A Word About Late Work

As of February 10, any work that is considered "classwork" (to be completed in class) will not be accepted late. If it is not turned in when it is due (during class), it will be a zero.

Friday, June 5, 2009

June 3 & 5: Othello and Julius Caesar Test Corrections

June 3: Students read a prose version of Othello, answered comprehension questions, and identified character traits of characters. Students were given grade reports and instructions to turn in late work (by Friday), research paper corrections (by Monday).
June 5: Students watched a modern version of Othello. They are to fill out Venn diagrams for characters, identifying similarities and differences between characters in the prose version and movie.
Students were given the following instructions for test corrections and were offered an optional test to boost their test average next week:
JULIUS CAESAR TEST ASSESSMENT/CORRECTIONS
OPTIONAL TEST

TEST ASSESSMENT/CORRECTIONS: due Tuesday, June 9
On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions (assuming you studied)
– 1) How did you study vocabulary?
– 2) How did you study quotes?
– 3) How did you study characters?
– 4) How did you study for questions 1-42 on the review sheet?

On the “Part 1” handout (you were given this on Monday, June 1 and probably already stapled your scantron to it), highlight the numbers you missed (they are marked on your scantron).
You will receive ¼ of a point per point missed on Part 1 when you complete the following (A, B, C)

(A) VOCABULARY (1-25)
• Re-define the vocabulary words. (Yes, that means to look them up again and write them again. You may do this on the “Part 1” handout.)
(B) QUOTES (26-39) Answer all questions about each quote you missed.
• Who is speaking these lines?
• What do they mean? What is the speaker talking about?
• Why was the speaker saying them? To whom was the speaker talking?
(C) CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS (40-49)
• For each character you missed, write
– his/her name
– 3 ways to describe him/her
• For example: CAESAR
1. killed by his friend
2. ambitious
3. deaf in one ear

Staple the following together, with the scantron on top:
1. scantron 2. separate sheet of paper with questions 1-4 answered 3. “Part 1” handout with test items

OPTIONAL TEST
• If your test average is low, you can try to boost it by taking an optional test after school on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of next week. (June 8, 9, 10)
• You must let Mrs. Woodliff know by Monday if you plan on taking the test.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

June 1 - Peep Shows Presented

Students...

1. Turned in Othello vocabulary
2. Presented Peep Shows
3. Presented Make-up Research Presentations
4. Julius Caesar Test Assessment

Make-up Presentations:
•If the presentation wasn't saved to the “Turn in Work Here” folder on the y-drive, students lost the opportunity to present their PowerPoint. Flash drives are not accepted. The assignment was to turn the presentation into the assigned folder.
•If this is the case, they need to save their PowerPoint to that folder, and Mrs. Woodliff will grade it later. They will not receive points for presenting, but you will receive points for the PowerPoint itself (which was the bulk of the grade.)

Julius Caesar Test Assessment/Correction Intructions (Graded scantrons and a handout with test items were given to students. These were due at the end of class. Students will receive 1/4 of a point per point missed for completing this assessment/correction assignment)
•On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions (assuming you studied)
–1) How did you study vocabulary?
–2) How did you study quotes?
–3) How did you study characters?
–4) How did you study for questions 1-42 on the review sheet?
•On the handout, highlight numbers you missed.
•Re-define the vocabulary words. (Yes, that means to look them up again and write them again.) Quotes: #26-39
•Who is speaking these lines?
•What do they mean? What is the speaker talking about?
•Why was the speaker saying them? To whom was the speaker talking?
Character Descriptions (#40-49)
•For each character you missed, write
–his/her name
–3 ways to describe him/her
EXAMPLE
•Caesar:
–1) killed by his friend
–2) ambitious
–3) deaf in one ear

Friday, May 29, 2009

28 May: Julius Caesar Test Instructions

Mrs. Woodliff was not in class today. The following instructions were given to students as a handout.
1. Turn completed KWL charts in to clear bin.
2. Put everything away.
3. Take The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Test Part 1. You may not use your book or notes on Part 1
4. Mark your answers on the scantron.
5. When you finish Part 1, turn in the test packet to its designated spot and take Part 2.
6. Part 2 is open-book, open-note.
7. Continue to mark your answers on the scantron.
8. When you finish Part 2, turn the scantron in to the clear bin (make sure your name is on it!) and Part 2 to its designated spot.
9. After you finish the test: Othello Vocabulary (These are the last vocabulary words of the year. They will be on your semester exam!)
a. Use a dictionary to define Othello vocabulary words (see back of this page)
b. Make a cinquain for 5 words. Cinquains should be original (This is not group work!) Illustrate each cinquain.
c. Complete the wordsearch for fun.
d. You are expected to work on this until the end of class. Turn in if finished. If not, it is due at the beginning of class on Monday, June 1!

Remember, your Peep Shows are due June 1.
Make-up research presentations will also be presented June 1.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Julius Caesar - REVIEW DAY, May 26

Today, students took a quiz over Act V, received graded Act III & IV quiz, took a few notes, finished the video of Julius Caesar, and received a test review.

Notes: Tragedy, Tragic Hero, Tragic Flaw
• Tragedy: a story in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.
• Tragic Hero: According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is “Man of high standard who falls from that high because of a flaw that has affected many”
– Modern tragic hero – Anakin Skywalker
• That flaw is called a tragic flaw.

KWL Chart is due Thursday, BEFORE the test!

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Test Review

Pre-Reading, Acts I – V Vocabulary.


Quotes from Julius Caesar: Who is the speaker? What/who is s/he talking about? What does the quote mean?
• Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, Take thou what course thou wilt.
• Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.
• Beware the Ides of March!
• The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, But in ourselves that we are underlings.
• This was the noblest Roman of them all.
• … You have some sick offense within your mind, Which by the right and virtue of my place I ought to know of…
• And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg Which hatched would as his kind grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell.
• Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
• It seems to me most strange that men should fear, Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.
• If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live; If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.
• When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
• Et tu Brute

Characters to know for matching

• Soothsayer
• Metellus Cimber
• Cassius
• Cinna, the poet
• Decius
• Brutus
• Casca
• Calpurnia
• Antony
• Lepidus

Reading Comprehension (refer to Act questions and worksheets)

1. Tragic Hero; Tragic Flaw
2. Feast of Lupercal
3. foreshadowing
4. second triumvirate
5. Act I, Scene i – what happens and why
6. Act I, Scene ii – what troubling things have happened this day?
7. Why does Brutus join the conspiracy?
8. Why not attack Antony?
9. What is Caesar like in Act II, Scene ii?
10. Why doesn’t Calpurnia want Caesar to go to the Senate?
11. Why do the conspirators ask Caesar to pardon Publius Cimber?
12. What is Caesar’s attitude when he is at the Senate in Act III?
13. Why does Antony shake hands with the conspirators?
14. What does calling someone a “hart” (deer) mean?
15. In his funeral oration, how does Antony show that the conspirators were not honorable?
16. Act III, Scene iii – purpose?
17. Why does Antony point to Caesar’s wounds and identify the tears in his cloak?
18. What impression does Shakespeare give of the plebeians in Act III?
19. While reading Act IV, how do we know there is a change in Brutus and Cassius’s friendship?
20. How does Brutus react to Portia’s death?
21. After seeing the ghost, why does Brutus ask his servants why they cried out in their sleep?
22. What does Caesar’s ghost symbolize?
23. Before departing for battle, what do Brutus and Cassius say to each other?
24. What is Cassius’ fatal mistake?
25. How does Antony treat Brutus’ followers when they have been captured? (remember Lucilius?)
26. What is the main reason that Brutus does not want to be captured and taken back to Rome?
27. Why is this play considered a tragedy?
28. Themes (central ideas) of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. (What can be learned about life from this play?)
29. To what does Caesar compare himself before he is assassinated? Why does he make this comparison?
30. Why does Brutus let Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral?
31. What reason does Brutus give for killing Caesar?
32. What is Antony’s true purpose in delivering his funeral oration?
33. How does Antony prove Caesar wasn’t ambitious?
34. Difference between Brutus and Antony’s funeral orations?
35. Why do Brutus and Cassius argue in Act IV? What is the real reason Brutus is so upset?
36. What happens to Portia?
37. In Act V, what ominous sign does Cassius report has caused him to fear the coming battle?
38. What does Cassius say is avenged by his death?
39. Why did Pindarus stab Cassius?
40. How does Titinius respond to Cassius’ death?
41. Why did Antony say Brutus was the “noblest Roman of them all”?
42. What is Brutus’s tragic flaw?

To view YouTube videos of the BBC's animated The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, click here.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

May 21, JC Day 6

Today, students...
  1. turned in paper corrections
  2. took a quiz over Acts III and IV
  3. read Act V.
  4. answered Act V questions in packet:
    •Page 17: 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 86, 88
    •Page 18: #3
    •Page 19: #1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    •Page 20: #3, 4
  5. were given the "Peep Show" project assignment, had the opportunity to form groups (if they want to work in groups), drew for acts, and brainstormed the scene they will choose. Examples of Washington Post contest peep shows can be found at this link.

Students can expect a quiz over Act V next class.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

May 14: JC Day 5


  1. Students turned in vocabulary and Shakespeare's Legacy project

  2. Students finished Act III and answered packet questions

  3. Students were given Act IV-V vocabulary definitions and were instructed to find relationships between Act III-V vocabulary words (at least 5 pairs and 2 triads)

  4. Students began reading Act IV

  5. Research papers were returned and correction options/instructions were given.

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Welcome to Mrs. Woodliff's blog. The primary purpose of this site is to provide daily class updates and information to students, parents, teachers, and others who are interested. Students, if you are absent or need a reminder of what went on in class, please check here first! Please do not rely on this site for communicating with me. If you have questions or concerns, e-mail or call me!