river oaks [english]

Seniors Your revised draft of the "technology and education" essay is due on Friday. Remember to turn in the original, hand-written draft if you want credit. Staple the final draft on top. The grammar exercises and quiz this week have hopefully eliminated unwanted sentence errors from your papers. I will be deducting 10 points for every comma splice, fused sentence and fragment from here on (with the opportunity to recoup points, of course). Juniors Your assignment over the weekend is to prepare to write a comparison/contrast essay on the two "Chimney Sweeper" poems from William Blake. You are to use NO outside sources. The paper will be written IN CLASS on Monday, January 31st. We will discuss the poems on Friday.

If you read this, you might be bored. Or a nerd, which is a good thing. So, for your edification, here's Philip B. Corbett from the New York Times on the correct usage of who and whom, along with other pressing grammar matters: Times Topics: Posts Tagged With GRAMMAR

HOMEWORK Monday - Read the Introduction to Romanticism (696-708) Tuesday - GO MUSTANGS Wednesday - Read William Blake section (709-716); #2&3 on 711, #1-5 on 715 Thursday - Read William Wordsworth section & "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" (722-731); #1-4 on 731, #1-3 on 733 Friday - QUIZ on Intro, Blake & Wordsworth

Your final draft for the cartoon analysis paper is due on Monday, January 24. The essay should be at least 500 words, typed and formatted according to MLA. The essay should include a works cited page. Please keep the following in mind: All sources used in your paper, including the cartoon, should be included on your works cited page - for non-honors, this means two entries (for honors, three) Your citations should be in ABC order The works cited page should be double-spaced, just like the rest of your paper The works cited page should be numbered in sequence (if your paper is two pages long, then the works cited page will be page three) Your cartoon has an author - this can be found where you got the image Your cartoon may or may not have a "title" but you can title it yourself by referring to the subject or text in quotes The best source I've found for MLA citation is Research and Documentation Online . The forms for all types of sources can be found there, as well a...

Here's the video of the episode from Frontline that we watched in class, Digital Nation . You are welcome to watch the rest of it, of course, and to refer to it when you write your essay tomorrow. There are several more videos on the site, as well as articles related to the topics discussed and interviews with the professionals involved with the project. Remember that the focus of the essay is in the prompt -- how technology should be used in the classroom -- and you must refer to at least three of the sources provided in your packet. Click on the image below to view the entire episode through Frontline's site:

The rough draft of your cartoon analysis paper is due tomorrow, typed. To review: Honors: comparison/contrast analysis of TWO political cartoons on the same subject with a source to establish the context or subject of the satire Non-Honors: analysis of ONE political cartoon with a source to establish the context or subject of the satire Please bring your source with you to class, and we will discuss the format for citing your sources then. Please refer to Research and Documentation Online for formatting and citing your source within the paper. Also, don't forget to find out the name of the artist/author by going back to the original Cagle site .

I'll first begin by saying you are not required to read either of the following articles. Of course, if you don't, then you are only reinforcing the stereotype of the attention-challenged modern teenager (jk): The first, related to robotics, is from the current issue of WIRED The second, related to our current discussion, is from the Pew Research Center Enjoy, or completely ignore!

The next essay is straight from AP, and you'll also have more time to prepare than before because you already have the prompt! That said, I'm of course going to throw a wrench in the works. You will still be required to write the essay in class, in the allotted forty minutes. However, more of the grade will emphasize your use of the sources. One source that is extremely difficult to see on your printout is the cartoon, so I've posted it here:

As part of the ongoing process for your analysis paper on satire, tonight you will find ONE article that is related to the subject you wrote about last week, print it, and bring it to class. For example, if the cartoon was on the unexplained "aflockalypse" in Arkansas -- thousands of birds falling from the sky -- then you would look up a news article that reports that phenomena. Your source should be both relevant and reliable . For a source to be RELEVANT , try the following: Narrow your search by using keyword strings or phrases (in quotes) Google allows users to select tabs -- web, images, videos, news, etc. -- to select the media type Skim titles of publications and articles Narrow down further by adding more specific keywords related to your purpose (i.e. "news" versus "opinion") Finally, print out articles ONLY after you have skimmed them for content Once a source is printed, it can then be highlighted and quoted For a source to be RELIABLE , consid...

Juniors Answer the questions for "A Modest Proposal" (comp check and #2-5) Test tomorrow on Jonathan Swift Seniors You are writing an in-class synthesis essay tomorrow on the topic of cloning, DNA testing, embryo screenings, and stem cell research. Your prompt will offer a bit of a choice, but you MUST use at least one (two for AP) of the essays in the book. I will provide an additional essay that you will be required to integrate. Remember to consider the source, bias and credibility of the source. Also, remember to connect the sources to each other, as well as your thesis.

Now that you've completed the initial draft on your political cartoon, your assignment for this weekend is to analyze another cartoon that satirizes the same subject/person/object. This analysis should be around 250 words, typed and formatted according to MLA. Bring both the cartoon and the analysis to class on Monday . I will return your in-class drafts on Monday, and then using both cartoons you'll write a 500-word comparison/contrast essay.

To help us better understand the satire of the past, we will first look at a common form of satire today -- the political cartoon. Your assignment is to print out ONE cartoon from the site below and bring it to class. You will be required to write a one-page analysis of the cartoon IN CLASS. We'll use the guide in your book (p585) as a guide. Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index Understanding these cartoons -- getting the joke -- requires first that you understand the subject or topic of ridicule. You must then be able to look beyond the literal to see what is inferred by the juxtaposition of the images. The easiest way to print one of these cartoons is to copy & paste it into a Word document. Right-click on the image and select "copy image;" then, open Word and right-click and paste the image.

Juniors Read "An Academy For Women" by Daniel Defoe (577-81) Answer Comp Check, and #2, 3 and 6

This week we've been discussing the latest in robotics technology -- machines currently in use and in development. The overriding question concerns the effect, or potential effect, of the various technologies on society and human lives. Robots are currently used in homes, in factories and hospitals, and in law enforcement and the military. There are numerous projects, funded both publicly and privately, to develop more and more sophisticated robotics to fulfill a wide range of tasks. Do you believe the impact of robotics is mostly positive or negative? Consider the current applications in health-care, the military, manufacturing and entertainment, as well as proposals suggested by the literature and/or videos viewed in class. Consider the following links in addition to the short story and the discussion so far when developing your thesis: A Review of the Best Robots of 2010 (with videos) War of the Machines 2011: The Year of the Personal Robot? DNA Robot Could Deliver Cancer D...