Assignments for 09/29/2025

Assignments for September 29th, 2025

Welcome back!

Explorations in British Literature

Today, we reviewed the characters in Beowulf and viewed a power point on the epic tale itself. Then we took the over a matching section on the characters in Beowulf, finding alliteration in a poem, a matching section quiz on Beowulf, the first epic poem ever written in Britain. We then talked about the Celtic poem Cynddylan’s Hall and the poem on life in a great lord’s hall. Both covered the passing of a way of life.

Next week, we will take our test on the Anglo-Saxon Age. It will con the seven literary terms, and two questions on the last two poems. We also have assigned five reports on the code of knighthood. Also, read the excerpt of A Parody of Knighthood by T.H. White on pages 20-22, the excerpt of Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory on pages 25-27, and the excerpt of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, along with the questions on page 29.

Review Beowulf with the following 60-second recap.

American History

Today, we reviewed Chapters 1 and 2 in preparation for our quiz on those chapters. Then we took the quiz on the chapters with ten of the most important facts. Then we went over the chapter you read for today—Chapter 3. We worked on reviewing states and capitals and geography through games.

For next week, read Chapter 4. We will go over the new chapter you read and review for our next test on Chapters 1-3.

Watch this explanation of the French and Indian War.

U.S. Government

We reviewed for our quiz on Lessons 1 and 2 and then took the quiz. We went over Lesson 3 and the Bill of Rights. You only have to recognize Amendments 1, 2, and 5. We also went over Amendments 11-27 and the ones you need to know—13, 15, 18,19, 21, and 26. We will continue with that next week.

For next week, complete Lessons 5, 6, and 7. We will finish the amendments, go over the basics of the Constitution, and complete the answers in your workbook. (I will make sure you are “caught up”.) Here are the answers to Lesson 5: Congress, Lesson 6: Senate, and Lesson 7: House of Representatives. Don’t forget to ask your parents this question: Who is the founding father who was most significant but you never heard of?

Watch the following short video of the making of our Constitution.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished our review of what you did in our study guide and took the quiz on the details of the French Revolution.

Next week, we will actually start A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Read Book 1—Recalled to Life. (Chapters 1-6) Also, answer Questions 1-14 in your study guide. We will go over all the questions and events before the quiz. We will also listen to the songs of the Revolution and watch the CD of the French Revolution.

Practical Public Speaking

Prepare an example of a memorization for next week. You may choose from either a toast (for a wedding, banquet, etc.) to honor a friend, sibling, etc. or prepare a presentation. (Presenting an award of some kind.) You will need to write out what you plan to say and then memorize it. Plan to turn in a copy of your speech to me. It should be approximately 1 minute.

  • Toast—Identify the occasion, your relationship to the person, and a few opening remarks to the couple. (If it’s a wedding.) Then list some personal examples of good qualities of the honoree and how that will serve him/her in the future. You might also or instead tell some humorous events that the two of you shared in the past that would be entertaining to the audience. Congratulate the person again!
  • Presentation—Comment on any special features of the occasion and on the purpose of the occasion. Describe the award and what it represents. If appropriate, mention your relationship with the recipient (coach, teacher, student, friend, etc.) List the recipient’s achievements. Present the award, prize, or gift and congratulate them.

This is your assignment for this week. If you could not find the assignment last week, turn that in as well. We continued our biographical interviews and will finish them next week.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2025 – 2026:

Assignments for 09/22/2025

Assignments for September 22nd, 2025

Welcome back!

Explorations in British Literature

Today, we discussed The Battle of Maldon and all the literary terms in Beowulf, along with the characters and events. We then went over pages 6-9 together. We described the Anglo-Saxon “kenning” and then continued with pages 13-15 together.

For next week, read the Celtic poem on pages 16 and 17 and answer the four questions that follow. Then read about life in a great lord’s hall and answer the three questions. We also will have a quiz on the events and characters in Beowulf. The students were also given a list of literary terms for the year and seven terms to study for the Anglo-Saxon test two weeks from today.

Use this video to review the characters and events of Beowulf.

American History

Today, we reviewed the first two chapters in our text, and I gave them the terms and people they needed for next week’s quiz. The quiz will be only ten multiple choice questions of the most important things in those two chapters. For next week, read Chapter 3 on “Life in Colonial America” and study the events given for our quiz.

Watch this video to review the original thirteen colonies.

U.S. Government

Today, we discussed Lessons 1 and 2 that the students did for homework for today and then discussed the holiday coming up on Wednesday of this week—Constitution Day! (signed September 17, 1787)

For next week, complete Lessons 3 and 4 in your workbook. (Students were given the answers to pages 9 and 13 in class today.)

Watch the following celebration of Constitution Day.

Quick Looks at Great Books

The students did an excellent job on their French Revolution reports today, Unfortunately, that took most of the time we had. We started reviewing the pages they had read in their purple study guides. We will finish that next week, have our quiz on the pages the students read, go over pages 38 and 39 in their study guide, and watch the DVD on the French Revolution. We will then be ready to start the book itself! Make sure you have a copy of the book to read next week. Let me know if you need to borrow one of my books.

Watch this short review of The French Revolution.

Practical Public Speaking

We did biographical interviews today and learned some interesting things about our classmates! We will finish those next week with those interviewing classmates becoming the “interviewees”!

For next week, read over page 12 in your notebooks, Critical Listeners Beware! You are to describe three ads that you found on the internet, TV, radio, billboards, etc. Tell me where you got it, a brief description of the contents of the ad, and identify the strategy used. Be aware when you see these techniques used to get you to buy a product. It is faulty, but often used!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2025 – 2026:

Assignments for 09/15/2025

Assignments for September 15th, 2025

Welcome back!

Explorations in British Literature

We worked on a survey that taught us what the difference was in the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England. We discussed cities, monuments, writers, playwrights, sports, actors, actresses, kings, queens, and the flag from that location. For next week, read “The Battle of Malden” on pages 4 and 5 and answer the four questions about it. Read the different translations of Beowulf on pages 10 and 11 and answer question two on page 11. On page 12, underline the examples of alliteration in Beowulf.

Read the plot summary of Beowulf on pages 2 through the top of page 5.

American History

We took a survey and questions on American History and what the students wanted to make sure we covered this year. For next week, read the first two chapters in your history book. (“Discovery and Exploration” and “The Thirteen Original Colonies”) We will go over the story of each chapter and what you need to know from the Chapter Review for tests and quizzes.

U.S. Government

Today we played a game about our government. We had two teams competing against each other. With the exception of three or four students, it’s amazing what our students don’t know! We will do the same game the next to last day of class, and they will know all the answers! We will go over and over many of the basics, and they will learn it!

Complete Lessons 1 and 2 in your new workbook. I will always give you the first crossword page of each lesson.

Lesson 1: Government Crossword Answers

Lesson 2: Government Crossword Answers

Quick Looks at Great Books

Each student received a text of terms for the entire year and also a study guide for A Tale of Two Cities. We will spend this week and next reviewing the events and characters of the French Revolution. For next week, read pages 2-31 in the purple study guide. Also, prepare the oral report you were assigned in class about the French Revolution.

We will review the reports and the pages you read in preparation for a quiz over the events of the Revolution. Email me if you have any questions at all.

Practical Public Speaking

We spent most of our time studying the different types of communication, including verbal and nonverbal. Next week, we will begin with our biographical interviews, and the students will begin to know the rest of the class. Each will have a chance to be the Interviewer and the Interviewee! These will be random interviews, not friend to friend. No homework this week!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2025 – 2026:

  • No previous assignments yet.

Assignments for 05/19/2025

Spring flowers

Assignments for May 19th, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

We reviewed the entire book (The Old Man and the Sea), took two quizzes, and played a competitive review game. Over half the class took the test, and the rest will take it next week. To review for the final exam, study all of the literary terms, except for 11-19 with the exception of #12, the authors and main characters of our six books, and a few very general questions about these books. We will have a game review next week before taking the exam. I love to see how much they know!

American History

We did Ana’s report and then took our test on the second half of the Presidents. We then reviewed the last five chapters of our book, including important events that were not listed on our study guide. The students were given a study guide with things they needed to know from each chapter in our book. It’s not as comprehensive as when we went through the chapters, but it is still all they need to know for the final exam. As always, we will do a game review before the test. They only need to know a few dates, which are listed at the top of the study guide.

Watch this review of all the Presidents through Biden.

No-Spin Economics

We reviewed all of the Penny Candy Chapters 1-3 with a game review. I tried to make sure that they knew all the basic principles. We also read an excerpt from Hazlitt’s economic book on automation. Even when new inventions take many jobs, we have to look long range at the situation. Many more jobs are created to cover those lost! Since they have already studied Penny Candy Chapters 1-13, they should focus on the Crash Course Economics videos 1-7 and 9-12. Just study the notes on the worksheets they were given. We will do a game review to prepare for the exam.

Practical Public Speaking

We finished the last two Demonstration speeches and one (made-up) Informative speech. Then we began our final speech—the Persuasive speech (This prepares each one for the Debate class next year!) We will complete all of our speeches next week. Don’t forget to make up any speeches that you missed.

Adventures in American Literature

We discussed the homework and compared the two satires of Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (excerpt) and Erma Bombeck’s “Convenient Hearing” about her teenage son. Then we went through Hemingway’s story, “In Another Country” and answered the questions about it in your text. We also had reports on some of O. Henry’s short stories and the endings which were always great examples of situational irony—The Gift of the Magi, The Last Leaf, and The Cop and the Anthem. Study the guide you were given for the final exam. It is all matching and multiple choice, except for a few short answer (on your study guide). You can actually make an A on your final exam which is 20% of your final grade!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025:

Assignments for 05/12/2025

Spring flowers

Assignments for May 12th, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

We took our To Kill a Mockingbird test and went over the Great Depression setting of the book. Then they took Quiz #1 on the historical setting. Then we started discussing The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. We discussed over half of the book and will finish next week. We will take two quizzes on the book, have a game review of the book and take our final test on The Old Man and the Sea. I will review again what to study for the final exam.

American History

We took our State Placement Test today and had the rest of our Presidential reports. I then went over three facts about each President from McKinley to Trump. All they need to do is study the notes I gave them. The test will be Multiple Choice with four Presidents to choose from for each question. (We will also hear from Tyson, Ana, and Alyse before our test.) Also, for next week, read Chapter 30, our final chapter. Study your study guide for the final exam on May 19.

Watch the following Presidential “minutes”.

Richard Nixon

Gerald Ford

Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan

George H.W. Bush

Bill Clinton

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

No-Spin Economics

We reviewed for next week’s test by going over our quiz from last week. Then we fully went over the assigned video for this week. This is our final video on the 2008 financial crisis. After explaining each question on our worksheet, we then went over the numbers of questions to remember for our final exam. Then we reviewed for our test next week on the book Penny Candy Chapters 1-13.

We will do a competitive game review of these chapters, which I will comment on those things to especially remember. On May 19, we will have our final exam which covers Penny Candy Chapters 1-13 and Crash Course Economics #1-#7 and #9-#12. We will also have a game review that last day for the final exam.

Practical Public Speaking

We almost finished our Demonstration speeches today. We will start with Lincoln and Abby next week. Then we will begin our Persuasive speeches for the last two weeks. Don’t forget to make up any speeches that you still have outstanding. What a great variety of demonstrations we have had!

Adventures in American Literature

We reviewed your homework due today and went over several other things for the final exam. For next week, read the short selection on “Convenient Hearing” by Erma Bombeck. Then answer the questions on page 154, regarding the excerpt from the novel Babbitt and the reading by Erma Bombeck. Read the short story “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway and answer the questions on page 156.

For those four students who volunteered to tell us about other stories, let me know if you have any trouble finding them. Also, because you are doing a special story, you do not have to read “In Another Country” by Hemingway. You can listen to the summary of it and fill in the answers to the questions assigned.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025:

Assignments for 05/05/2025

Spring flowers

Assignments for May 5th, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

We had a great review with our teams in two rounds of Jeopardy plus a Final Jeopardy question! I think you reviewed the names of almost all of the characters. Because we didn’t have enough time to take the final test, we will take it at the beginning of our next class. We will also briefly go over the historical part of the Great Depression. This was the time and setting of this novel (pages 18-26 in your study guide). Also, read all of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (our last novel). It’s a short read and only covers 4 days with no chapters! We will go over it after we finish with To Kill a Mockingbird.

Watch this brief biography of Ernest Hemingway.

American History

We took our quiz today on World War II and then did all of our Presidential reports. Next week, we will finish our reports and will have done all the Presidents! You have done a great job with these reports and have covered the very important facts about each one. Here is the final list for next week.

  • Ronald Reagan—Keanna
  • George H.W. Bush—Chris
  • Bill Clinton—Tysen
  • George W. Bush—Moriah
  • Barack Obama—Ana
  • Donald Trump—Alyse
  • Joe Biden—Alyse
  • Donald Trump—Alyse

Also, for next week, read Chapters 28 and 29 and be ready for our State Placement test. Study pages 540 and 541 in your text to review any you may not know. This test was announced four weeks ago, and the reports were assigned at least three weeks ago!

Watch these “Presidential Minutes”.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry S. Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

No-Spin Economics

We first took our quiz on Penny Candy Chapters 7-9 and Crash Course Economics #7. We finished reviewing Crash Course #10 and then went on to the one you did for this week—#11. We reviewed a lot of what you needed to know for our final exam. For next week, watch the video Crash Course Economics #12 on the 2008 Financial Crisis. Complete the sheet you were given in class.

How It Happened—The 2008 Financial Crisis

Practical Public Speaking

We started our Demonstration speeches today and had a great variety of things that we were taught! We will finish these speeches next week. Don’t forget to make up any work you are missing within the next two weeks. We have one speech left this year—the Persuasive. That will be the last two weeks of class—May 12 and May 19.

Adventures in American Literature

We played a review game with guys against girls to review the characters and events of of The Giver by Lois Lowry. We then took our final test on the book. We answered the questions in your notebook on Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”.

Next week, we will take our quiz on the short story itself. Also, for next week, read O. Henry’s short story, “After Twenty Years” on pages 137-139, “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, answer the questions on page 138—Building Walls, and read the excerpt from Babbitt and answer the questions on pages 149-151. Also, read “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025:

Assignments for 04/28/2025

Field of tulips

Assignments for April 28th, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great understanding of the book and the ending! Good participation in the discussion so far too! Next week, we will have our final test on To Kill a Mockingbird and Quiz #1 on pages 18-26 in your study guide. Read these pages to familiarize yourselves with the Great Depression era. We will also go over these pages in class. Also, complete the Chronolog to review the entire book in chronological order (page 16).

Watch these scenes from the movie.

American History

We played a game between guys and girls to review the material in Chapters 21-24. We then had a report on Theodore Roosevelt and reviewed Chapter 25 on World War II for our quiz next week. We talked about what a Cold War is and how it affected our countries. We will finish the following reports next week.

  • William Taft—Tysen
  • Herbert Hoover—Sam
  • Harry S. Truman—Moriah
  • Dwight Eisenhower—Nolan
  • John F. Kennedy—Chris
  • Lyndon B. Johnson—Selah
  • Richard M. Nixon—Ana
  • Gerald Ford—Eden
  • Jimmy Carter—Keanna

Also, read Chapters 26 and 27 for next week. Study for the quiz on Chapter 25. (World War II)

Watch these Presidential minutes.

Theodore Roosevelt

William Taft

Calvin Coolidge

Herbert Hoover

No-Spin Economics

We tried to review all that the students have read so far. They were given summaries of Penny Candy Chapters 10-13. We explained all of these sheets. Crash Course Economics #7, #9, and did most of #10. Next week, we will have a quiz on Penny Candy Chapters 7-9 and Crash Course #7. Also, watch Crash Course #11 and complete the sheet you were given in class today.

Watch this video to get an idea of how much a trillion dollars is!

Practical Public Speaking

We finished our Informative speeches today and will start our Demonstration speeches next week. Let me know if you need something special for your presentation, I will have a table available if you need to use it to demonstrate your topic. Choose something you already know how to do, so you can talk to us and not read to us!

Adventures in American Literature

We finally took our quiz on the two short stories you read a few weeks ago—The Outcasts of Poker Flat and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. We also took Quiz #1 on The Giver since we thoroughly covered all the study guide questions last week. Then, we answered any questions the students had on the rest of the book. We were then ready to take Quiz #2. After that, we finished the study guide questions and discussed the ending of the book, which Lois Lowry left very ambiguous.

Next week, we will have a game review of the entire book and take our final test. After that, we will start discussing a short story you are to read for next week—To Build a Fire by Jack London. We will have a quiz on the story after we have taken questions and discussed the basics of the story.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025:

Assignments for 04/21/2025

Field of tulips

Assignments for April 21st, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

For next week, finish the book — To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. (Chapters 15-31) This is easy reading and short chapters! I think you’ll be a bit surprised at the ending.) Complete study guide questions 35-72. The trial itself is a big surprise as to that happening in the United States at that time in history.

Watch the following clips from the movie version of this story.

The dialogue is so true to the book!

American History

Today, we took the test on the states and capitals. I hope this will be a good grade for everyone! We then did our President’s reports. If you did not do yours today, please bring it for the class to hear. We had a great group today. We will finish our reports on April 28 and May 5. (Ana, Tyson, and Sam will do theirs next week.

Next week, we will have our test on Chapters 21-24. We will play a game review before the test. The test will be objective as usual. Just study the terms I gave you in the Chapter Review. Of course, know the dates of World War I. We will review the people and events in these chapters in our game. It is the last test we will have on chapters in the book. We will have a quiz on Chapter 25 (World War II) on April 28. The remaining chapters will be on the final exam.

Watch these brief videos of our Presidents.

William McKinley

Woodrow Wilson

Warren Harding

No-Spin Economics

We reviewed Chapters 5 and 6 and then went to what you have read in Chapters 7-9. I will give you sheets to study for each of these chapters as we finish the book. Next week, read Chapters 10-13, and we will finish our discussion We went over the Federal Reserve districts, and each student received a sheet explaining the Fed even further. We then went over your sheet on Deficits and Debts so that you could see the difference. The other “d” word was default and was defined as well. We will finish Crash Course Economics #10 on Monetary Policy and the Fed next week. For those of you who watched the debt clock, it IS a scary thing! Note all the information on that page!

Practical Public Speaking

We started our Informative speeches today, which proved to be extremely interesting, I think all of you chose something or someone you really were interested in and that you knew something about! Please be prepared to give your speech next week and try to apply all that you have learned this semester!

Adventures in American Literature

We spent the entire time discussing their new book, The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is a dystopian novel in which Jonas takes matters into his own hands to change his world. Next week, finish reading this book by completing Chapters 13-23 and answering study guide questions 31-50. It will be interesting to hear your view of the end of the story! We will take both of the quizzes for this book and also the quiz on the two short stories you read earlier. (The Outcasts of Poker Flat and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County)

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025:

Assignments for 04/14/2025

Field of tulips

Assignments for April 14th, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

We’re starting a new book this week – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Here are the chapters.

Chapters 1-14
Study Guide Questions 1-34

If this is your first experience with a dystopian novel, try to see why the community does what they do!

American History

We had a great review today of our states and capitals. If you are still not sure of some of them, study page 539 in your text. We will take our test on the states and capitals at the beginning of the hour and then go through all our Presidents’ reports. For next week, too, read Chapter 25, and we will go over the basics of what you need to know for our quiz.

Watch this attack that led to our entering the war.

No-Spin Economics

We spent our second day examining our currency. We examined the one, two, five, ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred dollar bills. Next week, we will have our quiz on our coins and currency. There will be two matching sections—one on the obverse (heads) side of our coins and currency. The other side (reverse or tails) will have its own section. The rest of the quiz will be True/False about the notes on the Coins and Currency sheet, front and back. Also, study the notes on the front and back of the $100 bill page you were given. Also, for next week, watch the next two videos—#9 and #10. (We are skipping #8.)

Crash Course Economics #9—Deficits and Debts

Crash Course Economics #10—Monetary Policy & The Fed

Next week, we’ll go over all that you have read, but don’t have sheets for,

Watch the U.S. debt clock in real time.

Practical Public Speaking

We first went over how to make a key word outline, use strategies in introductions, and strategies in conclusions. We then did our impromptu speeches for the class.

Next week, prepare your Informative speech for the class. If you still have speeches to make-up, prepare them as well. When you give your speech, be sure to give me an outline of your efforts. I look forward to hearing about all these subjects that you are interested in!

Adventures in American Literature

Many of you have already read the two short stories we had a couple of weeks ago. (The Outcasts of Poker Flat and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County) Hope gave us a nice summery of the second story today. We will take the final quiz next week.

Today you were given a study guide for our next book, The Giver by Lois Lowry. Read the first twelve chapters and answer the study guide questions 1-30.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025:

Assignments for 03/24/2025

Assignments for March 24th, 2025

Quick Looks at Great Books

We’re finishing the book this week. Here are the chapters.

  • Chapters 64-71 (abridged version)
  • Chapters 104-117 (unabridged version)

Answer the questions in your study guide 94-105.

American History

The students did really well on the Presidents’ test. All they had to do was study what I gave them! Today, we went over Chapters 22 and 23—World War I and the Roaring Twenties. Then we reviewed the states and capitals for our test on April 14. That same day, we will have our next Presidential reports.

Watch this short video on the Great Depression.

Watch this one-minute review of the Presidency of Herbert Hoover.

For next week, read Chapter 24. When we return from Spring Break, we will be ready for our test on Chapters 21-24 in your text. Remember, you don’t have to know everything in the chapter, just what I give you to circle in the Chapter Review.

No-Spin Economics

The students received their quizzes back from last week. After taking questions from the quiz, we began a competitive review of Crash Course Economics 1-6. Then, we took our test on 1-6. For next week, read Chapters 7-9 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?
Also, watch Crash Course Economics #7.

Inflation, Bubbles, and Tulips

Practical Public Speaking

We first went over the homework for next week. On page 41 in your text, brainstorm a number of ideas and interests for your Informative speech. Narrow the topics to three, and I will meet with each one of you and help you decide which one is best. You should leave class with a certain topic for your next speech!

After that, we finished with the Manuscript speeches and then the extemporaneous News Articles. Next week will be a make-up week for any speeches you are missing.

Adventures in American Literature

We watched the Huck Finn movie to see the portrayal of the pretended Wilks brothers. It helps so much to see the two con men in action! Then we took any questions of the reading of the book or the study guide questions. The quizzes really are about what happened in the story, It was fun to see Tom Sawyer again, but it was hard not to compare the two!! (T0m Sawyer and Huck Finn)

For next week, study for the final test on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We will have a game review before we take the test.

Also, read the following two short stories.

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

For this story, answer question #2 (a, b, and c) on page 129. (We will do the rest together.)

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Previous Assignments for School Year 2024 – 2025: