Beyond the Books...
By Sandra Lynn
October 21, 2009
The new year has brought about many changes with the addition of a new high school building and lap top computers for all students and teachers. The English department is working diligently to prepare the students for the upcoming changes and with the help of Mrs. Marrou, Mrs. Akin and Mrs. Miller, hopefully these transitions will go smoothly. Mrs. Miller’s English IV classes are currently reading Canterbury Tales and each student will be responsible for teaching a tale to the class in its entirety. Her English I classes just finished a series of short stories and will currently be working on grammar and how to incorporate it into the writing process. In addition, the speech classes have had to research some techniques and are preparing to give “how to” speeches. Mrs. Marrou’s English III students finished the novel Far North and along with it researched the Northwestern Territory and all aspects that pertain to that area. They produced brochures using one of the software programs on the Apple Mac (keynotes). Her English II classes are currently working on grammar and have started on their fourth TAKS essay using Vantage Learning (a software program for the Apple Mac). Mrs. Akin’s PreAP English I students are currently working on an analytical essay in conjunction with the novel Fahrenheit 451 and have read several short stories with the latest one “The Cask of Amontialldo.” They are also completing a project with this story that involves shields/crests and how it represents each one of their families.
Her PreAP English II class also finished an analytical essay over the short story “The Masque of the Red Death,” in which they also created plaster masks of their faces (displayed in the high school trophy case). They are currently reading Antigone and will complete their first timed writing over rhetorical strategies used in the play. The AP English III class is currently reading the novel The Great Gatsby and in addition are immersed in interpreting and writing their own poetry. They will be entering a poetry contest to be judged in the near future. The AP English IV class recently held a debate over healthcare reform (after watching President Obama’s televised speech) and Mrs. Lynn was the judge in the matter. The opposing side of Ben Enslow, Taira Alderman, Stephanie Rangel, Kaylynn Wilkins, and Oscar Soto were on the winning side. They have been studying rhetoric in all forms and are currently creating podcasts using rhetorical speeches in movie clips. They will present their podcast to the class and dress in costume of one of the characters in their chosen movie clip. They, too, have been writing rhetorical arguments using Vantage Learning software. Each teacher has been working extremely hard to incorporate all of the new technology while sticking to the basics. We invite you to visit the high school and see all of the exciting projects and see firsthand while the students are engaged in learning.
