NEA Ray Bradbury Interview!

The Giver (FULL TEXT)

Attention Dystopian Literature students! Click on the link below to access a full text pdf of The Giver. You can't print it, but at least you can use it to catch up on the reading!!!!

The GIVER pdf

Creative Writing 09/10/15

Focused Free-write:

What is your one word?

EXTRA:

Check out Sarah Kay's spoken word piece, "Hands."

Letter to the Future

Use the link below to compose a letter to your future self-- set goals, reflect on the start of the school year, and include your hopes for the months to come! Set the date to some point before the end of the school year, and remember, the more you write, the more fun this will be to read in the future!

Dear Future Me

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back, newly-minted SENIORS!!!!

I'm thrilled to have you in our class and excited for all that we'll accomplish this year! Contracts will be distributed next week, as class rosters are still fluctuating. In the meantime, please obtain the supplies listed on the syllabus:

• Blue or black pens
• College-ruled loose-leaf paper (to be kept in a binder) OR 
• College-ruled notebook
• Folder

A multicolored pen is OPTIONAL, but incredibly useful for annotating texts.

All seniors must create a gmail address that is appropriate for use with this class and in the college and career application process. Please use your first and last name when creating an address and email me with your period number at:

ms.k.keenan@gmail.com

If you'd like to contribute to our Do Now music selections, send me the song titles and artists and I'll add them to our list. School-appropriate/clean lyrics only, please!

Any questions??? As always, let me know!

Congrats on starting your senior year!!!!!!!

-Ms. Keenan

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: 2015 Wellesley College Commencement Speaker

2015 Wellesley College Commencement Speech TEXT

Week 13 Read & Respond (DUE by MONDAY, 4/20/15)

Read and respond to the following articles. Responses are due by Monday, April 20th.

Regardless of whether or not you're into the whole "prom thing," read and respond to the following articles about the financial aspects of prom.

Article 1
Where One-Third of Prom Costs Go Today
Article 2
Cost of High School "Promposals" Hits $324

Article 3

Read the article, play the game, and come up with an event or person you think should be featured for a Google Doodle (or Google Doodle Game)!

155th Anniversary of Pony Express: The art of a letter-perfect Google Doodle game

PER 3: COLLEGE LIT

PERIOD 3: OUTLIERS Project

Period 3, College Literature students have until the start of 3rd period on April 17, 2015 to complete their reading and analysis of the Malcolm Gladwell book, Outliers: The Story of Success.

Students will answer questions based on each chapter, and sign up to further analyze a chapter of their choice.

Here is a list of chapters that have already been taken. Each chapter may have up to two students assigned to it, but the work must be done independently.

Charles: Chapter 2, "The 10,000 Hour Rule"
Chelsea: Chapter 2, "The 10,000 Hour Rule"
Joab: Chapter 3, "The Trouble With Geniuses" Part One
Anthony: Chapter 3, "The Trouble With Geniuses" Part One
Julia: Chapter 4, "The Trouble With Geniuses" Part Two
Janae: Chapter 4, "The Trouble With Geniuses" Part Two
Simone: Chapter 5, "The Three Lessons of Joe Flom"
Kathryn: Chapter 7, "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes"
Nick: Chapter 8, "Rice Paddies and Math Tests"
Tyler: Chapter 8, "Rice Paddies and Math Tests"
Shevon: Epilogue

Students will be required to complete a specific set of notes as they read. Instructions will be given in class.

(OPTIONAL) Week 12 READ & RESPOND (DUE BY MONDAY 4/6/15)

Read and respond to the following links:

Should student athletes be "paid to play" in college?
NCAA Schools and Student Athlete Pay

How much of an issue is distracted driving among your peer group?

Teen Drivers and Distractions

WEEK 11 READ & RESPOND (DUE BY MONDAY, 3/30/15)

Read and respond to BOTH of the articles linked below.

Catalyst for discussion OR wrong time/wrong place?
Starbucks Will Stop Putting The Words 'Race Together' On Cups

To forgive or not to forgive? YOU DECIDE.
Mo'ne Davis asks Bloomsburg to Reinstate Baseball Player...

Malcolm Gladwell Interview (with Spanish subtitles)

PERIOD 3: COLLEGE LIT
2009 Interview with Charlie Rose
Students should finish viewing the following interview segments and respond in the Comments section with their reaction to Gladwell's concept of "the Outlier." DUE BY WED. 3/18/15

Part 1:


Part 2:

Week 10 Read & Respond (Due by Tue 3/17)

Please read and respond to AT LEAST TWO of the following links. Use quotes from each article to support your position and REMEMBER, you need to write AT LEAST 5-8 sentence paragraphs for your responses. EACH RESPONSE should be AT LEAST 2 paragraphs in length. Bonus points for engaging with other student remarks. :)

Article 1:

I don't even know what kind of a question to pose for this story. Perhaps I should simply ask for your thoughts on the matter and your reaction to the issue of such disturbing speech in places of "higher learning."

Fraternity Vows Broader Look Into Use of Racist Chant

Article 2:

Analyze the school's response to the 9-second video clip.

What's Next for the University of Oklahoma?

Article 3:

Free speech vs. hate speech. Where do you stand?

Can OSU president discipline SAE fraternity members? Experts weigh in.

Article 4:

Agree or disagree and explain your position.

Are frats "a form of American Apartheid?"

Where I'm From by George Ella Lyon

CRW: Where I'm From poem

Kohl's Scholarship Information

Click on the link below to access information on the Kohl's volunteer-based scholarships.
Kohl's Scholarship

James Joyce Links

Below is a link to an audio version of "Araby."
Audio Link for "Araby" by James Joyce

Your notes and quiz questions (with answers) are due by Thursday. Quiz will be on Friday!
James Joyce Video Biography

Week 9 Read & Respond (NEW SEMESTER!)

Respond to at least 3 of the following topics/issues. Instructions for responding to the links can be found in the previous blog post. Questions? As always, just ask! Happy viewing/reading/opining!

View the following video from this week's "60 Minutes" and respond to one or more of the issues raised in the story.
Where "Selma" Meets Hollywood

Should there be more of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this stunning discovery before moving forward with the manuscript's publication? 
'Mockingbird' Sequel Prompts High Hopes--and Controversy

How big of a deal is this? Was his on-air apology enough, or should Williams resign? What if the inquiry finds no further issues of mis-remembering?
Brian Williams Faces "Fact-Checking" Inquiry at NBC
UPDATE! Brian Williams Suspended

Should Super Bowl ads mostly/only entertain, or is there room for more serious messages, such as the Nationwide commercial? What about the other "serious" spots?
Super Bowl Commercials Go For Heart, Not Just Funny Bone

Read & Respond Instructions

Here's a quick guide for how to respond to the Weekly Read & Respond assignments.

Links are generally posted on Sunday nights and students have a week in which to read the material and post  their responses.

Responses should be AT LEAST one extensive paragraph (5-8 sentences) per article/link AND use text-based evidence (quotes, paraphrasing, etc.) to support each position. You should also read what other students are saying and respond to their thoughts with constructive words of your own. You can agree, disagree, and/or simply point out something you found interesting from another student response.

To add your responses, follow the following steps:

1. Click on the COMMENT space at the end of the blog post. (A blank "Post a Comment" box should open up.) 
2. Type your response in the comment box (or cut and paste it from your email or a Word doc)
3. Choose "Student/URL" from the "Comment as" section when you are ready to submit your writing. 
4. Type your First and Last Name (no URL is needed) and hit "Continue." 
5. Click on the PUBLISH button, prove you're not a robot, and hit Publish again. 

Your comments will be posted once I read them and approve them for the site. (Comments will be posted within 3 days of receipt.) You should see a message stating that your comment has been submitted and will be posted once it is approved. (If you do not see this message, most likely your response has not gone through. This is why I suggest that you type your responses in an email or a Word doc-- so that you have them as a back up and can at least email it to me before the deadline so as not to lose credit.)

Happy reading, thinking, and communicating!!!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

PERIOD 3: Re-write the ending of The Yellow Wallpaper, wherein you get to decide how to wrap things up! If you'd like to rewrite the ending AND write an additional "what next?" chapter, go for it!

PERIOD 4 & 7: Read, analyze, and respond
Ray Bradbury "The Lost Interview"

PERIOD 6: Students are working on their midterm projects in room 204

PERIOD 8: Students should continue writing their point/counter-point arguments for upcoming debate.

Monday, December 15, 2014

PERIOD 3, COLLEGE LIT:  you should have finished the Yellow Wallpaper questions over the weekend, but if not, please finish. Using your texts you can work alone or in small groups to DIAGNOSE THE MAIN CHARACTER. Use the graphic organizer as you hunt for clues to match each of the disorders listed before arriving at your final diagnosis.

PERIODS 4 & 7, DYSTOPIAN LIT:
View the following 20-minute interview with the immensely cool, Ray Bradbury and answer viewing questions based on the notes that you MUST TAKE AS YOU WATCH! Complete your notes and your answers to the viewing questions for homework.

NEA Ray Bradbury Interview

BRADBURY QUESTIONS:

Link to Questions Document

Back-up link to questions

1. How old was Mr. Bradbury when he learned to read?
2. Name three authors who are just some of Mr. Bradbury’s biggest inspirations?
3. What do teachers do? And What do libraries do?
4. When he was 12 years old . . .
5. What did he do every day after his experiences when he was 12 years old?
6. What happened when Mr. Bradbury when he was 12 years old?
7. A month after his discovery when he was 12, he met a man. Who was that man?
8. What did he become after his experiences when he was 12 years old?
9. Who wrote the book Fahrenheit 451? Where did the author’s come from?
10. Who is responsible for the writing of Fahrenheit 451?
11. Who is Clarisse? What is she? What does she inspire Montag, the main character, to do?
12. Who is Aldous Huxley to Mr. Bradbury?
13. What did Aldous Huxley tell Mr. Bradbury? What kind of writer did Huxley tell Mr. Bradbury he was?
14. What is the most important book in Bradbury’s life?
15. What book did Bradbury write when he was in his thirties that was inspired by The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens?
16. What kind of experience should reading be? Could reading be?
17. What is the answer to life?
18. Why does Mr. Bradbury think his books are popular?
19. What is at the center of his books?
20. How old was Mr. Bradbury when he “discovered” he was alive?
21. You must “love what you do and do what you love.” What instructions does Mr. Bradbury give to young people on this idea?
22. What should be the center of your life?
23. What epitaph does Mr. Bradbury give us to remember him by?
24. What T-shirt is Mr. Bradbury going to have made?
25. How can you interpret this figurative statement?
26. Ray Bradbury mentioned that he was surrounded by people who did not believe in the future. Do you believe the world is full of people who do not believe in the future? What does Mr. Bradbury believe you can do to instill hope for the future in people who seem hopeless? What did he do?
27. What could Mr. Bradbury have meant when he said, “By doing things, things get done”?
28. What could Mr. Bradbury have meant by, “The things you do should be things that you love, and things that you love should be things that you do?"

PERIOD 6, CREATIVE WRITING:
Students must work on their mid-term writing projects. The computer lab in room 204 has been booked, and Mr. Albano will most likely be bringing in some of his students as well.

PERIOD 8, PUBLIC SPEAKING:
Students should work in their assigned groups to prepare for an upcoming debate. Students may use outside sources and will receive additional research to analyze this week. Today, students should work on their opening statements, their main points, and their closing statements.

COLLEGE LIT: THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM...

Period 3, College Literature students: please respond to the following ideas in connection with your analysis of "The Yellow Wallpaper." Comment just like you would on the Weekly Read and Respond exercises and submit your thoughts by Wednesday, December 16th.

Is there really a baby?
Is there really a sister-in-law?
Is there even a husband?
Where IS the narrator?

Feel free to add additional conspiracy theories!