The Catcher in the RyeThe students have spent the last six weeks immersed in the 1950s novel and exploring various topics related to the novel. They will finish this unit of study with two short stories (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “For Esme-With Love and Squalor”) by J.D. Salinger. Both short stories relate to Salinger’s continuous themes of angst, innocence, and alienation.

EXTENDED LEARNINGThe author J.D. Salinger died in January, 2010. He was 91 years old at the time of his death and spent most of his life trying to avoid publicity. A 2013 documentary entitled Salinger, directed by Shane Salerno, has been released. The film takes a look at the private and personal world of the the author and includes interviews with current day actors, writers and those who personally knew Salinger. View the movie trailer and other interview clips at http://www.fandango.com/movie-trailer/salinger-trailer/163670 The movie is to be released on DVD

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Field Trip - December 11th

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

ENGLISH 11Quarter 1 2013

MRS. DIANE DICHIARA - JOHN JAY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL - SPECIAL EDUCATION

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley has approved my field trip grant request and we will be exploring the various NYC haunts of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye on Wednesday,

December 11, 2013. The topic of our project this year is Trauma and The Catcher in the Rye and we will incorporate the novel, trauma research and technology. The students will become reporters, producers, videographers and editors as we explore the topic in a video production that answers a question of the group’s choice. The students will travel to NYC by chartered bus and return at 6:30 pm. The grant is valued at just under $1,200.00. Thank you to CFHV!

VOCABULARY: STUDENT CHOICEFrom reviewing the literary text, I choose a selection of SAT level vocabulary. For each unit of study, a student nominates a word and gives the reason for the choice (“likes the way it sounds”, “from a different language”, “sounds interesting”...). After nomination, a discourse begins to decide on the final list of ten. The students are engaged and motivated. Students tend to choose the more challenging words - sangfroid, bombastic, ostracize, expiate!

Extended Learning

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in December; however, it is now playing on Netflix. As one student excitedly said after viewing the documentary at home, “I get it...I think Salinger was writing about himself; he’s Holden.”

MEETING THE COMMON CORE

STANDARDS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Reading Literature: The Catcher in the RyePoetry:William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Rupert BrookeReading Informational Text: Trauma, Stages of GriefPolitical Speeches: Winston Churchill, JFK, MLK Jr.Literary Devices: Anaphora, Allusion, Diction, Tone, Parody, Characterization, Conflict, ThemeClose Reading Skills/Strategies: Text Annotation, Thinking Notes, Chunking of Information

STUDENT CHOICE: MACBETH OR OEDIPUS THE KING?

After a book talk, the students will choose the next reading selection. The choices will come from two plays: the graphic novel Macbeth by William Shakespeare or the ancient Greek play Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles. Macbeth, contains the original Shakespearean language illustrated in the popular teenage reading genre, the graphic

WHY STUDENT CHOICE IN LEARNING?*Enhances Intrinsic MotivationEmpowers studentsEncourages IndependenceImproves Student Emotional Investment

*William Glasser Choice Theory

NYC FIELD TRIP

New York City: Central Park Duck Pond

New York City: Rockefeller Center

novel. Both stories explore leadership and students will read informational text pertaining to leadership and the application to 21st century living. For a preview of articles, read “15 Ways to Identify Bad Leaders” (Forbes 2013) at http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/10/18/15-

ways-to-identify-bad-leaders/ After close reading the article, students will choose the topics that they want to explore around leadership.

Writing Genres: Friendly Letter, Precis, Poetry, Journal Writing, Interview, Research Paper including Parenthetical Documentation and Works CitedLanguage: Spelling, Syntax, Complex Sentence Development, Subordinating

Conjunctions; Vocabulary: Application of SAT words from our literatureSpeaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration through Think-Pair-Share, Jigsaw, Small and Large Group Discussions; Civility in Discourse

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do societal and cultural expectations impact our identity? How does trauma impact personality development?

MRS. DIANE DICHIARAJohn Jay Senior High School

2012 Route 52Hopewell Junction, New York 12590

• • •

In October, guidance counselor, Ms. May, gave a presentation in English class to assist students in the college preparation process. The following week the students attended the JJ Career Fair during period 2. The

College Process for Juniors can be found at http://www.wappingersschools.org/Page/7101

COLLEGE VISITSDid you know that colleges and technical schools visit JJ on almost a daily basis? Encourage your child to visit the College and Career Room to speak with representatives from various institutions. A daily calendar can be found at http://www.wappingersschools.org/Page/7106

The College and Career Room has resources on schools, scholarship information, applications, etc.

High School Transition: It’s Not to Early to Prepare for Life After HS

1. The Catcher in the Rye

2. Field Trip 2013

3. Extended Learning

4. Common Core Standards

5. Essential Questions

6. Macbeth or Oedipus?

7. Why Student Choice?

8. Transition

Have you visited my Teacher Webpage?