2023

Assignments due for the week of March 27th, 2023

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished our Jeopardy game and then took our final test on The Count of Monte Cristo. Then we reviewed the historical information and terms in your To Kill a Mockingbird study guide. For next week, begin our new book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, by reading Chapters 1-14. Answer your study guide questions numbers 1-34. You will meet all the main characters in this first half of the book. You will have also started Part 2, which involves the trial scenes in the Maycomb Courthouse. Make sure you understand where Harper Lee got the title for her book. 🙂

Practical Public Speaking

We continued with our speeches today. Make sure you are completely caught up with all the short speeches we have done so far by next Monday, which will be our last day before spring break. For next week, on page 41 in your notebook, brainstorm a number of topics that you’re interested in. Circle your top three, and I will meet with you next week in class to decide what your topic should be. I want each of you to have decided on a topic before spring break.

American History

Today we reviewed Chapters 21-23 on The Progressive Era, World War I, and The Roaring Twenties. Next week, we will have our test on the first 24 Presidents. Study your notes that I gave you last week on what you need to know about each President. The test will be multiple choice and will cover just the notes I gave you. (Make sure you get the details from a classmate if you were absent last week.) Also, know the order in which the first 24 Presidents served. (See page 538 in your text for a list to study.) Also, read Chapter 24 on The Great Depression. We will have a test on these chapters about two weeks after we return form our break. You should study only the people and terms that I gave you in the Reviews following each chapter.

Watch these brief summaries of the next four Presidents covered in these chapters today. (21-23)

No-Spin Economics

Today, we took our test on Coins and Currency and then went over your worksheet on Crash Course Economics #6. Next week, we will take our test on Crash Course videos 1-6 after playing a team game to review and prepare. We also went over Chapters 7-9 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Keep your study sheets tor these chapters to review for an upcoming quiz. Also, for next week, watch Crash Course Economics video #7 and complete the worksheet you were given in class today.

Adventures in American Literature

Today we played a review game to go over all of the events and characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn before we took the final test. Next week, we will have a quiz on the following two short stories by Brett Harte and Mark Twain. (Twain’s story is listed again in case you want to review or reread it.)

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

After reading The Outcasts of Poker Flat, complete pages 128 and 129 in your American Literature text. You will identify the main characters and answer a few questions about the story. We will have a quiz over both of these stories, so have your questions ready if you did not understand any of the events.

Then we will have two more reports on short stories by these authors.

“The Luck of Roaring Camp” by Brett Harte—Chloe

“Luck” by Mark Twain—Mark B.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

March 20, 2023March 20, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 03/20/2023

Assignments due for the week of March 20th, 2023

Quick Looks at Great Books

We reviewed the entire book, The Count of Monte Cristo, by playing three competitive games. We will finish the last Jeopardy game and then take our final test at the beginning of our next class. For next week, read the historical section of your study guide for To Kill a Mockingbird (pages 18-26). We will discuss it together and prepare to start reading the book. Let me know if you need me to bring you a copy next week. Bring your copy of your literary terms to class as well.

Watch this brief summary of the novel to aid your review.

Practical Public Speaking

Prepare a 1-2 minute “Introduction” speech for next week. You will be introducing a speaker who will be coming to address our class. You may introduce a friend, family member, political figure, sports 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, but do not merely “read the introduction to us. We will plan to finish all our speeches thus far before we leave for spring break. (We will not meet the week of week of April 3. Make sure you are caught up so that we can begin our 3 big speeches after we return.

American History

We went over the first 24 Presidents to review for our test on the U.S. Presidents. I gave notes today on exactly what to study for our test. We will do a game review and have the test on our last day before spring break—March 27. For next week, read Chapter 23 on The Roaring Twenties. On our last day before spring break, I will give you everything you need to know from Chapters 20-24 for our test in April.

Watch this video again to review the first 22 Presidents.

No-Spin Economics

We spent time today examine all our current bills being printed. It is amazing that so much effort and thought goes into preventing the counterfeiting of our bills. Microprinting, watermarks, security ribbons, and other features all attempt to thwart would-be counterfeiters. Great job in locating all the microprinting on each bill over five dollars!! Some are just too small to see with the naked eye! Next week, we will have our test on coins and currency. In addition to what we did in class, study the sheets you were given on Coins and Currency, the One Dollar bill, and the One Hundred dollar bill. The test will be mainly True/False and Matching.

In addition to studying for the test, read Chapters 7-9 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? We will go over these after our test.

Watch this video to review the one dollar bill.

Adventures in American Literature

We took questions on today’s reading and had our final quiz. We then finished all our study guide questions as well as questions and analysis of what Twain intended.

Next week, we will have a game review of the entire book before our final test on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Please bring your American literature “text” to class with you so that we can refer to a few pages there. Also read “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain.

Also, watch this brief video to review the entire novel with this overview.

Watch this brief recap of symbols.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 03/13/2023

Assignments due for the week of March 13th, 2023

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished the study guide questions today for the rest of the book. We answered questions that students had trouble understanding and went over the list of Allusions in the story, which were on page 13 in your study guides. Next week, we will review the entire book with games and go over some of the other details in the storyline.

In your Literary Terms notebook, complete the following lessons:

Dialect pages 57-59
Dialogue pages 60-61
Local Color pages 72-73
Mood and Tone pages 74-76
Moral and Theme pages 77-78
Narrator/Point of View pages 79-80.

These terms will be illustrated directly in our next book — To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Please secure a copy as soon as possible and let me know if you need to borrow a copy from me. If you already have any of these sections completed, you are ahead of the game!!

Practical Public Speaking

We caught up on our past speeches today and are ready for our next endeavor. We had quite a variety of manuscript speeches, covering a variety of topics and subjects.

For next week, we will do our first extemporaneous speech. In preparation for our major speeches to come, this one will only be three minutes. Find a news article that interests you and share it with the class. Give the title and then give the main points of the story. You may find a human interest story or major news event for the week. Use newspapers, magazines, TV or radio news, or online news. (Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Kalamazoo Gazette, WWMT, etc.) Use note cards of some kind, but DON’T READ the article to us! You should have the major points in your notes, but you should just tell the story in order to maintain eye contact and a conversational tone with your audience.

What is the subject of your article?
Why did you choose this article?
Is it a local, state, national or international story?
As you practice your extemporaneous speech aloud, why would the speech never be exactly the same each time?

American History

We finished our review game today, and then took our test on Chapters 18-20. Read Chapter 22 for next week on World War I. We will go over both Chapters 21 and 22 and cover the terms you need to know in the Chapter Review. Benny, Mallory, and Connor M. will give us reports on Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison. We then will review all the first 24 Presidents and what you need to know about each for our test. Study the list on page 538 in your text to familiarize yourself with the order in which they served. (first 24 only)

Watch this video to review the first 22 Presidents. (23rd was Benjamin Harrison and 24th Grover Cleveland again!)

No-Spin Economics

We took our quiz today on Crash Course Economics videos #3 and #5. Then we examined all of our U.S. coins both old and new. The students saw examples of clad coins and reeded coins. Next week, we will finish the study of our money by examining all of our currently printed bills. DON’T FORGET TO BRING A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO CLASS WITH YOU NEXT WEEK. You will definitely need it as you examine the bills for the features I give to you. Also watch Crash Course Economics video #6:

Complete the worksheet you were given in class today so that you can use it to study for our test.

Adventures in American Literature

We took questions on today’s reading and discussed Huck’s and Jim’s adventures with the King and the Duke. We watched a section from the Disney movie, which gives us a good picture of the characters. For next week, complete the book by reading Chapters 30-43 and answering questions 69-87 in your study guides.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

March 6, 2023March 6, 2023 litalive

Assignments for 03/06/2023

Assignments due for the week of March 6th, 2023

Quick Looks at Great Books

We’re now ready to finish this novel with this last section. Most of you are doing a great job with the reading and understanding the characters. We will play three different review games over the next two weeks to prepare for our final test on March 13. The stunning conclusion may be full of surprises with lots of lessons for us to process. For this week, read the following chapters:

Chapters 64-71 (Abridged version)
Chapters 104-117 (Unabridged version)

Complete questions 94-105 in your study guide to finish the events of the novel.

Practical Public Speaking

We have most of the Memorization speeches finished, but we will complete them next week in class. Then we will begin our Manuscript speeches. You signed up for a speech today. Please let me know if you want to change and choose your own. You are to Google a copy of the speech and condense it to 4-5 minutes. PRACTICE reading it aloud so that you can read it with expression and maintain eye contact with your audience. Avoid the common problems with a manuscript speech—monotone reading and no eye contact with your audience! Let me know if you have any questions at all or if you want to change your manuscript speech.

American History

We went over Chapter 21 in your text and covered the things you need to know from the Chapter Review. Next week, we will finish our game review before we take the test on Chapters 18-20. Also for next week, read Chapter 22 as we continue the story of our country with “The Progressive Era”. We will next move on to World War I in our next chapter, Don’t forget—if you have a report on Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, or Chester Arthur, be prepared to present it to the class next week.

No-Spin Economics

We spent time covering the worksheet on Economics Crash Course video #5 on Macroeconomics and also reviewed the worksheet we already went over on video #3. We also covered Chapters 5 and 6 in Penny Candy. Next week, we will have a quiz on these two videos—#3 and #5. (Study the worksheets to review. It will be 25 True/False questions.) Then we will begin our study of money, Each group will be given specific coins to study as well as the dollar bill. The following week, we will study our bills—$2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100. I know you will have fun with this activity—learning more about the money we use and all that the government thinks about as it prints these bills.

Adventures in American Literature

We took questions on anything the students didn’t understand from today’s reading before we took the quiz. We discussed your study guide questions through today’s reading. Huck is maturing before your eyes and coming to many of the conclusions that Mark Twain himself held. For next week, read Chapters 19-29 and answer questions 48-68 in your study guide. There will be lot of trials and a surprise ending in Chapter 29!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 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:

February 21, 2023February 21, 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:

February 15, 2023February 15, 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:

February 7, 2023February 7, 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:

January 31, 2023January 31, 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:

January 24, 2023January 24, 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:

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