Remember you have a quiz on passive, progressive, and linking on Friday.
Also, observation notecards for your research paper are due on Monday. Please visit the research paper page (link to the left) for information on how to complete them if you have questions.
Today we did a little "unpassiving" practice. If you'd like the practice, the paragraph that we worked with is available below. Notice that all sentences are in passive and need to be rewritten to active voice.
Much of the reform in the 20th century was motivated by various disasters that took place in the United States at the time. In Galveston, Texas, major destruction was caused by a hurricane and the lack of a sea wall. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire disaster of 1911 was caused by faulty planning and local corruption. Over 140 people were killed because of locked doors and inoperative fire escapes. In 1913, Dayton, Ohio was flooded after strong winter storms brought heavy rainfall that quickly saturated the soil. Levees were quickly overrun by water that soon raced through the downtown area. As a result, the Vonderheide Act was passed by the General Assembly allowing for the creation of conservancy districts to plan against future flooding.
We also discussed the poem "When I Heard the Learned Astronomer" by Walt Whitman. You will want to look at how his devices such as diction, imagery, syntax, and form, contribute to the Romantic theme of an emotional appreciation of nature's beauty rather than a scientific approach. The text is below, and we will talk about our writing assignment based on this later.
When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
by Walt Whitman
When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and
measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much
applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
