Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

So this is a bit creepy... But here's Poe "reading" you his macabre masterpiece...

Here's another version of the poem read, this time by American Christopher Walken—a man known for his uncanny ability to portray mentally unstable and scary characters...

Iranian Art

The Eleventh Grade is reading "Persepolis," by Marji Satrapi.

Here are some links for further information about art, women and culture in Iran:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dndb31pzmzw

VIDEO SERIES

http://www.artspeak.ca/exhibitions/event_detail.html?event_id=67

'WOMEN OF ALLAH'

http://www.time.com/time/europe/photoessays/neshat/

TIME MAGAZINE PHOTO SERIES

http://wn.com/Shirin_Neshat_interview_revolution_and_women_in_Iran

INTERVIEW SERIES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCAssCuOGls

TURBULENT VIDEO

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2002/oct/31/art.artsfeatures/print

ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN

Researching Historical Figures in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"

The following site will be helpful in doing your research:

The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project

Salem Witch Trials: The People

Also use regular search engines!

Good luck!

"The Scarlet Letter"

In the eleventh grade we're now moving on to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Students, you can download the book for free from this site. You can read it online here. I'll post more information as we delve into this fascinating novel!

"The Giver," by Lois Lowry

We're reading The Giver, by Lois Lowry, in the eighth grade this fall... Click here to access chapters 1-4 online for free. You can purchase the book in its entirety at amazon.com by clicking on this link, and you can purchase the audiobook at itunes.

Key Historical Figures in "The Crucible"

As you know, the characters in The Crucible were based on actual key historical figures from the Salem Witch Trials. Visit this site to read actual biographies, and this site for more information about the trials in general.

Organ Donation

In the ninth grade we are discussing organ donation.

Why would someone choose to donate his or her organs? Is this something for healthy people to even think about? Why would a grieving family choose to donate a loved one's organs? What if you or someone you loved needed a transplant? If you wanted to become an organ donor, what would you need to do?

We looking at common myths surrounding organ donation, and we're discussing cultural differences with regard to attitudes about organ donation.

As part of our discussion, we are viewing two videos about Nicholas Green, a seven-year-old American boy who tragically died in a highway robbery in Italy in 1994. Nicholas' family chose to donate his organs to Italians in need of transplants. At the time, organ donation wasn't very common. The Green family's generosity in the face of such tragedy has spurred a surge in organ donation not only in Italy, but throughout the world.

The Nicholas Effect, Part I

(This video tells you about Nicholas Green and his family's decision to donate his organs).

The Nicholas Effect, Part II

(This video tells you about the people whose lives were transformed—and saved—by the Greens' donation of Nicholas' organs).

In addition, we're listening to this story from American National Public Radio. It is an interview between a grown daughter and her father about a day at work that was his most memorable. A surgeon, he describes what happened when his patient, a young girl, tragically passed away and her family decided to donate her organs.

Look at this medical journal abstract about organ donation and transplants in Russia for practice skimming information and deciding what the main point is very quickly.

This article about the murder trial of transplant doctors in Moscow from 2003—2005 sheds further light on why organ donation is so uncommon in Russia.