river oaks [english]

Seniors We will go over the answers to AP test #4 and then write the essay on television.  The prompt to prepare for is as follows: Citing at least three of the included essays (pp766-87), write an essay explaining whether you view television as beneficial or detrimental to society. You may choose either side or qualify your opinion, but as always your thesis must be supported with clear evidence and logical reasoning. Juniors Read "The Duchess and the Jeweller" by Woolf and be prepared for a comprehension quiz on Monday. We will also discuss Eliot and prepare for the ACT. Yes, I am still grading research papers. Sophomores Read "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by Eliot and prepare for your Modernism   Exam   on Wednesday.

Seniors Read the article "TV Makes You Smarter" in your book and answer the analysis questions at the end (#1-5). Juniors Read "Araby" by Joyce, answer the questions at the end (CC and #2-5), and be ready for a quiz. Sophomores Read the Intro to Modernism and the section on Robert Frost. Be ready to discuss poem tomorrow in class. Also, be ready to write.

Seniors You are writing your comparison/contrast essay tomorrow in class. The topic is one issue central to the Republican primary - i.e. energy, taxes, education, or health care. The best way to prepare is to make a two-columned chart, lining up specific point of comparison. For example, if you were comparing the platforms of Romney and Santorum on education, then you might focus on their opinion of "No Child Left Behind," or school choice (or vouchers), or religion in school. Your essay should include specifics from their plans, and your sources must be attached. Juniors Read pages 982-86 if you have not done so already. For tomorrow, please read the following and answer questions: William Butler Yeats (p988-92) "The Second Coming" (#1-3), and "Sailing to Byzantium" (#2-5) W.H. Auden (p1076-81) "Musee des Beaux Arts" (#1-4), and "The Unknown Citizen" (#2-5) Sophomores Read "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" by Zora N

Some of you will be able to vote in Saturday's primary, and of course the general presidential election will be held in the fall. So this week we are discussing the Republican candidates. The paper at the end of the week will be a comparison of the candidates' positions on a central issue. Your homework is to gather evidence, printing out the candidates' positions from their websites. We will discuss/debate in class. Republican Candidates: Mitt Romney Rick Santorum Newt Gingrich Ron Paul Of course, any of these candidates would be running against Barack Obama in the general election.

Juniors Please read the following Victorian poems and answer the questions that follow: Matthew Arnold - "Dover Beach" (#1-4) Thomas Hardy - "The Man He Killed" (#1-3), "Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?" (#1-4), "The Convergence of the Twain" (#2-3) A.E. Housman - "When I Was One-and-Twenty" (#1-4), "To An Athlete Dying Young" (#2-3) Sophomores Read the section on "A New Cultural Identity: The Harlem Renaissance" and the works of Langston Hughes (916-927) and answer the following questions: #1-3 on 925 #1-3 on 926 " Harlem " #2-5 on 928 " The Weary Blues " #6 write a paragraph using specific examples from the text Rhapsodies in Black - Art of the Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance   - from John Carroll University

For homework, answer the following questions: "Chicago" by Sandburg - p826 #1-4 "Lucinda Matlock" by Masters - p828 #2-5 "Richard Cory" by Robinson - p831 #1-5 "Miniver Cheevy" by Robinson - p833 #2-5 FYI, the book I mentioned in class is Devil in the White City , by Erik Larsen.

You have three handouts this week, all with accompanying homework:  "Mark of the Beast," by Rudyard Kipling, #2-8 "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, CC #2-6 "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer, #2-6 We will continue to discuss colonial literature this week and have a quiz on ALL THREE stories on Friday, including the vocabulary (words to know).

We are fast approaching the end of the third quarter. Everyone needs to check grades and make sure you have turned everything in. It is your responsibility to make up work you miss when out for sports, appointments, or for any other reason. All grades are due Friday, so that means I must have all late work by Thursday.

ALL Honors students will be writing independent reading essays on MONDAY, March 12th. Sophomores You have an EXAM on Friday on Women's Literature (Unit 5: Part 1), including the following works and their authors: "A Wagner Matinee" (689) Historical Background (742) Poetry of Emily Dickinson (746-61) "The Yellow Wallpaper" (765) "The Story of an Hour" (783) "Seventeen Syllables" (788) "I Stand Here Ironing" (806) Juniors You have a QUIZ on Friday on the "Introduction to the Victorian Period" and Tennyson. Seniors Your QUIZ on the last section of AP rhetorical terms is next week.  Study them .