Thursday, September 24, 2015

Journalism Essay due Wed 9/30

Take either side of the following question and write an essay of at least four paragraphs: Should the American press be restricted by the government? Consider these related questions:
  • If it should be restricted, who decides what the restrictions would be?
  • What would the penalty be for violating the restrictions?
  • Would such restrictions change the nature of American life? How?
  • Are such changes good or bad? Why?

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Study Guide Questions for Beowulf Exam

  • What are alliteration, caesura, and kenning?
  • How is Beowulf an epic hero?
  • What is an epic?
  • What is hubris?
  • What point of view is Beowulf written in?
  • How were the battles alike and different?
  • What are the outcomes of the three battles?
  • Who are the major characters?
  • What are the major settings?
  • What time period is Beowulf from, and how was it originally told?

Monday, September 14, 2015

Brit Lit B, C, D, E - Gothic Short Story Assignment

Directions:
v You will be writing a Gothic short story. Your story must include a theme (central idea) of dualism, such as a character struggling with the good and evil within him or her, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
v Your short story will need a main character, a Gothic setting, an interesting conflict, and an eventual resolution to the conflict.
v For some help in planning your story, follow the basic story plot formats below.
v Your story must be 2 double-spaced pages in length, typed and printed. The first draft will be due in class on September 28. On that day, we will have a peer revision workshop in which you and your classmates will exchange stories and offer feedback/suggestions for revision.
v On October 5, you will need to come to class with your final draft, original draft, and classmates’ feedback in a neat, organized stack. You will be graded on this, so don’t lose any of these important elements. You will also give a brief presentation of one part of your story for the entire class, which will be graded as a quiz.
v You may add illustrations and/or photos to help bring your story to life, but you must follow the guidelines of MLA for formatting.

v Above all else, I’ll be looking at your work for creativity, effort, and a clear understanding of the Gothic. Altogether, this project is worth a test grade AND a quiz grade.

Journalism News Story HW - due Wednesday, September 16


To be presented in class Wednesday:

  • You are a reporter on assignment. You can go anywhere in the world and cover any story. Write a news story of 250 words using the inverted pyramid and T/Q formula. The content of the article can be totally fabricated, but it should be written in a way that seems convincing and is objective. Include a headline and two (2) direct quotations.
  • Journalism Jargon #1 quiz Thursday!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Journalism Jargon #1 - Quiz Thursday, 9/17

  1. 5W'S & H The essentials of any story: who, what, when, where, why, and how
  2. ABOVE THE FOLD The top half of the front page of a newspaper, where the most important story goes
  3. BY-LINE Indicates who wrote the story; often includes the writer's title
  4. CAPTION The portion of the layout which explains what is happening in a photograph. Also called cutlines. Often includes a photo credit.
  5. EDITOR Has overall responsibility for the publication
  6. OBJECTIVE Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions
  7. EDITORIAL A type of story which serves to express an opinion and encourage the reader to take some action
  8. ETHICS A standard of conduct based on moral beliefs
  9. FEATURE A story written with some interpretation that goes beyond just reporting the facts
  10. FLAG The name of the paper that usually appears at the top of page one
  11. FLUFF News that is not hard-hitting; often used to fill space or time
  12. GRAF A paragraph in news writing.  These are often short, around 2-3 sentences.
  13. HEADLINE Large type designed to summarize a story and grab the reader's attention
  14. HUMAN INTEREST An element of news that includes people or events with which the audience can identify; stories that are just interesting
  15. INVERTED PYRAMID The basic structure of a news piece, wherein the most important information is presented in the beginning (top), and the information becomes less newsworthy toward the bottom.
  16. LEAD The beginning of the story which serves to summarize the story and/or grab the reader's attention; first graf
  17. QUOTATION A statement made by another person included in a published story. A direct quotation is exactly what the person said and appears inside quotation marks. An indirect quote is a paraphrase of what a person said and does not appear in quotes.
  18. REVIEW A form of editorial written to comment on a play, movie, piece of music or some other creative work
  19. LIBEL Written defamation; damaging false statements against another person or institution that are in writing or are spoken from a written script
  20. SLANDER Spoken defamation; damaging false statements against another person or institution that are spoken

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

HW for Brit Lit Section G, B, C, & E - Due next class!

  • On a sheet of loose leaf paper, write a 4-line poem of your "life lessons," from your point of view. The poem can be in any form you want, it may rhyme or not, but you MUST start two lines with the word "If"! 
  • Summer Reading due Friday, September 18! Instructions can be found on a post below. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.
  • Syllabus slip due Friday, September 11!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Rubric for Class Participation

Category

Excellent-A
Good-B
Satisfactory C-D
Needs Improvement D-F
Attitude
Student is always respectful of self, others, and teacher, has a positive attitude, and does not disrespect anyone else’s ideas or work.
Rarely is disrespectful of ideas or work of others. Often has a positive attitude about the task(s). Usually treats others and self with respect.
Often or occasionally has a positive attitude about the task(s) and behaves in a respectful manner.
Often is harshly critical of the work or ideas of others.  Rarely behaves in a respectful manner.
Focus on Class Work
Consistently stays focused on in-class work and what needs to be done. Very self-directed.
Focuses on in-class work and what needs to be done most of the time.
Focuses on the task and what needs to be done some of the time. Often must be reminded by the teacher about what needs to get done.
Rarely focuses on class work and what needs to be done.
Contributions
Routinely provides useful ideas when participating in classroom discussion. A definite leader who contributes a lot of effort.
Usually provides useful ideas when participating in classroom discussion. A strong student who tries hard.
Sometimes provides useful ideas when participating in classroom discussion.  A satisfactory student who does what is required.
Rarely provides ideas when participating in classroom discussion.  May refuse to participate.
Working with Others
Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others.  Students can feel safe volunteering in this student’s presence.
Usually listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others.
Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others, but sometimes is not actively listening or responding.
Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others.  Often disrupts or discourages others’ attempts to participate.
Preparedness
Brings needed materials to class and is always ready to work.
Almost always brings needed material to class and is ready to work.
Often brings materials but sometimes needs to borrow.
Seldom brings materials and/or is rarely ready to work.
Time-Management
Routinely uses time well to ensure things get done on time. Student never asks to adjust deadlines.
Usually uses time well, rarely misses deadlines.
Tends to procrastinate, does not use school time or schedule provided to get work completed.
Rarely gets work done by deadlines, always asks for extensions or does not submit work despite time in school.
Quality of Work
Provides work of the highest quality that reflects the student’s best efforts.
Provides quality work that reflects an effort from the student.
Work occasionally needs to be redone or does not reflect any time or effort.
Provides illegible work that reflects very little effort or does not turn in any work.
Handbook
Student is aware of and follows all rules in the student handbook, such as plagiarism, food, drink, tardies, etc.
Student seems to nearly always know and follow rules as outlined in the student handbook.
Student has broken a few rules during this marking period or has made no effort to make him or her self aware of the rules.
Student does not follow rules as explained in student handbook.
Behavior
Student is awake and engaged in class on a daily basis, and shows no disruptive behavior.
Student is awake and engaged in class nearly every day, and shows no disruptive behavior.
Student is awake most of the time but has fallen asleep or done nothing for a few classes. Show no disruptive behavior.
Student frequently sleeps and/or disrupts class.