AMERICAN LITERATURE & COMPOSITION
Students should login to their online classroom on Canvas in order to complete their Digital Learning assignments until further notice.
Link to access Microsoft FREE Office 365 for PCSD students, instructions can be found HERE.
Freakonomics Unit test and summative journal response due
2/13
Freakonomics
Freakonomics online link for book:
tinyurl.com/y2x2t3z3
2/11 Chapter 6 lesson
Student guide for Freakonomics
2/6-2/7
Chapter 5: What makes a perfect parent?
This chapter summarizes the results of studies by Levitt and his coauthors, as well as other studies, that examine the influence demographic, cultural and other variables have on the performance of school-age children on standardized tests. In a now familiar theme, the results are plangently counterintuitive. Based on a mountain of school children’s test scores, a successful child appears to be more “made” than nurtured, more mused than molded.
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies
rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-thescience of good parenting?
3. How does the information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage
of information from parenting experts support the major theme of this book
(Hint: incentives matter)?
4. Based on the example of perfect parenting in this chapter, provide examples that illustrate how the
combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes.
5. When looking at statistical data over a period of time, what does “correlation” mean? How is
it different from “causation?”
6. What tool does an economist use to make sense of data which include many variables? In general
terms, how does regression analysis sort out the data?
7. Describe the difference between normative and positive analysis.What can you learn about
the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect parenting?
8. Describe, in general terms, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)? Who conducted it,
who was the target of the study, and what was the purpose of the study?
9. According to the data in this chapter, what are the main differences between a school which
overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students?
10.Academically, how well does an average black student do in a “bad” school? How is this different
from an average white student in a “bad” school?
11.According to the data developed from the ECLS, what is more important regarding a child’s success
on standardized tests: what a parent does for a child or what a parent is? In your opinion, what
might be an explanation for such a strange conclusion?
12.According to the data developed from the ECLS, having lots of books in the home is correlated
with higher scores on a child’s tests, reading to the child nearly every day is not. If a parent were
only interested in having his or her child achieve higher scores on standardize tests, what would
you imagine his or her benefit/cost considerations to be when it came to the purchase of books
and this use of his or her time?
13.According to the data developed from the ECLS, a low birth weight is correlated with lower test
scores on standardized tests, but the attendance by a child in the Head Start program is not. If you
were a government official with limited financial resources, how would this inform your decisions
regarding the allocation of government funds?
1/31 Chapter 4: Where have all the criminals gone?
This chapter considers a variety of possible explanations for the significant drop in crime and crime
rates that occurred in the 1990s. Based on articles that appeared in the country’s largest newspapers,
the authors compile a list of the leading, commonly offered explanations.The next step is to
systematically examine each explanation and consider whether available data support the explanation.
What the authors, in fact, demonstrate is that in all but three cases–increased reliance on prisons,
increased number of police, and changes in illegal drug markets–correlation was erroneously
interpreted as causation (and in some cases, the correlation wasn’t even that strong).
The last few pages of the chapter focus on an explanation of the crime drop that had not been
addressed until much more recently–the effect of legalized abortion.
Only SOME of the questions given in the student guide appear below.
2. Describe the incentives Ceau_escu used to increase the birth rate in Romania.Were these incentives effective? Explain.
3. As a result of Ceau_escu’s policies, what happened to the average quality of life in Romania? Provide an economic explanation for the change that occurred.
4. Describe the general behavior of the crime rate in the United States between 1970 and 1999, i.e., indicate whether it was increasing or decreasing from year to year.
5. List each of the explanations of the drop in the crime that occurred in the 1990s that are evaluated by Levitt and Dubner.
6. Of the explanations you identified in the previous question, which ones do not appear to in fact be valid? Which ones do appear to in fact be valid?
18. Summarize the argument by Donahue and Levitt regarding the relationship between the drop in crime in the 1990s and the legalization of abortion as a result of Roe v.Wade.Your summary should focus on such factors as the characteristics of the average criminal (e.g., average age, home life), what happened in states that legalized abortion prior to the decision in Roe v.Wade, and the type of woman who is likely to take advantage of Roe v.Wade.
Summative Essay (Jonathan Edwards) due Thursday 1/30/2020 by 11:59PM, submitted in Canvas.
Login to your Canvas course page to submit your essay there.
Unit 1 objective Test is Wednesday, January 29th.
Study Guide for Unit 1
Native American myths: original composition in groups, origin myths, oral tradition, elements of myths
Anne Bradstreet poetry (inversion): pg. 91-93, extended metaphor
William Bradford historical narrative (bias): pg. 62, first person point of view
Equiano's slave narrative (Imagery): pg. 71
Jonathan Edwards' sermon: pg. 95, with contextual vocab.
Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative (allusion): pgs. 81-86
Friday, January 24th: Chapter 3 of Freakonomics
Freakonomics online link for book:
tinyurl.com/y2x2t3z3
Chapter 3: This chapter answers a surprising question; “Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?” Once you have read and carefully studied this chapter you should be able to complete the following tasks which, taken together, answer this and related questions.
1. What is “conventional wisdom?” What are some ways that “conventional wisdom” comes into being?
2. Explain why challenging the “conventional wisdom” with regard to a sticky social issue may be difficult to do.
3. Considering this chapter’s analysis of the transformation of Listerine from an antiseptic to a cure for halitosis, what can one conclude about the effect of advertising on market demand for a good or service?
4. Explain how the incentives of police departments and the public media gave rise to explanations of the rising crime rate in the 1980s that were totally wrong.
5. Describe, in general terms, the organizational structure of the Black Disciples street gang. How is it similar to the organizational structure of most business?
6. Explain how four years of financial records of the Black Disciples street gang found their way into the hands of a University of Chicago graduate student.
7. How did J.T., a branch leader of a Black Disciples street gang, acquire and maintain a regional monopoly over crack cocaine within the territorial domain of the gang?
8. What are monthly costs incurred by J.T.’s unit of the Black Disciples? Which costs would be considered fixed costs? Which would be considered variable costs?
9. Explain how a “tournament” or “winner take all” labor market works.Why would a street-level drug dealer be willing to accept low pay and poor working conditions? 10. Give your own examples of a “tournament” type of labor market.
11. How do the incentives of the street-level drug salesman differ from those of the gang leader/ franchise owner? Are they both attempting to maximize the profits of the gang? Why or why not?
12. How did the invention of crack cocaine transform the urban street gang? 13.According to the data cited in this chapter, civil rights laws and a shift in the attitudes in the United States regarding race helped to improve the status of black society. How did crack cocaine alter that progress?
Fri., January 17th
CHAPTER 2: Reading guide questions below (only the ones you need to answer are given):
2. Explain Stetson Kennedy’s role in the Klan’s ultimate decline in popularity in the South, focusing on the role the dissemination of what the Klan believed was secret information played in that process.
3. Explain what is meant by the term “information asymmetries” and give examples of information asymmetries we encounter in everyday life.
4. Explain whether, and if so, how, information asymmetries create a competitive advantage for particular individuals.
5. Explain how such innovations as the Internet have affected the presence of information asymmetries.
7. Provide examples that illustrate how the combination of an information asymmetry and fear can lead to harmful outcomes. Explain how the introduction of the element of fear makes the problem of the information asymmetry even worse.
14. Assuming many of the people who use Internet dating sites are not being truthful when they describe themselves, what could motivate them to do so, knowing that if they ever actually met a date face-to-face, the truth would likely come out?
Friday, January 10th: Chapter 1 Answer the question "What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?"
Freakonomics online link for book:
tinyurl.com/y2x2t3z3
Fall 2019:
Final exam study guide:
Students should be using their computer logins to access CANVAS through PCSD website or NPHS website
Current Unit- The Great Gatsby Final test includes focus on this unit.
American Gothic literature:
Week of 11/4: Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker" short story (link here) and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil"
Edgar Allan Poe: Week of 10/28-11/1: Stories include "The Black Cat" and poem "The Raven" with a review of The Salem Witch Trials of The Crucible
Freakonomics: Finishing ALL chapters for test on Monday, 10/28- open book, open note, Multiple choice
Persuasion
Revolutionary unit Journal 10/10:
After reviewing the links below, students should write a 1-page journal sharing thoughts about at least 4 of the virtues listed on the virtues website for Ben Franklin. For example, are there any virtues you feel you have mastered, or are there any virtues you feel you need to improve in your own life? Explain your thoughts. For the aphorism (a short witty saying that expresses a general truth) website, record a few of these sayings and what you think each one of these really means.
Links from today:
http://www.thirteenvirtues.com/
https://www.poorrichards.net
Revolutionary War up to the present day:
Argumentative Essays Due in Canvas on Wednesday, October 9th by 11:59 PM. See Canvas "Assignments" for more details and a NPHS writing rubric.
Focus areas: counter arguments, audience, and transition words/phrases.
We are typing essays during class including a minimum of THREE class periods for writing workshop, and ONE additional class period for MLA formatting.
The Crucible
Act 3 quiz on Thursday 9/12.
Review link below.
www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/section5/
The Crucible, ONLINE STUDY GUIDE sites below.
www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/study-questions/
Character quiz link: www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/characters/?quickquiz_id=248
Friday 8/30: Freakonomics online link for book:
tinyurl.com/y2x2t3z3
Chapter 3: This chapter answers a surprising question; “Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?” Once you have read and carefully studied this chapter you should be able to complete the following tasks which, taken together, answer this and related questions.
1. What is “conventional wisdom?” What are some ways that “conventional wisdom” comes into being?
2. Explain why challenging the “conventional wisdom” with regard to a sticky social issue may be difficult to do.
3. Considering this chapter’s analysis of the transformation of Listerine from an antiseptic to a cure for halitosis, what can one conclude about the effect of advertising on market demand for a good or service?
4. Explain how the incentives of police departments and the public media gave rise to explanations of the rising crime rate in the 1980s that were totally wrong.
5. Describe, in general terms, the organizational structure of the Black Disciples street gang. How is it similar to the organizational structure of most business?
6. Explain how four years of financial records of the Black Disciples street gang found their way into the hands of a University of Chicago graduate student.
7. How did J.T., a branch leader of a Black Disciples street gang, acquire and maintain a regional monopoly over crack cocaine within the territorial domain of the gang?
8. What are monthly costs incurred by J.T.’s unit of the Black Disciples? Which costs would be considered fixed costs? Which would be considered variable costs?
9. Explain how a “tournament” or “winner take all” labor market works.Why would a street-level drug dealer be willing to accept low pay and poor working conditions? 10. Give your own examples of a “tournament” type of labor market.
11. How do the incentives of the street-level drug salesman differ from those of the gang leader/ franchise owner? Are they both attempting to maximize the profits of the gang? Why or why not?
12. How did the invention of crack cocaine transform the urban street gang? 13.According to the data cited in this chapter, civil rights laws and a shift in the attitudes in the United States regarding race helped to improve the status of black society. How did crack cocaine alter that progress?
Freakonomics open book and open note quiz over chapters 1 & 2 is on Wednesday 8/28 during class. See below for links for the book.
Jonathan Edwards' sermon ESSAY #1 due 8/27 in Canvas by 5PM
Writing rubric and prompt:
sinners_essay_rubric.docx
Posting in Canvas is part of the lesson for Wednesday 8/21. The assignment will be open for submissions beginning Thursday 8/22 until Tuesday 8/27 at 5PM for on-time submissions. The handouts due with the final draft may be submitted any time until the due date/time. See your Canvas assignments tab for instructions and helpful links.
Freakonomics online link for book:
tinyurl.com/y2x2t3z3
Freakonomics lessons Thursday and Friday 8/22-23:
Ch 2 of the book- also complete magnet chart for term "information asymmetry".
Reading guide questions below (only the ones you need to answer are given):
2. Explain Stetson Kennedy’s role in the Klan’s ultimate decline in popularity in the South, focusing on the role the dissemination of what the Klan believed was secret information played in that process.
3. Explain what is meant by the term “information asymmetries” and give examples of information asymmetries we encounter in everyday life.
4. Explain whether, and if so, how, information asymmetries create a competitive advantage for particular individuals.
5. Explain how such innovations as the Internet have affected the presence of information asymmetries.
7. Provide examples that illustrate how the combination of an information asymmetry and fear can lead to harmful outcomes. Explain how the introduction of the element of fear makes the problem of the information asymmetry even worse.
14. Assuming many of the people who use Internet dating sites are not being truthful when they describe themselves, what could motivate them to do so, knowing that if they ever actually met a date face-to-face, the truth would likely come out?
Unit 1 objective Test is Thursday, August 15th
Study Guide for Unit 1
Native American myths: original composition in groups
Anne Bradstreet poetry (inversion): pg. 91-93
William Bradford historical narrative (bias): pg. 62
Equiano's slave narrative (Imagery): pg. 71
Jonathan Edwards' sermon: pg. 95, with contextual vocab.
Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative (allusion): pgs. 81-86
Friday, August 9th: Chapter 1 Answer the question "What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?"
Freakonomics online link for book:
tinyurl.com/y2x2t3z3
FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE:
Must be complete (including grammar handouts) and submitted with your final exam answer sheet. See directions on the study guide.
final_test_sem_bstudy_guide_american_lit_comp__1_.doc
Monday May 6th:
Original Short Story group compositions- See attached file for a graphic organizer to complete if you need help.
Elements to include in your school-appropriate short story: character names with descriptions, dialogue, conflict, and plot diagram events.
short_story_graphic_organizer_.docx
Poetry Terms Friday May 3rd: Poetry terms crossword puzzle review video. See Mrs. Jones if you need another copy of the puzzle (originally distributed in March)
Assignment: Create 2 original test questions in multiple choice format.
Wednesday-Thursday May 1st-2nd:
Flannery O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" pg. 914-924 or link: faculty.smu.edu/nschwart/2312/lifeyousave.htm
Record vocab preview definitions from the green boxes.
Read the story and answer questions pg. 924 (1-6) after the story.
Selection quick check quiz in class; see Mrs. Jones for the handout.
Poem "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath:
Link for poem and analysis: owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Mirror-by-Sylvia-Plath
Confessional poetry definition
Selection quick check handout; see Mrs. Jones for the handout.
Grammar Handout: Italicizing
IMPORTANT DATES:
GA Milestones 4/29-4/30 (Mon-Tues) 8:35AM- until
USA TestPrep Practice Test DUE 4/29
Thursday, 4/25, Spoon River Anthology poetry link:
www.bartleby.com/84/index1.html
Lesson summary: Select 3 poems to summarize and explicate (explain 3 poetic devices you have identified in each poem). Then have fun writing your own "Spoon River" style poem for a celebrity or loved one. Label this poem "ORIGINAL." These original compositions DO NOT have to rhyme. Min. of 10 lines.
Wednesday, 4/24, Harlem Renaissance poetry & Whitman review:
Sonnet vs. Free Verse, format identification, including Italian and Shakespearean sonnet format
Langston Hughes: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too
Claude McKay: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44694/if-we-must-die
Jean Toomer: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46406/november-cotton-flower
Walt Whitman: tinyurl.com/yyc2w98h
Harlem Renaissance period review: tinyurl.com/yyzdcg9s
The Great Gatsby multiple choice summative assessment 4/18
The Great Gatsby written response: Due Tuesday, 4/23 by 11:59PM
The Great Gatsby video summary:
www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/video-summary/
Online study guide:
www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/
The Great Gatsby written response: Due Tuesday, 4/23 by 11:59PM
Directions: Select TWO options to discuss. Complete at least two paragraphs responding to EACH prompt. You must include textual evidence to support your analysis (use MLA Style quotes).
1. How does Gatsby represent the American dream? What does the novel have to say about the condition of the American dream in the 1920s? In what ways do the themes of dreams, wealth, and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America?
2. What does the novel have to say about the condition of marriage in the 1920s, considering “rich girls don’t marry poor boys”? Explain the challenges of one or more characters with their situation with marriage/divorce.
3. How does Gatsby represent the question of repeating the past? Is it possible? Explain based on events in the novel.
4. How does Nick Carraway, the narrator, go through changes in the course of the novel (dynamic character). Discuss his idea of judging others.
5. Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom. How are they alike? How are they different? Given the extremely negative light in which Tom is portrayed throughout the novel, why might Daisy choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?
4/8-4/17:
The Great Gatsby reading guide questions for all chapters:
the_great_gatsby_chapter_questions.docx
List of writers and literary elements for Thursday's summative test (3/28):
Writers/Selections:
Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"
Walt Whitman's poetry
Robert E. Lee's Letters: ex. "Letter to His Son" 3/27
Spirituals: "Go Down, Moses" and "Follow the Drinking Gourd" 3/27
Literary Elements:
parallelism
complex and compound sentences
poetry sound devices: alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia
free verse poetry
imagery: sensory details
figurative language: simile, metaphor, personification
refrain (3/27)
private letter (3/27)
3/21 (Thursday): Conference week invitations sent home with students (RSVP please by Monday).
Week of 3/18:
Complete The Crucible essays and revisions to complete summative grades for the 1st 9 wks.
Civil War literature: Walt Whitman poetry (3/21) and Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (3/22)
Friday, 3/15 Language Surveys (dialect):
1st survey link: As you take the survey below, observe the "red zone" location for each of your responses.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html
Assignment: Record your "red zone" location of your personalized summary on your paper.
2nd survey link:
www.dialectsofenglish.com/
Record at least two examples of how you speak that are based on your "language location."
ANNOUNCEMENT: Next SUMMATIVE unit test is Thursday 3/14, 2nd half of class- Multiple Choice Literary Terms Test
Special tutoring for test: Tues. 8AM and 3:30-4:00PM
Study: Use the R1 Handbook of your textbook for assistance.
Friday, March 8th:
Using www.powtoon.com create a presentation explaining the definitions and examples of direct and indirect characterization. (free login, using your google login) Tip: login to your gmail account BEFORE going to Powtoon.com
This assignment should be exported to youtube and once you load to youtube, your gmail account receives an email. FWD me that email message and I can view your presentation. Time investment: 1 class prd.
See me if you have questions.
Thursday, March 7th:
Irony: Verbal, Situational, Dramatic Irony
Helpful link: study.com/academy/lesson/verbal-irony-in-literature-definition-examples-quiz.html
Assignment: Create an example of each type of irony from a movie or everyday life. Then, record an example of each type of irony from literature (The Crucible or "The Story of an Hour" pg. 554 are some tips).
Wednesday, March 6th:
Dialect in Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Link for the short story: twain.lib.virginia.edu/projects/price/frog.htm
Monday-Tuesday, March 4-5:
Terms for Review:
Direct & Indirect Characterization, Foil, and Dialect
Use the story "The Rockpile" pg. 961 to record examples of direct and indirect characterization.
Friday, March 1st:
Spring Pep Rally Day, 2nd block will not have class.
1st and 4th blocks will have a choice assignment day: makeup up work, including makeup tests and essay revisions for those who qualify (see me if interested) OR Mark Twain classic films: "Huckleberry Finn" or "Tom and Huck"
There is no makeup assignment for today for 2nd block since the entire class will be attending the upperclassmen pep rally.
Announcement: Essay due date did not change, since no further class time was designated for the essay after Monday's workshop. If you have not submitted your essay, do so ASAP to prevent further loss of points. There is a new assignment posted in Canvas "Late Crucible Essays..." for those students choosing to submit through Canvas. Email is always available as well.
Topics for Summative Essay #2 Due by Tuesday, 2/26 @ 11:59PM:
The Crucible
1. Author's purpose: How did McCarthyism repeat the past?
2. Who's to blame for the Salem witchtrials? (According to The Crucible)
3. Character study: explain how a certain character (your choice) is a static or dynamic character.
4. Open topic: see Mrs. Jones if you have an additional idea you'd like to explore.
Submit to [email protected] or on Canvas. You are responsible for ensuring files are attached properly.
Format: MLA STYLE quotes, typed, essay of 4-6 organized paragraphs
Writing rubric:
high_school_writing_rubric_2017.pdf
M.C. Test on The Crucible Thursday, 2/14
Salem Witch trials link for court records:
salem.lib.virginia.edu/tags.html
Additional study link:
www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
Topics for Summative Essay #2 Due by Tuesday, 2/26 @ 11:59PM:
The Crucible
1. Author's purpose: How did McCarthyism repeat the past?
2. Who's to blame for the Salem witchtrials? (According to The Crucible)
3. Character study: explain how a certain character (your choice) is a static or dynamic character.
4. Open topic: see Mrs. Jones if you have an additional idea you'd like to explore.
Submit to [email protected] or on Canvas. You are responsible for ensuring files are attached properly.
Format: MLA STYLE quotes, typed, essay of 4-6 organized paragraphs
Writing rubric:
high_school_writing_rubric_2017.pdf
Tuesday- Wednesday 2/12-2/13:
Reading the play, and review Acts 3 and 4
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/summary-and-analysis/act-iii-scene-1
Monday 2/11:
Act 2 quiz, open note
Begin Act 3, read and video
Study link:
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/summary-and-analysis/act-iii-scene-1
Thursday- Friday 2/7-2/8:
Act 2 reading
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/summary-and-analysis/act-ii-scene-1
Wednesday 2/6:
1. Review Link for Act 1
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/summary-and-analysis/act-i-scene-1
2. Act 1 quiz
3. Record Vocab Preview for Act 2, pg. 1051
Monday 2/4- Tuesday 2/5:
Choice assignment:
- in class time for USA TestPrep assignment, due Tues. night at midnight (see instructions below) OR
- reading of Act 1 of the play, The Crucible. Quiz over Act 1 during class at the beginning of class on Wednesday (for all students).
USA TestPrep:
Note: You will have an opportunity to complete during ONE class session if you wish; however, you will need to complete all classwork for homework if you select that option.
USA Test Prep Login Website:
https://www.usatestprep.com/member-login
Use your login and password provided in class for your account. Email Mrs. Jones at [email protected]
if you do not have your login info. Your assignment is listed under the "Assignments" tab.
Friday 2/1: Crucible intro.
PART 1
Follow the link and print or record the chart:
gtm-media-3.discoveryeducation.com/v3.1/NewPlusELA/DSC_ELA_G11_L4_B4_Personal%20Liberties_HAND5_McCarthy_FINAL.pdf
RESEARCH the following topics to fill in the chart: McCarthyism, Salem Witch Trials, Bill of Rights since you missed the video clips shared in class.
PART 2
Read about the characters of the play, The Crucible, and decide which characters you would like to read for our class reading of the play. We will assign characters on Monday as our starter.
Follow the link below for a list of characters:
www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-crucible/character-list
Test Thursday 1/31, Early American lit, lessons from 1/18 until today; see schedule below.
Inclement Weather Assignment, DUE February 6th
Note: You will have an opportunity to complete during ONE class session if you wish; however, you will need to complete all classwork for homework if you select that option.
USA Test Prep Login Website:
https://www.usatestprep.com/member-login
Use your login and password provided in class for your account. Email Mrs. Jones at [email protected]
if you do not have your login info. Your assignment is listed under the "Assignments" tab.
I will be available to answer your emailed questions on 1/29 from 10:00-11:00AM and from 3:00-4:00PM.
Tuesday 1/29: SNOW DAY!
Classwork Monday 1/28: Jonathan Edwards, sermon, extended metaphor, Calvinism
Classwork Friday 1/25: Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative, MLA review, review of inversions and extended metaphor
Classwork Thursday 1/24 Thursday: MLA review with practice quotes, your choice
REMINDER: Freakonomics essay due Thursday, 1/24: details below
Classwork Wednesday 1/23: William Bradford, historical narrative "Of Plymouth Plantation"
Classwork Tuesday 1/22: Anne Bradstreet poetry, "Upon the Burning of Our House" and "To My Dear and Loving Husband" terms: inversion, extended metaphor
Classwork Friday 1/18: Native American origin/creation myths, create your own original composition containing elements of creation myths.
Freakonomics essay due Thursday, 1/24
Select an issue from the book you would like to discuss further. Explain the issue with quotes and other evidence to support your position (paraphrase the book). Reflect on this issue with your own thoughts and observations of our contemporary society. Make connections from the book to our lives today. You must take a position on the issue in the beginning of your essay (thesis).
Format: MLA STYLE quotes, handwritten, essay of 4-6 organized paragraphs
Writing rubric:
high_school_writing_rubric_2017.pdf
POTENTIAL IDEAS:
CHAPTER 1
Discuss types of incentives, how teenagers or other groups interpret them and connect to ideas presented in the book.
CHAPTER 2
Discuss types of information asymmetry, how teenagers or other groups interpret them and connect to ideas presented in the book.
CHAPTER 3
Discuss types of conventional wisdom, how teenagers or other groups interpret them and connect to ideas presented in the book.
CHAPTER 4
Discuss types of correlation and causality, how teenagers or other groups interpret them and connect to ideas presented in the book.
CHAPTER 5
Discuss types of incentives of experts, how teenagers or other groups interpret them and connect to ideas presented in the book.
CHAPTER 6
Regarding a child’s name, what the evidence tells us is that it is not the name that matters. Instead, what matters are the characteristics of the parent who gave the child his/her name. On a related note, it is worth considering whether a person’s name could contribute to discrimination against that person. Once again, the data fail to support such a connection.
Over time, many names become popular for a while and then gradually fall into disfavor. Why? One argument could be that as the use of a name increases and, consequently, it becomes less scarce, its market value decreases, and with it, the willingness of parents to bestow it on their child. (relative scarcity)
SPRING SEMESTER 2019
Supplies:
1” binder, with pockets
College-ruled paper
Ink pens
Flash drive
Freakonomics unit (informational text):
Students will have a class set of books available for use in the classroom. If a student would like to have his/her own copy to write in or have at home, the link below offers purchase information.
Freakonomics website for book:
freakonomics.com/books/#freakonomics
STUDENT GUIDE (study guide):
files.harpercollins.com/OMM/StudentFREAKONOMICS.pdf
Chapter 5: What makes a perfect parent?
This chapter summarizes the results of studies by Levitt and his coauthors, as well as other studies, that examine the influence demographic, cultural and other variables have on the performance of school-age children on standardized tests. In a now familiar theme, the results are plangently counterintuitive. Based on a mountain of school children’s test scores, a successful child appears to be more “made” than nurtured, more mused than molded.
1. Why are parents more susceptible to “fearmongering” than other people?
2. What market forces give rise to parenting books that appeal to a parent’s fears and inadequacies
rather than books which present an objective and evenhanded articulation of the state-of-thescience of good parenting?
3. How does the information in this chapter regarding the contradictory and confusing assemblage
of information from parenting experts support the major theme of this book
(Hint: incentives matter)?
4. Based on the example of perfect parenting in this chapter, provide examples that illustrate how the
combination of asymmetric information and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes.
5. When looking at statistical data over a period of time, what does “correlation” mean? How is
it different from “causation?”
6. What tool does an economist use to make sense of data which include many variables? In general
terms, how does regression analysis sort out the data?
7. Describe the difference between normative and positive analysis.What can you learn about
the utility of this distinction from this chapter on perfect parenting?
8. Describe, in general terms, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS)? Who conducted it,
who was the target of the study, and what was the purpose of the study?
9. According to the data in this chapter, what are the main differences between a school which
overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelmingly has white students?
10.Academically, how well does an average black student do in a “bad” school? How is this different
from an average white student in a “bad” school?
11.According to the data developed from the ECLS, what is more important regarding a child’s success
on standardized tests: what a parent does for a child or what a parent is? In your opinion, what
might be an explanation for such a strange conclusion?
12.According to the data developed from the ECLS, having lots of books in the home is correlated
with higher scores on a child’s tests, reading to the child nearly every day is not. If a parent were
only interested in having his or her child achieve higher scores on standardize tests, what would
you imagine his or her benefit/cost considerations to be when it came to the purchase of books
and this use of his or her time?
13.According to the data developed from the ECLS, a low birth weight is correlated with lower test
scores on standardized tests, but the attendance by a child in the Head Start program is not. If you
were a government official with limited financial resources, how would this inform your decisions
regarding the allocation of government funds?
Chapter 4: Where have all the criminals gone?
This chapter considers a variety of possible explanations for the significant drop in crime and crime
rates that occurred in the 1990s. Based on articles that appeared in the country’s largest newspapers,
the authors compile a list of the leading, commonly offered explanations.The next step is to
systematically examine each explanation and consider whether available data support the explanation.
What the authors, in fact, demonstrate is that in all but three cases–increased reliance on prisons,
increased number of police, and changes in illegal drug markets–correlation was erroneously
interpreted as causation (and in some cases, the correlation wasn’t even that strong).
The last few pages of the chapter focus on an explanation of the crime drop that had not been
addressed until much more recently–the effect of legalized abortion.
Only SOME of the questions given in the student guide appear below.
2. Describe the incentives Ceau_escu used to increase the birth rate in Romania.Were these incentives effective? Explain.
3. As a result of Ceau_escu’s policies, what happened to the average quality of life in Romania? Provide an economic explanation for the change that occurred.
4. Describe the general behavior of the crime rate in the United States between 1970 and 1999, i.e., indicate whether it was increasing or decreasing from year to year.
5. List each of the explanations of the drop in the crime that occurred in the 1990s that are evaluated by Levitt and Dubner.
6. Of the explanations you identified in the previous question, which ones do not appear to in fact be valid? Which ones do appear to in fact be valid?
18. Summarize the argument by Donahue and Levitt regarding the relationship between the drop in crime in the 1990s and the legalization of abortion as a result of Roe v.Wade.Your summary should focus on such factors as the characteristics of the average criminal (e.g., average age, home life), what happened in states that legalized abortion prior to the decision in Roe v.Wade, and the type of woman who is likely to take advantage of Roe v.Wade.
Chapter 3: This chapter answers a surprising question;“Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?” Once you have read and carefully studied this chapter you should be able to complete the following tasks which, taken together, answer this and related questions.
1. What is “conventional wisdom?” What are some ways that “conventional wisdom” comes into being?
2. Explain why challenging the “conventional wisdom” with regard to a sticky social issue may be difficult to do.
3. Considering this chapter’s analysis of the transformation of Listerine from an antiseptic to a cure for halitosis, what can one conclude about the effect of advertising on market demand for a good or service?
4. Explain how the incentives of police departments and the public media gave rise to explanations of the rising crime rate in the 1980s that were totally wrong.
5. Describe, in general terms, the organizational structure of the Black Disciples street gang. How is it similar to the organizational structure of most business?
6. Explain how four years of financial records of the Black Disciples street gang found their way into the hands of a University of Chicago graduate student.
7. How did J.T., a branch leader of a Black Disciples street gang, acquire and maintain a regional monopoly over crack cocaine within the territorial domain of the gang?
8. What are monthly costs incurred by J.T.’s unit of the Black Disciples? Which costs would be considered fixed costs? Which would be considered variable costs?
9. Explain how a “tournament” or “winner take all” labor market works.Why would a street-level drug dealer be willing to accept low pay and poor working conditions? 10. Give your own examples of a “tournament” type of labor market.
11. How do the incentives of the street-level drug salesman differ from those of the gang leader/ franchise owner? Are they both attempting to maximize the profits of the gang? Why or why not?
12. How did the invention of crack cocaine transform the urban street gang? 13.According to the data cited in this chapter, civil rights laws and a shift in the attitudes in the United States regarding race helped to improve the status of black society. How did crack cocaine alter that progress?
14. Based on the examples in this chapter, what does the invention of better and cheaper production methods do to the price and sales of a good or service?
Chapter 2: This chapter raises a rather intriguing question,“What do the Ku Klux Klan and Real Estate Agents have in common?” Once you have read and carefully studied this chapter you should be able to complete the following tasks which, taken together, answer this and related questions.
1. Describe, in broad terms, how the Ku Klux Klan came into existence and how its level of popularity varied over time. In addition, identify specific factors that caused the Klan’s popularity to rise or fall.
2. Explain Stetson Kennedy’s role in the Klan’s ultimate decline in popularity in the South, focusing on the role the dissemination of what the Klan believed was secret information played in that process.
3. Explain what is meant by the term “information asymmetries” and give examples of information asymmetries we encounter in everyday life.
4. Explain whether, and if so, how, information asymmetries create a competitive advantage for particular individuals.
5. Explain how such innovations as the Internet have affected the prevalence of information asymmetries.
6. Explain how information asymmetries facilitated the corporate scandals that occurred in the early 2000s.
7. Provide examples that illustrate how the combination of an information asymmetry and fear can lead to inefficient outcomes. Explain how the introduction of the element of fear makes the problem of the information asymmetry even worse.
8. What evidence do the authors offer to support their claim that real estate agents exploit an information asymmetry to their client’s detriment? As more clients become aware of the possibility of such behavior by agents, how might it affect the relationship between the two?
9. Explain how the choice of terms a real estate agent uses to describe a particular property conveys additional information about the property, and hence the price a potential buyer might be able to successfully offer the seller.
10. This chapter examines how the economic incentives of a real estate agent may differ from those of his or her client.What other subject matter experts are often hired by individuals and businesses? Might they have incentives that differ from those of the clients that hire them?
11. Explain how the information a person has can affect his/her propensity to discriminate. As part of your explanation, distinguish between taste-based discrimination and information-based discrimination.
12. According to the voting data from the Weakest Link, which two groups of people are most likely to be discriminated against in that setting.What type of discrimination is being practiced in each case? Explain.
13. What do the data say about the characteristics of men and women who participate in Internet dating sites relative to the characteristics of the broader population?
14. Assuming many of the people who use Internet dating sites are not being truthful when they describe themselves, what could motivate them to do so, knowing that if they ever actually met a date face-to-face, the truth would likely come out?
Chapter 1: This chapter raises a rather odd question,“What do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers have in common?” Once you have read and carefully studied this chapter you should be able to complete the following tasks which, taken together, answer this and related questions.
1. Explain how the imposition of a fine for tardy parents at a day care center may have altered the motivations of these parents.
2.What is an incentive? How does it relate to the study of economics?
3.What examples can you think of where moral or social incentives and economic incentives are both present? Are the different incentives complementary or competing? For each of the cases you cite, which do you think is the stronger incentive?
4. Describe some ways in which a school teacher might be able to improve the scores of his or her students on a standardized test.
5. How has a well motivated and seemingly benign government requirement to administer standardized tests to grade school students had unintended and malicious consequences? Can you think of other examples of government regulations that were imposed to achieve one goal but have had unanticipated consequences?
6. Explain how Levitt devised a means of examining student test scores to uncover evidence of cheating teachers. Explain also why Levitt’s analysis of the data constituted evidence, but not proof, of cheating.
7. Explain what incentives, if any, a university might have to artificially improve the test scores and grades of its athletes.
8. Describe, in general terms, how sumo wrestling tournaments in Japan are arranged and how the rank of an individual sumo wrestler might change as a result of his performance at one of these tournaments.
9. Describe what it means for a Japanese sumo wrestler to be “on the bubble” and what incentives this wrestler and his opponent may have to “throw” a wresting match.
10. How did Levitt construct a means of detecting evidence of cheating among Japanese sumo wrestlers? What evidence does he offer in support of his claim that some Japanese sumo wrestlers probably “throw” some of their matches?
The Great Gatsby online study guide:
www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/
The Great Gatsby online audio version through YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSUPHCxQdgU
Ch 1 link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFGLXF1M4K4
USA Test Prep Login Website:
https://www.usatestprep.com/member-login
Use your login and password provided in class for your account or Register using the following:
Account ID: npauldingga
Student Activation Code: stu4914
Monday and Tuesday 11/12-13
Adobe Spark VIDEO app is available on Iphone and Android for free!
E.Q. How should we effectively organize our compositions? Explain.
Use the app to create a video with 1 min. of content per person in your groups to answer the E.Q. given.
Argumentative Essay Group Article Study, Friday, 11/9
www.essaypro.com/blog/argumentative-essay/
Practice Milestones Test Results:
Using your login provided in class, click the link below
https://app.gcaconnect.org/
Romantic Period & Poetic Devices Test Wednesday, 11/7:
Study guide packet: "Poetic Devices Worksheet #2," Monday, 11/5.
List of writers: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Kate Chopin, Margaret Fuller, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving
Freedom Essay due Friday, 11/2:
How do Romantic Period writers define freedom in America? Explain with quotes and other evidence (paraphrase) from our literary selections to support your position.
Format: MLA STYLE quotes, handwritten, essay of 4-6 paragraphs
Suggestions: Select one or more authors from our studies to explain their ideas on individual freedom, involving individuality, nature, and spirituality and how that is changing in the 1800’s.
List of writers: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Kate Chopin, Margaret Fuller, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving
Writing rubric:
high_school_writing_rubric_2017.pdf
Units of the course (Curriculum Map):
11th_grade_curriculum_map_2015-16_v2__1_.pdf
Friday, 10/26 article links for "The Story of an Hour":
storyoftheweek.loa.org/2014/01/the-story-of-hour.html
www.enotes.com/topics/story-hour/themes
Assesslet link for login:
https://app.gcaconnect.org/
Going on in the classroom now: MILESTONES practice testing Tues. 10/23, summative grade
The Crucible essay revisions due by Thursday, 10/25:
Open Topic Essays were originally due 9/10
Format: no research required, handwritten, rubric at top of this pg.
Reminder: Must include your original essay with the original scoring rubric in order to have a regrade.
Week of 10/15 Conference Week:
MLA Style Guide and Practice -- MLA Style GUIDE link below:
tinyurl.com/ycuvn999
Week of 10/8 Gothic Literature:
Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The Devil and Tom Walker" link below:
http://nmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/1272.pdf
Edgar Allan Poe: Escape Fiction
"The Pit and the Pendulum" link below:
poestories.com/read/pit
Week of 10/1
MLA Style instructions: Visit the OWL PURDUE website link below.
https://tinyurl.com/y8vvz5qk
YouTube instructional video for MLA Style:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp0dmbTWK2Q
Romantic Period Unit-
Transcendentalists introduction, beginning on pg. 212
Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience
Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance"
Aristotle's rhetorical strategies: ethos, logos, pathos
Revolutionary Unit Test on 9/20:
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Phillis Wheatley,
Abigail Adams
Projected schedule: Test Thursday, 9/20.
Declaration of Independence paraphrases due Thursday, 9/13, for workshop. Class project presentations are Friday, 9/14. STUDY GUIDE FOR TEST:
Vocab. assignment due Friday, 9/14.
Vocab. list:
Unalienable: not to be taken away (adj)
Tyranny
Infidel
insidious
Subjugation
Remonstrate
Usurpation
Rectitude
Resolution
Hypocrisy
The Crucible Unit, pg. 1026-
Study link:
www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
Lesson schedule: Objective test on Friday, 9/7.
Compositions due Monday, 9/10. (summative grade)
Sample Writing prompt: How is the theme of mass hysteria repeated throughout American literature?
Pre-Colonial Literature
Writing Focus: Narrative Genre
August 7th: Narrative compositions due (origin myths)
August 1st-6th: Lit: Native American origin myths Composition: Narrative creative writing
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Phillis Wheatley,
Abigail Adams
Projected schedule: Test Thursday, 9/20.
Declaration of Independence paraphrases due Thursday, 9/13, for workshop. Class project presentations are Friday, 9/14. STUDY GUIDE FOR TEST:
Vocab. assignment due Friday, 9/14.
Vocab. list:
Unalienable: not to be taken away (adj)
Tyranny
Infidel
insidious
Subjugation
Remonstrate
Usurpation
Rectitude
Resolution
Hypocrisy
The Crucible Unit, pg. 1026-
Study link:
www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
Lesson schedule: Objective test on Friday, 9/7.
Compositions due Monday, 9/10. (summative grade)
Sample Writing prompt: How is the theme of mass hysteria repeated throughout American literature?
Pre-Colonial Literature
Writing Focus: Narrative Genre
August 7th: Narrative compositions due (origin myths)
August 1st-6th: Lit: Native American origin myths Composition: Narrative creative writing