Link Added to Fun Sites

Maybe you soccer fans have seen this already, but I just came across UEFA's Training Ground site, which has a lot of instructional and tactical videos. Enjoy!

Reminders and Notices

If you are looking for something to do for the next couple of weeks, you might want to think about your book selection for the final paper. If you have either left the handout at school or misplaced it, look to the right under Syllabus and Assignments and click on English 10 Final Paper. Keep in mind that your book selection is not due until January 27 (Day 3) and January 28 (Day 4), so if you just want to relax over the vacation, please do so; you will still have three weeks to select a book once school resumes. 

Not to be a Scrooge, but if school had not been cancelled just before the vacation, I would have notified the odd-day sections that when we return from the break, the workload will increase noticeably. With all of the interruptions this marking period, you have not been assigned a ton of work, but this will change upon our return. During the first class after the vacation, you will be introduced to existentialism, a philosophical approach that reflects on freedom, responsibility, and the absurdity of everyday life. That day, we will go over Albert Camus's retelling of the myth of Sisyphus in preparation for reading his novel The Stranger, which we will begin in class. You will once again have to annotate each reading assignment and write a journal entry for it which, if done appropriately, will prepare you to have something to say for each class. 

You will have an in-class essay on The Stranger January 20 (Day 4) and January 21 (Day 5), for which you will not receive the topics in advance. Any revisions of the narrative essay, tragic essay, or comic essay must be completed by January 15 (Day 2) and January 16 (Day 3), but no revision will be accepted unless you meet with me prior to turning it in. 

Enjoy the vacation! 

For Tuesday (12/16, Day 2) and Wednesday (12/17, Day 3)

Your comedic essay is due Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Be prepared to read aloud the entire essay, or just a section of it, to your classmates. You should practice reading your essay aloud, and you should mark up your draft to indicate how you want to read it. For example, you could indicate where you should speed up the reading, where you should slow it down, where you should speak more loudly or softly, and so on. 

Some of you may be anxious that your essay is not funny, but keep in mind the goal is not to have everyone falling out of their seats in laughter, but to tell a story that can lighten a mood. It is possible that no one will laugh at your story, but that doesn't mean it wasn't funny. Everyone will read from their essay, so come prepared to do your best! 

If you have any questions about your essay, do not hesitate to e-mail me (fmontas@mph.net) or see me during tutorial. On Tuesday, I am free during the first half of third block (until about 12:20) and all of last block. During third block, I will be in my classroom; during last block you can find me in the faculty room.

Assignment for Wednesday, 12/10 (Day 4), and Thursday, 12/11 (Day 5)

Continue writing the comic essay. Again, bring two copies to class; I will want to see progress between the first draft you turned in and this class. 

Also, read "Guys vs. Men," a comic piece by Dave Barry. It's the introduction to a book of the same title and it employ a variety of comic techniques that might be helpful for you to see as you develop your own piece. You do not need to write a journal entry for it since you are still writing the comic essay, but we will discuss it in class. 

Homework for Monday, 12/8 (Day 2), and Tuesday, 12/9 (Day 3)

Write one or two pages for a rough draft of a funny story. You may relate an incident that happened to you or someone you know, you may create a comical story, or you may write a satirical piece such as The Onion article on Barack Obama or The New Yorker pieces. The final version should be two to three pages in length, and will be due Tuesday, December 16 (Day 2), and Wednesday, December 17 (Day 3). As you write this piece, keep in mind the comic strategies we have discussed in class: situation, characters, language, irony, pacing, and (with satire) exaggeration for the sake of critical commentary. Please type the draft and bring two copies with you to class. 

Homework for Wednesday, 12/3

1. Find examples of nine of the eighteen genres of comedy we identified and discussed in class on Monday. Simply list your examples in your journal.

2. Complete the first column of the handout distributed in class concerning a satirical subject in The Simpsons episode, "Crepes of Wrath."