Commencement Speeches

Commencement Speech Clips from CBS News:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrxt1sA02wM


Two full speeches:


http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/notable-commencement-speeches-amy-poehler-at-harvard-and-tom-hanks-at-yale-679.php

Commencement Speech 2013

Commencement Speech 2013

You have been asked to speak at a graduation ceremony next Friday. However, it is not for High School West. You have been asked to speak at the 8th grade moving-up ceremony at one of Smithtown’s middle schools.

Your comments will be brief (1-2 typed pages, 12 pt. Times New Roman), but you should address your audience by talking about their present lives, their future hopes, their dreams, their misconceptions, etc…

You are a valued speaker to this audience because you’ve lived the last four years as a high school student, and you know how you’ve changed since that last day of 8th grade. You know better than anyone the ups and downs that await the senior class of 2017.

Use your personality to make this an informed, insightful, humorous, and memorable speech. Don't let the kids down.

Sample Works Cited

Go here to see a sample Works Cited page.  Notice the heading, page number, and citations.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/


For the most part you will be listing your three short stories.  You'll have to find the year of publication and where they first appeared.


Dahl, Roald.  "Lamb to the Slaughter." Harper's Magazine.  New York: September 1953.

Sample Outline

Go to the link below to view a sample outline:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xz0VDxqL3qljJ3Z3jw76e6yP6f9qGq0dC0MyusyRP-4/edit?usp=sharing

Due Dates:

Your literary paper will be due in various stages.  All due dates refer to the end of the period.  The due dates are as follows:

Proper heading, title, first paragraph, thesis  -  Thursday, May 9th
First page                                                       -   Friday, May 10th
Rough Draft                                                   -   Monday, May 13th
Works Cited Page                                          - Tuesday, May 14th
Final Paper                                                     -  Wednesday, May 15th

Front Page and MLA Format

Go to the link below to see how to format your first page.  There are also links to creating citations all along the left side of the page.

These citations will make up your Works Cited page.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/


This next link is from the same website, but it deals specifically with writing about literature.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/03/

Final Paper

Your final exam grade will be exclusively based on your ability to complete a literary analysis paper. We've been working all semester on becoming more knowledgeable about literature, and this is your chance to show all that you've learned.

Task: Choose three works of contemporary literature.  At least one has to be an outside piece not read in class.  You will then create an original thesis for your paper that examines a common thread through these three works.  The stories may use vivid imagery, complex characters, unique themes, etc... You will then analyze how this device/technique is employed in each of the three works.

For example: The Use of Female Characters In Contemporary Short Stories
                      Violent Imagery in Contemporary Literature
                      Loneliness in American Short Literature       


So, it is your job to read a few more stories and find the commonality between works. A good place to start would be to choose a story/author that we've already read and seek out more of that author's work or that type of story.

Pick a Story, Any Story

Please grab a copy of The Story and Its Writer.

Look through the Table of Contents on pages xi - xxi and choose one story to read that we have not read in class.

You will be reading on your own and analyzing the story using a Reading Notes worksheet.


Suggestions:

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor  - 1042
"Cathedral' by Raymond Carver - 191
"Snow" by Anne Beatie - 108
"The Yellow Wallpaper" - Charlotte Gilman - 462
"The Lady with the Pet Dog" - Joyce Carol Oates - 975
"Powder" or "Say Yes" by Tobias Wolff
"Prisoner on Hell Planet"  by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)

Blackout Poetry

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/09/tuesday-on-the-newshour-austin-kleons-newspaper-blackout.html

Essay Question

Due to advanced techonology and the growth of the cold war,  the 1950s saw a rise in Science Fiction.  Much of this fiction predicted a dire future.  Ray Bradbury was one sci-fi author who had a unique view of the future.  Examine three Bradbury stories and in a well-supported essay, discuss a common theme that runs through them.  Be sure to mention specific literary techniques that help create these themes and to use the conventions of standard written English.

***You have the body paragraphs completed.  ****

Your introduction should include
                 - an original lead.
                 - the titles of the three stories.
                 - a thesis which states the common theme between the three stories.

Operation Homecoming #1

This is a dramatized version of the e-mail letter, 'To The Fallen', which was written by Sgt. John McCary (USA) to his family during his 2004 deployment to Iraq.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqi9L_bAMzQ

Operation Homecoming Video #2

Watch this animated piece entitled "Men in Black."

It is from Colby Buzzell's book My War: Killing Time in Iraq

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDG4cZ0Cx2Q

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience

http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_operation_homecoming.html

Down the right hand side of the page seen on this link, there are passages that we heard in the war documentary we watched. Choose one and write a response in the comments section.

MIA: The Only Soldier Missing in Iraq

 Please read the article below and leave a comment on its impact on your view of the Iraq war. You may also want to connect it to All My Sons.  Respond in an educated manner.

http://www.esquire.com/features/esquire-100/ESQ1006MIA_36-43_FINAL.rev

Welcome!!!

Contemporary Literature
I. OVERVIEW:
For the purpose of this course, contemporary literature shall be defined as those works published from 1946 to the present. Through the study of these works and an exploration of their themes, students will gain a deeper understanding of how certain issues affect them as individuals.  Our goal is that after a semester of studying contemporary issues through literature and developing related knowledge and critical thinking skills, students will become lifetime readers, more active citizens, and more compassionate human beings.

Upon successful completion of this one-semester class, students will be awarded a ½ credit of English, fulfilling half of the senior English requirement. Contemporary Literature is not for the student who is looking to slack off during his/her last semester of high school. It is a college preparatory class and student expectations are high.

II. MATERIALS: Due Wednesday 1/30
1. One notebook (any kind, as long as it is used exclusively for this course)
2. Blue/black pen or a pencil
3. A pocket folder (any kind, exclusive to this class)

III. CLASS PROCEDURES: When you enter the room:
1. Go straight to your seat and sit down before the bell rings.
2. Take out your notebook and whatever it is we have been working from – novel, packet, article, etc…
3. Begin immediately working on the Do Now.

IV. CLASS BEHAVIOR:
1. Please come to class on time. If you must be late, be sure you have a pass.
2. Please ask for the bathroom/nurse pass only in an emergency.
3. If you’re absent, you are responsible for getting and completing on time all of the work that you missed.
I will not chase you down to remind you of what you should be doing.

V. GRADING POLICY:
10% = HOMEWORK - All homework handed in on time earns an automatic 100%. Late (even one period) or incomplete HW will receive an automatic 50%. HW not handed in receives a zero.

10% = PARTICIPATION – reflective of your role as an active listener and member in class discussions, Socratic Circles, and group work, in addition to your preparation for class as indicated by having the requisite materials (notebook, pen, novel, etc.), and being “on-task”.

80% = TESTS and QUIZZES – these include exams, reading checks, essays, etc…All Tests will have double the weight of a quiz.

VI. SYLLABUS (tentative):
1.  All My Sons by Arthur Miller
2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
3. Other works included in the course anthology, The Conscious Reader

VII. FINAL ASSESSMENT:
Your Final Exam is a 5 page MLA literary research paper based on the literature we studied in this course. It, with Q3 + Q4 doubled, counts as 1/5th of the course average.

VIII. Class Blog – www.contemporaryriegger.blogspot.com

Some of your homework and/or classwork will appear on our class blog. Please be aware of the address. Since we are constantly coming across material for this class, the blog is a great way to access that material quickly.