Week 4: August 26-30

UPCOMING DUE DATES  

Monday 8/26: last day to submit New Frontier unit work

Tuesday 8/27: New Frontier writing assessment

Wednesday 8/28: New Frontier objective assessment (multiple choice questions)
Friday 8/30: "Imagine the Future" creative writing due (see Tuesday 8/20) -- bring four copies (you may print in our room but you need to come to print prior to class/before 1st period so it does not take up our class time with a frenzy at the printer)
The Soloist reading checkpoints

• Monday 9/9: Part 1, pages 4-119
• Monday 9/16: Part 2, pages 124-203
• Monday 9/23: Part 3, pages 207-286

RECENT HANDOUTS AND PRESENTATIONS

• New Frontier Unit Plan, Calendar and Assignment Checklist  -- please note that I have postponed the unit assessment to 8/26 and I have extended the due date for unit work to 8/26
•  Required reading:
• "Millenials: The New Greatest Generation" by Joel Stein
• "2BR02B" by Kurt Vonnegut
• "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne 
• "The Birthmark": Groupwork -- Understanding Hawthorne's Moral Lesson
•  Choice reading -- choose one:
• Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr 
• Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? by Stephen Marche 
• Trial by Twitter: Was Justice Served in Steubenville by Ariel Levy  NOTE: “Trial by Twitter” discusses the controversial rape trial of high school students in Steubenville this spring – the article focuses more on the aftermath of the rape – the town’s reaction and the trial. But this topic may be distressing to some – please choose accordingly.
• "Homeland Insecurity” by Massimo Calabresi and Michael Crowley 
• “Greenland Melting” by Jeff Goodell  
•  New Frontier Study Guide and Constructed Response Planning Sheet

 

MONDAY AUGUST 26

• Review dates for The Soloist
• Work with a partner or individually to plan for tomorrow's writing assessment

TUESDAY AUGUST 27

• New Frontier writing assessment
• Since I collected your planning sheets with the review for the multiple choice, here it is --

On Wednesday – Multiple Choice
For the objective questions, review the following ideas from our fiction texts –

Vonnegut’s “2BR02B” •  Characters and their view of the society and its efforts to control the population •  Conflict and Climax •  Symbols – the painting, the orderly’s song, nicknames for the gas chamber •  The significance of “2BR02B” – what it means to be or not to be and why that is such a troubling question •  The message of the story – what warning does Vonnegut present?

Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” •  Characters – what each character symbolizes and how each character views the birthmark •  Symbols – how Hawthorne emphasizes the conflict between nature and science through the plant, photograph, and the lab vs. the boudoir •  Foreshadowing – how does Hawthorne build tension? •  The birthmark – what it represents and what Hawthorne wants us to realize about humanity •  Dark Romanticism – what does the story show about moral duality, the relationship between good and sinful?

Stein’s “Millenials” •  Stein’s two claims about the millennials – why does Stein present what seems to be a contradiction, first attacking the Millennials then defending them? •  Narcissism – its positive and negative qualities in relation to the millennials’ lifestyle •  Empowerment and entitlement – positive and negative qualities •  Anti-establishment – how Millennials view authority •  The author’s tone and style

 

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 28

• New Frontier Objective Questions (multiple choice)
• Work on creative writing after the test

THURSDAY AUGUST 29

• What is rhetoric? What is the power of rhetoric? Can rhetoric make the world a better place? Is the pen mightier than the sword?
• Review: ethos, pathos, logos in George W. Bush's 9/11 Bullhorn speech at Ground Zero

FRIDAY AUGUST 30

• Creative Writing share groups -- how to be a respectful audience, a receptive listener and a helpful critic
• Review: repetition, restatement and parallel structure in Gilliam's "Advice for Teens"
• HOMEWORK: Read The Soloist