Click here for the links you need to complete your Frankenstein paper research.
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Frankenstein Audio Resources
Posted on February 4, 2009 by msnev
Would you like to put Frankenstein on your iPod to listen as you read? Is it easier for you to read on a computer screen than from a book? If so, please click here for the downloadable audio and full text of the novel. There is also an MP3 version of the text at http://librivox.org. At either site, you can listen on your computer or MP3 player.
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English IV AR Choices for February
Posted on January 22, 2009 by msnev
My seniors should choose one of the following to read independently by February 24th, 2009.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
All quizzes for these books will be taken in class on the quiz due date.
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Honors AR Options
Posted on January 3, 2009 by msnev
Here are links to information about the AR books honors students should choose from for their next reading assignment:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (10th grade only)
Vanity Fair by William M. Thackeray (12th grade only)
Please note that these links take you to Amazon.com not because I expect you to purchase the books, but rather because it is a good quick resource for reviews (scroll down to find them) and excerpts of the books.
My students in Regular English are of course encouraged to read these books also, however they are not required to do so.
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Satire Week ’08
Posted on December 8, 2008 by msnev
SENIORS: As we explore satire from the 17th & 18th centuries and our own popular culture, you will need to use the following links for various assignments.
* Please read this brief commentary on the definitions and use of satire techniques. It will hopefully help you process the notes you took in class on Monday, December 8th.
* The website for Monday night’s homework assignment (The Simpsons character analysis) can be found here.
* Two good informational sites about Jonathan Swift are The Literature Network and Victorian Web.
* You can always find good political cartoons at this site. Remember though, you will only understand the joke in a political cartoon if you actually follow the news. Even spending fifteen minutes of your time each day on CNN.com, NYTimes.com, Washingtonpost.com, theworld.org, bbc.com, or any other reputable news source will keep you more informed (and, consequently, able to “get” more jokes). Once you are informed about your world, THEN you can fully enjoy TV shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.
More links may be posted later in the week — please check back often.
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Supplemental Reading for Fahrenheit 451
Posted on December 4, 2008 by msnev
Pre-AP students, please read this article over the weekend. You should then write a 1-2 page (typed and double spaced) analysis of which points in the article you believe correspond to the history provided by Capt. Beatty on pages 54-62 of Fahrenheit 451. Please support your ideas with direct quotes from both sources, and provide a works cited page at the end of your essay.
More details about the assignment will be given in class on Friday, December 5th.
You also need to view this video in preparation for next week’s discussions.
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English IV – Dr. Faustus Links
Posted on November 13, 2008 by msnev
It’s so wonderful that many students have been expressing interest in reading Dr. Faustus in it’s entirety. For those of you who would like to do so, you can find several full-text versions here. You can choose the date of publication and whether you prefer the regular or modernized version.
Additionally, this site has interesting information about various incarnations of the Faust legend — from its origins in fifteenth century Germany up to video games in modern America. You may be surprised to find that even certain characters in the Harry Potter books are related to the legend.
If you’re interested in this play, just wait until we read the novel Frankenstein. Several of the same themes are present, and the allusions will make you giddy with the rewarding feeling of everything we read together being connected somehow.
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A book for today
Posted on September 11, 2008 by msnev
=I was introduced to this book about a year and a half ago, when I was getting ready to volunteer at a school in Turkey for ten days. I usually remain mum about the significance of today’s date unless a student brings it up in a class, but today I will say this: Americans should read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It’s simply written and therefore easy to read, but conveys in no uncertain terms that education is key to understanding and preventing violence.
Please, read this book. Even if you aren’t interested in world politics or education, there is much more in it, too — mountain climbing, world travel, construction, family issues… just about anyone can find some connection to it.
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Happy Summer…
Posted on July 27, 2008 by msnev
I hope all of you are having an enjoyable summer, and completing your mandatory summer reading assignments (hint hint). If you are unsure of the assignment for your particular English class, click the “Summer Reading” icon (it’s a cartoonish sunshine and a red book) on the right side of the school district’s website. If you have questions, please get in touch.
In other news: this article from today’s New York Times is a very worthwhile read, so I recommend taking a peek when you have a chance. This has been a big topic of discussion in professional circles of teachers and librarians for some time, and I was very pleased to see that it has entered a more widespread public dialogue. I’ll be interested to hear what you think about this when we return to school! Talk to your parents about it to hear their perspective, too. It might turn into an interesting conversation.
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Recommended Summer Reading
Posted on June 3, 2008 by msnev
* Please note, this is NOT the REQUIRED summer reading that everyone will be doing this summer. More on that later…
Third Period:
The nonfiction books mentioned in class today were Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind, Stephen King’s On Writing, and Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
Fiction recommendations from your peers during the last few minutes of class were A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossieni, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, the Twilight trilogy by Stephenie Meyer, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I’ve read all but the first, and must say that they’re all extremely enjoyable reads.
Please feel free to comment on this post with more recommendations and/or thoughts about any of these books!
Before I close for the evening, I must also recommend a fantastic writing-and-reading-related MOVIE to watch over the summer — Stranger than Fiction. Trust me, it’s wonderful.
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Ms. Neville's Class Resources 