Assignments
Students, the assignments are arranged according to due date. Those that are due soon are listed first followed by those due further in the future.
December 4, 2008
The Necklace: Students received a copy of The Necklace, a short story by Guy de Maupassant. If they were not in class on Tuesday or Wednesday, they can obtain a copy of the story from the internet by looking it up by the author's name. They should read the story and complete the following on their own paper in complete (both in structure and in thought!) sentences:
1. One kind of irony is a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens. What do the Loisels, as well as the reader, assume about the value of the necklace throughout the story? At what point in the story do you and Mme. Loisel find out the truth? What is ironic about Mme. Loisel's working to pay for the new necklace? Would the irony be as effective if the information came earlier? Why or why not?
2. The first 6 paragraphs of the story describe the personality and social circumstances of Mme. Loisel. Name one important quality of Mme. Loisel's character that you learn from the exposition and highlight the sentence(s) where you found that quality inferred or identified.
3. Summarize the events that belong in the CLIMAX and FALLING ACTION portions of a plot diagram for this story?
4. You can figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues such as CONTRAST or WORDS IN A SERIES. For each sentence taken from the story, write what you think if the meaning of the underlined word. Then on a second line, write (1) whether the context clue is a contrast or words in a series; and (2) the key words or punctuation that helped you figure out the meaning. Check a dictionary to see if the meaning you wrote is correct. Adjust your meaning as necessary.
a. "She suffered from the poverty of her apartment, the shabby wals, the worn chairs, and the faded stuffs."
b. "And she wept for whole days from chagrin, from regret, from despair and disappointment."
c. "He was silent, stupified, in dismay, at the sight of his wife weeping."
d. "By a violent effort, she had controlled her vexation and responded in a calm voice, wiping her moist cheeks..."
e. "He threw around her shoulders the wraps they had carried for the coming home, modest garments of everyday wear, whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball costume."
December 5, 2008
Vocabulay Review Packet: Students received a 3 page vocabulary review package in class that includes various exercises incorporating the 60 vocab words they have learned thusfar this year.