Research Activity

Research Activity – Understanding the roots of 1984




Conduct your research using the internet. You may not use Wikipedia. You must find another credible source to use for research. All research should be compiled and handed in at the end of class. It should be done in complete sentences. You may type or write out this assignment, but it must be in your own words and not copied and pasted from the internet.



1. What was life like for people in 1949 when the story was written? In America? Other countries?

2. Describe how socialism emerged. Where did it start? Who started it? Why were people afraid of it?

3. What was life like before World War 2? After?

4. How did World War 2 impact the United States?

5. How did propaganda play a role in the war effort in America?

6. Describe 2 types of propaganda techniques and find 2 examples of WW2 propaganda.

7. How was subliminal messaging used in the US? Other countries?

8. Describe how countries practiced “the destruction of words”. Why did they do this?

9. Who was Winston Churchill? What does “Winston” mean? How does this relate to our main character?

Creative Writing - Speech Assignment

Speech Unit!




In class you will conduct research on the internet and post your findings to your blog. Your first assignment as part of the speech writing unit will be to research famous speeches in history on topics that are truly of interest to you. You must find 4 examples. After you have chosen your examples, you must pick out 5 elements of each speech that make the speech effective or ineffective and discuss your findings in a well written entry on your blog.



After you have done this and found elements of effective speech writing, you will come up with a creative idea for your own persuasive speech. You must then decide on 10 points that support your argument and 5 points that go against your argument so that you can truly highlight your point and argue against it.



After you have finished your research and your outline for a persuasive speech, you will begin a preliminary draft of your own persuasive speech on the appropriate topic of your choice.

Research Activity - Creative Writing!

In class, you will research three styles of poetry of your choosing. In your research please include the history and evolution of that style and writers who specialize in that style. This all must be in your own words! Post your findings to the blog. Choose one of the styles and a writer to mirror their style in your own creative way. Write an entry explaining your choice of poet. For homework you will be mirroring a poetic form much like our short story exercise. All work taken from outside sources must be cited properly when posting to your blog.

English 4 - Research Homework

Choose 5 leaders from the following list: Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Alexander Dubcek, Mikhail Gorbachev, Eric Honecker, Wojciech Jaruszelski, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, or Pol Pot. Write a quick biographical sketch that includes a discussion of how the life or ideas of this leader may have influenced the people in the country.

Class blogs

Since many of your blog web addresses have changed, please post the links here so that we have a listing of them as a class!

Headline Activity!

Post your headline activities here!

Character Development Stories

Post Your Short Stories here!