R&J Helpful Links

Sometimes, reading Shakespeare and figuring out what he means can be difficult. There are ZILLIONS of resources on the web, but here are a few that I recommend without the extraneous (and unreliable) high school student websites out there. I will continue to add to this post as I find more extremely helpful resources!

Easy Reading

• Audio version will full cast: Quick, fun, great voices!
• http://www.speak-the-speech.com/romeoandjuliet.htm
• OpenSource Shakespeare: Concordance, searchable texts, and easy navigation!
• http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=romeojuliet
• No Fear Shakespeare: A side-by-side Shakespeare text and modern text. Also available in book format to buy!
• http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/
• Bartleby: Online copy of Shakespeare’s text accompanied with line numbers
• http://www.bartleby.com/70/index38.html

Helpful Analysis

• Mr. Bruff offers detailed and sound analysis with a delightful British accent. He has many videos that can help you with other texts and assignments, too. The following are video analyses of Romeo and Juliet.
• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqGFsWf-P-cB7YAoARj6iAFCglAfy9aN2

To Kill a Mockingbird

As we head to Spring Break, let's quickly touch on one of America's seminal novels: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Beloved by thousands of young and old readers alike, this coming-of-age, Great Depression and Jim Crow era novel is celebrated as a hearty historical perspective on 1930s Southern culture.

We will only be reading an abridged version of the text due to time constraints of our 180 days together. You can find that version and an audiobook I recorded for you at this link. LitCharts is a really excellent resource that has some interactive flow charts of what happens throughout the novel. Make sure you check it out for solid explanations and analysis of the rest of the novel.

I highly recommend that if the story intrigues you that you read the entire novel by Harper Lee herself. The full novel is on audio files provided by this teacher's Weebly.

Many people consider TKAM their favorite book of all time. Especially in anticipation of the corollary novel that has recently been announced, you may find your new favorite author! See these other links to find out why so many love it!

• 5 Reasons Why TKAM is GREAT!
• TKAM is more popular than the Bible
• 70% of (Inexpert) Debaters Agree

Digging Deep into The Scarlet Letter

Now that we have established Hawthorne's unique and detailed writing style, we will read the rest of the text independently (see schedule below) and discuss the chapters in class. Tomorrow, we will look into the main characters in the close reading style that we employed today.

 We will also be supplementing our understanding via the WGBH Boston mini-series interpretation. We will be completing ABC Charts within our Daily Composition Notebooks. Using the alphabet, we can identify lots of symbols and setting elements that set the tone and theme of The Scarlet Letter. These charts will help us identify the Dark Romantic style of Hawthorne's writing. Follow this link to watch a video about American Dark Romanticism.

Additionally, we will be doing pages from the Glencoe Activities Packet. Keep up with these papers in your Comp Notebooks and we'll work on them as we go!

For an online version of Hawthorne's original text, click here! For your reading of The Scarlet Letter, you can check out this audio recording. It also has a copy of the text below as it reads--a one-stop wonder!


Reading Schedule:
(Due in class on day mentioned)
Wed: Ch 1
Thurs: Ch 2-4
Fri: Ch 5-6

Mythology Research Projects!

Now that you are finished with your Personal Hero Essay, it's time to do some research-based writing!

You have been randomly assigned a character (god/creature/human) from Homer's Odyssey. You will spend the next two days in class researching your character and creating a presentation/handout for your classmates. Check out this "fill-in-the-blank" handout template I have created for you. Here are a handful of great, trustworthy online resources and links to print resources you can check out at Barnes and Noble or your local library:

• An Extensive Index by acclaimed author Carlos Parada
• Edith Hamilton's Mythology
• Scholastic and National Geographic's Treasury of Greek Mythology
• Theoi Greek Mythology: Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature and Art
• Encyclopedia Mythica
• Classical Texts Database: Perseus
• Ancient Greece Database

POP QUIZ: Post-Quiz Review

"Alley" Jacob Lawrence

Today, we had a "pop" quiz about "The Hero's Journey!" I hope you enjoyed reading "The Rights to the Streets of Memphis" by Richard Wright. I know that you did AWESOME on the quiz if you have been paying attention in class the last two weeks.

Remember that you started brainstorming your Personal Reflective Essay today after the quiz. You will need to have this finalized, in pen or printed, with proper grammar and usage on Monday. Remember to follow the formula I have outlined on the assignment sheet. You can do this!

Online Textbook Resources

Since we only have a class set of textbooks, you can still access class content on the publisher’s textbook webpage. There are some great resources on this site like audio versions of our text, extra activities, and links to cool stuff that relates to the texts or authors we read. Be sure to use this resource at home!

Freshmen Course:

Username: Heck9th

Password: password

Security Question: panthers

Junior Course:

Username: Heck11th

Password: password

Security Question: panthers

Travels to Countries Afar, Travels into the Future

We have finished Gulliver's Travels and seen how a stranger can observe a new world with new social customs.

H. G. Wells published The Time Machine in 1895, almost two centuries after Swift published Gulliver's Travels. However, both novels are remarkably similar in social criticism and theme. While Gulliver's Travels is a satirical work (making fun of the English Parliamentary folly), The Time Machine uses problems with humanity to create a future-looking science fiction novel.

Soon, we will complete this comparison chart of the two novels.

The Time Machine is available in free audio book online at the following links:

• http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17401/17401-readme.htm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OroP6b_dBik
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3LI9UingiE

The Time Machine is available for free on the kindle app or online at these websites:

• http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WelTime.html
• http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/timemachine/1/
• http://www.literaturepage.com/read/thetimemachine.html
• http://www.bartleby.com/1000/

Finding Treasures in The Great Gatsby

Complete the following WebQuest to learn more about the background of The Great Gatsby. This web-based search will introduce you to the world of Gatsby and his fellows so you may better understand the development and significance of action in the novel.

2. After the War Link: after the jump below
7. Arnold Rothstein Link: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Rothstein.html
8. Flapper Jane Link: http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/1025/flapperjane.pdf

Here's a video giving you a headstart on analysis of The Great Gatsby:

An online text of The Great Gatsby is free to read and download at: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/

Listen to any section of the novel at this hyperlink audiobook.

No Heavy Books!--Macbeth Text Online

Here are some great resources for making Macbeth more accessible to read and to carry!

• In class, we will be listening to the dramatized audio version of Macbeth.
• SparkNotes has the entire text of Macbeth in both Shakespearean English and Modern English. 
• The entire text on a searchable website can be found from MIT. 
• The Google Play store has an android app to play Macbeth as an audio book.

Take any one of these to complete your Act dramatization

Fellow teachers and parents, read this well-crafted article that demonstrates how fun (and wild) reading Shakespeare in school can get!

Viewing The Scarlet Letter

Now that we have established Hawthorne's unique and detailed writing style, we will read the rest of the text via the WGBH Boston mini-series interpretation. We will be completing the ABC Charts that we folded today in class.  Using the alphabet, we can identify lots of symbols and setting elements that set the tone and theme of The Scarlet Letter. These charts will help us identify the Dark Romantic style of Hawthorne's writing. Follow this link to watch a video about American Dark Romanticism.

Additionally, we will be doing pages from the Glencoe Activities Packet. Keep up with these papers in your folders and we'll work on them as we go!

For an online version of Hawthorne's original text, click here!

REMEMBER: You should be using the time you are NOT reading in this unit to be WRITING your research paper due March 27 and reading your own Independent Reading Novel with your group.

Google Mail and Documents

In our class, your CCS e-mail account will be a vital link of communication for your junior research paper. I want us to use the Google platform to create everything for your project so it can never be lost, missing, or destroyed.

Your student email follows this format:

first three digits of your first name, first three digits of your last name, and last four digits of your PowerSchool ID/NCWise Number, ALL followed by @ccs.k12.nc.us .

For example, my name is Elizabeth Heck and my (fake) ID number is 06302012.
My email will be elihec2012@ccs.k12.nc.us

To login, you use your typical username and password that you use to log in to computers at school; this is often your NC Wise number and your birthday.
Log into your email at this link, off of the main CCS website (link is at bottom of the screen).

For any help or issues with Google Drive and Documents, use this helpful FAQs website. When we use Google Drive, you will always "Share" your documents with me at elizabethheck@ccs.k12.nc.us . I have attached the instructions from Google after the jump!

New Online Resources

News from Mrs. Steppe:

After years of planning and developing, the Online American Library is now LIVE!  This is a fantastic resource - and will only get bigger each year!  With any luck all American library systems will share their digital collections, creating one of the largest inventories of information, music, and books available for free (well, our taxes pay for it) in the world.

 

Here's an article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/18/digital-public-library-of-america_n_3111264.html

 

And here's the DPLA:

http://dp.la/