Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Work for 12th Grade English Class

In addition to the work "For All Students,":

--As a class, decide on a time (one) for Extra Credit. Remember, in order to earn a possible ONE letter grade back on your Summer Reading test, you will need to finish watching First Knight, a two hour movie, AT OCSI WITH ME in attendance, AND write a paper. Times available next week (beginning with Tuesday, 9/8) are: Tuesday a.m. 6-8, Tuesday p.m. 4-6, Wednesday a.m. 6-8, Wednesday p.m. 4-6, Thursday a.m. 6-8, Thursday p.m. 4-6, Friday a.m. 6-8, Friday p.m. 3-5, Saturday a.m., sometime before noon. Decide on something and let me know BEFORE Tuesday, 9/8, otherwise extra credit will not be offered.

We are starting the Beowulf unit. You are responsible for one week of the two in the unit. The test is on Thursday-Friday, 9/10-9/11, so be sure you complete all assignments well.

--Define literary elements (7): epic, alliteration, caesura, kenning, epithet, Biblical allusion, repetition: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xLitTerms.html

--Read through the two articles on the Epic/Epic Hero:
1) http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/epic.html
2) http://www.victorianweb.org/genre/epic2.html
*Take notes* on the epic style and the epic hero. Also, write in response: Are epic heroes similar to or different from heroes in 2009? Why?

--Begin reading Beowulf:

1) This is a document that shows what Beowulf looked like in Anglo-Saxon English (before translation): http://www8.georgetown.edu/departments/medieval/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a4.1.html

2) This is the translated document: http://www.enotes.com/beowulf-text/prelude
--Please read the Prelude through Chapter VI.

3) If you need help with the reading, this is a simplified version that may be used in addition to -- but NOT in place of -- the previous site: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/english/beowulf/contents.htm
(The sections you should read are from "The Start" to "Marching to Heorot.")

--Assignments with the reading:
1) Fill out epic journey chart (to be e-mailed to you). You may print it out or draw it on to paper.
2) Identify examples of Biblical allusion.
3) Think about the meadhall, with its purpose of mainly relaxation and safety. What would make these attacks on the meadhall *especially* horrible for people living in the Anglo Saxon time period?
4) Using 10 of your 16 vocabulary words, write two paragraphs describing Grendel.
5) Write in response (about a page): Why are people interested in the defeat of monsters? What do monsters like Grendel represent in our lives?

--Review Subject-Verb Agreement: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm
Then, take the quiz here: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/agreement_add1.htm . E-mail me your score -- the number you got CORRECT out of 14.

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