The Real Duke’s English Blog

Dear English III-

Enclosed herein are blog topics for the week, but before disclosing that bit of information, I implore you to read this entire missive. Okay, that’s enough of the overly formal diction, but this post does include information for which you will be held accountable for the remainder of the school year. I indicated in class today (Monday) that I would be providing extra structure, as the majority of you were having difficulty providing that structure for yourselves. This post describes some of the ways that structure will be provided. Please remember that it is the end of the year for everyone in every class. You should be expecting tests, finals, projects, papers, etc. across the board and should not be surprised about it. The end of the year always includes this kind of activity, and though you will not be doing an unreasonable amount of work for English, you will be working for the last two weeks of the school year. Plan and prioritize accordingly.

Unless you make arrangements with me ahead of time, late work will no longer be accepted. It is unfair to those who do their work correctly and on time that those of you who do not do their work on time squeak by based on late work. Also, at this point in the semester, revisiting old assignments will keep you from doing important current reading, assignments, and studying. There are plenty of points remaining this quarter, so focus on doing a good job with current work. You have been given so many opportunities this semester to complete work in class or to have plenty of time to read assigned texts, so when you haven’t taken advantage of those opportunities, you’ve now missed out on them. This also helps me be more efficient and careful with grading.

All of your work at this point in the year should be the best possible, showing everything you’ve learned. Poor work will not be accepted and will be returned to you. This includes blogging. Blogs should be at least two full paragraphs and should be well-written, thorough, and interesting. There should be no errors and the directions should be followed exactly. They should be completed BEFORE the Monday they are due. Not meeting requirements will result in a 0. These last two weeks are also a great opportunity to experiment with techniques and topics you haven’t tried previously. When commenting, write at least 2 complete sentences and go beyond “I agree” or “good job.”

Getting tired is just an excuse and it belittles all of the effort that you have put into the year thus far. Slacking off now will cause you difficulty on the final. You have to bring your best work, ideas, and effort to that test, so you have to practice now. There’s no magic button to push. If you slack for two weeks, you’ll be weak on test day.

Your posts this week are a free post and a post in which you discuss postmodern art and literature using examples, your own experience, and our current readings. Two comments are required, as are two comments in response to this blog. One response to this blog should be demonstrating your understanding of what I’ve said in this post and another should be later in the week responding to what another student has posted in response to this blog.

Come to class on time with your work completed, prepared with supplies, and ready to participate actively. Some of you have said in the past that I assign work as if you have no other classes, but for most of this year and especially recently, you are the ones who are consistently prioritizing other activities over your school work. I’m keeping my expectations consistent, so it’s important for you to put your best effort into your work in all of your classes as the year winds down. I understand that you are stressed and feel alienated from your schoolwork most of the time, but you have to think for yourself and make the work relevant to yourself. The reading, writing, and thinking you do for this class are lifelong skills. Continue to practice them, use them on assignments and tests, and you will be rewarded with points and the grades you seek. Instead of concentrating on your stress or resentment about school, concentrate on doing a good job learning skills that will be useful later. As always, if you need help or have questions, get in touch with me.

Sincerely,

Me

• Modernism Brain Dump- everything you know with examples, explanations- help your peers study for their test
• Free Post
• 5th block only- final travelblog
• 5 comments (at least 3 on brain dump)

2 posts, 5 comments (3 on the poem blog for 4th block and 3 on the travelblog for 5th block)

4th Block:

• Pick a Modernist poem from your poem anthology and do a close reading. DO THIS WELL!!! Show me you have been listening to the zillions of times we’ve talked about working with poems lately.
• Free post

There are different assignments for each block, so locate the correct one before you begin.

4th Block: You resume blogs this week, and should remember the basic guidelines. Write well and thoroughly, and not at the last minute. Your topics this week are

• Free Post
• Impact of WWI on England (and Modernism)- do a little research (at least 2 sources), site your sources CORRECTLY at the bottom in MLA style.
• 5 comments (atlleast 2 should be on research blogs)

There are no blogs this week. You do, however,  have plenty of work. THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO DO IT, and the consequences will be serious for not completing your assignments on time.

These blog are for 5th block only. Remember that blogs must be posted by Sunday night and that you should be blogging throughout the week. Quality, originality, and attention to detail are a requirement. Not meeting requirements forfeits points.

-Free post by music- pick a song and play it over and over while you write this post. Let the song inspire the writing. Do not write about the song. Write to the mood and feeling of the song. Title your post “Inspired by (insert song title here)”
- Victorian recap- use everything we have done while reading The Time Machine to draw conclusions about the characteristics, issues, style of the Victorian period. Using everything would include the novel, poetry, research blogs, and your multi genre paper.
- 5 thorough comments

This is for Block 5 only. Please comment only on blogs in your class.

• Time Machine- Respond to the novel this far. I will give you no other instructions except for “respond.” It is up to you to do the best job that you can. Use all you know about what we’ve done in class, how we’ve used texts, and what you are expected to be able to do at this point in your educational career.
• Victorian Poem- You will be assigned a poem in class. Create an online reading guide for your poem. Think in terms of your audience. Use only your own ideas. A student reading your guide should have enough information to understand and USE the poem. This means you should include discussion questions or points for thought. By reading your post, I should both see your understanding of the poem or be able to guide myself through a reading of the poem. Tag the post Victorian Poem
• Free post
• 5 comments- 2 Time Machine, 2 Poem, 1 free

Welcome to the home stretch. We’ve been doing this all year, so I expect your blogs to look like it. Finish by Sunday. Blog throughout the week. Try out the designated blogging days. Let me know how it goes. Pay attention to quality of writing. Remember to revise your poetry post from last week if you need to do so.

This week:

Free post with a risk- You may write about a subject of your choosing, but you must take some sort of compositional risk. Do something you’ve never done before in writing. This doesn’t mean to be inappropriate. I am referring to taking a risk in the form or style of your writing.

Research post- DO THIS BY THURSDAY. You have been assigned a number in class. It corresponds to the topics below. Follow the steps below, including looking at the pictures. Research your topic thoroughly. Write a post of AT LEAST 3 paragraphs that discusses your impressions from the pictures and then gives the summary of your findings. Don’t copy and paste or plagiarize. Do good research and give thorough info to your classmates. Cite your sources at the bottom using MLA format. The topics are:

Quick Research- Victorian England

Look first at these pictures.  What can you infer about Victorian life from the pictures?

Note anything that you find that seems relevant to the main topic. Use these notes to pull together your blog post.

1) Queen Victoria

2) Industrialization and the middle class

3) Political reform, social issues, and major events

4) Child labor, poverty, and Debtor’s prison

5) Victorian science and medicine

6) Genres, style in literature and major authors

7) Victorian psychology ( Freud and early psychologists, 19^th century mental asylums, theories of mental illness)

(8) Childhood in 19^th century England (look into various social strata)

Because we are reading in class this week, you will have more to do for blogs this week outside of class. You must post 16 comments (2 on each research topic- you don’t have to stick to your own class, comment on those who did your topic also). Make sure you’ve posted by Thursday, so you have time to read and comment. Don’t just comment- read the research blogs. Make sure your comments are thorough and meaningful. Respond, question, THINK about what’s being said.

Two blog posts, two comments- These are graded for QUALITY!

• free post
• poetry explication- Choose a poem that was written during the Romantic Period and that we haven’t read in class out of our poetry book. Read it and then post a blog post that discusses your close reading and analysis. Treat it as a poem and a Romantic text, so along with your close reading and analysis, you will need to  discuss Romantic characteristics.
• 2 comments