, is the most favorable stage?

Which line(s) from each are the most powerful?

Which poem do you like better?

Which poem more accurately describes the “human condition”?

Don’t Forget Your Summer Reading !!

Hope you are all enjoying your last few weeks of summer vacation.  It’s time to finish up your summer reading, though. We’ll be starting back before you know it. If you need a little guidance, the following link is a study guide for the novel. You DO NOT have to fill out the study guide–it’s simply there to assist your thinking about the novel in preparation for discussions that will take place in class.

See you soon!

Chosen Study Guide

Welcome 8th Grade Class of 2008-2009!

Let’s get started!!

Lesson One, Introduction to 8th Grade English, is located on our class wiki. Click here to begin:

Discussion II

Talk about your impressions of either Juliet and her “double-speak” or Friar Lawrence’s behavior. Use complete sentences and support your impressions with specific examples from the book–5 sentence minimum on this post.

Romeo and Juliet — Discussion I

Choose one character introduced thus far in the play.  Discuss your impressions of this character–-provide at least two specific details and list the Act, Scene and line numbers in a parenthetical citation.  Example:

I’ve decided to do Mercutio. He comes across to me as X  but is very Y. He’s kind of the Z in the crew but he  . . . . He is also  . . . .

In (III.1.47-50) Mercutio’s X is once again Y as Tybalt makes the mistake ofZ

Quiz 3 — Scheduled for March 7th

If you checked here earlier, I apologize–supper ended a bit late tonight.

As  usual, use this  space to  discuss up to page 85. In particular, pay attention to the following:  1)  one small hope based on Jocasta’s tale; 2)  news from Corinth and 3)  flaws as stated by Chorus.