Week 09 - Journals and Homework

10/20 - Free Write

Homework: CMC 297-310

3 Reading Responses

10/21 - Quote: "We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves." -Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Homework: CMC 311-322

3 Reading Responses

10/23 - We approach the season of monsters- compare the Count of Monte Cristo to a traditional monster (ex: Frankenstein, Dracula, the Werewolf). Give as many ways that he is similar to a monster as possible.

Homework: Study for CMC Test II

10/24 - Free write to be completed after the test. In the event that you complete both your test and your journal before the class concludes, you should be prepared to read your A.R. books or take an A.R. test.

Homework: CMC 323-344

3 Reading Responses

DUE: Thesis statement for the expository essay on the relationships in CMC

DUE: Descriptive Papers

DUE: Island Projects

DUE: 6 Reading Responses

Week 08 - Journals and Homework

We will be focusing on how to interact effectively with our texts this week. Plan to spend your time in class reading and thinking about responses; each night you will be writing out your responses, and each day you will have to choose a couple responses to expand upon in your journal. With a little effort, we should be able to make this a nearly automatic process that takes almost no effort on your part, but that helps to vastly improve your understanding of anything that you read.

10/13 - Free Write

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 267-273

10/14 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 273-281

10/15 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp.

10/16 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp.

10/17 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Extended Reading Responses on pp.

Work on Montecristo Island project for 10/24

Week 07 - Journals and Homework

9/29 - Quote: "There are two kinds of light--the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures." -James Thurber

Homework: CMC pp. 226-244 by Wednesday

3 Reading Responses

9/30 - Make some suggestions- how could your security at school be improved? What went well with the lockdown and what needs to be adjusted or fixed? What other kinds of emergencies could you forsee happening in school and how should they be handled?

Homework: 3 Reading Responses

10/1 - Free Write

Homework: CMC pp. 244-255

3 Reading Responses

10/2 - Imagine you are a biographer. Write a one page precis about the life of a minor character in the Count of Monte Cristo.

Homework: CMC pp. 255-266

3 Reading Responses for journal

10/3 - Reading Response. Pick two of your responses from last night's reading and expand upon them in your journal.

Week 06 - Journals and Homework

Hang 'em High! The trials are this week... In addition, we will be working on writing strategies and note-taking in class. Because of conferences, you can expect that there will be less heavy writing than usual, but there will still be daily journals. Kick back and relax a little- you're doing well. This week should be about regrouping for the big push to get through Monte Cristo and into 1984.





9/22 - Free Write

Homework: CMC pp. 198-209

9/23 - Reading Response: After a brief class discussion, write out three separate responses (different kinds and different events) to things that you read in pp. 198-209.

Homework: CMC pp. 209-214

9/24 - Quote: "You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act." -Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000

Homework: CMC pp. 214-221

9/25 - Maximilien claims that he believes the Count of Monte Cristo has a good heart. Either support or refute this belief, giving evidence from the text to support your view. Explain your opinion.

Homework: CMC pp. 214-226

9/26 - It has often been said that the sins of the father are visited upon their sons. Discuss whether this is a fair position to take- if sufficient punishment cannot be meted out to the progenitor of a crime, is it then acceptable to inflict the punishment on their children? Think about examples- specific or general- in our current society and culture where this idea is proved.

Week 05 - Journals and Homework

9/15 - Describe a project you would like to design and present based on what you have read thus far in The Count of Monte Cristo. If your project would require more than one participant, be certain to include numbers and (if possible) preferred actors.

Homework: CMC pp 174-179

Rewrite descriptive essays for 9/19

9/16 - Quote: "A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists." -L. Ron Hubbard

Homework: CMC pp 179-198

9/17 - Write a poem and draw a picture illustrating how vengeance can be toxic.

No Homework! Yay!

9/18 - Write a character profile for your favorite character from the class text. Be certain to include Name, Gender, Appearance, History and Personality. You may include a small (2 square inches) portrait if you are do inclined.

Homework: No new homework

Descriptive essays due 9/19

9/19 - Free Write

Week 04 - Journals and Homework

We will begin work on a mock trial this week. The object is to identify who is most guilty of Dantes's unjust imprisonment and to mete out appropriate justice to each. The defendants in this trial will be: Villefort, Mercedes, Fernand, Caderrouse, Danglars, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Dantes himself. The chief magistrate will be (in a twist of the impossible) Edmond Dantes in his role as the Count of Monte Cristo.

We are beginning work on narrative essays this week. As part of that goal, each journal this week should be presented in the form of a short (1-2 pages maximum) story.

9 / 8 - Have you ever had a pet? If so, tell me a story about it- first trip to the vet, a game that it likes to play, or a time you were exceptionally worried about it. If not, what kind of pet would you like to have? Tell a story about something you would do with that animal. Finally, if you have no interest in pets, explain why you feel that way.

CMC pp 131-143

9 / 9 - Tell me a science fiction or fantasy story with yourself as the protagonist. This should be a short story, so you need to pay attention to what details the reader absolutely needs written out and what can be implied- too much detail will get in the way of getting the plot written, while too little will make the setting too amorphous and confusing.

CMC pp 143-161

9 / 10 - Free Write

CMC pp 161-174

9 / 11 - Tell me an embarrassing story (must be school-appropriate). When did this happen? How has it affected you? What would you say is the moral behind your story?

Review CMC pp 1-174

9 / 12 - Quote: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear." --John Didion (1934- )

Week 03 - Journals and Homework

Monday (Labor Day): No school

Tuesday: Imagine that you were one of the people who betrayed Edmond Dantes. You have just received word that he has escaped from the Chateau d'If. What are your first thoughts and feelings? What actions will you take and why?

CMC pp 87-95

Descriptive paper: Choose an emotion or an idea- draft due Friday

Wednesday: Free Write

CMC pp 96-111

Descriptive paper: Choose an emotion or an idea- draft due Friday

Thursday: Quote: "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." -Malcolm X (1925-1965) How does Dantes represent this idea? In what ways has he allowed others to control his life and in what ways is he still controlled? In what ways has he achieved his own independence?

CMC pp 111-123
Descriptive paper: Choose an emotion or an idea- draft due Friday

Friday: Tell me a story- tell me about the first death in your family that you remember. Who was it? How well did you know him or her? How old were you? What did you feel? What traditions did you follow and what were you called upon to do?

CMC pp 123-131

Journals and Homework, Week 2

8/25 - How does Dantes differ from Abbe Faria? Is Faria a better or worse man than Dantes? In what ways?

HW: CMC pp 49-63

8/26 - Write 10-15 descriptive sentences. Write about Arizona in the winter, the smell of breakfast on Sunday morning, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Be certain to use lush details that appeal to all five of the senses.

HW: CMC pp 63-72

Return Permission Slip for The Count of Monte Cristo Movie

8/27 - Imagine you are a script writer. What scenes from the first few chapters of The Count of Monte Cristo would you cut; what scenes do you think would be crucial for the audience to understand the story? What characters, if any, would you cut? Justify your decisions.

8/28 - Free Write

HW: CMC 72-87

Choose a character or scene to write a descriptive essay about.

8/29 - Quote: "What you risk reveals what you value." - Jeanette Winterson. What does Dantes risk and how does it show what he treasures? What things do you value most highly and what would you be willing to sacrifice in order to preserve them?

Week 01 - Journals and Homework

Monday: Rules, Procedures, and Grading Policies

HW: CMC pages 1-7

Tuesday: Class Expectations: Write down your expectations for this class. Be specific. Talk about what activities you would like to do and how they would help to further your understanding of class themes and information. Discuss what you believe your role should be as an active participant in your own education. Describe your responsibilities to yourself, your class, and your teacher. Express what you believe your teacher's duties are to you and your class, and how you see them being best met and fulfilled.

HW: CMC pages 7-17

Wednesday: Novel Reading: At this point, you should begin to have an understanding of what the central theme of this novel is. Briefly describe the setting of the novel and the characters you've met so far. Identify a central theme and talk about how the young man, Dantes, relates to it.

HW: CMC pages 17-35

Thursday: Quote: "False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil." --Plato (427 BC-347 BC), Dialogues, Phaedo. Discuss how the quote relates to Dantes's experiences and beliefs about life. In what way will Dantes become corrupted by the deceits of his betrayers?

HW: CMC pages 35-48

Friday: Free Write