The Four Freedoms Flag of WW2
Click on the image below to discover more about the man who created the flag:
This flag is for sale! You can purchase it from The Flag Guys...
The Four Freedoms Speech by FDR
"In his Annual Message to Congress (State of the Union Address) on January 6, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt presented his reasons for American involvement [in the growing war in Europe], making the case for continued aid to Great Britain and greater production of war industries at home. In helping Britain, President Roosevelt stated, the United States was fighting for the universal freedoms that all people possessed.
"As America entered the war these "four freedoms" - the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear - symbolized America's war aims and gave hope in the following years to a war-wearied people because they knew they were fighting for freedom.
President Roosevelt delivering what came to be known as the "Four Freedoms Speech."
The ideas enunciated in the Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms were the foundational principles that evolved into the Atlantic Charter declared by Winston Churchill and FDR in August 1941; the United Nations Declaration of January 1, 1942; President Roosevelt’s vision for an international organization that became the United Nations after his death; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948 through the work of Eleanor Roosevelt."
--adapted and quoted directly from the President FDR Library, 9-6-17
A final task for 2018-2019
Once you have completed the course evaluation, I want every scholar to share, as a comment to this post, two things: first, share a poem that you admire (not just some random poem, but one that actually comes to mind that you admire and love for whatever reason); and two, share the title of two novels, both the title and author of what you are reading for summer reading, and another that you plan on reading for pleasure.
Make sure you’re logged into your NT google account before posting!
Syllabus for May 6 - 10
MACBETH COMBINES POETRY, BLOOD, blind ambition, and describes the rise of Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor, and the fall of King and Queen Macbeth. A combination of valor on the battlefield, ambition in the political arena, and supernatural comeuppance in nature, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is written as part mass entertainment for Elizabethan audience, part political complement to King James 1. While studying the play in class in preparation for our page-to-stage performance, student will read their bildungsroman novel independently and complete an annotated bibliography for a writing portfolio.
MONDAY
No class due to late start.
HW: By class on Tuesday, students should have posted their three novel selections, as well as a written summary of published book reviews, written in your own words. Where able, I will continue to meet to discuss essays.
TUESDAY
Studying Act 1 of Macbeth. We read scenes I.i through I.iii, ending on page 25.
HW: Today or tomorrow, check in with Mr. Easton outside of class to have your novel choice approved. I am available before and after school, and during periods 3, 4, 7 and 9. You should have that approved no later than class on Thursday.
WEDNESDAY
Studying Act 1 of Macbeth.
HW: Begin reading your bildungsroman novel. You will need to annotate the book, so please purchase it. Your annotations will be 1/2 of the grade on this assignment (the annotated bibliography being the other half).
THURSDAY
In library to begin researching your chosen novel.
HW: Reading your bildungsroman novel.
FRIDAY
Finishing Act 1 of Macbeth; time permitting we will move into Act 2.
HW: Reading your bildungsroman novel.
Documentary on Shakespeare's Tomb
Did you miss the documentary on Thursday and Friday? You can catch it here. You are taking notes on Shakespeare’s life. What we know, what we don’t, his significance as an English writer.
A&E Biography on Shakespeare
Students are keeping notes on a) the interesting details of Shakespeare’s life and b) why he is a significant writer in the English language. I will collect and grade notes. You can watch the video remotely by clicking on the image.
Syllabus for April 29-May 3
WE’VE FINISHED WATCHING TWO interpretations of Dickens’s classic, including an abbreviated version developed by creators of South Park, Parker and Stone. Last week, we brainstormed and planned a paper and began drafting, spending two days in the computer lab. This week, we will begin working on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. We have both an audio version of the play and the visual version of the play to assist students with their reading in the following google drive folder. Make good use of these resources, as they are here for a reason.
MONDAY
Working in lab W-231 to draft your essay. What is the most important, less obvious lesson in Dickens’s Great Expectations.
HW: Tomorrow we are starting our work on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, or the Scottish Play, as it is known. Your should have a first draft of the Dickens paper in class on Wednesday.
TUESDAY
Documentary on Shakespeare. Who was he? What can we know about him? Why is the Swan of Avon studied throughout English speaking countries world-wide?
HW: First draft of the essay is due on Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY
Beginning our work on Macbeth. Today we will start reviewing an introduction to the play in our GF. I will start meeting with students individually for writing conferences.
HW: Begin gathering lists of bildungsroman novels for discussion tomorrow. These should NOT be in the “young adult” category, NOR should you have read them previously. See the assignment sheet for more information.
THURSDAY
Documentary on Shakespeare’s grave. It’s a CSI look into his tomb, wherein scientists and archaeologists team up to investigate whether the Bard’s grave has been disturbed, and his skull stolen, or not.
HW: Post your three novel choices here. You should also begin researching the novels using New Trier Library’s literary resource center, as well as Novelist.
FRIDAY
Posting your selections for the bildungsroman project. We will finish yesterday’s documentary.
HW: By class on Tuesday, students should have posted their three novel selections, as well as a written summary of published book reviews, written in your own words. Where able, I will continue to meet to discuss essays.
Syllabus for April 22-26
HOW WOULD DICKENS DEFINE a successful life? We will begin drafting a paper that is argumentative based. You will develop a claim (a debatable, probable, and provable thesis statement) with supporting reasons (that more generally explain why your claim is true) and direct evidence from the novel. We will begin crafting a first draft of that paper.
MONDAY
Pip has hoped to become a better person in life. Has he succeeded, or not? If so, how so? If not, how not? Large group discussion of what makes for a successful life in class today.
HW: Begin brainstorming a claim for your GE paper: What is the most important, least obvious lesson within the novel? Also, I will collect annotations tomorrow in class.
TUESDAY
After collecting your annotations, we will begin small group work on analyzing two essays about the novel. What argument does the author(s) make about the novel? Examining each of these for the argument presented.
HW: Finish reading the second article tonight, annotating as directed in class. In preparation for class tomorrow: What is the most important, less obvious lesson within Dickens’s novel Great Expectations?
WEDNESDAY
Meeting in computer lab W-231 for brainstorming and drafting GE essay.
HW: Working on first draft of paper.
THURSDAY
Second day in computer lab. Students should leave lab today with a working rough draft (complete) that includes at least two body paragraphs, demonstrates argumentative structure, and includes a dissenting voice in some respect.
HW: Essay is due Monday. Keep working on your draft. I am free to meet with students before and after school, as well as periods 3, 4, 7 and 9
FRIDAY
Who is Shakespeare? Documentary on his life and a very short overview of his writing’s impact..
HW: Reading an overview of the play, and an additional essay on the play’s themes and the contemporary importance of the play.
Test.
Kindly post your name as a comment to this post. Please make sure you are signed into your NT google account before attempting to do so.
IF you get an error message, please take a screen shot and email me a copy of that to: eastonp@nths.net.
Syllabus for April 15-18
HOW WOULD DICKENS DEFINE a successful life?
MONDAY
Pip has hoped to become a better person in life. Has he succeeded, or not? If so, how so? If not, how not? Large group discussion of what makes for a successful life in class today.
HW: Reading chapter 54 tonight.
TUESDAY
Lest we forget the cultural context for novel, we will watch episode three of Elizabethan Slum House today in class.
HW: Read chapter 55 and 56 tonight.
WEDNESDAY
Either today or tomorrow, we will finish watching the 1946 film version of GE.
HW: Finish reading the novel. Annotations will be due on Monday.
THURSDAY
The novel clearly presents the notion that Pip has “great expectations” in life. Does he satisfactorily achieve those expectations? What does it mean to have great expectations, in Dickens’s view? What makes for a “great” life? Large group discussion.
HW: No homework over Easter/Passover break. If your annotations are not complete, kindly finish them.
FRIDAY
No school for Good Friday and Passover/Easter weekend.
HW: Annotations in Great Expectations will be due on Monday.
Four Punctuation Review/Videos
Click on the link above to watch the FIRST video (yes, there are several….)
Here are several links to some excellent, albeit dated, videos on punctuation rules. They are produced by a group called The Standard Deviants, and while corny and goofy, the information is excellent. They can help you problem-solve issues in your own writing, and will help with your SAT preparation. In class on Thursday, we will watch the first of these videos, and you can watch the others on your own, as needed.
Second video link is here.
Third video link is here.
Fourth video link is here.
Syllabus for April 1 - 5
WELCOME TO FOURTH QUARTER. We will finish Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expecations, and then move into Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. Additionally, we will start work on the final, which is a writing portfolio that includes three examples of your writing, as well as revisions of those three samples. You will also have an introductory essay about yourself as part of that project.
MONDAY
Grades. We will start the week by catching up on any missing work. I will return the 1984 papers, and we will begin looking at the issues I see within these papers. They will include: making sure you have a clear, articulate claim; provide context for your direct quotes; eliminating wordiness (indef. pronouns, prepositions, helping verbs); inflated phrases (one can clearly see/it can be seen).
HW: A revision of the essay will be due one week from today, on Monday. We will get back into GE on Wednesday. You should have read chapters 42-43 by Thursday.
TUESDAY
Introductions and conclusion. Lecture on historical overview, anecdote, surprising statement, and common ground introductions, as well restating, universalize, consequences, vivid images, quotes for conclusions. Remember, the introduction is the reader’s map to what you think and why you think it (your claim and a preview of your reasons), and the conclusion a summary of the claim’s consequences or a supposition of what’s next.
HW: Read chapter fourty-two and three by class on Thursday.
WEDNESDAY
Lecture on cohesion (or cueing the reader, as our handout calls it). Overview of cohesion techniques, including: transitional statements, synonyms, collocations, relationships (spacial, logical, visual, chronological, cause/effect, action/consequence, parallel sentence structures. We will also listen to chapter 41/2.
HW: Review your essay and revise it for cohesion. Be prepared to share these revisions via a google sheet in class tomorrow.
THURSDAY
Small group analysis of chapters 41-43. You are to use your small group notes to answer the qeustions on these chapters.
HW: Write answers to today’s discussion questions, and staple them to the BACK of your note sheet. Also, read chapter 44.
FRIDAY
Returning to the 1946 film version of Great Expectations.
HW: Read chapters 45-47. Have a hard copy of your 1984 revision in class on WEDNESDAY.
2nd Period's Best Magwitch Paragraphs
Post your group name, as well as the “best” paragraph from your group, here.
1st Period's Best Magwitch Paragraphs
Post your group name, as well as the “best” paragraph from your group, here.
Low!
What does Abel Magwitch mean when he says to Pip, in chapter fourty in Great Expectations, “I forgot myself half a minute ago. What I said was low; that's what it was; low. Look'ee here, Pip. Look over it. I ain't a going to be low.” ?
What does Dickens mean by this? What does it mean to be “low,” and why is Magwitch so insistant on not being such?
Use a quote in support of your response, being certain to include the MLA citation in your answer, i.e.: (Dickens #).
Syllabus for March 18 - 22
NOW THAT WE KNOW PIP’S BENEFACTOR’S true identity, what should we think of Pip’s rise in fortune, from forge-bound orphan to gentleman of some wealth and solid education? What is Dickens’s view of the seperation of classes—in terms of moral substance, social value, civic duty, fidelity to others—what does it mean to be “low”? What is Dickens’s view of “low” and the treatment of others?
MONDAY
Finishing part two, the 1870s, of The Victorian Slum House.
HW: No homework. If you are behind in your reading in Great Expectations, please catch up. Everyone should have read through Part 2 by class tomorrow.
TUESDAY
Reading through chapter fourty together. What does Abel Magwitch mean when he says to Pip, “I ain’t a going to be low anymore?” Whis are his intentions by returning to London, England.
HW: Read chapter fourty-one and write the paragraph about chapter fourty. Remember that you should be logged into your NT google account before posting it to squarespace.
WEDNESDAY
xxx
HW: xxx
THURSDAY
xxx
HW: xxx
FRIDAY
Watching the first part of the 1946 film version of Great Expectations.
HW: No homework for spring break.
Syllabus for March 11 - 15
WHAT DOES DEBT AND LIFE IN LONDON do to Pip? How is he changing in his behaviors, relative to his treatment of people formerly close to him (Joe and Biddy), relative to spending of money (gathering debt), respective to his relationship with Estella (hoping for marriage—but will that happen)? And finally, is he correct in assuming that Mrs. Havisham, whom he supposes is his secret benefactor, has his best interests at heart?
MONDAY
Lecture on chapters 31, 32, and 33: the theater, the jail, and the woman. How do each of these experiences relate to one another? How is Mr. Wopsle, Mr. Wemmick, and Estella guides to Pip in an unfamiliar and often hostile world?
HW: Read chapter 34 tonight, wherein Pip and Herbert begin to take stock of their financial situation.
TUESDAY
Examining youth as a work force. How do Pip and Herbert try to come to terms with their increasing expendiures? Today we will exaimine the financial side of Dickens’s novel, and will discuss creating a financial spreadsheet of your assets and debts over a week. We will also pick up the documentary, “Victorian Slum House,” focusing on the child labor aspects of Victorian London.
HW: Read chapter thirty-five and thirty-six (approx. 14 pages).
WEDNESDAY
Funerals and friends. Pip confronts death for the first time, returning home for his sister’s funeral. Later, after his conversation with Joe and Biddy, Pip comes of age and receives news from Mr. Jaggers. Chapter 36 ends with Pip’s visit to Mr. Wemmick at Walworth. Small group analyssis of these chapters via small group discussion.
HW: Complete the written responses, with evidence, for class tomorrow. Only answer questions #1-5. Leave 6 and 7 for in class tomorrow.
THURSDAY
In class reading of chapters 37. We will answer #6 and 7 in class tomorrow, after reading together. Then, just as we drew Mrs. Haversham’s Satis House, we will draw Wemick’s Castle.
HW: Finish your drawing of the castle, take a picture of it, and upload it to this folder.
FRIDAY
Watching the remainder of 1870s in the documentary “Victorian Slum House.”
HW: Read chapters 38 and 39, up through the end of the second stage of Pip’s expectations.
Syllabus for March 4 - 8
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN DIKENSIAN England? How would you characterize life for Victorian Londoners, and how might the possibility of life like that have cast a dire shadow over Pip’s “new life” in London? As we follow Pip in London, remember that he is newly arrived in the middle-class, and he does not have any other safety net beyond the mysterious benefactor.
MONDAY
No class on account of late-start schedule.
HW: You should have read through chapter twenty-five by Tuesday.
TUESDAY
Continuing the documentary, “Victorian Slum House.” We will pick up with children working in the streets, selling watercress for shillings. The Birds face what, for a modern Londoner, is a moral conflict, but for a Victorian dinizen life was a “circle of misery,” a constant battle. How does this reality color your reading of Pip’s experience in London, his friendship with young Pocket, his upperclass peers Drummle and Startop.
HW: Read chapter twenty-six.
WEDNESDAY
Discussion: Who is Drummle, and what does he represent? What does Pip think of him, and—by extension—what does Dickens think of Drummle? What should the reader take away from this dinner at Mr. Jaggers’s house?
HW: Read chapter twenty-seven. How has Pip’s perception of Joe changed? Has Joe, in fact, changed? If so, how so?
THURSDAY
Small group discussion: What is Joe’s advice to Pip? And, by extension, what is Dickens’s comment on Pip’s life? We will also listen to chapter twenty-eight together.
HW: Read chapters twenty-nine.
FRIDAY
IN-class analysis of chapters 30 and 31. I will also continue an in-class book check on annotations.
HW: Read chapterrs thirty-two and thirty-three.