Author: litalive

litalive

Assignments for 02/27/2023

Assignments due for the week of February 27th, 2023

Valentine Day hearts

Quick Looks at Great Books

Today, we went over past study guide questions that we had not yet covered. We also finished the diagram page that outlined the Spada treasure and how Abbe Faria found the map. We then took Quiz #4 while some made up past quizzes. Next, we will be at Quiz #5. This week’s reading is much shorter than ones in the past, so everyone needs to be caught up with the reading and all at the same place, whether you are reading the abridged or unabridged version by next week. Here are the chapters for this week.

Chapters 54-63 (Abridged version)

Chapters 82-103 (Unabridged version)

Also, complete your study guide questions 79-93. Be ready for some “gasps” and revelations! Did you anticipate what has happened so far?!

Practical Public Speaking

We finished our unit on Listening in your notebooks and again went over the strategies often used in commercials and other advertisements. You were given a worksheet on those strategies. Bring the completed sheet back to class next week so that we can go over it and check your answers. We then covered the four basic types of speeches: Memorization, Manuscript, Impromptu, and Extemporaneous. Next week, you will prepare and present a Memorization speech. You may choose from either a toast (for a wedding, banquet, or anniversary) to honor a friend sibling, etc. or prepare a presentation speech. (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 or anniversary) Then list some personal examples of good qualities of the honoree and how that will serve him/her well 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 feature 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) List the recipient’s achievements. Present the award, prize, or gift and congratulate the recipient.

American History

We had a great game review today of the states and capitals and some past key events and important people in our study of American history. The students did a fabulous job!! The competition was extremely close! We then took the test, and I think everyone did well. Next week, we will have another game to review for our test on Chapters 18, 19, and 20. We will also continue to go over Chapter 20 and those things you will need to know. We will do that before the review, Then we will do the game, which should cover everything you need to review before the test. We will then take the test the following week. Study any thing you did not know for the upcoming test. Review these three chapters this week so that you can see what you need to study most. We will also have a new chapter due for that next week. If you have a report on one of the Presidents, please be prepared to present it to the class two weeks from today. (March 6)

No-Spin Economics

We thoroughly covered the principles you read in Chapters 3 and 4 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?. We also discovered why there is no longer any penny candy. We have answered the question in the title of the book already! We also went over Supply and Demand as taught in Crash Course Economics video #4. Lastly, we took a quiz on Penny Candy Chapters 3 and 4. Next week, we will have a short quiz on Crash Course #4. (Look over your worksheet.) Also for next week, read Chapters 5 and 6 in Penny Candy (no sheets to fill out) and watch Crash Course Economics video #5 (Macroeconomics). Fill out the corresponding worksheet.

In this video, you will learn the meaning of GDP and when the study of Economics finally began.

Adventures in American Literature

We discussed Twain’s opening statements and also why he might have chosen Huck to narrate this story to us. This may be called a children’s book, but the themes in it are really for adults to ponder and decipher! We watched (and will continue) the movie to illustrate the characters and settings for you. For next week, read Chapters 11-18 in the novel and answer the study guide questions 27-47.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 02/20/2023

Assignments due for the week of February 20th, 2023

Valentine Day hearts

Quick Looks at Great Books

We discussed most of your reading for today and also did two of the diagram pages at the end of your study guides. For next week, read the following chapters in your book:

  • Chapters 42-53 (Abridged)
  • Chapters 53-81 (Unabridged)

Answer the study guide questions 78-82 to make sure you covered all the details that happened. The plot thickens, and many new decisions are made!

Practical Public Speaking

We continued with our interviews of the students today. We will finish the last one next week and cover the next sections in your notebook. The following week, we will begin our first short speech. I will go over all the details next week and tell you exactly what to do and what type of speech it will be.

American History

The grades on the last test were much better, even though the test covered 8 chapters!! There were lots of important facts to learn as well as all the details that led up to the Civil War. Over half the class made A’s and B’s! For next week, read Chapter 20—“America’s Expanding Influence”. We will also have our test on the states and capitals. We will do a game review before we take the test. You can review all of the states by going to page 539 in the back of your text for a complete list.

Watch the following videos on the next Presidents in our current chapters.

Grover Cleveland

Benjamin Harrison

No-Spin Economics

We went over your notes today on Chapters 1 and 2 in Penny Candy and the worksheet on Crash Course Economics #3. For next week, read Chapters 3 and 4 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and watch Crash Course Economics video #4. There will be a lot of overlap between the two, especially in the area of Supply and Demand. Hopefully, they will reinforce each other! Fill out the sheets you were given for each of the two chapters in Penny Candy and also the worksheet on Crash Course video #4. We will go over all that you read and watched, and then will have a quiz on Chapters 3 and 4 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

Watch Crash Course Economics #4.

Adventures in American Literature

We went over all the satirical writings of Mark Twain that you read for today—“The Story of the Bad Little Boy”, the excerpt from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, “A Burlesque Biography”, and the “Diaries of Adam and Eve.” We also watched a brief biographical sketch of Mark Twain and the writing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For next week, read Chapters 1-10 in Huckleberry Finn and answer questions 1-26 in your new study guide. We will have a quiz after answering any questions you may have. Note Twain’s great example of the use of “local color.”

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 02/13/2023

Assignments due for the week of February 13th, 2023

Valentine Day hearts

Quick Looks at Great Books

We took questions on today’s reading and then caught up on the study guide questions and the details of what they have read so far. This is such a detailed and exciting story that I know you’ll be sad when it’s over!! There are lots of new characters and a lot of ones returning in this week’s reading.

Here is the assignment for next week:

  • Chapters 28-41 (Abridged version)
  • Chapters 36-62 (Unabridged version)

Answer study guide questions 52-77 to make sure you understand what you read. Come to class with any questions you may have. Next week, we will fill out together some of the the diagram pages in your study guides.

Watch the following video about how the Carnival is celebrated today in Europe.

Practical Public Speaking

Today we enjoyed getting to know members of the class via the “Interview” method. The students started off with great examples of being at ease and connecting with the audience! Next week, we will finish three more and then reverse the interviewer and interviewee and do them all again so that we have learned about everyone in our class! It’s a lot of fun. Have your questions ready at the end of each interview.

For next week, using page 12 in your notebooks, practice your listening skills by finding three advertisements that illustrate at least two different (or three) strategies listed on page 12. It always works out this week to use the unique commercials from this week’s Super Bowl. Of course, you don’t have to watch those. You can choose from radio ads, billboards, other TV commercials, or find some on the Internet. You may even find this year’s Super Bowl commercials early online. Plan to turn in a sheet of paper with you name on it and list three commercials or ads that you found. Tell the product being advertised, a 2-4 sentence summary of the ad, and list the listening strategy being used from the ones on page 12. Have fun!

American History

We took our test today on Chapters 10-17. I look forward to some great grades on this test, based on how well they did on last week’s review. We then continued with our reports on the Presidents during out study of history. We have one left, which we will finish next week. Two weeks from today, we will do three more that will go along with the Industrial and Gilded Ages—Rutherford B, Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester Arthur. For next week, read Chapter 19 in your text. We will go over Chapters 18 and 19 next week and cover the people and terms you need to know from these important eras in our history—the Industrial Age and the Gilded Age.

Watch these brief videos as an introduction to what you read in Chapter 19 about these Presidents.

Rutherford B. Hayes

James Garfield

Chester Arthur

No-Spin Economics

We covered the Crash Course video on Specialization and Trade. Then, to make sure everyone understood the benefits of free trade, we played a game to see how it worked. As trade opportunities increased, so did the scores they compiled on their ratings sheet!! “Self-sufficiency is inefficiency!” Free trade benefits everyone involved!

For next week, read Chapters 1 and 2 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury. Fill out the sheets you were given which can be used to study for future tests and quizzes. Also, watch Crash Course Economics video #3 at the following link. Complete the worksheet for it that you were given in class.

Adventures in American Literature

We went over the homework that was due today—the poems of Walt Whitman as well as his masterpiece—“When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”. We also went over the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe and read an excerpt from her influential novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This novel made a great impact on the Northern readers. Many terms in her book are still used today.

For next week, read Mark Twain’s satires on pages 114-125 in your notebooks. Answer the questions after each of the entries. We will learn more about Mark Twain and his works and receive the study guide for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as we begin the book with chapters due the next week.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 02/06/2023

Assignments due for the week of February 6th, 2023

Valentine Day hearts

Quick Looks at Great Books

We talked about the life of Alexandre Dumas today and how his life influenced his writing. We went over the history of France during this time and how that affected the events of the story. (particularly the time frame of 1815) We took our quiz on today’s reading and went over the study guide questions. Those reading the unabridged version will help us fill in details of some of the characters. (They also get extra credit!) They’re all great readers, and I’m looking forward to going through this book with them. For next week, read the following chapters:

  • Chapters 13-27 (Abridged version)
  • Chapters 16-35 (Unabridged version)

Answer study guide questions 19-51. The suspense and excitement is building!! Note the change of setting in this section.

Watch this brief video of a current view of the Chateau d’If.

Practical Public Speaking

We discussed today two of the types of communication—intrapersonal and interpersonal. We completed all the pages in the workbook about these two areas. Then we began to prepare for our first set of public interviews. Each student will be either the one asking the questions or the one answering the questions.

We will reverse these roles once we are finished with the first biographical interviews. As questioner, asks the questions listed on page 11 in your notebooks. Add five other questions (or follow-up questions to those already asked). We will complete these next week after a few minutes for the paired groups. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

American History

We reviewed Chapters 10-17 with a game today, and the students did a fantastic job. I’m expecting their best grades ever, even on this comprehensive test. We reviewed EVERYTHING today that will be on the test. Continue to study these chapters for our test next week and read Chapter 18 (next chapter) in your text.

Review the life of President Abraham Lincoln.

Review the life of President Andrew Johnson here.

Review the life of U.S. Grant at this site

No-Spin Economics

We went over the homework sheet for the summary of Bastiat’s The Law. It’s amazing how a book written in 1850 could be so applicable today! We see his ideas being used and misused today! We also covered the Crash Course Economics #1 and made sure the students knew the answers to the questions so that they could study these sheets to study for a test later. We also worked in teams to answer the Discussion Prompts together. For next week, watch the Crash Course Economics #2 on Specialization and Trade. We’ll play a game to see just why “free trade” works. Also, bring your Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? book to class.

Crash Course Economics #2

Adventures in American Literature

We had great reports on two of Hawthorne’s famous stories—“Young Goodman Brown” and “Rappacini’s Daughter”. Audrey and Finley did a super job telling us these stories! We then covered all of the homework poems the students had read—William Cullen Bryant and all the Fireside Poets, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Emily Dickinson. For next week, read the poetry of Walt Whitman on pages 105-111. Then read the excerpt of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe on the handout you were given and answer the questions on the last page. This novel played such an important part in the history of the Civil War. Be sure to secure a copy (from the library if necessary) in two weeks of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I know you’ll love the adventures and the history portrayed!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 01/30/2023

Assignments due for the week of January 30th, 2023

Winter cottage

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished our Cyrano study guide today and played a review game to prepare for our final test. Based on how they did in the review, I think they did very well on the test!

For next week we will start our next book, The Count of Monte Cristo by the French author Alexandre Dumas. Complete the reading as follows for this week:

  • Chapters 1-12 (abridged version)
  • Chapters 1-15 (unabridged version)

Then answer questions 1-18 in your study guide.

Practical Public Speaking

We had a great time discussing all the forms of communication and the role verbal and nonverbal language plays in each of them. No homework this week! We will continue in our workbook next week in class and prepare for our one-on-one interviews. We will also discuss the layers of self-revelation that we tend to follow.

American History

We went over Chapter 17 — Reconstruction and will have a short quiz on this brief chapter. I gave the students the people, places, and terms they will need to know from this chapter. Also begin studying for our big test on Chapters 10-17 in your textbook. We will do a thorough review game next week, to prepare for the test, which we will take at the beginning of the next class period. (We will also have a reading assignment for that week.) To benefit the most from the review, please study the chapters for the test, particularly the ones that led up to the Civil War. (Chapters 10-15) That way you can see which areas you still need to study.

Watch this brief video of our 18th President and the amazing life of U.S. Grant.

No-Spin Economics

The students received their final exams back from Government class today. They all did a fantastic job!! The students should show their parents all they know!! We then watched several videos on Economics and what it involves. We also watched a video on “Why YOU Should Study Economics” by Mr. Clifford who is the cohost of the Crash Course Economics series we will be studying. The students will need a copy of the book Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury in the next two weeks.

For next week, watch the brief summary of the important points in Frederic Bastiat’s The Law. Even though it was written many years ago, it is still applicable in so many ways and remains the foundation for our economic systems today.

Then complete the study sheet you were given in class. Study this sheet, which we will go over in class, and we will have a short quiz on the information on it.

Also, we will begin our study of Economics by watching the first of 15 videos we will cover this semester—Introduction to Economics. These videos will be reinforced with the information in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?. We will start our reading there in about two weeks. You were also given a study guide sheet with questions to answer from the video. These sheets should go into your notebooks to study from when we have tests on these videos.

Adventures in American Literature

Today we covered the questions on page 85 on “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Then we went over the excerpt from “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” and went over page 88 and the characters in general. I told the students the rest of the story so that they knew what happened in the entire story. We also did the oral reports on some of Hawthorne’s short stories and identified his use of symbolism in each of them. We will finish the remaining two next week.

For next week, continue with the second semester text you were given today in class. Read “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant on pages 89 and 90. Then answer the questions on page 91. Start reading the Fireside poets on pages 91-96 and answer the questions on pages 96 and 97.

Watch this brief video for more information about the Fireside Poets.

Also read and answer the questions on the poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The Boys”. (pages 98 and 99) He was the class poet for the graduating class from Harvard in 1829.

Finally, read and answer the questions on Emily Dickinson’s poetry on pages 100-104. We will discuss all of these poems in class and analyze them as well. I will check your notebooks to see that you have read and attempted to answer the questions for these works.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 01/23/2023

Assignments due for the week of January 23rd, 2023

Winter cottage

Quick Looks at Great Books

We will have our final test on Cyrano de Bergerac next week. We will do a review game before the test and also finish the last three pages of your study guides. Make sure you obtain a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas by next week. You will receive your study guide and first assignment next Monday.

Since you have no new reading this week, complete the following pages in your Literary Terms notebook:

  • Onomatopoeia pages 31-33
  • Poetic License pages 83-85
  • Pun pages 86-88
  • Satire, Parody, and Farce pages 92 and 93

Watch the following final scene of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Practical Public Speaking

We will begin second semester next week, January 23, 2023. All you will need is a three-ring binder to hold the workbook I will give you. It will be a “fun” class, and I am looking forward to it! Lots of interaction and lots of practical experience!

American History

We went through the Civil War today and all the important points in Chapter 16. We will have a quiz next week on these main points you were given in Chapter 16. Also, read Chapter 17, our last chapter before our test on the events that led up to the Civil War, the war itself, and the Reconstruction period. This will be a good review of this chapter before the test.

Watch this video of President Andrew Johnson.

No-Spin Economics

Next week will be our first week of second semester. No homework of course! The only thing you will need is a three-ring binder to hold the pages I give you over the semester for Economics. This is such an important subject in the nation at this time. You will enjoy the study of our current currency as well as the principles of economics that we cover.

Adventures in American Literature

We went over Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau and their literary writings as well as the excerpt from Herman Melville’s Redburn.  Then we had six wonderful reports on Poe’s short stories by six of our students.  I loved the animated narration and dramatic emphasis with which each story was presented!

For next week, read “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  This next week, we will become familiar with many of Hawthorne’s short stories. He is as well-known for these as he his The Scarlet Letter.

Read “The Minister’s Black Veil” and answer the questions about it on page 85 in your notebooks.

Then read the excerpt from “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” on pages 86 and 87 in your notebooks and answer the questions on page 88.

Reports on the following stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne are due next week:

  1. “Young Goodman Brown” — Audrey
  2. “The Birthmark” — Norah
  3. “My Kinsman, Major Molineux  — Addison
  4. “The Ambitious Guest” — Ethan V.
  5. “Rappaccini’s Daughter — Finley
  6. “The Maypole of Merry Mount” — Joyann

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 01/16/2023

Assignments due for the week of January 16th, 2023

Winter cottage

Quick Looks at Great Books

We are now oriented to Cyrano and his situation. Complete the play by reading Acts IV and V. You were to do page 6 in the study guide, and all the rest of the guide, we will do together in class. Have your questions ready on these two acts before we take the quiz. Also, be sure to have your Literary Terms notebook in class.

Watch this close-up of the duel scene that we watched in class today. Cyrano is fighting Valvert after his insult to Cyrano’s nose.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

Today, we covered the things to remember for an actual test day.
We also read actual writing essays on an ACT test and noted how that particular essay would have been scored. For homework, compose a writing plan with things you could use in any essay or writing assignment you may have. Include the following items:

  1. 10 Vocal words you could use in any writing situation
  2. 2 Personal experiences which could apply to many situations
  3. 2 Historical or Literature-based incidents you could use to illustrate your points. You could have 2 historical ones, 2 literature-related ones, or one of each.

Email me if you have any questions at all.

American History

We reviewed the lives of the four Presidents in Chapters 14 and 15 and then went over the events in Chapter 15 that you will need to know for our test. Tensions were high, and in Chapter 16, the War between the States finally broke out. Read Chapter 16, and we will cover the events that you need to know for our next test.

Watch the following video on President James Buchanan.

Watch this video on the life of one of our greatest Presidents—Abraham Lincoln.

U.S. Government

Today, we finished the lessons you completed for your last assignment. We went through State Government, City Government, and the Post Office. Since we have not had a quiz on these lessons or the four branches of the U.S. Military, I gave you the few terms in each lesson that you would need to know for the final exam. Next week is the last day of the first semester. Study for the final exam by reviewing your past quizzes and particularly the two major tests we had. We will do a review game next week before we take the exam. We covered the branches of the military in class, but if you missed last week or this week, here are the Crossword answers to pages 81, 85, 89, and 93, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Make up any work you are missing and watch the following video of the popular songs of the U.S, Military branches.

Adventures in American Literature

Today, we had our quiz on the story the students read online—Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving. We also watched a summary of Irving’s other most famous work, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. We also looked at Sleepy Hollow today and the Halloween celebrations that characterize the town. (Tarrytown, New York)

We also discussed Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Black Cat”. We covered pages 70-72 in your notebooks by comparing the two Poe stories—“The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. We determined which narrator might more likely be truly insane. It was sad to see Poe’s tragic life illustrated in “The Black Cat”.

For next week, read Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay entitled “Self-Reliance” on page 75 and answer the questions on page 76. We will discuss the influence of Emerson and his dedicated student, Henry David Thoreau. Then read the excerpt from Melville’s Redburn and answer the questions that follow on pages 79-84.

The following students were assigned a Poe short story to read and give an oral report to the class as to what the story was about. The rest of the class will also read a story and report to us on stories by other famous American authors.

The following are the stories due next week.

  • “The Fall of the House of Usher”—Ana Agapidis
  • “The Masque of the Red Death—Hadley Broyles
  • “The Pit and the Pendulum”—Colin Huyck
  • “The Murders in the Rue Morgue—Elizabeth Newton
  • “The Purloined Letter”—John Weger
  • “The Gold Bug”—Caroline Bates

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 01/09/2023

Assignments due for the week of January 9th, 2023

Winter cottage

Quick Looks at Great Books

We will be starting our new book, Cyrano de Bergerac, a play by Edmond Rostand. The students received their study guides in class. For next week, read Acts I-III of the play. We will do the questions in the study guide together in class. Just do page 6 by drawing the people in the locations listed on page 5. This will help to picture how the play performance would have looked in Act I at the Hotel Bourgogne.

Then we spent time in our Literary Terms notebook, beginning to cover the terms which have been assigned and discussed this year in the books you have read.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

We reviewed the four subject areas on the ACT today with the use of specific ACT flash cards. Even if you learned a new fact that helps you get one or more questions right this spring, it will be worth it!! No regular homework this week. Each student was given a list of the work they still needed to make up. Many were missing the grammar quizzes. Study the Principal Parts of the Verb and the 12 Classic ACT Grammar Errors to review and prepare. Plan to have all your work made up in the next two weeks.

American History

We reviewed some of our past lessons and studied in groups some sample McGuffey readers that would have been used in all the schools in the 1800’s. Amazingly, the readers taught great Biblical stories, Shakespeare play plots, geography, history, grammar, pronunciation, cursive writing, and moral decision making.

For next week, read Chapter 15 in your history books. (Slavery and Secession.) Our quiz next week will be an objective one over the following four videos on the lives of these U.S. Presidents.

James K. Polk

Zachary Taylor

Millard Fillmore

Franklin Pierce

U.S. Government

Today, we played the same game we played on the first day of class. Amazingly, the students know so much more about our government!! This is also a good review for our upcoming final exam.

For next week, complete the following lessons in your notebooks:
State Government (pages 70-73), City Government (pages 74-76), and The Post Office (pages 78-80). Here are the answers to the Crosswords on pages 69, 73, and 77. State Government, City Government, and The Post Office.

In class today, we also covered the first branch of the U.S. military—the Army. Watch the following video to hear the rousing songs for each branch of the military.

Adventures in American Literature

We began our study of Edgar Allan Poe today by watching a dramatization of his famous story, “The Tell-Tale Heart”.  Then we reviewed and listened to some of his poetry and did pages 66-69.  For next week, read another Poe short story “The Black Cat”.  Then do pages 70-72, answering questions and comparing the two stories.  Read the short story “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Also, read the story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving and be prepared for a quiz.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 12/12/2022

Assignments due for the week of December 12th, 2022

Merry Christmas and Tree

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished reviewing the entire book (Silas Marner) before our final test today. We did two rounds of a Jeopardy review game to go over characters and events. The students did a great job in answering questions and remembering details! We finished with he final test on this book. For next week, continue working in your Literary Terms book with the following pages:

  • Genre (pages 66-68)
  • Mood and Tone (pages 74-76)
  • Moral and Theme (pages 77-78)
  • Plot (pages 81-82)
  • Rhetorical Question (pages 89-91).

I will check these pages to see that you have kept up with the assignments in this notebook when we get back from Christmas break. We will then work on going through what you have done.

Next week, we will celebrate a Victorian Christmas as Charles Dickens and George Eliot would. Many do not know how many of our current traditions really came from Queen Victoria and her family, along with the contributions of Charles Dickens. We will celebrate in some of the ways they traditionally would.

Watch this 60 second recap of one of Dickens’s most beloved stories.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

We prepared for the final section of the ACT test today—the Science Test. We went over the 3 types of passages the students would encounter and did practice sheets for each of them. They did an amazing job of reading the graphs, charts, and experiments!! They do not have to be proficient in the many fields of science. They just have to interpret the information given to them in each passage. Next week, we will review and take the final test so that they can see their overall score for the ACT.

American History

We took our quiz on the videos today and then discussed Chapters 11 and 12. Students were given which of the terms they need to know in the Chapter Review at the end of these two chapters. Next week, we will have a quiz on the key points in Chapters 10-12 as well as the following four videos.

Andrew Jackson

Martin VanBuren

William Henry Harrison

John Tyler

Only key facts from Lessons 10-12 will be on the quiz: Era of Good Feelings, Missouri Compromise, Trail of Tears, and Sojourner Truth for examples. Also, read Chapters 13 and 14, which we will go over in class. No big test until after the Civil War!

U.S. Government

Today we reviewed the lessons of Voting, The Electoral College, Political Parties (Democratic and Republican), President, and Vice President with a competitive game. Then we took the test on these pages in your notebooks. We then made sure that everyone had the correct answers to the Lessons on Immigration and Citizenship. For next week, complete Lessons 16 and 17 on The Law and Trial. These lessons follow the unit on the Supreme Court that we covered last week. The test will cover the following lessons: Supreme Court, The Law, Trial, Immigration, and Citizenship. It will be True/False, Short Answer, Matching, and Multiple choice. (The Short Answer will always be things we have covered the entire semester.) I have included the answers for Lesson 16 The Law and Lesson 17 Trial on pages 61 and 65. We will also do another game to review all of the material for the test. There will be two bonus questions that will come from the videos on Air Force One and The Beast you had in last week’s assignment. Let me know if you have any questions.

Adventures in American Literature

We played a Jeopardy game to review key characters and events in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and then took the final test. The students have done a great job with this difficult book and have good grades to prove it!

For next week, read Washington Irving’s “Early Life in Manhattan” on pages 56-61 and answer the questions on each page. Irving wrote this story under the pseudonym of Diedrich Knickerbocker. We will then cover many facts you may not know about Irving and how he helped develop our American Christmas celebrations.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

litalive

Assignments for 12/05/2022

Assignments due for the week of December 5th, 2022

Merry Christmas and Tree

Quick Looks at Great Books

We continued our discussion and finished Book I and then took the quiz on that section. We will finish with the discussion of Part II and then play a review Jeopardy Game team competition in our next class. If we have time, we will finish watching the final scenes from the BBC version of the book. It was great to see Eppie and Silas grow together today. Make sure you have completed the Chronolog review page you were given to review the characters and events in chronological order. We took questions and then took the final quiz on Part II. Next week, we will do the game review before we take the final test. Since you have no assigned reading this week, compete the following lessons in your Literary Terms notebook:

  • Alliteration (pages 22-24)
  • Characters and Characterization (pages 52-53)
  • Conflict (pages 54-56)
  • Flashback (pages 62-63)
  • Foreshadowing (pages 64-65)

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

We completed our ACT Math test today. Only one more test to complete all of the ACT as well as the PSAT (SAT)! Next week, we will review for the final test, Science. We will go over what the test will cover and practice each of the types of sections that will be on the test. We will also review some vocabulary words, which should help on the Reading section of any standardized test. We will then make sure of any make-up work that needs to be done by any of the students.

American History

We went over Chapter 10 in our textbooks today, which covered the Presidential terms of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. We also had a little information and trivia about the six first ladies. Then we took a few minutes to review once more the 50 states and capitals to prepare for the test at the end of this semester. Some of you have been studying these!! We had an unbelievable “roll” with three of the girls in our class!!

For next week, read Chapters 11 and 12, which covers the Presidency of Andrew Jackson, the Second Great Awakening, and those who responded to the call to reach out with missions to various groups who needed to hear the Gospel.

We will have a quiz on the information in the following videos. Much of this is covered in your text, but the quiz will come solely from the videos.

War of 1812

James Monroe

John Quincy Adams

U.S. Government

Today, we studied the last of the three branches of our government—the Judicial Branch. We had a slideshow on the Supreme Court and its current justices. We learned their functions, their salaries, and by which President they were appointed. Then we covered the pages you did in your notebooks on the Supreme Court. Hopefully, you now know their names and could recognize their faces. Remember that John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush is the current Chief Justice. He has extra duties as well as serving as head of the highest court in the land.

We also began talking about the special airplane (Air Force One) and the special limo (The Beast) provided for the U.S. President.

Next week, we will have our first test over several lessons we have finished: Voting, the Electoral College, Political Parties (Democrat and Republican), President and Vice-President. We will do a game review before we take the test. Also, watch the following two videos to learn more about Air Force One and the President’s special limo. There will be a quiz on the information given in these videos.

Air Force One

The Beast (Cadillac 1)

Adventures in American Literature

Great job in finishing The Scarlet Letter and in understanding Hawthorne’s attempt at 17th century dialogue!! We had a question time before we took the final quiz, and we had amazing questions about events and characters! We reviewed the Chronolog (p. 17 in your study guide), which reviews the entire book in chronological order. Next we will play a Jeopardy review game (with assigned teams) before we take the final test on the book. Study any characters or events you are unsure of or just review the questions in your study guide.

Also, for next week, read pages 53 and 54, an excerpt from James Fenimore Cooper’s The Deerslayer. Cooper was one of America’s first novelists, and he wrote about the American frontier hero. Before our Christmas break, we will study Washington Irving, who was the first American novelist to be recognized and praised by Europeans.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023: