Welcome, Class of 2020!

Hello, seniors!

Below you will find a reminder of the summer reading assignment. Please note that I have changed the dates for the blog posts by ~10 days each. If you do not have the book yet, please make that an immediate priority.

I'm going to make a separate post for each of the eight books, so please publish your response on the appropriate one.

I am available by text and GroupMe for questions pretty much anytime, so don't hesitate to reach out.
LAR 

During the summer, you will need to post TWO responses on the blog you will find at rayburnenglish.blogspot.com.  You will need a Google account to access this page, so please set one up if you do not have one already. 

By 11:59 p.m. on July 25, you will need to post a response to the following questions:  How would you characterize your author’s writing style?  What kind of diction does s/he use, and what tones are created by that diction.  Choose a small selection (approximately 4-6 sentences) to analyze closely, and post your analysis on the blog.  You should cite the page number and paragraph of the selection you choose.

By 11:59 p.m. on August 12, you will need to post a response to the following questions: What is the author’s exigency for writing this book? In other words, what is his/her motivation for creating this text? What is the main argument he/she is building?  What should you as a reader take away from this book?  Your response should be at least 300 words long, and should not closely resemble anyone else’s response already posted.  (That’s an incentive for being one of the first to post!)

On Friday, August 16, you will need to bring your copy of the book, thoroughly annotated. On that day, you will write a timed essay, so it is imperative that you have read and understood the book by the time school starts.

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Publish your posts here about So You've Been Publicly Shamed.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Publish your posts here about Killers of the Flower Moon.

The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

Publish your posts here about The Devil's Highway.

Missoula by Jon Krakauer

Publish your posts here about Missoula.

In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero

Publish your posts here about In the Country We Love

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Publish your posts here about Born a Crime.

Ghettoside by Jill Leovy

Publish your posts here about Ghettoside.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Publish your posts here about Educated.

Post your August 1 assignment here.

By 11:59 p.m. on August 1, you will need to post a response to each of the following questions: 

• What is the author’s exigency for writing this book? In other words, what is his/her motivation for creating this text?
• What is the main argument he/she is building? 
• What should you as a reader take away from this book?  

Your response should be at least 300 words long, and should not closely resemble anyone else’s response already posted.  (That’s an incentive for being one of the first to post!)

Please be sure to sign your name to your post if you do not have a Google account, and double check your July 15 post to make sure it is not anonymous.  No name = no grade.

Hello, Class of 2019!

In the comment section of this post is where you should put your first round of summer writing / reflection.  Remember, the prompt says:

By 11:59 p.m. on July 15, you will need to post a response to the following questions:  How would you characterize your author’s writing style?  What kind of diction does s/he use, and what tones are created by that diction.  Choose a small selection (approximately 4-6 sentences) to analyze closely, and post your analysis on the blog.  You should cite the page number and paragraph of the selection you choose.

Consider the following questions to help you compile your response.  Do not feel you need to write in a formulaic way.  These are guidelines.  We are looking to see what you can do.  You will be assessed far more on effort than you will style, so do not stress if this is an unfamiliar format.  

a) Who is the speaker, and what does the speaker want the audience to do, think, or believe? (This can be a simplified thematic sentence – TAG + purpose).    (TAG stands for Title, Author, Genre)

b) How does the author develop his or her claims and support his or her purpose? What specific strategies are used, and why are they used?

c) Who is the specific audience, and how do the strategies affect the audience? Why do they care, and how do the strategies make them care even more?

d) If the audience is effectively persuaded by the strategies, what will they do, think or believe? (This is a more specific statement of purpose).

Class of 2018 Summer Reading Assignment

Happy summer, Sweet Pickles!

I'm reposting your summer reading assignment here, and you should leave your blog posts attached to this entry. 

Over the summer, each of you will select one book of choice that you will read, and you will be held accountable for that text when we return in August.  The chart below lists your choices.  There will be no output associated with the book of choice, although there will be meetings in the fall to discuss them.  There will also be incentives (re: prizes) for anyone who manages to read all seven books independently over the course of the 2017-18 school year.

Teacher	Book Title	Author
Dougherty	The Sun is Also a Star	Nicola Yoon
Hennessey	So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed	Jon Ronson
Landsman	Assassin’s Apprentice	Robin Hobb
Meadows	All the Pretty Horses	Cormac McCarthy
Rayburn	The Golem and the Jinni	Helene Wecker
Sheridan	Ready Player One	Ernest Cline

You will also read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson.  For this text you will have a written assignment, and its requirements are below.

 

 

 

BEFORE reading, please thoughtfully address the following:

·        What are the arguments for and against capital punishment (the death penalty)?

·        Research. How do the laws regarding capital punishment vary from state to state in our country?  How do other countries around the world punish the worst offenders?  Analyze and evaluate statistics regarding age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and so on.

·        What is your stance on capital punishment?

AFTER reading (and in the same paper), please thoughtfully address the following:

·        What do Stevenson identify as the primary problems associated with the current American justice system?  In your written response, take a stance that includes a proposed solution to addressing the problems you feel are most pertinent.

·        Whose story did you find most compelling in Stevenson’s text?  Why?

·        How has reading this text shaped, changed, or reinforced your opinions about capital punishment?

 

 

To summarize, your deliverables are:

·        Thorough annotations of Just Mercy.

·        A written response to Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, We Need to Talk About an Injustice, on Rayburn’s blog (no matter which English teacher you are assigned), www.rayburnenglish.blogspot.com, by 10 p.m. on Wednesday, August 9, 2016.  This should be a minimum of 250 words. 

·        A paper between 750-1,000 words that addresses the elements listed in the box on the previous side. This will be due on the first day of school and must be submitted in hard copy.

·        Intelligent conversations about both your readings when we return to school in August.

 

Greetings, Class of 2016

Happy Summer, rising seniors.  I hope you're able to stay dry and safe this week.

You will see below this five separate posts where you should write your responses to the essays in the summer reading section of your textbook.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me (Rayburn) any time before July 7 and after July 21.  I will be away during that time and unlikely to respond.

All posts are due by 10 p.m. on Sunday, August 2.  Do not be late in meeting this deadline.

In addition, remember that you are expected to read one of the following full-length memoirs and be ready to participate in discussions and writing activities based on them the first week of school.

The Sum of our Days	Isabel Allende
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius	Dave Eggers
The Year of Living Biblically	A.J. Jacobs
The Liars’ Club	Mary Karr
Kaffir Boy	Mark Mathabane
The Wild Truth	Carine McCandless
Angela’s Ashes	Frank McCourt
Hunger of Memory	Richard Rodriguez
Wild	Cheryl Strayed
I Am Malala	Malala Yousafzai

"Beauty" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the beauty-themed essays:  Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self by Alice Walker and Beauty by Scott Russell Sanders.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response.

"Power" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the power-themed essays:  The Four Freedoms by Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Evil Empire by Ronald Reagan.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

"Race" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the Race-themed essays:  What to the Slave is the Fourth of July by Frederick Douglass and The Myth of the Latin Woman by Judith Ortiz Cofer.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

"Gender" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the gender-themed essays:  The Case for Birth Control by Margaret Sanger and The 2012 Address to the Australian Parliament by Julia Gillard .  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

"Death" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the Death-themed essays:  How to Know if You're Dead by Mary Roach and/or On the Fear of Death by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

Never Say Goodbye

My dear Goonies,

The past year with you has been one of the best years of my life, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you did to make it so.  Your class maintained such a genuinely warm and respectful attitude all the way to the end, and we are talking about a school year that never seemed like it would really end. 

Now that it has, I find myself missing our time together, laughing about the dynamics each English section had, and my heart skipping a little each time I see a friend or follow request on social media from you.  In fact, as I type this, I received a grammar question via text from one of you.  And that makes me happy.

Truly, I hate nothing more than the idea of saying goodbye.  On that last day, as Field Day closed, all your teachers were surprised that you hung around so long, tearfully saying goodbye to each other and us.  That's not usual.  Most of the time, seniors/graduates do the whole "peace out" thing.  As I watched all of you struggle a little to see your time at YES officially end, I felt encouraged that maybe you had gotten more out of your education than grades, acceptances, and scholarships.  That's the whole point.

The title of this post is after a cheesy 1980s song by Bon Jovi.  Y'all seem to be fans of the band, so it seems appropriate to borrow from them once more. 

I love y'all.

And I'll see you again.

Slaughterhouse-Five Socratic seminar follow-up

Why did Kurt Vonnegut choose to structure this text the way he did?  What effect did he want this novel to have on its readers?

(If you have comments or observations that do not align precisely with those questions, that's okay. These are just suggested jumping-off points.)

Respond by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18 for full credit.