Honors English 11

I hope you have had a restful and relaxing summer vacation. Over the next few days I encourage you to take a look at the different pages on the blog. We are not going to spend a lot of time on the syllabus, rules and procedures so I expect you to read them before class on Tuesday. Also, please look at the schedule for week one. Notice the Anna test on Wednesday and the vocabulary quiz on Friday. If you plan ahead for these assignments, you will not be overwhelmed when you return.

If you have not all ready done so, please email me at souless@wy.k12.mi.us as soon as you read this.

I look forward to seeing you Tuesday!

All of the questions for Anna have been posted. I hope that you are using these questions to guide your reading. Additionally keep in mind that Anna/Vronsky and Levin/Kitty are major characters. Notice the differences in these couples in where they live, their outlook on life, and their relationships. Also remember that Anna is a character who is going against everything that her society represents. This is directly related to the theme of the novel.

PLEASE NOTE: I would like you to email me at souless@wy.k12.mi.us so I have your email address. Please do this when you read this message. In the subject line put Honors English 11. Thank you.

Keep in mind that I check my email daily. If you have any questions regarding the reading or the questions, please feel free to email me. Also note the videos on our blog. I think the Anna Karenina montage is well done and well worth the couple of minutes it takes to watch it. Hopefully, it will re-energize your reading. There is also a link to an audio site that will stream someone reading Anna. Even if you don’t use it, it might be worth checking out.

I hope your summer is going well. I know that a lot of you have begun the novel; I hope the guiding questions that I have provided on our blog have been useful during your reading. Please keep in mind that the questions that I have on our page are to help keep you focused on the major characters and the plot of Anna. Whatever notes you take from the novel will be useful the first week of school when you take your comprehension quiz.

Helpful hints:

1. Avoid GradeSaver, SparkNotes, and PinkMonkey. It is your responsibility to read the novel in its entirety and these sites will not help you with your test when you return.

2. Make a book mark (3×5 card) of the major characters of this novel. This book mark will help you keep in mind how people are related. Also knowing their character traits will help in comprehending the plot.

3. Talk to anyone who will listen about what you are reading. Explaining the characters and the plot will increase your comprehension of this novel. Better yet, recruit family members to read the novel with you so you can have someone to talk to about the story.

4. Manage your reading wisely. Do not wait to the last minute to read this novel. If you wait until August 14th to start this novel you will be miserable. Take your time and enjoy the story; it is well worth the time.

5. Enjoy your summer. Do not let this novel be your albatross. Get outside and enjoy the weather, your family and friends. 

I will post to this site every other week so be sure to check back for updates. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at souless@wy.k12.mi.us .   

Enjoy!

Thank you for subscribing to the Honors English 11 blog.

Please remember to pick up your copy of Anna Karenina before you leave for the summer. When you pick this book up from Mr. Kudron, be sure you have $5 to purchase it. 

If you have any questions about the course or the book, please feel free to contact me at the following email address: souless@wy.k12.mi.us 

Over the next ten weeks we will be reading the novel Anna Karenina. We will use this blog as a place for you to discuss the novel, post your questions, watch for my postings for journal enteries, and to keep in touch.

Leo Tolstoy is one of the world’s most respected authors, and his novel Anna Karenina is aguably one of the best novels of all time. So this is the place to convey your agreement or disagreement to these points. I look forward to your input and your insight to Tolstoy’s novel.

I look forward to a very productive year of learning and discovery in Honors 11!

A brief synopsis of Anna Karenina:

When Anna Karenina meets Count Vronsky, she has been married to a respectable, high-ranking husband for ten years and is the mother of a son she adores. Vronsky turns her world upside down when they fall deeply in love. When Anna becomes pregnant with her lover’s daughter, her husband tries to pretend that nothing has changed, though he threatens to keep her from her son if she leaves him. When Anna is near death after giving birth, both men try to compromise and for a while it appears that Anna will be able to live with her lover and keep her son, but not with the blessing of society, or a divorce. Soon it becomes apparent that she cannot live with Vronsky; the disapproval of society and the stress threaten to destroy their love and soon they destroy her.

(Kliatt, July 2007 v41 i4 p55(1) )