April Literature 2016 - National Poetry Month

In the interests of fitting in more literature and writing around your other classes, we'll focus on poetry for the month of April, National Poetry Month.

Some general links on poetry that you might find interesting:

National Poetry Month homepage
Poets.org
The Poetry Foundation
Crash Course Literature

How to Read a Poem --  an excellent essay with a helpful list of questions to keep in mind when trying to understand poetry.  It would be good to print these out and put them in a notebook for future reference.  Apply this method of reading and these questions to the poems by Lord Byron linked below.

Week of 4/11-4/15: Lord Byron

23 poems by Lord Byron:
 Focus especially on these:
7: "I Would I Were A Careless Child"
9: "There is a Pleasure in the Pathless Woods"
10: "He Who Ascends to Mountaintops"
11: "So We'll Go No More A-Roving"
13: "She Walks in Beauty"
15: "If That High World"
19: "The Destruction of Sennacherib"

Writing assignment for the week: Write a poem in Lord Byron's style.

Some links for Lord Byron:

Biography
A Brief Guide to Romanticism
The Romantics -- The British Library 

Week of 4/18-4/22: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Compare Byron's poetry to Ralph Waldo Emerson's, who wrote a bit later and was also American and a Transcendentalist.  Henry David Thoreau was also a Transcendentalist.  I think you can see that they shared some things in common with the Romantics, who preceded them.  Here's a neat timeline of Literary History that will help you sort this out. )

15 Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. "Music"
3. "Success"
4. "My Garden"
5. "Seashore"
7. "Concord Hymn"
13. "To Ellen, at the South"
15. "Give All to Love"

Year 11 Humanities: Week One

Some General Notes for Year 11
This year is going to be full, and you should expect to spend most of your day working on school work just as if you were working a full-time job.  That doesn't mean it will all be drudgery, but handling this sort of workload will be good practice for college.  College classes, in general, cover more ground more quickly than high school classes do and therefore, give quite a bit of homework in addition to time spent in class.  I think it's safe to say that all college students spend at least part of their weekend on homework.  (You can talk to Garrett about this if you want.)

On the other hand... our schedule isn't set in stone.  There are a few books that I've scheduled in for you that I think could made optional, dropped entirely, or moved to the next term.  What I want you to do is to try your best to follow the chart for the month of September.  At that point we'll have enough data to make some adjustments.

Following the chart might be easier if you figured out a sort of daily schedule for yourself.  You can break the readings down into daily pages if you want and do a little bit of reading from every book on a daily basis, or you can just assign each book to a different day and do the entire reading at one time.  So, for instance, if you break down your readings for The Scarlet Letter for 4 days a week, you'd be reading about 5 or 6 pages a day.  Or maybe you'd rather sit down on Tuesday afternoons and read all 22 pages for the week.

You might also assign different subjects to different days of the week.  In that case a schedule might look like this:

Monday
German class
Precalc homework
APES work
chemistry
Religion
Government
15 minutes of test prep

Tuesday
Precalc class (and homework?)
German homework
APES
chemistry
History
15 minutes of test prep

Wednesday
German class
Precalc homework
APES work
chemistry
Literature
15 minutes of test prep

Thursday
Precalc class (and homework?)
German homework
APES
chemistry* (You may only choose to do chemistry 3 days a week, though.)
Language Arts (Rhetoric/Writing)
15 minutes of test prep

Friday
Music class
Nature walk
Precalc
German
APES
Geography (which is pretty light)
15 minutes of test prep


A schedule like this one assumes that you'll be putting in some definite time every day on the single subject, though -- like an afternoon.  (Except in the case of Literature/Language Arts which go together and will also be lumped in with some of the reading we do in the mornings together.  Government, History, and Geography are also going to be combined on your transcript into a course we'll call something like "Early American History and Government" or "American History and Government I".)   

Writing This Year

Every week you'll be doing approximately 3 short writing assignments that won't be revised, with 2 or 3 longer (revised) essays per term and maybe a research paper in the spring.  I'll assign the short writing assignments based on your reading and they should be included in your weekly blog post.  (You can hand-write or type the short assignments as you like.)  These assignments will be due every Friday, and you will need to show them (and your chart) to your father.  Also, you'll need to meet with him to discuss Government; you two will need to work out a good time, and he may require you to answer questions in the workbook that goes along with your book.  We will hash that out this week.

You'll also notice that Week 12 on your chart is light on readings and includes "essay or exam topic" entries for many subjects.  Week 12 will be our exam week.



Week One Links and Writing Assignments

Writing Assignments:
Only one since we're just getting started:
1) Summarize the section of Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" that you are assigned for this week


Literature
Alexander Pope: 24 Annotated Poems
A vast encyclopedia about the history of English and American literature which you may want to explore: Vol. XI: The Period of the French Revolution

Essay on Man by Alexander Pope (And on audio here)
Gulliver's Travels on audio here
Two audio versions of The Scarlet Letter



Writing and Language Arts

To listen to the audio lectures for TESS (Traditional English Sentence Style), go here and scroll down to see the lectures linked in the sidebar. 



History
  
The Brothers Green teach American History, too: Crash Course American History.
(Term One is basically videos #1-#6)
Salem Witchcraft Trials, actual transcripts
You might also want to dip into Francis Parkman's classic history, The Jesuits in North America
 






 

Ecology

I'll be adding more links later, so check back.

Here is the Crash Course Ecology at Kahn Academy. 

Zoology Research Project

You'll want to print out this post and keep it in a notebook as a guide to your research project.

First, the numbers:

• The final paper should be 5-8 pages long.  (Of course, if you wanted to write more than 8 pages, that would probably be okay.  I'm just giving you a target to aim for.)
• Spend 6 weeks on this project.  The first draft of the paper will be due Friday, March 21.  The final paper (after we spend some time revising it; I'll look at your first draft and help you with this) will be due Friday, March 28.  
• Books on monotremes may be hard to find, but all of your reading should not come from electronic sources (i.e., websites).  Magazine and journal articles you find online count as text sources, not electronic sources.  It's also okay to add in some documentaries if you run across them.  But the bulk of your research should be done by reading.  
• Weeks 1-4 should be spent reading and doing research.  We'll set a goal to go to the University of Memphis library once during that time so you can do some research there. 
• Week 5 should be spent pre-writing -- organizing your research and outlining your paper.
• Week 6 should be spent writing the first draft of the paper.  (2 pages on each of M/W/F would give you a 6 page paper by the end of the week.)
• Week 7 will be dedicated to revisions.    I'll edit your draft, hand it back to you, you'll revise for a second draft, then we'll proof and edit that one, and the third draft should be your final paper.  

Next, some tips for tackling research projects:

The thing about reading for research papers is that you'll often start out with sort of a vague topic which you'll usually refine as you learn more in your reading.  This is what is supposed to happen, so don't worry right now if you don't have much of an idea about how you're going to produce 5-8 pages about monotremes.  As you read, you can make notes in a notebook, on the computer, or using index cards in a system I'll show you.  (The benefit to the index card system is that you can take your index cards out and arrange and rearrange them into an order that will help you actually write the paper.) You can also mark any books using post-it notes.  You should print out anything from a website that strikes you as especially interesting and put it in your notebook,  so it's there to reference.  We can also experiment with Pinterest and/or Evernote as a way to keep track of electronic information.  You have to keep track of your sources.  When you write a paper, it's important to give credit to anyone from whom you've gotten any of your ideas.  You should also be backing up any statements you make in the paper with evidence.  If you haven't referenced your sources in a formal paper, you've committed plagiarism.  (This is why we're using projects like this to learn to document sources and write formal papers.)

If any questions occur to you when you're doing your reading, write them down in a notebook or in a Word file so you can follow up on them later.

Here are some questions to help guide you in your reading:

• How are monotremes classified? Where do they fit in the general framework of life on earth?
• What is the biology of monotremes? What do they have in common and how are they different?
• What do monotremes teach us about evolution? Where do they fit in the evolutionary scheme of things?
• How are scientists studying monotremes right now?  Is this different than the way they studied them in the past?
• What is the conservation status of monotremes in the modern world?
• Have monotremes influenced any kind of governmental policies in their native Australia? Are these policies controversial? 
• Does the study of monotremes have any implications for humans? (For instance, do they indicate the health of environments, do they produce any substances that might lead to advances in medicine, etc?)

 

Term 1, Week 4

 1 chapter of Understanding Scripture.

Work on the Ancient Egypt post from the history blog.

Story starter: Jam.


Geography:

1. Watch this video about the layers of the Earth.  It's made by goofy college students from MIT and involves a "layers of the Earth" cake and a Lego minifig.  Draw and label your own diagram of the earth's layers (using a picture from a book or by googling one online) and put it in your notebook.  (Or bake an earth cake.)  

2. Color the page: "Volcano Sites/Earthquake Zones" in The Geography Coloring Book.  This is why a knowledge of plate tectonics is relevant to most people.  Check out the USGS Earthquake Hazards site for real time earthquake maps and other data.   

3.  Read chapter 4 of Why Greenland is an Island: "Not So Trivial Trivia".  She has a long list of geographic facts she's put together for her own edification.  The last item on her list is "poorest countries".  Because this was written in the 90's, she talks about Somalia, but also says, "When you read this, another nation may be suffering more than Somalia... I'd encourage you not to ignore this final item just because it seems out of date.  Rather, substitute the latest information, or part of the world where suffering concerns you the most.  And finally, ask yourself what you can do in the way of contributions, lobbying, or volunteer work to relieve the anguish of those who live there."

Here's a project that will be due next week: Try to find out what the poorest country in the world is, or at least make a list of very poor countries.  Choose one to research further using Geography of the World, National Geographic, your atlas, and the Internet.  Investigate Catholic missions to that country and the country's saints and any Marian sites (if any).  (Food for the Poor may be good place to look, also.) Set aside some time to pray for the residents of that country, see if there are any programs for us to help with, and prepare a report about your findings.  It should be 2-3 pages long, typed.  

Zoology:

You are now working on the Protozoan section of The Zoology Coloring Book. Allow two weeks for this.

1.  Color all protozoa through the Malarial Cycle in The Zoology Coloring Book.  

2.  Look up your protozoa in The Guide to Microlife and see examples of what they look like in real life.

3.  Find instructions for culturing protozoa in the life science kit and culture your protozoa.  (I think that the instructions are the same as for this kit.)  For at least three days sample your culture and view under the microscope.  Make sketches of what you see and try to identify using The Guide to Microlife.  

4.  Choose one of the "ideas for science projects" given in the link above.  Set up an experiment and keep track of it in your notebook.  It should last for 3 days to a week.  When you are done, write up your results in the form of a lab report.  Here is a guide to "how to write a lab report".  We also have a guide to lab reports from Kolbe which is pretty comprehensive.  Garrett may have it in his backpack.  A lab report doesn't necessarily have to be typed, but you can type it if you want to.  If you do type it, you may need to figure out how to add a table in your word processing program, which I can show you how to do.

5. When you color the malarial cycle, read ch. 10 in The Microbe Hunters, "Ross vs. Grassi".      

Wildlife Biology/Conservation:

1.  Keep reading The Aye-Aye and I.  Depending on how much you have to read, either plan to finish this week or next.  See me about this.  

2.  Watch another episode of Last Chance to See. 

3.  Wrap up your Young Birder submissions.  Think about what kind of an ongoing bird project you would like to do once you have everything submitted. 
 

Term 1, Week 3 - Sept.16-20

Don't forget the SAT Question of the Day!

Finish your pernicious kumquat essay.  Your one word for an essay this week is... expedient.  

Geography:

1. Review the continents, oceans, and major seas on a world map.  Then you can take the World's Oceans and Seas Map Quiz. (Let me know how you did.  You can retake the quiz until you get them right.)
2. Read the rest of ch. 3 in Why Greenland is an Island.  Find all the rivers in the list of major rivers in an atlas.  Then take the World's Longest Rivers Map Quiz. (Let me know how you did.  Again, you can retake the quiz until you can get them right.)

3. Do some research on river science and major rivers:
            The USGS Water Science School site.  Check out some of the sidebar links after reading the
            article.  You can access current water data for the US, as well as the current state of all US
            rivers and the US river flood watch.  

            There's a good introduction to the Nile River at How Stuff Works.
 
             Here's a short video on the Amazon.

             The Nature Conservancy site dedicated to the Mississippi River has lots of information and   
             links to explore the river and see what efforts are being made to preserve it. 

4.  Complete the "Map the Mississippi Watershed!" activity I printed out for you.  Follow the directions to color the map.  I have a completed map and answers for you to check your work.  (If you need to print another copy of the activity for whatever reason, it's located here.  You'll have to print it in two sections: Page Set Up - Portrait -- for pages 1 and 2 and Page Set Up - Landscape -- for pages 3 and 4.  All you need to do the activity are pages 1 and 4.)   


Zoology:

1.  Color the Animal Kingdom page in your Zoology Coloring Book and know the major divisions of the animal kingdom.

2.  Redo your slides and view.

3.  Read chapter 18 in the Prentice Hall Biology textbook about classification.  Look up any unfamiliar vocabulary in the glossary and write it down with the definitions.  

4.  Try the Quick Lab on p.453: "How is a cladogram constructed?"


Keep up with your math.

Finish your history readings/lectures for Mesopotamia.  The writing project is posted, too.











3. 

5. Keep reading The Aye-Aye and I ( and let's watch another episode of Last Chance to See.  

Term 1, Week 2: Sept. 9-13

•  Don't forget the SAT Question of the Day!

• Latin class starts this Tuesday!

•  Your one word essay topic this week is... pernicious.  (If you don't know what it means, look it up!)

Geography:   

You can file any geography papers in your history/lit notebook, or you can start a new notebook.

1. Tell me what you learned about Syria and find it again on a map.
2.  Read ch. 3, pp. 34-37 (stopping at "The Romance of the Rivers") in Why Greenland is an Island.
3. Read "How to Color and Use This Book" in The Geography Coloring Book.  Then color the "Glossary of Geographical Terminology" on the next two pages.
4. Find all the places mentioned in the chapter and the glossary on a map, at least to country and state. (The level of detail may not be such that you can pinpoint an ocean inlet, but you can find the country it's in.)
5. On a blank map of the world, color and label the continents and oceans.  (We can either find one to print online or copy the included blank world map in Uncle Josh's Outline Maps.)




Zoology:

You're going to need a zoology notebook, too.  Fortunately, I bought extra binders.

1.  Read ch. 2  of How to Use a Microscope.

2.  Use the microscope to view the prepared slides we own.  Then you can check out the cool virtual microscope images at Microbe Hunter.  If you have time, you can also see some electron microscope images at the MicroAngela Electron Microscope Image Gallery and the SEM Gallery at the Museum of Science in Boston.

3. Read ch. 3 of How to Use a Microscope and follow the directions for making simple preparations to view. (You can do table salt, potato starch, cotton, cheek cells, and human hair easily.)  Print out some copies of the Microscope Observation Worksheet to record your findings. We have a package coming with some stuff to play with for making slides, as well as a large set of prepared biology slides.  There is also a big surprise in the package that I think everyone will find interesting.

(You can also use these slide-making ideas at Home Science Tools.  The important thing is to get comfortable using the microscope.)

4.  Color the Animal Kingdom page in your Zoology Coloring Book and know the major divisions of the animal kingdom.

5. Keep reading The Aye-Aye and I and let's watch another episode of Last Chance to See.

History/Lit:
Set up your notebook and write it in it.  Remember that you're not just reading Gilgamesh; there are history readings and audio lectures, too.  (You need to listen to 3 lectures and you only have this week and next week to finish Mesopotamia.)

Religion:
Chapter 2 of Understanding Scripture.  Remember to read the Bible verses at the beginning and write about your reading in your notebook. 

Math:
Keep up with your class.