English

Annotations

Characters

Sister: Narrator, name = Scout

Brother: Jem

Dad: Atticus

Dill

.Narrator is a Tom Boy

.Calpurnia important character?

Setting

.Time period was post depression

.Based in a small town

Chapter 1 Notes

.Simon, narrator's ancestor, was a doctor who made a lot of money in England, but wanted religious freedom, so he made a plantation, which was passed on to the narrators family

.Atticus became a criminal lawyer and made hardly any money, because a lot of money went to his brother's medical schooling

.Narrator refers to her dad as Atticus, his name. He treated his kids with distachment?

.The Radley place is a mystery. What is inside? Who is Boo Radley?

.Dill can read

.5 dollars can get a kid into a picture show (the movies) 20 times. 

.Dill's idea to bring out Boo Radley

.Boo Radley lives in a rickety old, crusty house

.Boo Radley has a circle of urban legends

Chapter 2: 

.At the beginning of the chapter Dill left for his home

.Scout goes to school and she is exited about it

.When Scout gets to school she is disapointed to learn that Miss Caroline is bad with kids

.When Miss Caroline learns Scout learned to read from Atticus, she seemed upset

.Could Miss Caroline not like the way Atticus thinks? Could she represent a mindset thhat is shared in the town?

.Scout talks to Jem about it and explains to Scout she is using a new teaching method

.During lunch a poor boy, Walter Cunningham, who lives in a large family, was not able to pay for lunch. So Miss Caroline gave him a quarter and told him to pay her back.

.Scout tried to explain to Miss Caroline that Walter wouldn't be able to pay her back, but this just angered Miss Caroline causing her to hit Scout on the back of the hand

Chapter 3: 

.During lunch Scout chews out Walter for getting her in trouble

.While Scout is chewing out Walter, Jem intervines invites him to lunch at their house

.While at the house Walter and Atticus discuss farming stuff

.When Walter puts molasses on his meat an vegtables, which bugs Scout

.When Scout mentions it, Calpurnia brings her to the kitchen and slaps her telling her to be a better hostess

.Calpurnia acting as mother figure?

.When they return to school, Miss Caroline freaks out when an insect crawls out of Burris Ewells hair

Burris Ewell is explained to be a trouble maker at school. He didn't appear at the school very often.

.Will Burris or someone in his family be a problem later on? 

.At the Finch house, Atticus promises that he will keep reading to Scout as long as she doesn't tell her teacher. That is after Scout says she wants to leaves school and Atticus denies the request.

Chapter 4:

.Scout describes school as being easy and roo slow for her. This irritates her all the time

.When walking home one day she passed the Radley residence and saw two shining things sticking out of a knothole in one of the trees. 

.She found gum in the tree and staryed to chew it

.Scout told Jem and he started to panic and told her to spit the gum back in the wrapper and put it back in the knothole

.On the way home on the last day of school Scout and Jem find two Indian-Head pennies and Scout decides to keep them

.The summer comes back around and Dill returns

.When rolling in a tire, Scout lands in front of the Radley Residence.

.They decide to play a game called "Boo Radley"

.The game reinacts the urban legends about Boo Radley

.This game becomes more and more complicated

.Atticus catches them and asks Jem if the game they are playing has anything to do with Boo Radley

.Jem says no, lying to Atticus

.They continplate playing Boo Radley and decide to put the game aside

Chapter 5:

.Jem and Dill start getting closer as friends turning Scout into a third wheel

.Bored, Scout starts spending time with Miss Maudie

.She was a friend of Atticus's brother Jack

.Maudie explains thatBoo Radley is alive to Scout

.Her theory on Boo is that he had an abusive father who thought most people are going to hell

.Boo was described as a nice and polite kid

.Miss Maudie says most of the rumors about him are a sham, but she says that he may be crazy now from his abusive past

.Jem and Dill write a letger inving Boo to go get ice cream with them

.They dangle the note over the fence with a fishing pole in his yard

.Atticus catches them telling them to stop messing with Boo and to stop playing their game

Chapter 6:

.Dill suggests going for a "walk"

.Jem and Dill plan to look into the Radley house to get a look at Boo Radley. They invite Scout.

.Mr. Nathan Radley shot his shotgun in the air to scare off whatever was on his property (Jem, Dill, and Scout)

.Jem's pants were lost as he tried to escape

.Could Radley figure out the intruder by finding the pants?

.The three are now scared of Boo Radley even more after sneaking into his backyard.

.Jem snuck back over the fence at the night, but when he returned he did not seem to be ok.

Chapter 7

.They found the pant stiched up and hung over the fence

.In the knothole they find gray twine

.As school goes on they find more and more presents starting with soap carvings of Scout and Jem

.They find chewing gum, a spelling bee metal, and pocket watch

.One day they find the knothole to be filled with cement

.They ask Mr. Radley about it and he said he plugged the tree because it was dying


Discussion To Kill a Mockingbird April 24, 2017


In chapter 9, we are introduced to the controversial case Atticus has been given. Who is he representing? What has this person been charged with? How does the town feel about Atticus taking this case? What does this reveal about the time period?

Atticus is representing Tom Robinson who has been charged with rape. The town doesn't support Atticus's case, because Tom Robinson is african american. This reveals that during that time period there is a strong sense of racism, especially in the South.

What is the significance of the scene with the dog? What does this scene reveal about Atticus and how the kids view their father?

This scene shows Atticus, a character previously seen as tired and bent out of shape all the time, has what is considered to be a respectable skill. This skill, sharpshooting, show that Atticus has a powerful stature, but uses his abilities in a humble manner. The kids now respect Atticus, because they can relate to him through wanting to go shooting and the fact that he can still do what younger people can do fills in an invisible age gap a little.


Discussion to Kill a Mockingbird April 26th, 2017

Why does Jem have to read to Mrs. Dubose? What is actually happening as he reads? Why does Atticus say Mrs. Dubose has “real courage”?

Jem reads to Mrs. Dubose, because Jem destroyed her garden after she insulted Atticus and insulted himself. Reading is the way Jem pays his debt. When Jem is reading, however, Mrs. Dubose isn't really paying attention to the story, she is using it as a way to distract herself from using meth. Atticus says she has "real courage", because she wants to die with honor, or die without her addiction hovering over her.

Atticus is the character that introduces the title explaining that his father told him it was “a sin to kill a mockingbird.” What do you think this means? Why might Harper Lee use this for her title?

She uses this for her title, because in the book many innocents, already, are falling or being mistreated by the public. Atticus explaining that innocents shouldn't be harmed really empathizes the theme of innocence and how pointless it is to disturb an innocent presence.

TKAM Discussion May 2nd, 2017


1. Why does Miss Maudie refuse to go to the courtroom?

Miss Maudie thinks that attending the trial is like going to a Roman carnival for a convicted man.
In other words, Miss Maudie doesn't want to go to go to the court case, because she thinks that Tom will be convicted. She knows the town is going there to entertain their beliefs.

2. What does Scout mean when she refers to  “mulatto children”? What do they reveal about the town? What is their status in Maycomb?

Mulatto children are interracial children, specifically a cross between a white and black parents. This shows the town has interracial couples. These children are seen as outcasts in the white and black communities. They don't have a place with anyone in the town really, except among themselves.

3. How do the kids sneak into the courtroom? Where do they sit? Where are they in the courtroom? Why is the location of their seats important?

The kids sneak into the courtroom with the black end of the community from the church. They sit in the balcony with them behind some of the church members to hide from Atticus. These seats show that the black community is seen as a just group of pople, for their participation is quiet and irregular up in the balcony.



4. What is revealed by Heck Tate’s testimony? How does Heck Tate recount the events?

Heck Tate said he found Mayella on the floor after Bob Ewell called him to his house. He recalled the right side of her face being badly beaten and he found bruising on her neck.

5. Why is it important that no doctor was called to check on Mayella? What does this leave unconfirmed?

This leaves an investigation completely out of the picture, medically. No doctor was there to provide medically examined details that would lead to the discovery of Mayella's assailant. They also can't prove Mayella was raped.

6. Describe what we learn about Bob Ewell from his testimony. What questions do you have about him as a witness? What is revealed by his testimony that is key to the case?

Bob Ewell claimed to see Tom raping Mayella. This is a bit concerning. He seems not to fit the profile of a "witness", due to the fact that he was at the active crime scene during the time bracket that was explained. He is more of a suspect if anything. After giving his testimony, Atticus points out that Mayella had to have been beaten by a left-handed person, which Bob Ewell hapened to be.


Discussion May 4th, 2017


1. Thinking back on Erikson’s Stages of Development , the theory behind the stages is that you have to complete one stage in order to start the next. What stage do you believe Mayella Ewell is at? What stage should she be at? What textual evidence can you provide that supports your claim?

Mayella Ewell is "Nineteen-and-a-half"(Lee 53). I think she is still in her adolescent stage, with tangs of the young adult stage in her life.




2. How do the themes race, education and wealth surface during the court scene? Find textual evidence to support your claimed theme. Do you think the court scene would have been different is Mr. Ewell was wealthy or educated? If so, what does that say about our justice system? Are there prejudices in the justice system?

In the justice system during this time period. wealth and race really contributed to your court case.


3. Is Mayella Ewell like her father or different from him? In what ways?

Mayella is child-like compared to her father. She is a young adult and still acts like a kid. Her father shares this child-like attitude, but refines it by trying to use adult language.


4. How does Atticus use Mr. Ewell’s literacy to build his case?

Atticus explains that the assailant had to be left handed by using Mr. Ewell's description of the case. He used the way he described his own experience to back up his case


5. How does Dill react to Mr. Gilmer’s questioning of Mr. Robinson? What about Dill’s character could have triggered his response? (Think about all the places he has lived, his unknown family history, etc).

Dill was really upset by the verdict. He actually cried in response. Dill watching Tom be unfairly treated reminded him of himself in a sense triggering this response. Living in so many places, never being in a place long enough to be accepted by anyone really on top of this. His parents even neglected him, well his mom did and his step dad did. His biological father is not around Dill, so this overwhemling sense of denial really hurt him in unfair condtions.



6. How does Mr. Gilmer try to prove that Tom is guilty? What key question does he ask? And why did Tom’s answer cause the courthouse to react?


Mr. Gilmer tries to prove Tom guilty by using a statement Tom made. In short, It really boiled down to him saying to Mayella that he was sorry to hear and be involved in the situation at hand. He asked the question "Is Mayella lying?" basically. Being a black male, in his social status, it would look bad if he called Mayella a lier. The courthouse, the lower balcony as the upper balcony is quiet as usual, agrees mostly with Gilmer's point.

Flipped Vocabulary


1. temperate: (adj) mild or moderate in climate; not extreme

EX: Weather in places like California that are mild

2. lease: (noun) a period of temporary ownership

EX: When somebody is renting a house. They don't won it permanently.

3. complexion: (noun) the skin and features of the face

EX: Colby's face has an oily complexion.

4. declines: (verb) moves in a downward direction

EX: An airplane moves in a downward direction when landing.

5. untrimmed: (adj) made or left plain, unadorned, or disorderly

EX: The video maker left a large portion of the video untrimmed.

6. impediments: (noun) things that block or get in the way; obstacles

EX: Many people have speech impediments that block certain aspects of their speech.

7. alters: (verb) makes different without completely changing

EX: The person's face was altered after surgery so the nose wasn't out of proportion.

8. tempests: (noun) strong or severe storms

EX: Many tempests hit the coast of Florida.

9. bark: (noun) a small boat

EX: All you need is a bark to get around a calm lake.

10. compass: (noun) range, usually expressed in a curved or circular manner

EX: Many people use tools to compass their way around town

11. internal rhyme: (noun) a rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another in the end of the line or in the middle of the next

EX: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.

12. alliteration: (noun) a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the first constant sound, occur close together in a series

EX: Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

13. personification: (noun) a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human qualities, characteristics, or abilities

EX: The sun's face scowled at the frying people on the dry beach.

14. assonance: (noun) takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds

EX Twain twins twixt the halls walls.

15. theme: (noun) a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly

EX: One theme in Romeo and Juliet is death.
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Sonnets and Shakespearean Sonnets

Sonnet means "little song" in Italian

There is a total of 154 Shakespearean Sonnets written by Shakespeare himself

Shakespearean Sonnets are 3 Quatrains Long

1-126 of his sonnets were addressed to a young man

127-154 of his sonnets were addressed to a "dark lady"


Rhyme Scheme
A
  B
A
  B
Quatrain #1
C
  D
C
  D
Quatrain #2
E
  F
E
  F
Quatrain #3
G
G
Couplet

Quatrain #1's Objective


Establish the problem or situation; present a Q; make a claim


Quatrain #2's Objective

Shakespeare develops Quatrain #1


Quatrain #3's Objective

Turning point then resolution. The resolution is in the form of a couplet.



Syllables

.Each line has 10 syllables


.5 iambic feet
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SAT Vocabulary #1: Context Clues


This post correlates material from the 9/10 NEW School core at Windsor High School. In this activity honors students had to analyze a specific word found in a sentence, then try to derive what its meaning is. This was an individual activity done by myself. Enjoy!

SAT VOCABULARY #1
Context Clues


1. Abase: To lower; to lower in rank


2. Accustom: To become known


3. Boisterous: Crazy and loud; out of control in a loose sense


4. Deficient: Lacking vital essence


5. Evasion: To avoid; to dodge; to get away


6. Incoherent: Missing detail; lacking sense


7. Epiphany:  Flashback triggered by a familiar scene, smell, view, sound, etc.; something that has finally been understood


8. Irrational: Not rational; not logistic  


9. Listless: Dazed; unresponsive to an extent


10. Parody: Absurd; Vivid reenactment; Stimulative in an interesting way


11. Persecution: To put down aggressively; to mock or drain one’s resources


12. Holocaust: Destruction on a massive scale; to level in a destructive manner


13. Genocide: To destroy a group of people; to slaughter a group


14. Stereotype: Identifying a group of people in a primitive, simplistic manner; to identify based on what the bulk of a group is doing or based on the bulk of past groups. These groups can also be influenced by different media outlets changing  the true perception of the group or revealing the true perception of the group

15. Luminescent: Brightly glowing; important







 








SAT Vocabulary #1: Cornell Notes and Examples


This activity was about simply writing down the teacher's definitions for the words previously introduced in SAT Vocabulary #1: Context Clues. These are images of the notes.














Omnivore's Dilemma Vocabulary #2 – Context Clues


Atavistic: powerful
Cornucopia: variety 
Intrepid: primitive; basic
Omnivore: organism that consumes vegetation and flesh
Distinctions: specific details 
Terrestrial:  foreign 
Anthropologist: scientist that studies humans and their cultural behavior
Predisposes: before disposal
Prodigious: incredible
Existential: something that is present
Inevitable: unavoidable, usually refers to an event
Unassailable: not accessible; not available
Paradox: you can't have something without the other
Quaintly: out-dated and unusual
Apotheosis: a small climax

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