English 4: Dracula

Finish Dracula this week. Monday is a graded discussion (assessment points); the make-up is an analytical paragraph on the end of Dracula. We will be writing the end-of-the-book essay after Thanksgiving.

I updated the information packet on google classroom. If you want to get a preview on the essay questions, feel free. You can do any planning and pulling together of information on your own, BUT YOU HAVE TO WRITE IT IN CLASS.

English 4: Dracula

We started Dracula. The notes are up on google classroom or you can pick them up in class. We are reading chapter 2 over the weekend. Don't forget your annotations and your Lit Questions.

If you missed the vocab quiz on Friday, make sure to sign up to come into Advisory next week!

Argumentative papers were due by today (at the latest). Please make sure you talk to me if there's a hold-up. I only have three people who have extensions.

First Research Papers

English 2 topics will center around The American Dream or Poverty in the United States.
English 4 topics will stem from 30 for 30: Hillsborough
A more in-depth outline and packet can be found in your google classroom or in my actual classroom.

You have two options for the type of paper you write:

• Argument/Counterargument
• Explain or define the topic; go from general to specific
• Thesis Statement: one to two sentences that answer the following questions
• How is the topic relevant? Why does it matter?
• What do you have to say about it? What type of support do you have?
• Why are you writing the paper? Who is it for? (Avoid the obvious, "for class" or "my teacher" and try to figure out who your target audience is.)
• Your body will include a look at the major arguments for and against your topic, focusing on the side you think is "right".
• Conclusion
• So what? Now what? 
• Why does it matter? What does it change?
• Final Thought
• Problem/Solution
• Explain or define the problem; go from general to specific
• Thesis Statement: one to two sentences that answer the following questions
• How is the topic relevant? Why does it matter?
• What do you have to say about it? What type of support do you have?
• Why are you writing the paper? Who is it for? (Avoid the obvious, "for class" or "my teacher" and try to figure out who your target audience is.)
• Your body will include an analysis of possible solutions before focusing on the best solution.
• Conclusion: Explain the best solution and support it.
• So what? Now what? 
• Why does it matter? What does it change?
• Final Thought

Sample 2-Sentence Summaries and Analytical Paragraphs

Analytical Paragraph (General): Response to an article, short story, chapter/book, play, poem, television show/episode, film, lecture, etc. (7-10 sentences)

• Choose one sentence from the summary as the topic sentence of the paragraph.
• Support from the text (paraphrase or quote w/acknowledgement)––Explain the first piece of support
• Another piece of support from the text (paraphrase, quote w/acknowledgement)––Explain the second piece of support 
• Make a connection to another article, poem, chapter, short story, television show, film, class, etc.––Explain the connection
• Finish with “So what? Now what?” or "Why does it matter? What does it mean? What does it change?"

Summaries

• What was it about?
• What was the message?
• If nonfiction: 
• Is the source/information reliable? How do you know?

Literature Example
Summary
Old Man created everything and everyone on the Great Plains. When the people stopped listening to Old Man's messengers, they lost everything (their land, their families, and their stuff).

Paragraph
According to "Blackfoot Genesis", Old Man created everything and everyone on the Great Plains. We see this when he creates the big horn sheep and the antelope. With each of these creatures he provides for his people and for the animals, showing how much he cares about what he creates. He also takes care of the people he creates when he protects them from the buffalo. He shows the people how to use bows and arrows which allows them protection and food. Old Man doesn't just create things, he protects and cares for what he creates.

Article Example
Summary
"Chipotle Treats Customers Like Idiots" is about the importance of carefully checking sources and intentions, even in advertising. People too easily get sucked into a clever marketing campaign without finding out the truth behind it and that can, unfortunately, inform their decisions. This article is fairly reliable, because the author makes the information easy to access and fact-check.

Paragraph 1
People too easily get sucked into a clever marketing campaign without finding out the truth behind it and that can, unfortunately, inform their decisions as shown in "Chipotle Treats Customers Like Idiots." One example from Bailey's article is shown when he writes "every independent scientific body that has ever evaluated the safety of modern biotech crops has deemed them safe for human beings to eat." Bailey is referring to a Chipotle ad campaign where they claim, in the interest of customer health, they will go GMO free in their products. This is disingenuous at best, he goes on to argue that they manipulate the information and the consumer. He also points out that the prices of organic or natural foods are inflated based on nutritional value which fools some customers into believing they get what they pay for. What people need to remember is that Chipotle is taking GMOs out of their products for marketing, not integrity.

Paragraph 2
"Chipotle Treats Customers Like Idiots" is about the importance of carefully checking sources and intentions, even in advertising. Bailey shows this when he writes, "every independent scientific body that has ever evaluated the safety of modern biotech crops has deemed them safe for human beings." This illustrates how companies keep playing on people's fears instead of encouraging consumers to find out about the safety of GMOs for themselves. He continues by giving examples of Chipotle, individually, trying to take advantage of customer's ignorance through their campaign's implied claim that they are making changes in order to promote the health of their customers. The irony is clear when consumers acknowledge that Chipotle is a chain restaurant that caters to quantity over quality. Checking facts becomes even more important when reading articles like "Government Deception of GMOs" which is full of unsupported suppositions. Ultimately, consumers need to check facts rather than relying on ad campaigns for information on any type of decision making.

English 4: Activism

Activism: people taking action to create a specific change in society

• What is a current problem in our world that deserves notice?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Does it deserve activism? Why? How?

• What is a problem in our nation that deserves notice?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Does it deserve activism? Why? How?

• What is a problem locally (Oregon/Pendleton/PHS) that deserves notice?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Does it deserve activism? Why? How?

• What is a problem that currently is getting a lot of media attention that you don’t think deserves it? Fully explain.

• What is a problem that is not getting much media attention? Why does it deserve to be part of the national conversation? Fully explain.

30 for 30: Hillsborough (2013)

• In the news on April 15, 1989, one of the lead stories was about a riot in a soccer stadium that killed nearly 100 people; originally, the deaths were blamed on rowdy fans. The truth is a little different.
• What is an inquest? How does the process work? How would it have been handled differently in the United States?
• Who are Duckenfield and Burman? What impact did they have on how events played out?
• Why did it take 25 years between the events in Hillsborough and a documentary about it? Best Guess (amend your answer after the movie)
• Why do these deaths matter? Explain.
• Were the deaths in Hillsborough preventable? How?
• Who was ultimately responsible for how wrong things went? Explain.
• What was the purpose of this film? How do you know?
• Should the film maker have used more graphic imagery? Explain.
• Can you think of any other situations where families have had to fight so hard or wait so long for justice/compensation? Explain.
• What impact on sport stadiums and crowd control worldwide are evident based on the events of Hillsborough? Explain.

English 4: Vocab for 9/11 Quiz

Alley: a roadway between buildings that is smaller than a street and often used for deliveries, garbage, shortcuts, and nefarious activities
Ally: a person(s) that will help, not harm

Antagonist: the opponent of the protagonist (not always the “hero”)
Protagonist: the main character, sometimes called the hero (not always the villain)

Are: form of “to be”
Hour: measurement of time equivalent to sixty minutes
Our: possessive pronoun includes self and others

Bourgeois: affluent, middle-class folk who are conventional, conservative, or materialistic
Proletariat: low-wage earning folk who often struggle to afford the basics (food, shelter, clothes)

E4 & H4: Wrapping Up

Activism: people taking action to create a specific change in society

• What is a current problem in our world that deserves notice?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Does it deserve activism? Why? How?
• What is a problem in our nation that deserves notice?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Does it deserve activism? Why? How?
• What is a problem locally (Oregon/Pendleton/PHS) that deserves notice?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Does it deserve activism? Why? How?
• What is a problem that currently is getting a lot of media attention that you don’t think deserves it? Fully explain.
• What is a problem that is not getting much media attention? Why does it deserve to be part of the national conversation? Fully explain.

Each set should be answered with a paragraph. We will have a two-day graded class discussion (the answers and the discussion are worth points).

English 4: Spring Documentaries

30 for 30: Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau (2013)—follows the life of lifeguard, surfer, and adventurer Eddie Aikua who disappeared at sea in 1978

• Pre-watching questions––
• What does it take to be a hero? Explain.
• How do you inspire others? Good or Bad.
• Who inspires you? How?
• Post-watching questions––
• What qualities made others listen to Eddie Aikau?
• Why did people latch on to the tagline "Eddie Would Go"? How does it represent part of Eddie Aikau's legacy?
• What made Eddie Aikau insist on becoming the first North Shore lifeguard? What did it say about him as a person?
• Why did the film maker choose to "re-enact" certain events? What impact did that have on the way you reacted to the film?
• What was the purpose of this film? How do you know?
• Read, answer questions, and discuss the related articles––
• Why is it important for people who are native to an area to keep their cultural traditions? Support and explain.
• Why was it so important for the Polynesian Voyaging Society to make their trips? To continue on after the first, unsuccessful, voyage? Support and explain.
• Why is it important to try to make a positive difference in your community? How did Eddie Aikau do this? How and why did others do this in his name? Support and explain.

30 for 30: Hillsborough (2013)—In the news on April 15, 1989, one of the lead stories was about a riot in a soccer stadium that killed nearly 100 people; originally, the deaths were blamed on rowdy fans. The truth is a little different. 

• Pre-watching questions––
• Why did it take 25 years between the events in Hillsborough and a documentary about it? Best guess (amend your answer after the documentary)
• Why do these deaths matter? Explain.
• Post-watching questions––
• Were the deaths in Hillsborough preventable? How?
• Who was ultimately responsible for how wrong things went? Explain.
• What was the purpose of this film? How do you know?
• Should the film maker have used more graphic imagery? Explain.
• Can you think of any other situations where families have had to fight so hard or wait so long for justice/compensation? Explain.
• What impact on sport stadiums and crowd control worldwide are evident based on the events of Hillsborough? Explain.
• Read, answer questions, and discuss the related articles––
• What information was omitted from the original coverage that could changed opinions? [Give an example of information omitted from many news sources that could change public opinion. Why do you think this happens?]
• How did media bias affect this tragedy and the public’s perception? How does media bias affect other newsworthy events? Why do you think this happens?
• What programs that touch on current news topics are clearly biased? How do you know? 
• Were these articles biased? How do you know?
• Where do you get your information? Is it from reliable sources? How do you know?

Other documentaries to follow

Pre-watching questions––

Post-watching questions––

Read, answer questions, and discuss the related articles––

English 4: Scifi

Isaac Asimov’s “Reason”

• Why are the Three Laws of Robotics important? What role have they played in later science fiction? Support and explain.
• Why (and how) does Asimov reference Islam? Support and explain. It would help to know where Asimov is from (country) and when he was writing this story.
• How does technology at this advanced level change what it means to be human? Support and explain.
• How has Asimov been honored/disagreed with/acknowledged in modern television, films, and books? Support and explain.
• What is Asimov saying about religion? Why does he use Islam instead of Christianity? Support and explain.
• Name and explain three to five qualities that make us human.

Clifford D. Simak’s “Desertion”

• What do we now know about Jupiter that supports/refutes Simak’s suppositions? Support and explain.
• How important is loyalty in relationships? Support and explain.
• What have we learned about other planets that would lead us to having manned bases on them? Do you think we will ever expand beyond earth? Support and explain.

Seniors: Vocabulary for a bit

Quiz on 4/21

• Mitochondrion: an organelle in the cytoplasm of cells that functions in energy production
• Nebula: a cloud of interstellar gas and dust
• Nihilarian: a person who deals with things lacking importance
• Nonchalance: cool indifference or lack of concern; casualness
• Nonsectarian: not affiliated with or limited to a specific religious denomination

Quiz on 5/4

• Non sequitur: it does not follow; a statement containing an illogical conclusion
• Omnivore: will eat anything
• Panacea: a remedy for all disease or ills; cure-all
• Passion: any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling
• Perfunctory: lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent or apathetic
• Pernicious: causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful
• Proletariat: low-wage earning folk who often struggle to afford the basics (food, shelter, clothes)
• Quip: a clever or witty remark or comment; a sharp, sarcastic remark; a cutting jest

Quiz on 5/18

• Quotidian: average; ordinary; every-day
• Reflection: an image seen in a mirror or shiny surface; serious though or consideration; contemplation of life, choices, actions, and consequences with an eye to change
• Respite: a delay or cessation for a time, especially of anything distressing or trying; an interval of relief
• Responsible: accept consequences for actions an choices; work for needs and wants; adapt to things that happen rather than blame others.
• Rivals: people who seek to occupy the same place at work, school, or in a social group
• Sargasm: when the urge to make a sarcastic reply is so overwhelming you can only roll yours eyes and grunt incoherently
• Solstice: either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator
• Succumb: to yield to disease, wounds, old age, etc
• Supercilious: looking or behaving as if better than other people

E4 and H4: Independent Reading and Vocabulary for 4/6/15 Quiz

Independent Reading 

• The book must be at least 300 pages or approved by instructor. 
• The book needs to be appropriate to the level of a high school senior in content, context, and reading level. 
• This should NOT be a book you have read for another English class. Pick a book about something you actually want to read.

Essay #1: To be written after chapter four, but prior to the halfway point. It should be 500 words and answer one or more of the following questions––

• What’s the point of view and how well is it executed? Support and explain.
• Are the characters believable? Are they well-written? Support and explain.
• What themes are being set up? How do you know?
• What motifs and symbols seem to be important at this point? Support and explain.

Essay #2: To be written after the halfway point, but prior to the end. It should be 650 words and answer one or more of the following questions––

• How well does the author build the characters? Support and explain.
• Is the plot developed naturally and believably? Support and explain.
• Have the themes continued to be weaved into the narrative? Have new themes become apparent? Explain.
• Are there any significant changes to the motifs and or symbols? Have they been developed further? Support and explain.

Essay #3: To be written after you finish the book. It should be 800 words and answer one or more of the following questions (feel free to bring in and acknowledge other sources)––

• How does the book fit into the time which it was written? Support and explain.
• How did the author’s own experiences influence the themes, plot, and characterizations? Support and explain.
• Does the author do a good job writing an interesting story? What areas could use editing or improvement? Support and explain.

Vocabulary List for 4/6/15 Quiz

• Laconic: using few words; expressing much in few words (they may not say much, but they are worth listening to)
• Lamprophony: loudness and clarity of voice
• Liquisipidous: liquid minded (overly focused on the connections rather than the details); often able to wiggle through the smallest holes in instructions to do what they want, the way they want to
• Loquacious: talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling (often they hide the truth in a tidal wave of words)
• Lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner (Eeyore plays at it)
• Lunarganic: grown on the moon without pesticides or chemicals (very expensive and only found in Russia since it's the only country with a known Moon base)
• Marriage: the long-term partnership of like-minded people for support and mutual economic, mental emotional, spiritual, and sexual benefit. (Up until 150 years ago, falling in love was a luxury and people made their marriages work because more than love was riding on them––some people still adopt that view)
• Machiavellian: characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty (the person who sets up the plan and never gets caught)
• Malaise: a condition of general bodily weakness or discomfort, often marking the onset of a disease

English 4: IR Novels and vocabulary for 3/16 quiz

This week you should make it 1/3-1/2 of the way through your books which means all of you will be writing me the first essay this week.

Vocabulary for the March 16 quiz

• Impertinent: intrusive or presumptuous, as persons or their actions; insolently rude; uncivil
• Incognito: having one's identity concealed, as under an assumed name, especially to avoid notice
• Jealousy: resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself
• Jobing: doing the best one can with the good and the bad that life throws down (references the story of the Judeo-Christian Job)
• Jovial: endowed with or characterized by a hearty, joyous humor or a spirit of good-fellowship
• Karma: the sum of a person’s behavior and intentions will return to him or her and help determine the quality of the next life 
• Kind: to show compassion toward another for no expectation of repayment
• Kitsch: something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste
• Laconic: using few words; expressing much in few words

English 4: Finish Novel by Monday (and current vocabulary)

We will be writing the on-demand essays Monday through Wednesday next week.

Vocabulary Test on March 2:

• Halcyon: calm; peaceful; tranquil
• Happenstance: a chance event
• Hedonist: a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure
• Hiatus: a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action (like the time between television seasons)
• Homogeneous: composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind
• Hypocrisy: a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude 
• Iconoclast: someone who breaks the rules (or tries to overthrow and institution) in order to create a better world
• Idiosyncratic: something peculiar to an individual
• Immune: protected from a disease or the like, as by inoculation

English 4: Gatsby & F451 Readings

• 2/9––Gatsby Notes (3); Speculative Fiction overview (6)
• 2/10––Gatsby chapter 1 (3); F451 start "The Hearth and the Salamander" (6)
• 2/11––Gatsby chapter 2 (3); F451 finish "The Hearth and the Salamander" (6)
• 2/12––Gatsby chapter 3 (3); F451 start "The Sieve and the Sand" (6)
• 2/13––Gatsby chapter 4 (3); F451 finish "The Sieve and the Sand" (6)
• Weekend––Gatsby chapter 5 (3)
• 2/16––Gatsby chapter 6 (3); F451 start "Burning Bright (6)
• 2/17––Gatsby chapter 7 (3); F451 finish "Burning Bright" (6)
• 2/18––Gatsby chapter 8 (3); F451 read "Afterward" and "Coda" (6)
• 2/19––Gatsby chapter 9 (3); F451 Final Essay or Reading Time (6)
• 2/20––Gatsby Final Essay or Reading Time (3); F451 Final Essay or Reading Time (6)
• 2/23––Gatsby Final Essay (3); F451 Final Essay (6)
• 2/24––Gatsby Final Essay (3); F451 Final Essay (6)

English 4: The Great Gatsby (1-3)

• Idea versus Reality
• 13.5 inflation since 1922 ($80=$1078)
• The Smokescreens: 
• the light
• the parties
• the rumors
• the affairs
• Stereotypes versus Archetypes: 
• sleeping beauty
• the jock
• the mistress
• the romantic
• the socialite
• the faux intellectual 
• The Shadows
• Gatsby versus Buchanan versus Nick
• Daisy versus Myrtle versus Jordan
• Is Nick Caraway a reliable narrator?
• Who is Jay Gatsby?
• Chapters 1-3
• What are your first impressions of Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Nick Caraway? Support and explain.
• Does money buy happiness? Support and explain.
• Are these characters “seizing the moment” or drifting through life? Support and explain.
• Does Myrtle really believe what Tom is selling? Support and explain.
• The Parties—outsiders, stranger danger, gossip (2-sentence summary on just the parties)

English 4: Fahrenheit 451 (Part 1)

The Hearth and the Salamander

• What do the first lines of the book tell us about the main character? Explain fully.
• What does the first meeting between Guy Montag and Clarisse McClellen tell us about each character? Explain fully.
• What is a parlor wall? What current technology is similar?
• What are seashells? What current technology is similar?
• How does the interaction with the EMTs affect Montag? Explain fully.
• What kind of a person is Mildred? How is she a perfect example of her society? Explain.
• Is the description of entertainment on the parlor walls similar to modern television shows? Explain fully.
• What is a fireman’s purpose in the world of Fahrenheit 451? Explain fully.
• What is the Hound? What current technology is similar?
• What is Beatty, Montag’s boss, like? Explain fully.
• Does Clarisse’s description of school sound familiar to you? Explain fully.
• What mood does the quick passage of time paired with the snippets of conversation set?
• What kinds of things are foreshadowed in Part One? Explain fully.
• How does the old woman’s suicide affect Montag? Why does it? Explain fully.
• What secret is Montag keeping?
• What is Clarisse’s fate? How does Montag find out?
• What implications come from the fact that Montag and Mildred don’t remember how they first met? What does this imply about how they live?
• Why does Beatty visit Montag at home? Explain fully.
• How does Beatty explain the world? How is this similar to our world? How is it different?
• Why does Montag tell Mildred about the books? What is he hoping will happen? Why can’t it ever happen?

English 4: Common Core Essay (& Vocabulary List)

In-class essay tied to Task 2 or Task 3 in the Common Core booklet

• Family: people who generally grow up in the same household and support each other emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and (sometimes) financially.
• Feckless: having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy
• Fiasco: a complete and ignominious failure
• Finagle: to trick, swindle, or cheat (a person out of)
• Fluid Intelligence: the ability to see connections or relationships despite a lack of training 
• Gauche: lacking social grace, sensitivity, acuteness; awkward; crud; tactless
• Gregarious: fond of the company of others; sociable
• Gription: when grip gives traction
• Halcyon: calm; peaceful; tranquil

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.

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 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