Monday, March 31st (T)
• Due: Vocabulary exercises for Unit #6.
• Class: Lesson on tone.
Tuesday, April 1st (W)
• Due: Finish tone exercise and definitions. Be sure to have finished reading “The Custom House,” of course!
• Class: Lesson on “The Custom House.” Teaching assignments made.
Wednesday, April 2nd (H)
• Due: Read and analyze article for literary criticism jigsaw (précis and reaction).
• Class: Wrap up “Custom House”; literary criticism jigsaw.
Thursday, April 3rd (F)
• Due: Review your assigned chapters in The Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Lesson planning in groups.
Friday, April 4th (S)
• Due: Work on lessons. Submit draft plans by the end of the day on Friday.
• Class: Introduction to April break literature circle titles; lesson planning.
Monday, April. 7th (U)
• Due: Review Ch. 1-3 in preparation for today’s lesson.
• Class: Lesson on Ch. 1-3.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Week of March 24th
Monday, March 24th (H)
• Due: Start reading The Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Satire assessment (timed essay).
Tuesday, March 25th (F)
• Due: Read Rex Murphy editorial; work on Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Debate Rex Murphy editorial; introduction to Puritanism.
Wednesday, March 26th (S)
• Due: Work on Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Guidance appointment for course selection.
Thursday, March 27th (U)
• Due: Completed reading assignment on Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Introduction to Romanticism and Transcendentalism.
Friday, March 28th (M)
• Class does not meet.
Monday, March. 31st (T)
• Due: Vocabulary exercises for Unit #6.
• Class: Lesson on tone.
• Due: Start reading The Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Satire assessment (timed essay).
Tuesday, March 25th (F)
• Due: Read Rex Murphy editorial; work on Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Debate Rex Murphy editorial; introduction to Puritanism.
Wednesday, March 26th (S)
• Due: Work on Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Guidance appointment for course selection.
Thursday, March 27th (U)
• Due: Completed reading assignment on Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Introduction to Romanticism and Transcendentalism.
Friday, March 28th (M)
• Class does not meet.
Monday, March. 31st (T)
• Due: Vocabulary exercises for Unit #6.
• Class: Lesson on tone.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Week of March 17th
Monday, March 17th (U)
• Due: Study for vocabulary quiz on Unit #5.
• Class: Vocabulary quiz on Unit #5; finally review those satire terms and finish multiple choice on “Modest Proposal”; The Daily Show and school violence.
Tuesday, March 18th (M)
• No class today.
Wednesday, March 19th (T)
• Due: Read and annotate packet of satire readings.
• Class: Analysis and discussion of readings.
Thursday, March 20th (W)
• Due: Read and annotate packet of readings from The Onion.
• Class: Discuss readings. In small groups, write a satiric newspaper article about Arlington High School à la The Onion. Share with the whole class and save to turn in on Monday.
Friday, March 21st
• No school today. Enjoy the long weekend!
Monday, March. 24th (H)
• Due: Start reading The Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Satire assessment (timed essay).
• Due: Study for vocabulary quiz on Unit #5.
• Class: Vocabulary quiz on Unit #5; finally review those satire terms and finish multiple choice on “Modest Proposal”; The Daily Show and school violence.
Tuesday, March 18th (M)
• No class today.
Wednesday, March 19th (T)
• Due: Read and annotate packet of satire readings.
• Class: Analysis and discussion of readings.
Thursday, March 20th (W)
• Due: Read and annotate packet of readings from The Onion.
• Class: Discuss readings. In small groups, write a satiric newspaper article about Arlington High School à la The Onion. Share with the whole class and save to turn in on Monday.
Friday, March 21st
• No school today. Enjoy the long weekend!
Monday, March. 24th (H)
• Due: Start reading The Scarlet Letter.
• Class: Satire assessment (timed essay).
Scarlet Letter: Choices, Values, and Themes
Directions: As you read The Scarlet Letter, pay attention to moments in which characters make significant choices or face important crises. Identify five such scenes occurring throughout the novel. In preparation for our study of Hawthorne’s classic, write up the following brief response for each of these moments. No response should run longer than one page (including the quotation).
1. Include the quotation itself (probably a brief paragraph of text … you can use ellipses if necessary).
2. Briefly explain the moment of choice or crisis. That is, which characters are you focusing on, what important decision is made, and what are the consequences of that decision?
3. Respond critically to this moment in the novel: How does this character’s decision advance or complicate the plot? What theme or value is raised by this choice?
Quote Note: Note that the novel is in the public domain, so you can easily copy sections of the text from sites like Bartleby.com. Just go to http://www.bartleby.com/83 and you can search for the text you’ve identified within a chapter using your browser’s “find” function. You can also download the entire novel as a document from the Gutenberg Project. Go to http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/33. Click on one of the download links next to the “Plain text” format, below the heading “Download this ebook for free.” See? The Internet loves you.
Deadline: Due in class on Thursday, March 27th.
1. Include the quotation itself (probably a brief paragraph of text … you can use ellipses if necessary).
2. Briefly explain the moment of choice or crisis. That is, which characters are you focusing on, what important decision is made, and what are the consequences of that decision?
3. Respond critically to this moment in the novel: How does this character’s decision advance or complicate the plot? What theme or value is raised by this choice?
Quote Note: Note that the novel is in the public domain, so you can easily copy sections of the text from sites like Bartleby.com. Just go to http://www.bartleby.com/83 and you can search for the text you’ve identified within a chapter using your browser’s “find” function. You can also download the entire novel as a document from the Gutenberg Project. Go to http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/33. Click on one of the download links next to the “Plain text” format, below the heading “Download this ebook for free.” See? The Internet loves you.
Deadline: Due in class on Thursday, March 27th.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Week of March 10th
Monday, March 10th (T)
• Due: Read and annotate all essays in Comparison and Contrast and write “one-pager” (remember those?) on choice of topics to be announced.
• Class: Class discussion of essays (focus on “Disability” and “Dumpster Diving”) led by Ben, Susannah, and Emily; peer review of one-pagers.
Tuesday, March 11th (W)
• Due: Read and annotate the following Definition essays: “I Want a Wife,” “The Androgynous Man,” and “The Meanings of a Word.” Write a detailed outline for Writing Topic #2 on pg. 255, reproduced below:
A recent grassroots movement tried but failed to have the word nigger removed from dictionaries. Are there some words so hateful that they should be banned from the language? Or is such an attempt to control language even more objectionable? Write an essay that states and supports your answers, giving plenty of examples.
• Class: Class discussion of “The Meanings of a Word” led by Mary, Michelle, and Tim; review and critique outlines.
Wednesday, March 12th (H)
• Due: Read and annotate all essays in Cause & Effect. Complete vocabulary exercises for Unit #5.
• Class: Class discussion of “Cultural Baggage” led by Aaron, Alisha, and Alice. Review vocabulary exercises.
Thursday, March 13th (F)
• Due: Read and annotate “A Modest Proposal” in Argument & Persuasion. Complete reading questions (worksheet).
• Class: Discussion of “Modest Proposal.” Introduction to satire unit.
Friday, March 14th (S)
• Due: Multiple-choice questions for “Modest Proposal.” Then view 15-20 minutes of television that is likely to contain satire (we’ll brainstorm sources together, online and broadcast). Write a paragraph response:
Describe one clip or scene that you believe to be satirical in nature. What is being ridiculed or what folly is exposed? Is there an implied reform? What is the tone of the satire – is it more Horatian (gently mocking) or Juvenalian (sternly indignant)? Is the satire effective? Why or why not?
• Class: Discuss and correct homework. Satire and The Daily Show.
Monday, March. 17th (U)
• Due: Reading and annotations to be assigned. Vocabulary quiz on Unit #5.
• Class: Analysis and discussion of readings.
• Due: Read and annotate all essays in Comparison and Contrast and write “one-pager” (remember those?) on choice of topics to be announced.
• Class: Class discussion of essays (focus on “Disability” and “Dumpster Diving”) led by Ben, Susannah, and Emily; peer review of one-pagers.
Tuesday, March 11th (W)
• Due: Read and annotate the following Definition essays: “I Want a Wife,” “The Androgynous Man,” and “The Meanings of a Word.” Write a detailed outline for Writing Topic #2 on pg. 255, reproduced below:
A recent grassroots movement tried but failed to have the word nigger removed from dictionaries. Are there some words so hateful that they should be banned from the language? Or is such an attempt to control language even more objectionable? Write an essay that states and supports your answers, giving plenty of examples.
• Class: Class discussion of “The Meanings of a Word” led by Mary, Michelle, and Tim; review and critique outlines.
Wednesday, March 12th (H)
• Due: Read and annotate all essays in Cause & Effect. Complete vocabulary exercises for Unit #5.
• Class: Class discussion of “Cultural Baggage” led by Aaron, Alisha, and Alice. Review vocabulary exercises.
Thursday, March 13th (F)
• Due: Read and annotate “A Modest Proposal” in Argument & Persuasion. Complete reading questions (worksheet).
• Class: Discussion of “Modest Proposal.” Introduction to satire unit.
Friday, March 14th (S)
• Due: Multiple-choice questions for “Modest Proposal.” Then view 15-20 minutes of television that is likely to contain satire (we’ll brainstorm sources together, online and broadcast). Write a paragraph response:
Describe one clip or scene that you believe to be satirical in nature. What is being ridiculed or what folly is exposed? Is there an implied reform? What is the tone of the satire – is it more Horatian (gently mocking) or Juvenalian (sternly indignant)? Is the satire effective? Why or why not?
• Class: Discuss and correct homework. Satire and The Daily Show.
Monday, March. 17th (U)
• Due: Reading and annotations to be assigned. Vocabulary quiz on Unit #5.
• Class: Analysis and discussion of readings.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
One-Pager Topics
Directions: Choose one of the assignments below as the basis of an argument or persuasive one-pager. If none of these topics engage your interest you may write and respond to your own: just be sure that you take a position, writing in an argumentative / persuasive mode. (Yes, these are more about shaping arguments bouncing off the content, rather than writing in the mode of the essay.)
Classification: “But What Do You Mean?”
In this essay, Tannen writes that “Many of the conversational rituals common among women are designed to take the other person’s feelings into account, while many of the conversational rituals common among men are designed to maintain the one-up position, or at least avoid appearing one-down. As a result, when men and women interact – especially at work – it’s often women who are at the disadvantage.”
Assignment: Support, refute, or qualify the claim that on the basis of conversational style, boys enjoy an advantage over girls in the high school classroom.
Process Analysis: “Embalming Mr. Jones”
“There is perhaps nothing else so distinctive of the condition and character of a people as the method in which they treat their dead.”
— William Tegg
“The cost of the funeral is the third largest expenditure, after a house and a car, in the life of an ordinary American family.”
— Jessica Mitford, The American Way of Death Revisited
Assignment: Support, refute, or qualify the claim that the American approach to death and burial, including embalmment, is a wasteful extravagance.
Comparison and Contrast: “Disability”
“I’m easy to spot in a crowd. So when I tell you I haven’t noticed any women like me on television, you can believe me.”
— Nancy Mairs, “Disability”
Assignment: Support, refute, or qualify the claim that television advertisers have the responsibility to portray “disabled people in the ordinary activities of everyday life.”
Classification: “But What Do You Mean?”
In this essay, Tannen writes that “Many of the conversational rituals common among women are designed to take the other person’s feelings into account, while many of the conversational rituals common among men are designed to maintain the one-up position, or at least avoid appearing one-down. As a result, when men and women interact – especially at work – it’s often women who are at the disadvantage.”
Assignment: Support, refute, or qualify the claim that on the basis of conversational style, boys enjoy an advantage over girls in the high school classroom.
Process Analysis: “Embalming Mr. Jones”
“There is perhaps nothing else so distinctive of the condition and character of a people as the method in which they treat their dead.”
— William Tegg
“The cost of the funeral is the third largest expenditure, after a house and a car, in the life of an ordinary American family.”
— Jessica Mitford, The American Way of Death Revisited
Assignment: Support, refute, or qualify the claim that the American approach to death and burial, including embalmment, is a wasteful extravagance.
Comparison and Contrast: “Disability”
“I’m easy to spot in a crowd. So when I tell you I haven’t noticed any women like me on television, you can believe me.”
— Nancy Mairs, “Disability”
Assignment: Support, refute, or qualify the claim that television advertisers have the responsibility to portray “disabled people in the ordinary activities of everyday life.”
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Homework Survey
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Monday, March 3, 2008
Homework Survey
I'm doing a little research into my own teaching. Help me (and hopefully yourself!) out by taking this short survey on homework. Click here to start. Thanks for your feedback!
Week of March 3rd
Monday, March 3rd (H)
• Due: Copying assignment.
• Class: Introduction to multiple choice; planning the SAT essay.
Tuesday, March 4th (F)
• Due: Read and annotate the essay “Shaping Argument” (handed out in class) and “The Ways We Lie” in 40 Model Essays (Classification).
• Class: Analysis of our analysis (meta!) and class discussion of “The Ways We Lie”
Wednesday, March 5th (S)
• Due: Style imitation assignments; I will also collect your book notes. Also please read remaining essays in Classification (Baker, Tannen).
• Class: Share style imitations assignments. Class discussion (focus on “But What Do You Mean?”).
Thursday, March 6th (U)
• Due: Read and annotate all essays in Process Analysis (Eighner, Lamott, Mitford).
• Class: Class discussion of essays (focus on “Embalming Mr. Jones”).
Friday, March 7th (M)
• Class does not meet today.
Monday, March. 10th (T)
• Due: Read and (lightly is fine!) annotate all essays in Comparison and Contrast and write “one-pager” (remember those?) on choice of topics to be announced.
• Class: Class discussion of essays (focus on “Disability” and “Dumpster Diving”) and peer review of one-pagers.
Note: During the next few days as we wrap up 40 Model Essays, I would like to turn the task of leading discussion over to the class. To that end, I will assign you in groups of three to upcoming essays. Your task is to prepare – in written form that I can collect – a set of three to four meaningful questions for class discussion. Bring these to class the day that your essay is assigned for discussion and be prepared to do a little moderating. Discussions will take approximately half of the class period. Obviously, no late days allowed since this is the substance of our lesson! Assignments follow:
• “The Ways We Lie” – Jeremy, Galen, Dan F.
• “But What Do You Mean?” – Eliza, Zoe, Stephanie
• “Embalming Mr. Jones” – Henrietta, Daniel N., Jule
• “Disability” (pair with “Dumpster Diving”) – Ben, Susannah, Emily
• Definition (TBA) – Mary, Michelle, Tim
• Cause & Effect (TBA) – Aaron, Alisha, Alice
If you will be out of class on your assigned day please make arrangements to trade with someone else and let me know.
• Due: Copying assignment.
• Class: Introduction to multiple choice; planning the SAT essay.
Tuesday, March 4th (F)
• Due: Read and annotate the essay “Shaping Argument” (handed out in class) and “The Ways We Lie” in 40 Model Essays (Classification).
• Class: Analysis of our analysis (meta!) and class discussion of “The Ways We Lie”
Wednesday, March 5th (S)
• Due: Style imitation assignments; I will also collect your book notes. Also please read remaining essays in Classification (Baker, Tannen).
• Class: Share style imitations assignments. Class discussion (focus on “But What Do You Mean?”).
Thursday, March 6th (U)
• Due: Read and annotate all essays in Process Analysis (Eighner, Lamott, Mitford).
• Class: Class discussion of essays (focus on “Embalming Mr. Jones”).
Friday, March 7th (M)
• Class does not meet today.
Monday, March. 10th (T)
• Due: Read and (lightly is fine!) annotate all essays in Comparison and Contrast and write “one-pager” (remember those?) on choice of topics to be announced.
• Class: Class discussion of essays (focus on “Disability” and “Dumpster Diving”) and peer review of one-pagers.
Note: During the next few days as we wrap up 40 Model Essays, I would like to turn the task of leading discussion over to the class. To that end, I will assign you in groups of three to upcoming essays. Your task is to prepare – in written form that I can collect – a set of three to four meaningful questions for class discussion. Bring these to class the day that your essay is assigned for discussion and be prepared to do a little moderating. Discussions will take approximately half of the class period. Obviously, no late days allowed since this is the substance of our lesson! Assignments follow:
• “The Ways We Lie” – Jeremy, Galen, Dan F.
• “But What Do You Mean?” – Eliza, Zoe, Stephanie
• “Embalming Mr. Jones” – Henrietta, Daniel N., Jule
• “Disability” (pair with “Dumpster Diving”) – Ben, Susannah, Emily
• Definition (TBA) – Mary, Michelle, Tim
• Cause & Effect (TBA) – Aaron, Alisha, Alice
If you will be out of class on your assigned day please make arrangements to trade with someone else and let me know.
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