river oaks [english]

English II Tonight, please read the last bit of "Araby" and answer the questions that follow (CC and #2-4). In addition, answer #1-3 on 989 and CC and #2-5 on 992. For Wednesday , read "At the Pitt-Rivers" and answer the questions that follow (CC and #2-6). You can also start gathering/reviewing your notes from this semester. HERE is the study guide for the final.  Fine Arts Survey Your last test will be on Ch14 ( notes here ). We will review for the remainder of the week.

English II Your quiz on the poems and Kipling story is tomorrow. Your homework is to answer #2-8 on the handout. Use complete sentences, and cite from the text.

Your exam on Chapters 12 and 13 (abbreviated notes) will be Tuesday, May 1st. We will continue with Ch 14 the remainder of this week and into next. Your final review will be created in class.

English II For Monday, read the selections from Robert Browning, and answer the following: #1-3 on 856 CC and #2-5 on 859 For Tuesday, read the selections from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Matthew Arnold, and Gerard Manley Hopkins,and answer the following: #1-4 on 862 #1-4 on 943  #1-4 on 948 For Wednesday, read the short story handout by Kipling, and poems by Hardy and Housman, and answer the following: #2-3 on 955 #1 and 4 on 957  CC and #2-3 on 961 #1 and 4 on 964 CC and #2 on 967 To receive credit, you must answer in complete sentences and cite from the poems . We will have a QUIZ on all of the poems on Thursday, May 3rd.

English II For Friday, you may earn 20 points for creating an outline of the introduction to The Victorians (832-7). Organize around the six sections - starting with Queen Victoria and ending with New Directions. Include significant supporting points for each section, and include details in the lists that follow. In class, you will work from the book, and everyone will be required to turn in their work at the end of class. Quiz on the introduction will be Monday. English IV Your final draft of the the final revision paper should be shared (lastname-final revision), turned in with peer reviews attached; and your one-page "Career Update" (lastname-update) is due at the end of class, printed. Art History Your classwork for today is to complete the homework from Ch 12 (all four sections).

Seniors, the end is near, and there are a few assignments left to schedule. Here is a list of everything due in the next two weeks: Letter to Future Self - this is an OPTIONAL assignment, but I encourage you to take it seriously. As discussed in class, this letter will be sent to you in about five years. Think about what you'd like to tell yourself five years from now. For example, maybe it would be interesting to reflect on your plans at the time, what values you held dear, what you wanted to remember. In addition, you might think about your current likes/dislikes related to pop culture -- a playlist of favorite songs, for example. Because USB thumb drives are small, you might include one with pictures, music, etc. -- a sort of time capsule of your senior year (or at least the last month of it). This letter should be turned in an enclosed, addressed envelope. I will apply postage in the future. This letter is due THURSDAY, 4/19. Final Revision Paper - this is a rev

English II Read Part Three of Frankenstein . Your exam on the novel will be Tuesday, April 17th. English IV Read MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech (perhaps while watching it below), and we will annotate it in class. Your analysis essay will be written in class on Friday. Your prompt is to answer the following questions concerning MLK's speech: What makes this an effective speech, considering his audience and purpose? And what rhetorical strategies does MLK employ to achieve this effect? Art Survey We are studying Chapter 11 this week, and I plan to test on Friday.

English II Presentations this week will be followed by discussion of Volume II. English IV All students should be finished viewing The Truman Show by class Wednesday (available on Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, etc). We will begin writing intros in class Wednesday and finish the analysis essay in class on Thursday. Your prompt follows: Write an analysis essay focusing on some aspect of Peter Weir's 1998 film The Truman Show . Your essay should strive to provide insight into the meaning of the film, 20 years later, in the context of our increasingly media-centered, artificial world. Art Survey Your "TMNT" presentations are due on Wednesday, complete with presentation notes. Please make you have done the following: used a legible font no smaller than 18 cited and referenced all sources, which must be credible (no Wikipedia) linked all pictures to the museum where they're located - in other words, each picture linked to its online version for the museum (i.e. Th

English II Quiz Wednesday on the reading up to p142. We will also discuss the Frankenstein Presentation Project , which will research and connect a topic in current science to the novel. Please review the assignment and consider the topics listed. English IV As you receive your comments from Tuesday's workshop, then copy/paste your paper into a new document, and share it with me as "lastname-revision4". Revisions are due (printed, with sources and peer reviews attached) on Wednesday, and I will introduce the film you will be viewing in class: Truman Show . As you watch, take notes and consider the following: Character development - all are actors playing a part (except Truman) The various environments created Advertising - product placement and consumerism, in general Clues to the reality of Truman’s world Cameras everywhere Significance of names Themes of fear, loss, love, religion

English IV Of the three most recent essays - Robotics, Birkerts, and Simulation - choose ONE to revise for a 100-point grade: Search below for the associated prompt Clean up the draft you've chosen Print two copies of that essay to bring to class If sources were involved, then have those as well Regardless of topic, each person should give and receive two sets of comments. Final revisions are due Wednesday, printed, with sources. All essays should be at least 500 words, formatted according to MLA, including a "Works Cited" page. English II Your homework is to read through p126 (Vol II: Ch 3). This will take you up through the beginning of the creature's story, so we can compare the POV. For homework credit, answer the following in complete sentences, citing the text: Explain in what ways Victor feels responsible for Justine's (and William's) death. Describe his reaction to the death of Justine and William, physically and emotionally(102-4) Desc

English II Read the rest of Volume One in Frankenstein , and be prepared for a reading quiz on Friday. Honors summaries are due on Monday. Answer the following for homework credit: Describe the creature (56-8) Describe Victor's reaction (57-8) What happens following Victor's "escape"? What poem is alluded to in Ch 5, and what's its significance? Who shows up via carriage, and how is this an example of deus ex machina ? How is Victor's illness to the natural world? Who is Justine, and what is her role in the Frankenstein household? Explain how Henry helps to "heal" Victor (69-73) Who is murdered, and what is the evidence? In what way is justice NOT served in Justine's trial? English IV On Friday, bring two sources related to your topic - printed and annotated - to use as support for your argument. If you pre-write the introduction, then go ahead share your essay as "lastname-simulation" before class.

English II Read through chapter four of Frankenstein and discuss the following in complete sentences, citing from the text: How do his friends react to Victor's departure for college? Compare and contrast Victor's two professors at Ingolstadt (44-45). Explain how Victor achieves "the summit of [his] desires" (49). What is the effect of Walton's narrative breaking the fourth wall (50)? Describe the making of the creature - its size, for example (51-52).. How does his family react to his absence? (53-54) Describe the creature and Victor's reaction (55-57). Your honors assignment for this week - due Monday - is to read and summarize the linked article on BIOHACKING . Please ask if you need a printed copy. Your summary should be 250-words, typed and formatted according to MLA. 

Your next paper is on the prevalence of simulation in today's world and our preference of the copy to the original in many aspects of modern life. This can be discussed with reference to food, beauty, health, social media, environment, technology, and entertainment. Our discussions will include Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Baudrillard's theory on simulation, simulacra, and the nature of reality itself. We will discuss the theories, and you will provide examples throughout the week. Your prompt for Friday is the following: Have we crossed over into Baudrillard's final stage of "simulacra," where "our models for the real have taken over the place of the real in postmodern society," or where the artificial has become preferable to the real? Or do we still value "authenticity" and "real" experience over the artificial?  What are the implications for human society, both positive and negative? Write a 500-word argument a

The introductory notes on the context of the novel are now posted. Please refer to the notes if you've been absent. This past week, I have been covering the introduction of the book (vii-xxi). Your homework for Monday, now that you have the book in hand, is to read the first 50 pages . The novel begins with a series of letters from Robert Walton - an explorer trying to become the first man to reach the North Pole - written to his sister, Margaret Seville. He describes the landscape, his crew, and his emotions and ambitions. On this journey, he encounters a man on a sled who has is half-dead from traveling across the ice; this man is Victor Frankenstein, who then proceeds to tell the story of how he got there. The narrators are "nested" like Russian dolls . Please consider the following as you read the first 50 pages: Parallels between the two main narrators References to Enlightenment vs. Romantic ideals References to the Sublime, and to Nature, in general

English II You will have a quiz on the introductory material for Frankenstein on Friday. Please have your $5 by then, as well. English IV We have been discussing "Into the Electronic Millennium" in class. Your homework is to answer the questions following the essay and to think of a focus for your paper on Friday. We will begin by writing thesis statements and introductions tomorrow. Your prompt concerns the following: Birkerts argues that three categories of cultural problems have resulted from the evolution of media from print to digital formats: language erosion, the flattening of historical perspective, and the waning of the private self. Of these three, choose one to support, challenge, or qualify in an argument, updating the examples and support from a contemporary point of view.

English II Your test on the 2nd generation of Romantic poets is Thursday . Please do the following homework in preparation: Byron for Tuesday: #1-3 on 775, and #2-8 , on 779.  Shelley for Wednesday: #1-3 on 782, #1-3 on 785, and #2-5 on 790. Keats for Thursday: #1-3 on 800, #1-5 on 806 The Honors Exam for the 3rd nine weeks will be on Monday when we return from break. English IV Find, read, and bring TWO articles on your area of focus related to home or work. Remember that this includes such disparate issues as home security, self-driving cars, and surgery. The prompt follows: What is the most exciting or interesting development in robotics and/or artificial intelligence as it relates to home or work, and how does it affect humans, both positively and negatively? Your essay is due printed by the end of class Thursday and will be 500 words. You must cite from your two sources and include a works cited page. 

English II Your test on the first generation of Romantic poets is on Friday the 16th. That will cover Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge , and Burns. Homework for Friday is optional: #1-7 in the Burns handout. English IV We are about to begin a three-part look at robotics (or "automatons") and artificial intelligence - in our daily lives, in the workplace, and in the military. To start, we will discuss the issue, in general, and read a short story from your textbook about our relationship with machines. To prepare for Thursday , please look up the terms "uncanny valley" and "singularity." For Friday , read " Super-Toys Last All Summer Long " (665-71) and answer #1-7 . Use complete sentences and cite from the text to receive credit. Robot Uprising is a Myth Google Docs Printable Version Artificial Intelligence Arms Race

English IV You are writing in class today, and you should have your two sources with you, printed out. The prompt follows: "What do you believe is the most important factor in improving high schools of the future, and WHY?" This essay (ideally) should be finished today. Please share it as "lastname-education." English II Read 741-67, and answer the following on "Kubla Khan" - CC and #2-5 . The illustrator mentioned in class is Gustave Dore, and his engravings are featured in your book. The homework for Thursday is on 766: CC and #2-6. Please use complete sentences and cite from the poem to receive credit. See below for a reading of "Mariner," which we will discuss in class:

English IV Bring your TWO sources to class today. We will work on thesis statements and a brief outline of your arguments in class. English II Read through the Wordsworth selections and answer the following: #1-3 on 733, CC and #2-8 on 738. Art Survey Read Chapter 8 on Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture.

English II Read "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" and answer #1-4 that follow, This is required for ALL students. Use complete sentences and cite specifics from the text for full credit. When #1 says "sketch," please describe instead of draw . English IV Decide on a concentration after considering ideas presented in the videos, and then find at least ONE credible article to print out, read, and bring to class. If it is not (a) credible, or (b) you aren't familiar with its content, you will not receive credit. Art Survey Chapter 7 Exam in class Thursday.

Seniors, your next essay will be on the future of education in the U.S., and in Louisiana specifically. I would like for you to consider options on the table now - through organizations like XQ - and also the opinions of experts through TED talks and the PBS special Digital Nation . Considerations include (but are not limited to) access, curriculum, funding, and training. The question is "What do you believe is the most important factor in improving high schools of the future, and WHY?" You will focus on one answer to the question, including at least three points of support (i.e. environment, tools, curriculum, funding, or training), and you will use at least TWO credible sources to support your argument. When considering the most important factors in improving high school in the future, please look at current trends or predictions. For this reason, it is important to use up-to-date sources. Please refer to the following to get started: Digital Nation: Learning XQ Inst

English IV Your presentations (shared as "lastname-presentation") are due at midnight tonight. They will be posted in a sharable folder for Tuesday . English II Read the introduction to the Romantic Period for Tuesday , and we will discuss William Blake (handout). Please do the following for Wednesday : #1-8 in handout ( required - for 10 pts) #1-3 on 711 and #2-5 on 715 ( optional - for 10 pts)

English II students will have an exam on Friday, Feb 2nd for the Restoration Period. The exam will include the following: Introductory Notes Early English Novel & and Nonfiction Diary of Samuel Pepys Poetry of Alexander Pope (including handout) Jonathan Swift's satire Samuel Johnson

English II Read the selections from Gulliver's Travels and answer the following for Tuesday : #1-5 on 599 cc and #2-7 Read "A Modest Proposal" for Wednesday and answer the questions on 620 for homework (cc and #2-7). Please consider the Rhetorical Triangle as you read. For Thursday, read from A Dictionary of the English Language and answer the following (in the handout): #1-7. English IV Should be finished reading Little Brother by the middle of the week. Your exam will be on Thursday , with work on Tech Presentations in class Friday and Monday. Your proposals for topics are due at the beginning of class Thursday. Tell me briefly in a MEMO what topic you'd like to explore. Topics should come from your reading, our discussions, and your interests. A good place to start might be the bibliographies of Little Brother and Homeland.

English II We are taking a quiz and then talking about satire, specifically in the works of Jonathan Swift. English IV You are writing summaries of your articles in class. Remember that the article must be lengthy, reliable, and relevant. In your summaries, you will ONLY summarize/reduce the article. On Monday , I will ask each of you to present an even shorter summary of your article PLUS your opinion and a connection to the book. Follow these guidelines: Include an MLA citation for your article after the heading Include the author, title and source in your introduction Summarize in your own words throughout (do not merely re-state) Focus on the main ideas only (do not include unnecessary discussion or statistics) Follow the organization of the original when possible Make frequent reference to the author and/or source through phrases of attribution DO NOT offer your opinion at this time Share with me as "lastname-summary" by the end of class Thursday, and pr

English II Read the selections from Pope, and answer the following questions: Tuesday - #1-3 on 535; CC and #1-5 on 538 Wednesday - #1-8 (handout) You will have a quiz on Thursday on Pepys and Pope. English IV Your assignment for this week is to (a) continue to read through ch12 for Tuesday, and (b) to locate a substantial, relevant, reliable article on a topic related to the book. We will have a quiz on Wednesday. You will bring the article to class on Wednesday, printed I will let you know whether or not the article is suitable You will write a summary in class Thursday and Friday You will present a shorter summary with a connection to the book on Monday No two students can choose the same article. Wikipedia doesn't count; here's one on Aaron Swartz -- the tragic genius I mentioned in class. 

English II Read through the selections from Alexander Pope, and be prepared to discuss on Monday. Expect a quiz soon on the Introduction to the period. English IV Your vocabulary assignment is due (submitted) by Monday. Be prepared for a quiz on the first half of the book (through chapter twelve) on Tuesday or Wednesday. We will also be working on a 100-point assignment next week. In the meantime, this came through my news feed today - an article from Washington Post about the information car manufacturers are gathering through on-board computers.  And here is a recent article from New York Times connected to the punk band mentioned in class (even references The Dead Kennedys). Disclaimer: articles linked may be offensive to some and do not reflect my personal opinions - I invite you to make up your own minds about what you believe in and care about In general, keep an eye on the news (or Twitter, or Snapchat) and make a note, or copy the URL to an email and feel free to s

English II Review the notes from the Restoration , and read the selection from "The Diary of Samuel Pepys" and answer the questions that follow: CC and #1-5 on p532 (remember to use complete sentences and to cite the text) English IV Continue to read Little Brother and to work on the vocabulary assignment (copy and paste the list, and then share the list as "lastname-vocab"). Art History We are studying Chapter Five currently, which makes reference to Chauvet Caves - the subject of the documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams :

English II We are beginning discussion on the Restoration , and we will continue the notes on Tuesday. English IV Continue reading Little Brother up through Ch 9 for Tuesday (you are welcome to continue past that). Also, if you are interested, since it came up, I've linked Doctorow's most recent thoughts on net neutrality . Fine Arts Presentations are today. We are continuing with Ch 5 on Tuesday.

English IV Read through Chapter 3, making notes as you move through the book of the following: Anything related to character development Terms or technology you'd like to look up Major plot points References or parallels to games English II Read the selection from Paradise Lost , and be prepared to answer the homework questions in class tomorrow: #1-3 on 477, cc and #2-3 on 479; cc and #3-6 on 491. We will also take notes on Pilgrim's Progress before our next quiz on Friday . Art Survey We will work on your presentation projects in class this week, and you will share them the class on Friday. Please share with me as "lastname-ch4" when you begin to work. Please observe the following: Create a presentation using Google Slides of 10 slides PLUS a title All fonts should be between 18 and 32 All slides should be roughly 1/2 words and 1/2 images Use your book for all text, and link all images to their source pages Focus on summarizing the main points and

English IV Your first assignment for Little Brother is to read the first two chapters of the book - either in your hard copy version or the PDF from the site . Regardless, you should have the book in hand ASAP.  Look over the first page of the study guide , as well, and come prepared to discuss. You will be assembling a list of terms to define as we move through the book. Mark those that you think should be on the list. English II Your homework for Friday is to review the selections from John Donne and to answer the following: #1-4 on 453 #1-3 on 454 CC and #2-5 on456 In class on Friday we will work on questions on selections from the Cavalier poets: #1-3 on 464 #1-3 on 466 CC and #2-6 on 468 Your first quiz of the quarter will be in class Monday . Fine Arts Your first assignment is due at the end of class. Please share as "lastname-nga" and be prepared to present to the class. 

English IV We will be discussing Little Brother and its context this week. Please have the book for class next Monday. Although the book is available for free via Doctorow's site , having a copy will allow you to annotate. You can download the study guide for the book HERE . English II Read the two essays by Sir Francis Bacon, and answer the following: #1-4 on 444 CC and #2-4, 6 on 447 Art Survey Read the first two chapters, and preview the National Gallery of Art collection. We will continue to discuss terminology and then spend some time choosing one of the works in the " highlights " and explain (informally) their subject, meaning, and media. Your assignment is below: Choose an image from the "highlights" gallery Copy and paste it into your Doc file (shared as lastname-nga) Write a paragraph including the following: Title and artist (if known) The date and origin of the work The media/materials used The subject material and category Th