Google Classroom

Going forward, all assignments will be posted in Google Classroom. However, any handouts posted there will also be available here, usually in the column to the right.

Friday’s Class

Only the outline is due for Friday. In class, we will talk about the topics for your essay on In the Pond and work on your research writing. 

Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 23

Write the outline for your STP research writing. Since everyone is now in Google Classroom, turn it in there; do not share it with me via email.

On Friday, Jan. 24, you will write an in-class essay on In the Pond. You will have two topics to choose from; one will be about a theme, and the other about a character. You won't receive the exact prompts ahead of time, but you will receive some information about them in Wednesday's class. For now, though, focus on the outline for your STP research writing.

Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 16

Finish reading Ha Jin's In the Pond (to p. 178). In class, we'll discuss the conflict(s) and theme(s) we didn't get to on Monday. You will also have time to work on your exploratory essay. Also, try to get your Mentor Commitment Letter signed; it is due this Friday the 18th.

Assignment for Monday, Jan. 14

In Ha Jin’s In the Pond, read to p. 141. If you want to start working on the exploratory essay, go ahead; it’s posted to the right, but you have plenty of reading to do, and we will work on the exploratory essay in class. Also, talk to your mentor, give them the STP Mentor Guidelines, and have them sign the Mentor Commitment Letter. I'll need the Mentor Commitment Letter by Friday, Jan. 18. You'll receive these forms in class on Monday; if you misplace them or you'll meet your mentor before then, they're posted to the right.

Assignment for Tuesday, Jan. 8

In Ha Jin's In the Pond, read to p. 72. (I know it's a lot, but I think it will go quickly.) In class, we will begin working on the exploratory essay for the STP. Also, think about your mentor. I will need to know who that person is by next Friday.

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.