LA2: Environmental Literature Weekly Assignments

Week 1 (8/16-8/20)

-Orientation

Week 2 (8/23-8/27)

-Read Sustainable World Sourcebook Forward by Paul Hawken

-Develop sustainability project proposal (Plastic waste awareness)

-'No Such Thing as Waste' activity

Week 3 (8/30-9/3)

-Read 'Setting the Context' from Sustainable World Sourcebook (pgs. 1-5)

-Dream of the Modern World short response quiz

-Unexamined Assumptions Essay: Develop your own example of an unexamined assumption in the modern world and discuss how it is impacting our current worldview.

Week 4 (9/7-9/10) (No school Sept. 6th-Labor day)

-Read Sustainable World Sourcebook part 2 'Environment' (pgs. 6-10)

-Fact vs. Opinion short response quiz (distinguishing fact versus opinion in text)

-What's possible for the future? Essay (In class and homework)

-Plastic non-waste awareness project: Proposal completion/Presentation

Week 5 (9/13-9/17)

-Read S.W.S (pgs. 10-19)

-Business Letter: Compose a business letter to a non-profit organization working to lessen oceanic pollution.

-Clean Our Oceans: Persuasive Speech

-Plastic non-waste awareness project-Solidify individual jobs/begin planning construction

Week 6 (9/20-9/24)

-Read The Elements by Sue Ellen Campbell (from Getting Over the Color Green)

-Read S.W.S. Part 3: Energy (pgs. 20-29)

-Research specific energy opportunities to reduce climate change/Carbon Worksheet (Homework)

-Compose natural elements tribute to the Southwest (In class essay)

-Plastic non-waste awareness project-Planning/Construction
Week 7 (9/27-10/1)

-Read Desert of Definition by David Darlington (from Getting Over the Color Green)

-Southwestern Tribute Essay: Using both figurative and literal language, describe what the desert represents to you.
-Literary Elements Worksheet (Homework)

-Alternative Energy short response quiz

-Plastic non-waste awareness project-Planning/Construction continued

Week 8 (10/4-10/8)

-Read S.W.S. Part 4: A Just Society (pgs. 30-40)

-7 Foundations of a Sustainable World Project: Design an active plan for each of the seven foundations discussed in class. (In class and homework)

-Literary Elements Test

-Plastic non-waste awareness project-Planning/Construction continued
Week 9 (10/11-10/14)

-Plan of Action Essay: Select one of the seven foundations of a sustainable world and compose a five paragraph comprehensive plan of action. (In class and homework)

-Prepare 'Plan of Action' poster (In class)

-Present plan of action/poster to class.

-Plastic non-waste awareness project-Planning/Construction continued

LA2: Environmental Literature Course Overview

This class will focus on literature that addresses current environmental issues and the practical solutions and potentials that accompany them.  We will read material from a variety of sources that provide analysis of the state of our natural world and it's meanings and representations in language and culture.  Through active group discussions, sustainability projects and critical thinking essays, we will develop a solutions based approach to current environmental issues.  You will be encouraged to take an active role in the course by forming your own personal understanding of environmental awareness and examining the vital role human beings play in the delicate web of life.  Materials needed for the course include notebook, three ring binder, a folder for storing daily assignments, paper, pencils, pens, etc.

LA4: Native Folklore Weekly Assignments Fall 2010

Week 1 (8/16-8/20)

-Orientation

Week 2 (8/23-8/27)

-Read Four Worlds: The Dine Story of Creation (Navajo)

-Worksheet-Meaning of metaphors based on literary allusions

-TreePeople Activity-Brainstorm log of possible project ideas

-Comprehension Quiz #1: Dine Story of Creation

-Brainstorm/draft personal creation myth (Homework)

Week 3 (8/30-9/3)

-Read The Hero Twins and the Swallower of Clouds (Zuni)

-Read Koluscap and the Water Monster

-Evaluate use of literary elements (Characterization/Plot)

-Comprehension Quiz #2

-Water myth-Compose a one page myth that explains how the Southwestern United States came to be so dry. (In class and Homework)

-Water myth presentation

Week 4 (9/7-9/10) (No school Sept. 6th-Labor day)

-Read Kokopilau, the Hump-Backed Flute Player (Hopi)

-Word choice/imagery response essay: Analyze word choice and imager in Kokopilau, the Hump-Backed Flute Player as a means to appeal the readers' senses.  How does the story put the "pest" insect in a positive light.  (In class and Homework)

-Comprehension Quiz #3

Week 5 (9/13-9/17)

-Pollination myth creation: Compose a three page myth by inventing a flower with a specific pollination strategy, along with the seeds it will produce.  Invent an insect to pollinate the flower.  (In class and Homework)

-Create pollination myth brainstorm log, outline, and illustrated poster (In class and Homework)

-Pollination myth presentation

Week 6 (9/20-9/24)

-Read Loo-Wit, The Fire-Keeper (Nisqually)

-Short Response Test: Critique the effectiveness of the organizational pattern

-Comprehension Quiz #4

Week 7 (9/27-10/1)

-Read How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun (Muskogee-Creek)

-Comprehension Quiz #5

-Literary Analysis: Compose a 5 page literary analysis on a myth of your choice that evaluates use of literary elements (Theme, Point of View, Characterization, Setting, Plot) (In class and Homework)

Week 8 (10/4-10/8)

-Short Response Test: Compare and contrast Loo-Wit, The Fire-Keeper (Nisqually) with How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun (Muskogee-Creek), providing textual evidence.

-Personal Reflection Essay: Compose a five paragraph essay that examines the importance of storytelling in Native North American indigenous cultures

-Brainstorm/Thesis creation for personal reflection essay (Homework)

-Mountain Myth-Create a 3 page myth that explains how the Santa Catalina's of Tucson came to be.  Provide a detailed description of how the mountain range was created and why it is located in north Tucson.

-Mountain myth brainstorm session/Brainstorm log creation (In class)

Week 9 (10/11-10/14)

-Personal Reflection essay due 10/11

-Continue and complete mountain myth

-Create illustrated poster to supplement mountain myth presentation

-Mountain myth presentation in amphitheater

LA4: Native Folklore Course Overview

In this course we will experience creation/migration/orgin stories of various indigenous cultures throughout the world.  Our course will be exciting in that we will have a chance to read and discuss works that date back many centuries and attempt to offer explanation of several aspecs of human existence and our connection to the natural world.  We will discover the importance that storytelling holds within each culture as a way to express identity and carry traditions from generation to generation.  We will begin by reading the emergence myths of several cultures that originated right here in the Southwestern United States.  From there we will move to Mesoamerican (Maya/Aztec) origin stories, Australian Aboriginal oral literature, African mythology and conclude our course with South American creation myths.

LA3: American Transcendentalism Fall 2010 Weekly Assignments/Homework

Week 1 (8/16-8/20)
-Orientation

Week 2 (8/23-8/27)
-Begin Walden introduction and chapter 1 (Economy)
-Role of nature response questions (homework)
-American Transcendentalism guided notes
-Critical thinking response essay #1: Why does Thoreau capitalize the word 'nature'? Explain the significance, citing direct evidence from the text.  

Week 3 (8/30-9/3)
-Read Walden chapters 2, 3, and 4 (Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, Reading, Sounds)
-Begin examples of transcendental thought graphic organizer:  http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson320/chart.pdf
-Quotation Response (pg. 7):  Do you agree with Thoreau's assertion that what a human being thinks of him or herself ultimately determines their fate?  Explain why or why not.
-Critical thinking essay #2: Thoreau makes it very clear at the opening of Walden that his stay in the wilderness was not a lifestyle choice but rather a temporary experiment, and that “At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.” Does the short duration of Thoreau’s stay at Walden undercut the importance of his project?
-Create outline and prewriting plan for critical thinking essay #2 (Homework)
-Tribute essay #1 (In class)

Week 4 (9/7-9/10) (No school Sept. 6th-Labor day)
-Read Walden chapters 5, 6, and 7 (Solitude, Visitors, The Bean Field)
-Review literary elements (Theme, POV, Characterization, Setting, Plot)
-Literary Elements Quiz-Define terms and evaluate Thoreau's use of literary elements

Week 5 (9/13-9/17)
-Read Walden chapters 8, 9, and 10 (The Village, The Ponds, Baker Farm)
-Critical thinking response essay #3: How does Thoreau use language to evoke readers' emotions?  Discuss Thoreau's use of symbolism, imagery, and extended metaphor, citing specific evidence from the text.
-Tribute Essay #2

Week 6 (9/20-9/24)
-Read Walden chapters 11, 12, and 13 (Higher Laws, Brute Neighbors, House Warming)
-Walden literary analysis: Select a passage from this week's reading and analyze the ways in which the meaning of the passage represents a view or comment on life. (Homework)
-Critical thinking essay #4: Thoreau occasionally forces a long series of tedious details upon us, as for example when in “House-Warming” he tells us a precise history of the freezing of Walden Pond over the past several years. Similarly detailed passages refer to his farming endeavors, his home construction, and other topics. Why does Thoreau repeatedly display these irrelevant details? How do they fit in to his overall plan for Walden?

Week 7 (9/27-10/1)
-Read Walden chapters 14, 15, and 16 (Former Inhabitants; Winter Visitors, Winter Animals, The Pond in Winter)
-Quiz: Thoreau's use of logical, empirical, anecdotal, and intuitive evidence to support conclusions.
-Read Thoreau's seminal essay Civil Disobedience (Homework)
-Civil Disobedience response: Is Thoreau's conception of civil disobedience compatible with democratic government? Why or why not?
-Select topic for final essay.  Choose one of the three prompts below to compose a 5 paragraph essay:

1-Does Thoreau show socialist tendencies, though he is writing before socialism is a recognized idea?
2-Thoreau repeatedly praises the simplicity and industriousness of the working poor, and comes very close to joining their ranks when he lives at subsistence level in the woods for two years. Yet in his chapter on reading he disdains popular tastes in books, implying that everyone should be able to read the Greek tragedian Aeschylus in the original, as he does. His allusions to world literature are quite lofty, including Chinese philosophers and Persian poets. Is Thoreau a snob? If so, is his democratic populism undermined by his disdain for popular culture?
3-What would Thoreau make of the fact that Walden is one of the most commonly assigned texts in high school and college literature courses across the country? Would he welcome the fact that he has become part of the mainstream culture that he was criticizing?

Week 8 (10/4-10/8)
-Read Walden chapters 17 and 18 (Spring and Conclusion)
-Writing workshop: create outline plan for final essay/thesis creation
-Work on 1st draft of final essay (In class and Homework)
-Quiz on Thoreau's use of irony, contradictions, paradoxes, and incongruities

Week 9 (10/11-10/14)
-Walden final exam
-Writing workshop: refine final essay draft (In class and Homework)
-Final essay due

LA3: American Transcendentalism-Course Overview

This course will focus on the literary movement known as American Transcendentalism.  This movement-which began in the early 19th century-is centered on the cultivation of groundbreaking new ideas in literature, culture and philosophy.  The transcendentalists were focused on 'going beyond' traditional literary patterns and establishing a style of literature that was strictly American.  Based primarily on a deep conviction and appreciation for the natural world, the movement also serves as a reaction against the American industrial revolution.  This course will focus primarily on the seminal works of Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller.