Leadership

Politics play an important role in our country. Without discussing anything specific from our own political parties and without discussing any leader by name, please think for a few minutes and comment on the following questions that this play raises. What makes a good leader? Is it okay to sacrifice the rights of an individual for the good of many, the way that Brutus and the conspirators sacrificed Caesar for Rome? What would the perfect government look like? Brutus, one could argue, is in favor of a democratic leadership. He fears the total power Caesar wanted to assume. With that being said, is it ironic at all that Brutus chose a VERY undemocratic method of finding a solution to the problem? Are there any contemporary world events-- or any in recent history-- which parallel Brutus' taking of Caesar's life? Do such comparisons help you understand Brutus' position or the world in the play?

Week of September 28

I hope you are enjoying Caesar.  I will say that I feel like you all are getting more on your own than most of my previous English II classes.  Thanks!

Monday, 9/28

Act III

Tuesday, 9/29

Character activity

Wednesday, 9/30

Act IV

Thursday, 10/1

Character analysis in class-- Sub

Friday, 10/2

Act V

Week of September 21

We are starting Caesar this week and I am so excited!!!  :)

Monday, 9/21

Lab to type resume and persuasive paper

Tuesday, 9/22

Shakespeare video/questions

Wednesday, 9/23

Extra credit 

Notes

Thursday, 9/24

Act I

Friday, 9/25

Act II 

DUE:  Journals

Week of September 14

This is the end of our nonfiction unit this week.  I hope you found it to be interesting.  Every day moves us one day closer to Caesar, which is my FAVORITE!!!!  

Monday, 9/14

Define Unit 3

"Man in the Water"

Mini-seminar

Tuesday, 9/15

Cosby's essay

Wednesday, 9/16

Review

Vocab act

Thursday, 9/17

Test

Friday, 9/18 

Vocab quiz

Persuasive essay

September 11

You all did a 9/11 Memorial today after viewing the documentary. I will probably post some of those on this site later. However, I would like to hear some of your memories of that day. I was teaching (my fourth week of my teaching career, in fact) an English II Honors class of 12 people. We were in a little closet of a room during 2nd period when Mr. Rockholt came on the intercom and announced that our country had been attacked. He told us that two planes had hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. He said that we don't have a lot of information at the time, but that we needed to remember the victims. I had first lunch, so at lunch we found out that a plane had hit the Pentagon as well. At some point someone heard that a fourth and fifth plane were inbound. (We later learned about the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.) There was just a lot of chaos and nerves. We did not have TV's at the time and I was a floating teacher so I didn't even have my own computer. My junior English class was fourth period and we went on and worked on our lesson, though no one's minds were on it, including mine. During 4th period (my planning period), I went to an empty room with my fellow teachers and watched the coverage. At that point, some stations were still showing the gruesome images of people jumping from the buildings. It was horrific to watch and there was some element of disbelief about it all. I remember waking up the next morning, how it took a minute for it to sink in that the world was a different place than it had been the previous morning. I was not a mom yet at that time, and I can imagine even now how much more terrifying the whole thing would have been if I had already had children. For some reason, nothing in this world is so scary when it is just you and your spouse. It's when little people depend on you that the fear reaches a whole new level. My daughters were born into a post-9/11 world. They don't remember what it was like to get to airports 30 minutes before your flight, to not have to take off your shoes when you go through security, and to live without the knowledge that our security is a precarious thing. September 11 changed a lot of things for the United States, but the freedom we all share remains the same and we should be forever grateful for that.

The Hero in All of Us?

This unit has some very interesting (real!) events in it. We are working on Rosa Parks and Montgomery Boycott the first part of the week, then on 9/11 and heroism in the end of the week. What are your thoughts on a hero? What does it take for a person to be one? Do we all have the potential for heroism, or only some?

Week of September 8

We are moving along in nonfiction now!  And just think, it's a FOUR DAY WEEK!!!!

Tuesday, 9/8

Articles

Write summary

Watch "Rosa Parks Story"

Wednesday, 9/9

Finish "Rosa Parks"

Cause-effect essay in class

Thursday, 9/10

"9/11" documentary

Friday, 9/11

Finish "9/11" documentary

Write 9/11 Memorials

Read "The Man in the Water"

DUE:  Journals

IrfanView HTML-Thumbnails

IrfanView HTML-Thumbnails

Week of August 31

We are beginning the nonfiction unit this week!  I think we will enjoy it a little more than the short story unit.  

Monday, 8/31

Short Story Test

Tuesday, 9/1

Fairy Tales activity

Wednesday, 9/2

Define Unit 2

Finish Fairy Tales

Thursday, 9/3

Vocab act

Nonfiction notes

Friday, 9/4

Vocab Quiz

Frank McCourt

Articles

Read "Fish Cheeks"