river oaks [english]

Seniors Your revision papers are DUE on Friday. Please include all drafts, including the original, hand-written version. In addition, don't forget about the rhetorical terms quiz #2. Sophomores Your one-page reflection papers are DUE on Friday. Even though I won't be able to verify your experience -- whether or not you spend a tech-free hour of solitude somewhere outside -- please write about your experience honestly . The goal here is to reflect on the relative silence and quiet of your yard. Even if you don't have some "revelation" or transcendent moment, write about what your senses detect. Thoreau and Emerson suggest that if you allow yourself to go beyond your senses, however, you will open yourself to ideas and inspiration. So try it. Jot down notes during your hour an any form you'd like, but the report itself needs to be written in complete sentences. Please attach your notes to the final typed copy of your report. This paper should be typed and ...

Sophomores Quiz on Walden on Thursday, including vocabulary.

Seniors Read through your essays and pick one to revise from the following: election position paper, fear, thanksgiving. Sophomores Read Thoreau's Walden and record at least TEN aphorisms that appeal to you. Come prepared to "translate" them for the class.

Seniors You have a revision essay due this Friday , December 2nd. Bring a typed on Thursday for peer review. In addition, you have a vocabulary quiz on Friday on "euphemism" through "oxymoron." Sophomores Your assignment for Friday , December 2nd is to spend one hour alone, outside, free from distractions (ipod, phone, computer, video games, etc.), and to write a one-page report on your experience. Your final paper should be typed and formatted according to MLA. To begin, you might make note of your sensory experience, but try to go beyond that and write about what you are thinking as well.

One more time, if you are a Sophomore...

Concerning our discussion on Wednesday, a comprehensive index of common usage errors can be found on the following website:

Sophomores Answer the following questions about "Civil Disobedience" (p370-376): Comprehension Check, #3-5 p378 #1-5 on p380 Quiz on Thursday on "Self-Reliance" and "Civil Disobedience," including vocabulary . Seniors You will write the "Thanksgiving" essay tomorrow in class. Your topic must be a person or group of people, and your essay should include the specific reason(s) you are thankful. Is it based on a single event or several? How has it affected you? What did you learn? How do you start this essay? Although there are several possibilities, consider the following: focus on naming the person, along with a brief statement about why you are thankful; focus on yourself, on how this person's influence has affected you; focus on a specific moment that is related to your gratitude. Your quiz on rhetorical terms A-D is on Friday.

Strauss Youth Academy for the Arts You are invited to attend the Strauss Youth Academy for the Arts production of Pride and Prejudice this Saturday, the 17th. Jane Austen's novel has been adapted for the stage and features local performers ranging in age from kids to adults, with the lead roles played by high school students. The show is at 2pm and costs $6 for students and $10 for adults. If you go, and bring back a program, and answer a few questions, you can earn a few extra points. Ask me for more information.

Sophomores Your homework for tonight is to finish reading "Self-Reliance" by Emerson and to answer the following questions: Comprehension Check, #2-4 on p367 #1-5 on p368

Have a good weekend, and GO MUSTANGS!

Seniors Your profile essay , typed and formatted according to MLA, is due on Friday, November 9th. The paper must be a minimum of 600 words in length. Sophomores Turn in "The Lottery" questions for optional credit. Your exam on Gothic short fiction is Thursday, November 8th.

REMINDER: please invite any loved ones who are veterans to attend Friday's pep rally! Seniors Your "profile" essays will be written in class on Wednesday and Thursday. You should conduct your interview either tonight or tomorrow night, and your essay should include direct quotes from the interview. Remember too that the essay is a "profile," not a biography. Sophomores Finish reading "The Lottery," and then read it again. On the second reading, make note of any foreshadowing and any obvious symbolism. Is there a logical reason that the story ends the way it does? What possible meaning could the story convey, especially considering the context (written in 1948)? Come tomorrow prepared to discuss. Your EXAM on Gothic short stories is on Thursday, November 8th.

Seniors We will vote as a class on one of the three options for your "Profile" essay. The week will be spent planning, interviewing, vocabulary, and grammar/AP prep. Sophomores You will have a quiz Monday on "The Masque of the Red Death," including the vocabulary. For optional  homework credit, answer questions on p462 - Comprehension Check, and #3-5.

Seniors Tomorrow in class we will discuss your next essay, which is the assessment essay for ULM Dual Enrollment students. The assignment also corresponds with Veterans Day, which is celebrated on November 11th. The assignment requires you to conduct an interview with a veteran of the US Armed Forces. You should begin thinking now of possible subjects. The assignment itself is described on ULM's First-Year Composition Moodle page: The Interviewing a Subject (Profile) requires students to interview a classmate.  This is very important at ULM, where we are trying to create a sense of community among students from various areas.  If your students already have such a community, then asking them to interview others is acceptable.   Simply create a specific system and hold everyone to the same standard, while adhering to our assignment's main criteria.  As part of the main criteria, they must interview another, living human. (italics mine) Sophomores Finish reading...