Friday, September 28, 2012

JOURNALISM Reflection

In a paragraph, leave a comment about your mock interview experience in class today.
Study for your test Monday!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

TIME Magazine

Hey, some of you have already reached out. I love your enthusiasm for your success. Stay on top! Here is the TIME magazine article.
Remember: find 3 facts in each section, make it newsworthy for your CAHS demographic, and tell me what you think....

Saturday, September 22, 2012

First Test of the Quarter

Be prepared for your assessment on "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara and Chapter 6 of Frederick Douglass's narrative. 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Journalism Homework

Post comments here or write your paragraph to turn in tomorrow.

In a complete paragraph, explain why style, language level, connotation and denotation, and/or precise word choice matter when writing for mass media?

Welcome back...again

Tonight's homework is just a click away.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Strike Back

Don't forget that while the teachers are on strike your thinking and learning must continue!

African American Literature & Journalism:

In formal letter format, explain to one of these people why you agree or disagree with the strike. Be sure to address the letter to the appropriate person(s) and that your argument is clear with evidence to support it. Use this time to investigate and weigh-in on the issues.

Check out these links (the required list):
CPS, teachers fail to reach deal to prevent strike
Chicago teachers strike for the first time in 25 years
Chicago Teachers will strike today (1987)
Union Press: CPS fails to Negotiate an Agreement

Write a letter to one of the following people:

  • Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago
  • Jean-Claude Brizard, Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools
  • Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union
  • or parents of students who attend Chicago Public Schools
You must use at least three sources, two from the required list above. 

If you have African American Literature and Journalism this is considered one assignment that will be graded for both. 

Use this rubric to know how you will be graded. The page should be typed and 5 paragraphs; they are worth 20 pts.

Post comments here, if you have questions.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Af Am Lit Must Reads

This list of the Top 10 African American Authors that everyone must read comes from Forbes.com. Overtime, everyone ought to get familiar with these authors to find out what makes them members of the African American Literary cannon.

Then ask yourself, "Who will I replace on this list?"


1. Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist and playwright. He is best known for his work during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance. With famous poems such as “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and  “Let America Be America Again,” Hughes proudly depicted the lives of poor blacks through the invention of what was called “jazz poetry.”
2. Richard Wright authored what were considered “controversial” novels in his time, including  Native Son. In 1945, Wright penned the best-seller Black Boy, a seminal portrayal of one black man’s search for self-actualization in a racist society. It paved the way for other successful black writers. 
3. Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. She is celebrated for novels with epic themes and richly detailed characters, such as in The Bluest EyeSong of Solomon and Beloved
4. Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author of four novels and over fifty short stories, plays and essays. Her novelTheir Eyes Were Watching God was written during her fieldwork in Haiti with the Guggenheim Foundation, which provides grants to professionals in the creative arts. 
5. Frederick Douglass was a strong public speaker and, after escaping from slavery, prominent leader in the abolitionist movement. Douglass also authored several compelling autobiographies that detailed his experiences in slavery. He served as a striking counter-example to slaveholders’ claims that blacks did not have the intellectual capacity to function as free and independent citizens. 
6. Alice Walker is an author and activist, best known for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple, for which she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. It was turned into a successful Steven Spielberg film co-starring Oprah Winfrey, and later into an excellent Broadway musical. Walker was involved in the Civil Rights movement and participated in the 1963 March on Washington.
7. W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. He was a member of the early 20thcentury African-American intellectual elite and helped increase black political representation. He was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as editor for its magazine, The Crisis, to which he contributed many essays.
8. Ralph Ellison was a literary critic, scholar and writer. He wrote Shadow and Act, a collection of political, social and critical essays. He served as a professor at Rutgers University and Yale University. In addition, he received a National Book Award in 1953 for his book Invisible Man, which was chosen in 1998 by the Modern Library Association as one of the top 100 Best English-language Novels of the 20th CenturyInvisible Man ranked 19th, ahead of Richard Wright’s Native Son at 20th
9. August Wilson is an American playwright best known for The Pittsburgh Cycle (often referred to as his “Century Cycle”), which consists of ten plays set in different decades highlighting the black experience throughout the 20th century. 
10. James Baldwin was a novelist, poet and essayist. He explored the unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual and class distinctions in Western societies throughout 20th century America. His novel,Go Tell It On the Mountain, ranked 39th on the MLA list.