Work Samples

This week and next week English 2 and English 4 are working on Performance Task/Work Sample Essays. This work is in-class only.

H4: Brave New World

Mantra 1––Community. Identity. Stability.

Mantra 2–– Competition. Commerce. Consumption.

Pre-reading

• World Building
• A factory for making people
• Caste System versus Class System
• "The secret to happiness and virtue—liking what you've got to do." 
• The Underclasses
• Plato's––"Happy Slaves"
• Thoreau's––"Noble Poor"
• Marx's––"Satisfied Worker"
• South Africa

What problems of today will create the dystopias of the future?

Chapter 1

• What is the purpose of the mantras taught to people in this society (community, identity, stability)?
• Which group in our society does the most physical work? Which group is paid the most? Are these groups the same? Explain.
• Are students being taught to think or to be satisfied?
• Does America have an underclass? Who are they? How do you know? How are they maintained?
• What can be determined about the future based on chapter 1?

What three to five key qualities make us human?

Chapter 2

• Why is Pavlov not a great source of inspiration for training children?
• What are the other impacts of treating babies in this way? Of abusing them, not comforting them, not touching them?
• "Books and loud noises, flowers and electric shocks––already in the infant mind these couples were compromisingly linked; and after two hundred repetitions of the same ora similar lesson would be wedded indissolubly. What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder."
• In what ways does our society convince people to travel, to buy expensive things, to have expensive hobbies?
• "Primroses and landscapes, he pointed out, have one grave defect: they are gratuitous. A love of nature keeps no factories busy."
• What do "truths" are the following two quotes really getting at? How do you know?
• "You can't learn a science unless you know what it's all about."
• "Moral education, which out never, in any circumstances, to be rational."
• What's the purpose of the "sleep learning"? 
• "The mind that judges and desires and decides––made up of these suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions!"
• Why would any society want to guarantee such strict class breakdowns?

What is more important: what we do or how we do it?

Chapter 3

• Why encourage children to play sexual games? What are the long-term effects of this?
• What terrible things came from not allowing children or adolescents to be sexualized is the Director talking about? Are they terrible?
• What is the purpose of a pregnancy substitute? What does its mandatory nature imply about the flaws in BNW's system?
• How did Ford and Freud get mixed up?
• Why does BNW's society demand promiscuity rather than monogamy? 
• What is stability really? How does someone become stable today? In BNW?
• What is the best version of family? Explain.
• Why does Huxley intermix the Controller's explanations, the Lenina/Fanny conversation, Bernard Marx, and the hypnotic education of the children? Besides a little confusion and chaos, what is the effect?

What happens when someone is unsatisfied with their lives?

What are you really good at? How do you feel about being good at that thing?

Chapter 4

• Why is flying unlikely to be an every day sort of transportation?
• How well does the conditioning of humans work? What's the true secret to its success?
• What purpose do those who aren't perfectly ordinary serve?
• Why does this "idyllic" society allow for someone who is like Bernard Marx? 
• Why does Bernard treat others so poorly? Do people do this today?
• What do Lenina and Bernard actually have in common since she seems like a perfect member of her class and he is not? What is the reader supposed to figure out?
• How does Bernard manage his jealousy about other alphas enough to be friends with Helmholtz Watson? Why?
• Why wouldn't our solutions for dissatisfaction and unhappiness work for BNW's people?
• What's ironic about Helmholtz trying to teach his students to make people feel with their writing?
• "Words can be like x-rays, if you use them properly––they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced."

English 2: A Separate Peace 5-7 Disc Notes

Write a 2-sentence summary for each chapter (might want to keep a bulleted synopsis for quizzes)

• Chapter 5
• How are Gene and Finny shadows? 
• How/Why does Gene transform?
• The conversation between Gene and Finny in Boston—why do both boys ignore “the confession”?
• Chapter 6
• How is Devon different when Gene returns? 
• Brinker Hadley versus Leper—are they shadows of each other or of Gene?
• The Rivers
• The Naguamsett: salty and gross—life, truth, reality
• The Devon: crisp and clean—friendship, summer, fun, renewal
• Quackenbush versus Gene: The battle of the try-hards
• The Phone Call/The Empty Side of the Room
• Chapter 7
• Gene’s friendship
• Finny tells Gene they are best friends in chapter 3
• Brinker clearly wants Gene’s friendship from chapter 6 on
• What does this tell us about Gene that the story itself doesn’t? 
• Gene’s Guilt versus Gene’s Actions
• Gene and Leper develop a friendliness
• How has Gene changed? 
• Why has Gene changed? 
• Is it positive or negative?

English 4: Documentary Citations

"Amanda Palmer: The Art of Asking." YouTube. TED, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. 

"Neil Gaiman - Commencement Speech at the University of the Arts 2012." YouTube. Peter Shev, 23 May 2012. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. 

Poster Girl. Dir. Sara Nesson. Perf. Robynn Murray. Virgil Films and Entertainment, 2010. AmazonPrime. 

Stories We Tell. Dir. Sarah Polley. Lionsgate, 2013. AmazonPrime. 

2057. Prod. Uwe Kersken. Perf. Michio Kaku. Gruppe 5 Filmprduktion, 2007. DVD.

English 2: A Separate Peace 1-4 Disc Notes

Write a 2-sentence summary for each chapter (might want to keep a bulleted synopsis for quizzes)

• Chapter 1
• “The more things remain the same, the more they change after all. Nothing endures, not a tree, not life, not even a death by violence” (pg. 14).
• Reliable narrator versus unreliable narrator (connect to Holden Caulfield)
• WWII: war bonds, war gardens, ration cards, "the duration"
• Gene and Finny's friendship
• Chapter 2
• The Shame Spiral
• Summer Term versus The Rest of the Year
• Finny expects to be liked, wants to be liked, and tries to be liked–how is this the opposite of Gene?
• Conformity (Gene) versus Non-conformity (Finny?/Leper?)
• Chapter 3
• Gene keeps jumping–why?
• The Blame Game and the Shame Spiral
• Finny's Commandments: Don't lie about your height, pray just in case, everyone wins at sports–what kind of a person is Finny? 
• Blitzball as a metaphor for high school
• The Lepellier Refusal
• The Swimming Record
• "And there were few relationships at Devon not based on rivalry" (pg. 45).
• Best Friends Confession–what makes two people friends? best friends?
• Chapter 4
• Who is Lazarus? What could this be foreshadowing?
• Study Buddies–what do their motives show about the boys and their relationship?
• "It was the first test I ever flunked" (pg. 50).
• "I believed him. The joking manner was a screen; I believed him" (pg. 52).
• "It wasn't my neck, but my understanding which was menaced...I was not of the same quality as he" (pg. 59)
• How is Gene not thinking straight on the way to the tree? How does this affect what happens next?
• Does Gene really want to hurt Finny? Re-read pg. 24.

English 2: A Separate Peace Notes

A Separate Peace 

• Archetype: templates for types of characters based on ancient myths, epics, etcetera (developed by Adler and Jung)
• Stereotype: templates for types of characters based on stories, novels, movies, etcetera from the 20th and 21st centuries 
• Trope: an expected plot-line or arc for a “type” of character in 20th and 21st century stories, tv shows, films, games, etcetera
• The hero’s journey: a classic set of steps, people, and trials that ancient heroes hand to master to become heroes (developed by Joseph Campbell)  
• Opening questions & Discussion points
• What is the difference between a friend and a rival? Explain.
• What are common student stereotypes? Explain.
• Why is it dangerous to make assumptions about people? Explain.
• Setting
• Prep Schools/Single-sex Schools
• WWII (1943/1944)
• Main Characters
• Gene: narrator, “try-hard”
• Finny/Phineas: best friend, rival, “jock”
• Leper/Elwin Lepellier: outsider, “nerd”
• Brinker Hadley: wanna-be best friend, “over-achiever”
• Major Themes—
• trust yourself versus trust others (Gene’s struggle)
• fear = anxiety + depression (also, Gene’s struggle)
• coming of age
1. childhood: selfishness and dependency
2. loss of innocence: the discover that everyone is human some people are evil
3. awakening: the realization that choices matter and actions have consequences
4. age of reasons: when a person begins to make decisions based on understanding choices, actions, and consequences
5. independence: when a person is responsible for himself/herself and able to take care of his/her business
6. interdependence (able to be a partner) versus co-dependency (inability to take care of self, thus needs others to do it)
• Motifs (images that keep popping up)—the “unusually hard” marble stairs, the tree
• Redemption Arc—the main character does something “unforgivable” and spends time wallowing in guilt, avoiding people/things that are reminder, then (after a lot of soul-searching and pushing on the part of others) starts to become a better person and learn from his/her mistakes

English 4 & WW: Outline

Argument/Counterargument Outline (Must have at least two strong arguments)

• Topic (Research Question)
• Thesis Statement (Answer)
• Argument #1
• Important piece of information; explain the information; what does the information imply?
• Counterargument–what specific group is against the argument provided by the information above? why? what do they have to say? why are they wrong?
• Argument #2
• Important piece of information; explain the information; what does the information imply?
• Counterargument–what specific group is against the argument provided by the information above? why? what do they have to say? why are they wrong?
• Argument #3
• Important piece of information; explain the information; what does the information imply?
• Counterargument–what specific group is against the argument provided by the information above? why? what do they have to say? why are they wrong?
• Argument #4
• Important piece of information; explain the information; what does the information imply?
• Counterargument–what specific group is against the argument provided by the information above? why? what do they have to say? why are they wrong?
• Source Material (correctly formatted for MLA)
1. Article 1
2. Article 2
3. Book? or Article 3

English 4 & WW: Short Research Project

• Jan. 5–Generated topics based on documentaries for English 4/on books for WW 
• Class discussion
• Graphic Organizer
• Jan. 6–Developed multiple research questions based on topics; determined how much information is easily accessible 
• Partnered Graphic Organizers
• Jan. 7–Used oslis.org to find three articles on the topic, then print them or email them to yourself.
• Use the powersearch to find articles; they should be no less than 600 words (copy the citation onto a word document)
• The shorter the article, the less information provided
• The less information, the less interesting the paper is
• The less interesting the paper, the lower the grade
• Jan. 8/9–Read articles and took notes
• What specific information answers the research question?
• Does the article change your understanding of the topic? How?
• What does other side have to say? Who said it? Why is it wrong?
• Connections–
• How does manipulation of information affect what you know about the topic?
• Was it difficult to find information for/against your topic? Why?
• Was their obvious bias to much of the information? How?
• Jan. 12–Write argument/counterargument outline
• See handout
• Jan. 13/14–Type up first draft of paper with bibliography
• Jan. 15–Edit and revise draft
• Does the introduction draw the reader in? Does it provide a solid claim/thesis?
• Check spelling and word usage (the first thing on spellcheck is often the wrong word)
• Do the sentences make sense when read aloud?
• Does the flow of information (movement from one idea to the next) make sense?
• Are the pieces of support explained?
• Are the pieces of support properly attributed to their sources?
• Is there a bibliography? Does it follow MLA formatting?
• Jan. 16–Type up revisions and turn paper in 

WR121: More notes on the proposals (see earlier post also)

Things to consider while writing the Proposal (and please follow the format from the earlier post):

• Topic = Question
• Thesis = Answer (briefly touch on why)

• Reasoning in support needs to be specific pieces of information that come from your three sources. Need five pieces of support needed.
• The counterarguments need to reference the specific organization that espouses that belief. Need three counterarguments and three reasons why they are wrong.
• The sources need to have academic integrity (from legitimate organizations, peer reviewed, etc)
• The final paragraph is basically the introduction for your paper (it should change over the course of the research)

Things to consider when reading articles and taking notes

1. What specific information answers the research question?
2. Does the article change your understanding of the topic? How?
3. What does other side have to say? Who said it? Why is it wrong?