The Hughes News
Sophomore Honors English Newsletter ~ April 2019
PARENTS AS CONSULTANTS
Our Final Learning Module
For our last term, the sophomores and I will be exploring greed, which includes knowing the difference between wants and needs--and what happens when an imbalance exists between the two.
Whether it means an old, reliable bicycle or a palace filled with gold, there are many ways that our possessions can represent our values and priorities. Many writers have explored why people sometimes want more than they need. This unit has been designed to allow [students] to consider a range of factors that influence how people decide how much they own (Pearson).
The unit starts with us asking, "Why do people acquire more than they need?" We will also watch THIS VIDEO about 14-year-old Hannah Salwen who convinced her family to sell their home and live on half of their income. She and her father coauthored The Power of Half about this journey, which, of course, I purchased for our 2500-volume library. (And yes, I'm aware of my problem.)
Whole-Class Reading Experience
While we have studied many texts together this year in our online anthology (i.e., Pearson), we will be reading our first full novel together this term: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Keep in mind, your student has already read at least eight books by the end of the month, so The Great Gatsby will be at least Book #9! In one school year. However, this will be the first time we are all reading the same full-length novel at the same time, which is exciting.
Gone are the days when we English teachers showed movies to go along with the texts. (After all, it's tough to convince the Powers that Be that we are meeting standards by watching a movie.) However, there's something magical about watching students--nearly a century later--find beauty and relevance in Fitzgerald's colors, characterization, conflict, and consumerism of the 1920s! We will view the most recent film adaptation together in class, and the students are excited!
Because this is our first--and only--movie together, the students are excited. We'll even have popcorn and water to enhance the movie-going experience!
Term 3 Grades
Report cards will go live in IPASS at 2:15 pm on Monday, April 22nd, our first day back from spring break.
Nevertheless, Parent/Teacher conferences are in teacher classrooms this Thursday, April 4th, from 6-8 PM. While teachers look forward to sharing snapshots with parents about student progress, final grades won't be available for another 2.5 weeks. So, grade-wise, the snapshot will be incomplete.
However, if waiting in our deli-like line doesn't appeal to you, feel free to email me at beth.hughes@wpsk12.org for an update on your how your student is doing--beyond the numbers you can see in IPASS.
THE ART OF REPETITION
It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write.
Let them think you were born that way.
~Ernest Hemingway
Most honors students enter my classroom in the fall with the ability to craft organized, error-free writing. Which is fabulous. However, most students don't have the tools to take their writing to the next level. (And based on the Traits of an Honors Student, taken from the Honors English course description in the WMHS' Program of Studies, honors students are already supposed to be writing on a more sophisticated level than their college prep counterparts.) One of the tools we recently emulated is Repetition, which is a "rhetorical device writers use to make their point clearer and more memorable" (Your Dictionary).
After looking at some fabulous examples in literature, the students set out to make this sophisticated technique their own. Don't forget: These are my English students--not my Creative Writing students. But you'd never know. Take a look at some of my favorites below.
- He fell hard. And he fell fast.
- All of the boys underestimated her. To them, she looked like a girl, dressed like a girl, talked like a girl, and acted like a girl. But when the race started and her feet sped away from the start, she ran like a cheetah and left the boys in the dust.
- I wish only to hear the sound of the happy children in the park, the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, the sound of the dogs barking on their never-ending chase of the squirrels, the sound of parents hoping their kids stay safe, the song of the old ice cream truck, the sound of a ball being caught in the old leather of a baseball mitt, the sound of freedom. The sound of summer.
- She had the giggles that day; after her friend tripped and almost fell, she laughed. After her teacher made a terrible dad-joke, she laughed. After reading something mildly funny in her choice book, she laughed, spreading her happiness through her ringing laughter.
- People are afraid of the unknown, afraid of the unexpected, afraid of being afraid.
- They went back in while I was still standing at the edge, they went back in but I stood there paralyzed, they went back in. But I never could.
- I hate them. I hate the way they stare. I hate the way they talk. I hate the way they rate us girls, and I hate the way they look at us, up and down and up and down. We are people too, not the animals to which you've reduced us.
- Her eyes were beautiful. Her eyes were beautiful for so many reasons: her eyes were beautiful because of the emotion they held. Her eyes were beautiful because of their undeniable curiosity. Most importantly, her eyes were beautiful, because when she looked at me with that smile of hers, I could see all of those years of sadness and pain drift away like a stray leaf in the autumn wind.
- A book. A single book can change your perspective. A book that has so many words and yet only one sentence is needed to change your outlook on the day.
- We never argue. We never disagree. We never speak up or voice our opinion. We never fall out of place or live on the edge. It’s time we actually do something. It’s finally time we fight back.
- It’s going to get better. Everything gets better in time and I plan on doing whatever I have to in order to make it better. I will force it to get better.
- We waited not knowing what would happen. We waited not knowing if we would be happy with the results or not. We waited not knowing if the list would destroy friendships or bring people closer together.
- What’s outside the window? Only a thousand possibilities. Only a land far away. Anything but here.
- Tonight, we fight for our fathers, we fight for our mothers, we fight for our sisters, we fight for our sons, we fight for our daughters, we fight for our future. Tonight, my friends, we fight for our freedom.
How to Contact Me
Email: beth.hughes@wpsk12.org
Website: msbethhughes.org
Location: Wakefield Memorial High School, Farm Street, Wakefield, MA, United States
Phone: (781) 246-6440
Twitter: @msbethhughes