Blog Post Assignment 4

Your assignment for this week will be to read your assigned chapters from A Lesson Before Dying. You will post your quotations on your blog, and you will answer at least 2 questions for your selected quotations. Do not forget to respond to your assigned classmates’ blogs!

Creative Writing

In the Honors class, students read the short story “The Rockpile” by James Baldwin. Many students were able to find relevance in the story thus leading to a greater understanding of the theme and central idea. After students analyzed, read, and participated in a class discussion, students were given a creative writing assignment. Students were asked to create a new ending or continue "The Rockpile" from the current ending. Afterwards, students shared their story with the class. For the most part, every student did a really awesome job. The stories were detailed, interesting, and captivating!

Blog Post Assignment 3

One of my greatest passions in life is traveling. My goal is to place my foot on every continent in the world and travel to as many places as possible. We live on such an amazing planet, and I believe that it is important to experience as much of it as possible.

For Blog Post Assignment 3, write about a place that you would like to visit. Explain why you would like to visit that place, when you hope to visit that place, and upload a picture of that place. I have numerous travel plans for the next 2 two years (China, NYC, Europe, Chicago, and Brazil again), but my ultimate destination will be a trip to Africa. I plan to make that trip happen within in the next 5 years. This assignment is due on Thursday, February 18, 2016. You must comment on your assigned classmate's blog by Sunday, February 21, 2016.

A Lesson Before Dying Chapters 3 - 4

Students, here is a copy of the homework questions for Chapters 3 - 4 for A Lesson Before Dying. In addition, I have included a copy of the quotation assignment; you must do this assignment for each chapter.


Chapters 3 - 4 Discussion Questions

Quotation Assignment

Mardi Gras Break

Students, I hope you are having a great Mardi Gras vacation! Do not forget to bring A Lesson Before Dying and your MLA Handbook on Monday. I am now back in the United States after spending a week in Brazil. I had an awesome time, and here are some pictures. I am looking forward to seeing all of you on Monday morning. Enjoy the remainder of your vacation!

Synthesis Essay (AP Students ONLY)

Students, this is a reminder that your synthesis essay in due in your Google Drive folder by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 7, 2016. I extended the due date by a day. You must adhere to the due date; do NOT procrastinate!

Your essay must be in MLA format, typed, double spaced, 12 Point Times New Roman Font, no contractions, no 1st person, and no second person.

If you misplaced your handout, click on the link for a copy of the synthesis essay handout: The Synthesis Essay Step by Step Guide

Do your best!

Mock Election

In preparation for the next unit which focuses on politics and government, I gave students a brief lecture on the election process. I was not surprised that many students were not very knowledgeable concerning the subject. We talked about the importance of understanding how the process works and the importance of voting. Although none of my students will be able to vote in this election, they will be able to vote in the 2018 Senate elections and the 2020 presidential election. Now is the time to get students thinking about voting; most importantly, it is essential that they understand the current political climate.

When I was in high school, I could not wait until I was 18-years-old so that I could vote. The 2000 presidential election, Bush vs. Gore, was my first presidential election; it was one of the most contested election in US history. The election was held on November 7, 2000, but the actual winner was not declared until December 12, 2000 after the US Supreme Court stopped a recount in Florida. As a result, George W. Bush was declared the winner. In this case, every vote mattered! Bush won the election by a narrow margin.

After the brief lecture, I conducted a mock election. Here are the results of that mock election: Hillary Clinton came in 1st place, Ben Carson 2nd place, and Donald Trump 3rd place. Students, comment on this post telling who you voted for and why you chose that candidate.