Honors English 3 students will all draft one essay from the 2026-2027 Common App Prompts. We will conference one-on-one Friday 05/08 through Tuesday 05/12. then prep for finals.
English 3 students will watch The Call of the Wild. This film is by Jack London, who wrote “To Build a Fire” from the beginning of the semester and will be on the final exam. Scholarship information will be posted for folks who want to get started on some essays before school ends.
I have posted almost-exemption statuses in Google Classroom with notes about what happens if you miss more than 4 days.
Post-ACT: Weeks 13-16
Juniors did an excellent job showing up in all the ways that matter for the ACT!!
All classes got brain-rest days following the ACT.
Frist, they will watch an excerpt about John Steinbeck, the great depression, and learned about the white itinerant migrant workers who flooded California looking for work.
Some of the turmoil between land owners and migrant workers Steinbeck witnessed in California parallels our own struggles in southern Illinois between mine operators and unionized mine workers, covered in the book Bloody Williamson.
Students will engage in doodle-note-making as they watch: take notes, jot down thoughts, doodle, make word clouds, etc.
Then, they will work on Of Mice and Men Character Maps to prep for a quiz prior to reading so we know who is who.
They will start reading Of Mice and Men.
- Some classes indicated they prefer silent reading over listening to audio books (links below).
- Students who want to listen as they read should bring earbuds to class and should read as they listen.
- Of Mice and Men: Interactive text page flip version.
- Of Mice and Men: Full audio without the text – put captions on or read in the print text with your EYES as you listen.
They will complete study guide as they read: OMAM Study Guide
Start Chapter 1 in-class
Read Chapter 2
Read Chapter 3
Read Chapter 4
Finish Chapter 4; start Chapter 5
Start Chapter 6
Quiz over the end of the novel
View film version & seminar: Week 15 of Prom
Week 16: one pagers
ACT Prep Weeks 10-12
Students will start ACT prep.
Students should come to class with CHARGED CHROMEBOOKS, ready to sit QUIETLY for LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
Part of prep is learning grammar and English and reading rules.
Part of prep is learning behaviors and just engaging in test training – which is WAY less fun than Rocky training montages!
Follow instructions in Google Classroom about posting Test Scores (Borg doesn’t have access).
Bring required materials for sign ups with Guidance.
Check Kaplan resources on Youtube and other links and slides Borg posts in GC.
Showing up is the most you can do and the least you can do – so show up, pay attention (even though it is somewhat boring) and lets get those scores up for the ACT on 03/31!!
Week 12: 03/30-04/02
- Final prep and reminders for ACT – Charge Chromebooks overnight in Borg’s room
- ACT on Tuesday 03/31: get here ON TIME, be ready to go at 8:10
- If EVERYONE shows up ON TIME and TAKES THE TEST – no dorking around, no sleeping the whole time, no earbuds or cell phones – EVERYONE can leave once ACT is finished.
- Shenanigans and late starts = EVERYONE STAYS AFTER AND GOES TO AFTERNOON CLASSES!
Week 7 — 9
Students will get a QUICK overview of the Harlem Renaissance before jumping into Warriors Don’t Cry – to dovetail off of Mr. Shick’s Black History Month Museum projects.
We often do Harlem Renaissance Projects in here, but may skip it to move forward.
We will focus on The Great Migration, Convict Leasing, and other issues related to the Black Codes before jumping into Warriors Don’t Cry, a novel about the Little Rock Nine, to dovetail off of Mr. Shick’s Black History Month Museum Projects.
Interesting side note: Thelma Mothershed, one of the Little Rock Nine, attended SIU. She died in 2024.
Actually – 3 of the Little Rock 9 attended SIU – scroll down to see biographical info on Minnijean, Thelma, and Terrance who all attended SIU after their arduous experiences integrating as the Little Rock Nine.
Weeks 8 – 9
Here is a link to audio chapters for Warriors Don’t Cry. Interesting side note: one of the Little Rock Nine graduated from SIU and became a teacher after her historic experiences. She just died last year. This feels like a long time ago, but really isn’t.
We will start Warriors Don’t Cry this week and *hopefully* will finish by or around Spring Break.
Bring earbuds with you to class if you want to listen as you read – you will be quizzed over chapters. Tentative schedule below:
Read Chapters 1-2: Quiz Wednesday 02/25
Chapters 3-5: Quiz Friday 02/27
Chapters 6-8: Quiz Monday 03/02
Chapters 9-12: Quiz Wednesday 03/04
Chapters 13-epilogue: Quiz Friday 03/06 (open book)
Weeks 4-6
Week 4: 01/26-??? Was impacted by Snowpocalypse Fern. Students will finish one-pagers over Emerson & Ben Franklin when we return & turn in journals from e-learning days.
Weeks 5-6:
We will build on Romanticism notes by adding Realism notes. Realism evolved as a response to the horrors of slavery & the Civil War. It was a pushback against the idealism of the Romantics – where “Nature never wears a mean appearance.” For Realists, Nature is indeed quite cruel.
Students will read stories & poems that embody concepts of Realism. All stories will be annotated and students will write summaries, by hand, using the format given them in class. All summaries should include a quote with a parenthetical citation after it.
Starting with Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce.
Here’s a video version we will watch and an audio version for folks who prefer to listen to audio books.
We will then read “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
If we have time, we will read excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass & Incidents in the Life of a Life of a Slave Girl by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.
But that will depend on how many days we lose to Fern.
Weeks 1-3: Rationalists – Romantics & Transcendentalists
Week 1:
Take notes over the Age of Reason & the Rationalists.
Students will put notes in notebooks as a diagnostic of note-taking / outlining skills.
Students will read excerpts from Ben Franklin Autobiography. They should take notes, write a summary, and pull 1-2 quotes to discuss for seminar.
Week 2: Edmentum Testing Tuesday – Thursday. 2:00 schedules then 2:00 – 2:46 in Enrichment classes.
PRE-ACT / Edmentum Testing in Enrichment: Take practice tests to see where you are strong with testing and where you have gaps.
Practice in areas where you struggle. We will work on speed-reading to increase reading comprehension speed in coming weeks / months.
Students add to notes: Romanticism, Transcendentalism, & Dark Romanticism.
American Romanticism Slides were posted in Google Classroom for note taking as well.
Week 3:
Students will read excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” and “Self Reliance” essays. They should take notes, write a summary, and pull 1-2 quotes to discuss for seminar.
We will dip our toe into some poetry from the Dark Romantics & Transcendentalists as well.
Weeks 13-15
Week 13: 11/03 – 11/07
Know Puritan Notes & “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” as content from those will appear in future quizzes over The Crucible.
Students will read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and find examples of metaphors & similes that connect to pathos – the use of emotions to make an argument.
They will then make collages that evoke imagery from the sermon.
We start making Character Maps over The Crucible before reading the play.
Week 14: 11/10-11/14
We will start reading Act 1 aloud in class. There will be assigned quizzes after every act. You will have to take them even if you are absent prior to the quiz. Readings will be online, so you must stay up to date when you miss.
Students will collect Split-Quotes as you read. Quotes will be used on quizzes, for seminar, and for your final papers & projects in here. Also work on Crucible Study Guide and Character Charts.
Week 15: 11/17-11/21
Continue Acts 2-3 & continue collecting split-quotes as you read. Quiz over will be given 11/24 & 11/25 for reading done to that point. We will TRY to finish before Thanksgiving, but may carry over Act 4 after.
Weeks 10-11
Week 10 (post-Homecoming)
Honors English 3: this is the last week for reading in class.
Reading Journals will be checked. Finish reading by Friday 10/17 to take a reading quiz. Folks who don’t finish / are absent can take quizzes Monday 10/20.
English 3: we will watch the next part of Fahrenheit 451 in class. Finish Part Two: The Sand and the Sieve by Friday. We will quiz over the end of the novel next week – Thursday / Friday.
Week 11:
Honors English 3: Comparative analysis – we will write an essay comparing the two novels you’ve read.
English 3: Students will finish novels, quiz, and seminar.
Weeks 8-9: 1st Quarter Ends + Homecoming
We will continue memorizing “To Be or Not to Be” – students have until the end of the semester before Christmas Break to recite this for a grade. Students are graded on accuracy. The class with the highest % of students who get it 100% accurately will be the winners. Prizes TBA by winning classes.
We will start reading Fahrenheit 451 in class.
We’ll start with some discussions & activities about censorship.
Students will also learn about Banned Books Week.
Students will keep split-quotes as we read and complete a F451 Study Guide for use in seminar and for quizzing purposes. Students should put page numbers next to answers for full credit.
See Google Classroom for reading schedule. Time will be given for reading the text in class, but students who are absent or who fall behind will have to read for homework.
Week 6-7
It’s good to get back to basics and focus on fundamentals. So we will continue Speed Reading, DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), practice being bored, and introduce Memorizing & Reciting to the mix.
BOREDOM
We will watch a few videos on why being bored is good for your brain health and engage in Doodle Note Making.
“How Boredom Can Lead to Your Most Brilliant Ideas” TedTalk
“You Need to Be Bored” Harvard Business Review
Then, we will actually practice being bored by seeing how long we can sit silently and stare at the walls in class.
RECITATION
In the past, Borg has students memorize & recite a portion of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy: “To Be or Not to Be.”
It often turns into a friendly competition to see which class can get the largest percentage of students to memorize and recite in full.
All students will need to recite this for Borger before the end of the semester for 100 points. Classes with the highest % of students who memorized with 100% accuracy will get a prize.
UNDERSTANDING – CHUNKING – REPETITION
Understanding “To Be or Not to Be” – you have to understand something before you memorize it.
Chunking & Repetition of “To Be or Not to Be” – you need to break it down to bite sized pieces to memorize it. Memorize small chunks then stack those small chunks together like LEGOS. Then, you need to repeat, repeat, repeat the small chunks over and over and over again. Then repeat the longer chunks over and over and over again until you have the whole thing memorized.
Borger: Literature & Language 3 