Week 3ish: August 19-23

UPCOMING DUE DATES

Thursday 8/22: Last day to submit New Frontier unit work and receive feedback before it is due; however, we recommend that you follow the unit calendar and submit work periodically
Monday 8/26: New Frontier unit assessment; last day to submit unit work
Wednesday 8/21: Summer reading groupwork review
Thursday 8/22: Summer reading assessment

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  

 

MONDAY AUGUST 20

• Reading Quiz: "The Birthmark"
• "The Birthmark": Groupwork -- Understanding Hawthorne's Moral Lesson 

TUESDAY AUGUST 21

• Finish and turn in "Birthmark" groupwork -- due on Wednesday
• New Frontier creative writing -- as we look to the end of this unit and begin to connect these works and the writer's attempts to imagine America's future, I want to give you the chance to be creative.  We will be doing some creative writing this semester that gives you the opportunity to write without constraint.  There are only two rules -- write the truth (your truth) and write from the heart. Take this seriously -- it is a chance to redefine your world.
• We will eventually take the time to workshop and share your creative work but today is the day to just try it out.  
• I want you to write about what you imagine for your future.  Do you see the world becoming a utopia or dystopia?  You might start by describing one of the pictures shown here. Imagery will take you a long way -- think about how the scene looks, feels, sounds.  Try a metaphor or simile. 
• Format is wide open -- you can write a poem or song lyrics or a skit or short story or even a vignette (which is something like a very short story with people but they are often unnamed -- it's like just describing the setting and characters in a story without the action).  
• Remember there are no rules except to think, feel and write.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22

• Summer Reading Review
• It is in your interest to review the following for the multiple choice:
• Important Characters
• Appearance 
• Motivation 
• Actions 
• Relationships 
• Conflict, Climax and Resolution
• Setting 
• Themes
• Symbols
•  And to consider how you will address the following question for the constructed repsonse:
• What view of America does the book present?
• Optimistic? What does the book show about America’s ideals, values, culture?
• Pessimistic? What does the book show about America’s shortcomings, failures, inequalities?
• Support your interpretation of the book with at least three specific details. 
• Remember that I want you to avoid simply stating that the view of America is either optimistic or pessimistic, but rather I want you to describe what makes the book's view of America optimistic or pessimistic.  Here's the difference:
• What I do want to see:
• In “2BR02B,” Kurt Vonnegut portrays America as a failed society that controls every person, leading to violence and destruction. 
• What I don’t want to see:
• In “2BR02B,” Kurt Vonnegut presents a pessimistic view of America.