Exploring the Journey: Directions for Beginning Your Project

You've mapped your journey. You're going from somewhere to Chicago, by land. You can pick anywhere you can drive or walk from, but it has to be at least 300 miles away. Mapquest can't really help you: you have to go through the towns and cities along the way, not just take the highway and stop at a McDonald's for lunch.

So: What cities and towns are you passing through? You need to research these places. We know that
.com = commercial, available to everyone
.net = commercial, available to everyone
.org = organization, usually non-profit, available to everyone
.edu = educational institution, usually a college or university
.gov = the United States (Federal) Government

Other government websites can be .com, .net, .org or many other possibilities. You will want to look at State Government Websites and County Websites, along with Chamber of Commerce Websites. It is advisable to follow the links at the County or Chamber of Commerce websites, so that you can read up on the local tourist attractions, businesses and points of interest.

ALWAYS cite your sources. If you use a source, credit it. Always check your sources. You must look at at least 3 different websites to be sure your information is correct. Also: who created the website? What organization or point of view does it represent? Who authored it? You should know.

THE ASSIGNMENT:
Imagine you are traveling on the route you have chosen. Where do you stop and why? What sites and attractions do you visit? What is the landscape like? Describe your journey.

RULES: Your details must be historically and factually accurate. If you are coming from Miami and meet a boy in a club there who comes with you on your journey, it has to be a real club that is really there, and you have to be able to describe it.

WHAT CAN BE FICTIONAL?
Your character can be fictional. The journey is, in fact, fictional, but the details of the journey must be based in fact.

WHAT TIME PERIOD HAVE YOU CHOSEN?
You may choose what time period you wish to be writing about. You may choose the present day, or a time in the past. You must chose a time for which we have written history. There is no significant written history of this continent before the 1600's, and no significant written history of the West before the 1800's. So, for instance, if you decide you are making your journey from Philadelphia to Chicago in the 1860's, what kind of transportation is available to you? Are you going by train or horse-drawn carriage? Are there trains built between Philadelphia and Chicago by the 1860's? If not, you cannot be "taking the train." If you're journeying by carriage, how far can you go in a day? Your journey is certainly much slower than it would be in today's world. What sights are you seeing along the way during that time period? All details must be based in the history of that time and place.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION:
This project will be done in class. I will not accept work done at home, unless we have discussed it beforehand and I have given you written approval. Your final paper is to be typed, 1.5 line spaced, in 12 point Arial font, and at least 7 pages long (not including a coversheet and your bibliography, which are also required).

Mapping the Journey

Charlene and Brandt from "World's End" were driving to Chicago. We know they were driving for many hours, and we know, by inference, that they were coming from another city.

Map out a journey from another city to Chicago. It must be at least 300 miles from Chicago, it must be a route that can be driven, and it must be through territory that you would like to explore.

Find a map of the United States on the Internet. Print it out, and draw out your route. This assignment must be handed in to Camilla.

This mapping exercise will serve as the basis for your research. You will be researching the terrain you have outlined that you would traverse on your journey to Chicago.

Think about this: What places would you have to go through? Why have you chosen this particular route? This week you will begin to explore the towns, cities, highways, byways and natural formations that you would encounter in such a journey.

Homework Asssignment for Thursday, September 24th

1.) Make a list of five vocabulary words that you were challenged by from the book that you are reading and write them in your notebook.
2.) Pick five vocabulary words from the list (below) of vocabulary words from "World's End" and write them in your notebook.
You should have a list of ten words in total.

Write a two-page story or essay that MAKES SENSE, using all ten vocabulary words. It can be fantasy fiction, real-life drama or any other story-telling form that you like. Do not pick slang words or phrases. Pick standard English words. Completing this assignment requires that you have looked up, understand, and can spell the vocabulary words that you have chosen.

Catching Up

If you have just joined this class, please read all the assignments by scrolling down to "Welcome to Fall 2009, Cycle 1." That post and all the ones above it cover all the assignments that have been given in this class, and I have modified the posts to provide easy strategies for catch-up. You may do your owed assignments in your Homework Journal.

Monday and Tuesday are Testing Days

Students are required to take the English Department-wide Assessment Test. The purpose of the test is to ascertain the level of your reading and writing skills. It will serve as the baseline assessment for your work.

Notes from Friday's Class

Your homework journals are due every Friday. They will be returned to you on Tuesday. Please make sure you have completed all the homework assignments.

Vocabulary Words from our reading of "World's End":
brougham
perforce
auditors
temporal
gargantuan
feckless
dominion
mortal
forthwith
retinue
realm
brackish
ooze
malodorous
convey
amphitheater

Homework Question for the Night of Thursday, September 17

What do you daydream about on the train? Write two pages about something you've thought about. Alternate assignment: If the train car you were sitting in was suddenly to be transported to a different planet, what would happen? How would the people on the train interact?

Vocabulary words from "World's End" reading:
facet
thoroughfare(s)
dank
marvel
figment
stunted
moor
susurrus
estuary
prosaic

Class Notes

We read up to page 37 in "World's End." Please come in at lunchtime to keep up with the class, if you missed class today.

Today's Vocabulary Words and Literary References:

1. The Canterbury Tales - similar to "World's End." Both take place in an inn. Both are stories within a story.

2. "A Tale of Two Cities" - reference to the famous book by Charles Dickens

3. "World's End" is also like the 1001 Arabian Nights, the story in which Sheherazade tells a different story each night to save her own life. It is also a book of stories within a story.

4. cyclopean - cyclops-like (see an encyclopedia for "Cyclops," if you don't know what that is.

5. orient

6. toiling

7. familiarity

8. bear
There will be another journal question posted for homework tomorrow. Homework notebooks will be due again on Friday.

Reading: "World's End, by Neil Gaiman

We read up to page 22 in "World's End," by Neil Gaiman.

Vocabulary words:
dispassionately
hallucination
centaur
chirurgeon

Journal Writing Homework for the Night of Tuesday, September 15th:

Write a journal entry comparing the setting of the book you are reading to the place where you live. Is it similar or different? Describe both the place in the book and your own neighborhood. Your journal entry should be at least 4 pages.

Welcome to Fall 2009, Cycle 1

Hello, advanced English students. You are in this class because you have passed the English Regents Exam, but you still have work to do to be completely ready for college. This class is designed to get you there! Please note: you are required to be reading books outside of class for homework. The name of the book you are reading is due today. Please write it into your journal. Make sure you read tonight so that you can respond to the homework question I will assign tomorrow.

First Assignment: We read "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. For your initial writing assessment, write a two page essay on the path you have taken in life thus far.

Last week we went over the Rules of Comma Usage. You can get those rules by clicking the appropriate link in the sidebar, or by getting a hard copy from me in the classroom.