river oaks [english]

Happy Day-Before-Break! It looks like we have one more day to complete assignments and tie up loose ends. Plans announced before the weekend are still in effect: Seniors - your synthesis paper is still due. Sophomores - you're still writing the summary in class.

Seniors Your synthesis essays on the torture debate are due on Monday. Be advised that MLA formatting is part of the grade, so you might want to review: MLA Formatting . You must use all three sources in support of your thesis. Sophomores Your weekend homework is to read " Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Birth of Modern Science ," an article that helps to establish the context of the novel. Be prepared to summarize this article in class on Monday. That means you not only need to read the article, but you also will need to highlight and annotate the most important points before coming to class. For help on writing summaries, please refer to the following overview from University of Washington: How to Write a Summary .

Seniors Email me a copy of your thesis statement by midnight: aryland@gmail.com. Your 100-word summary of Interrogations Saved Lives is due tomorrow: Use an MLA heading Provide a citation for the source as your title Compose a 100-word summary of the source Be accurate and specific , and focus on the central purpose Follow the same process for What Torture Never Told Us - due Friday. Bring your third source tomorrow, as well, so we can cite and discuss.  Sophomores Your homework is to answer questions following the three Keats poems discussed in class. QUIZ tomorrow on the "second generation" of Romantics. We will discuss Frankenstein   on Friday and begin reading the novel next week. Copies of the book are $5.00 .

Seniors Your essays on the torture debate are due on Friday, and we will construct the argument and support in class over the next three days. Have your thesis statements ready for tomorrow, and we will begin summarizing the arguments presented in the two op-ed pieces. You also need to have settled on a third for your synthesis due on Friday. This paper will require a work cited page. Sophomores We will cover John Keats tomorrow, specifically " Ode on a Grecian Urn ," " When I Have Fears ," and " Bright Star " ( read here by Tom Hiddleston).

Seniors For Tuesday, find and print an article from a reputable new source on the subject of torture. In particular, try to find an article that supports your position, and which provides solid evidence and reasoning. For starters, here's a version of the article I referred to in class: What Torture Never Told Us , by former FBI agent Ali Soufan. [ related video : "The Interrogator" from Frontline ] And, defending the government's use of "enhanced interrogation" is the man who ran the CIA's program, Jose A. Rodriguez . Also, Ex-CIA Directors: Interrogations Saved Lives from an op-ed following the release of the Senate report on the CIA's program. Sophomores Honors papers DUE. Homework for Tuesday: #1-3 on p782 #1-3 on p785 #2, 3, 5 on p790

Sophomores Questions after "Kubla Khan" and Rime of the Ancient Mariner . Quiz on Friday on the "first generation" of Romantic poetics. Summary due Monday (honors). Seniors Exam on Thursday, Essay due on Monday.

Seniors The Little Brother exam is on Thursday, including 50 of the vocabulary terms . The essay on Friday is a summary/critique of the following article: Nerd Activists . And this is the TED Talk with Doctorow that I mentioned in class: How to break the Internet . Sophomores Read " Rime of the Ancient Mariner " for tomorrow. We will also discuss Coleridge's fragmented dream vision, " Kubla Khan ." Also, Honors students, it's time for another article summary , this one from the Norton Anthology of English Literature: Tintern Abbey , Tourism, and Romantic Landscape . Your summary should be about 250 words, typed, and formatted according to MLA. Please refer back to your handout on writing summaries. Due Monday, Feb 16th .

Seniors Your exam is on Thursday, and your final essay is on Friday. I'll talk more about the essay in class tomorrow. Also, the senior auction project lacks one more important detail - your memories! We will spend a bit of time tomorrow in class writing down some of your fondest memories of your senior year, and the rest of your time at RO.  Sophomores Read "Lines Composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey," and complete the questions at the end of the selection in your book. As always, please use complete sentences and cite frequently from the text.

Seniors Continue to read, and we will have a quiz on chapters 4-8 on Thursday. Please consider ch 8: #10 and #13 from your study guide. I will distribute vocab list #1 Wednesday in class. Your first essay on Little Brother will be written in class on Friday. You are to fill out three more pages of vocabulary from ch 4 onward - due Monday. From the two compiled lists, I will test you on 50 of the terms (list so far) . The other half of the Little Brother exam will be objective, scheduled for Wednesday the 11th. Your essay for next week will be a review summary and critique. More on that later. Sophomores Your exam on the period will include the following: Introductory notes Non-fiction (journals, diaries, biographies, essays, newspapers and pamphlets) Diary of Samuel Pepys Satire - including literature, visual art and cartoons Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels, Modest Proposal Alexander Pope - Heroic Couples, Essay on Man, Rape of the Lock Academy For Women, A Vin...

Seniors Continue to read up to and past ch 11. Plan on finishing the book by the end of the weekend. Sophomores Read "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (631-636). For optional credit, answer the following questions: #2 and #4 on 582 - short paragraph each CC, #2-4

Seniors Read chapters 4-11 by Monday, and be prepared to discuss. Makes notes in your books as you go, marking passages especially that pertain to character development and/or technology, and that include examples of figurative language. Sophomores Exam Wednesday on the Restoration Period.