Author: litalive

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Assignments for 05/10/2021

Assignments due for the week of May 10th, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Interesting skills and information given to us today in our Demonstration speeches! We will begin our last major speech next week–the Persuasive speech. Please email me with your topic if you did not give it to me today in class. Also, plan to make up any speeches you are missing next week as well.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We looked at the life and writing style of Ernest Hemingway today as we began our discussion of The Old Man and the Sea. We will take our second quiz and finish our discussion of all the study guide questions. Note, especially, Hemingway’s religious imagery throughout the last half of the book. We will review and be ready for our final test the following week. (May 17) To help review the entire book, complete page 13 in your study guide, the Chronolog, which is a review of the entire book in chronological order.

Watch the following brief video on the life of Hemingway:

No-Spin Economics

Today we had our quiz on Crash Course Economics videos #10 and #11 and also on the Federal Reserve Bank information sheet I gave you. We then went over the handout for Crash Course Economics video #12, and you were given notes to study from Chapter 13 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Please study these sheets to prepare for a quiz. We will take the quiz in class and then go over it together so that you can put it in your notebook to study for the final exam.

Finally, read Chapters 14 and 15 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? We will conclude our discussion of Natural Law and Economic Prosperity. We will then begin preparing for our final exam which we will take the last day of class–May 24.

Adventures in American Literature

Great thoughts and observations from your reading on the first half of The Giver! I think you can already see clearly the problems that come with a dystopian community! For next week, finish the book and the corresponding study guide questions. We will discuss your thoughts on the ending of the story!

Watch the following brief interview with Lois Lowry herself, the author of this book. (She is still alive today!)

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Assignments for 05/03/2021

Assignments due for the week of May 3rd, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Your Demonstration speeches today were so much fun!! It’s really a learning and enjoyable time for all of us! We will finish our Demonstrations next week. If you did not turn in your outline today for your speech, please email it to me this week. You can just type it in an email or send it as an attachment. Also, for everyone (those who gave speeches today and those who will complete them next week), please be prepared to tell me in our next class period your selected topic for our final speech—the Persuasive speech. Choose a subject that you feel strongly about as we discussed in class today.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great Jeopardy game review today before our final test on To Kill a Mockingbird. Since we ran out of time, we will take the final quiz on the background material at the beginning of our next class. Read all of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. The study guide you received today is divided into “days” instead of chapters. There are no chapters in the book. Answer at least five questions under each of the five days. We will discuss the entire book as well as the life of the author. There is so much religious symbolism in this book. See if you can identify it as you read the story of Santiago.

No-Spin Economics

Today we took a quiz on Crash Course Economics video #9 and on Penny Candy chapters 10-12. We then went over the handouts for videos #10 and #11. You were given an information sheet with more information on the Federal Reserve Bank and its districts. We will take a quiz on this material next week. You can just study the sheets we went over and the Federal Reserve information sheet you were given.

For next week, we will finish our last video and the review chapter (Chapter 13) in your Penny Candy book. Crash Course Economics video #12 is posted here for you. You also received a handout which we will discuss next week. We will then begin reviewing for our final test and the final exam.

The 2008 Financial Crisis

Adventures in American Literature

We covered the satirical works by Sinclair Lewis and Erma Bombeck, Robert Frost’s poems, and the sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay. We also heard more short stories by other local color American authors.

For next week, begin our newest and last book for the year, The Giver by Lois Lowry. You were given a study guide today to accompany you on your reading journey. Read Chapters 1-12 and answer questions 1-30 in the study guide. You will find this story fascinating and will grow to enjoy each new character you meet.

Watch the following description of a “dystopian novel.” We will apply these points in our discussion of the book.

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Assignments for 04/26/2021

Assignments due for the week of April 26th, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

At our next class, we will begin our Demonstration speeches. They will need to be 6-8 minutes in length, and you will need to hand in an outline to me before your speech. If you did not give me your subject today, don’t forget to email it to me by Wednesday, April 21. There will be a table for you to use for your demonstration. You can also use the TV to project from your computer or mine. Let me know if you need anything else at all. We have a variety of subjects to watch next week!

Quick Looks at Great Books

Review all of To Kill a Mockingbird for our final test next week. We will do a Jeopardy! game to review the characters and events of the story. Also, read pages 2 and 3 and pages 18-26 in your study guide for a quiz on the background of the book and its author. Watch the following scenes from your reading:

No-Spin Economics

Today, we went over Crash Course Economics video #9 and also Penny Candy Chapters 10-12. The students have notes on both to study. We will have a quiz next week on this video and these chapters. They really reinforce each other and cover the same subjects.

For next week, watch Crash Course Economics videos #10 and #11. Fill out the handouts you were given in class today and be prepared to discuss these concepts. Also, search to find out who the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve is.

Adventures in American Literature

Great job exposing us to a variety of American short stories! It was easy to see the situational irony in the stories by O. Henry! For those of you who were assigned stories for next week (Anneka, Gavin, Maille, and Joe), read the entire text and tell us the story. We will then discuss the author’s use of local color and any other literary terms that might apply.

In your literature notebook, read the excerpt from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis on pages 149 and 150. Then answer the three questions on p. 151. Read Erma Bombeck’s satirical passage on “Convenient Hearing” and be prepared to analyze it together. Answer the questions on page 154 about these two selections. Read the two sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay on pages 160 and 161 and answer the corresponding questions.

Make sure you have access to a copy of The Giver by Lois Lowry. You will be given your first reading assignment on Monday, April 26.

Watch the following 60 second analysis of satire.

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Assignments for 04/19/2021

Assignments due for the week of April 19th, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Great start today on our Informative speeches! Don’t forget to turn in your outline before you give your speech–handwritten or typed. We will finish all of our Informative speeches next week. Our Demonstration speeches will be due in two weeks–Monday, April 26. Please decide on a subject that you’re familiar with and give me your selection next week so that you know what you will be demonstrating. This will be one of the most fun to give and the most fun to listen to! We went over ideas today from which to choose. It should be something that you are familiar with and really enjoy. Check out page 64 in your notebook for preparing visual aids (in any of your speeches) and also pages 65 and 66 to see an example of a sentence outline. Please make an outline for each of these longer speeches that we will be doing. It can be a topic outline or a sentence outline. Your Demonstration speech should be at least 6-8 minutes.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Finish the rest of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Chapters 15-31) and answer questions 35-72 in your study guide. Keep in mind the various themes we discussed and try to follow them throughout the book. Watch the following clips from your reading.

No-Spin Economics

We covered and reviewed the handout on Crash Course Economics #7 and the notes from Penny Candy Chapters 7- 9. We will have a quiz on this video and these chapters in our next class period. Also, watch Crash Course video #9 and fill out the handout you were given in class. Read Chapters 10-12 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? The material in these chapters has been covered before, and this will just reinforce those principles. Chapter 11 in Penny Candy will remind you again of how much a trillion really is!!

Crash Course video #9

Adventures in American Literature

If you were assigned a short story for next week, read that story and tell it to the class. We will then, as a class, discuss the stories and apply some of our literary terms to these famous American short stories. Let me know if you need help with a link to read the story.

In your notebook, read the poems by Carl Sandburg on pages 141-143 and answer the questions on page 144.

Read the story “The Sculptor’s Funeral” by Willa Cather and answer the questions on pages 145 and 146.

Read the poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost and answer the questions on page 148.

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Assignments for 04/12/2021

Assignments due for the week of April 12th, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Fantastic job on impromptu speeches today! Such interesting stories, enthusiasm, and natural gestures! Be prepared to present your Informative Speech next week on your selected topic. Complete an outline of the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion of your speech to hand in to me before you do your presentation. Be sure to use at least one of the strategies in your notebook in your introduction and in your conclusion. (pages 53 and 60) Don’t forget to practice aloud to make sure you hit the 5-8 minute time frame! Follow the instructions we went over in class (from your notebook—page 67) to make your practice time as beneficial as possible. The more you practice, the more confident you will be! 🙂 Contact me at if you have any questions at all.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great review of our literary terms in class today! Begin reading our next book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Read Chapters 1-14 and answer questions 1-34 in your new study guide. We will go over any questions you may have before we take the quiz.

Watch the following brief bio of Harper Lee:

No-Spin Economics

We discussed the prevalent lie in economics and the truth about automation and new inventions. We also went over Chapters 5 and 6 and notes from Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? We discussed some of the current policies and expenditures, studied how much one trillion really is, and watched the current U.S. Debt clock as it grows each day! We went over the beginning of what you will read next week in Chapters 7-9 of Penny Candy –double-digit and runaway inflation.

For our next class, read Chapters 7-9 of Penny Candy and watch Crash Course Economics video #7. Complete the handout you were given for the video and be prepared to discuss it in class. The Crash Course video is included here for you. Also, watch another brief explanation of how much a trillion really is!

Adventures in American Literature

We went over surrealism in art as it was manifested in Stephen Crane’s poem and then finished his poem “War Is Kind” and noted all the irony expressed! We also watched more of the biography of Mark Twain and his contribution to American literature.

For next week, you will have two quizzes—one on two short stories, “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte and “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain. The other quiz will be on the short story by Jack London “To Build a Fire”. To prepare for the quiz, complete page 136 in your notebook — Jack London—Survival and the Forces of Nature. If you want to review “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”, you can go to the Previous Assignments (March 22) and to pages 128 and 129 in your American literature notebook. The other two stories are linked below.

“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”

“To Build a Fire”

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Assignments for 04/05/2021

Assignments due for the week of April 5th, 2021

Happy spring break!

No classes next week due to our Spring Break!  We will return to class on Monday, April 5.  There will be no assignments due that day.  Quick Looks at Great Books students could begin reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee if you have extra time.  Also, don’t forget to bring your Literary Terms notebook to class when we return.  In Public Speaking, begin researching your topic for our Informative speeches if you are available in order to save time later! 🙂 Email me with any questions you may have and enjoy your vacation!!

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Assignments for 03/22/2021

Assignments due for the week of March 22nd, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Some of you are completely up-to-date with our speeches and have no new one due for next week. If you have not done your extemporaneous news article speech, please have it ready to present next Monday. (If you need to review the directions for any past speech, please refer to past assignments given at the bottom of this page.) Each student should be done with all of our shorter speeches so that we can begin working on our three big assignments—Informative, Demonstration, and Persuasive. For next week, brainstorm for a topic for your Informative speech. Please come to class with page 41 in your notebook completed. Follow the directions on the page as we went over them in class today. I will meet with each student individually next week to help you narrow your top three choices to the one that will work best for your speech. I want everyone to have a topic chosen BEFORE spring break. We will avoid duplicate topics and maybe save some choices for one of our other speeches. Let me know if you have any questions about completing page 41.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great discussion and review today! You did a great job in the Jeopardy review game and in analyzing some of the events and themes in the book. We will finish a final quick review game before we take our test in class next week. I will also give you your new study guide for our next book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We will go over the background for the novel which takes place in the 1930’s in the South in America. Our last two novels will be by American authors. You will need to have a copy of the book by the time we return from spring break on April 5. If you are not traveling, you can start the book over spring break when you have extra time. Our first quiz on the book will be on Monday, April 12.

Since you have no new reading to do, please complete the following pages in your Literary Terms notebook: Story Within a Story (pages 94 & 95), Stream of Consciousness (pages 96-98), Surprise Endings (pages 99 & 100), and Suspense (pages 101-103).

Watch the following quick review of two key symbols in The Count of Monte Cristo.

No-Spin Economics

We did a quick review game before our quiz on the U.S. coins and currency. Then we reviewed for our quiz on Crash Courses #3 and #5. Watch Crash Course #6 and fill out the handout you were given in class today.

Next week before spring break, we will have a test on Crash Course Economics videos #1-#6. We will go over the handout you were given and then review with a game all six videos before we take the test. You can study your handouts for each video or watch the previous videos by going to past assignments at the bottom of this page. There will be no assignment over your break.

Adventures in American Literature

Fantastic observations as we played Jeopardy to review The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! We went over the remaining questions in the study guide before you took the test.

You were given a study guide for our test on the frontier hero, tall tales, and the various authors we have studied before we began Huckleberry Finn. The study guide sheet has everything you need to review for the test. The authors and their works are given in a matching section, so you just have to identify the work by each author. Also, the literary terms and their definitions are in a matching section. Refer to your Literary Terms sheet for the exact definitions to study.

We will be reading several short stories by different authors after spring break. Please begin by reading “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte.

Complete pages 128 and 129 in your notebook about this story and its characters.

You will have no homework over your spring break.

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Assignments for 03/15/2021

Assignments due for the week of March 15th, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

We have now finished all of our manuscript speeches. What a nice variety of topics and speakers presented! We began our Introduction speeches and will finish them next week. Remember, to project to your audience and not to READ your speech to us. Just talk to us and use notes as needed.

Next week, we will do our last extemporaneous speech before we begin our major speeches. (Informative, Demonstration, and Persuasive) In preparation for our major speeches to come, this one should be at least three minutes. Find a news article that interests you and share it with the class. Give the title and then tell us the main points of the story. You may find a human interest story or a major news event for the week. (international, national, or local) Use newspapers, magazines, or online news websites. (Fox News, CNN, Kalamazoo Gazette, wwmt.com, etc.) Use note cards of some kind, but DON’T read the article to us!! You should have the major points in your notes. (You might also want to write down any dates or statistics you want to remember.) Just tell us the story in order to maintain eye contact and a conversational tone with your audience. Many of you are “soft-spoken”, so continue to work on increasing your volume!! 🙂

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great job on trying to portray one of the many characters in The Count of Monte Cristo by means of Charades!! You did a great job acting them out and also guessing the characters! We will continue to explain much of the details in the final chapters of the book as well as review the events and characters by participating in two competitive games. We will have our final test at the beginning of class on March 22. You will have a chance to get your new study guide before spring break. Finish any reading you have not yet completed in the novel.

For next week, work on the following pages in your Literary Terms Notebook as we continue to finish it before the end of the year. Pun (pages 86-88), Rhetorical Question (pages 89-91), and Satire, Parody, and Farce (pages 92 & 93).

Watch the following video to briefly explain and illustrate the term satire.

No-Spin Economics

We had a fascinating examination of the U.S. currency today and noted the many ways our government has tried to prevent counterfeiting. Microprinting and security threads are just part of the efforts. Next week, we will have our quiz on coins and currency. Study the handout you were given two weeks ago, the sheet on the dollar bill, and the sheet from today on the $100 bill. The quiz will be both matching and True and False, Watch the following videos about the making of our bills to conclude our study from today.

We will also finish going over the handout from Crash Course Economics #5 (Macroeconomics) before we have a quiz on #3 and #5. (Go to the bottom of this page and check the assignments for last week if you’d like to review those videos.)

Lastly, read Chapters 5 and 6 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? We will talk about these chapters in class.

Adventures in American Literature

Great job in piecing together the lessons the author taught us in the final chapters of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We will have our final test next week after we play a competitive game review! Review the characters and events for next week as well as your past quizzes. Watch the following videos to review themes, symbols, motifs, etc. from this novel.

Characters

Symbols

Motifs

Themes

Since you have finished your reading, please take time to watch and process these brief discussions to learn more about Twain’s ideas.

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Assignments for 03/08/2021

Assignments due for the week of March 8th, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Great start on our Manuscript speeches. We will finish them next week as well as do our next short Extemporaneous speech. Prepare a 1-2 minute “Introduction” speech for our next class. You may introduce a friend, family member, political figure, sports hero, movie hero, historical character, fictional character, Biblical character, etc. Welcome him/her to our class, give a list of his/her qualifications and experiences, some biographical information, and then introduce the person by name to the class. You may use notes (preferably note cards or a half-sheet of paper), but do NOT merely READ the introduction to us. Make it as conversational as possible and talk to and look at your audience. 🙂 Continue to work on volume and vocal variety and have fun with this!!

Quick Looks at Great Books

Finish your reading of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and answer questions 91-105 in your study guide.

  • Abridged version — Chapters 64-71
  • Unabridged version — Chapters 104-117

Enjoy the completion of this fantastic book and the resolution of many complicated situations. We can continue to be amazed as to how this author could possibly create such intriguing plot twists!! We will begin discussing the many themes that Dumas intended to convey. Be prepared to discuss any surprises you may have had as you completed your reading.

No-Spin Economics

We finished our examination of the obverse side of the one dollar bill and went over the handout for Crash Course Economics #4 before we took the quiz. Next, we we will have a quiz on Crash Course Economics videos #3 and #5. We will definitely finish going over the sheet of notes BEFORE we take the quiz. (Crash Course #5)

You can review these two videos at the following links.

DON’T FORGET TO BRING A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO CLASS NEXT WEEK TO EXAMINE IN DEPTH OUR PAPER CURRENCY!!

Adventures in American Literature

Complete your reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by reading Chapters 30-43. The adventures continue in a big way, and the plot is resolved in the end. This is not only a fun adventure story but also an educational journey for Huck as he learns to form his own opinions despite what society has told him. Also, finish your study guide questions. We will finish going over all of them as we continue our discussion.

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Assignments for 03/01/2021

Assignments due for the week of March 1st, 2021

Practical Public Speaking

Nice start on your first speech given to the class! You all tried to incorporate many points that we discussed in class. We will make up the rest of these memorization speeches next week and will continue with our manuscript speeches. Keep working on volume and project to the back of the class!! 🙂

Prepare the manuscript speech that you chose from the list in class. Please locate the speech online as soon as possible and let me know if you have any problems. Research the background for your selected speech and deliver it with the passion the original author intended! (Don’t forget to email me if you choose to change your speech or choose one of your own and give me your title and speaker.) Please mark your “script” as we discussed in class today to help you with your delivery. (Refer to page 36 in your notebook for help in preparing your speech.) Concentrate particularly on inflection, articulation, (speaking clearly) and eye contact. If you have chosen a longer speech, edit and condense it so that it is around 5 minutes and no more than 10 minutes. Remember, you should not SOUND like you are reading the speech! 🙂

Quick Looks at Great Books

Continue reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and answer questions 83-90 in your study guide.

  • Abridged version — Chapters 54-63
  • Unabridged version — Chapters 82-103

The plot thickens against the Count’s enemies, but he must also face a serious challenge. Be ready for some real “Gasp” moments!!

No-Spin Economics

What an interesting study of our coins today and of the history behind them!! We will finish our study and observation of the dollar bill next week and “tie up” some other loose ends.

Next week we will have a quiz on Crash Course Economics #4 (Supply and Demand) Today you were given the handout for that video. Watch the video at the following link. We will go over the worksheet BEFORE you take the quiz.

Watch the following Crash Course video and complete the handout you were given today in class.

Adventures in American Literature

Interesting adventures as Huck and Jim continue their journey down the Mississippi River! Please keep up with the reading each week so that we can talk about the events and their implications. For next week, read Chapters 19-29 and answer questions 48-68. The adventures continue as they travel through Arkansas and Mississippi.

Watch the following scene when Huck disguised himself as a girl.

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