American Literature-3 Assignments

This essay is due on Wednesday, May 12 @ 5 p.m.  I will not accept late work.  If you are having a difficult time with the writing process, you need to speak with me during class or during my office hours.

For Monday, April 19 read "Double Face" and "A Pair of Tickets",

Please view the attached file. For extra credit this semester (Semester 2, 2021), I will give you three points extra credit for each of the workshops you attend. You must write two - three sentences about what you learned from each workshop and why that individual workshop was important. You may submit all of your work at the same time if you attend more than one workshop. Please note the due date, I will not accept any late work this semester on Extra Credit nor will I extend the deadline.

Read "Magpies" and "waiting Between the Trees" for Thursday, April 15.

For Monday, April 12 read "Without Wood" and "Best Quality".

Read "Rice Husband" and "Four Directions" by the time class meets on Thursday.

Pick ONE of the following questions to answer (if you answer both you will receive a "0" on the assignment for failure to follow instructions). I am looking for a minimum of 2 (TWO) well-written paragraphs with examples from the book to support your claim. THIS IS NOT a personal essay; therefore, do not use I, me, mine, etc. in your writing. I am not looking for your persnal opinion, I am looking for a compilation and explanation of facts to support your claim.

1. When and why and by whom was the first Joy Luck Club formed? Compare and contrast it to the second Joy Luck Club.
2. How is America portrayed? Americans? What about China/ the Chinese?

For Thursday, read the next two sections titled "Half and Half" and "Two Kinds".

For Monday, March 22 read the sections titled "Rules of the Game" and "The Voice from the Wall".

For Thursday, March 18, read through the end of the section titled "The Moon Lady".

Answer each question in COMPLETE SENTENCES.

In your book read the first section titled "Jing Mei Woo: The Joy Luck Club." Stop when you get to the heading "An-Mei Hsu: Scar"

Read the attached article.

After viewing and reading portions of the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury, who do you think had the dream that was worth funding with the $10,000 insurance check Mama is receiving following the death of her husband?
Using evidence from the play and the movie, defend your choice. You may only pick one person, one dream. Why is their dream important to that person? Will it help the entire family or just that person? If realized, does the dream have temporary effect or will the effect have long-reaching effects? What will the realization of the dream look like 10 years in the future? 20 years?
This does not have to be written as an essay, it can be written in 2-3 paragraphs. HOWEVER, you MAY NOT write this as a question and answer piece – i.e. do not write one of the questions above and answer it, then move on to the next question. There MUST BE a flow to your writing that does not depend on answering one piece of information at a time or writing in the order in which I present the questions. You are juniors in high school. You need to be working on expanding and refining your writing skills.

If you write only 1 (one) paragraph, it must have a MINIMUM (no fewer than) 7 (seven) sentences.

If you write more than one paragraph, 4-7 sentences per paragraph is appropriate.

You will be graded on the following: (25 points total)
Does your writing flow well (10 points) or did you write in a question/answer format (0 points)?
Spelling – (5 points) make use of spell check, it can also help you resolve grammar issues (for those of you who write in your native language – something I do not encourage – when you translate to English, use the English spell check. (The first two spelling and grammar mistakes are free, after that I will deduct one point for each error
Grammar – (5 points) do your noun and verb tenses match? (See above statement on points.)
Punctuation (5 points) – take it easy on the comma’s, if you have already used a comma in a sentence you probably don’t need another one and you probably didn’t need the one you just used.

Use the atached Character Analysis chart as a guide to create a brief character analysis of each character in the play A Raisin in the Sun.

1. Read the poem in the front of the book by Langston Hughes (see questions on another post)
2. Read the introduction in the book (answer questions on another post)
3. Read pages 23-31 of Act 1, scene 1.

After having read the article on Langston Hughes and the poem that was included with the article, answer the questions posted above.

You receive 5 points per paragraphs (two paragraphs). Spelling, punctuation, and grammar will also be graded.

1. This essay will be written in the Jane Schaffer style - Topic Sentences (TS) and Concluding Sentences (CS) are in BLUE; Concrete Details (CD) are in RED; Commentary (CM) are in GREEN.
2. Introductory and Concluding paragraphs are not color coded, they are in BLACK.
3. When you use direct quotes or if you paraphrase a quote or passage, you must give a page number. For example:

George said, “I really loved Myrtle” (73).

It must be done exactly as I show it or I will deduct points. "Open quote phrase no punctuation close quote" (open parenthesis page number close parenthesis) punctuation

4. There will be five (5) paragraphs unless I have personally told you otherwise.
5. You must have a one-inch (1") border on the top, bottom, and sides of your paper (this is standard, so your page should already be set up like this). Each new paragraph must be indented .5 inch. Your paper must be double-spaced between each line, not just between each paragraph.

For Monday, January 11, please read Chapters 8 and 9 before class begins.
While you are reading you need to write down any quotes or passages that you think fit the theme that you have chosen to write about in your essay.

Please answer the attached questions using complete sentences.

Write a three paragraph summary of chapter 7. It is due today at 3:30. Even if you do not finish, turn it in by 3:30 p.m. today.

Write a summary of chapters 1-5. Minimum of 1 page, typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman. As you plan your writing, think about the following:
1. How do the chapters work together? Are you able to piece information from one chapter together with information from another to help with understanding?
2. What are the most important events from each chapter? How can you best summarize those events in your own words?
3. Who are the important characters that you should give brief (one sentence) information about so the reader knows why they are important?
4. You may use your words to describe characters and include your feelings. HOWEVER, this paper is not a first person paper, so just use adjectives/adverbs without using "I think". I should be able to tell what you think about a person or a situation without you using the pronoun "I" or referring to yourself in any way.
5. Do plan your writing - make a check list or bullet points of topics you want to discuss before you begin writing. PLAN what you think should be in your summary.

I don't actually believe in extra credit. If you do the work I assign and turn it in, chances are you will pass this class. However, I always seem to have students who want to raise their grades, even if they have a "B". I do make an effort to make extra credit challenging and I only offer one assignment a semester.

For this semester's extra credit, you need to explore banned books. You may find a list of banned books on several sites, the most common and most easily accessed is ala.org (American Library Association). This site has yearly lists of banned books going back at lease two decades.
Find two books that have some time in the past been banned - it does not have to be one that is currently on the banned list.

Do not pick the first two books on the list. Look at the lists and read through them - you will be surprised at some of the books that are on the list. You MAY NOT include any book that you have been assigned to read in school. I know what books you have been assigned to read throughout your school years.

Include the following pieces of information:
1. Book title
2. Book author
3. Date of publication
4. When the book was banned
5. A brief synopsis of the book plot
6. Why was the book banned?
7. Find a verifiable source that explains the standards that must be met in order for a book to be banned and list those standards. How many of those standards were met for each book before it was banned?
8. Who called to have the book banned? (Usually it starts with a parent or parent group at a public school or library). If you cannot find this information just put N/A for question 8 (that means Not Applicable).

Write in complete sentences. Spelling and sentence structure will always matter. Poor spelling and poor sentence structure equals a poor grade.

Types of Point of View
First person: We are seeing events through the eyes of the character telling the story.

Second person: The narrator is speaking to YOU. This isn’t very common in fiction, unless the narrator is trying to talk to the reader personally. We see second-person point of view mostly in poems, speeches, instructional writing, and persuasive articles.

Third person: The narrator is describing what’s seen, but as a spectator. t If the narrator is a character in the story, then we are reading what he or she observes as the story unfolds. This narrator has three possible perspectives:

Limited – In limited third-person, the narrator sees only what’s in front of him/her, a spectator of events as they unfold and unable to read any other character’s mind.
Omniscient – An omniscient narrator sees all, much as an all knowing god of some kind. He or she sees what each character is doing and can see into each character’s mind. This is common with an external character, who is standing above, watching the action below (think of a person with a crystal ball, peering in).
Limited Omniscient – The limited omniscient third-person narrator can only see into one character’s mind. He/she might see other events happening, but only knows the reasons of one character’s actions in the story.

Some of you are not following instructions on writing assignments and are not completing assignments correctly. For this writing prompt I want a MINIMUM of THREE PARAGRAPHS consisting of 7 or more well-written sentences. Sentences must be a mix of simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex-compound sentences. Seven simple sentences in one paragraph will result in a grade of C- or lower. This is not to punish you, but rather, to force you to think more about writing, to make you think about how you represent yourself through print, and to force you to carefully read instructions and follow them.

Please answer in complete sentences. Check spelling and grammar.

Finish reading Act IV of "The Crucible".

Use your own words to answer the questions. Do not copy from the book. I want to know what you think and how you understand the text.

Write a three paragraph summary of Act I of the Crucible. You may include details about why the Reverand Parris things the girls are working with Satan, what we know about how Puritans feel about Satan, what we know about the relationship between Abigail and John Proctor, why Mr. Hale is brought in.

Go online, you need to 5 facts about Nathaniel Hawthorne and 3 facts about the Puritans beliefs about witchcraft and/or the devil. You may not use Wikipedia. Then you need to cite your source. If you don't know how to do a MLA citation, just put the link from your source at the bottom of your paper. This is not a bullet point assignment, complete sentences.

Please answer in complete sentences - no one word answers.