river oaks [english]

Sophomores, you have one more chance to get some points this week: Homework for Tuesday (#1-4 on 453 and #1-3 on 454) and Wednesday (Comp Check and #2-5) OPTIONAL - Recite any sonnet by a well-known poet (including those in your text), or write your own sonnet -- note that it must follow the form in order to get credit. Either option can earn you up to 10 extra points. Due by Friday . Here's a copy of the extra poem, "Song: Go and catch a falling star" by John Donne

 I have tried to outline everything we have studied this semester, but it's always possible I've left something off of the list. If you see that something is missing, please bring it up in class. The exam itself will be objective, with an answer key, including multiple choice and matching. I expect to have 100 questions. Midterm Review

Seniors, you will write your final essay of the semester on Wednesday, December 11th during your regularly scheduled class time. AP essays are due on Friday. The exam will consist of two parts: a vocabulary exam, which you may take on Tuesday or Thursday (40%) and the essay (60%), which MUST be written in class. The essay will be an analysis of one of Nelson Mandela's most famous speeches, delivered at the beginning of his trial for conspiracy in 1964. Because the speech is quite long, I have included only a portion. The text is available below:   Nelson Mandela's Rivonia Trial Speech (1964) You will be required to write the essay IN CLASS. I am allowing you to preview the text so that you will have ample time to annotate and prepare. DO NOT bring a prepared essay to class.

Sophomores In class on Monday, students read "Passionate Shepherd" and "The Nymph's Reply" and answered questions from the handout (#1-3 on 291, Comp Check and #2-5). On Tuesday, we discussed those two poems and introduced the sonnet's history and form. We will continue to discuss sonnets this week, with works from Wyatt, Spenser and Shakespeare. Quiz on Friday. Seniors This Friday's essay will be a rhetorical analysis of MLK's "Letter From Birmingham Jail." The text is in your book (260-274) and is available online: PDF of entire letter here Excerpts available here and here . (last one is from The Atlantic on the letter's 50th anniversary) 

The profile essay is due on Friday, with a typed rough draft due on Thursday. The essay should be around 750 words in length, formatted according to MLA guidelines. For a copy of the printed assignment, click here.  Your essay should focus on specific aspects of your subject's character, description, personality, advice or accomplishments. You are NOT to write a biography, or list of life events. Your goal is to point out what is unique about your subject, through descriptive language and dialogue, so that the reader can "see" him/her clearly. Although the contest winners on ULM's site use a slightly different prompt, the 2011 winners are good models for organization and content: ULM Freshman Writing Competition .

The Macbeth Exam will be on Thursday, November 21st. Quiz on Act III Monday, and we will cover the rest of the play on Tuesday and Wednesday. There is no vocabulary portion of this exam, and it will require quite a bit of writing (just a heads up).

Sophomores Read Act III of Macbeth . Optional homework is Comp Check and #2-5, due on Monday. There is also a quiz on Act III on Monday. For the 2009 BBC version (151 minutes) starring Patrick Stewart, click here.   For the Shakespeare Uncovered episode featuring Ethan Hawke, click here. Seniors We will continue to work on revisions until Friday, when we will have a peer review session. The final draft of the revision, with original attached, is due on Monday.

Seniors You should be working on your interview with a parent or guardian this week. Thankfully, the deadline for ULM is November 30th. We will write the "Profile" Essay next week and revise before submitting. This week, we are talking about revision. I've handed back your three most recent in-class essays and you will pick one to revise for Friday. Bring that essay to class tomorrow, and we will type in class. The optional homework assignment for Wednesday is an exercise on parallelism (Ex.2 on p343). Sophomores Quiz on Act II of Macbeth tomorrow. Optional homework from handout: Comp Check and #2-6.

Sophomores Honors assignment due tomorrow. Everyone needs to finish Act One. Quiz on Monday. Seniors Essay in class tomorrow . Bring your books!

Your reading assignment for tonight is Act One: Scenes 1-3.  Your HONORS assignment for this week is to read the "Anti-Stratfordian" section of your Macbeth introduction (xi-xv) and to type a one-page summary for Friday . Please follow MLA guidelines.

Today is Bonfire Day, or Guy Fawkes Day, in England. Celebrated every November 5th since 1605, this celebration commemorates the plot and subsequent execution of conspirators lead by Robert Catesby against James I and his protestant government. Guido (Guy) Fawkes was in charge of the gunpowder kegs placed under the House of Lords. He was discovered, tortured and hanged for treason. The story and nursery rhyme was used as a central motif in V For Vendetta , and the Guy Fawkes mask has been associated most recently with the hacker group Anonymous. Below is a short history of how the tradition began: Remember, remember!   The fifth of November,   The Gunpowder treason and plot;   I know of no reason   Why the Gunpowder treason   Should ever be forgot!

This week we are working with two different essays: "The Real New York Giants"  by Rick Reilly "For Fasting and Football: A Dedicated Game Plan"  by Samuel J. Freedman At the end of the week, you will choose one of these two superb examples of sports writing to be the subject of an analysis paper. You will write the essay in class on Friday.

Sophomores have a quiz/test on Renaissance Drama and Shakespeare tomorrow. Everyone should have your copy of Macbeth by now. Please bring it to class!

Here are a couple of things to help orient you to the Globe Theatre in London, still a vibrant part of Shakespeare's legacy: Macbeth @ Shakespeare's Globe  Shakespeare's Globe Mini-Doc

Sophomores Your PowerPoint lecture from the last two days is available on the Edline site under "Class Info." Your test on Renaissance Drama will be Tuesday. You should have your book on Monday. Seniors Your in-class essay this week is in response to the president's proposal to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 by the end of 2015. The question posed to you is whether or not Louisiana should adopt this increase, and why. You MUST refer to "Serving in Florida," and you MUST include citations from at least TWO other sources. You may use anything I have provided, the president's proposal, or your own (credible) article. Please print the following and bring to class: The President's Plan

Sophomores Complete the study guide and turn in Thursday. Read the Renaissance Drama handout. Seniors Print out and bring a credible article on the minimum wage debate. Due Thursday.

Sophomores Expect an open-note quiz tomorrow on the Intro to the Renaissance. We will also talk about Renaissance Theater and Shakespeare. Seniors Please read "Serving in Florida" in your textbook. This essay is a chapter from the non-fiction book Nickel and Dimed , by Barbara Ehrenreich. Answer #1-5 on p186 for class on Wednesday. 

Your money for Frankenstein is due Monday. $10 covers the ticket and the bus. Also, please buy your copy of Macbeth next week. Bring it to class on Monday, Nov. 4th. I will be using the following edition in class:

Celebrated performer Benjamin Bagby is bringing his one-man production of Beowulf to Monroe. He will be playing/singing/reciting the famous poem on Tuesday evening at 7:30 at Biedenharn Recital Hall on ULM campus. The event is FREE of charge. Benjamin Bagby's Beowulf

Sophomores Your exam on "The Wife of Bath's Tale," "The Parndoner's Tale," and "Frederigo's Falcon" is on Wednesday, October 23rd. The vocabulary from the these three stories will also be on the exam. Seniors Your final rhetorical terms quiz will be on Friday, October 25th.