Author: litalive

litalive

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:

litalive

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:

litalive

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:

litalive

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:

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: