1. While reading this amazing novel, there are several Common Core standards that we will explore. Why is Grendel written in italics?

2.  Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.  In class assignment: Take out the contents of your portfolio. On a sheet of paper that is divided into three columns, make a check every time you see something that I have identified as a capitalization, punctuation, or spelling issue. On the first day, quarter 2, we will work on this analysis.  Take home this data and turn it into a chart. Test grade.

3.  Grade 11-12 students: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to reproduce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.  Assignment: Write a summary of chapters 1-3.  Do not repeat the whole plot.  Summarize each chapter in one sentence.

4.  We have used this definition for a literary theme: “A central message or perception about life that is revealed in a literary work” (Mirrors and Windows 1136.  Reflect on your one sentence, chapter summaries and what you remember about the novel in each chapter. What perception(s) about life is Gardner revealing to us?  Type this up for a grade. Due 9/3/13

7.  In grade 11-12: Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated from text from what is really meant. E.g., satire, irony, sarcasm, or understatement.