Monday, September 29, 2008

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.

Monday, September 22, 2008

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.

Monday, September 15, 2008

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

Monday, September 8, 2008

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- )

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

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