Wilson High School

Freshman English 1-2

English 7/8 The Sixties

Senior English 7-8

Academic Enrichment 1-2

E-mail: kathya@pps.net

"Tis the good reader that makes the good book" Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Sixties:

For Our Final: Write an essay that answers the question "How did the imaginations and moral courage of young people change American society in the era of the 60s?"  This essay will be a culmination of all of the information we covered in class. Use our readings, videos, and discussions as the basis of your writing.  Your essay must be double-spaced, 12 point font, and at least three pages. This essay is due on the day of our final.

Vietnam War Unit:  Each day: Keep up with reading calendar.  You need to journal an insight and a "quotable quote" and response for each reading assignment.  Having your journal ready on each due date, will earn you participation points.  All journal entries will be turned in at the end of the unit for credit.   

Due:  Tuesday Feb. 28th "How to Tell a Good _________ Story.  Based on "How to Tell a Good War Story" by Tim O'Brien, write your own story about your choice of topic.  Your writing should include some of the techniques that O'Brien used:  rhetorical questions, anecdote, paradox, oxymoron, informal language, allisions, repetition, dialoge.  Your writing should be a mixture of narrative, opinion, and philosophy. 

End of Vietnam unit reflective essay: Considering Zinn's quote about the importance of poets and novelists "taking us by the shoulders and shaking us and asking us to look and to listen..." tell how the literature, movies, and documentaries that we used in this unit gave you insight to the war in Vietnam and its effects on the people in Vietnam and at home.

April 3rd Check out Little Miss Strange by Joanna Rose.  Read chapter 1 for Thursday's class.  Begin tracking either birds or colors, using the sheet I handed out.

4/11  Refer to reading calendar and keep up with assigned reading.  Continue tracking either birds or colors.  Answer reading guide questions for Little Miss Strange, due 4/20

Senior English:

Narrative writing: Describe a time that you either upheld or betrayed one of your basic principles. Pre-write today.

Continue researching your senior project. You need 5 -- 7 pages of GOOD research notes to turn in. Refer to my example.

Choose one motif from your three to track throughout the rest of The Kite Runner.  Continue tracking the motif throughout the novel.

Keep up with reading calendar.  Be prepared for a quiz on reading on any day.

Questions for pages 73 -- 142 due on Friday 4/20

Freshmen:

Due Feb. 23rd for 4th and 6th, Feb. 24th for 5th: Narative Essay.  Your essay should be at least four paragraphs long, double-spaced, 12 point.  It will be scored for the six writing traits that meet Oregon standards.   Freshmen must have passing narratives toward their graduation requirements. 

Choice book projects:  Homework: read your novel. Finish by March 2nd.  Do response projects: 6 for an A, 5 for a B, 4 for an C. Alll responses due: March 8th or 9th

Big Book projects:  Due March 8th or 9th.  Use the checklist I gave you to be sure that all required components are included.

April 4th/5th Bring PDG draft of your essay discussing the hero's journey in a story or movie that you chose. Final essays are due next week on Wednesday or Thursday

Keep up with reading schedule for Ender's Game.  Do chapter questions and chapter vocabulary as you read. 

 If you miss a day, any hand-outs will be available in the rack of file folders in the back of the room.