English 2
Daily Journal
Instructions for Daily Journals
• You will be given a prompt to write about.
• I expect at least three complete sentences for 15 points.
• You will also be given a word to define from the Words To Own in
the story we are reading.
• Find the word by looking at the page it is referenced-to and write
out the definition for me.
• This is worth 10 points. Each day you have the potential of 25
points to gain or lose from this activity.
• If you miss a day this PowerPoint is available on my web site at
School Rack.
• I expect the make-up for the Daily Journals turned in by the
Friday of the week it was missed. If you miss Friday I expect it by
the next Monday.
▫ Exceptions to this will be done on a case by case basis with no
guarantees from me that they will be granted.
▫ If you are a persistent truant I reserve the right to revoke you ability to
make this work up at all.
“The Cold Equations”
by Tom Godwin
It was the law, and there could be no appeal.
English 2: 08/23/11
• Give me three examples of
times when you had to
make a hard choice about
something in your life.
• Define the word
“equation.”
English 2: 08/24/11
• “Always do the right thing.
This will gratify some
people and astonish the
rest.”
 Mark Twain
• Do you agree with Twain’s
statement? Explain your
answer.
• What does the word
“inured” mean? Give me
the definition.
English 2: 08/25/11
• He was not alone. There
was nothing to indicate
the fact but the white hand
of the tiny gauge on the
board before him.
 “The Cold Equations” by
Tom Godwin
• What does this statement
imply? In other words,
what can we assume from
this statement? Explain
• Define the word
“recoiled.”
English 2: 08/26/11
• They could not, however,
foresee and allow for the
added mass of a
stowaway.
 “The Cold Equations”
by Tom Godwin
• What does this fact
suggest about the effect of
the stowaway on the fuel
supply? Explain.
• Define “paramount.”
English 2: 08/29/11
• It was too late; for the
man behind the door it
was far later than he
thought and in a way he
would find it terrible to
believe.
 “The Cold Equations” by
Tom Godwin
• How does the author
begin to build suspense
about what will happen to
the stowaway? Explain.
• Define “annihilate.”
English 2: 08/30/11
• There could be no alternative. Additional
fuel would be used during the hours of
deceleration to compensate for the added
mass of the stowaway, infinitesimal
(extremely small) increments of fuel that
would not be missed until the ship had
almost reached its destination.
 “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin
• Tell what the cause and effect is here.
• Define “irrevocable.”
English 2: 09/01/11
• He visualized the
stowaway cowering
closer into one corner,
suddenly worried by the
possible consequences of
his act, his self-assurance
evaporating.
 “The Cold Equations” by
Tom Godwin
• What else might the
stowaway be doing?
Explain possible
scenarios.
• Define “immutable.”
English 2: 09/02/11
• The stowaway was not a man — she
was a girl in her teens, standing
before him in little white gypsy
sandals, with the top of her brown,
curly head hardly higher than his
shoulder, with a faint, sweet scent of
perfume coming from her, and her
smiling face tilted up so her eyes
could look unknowing and unafraid
into his as she waited for his answer.
 “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin
• Why does the author describe the girl’s
appearance in such detail? Explain
your answer.
• Define “ponderous.”
English 2: 09/06/11
• He returned to the pilot’s chair
and motioned her to seat herself
on the boxlike bulk of the drivecontrol units that were set
against the wall beside him.
 “The Cold Equations” by Tom
Godwin
• The author creates an adjective
by adding –like to the noun box.
Give three other words or
phrases the author could have
used to describe the “drivecontrol”.
• Define “apprehension.”
English 2: 09/07/11
• I knew I would be
breaking some kind of a
regulation.
 “The Cold Equations” by
Tom Godwin
• Why does the author
repeat this sentence in
Italics?
• Define: “Irony”
English 2: 09/08/11
• Why couldn’t she have been a man with
some ulterior motive? A fugitive from
justice hoping to lose himself on a raw
new world; an opportunist seeking
transportation to the new colonies where
he might find golden fleece for the taking;
a crackpot with a mission.
 “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin
• The author engages in the literary element
of allusion. What is the author alluding to
by using the term golden fleece?
• Define: “Mythology”
English 2: 09/09/11
• He began to check the instrument
readings, going over them with
unnecessary slowness. She would have to
accept the circumstances, and there was
nothing he could do to help her into
acceptance; words of sympathy would
only delay it.
▫ “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin
• What thoughts might be going through
Marilyn’s mind while she is silent?
• Define: “hesitating”
English 2: 09/12/11
• The needs of the many
outweigh the needs of the
few or the one…
 First Officer Spock from The
Wrath of Khan
• Do you agree with this
assessment? Why or why
not?
• Define: “assessment”
English 2: 09/13/11
• Who do you think Khan
is? Give me your best
estimate in three
sentences or more.
• Define: “science fiction”
English 2: 09/14/11
• Why is Khan mad at
James T. Kirk? Explain
• Define: “desolate”
English 2: 09/15/11
• Why is Khan so difficult to
defeat? Explain
• Define: “superiority
complex”
English 2: 09/16/11
• Why was Spock’s decision
so hard? Explain
• Define: “selflessness”
English 2: 09/19/11
• Give me an example of an
external conflict then give
me an example of an
internal conflict.
• Define: “imagery”