river oaks [english]

Sophomores Read pages 746-60 in your textbook - introduction to Emily Dickinson and a short anthology Answer the Comprehension Check and #2-6 for Wednesday We will have an EXAM on Thursday on the three stories and Dickinson poems Seniors Read "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" in your textbook (665)  Answer questions #1-7 on p671 You also have an article due on Wednesday AP students have a practice test due on Thursday Also, here's the video on the "uncanny valley" I showed in class: Try the following links for recent articles on the subject of robotics: TheWeek Gizmag PopSci

Sophomores For optional homework credit, write a response to Chopin's "Story of an Hour." Seniors We will start a new (but related) topic this week, with an in-class essay scheduled for Thursday. For a preview, follow the links below: MIT: Personal Robotics Group Carnagie Mellon: The Robotics Institute Willow Garage: PR2 Double Robotics ROBOY As the last essay before break, we will talk about the positives and negatives of "living better with robots," the stated mission of many of our nation's top engineers. Topics will include the rise of the personal robot, drone aircraft, nano-technology, industrial manufacturing, medicine, the future of toys, and the uncanny valley.

Sophomores Answer question #4 on 779. Write at least one-half page, citing specifics from the text. Seniors Although the questions in the handout may lead you to a thesis, you are certainly not limited to those topics. I strongly recommend that you avoid all reviews of the film (professional and amateur) until you have written your own analysis. Afterwards, it might be interesting to see what other people think.  For tomorrow, develop a thesis. You will need to make specific references to the film, so organize your notes. Above all, remember that this is an analysis , not a summary .

Sophomores Read "The Yellow Wallpaper" (765) for Thursday. Seniors We will finish The Truman Show in class and discuss possible topics. Please bring the handout .

Sophomores Answer questions on "A Wagner Matinee" (p697): Comprehension Check #1 Describe Aunt Georgiana. #2-4 Seniors We will continue to view The Truman Show this week. Please print and bring a copy of the following to class Wednesday: Truman Show Discussion Questions

Sophomores Your assignment is to read "A Wagner Matinee" (689) by Willa Cather. We will discuss in class tomorrow. This will begin a unit on women's literature. Guys, stop groaning. Seniors We are watching The Truman Show this week and writing an in-class film analysis at the end of the week. You have a set of questions to answer during the viewing, and I will give you another afterwards to help determine a topic. Take notes and pay attention . You will be required to cite specifics from the film in your essay. If necessary, I will also quiz you.

Please follow MLA format for your typed final drafts. See the following sites (discussed in class) for guidelines and examples: Purdue OWL - MLA Formatting and Style Guide Research and Documentation Online Revisions are due Monday. Please include all drafts with the most recent on top.

Sophomores Study for your exam on Tuesday, and start gathering material for your essay on Huck Finn, to be written in class on Wednesday.  Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: Huck's development - his maturity in attitude towards Jim, Tom, girls, slavery, the cons, religion, authority/society Jim's admirable traits - as a father figure to Huck, and as a father to his own children A comparison between Huck and Tom, Jim and Pap, "mothers" and "fathers," river and shore Portrayal of the river - in realistic/naturalistic terms, as a symbol, as "home" Function as an anti-slavery novel, or one to be banned for reinforcing stereotypes Function as a temperance novel Huck's "drowning" and "rebirth" - symbolic function of his staged death Role of religion and/or superstition The episodic nature of the narrative - a road to self-discovery, the hero's journey The use of humor and satire, in pa...

Nothing to turn in on Monday, but that doesn't mean you should take the weekend off.... Sophomores You should be studying for the Huck Finn exam on Tuesday and picking a topic for the in-class essay on Wednesday. Seniors You should be gathering information for your in-class essay Monday. Your essay should include the Baudrillard summary I gave you plus at least one more article of your choosing.

Sophomores You should be one section per night this week, with the goal of finishing by Friday. Your exam on the novel will be next Tuesday, February 5th . We will start working on the papers on Wednesday. Seniors This week's topic is the positive and negatives regarding simulation -- as it relates to social networking, military training, the food and drug industry, concepts of beauty, and modern life in general. We are using Jean Baudrillard 's theory as a starting point, and you are to focus in any way you'd like. On Friday, your paper will be in response to the following question: 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 huma...

ALL honors students: don't forget that you are to be reading a book off of the list for this nine weeks. If you have a specific request, then please let me know now. Sophomores Your outside reading assignment this week is Mark Twain's essay from 1901, " The United States of Lyncherdom ." Please read it and then respond to specifics in a 250-word typed report due Friday, February 1st. Consider the following as possible points of focus: What is your overall impression of Twain's essay? What is your first reaction after reading it? How do you read his tone? Is it serious, comical, scornful, satirical, melancholic, etc? What connections can you draw between the essay and Huck Finn , especially the "lynching bee" chapter? Why do you think Twain delayed publication of the essay? How do you think the essay might have been received when it was published? Do you find anything in the essay offensive? Senior AP I will give you another take-home m...

Seniors Type and revise your in-class draft and bring to class on Monday. Your original response paper, your in-class draft, and your typed draft should all be staples together. Also, remember to include a works cited page with your typed draft. This should include all sources cited in the paper (at least three) and should follow MLA format. If you need a refresher, those guidelines can be found at the following sites: Purdue OWL: Electronic Sources Research and Documentation Online The final draft of this essay is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, January 29th . Sophomores Read through at least Chapter 24 (XXIV) of Huck Finn this weekend. We should finish the book by the end of next week.

Seniors You will write the media violence paper in class. Please bring your own source plus the handout I gave you, and you must use at least two sources in your paper. Sophomores Quiz tomorrow on chapters 11-20.

Watch What Next: Violence in the Media on PBS. See more from After Newtown.

Seniors Today in class you composed a response to the question "To what degree does violence in the media affect its viewers, and what should be done to minimize its negative impact, if any?" Your response is the starting point for our discussion. To better help us understand the issue, please look to news items in recent weeks -- including commentary and statistics -- and bring what you find to class. Sophomores Read through chapter 20 and be prepared to discuss in class tomorrow.

Here's maybe a better look, in chart form, with slightly different names:

Seniors We will do an exercise tomorrow involving the logical fallacies you defined earlier in the week. We will also have a quiz on Tuesday. Also, you can start thinking about, and researching, other potential solutions to the problem of gun violence. Our next discussion and paper will be on arguments surrounding violence in media -- for example, whether or not playing violent video games has a psychological impact on teenagers. Sophomores If you have not done so already, you need to turn in answers to questions on chapters 1-9. We will discuss through chapter 13 tomorrow in class. Expect a quiz on at least the first five chapters.

Sophomores Read through Ch 9 and answer all questions on the handout (also available in the "File Locker" on Edline). Remember to use complete sentences and to cite specifics from the novel. Referring to page numbers will help you later when you are writing your essay.

Seniors Copy the definitions of the fifteen logical fallacies listed on the  UNC Writing Center  page for Monday. You do not have to supply the examples they give. Sophomores Read the first FIVE chapters of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .