Language Arts Teacher Resources
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| Advanced Teaching References | Assessments/Rubrics | General Teaching References |
| Literary Analysis | Professional Development | Reading Resources |
| ACT Practice Study | Writing Resources |
Advanced Teaching References:
Writing:
1. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/argument.htm -- Visit this site!! It explains argumentation, gives you a step by step process to think about, and provides you with a sample annotated essay.
2. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ -- The Purdue Online Writing Center is another useful source for ALL questions regarding writing. It is especially useful if you are a second language learning. There are multiple tips for how to use the English language.
4. How to read and write plays... http://www.ehow.com/how_2223616_write-short-play-inside-car.html and how to format plays... http:www.vcu.edu/arts/playwriting/formatnumbers/html
General Teaching References:
General Teaching References:
Assessments/Rubrics:
Literary Analysis:
address<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text-obama.html?em>is
proving to be more powerful in the reading than it was in the hearing.
5. The Internet Public Library has everything that a public library has. Make use of this incredible source. http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/aplus/
Assessments/Rubrics:
6. http://www.courseworkbank.co.uk/IB__International_Baccalaureate_/ -- Examples of A Level Essay beginnings and topics along with IB
Literary Analysis:
Allusions:
6. Allusions in the "Grapes of Wrath" -- http://www.usq.edu.au/artsworx/schoolresources/thegrapesofwrath/biblical.htm
7. http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/allusion/page2.html -- allusion in prose and poetry. Scripture and Greek mythology are the two most common sources for literary allusions. Poems, novels, short stories, essays, and plays written by a myriad of writers include references, both direct and subtle, to the Bible. As a Christian poet (some say *the* Christian poet), John Milton used such references frequently. His many biblical allusions contribute to the richness of his sonnets.
8a. I count four biblical allusions, all from the book of Matthew, in the sonnet ‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent.’ http://rhesponse.blogspot.com/2005/11/miltons-sonnet-on-his-blindness-part-1.html
The title and first two lines are drawn from the biblical mandate to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:16). Milton’s mention of his ‘talent’ (line 3) is a reference to Jesus’ parable of the talents found in Matthew 25. In line 11, the personified character ‘Patience’ reminds Milton that God’s yoke is mild, referring to Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:30. The last allusion is from Matthew 8, in which the Roman centurion demonstrates his faith in Christ’s power to heal. He says to Jesus, ‘I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and that one, "Come," and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.’ The centurion words were an analogy: he believed that Christ’s power was proportional to, but much greater than, his own. Milton’s paraphrase speaks of God’s power directly: ‘thousands at his bidding speed.’*
8b. ‘How Soon Hath Time’ http://rhesponse.blogspot.com/2005/12/two-john-milton-sonnets.html has fewer allusions, though its theme is certainly biblical. For example, the first two lines, that personify time by calling it ‘Thief,’ are similar to Ephesians 5:16: ‘Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most every opportunity, because the days are evil.’ Though there is correspondence, the relationship is not direct enough to be an allusion. There is an allusion in the latter half of the sonnet, when Milton speaks of time as being in ‘strictest measure.’ It is a reference to the words of Job (14:5): ‘Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.’ The same phrase ‘strictest measure’ also alludes to Greek mythology, in which three sisters, called the Fates, literally measured the days of each man’s life on a string, and then cut the string with magical scissors whenever it was time for a person to die.*
8c. In ‘To a Virtuous Young Lady,’ http://rhesponse.blogspot.com/2005/12/two-john-milton-sonnets.html * there are at least three distinct allusions. First, Milton considers ‘shunning the broad way and the green’ an example of taking Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:13-14 to heart. ‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ The references to Mary and Ruth are obviously allusions, as are lines 10-14, in which Milton describes the parable of the ten virgins and their oil lamps. The ‘Bridegroom’ in the parable (Matthew 25) and in Milton’s sonnet is not a human bridegroom but Jesus himself.*
8d. *An interesting point these many allusions raise is that a working knowledge of the Bible is a very practical skill, even for non-Christians. It is not only supposedly ‘archaic’ poetry that makes use of biblical allusions. Much of modern literature does, as well. To read and understand Milton’s sonnets the way he intended them to be read and understood, one must be able to catch the biblical references. Anyone who wants to know the value of great literature, both past and present, must be able to recognize biblical allusions. This means that when schools refuse to teach about biblical allusions, they are denying one of the formative influences in American culture, as well as defrauding students of important literary material. http://rhesponse.blogspot.com/2005/12/biblical-allusions.html
9. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0934954.html -- Common Allusions
Rhetorical Analysis:
10. Stanley Fish - Think Again] <http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/>January 22, 2009, 9:00 pm Barack Obama's inaugural
Reading Resources:
Reading Resources:
Louisiana Begins Wetland Repair with Mississippi River Sediment
BELLE CHASSE, Louisiana, April 14, 2009 (ENS) - The first project in state history designed to mine sediments from the Mississippi River and transport them by pipeline to rebuild eroding coastal
wetlands was announced today by Governor Bobby Jindal.
The $28.3 million project, known as The Mississippi River Sediment Delivery System at Bayou Dupont, will build and restore nearly 500 acres of marsh in Lower Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes using sediment from the Mississippi River.
Governor Jindal said, "The Bayou Dupont Project breaks new ground for coastal restoration in our state because it is the first time we have carried out a project to transport sediments from the Mississippi River through a pipeline to build wetlands outside the river's levees."
"This project is a great example of the ways the state and Environmental Protection Agency are pushing to use available sediments in the Mississippi River to build land rather than dredging them and dumping them in a wasteful way," Jindal said. "The path forward in rebuilding our coast is capturing and using sediment transported in our waterways to rebuild and strengthen our coasts."
The wetlands being restored have been destroyed by hurricanes and saltwater intrusion.
Louisiana has about 40 percent of the nation's wetlands and experiences 90 percent of the coastal wetlands loss in the entire lower 48 states.
The state is losing 25 to 35 square miles of wetlands each year, nearly a football field every 30 minutes.
As these coastal wetlands turn to open water, their ability to impede approaching storms is reduced and the risk of catastrophic loss of life and property from hurricanes is greatly increased, warns Restore or Retreat, a non-profit coastal advocacy group. The Barataria and Terrebonne basins are the two most rapidly eroding estuaries on Earth, and this erosion represents an economic and ecological crisis," the group says.
Under the project announced by the governor today, dredged material will be taken from the Mississippi River to two sites in the Upper Barataria Basin in Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes on what is called the Barataria Landbridge.
Coastal Protection and Restoration Chairman Garret Graves said, "While the levees on the Mississippi River accomplished their goal of preventing flooding and stabilizing the navigation channel that so many states rely upon, they also cut off the river sediment from nourishing and restoring our wetlands. This project takes the land-building process we learned from Mother Nature and does it much more efficiently."
In total, the pipeline will transport 2.3 million cubic yards of sediment from the Mississippi River to complete the project. After all the material is transported, native vegetation will be planted on the new marsh.
The area of the river where the sediments will be dredged was chosen because it will fill up with sediments again. Part of the pipeline infrastructure will remain in place after the project is complete so it can be used to build future projects.
"This has to stop," Governor Jindal said. "Our soil and sediment is not waste. This is the same material that actually created the river delta that is Louisiana today. If it is taken from our waterways, it needs to be used to build land in our state to restore healthy marshes and protect our coastal communities."
In fact, said the governor, if all the available sediment dredged from our waterways was used beneficially, more than 18 square miles of land a year could be built in Louisiana, which would cut the state's rate of land loss by two-thirds.
Jindal said the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Department of Natural Resources currently are working on improving regulations and practices for using dredged materials from all coastal projects where sediments are dredged and removed.
The governor noted that every year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removes about 60 million cubic yards of sediment from Louisiana navigation channels. Now the state also is working with the Corps to utilize the maximum amount of these sediments to build land to restore and protect Louisiana coastal communities and wetlands.
1. The passage states that the main reason sediment is being transported from the Mississippi river is to:
1 A. Eliminate extra sediment
2 B. Increase the length of the Mississippi river
3 C. Rebuild wetlands
4 D. Plant new vegetation
2. The main reason coastal wetlands are decreasing is the existence of:
1. A. Pipelines
2. B. Levees
3. C. Mississippi river
4. D. The Department of Natural Resources
3. The main purpose of paragraph eight is to:
1. A. Describe how sediment creates wetlands.
2. B. Explain the mission statement of the non-profit organization Restore and Retreat.
3. C. Propose a solution to the receding wetland problem.
4. D. Explain the devastating effects of receding wetlands.
4. The Mississippi River Sediment Delivery System at Bayou Depont aims to do all of the following:
1. I. Direct sediment from the Mississippi river
2 II. Create new levees
3 III. Plant natural vegetation
1 A. I only
2 B. I and II
3 C. III only
4 D. I and III
5. The passage states that the purpose of the levees on the Mississippi river is to:
I. Prevent flooding
II. Increase wetlands
III. Redirect sediment
A. I only
B. I and II
C. II and III
D. III only
6. The passage implies that rebuilding wetlands is beneficial because it:
A. Reduces floods
B. Reduces the impact of hurricanes
C. Creates more open water
D. Increases commerce
7. It can be inferred from the phrase “ecological crisis” that scientists and politicians are also worried about:
A. The decreased diversity of plants and animals.
B. The instability of the levees
C. The cost of building pipelines
D. The decreased amount of ocean water.
11. ACT Practice Study, Grade 11
12. Science Fiction Short Stories
All Summer in a Day
http://www.intermed.it/bradbury/Allsummer.htm
Mike Krath
A Most Ambitious Experiment
Reading Level: Easy
Words: 401K and trust fund
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MosAmb.shtml
Fernando Sorrentino
Translated by Gustavo Artiles and Alex Patterson
Chastisement By The Lambs
Reading Level: Middle
Words: Chastise/chastisement
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/ChasLamb.shtml
