Author: litalive

litalive

Assignments for 03/21/2022

Assignments due for the week of March 21st, 2022

Field of clovers from above

Debate

We will continue to finish our one-on-one debates next week. Be prepared to give your comments and suggestions as well as a winner for each debate. Begin to research the JFK assassination using the key words I gave you. (Donald Sutherland’s park bench scene, the “magic bullet”, grassy knoll, Oswald patsy, lone gunman, single bullet theory, and the JFK assassination in general.) In case you weren’t in class, here are the two teams that we are using. Try to connect this week and plan who will research what and who will prepare to speak. We will do this debate on March 28 before our spring break.

Group 1: Oswald did act alone.

  • Abigail
  • Samuel
  • Olivia
  • Kierstyn
  • Macy
  • Darrin
  • Sara
  • Nick
  • Emily
  • Benny

Group 2: Oswald did not act alone.

  • Josie
  • Devin
  • Lucy
  • Natalie
  • Lily
  • Colin
  • Sol
  • Ariel
  • Emma
  • Cianna
  • Cyrus

Watch this brief explanation of the events – John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Explorations in British Literature

As you completed Oliver Twist, all mysteries were explained and past events took on new meaning. (Notice the foreshadowing used in the portrait in Mr. Brownlow’s house.) Oliver’s true identity is finally revealed, and we see the connection between the young boy and the kind gentleman, Mr. Brownlow. The villains meet their just ends, and all is resolved! Dickens has a knack for tying up all ends and characters in his own way!

Next week, we will have a Jeopardy review game of the entire book of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Review the characters and plot as well as any reading you need to catch up on. We will finish some of the concluding scenes on the BBC version and prepare for the final test. In your British Literature notebook, complete pages 142-145, answering the questions that follow the excerpt from Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Notice the use of irony and the choice of names for each character. (As always, the names describe in some way the characteristics of the characters themselves.)

Watch these commentaries on the characters and themes of Oliver Twist. (Theme—the central idea of a work)

No-Spin Economics

We reviewed Crash Course Economics video #3 and went over #5 and the handout you were given two weeks ago. Next week, we will have a quiz on videos #3 and #5. Make sure you know the various kinds of unemployment and what the economic goal for our unemployment is. Also, view Crash Course video #6 and complete the handout you were given in class.

Here is Crash Course Economics video #6.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Great review of The Count of Monte Cristo in our games today. Hopefully, that helped your identification of characters and events on today’s test. In your new study guide for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read the background information on pages 18-26 to prepare for a quiz before we start our reading. It’s a little background of life in the 1930s in America’s South. Make sure to secure an unabridged copy of the book to begin reading next week.

Watch this brief summary of motifs in literature. We have gone over them in each of the books we have read, even though this term is not in your Literary Terms notebook.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 03/14/2022

Assignments due for the week of March 14th, 2022

Field of clovers from above

Debate

We will continue with our one-on-one debates next week. Great participation and questions today! I loved how you engaged in all the details of each debate! Make sure you are prepared with your facts and research for next week’s debates. (Relax if you are already finished!) We will also begin our study of the format of the public forum debate and a new topic for research.

Explorations in British Literature

Finish our novel, Oliver Twist, this week by completing chapters 41-53. Answer the corresponding questions in these chapters to make sure you understand what has happened or has been explained. Hopefully, all your questions will be answered, and all problems resolved! You will understand the identity of Monks and why he has such evil intentions for his younger brother. You will also find out who Oliver really is, see the fate of the Bumbles, and see why Rose is hesitant to marry Harry Maylie. I think you will find some surprises as you read—really exciting! We will watch some scenes from the BBC version as we complete our discussion. Dickens is truly a master at portraying his characters!!

No-Spin Economics

We finished our study of the currency in our monetary system and found the ingenious ways that counterfeiting is prevented. The new bills are much more colorful as well as containing watermarks and microprinting. Next week, we will have a quiz on the coins and currency that we have been studying. Don’t forget to study the notes on the sheets you were given in class: the Coins and Currency Handout, the One Dollar Bill, and the U.S. $100 Bill (both sides). Read Chapters 5 and 6 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Also, don’t forget to bring your completed worksheet on Crash Course Economics video #5 so that we can discuss it in class.

Watch the following video on how our currency is printed.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Nice job guessing various characters from your reading of The Count of Monte Cristo as we played a game of charades! Review the characters and story line as we prepare for our final test next week. We will do a complete review in our two games in our next class.

In your Literary Terms notebook, complete the following pages: Denotation and Connotation ( pages 1-3), Hyperbole (pages 4-5), Idiom (pages 6-7), Imagery (pages 8-9), Dialect (pages 57-59), and Local Color (pages 72-73).

Watch the following video to better understand idioms.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 03/07/2022

Assignments due for the week of March 7th, 2022

Field of clovers from above

Debate

Next week, we have two Senate ads to finish and then we will begin our one-on-one debates. Remember that you each have 4 minutes to present your arguments, 4 minutes of Crossfire between the two of you, and 4 minutes for the audience to ask questions. As you vote for a winner in these debates, you will also submit your suggestions that you would like to see in future class debates. You are presenting your opinion on your topic next week as well as research you have included.

Explorations in British Literature

Continue your reading of Oliver Twist with Chapters 28-40. You will learn more of the mysterious Monks, learn the fate of Oliver, see the married life of the Bumbles, meet several new characters, and learn more of Fagin and his cohorts. The plot thickens and the mysteries increase! Answer the corresponding questions in your study guide and be prepared if you have any questions before our quiz.

Watch this scene of the theft of Mr. Brownlow from your reading.

No-Spin Economics

We took a short quiz on Crash Course Economics #4 and then spent the rest of the class examining all of our minted U.S. coins and one side of the dollar bill. We saw the changes in the coins and why certain people were chosen to represent a particular coin. Next week, we will examine all of your paper money and what has been done to prevent counterfeiting!

DON’T FORGET TO BRING A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO CLASS WITH YOU NEXT WEEK.

Also, watch Crash Course Economics #5 and answer he questions on the handout you were given in class.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We will be completing The Count of Monte Cristo this week by reading the following assignments. Complete your study guide questions 94-105. We’ll play a game next week.

  • Abridged version: Chapters 64-71
  • Unabridged version: Chapters 104-117

Since we read about two very important duels in this novel, watch this video explaining their purpose and history.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 02/28/2022

Assignments due for the week of February 28th, 2022

Valentine's Day heart candy

Debate

Next week, we will be presenting the ads for the Senate candidate. I will give you 15-20 minutes to practice together before you present them to us. We will discuss, and hopefully recognize, the logical fallacies illustrated. Please don’t forget to contact anyone in your group today who was absent. Then we will begin our one-on-one debates. Remember what you have chosen for a topic and begin to do research for your debate.

Explorations in British Literature

Continue your reading of Oliver Twist by completing Chapters 15-27 and answer the corresponding study guide questions. We will continue going through the book and watching the BBC version of it. It’s great to put an image to the description if you have not already done so.

Watch this brief scene where Oliver meets Jack Dawkins:

No-Spin Economics

We took our quiz today on Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Chapters 3 and 4 and then went over the handout for Crash Course Economics #4. Next week, we will have a quiz on video #4 and then use the rest of class to study our “coins” and the dollar bill.

DON’T FORGET TO BRING A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO CLASS WITH YOU NEXT WEEK.

Here is Crash Course Economics #4 if you need it again.

Watch this video to review the principle of supply and demand:

Quick Looks at Great Books

Continue your reading with the following assignments and complete your study guide questions 83-93.

  • Abridged version: Chapters 54-63
  • Unabridged version: Chapters 82-103

Watch the following video that show how Carnival (and Mardi Gras) are celebrated in Venice today. This is presently the key location in Europe.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 02/21/2022

Assignments due for the week of February 21st, 2022

Valentine's Day heart candy

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Debate

Please you use this week to make up any work that you are missing. You have an assignment due in two weeks. You are to do a promotional ad to promote the candidacy of Sylvia Snidely for the Senate. You were given a group that you will be cooperating with. Look over and have some ideas about the setting and lines. The presentation should be about 3-4 minutes. (1 minute per person in the sketch) Each person should participate equally. You will be given a specific logical fallacy that you must use. You may use other fallacies if you choose as long as you use the one assigned to you. Look over the questions on the back of the assignment sheet. You will be given time in class next week to work with your team to prepare your presentation. We will cover some other areas and select topics for our one-on-one debates coming up.

Watch the following video to review the basic logical fallacies:

Explorations in British Literature

We took our two quizzes on Romanticism and matching the works and authors of this period. Then we began our discussion of the author and background of our next book. We took a quiz on the first seven pages of your study guides and went through the Victorian Age, along with the Industrial Revolution. The writing of the time reflected what was going on in history as well.

For next week, begin Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens by reading Chapters 1-14 and answering the few questions in your study guides for those chapters.

Watch these two brief videos to understand more about the material portrayed in Oliver Twist.

First video:

The Victorians | Life in a Victorian Workhouse (1)

Second video:

No-Spin Economics

We took our first test on the video on The Law, Chapters 1 and 2 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?, and Crash Course Economics video #1. We then played a game which illustrated the benefits of free trade as we learned in Crash Course #2. Then we covered the handouts for Chapters 3 and 4 in your book. Next week, we will have a quiz on Chapters 3 and 4 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Please study your handout sheets and reread the chapters if necessary to get the whole picture. We now can answer the question of why there is no longer penny candy! 🙂 Also, please make sure you know the accurate definition of inflation and the result of this practice.

For next week, watch the following video (Crash Course Economics #4) and answer the questions on the worksheet you were given in class.

Watch this video to reinforce the term TANSTAAFL.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Continue your reading in The Count of Monte Cristo with the following chapters and answer your study guide questions 77-82. Note the new characters introduced in each new set of chapters. What a vast array of personalities!!

  • Abridged version: Chapters 42-53
  • Unabridged version: Chapters 63-81

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 02/14/2022

Assignments due for the week of February 14th, 2022

Valentine's Day heart candy

Debate

We collected the deductive reasoning sheet you did for homework and then went over the questions on Susan B. Anthony’s speech. We then checked listening skills by answering the questions on page 18 in your notebook after you listened to the speech on the death penalty. We then went over the logical fallacies on page 24 and explained each one. You were also given sheets of logical fallacies where you were given examples of these and other fallacies.

For next week, create a bumper sticker illustrating one of the logical fallacies. You may use color or drawings when possible, or create it on your computer. Please identify the logical fallacy that you are illustrating. (Use an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper to turn in.)

Also, continue any research for your mini “Candy” debates next week. You will have 15 minutes to meet with your teams and make final adjustments and additions. Then each team will make a 4 minute persuasive presentation, followed by a Crossfire to the speaker or his/her teammates. Please come prepared to share your research and ideas with the team.

Explorations in British Literature

We reviewed all of the Romantic poets and writers in preparation for our two quizzes next week. One will be a matching quiz with the writers and their works. We added Lord Byron to the group with his famous verses, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, which told of his travels in Europe and Asia. We discussed Percy Shelley’s “Ozymandias” and reviewed the differences between Romanticism and Neoclassicism. Jane Austen and Mary Shelley were the two novelists we covered in this period.

We will finish “The Lady of Shalott” next week with exactly what happened to the lady who dared to look directly toward Camelot. Tennyson wrote during the Victorian Age which is what we will be starting as we begin our study of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. In addition to the two short quizzes on Romanticism, read pages 1-7 in the study guide you were given and be prepared for a quiz on the life of Dickens and the background and reasons for the writing of Oliver Twist. We will actually begin the book itself next week as we cover other aspects of the Victorian Age in British literature.

Watch this brief video telling why we should read the novels of Charles Dickens. 🙂

No-Spin Economics

We went over your past homework–Chapters 1 and 2 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and Crash Course Economics #2 on Specialization and Trade. Please keep these worksheets to study for future quizzes and tests. Next week, we will have our first test on The Law, Chapters 1 and 2 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy, and Crash Course #1. Review your notes to prepare.

Also for next week, read Chapters 3 and 4 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and watch the Crash Course Economics video #3. Please complete the worksheets you were given for each of these.

Here is this week’s video, Crash Course Economics #3.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Continue your reading in The Count of Monte Cristo with the following chapters and answer your study guide questions 52-76. The plot continues to thicken!

  • Abridged version: Chapters 28-41
  • Unabridged version: Chapters 36-62

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 02/07/2022

Assignments due for the week of February 7th, 2022

Valentine's Day heart candy

Debate

We discussed the faulty logic in the Monty Python video. The video made many unrelated assumptions that were not even true! (sound) We continued to practice deductive reasoning by completing three worksheets and learning to solve the problems logically. With a plan in hand, we then completed pages 5 and 6 in your notebooks, following the logic-solving plan. Each problem was a bit more difficult and challenging, but they did a fantastic job! We then tackled the deductive thinking problems on pages 5 and 6 in the notebooks. We also practiced the debate exercises on pages 10-15 to improve each student’s oral clarity of expression. We then covered inductive reasoning on page 21 and applied it on page 23. We have some “great thinkers”, so I hope they will learn how to express themselves and persuade others throughout this semester.

For next week, complete the deductive reasoning problems on the sheet you were given in class. (“Men’s Quartet and “Letter Perfect”) Also, read Susan B. Anthony’s famous speech on pages 16 and 17 and answer the three questions. We will continue to discuss these principles and begin to learn about logical fallacies. These are often used in debates but are not effective ways of persuasion!

Explorations in British Literature

Great comments about Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel Frankenstein and what the elements of a horror story contain! Watch the following summary of the entire book so that you can better understand the excerpt you read.

We covered several Romantic poets–Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge. We will finish by covering “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

For next week, read “Ode to a Nightengale” by John Keats on pages 120 and 121 and answer the questions on pages 123 and 124. Read the excerpts from Jane Austen’s novels on pages 125-129. Write a brief paragraph on page 129 about life in the early 19th century as revealed in her writings.

Lastly, read Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” on pages 133-137. Complete Parts B and C on page 137. (This poem may be reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables if you have read the book or watched the video! This was her favorite poem.)

No-Spin Economics

We went over the worksheets on The Law and Crash Course Economics #1. Please keep these sheets in your notebook to study for future quizzes and tests. Great ideas on some ways to stop people from littering! 🙂

For next week, read Chapters 1 and 2 in Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and complete the worksheets you were given. Also, watch Crash Course Economics #2 below and answer the questions you received in class.

Quick Looks at Great Books

Continue reading this exciting novel with the following chapters and answer your study guide questions 19-51.

  • Abridged version: Chapters 13-27
  • Unabridged version: Chapters 16-35

If you missed it last week, watch this brief look at the Chateau d’If where Edmond Dantes was imprisoned. In many ways, it looks the same today as when Dumas wrote the novel.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 01/31/2022

Assignments due for the week of January 31st, 2022

Winter cottage

Debate

Welcome to second semester! We had a great participatory class with many great responses from students! I think we’re going to have lots of fun as we work through basic methods of logic and logical fallacies as well as learning deductive and inductive reasoning. We will do some sample pages of deductive reasoning next week and learn how to take information and come up with logical conclusions. We will be using a Public Forum format for our debates this year, which we will go over in depth in future classes.

For next week, you have two things to do. First, watch this brief clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Be prepared to discuss how this is faulty logic!!

Next, create two syllogisms of your own and make sure they are both valid and sound. (Refer to pages 8 and 9 in your Debate notebook.) Put them on a sheet of paper with your name and be ready to hand in the assignments. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Explorations in British Literature

“Robbie” Burns was a poet and Scottish hero whose songs, as well as his poetry, are still sung and read today. Watch the following video of one of his most favorite songs.

In your literature notebook, read the two poems by William Blake (“The Lamb” and “The Tyger”) and try to answer the questions about each one. Then read William Wordsworth’s poem about Tintern Abbey and answer the corresponding questions on pages 111 and 112. “Kubla Khan” is by Samuel Taylor Coleridge on pages 113 and 114. Notice the “induced dream” and how Romantic poets felt about it! 🙂 Read the excerpt from Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel Frankenstein and answer the three questions that follow. Lastly, look at the drawing and then read the short poem “Ozymandias” along with the six questions regarding the poem. (Remember that “theme” refers to the main idea or message of a novel or poem.)

No-Spin Economics

Great participation on some of our introductory comments and terms used in economics today! We will gain Bastiat’s basic principles of economics in his famous book written in the 1800’s. Watch the following summary video and answer the worksheet (front and back) that you were given in class today.

Next, watch the following Crash Course Economics video and learn the basics of economics and what we will be covering. Then complete the questions you were given in class. We will discuss all of this next week.

Quick Looks at Great Books

We will begin our next novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. This is an intriguing story that you will not want to put down! 🙂 This novel was written in a serial format as Dickens did with all of his works. People had to buy the next magazine to read the next chapters of the book. Answer questions 1-18 in your study guide and we will define any unusual terms you find. You will meet the main characters that you will follow throughout the book.

Watch this brief look at the Chateau d’If where Edmond Dantes was imprisoned.

The Count of Monte Cristo reading this week:

  • Abridged version: Chapters 1-12
  • Unabridged version: Chapters 1-15

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 01/24/2022

Assignments due for the week of January 24th, 2022

Winter cottage

Debate

We will begin our new semester of Debate next week. We have several new students joining us, and we hope to see all of our present class as well. This is a difficult class to cover at home and is crucial to students’ learning how to defend their beliefs and persuade their listeners of their point of view. They will learn to work together as a team and share ideas on presentations. It is a great opportunity to learn from others! It builds sound principles of logic as we will cover this subject in the first weeks, along with many other games and learning opportunities. All you need to bring to class is a three-ring binder to hold the workbook I will give you. This will be a half-credit to finish your transcript for the year. 🙂

Explorations in British Literature

We took our quiz on the Elizabethan Age today and went over satire in the 1600’s and all the work they had done in their notebooks. We will continue going over the 1665 plague in England and the common children’s rhyme, “Ring Around the Rosey”, and how it was related to their plague. I gave the students their second semester pages for their notebooks. Read page 102 and note the characteristics of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. On page 103. categorize each item in Literature, Government, People, and Places & Things into either a Neoclassical element or a Romantic element. (Hint: There will be 16 under each heading.) On page 107, read the poem by Robert Burns (A Red, Red Rose) and answer the four questions. “Robbie Burns” was a Scottish poet and their “national hero”.

Watch this brief video about the life of Robert Burns.

No-Spin Economics

It’s exciting to begin a new semester and a new area of study. For Economics class, bring a three-ring binder to hold the pages I give you in class throughout the semester. Also, make sure you have access to the book, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury. You can purchase the book online or borrow it from a fellow homeschool family. Students will need this by the third week of class. This course is directly related to our first semester study, and the students will see the political importance of understanding economics and how it is applied in current events today!

Quick Looks at Great Books

Since you have completed your reading of Cyrano de Bergerac, we will do a game review of the book before we have our final test next week. Take time to complete the following pages in your Literary Terms notebook: Dialogue (pages 60-61), Genre (pages 66-68), Mood and Tone (pages 74-76), Moral and Theme (pages 77-78), and Plot (pages 81-82) I will check these pages during our test on Cyrano de Bergerac.

Watch this final scene from Act V of your reading.

Previous Assignments for 2021:

litalive

Assignments for 01/17/2022

Assignments due for the week of January 17th, 2022

Winter cottage

PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Prep

Great job studying the cards today for each of the different subjects on the ACT test! The examples on the English and Math cards would definitely help on the PSAT and SAT as well. For next week (our last class for this semester), don’t forget to turn in your writing assignment if you have not already done so. Go to the bottom of this page to last week’s assignment for specific instructions. Next week, we will also do game competitions to review all that we have covered this semester.

Explorations in British Literature

We will take our quiz on the Elizabethan Age next week. I went over today all that you will need to know. Studying the terms in your Twelfth Night study guide would be a good way to cover the terms you would need from there. We covered all the other things you would need to know from that period. We discussed all the work that you had done so far and will go into more detail about the history of the great fire of London in 1666. We will also discuss the devices of satire and the distinctions between them. Read the satirical passages on pages 91 and 92 and answer the questions about them. Read the satirical piece on the Elizabethan Theater and answer the corresponding questions.

Read the following satirical writing by Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”.

Try to answer the questions about Swift’s writing on pages 94 and 95. (Remember that Swift is NOT really serious about his proposal! This is satire!) On pages 96-98 read Samuel Johnson’s brief bio of Alexander Pope and answer the questions on the last page. Finally, on pages 100 and 101 read Daniel Defoe’s fiction based on facts about the 1665 plague. After you have read the excerpt, answer the questions on page 101.

Watch the following brief video for more historical facts about the plague in London. How does it compare with the pandemic we are experiencing right now?

U.S. Government

Review your past quizzes and tests as well as your notebook for our final exam next week. We will do a game review of the entire semester before we take the exam.

Watch once again the songs and mottos of the branches of our military.

Watch this brief video on our newest branch of the military:

Quick Looks at Great Books

Finish your reading of Cyrano de Bergerac by completing Acts IV and V. Don’t forget to have your study guide in class as we will work on it together. We went over Acts I-III and watched some of the scenes from the classic movie. We will continue finishing our study guide, taking our quiz on Acts IV and V, and watching more reenactments of the play.

Previous Assignments for 2021: