Hello students! I am really excited about the year ahead;
we have a lot of new plans in the work to make this a great year of growth –
new books, new approaches to writing. We want this to be the year that you take
charge of your own literacy!
I will be
distributing the course syllabus next week after schedule changes settle. But
here are a few thoughts in the meantime.
·
Weekly Vocab – Each
week, you will have a vocab.com assignment due on Friday by midnight. The words
will apply to the concepts and texts we will be working through in class. Use the following codes to enroll –
·
Bring song lyrics on
Friday – find a song that you
actually listen to – that reflects one of the beliefs of transcendentalism
(self-reliance, nonconformity, rising above, simplicity, spiritual fulfillment,
etc.)
Do not just google “songs
about transcendentalism” since the goal is to see how your own music reflects
the ideas that Thoreau and Emerson espoused– the following overly-Googled songs are off-limits:
“What a Wonderful World” by
Louis Armstrong
“Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles
“We’re Not Gonnna Take It” by Twisted Sister
“Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles
“We’re Not Gonnna Take It” by Twisted Sister
“Imagine” by John Lennon
“Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob
Marley
·
My Life in One Object due on Monday 8/7 – Inspired by Hank’s experiences in Being
Henry David, this assignment asks you to think about an item so important to
you that if you had amnesia, it might help you figure out who you are and how
to get home again.
o
Take
a picture of yourself holding the object (original image, no clip art!)
o
Write
a paragraph describing why the object is important to you
o
Post
the photo and paragraph to the class Google Slides document
o
NOTE:
you may look at, but you may not mess
with anyone else’s work. I will be able to see every keystroke so you won’t get
away with anything if there is sabotage or carelessness
·
Summer Reading Assessment on Thursday 8/10
over Being Henry David – multiple choice and in-class essay
·
Parallel Reads for Fall Semester
o
In August, Free Choice Read (no movies, no
SparksNotes) –
we will shop for books on Wednesday; you will need to commit to a book by Monday 8/7
we will shop for books on Wednesday; you will need to commit to a book by Monday 8/7
o
In September, Dystopian Novels – choose one of the
following –
§
The
Postmortal by Drew Magary
§
Oryx
and Crake by Margaret Atwood (mature content)
§
Ready
Player One by Ernest Cline
o
In November, Outcasts United by Warren St. John (be
sure you do not get the young people’s edition)
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