Lunch at Jerry's...

If you haven't already, please read "From Serving in Florida" by Barbara Ehrenreich on page 179 in the TLC book. Then do the questions on rhetoric and style numbers 1-4; 6-7; and 9-12 on page 187. There are 10 of them.

Please turn them in on the blog.

We will be talking about this essay on Monday and discussing the questions, so you may want to have a copy of them with you for the discussion.

Have a good weekend!

We will turn in the assertion journals on the nobleness and sacredness of work on Monday as well, since that in class activity ended up moving outside of class and the due date was fuzzy. On the blog or on paper is fine on that one (some of you finished it in class).

From Labor

For tonight, blog questions 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11 on page 211.

Also try and figure out what intellectual ideas might make the character of the essay more palatable to his audience.

If you did not finish the assertion journal, do so tonight.

Assertion Journal: Work

Carefully read the short passage below.

"For there is a perennial nobleness, and even sacredness, in Work." -Thomas Carlyle

For the quote above, you must provide a clear explanation of the writer's assertion, then defend, challenge, or qualify it, noting the complexity of the issue and acknowledging any possible objections to your point of view.

Limit: 300-400 words

Imagining a theme

[caption id="attachment_921" align="alignleft" width="153" caption="I have got to get me one of these stamps, don't you think?"][/caption]

Remember to work on your visual project over the short break between semesters. It's due on Wednesday, the day after we return. If you have questions, please post them in the comments so others can see the Q & A.

Here's the assignment in case you lost yours. Once More to the Lake visual assignment

Also, 1st period. I hope this is all right with you, but in 2nd period we rolled for the way the analysis prompt would be graded. Even though we haven't written one of those for a bit, lady luck smiled on you. It will be a practice timed write, and it will be worth 100% in the grade book rather than just listed as credit. If you thought that one was better, don't be sad. It counts as a 9 and will help you more than having both graded. :)

See you Tuesday, January 26th. Sniff. I'll miss you...

Final Tomorrow!!!

Remember to bring your TLC book (the white one) and to reread the first 3 paragraphs of shooting an elephant.

See you tomorrow and good luck to you all as you head into your finals!

Once more to the Lake

UPDATED: Monday January 18, 2010, 7:18 AM

Now that you've read Once More to the Lake, blog your responses to the following questions (these questions can be found at the end of the pdf file linked above).

1. Characterize White’s attitude in the opening paragraphs.


2. Note White’s use of such original and creative expressions as “had never had any fresh water up his nose.” Find and cite a few (2-3) others.


3. Note White’s selection of details in paragraphs 1-6. Indicate a specific example and explain its effect.


4. Indicate three or four examples of figurative language and discuss their purpose.


5. Identify at least one appeal to each of the five senses and explain the effect on each.


6. Discuss the rhetorical purpose served by paragraph 10.


7. Discuss the effect of the specificity of the details in paragraph 11.


8. The concluding sentence of the penultimate paragraph begins with “And.” What is the effect of beginning that way?


9. Discuss the nature of the final image of the essay. What rhetorical purpose does it serve?


10. Read the essay a second time and count the “and”s in it. Discuss the effect of their use.

We'll discuss this essay on Tuesday and you'll get your project information then. Regrettably, we are moving the vocab final to after finals (works fine since our grades are continuing. Sorry about that, but I suppose it give you more time to study after you take your Chem, AP US History, and Pre-Calc finals, eh? ;)

Also, we'll revisit DGP for 2nd period very soon. We need to get you guys over the threshold as it is annoying to try and plan when one of you has DPG and the other class doesn't. :)

Tell Your Friends!!!!

We are taking some time to work on papers tomorrow. Second period knows, but first period doesn't. Text, Facebook, and if anyone still uses MySpace, use that too to let people know.

If you work through the feedback you got today this evening, then you can have someone else go over it again tomorrow.

Never argue with a mad elephant

Please begin your paper over the weekend and come prepared to work on it on Monday in class.  1st period will be in the lab outside our classroom.  During second period, there are no computer labs open at all. We are locked out. So, if you wish to bring a laptop, you may. Otherwise, bring whatever you need to work on your paper the old fashioned way.

Those of you who would like to discuss the questions or the essay, you can use the comments on this blog post to do so. That way, everyone could see them.

Next week's schedule looks like this:

Monday: Work on your papers

Tuesday: Timed Write! (On the issue in question two)

Wednesday: Rough Drafts Due -- Peer review

Thursday: TBD -- Go over timed writes?

Friday: Papers are due!

Weekend!

Monday: Stay home - still part of the weekend

Tuesday: Vocab Final

Wednesday: Double Timed Write / Multiple Choice / Bring Your TLC Books Extravaganza

Thursday: No class :(

Friday: No Class :(  (End of Semester)

Responding to Orwell's Elephant

For Friday blog a reading response to Orwell's Shooting an Elephant. Read the instructions on the reading response sheet linked above. Hopefully it will answer some of your questions. Pay attention especially to the following from the reading response sheet:

"Your focus should be on explaining to me as clearly as possible how and why a detail or incident shapes your analysis and is important to your overall understanding of the work. Make certain that you support your generalizations with specifics and that you offer me some less‐than‐obvious insight as a reward for your reading your response. Don’t worry about length; instead worry about saying something worthwhile."

Shooting Elephants

Tonight finish reading Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell in the TLC book on page 979 or at the George Orwell site.

As you read, consider style, rhetoric, plot, character, and theme. Remember that you'll be writing an argument paper on this essay (even though it would make a great analysis topic! hmm...maybe both? A very interesting idea...) so take any notes you might find helpful.

Tomorrow, we'll do a tad more with paragraphs 1 and 2 as well as start discussing the rest of the essay.