Room 335 Online

Macbeth Scenes November 2011

2011-11-27T13:40:00.001-05:00

Block 1

Block 2

Thanksgiving Cheers Block 2

2011-11-27T13:33:00.001-05:00

2011-11-27T00:09:00.001-05:00

2011 Thanksgiving Cheers
Block 1

Halloween "Thriller" Dances

2011-11-01T08:49:00.001-04:00

Humanities Tradition: Halloween "Thriller" Dance

Block 1

Block 2:

Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books : NPR

2011-08-12T22:15:00.000-04:00

Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books : NPR

I am a science fiction fan. A huge sci-fi fan. Any one of these reads will be worth your while.

Another Good Read

2011-08-01T09:16:00.005-04:00

The Clockwork Man
by William Jablonsky

Recommended Books For Extra Credit

2011-07-30T15:42:00.000-04:00

In addition to the extra credit books listed on the district's website, you can read any one of these titles. Write a 500-word review for up to five free daily questions.

How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130070296

Singing Valentines 2011

2011-02-20T23:03:00.000-05:00

Group photos of all the singing valentines delivered to Room 335 on 2/14/2011.

Happy New Year from Mr. Mullen's classes! Clips

2011-01-08T20:42:00.001-05:00

A few clips of our New Years celebrations.

Happy New Year from Mr. Mullen's classes!

2011-01-08T20:29:00.000-05:00

On January 3, all classes celebrated New Year's Day Philly style with the donning of Mummers costumes and some strutting in the commons.

LP in the fancy headdress

EW in his Mummer regalia.

SW in the headpiece

JA is a happy Mummer.

The crowd waits patiently for the parade to begin.

ST ready to strut.

AG leads the brigade.

Thanksgiving Day Cheers: Block 2

2010-12-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

Block 2 pre-Thanksgiving game cheers in front of the main office and in the gym for Coach Gallagher.

Thanksgiving Day Cheers: Block 1

2010-12-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Block 1 Thanksgiving cheers: in front of the main office and in the gym for Coach Gallagher.

Helpful Hints

2008-01-28T18:04:00.000-05:00

January 28, 2008

How to write the in class essay on The Things They Carried:

Read the AP rubric posted on the wiki. Pay careful attention to the 8-9 descriptor. The key words in the descriptor are "provocative analysis." Take "provocative" to mean that your essay addresses irony– how the quote you choose to write about describes an incongruity between what is expected and what is occurring.

Go beyond the literal. You should write about the anagogical and thematic significance of the excerpt. How does the excerpt communicate the author’s insights into human nature, the purpose of human life, or the ways people create meaning through language?

Always come back to the irony in the excerpt. An awareness of irony will always lead the reader to some insights on theme.

Thoughts on the Choice Book Extravaganza

You are creating your own reading of this novel, not echoing mine. You may feel quite alone in that space, but you have some tools and frameworks to guide you.

The most common mistake students make on the choice book extravaganza (aside from not reading the book) is neglecting to explicate the book in terms of the eligible content.
Identify the moments when characters must resolve crises and make decisions. These moments lead to character development. Find the doppelgangers. Characters often develop in pairs.

Look at the climax of the novel and interpret it as an emblem. That moment of truth can be frozen and interpreted as a symbolic picture.

As always, think about irony. What kinds of ironies are present in the novel and how does an awareness of them affect our understanding of the work as a whole?

Another common mistake is neglecting to identify a key passage in the novel. You cannot make your case without textual evidence.

Let's Try This Blog Host

2007-12-07T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, we tried the MSN blog environment and found it clunky, so we'll give Google a shot.

I want to share deeper thoughts about the texts we study in class, but truth be told I can't seem to find the time to faithfully post. I'll see how this latest attempt goes.