November December Newsletter
Ms. Genord English 3
What We Are Reading: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Plot Summary:
The Scarlet Letter is set in a seventeenth-century Puritan New England colony. The protagonist about the story, Hester Prynne must face punishment for committing adultery with the town's minister Dimmesdale. Hester must wear a scarlet letter
'A' at all times as a mark of her shame. Her lover, Dimmesdale hides his act of adultery and suffers tremendous amounts of guilt while Hester's husband Chillingworth seeks revenge on him. The Scarlet Letter teaches us an important lesson about the nature of sin and guilt. Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel is a powerful tool to explore good vs. evil.
What We Have Been Doing:
Students have primarily been reading The Scarlet Letter outside of class. This has allowed for class to become discussion-based. Students often work with peer groups to discuss the novel and complete activities. We have made connections to modern day life and to our Catholic faith.
Assessments:
There have been various assessments for the Scarlet Letter including: reading quizzes, study guides, and group activities. Students will be writing an in-class essay over the Scarlet Letter as a final assessment.
The Scarlet Letter is set in a seventeenth-century Puritan New England colony. The protagonist about the story, Hester Prynne must face punishment for committing adultery with the town's minister Dimmesdale. Hester must wear a scarlet letter
'A' at all times as a mark of her shame. Her lover, Dimmesdale hides his act of adultery and suffers tremendous amounts of guilt while Hester's husband Chillingworth seeks revenge on him. The Scarlet Letter teaches us an important lesson about the nature of sin and guilt. Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel is a powerful tool to explore good vs. evil.
What We Have Been Doing:
Students have primarily been reading The Scarlet Letter outside of class. This has allowed for class to become discussion-based. Students often work with peer groups to discuss the novel and complete activities. We have made connections to modern day life and to our Catholic faith.
Assessments:
There have been various assessments for the Scarlet Letter including: reading quizzes, study guides, and group activities. Students will be writing an in-class essay over the Scarlet Letter as a final assessment.
From The Scarlet Letter...
"No man for any considerable period, can wear one face himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true."
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
Other Areas of Focus this Month
Poetry Project:
During November, students spent two weeks preparing a poetry presentation and learning about different Romantic and Transcendentalist poems. We read poems from seven different authors ranging from Emily Dickinson to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Students were assigned a peer group to present a particular poem.
Walden:
We also spent about a week reading the Transcendentalist piece Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Students were inspired by the Transcendentalist love of nature and simplistic lifestyles.
During November, students spent two weeks preparing a poetry presentation and learning about different Romantic and Transcendentalist poems. We read poems from seven different authors ranging from Emily Dickinson to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Students were assigned a peer group to present a particular poem.
Walden:
We also spent about a week reading the Transcendentalist piece Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Students were inspired by the Transcendentalist love of nature and simplistic lifestyles.
Henry David Thoreau's Walden Outdoor Journal Activity
What's Coming Up?
Next Week:
Next week we will have a few assessments and begin preparations for the Midterm. Students should finish reading Scarlet Letter by Monday, Dec. 7th. There will be an in-class essay test on Wednesday and a Vocabulary Quiz over unit 7 on Thursday. We held off on these assessments until Kairos was over because we had several students who were gone on the retreat.
Frequently Asked Question: What's Going to be on the Exam?
What's Going to Be on the Exam?
Students can expect to see the following literary pieces on the exam:
Unit 1: Puritanism and Rationalism
-Of Plymouth Plantation: William Bradford
-Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Jonathan Edwards
-Burning of Our House: Anne Bradstreet
-Thomas Paine: The Autobiography
-Thomas Jefferson: The Autobiography-Declaration of Independence
Unit 2: The Crucible
-The Crucible: Arthur Miller
Unit 3: Romanticism and Transcendentalism
-The Raven: Edgar Allen Poe
-Give All to Love: Ralph Waldo Emerson
-If you were coming in the fall: Emily Dickinson
-Song of Myself: Walt Whitman
-Thanatopsis William Cullen Bryant
-The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
-The First Snowfall: James Russell Lowell
-Walden: Henry David Thoreau
-The Scarlet Letter: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Students can expect to see the following literary pieces on the exam:
Unit 1: Puritanism and Rationalism
-Of Plymouth Plantation: William Bradford
-Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: Jonathan Edwards
-Burning of Our House: Anne Bradstreet
-Thomas Paine: The Autobiography
-Thomas Jefferson: The Autobiography-Declaration of Independence
Unit 2: The Crucible
-The Crucible: Arthur Miller
Unit 3: Romanticism and Transcendentalism
-The Raven: Edgar Allen Poe
-Give All to Love: Ralph Waldo Emerson
-If you were coming in the fall: Emily Dickinson
-Song of Myself: Walt Whitman
-Thanatopsis William Cullen Bryant
-The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
-The First Snowfall: James Russell Lowell
-Walden: Henry David Thoreau
-The Scarlet Letter: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ms. Genord
Father Gabriel Richard High School
English 3 and 4 Teacher
Please contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns!
God Bless
Email: cgenord@fgrhsaa.org
Phone: 240