Information for Parents/Guardians About Mr. Mulhern's Classes and How to Keep Apprised of Student Progress

Information for Parents/Guardians About Mr. Mulhern’s Classes

Please note that Mr. Mulhern uses this website because it is a better vehicle than Canvas for students and parents to keep up-to-date on all student work. Canvas is used for important information only. There is a Search Box in the upper left corner of this website, where you can type in anything related to English. Doing so may help students prepare for tests, review ideas, and learn new concepts and techniques (typing in the Search Box "Grammar," "SAT," "FAST," "Analysis," "Writing," "Annotating," "College Essay," and various other terms related to an English course are just a few examples of terms that will reveal posts with helpful information. Names of authors and their works may also be found through the Search Box. (Students can also anticipate possible future assignments by scrolling through the website or using the Search Box). What follows is a list of ways to stay informed about your student's progress:

Mindfulness Quotes--Choose one, reflect, and write your thoughts. You will not be asked to share unless you want to do so.

Inspiring Quotes from the Work of Ralph Waldo Emerson--Link

Inspiring Quotes from the Work of Henry David Thoreau--Link

Online Tutoring for the FAST or Anything Else Related to English (For example, the Digital PSAT/SAT)

ATC Students and Students from Any Other Secondary School or College:

To help students prepare for the first "progress monitoring" session of the FAST, I will be tutoring during the summer months. Every Sunday, send your request for a time and day during the upcoming week in which you tell me when you would like to meet. I will do my best to meet your needs and then send you a link to an online Tutoring session. The first progress-monitoring part of the FAST will take place on September 17. 2024. Retakes will be given on September 24, 2024.

ENC1101--Analysis Prompt for President Obama's Speech on the Death of bin Laden. Started in Class on September 4, 2024. To be Finished the Following Week.

After the Storm, Boris Kustodiev (1921)

Analyze President Obama's speech on the death of bin Laden. Identify the President's purpose for delivering this speech and then explain how he effectively utilizes rhetorical devices to support and achieve his objective.

ENC1101--Classwork and Homework. Assigned September 16, 2024. Due Friday, September 20, 2024.

Continue working with your partners on the collaborative essay, Analysis of Obama's Speech on Bin Laden. Be sure all of you have printed copies of the document and an electronic copy on each of your laptop computers. Use the MLA format for this essay.

English III--Read "Last Child in the Woods" on pages 300-302 in the yellow and green literature book. Assigned September 17. Due September 19.

Read "Lost Child in the Woods" on page 300 in the gold and green literature textbook, Into Literature, on the blue table in the back of the room (next to the filing cabinets). Do not take these books out of the room. Before the end of the period, place the books back in neat piles on the blue table. This book is also available electronically on your laptop.

Collaborative Essay Directions

                                                       

1. 
   
2. Meet with your partner in class and, if needed, in Google Chat, Google Meet, or Zoom. One of you, a facilitator, must set up the meetings and convey the information to your peers for the Google or Word document you can all collaborate on. You will also have time to work on this assignment in class.

ENC1101--Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat Speech by Winston Churchill (1940). Posted on September 5, 2024. Due on September 10, 2024.

Cut and paste this speech by Winston Churchill into a Word document, then print it out and annotate it. When taking notes, refer to the post on this website, "How to Analyze and Evaluate an Argument" (see the Rubrics tab at the top of this website and the links on annotating a text at the end of this post).

ENC1101--9/11 Address to the Nation by President George W. Bush. Posted on September 5, 2024. Due on September 12, 2024.

Cut and paste this speech by President Bush into a Word document, then print it out and annotate it. When annotating refer to the post on this website, "How to Analyze and Evaluate an Argument." (See the Rubrics tab at the top of the website as well as the annotating links at the bottom of this post.) 

Also, complete the "Shorter Analysis of a Text Activity": https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2019/11/analysis-of-text-shorter-version.html. Please type the Shorter Analysis Activity in MLA format as usual.

All Classes--Analysis Activity for Texts. (Only do when assigned)

You will complete the following tasks.

English III--"Walden"--Close Reading Activity. Posted on September 5, 2024. Due on September 11, 2024.

 

https://tea4avcastro.tea.state.tx.us/thl/ENG3.W3.L3andL4.where-i-lived-and-what-i-lived-for.pdf

English III--"The Minister's Black Veil." Assignment posted on September 4, 2024. Due on September 10, 2024.

Read "The Minister's Black Veil." Click on this link:

https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/fundamentos/HawthorneTheMinistersBlackVeil.pdf

English III--Patrick Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention. Assigned in class on September 4, 2024. Due on September 5, 2024.

Read pages 260-267 in the orange textbook. Answer the questions on page 267. Take a picture of your assignment and upload it to your laptop. Keep your finished questions in your binder. This assignment could be collected at any time.

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:

ENC1101--Analyze President Obama's Speech on the Death of Bin Laden. Due September 3, 2024. Posted on August 29, 2024.

1. Read the text. Then annotate the speech below in a Word document. 
2. Create a second Word Document: Questions on Obama's Bin Laden Speech. For your "Question" document, this time you should answer the questions after the text below. You may copy the questions, but you do not have to. Answer in complete sentences with quotes (when appropriate) from the text as support for your responses (include the paragraph number in a parenthetical citation after any quoted text--see the tab at the top of this website for the correct format of citations.). Not all questions need quotes. You determine when a quote would be good support for your response. After the questions, create a subhead for a second section of this Word document: Vocabulary. Type any unknown words--at least five (with their definitions; include parts of speech).

All Classes--Writing the College Essay

Below are some helpful links for writing the College Essay:

https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2017/09/narrative-essay-rubric.html#more (Narrative Essay Rubric--Very Helpful for the College Essay because You are Telling a Story/Narrative about Your Experiences)

https://www.commonapp.org/blog/2021-2022-common-app-essay-prompts (Common App Prompts 2021-2022)

https://www.collegeessayadvisors.com/college-essay-dos-and-donts/

ENC Courses: Quick Overview of the Class (Syllabus Material)

ENC1101 and ENC1102 are college classes, and as such, require students to meet the expectations of a college curriculum. The rules for these classes are determined by Broward College. For example, in order to receive credit, you must receive a grade of C or better. If you earn less than a grade of C, you are not allowed to participate in dual enrollment classes in the future. This is not a class that can be skipped for all extracurricular activities (check with your professor). Late work is never accepted (except for excused absences).

Rubrics for Writing and Reading

For any essay you are required to write, ask your teacher the minimum length requirement. The rubrics below may vary in length suggestions.

The Writing Process:
https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/09/freshman-english-and-ap-english-writing.html

Proofreading Checklist (Staple to the front of your essay.):
https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2020/02/proofreading-checklist-attach-to-front.html

How to Write an Evaluative Essay:
https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/02/freshman-english-how-to-write.html

How to Analyze and Evaluate an Argument:
https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2017/12/how-to-evaluate-argument.html

Information for Mr. Mulhern's Classes

English III, ENC1101, and ENC1102 (juniors and seniors)

English III--Native American Synthesis Activity (in-class activity on August 19, 2024)

Native American Synthesis

Native American Literature

Synthesis of Ideas Within the Myth.  Use this exercise to brainstorm and have notes for your paper.  

Objective:  We have read a Native American myth in this class.  Now you have to reflect upon our discussion and reading to brainstorm and write about important ideas.

ENC1101--Group Analysis Activity: Hurston's "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," Colored Me," Walker's "Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self," and Angelou's "Graduation" (in-class activity on August 19, 2024)

Print out and annotate these essays. You must have a printed-out version in your binder AND an electronic version on your laptop. (You may upload a picture of your annotated text to your computer.) I could ask to see (or collect) either version for a grade at any time during the semester. If you do not have the assignment I ask to see or collect, you will earn a grade of zero. No excuses. You should not come late to class because you had to print an assignment. I will not accept your work, and you will earn a grade of zero. 

PDFs (Click on the links, print them out, and annotate them.) See "How to Annotate" on this website, or google that phrase. You will find plenty of resources on how to annotate. Simply highlighting is not annotating. You will earn a grade of zero.

English III--Links for Important Notes on the Puritans. During class lectures, write these notes in your binder.

https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/01/ap-english-notes-on-puritans.html (General Notes on Puritans)

https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2013/09/questions-historical-background-to.html (Historical Background to Puritans (134-136 in orange textbook)

https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2013/09/ap-english-positive-legacy-of-puritans.html (Positive Legacy of Puritans)

https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2013/09/ap-english-reasons-for-decline-of.html (Reasons for the Decline of Puritanism)

English III--Notes on Puritans--Write down so you remember better. Handwriting equals thinking. Write these notes in you binder. Assigned August 16, 2024. Due August 20, 2024.

Blue Bay and Dunes, Milton Avery (1961)

Handwrite the following notes into your 3-ring binder.  You may abridge (shorten) some of the longer notes as long as the meaning is clear. I could check these notes at any time during the semester for a grade. Be sure you keep them in your binder.

Key Terms and Dates

1. total depravity--the Puritan/Pilgrim belief that from the moment of birth, human beings are filthy, disgusting, and evil.  

2. grace--the one shining light in Puritan theology: God may decide to forgive or demonstrate an act of goodness for reasons unknown to humans.

English III--"Of Plymouth Plantation." Due August 20, 2024. Assigned on August 16, 2024.

Read "Of Plymouth Plantation" https://www.quia.com/files/quia/users/terri%20delebo/ALLHONORS10/William_Bradford-OF_PLYMOUTH_PLANTATIONL.pdf) 

New Rule About Cell Phones

You must put your cellphone in airplane mode or power it down for the entire school day. Then place it in your backpack, which you will place on the blue table at the back of the room until the end of class.

English III--Qualities and Functions of a Myth (Notes for Lecture). Handwrite these notes in your binder. Assigned August 12, 2024. Due August 14, 2024.

The Return of Ulysses, Georgio de Chirico (1968)

Handwrite the following notes in your binder. I could check them at any time during the semester for a grade. If you do not have them when I ask, you earn a grade of zero:

A myth is a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature (dictionary.com).

ENC1101--Notes on Rhetoric Assignment. Due August 15, 2024. Assigned August 12, 2024. Late Work is Never Accepted.

Look up the following literary terms. In your binder, handwrite the definition and an example when appropriate (do at least twenty-two each night). Please note that usually assignments are required to be typed; however, because handwriting has been proven to help students remember better, for this assignment, I want you to write your work.

English III--"The World on the Turtle's Back" Text: Annotate EVERY text I assign. Annotating reading assignments increases focus and comprehension. There is also a required set of questions on this text, you must answer in a post below. For every assignment I give, you are required to have a printed-out version in your binder and an electronic version uploaded to your laptop computer for the entirety of the term, not just the due date. I could collect any assignment at any time, not just the due date.

“The World on the Turtle’s Back” Iroquois Myth 

In the beginning there was no world, no land, no creatures of the kind that are around us now, and there were no men. But there was a great ocean which occupied space as far as anyone could see. Above the ocean was a great void of air.

English III--Sample Syllabus

English III Syllabus

Mr. Mulhern

Room 2402

scholarmulhern.blogspot.com

Resources:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Into Literature (Grade 11)--Access electronic version through Clever (the square brown "Ed" icon).

Supplemental Resources: Internet sites, and teacher handouts

English III--"The World on the Turtle's Back" Questions: Due Thursday, August 15, 2024. Posted on August 11, 2024.

Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Be sure to add textual support (quotes) to support your answers as much as possible. You do not need to write the questions (although you may if you want to). Number your responses.

All Classes--Rubric for MLA-Formatted Documents, Incuding Notes on Rhetorical Terms and Literary Rhetoric. Check your document to find the mistakes. You will learn better this way. Use this rubric as a guide for all assignments. Copy and paste this rubric into a Word document. Then print it out and place it in your binder. Also check the Rubrics tab at the top of the website. You will find several helpful rubrics there as well.

Rubric for "Notes on Rhetoric" Assignment

Errors in the following list result in a lower grade on this assignment. The more mistakes you made, the lower your grade. (Remember--Keep an original copy of all your assignments. Also remember to record every grade: points you earned out of total possible points.) I have chosen to not capitalize or end punctuate the list below, as some of the items are phrases--this is for consistency. (Some entries may be repeated because I read all submissions and may have repeated a comment.)

Copy and paste this post into a Word document and keep it in your binder. Refer to this rubric in the future before you turn in your work.