INTRODUCTION TO MR. BOCKHOLT'S CLASS
assignments
Aug 29/30: Anxiously Passing Time
- After rereading the paragraph that begins with “It is 1:17” in Barry’s description, write a well-developed paragraph of your own that describes a person who is anxiously passing the time by chewing something, playing with a pencil, adjusting his or her clothes, or engaging in some other unconscious behavior. Here is my example.
- Be sure to bring your own book to our next class, as you will be allowed to read your book for the first 15 minutes.
Aug 24/25: Chronicle of an American Execution
- Read "Chronicle of an American Execution" by Dan Barry. While you are reading, record your thoughts in a Double Entry Journal; record at least two quotes. Then answer the following questions:
- Is Barry’s tone objective or subjective? Find words and phrases that support your answer.
- Barry describes “an American execution” but does not argue directly for or against capital punishment. Should he have? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Barry begins his description of Holton by saying that the condemned man looks like a “child buckled into a car seat”?
- Why does he wait so long to give the names and ages of Holton’s four victims?
- What difference, if any, would it make in Barry’s description if he did not give the name of the condemned man—or of the warden, or of Holton’s lawyer? Explain.
Aug 22/23: Disclosure Document and Pokemon Go
- Read and sign my disclosure document. Analyze this New York Times article about Pokemon Go by answering these questions.