Today we will listen to President Kennedy's Civil Rights Address. Follow along with the text, and identify a minimum of 5 commonalities with "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." This may be phrasing, ideas, or even direct references. You will list those 5 ideas and then write a reflective paragraph (7-10 sentences) in which you explain how President Kennedy's speech seemed to be influenced by King's ideas.  Due tomorrow for 10 points.

Your questions for "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" are also due tomorrow, PRINTED.

Today you'll take your Unit 13 vocab test.

Today we will begin reading Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." As we read, you will respond to the following questions. Many of them can be annotated as you go and typed up later. When you're finished, you will PRINT and hand in the assignment. It is worth 20 points.

For homework tonight, you should finish reading and annotating the letter on your own. We'll continue working through it together. This will help you to understand it better as we discuss and will also allow you to work through the assignment as we talk. The final assignment will be due Tuesday.

1. What is King’s reason for writing the letter?
2. What is his primary claim?
3. How do you think King establishes ethos? (Why should people listen to him?)
4. What is the counterargument King acknowledges?
5. Write one quote that you believe demonstrates strong logos. Briefly summarize King’s logic and explain why you think it is effective.
6. List 3 quotes that you believe to be strong examples of pathos. Explain what you think makes them effective (either individually or as a whole).
7. Type a bulleted summary of the letter made up of main ideas.

Comparative Analytical Essays are due PRINTED tomorrow. Be sure to print them before class. You do not need to print the rubric.

Study for Friday's vocab test over ch. 13; Comparative Analytical essays are due PRINTED this Thursday. At this point, you should be writing your full essay. Be sure to have a strong topic sentence for each body paragraph that supports the thesis statement.
*Remember that Mrs. Vitek has Study Club every Monday in her room from 3:00-4:00. Feel free to work on your essays today! Even if you don't need help, it's a great idea to use the time to work. 

Vocab 13 is due Monday, April 17; test is Friday, April 21.
Comparative Analytical essays on The Old Man and the Sea & Big Fish are due Thursday, April 20th. We will dedicate much of the next two weeks to working on them in class, but you should work at home as well. At this point, you need to decide on your topic (What will you be comparing? A symbol? A theme? etc.) and begin outlining. We will discuss possible structures for outlining in class today.

Continue working on Vocab Review Unit 10-12, which is due Friday.
​Look over the essay requirements for your Comparative Analytical Essay. They are posted on our writing page.

No homework tonight. Get a good night's rest and have a good breakfast in the morning. Be sure to be here on time at 7:30 a.m. Good luck on your AIR test tomorrow!

8th Graders Only: Author Marcus Sedgwick is coming to BHS on April 27th. If you would like to take part in this high school visit, see Mrs. Ungier! 

Click here to take the 8th grade Unit 12 Vocab Test in class today.