Course syllabus can be found here. Classroom supply list is here (thanks for your donations!). Semester units will be posted as we go.
A copy of the Gwinnett County literacy rubric can be found here. Though it is not perfect, it is our basic guide for evaluating writing. (In addition, copious amounts of red ink will assist you in understanding your mistakes.) Here is a list of common essays errors compiled by the students and edited by me.
For grammar assistance outside of class, two of my favorite resources are ChompChomp.com and The OWL at Purdue. You can find answers to basic grammar and writing questions on ChompChomp. The OWL will assist you with MLA and APA formatting and style as you make your way through high school and college. Shmoop is another useful website for all your classes, not just Language Arts.
UPDATE! Join Coach Gayle's Remind here!
Coach Gayle's Socrative room is CoachGayle'sWorld (all one word, don't forget the apostrophe!)
Semester 1
MYTHOLOGY:
Greek and Latin Root Words are here.
Learn about the Titans here.
Basic Greek and Roman gods chart here
Breakdown of Greek and Roman belief systems here
Mythology project directions are here.
Rubric for mythology project here
GREEK AND LATIN ROOTS:
The beginning list of Greek and Latin roots can be found here.
THE ODYSSEY
Background on the Hero's Journey is here.
Definitions for each step of the Hero's Journey here
Blank steps to fill in for your essay are here
The Odyssey essay directions are here.
Here's a TED Talk about the Hero's Journey. (It's also posted under the Teach Yourself section of my website.)
Review for Part 1 is here.
Review for Part 2 is here.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Why do students cheat? Find out here.
Personal narrative directions are here.
INDEPENDENT NONFICTION
Due dates for notes: First notes due on 10/17. Second notes due on 10/31.
Discussion post due 11/21. Book talks 11/20 and 11/21.
Directions are here. The permission form is on the final page of the directions.
Some suggested reading can be found here.
Blank two-column review sheets are here.
Final summary and book talk directions are here.
Student Recommendations from 2014 are here.
MIDTERM REVIEW
Comprehensive Review here.
ANTHEM
For links to Ayn Rand or background information on Objectivism, see the Ayn Rand page on my website.
Pre-read information about Anthem is here.
The short story "Harrison Bergeron" is here.
Dystopian project directions are here.
Rubric for grading projects is here.
Anthem full text in .pdf is here.
SHORT STORIES
"The Cask of Amontillado" pg. 6
"The Most Dangerous Game" pg. 19
"Casey at the Bat" pg. 42
"The Red-headed League" pg. 96
"The Scarlet Ibis" pg. 554
"Death by Scrabble"
"The Masque of the Red Death"
"The Lottery"
"The Sniper"
"Lamb to the Slaughter"
Movie Madness essay directions are here.
Movie Madness grading sheet is here.
Visit IMDB for specific movie and actor information.
Unit test review guide is here.
THE CALL OF THE WILD
Why read it? Answer is here.
Connections to mythology here
Read the full text version here.
Story of the 1972 Andes Plane Crash is here.
FINAL EXAM REVIEW
Comprehensive review of content actually on the test is here
A question-based review of most of the same material is here.
WORD CLUES PART 1:
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
VOCABULARY WORKSHOP (semester 1)
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Semester 2
POETRY
Poetry terms and devices are here. (This serves as a test review.)
Poetry analysis sheet is here.
Learn about different types of meter on this Wikipedia page.
Learn about different types of rhyme on this Wikipedia page.
The PowerPoint covering rhyme and meter is here.
Write your own sonnet using this example here.
More Shakespeare Sonnets here.
Brief directions for Found Poetry are here.
ROMEO AND JULIET
Here's a link to some biographical information about Shakespeare.
Information about the Globe theater can be found here.
Check out this list of words Shakespeare invented here. More can be found here.
Check out No Fear Shakespeare for a side-by-side translation of the play (and all of Shakespeare's plays!).
Unit terms for Romeo and Juliet are here.
Article for love at first sight discussion is here.
Important quotes list is here.
View of marriage in Romeo and Juliet is here.
Example of pop culture connection here.
Example of modern-day Romeo and Juliet here.
MIDTERM REVIEW (Midterm date is )
Comprehensive review here.
LITERARY CRITICISM
Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory Unit is here.
Information about Literary Criticism and Theory on The OWL at Purdue is here.
Snow White and the Seven Critics is here.
Project directions can be found here. Phase two explanation here. The rubric is here.
"Hills Like White Elephants"
"The Yellow Wallpaper"
"The Looking Glass"
"The South"
"The Swimmer"
"The Enormous Radio"
"The Garden of Forking Paths"
"A Rose for Emily"
Here's a bit about our authors and their stories:
Ernest Hemingway and "Hills Like White Elephants"
John Cheever and "The Swimmer" and "The Enormous Radio"
Anton Chekhov and the term "Chekhov's Gun" (There are not many critical reviews or summaries of "The Looking-glass.")
Jorge Borges and "The South" and "The Garden of Forking Paths" More from "Garden" here.
William Faulkner and "A Rose for Emily" description and analysis.
2015 Projects
2nd Period: Darwinism, Feminism, Marxism, Modernism, Neoclassicism, Postcolonialism, Queer Theory, Structuralism
3rd Period: Feminism, Marxism, Modernism, Neoclassicism, New Criticism, New Historicism, Postmodernism, Psychoanalysis, Queer Theory, Romanticism
4th Period: Romanticism, Feminism, Cultural Studies, Marxism, New Criticism, Postcolonialism, Queer Theory, Reader Response
SHORT STORIES IN THE LITERATURE BOOK FOR SECOND SEMESTER
Find "The Necklace" here.
"The Interlopers" is here.
You can find "The Gift of the Magi" here.
"The Machine That Won the War" is here.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Without Sanctuary is here.
The eye color experiment is here with our brief about it here.
The Stanford prisoner/guard experiment is here and here.
The Milgram Experiment (Electric Shock) can be found here. Some pictures and video are here.
The murder of Emmett Till (1955) can be found here and here.
The Scottsboro Boys trial (1931) can be found here.
Background on Harper Lee is here and her website is here.
Looking for Harper Lee, an article from Southern Living, can be found here.
Characters who lead double lives are here.
A blank character chart to fill out is here.
Foil pairs within the novel are here, and Mirror Pairs are here.
Essay directions are here.
READING SCHEDULE (Chapters should be finished by the date given.)
Chap 1-4: 4/17
Chap 5-8: 4/20
Chap 9-11: 4/23
Chap 12-16: 4/27
Chap 16-25: 5/1
Chap 25-31: 5/4
INDEPENDENT NONFICTION
Due dates for notes are 3/20 and 3/27. Final paper due 4/3 before Spring Break.
Updated directions are here with the parent permission form.
Suggested readings from last semester are here.
Final paper write up directions are here. (Remember, this counts as an essay grade. Treat it accordingly.)
EOCT REVIEW MATERIAL (THE TEST IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29th 2015)
Here's a link to USATestPrep.
Parkview's account ID is parkview and the password is newton7.
Set up your account and find me as your teacher. Then your results will be sent to me.
Remember, you're doing the FULL version of the test!
Comprehensive review for the EOCT including terms is here.
Georgia Milestones Examples begin on page 15 here.
Georgia Milestones Practice Test is here. Login as a "guest" in all fields.
VOCABULARY WORKSHOP (semester 2)
Unit 9
Unit 10
Unit 11
Unit 12
Unit 13
Unit 14
Unit 15
SUMMER READING FOR FALL 2015!
Do it now!
A copy of the Gwinnett County literacy rubric can be found here. Though it is not perfect, it is our basic guide for evaluating writing. (In addition, copious amounts of red ink will assist you in understanding your mistakes.) Here is a list of common essays errors compiled by the students and edited by me.
For grammar assistance outside of class, two of my favorite resources are ChompChomp.com and The OWL at Purdue. You can find answers to basic grammar and writing questions on ChompChomp. The OWL will assist you with MLA and APA formatting and style as you make your way through high school and college. Shmoop is another useful website for all your classes, not just Language Arts.
UPDATE! Join Coach Gayle's Remind here!
Coach Gayle's Socrative room is CoachGayle'sWorld (all one word, don't forget the apostrophe!)
Semester 1
MYTHOLOGY:
Greek and Latin Root Words are here.
Learn about the Titans here.
Basic Greek and Roman gods chart here
Breakdown of Greek and Roman belief systems here
Mythology project directions are here.
Rubric for mythology project here
GREEK AND LATIN ROOTS:
The beginning list of Greek and Latin roots can be found here.
THE ODYSSEY
Background on the Hero's Journey is here.
Definitions for each step of the Hero's Journey here
Blank steps to fill in for your essay are here
The Odyssey essay directions are here.
Here's a TED Talk about the Hero's Journey. (It's also posted under the Teach Yourself section of my website.)
Review for Part 1 is here.
Review for Part 2 is here.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Why do students cheat? Find out here.
Personal narrative directions are here.
INDEPENDENT NONFICTION
Due dates for notes: First notes due on 10/17. Second notes due on 10/31.
Discussion post due 11/21. Book talks 11/20 and 11/21.
Directions are here. The permission form is on the final page of the directions.
Some suggested reading can be found here.
Blank two-column review sheets are here.
Final summary and book talk directions are here.
Student Recommendations from 2014 are here.
MIDTERM REVIEW
Comprehensive Review here.
ANTHEM
For links to Ayn Rand or background information on Objectivism, see the Ayn Rand page on my website.
Pre-read information about Anthem is here.
The short story "Harrison Bergeron" is here.
Dystopian project directions are here.
Rubric for grading projects is here.
Anthem full text in .pdf is here.
SHORT STORIES
"The Cask of Amontillado" pg. 6
"The Most Dangerous Game" pg. 19
"Casey at the Bat" pg. 42
"The Red-headed League" pg. 96
"The Scarlet Ibis" pg. 554
"Death by Scrabble"
"The Masque of the Red Death"
"The Lottery"
"The Sniper"
"Lamb to the Slaughter"
Movie Madness essay directions are here.
Movie Madness grading sheet is here.
Visit IMDB for specific movie and actor information.
Unit test review guide is here.
THE CALL OF THE WILD
Why read it? Answer is here.
Connections to mythology here
Read the full text version here.
Story of the 1972 Andes Plane Crash is here.
FINAL EXAM REVIEW
Comprehensive review of content actually on the test is here
A question-based review of most of the same material is here.
WORD CLUES PART 1:
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
VOCABULARY WORKSHOP (semester 1)
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Semester 2
POETRY
Poetry terms and devices are here. (This serves as a test review.)
Poetry analysis sheet is here.
Learn about different types of meter on this Wikipedia page.
Learn about different types of rhyme on this Wikipedia page.
The PowerPoint covering rhyme and meter is here.
Write your own sonnet using this example here.
More Shakespeare Sonnets here.
Brief directions for Found Poetry are here.
ROMEO AND JULIET
Here's a link to some biographical information about Shakespeare.
Information about the Globe theater can be found here.
Check out this list of words Shakespeare invented here. More can be found here.
Check out No Fear Shakespeare for a side-by-side translation of the play (and all of Shakespeare's plays!).
Unit terms for Romeo and Juliet are here.
Article for love at first sight discussion is here.
Important quotes list is here.
View of marriage in Romeo and Juliet is here.
Example of pop culture connection here.
Example of modern-day Romeo and Juliet here.
MIDTERM REVIEW (Midterm date is )
Comprehensive review here.
LITERARY CRITICISM
Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory Unit is here.
Information about Literary Criticism and Theory on The OWL at Purdue is here.
Snow White and the Seven Critics is here.
Project directions can be found here. Phase two explanation here. The rubric is here.
"Hills Like White Elephants"
"The Yellow Wallpaper"
"The Looking Glass"
"The South"
"The Swimmer"
"The Enormous Radio"
"The Garden of Forking Paths"
"A Rose for Emily"
Here's a bit about our authors and their stories:
Ernest Hemingway and "Hills Like White Elephants"
John Cheever and "The Swimmer" and "The Enormous Radio"
Anton Chekhov and the term "Chekhov's Gun" (There are not many critical reviews or summaries of "The Looking-glass.")
Jorge Borges and "The South" and "The Garden of Forking Paths" More from "Garden" here.
William Faulkner and "A Rose for Emily" description and analysis.
2015 Projects
2nd Period: Darwinism, Feminism, Marxism, Modernism, Neoclassicism, Postcolonialism, Queer Theory, Structuralism
3rd Period: Feminism, Marxism, Modernism, Neoclassicism, New Criticism, New Historicism, Postmodernism, Psychoanalysis, Queer Theory, Romanticism
4th Period: Romanticism, Feminism, Cultural Studies, Marxism, New Criticism, Postcolonialism, Queer Theory, Reader Response
SHORT STORIES IN THE LITERATURE BOOK FOR SECOND SEMESTER
Find "The Necklace" here.
"The Interlopers" is here.
You can find "The Gift of the Magi" here.
"The Machine That Won the War" is here.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Without Sanctuary is here.
The eye color experiment is here with our brief about it here.
The Stanford prisoner/guard experiment is here and here.
The Milgram Experiment (Electric Shock) can be found here. Some pictures and video are here.
The murder of Emmett Till (1955) can be found here and here.
The Scottsboro Boys trial (1931) can be found here.
Background on Harper Lee is here and her website is here.
Looking for Harper Lee, an article from Southern Living, can be found here.
Characters who lead double lives are here.
A blank character chart to fill out is here.
Foil pairs within the novel are here, and Mirror Pairs are here.
Essay directions are here.
READING SCHEDULE (Chapters should be finished by the date given.)
Chap 1-4: 4/17
Chap 5-8: 4/20
Chap 9-11: 4/23
Chap 12-16: 4/27
Chap 16-25: 5/1
Chap 25-31: 5/4
INDEPENDENT NONFICTION
Due dates for notes are 3/20 and 3/27. Final paper due 4/3 before Spring Break.
Updated directions are here with the parent permission form.
Suggested readings from last semester are here.
Final paper write up directions are here. (Remember, this counts as an essay grade. Treat it accordingly.)
EOCT REVIEW MATERIAL (THE TEST IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29th 2015)
Here's a link to USATestPrep.
Parkview's account ID is parkview and the password is newton7.
Set up your account and find me as your teacher. Then your results will be sent to me.
Remember, you're doing the FULL version of the test!
Comprehensive review for the EOCT including terms is here.
Georgia Milestones Examples begin on page 15 here.
Georgia Milestones Practice Test is here. Login as a "guest" in all fields.
VOCABULARY WORKSHOP (semester 2)
Unit 9
Unit 10
Unit 11
Unit 12
Unit 13
Unit 14
Unit 15
SUMMER READING FOR FALL 2015!
Do it now!