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.

Seniors You have a quiz tomorrow on the first three chapters of Little Brother , and we continue to discuss. Your assignment for the weekend is to read chapters 4-11 for Monday, and we will use the questions as the basis for discussion. Side note: here is the story I mentioned in class about Ms. Marvel . Sophomores You have a quiz tomorrow on Alexander Pope and the works studied. Next up, we will discuss Johnson, Addison and Steele before moving on to the Romantic Period next week. I will order copies of Frankenstein for the class.

Seniors Your study questions and vocabulary for the first three chapters are due tomorrow. Feel free to continue reading. Your assignment over the weekend is to read chapters 4-11, so you might get a head start. Sophomores Please read the excerpt from " Rape of the Lock ," and answer the following questions in your handout for Heroic Couplets and An Essay on Man : #2 a-g on 523 #2-6 on 525

Seniors Your assignment is simple: BUY or DOWNLOAD the book. Then, download a copy of the STUDY GUIDE for the novel from Doctorow's site. Then, answer the questions from the first section (Background). If at any time the questions are Canada-specific (as in #5), relate your answers to your own community. You may either write out or type your answers (makes sense to type them and keep them). Those questions are due at the beginning of class tomorrow. Also, consider the suggestions under the headings "The Characters" and "The Language" and take notes accordingly as you begin to read the novel. Tomorrow, we will begin by discussing Chapter One. By Thursday, you should have the following: Questions for Chapters 1-3 (complete sentences with citations) Vocabulary Squares worksheet for 1-3 (one sheet per chapter) Sophomores We will continue to write in class tomorrow. Be sure to print out your news article for context. My suggestion is to start with Googl...

Sophomores For Monday, please do the following: Go to Daryl Cagle's Political Cartoonists Index and browse Choose one you think is funny and/or clever Copy and paste the cartoon into your Word document Write a 100-word paragraph analyzing the artist's use of appeals, irony, imagery and text to convey his/her message. Please include a summary of the primary message. Format according to MLA See the attached example Also, print and bring an article from Google News that is related to your topic. Seniors You need to have your copy of Little Brother on Monday. Remember that you can download the book for free through the author's website .

Sophomores Your assignment for Friday is to print out three political cartoons from CAGLE.COM . They can be on any topic you choose, as long as you understand the jokes. We will share and discuss your cartoons in class, and I will give you some instruction on writing an analysis of a visual text. By the end of class Friday , you should have your focus set, and you will look for an article this weekend that helps to establish the context for the satire in the cartoons. Please use GOOGLE NEWS as your portal for news sites. Print an article from a major news outlet, and bring the article to class on Monday . For Monday , you will all write the analysis of one cartoon. Although I gave everyone a copy in class, here is the full assignment.

Sophomores Quiz tomorrow on Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels , and "A Modest Proposal." Seniors Your paper on Friday concerns the debate over privacy vs. security. In preparation, we have been examining the following: Edward Snowden Wikileaks Anonymous Do you believe that some loss of privacy is necessary to maintain your security? Is this true of your phone records and internet browser history? How much authority should the U.S. government have to collect and search through your personal communications? Furthermore, do you believe Edward Snowden should have exposed the NSA's surveillance program? In general, are we better off as a result of these leaks? Do you believe Wikleaks was right to release the "Collateral Murder" video, or any other classified information? Your assignment for Thursday is to investigate and then print out an article on your focus. These are only three components of a very large issue, so you may want to expand your inqu...

Sophomores Homework is #1-5 on 599 and #cc, 2-4, 6 on 607. Due on Friday. Quiz on Gulliver's Travels on Tuesday. Read "Modest Proposal" for Wednesday. Seniors Please buy a copy of Little Brother  (Doctorow) by January 26th. The book is available from the author for free download . Of course, you would have to print out the text in order to bring it to class. Next week we will discuss privacy issues -- cameras, drones, wiretaps, Snowden, and Wikileaks -- and net neutrality. Come prepared to discuss.

Seniors Read the excerpt from Fridman's "American Needs Its Nerds." We will work on the rhetorical analysis questions this week and write an essay on Friday. On Tuesday/Wednesday we will grade your in-class essays from last week using AP's nine-point scale . Sophomores Read "Diary of Samuel Pepys" and answer the questions at the end. We will discuss on Tuesday. Also, expect a quiz on the Introduction to the Restoration (open notes).

Sophomores Read the selection from Paradise Lost and answer questions on p491: CC and 3-6. Quiz on Paradise Lost and Pilgrim's Progress tomorrow. Here's a link to the Gustave Dore woodcuts I referenced in class. Seniors Read and annotate the excerpt from John M. Barry's The Great Influenza (from 2008 AP exam). We will work through the following packet over the next two days, and you will write the analytical essay in class on Friday. Rhetorical Analysis: John M. Barry's The Great Influenza