November 18-22

This week in American Literature we will be continuing our study of Romanticism.  We began last week by reading from the Fireside Poets and are now studying the Gothic and Anti-transcendentalist writers.  Today, the students used Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" to learn how to make evidence-based claims in preparation for writing a literary analysis essay.  

Later in the week the students will be working on a group project called the Gothic Story Chain that will test their knowledge on the elements of Gothic literature and help them practice narrative writing.

Also, on Thursday the students will have their Vocabulary #5 quiz.  I have included the words below if you would like to help your child study.

Have a great week!

Set #5

consonant (adj):  harmonious; in agreement

assimilate (v):  to take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly

reciprocate (v):  to repay or return in kind

cryptic (adj):  mystifying; mysterious; puzzling

bemused (adj):  confused; bewildered

conjecture (v):  to guess based on little evidence

ambiguous (adj):  unclear in meaning; able to be interpreted in different ways

abstruse (adj):  difficult to understand

flagrant (adj):  glaringly bad; notorious (refers to what you see or do)

salient (adj):  jutting out; striking; conspicuous

November 4-8

On Monday and Tuesday the students are viewing their documentaries and handing in their accompanying essays.  The students have been working in small groups for the last month on this culminating project to The Scarlet Letter, and I am really looking forward to viewing their work. 

Last week the students viewed a PowerPoint presentation on American Romanticism and learned a new method for note taking.  Today they were assigned to read Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker."  They will take a quiz on the story on Wednesday. 

There will be school-wide testing on Thursday and we will pick up with Romantic literature on Friday with a close read of the poem "Thanatopsis."

Have a great week!

Don Erickson