Books I've Read

Fahrenheit 451: Enduring Classic or Overdone Dud

Your next writing assignment is to address the topic that has been part of our conversations over the past couple of weeks: should schools continue to teach Fahrenheit 451, or should we ditch it in favor of a different science fiction novel?

Before you begin your essay, please read these articles/ blog posts:

http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/fahrenheit-451-60-years-later-why-do-we-need-the-things-in-books/

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/ray-bradbury-and-the-real-lesson-of-fahrenheit-451/

http://www.teach4real.com/2013/02/04/curriculum-upload-teaching-fahrenheit-451-in-the-urban-classroom/

Your essay needs to address the following topics:

• Why are you keeping it or ditching?
• the good and the bad
• relevancy to your lives
• themes/ social commentary 
• reading standards
• alternative readings/ novels/ benefits of free choice

From Anthem to Fahrenheit 451

After our excellent discussions of Ayn Rand's Anthem, you are ready to tackle Fahrenheit 451. As we read this novel, our goal is to deepen your thinking about literature. We are going to examine this novel a little differently through this project.

Peer Editing

Click here to access a peer editing document for your literary analysis.

Articles of the Week #3: APUSH

As a former U.S. history student, you have been called upon to review the recent events in Colorado and recommend a course of action for the Jefferson County School District, the second largest district in Colorado. Your task this week is to read several articles on the APUSH issue. In a two to three page letter to the Jefferson County school board, please address the following:

• Review why students and teachers in the Jefferson County School District are unhappy. Identify the source of the conflict. 
• Explain why students and teachers are justified in their walkouts, or why the school board is correct in proposing revisions to the APUSH curriculum. Analyze the fairness or unfairness of the APUSH curriculum.
• Explain how the media has influenced public perception of this issue. 
• Discuss any other points you consider pertinent to the issue. 
• Propose a course of action for the school district.

Read these articles (and others as well) to help you write your letter:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/lifestyle/education/what-in-the-ap-us-history-curriculum-apush-sparked-controversy-in-the-jeffco-school-district

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/24/jefferson-county-students-protest_n_5876716.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/24/hundreds-colorado-students-protest-proposed-history-curriculum-changes/

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/student-walk-outs-possible-at-pomona-arvada-west-and-ralston-valley-high-schools-tuesday

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/trending/jeffco-school-board-lampooned-on-twitter-over-proposed-revisionist-history-lessons

I will not be grading annotations this week. I will only be assessing your letter for your ability to summarize the issue, make inferences, cite evidence to support your thinking, and write a clear, cohesive argument in favor of the board and its actions or the students and teachers who are currently protesting. 

Your letter is due Thursday, October 9th. 

"Harrison Bergeron" Compare/ Contrast Literary Analysis

After reading "Harrison Bergeron" and watching 2081 (directed by Chandler Tuttle), you are ready to tackle standard RL.7:

Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment. 

That seems easy enough. We've already identified some major differences between the two mediums. But what do you analyze? For the purposes of this paper, you may focus on either of these standards to help you with your analysis:

RL.5: Analyze how an author's (or director's) choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise (or changes in mood and tone). 

or

RL.3: Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. 

Assessments...

Click here for an EOC-style assessment over our memoir unit and then take this quick "Harrison Bergeron" quiz. The last question will be homework.