Honors English II/III & AP Language:
American Literature 2024-2025

For Wednesday 1/22:
Read Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck: mark symbols and what you think they indicate about THEME. Please be ready for discussion on Wednesday because >>>
We will do an essay next weekend on this text, which will count toward your Semester I exam grade

John: Scarlet Letter Project/presentation DUE Friday 1/24/25

vocabulary words assigned so far: ratiocination, scientism, eminence, compel, compulsion, infer, imply, plaintive, ascendancy, transgress, lugubrious, anomaly/anomalous, antecedent, congenial/genial, ignominy/ignominious, infamy, sagacity/sagacious, adulterate/ unadulterated, repudiate, flagrant, contumely, remonstrate, peremptory, ascetic, mortify, penitent, plebeian, empirical/empiricism, repose, prevail, purport, discern, exhort, egregious, cognizant, austere, abstruse, mendicant, infamy, heresy, abash, evanescent, obscure, affinity, celibacy, vilify, peripatetic, poignant, gesticulate, contumely, licentious, propitiatory, propitiatory, caprice, capricious, surfeit, stricture, sycophant, laconic, supercilious, taciturn, lassitude, perfunctory, reticent, dissolute +

The Elements of Style, Part IV: Words and expressions Commonly Misused

aggravate/irritate; all right; allude; allusion; alternate/alternative; among/between; and/or; anticipate; anybody; anyone; as good or better than; as to whether; as yet, being, but, can, case, certainly, character, claim, clever, compare, comprise, contact, cope, consider, currently

Timeless 
by Anna Morgan

That little yellow cabin by the lake
hidden by big, bushy branches
of the oak outside: 
water washes up on shore -
sand warmed by gleaming sun
smiling down
on our peaceful yellow cabin by the lake. 
Quiet morning hangs limpid as an 
impending buzz of life
breaks the veil of silence 
surrounding
this rustic yellow cabin by the lake. 
Popsicle juice runs sticky 
down our fingers, to our toes;
washed away by crisp waters 
brushing up against sandy banks
of that lone yellow cabin by the lake.

Grammar, key terminology, and vocabulary items that we have discussed in class are on the AP Language & Composition Vocabulary Archive. While most of you will not take the AP Language exam until next year, it always helps to become familiar with these terms now (rather than cramming next year). The sooner you get started, the sooner (comparative degree) you will know all your terms.

American Literature vocabulary SEE FULL PAGE HERE

Student Resources: English III

Check every piece for THESE SKILLS before turning anything in for an edit.
Check ALL CITATIONS (quotes) with these formatting rules before turning anything in for an edit.

Click HERE for directions for email editing

Summer reading list for High School students

Access our HS student writing archives to see what our readings and assignments are for this year, and to read sample pieces written by previous English II students.

*** *** *** *** ***
English II GRADING:

Participation = 30% (purely subjective, based on my perceptions of your initiative, interest, self-motivation, & tenacity)

Assignments = Revisions (20%)
Edits (20%)

Vocab/Multiple Choice tests= 15%
Timed essay grades= 15%

*** *** *** *** ***

AP Language GRADING:

Participation = 30% (purely subjective, based on my perceptions of your initiative, interest, self-motivation, & tenacity)

Assignments (two parts of grade)

1st Semester EFFORT = 20%; CONTENT = 10%
2nd Semester EFFORT = 10%; CONTENT = 20%

Vocab/Multiple Choice tests= 15%
AP Portfolio essay grades= 15%
Exams = 10%

"The difference between predictions and outcomes is the key to understanding a strange property of learning: if you’re predicting perfectly, your brain doesn’t need to change further…Changes in the brain happen only when there’s a difference between what was expected and what actually happens." — David Eagleman in Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

Unfinished Pieces: Semester I
(updated 1/19/25

Anna
Revisions = 100%
Edits = 5/12
timed essays/presentations = 73%
Vocab/Mult. Choice practice = 80%

Philosophical essay: Music

Green poetry: Haiku; Tanka; Tercets; Quatrains; Limericks
Audio file: Anna Morgan

John
Revisions = 62/72
Edits = 5/12
timed essays/presentations = 45%
Vocab/Mult. Choice practice = 67%

Scarlet Letter Project: Spheres
Philosophical essay: Making Money
Poe essay: poet as maker

Pink poetry: Poem of Feeling; General to Specific
Audio file: John Spilotros

    Gleeful
by John Spilotros

In the meadow 
gentle winds flow through tall grass,
spreading the warmth from fluorescent sun 
that hangs in a bright blue sky.
Grass blades frolic
like gleeful children.
Birds recite sweet symphonies, while
sunflowers flourish in vibrant sunlight
dancing in the meadow.

Twilight 
by Anna Morgan

Wind whistles
through drooping branches.
Darkness expands;
sun sinks below dark clouds.
Suspense hangs in the air
like thick eerie fog, a
pale glow of moonlight
breaking through. 
Distantly, an owl hoots; 
fireflies hover:
glimmers of light dot early morning sky.