Hello all.
Not too much to report this week - basically your two tasks are to finish reading The Things They Carried and to work on your paper. I strongly suggest you spend some serious time on Monday researching and writing. I will stop short of begging, but again I urge you to finish the paper on time - I just can't accept any late papers at this time of year. After 17 years of education, I trust you have the skills to meet the deadline - June 7th!
Remember the Test on TTTC is on June 3rd - next Friday.
If you missed yesterday's class make sure to get the notes on TTTC, and you should probably check out Spark Notes or something to review the themes, symbols, etc. Have a good one - pray for sunshine - I can't take much more rain!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Researching Research
Today's class was hopefully helpful in terms of getting you started on your research. I certainly learned a few things from Mrs. Berry's presentation, and she told me many university-bound students are asking for that kind of information all the time.
About the research paper: keep in mind that narrowing your topic to a specific focus and actually getting the research done is a large part of this assignment. You can use The Visitor as a gateway to your topic, and you can focus on detention and immigration entirely, if you like, or widen your take on the topic to contain one or several other examples of government action toward individual liberties. Try to keep a thread of The Visitor running through the paper, but the film does not have to be the major focus.
It seems to me it would be helpful for you to have more feedback earlier in the writing process, so I hope to talk to you about your research and your specific thesis late next week. What I'm saying here is get as much done now as you can! Even though it is summer weather, try to push yourself for a few weeks more. You will be free of all of this soon enough. This really is not the assignment to leave to the last minute.
Homework: Please see the previous post for reading assignment and question assignment. Also, don't forget that the novel test is on June 3rd, and the paper is due June 7th.
About the research paper: keep in mind that narrowing your topic to a specific focus and actually getting the research done is a large part of this assignment. You can use The Visitor as a gateway to your topic, and you can focus on detention and immigration entirely, if you like, or widen your take on the topic to contain one or several other examples of government action toward individual liberties. Try to keep a thread of The Visitor running through the paper, but the film does not have to be the major focus.
It seems to me it would be helpful for you to have more feedback earlier in the writing process, so I hope to talk to you about your research and your specific thesis late next week. What I'm saying here is get as much done now as you can! Even though it is summer weather, try to push yourself for a few weeks more. You will be free of all of this soon enough. This really is not the assignment to leave to the last minute.
Homework: Please see the previous post for reading assignment and question assignment. Also, don't forget that the novel test is on June 3rd, and the paper is due June 7th.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
More Bloggage
O.K. I have three minutes to write this before I go to pick up the kiddies!
Today I handed out The Visitor questions. They are due Tuesday - and now that you are reading this, you may as well do them all. Question 3 and 4 are pretty much the same, so you could combine those answers. Please answer in complete sentences - the answers don't need to be endless, just thoughtful, intelligent, and complete.
We then had some notes / terms on poetry and some chat about the English 12 exam. Following which we dissected a poem about the Vietnam war - despite Zach and Dylan's misgivings about the activity.
Finally, we had some discussion about "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", and the role of female characters in The Things They Carried.
Please read: "Stockings", "Church", "The Man I Killed", "Ambush", and "Style" (p117-136) for Tuesday as well.
You can see you should start on some of this homework before Monday night, right? And that is the kind of helpful hint you won't be getting at the Uni!
Ciao!
Ms. M
Today I handed out The Visitor questions. They are due Tuesday - and now that you are reading this, you may as well do them all. Question 3 and 4 are pretty much the same, so you could combine those answers. Please answer in complete sentences - the answers don't need to be endless, just thoughtful, intelligent, and complete.
We then had some notes / terms on poetry and some chat about the English 12 exam. Following which we dissected a poem about the Vietnam war - despite Zach and Dylan's misgivings about the activity.
Finally, we had some discussion about "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", and the role of female characters in The Things They Carried.
Please read: "Stockings", "Church", "The Man I Killed", "Ambush", and "Style" (p117-136) for Tuesday as well.
You can see you should start on some of this homework before Monday night, right? And that is the kind of helpful hint you won't be getting at the Uni!
Ciao!
Ms. M
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Visitor
Today we finished viewing The Visitor. I handed out the Research Paper Assignment, and we will go to the library to begin research on Friday. Mrs. Berry will be giving you some guidelines about where to look for research material and how to access academic journals - you will need this information for university, so it should be very helpful!Homework: Please read "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong." (up to page 110)
Wednesday we will discuss The Visitor further - there will be a handout with questions. We will also carry on with The Things They Carried. There will be a test on the novel when we finish reading it, so you should be mentally prepared for that.
See you Wednesday.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Congratulations!
Well, as I mentioned in class, congratulations are in order. You have done a lot of work this year and learned a lot, I hope, to get ready for tomorrow's exam. Take pride in your accomplishments thus far, and go in to the exam knowing you have already done well. Good luck to all of you!
In our class today, we read an article about Obama, Osama, and propaganda; discussed the editorial changes to the new version of The New Testament; and read Stephen Lewis' speech, AIDs Has a Woman's Face. The speech is great, and the issue is critical, so it is well worth the read.
Again, best wishes for tomorrow, and we will start a movie assignment in class on Thursday, so attendance is necessary.
Must go teach up some grade 8's ...
In our class today, we read an article about Obama, Osama, and propaganda; discussed the editorial changes to the new version of The New Testament; and read Stephen Lewis' speech, AIDs Has a Woman's Face. The speech is great, and the issue is critical, so it is well worth the read.
Again, best wishes for tomorrow, and we will start a movie assignment in class on Thursday, so attendance is necessary.
Must go teach up some grade 8's ...
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
REHUGO Revisited
Today was a bit of a whirlwind. There were a few casualties from the AP Calculus Exam, but overall, we got quite a bit accomplished. What happened to Taylor, I wonder?
Anyhoo, I quickly reviewed the use of quotations for support, and tried to remind you to incorporate them as seamlessly as you can in your essays. I also collected the synthesis essays you wrote in response to the prompt from your textbook.
Next, we reviewed the meaning of REHUGO (readings, entertainment, history, universal truths, general knowledge, and observations). We discovered that Universal Truths are mostly funny so are not too critical for you to think about.
I also assigned a fair bit of reading in the hope that you might consider a few more issues before the exam.
Please read:
Thanks and good luck!
Ms. M
Anyhoo, I quickly reviewed the use of quotations for support, and tried to remind you to incorporate them as seamlessly as you can in your essays. I also collected the synthesis essays you wrote in response to the prompt from your textbook.
Next, we reviewed the meaning of REHUGO (readings, entertainment, history, universal truths, general knowledge, and observations). We discovered that Universal Truths are mostly funny so are not too critical for you to think about.
I also assigned a fair bit of reading in the hope that you might consider a few more issues before the exam.
Please read:
- The Real New York Giants (p.471)
- AIDS has a Woman's Face (p. 382)
- New and Newer Versions of Scripture (p. 405)
- the blue handout with the two articles about the Mortensen scandal.
Thanks and good luck!
Ms. M
Monday, May 2, 2011
Obama on Osama
Rhetoric in action! Today's class focused almost solely on a rhetorical analysis of Obama's speech and Harper's short announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. I thought that was a great class discussion, and I appreciate all the insightful contributions. Thanks.
For homework, I asked you to please write the synthesis essay (only a draft / 40 minute attempt) in response to the question in Chapter 3, for which you have prepared your outline. The question and sources appear on page 74. The question is whether or not high schools should make community service mandatory.
Megan, Michelle, and Taylor, you may hand this assignment in later, as you are writing AP calculus on Wednesday. Study your calculus!
Note: I just found this website called the Grumpy Grammarian - remind you of someone? Anyway, the latest post is entirely timely and appropriate for you to read. Take five minutes - it's great!
Must go think about my democratic responsibilities ...
For homework, I asked you to please write the synthesis essay (only a draft / 40 minute attempt) in response to the question in Chapter 3, for which you have prepared your outline. The question and sources appear on page 74. The question is whether or not high schools should make community service mandatory.
Megan, Michelle, and Taylor, you may hand this assignment in later, as you are writing AP calculus on Wednesday. Study your calculus!
Note: I just found this website called the Grumpy Grammarian - remind you of someone? Anyway, the latest post is entirely timely and appropriate for you to read. Take five minutes - it's great!
Must go think about my democratic responsibilities ...
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