Eighth Grade: Eighth grade is a graduation year. Students will get a case of senioritis towards the end of the year so its important to cover important topics early and wrap up major projects towards the beginning of the fourth quarter. It is important to work these students hard and keep them engaged otherwise the prospect of high school and adulthood will lead these brand new teenagers astray. Math: Algebra 1: Expressions and equations, linear equations, graphing linear equations, linear inequalities, systems of linear equations, polynomials, factoring and quadratics, rational equations, radical equations, algebraic functions,converting word problems into multi-variable equations.…
Recent Posts
On The Shelf- Moon Palace
Have you ever been fifty pages into a novel an thought to yourself “man this book is exquisitely written…….and I kind of hate it”? That’s where I found myself while reading Paul Auster’s Moon Palace, which is the subject of this edition of On The Shelf. Now, I’m normally a big fan of Paul Auster. The only reason you won’t find multiple copies of The New York Trilogy and Travels in the Scriptorium on my bookshelf is that every time I buy a copy of one of those books I immediately lend it out to a friend and never see…
Reference Humor: Family Guy Season 8 Episode 1 “Road to Multiverse”
This week we take a look at a show which is known for relying heavily on pop-culture to make its jokes fly. To be honest I’m a bit hit or miss with Family Guy. But I picked an episode I haven’t seen before so we will see how this goes. As always bold numbers represent the time at which the reference happened and Spoilers abound for a wide variety of films. Scroll down at your own risk. Okay, let’s get started. 00:00 The entire episode is a play on the central premise of the show Sliders (1995-2000), which feature four…
Worth It?- Burnt
I have a confession to make. I heart Bradley Cooper. Like really heart him. It’s as if his charm reaches out and chokes me until I succumb to a dark slumber filled with dreams of winning smiles and brash one-liners. The man once made a movie about a gun-wielding raccoon an international blockbuster okay? There is no denying his allure. And when I first saw the trailer for Burnt I was genuinely excited to see charmingly brash Bradley Cooper play a recovering addict chef trying to put his life back together. A great casting choice coupled with what looked to…
How have you not seen that- Ghostbusters
Who you gonna call? If you know the answer to that question then feel free to move on from this particular post. But if you didn’t instinctively shout out the title of a particular nineteen eighty-four horror comedy film and startle those around you then you should know what my follow up question is going to be. That’s right its time for another edition of How Have You Not Seen That? Today we’re going to talk about the iconic comedy Ghostbusters because I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. To begin with, Ghostbusters puts together one of the greatest comedy casts…
Science! For Parties-The Magic Comb
Sometimes when you’re at a party you just end up chilling in the kitchen. And what’s wrong with that? It’s close to the food and the drinks. It’s the perfect spot really. And since you are one of the cool kids, I know you’ll have your handy dandy black comb in your back pocket to make sure that your ‘do stays cool like you. But if you’re looking to be extra cool, we can do that too. Because in this edition of Science! For Parties, you’re going to learn how to work some magic with that comb. This is another…
In Stores Now-The Feed
As any regular follower of this blog knows I am an avid admirer of both high concept science fiction and post-apocalyptic literature. In The Feed, Nick Clark Windo’s debut novel, I hoped I might find myself a new favorite in these genres that I would enjoy revisiting for years to come. Unfortunately, all I found myself was disappointed. While The Feed is by no means a bad read it is possessed of several flaws that keep it from elevating itself into that can’t miss category of new releases. Let’s start with the plot. The entire world is connected via a…
The Silver Bullet – Curriculum 7
Seventh Grade: Seventh grade is a transition year. Students will solidify and expand upon things they have learned in their k-6 years, mastering key concepts before advancing to new ones. Students will adjust to changing teachers and classrooms and balancing their workload over the course of a week and a quarter. Math: Pre-Algebra: Students will be exposed to the early concepts of Algebra such as exponents, variables, and integers; while practicing and solidifying their proficiency in more complex problems of concepts they were introduced to in previous grades. Learning topics will include order of operations, place values, algebraic expressions and…
Reference Humor: Futurama Season 4 Episode 1 “Roswell that ends well”
Futurama is a show known for mixing its more over the top plots in with subtler, satiric jabs. It is never afraid to lampoon the conventions of the Sci-fi genre in which it finds itself, or to draw parallels between the far-flung future and our here and now. I was curious though, as much as Futurama seems like its always winking and nodding at it audience, how much does it actually rely on reference humor to accomplish its comedy. And what better episode to put up as a sample then the Emmy-award winning season 4 premiere. As always bold numbers…
A Writer’s Tale-Jack Kerouac
Most of my entries here in A Writer’s Tale have a bit of quirkiness about them, if not downright wackiness. But today’s installment is a far more somber affair. It involves a man who is widely held as the greatest American author of his generation, a suspicious death, and a cover-up. Jack Kerouac was sometimes called the “King of the Beatniks”. A complicated fellow he was both anti-communist and a pot enthusiast, staunchly Catholic but heavily associated with the homosexual scene of the time. Living in New York City he fell in with Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs. These three…