READING

You have three days left in class to work on reading.  By June 6 (less than 2 weeks away), you must be finished with the book--that's 300+ pages.  We will start a writing assignment on Tuesday, June 7 which requires you to reflect on the entire book.

Friday's Quiz

The quiz consists of 20 multiple choice questions.  
It includes material from pages 1-180.
You must be caught up if you plan on passing the quiz.

Vocabulary Week 3

Flowers for Algernon

                                           Vocabulary Week #3

“Sit outside for the next ten hours and sell my peaches,” T-Ray dictated and Lily knew to follow his orders.  Lily knew better than to disobey T-Ray.  But, every now and then, Lily would respond with a witty remark about her mother and how her mother cared for her more than T-Ray ever did.  Of course, such remarks often resulted in a quarrel between the two.  When things really escalated, T-Ray would even make Lily kneel on grits—a severe and deleterious punishment that caused much harm and pain to Lily.  Clearly, Lily did not have a very happy childhood living with T-Ray.   Lily had so much built-up resentment for her father that one day she decided that enough was enough!  She could not deal with T-Ray patronizing her anymore.  Although she had qualms about the future and how she would survive without T-Ray, she knew that running away with Rosaleen would be the best decision that she ever made (even if Rosaleen did sneer and mock her idea).  After Lily ran away, T-Ray searched all over the house for his daughter.  Imagine his face when he realized that his only daughter ran away from him!  Lily definitely affronted her father, but then again, he did deserve it! 

Patronize: To act in a condescending or offensive manner, such as making fun of someone or putting them down.  When you patronize someone, you are considered demeaning and condescending.  For instance, Rosaleen poured snuff on the white man’s shoes because he was patronizing her due to her race.

Witty: A personality trait that describes someone as being amusing, original, sharp, and very clever.  For example, someone asks you, “Did you get your hair cut?”  You respond, “Actually, I got all of them cut!”  This is a witty remark.

Dictate: To give orders.  To say or read something aloud.  To give an authoritative order or a command.  During the Holocaust, Hitler dictated that all the Jewish people be killed or sent to gas champers.

Qualms: A feeling of uneasiness or fear.  Synonyms include worries, doubts, suspicions, or uncertainties.  If one lost his or her job, they will have qualms about the future and how they will support themselves.  If one has not completed any work for the literature circles, they will have qualms about passing the fourth marking period.

Deleterious: Harmful, destructive, lethal, or deadly.  Something that is deleterious will cause great harm.

Affront: A personally offensive act or a display of disrespect.  A synonym for affront is insult.  An affront to the teacher is to yell in the middle of class.  Affront can also be used as a verb, which is to offend someone or embarrass them in some way.  When you affront a person, you upset, insult, or offend them.

Resentment: A hatred or dislike toward something or someone.  It is a feeling of anger or irritation.  The verb of resentment is “resent.”  To resent someone means to dislike someone.  When Algernon keeps beating Charlie at the mazes, Charlie says he hates that mouse, meaning, he resents that mouse.

Quarrel: To have a fight or a disagreement.  To angrily disagree with someone.  Synonyms for the word quarrel are bicker, squabble, and argue.

Sneer: To laugh at or mock.  Sneer has a negative connotation and is associated with making fun of someone.  Sneer and patronize are synonyms.  Both words emphasize the act of belittling and poking fun at another person.

Flowers for Algernon

                                           Vocabulary Week #3

Charlie is becoming more and more annoyed because Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss continue to treat him like a science experiment, instead of a human being.  They are ignorant to the fact that Charlie was a living person with feelings, even before the surgery.  He might have been a little vacuous minded, but he was still a lovable person.  Although Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss are very smart and have luminous ideas regarding science, they do not need to be so egotistical when talking to Charlie (I have an inkling that Charlie is probably smarter than both of them combined at this point in the story)!  Charlie even understands the medical jargon that Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss use from time to time when talking about the experiment!  To let off steam, Charlie tells Alice Kinnian how he feels, and although his behavior towards Alice is a bit erratic, and changing from time to time, he still confides in her and trusts her.  After all, he doesn’t feel that he can trust Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss.  For all Charlie knows, they may contaminate the whole experiment and put him at risk.  I guess we will see what happens!

Egotistical: When a person is egotistical, they are conceited, arrogant, stuck-up, and think VERY highly of themselves.  Such a person is considered pompous (week 1’s vocabulary word).  Other synonyms include vain, selfish and boastful.  Such people come across as being obsessed with themselves, when in reality, they may not be that important.  The saying, “he/she has a big ego,” means that he or she is egotistical.

Inkling: A hint or a clue.  A slight suggestion or indication.  For instance, the students didn’t have the slightest inkling of what R.A.Q.E. meant before the teachers introduced it.

Erratic: Unpredictable or inconsistent.  Did you ever see two squirrels running up and down a tree?  They move erratically.  You can’t tell which direction they will go.  Therefore, their running is erratic, or random and irregular.

Jargon: Jargon is slang.  It is unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing, also referred to as gibberish.  It is any talk or writing that one does not understand.  However, jargon can also be the language or vocabulary that is used by a particular profession or group of people.  In Flowers for Algernon, there are many examples of medical jargon—words that are associated with the medical field, which only doctors, nurses, scientists, and “smart” Charlie will understand.

Vacuous: Lacking ideas or intelligence, such as a vacuous mind or a vacuous book report.  Vacuous is associated with emptiness and mindlessness.  Other synonyms include blank, dim, and unintelligent.

Contaminate: To taint, infect, or pollute.  When you contaminate something, you infect it.  For instance, the construction workers accidently contaminated the soil by spilling chemicals on the ground.  Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur were careful not to contaminate any of the experiment or data regarding Charlie’s surgery.

Luminous: Glowing, shining, gleaming.  Luminous is an adjective that describes something as being very bright.  It can also mean brilliance, describing a person’s intelligence.  The scientists operating on Charlie have luminous ideas.  Luminous describes the ideas as brilliant, enlightening, and innovative.

Flowers for Algernon

                                           Vocabulary Week #3

There are 16 words this week:

 Inkling           Luminous           Egotistic              Erratic                Resentment

          Jargon                Vacuous        Contaminate      Patronize            Deleterious

          Witty                   Sneer             Quarrel              Qualm                Affront

          Dictate                                                                                        

                 

STRANGERS	Acquaintances	FRIENDS

Directions: Write a story using 10 words.  Your words must be underlined or highlighted.  Your story must include at least 10 words.  There will be no “re-dos” if you do not follow the directions.

1. Charlie already had his surgery.  His knowledge and intelligence have greatly improved.  Write a letter to Charlie, emphasizing how proud you are of him.  This should be an inspirational letter, in which you give praise to Charlie and commending him for his actions, improvement, and dedication.

2. “The Record” wants to hear about Charlie!  Write a newspaper article about Charlie and the science experiment.  In your article, you can write about Charlie’s past, the present, and what the future holds for Charlie.  Introduce Bergen County to Charlie and explain the long journey that Charlie has experienced.

3. You are Charlie’s sister, Norma.  Chelsea Lately wants to interview you in order to learn more about your brother.  Create an interview with Chelsea Lately.  Include the questions that Chelsea is going to ask, as well as your (Norma’s) responses.

TIC TAC TOE RAPS AND RHYMES

The raps and rhymes are awesome!  I wish I could post them all.  Alas, most are handwritten.  Y'all are on to some real genius here. Rap genius.

Allegory of the Cave Cartoons due Tuesday

Plato, the most creative and influential of Socrates' disciples, wrote dialogues, in which he spoke with Socrates about philosophy.  In "The Republic," Plato sums up his views in an image of ignorant humanity, trapped in the depths and not even aware of its own limited perspective. The rare individual escapes the limitations of that cave and, through a long, tortuous intellectual journey, discovers a higher realm, a true reality, with a final, almost mystical awareness of everything that exists.

The Allegory of the Cave

Imagine prisoners, who have been chained since their childhood deep inside a cave: not only are their limbs immobilized by the chains; their heads are chained in one direction as well so that their gaze is fixed on a wall.

Behind the prisoners is an enormous fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway, along which puppets of various animals, plants, and other things are moved along. The puppets cast shadows on the wall, and the prisoners watch these shadows. When one of the puppet-carriers speaks, an echo against the wall causes the prisoners to believe that the words come from the shadows.

The prisoners engage in what appears to us to be a game: naming the shapes as they come by. This, however, is the only reality that they know, even though they are seeing merely shadows of objects.

Suppose the prisoner is released….

 

Allegory of the Cave Storyboard

1.    Fold paper into 6 squares

2.    Draw, illustrate & decorate pictures that tell the story in each square. 

3.    Predict what would happen to the people if they were able to “leave the cave”

4.    Suppose the prisoner is released….

o   Would the prisoner be compelled to turn around? 

o   What would happen if the prisoner looked into the light of the fire?

o   How would the prisoner react to seeing the source of the shadows?

o   What might occur if the prisoner exited the cave?

o  Compare the world outside the cave with the world within.

o  Would the prisoner want to return to the cave?

Choose one or two questions to address if the prisoner was released from his chains. 

Friday's Class

Find your Multiple Intelligences Strengths

Vocabulary Week 2 in practice

Flowers for Algernon

Vocabulary Week #2

Charlie has been living a life of ignorance, according to Prof. Nemur.  Until this surgery, Charlie’s understanding of reality has been vague.  His prime objective was to work at Donner’s Bakery and attend school at Beekman University to learn to read and write with Miss. Kinnian.  Though, it seems that Prof. Nemur is treating Charlie like another specimen in his lab, and not like a human being with feelings, a family, and a life worth living.  Dr. Strauss, on the other hand, is developing a platonic relationship with Charlie.  While working with Charlie in therapy, Dr. Strauss helps Charlie dig into his subconscious feelings.  It’s tough for Charlie, because his memories cause him anguish and pain.  Sometimes he even becomes so frustrated that he bursts into fits of hysteria.  Luckily, he has Miss. Kinnian to help calm him down.       

1.       Ignorance- Lacking in knowledge or understanding.  Some say “ignorance is bliss” because they are happier not knowing about things that may be upsetting.  Ignorance is not always insulting.  It simply means lacking in knowledge.  

2.       Vague- Unclear, fuzzy.   –Like the details from that text that students can’t recall because they didn’t read with Post-It notes or maybe didn’t really read at all.  Charlie’s memory of his childhood is vague, until Dr. Strauss helps him delve into his past. 

3.       Anguish- Pain, suffering, grief.   Charlie feels anguish as he realizes how terrible his how life was as a child.  L

4.       Prime- Major, important, main.  The prime concern for Prof. Nemur is his reputation.  Unfortunately, he cares more about himself than he does for the well being of his patient Charlie.

5.       Specimen- A sample.  Algernon is a specimen that has undergone an experimental procedure to artificially increase his intelligence.   

6.       Platonic—  Brotherly, non-physical, spiritual.  A platonic relationship is one in which two people have a very spiritual, brotherly connection.  It is a bit more meaningful than a common friendship.

7.       Subconscious – Sub means below.  Conscious is awareness.  The word subconscious is a psychological term that refers to the part of our awareness that is happening in our mind of which we are unaware.  A paradox you say?  Did I just blow your mind?  How can we be aware of things that we are unaware of?  What?  Psychology suggests that the “thoughts” in our subconscious mind are happening all the time, and that they come out in our dreams or through therapy.  I’m sorry, we’re out of time.  We’ll have to delve into that more next week.   

8.       Hysteria – Panic or frenzy.  Overly worried.  Sobbing uncontrollably.  Calm down, please.  Don’t panic.   It’s ok.  There’s nothing to be worried about. Just chill.  Put down that knife, Rose.   Matt, a little help here please?  

Flowers for Algernon

Vocabulary Week #2

Anne Frank sat tensely at her desk, writing in her diary with a sense of urgency.  “My thoughts are racing now, war bombers buzz overhead, and I can hear gunfire in the streets.  It makes me sad to think that I could not find it in my stubborn personality to compromise with Mr. Dussel on time shared in the bedroom.  He treats me as though I’m some inferior child that lacks the intellectual capability to understand what’s happening in this crazy world!  While Hitler commits systematic genocide out there, I’m in here left to navigate the moral dilemmas of my family through my intimations in this grand diary.  Oh Kitty, how I wish the adults could see me for who I really am.  -And how I wish that my perception of the world were easier to convey.  Thank goodness, the acquisition of this diary has made life in the Annex much more bearable.” 

1.   1.    Systematic—Methodical, organized, orderly, efficient.  The word systematic is a form of the word system.  Things that function in a system are usually orderly, organized, and methodical.  For instance, the water cycle is a systematic environmental process in which water evaporates and precipitates. 

  

2.       Urgency—Importance, necessity.  An emergency responder, like a paramedic or firefighter, will move with a sense of urgency to get to the victim quickly.  A supervisor might send an email marked “Urgent” –which means you should open it right away and read it carefully!   

3.       Intellectual—Cerebral, brainy, academic, a thinker.   “Charlie Gordon will continue to strengthen his intellectual capabilities, the more he studies.”  “Charlie thinks that the college kids are such intellectuals, because they like to talk about politics, philosophy, and religion.”  

4.       Compromise—To meet halfway.  A cooperative agreement.  A compromise occurs when two sides cannot agree (hopefully).  To solve the problem, both sides give up a little for the sake of making an arrangement or agreement.  Friends often compromise when they are making plans, so that everyone has a good time.   

5.       Acquisition—To acquire, gain, obtain.  When someone makes an acquisition, they are coming in to possession of something they did not previously have.  This could be something physical –“She congratulated me on my recent acquisition of a new sports car!”  Or something abstract: -“Each new song learn on my guitar is an acquisition for my repertoire.”     

6.       Moral- Ethical, fair, decent.  Charlie will face moral obstacles in the story:  Should he tell Mr. Donner that Gimpy steals from the bakery?  -Or should he protect Gimpy, because he is a friend?   Our sense of morality is our sense of what is ethically right or wrong.   

7.       7. Perception—Awareness, insight, view.   Our perception is the way WE see things. Sometimes our perception is very different from someone else’s view.  For Charlie, his perception of reality will change, as his awareness grows. 

8.       8. Inferior –Lesser, lower.  To be inferior would mean that someone is lower in status, rank, etc. than someone else.  To feel inferior is to feel that you are not as good as someone else.  Nobody should ever be made to feel this way.

Vocabulary Week 2: Post here or turn in on Friday.

Flowers for Algernon

Vocabulary Week #2

There are 16 words this week:

Systematic         Urgency                  Intellectual                Compromise                Acquisition               Moral                     Perception         Inferior                     Ignorance                   Vague                  Anguish                   Prime                Specimen                  Platonic                      Subconscious       Hysteria
           

STRANGERS	Acquaintances	FRIENDS

Directions: Write a story using 10 words.  Your words must be underlined or highlighted.  Your story must include at least 10 words.  There will be no “re-dos” if you do not follow the directions.

1.      Write a progress report about any of the following options: Use detail from the text to clarify and support your work.

·        From Charlie’s Point of View: ABOUT HIS INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

·        From Burt’s Point of View: ABOUT THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN  WHICH DR. STRAUSS and PROF. NEMUR TREAT CHARLIE

·        From Miss. Kinnian’s Point of View: ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF HER RELATIONSHIP / FRIENDSHIP WITH CHARLIE

·        From Charlie’s Point of View: ABOUT WORKING AT DONNER’S BAKERY