EXTRA CREDIT BLOG - So Long, Farewell

DUE WEDNESDAY JUNE 18th
Dear Students  (of both the 3rd and the 9th period),

So, as the school year draws to an end, I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to you as a group for making the year a memorable one. We’ve had some good times, some bad times, and I’m not going to lie, some rather frustrating times during which I just wanted to cry and/or scream alternately for the lack of effort I witnessed. However, the delights far outweighed the vexations. Despite some of the trials and tribulations and the turbulent waters, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our conversations – both those related to the literature and writing and those about generalities and themes of life. I feel that we’ve created a classroom environment that fostered learning, sharing and honesty (yes, I know some of you didn’t read the assigned material and that some of your responses were not entirely your own – but I still hope you learned something of value from our time together). I appreciate that you’ve trusted me with your experiences and stories (your secrets are safe with me) and that you’ve listened to mine in return. I can say with sincerity that I appreciate the fact that both groups generally lifted my spirits when I was down, and I shared welcomed and much needed laughs with. I know school and life can sometimes be trying and stressful, but with the generally pleasant and friendly atmosphere created in our room I hope that all of you felt comfortbale enough to express yourself without judgment. I hope your summer is full of mirth and enchantment. I hope that you find some time to get lost in a book and imagine an alternate world. I hope that someday, sometime, you use something that you’ve learned in my class. I hope that you find adventure, and kindness and love. This is not a goodbye (since it is my truest wish that I see you sometime in the future, in a crowd, on television receiving an award), but it is a farewell…at least for now.

I love you all.

Mrs. Ell

For the final blog response, write me (and the class) a letter of farewell. Suggestions for things to include – your honest opinion of the experiences in the class, what you most enjoyed, what you disliked, what you think could be changed about the course. If you’d prefer not to post your opinions publicly, I understand. You may email me instead. Please, do not ignore this assignment - I would really like to hear from you. If you choose to be rude or inappropriate, I will instead deduct points instead of giving you extra credit.

Blog 24 - Awards and Movies

DUE MONDAY JUNE 9th, 2014

In honor of the Tony Awards this weekend:

The Academy Awards, and many other organizations like it, were created to honor achievements in film. To win an Oscar is considered the highest honor in the industry, especially for whoever takes the Best Picture Award, which was taken most recently by “12 Years a Slave”. Although this was a phenomenal movie by the standard of the Academy, what was your favorite movie released in 2013? What was it that you liked about it? Was it Oscar-worthy in your opinion? Also, what is your favorite movie of all-time? Why? Make sure to give enough detail, emotion and description to validate your choice. Complete one paragraph on the movie you enjoyed this year, and one for all time favorite.

Topic Browse

Browse the following sites for research paper topics that may be of interest to you for further study.  Choose 3 topics and complete your topic browse organizer sheet from class.

http://www.procon.org/
http://idebate.org/
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

http://www.midway.edu/library/topics

 

http://robjohnfrank.com/research-paper-topics/

 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/research-topics-for-high-school-students.html

 

http://123writings.com/research-paper-topics

Research Paper Worksheets



As usual, Click on the image to download the packet for the research paper. There are many more pages here than what I handed out - they will help you organize if you're stuck.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources from Lina Ell

Blog 23 - Create a Prompt

DUE Wednesday May 14, 2014
For this week's blog, write up a prompt that you think will be interesting for students to tackle. You need to write clear and specific instructions, include a question and several things to consider when answering your query. Your prompt should be about the length of the ones I generally give you. You can include a link to a video or image that you think would be appropriate with the question. Be creative and original - you may not use anyone else's idea, so browse through the posts above yours.

A minimum of 10 sentences (including guided questions for your topic).

Two Sample Body Paragraphs of Side-by-Side Literature Comparison - "Cask of Amontillado" and "Masque of the Red Death"

The stories of “Masque of the Red Death” and “Cask of Amontillado” are alike in that they share a minor theme, although their main subject matter differs greatly. "The Masque of the Red Death" could be seen as a story reprimanding the rich who indulge excessively in luxuries at the expense of others. This can be deduced from the fate of Prince Prospero and his "thousand hale and light-hearted friends", who lock themselves in a palace to ensure their protection from the Red Death and provide themselves with "all of the appliances of pleasure", leaving the rest of the world to "take care of itself", and their subsequent gruesome deaths. Likewise, Fortunato of "The Cask of Amontillado", a rich, loved aristocrat who indulges excessively in such pastimes as "drinking too much", is brutally murdered by Montresor, confirming Poe's hatred of both aristocracy and those who overindulge. Despite this shared minor theme, the major themes of the stories differ, with "The Cask of Amontillado" recounting how Montresor takes his revenge on Fortunato, and therefore being primarily a tale of revenge, while the grisly end of Prince Prospero and those who seek a safe haven with him in his palace indicates the main theme of "The Masque of the Red Death" to be death, how no one can escape it and how it comes unexpectedly, "like a thief in the night".

Finally, the emphasis that each story places on characters varies greatly, although the characters themselves do share some similarities. "The Cask of Amontillado" has many details about the two characters, while "The Masque of the Red Death" doesn't really develop them since they are not really necessary in order to convey a message. For example, its protagonist, Prince Prospero, is the only person to speak throughout the tale, and even still, readers learn little about him, other than that he is a wealthy, selfish monarch who is supposedly "happy, dauntless and sagacious". On the other hand, "The Cask of Amontillado" features a couple of well developed characters, most likely because it is a psychological thriller, for which interesting characters are necessary, as without intriguing characters there can be no interesting psyches to be examined. One of these interesting characters is Montresor, the diabolical narrator of the tale who takes his revenge against Fortunato for supposed insults, and, though fundamentally different, he could be described as sharing some character traits with Prince Prospero of "The Masque of the Red Death". This is evident from certain events in "The Cask of Amontillado" which indicate Montresor to be rather inconsiderate of other people, ignorant of the consequences of his actions and nonchalant at the prospect of the death of others, just like Prospero. The other main character in "The Cask of Amontillado", Fortunato also resembles Prospero in some ways, most notably that they both seem to enjoy festivities, such as the carnival in "The Cask of Amontillado" and the masquerade ball in "The Masque of the Red Death". Additionally, they both have ironic names, as they both suffer gruesome deaths at the end of the story in which they feature, and are consequently neither fortunate nor prosperous.

Also, click here for an essay outline on "Cask of Amontillado" which could also serve as a good example of format; however, this one is not a comparison, so be careful and double the suggestions - one for each story used.