Skip to main content

English III--Read "Balboa," a short story in Unit One of the Electronic Textbook. Do the assignments specified in the post. Due September 3, 2024. Posted August 29, 2024.


Read "Balboa" in Unit 1 of the electronic textbook. (The text is also in the yellow and green textbook at the back of the room.) Then create the following Word documents:

1. First Word document for the short story: Create nine questions and answers (see Important Reading Questions in the Canvas Information Module). Use these question types to generate your Reading Questions. You must type your questions and answers in an MLA-formatted Word document. Be sure your responses to the questions have textual support (quotes). Label a second section of this document, "Vocabulary." Type the definitions for all words that you do not know. You must staple an Important Reading Questions checklist to the front of the document. Be sure you have reviewed each aspect on the checklist. If you do not have this list stapled to the front of this assignment, you will automatically lose points. You will lose points if you simply check off items on the list without actually reviewing your work and correcting mistakes. To find this checklist, use the Search box in the upper left area of this website. Type in the search term: Important Reading Question Types checklist. Copy and paste the information into a Word document. Keep this file on your laptop, as you will use it throughout the term.

2. Second Word document for the short story: You must type annotations for all paragraphs longer than two sentences in an MLA-formatted Word document. Indicate the paragraph by beginning with the first three or four words in quotes, followed by an annotation. You may also copy and paste the text into a word document from the electronic textbook if the textbook allows you. Annotate that printed-out text, keep it in your binder, and take a picture of it to upload to your laptop.

Remember, I could ask for you to upload any Word document produced in this class to Canvas on the day it is due or any day thereafter. Always save your Word document files on your laptop. (Label the file appropriately--see Class Rules.) In addition, always print out your documents and keep them in your binder. Bring your binder to every class. I could also ask for your assigned work at any time. If you do not have the work when I ask for it, you receive a grade of zero.

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston, an important voice of the Harlem Renaissance, was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and novelist best known for her work, Their Eyes Were Watching God.   Sadly, she died in 1960 after suffering financial and medical difficulties.  In 1973, Alice Walker, another famous American writer, "rediscovered" Hurston and promoted her body of work.  In the classic essay, "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," Hurston explores the idea that all of us have multiple selves, depending upon the context and environments in which we find ourselves.  Hurston's writing has an ebullience, self-assertiveness, and pride that is particularly evident in this text.  She was a flamboyant and dramatic personality, at times clashing with fellow writers from the Harlem Renaissance, who believed that black Americans should use their art to speak out against racial oppression and the white majority. Hurston chose not to align herself with the political ideologies of ot...
Read more

All Classes--Analysis of Patrick Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention

Scholars:  It is good to read examples of analytical writing because it helps you understand how to write your own analysis essays. The habit of reading and studying models (examples) is the best way to learn how to write more effectively. Below is an analysis that I wrote on Patrick Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention. 
Read more

Teacher Model--Responding to an Argumentative Prompt

Below is an example of a written response to the AP English Language and Composition Argumentative Prompt (2011). I will use this in my classroom to model for students the writing process on the AP Exam. (The response was written in a 40-minute timed session when I attended an AP Summer Institute.) I want to show students that AP Readers understand that their writing is a draft and that they will not be marked down because of cross-outs and penmanship that is difficult to read. The caveat I would tell students is to of course try to write as legibly as possible. If the penmanship is very poor, the AP Reader will struggle and may miss important content in the student response.
Read more