Monday, December 12, 2011

Exemption Policy

To exempt a class, you must get an exemption form from your teacher. Exemption forms must be turned in to Mr. Harrison. Forms will not be taken after break time on Thursday. Students may be allowed to exempt a maximum of two semester exams per semester based on the following criteria:
1. A student who has an "A" average and 3 or fewer absences per class.
2. A student who has a "B" average and 2 or fewer absences per class.
3. A student who has a "C" average and 3 or fewer absences per class.
4. A high school student who passes all five areas of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam on the first attempt may exempt one exam during the semester in which the last exam is taken.
5. Any student who has received two or more Class II offenses or any Class III offenses or has been placed in the Alternative Program for any length of time will forfeit the opportunity to exempt any semester examination for that semester.
6. Additional Exemption for grades 7-12: One additional exemption may be earned in a single class/period if a student has had perfect attendance in that class.
AHSGE Exemptions: Students who passed all sections of the AHSGE the first time may exempt in the spring exams of that year only.
7. 9th grade students who improved on their SAT stanines will be on a list given out to teachers for an additional exemption.
8. All exemptions must be approved by Mr. Harrison prior to the exam date.

Semester Exam Schedule

Semester exams will be administered December 19th-22nd.
December 19th- 5th, 6th and 7th period exams. This will be a regular school day.
December 20th- 3rd and 4th period exams. This will be a half-day.
December 21st- 1st and 2nd period exams. This will be a half-day.
The Great Gatsby
We should finish the novel and discussion questions this week.
Remember, your semester exam will be on the novel and vocabulary.
Study guides for the exam will be given out on Tuesday.

Study Guide
The Great Gatsby
Semester Exam
First Semester
English 11/Advanced English 11

Chapters 1-3
  1. Who is Carraway’s second cousin once removed?
  2. Who do people say Gatsby is a cousin or nephew of?
  3. What is Mr. McKee’s occupation?
  4. Which Egg did Gatsby live on?
  5. What secret about Tom did Miss Jordan Baker tell Nick?
  6. Who did Carraway describe as having a “cruel body”?
  7. What college did the narrator graduate from?
  8. Why is the man in Gatsby’s library so impressed?
  9. What were Gatsby and Carraway going to do at nine o’clock in the morning?
  10. Name four types of instruments that showed up as part of an orchestra for Gatsby’s party.
  11. What book by Goddard does Tom ask Nick if he’s read?
  12. Whose garage did Tom and Nick enter?
  13. In what part of New York does this story take place?
  14. Who is Tom’s mistress?
  15. Who watches over everything in the “valley of ashes”?
  16. How much money in rent did the narrator pay each month for his hous?
  17. What word does Tom hate?
  18. What types of fruit arrived to Gatsby’s house?

Chapters 4-6
  1. Who does Nick spot while having lunch with Gatsby?
  2. What was Gatsby’s given name?
  3. What instrument does Ewing Klipspringer play?
  4. Who is Gatsby speaking with when Nick meets him for lunch?
  5. What does Gatsby tell Nick about Meyer Wolfsheim?
  6. What are Mr. Wolfsheim’s cuff buttons made out of?
  7. Gatsby told Nick he was in which two businesses?
  8. In what place would Mr. Wolfsheim have preferred to eat?
  9. Who was Gatsby’s best friend years ago?
  10. Who did Clarence Enclive have a fight with in the garden?
  11. Who does Gatsby blame for Cody’s inhospitable death?
  12. Why did a man show up at Nick’s door the day it was raining?
  13. Who did Gatsby refer to as “the polo player”?
  14. How was Gatsby able to get our of getting a ticket from a police officer?

Chapters 7-9
  1. What hotel did Nick, Gatsby, Tom, Jordan, and Daisy got to?
  2. Where is Gatsby’s father from?
  3. What did Michaelis find in the drawer?
  4. Where and when did Daisy and Tom get married?
  5. Who was driving the car that hit Myrtle?
  6. Who does Tom suspect killed Myrtle?
  7. Who does Nick visit that doesn’t want to attend the funeral?
  8. Who said “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall,”?
  9. Whose point-of-view is the story told from?
  10. Who did Gatsby have a portrait of in his home?
  11. What book does Gatsby’s father pull out that has Jay’s childhood schedule?
  12. How old is Nick?
  13. What does Gatsby say he hasn’t used all summer?
  14. What is the name of Gatsby’s father?
  15. What is the name of Daisy’s daughter?


Review
  1. What sport does Jordan Baker play?
  2. Who is Myrtle?
  3. Where was Gatsby shot?
  4. Did Gatsby have a large funeral?
  5. What business was Nick Carraway’s father in?
  6. Who does Nick sell his car to at the end of the novel?
  7. How long did Gatsby attend Oxford?
  8. Who passed out at Tom and Daisy’s wedding?
  9. Whose nose did Tom break?
  10. Who is Tom’s mistress?
  11. What is the color of hope?
  12. According to Gastby, what is “full of money”?

Vocabulary to Know!
  1. denizen- one that frequents a particular place
  2. impetuous- having or marked by violent force
  3. somnambulism- sleepwalking
  4. caravansary- a large inn
  5. feign- to fake
  6. supercilious- having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
  7. truculent- disposed to fight; pugnacious
  8. garrulous- tiresomely talkative
  9. unobtrusive- not undesirably noticeable or blatant
  10. fractiousness- inclined to make trouble; unruly
  11. vicarious- felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another
  12. dilatory- inclined to waste time and lag behind
  13. disconcerting- causing an emotional disturbance
  14. redolent- having or emitting fragrance; aromatic
  15. interminable- being or seeming to be without end; endless
  16. wan- suggestive of weariness. Illness, or unhappiness
  17. elocution- the art of public speaking
  18. vehement- marked by or full of vigor or energy, strong
  19. pneumatic- filled with air
  20. reveries- daydreams
  21. incredulous- skeptical; disbelieving
  22. hauteur- overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
  23. portentous- full of unspecifiable significance; exciting wonders and awe
  24. expostulation- the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest
  25. superfluous- being beyond what is required or sufficient
  26. peremptorily- in an imperative and commanding manner
  27. extemporize- to perform an act or utter something in an impromptu manner; improvise
  28. pasquinade- a satire or lampoon, especially one that ridicules a specific person, traditionally written and posted in a public place
  29. amorphous- lacking definite form; shapeless
  30. juxtaposition- the state of being placed or situated side by side
  31. accentuate- to stress or emphasize; intensify
  32. plagiaristic- copied and passed off as your own
  33. beaux- the boyfriend of a woman or girl
  34. oculist- an optometrist or ophthalmologist
  35. caterwaul- to make a shrill discordant sound
  36. contingency- something incidental to something else
  37. innuendo- an indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression
  38. infinitesimal- immeasurable or incalculably minute
  39. laudable- healthy, favorable
  40. corpulent- excessively fat
  41. epigram- a concise, clever often paradoxical statement

Friday, December 9, 2011

December 5-9

Novel Study: The Great Gatsby
This week:
Summaries of chapter 1 and chapter 2 given out.
Chapter 1 and chapter 2 read aloud in class.
Chapter 1 discussion questions are due by Wednesday.
Some classes will also finish chapter 3 this week.

Chapter 1 vocabulary:
1. bore
2. feign
3. levity
4. acute
5. reproach
6. supercilious
7. fractiousness
8. divan
9. reciprocal
10. contemptuously
11. extemporizing
12. peremptorily

Chapter 2 vocabulary:
1. transcendent
2. oculist
3. proprietary

Chapter 3 vocabulary:
1. prodigality
2. erroneous
3. homogeneity
4. convivial
5. indignant
6. malevolence
7. apparition
8. affectations
9. subterfuges
10. insolent

Chapter 1 discussion questions:
1. What quality does Nick possess that he thinks makes him different?
2. Describe the peculiar land formations resulting in East and West Egg. What is the significance of these two halves?
3. Do you trust Nick and his interpretation of events?
4. Why does Daisy compare Nick to a rose, and what is the significance of this statement?
5. What does Nick learn from his first encounter with these people?
6. Why does Daisy say she wishes her daughter to be a beautiful "fool"?
7. Nick feels uncivilized. Why?
8. compare and contrast East and West Egg.
9. Describe Nick's first glimpse of Gatsby.
10. What could the green light symbolize?
11. After reading this chapter, explain the difference between Daisy, Jordan, Tom, and Nick.

Chapter 2 discussion questions:
1. Describe the valley of ashes.
2. What do the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckelburg's defunct practice represent?
3. What three shops occupy the ashen strip mall?
4. Describe Myrtle Wilson.
5. Why is George Wilson covered in ash?
6. What does Tom buy for Myrtle?
7. What do we learn about Tom's character from this jaunt into the city?
8. Why does Myrtle tell us she married George?
9. Why is Tom involved with Myrtle?
10. Why is the evening in Tom's New York apartment hazy and dim? Contrast this with the evening setting at Tom and Daisy's mansion.
11. How is the theme of sight and blindness shown in this chapter?
12. What happens to the concept of time?