Author: litalive

litalive

Assignments for 09/19/2022

Assignments due for the week of September 19th, 2022

Quick Looks at Great Books

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

Watch the following brief summary of the French Revolution.

PSAT/SAT/ACT TEST PREP

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

American History

Each class member did an amazing job in the game which helped put major events in American History in the proper order. We will continue our study by reading Lessons 1 and 2 in your new textbook. (No worries, if your text is still coming by mail this week. You will still have time to read the assignment for next Monday.) Begin a spiral notebook or a section in your three-ring binder for notes from your reading in Lessons 1 and 2. Keep your notes here to study for quizzes and tests. For Chapters 1 and 2, answer the review questions in your text (four sections for Chapter 1 and six sections for Chapter 2.) This will help you to understand important facts and people. We will discuss both these chapters and their Review Questions in class next week.

Watch the following brief video about the first 13 colonies:

U.S. Government

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

Lesson 1 Government Terms

ACROSS                    DOWN

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

Lesson 2 Government Terms

ACROSS                   DOWN

1. Anarchism           2. Civil
3. Abdication           4. Bureaucracy
6. Dictator                5. Habeus Corpus
9. Impeachment     7. Legislative
11. Conservatism   8. Liberalism
13. Executive          10. Due Process
14. Amnesty           12. Autonomy

Please let me know if you have any questions at all about the assignments. We will also talk about the Federal holiday this month that you may not know about!

Adventures in American Literature

We played a game today to see how much students knew about the events in American history since these events directly influenced the literature of each period. They did really well! Those students who are also in American history will keep in touch with what was going on in America in each literary period. We will start with the beginnings of American literature by reading the Native American legend on pages 6 and 7 and by answering the questions on page 8. You were given an alphabetical list of the states of the Union. (We will add more notes to many of these states as we progress through the literature.) For next week, try to label the map of the continental states on page 5 of your textbook. Do as many as you can and look up any that you do not know. We will continue our discussion of page 2 next week, an excerpt from Charles Kuralt’s book, On the Road with Charles Kuralt.

Watch the following two videos which aired on CBS news as he tried to capture the diverse geography and people of our great country.

Thomas Jefferson

Joseph Charles

Previous Assignments for School Year 2022 – 2023:

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End of School Year 2021

May 23rd, 2022

Flowers and Chair

Great job on your debate today on social media!

WINNER OF TODAY’S DEBATE

Social media does more harm than good.

(Very close!)

Congrats to Sara, Benny, Natalie, Macy, & Kierstyn

Mrs. Murphy recorded all of today’s debate on her phone. She did it in sections, so that you can view only certain portions if you’d like. Contact her if you would like her to send it to you. Laura Murphy at .

If your son or daughter is a senior and will be participating in the graduation ceremony at Centerpoint this Thursday, I will have his/her graded exam or debate evaluation, as well as the transcript for the class. Otherwise, I will get the documents to you by email.

For all others, I will have them with me at the KAT registration on Monday, June 6 at Centerpoint. Don’t forget to see me and pick them up. I will also be happy to answer any questions you may have about classes next year. Looking forward to seeing you then!!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2021 – 2022:

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Assignments for 05/23/2022

Assignments due for the week of May 23rd, 2022

crocus flowers

Debate

Great job on your debate today! I love that all of you are researching and learning about relevant topics that are in the news today. Even if you did not agree with your designated side, we could not tell that, and you seemed convinced of your particular point of view!

Today’s debate was VERY close. Remember that your grade does not depend on whether or not you actually won, but rather on how you presented your case. Many of the judges said that it was too close to call.  However, here is the final decision.

 WINNER OF TODAY’S DEBATE

  • The minimum wage should NOT be raised to $15 per hour. Congrats to Emily, Emma, Darrin, Cianna, and Ariel

MAY 23 DEBATE

Does social media cause more harm than good?

  • Yes—Benny, Macy, Sara, Kierstyn, Natalie  (PRO)
  • No—Colin, Josie, Devon, Abigail, Sol, Cyrus  (CON)

Explorations in British Literature

We went over all missing work today. Don’t forget to bring anything you’re still missing to class next week, since it’s our last day of classes. I will return to you your worksheets on J.R.R. Tolkien and Agatha Christie next week. After discussing the importance of knowing about an author’s personal life, we talked about three important British writers who are a little more contemporary—C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Agatha Christie. It’s really time to start thinking about any books you might decide to read this summer when you have more free time than during the regular school year. You were given a study guide to study for next week’s final exam over the entire year. Since the whole test is objective, I think you’ll do really well! Don’t forget to let me know if you need a copy of the Literary Terms to study.

No-Spin Economics

We did a game review and then took our test on the entire book Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Next week, we will have our final exam covering the Penny Candy book and Crash Course Economics videos 1-7 and 9-12. Don’t forget to use you weekly worksheets to review each video or each chapter in the book. We will do another review game of both the book and the videos before we take the final exam next week.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished our covering of the questions in your study guide for The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Then we took the second quiz on the book. We then did a competitive review game on the entire book before taking our final test. Some of you have a great understanding of the fishing experience!

Next week, we will do another game review on the entire year. You will be amazed at how much you know!! We covered all you should study for the various books and authors we have read this year. Many of the literary terms we have discussed and applied since September. Watch the following brief video to review some of these terms.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2021 – 2022:

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Assignments for 05/16/2022

Assignments due for the week of May 16th, 2022

crocus flowers

Debate

Fantastic job on today’s debate! Both sides did a great job. I love that you are learning to “think on your feet” and are “aggressively” handling the Crossfires. Super job for both teams! I look forward to these next two debates, which will be the final debate for our teams. Make this one the best of the year, applying all the tips we have gone over throughout the semester. This is like the final exam of the year for this class! Do your very best, and don’t forget to practice aloud in advance of the day of your debate.

May 16 Debate

  • The minimum wage should be raised to $15/hour: Nick, Lucy, Lily, Olivia, Samuel
  • The minimum wage should NOT be raised to $15/hour: Emily, Emma, Cianna, Ariel, Darrin

May 23 Debate

  • Does social media cause more harm than good? Yes—Benny, Macy, Sara, Kierstyn, Natalie
  • Does social media cause more harm than good? No—Colin, Josie, Devon, Abigail, Sol, Cyrus

Explorations in British Literature

We played a Jeopardy Review Game before we took our final test on Animal Farm by George Orwell. The students all have a great grasp of the book’s connection to the Russian Revolution and Orwell’s intended comparisons. They all did an excellent job on the quizzes, so I expect great results on the test as well!  🙂

For next week, complete the worksheets you were given on the lives of J.R.R. Tolkien and Agatha Christie. You can find the basic information online by googling them, or you can check out The Tolkien Society and Agatha Christie’s website.

Watch the following videos on the lives of these authors.

Christie

Tolkien

No-Spin Economics

We went over the handout for Chapters 10-12 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and also the notes from Crash Course Economics video #12 on the 2008 Financial Crisis. We took our quiz on the homework from last week.  

Next week, you need to study the Penny Candy book Chapters 1-13 for a test. This will prepare you for the final exam the following week, May 23, which will cover the entire book and the Crash Course videos 1-7 and 9-12. We will do a review game before we take the test on the book.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We took the final test for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and then began our discussion of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. We went over the religious imagery that Hemingway used and a little bit about his personal life. We took a quiz on the first half of the book and will finish our discussion and take the second quiz next week. We will do a review game of the entire book and take the final test. We will then go over what you should study for our final exam on May 23. Watch this video to review the literary term imagery.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2021 – 2022:

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Assignments for 05/09/2022

Assignments due for the week of May 9th, 2022

crocus flowers

Debate

Great job on today’s debate on the Supreme Court Justices!  It’s great to see improvement with each debate that we do.   We’ll go over points made next week together, and then you will have some time with your teams before the debate starts.

May 9 Debate

  • The right to vote should be extended to citizens 21 years and older: Josie, Sol, Colin, Devon, Natalie, Cyrus
  • The right to vote should be extended to citizens 18 years and older: Sara, Abigail, Macy, Benny, Kierstyn

May 16 Debate

  • The minimum wage should be raised to $15/hour: Nick, Lucy, Lily, Olivia, Samuel
  • The minimum wage should NOT be raised to $15/hour: Emily, Emma, Cianna, Ariel, Darrin

Explorations in British Literature

We answered the questions from the excerpt from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.  Then we finished going over all the points in the study guide and discussed the rest of Animal Farm by George Orwell.  We took the quizzes on the book.  Next week, we will play a Jeopardy game to review Animal Farm before we take the final test and the character quiz we did not have time to finish in class.  Also, read the mini-biography on C.S. Lewis and complete the summary page (front and back) to turn in for a quiz grade.  We will finish our discussion of this great Christian author the following week.  You can find more information about him at the C.S. Lewis official website.

To gain more information and specific facts, watch this brief biography.

No-Spin Economics

We took our quiz on Penny Candy Chapters 10-12 and on Crash Course Economics video #9.  We also went over the handout you were given on The Federal Reserve board and a map of its 12 districts. That is a review of Crash Course #10.  We also went over the worksheet on Crash Course #11.  For next week, we will finish our Penny Candy book by reading the Summary.  (Chapter 13)  You were given a handout for our last video of the year—Crash Course Economics #12.  Watch the video at the following link.

We will cover all to this material next week and then take a quiz on Penny Candy Chapter 13 and Crash Course video #12

Quick Looks at Great Books

We played a Jeopardy game to review the entire book of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  Since we had two rounds in addition to a final Jeopardy question, we did not have time to take the final test!  We will take the test at the beginning of our next class period.

For next week, read the short book (no chapters) of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.  You were given a study guide with several questions even though the book only has two main characters and covers only four days.  Look over the questions to make sure you understand the story and come to class with any questions you may have about the characters or events.  We will discuss the entire book and then take two quizzes on the events of the story.  Watch for all the symbolism the author uses.

Watch this brief reminder of what symbolism is.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2021 – 2022:

litalive

Assignments for 05/02/2022

Assignments due for the week of May 2nd, 2022

crocus flowers

Debate

Great times with your teams this week as you prepared for upcoming debates!!  Next week, we will be debating the Supreme Court justices’ ability to serve for life or whether they should have term limits.  On May 9, we will be debating on the voting age for U.S. citizens.  Don’t forget to get with your teams during the week to confer and evaluate each other’s presentations.  Practice aloud ahead of time to ensure a smooth presentation!  Fantastic job on the Balloon Debate today—very creative thinking on your feet!! 

Parents, we would love to have you join us for any or all of our debates on the next four weeks.  You can watch your son or daughter or watch on weeks that they are not debating.  I will email you with more information.

Explorations in British Literature

We went over the first five chapters of Animal Farm, and the students seemed to have a great understanding of what Orwell was trying to communicate.  We also began discussing one of Britain’s famous writers that we have not covered covered yet—Rudyard Kipling.  He wrote so many poems, essays, stories, and novels.  All of his works would fill a total of 35 volumes!  We noted today, just briefly, how many different settings he used in all of his various works.  We also responded to George Orwell’s essay on “Shooting an Elephant.”  We saw that he only shot the elephant to “save face” and because so many spectators came to watch and cheer him on!

Next week, we will finish our discussion of the entire book (Animal Farm) and work on the rest of the study guide together.  We will take the quiz on questions on the book, as well as a matching quiz on the characters. Also, read pages 157-159 and answer the four questions on the last page.  This is an excerpt from H.G. Wells, the inventor of “science fiction.”

Watch this brief history of a momentous radio broadcast of the novel by H.G. Wells.

No-Spin Economics

We went over Chapters 10-12 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?  (You were given handouts for these chapters that were updated with current numbers.)  We also reviewed  Crash Course Economics #9 from your worksheet that we discussed in detail last week.  Next week, we will have a quiz over Chapters 10-12 in Penny Candy and Crash Course video #9.  We went over the contents today of Crash video #10.  For next week, complete the worksheet you were given for Crash Course Economics #11.

View video #11 here.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We finished our discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird and took our final quiz.  You asked some great questions before we took the quiz!  Hopefully, that helped all of you on the quiz if you had any trouble following the ending and exactly what happened. Review for our final test next week by completing page 16 (Chronolog) in your study guide.  Also, since you have no reading assignment for this week, make sure you have completed the following pages and terms in your Literary Terms notebook—terms 1-10, 12, and 19-32.  These have been previously assigned.  This is just for you to check that you have them all done.  We have gone over them all in class, but you will see them again on the final exam.

Watch the following final scenes from your reading in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Previous Assignments for School Year 2021 – 2022:

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Assignments for 04/25/2022

Assignments due for the week of April 25th, 2022

Field of tulips

Debate

Great job on today’s debates!! We will go over the results and discuss ways to improve your methods in next week’s class. For our next debates, here are the teams and subjects. Begin working this week on researching your new topic. We will discuss our scheduling in our next class.

Debate on May 2

  • All Supreme Court justices should serve with term limits: Emily, Nick, Lily, Darrin, Ariel
  • All Supreme Court justices should serve for life: Lucy, Emma, Cianna, Samuel, Olivia

Debate on May 9

  • The right to vote should be extended to citizens 21 years and older: Josie, Sol, Colin, Devon, Natalie, Cyrus
  • The right to vote should be extended to citizens 18 years and older: Sara, Abigail, Macy, Benny, Kierstyn

Explorations in British Literature

We went over the assignments for the day. For next week, read the first five chapters of Animal Farm. We will work on the pages in your study guide that pertain to what you have read so far. We went over the pages that prepare for reading this animal allegory. Also, read George Orwell’s essay (“Shooting an Elephant”) in your notebook and be prepared to share your response in class. Complete the sheet you were given as a quiz on Sherlock’s “The Red-Headed League”. You may refer to the story as much as you need to. See last week’s assignment to access the story.

Watch this brief clip to illustrate the anthem for the animals in your reading.

No-Spin Economics

We took a quiz today on Penny Candy Chapters 7-9 and Crash Course Economics #7. We went over the handout you did for Crash Course #9. For next week, read Chapters 10-12 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Also, complete the worksheet for Crash Course Economics #10.

Crash Course #10

Watch this video to view how much a trillion really is.

Watch this visualization of our 30 trillion dollar national debt.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Complete your reading of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee by reading Chapters 15-31. Also, complete the corresponding questions in your study guide.  Bring to class any questions you have on your reading before we take the quiz. We will discuss the rest of the book as well as the “surprise” ending. Enjoy how everything is connected in the ending!

Previous Assignments for School Year 2021 – 2022:

litalive

Assignments for 04/18/2022

Assignments due for the week of April 18th, 2022

Field of tulips

Debate

It was great seeing everyone again today! We have three more formal debates we will be doing before the end of the year. Hopefully, the students will improve with each one that we do! We went over the JFK debate that we did before spring break and many basics of public speaking and persuasive techniques. Next week, we will be conducting two debates on two different topics. This is a more normal debate team size. All of the students should now be familiar with the Public Forum debate format. Don’t forget to make contact with your teams this week as you make your final preparations.

Explorations in British Literature

We will be working hard to get through a lot of material in the few weeks we have left! For next week, you have a number of short assignments. Here they are. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

1. Read Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s excerpts from Aurora Leigh, her poetic novel, on pages 138-141 and answer the four questions on the last page.

2. W.S. Gilbert was born in London in 1836 and was a social satirist. He collaborated with Sullivan to write satirical, comic operas like “The Pirates of Penzance”. Listen to this brief clip and watch the humor of how fast he talks. (sings) It’s the explanation of a modern Major General.

3. Study the form of a limerick, created by Edward Lear on page 151 and write your own limerick based on the proper format. Bring it to class with you next week. For more information on how to write a limerick, watch this short video.

4. Read the biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that your were given in class today and complete the study guide based on his biography. Bring this to class as well for a quiz grade.

5. Read one of Sherlock Holmes’s famous detective stories, “The Red-Headed League”. We will discuss it in our next class. (A quiz will follow.)

6. Secure a copy of Animal Farm by George Orwell by next Tuesday as we will begin our reading the following week.

No-Spin Economics

We reviewed Chapters 7-9 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? (Study the notes you were given.) We then watched Crash Course Economics #7 and filled out the corresponding worksheet. Next week, we will have a quiz on Chapters 7-9 in our books and on Crash Course #7. (Go over the handout we filled out.) Here is the video if you need to watch it again.

Also, watch Crash Course Economics video #9 and complete the study guide you were given.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Continue your reading in To Kill a Mockingbird with Chapters 12-14. Next week, we will have a quiz over the first 14 chapters. Be sure to complete your study guide questions for those chapters and bring any questions you may have about them to class with you. Watch the following scene from your reading with many important lessons from the book.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 04/11/2022

Assignments due for the week of April 11th, 2022

Happy spring break!

Debate

No assignment due when we return from spring break!  We will go over the JFK debate and meet in groups to begin preparing for our next group debate.  If you have extra time over the next two weeks, you can begin researching your topic for next time.  These are more normal size debate teams. 🙂

The U.S. should NOT cease to mint the U.S. penny.

  • Nicholas
  • Cianna
  • Kierstyn
  • Ariel
  • Devon

The U.S. SHOULD cease to mint the U.S. penny.

  • Emily
  • Olivia
  • Samuel
  • Cyrus
  • Abigail
  • Natalie

Self-driving cars ARE a positive development for the future.

  • Sara
  • Josie
  • Benny
  • Emma
  • Darrin

Self-driving cars are NOT a positive development for the future.

  • Lucy
  • Colin
  • Macy
  • Lily
  • Sol

Explorations in British Literature

We went over sections in your British literature notebook today.  We covered all that you had read so far—“The Lady of Shallot”, “School Daze”, Puns (Lewis Carroll), and Victorian novels of the era.  Don’t forget to bring your British literature notebook to class on April 11 so that we can begin with Edward Lear’s limericks.

No-Spin Economics

We did a game review of Crash Course videos #1-#6 and then took the test.  We began going over Chapter 7 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Bring your notes on Chapters 7-9 to class with you next week, and we will continue going over these chapters.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We went over the chapters you read for today and then watched some of the video of the Chapters 1-11.  Be sure to bring your To Kill a Mockingbird study guide and your Literary Terms notebook to our next class in two weeks.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

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Assignments for 03/28/2022

Assignments due for the week of March 28th, 2022

Field of clovers from above

Debate

Great job on the one-on-one debates today!!  Lots of research and things to think about on each subject!  We have one more to finish next week before spring break.  Then we will have our JFK debate to practice the format and process of a public forum debate.  Please make arrangements to get with your group this week via Zoom, Google Doc, or just email or phone.  You will have a few minutes together to get organized before the debate next week.  You need to be “passionately persuasive” to make sure your team will win the approval of the judges. 🙂

Explorations in British Literature

GREAT review of the entire book of Oliver Twist today in the Jeopardy game.  I love your enthusiasm, and most of all, your correct answers for every question!  You never cease to amaze me!  We did a thorough review of characters, events, the life of Dickens, and literary terms.  Next week, we will take the final test on the book at the beginning of our period.

You can watch the following video to review all aspects of the novel.

We will go over the excerpt you read for today from Hard Times by Charles Dickens as well as the questions you answered.  We will do a review of the Victorian Age as a whole and the key writers who wrote during this time.  As we do a brief study of the works of Lewis Carroll, read the explanation and use of puns on page 148 in your notebooks. (“Pardon My Pun”)  Then read the “Jabberwocky” poem and answer the questions on pages 149 and 150. 

Watch the following version of “Jabberwocky”, courtesy of the Muppets, to further explain and visualize this poem taken from Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

No-Spin Economics

We went over the handout for Crash Course Economics #6 and reviewed some of the past principles we have studied.  Next week, we will have a test over Crash Course Economics videos #1-6.  We will do a game review of all the important facts before the test.  Also read Chapters 7-9 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?  You can always go to the bottom of this page to review the videos in  “Previous Assignments” or just study the handouts your were given for each lesson.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We did a powerpoint preview of our next book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  Then we went over the study guide of historical background material as well as the life of the author.  We took our first quiz for this book, which was a review of the background for the book.  This novel takes place in the South in America during 1933-1935.  We brushed up on the history of the Great Depression and other practices of that time period.  We also worked on two terms in your Literary Terms notebook that are particularly prominent in To Kill a Mockingbird—Dialect and Local Color.  Then we went over Denotation and Connotation on pages 1-3.

Watch the following video to review Denotation and Connotation.

For next week, read Chapters 1-11 and be ready for a quiz.

Previous Assignments for 2021: