Happy 2016!

Welcome back and happy new year!  I'm excited to be back to finish first semester and kick off the second half of the year already.  Over the break, I graded many, many Grapes of Wrath essays.  The Gradebook is updated and if you log in to Turnitin.com you can click on the "Comments" tab to get feedback on your individual essay.

This week, we'll finish up our Argument unit and continue with Huckleberry Finn.

MONDAY/TUESDAY:  Journal warm-up.  Receive vocab list for the week.  Grapes essay feedback.  Add 1 more fallacy to the list: the red herring.  Review novel and read from Huckleberry Finn in class. 


Homework:

1. Huckleberry Finn raft project -

1^st, 2^nd due date: January 6

5^th, 6^th due date: January 7

2. Turn in "Comments on comments": after reading the comments in Turnitin.com for your Grapes essay, write a one-paragraph response that includes 1)whether or not you agree, and 2)what you think are your strengths and areas of improvement in writing argument essays, due on Thursday/Friday.

3. Study vocabulary words, red herring definition, and Huckleberry Finn for quiz on Thursday/Friday.


WEDNESDAY:  (1st and 2nd only this week) Journal warm-up.   Today, students will practice for the final by reading two articles on a given current event topic and create an outline response.  We will then discuss/debate the issue and go over responses.

Due: (1st, 2nd) Huckleberry Finn raft project.


THURSDAY/FRIDAY:  Journal warm-up.  Vocabulary quiz.  Discuss "Comments on comments" paragraphs.  Group exercise: improve the essay paragraphs.  Huckleberry Finn reading and discussion.

Due: "Comments on comments" paragraphs

(5th and 6th) Huckleberry Finn raft project due on Thursday, January 7.

Homework: Huckleberry Finn reading through page 70 (the end of Chapter 12).  After reading, come up with your own original answers to the following questions on a piece of paper:

1. After getting caught in one of his tricks, Huck is told how to better construct the identity of a girl that matches society's "norms" for the 1830s.  Do similar "norms" exist today for rich, poor, male, female, young, old? How could someone pass as a "respectable" member of our society today? If so, what are some examples?

2. Why do you think Huck doesn't tell Jim the truth about what happened with the snake?  How does this show a change in their relationship?