Thurs, Dec 29

In class today, students peer reviewed Candide final papers according to the criteria below. They also decoupaged journal covers. If you missed class, please get together with a classmate to complete a peer review before Monday.
Final Candide papers due Tuesday, Jan 3 at start of class. Peer reviewed 1st draft must be submitted with final draft.
Monday's class: The official start of Journal Writing Mondays!!!

Peer Review

Identify thesis

Score effectiveness of introduction on #1-3 (high)

Identify and evaluate the support. How many quotes are used. Too few? Too many?

Score conclusion #1-3

Is the Works Cited page written & formatted properly?

Major Assignment due 12/29

Candide Paper Assignment

Due 12/29 in class

In a 3-page paper, explore the following question:

What do the characters’ experiences in Candide imply about Voltaire’s philosophical opinions of human nature, the roles of women in society, war, European colonization of the Americas, and/or slavery. 

Feel free to address any or all of those topics mentioned above.  Realize, however, that no matter how many you choose to cover, you must still write at minimum 3 pages and no more than 4.

Revised Class Assingment

In addition to your Book Introduction assignment (due Dec 6 via email), complete reading of Candide through pg 98 + plot and character notes by class time on Monday, Dec 12.
Notes will be checked, so take them!

Mon, 9/12

In class today, students learned about paper formatting, organization, and effective thesis statements.

HW due Wed 9/14: Write an effective thesis statement for your summer reading paper rewrite.

Wed, 9/7

In class, groups presented their ideas for Vermont reconstruction post-Irene.

HW due Thurs: read Traffic handout and research bike laws, safety, and preparedness suggestions on the following two websites:

Local Motion

VT Bike Ped

Monday, 9/5

In class today, students took notes on the Aristotelian Appeals for persuasive writing and speaking. They received further feedback on their letters to the governor.

HW due Wed 9/6 - Include one of the Aristotelian Appeals in your letter and make final corrections to submit a quality draft in class.

Thurs, 8/25

In class today, I explained my 'check' marking system and quickly reviewed some commonly mistaken homophones (there, their, they're, to, too, two, here, hear, etc.). We completed our summer assignment presentations.

HW due 8/26: Read distributed Old Navy article, then find another example in the news of poor grammar affecting someone's life. Bring a copy of this article to class and be prepared to explain it to your peers.

Wednesday, 8/24

In class today, students delivered informal presentations on their summer assignments. Presentations will continue in class tomorrow.

HW due Thurs, 8/25: Make a list of at least 5 things you would like to learn in English 11 this year.

Mon, 8/22

Welcome back to Burke!

In our first class, we reviewed news articles from a variety of media sources that dealt with the topic of summer class assignments. Students were also tasked with the challenge of strictly holding themselves to deadlines this year. We reviewed the differences between the word 'effect' and 'affect'.

HW due Wed, 8/24: Prepare (using outline, index cards, etc) a 3-5 minute presentation on how your educational experiences relate to or differ from the characters in your summer reading. Also, write a 1-page (max) letter to the Gods of Deadlines explaining if and how you plan to make a personal commitment to meeting deadlines this year.