Homework Assignments (as of Sept. 28, 2005)

DAILY ASSIGNMENTS

1. Study SAT Vocabulary Terms (Lists 1 and 2: ALIENATE-OBSEQUY); Students should review the following: a. word definitions b. related forms (family words) c. parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) d. synonyms and antonyms e. notes on how to distinguish the varied parts of speech In addition, students should prepare to work on additional in-class vocabulary assignments by reviewing words nightly. For quiz dates see calendar in class or upcoming dates post. To prepare for the in-class study and tests/quizzes, students are encouraged to create 3x5 study cards. STANDARD [EV1]

2. Students should conduct a nightly/daily review of the literary elements for prose literature. For a complete list of terms, students may look on the back of the 1st Quarter Pacing Guide (Notebook Item# 3). Students will be expected to adequate mastery and knowledge of ALL terms. They should employ the same study method that is suggested for the SAT terms. SUPRISE QUIZ IS FORTHCOMING!!! STANDARD [ER2]

3. Students should begin studying for their 1st 9weeks exam. This test will be a comprehensive test that will cover the following: 1.) SAT Vocabulary (Lists 1 and 2), definitions, synonyms/antonyms, related forms, and context clues; 2.) Literary Elements; 3.) Inferencing and Main Idea Identification; 4.) Proofreading. PLEASE STUDY...this test could be difficult if you do not prepare for it. STANDARDS [ER2], [EV1]

ASSIGNMENTS DUE NEXT MEETING

4. Define the SAT 2.3 vocabulary terms. Identify the related forms, parts of speech, synonyms and antonyms for the words in the group. STANDARD [EV1]

5. Complete the Identifying Literary Devices Worksheet Assignment for "The Scarlet Ibis" (p. 257 in textbook). This assignment may be handwritten. INCLUDE THE HONOR CODE ON YOUR WORK. Students should use the following guide sheet:

Identifying Literary Devices: The Scarlet Ibis
ITEM #____________

Pre-AP English I

Task: Using only your knowledge of literary elements, and the passages below, please identify the literary device or devices used in the passages. On a separate sheet of paper, write the number of the passage, the specific example and meaning of the literary device or devices and vocabulary terms being used. In addition, you must also briefly indicate the main idea of the passage by writing a short explanation of what the passage means. The page numbers will be provided to help you.

Objective: Students should be able to demonstrate their knowledge of literary elements, and their ability to identify those examples in specific literary passages, as well as the main idea. You should be able to demonstrate all in at least 7 of the 8 passages.

Standards: ER2, 3; EW 1, 2, 3, 4; ESL 3

1. [PAGE 259] He was a burden in many ways. The doctor had said that he mustn’t get too excited, too hot, too cold, or too tired and that he must always be treated gently. A long list of don’ts went with him, all of which I ignored once we got out of the house. To discourage his coming with me, I’d run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and careen him around corners on two wheels. Sometimes I accidentally turned him over, but he never told Mama. His skin was very sensitive, and he had to wear a big straw hat whenever he went out. When the going got rough and he had to cling to the sides of the go-cart, the hat slipped all the way down over his ears. He was a sight. Finally, I could see I was licked. Doodle was my brother, and he was going to cling to me forever, no matter what I did, so I dragged him across the burning cotton field to share with him the only beauty I knew, Old Woman Swamp. I pulled the go-cart through the sawtooth fern, down into the green dimness where the palmetto fronds whispered by the stream. I lifted him out and set him down in the soft rubber grass beside a tall pine. His eyes were round with wonder as he gazed about him, and his little hands began to stroke the rubber grass. Then he began to cry.

2. [PAGE 261] When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him. We were down in Old Woman Swamp and it was spring and the sick-sweet smell of bay flowers hung everywhere like a mournful song. “I’m going to teach you to walk, Doodle,” I said.

3. [PAGE 261] With success so imminent, we decided not to tell anyone until he could actually walk. Each day, barring rain, we sneaked into Old Woman Swamp, and by cotton-picking time Doodle was ready to show what he could do. He still wasn’t able to walk far, but we could wait no longer. Keeping a nice secret is very hard to do, like holding your breath. We chose to reveal all on October eighth, Doodle’s sixth birthday, and for weeks ahead we mooned around the house, promising everybody a most spectacular surprise. Aunt Nicey said that, after so much talk, if we produced anything less tremendous than the Resurrection, she was going to be disappointed.

4. [PAGE 262] My lies were scary, involved, and usually pointless, but Doodle’s were twice as crazy. People in his stories all had wings and flew wherever they wanted to go. His favorite lie was about a boy named Peter who had a pet peacock with a ten-foot tail. Peter wore a golden robe that glittered so brightly that when he walked through the sunflowers they turned away from the sun to face him. When Peter was ready to go to sleep, the peacock spread his magnificent tail, enfolding the boy gently like a closing go-to-sleep flower, burying him in the gloriously iridescent, rustling vortex. Yes, I must admit it. Doodle could beat me lying.

5. [PAGE 262] Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle to walk, I began to believe in my own infallibility and I prepared a terrific develop­ment program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy, of course. I would teach him to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight. He, too, now believed in my infallibility, so we set the deadline for these accomplishments less than a year away, when, it had been decided, Doodle could start to school.

6. [PAGE 264] That summer, the summer of 1918, was blighted. In May and June there was no rain and the crops withered, curled up, then died under the thirsty sun. One morning in July a hurricane came out of the east, tipping over the oaks in the yard and splitting the limbs of’ the elm trees. That afternoon it roared back out of the west, blew the fallen oaks around, snapping their roots and tearing them out of the earth like a hawk at the entrails of a chicken. Cotton boils were wrenched from the stalks and lay like green walnuts in the valleys between the rows, while the cornfield leaned over uniformly so that the tassels touched the ground. Doodle and I followed Daddy out into the cotton field, where he stood, shoulders sagging, surveying the ruin. When his chin sank down onto his chest, we were frightened, and Doodle slipped his hand into mine. Suddenly Daddy straight­ened his shoulders, raised a giant knuckly fist, and with a voice that seemed to rumble out of the earth itself began cursing heaven, hell, the weather, and the Republican party. Doodle and I, prodding each other and giggling, went back to the house, knowing that everything would be all right.

7. [PAGE 265-266] At that moment the bird began to flutter, but the wings were uncoordinated, and amid much flapping and a spray of flying feathers, it tumbled down, bumping through the limbs of the bleeding tree and landing at our feet with a thud. Its long, graceful neck jerked twice into an S, then straightened out, and the bird was still. A white veil came over the eyes, and the long white beak unhinged. Its legs were crossed and its clawlike feet were delicately curved at rest. Even death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers, and we stood around it, awed by its exotic beauty.

8. [PAGE 267] The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us. The drops stung my face like nettles, and the wind flared the wet, glistening leaves of the bordering trees. Soon I could hear his voice no more. I hadn’t run too far before I became tired, and the flood of childish spite evanesced as well. I stopped and waited for Doodle. The sound of rain was everywhere, but the wind had died and it fell straight down in parallel paths like ropes hanging from the sky. As I waited, I peered through the downpour, but no one came. Finally I went back and found him huddled beneath a red nightshade bush beside the road. He was sitting on the ground, his face buried in his arms, which were resting on his drawn-up knees. “Let’s go, Doodle,” I said.