I am the senior English teacher at Sullivan County High School and also class advisor for the class of 2010. This is my fifth year in this position.

I am married and have three children: John, 25, who is about to get his wings in the U.S. Navy; Mark, 23, a junior at East Stroudsburg University; and Katie, 18, a freshman at Ithaca College.

My husband and I live on Main Street, Laporte in an old Victorian house that we have restored.

We love cars and have a 1980 MGB and a 1985 Corvette, which we like to drive for fun and occasionally take to car shows and events.

Assignment #1 

 stockdillsearchenginedoc..docstockdillsearchengineassign.doc  

Assignment #2

http://delicious.com/lestockdill

Assignment #3 

    This is my son John.    

This is another photo of John  Image #2-Mustang.JPG

Katie ready for the Winter Ball.

Noelle reading her short story to the first graders.

Image 1.docx 

Assignment #4

1.  What are three reasons podcasting is becoming so popular?

           Podcasting is becoming so popular because:

                            1.  anyone can do it, and there is a wide variety of podcasts;

                            2.  you can get subscriptions or podcatchers, such as I-tunes; and

                            3.  there are many gadgetries to download them: computers, MP3 Players, I-Pods and other

                                 devices.

2.  Are iPods the only device on which podcasts work?

          No, there are many devices on which podcasts work.

3.  Do you have to download podcasts to an iPod or can you watch them on your computer?

          No, you do not have to download podcasts to an iPod.  You can download them on your computer or

          other gadgets.

4.  Name three ways podcasting is different from traditional broadcasting.

          Podcasting is different from traditional broadcasting because you could view it on demand and/or take

          it with you, there are a wide variety of shows, and anyone can make a show.

5.  Find at least 3 podcasts that you think could be useful to you in your role as an educator.  If you have iTunes, I would start there.  If you don't, search for podcasts on the web.  Describe the podcasts on your wiki page.

          This is a great resource for any teacher, anyone else, for that matter.  You have access to any interview,

          production or educational forum that ever existed.  I spent hours searching for information to include in

          this assignment, and also which could enhance my lectures and classroom activities.  I am amazed that

          so many opportunities for learning can be found on the web.  I had no idea that one could listen to and

          probably watch these shows to learn and be entertained.

          Many podcasts were interesting, but the following were ones that I will return to in the future:

          The Stingy Scholar features many literary podcasts that can be useful to me in the classroom.  It

          featurered information about poems, stories, and authors.

          The Word Nerds - a podcast about language has many discussion about various subjects, of course,

          centering around words and language.

          The AuthorsLounge features interviews of American and British authors, discussing their various books

          and how they write the beginning, formulatd the ideas, characters and plots, among other things.  I will

          probably use this site in my composition class to show how a contemporary author accomplishes his or

          her novels.

Assignment #5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAx_q6be3pE

This site would be used with my Hamlet unit as a reinforcement to the gravediggers' scene in Act V and the discussion of comic relief and paradoxes and irony.  It is a segment of the modern version of Hamlet starring Kevin Kline.  There is another video clip of the 1996 production of Hamlet starring Kenneth Branaugh.  The students will enjoy watching the scene, as well as identifying the literary elements.  It will be a great interactive live experience for my classes to enjoy while learning. 

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=b36d4b3d-8a60-4b06-abbd-15c06582f316

I will use this site in two of my classes, Composition and my English 12 classes, College Bound and Advanced Placement alike where I teach Ernest Hemingway short stories and novels.  In my Composition class, I will use the segments about how he writes and the difficulties he faced in writing his novels.  Some of the other segments discuss his life and how he used his life experiences for his stories.  These segments will be very interesting to my senior English students as background about Hemingway.

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=8772DFCF-554E-4F5A-B9E1-B0C70E7DB8DE&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

This is a must use video with my College Bound senior English class and especially with my AP English class.  It explains several literary terms, including genre, epic poetry, allegory, satire, characterization, conflict, symbolism, theme, imagery and irony.  It also references many classic pieces of literature that use these different techniques.  It shows vivid images highlighting sections of the literature that exemplify the particular literary term.

Several classrooms at Sullivan County High School have ceiling mounted computer projectors, but my room does not have one.  Other teachers have projectors that are moveable, and those teachers, like myself, who don't have these, borrow from someone with a moveable projector when we want to use one.  It's never been a problem to find a projector when I've needed one; however, I will request one for my room this year.

Final Project

Class Final – December 18, 2008

Composition – Brainstorming a Short Story.

1.  Brainstorm ideas for a short story. During this process, watch the podcast on author Catherine Gilbert Murdock at http://www.hbook.com/podcast/default.asp   Scroll down to Catherine Gilbert Murdock to listen to 13:32 minutes of how she came up with this new book idea (in the middle of the night), Princess Ben, which shifts her genre from contemporary realism to fairy-tale fantasy.  The interview also talks about how the author developed her characters and plot.

    

2. List and hand in five things you learned and/or realized from this podcast interview.

    

3. Next, visit the site: http://www.essortment.com/all/creatingcharact_rtsl.htm for an example on how to develop your main character’s look and personality.  This site will help you develop every aspect of your protagonist, from hair color to skin tone to personality quirks.  List three characters you had not thought about until after you read this site.

    

4. Search the web for free images that may be used in your short story illustration, and edit them for inclusion, once your story is complete.

    

5. If class is more than 12 students, they will work on group short stories and set up a Google Docs account to work together and allow me to monitor their work.