river oaks [english]

The final senior assignment requires that you include pictures and memorabilia from  all four years  of high school. You can print pictures professionally, or you can print them on your own . This assignment is due at the beginning of class FRIDAY, MAY 6th . You should include  at least  the following: A cover page - including your name and a short statement about your experience at River Oaks and particular your graduating class (How do you feel about graduating?) At least FOUR pages ( two sheets , front and back) for each year = SIXTEEN total (or  eight sheets , front and back) in addition to the cover page Organize chronologically, ending with your senior year Include information related to  school  - academics, arts, athletics - as well as special events Include information related to  your interests  - religion, music, film, games, trends, etc. Include information related to  the news  - important events (i.e. the elec...

Please refer to the following for MLA citation guidelines: MLA CITATION

Sophomores For Monday, read chapters 17-21 and answer questions #1-5 in the study guide for those chapters. Read the rest of the novel for Tuesday. As we get to the end of the novel, don't forget to study the vocabulary terms. There are about 35 terms, 20 of which will be on your exam. Your exam will be in Wednesday. We will work on your literary analysis essays in class on Thursday and Friday. The essays are due Friday, printed by the end of class and shared with my email. Topics will be discussed Wednesday after the exam.  Seniors We will be watching Truman Show Monday through Wednesday, organizing evidence on Thursday, and writing critical analysis essays on Friday. This is your last essay of the terms.  Next week, we will work on your memory book projects (details to come).

Sophomores We are going to discuss Ch11-16 in class Monday and finish answering the study questions for Tuesday. Seniors The first thing we will do on Monday is discuss your updated plans for school and career. A one page "addendum" to your career paper is due on Tuesday . Include whether or not you plan to pursue the career discussed in your research paper and why or why not. Also include plans for career post-graduation and any career-related plans for this summer. This paper can be informal in tone but should follow the conventions of college-level writing. Share with me via email as "lastname-addendum." We will also discuss the letter you will all write to your future selves (five years from now). Every year, the senior class writes a set of letters, and every year I mail a set from five years ago.This letter should include anything you'd like to remember about your senior year, or your goals and values right now, or your tastes and opinions. I will m...

Sophomores Your homework over the weekend was to read ch1-4. Tonight, please fill out the character log on p17 (or make your own) with details from the chapters. Questions #1-5 on p18-19 of the STUDY GUIDE are due Wednesday. Read through ch10 for Thursday. Seniors Please read over the following discussion of Baudrillard's theory on culture: " On Simulation ." Please bring a list tomorrow of examples of this theory in practice in our everyday lives. In class, I gave you categories of food, beauty, health, and environment. You could of course add entertainment, which we've already discussed quite a lot. Our discussion tomorrow will generate topics to focus on for Thursday, when we will formulate thesis statements and evidence. The essay will be written on Friday in response to the following prompt: 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 postm...

Seniors Your essay on Friday will be a synthesis essay that constructs an argument concerning technology in the workplace. Specifically, your essay should focus on a particular profession and the potential of robotics and/or artificial intelligence to enhance, improve, alter or harm the ability of humans to do their jobs. We have been watching selections from Frontline: Digital Nation , and the site also includes links to research. It makes sense to relate your topic to your future profession, but it is not required. Simply focus your topic on the area that most interests you. Find and print out at least TWO articles for Wednesday . Make sure you examine the credibility of each article, and please read them. On Thursday, we will develop thesis statements and support from your articles. The essay will be written in class on Friday. Sophomores Your study guide for Frankenstein is a PDF. You may view it, save it, or print it. Your homework for FRIDAY is to read both the novel (thr...

Seniors We will be talking about robotics this week, considering the following questions: How are robotics improving our lives? How are robotics displacing and changing our workforce? How is artificial intelligence improving our quality of living? How is artificial intelligence and interaction with machines affecting our cognitive abilities? Sophomores We will begin reading and discussing Frankenstein . I have your books, so will need to bring $5 as soon as possible. Remember that you can read the book online , as well. The first set of study guide questions will be due Wednesday.

Seniors Your in-class essay tomorrow is a summary and critique of the article outlined this week. You may use that outline and annotations in the drafting of your essay. Sophomores Your homework for tonight is to answer the following questions: #1-3 on p775 #2-5 and 7 on p779

Sophomores Answer the following in a response of at least one page, typed and shared with me (lastname-science): What modern scientific advancement(s) are we most afraid of, and why? Seniors Read the following article and compose a one-page outline of the contents. Type and share with me (lastname-robots): Are the robots about to rise?

Seniors We will be writing a literary analysis on Friday, based on a short story from your text: " Super-Toys Last All Summer Long " by Brian Aldiss (665). Homework questions (#1-7) following the story are due TYPED on Thursday. Please use complete sentences and cite examples from the text in your answers. Sophomores Your test on "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is Wednesday, and your Honors exam is Thursday. Students not taking the exam will have a reading assignment. We will begin discussion of Frankenstein on Friday.

Seniors We are beginning a unit on "The Future" - including a discussion of cell phone use, social media, robotics, artificial intelligence, and alternate reality. To begin this conversation, we are viewing a 2010 episode of Frontline , "Digital Nation." I will refer to the following throughout the week: Link to the full episode Multi-tasking test (Open Site) Multi-tasking test (Scientific American) Sophomores We are reading and talking about "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" this week, with a test on Wednesday. The honors exam will be on Thursday, and everyone else will have a reading assignment. We will resume on Friday with an introduction to Frankenstein .

Seniors Read through at least the next three chapters for tonight. That leaves about 50 pages for tomorrow night, and we will discuss the end of the book on Wednesday. Your written exam will be in class on Thursday. Sophomores Read " Kubla Khan " and answer the questions in the book following the poem: CC and #2-5. We will discuss the poem in class, and your test will be on Wednesday. On Thursday, we will discuss Coleridge's " Rime of the Ancient Mariner " (bonus cheesy and eerie readings).

Seniors Read through p71 in your text - the next three chapters. We'll have finished the book by Wednesday, with a written exam on Thursday. Sophomores Answer questions following "Tintern Abbey" (#1-4 on 731) and the sonnets that follow (#1-3 on 733). We will discuss the remainder of the Wordsworth section in class Monday, and then we will read a couple of poems by Coleridge. Your exam on the first gen romantics will be before the break. For a closeup on Turner's Tintern Abbey paintings, go to the amazing Tate Gallery:  

Seniors We are starting Persepolis this week, and you should all have your books. For Wednesday, please read the first three chapters. For Thursday, read the following article on " Headscarf Politics ." We will have a quiz on the first five chapters on Friday. To help prepare you, please preview the questions from the study guide: Persepolis Study Guide Some asked if I would post something about the Cinema Rex Fire that is credited with being the catalyst for the Revolution in Iran. And it might also be helpful to view some film about the Shah himself: Sophomores We are beginning discussion of the Romantic Period this week. I gave everyone a copy of Robert Pinsky's analysis of Blake's set of "Chimney Sweeper" poems: A Perfect Discomfit . Please read the handout and be prepared to discussed. We will also read other selections from the first generation of poets - Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Burns - all before the break. After the break, we will ...

Seniors Please work on the following: finish your Little Brother paper and share it order Persepolis (Satrapi) and have it by Tuesday read "Show and Tell" by Scott McCloud (738-50) answer #1-8 (type) on p737, and bring printed out by Friday; use complete sentences and CITE specific examples from the text Sophomores We will work on your essays in class the next two days. Your essay should be printed out and stapled to the front of your cartoons and article. DUE by the end of class Friday.

Seniors Please complete your essays and share them with my email address by the end of class Friday. If you have not finished, you will have some time when we return on Wednesday. Remember that you can use the "Find" (CTRL-F) function in the PDF version to help locate specific evidence; however, please cite all relevant examples and quotes using page numbers from the book. Sophomores Your task for tomorrow in class is to hand write your first draft of the analysis essay. At the end of class, you will staple your draft to your cartoons and article. Make sure your name is on the draft. Your goal is of course to finish the paper, so that you can type and revise on Wednesday when we return. The assignment I handed out in class today is linked below: Analysis: Political Cartoons

Seniors Your exam is Wednesday, and the essay is Thursday-Friday. The essay will be typed in class, but you may do some preparation by looking at the following topics and going through the text for evidence. Note that the following are suggested topics for inquiry, but that your essay will be based on specific prompts on the date: What is terrorism? How is defined by the book, and how is this subject explored through the actions of Al Qaeda, the DHS, and Marcus? Is the disruption caused by Marcus, for example, worth the socio-political purpose? In particular, how much loss of privacy is acceptable for our security? What makes San Francisco an appropriate setting for the novel? Consider its geographical location, its multicultural population, its history of activism, and its role in the arts. Discuss Marcus as a central protagonist; how does his character develop, and what factors shape his growth as a character? Consider setting, events and characters. How does the book function ...

Seniors Your exam on Little Brother is on Wednesday. It will include the vocabulary, and your study guide is available here. Sophomores Your exam on the Restoration Period is Tuesday. Please know the following for the exam: Period Introduction Milton - Paradise Lost, selected poems Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress Diary of Samuel Pepys Satire (p584-5) Alexander Pope (handout) - Rape of the Lock, Heroic Couplets, Essay on Man Non-Fiction Prose (p546-7) - discussion of genre and forms The Spectator Defoe - Academy For Women, Robinson Crusoe Women Writers (handout) Early English Novels Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal

Little Brother Presentations 2016

Sophomores Your exam will be on Tuesday, February 2nd. Read the selections from Gulliver's Travels for tomorrow, and answer the questions following Lilliput, including the vocabulary. The vocab will be on next week's test, as well. Seniors Your presentations are DUE before class tomorrow. I plan on getting there early and creating a public folder. Please don't forget to share your Slides with me. There will be a 10 point late penalty for those that don't get it done by 8:00. In other words, go ahead and share it! All changes between now and then will be saved.