October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 litalive

2023

Assignments due for the week of October 16th, 2023

Country path in fall

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished our discussion of last week’s reading and watched the BBC version of this section. It was great to see a visual representation of each of the characters Dickens had described.

We then started going over this week’s reading — Chapters 10-19. We will finish the last of the section and take the quiz over those chapters at the beginning of our next class. This week we will have our shortest reading assignment of all — Chapters 20-24. We will be able to finish up last week’s reading and this week’s as well. Book 2 definitely ends with a cliffhanger conclusion! We all know how naive Charles Darnay is!!

PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep

We went over our last quiz before taking the PSAT Writing and Language Test. Then we went over the practice sections in their text for this test. (pages 31-35) We then took the “Grammar and Writing” test together in class. Everyone seemed to finish with time to spare!!

Next week, we will begin our PSAT Math sections. We will start with the shorter one, after going over all the grid-in instructions. No calculator is needed for this part. There are 17 questions total with 13 multiple choice and 4 grid-ins. Go to Khan Academy to practice for the math test. Do practice questions in each of the four areas: heart of algebra, problem-solving and data analysis, passport to advanced math, and additional topics in math.

American History

We went through Chapter 5 and concluded with the Chapter Review on page on page 72. They were given the people, terms, and people they need to know for the test. We passed back the test on Chapters 1-3 and discussed any questions they might have. They did a phenomenal job on their first test!!

For next week, read Chapter 6 which is on The War for Independence itself. We will go over the events and what they need to know for the test.

We will play selected history games as we did today, only we will switch so that everyone plays two different games than today. Games are a great way to learn basic facts about our states and capitals, the American Revolution, basic American history facts, and American geography facts!

U.S. Government

We took another quiz today, and I’m hoping that they do as well as last week! Our quiz next week will be a matching section of the nine amendments I told them to know as well as the content (main subject) of the seven articles of the Constitution. (matching) The rest of the quiz will be True/False, Matching, and Multiple Choice. Of course, there will be a few short answer questions that we have had in the previous two quizzes. Study the amendments, articles of the Constitution, and the terms given in Lesson 5 on the Congress.

For next week, complete Lesson 8 on Voting. The students were given in class the answers to the Crossword on page 29.

Use those words to complete pages 30-32. Next week, we will discuss voting, the electoral college, and why the founding fathers created it.

Try to keep up with what’s going on in the news this week!

British Literature

We talked about the passages they read in their text today — Morte d’Arthur and The Once and Future King. Both of these tell of the death of King Arthur, but they were written five hundred years apart, so they are very different. Then we talked about the passage that Chaucer wrote about the knight in his story. We also went over the background and summary of these tales based on the videos they watched in the email. We then completed anything they didn’t know in their text on page 36 about the life of Chaucer and his works.

For next week, complete the crossword you were given on the characters in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. I gave them all the answers to fill in their text on pages 32-35. Those will definitely help you with the crossword answers. Also, read or watch a summary of two of Chaucer’s tales at the links below. Then analyze the two tales, following the numbers on page 39. For the second tale, do the same thing on a separate sheet of your own paper.

Summary of The Nun’s Priest’s Tale

Summary & Analysis of The Nun’s Priest’s Tale

Summary & Analysis of The Pardoner’s Tale

Previous Assignments for School Year 2023 – 2024:

October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 10/09/2023

Assignments due for the week of October 9th, 2023

Country path in fall

Quick Looks at Great Books

We began discussing Chapters 1-9 of Book 2 in A Tale of Two Cities. Make sure your students have questions ready if there is any issue they don’t understand. I try to give them extra information that they may not find out until later in the book. Next week, we will continue watching the DVD of these chapters so they can visualize how the characters may have looked. The Marquis St. Evremonde is usually a disgusting surprise! We will have our quiz on this section at the first of the period next week, as soon as we discuss the fate of the Marquis!

For next week, read Chapters 10-19 of Book 2 and answer the study guide questions 32-52. John Barsad and Roger Cly reappear in a surprising way!

PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep

Students received their answer sheets from the PSAT Reading Test. They did amazingly well! We reviewed the “Principal Parts of the Verb” sheet, worked the first practice session for the PSAT Writing Test, and took a quiz to review verb usage. For next week, do the two remaining practice exercises on pages 31-35. We will go over them in class to see how they did and answer any questions. Then we will take the timed PSAT Writing Test (Grammar) so that we can get a scaled score for the entire verbal section.

American History

I passed back last week’s quiz, and we went over the answers and events. We then reviewed briefly for today’s test on Chapters 1-3. Then we took the test and went through Chapter 4 on our preparation for independence. We discussed the impact of The Great Awakening in America and how it prepared us for religious and political freedom. We went over the French and Indian War and how that affected the Americans. For next class, read Chapter 5 as we finally have our conflict with Great Britain and march on toward our war for independence. We will go through the chapter and play some games to review our early history as well as our states and capitals.

Watch the following video which further explains The French and Indian War.

U.S. Government

We took our first quiz today on Lessons 1 and 2. We also reviewed everything that will be on Quiz #2 next week, covering Lessons 3 and 4. In addition to the same short answer questions as today, we added the following: How many U.S. Senators are there? How many U.S. Representatives are there? and How many Supreme Court Justices are there? They do NOT need to know about ALL the amendments to the Constitution–just the ones I gave them in class.

For next week’s class, do Lessons 6 and 7–Senate and House of Representatives. Here are the Crossword answers for pages 21 and 25.

Lesson 6–Senate

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1. Special 2. Cloture
3. Two 4. Hundred
6. Immunity 5. Upper
9. President Pro Tempore 7. Override
10. Vice President 8. Policy
12. Caucus 11. Standing
14. Filibuster 13. Six

Lesson 7–House of Representatives

Across Down

1. California 2. Impeach
5. Conference 3. Table
8. Lower 4. Rules
10. Caucus 6. Census
12. Speaker 7. Population
13. Joint 9. Majority
14. Two 11. Twenty

Watch the following video on the Senate and House of Representatives.

British Literature

We took our quiz on the Anglo-Saxon Age in class today and watched a video of a parody of Camelot and the Knights. That should help the students understand the parody they read on knighthood.

The students did a great job giving us pertinent information on various people and events in the Middle Ages. All of the reports had to do with excerpts we will be reading in our text.

For next week, read Morte d’Arthur on pages 25-27. (Handout 19 is on pages 28 and 29.) Read the excerpt from The Once and Future King by T.H. White on pages 28 and 29 and answer the questions on page 29, comparing the stories of the two accounts of the death of Arthur. Also, complete page 31 on the life of Chaucer.

Watch the following two videos which deal with a summary of The Canterbury Tales.

The Canterbury Tales

The Prologue

Previous Assignments for School Year 2023 – 2024:

October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 10/02/2023

Assignments due for the week of October 2nd, 2023

Country path in fall

Quick Looks at Great Books

We actually began discussing our book today and went over all of the questions for the first six chapters in their study guides. We also went over some of our literary terms that Dickens is already using in his writing. We saw his unique use of words in his description of his characters. Before we took our quiz, we watched the BBC version of A Tale of Two Cities. I love this DVD because it has so much dialogue directly from the book.

For next week begin Book Two-The Golden Thread Chapters 1-9 and answer the study guide questions 15-31. We will watch more of the book video in order to visualize the characters. Come with any questions that you do not understand because we will discuss all of your reading before the quiz on this section.

PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep

We took our timed PSAT Reading Test today in class. After this, we will begin our grammar review. I will pass their answer sheets back to them next week as well as giving them the correct answers for the Reading test. They can keep all the tests in their notebooks to review at any given time.

For next week, study page 38 in your text on the Principal Parts of Verbs. We will have a quiz next week on recognizing errors in the wrong usage of verbs. This is applicable for the PSAT, SAT, ACT and all other tests on grammar. Note particularly the following irregular problem verbs on the sheet: burst, lay, lie, set, sit, swing, and wring. We will review all of these before the quiz as we go over other grammar rules in your text. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

American History

We took a short quiz today on Chapters 1 and 2 and then went over Chapter 3, giving students names and terms to know from that chapter. We will have a test next week on the first three chapters of our text. It will all be objective—multiple choice, matching, and True/False. I gave you everything to study today. Also, read Chapter 4 on Preparation for Independence. Watch the following brief information about The Great Awakening in history.

U.S. Government

If your son or daughter forgot to ask you a question about a founding father last week, make sure they do that!

We went over Lessons 3 and 4 on the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other amendments. The students were given extra sheets explaining each of the first ten amendments (Bill of Rights) and another sheet on amendments 11-27. They were also given which amendments they need to know in detail. (not ALL of them!)

Next week, we will have a quiz on Lessons 1 and 2. They know exactly what to study for that. Also, do Lesson 5 in your notebook. You were given the answers to the Crosswords on page 17 in class. Complete pages 18-20 and watch the following video on the Bill of Rights.

British Literature

We had a brief review of Beowulf before we took our quiz on the epic. Then I gave the class notes about what to study for next week’s quiz on the Anglo-Saxon Age. There is a matching section on it for Beowulf as well, and I expect that they will do really well.

We began the Middle Ages today with a new hero from literature–the knight. This character was a little different than the rough and tumble Anglo-Saxon epic hero! We talked about their code of chivalry and what was happening as we enter that study. Each student was assigned a report to acquaint everyone with this time period in history and literature. They can sit right at their seats and tell everyone what they found for this period. That way everyone benefits from your research. You do not need to hand in a written report, but instead you will be telling the class what you found about your subject. Email or contact me if you have any questions or forget what you were assigned. In addition to your oral report and our quiz on the Anglo-Saxon Age, read pages 20-22 in your text (A Parody of Knighthood) and try to identify what behavior of knights the author is ridiculing. (That’s what a parody does.) We will work on several pages in your text in class and be ready to start covering Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. We will only be reading a summary of two of his tales which I will give you, but we will definitely discuss what the book was about.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2023 – 2024:

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 09/25/2023

Assignments due for the week of September 25th, 2023

Welcome Back

Quick Looks at Great Books

We had a great set of reports today on characters and events in the French Revolution. We then went through the background material in their study guides that the students read for today. We also had our first quiz on the things you learned and that we went over in class about the French Revolution

Now that you have the background for the setting of the novel, for next week, begin this great book by reading Book One: Recalled to Life (Chapters 1-6) Answer Questions 1-14 (pages 40 and 41) in your study guide. We will discuss the entire reading and go over all the questions (yours and the study guide’s) before we take our quiz. Students were also given a Literary Terms workbook to put in a binder, which we will work on throughout the year. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep

We practiced together today the sample Reading tests in their textbooks. We went over all of the answers and explained what answers the writers of the tests would like to get. Since we did not finish the last practice test, complete that sample test on “The Great Seal” and answer the ten questions that follow. (pages 19—22) We will go over these together to see how they did before we take the previously given Reading Test (60 minutes) in a timed setting. They should know exactly what to expect on each of the five reading passages. I will pass back their graded answer sheets next week. They may keep the test itself in their notebooks for future review.

American History

We talked through Chapters 1 and 2 in your text about the discovery of a New World for the explorers. Who knew how large the world really was and that there was another continent that no one knew about! We will have a short quiz on some of the major events in Chapters 1 and 2. Students were given a list of people and terms to study for our first test to come when we review Chapters 1-3. Read Chapter 3 in your text for next week. We will go over what you need to know about the early beginnings of our country.

Watch The Protestant Reformation Explained

U.S. Government

Our Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, so that is what we celebrate on Constitution Day. Parents, the students are supposed to ask you a question this week, so make sure they remember to do that! (If you have had a student in my government class in the past, you may remember.) Question: Who is one of the important founding fathers that you have never even heard of?

We went over a lot of government terms in Lessons 1 and 2. For next week, they should complete Lessons 3 and 4 on the Constitution. We talked a little bit about that today, but we will go into more detail in these next two lessons. As with last week, we ran out of time to give the answers to the Crossword in these lessons, so I am giving them now..

Lesson 3 — The Constitution

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1. Bill of Rights 2. Implied
7. Rhode Island 3. Federalists
8. Delaware 4. Supreme Court
10. Madison 5. Amendments
11. Expressed 6. Confederation
12. Concurrent 7. Ratified
9. Reserved
10. Morris

Lesson 4 — The Constitution (Bill of Rights & Amendments)

Across Down

1. Liquor 2. Income
4. Black 3. Women
5. Congress 4. Bails
9. Criminal 5. Civil
11. Religion 6. Eighteen
12. Soldiers 7. Trial
8. Warrants
10. Arms

Complete pages 10-12 and pages 14-16.

Watch the following video which tells more about our Constitutional Convention.

British Literature

We delved into a Middle Ages epic poem today and the first piece of literature ever passed down in English history–Beowulf!
We discussed a modernized summary of the story, watched a Powerpoint, and went through a number of devices the unknown author used as we went through pages in our text together. Next week, we will have a quiz on the epic story of Beowulf and two weeks from today, we will have a test on the Anglo-Saxon era of British history. (Next week, we will go over everything that will be on the test.) Also, in the text, students should this week read pages 16-18 and answer the questions about each poem. (Cynddylan’s Hall and the poem about Life in a Great Lord’s Hall) Students were also given a list of literary terms that they should keep in their notebooks as we use them throughout the year. We focused on alliteration today.

Watch the following summary videos to review for the quiz on Beowulf.

Theme

Motif

Wrap-up

Previous Assignments for School Year 2023 – 2024:

Assignments for 09/18/2023

September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 09/18/2023

Assignments due for the week of September 18th, 2023

Welcome Back

Quick Looks at Great Books

We had a great beginning to our study of the French Revolution, the setting for the first novel we will be reading. For next week, read pages 1-33 in your purple study guide and prepare the oral report you were assigned. If you have any questions about what your topic was or about the presentation, just email me. After we have gone over the pages you read, given our reports, and answered any questions, we will have our first quiz on the details of the French Revolution. It will be great preparation for the events you will read about in this historical novel.

Watch the following brief summary of the French Revolution.

PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep

We at least learned today what PSAT stands for as well as the SAT test. Each student should be able to answer that question! We will start taking our timed tests, beginning with the Reading Test two weeks from today. There is no homework for next week. Just be sure to bring back the workbook (syllabus) you were given in class today. We will practice for the Reading Test together next week.

American History

Each class member had a chance to play at least two history games, reviewing basic facts in history, states and capitals, or Presidential trivia. They also completed an American History survey to see what they knew and to tell me what they would like to know more about. We will continue our study by reading Lessons 1 and 2 in your new textbook. Begin a spiral notebook or a section in your three-ring binder for notes from your reading in Lessons 1 and 2. Keep your notes here to study for quizzes and tests. This will help you to understand important facts and people. We will discuss both these chapters in class next week. As we finish each chapter, I will give you the “numbers” you need to know in each review section.
Watch this brief video about the original 13 colonies.

U.S. Government

It was great getting to know each student and seeing just how much they knew about how our government works! We will play the same game we played today at the end of the semester. They will be amazed at how much they know then! For our next class, complete Lessons 1 and 2 in the workbook you were given in class today. I will always give you the Crossword answers on the first page of each lesson. We didn’t have time to do this in class today, so the answers are below. Just write them into your text and finish the lesson from there. The six terms listed on the second page of each lesson can be found in your Glossary on pages 97-99. On the “Evaluate” section, read the questions and be prepared to discuss them in class. You will need to complete pages 2-4 and pages 5-8.

LESSON 1 GOVERNMENT TERMS

ACROSS DOWN

1. Communism 2. Monarchy
5. Aristocracy 3. Fascism
6. Socialism 4. Common
7. Capitalism 8. Autocracy
9. Democracy 10. Cabinet
12. Civil 11. Right Wing
14. Amendment 13. Law

LESSON 2 GOVERNMENT TERMS

ACROSS DOWN

1. Anarchism 2. Civil
3. Abdication 3. Bureaucracy
6. Dictator 5. Habeas Corpus
9. Impeachment 7. Legislative
11. Conservatism 8. Liberalism
13. Executive 10. Due Process
14. Amnesty 12. Autonomy

Watch the following video about the upcoming holiday I bet you didn’t even know about! We will go over Lessons 1 and 2 in the workbook you were given as well as discussing the writing of the Constitution and its authors.

British Literature

We had a great first day of class and started by locating England on a map and answering a number of questions, just to familiarize the students with the United Kingdom. We talked about the differences in Old English, Middle English and Modern English. I loved the participation and enthusiasm of each student! We went over pages 1-3 in their new textbooks. For next Wednesday, read and do your best to answer the questions on The Battle of Malden on pages 4 and 5. Read the three translations of Beowulf on pages 10 and 11 and answer question 2 on page 11. We will thoroughly discuss Beowulf and work on our workbook pages together. Beowulf is the very first piece of literature in British history that was passed down orally for years. Watch the following video to listen to a summary of this epic story. We will go over anything that you do not understand next week. Enjoy!

Summary

60 Second Recap

Previous Assignments for School Year 2023 – 2024:

No previous assignments yet!

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 05/29/2023

Assignments due for the week of May 22nd, 2023

crocus flowers

To All Parents and Students

We had a great last day of class and had a game review and a final exam or speech in each class. It’s always fun for me to grade the tests and see how much they now know!! Many students would like to see their final exam and grade. I will grade the exams (and speeches), average their grades, and have for you a transcript sheet and final grade for your records. I will have all of these with me on Monday, June 5 at Counterpoint Church at the KAT registration for next year. We will be available from 10:00—3:00 that day. Please come see me and ask for your student’s work. I will have them all in alphabetical order by class. I think you’ll enjoy looking over the exams too. Please let me know if you have any questions at all. You can always email me.

The following short video is for my history students, but all of the students will enjoy it. We have studied all of the U.S. Presidents in depth in our history class, so they will recognize their faces in this funny song! Enjoy.

46 Presidents singing the Macarena

46 Presidents with info on each

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 05/22/2023

Assignments due for the week of May 22nd, 2023

crocus flowers

Quick Looks at Great Books

We went over questions on The Old Man and the Sea and played a review game before taking our final test. Next week, we will play a review game over the entire year and then take our final exam. Review all that I went over that the exam would cover. Our game next week will be a thorough review.

Review this brief video on some of our literary terms.

Use your past study guides to review plots and names of characters. This exam will be a testimony to what you have learned this year!

Practical Public Speaking

We learned a lot today about a variety of musical instruments, miniature furniture, salsa, and garden vegetable cream cheese. We need to finish all of our demonstration speeches next week. (Also, Mark will be doing a manuscript speech with those.) This will be your final speech, so do your best to remember all that we have gone over and truly connect to your audience! Remember to give me the outline of your speech or email it to me. Also, if you would like extra credit, video and email me a persuasive speech lasting 4-6 minutes. You can convince or persuade about anything you wish. It does not have to be a serious or political issue.

American History

We finished our last two reports on Obama and Biden. Both students did an excellent job with lots of information. We reviewed Presidents 25-46 using flash cards and then took our test. You also had a page to list these Presidents in the order they served. Then we took our test on the states in the Union. (Identifying their location)

Here is a list of all the chapters in our history text, along with the numbers from the Chapter Review that you will need to know for the final exam. It will all be objective, and we will focus on only the most important points from each lesson.

Chapter 1 Review — People 2, 6, 7 | Terms 9 | Places 2, 5, 6
Chapter 2 Review — People 5 | Terms 13 | Places 6 | Identify 4
Chapter 3 Review — People 3, 5, 8| Terms 6, 11, 15
Chapter 4 Review — People 2 | Terms 3, 4
Chapter 5 Review — People 1, 2, 14 | Terms 9, 12 | Places 2
Chapter 6 Review — People 1, 6, 11, 19 | Terms 3, 4, 11
Chapter 7 Review — Terms 2, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19
Chapter 8 Review — People 1, 8 | Terms 1, 14
Chapter 9 Review — People 10, 13 | Terms 7
Chapter 10 Review — Terms 4
Chapter 11 Review — Terms 7, 13
Chapter 12 Review — People 20 | Places 2
Chapter 13 Review — People 1
Chapter 14 Review — People 6 | Terms 1
Chapter 15 Review — People 2, 8, 20 | Terms 3, 11
Chapter 16 Review — People 2, 3, 8, 12 | Terms 6, 7
Chapter 17 Review — Terms 1, 16, 20
Chapter 18 Review — People 3, 4, 5, 24, 30 | Terms 10, 11, 20
Chapter 19 Review — People 24, 27 | Terms 1, 3, 17
Chapter 20 Review — Terms 6 | Places 8
Chapter 21 Review — People 1, 2, 4 | Terms 2, 14, 20 |Identify 4
Chapter 22 Review — People 1, 2 | Terms 3, 8, 12
Chapter 23 Review — People 10 | Terms 1
Chapter 24 Review — People 13 | Terms 10, 15
Chapter 25 Review — Terms 28, 30, 33, 34
Chapter 26 Review — People 10, 12 | Terms 7, 13
Chapter 27 Review — People 4, 6, 16 | Terms 2, 10, 31, 40
Chapter 28 Review — People 1, 5, 6, 10 | Terms 14, 25, 32 | Identify 1, 3
Chapter 29 Review — People 1, 5, 10, 18, 20, 30 | Terms 3, 14, 22 | Places 1, 4, 7
Chapter 30 Review — People 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, 19, 30 | Terms 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 16, 52

Dates to know

Signing of Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
Civil War 1861-1865
World War I 1914-1918
Black Tuesday October 29,1929
World War II 1939-1945
Deadliest Attack on American soil September 11, 2001

No-Spin Economics

We reviewed Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Chapters 1-13 with a game and then took the test. We will do a game review again next week for our final exam which will cover Penny Candy Chapters 1-13 and Crash Course Economics videos 1-7 and 9-12. You have notes and worksheets to review for all of these.

Adventures in American Literature

Great review on the rest of The Giver! Based on our second quiz and the game, I’m expecting everyone to do well on the test we had today. Next we will do a game review and then take our final exam. Study the Final Exam Review sheet I gave you, along with the page of literary terms you were given earlier in the year.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 05/15/2023

Assignments due for the week of May 15th, 2023

crocus flowers

Quick Looks at Great Books

We went over the final questions in your study guide for The Old Man and the Sea and took Quiz #2. Next week, we will go over the Chronolog on page 13, do a game review, and take our final test. We also went over all that will be covered on the final exam on May 22. Start studying for that as soon as you can.

Practical Public Speaking

Great, fun Demonstration speeches today!! Plan to bring a lunch with you next week, and we will continue through the first half of the lunch period so that we can finish all of our Demonstration speeches. I am still missing a topic for your demonstration from the following students: David, Mark, Will, Darrin, and Samuel.

American History

Great job on your reports on the lives of the Presidents! We will conclude with Mallory (Barack Obama) and Benny (Joe Biden) next week. We will have a test on the second half of the Presidents (McKinley through Biden) and the U.S. state locations on a map next week. (Study for the map test on pages 540 and 541 in your text.) Also, you can study the list of Presidents in order on page 538 in your text. The test on the second half of the Presidents will be just like the first one, I went over everything you needed to know for the test. Here are the Presidents we did not get to go over in class after the reports

—Richard Nixon Pushed the 26th Amendment giving 18 year olds the right to vote; President when American landed on the moon; 1st and only President ever to resign;
(Watergate Scandal)

—Gerald Ford Only President from the state of Michigan;
Only President never to be elected to President or VP; (appointed by Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew and then later replaced Nixon when he resigned) Pardoned Nixon when he took office to heal the country and move forward;

—Jimmy Carter Famous for Camp David Accords (Peace treaty between Israel and Egypt) Period of high prices for gas and oil: Lowered speed limit to 55 mph; Could not negotiate release of American hostages in Iran: More popular for what he did AFTER he left office:

—Ronald Reagan Believed in small government and big defense; Made America look strong to the world; Known as “The Great Communicator”; Former actor; Called Russia the “evil empire”; Gave weapons to Iran to free U,S, hostages in Lebanon; Profits sent to Contras who were opponents of Communist regime in Nicaragua; (Iran Contra Affair)

—George H.W. Bush Parachuted out of a plane shot down in World War II and survived; Jumped out of plane to celebrate his 80th, 85th and 90th birthdays; Gulf War (Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait) Unpopular because he broke a promise—“Read my lips—no new taxes!”

—Bill Clinton Saxophonist; Impeached for lying about personal life; 1st Democrat elected to a second term since FDR; Lost Health Care Bill; Very popular and good economic times;

—George W. Bush Only father/son elected to President since John Quincy Adams and his father John Adams; President during 9-11-2001 Attack on Twin Towers and other targets; Declared War on Terror; Sent U.S. troops to Afghanistan to dismantle the terrorist organization al-Qaeda and to Iraq to overthrow the dictator Saddam Hussein;

—Barack Obama First African American President; Tried to reduce global impact of 2008 Financial Crisis; Passed the ACA (Obamacare) to provide federally-funded health care for all; Tried to have better relations with Cuba;

—Donald Trump Close election over Hillary Clinton; Never drank alcohol or smoked; Named 3 Justices to the Supreme Court; Enacted tax cuts; Non-politician who tried to curb immigration; Impeached 2 times; Term characterized by Covid-19 pandemic;

—Joe Biden Former Senator and Vice President; Oldest person ever elected as President (78) Backed Black Lives Matter and Green New Deal; Opened Southern Border;
Promised to unite country but unpopular after two years;
Had 1st female Vice President;

Here are the final videos of the rest of our Presidents.

Bill Clinton

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

There are no 60 second Presidential videos for Trump or Biden yet.

No-Spin Economics

Next week, we will have a test over the first 13 Chapters in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Study the summaries you were given of each of these chapters and any past quizzes or tests on these chapters.

Today, we applied the things we have learned about the Government’s handling of deficits, debt, and default to our personal lives and explained the idea of personal credit scores.

Adventures in American Literature

We discussed some of the second half of The Giver and took the second quiz. Next week we will go over the rest of the study guide questions, play a review game, and take the final test on this book. The students were also given a sheet to study for the final exam. Everything you need to know for the exam is on the study guide!

Watch the analysis of the main characters in The Giver.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

May 9, 2023May 9, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 05/08/2023

Assignments due for the week of May 8th, 2023

crocus flowers

Quick Looks at Great Books

We took the first quiz on The Old Man and the Sea and went over the first half of the study guide questions! I showed some pictures to illustrate the action thus far. We will take the second quiz and finish the study guide questions next week. Complete the Chronolog (page 13) to review the book for our final test. It’s amazing to note all the religious imagery in this book! Watch the following brief video on the life of Hemingway.

Practical Public Speaking

More Informative speeches today to entertain and inform us! We will finish any Informative speeches left and begin our Demonstration speeches next week. They look very interesting! Be sure to email me with your subject for the Demonstration speech and don’t forget to bring an outline to hand in to me.

American History

Great job on the reports on our Presidents! We will conclude with our last reports next week.

John Kennedy—Niklas
Richard Nixon—Renee
Gerald Ford—Jordan
Jimmy Carter—Paige
Ronald Reagan—Eliana
George H.W. Bush—Sydney
Bill Clinton—Chloe
George W. Bush—Samuel
Barack Obama—Mallory
Donald Trump—Paige
Joe Biden—Benny

I will also give you everything you need to know for our test on the U.S. Presidents McKinley through Biden. The test will be in two weeks on May 15. Study pages 540 and 541 in your text and be able to identify our 50 states on a map. Lastly for next week, read Chapters 29 and 30 in your text—The Eve of the New Millennium and America in the New Millennium.

Here are some new one-minute videos on Presidents we are studying.

Nixon

Ford

Carter

Reagan

H.W. Bush

No-Spin Economics

Today we reviewed Chapter 13 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? We covered Maybury’s six summary points and then went through the handout on Chapter 13. We then went over in detail the worksheet for Crash Course Video #12 on the 2008 Financial Crisis. I also gave you the “numbers” on that sheet that you would need to know for our final exam. We completed in class an additional worksheet for Crash Course #12 to reinforce the points. Next week, we will take a quiz on Crash Course Video #12 and the Penny Candy review chapter 13. We will also begin to review for the test on May 15 on the entire Penny Candy book. (Chapters 1-13)

Adventures in American Literature

We took our first quiz on The Giver today and discussed all the study guide questions through Chapter 11. Complete the book for next week. We will take our second quiz and finish covering our study guide for the last half of the book. Lowry leaves us with an ambiguous ending, and I’m excited to see how your processed it!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 05/01/2023

Assignments due for the week of May 1st, 2023

crocus flowers

Quick Looks at Great Books

We had an exciting Jeopardy review today! Because the score was so close, and we ran out of time, we will get a final winner next week with the Final Jeopardy clue. We did take the test on the book and are ready to start our final book, which thankfully is the shortest of all! It doesn’t even have any chapters, so we will read the whole book for next week. Students were given a study guide for this book in class today. Read the book and look over the questions in the study guide to make sure you didn’t miss anything! Bring any questions to class, and I will answer them before our quizzes.

As a last resort, you can always listen to the book for free at the following link.

Practical Public Speaking

Great and interesting Informative Speeches today in class! What a variety of interests you all have!! If you have not yet given your speech, be prepared to do so next week. Also, each student should turn in your subject for the next speech (Demonstration) in our next class. You can prepare and give me your outline when you give that speech.

American History

We finished our quizzes today on our States and Capitals and also a brief one on World War II from Chapter 25. We went over the rest of Chapter 25 with anything else you needed to know about World War II. Then we started Chapter 26 and the Cold War and the “Red Scare” in our history. For next week, read Chapters 27 and 28 which further covers our study of the Cold War.

We will hear the following reports on our next set of Presidents in our next class.

Warren Harding — Colin
Calvin Coolidge — Scott
Herbert Hoover — Connor M.
Franklin Roosevelt — Connor S.
Harry Truman — Devon
Dwight Eisenhower — Toby
John Kennedy — Niklas
Lyndon Johnson — Jacob

We will also hear about Teddy Roosevelt from Chloe since she has been absent.

We will finish the lives of the Presidents on May 8 and have the test on May 15. I will review everything you need to know on May 8.

Since we have several chapters in our text on the Cold War, watch this brief video which explains it in its entirety.

No-Spin Economics

Before today’s quiz, we reviewed Crash Course Economic video #10 and the sheet you were given on The Federal Reserve. Then we covered the worksheet from Crash Course Economics #11 on Money and Finance (and Bartering!) We then took our quiz on Crash Courses #10 and #11 as well as the sheet you were given on the Federal Reserve. For next week, watch Crash Course Economics #12 on the famous 2008 Financial Crisis. (Our last for the year!) Complete the worksheet and also read Chapter 13 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? This chapter is just a summary and review of what the book has covered. Video #12 is at the following link.

Adventures in American Literature

We covered the definition of satire before discussing the excerpt from Sinclair Lewis’s Babbitt (1920’s) and Erma Bombast’s “Convenient Hearing” (1980’s). We compared the two and discussed their satire. We then went over Ernest Hemingway’s short story “In Another Country”. We tried to understand what Hemingway wanted us to get and what the Hemingway “code hero” really is. We went over a few sonnets by poet Edna St.Vincent Millay and mentioned the play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder.

You were given a study guide for our last book of the year — The Giver. For next week, read the first eleven chapters and go over the study guide questions (1-28) to make sure you understood what was happening. This is a great dystopian novel to discuss together.