Deliverance by James Dickey (278 pages)

In a way, I have lived with this book since the first time I went camping when one of my friends waited until it was extremely dark and quiet to ask, "has anyone seen Deliverance?". I had not seen the movie, nor read the book at that point, so I did not know what he meant. I had a feeling it was something spooky -- the kind of thing people try to scare each other with while camping. I let the whole idea pass . . . until he told me what happened in the movie.



I still have not seen the movie because I wanted to wait until I read the book which is set in the North Georgia Mountains, the very place my friends and I were camping that night. I enjoyed reading this book because the descriptions of the wilderness were very familiar to me since I grew up not far from where the book took place, and spent almost every weekend from the time I was 16 - 18 camping or hiking in the mountains. Aside from the setting, the book is certainly what I would call a thriller -- something that preys on whatever irrational fears you may have about the unknown. I'll leave it at that. That, and that the words "squeal like a pig" are not a part of the text.

Links are Updated!

Lit 12:
I hope these help!

Somebody Tell Me if This is Good. . .

Twilight Test from Dumb Spot!


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My Analytical Writing -- ATL Fans Aren't as Bad as They May Seem

Many fans and sports writers alike love to downgrade Atlanta as a “bad sports city” or they claim that the area teams have some of the worst fans in the country. These people like to talk about the poor attendance teams like the Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and Thrashers see at their home games, and many like to claim that the fans are not as knowledgeable about their teams or the sports they play as other regions like the Northeast and California. I think there are reasons for these perceptions, though I do not agree that they are fair to the Atlanta sports fans, nor that they are true. Casual onlookers may see poor attendance in Atlanta and may be quick to generalize the fan base, but I feel they do this without putting much thought at all into their claim that Atlanta fans are “bad fans”.

The weather is lovely in the South, is it not? While other places in the country are freezing their butts off all winter long, we rarely encounter temperatures below freezing. Our mild winter climate makes Atlanta and the rest of the South an attractive place to move. If one were to spend even a short amount of time in downtown Atlanta, they should not be surprised to find that many of the people they meet are not native to the area – they were born and raised somewhere else and then chose to move here. What does this have to do with sports? Quite a lot. If someone, a sports fan was born and raised in another place, they are likely to follow the team they left at home – the team their family follows. Why would they want to go see the Atlanta Falcons when they can watch their favorite team on television? This is also apparent when an Atlanta team plays a team from New York, Chicago, or another big northern city. A good illustration of this is when the Atlanta Braves play the Chicago Cubs. During these games the fans are split about 50 – 50 between the teams. It can be aggravating to hear people cheering for the visiting team, but these relocated sports fans are only taking advantage of the opportunity to see their favorite team play in their new home.

I am now 34 years old, and have been following the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks since I was about five years old. Not many people in Atlanta can say this. I learned to love sports from my father, who is from Massachusetts. He has not followed the Atlanta teams since he was young; he followed the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics. Since many of the sports fans in the South are originally from other places, the fan base has not been able to mature like other places in the country who have had teams since early in last century. The Braves and Falcons have only been playing in Atlanta since 1966, and the Hawks did not move to Atlanta for Saint Louis until two years after that. Nobody has had the opportunity to follow the Atlanta Falcons or Braves for longer than 42 years, which means not many children in the area are following the same teams as their parents. Just for comparison’s sake, consider the Pittsburgh Steelers who are 75 years old, the Philadelphia Phillies who are 125 years old, or the New York Knicks who are 62 years old. These teams have all been around and played in the same city long enough to build generations of fans, and the Atlanta teams have not been here long enough to do so, which affects attendance.

Lastly, claims that Atlanta fans are not as knowledgeable as other places in the country are irresponsible. People do not avoid Braves games because they do not understand baseball; they do not go because it costs upwards of $100 to bring a family to a game. Everybody knows that football fans in the South are some of the best and most knowledgeable in the country, and who can blame them when we have one of the best and oldest college football conferences in the country. A visit to Athens, Georgia on a home-game Saturday can easily illustrate how rabid southern football fans can be. These fans just are not quite as interested in the NFL that has not been anywhere near the South until 42 years ago. The writers who say that Atlanta fans do not know much about sports are just being lazy; instead of investigating reasons for poor attendance, they resort to being hateful.

I understand why some people may think Atlanta sports fans are not very enthusiastic about their teams, but if they were to think about the nature of the city and the region where it lies, they may come to different conclusions. Since Atlanta is a city of transplants from other places, and the sports teams are young relative to teams in other cities, the fan base is going to be different. Atlanta has a sports tradition that may not be as rich as those in places like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, or Chicago because it has developed under different circumstances than the sports traditions in those cities. It is my bet that the “bad fan” label will be one that is forgotten in Atlanta in the near future.

That's Right!

The Hawks are unbeaten.6-0

User Agreement

Using a weblog for our classwork will require some parameters for your safety and the quality of everyone's work. First, you should recognize that your work, as well as mine will be published for the entire on-line world to see. This will ultimately make us all responsible for better and more original output than ever before. By visiting other students' weblogs, you will be able to view all their work, and it will also make it easy for me to see who is not making an effort to submit work that is original.

Once you create your own weblog for this class, I will add it to the class blog roll so everyone's work can be accessed from this page. I encourage you to look at your peers' work for ideas or inspiration, but what you submit must be your own. Language Arts lends itself well to this format since you will be asked to respond to the literature and history we study with your own ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers in a Language Arts class, so looking at other students' ideas can help you. It can also create problems if you choose to be lazy.

I will leave comments about your work. These comments will usually instruct you on how you can improve your work. Please make sure you check your comments and your e-mail regularly, and make sure you are finished with one assignment before moving to the next.

Since this weblog will be part of your education at Classic City High School, any activity on your weblog should be considered school activity, even if it is done outside of school. You should feel free to create posts that are not school related, but you should also be sure to refrain from anything that could be considered inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: references to alcohol or drugs, violence, or gang activity, foul language, nudity, threats, etc.

Plagiarism is submitting someone else's work as your own. This can be done in many ways: copying work from Wikipedia, classmates, Sparknotes, etc. If you plagiarize your work, you will receive a zero -- no questions asked.

THE USER AGREEMENT:

1. I agree to submit original work to my weblog. I realize I will have the opportunity to view my peers' work, and I will use this opportunity constructively. I understand that if I choose to plagiarize, I will receive a zero for the work in question with no option to redo the assignment in question.

2. I agree to keep my weblog appropriate for Classic City High School. I understand that if innapropriate material were to appear on my weblog, be it from myself or an outside comment, I will be asked to remove it. Failure to do so will result in my weblog being removed from the class roll. I also understand that refereneces to illegal or dangerous activities will be reported since it is the legal responsibility of my teacher.

To agree, post a comment to this message like this:
I agree to Mr. Siegmund's Weblog User Agreement.
I will not add your weblog to the class roll until I receive a comment from you like the example above.

Lit 12 Dates to Remember

October 6 -- I check your mentor logs for three hours of contact with your mentor.
October 16 -- I check for seven hours of contact with your mentor, and we start constructing your portfolio:

1. Binder or notebook
2. Title Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Parental Consent
5. Plagiarism Policy
6. Research Paper
7. Revision Form (if necessary)
8. Mentor Agreement Form
9. Mentor Logs
10. Thank you letter to mentor
11. Photos / Evidence of Product
12. Self-evaluation

October 21 -- Revisions due
October 23 -- Products Due
October 27-28 -- Practice Presentations
October 29 -- All lit projects, reading records, and portfolios due
October 30 -- Presentations

Thursday Groups

What is that number next to my name?

Hey. I am glad you asked. . .

One of the best things about using blogging technology in our classroom is that it encourages you to view each others' work and provide feedback. The number next to your name represents how much you contribute to the on-line community of our classroom.

Want more points? It is EASY!

All you need to do is read some of your classmates' posts and provide MEANINGFUL feedback. (Meaningful suggests that you should make comments about their work, explain what you find interesting, or have any kind of productive discussion about their work)

After leaving meaningful feedback, email me ( dana.siegmund@gmail.com ) and let me know where your feedback is, and I will add to your points.

How about getting into the habit of leaving me a comment and tell me what you think of my idea?

User Agreement

Using a weblog for our classwork will require some parameters for your safety and the quality of everyone's work. First, you should recognize that your work, as well as mine will be published for the entire on-line world to see. This will ultimately make us all responsible for better and more original output than ever before. By visiting other students' weblogs, you will be able to view all their work, and it will also make it easy for me to see who is not making an effort to submit work that is original.

Once you create your own weblog for this class, I will add it to the class blog roll so everyone's work can be accessed from this page. I encourage you to look at your peers' work for ideas or inspiration, but what you submit must be your own. Language Arts lends itself well to this format since you will be asked to respond to the literature and history we study with your own ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers in a Language Arts class, so looking at other students' ideas can help you. It can also create problems if you choose to be lazy.

I will leave comments about your work. These comments will usually instruct you on how you can improve your work. Please make sure you check your comments and your e-mail regularly, and make sure you are finished with one assignment before moving to the next.

Since this weblog will be part of your education at Classic City High School, any activity on your weblog should be considered school activity, even if it is done outside of school. You should feel free to create posts that are not school related, but you should also be sure to refrain from anything that could be considered inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: references to alcohol or drugs, violence, or gang activity, foul language, nudity, threats, etc.

Plagiarism is submitting someone else's work as your own. This can be done in many ways: copying work from Wikipedia, classmates, Sparknotes, etc. If you plagiarize your work, you will receive a zero -- no questions asked.

THE USER AGREEMENT:

1. I agree to submit original work to my weblog. I realize I will have the opportunity to view my peers' work, and I will use this opportunity constructively. I understand that if I choose to plagiarize, I will receive a zero for the work in question with no option to redo the assignment in question.

2. I agree to keep my weblog appropriate for Classic City High School. I understand that if innapropriate material were to appear on my weblog, be it from myself or an outside comment, I will be asked to remove it. Failure to do so will result in my weblog being removed from the class roll. I also understand that refereneces to illegal or dangerous activities will be reported since it is the legal responsibility of my teacher.

To agree, post a comment to this message like this:
I agree to Mr. Siegmund's Weblog User Agreement.
I will not add your weblog to the class roll until I receive a comment from you like the example above.

End-Of-Course Test Practice

Fifteen percent of your grade for Lit 9 or 11 is the End-of-course test administered (you guessed it) at the end of the course. I feel it is very important that the coursework you complete with me should reflect the material on the test, but I also feel as though it is equally important that you have exposure to the test itself. Over the course of the quarter, you will see that your pacing guide includes EOCT practice assignments (four in all). You should complete these according to the dates on your pacing guide. Doing all four at once makes little sense, and it will affect your grade.

Your grade on these four assignments will be calculated as follows:

1) You should access the USA Test Prep website. The sign on is classiccity and then ask me for the password. Click "Agree".

2) Click on the EOCT tab, and choose either 9th Grade Literature and Composition or American Literature and Composition. Choose the medium test.

3) Before starting the test, please make sure your information is filled in correctly. This is how I will know whose work I am viewing. You should enter your email to get your results, as well as my email in the "other email" box. dana.siegmund@gmail.com . If I do not get your results in my email, I cannot give you a grade.

4) Take the test carefully. Do your best, and do not worry if there are items you do not know the answer to.

5) When you are through, you should read your report from USA Test Prep. In what areas did you do well? In which ones did you have trouble? Are there terms with which you are unclear. You should write a post on your blog (2-3 paragraphs) that explains these issues.

6) There will be four separate class discussions / practice sessions that you should attend and be a participant to receive full credit.

Grading Rubric:

90 - 100: Student took his or her time on the test (i can see how long you spent), wrote blog post that was complete and useful, and participated well during the discussion.

80 - 89: Student took his or her time on the test, wrote a blog post that was mostly complete and useful, and participated in the discussion.

70 - 79: Student took his or her time on the test, but probably could have made a better effort, wrote a minimal blog post, and may have participated in the discussion.

0 - 69: Student may have rushed through the test, written an incomplete blog post, and may have missed the discussion.

Lightnin' Reported in the Area . . .

Have A Great Summer!

READ A BOOK!

Senior Project Practice Presentations

These practice presentations are a chance for you to try your work out on the rest of the class before presenting to the big audience. Your presentation is a direct reflection of the kind of student you are and the work you completed this semester, so you should take every opportunity to make it as good as you possibly can.

You will receive a grade for your presentation practice. I will calculate your grade as follows:

90 -- 100: Student is completely prepared to give his or her presentation BEFORE the class starts. The presentation is nearly complete, and it shows that the student has spent ample time preparing a presentation for this practice. Students who receive a score of 90-100 are attentive to the other students who are presenting.

80 -- 89: Student is prepared to give his or her practice presentation, but it is clear the student could have spent more time. The presentation may not be complete. Students who receive a score of 80-89 may not be attentive to other students while they are presenting.

70-79: Student is prepared to give his or her practice presentation, but just barely. The presentation shows that the student has done the bare minimum to prepare his or herself for this practice presentation. Students who receive a score of 70-79 are not attentive to other students as they present.

0 -- 69: Students are not prepared to give a presentation at the beginning of class. Presentations are incomplete or extremely brief (under 6 minutes). Students receiving a score in this range are not prepared to give an adequate presentation.

You should use this rubric from your handbook to create your presentation. It is the one the judges will use when they grade your real presentation.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR LIT 12:

May 12:
On this day I will take your completed portfolios. That means you need to have ten mentor hours logged, and your product needs to be finished. Finished portfolios should have a completed self evaluation and a thank you letter to your mentor.

You also need to have your presentation ready for the class. We will draw numbers at 3:15. You will receive a grade for your presentation to the class.

May 15:
Presentations will begin at 1:00.

Portfolio Check

Along with your seven hour's worth of mentor logs, I will be checking to see how you have begun putting together your portfolios. You should be aware that since these portfolios are not in their finished state, they will not include all the elements. The elements that are not necessary at this time are listed in RED.

1. Binder or notebook
2. Title Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Parental Consent
5. Plagiarism Policy
6. Research Paper
7. Revision Form (if necessary)
8. Mentor Agreement Form
9. Mentor Logs
10. Thank you letter to mentor
11. Photos / Evidence of Product
12. Self-evaluation

Timely Topic for Writing Four (Persuasive Writing)

Recently, the superintendent of the Clarke County School District asked the school board to adopt a dress code for every student in the district to follow. The school board will vote in early May on whether to enact the a student dress code proposal into policy. They have opened the forum for public input until the vote.

READ THE ENTIRE PROPOSAL HERE.

This proposal is much stricter than dress codes you may have seen in the past. Parents in the community are very supportive of this proposal, but teachers are not. How do you feel? This can be a great opportunity for you to make your voice heard about how you feel about this proposal. Do you think it will help students in the school district succeed, or do you think it does not matter. This is an issue that may directly affect you soon, and it is a great topic for persuasive writing.

You should have a rough draft finished by Thursday (April 10, 2008), and since that will be a double period, you should have a final draft ready by the end of the day. Let's send our final drafts to the Athens Banner Herald and Flagpole Magazine to see which ones get published. We may also choose to send final drafts to the board members themselves to read before they vote.

My car wouldn't start.
I had to work late.
I overslept.
I forgot.
I had a flat tire.

Tell that to this guy:



Don't make excuses.
You are in charge of your own success.
Have a good Spring Break Y'all.

What do I do?

Though you will not be seeing me today, that does not change the fact that you have PLENTY to do.

Lit 11 -- You have a literature project on American Romanticism due by the end of this week. Do not waste valuable time you should be using to work on this project. You also have INDEPENDENT READING to take care of as well. Make sure your grade is respectable when I mark it down on Thursday.

Lit 12 -- We will finish editing on Thursday. Most of you desperately need to get moving on your novel projects. These will take a while to finish, and I do not want this to interfere with work you need to complete later in the semester.

GHSGT Test Prep Schedule

Individual British Novel Project

The first thing you need to do is choose a British novel. You can get ideas from lists here, here, and here here,
It is very important that you make a wise decision since this project will count as two grades and it will take you several weeks. Making a good choice of a novel will make this easier for you. Do not choose a book just because you think it is short; this often makes things more difficult. Do not try to get away without reading the book. This is a novel project -- you need to READ a novel.

Step One: Choose a novel from the list, and then talk to me about your choice before you begin. You may want to have several choices since I won't approve everything.

Step Two: Read your novel. You will be able to add this reading to your independent reading record. Once again, trying to complete this project without reading your novel is foolish. I expect you to post three separate responses to your novel as you read. These responses need to be at least four complete paragraphs. You should not wait until the end to do this (keep in mind that Blogger puts a date on all your work). You may want to look over your book and plan where you will write your responses before you begin. The completion of these three responses accounts for 25% of your total grade.

Step Three: When you finish your novel, you should do some research on the author. Go beyond the regular information like where they were born, where they died, etc. Get interesting information about their life experiences, and try to make a connection between the author's life and the novel they created. Maybe you can find the author's purpose for writing the novel the way he or she did. When you are finished with your research, post a 4-5 paragraph biography with your findings. Please remember that you agreed to submit only original work and to include plenty of textual evidence to support your claims. The completion of this biography will be graded according to the rubric for weblog posts, and will account for 25% of your grade.

Step Four: What is the historical significance of the novel you chose? What makes it worthy of study in a literature class? You should search the Internet for some critical essays about your novel for some of this information. Use the information you find to prove how the novel you chose is an important piece of literature. This should be the most intense part of this project, and your final product should be an essay that proves the importance of your novel that includes evidence from the critical essays you have read, as well as evidence from the novel itself. This essay should be written in the same format as your other essays. You will receive an additional three writing grades for this part of your project (rough draft, editing, final draft).

The final draft of this essay will be graded according to the writing rubric, and will account for 50% of your grade on this project.

Siegmund's English Weblog User Agreement

Using a weblog for our classwork will require some parameters for your safety and the quality of everyone's work. First, you should recognize that your work, as well as mine will be published for the entire on-line world to see. This will ultimately make us all responsible for better and more original output than ever before. By visiting other students' weblogs, you will be able to view all their work, and it will also make it easy for me to see who is not making an effort to submit work that is original.

Once you create your own weblog for this class, I will add it to the class blog roll so everyone's work can be accessed from this page. I encourage you to look at your peer's work for ideas or inspiration, but what you submit must be your own. Language Arts lends itself well to this format since you will be asked to respond to the literature and history we study with your own ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers in a Language Arts class, so looking at other students' ideas can help you. It can also create problems if you choose to be lazy.

I will reserve the right to a conference about each of your posts if I find it necessary. During this conference, we may discuss how you can improve your work, or if your work is not original, I may ask you to start over.

Since this weblog will be part of your education at Classic City High School, any activity on your weblog should be considered school activity, even if it is done outside of school. You should feel free to create posts that are not school related, but you should also be sure to refrain from anything that could be considered inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: references to alcohol or drugs, violence, or gang activity, foul language, nudity, threats, etc.

THE USER AGREEMENT:

1. I agree to submit original work to my weblog. I realize I will have the opportunity to view my peer's work, and I will use this opportunity constructively. I understand that if my work does not appear to be original, I will be asked to adjust or re-do the assignment in question.

2. I agree to keep my weblog appropriate for Classic City High School. I understand that if innapropriate material were to appear on my weblog, be it from myself or an outside comment, I will be asked to remove it. Failure to do so will result in my weblog being removed from the class roll. I also understand that references to illegal or dangerous activities will be reported since it is the legal responsibility of my teacher.

To agree, post a comment to this message like this: I agree to Siegmund's Weblog User Agreement. I will not add your weblog to the class roll until I receive your message.