Don't panic!

It's time to get started on our Senior Projects.  Included in the folder linked below is pretty much everything you will need to successfully complete your research project.  The folder contains subfolders with information about each of the sections of the project, plus some other helpful information and some samples from years past.

If you want to use any of the templates that you find in this folder, you need to make a copy before you can do any editing - you have permission to view everything, but you can't make any changes to my original documents.

Shier - Senior Project 2017 Information

I'll be working with you every step of the way, and I have absolute faith that you can do this.  Good luck!

"The Great Gatsby"

Our final novel this year is "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  We will primarily be reading in class, but use the information from the list of links on the right to help you if you miss or need to catch up.

Also useful in that list - a set of "$5 words" that Fitzgerald used in the novel.  The list is broken down by chapter and page from the printed book, so if you are reading the ebook, you may have to hunt a little, but it should help with any unfamiliar words you encounter in the book.

This is a good one, so enjoy!

Kicking off "1984"

We are starting our next novel this week, "1984" by George Orwell.  If you look at the sidebar on the right, you will find a series of links that will help you as we read.  This list includes links to audio recordings and an ebook, as well as folders for all of the related assignments, readings, and questions that go along with the book.

Before you come to me to ask for something you may have missed, check here first!

Online Assignment - November 1, 2016

You should now be reading Chapter 18 of "Their Eyes Were Watching God."  As you read this chapter, you will notice many examples of suspense and foreshadowing.  

Your assignment is:

1) Define Suspense and Foreshadowing.  You may use Google or an online dictionary to find these definitions.

2) Provide two examples of each literary device from Chapter 18 of TEWWG.  These examples MUST BE in the form of a quotation, and MUST include the page number on which they were found.

This assignment is due no later than midnight on Monday, November 7, and must be submitted as either an email or a shared Google Doc.  The completed assignment is worth 25 points.

Online Assignment - October 19

Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" have some fantastic examples of figurative language in them.  Before you read these chapters, and then as you read, complete the assignment below.  Your answers can be sharing by email or by a shared Google Doc, but they are due by MIDNIGHT on Monday, October 24.

Before you read:
Look up definitions and examples of these types of figurative language.  Share your definitions and examples with me by email or Google Doc by Monday at midnight:

• Metaphor
• Simile
• Personification
• Allusion
• Irony
• Alliteration

As you read:

Find examples of four of the six types of figurative language listed above in Chapters 7, 8, and 9.  Share your findings with me as a quote and a page number, by email or Google Doc, by Monday at midnight.

For extra credit points, share examples of all six types.

You are welcome to share this as either two separate emails/Docs or as one email/Doc with both parts of the assignment.  Either way, the entire assignment is due by midnight on Monday, October 24.

In-class Reading Assignment for October 3

Please read this two short essays carefully, because you will need to use information from the readings for an assignment next week.

Reading: History of Eatonville, FL

Reading: Zora Neale Hurston biography

When you have finished the assigned reading, email me answers to these two questions:
1) Who were five of the twenty-nine men who signed the incorporation papers for Eatonville?  What is odd about the men who signed?
2) Who discovered Hurston's grave and published an essay about Hurston?  Where was that essay published, and in what year?

Each answer is worth 10 points.  Your emailed answers are due to me no later than midnight on October 3rd.  Please send the email from your ccs-student email account.

College Application Essay - Tips, Tricks, and Suggestions

It's that time of year, when our brand new seniors are starting to think (and panic) about applying to college.  A lot of this information was shared in class, but here it is again, just in case...


This YouTube channel has a bunch of useful videos on writing and polishing the college application essay, including several specific to the Common Application prompts:

College Essay Advisors YouTube channel


These articles have a lot of important information about the Common Application essay prompts and the application itself:

10 Things You Need to Know About the Common App

What No One Will Tell You About the Common App Essay Prompts