Conrady Junior High
School
S w e i s s ’ s C i r c l e
C l a s s r o o m N e w s l e t t e r
Snapshots from
Week of October
26:
And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by
one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his
fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods
expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
Edgar A. Poe (“The Masque of the Red Death)
Greetings,

Block A and C: “Alone” Theme
Analysis (Due Tuesday,
November 3)
Texts Read/Analyzed:
1.
“The Masque of the Red
Death” by Edgar A. Poe
2.
“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke (Block B)
3.
“Alone” by Edgar A. Poe
Activities:

Volume III, Issue 10
November 2015
Digital Annotations for “The
This past week we continued our Edgar A. Poe unit and read another one of his classic tales, that of “The
Masque of the Red Death.” I began by frontloading the students with pre-selected vocabulary words that I
knew would be challenging or “new” to our students. Students completed a Vocabulary in Context WarmUp, in which they simply read sentences and made guesses about the meanings of the pre-selected words.
We spent the rest of the week reinforcing the vocabulary through various activities.
For the first time ever, I shared the story of “The Masque of the Red Death” digitally and students read the
text “off the computer” and completed their annotations using the feature of a Google document, including
underlining, highlighting, and inserting comments. Interestingly, most students preferred the “paper-andpencil” format of reading a text and not the digital format.
Masque of the Red Death”

Quiz on Part 2 Affixes and
“The Cask of Amontillado”
words

Vocabulary in Context WarmUp


Students did an excellent job analyzing all the allegories in “The Masque of the Red Death,” most notably the
7 rooms of Prince Prospero’s castle. Understanding symbolism in literature can be challenging but the students are getting better at this. Students completed a chart identifying all the allegories in the text.
Dual Interpretations Chart for
“My Papa’s Waltz”
Themes, Patterns, and Motifs
Next week, we will read Poe’s “The Black Cat,” and we will do some Stagg Explore Test prep. Students will
read several passages and answer the reading comprehension questions in response. I will give some strategies to the students, and we will discuss questions that students answere incorrectly. It’s important that
they understand why they got the questions wrong. Students will take the Stagg Explore test on Saturday,
November 7.
Chart for “The Masque…”
Vocabulary for “The Masque…”

Finally, I just want to reiterate the importance of the Reading Logs. Please ensure that your child is making
time to read outside of school. Set aside 20 minutes each night to read from their IRT book.
Pestilence, Avatar, Terminate,
Profuse, Seclusion, Eccentric,
Courtiers, Defiance, Candelabrum, Ghastly, Countenance,
Reverie, and Pendulum
Part 2 Greek and Latin Roots:
Log/Logo; Loq; Dict; Ques/Quir;
Lit; Scrib; Script; Graph
Sincerely,
Miss Sweiss
[email protected]
Classroom Website
Reminders:
 October Reading Log due Tuesday 11/03
Stellar Student Spotlight:
 Gothic Literature Inspired Story Due Monday, Kudos to Ryann C. for making several poignant obserNovember 23
 Wednesday, November 11: Veteran’s Day (No
School)
 Parent-Teacher Conferences: Monday, November 23 and Tuesday November 24
vations in our reading of “The Masque of the Red
Death.” She identified the motif of the color red in
the short story. Awesome!
Great to see so many students who have started the
Gothic literature inspired story.
Challenge Your Kid:
We read “The Masque of the
Red Death” by Edgar A. Poe.
Ask your child to explain the
multiple allegories of the
text.