river oaks [english]

Ah, summertime. I know I've been cranky lately, but I will sincerely miss you all over the summer. I hope you have great one. You might have noticed that I slipped the summer reading list into your report cards -- sneaky, I know. So, you've seen by now that you have even more choice than last year! And less writing! Below, in case you missed it, is the letter in its entirety: RIVER OAKS SCHOOL: SUMMER READING Dear Parents/Students: The English Department at River Oaks would like to welcome you to our summer reading program. This summer, students will have more choice than ever before, and the requirements have changed, as well. Because we want to encourage, rather than discourage, students to read during the summer, we’ve decided to allow a greater flexibility of choice in the selection of summer reading books. HONORS students will read three books. NON-Honors students will read two books. FIRST , each student will ha...

Your final will include material covered second semester. The exam will consist of 100 questions, with NO writing portion. You've done enough writing for now. I expect the questions to be multiple choice only, but I may include matching, as well. You'll need to review the following: Romanticism and Transcendentalism (340-42) Longfellow Emerson & Thoreau "Self-Reliance" (Emerson) "Civil Disobedience" (Thoreau) "Walden" (Thoreau) Walt Whitman "I Sit and Look Out" "Song of Myself" "O Captain, My Captain" The Dark Side of Individualism (446-48) Edgar Allan Poe (450-53) American Gothic "The Fall of the House of Usher" Emily Dickinson (746-48) poems on pages 751-59 Realism/Regionalism "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" "Coming of Age in Mississippi" Mark Twain Biographical info (654-57) "Autobiography of Mark Twain" "Life of the Mississippi" "The Notori...

As noted in class, you will see a handful of questions from the two stories I handed out in class. So, in other words, you need to read them both. The first one, "I CAN SPEAK!," is from In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, I suppose, but if you don't find this story disturbingly hilarious, then you're probably one of those "normal" people. Saunders teaches writing at Syracuse University and was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (AKA the "genius" grant) in 2006. The second story, " Endurance ," was written by my good friend James Katowich. It's about pogo-sticking, visits to the dump, absent moms and...well, endurance. The latest thing he's published, " Working Years ," is about his experience working at the Newly Weds Food plant.

Next, we will be honing our critical thinking skills. Critical thinking involves, well, thinking critically about the world around you. Specifically, we will focus on the world of advertising. First, it is ubiquitous (everywhere). Second, whether we realize it or not, it affects us all. Certainly, we are all targeted by companies who want us to spend our money and time on them. My goal is to teach you to look more closely, critically, at the thousands of ads you see around you. It's not that advertising is EVIL or that being targeted is necessarily BAD; it's simply important to realize when and how we are being sold to. In fact, I like the fact that Amazon knows what kind of music and books to recommend; it's kind of freaky, but it's awfully useful. The other extreme, of course, is spam emails and pop-up ads that won't leave you alone. That said, your first assignment is to "respond" to a print advertisement from a magazine . I asked you to bring mags ...

Does this person look like an English teacher? Your next writing assignment is to write a "snapshot" biography of a relative -- a look into his/her life as a Freshmen. You've written a list of fifteen questions. The goal for the interview is to gather enough information to write your report. The report itself should include the following: An introductory paragraph which includes WHO, WHEN & WHERE, also a statement about the difference between your initial assumptions and your conclusions after the interview; finally, a statement about the most significant thing you learned (about your subject and/or yourself) Body paragraphs about your subject's life as a Freshman, organized into three chunks of information, dictated by the information you have (i.e. school, interests, friends) A concluding paragraph about your own plans for the future, including what you hope to learn and/or remember Type and double-space the report, of course, using MLA format. It should b...

Along with your rough draft, you are required to turn in an Annotated Bibliography on Friday. As discussed in class, this is a list of your sources with short summaries. Specifically, I want you to include the following: The citation for the source A short summary of the source's relevance We'll cover citations in class, of course, but for additional help try Purdue's OWL and/or Bedford St. Martins . They're both current and reliable. There are several annotated bib examples online ; the best are through Cornell and Purdue . If you've completed your note card assignment, then this should be simply a matter of typing the information. Remember to alphabetize your list. Use MLA format, including double-spacing and page numbers.

A note to those of you who are freaking out: First of all, your reaction to the assignment is a natural, normal, common response. And everyone who has said this somehow manages to pull it together.... That said, STOP FREAKING OUT. The first thing you need to think of is your first paper. What points did you make in support of your thesis? Those points of support will all be expanded in this second version. As you are reading your sources (that is what you're doing, right?), look for information/ideas/points that support YOUR ideas. As you come to something in a source, highlight it, making a note about where it fits into your argument -- just like you did for paper #1. As for integrating those points, that's what we discussed on Monday -- using bits and pieces from your sources, and explaining the connection (between your ideas and theirs) for the reader. If the author agrees with you, then you say something like, "Smith agrees" or "According to Smith..." wh...

I received the information I needed from Thomson Gale today, so you will now have access to those databases. The most useful for this particular project is Student Resource Center Gold, which you can access through the main page login screen (use "river" as your password). There you will find a link to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn under "popular topics." Note also that the results page is organized in to sections indicated by tabs, with headings like Reference, Magazines, Academic Journals, etc. Click on the tabs to view the lists. Again print out what you find and bring to class on Monday, along with whatever you find through the Ouachita Parish Public Library (and elsewhere). Don't forget your note cards.

Below is a list of everything that will be on the final. Remember too that I have copies of your exams and quizzes. If you had come to class on Friday, you could have gotten those from me. Okay, okay, yes I know. The List: Geoffrey Chaucer & The Canterbury Tales Context Info -- when, where, why (the contest) Language of the collection (vernacular, iambic pentameter, couplet) "The Prologue" -- dominant characters and traits "The Pardoner's Tale" -- plot details, allegory "The Wife of Bath's Tale" -- plot details, romantic quest The Renaissance (top of page 200) Rediscovering Ancient Greece & Rome Reformation (rejection of papal authority) Humanism (focus on human life, as well as eternal life) Invention of movable type (Gutenberg) Henry VIII -- Renaissance Man Elizabeth I and her role as patron Renaissance Poets "Whoso List to Hunt" (Wyatt) Edmund Spenser (sonnets, The Faerie Queen) Shakespeare's Sonnets (form and content) M...

Your assignment for tonight (and the rest of the week) is to gather sources from the Internet related to your topic. Remember to try a variety of keyword terms; even "Huck" and "Huckleberry" yield different results. If you cannot find something that is directly related to your topic, don't give up. You may to "browse" through titles and read some abstracts (summaries). This will take some time and some work, but if you follow my process, you will get it done. This week (and next) bring what you find. We will evaluate your sources and, if found reliable, we will discuss how to create a bibliographic citation for each. You will need your note cards for this, so please bring them to class. The 4X6 note cards work best. You will need a dozen or so, depending on how many sources you find. Please evaluate each source before printing: Relevance -- Is the source related directly to your topic? How long is the article, more than a page? Can you use th...

It's time now that I remind you of the "big picture" -- that is, the process as a whole and how each small assignment contributes to the final product. This what you've done so far, if you're on track: PHASE ONE (1) First, we read and discussed the book together. (2) Second, you picked a topic from a long list of choices. (3) Third, you skimmed the book for details. (4) You took notes and cited page numbers. (5) You created a formal outline of your paper. (6) Finally, you wrote a draft of Paper #1. You've completed Phase One ! General Advice: A strong THESIS is necessary for a strong paper. Introduce the entire paper. Connect your sub-topics to the thesis. Keep each paragraph focused on ONE idea. Use specific details from the text(s). Cite all details and examples. Introduce all quotes with lead-ins. Use topic/transitional sentences. The conclusion should bring the paper to a graceful close, not an abrupt stop. PHASE TWO (1) We will learn to find secondary ...