Check out this blog (Tuna's Aquarium) created by a high school senior taking AP Lang. I came across it while reading teacher-y stuff on Clay Burell's blog Beyond-School.org. I don't know how may of you blog (or if you do, if you would want to share that information with all of us), but I'm impressed by this student's style. Enjoy. As always, comment for the good of all, and post links if you want to share.
Read More......Here is the candidate quiz. A better one than the previous, I think.
Your homework for this weekend is to write a fable. It must have a moral and it must have some original elements to it. If you want to parody a fable already written, or take the moral from one of Aesop's, you may.
Read More......We will begin a series of classic rhetorical exercises tomorrow. Here is a list of the exercises from our favorite rhetoric resource, Silva Rhetoricae.
Your homework for tonight is to read a short fable of your choice, committing it to memory. We will share them in class tomorrow, and write them down at the end of the period. This exercise is intended to entertain us all while we work on recall and organizing a narrative on the fly. Please do not spend too much time going over the original fable; just understand the story and feel free to extemporize while delivering it to the class. Have fun with this one. Also, if you choose a fable after reading this, post the name so we don't all do the tortoise and the hare.
Read More......and possibly just wrong. But, this test is an interesting way to get you thinking about some of the major issues, if only for long enough to fill in a bubble. Share your results!
http://www.gotoquiz.com/candidates/2008-quiz.html
Read More......Your next assignment is to write a 5 page argumentative essay over a presidential candidate's position on an issue of your choice. This will be due on Tuesday 22nd. In this paper, you should synthesize material (quotations and arguments) from each of the following types of sources:
- The candidate's stated (that is, in his or her own words) position on the issue
- The opinion of a critic on the candidate's stance on the issue
- The opinion of an opponent on the candidate's stance on the issue.
Using at least three sources (it would be best to use more), formulate an essay discussing the extent with which you agree or disagree with the candidate's position on the issue.
This essay requires you to accurately explain the candidate's position and the position of others alongside your own. Whether you choose to bolster or counter the candidate's stance, be sure to take both sides into account in your paper.
A works cited page is required for this paper.
If you have any comments/questions, post them for the good of all.
[Edit: T.B. (the girl, not the disease...) had a great idea. If you write your article analysis over an article you plan to use for your paper, you can double up the credit and look at one piece from two perspectives. Just make sure it's a good one.
Also, we will be discussing the final chapters of The Picture of Dorian Gray tomorrow. I mentioned this last week, but neglected to mention it today. Sorry. We'll do a synopsis at the beginning of class tomorrow to catch everyone up.]
Read More......I just ran across this episode from This American Life; thought I'd share. Entitled "Shouting Across the Divide," it is a compilation of stories describing people divided by misunderstandings. Worth listening to.
Read More......As you read (or re-read), refer to Wilde's aphorisms from the preface. How do these aphorisms apply to the characters, specifically Dorian, Lord Henry, and Basil Hallward? And what's the deal with Dorian's reaction to Miss Vane's death/suicide?
Wilde's final pithy statement in the prologue:
My question, in the form of a quotation:We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he
does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless
thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless
What-a is it good for?Read More......
-Edwin Starr
