Assignments due for the week of October 30th, 2023
Quick Looks at Great Books
We went through all of their reading today and explained a lot of “behind the scenes” thoughts. It took so long to go through the questions and the reading itself that we ran out of time to take Quiz #5. We will do that at the beginning of our next class. Things are happening so rapidly now—the pace has definitely picked up! Dr. Manette was terrified about what was in that letter found in the Bastille!
For next week, complete this first novel by reading the final chapters—11-15—and by answering the study guide questions 73-80. Be prepared for lots of surprises, tension, and even regret! Enjoy the great conclusion that only Dickens could conceive.
Watch the following courtroom scene that you read about for today. (Darnay’s second trial in Paris)
PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep
The math test from last week was passed back, along with detailed answers and explanations for each problem. The students were given time to look over what they had missed and why. The purpose was to avoid making the same mistakes on the second math test. Then we took the longer math test (45 min.). The students could use a calculator for this one. Next week, they will receive their final PSAT grade since they will have now completed all four tests.
Next class, we will begin preparing for the ACT test. Many students like this format much better. It will be totally up to each individual. We will start by reviewing some grammar rules and taking some sample grammar ACT tests, Please review pages 24-27 in your notebook. These were the grammar rules for the PSAT test. The same errors apply for the ACT test as well as other rules we will cover over the next two weeks. At the end of the period, we will have a short grammar quiz to prepare for the ACT test itself. Grammar is one area which can improve your score just by studying rules that are often tested. If students have not had a grammar class for awhile, they may have forgotten some of these basics. In two weeks, they will be ready to take the next test. They will also notice a big improvement in any English placement test they take at KVCC in the near future.
American History
We had a great competitive game review before we took our test today on Chapters 4-6. The students did a fantastic job, and both teams had high scores. I know they had studied the material. Then we took the test, and I feel that they did a great job.
For next week, read the rest of Chapter 7 (pages 97-104) and Chapter 8 on pages 105-116. The citizens start the process of ratifying the newly written Constitution, and the country votes for its first two Presidents.
Watch the following short video to further explain the Federalist Papers.
U.S. Government
We played a game today to further understand the Electoral College of our country. Students were also given a map of the new Electoral College numbers for each state for the 2024 Presidential Election. (These are a result of the 2020 Census.) We started to go through our lessons on the two major political parties of the U.S. and will finish that next week as we discuss other characteristics and history of our two parties.
You have no new lessons due next week. We will finish the lessons on the Republican and Democratic parties. We will also have two quizzes. One will be on the Electoral College. (taken from the note sheet students were given from the Powerpoint we watched last week and the video on the Presidential election process on this website) The other quiz will be on the lessons on the Senate and the House of Representatives. Study the two matching sections on pages 24 and 28. Also review the following video on the Senate and House of Representatives.
Electoral College
Senate and House of Representatives
British Literature
We reviewed for our test on the Middle Ages next week. The first part will be a matching section for the characters and descriptions of Chaucer’s pilgrims in his Canterbury Tales. We took a quiz to practice recognizing these characters. We also reviewed EVERYTHING that would be on the test next week on the Middle Ages. We reviewed the Prologue of the Canterbury Tales and the idea of what was going on in the story, the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the differences in the death of King Arthur in the book by Mallory and The Once and Future King by T.H. White, The Idylls of the King by Tennyson and its dedication, and then those characteristics of a ballad (refrains, incremental repetition, and alliteration) in the poems they read for today.
In addition to studying for the test on the Middle Ages, each student was given an assignment to research on page 44 in your text. Students were told to circle their assigned topic so that they would remember what they were assigned to research and tell the class. This does not need to be a report that is turned in but just an oral telling about their assigned people or events. We will be ready to start Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare soon, so be sure to secure a copy to read.