Honors World Literature (Period 3) Assignments

 

The Final Exam will not be concerned with the content of the texts you have been reading this semester. The exam will not be an essay. It will be focused on the components of excellent writing. Your attention should be directed to the composition work that you have been doing. Thus, to prepare for the exam, review handout materials (including the writing rubric and the sample Introductory paragraph), edits and comments on your written work, notes that you have taken, and discussions of the elements of writing that have taken place in class and are reiterated on the Homework Portal.*

*In particular, see the entries of 10/12/15, 11/17/15, and 1/20/16.

 

 

 

 

Due Today. 

 

Read and know the contents of the Research Paper Packet, including the sidebars on the sample research paper contained therein. 

 

 

Vocabulary/Prose Narrative Utilizing Vocabulary Words
--Know the words in Groups IX-XI of the Vocabulary Packet such that you are able to use them appropriately.

 

The hard copy version of the Poetry Analysis assignment that was submitted to Turnitin at the end of class on 5/17 must be turned in at the start of this class period. 

 

Note: If you make any revisions to your paper subsequent to its submission to Turnitin, you must indicate on your hard copy the location and nature of those revisions. 

 

-Identify one line or passage in each of the following poems* that strikes you as poetically "lyrical" ("musical" language expressing emotional intensity): "Jade Flower Palace," "The Moon at the Fortified Pass," "The Guitar," "What are Friends For," "Making a Fist," and "Some Like Poetry." Discuss, in one well-written paragraph, the reason(s) that you made your selection. Note: A paragraph for each poem's chosen line or passage is required.

 

Time will be allotted for in-class writing. Bring textbooks to class on 5/11 and 5/17.

 

*These listed poems will be found on pages 970-976 of your textbook, Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes.

 

Note: At the conclusion of this class session, you will both submit your paper to Turnitin and present a hard copy in class.

Submit your composition re the essay "Little Red Riding Hood" by Bruno Bettelheim. It should be no more than three well-written, well-reasoned pages (containing evidence from the text) responding to one of the following three prompts: 

 

1-How convincing do you find Bettelheim's logic and use of evidence in his claim that in the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood is working out her Oedipal conflicts? 

2-How convincing do you find Bettelheim's logic and use of evidence in his claim that the wolf represents the primitive id, and the hunter represents the superego?

3-How convincing do you find Bettelheim's analysis of the illustration by Dore? 

 

Time will be allotted for in-class writing on 5/3 and 5/5.

 

Note: Your writing should be double-spaced.

 

Note: You will be given a copy of the essay (including the illustration referenced in #3 above) in class. 

 

Note: At the conclusion of this class period, submit your paper to Turnitin and present a hard copy in class (printing will be done in the library).

 

 

 

Read the essay "Little Red Riding Hood" from The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettleheim.* The essay will be distributed in class on Friday, 4/29. 

 

Note: The material is a bit challenging; however, a careful and close reading will win the day. Be prepared to participate in a discussion of this text in class.

 

Julius Caesar/Creative Writing Composition

Submit your narrative*, no longer than three double-spaced pages, in which you contemplate a different version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as a result of the addition of one key character.** This character should be inserted at some critical point in the play and have an impact that causes the story to take a substantially different turn. Make certain that your narrative unfolds naturally-not by virtue of a simple one-shot jolt. (Merely creating a character who does something that leads directly to Caesar being saved from the assassins won’t cut it.)

*Your paper is due, via hard copy and submission to Turnitin, at the start of class. 

**This character may be a historical figure from the time in which the events take place or one that you invent "out of whole cloth,” i.e. utterly without foundation in fact, completely fictitious.

Time will be allotted for in-class writing on 4/25 and 4/27. 

 

 

 

We will be reading and discussing this story, which was provided to you, in class. (Make certain that you bring your copy.) 

Submit, via hard copy and Turnitin, your Final Draft. 

 

Time will be allotted for in-class writing. 

 

Each group will make a comprehensive presentation re one of the 5 acts of Julius Caesar. The presentations will be in the nature of a seminar (a class, typically at a university, in which a topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students).

The format: A "teacher" will be selected by each group to orchestrate/facilitate its presentation. The group will engage in a "discussion" that educates the rest of the class re the content of its designated Act. Each member of the group will be an expert as to some segment of their group's assigned Act and will discourse (speak authoritatively) on that segment. EVERY member of the group will select at least one meaningful passage from their segment and both explain it in the context of the overall story AND explicate (analyze in detail) the selection(s).

Note: Supplemental materials for the audience, performance pieces, and/or technological enhancement are encouraged.

Class time will be provided on 3/23 for work on this project. The presentations must be ready for prime time on 3/29. Some out-of-class research and coordinating may be necessary.

 

 

 

Read Act V.

Reading/Julius Caesar

 

Read Act IV. Submit Study Guides for Acts III and IV.

 

Submit hard copy of 3/17 In-class creative writing assignment. (This copy should be identical to the version that you submitted to Turnitin at the end of class on 3/17.) The hard copy should be stapled to the Instruction Sheet containing your pre-writing notes. 

 

Read Acts III and IV. 

Study Guide/Julius Caesar

 

Submit Comprehension Worksheet/Study Guide for Acts I and II.

 

Read Act II. 

 

 

Vocabulary/Prose Narrative Utilizing Vocabulary Words
--Know the words in Groups IV-VI of the Vocabulary Packet such that you are able to use them appropriately.

 

Read Chapters 6-9 (completion of the text).

-Complete Dialectical Journal entries for Chapters 6-9 and submit finished Journal in class and to Turnitin. 

 

Submit final draft of Night Composition to Turnitin on 2/12 (unless you are in the group to whom I extended an extension) and in class on 2/16. 

 

Read Act I.

 

Read Chapter 5.

Complete Dialectical Journal entries for Chapter 5.

Groups will make presentations as follows*:

 

Group 1-Shakespeare's Life and Plays

Group 2-The "controversy" re the Provenance of Shakespeare's plays

Group 3-The Globe Theater and Elizabethan theater in general

Group 4-The Life and Times of Julius Caesar

Group 5-Shakespeare's Language (Iambic Pentameter, Blank Verse, Double Entendre)

Group 6-Shakespeare's Sonnets

 

*Visual and Performance elements are encouraged.
Note: You will have significant class time on 2/26 and 3/1 to work in your groups.

 

 

 

 

Read chapter 4.

-Complete Dialectical Journal entries for Chapter 4. 

 

Read Chapters 1 and 2. 

-Complete Dialectical Journal entries for Chapters 1 and 2.

 

 

During your reading of Night you will be maintaining, chapter-by-chapter, a dialectical journal. 

 

A dialectical journal is meant to record your conversation with the text. (Thus, in order to maintain such a journal, you are forced to have that conversation.) While it is possible for you to start the dialogue (with your expectations before reading a word), most likely it will be the text that launches the discussion. You will use a Dialectical Journal for your entries. The Journal will have 3 categories: Excerpt from the Text, Page #, and Response. (See template below-NOTE: If you are unable to work off of that template, create one in a file that you maintain on your computer. Your final version of the Journal will be submitted to Turnitin*). In essence, you will note anything from the text that particularly strikes you and write out your response to that "thing." If a passage raises a question, discuss it. If a passage or section of dialogue makes you think of a poem, enter that poem. If a passage recalls to you a childhood experience, write about it. If a passage jolts you to an insight, write about it. Mainly this: Your entries throughout, in both of the categories, must show me that there is a thoughtful, ongoing conversation between the ideas contained within the text and the reader (you); it must be clear that you are reading the text closely, mining from it whatever richness lies within, and sharing something of yourself in your responses. Be creatively analytical-invest yourself in Mr. Wiesel's work.

 

*This is a continuing assignment-it will be due at the conclusion of the reading of Night (2/16). Your journal will be submitted both in class and to Turnitin.

 

NOTE RE DOCUMENTARY ENTRIES*: On Friday, 1/29, the class was to make entries into the journal re the Elie Wiesel documentary viewed in class on Wednesday, 1/27. The entries are to be labeled in the "page" section as "DOC." There must be at least two entries re the documentary and the following statement is to be entered at the top of the first Response:

 

 

Your résponses to the DOC entries should take into consideration that statement. 

 

Read Chapter 3.

-Complete Dialectical Journal entries for Chapter 3.

 

The Final Exam will not be concerned with the content of the texts you have been reading this semester. The exam will not be an essay. It will be focused on the creation of a persuasive essay and the components of excellent writing. Your attention should be directed to the composition work that you have been doing. Thus, to prepare for the exam, review handout materials (including the writing rubric and the sample Introductory paragraph), edits and comments on your written work, notes that you have taken, and discussions of the elements of writing that have taken place in class and are reiterated on the Homework Portal*.

*In particular, see the entries of 10/12 and 11/17.

Reading/Textbook "Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes"

 

Read, starting at page 612, "There Will Come Soft Rains," "The Garden of Stubborn Cats" and the excerpt from the essay "The Future of Luxury." Pay particular attention to the settings in these pieces and the role they play in carrying forth each author's purpose. Also, think about how, if at all, Ray Bradbury's story relates to each of the other works. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read from entrance of Tiresias to the conclusion of the play. 

 

Read from entrance of Haemon to entrance of Tiresias. 

 

Read from conclusion of Chorus passage re the arrest of the child of Oedipus to the entry of Haemon.

 

 

 

Note: We will obtain copies of the play on Tuesday, 11/17. 

Note: The reading assignment for this date is not intended as homework to be done over the holiday. We will devote class time on 11/30 to launching into the text. (You may, of course, do some reading in advance-but only if you find yourself desperate for more of Sophocles and simply can't wait.)

 

 

Final draft of short essay due. See the original assignment under the Due Date of 11/19 for details. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chorus, in stanza I. 2., pg. 31 of the Dover edition, warns as follows: 

 

"Pride is the germ of kings; 

Pride, when puffed up, vainly, with many things

Unseasonable, unfitting, mounts the wall, 

Only to hurry to that fatal fall, 

Where feet are vain to serve her."

 

The prompt:

 

 

Note: This essay must have a thesis statement, i.e. a position that you take on the scale of "extent,' from none to entirely. It is expected that you will incorporate the rules of writing that we have discussed to this point (including, but not limited to, analysis, supporting evidence from the text by means of both quoting and paraphrasing*, logical transitioning, effective syntax, varied vocabulary and excellent grammar). THERE WILL BE CLASS TIME ON 11/5 TO WORK ON AND DISCUSS THIS PAPER.

 

*While the quote that is cited above comes near the midpoint of the tale, you should call upon evidence from the entirety of the play.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Presentations of assigned sections of the play. 

 

Note: Groups will have class time on 11/9 to work on presentations. 

 

 

READING/OEDIPUS REX

Read and Annotate from "Enter Second Messenger" (page 44 of Dover edition) to completion of the play (page 54 of Dover edition).

READING/OEDIPUS REX

Read and Annotate from "Exit of Oedipus and Jacosta" (page 31 of Dover edition) to "Enter Second Messenger" (page 44 of Dover edition).

 

Read and Annotate from "Exit of Tiresias and Boy" to "Exit of Oedipus and Jacosta" (page 31 of Dover edition).

 

Read and Annotate* from opening of the play to Exeunt Tiresias and Boy (approximate lines 460-470, just before the Chorus begins).

 

* Make notes re language and phrases that need clarification. In that you cannot write in your books (unless you have a copy that you own), use post-its or make notes on a separate piece of paper. 

 

Group Presentations*:

 

Group 1-The History of Greek Theater/The Role of the Chorus in Greek Theater

Group 2-Short Biographies of Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus, Aristotle, Homer and Aristophanes

Group 3-Aristotle's definition of Tragedy and the Tragic Hero/Aristotle's Poetics-Parts 1, 6 and 13/The role of "Hubris" in Greek Tragedy

Group 4-The Myth of Oedipus/The Riddle of the Sphinx

Group 5-Dramatis Personae (Characters in the Play)

Group 6-Freud's Oedipus and Electra Complexes

 

*Visual and Performance elements are encouraged.

Note: You will have significant class time on 10/12 to work in your groups. 

 

 

 

 

 

-Conversion of pedestrian (lacking inspiration or excitement) paragraph into Personification version. 

 

Note: In addition to the personification aspect of the assignment, all elements of good writing need be employed (as always).

**READ FULL ASSIGNMENT BELOW**

 Essay: "Shooting an Elephant" (George Orwell)

Note: Both the Essay and the Prompt will be provided on 9/29. The Prompt Handout should be utilized for your prewriting notes; it is to be submitted with your final draft. The prompt:

 

Orwell calls what he is doing in Lower Burma “the dirty work of Empire,”* and judges his shooting of the elephant finally as the product of the conflicting motivations behind his position and empire itself. What are the “higher” moral beliefs that imperialists claimed? In what ways does Orwell’s essay refute these claims?

 

*It would behoove you (be suitable or proper) to do a bit of research on the British Empire and its Colonial Rule vis a vis (with regard to) Burma. 

Note: There is no limit on the length of your response; however, it must comprise at least three "healthy" paragraphs. 

**When you submit your essay it should be accompanied by a) your prewriting notes and b) the Peer Review Worksheet, which will include notations of your actions in response to at least 3 of the reviewer's suggestions. 

RE YOUR WRITING:

As discussed in class, make certain to employ the following elements of good writing:

-Syntax (word order; sentence structure)

-Vocabulary (appropriate synonyms-varied language (including transitions))

-Diction (word choice-the synonym that most precisely communicates your intention)

-Language Conventions/Grammar (punctuation, spelling, capitalization)

-Internal Logic (orderly construction of your essay; consistency throughout  with respect to your argument/position)

-Supporting Evidence from the text (and, where appropriate, a "concession"-acknowledgment of the contrary position)

***AND, BEFORE SUBMITTING ANY WRITTEN WORK, ENGAGE IN SERIOUS EDITING AND PROOFREADING

Poetry/Short Compositions: Textbook-Prentice Hall Literature/Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes 

-Read Poems on Pgs. 938-944: "In Flanders Fields" (John McCrae), "The Kraken"(Alfred Lord Tennyson), "Meeting at Night" (Robert Browning), "Reapers" (Jean Toomer), "Prayer of First Dancers" (Navajo)

 

The essay to be submitted this date will be a response to the following prompt: 

 

 

 

 

 

-Submit "Imagery" Language Worksheet

-Read Pgs. 44-113/The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

--NOTE: WHILE READING, ANNOTATE YOUR TEXT WITH THE FOLLOWING ESSAY PROMPT IN MIND: Compare and contrast Junior's friendship with Gordy to his friendship with Rowdy. You will be writing a short essay  responding to this prompt. Note: Evidence from the text will be required.

 

 

Vocabulary Quiz/Prose Narrative Utilizing Vocabulary Words

--Know the words in Groups I-III of the packet such that you are able to use them appropriately.

--Adjective Clauses, Participial Modifiers, Appositives, Special Punctuation (dashes, colons), Editing

-Read Pgs. 1-43/The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

-Composition: Submit Final Draft of Summer Reading Analysis

--Prompt: Consider the gender of the characters in your novel. In no more than two well-written paragraphs*, explore how gender affects the plot and character development in the novel.** Your response should include supporting details from the text. 

 

NOTE: Attach to your final draft the rough draft or pre-writing notes that you worked on in class.

 

*You may include a brief Introductory Paragraph in addition to the one or two main paragraphs.

 

**For those of you who did not read any fiction as part of the Summer Reading assignment, you may discuss the significance of gender in the development of any of the prominent persons in the nonfiction work OR you may answer the prompt with respect to a novel that you read at some other time. 

 

 

-Submit signed Syllabus Agreement

-Submit Summer Reading Worksheet

-Submit "Tone" Language Worksheet