January 17, 2023January 17, 2023 litalive

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:

10 Vocal words you could use in any writing situation
2 Personal experiences which could apply to many situations
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:

January 10, 2023January 10, 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:

January 2, 2023January 2, 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:

December 6, 2022December 6, 2022 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:

November 29, 2022November 29, 2022 litalive

Assignments for 11/28/2022

Assignments due for the week of November 28th, 2022

Hello November

Quick Looks at Great Books

We continued discussing Silas Marner and where his life is going. Everyone seems to be having no trouble understanding what is going on as well as learning about the characters that play an important part in his life. We will finish the questions for what you read today and have Quiz #2 next week. For our next assignment, read Part II, Chapters 16-21 (and short “Conclusion”) and answer the study guide questions for the rest of the book. This is now happening sixteen years later, so many changes have taken place. Surprise events happen that surely have not been expected!! Enjoy your read.

Dramatic irony plays a giant role in the reading of Silas Marner. Do this brief review to make sure you understand the term.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

We practiced with a sample reading section and then took the ACT Reading Test. The students did a great job on the English Test last week. Next week, we will take the third of the four tests on the ACT—Math. To prepare for the test, review the procedures on page 47 in your notebooks. Make sure you know how to do these ten problems. If you need help, ask a parent or your math teacher. (I know Mrs. Ohland has been happy to help if you have any questions.)

American History

We did a competitive game review before taking our test on Chapters 7-9 and the review from the first six chapters. Any questions on the review section came from our past two tests. Students can study from their past tests since I put all the correct answers in when I grade them. I think the students knew this material and did well. I will have the tests back to them next week. For our next class, read Chapter 10 in your text and answer the four short Section Reviews. This chapter is only ten pages long, so it shouldn’t be hard to get through it even on a holiday week. 🙂

Watch this short video to learn more about our fifth U.S. President.

U.S. Government

We finished talking about the midterms election and that some of the races are still not called!! We then tried to review and catch up with the lessons they have completed in their notebooks. For next week, complete Lesson 15 (The Supreme Court) on pages 58-60. Here are the answers for Lesson 15 crossword from page 57 in your text. Copy the answers into your notebooks and then do the rest of the pages. This is the third and final branch of the U.S. Government. In class next week, we will have a slideshow with more information on the highest court in the land and become familiar with all of our current justices.

Watch this video to learn more about the Supreme Court building.

Adventures in American Literature

We finished our third section of the novel today, and everyone seems to have a great understanding of the events and characters. We then reviewed some basic facts from literature to make your student a true “Lit Wit”! They did especially well identifying characters and quotes from the greatest work of literature ever—the Bible! We also covered some famous authors we will be reading second semester. Hopefully, they will remember the quotes as we read these authors’ famous works.

For next week, complete The Scarlet Letter by reading the last six chapters (19-24) and answering the study guide questions 43-50. Do the Chronolog on page 17 to review all the events of the book in chronological order. We will continue to review and prepare for the final test, which will be on the following week. Then we will continue in our American literature text with James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving. (Irving is famous for his Christmas stories and traditions.)

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

November 22, 2022November 22, 2022 litalive

Assignments for 11/21/2022

Assignments due for the week of November 21st, 2022

Hello November

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great start on understanding our new book, Silas Marner. We discussed all that you read and the characters that you have met. Don’t forget to bring your Literary Terms notebooks to class each week. We WILL get to it in the near future. Two literary terms in today’s reading were “Flashback” and “Dramatic Irony” (one of the three kinds of irony you had in your notebooks). This book gives you a perfect example of the reader’s knowing something that the main characters do not. We will take the quiz on the first seven chapters at the beginning of our next class. For next week, continue reading Chapters 8-15 and answer the corresponding questions. Silas experiences a new change in his life since the theft of his money. You will be reading through Part I. We will begin with Part II next time and finish the book. Part II takes place 16 years later! Wow! What changes will take place!!

Watch this brief description of “Flashback”.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

We went over our quizzes from last week to make sure that no one missed the same errors on the test as they had on the quiz. Then the students received new answer sheets and took the ACT English Test. They will receive those back next week with a scaled score for that section. That will give them an idea of how the new evaluation works. Next week, we will prepare for the Reading Test on the ACT. We will do some practice tests and other reviews before taking the test.

American History

We are now over halfway through this semester’s work in American History. Next week we will have a test on Chapters 7-9. (You should have all the circled items you need to know for each chapter on the final Chapter Review of each lesson.) Also, there will be 15 review questions from the first six chapters. Study your previous tests. All the questions will come from those two tests. It will be a review of the most important events we have covered. You should have the correct answers on your tests. All questions will be matching, multiple choice, or True/False. This is a really important section covering the writing of our Constitution through the War of 1812.

Watch the following video about the War of 1812.

Remember—the Battle of New Orleans, which made Andrew Jackson a famous war hero, was actually fought after a peace treaty was signed!! They just hadn’t heard!!

U.S. Government

We talked about last week’s election and especially the results of issues in Michigan. Unbelievable that we still don’t know the status of Representatives in the U.S. House after a whole week!! I told students that they should turn in the current count so far, and by next week, hopefully, there will be a definite majority. In the Senate race, we won’t know the final count until after Dec. 6 since Georgia will have a run-off between the the top two candidates. Neither received 50% of the vote, so, according to Georgia law, they must have a run-off. We’ll see what the final result is after the December vote.

Next week, we will have a quiz on the Electoral College. Study the sheet of notes we went over from the slideshow we did. Also watch the following video to review what you saw in the slideshow and and a few other points as well.

Also, for next week, do Lessons 13 (Immigration) and 14 (Citizenship) in your Government notebooks. Here are the answers for Immigration Lesson 13 and Citizenship Lesson 14 (pages 49 and 53). Once you have the Crossword answers, complete pages 50-52 and pages 54-56. It’s a real process that immigrants must go though to complete the Naturalization process! This is topic currently in the news today!

Adventures in American Literature

We continued our discussion of the second assignment in The Scarlet Letter. The students really did well even though they thought they were confused! 🙂 We took Quiz #2 after we had gone over the chapters and the study guide questions. For next week, continue your reading with Chapters 13-18 and study guide questions 30-42. We also played a game to review some of the authors we will study and their works and also authors that our writers patterned themselves after.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

November 14, 2022November 14, 2022 litalive

Assignments for 11/14/2022

Assignments due for the week of November 14th, 2022

Hello November

Quick Looks at Great Books

We had a great review of the entire book (A Tale of Two Cities) today. We took the final quiz and went over it, discussed the characters and applied some of our literary terms, discussed the themes, and ended with a competitive game review. I think all of the students understood the characters and events in the book. I’m expecting great grades on the final test! 🙂

For next week, begin our new book, Silas Marner by George Eliot. Read Chapters 1-7 and answer the corresponding questions in the study guide. There are lots more questions per chapter in this study guide. If you can’t answer them all, look over all of them and be ready with any questions you may have. We will go over all of the chapters and study guide questions before we take the quiz. If you don’t have your book yet, you can start reading the book online or choose to listen to the audio version. It’s free since it is a classic and in the public domain. Let me know if you have any questions or need to borrow one of my copies of the book.

Don’t forget to bring your Literary Terms notebook to class for the next few weeks so that we can go over the terms that you have done. Note the author’s use of “Flashback” in the chapters you read this week.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

The students received another copy with answers to our last math test to keep in their notebooks for review. The PSAT test was now completed, and each student received a scaled score for both halves of the test and a final overall score for the total test. We went over last year’s national scores so that they would know how their score compares. Then we began practicing for the English section of the ACT test. We have done practice exercises of sample tests, so they will know what to expect on the actual test. We did another review and then took a quiz to practice some of the grammar errors that are always tested on the ACT. We also took a quiz that was specifically on the 12 Classic Grammar Errors on the ACT. I will pass those quizzes back next week so that they will not miss the same things again. Next week, we will take the timed (45 min.) English ACT Test. Study particularly pages 40 and 41 in your notebooks to review those errors. Remember that if you master these errors that always appear, you will have a much improved score!

American History

We reviewed Chapter 7 and then took a short quiz on many important points decided by the founding fathers in the Constitutional Convention. We also discussed Chapter 8, and the students were given the terms and people to know in that chapter.

For next week, read Chapter 9 and answer the four section review questions in your notebooks. No quiz next week. We will review Chapter 9 and begin the review for our next test over Chapters 7-9. Chapter 9 covers the years of Thomas Jefferson, so we’re now in the terms of our third national President.

U.S. Government

Great job today sharing your thoughts on the proposals that are on our ballots and sharing specific information about the races you researched! I can’t wait to read all the information you found! Hopefully, you will be able to answer any questions your parents may have. 🙂

Our next assignment involves your participation and work on Election Night. If you do not have access to a TV, you can always find the results of elections online. Check RealClearPolitics or FoxNews Politics if you’re not sure where to look. If you have other commitments tomorrow night, you cans watch news shows the next day or check online.

You were given two sets of worksheets to record election results. One was for the Senate, and one was for the House of Representatives. Since there is a blank page on the back of the second page of the House sheets, use that page to record the following Governor’s races: Michigan, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Wisconsin, Nevada, Florida, and Kansas. There are 36 gubernatorial races up for a vote in 2022. 28 states currently have Republican governors; 22 states currently have Democratic ones.

Keep track of the 34 Senators up for reelection and what the final majority count is for the Senate. Since all of the 435 Representatives are up for reelection (and many of them have multiple races), you just need to keep track of those that change from Democrat to Republican or vice versa. Don’t forget to then record which party is in the majority.

Make it a family night (if you are at home) and watch the returns together. Your parents or siblings can help you with this assignment if needed. Enjoy snacks together as you watch the returns. When we return to class next Monday, all the ballots should be counted, and you should have a majority for each house of Congress. That is why this election is so important. We have proposals on the ballot that would change our state constitution, and the balance of power in Congress is always up for grabs in midterm elections. You also received today an updated Electoral map, based on the 2020 Census. This will be needed for the 2024 Presidential election but also changes Representatives for each state this year. Seven states lost a Representative due to a population shift. Six states gained a Representative while Texas gained two.

Let me know if you have any questions at all and enjoy your time as a family.

Adventures in American Literature

The students received their literature tests back from last week. Then we began our discussion of the first six chapters of The Scarlet Letter. After going over all of the study guide questions, we then took our first quiz on the book. For next week, read Chapters 7-12 and answer study guide questions 15-29. The plot develops further for the four main characters that you have already met. Pearl continues to grow older and pays a visit with her mother to Governor Bellingham’s home. Come ready with any questions you may have, and we will go over all of the reading before the quiz.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 litalive

Assignments for 11/07/2022

Assignments due for the week of November 7th, 2022

Hello November

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished the discussion of the conclusion of A Tale of Two Cities. Once again, Dickens writes an insightful ending!! We went into detail about all of the events and symbolism. Please bring any questions next week before we take our final quiz. We will then review with a competitive game and take our final test. Our next novel will be Silas Marner by George Eliot. You do not need to bring it to class next week, but we will have a reading assignment due the following week. If you have not been able to find a copy of the book, please let me know. I have extra copies of this book that I would be happy to loan you. Just email me, so that I can bring it with me next week.

Since you have no reading assignment this week, we will begin with some of the terms in the Literary Terms notebook that I gave you at the beginning of the year. We have gone over these specific terms as we have gone through many of the passages in A Tale of Two Cities. We will also go over these together in class, so you are sure to understand them. We will find these commonly used terms in other works we read this year. In the pages of your notebook, complete the following lessons: Hyperbole (pages 4 and 5), Metaphor and Simile (pages 10-12), Personification (pages 16-18), Symbol (pages 19-21), Allusion (pages 49-51), and Irony (pages 69-71).

Also, watch these scenes to illustrate what you read as you completed A Tale of Two Cities.

Watch this 60-second recap of the book.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

Today the students received a copy of the correct answers, and an explanation of the way to work the problems to come to the right choice, for last week’s PSAT Math test. Then we took the final PSAT math section, much shorter than the last and no calculator allowed. Next week, I will give them their scaled score for the whole test so that they can compare that with last year’s national results. They can see how they compare to the national average and what areas they need to work on the most. Next, we will begin our practice and preparation for the ACT test. The grading for that standardized test is totally different We will go over that next week as well as do some practice exercises for the English section. It deals mainly with grammar errors, so that will help with the PSAT and SAT tests too. As we review our grammar, study pages 40 and 41 which deal with the twelve classic grammar errors on the ACT test. We will do several practice exercises and take some grammar quizzes to review the often misused rules.

American History

We took our second major test on Chapters 4-6 on the events leading up to the War for Independence and the events of the war as well. Hopefully, the students will improve with each test they take, especially when we do a comprehensive game review like we did last week. We then covered Chapter 7, and they were given the things they need to remember based on the Chapter Review on page 104. Next week, we will have a short quiz on Chapter 7 and all the important information there about the U.S. Constitution. Also, read Chapter 8 for next week and answer the four section review questions in your notes.

U.S. Government

We watched and went over a slideshow called “Understanding the Electoral College” today. What a wealth of information pertaining to the next Presidential election and pertaining to this one as far as how many Representatives each state will get after the 2020 census! I will give the students a current map reflecting the recent changes to the states who lost or gained Representatives due to a loss or gain in population.

For homework, each student should research the three proposals listed on this year’s ballot in Michigan. I want you to turn in to me your findings on what Proposals 1, 2, and 3 actually are about and the changes they are proposing. What do they want to change, and what are the pro’s and con’s of each? The students should know what they think about each of the propositions we must vote on. In addition to that, each student was assigned a tight race in this year’s election to watch. For example, if a student had the Governor’s race in Michigan, he/she should write down who is running and what things each one stands for. What do the pollsters say about who is ahead and why? (Even though they are definitely not always right.) If you were assigned a Senate race in Arizona, you need to find out who is running and what each candidate stands for. (You can’t always tell from the ads!) Decide if one of the candidates is the incumbent (the one who is currently holding that position), or if both of them are competing for the position as newcomers. You should include that research on your homework sheet to turn in. We will also discuss those races in class, and you should be ready to share with the class what you found. You do not need to work together with others who are researching the same race unless you choose to do so. If you decided to do an extra credit project on political ads, those will be due on Nov. 14. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

We took our quiz on the Senate and House of Representatives today. We will prepare for election night next week! Hopefully, you can participate and follow races that night as a family. This election is really important!!

Watch the following video to reinforce what you learned today about the electoral college.

Adventures in American Literature

We had our first test on what we have covered in literature so far this year. Then, we went over the setting, author’s life, and background for The Scarlet Letter. We went over the material they learned from the summary video they watched instead of reading the long, tedious introduction to the book called “The Custom House”.

Also, for next week we will begin the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter. You can read the book or listen to it online if you prefer. Read Chapters 1-6 and answer questions 1-14 in your study guide that you received in class today. We covered many of the Puritan customs and way of life for them so that you will have a good understanding of the setting of the book. We will have a discussion of all the chapters you read and will go over the study guide questions and any questions you may have. Then, we will have a quiz that will tell if you read and understood those chapters. Be sure to have any questions ready to help with your understanding.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 litalive

Assignments for 10/31/2022

Assignments due for the week of October 31st, 2022

Country path in fall

Quick Looks at Great Books

We had a detailed discussion of the chapters they have read, explaining some of the points they may have missed. We took our past quiz and are ready for another at the beginning of our next class.

For next week, we are finishing this book by reading Chapters 11-15 in Book 3. Also, answer the study guide questions 73-80. Dickens planned lots of excitement and suspense in these last chapters, along with a bit of humor if you see it!! Be prepared for surprises and disguises!! Enjoy the ending of this book.

Watch this scene that you read about from the last trial of Charles Darnay.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

Each student received a detailed copy of the answers for the Writing and Language portion of the PSAT test. They can add that to their notebooks to study and review before they actually take this test. (Perhaps free, in April) Then we took the longer section of the Math test on which they could use a calculator to save time and mistakes on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. If students had any questions on problems, consult a math teacher or parent for advice. You can also return to Khan Academy for more practice in math. Next week, we will take the final section of the PSAT test. This test does not allow a calculator, so they don’t have to bring it with them next week. It is only 25 minutes, so we will start on preparing for the ACT test next.

American History

We did a thorough review of Chapters 4-6 in a game review in class. Then the students reviewed the Revolutionary War with a card game intended for that purpose. Hopefully, that will help students review for next week’s test. Everything included in our first review game will be on the test in Matching, Multiple Choice, or True/False format. In addition to studying what we reviewed today, also read Chapter 7—“The Critical Period and the Constitution”. Answer the questions in the four section reviews. I will go over the chapter review with the class and tell them what they need to know from that chapter. We will add another chapter (8) next week, which will launch the new government that was just formed.

U.S. Government

The students received last week’s graded quiz and then went over the lessons on Voting, Republican Party, and Democratic Party. We also discussed the origins of political parties and the symbols for each party. Next week, we will have a quiz on the Senate and the House of Representatives, which we reviewed today. (Lessons 6 and 7) Also, review Lesson 5 on Congress in general since it affects both the Senate and House of Representatives. For next week as well, complete Lessons 11 and 12 (pages 42-44 and pages 46-48) These lessons on the President and the Vice-President will teach us the duties and terms of the Executive Branch. Here are the answers for The President Lesson 11 and The Vice President Lesson 12. It’s getting exciting as we approach the midterm election in just two weeks! Try to watch some of the election ads that will bombard our television screens in the next two weeks. We will go over a slide show next week in preparation for the upcoming election and discuss the changes in Representatives as a result of the 2020 census.

Watch this video to review for next week’s quiz.

Adventures in American Literature

We finished our reports today and watched a video of some of America’s folk heroes and legends. We also reviewed for our first test next week. Review the literary terms you were given, the writers we have studied so far, and some of the main folk legends we covered. The test will be all matching.

Be sure to secure a copy of The Scarlet Letter if you do not have one. You can always check it out at any library. You will not need it in class next week, but you will have an assignment for the following week. Next week, you will receive a study guide for the book which we will go over together. You do not need to read the introductory chapter for the book, entitled “The Custom House”. Watch the following video for a summary of the chapter to prepare you for the book itself. The language and details in that preface are a bit difficult to plow through in the book.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 litalive

Assignments for 10/24/2022

Assignments due for the week of October 24th, 2022

Country path in fall

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finally caught up on our discussion with our reading! We have now almost finished going over Book 2. Many seemed to know who the golden thread referred to! We took last week’s quiz and will take the one on Chapters 20-24 at the beginning of our next class.

We are now beginning our last stretch, Book 3 — The Track of a Storm. (I think you know what that means!) Read Chapters 1-10 and answer questions 59-72 in your study guide. Things are moving quickly as the Revolution progresses, and many characters are intertwined. Tensions rise and bad things tend to happen! Enjoy.

Watch this scene from the storming of the Bastille. Do you notice the Defarges at the head of all the action. Senseless violence!!

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

We went over last week’s quizzes and filed them for future reference. We also finished the practice Writing section on pages 34 and 35 in your notebooks. (“Resumes”) Hopefully, that helped prepare them for the full timed Writing Test they took in class today.

Next week, we will take the first, longer section, of the PSAT Math Test. We will spend time going over the formulas given as well as go over how to handle the four “grid in” answers on the test.

DO NOT FORGET TO BRING A CALCULATOR TO CLASS NEXT WEEK FOR THIS TEST!!

To practice for next week’s test, go to Khan Academy.

Do practice questions in each of the four areas:

Heart of algebra
Problem-solving and data analysis
Passport to advanced math
Additional topics in math

Once you have set up a “Learner” account on this site, you can practice full SAT tests any time you would like. (Free, of course) They have a whole section to practice for the SAT and PSAT.

American History

Study for a test on Chapters 4-6. This is about the events that led up to the War for Independence as well as the war itself in Chapter 6. Study the things I gave you at the end of each chapter. You most certainly do not need to remember everything in the chapter—just those I gave you in each Chapter Review.

We will do a competitive game review next week and play another Revolutionary War game to review basic facts.

Watch this video to review the events of the war. Pay special attention to those names, places, and terms I told you to know.

U.S. Government

The students did a fantastic job on the quiz from last week. I’m sure they did a good job on today’s quiz as well! We began going over lessons that we had not had time to check yet. We went through the lessons on the Senate and the House of Representatives. Next week, we will go over the Voting lesson in preparation for our upcoming election. For next week, complete Lessons 9 and 10 about the two major political parties in the United States. (Pages 34-36 and pages 38-40) I’m attaching the answers for Lesson 9 and Lesson 10. Just copy the answers onto pages 33 and 37 in your notebooks. We will also discuss the history of our two major parties and their current differences.

Please watch this explanation of political parties.

Adventures in American Literature

Today, we went over the Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, Mike Fink, and Davy Crockett pages in your “textbook”. We answered questions and became familiar with these real and fictional folklore legends in American literature. SUPER job today on your reports of these legendary characters! You had lots of details to inform the class about characters they may not have heard about before. We have two reports yet to finish next week.

You were given a list of literary terms to put in your notebook, which we will be working on throughout the year. Next week, we will begin reviewing for our first test, including some of these terms that will appear in a matching section.

Also, for next week, choose an aphorism of Ben Franklin’s from page 36 and then do the following for the aphorism you have chosen. First, draw (or copy from online or another source) a picture to illustrate the saying, then give the literal meaning, the idea expressed, and then a specific real life example. See a detailed explanation of aphorism to follow when you do it. This is an assignment to be handed in for a grade. Email if you have any questions at all.

Watch the following song and explanation of Peg Leg Joe’s life and work.

Folk song and Negro spiritual

Explanation of the meaning in the song

Sweet Betsy from Pike (Great example of a ballad) Thanks, Chloe