Over Break

You have no assigned reading. As I mentioned in class, the school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition will take place on Monday, January 7, during tutorial. I encourage you to participate in it. Since you have no other work for me, consider learning a couple of poems to recite from memory. Go here to check out the eligible poems. (One poem has to be from before the twentieth century, and one poem has to have fewer than twenty-five lines. A single poem can satisfy both of these qualities, e.g. a sonnet by Shakespeare.)

Also, as I've mentioned in class, when we come back from break, you will begin reading Ha Jin's novel In the Pond. (We will begin by reading the first twenty-five pages during class that day.) 

Lastly, you will need to choose your mentor for the STP when we come back in January, so if you missed Wednesday's class when I talked about it, see the guidelines for that in the STP Handbook, which is posted to the right.

Assignment for Wednesday, Dec. 19

From Yu Hua's book, read the chapter on "Bamboozle" that was handed out in class. If you missed class, you can click here to read it.

Assignment for Thursday, Dec. 13

Read the introduction and first chapter ("People") from Yu Hua's China in Ten Words, which was handed out in class. You will read the second chapter in the handout, "Leader," for Monday, Dec. 17. A third chapter from this book will be handed out during Monday's class to be read for Wednesday's. As I mentioned in class, when we come back from break, we will begin reading Ha Jin's novel, In the Pond.

Regarding the STP: When we come back from break, you will work on the narrative introduction to your research writing (known as the "exploratory essay"), and then begin your research writing. By the end of January, you should have three-to-five pages of research writing.

Assignment for Friday, Dec. 7

Complete the narrative essay on identity and turn it in by the start of class.

Assignment for Wednesday, Dec. 5

Turn in a page-and-a-half of your identity essay.  A description of this essay is posted to the right. The complete essay is due on Friday. You will have time on Wednesday to work on it in class. If you missed class, we went over the attached handout on formulating a research question. You should read it to help you develop your research prospectus, which we will work on next class.

If you missed class, you should read this handout on formulating a research question, which is required for the research prospectus that is due on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The directions for the research prospectus were  handed out in class and are posted to the right.

Assignment for Thursday, Nov. 29

Complete the annotated bibliography. Turn it in as one document that includes all five annotation entries. Be sure to alphabetize your sources by the author's last name, and include a proper heading. Also, bring your copy of Between the World and Me to class. We need to finish talking about the book and prepare for your writing assignment related to it.

Assignment for Friday, Nov. 16

Finish reading Coates's Between the World and Me (pp. 133-152). In the first part of class, we will discuss Between the World and Me (including the reading for Tuesday's class that we didn't get to); in the second part, you will finish working on your second annotated bibliography entry. See my comments on your first bibliography entry before you complete the second one.

Assignment for Wednesday, Nov. 14

In Coates's Between the World and Me,  read pp. 114-132. Also, complete one entry for the annotated bibliography.

Assignment for Friday, November 9

In Coates's Between the World and Me, read pp. 99-114. Pay particular attention to his discussion of the body. In class, you will also begin working on the annotated bibliography. For next Wednesday, you'll have to have at least one entry completed.

Assignment for Wednesday, Nov. 7

In Coates's Between the World and Me, read from pp. 73-99 (there's a clear break at the top of p. 99; stop there). You will answer some questions about it in class.

Also, read the handout on identifying and evaluating sources that was distributed in class. You don't need to read the whole thing; focus on pp. 68-69, and 76-82. During Wednesday's class, you will have time to work on the annotated bibliography, but you could start thinking about or looking into potential books and articles that you will write about in the annotated bibliography. The handout on the annotated bibliography assignment is available here, and it is posted to the right.

Assignment for Thursday, Nov. 1

In Coates's Between the World and Me, read pp. 25-64. Be sure to annotate, and be prepared to discuss the following: Coates's narrative persona, his use of emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, and any ways his purpose is developing or changing.

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 30

In Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me, read pp. 3-25 (stop at the end of the first few lines on the top of p. 25). Annotate the reading, and come prepared to write about it during class. Pay attention to whatever stands out to you. Also, if you have time, read this poem by Richard Wright, which was handed out in class. We'll be reading it in class, so if you don't read it on your own, that's fine, but if you want to know the source of the book's title, feel free to read it.

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 25

Read the article linked here (which was handed out in class). Write four-to six sentences explaining whether you are persuaded by this author's critique of J.D. Vance. If you are in Google Classroom, submit your response there; otherwise, email it to me by the start of Thursday's class.

In-Class Writing

How do Vance's values influence his insights on "elites" and "ordinary people"?

Write one or two paragraphs in response to the above prompt.

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 23

Read chs. 12 and 13 of J. D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, which was handed out in class. If you missed class or misplaced it, you can read it here. As you read, keep in mind our observations in class about Vance's sense of isolation from both the "ordinary people" he's leaving and the "elites" he is joining. You will have to write something about this reading during Tuesday's class, so pay close attention to it.

In-class Reading

Advice from a Formerly Lonely College Student

Assignment for Friday, Oct. 19

Read the excerpt from J. D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy that was distributed in class today. This chapter occurs after Vance served in the Marines but before he begins studying at Yale's Law School. Write a summary of that chapter based on the feedback of the last homework assignment. Be sure to clearly identify the author and the text, and to use your own word choice and sentence structure. As we discussed in Monday's class, you might find it helpful to take notes and identify the main points of the reading before you write the summary. Email the summary to me before the start of Friday's class; if you're in Google Classroom, submit this assignment there.

Assignment for Wednesday, Oct. 17

Read this interview with J. D. Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy. Following the guidelines from class, write one paragraph that summarizes Vance’s responses to the interviewer’s questions. If you are in Google Classroom, submit this paragraph there; otherwise, email it to me by the start of Wednesday’s class.

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 15

Read the article linked here. I strongly recommend that you either print it out and annotate it, or take notes on it. Identify at least five key points the author makes in the article; email those points to me by the start of class.

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 11

Turn in your writing piece on Winter's Bone. Keep in mind the writing elements we reviewed in class. If you're in Google Classroom, turn it in there. If you aren't, email it to me or share it with me as a Google doc. Also, bring a printed copy of your college essay to class (don't share it with me). If you haven't started it yet, that's fine.

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 4

Write one page for your writing piece on Winter's Bone. The prompts are posted to the right, and you can also find them here. This page does not have to be the first page of your essay. That is, you don't have to start with the introduction; you can start by analyzing a part of your prompt.

In-class exercise

Follow the link below for an in-class exercise on academic writing.
https://www.monash.edu/rlo/research-writing-assignments/writing/features-of-academic-writing/academic-language

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 2

Prepare two potential topics for a writing assignment on Woodrell's Winter's Bone. Email these to me by the start of class.

Assignment for Monday, Sept. 24

Complete the STP action and research plan. When you email it to me, put “STP action plan” in the subject line. Also, finish reading Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone (pp. 161-193). While you’re reading, think about the conflict you identified for the last homework assignment. Where does that conflict reach its height (i.e., its climax)? How is that conflict resolved? You don’t have to write this; just come prepared to talk about it.

Also, during Monday’s class we’ll come up with topics for your writing assignment on Winter’s Bone.

Assignment for Thursday, Sept. 20

In Woodrell's Winter's Bone, read pp. 131-161, and respond to the following prompt: In one page or less (double-spaced), identify a major conflict in Winter's Bone, and analyze a theme that emerges from that conflict. Be sure to identify the conflict as an internal conflict or an external conflict, and be sure to specify the nature of the conflict and where it occurs in the novel. Share this response via Google Classroom. (From now on, you should be checking the assignments and submitting them via Google Classroom.)

Assignment for Monday, Sept. 17

In Woodrell's Winter's Bone, read pp. 100-130. You don't have anything to write this time, but don't forget about the STP research and action plan that's due on Monday, Sept. 24. 

Assignment for Thursday, Sept. 13

In Woodrell's Winter's Bone, read pp. 64-99, then write one paragraph in response to this prompt: Take one literary element introduced in class and discuss how it has developed in Winter's Bone so far. Use at least one quote to support your response.

Assignment for Tuesday, Sept. 11

In Woodrell's Winter's Bone, read pp. 31-63. Also, write at least one paragraph, but not more than one page, in response to the reading. You might find it helpful to focus your response on one or more of the literary elements we reviewed during Thursday's class. Email this response to me at fmontas@mphschool.org by the start of class.

Welcome Back!

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful, energizing summer, and are ready for an exciting year in English 12 (better known as the Senior Seminar). You should turn in the Make Your World a Better Place responses by email to my MPH address by Tuesday's class. Once you do that, please complete this brief survey about that assignment.

Our first book is Daniel Woodrell's novel Winter's Bone. For Thursday, read and annotate pp. 3-30. Then, write a brief response (at least one paragraph, but less than one page) to the reading. What do you think of it so far? Email this to fmontas@mphschool.org before the start of Thursday's class.

Summer Assignment

Congratulations on completing your junior year! I'm very excited to teach you in September. Click here for the English 12 summer assignment. See you at the end of the summer! 

STP Survey

Please complete the survey linked below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VN7M5PX

Assignment for Friday, May 4, and Monday, May 8

For Friday, complete one page of your Jimmy Corrigan assignment.

For Monday, complete two pages of your Jimmy Corrigan assignment.

If you're writing an essay but you're having trouble designing your own topic, consider these prompts:
1. Write an essay that explains how Christopher Ware's visual style reinforces literary aspects of Jimmy Corrigan's story, including themes, conflicts, character development, and so on.
2. Write an essay that analyzes Jimmy Corrigan's character development over the course of the story.
3. Write an essay that compares Jimmy Corrigan's character to his grandfather's character. What do their juxtaposed narratives reveal about each character?

To quote from the book, you use this digital version of the earlier comic book form of Jimmy Corrigan. You can right click on a page to open it as an individual image. Then you can save and edit the image to use the specific part you want to quote. Then you can paste the image into your paper. Take note: the first third or so of the book is different than the comic book, but the last two-thirds are almost exactly the same; just a few pages are different.

Assignment for Wednesday, May 2, and Thursday, May 3

If you need to finish reading Jimmy Corrigan, do so. In addition, decide on the kind of assignment you want to complete for Jimmy Corrigan, and the topic or subject you'll write about (you design your topic or subject). Here are your options, each of which should be at least three pages in length:

A traditional essay.
A visual essay that analyzes some aspect of Jimmy Corrigan (click here for an example of what this could look like).
A visual narrative influenced by Chris Ware's visual or narrative style.

STP Night Survey

In class on Monday and Tuesday, you will complete the survey linked below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6YN5XZ7

Assignment for Wednesday, April 11, and Thursday, April 12

Refine and finalize your presentation based on the feedback you received Monday and Tuesday. If you didn't prepare note cards yet, do so. If you need to add images or put them in Google Slides, do so. Essentially, do whatever you need to do to get your presentation to its final form. In class, you will practice the presentation again. If you practice outside of class, at home or at school, remember to practice focusing your energy before you start speaking.

Assignment for Monday, April 9, and Tuesday, April 10

Complete your STP presentation and bring it to class. Try to have it on note cards rather than your laptop, just as you will during the actual presentation, but be sure to have your images on a flash drive or in the cloud. During class, you will practice the presentation in groups of 3 or 4.

Assignment for Wednesday, April 4, and Thursday, April 5

Complete the spoken content of your STP presentation. Focus on bullet points (keep in mind that you'll have note cards); you shouldn't try to write out your whole presentation. Look over the presentation guidelines to see how you should organize your talk. You'll have the rest of your time to prepare your presentation.

If you missed class, watch this TED talk by Bryan Stevenson. 

Assignment for Wednesday, March 21, and Thursday, March 22

Look over your exploratory essay and combine it with your research writing. (Just add it to the Google doc you've been working in.)  Make sure that the exploratory essay is consistent with the research writing you've produced. Also, make sure that your research question appears toward the end of the exploratory essay, and your thesis appears no later than the beginning of your research writing, even if you aren't sure of or confident in your thesis. Work on making an appropriate transition between the exploratory essay and the research writing.

Snow Day Update

Your assignment for Thursday (Day 4) remains the same.

Your assignment for Friday (Day 5) is the same as Wednesday's.

Those of you who are behind on the STP writing should take advantage of this day to begin catching up. Also, if you have fewer than five pages written, I want you to make a plan in writing for completing the draft by March 28 or March 29.

Assignments for Monday, March 12, to Thursday, March 15

For Monday and Tuesday, read to the page in Jimmy Corrigan pictured below:

For Wednesday and Thursday, read to the page in Jimmy Corrigan pictured below:

If you missed class on Monday or Tuesday, watch the following TED talks (each is about twenty minutes long) in preparation for your STP presentation:

https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is

https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability#t-1199969

Assignments for Friday, March 2, to Thursday, March 8

For Friday (Day 2), write one additional page of your STP research writing. Bring Jimmy Corrigan to class.

For Monday (Day 3), write two additional pages of your STP research writing. Bring Jimmy Corrigan to class.

For Tuesday (Day 4), write two additional pages of your STP research writing.

For Wednesday (Day 5), write two additional pages of your STP research writing. This makes a total of four additional pages from where you left off before the break. Bring Jimmy Corrigan to class.

For Thursday (Day 6), write one additional page of your STP research writing. This makes a total of four additional pages from where you left off before the break. Bring Jimmy Corrigan to class.

Assignments for Tuesday, Feb. 27, Wednesday, Feb. 28, and Thursday, March 1

For Tuesday (Day 5), in Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, read to the page shown below.

You have nothing to do for the STP. Your next 4 pages will be due on Wednesday, March 7 (Day 5) and Thursday, March 8 (Day 6).

For Wednesday (Day 6) and Thursday (Day 1), in Jimmy Corrigan, read to the page illustrated below:

Assignment for Monday, Feb., 26, and Tuesday, Feb. 27

In Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, read to the page shown below.

You have nothing to do for the STP. Your next 4 pages will be due on Wednesday, March 7 (Day 5) and Thursday, March 8 (Day 6).

Assignments for Friday, Feb. 11, to Wednesday, Feb. 14

For Friday (Day 4), you will work on the "Story of Your Life" and Arrival essay in class. In order to give you as much time to work on that essay (since we lost a day to the snow), we will put off the extemporaneous speeches until Tuesday. However, any student who would prefer to give it on Friday will be able to do so. You will also receive a new book, Chris Ware's graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth.

For Monday (Day 5), write at least one and half pages for the essay on "Story of Your Life" and Arrival. The essay topics are posted to the right.

For Tuesday and Wednesday, complete the essay on "Story of Your Life" and Arrival. Bring Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth to class.

Assignment for Wednesday Jan. 31, Thursday, Feb. 1, and Friday, Feb. 2

For Wednesday, have four-to-five pages of your research writing ready for me to grade.

For Thursday and Friday, prepare two topics for a possible essay on "Story of Your Life" and Arrival. In addition, look at the rubric linked below, and try to add brief descriptions for the various expectations. For example, what would make someone's use of evidence receive a superlative, competent, adequate, or poor ranking?

Extemporaneous Speech Rubric

Tuesday and Wednesday in Class Readings

Read this interview with the screenwriter of Arrival, and then read two of the following three pieces on Arrival and "Story of Your Life." Compare the authors' observations on the two texts, and note the differences and similarities in their writing styles.

The Arrival of Ted Chiang (1843 Magazine)
What We've Got Here (Los Angeles Review of Books)
When They Came from Another World (New York Review of Books)

Assignments for Friday, Jan. 26, to Wednesday, Jan. 31

For Friday (Day 6) and Monday (Day 1), complete one additional page of your research writing. By this class, you should be up to four pages of research writing. If you're having trouble getting there, you need to communicate with me to explain your challenges. We will continue watching Arrival.

For Tuesday and Wednesday, four-to-five pages of research writing are due. This writing will be graded, so revise and edit your writing accordingly. You must include citations for your sources, but you do not need to include a complete bibliography.

Assignments for Tuesday, Jan. 23, Wednesday, Jan. 24, and Thursday, Jan. 25

For Tuesday (Day 3), have two pages (or the equivalent) written for the STP research writing. Be prepared to share it with me via Google Classroom. (We will begin the transition to Google Classroom during class.)

For Wednesday (Day 4) and Thursday (Day 5), write one additional page of your STP research writing.

Assignment for Thursday, Jan. 18, Friday, Jan. 19, Monday, Jan. 22, and Tuesday, Jan. 23

Thursday (Day 6): Finish "Story of Your Life" (to p. 145). You will also have a short in-class writing assignment on Chiang's stories, and then we'll begin watching Arrival.

For Friday (Day 1): Read this short article about how Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" became the movie Arrival. Then read this longer New Yorker profile of Ted Chiang, "Ted Chiang's Soulful Science Fiction." Also, read the guides to research writing posted to the right that are appropriate to your kind of research writing. We will begin the research writing during Friday's class.

For Monday (Day 2) and Tuesday (Day 3), have two pages (or the equivalent) written for the STP research writing. Be prepared to share it with me via Google Classroom. (We will begin the transition to Google Classroom during class.)

Assignments for Friday, Jan. 12 to Thursday, Jan. 18

For Friday, Jan. 12 (Day 3): In Ted Chiang's collection Stories of Your Life and Others, read pp. 91-113 of "Story of Your Life." This is the story that the film Arrival was based on. If you've seen Arrival, the story is very different in its structure.

For Tuesday, Jan. 16 (Day 4): In Ted Chiang's collection Stories of Your Life and Others, read pp. 91-121 (to the bottom of the page) of "Story of Your Life." This is the story that the film Arrival was based on. If you've seen Arrival, the story is very different in its structure.

For Wednesday (Day 5) and Thursday (Day 6): Finish "Story of Your Life" (to p. 145). You will also have a short in-class writing assignment on Chiang's stories, and then we'll begin watching Arrival.