Monday, March 19, 2012
IM: Prologue through Chapter 6
Today we had our first Invisble Man quiz and then spent the rest of the period discussing the reading.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Maggot CRA & Evolution
Today we wrapped up our look at "Ode to the Maggot" with a bit of CRA analysis. In the second half of the period, we began our analysis of Alexie's "Evolution." Most students got through number 3.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Maggots and Multiple Choice
Today we looked at the three main types of AP multiple choice questions and practiced writing sample questions for the poem "Ode to the Maggot." Absent students should try to write one question of each level for the poem.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday & Tuesday
Monday we spent the period on an introduction to Invisible Man, taking some notes on Ellison and the novel, and reading the prologue aloud. HW: Read Chapter 1.
Tuesday we started the day watching a short clip from Ken Burns' Jazz about Louis Armstrong and the song "What Did I Do to be So Black and Blue?" For the rest of the period we worked on some questions about chapter 1.
New Due Dates:
Tuesday we started the day watching a short clip from Ken Burns' Jazz about Louis Armstrong and the song "What Did I Do to be So Black and Blue?" For the rest of the period we worked on some questions about chapter 1.
New Due Dates:
- Ch. 2-6 w/ 2 forum posts 3/19
- Ch. 7-12 w/ 2 forum posts 3/26
- Ch. 13-17 4/2
- Ch. 18 & 19 w/ 2 forum posts 4/6
- Finish w/ 2 forum posts 4/16
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday
Friday we deconstructed the Godot prompt and then looked at sample essay plan with some thesis and topic sentence frames.
Bring Invisible Man Monday.
Bring Invisible Man Monday.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Work Time
Today students had the period to work on their Waiting for Godot presentations which will begin tomorrow.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Godot... In Groups!
Today we wrapped up the Godot group questions from Friday and then got started on the next phase: Godot Presentations. See the slides attached.
New Due Dates:
New Due Dates:
- Godot CRA 3/8
- Godot PC and SG 3/9
- Bring Invisible Man 3/12
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Friday
After a brief act 2 quiz, we spent the rest of the day examining Godot in groups. "Hollow Men" questions are due Monday.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
"The Hollow Men"
Today we spent the day working on and talking over Eliot's poem. Questions and annotations are due Monday.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
T.S. Eliot on Tuesday
Today, after collecting the papers, we started our look at T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men." The assignment is at moodle.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Godot Arrives
We spend our short period today with a brief introduction to Existentialism, the Theater of the Absurd, and Waiting for Godot.
New Due Dates:
New Due Dates:
- Godot, Act 1 2/29
- Godot, Act 2 3/2
- Godot Moodle Posts (x2) by 3/2
Friday, February 17, 2012
Essay Response
Today we spent the period responding to each other's essays. Completing the essay is the only homework over break. Enjoy the vacation and be safe!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
So Ends Macbeth
Today we had the timed writing for Macbeth and I collected study guides. Bring your essay tomorrow (in whatever form it currently exists).
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Shakespeare Presentations Conclude
Today we wrapped up the Shakespeare presentations and spent the rest of the day considering Macbeth as the model of the tragic hero.
Monday, February 13, 2012
One More Day
We didn't finish the presentations, so everything gets pushed back one day. PC and study guide are Wednesday.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Changing Times
- AP Test deposit money is due by 3/1.
- Your essay topics shouhld be posted and responses are due by midnight tonight.
- The PC and SG look like they will be on 2/14. Happy Valentine's Day!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
1.1
Today I assigned the next formal essay and we had the first Macbeth presentation.
New Due Dates:
New Due Dates:
- Topics Posted to Moodle, 2/9
- Topic Responses Posted to Moodle, 2/10
- Drafts in class (w/ cover sheet), 2/17
- Final Drafts (w/ cover sheet), 2/28
Monday, February 6, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Macbeth Presentations
Today we started with a quick review of our work from yesterday and then divided into groups and got started on the presentations. Work time tomorrow.
Tuesday
Today we began with a look at the pressure comp prompt from the S1 final exam. After examining a good sample essay, students were asked to do the activity below with their own essays for homework. At the end of class, we briefly looked at the upcoming Macbeth project. More tomorrow.
Monday, January 30, 2012
More Multiple Choice
Today we discussed the final act of Macbeth and wrapped up our look at the multiple choice section of the final.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Act 2
We reviewed act 2 of Macbeth today and groups finished their look at the multiple choice questions from the final. We will look at these as a whole group tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Act 1 & MC
We began the day by quickly running through our notes on act one of Macbeth, sharing scene synopses and quotations. We ended the day looking at the multiple choice section from the final exam.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Scottish Play
Today we talked a bit about the new semester and then I assigned the Macbeth reading, one act per night, starting tonight with act one.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wrapping Up the Romantics
After handing in the thematic essays, and the customary reading of the titles, students spent the rest of the period finishing the poem work from Friday.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Romantic Poetry Mini-Project
Today students spent the period on the first part of the Romantic Poetry Project, analyzing the two poems listed on the sheet (and posted below).
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" ~William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
William Wordsworth
"The Chimney Sweeper" ~William Blake
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!' "
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet, & that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned & Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins & set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.
Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind.
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!' "
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet, & that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned & Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins & set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.
Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind.
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
William Blake
Thursday, January 12, 2012
CRAs, SGs, & a PC
Today I collected the Frankenstein CRAs, we looked over the "treasure" (mostly topic sentences and quotations) from yesterday's treasure hunt activity, and I collected the study guides. The rest of the period was spent on the Frankenstein timed writing.
Bring Sound and Sense tomorrow!
Bring Sound and Sense tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Frank Highlighting
Today brainstormed and discussed symbols, motifs, and techniques Shelley uses in Frankenstein, and then did a bit of work with the CRA paragraphs from yesterday.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Paragraphs & CRAs
Monday, January 9, 2012
Romance & the CRA
Today we did a quick warm-up on Frankentein and the romantic period and chose passages for the Frankenstein CRA.
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Bit of Frank Discussion
We split the day between Frankenstein and finishing response groups today. Remember that the optional essay drop box opens tomorrow morning.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Response Groups
We spent the entire period in response groups for the first major paper today. Some groups didn't quite finish and we'll have 10 minutes or so tomorrow to wrap up. Absent students will need to do this activity on their own if they want credit.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Fish Bowl Time
Today, after a short Frankenstein warm-up, we spend the day practicing the response group format that we will use tomorrow in class. Bring a draft of your paper.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Welcome Back
Today we started with a short quiz on Frankenstein and then spent some time talking about essay expectations. We wrapped up the period with a ratehr far-ranging discussion of Frankenstein.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Work to Do
I hope you are all enjoying your break--I know that I am (only two small piles of homework yet to grade and 100 pages of Frankenstein to reread!)--however, I did want to remind you of some homework obligations you have for AP Lit. (This follows a blissfully homework free Thanksgiving break you will recall).
1) Drafts of your essay are due Wednesday (the day after we get back). These should be complete drafts with a concluding paragraph, supporting quotations, and a cover sheet. These are not FIRST drafts. They are drafts you have read and revised. Do not make the class do work you could do on your own. I worry about this because only 29 of you (of 49) have posted to the paper topic poll at Moodle. This seems a very simple first step.
2) You should be reading Frankenstein and posting at Moodle; both are due the day we return. Currently, there are a total of 12 posts at Moodle. This means we are 86 posts short of my minimum expectations and that the vast majority of you have not posted at all. I am afraid this means that the vast majority of you have not started reading either. Frankenstein is a great story, but it could be painful if you try to read it all over the weekend, a holiday weekend at that.
Sorry to remind you that school begins in just a few days, but we have things to do when we get back.
See you in the new year!
Mr. Staiano
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Romantics
Today we spent the day on an introduction to the Romantic Movement. The notes are at Moodle.
Remember, you have a bit of homework over the break:
Remember, you have a bit of homework over the break:
- Read Frankenstein and post at least twice to the Moodle forum by 1/3/12.
- A preliminary draft of your first essay is due (with a cover sheet) on 1/4/12.
Enjoy the Holidays!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Essay Norming
In preparation for the essays students will be writing over the break, we read and scored three sample essays today.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Candide PC
We began the day clarifying expectations for tomorrow's topic read-around and then spent the rest of the day on the Candide PC (after I collected study guides of course).
Monday, December 12, 2011
Tending the Garden
After a short discussion about theme and symbol in Candide, we wrapped up the satire presentations and Candide. PC and SG tomorrow.
Friday, December 9, 2011
The AP Essay & Candide
Today we started with a quick Candide warm-up, and then I introduced the first formal essay of the year. Handouts are available at Moodle. We wrapped up the day with Candide presentations.
New Due dates:
New Due dates:
- Candide PC and SG 12/13
- Essay #1 Topics 12/14
Thursday, December 8, 2011
PC Evaluation and More Candide
Today we continued our PC self-evaluation with the steps below. Afterwards, students were given the option of revising their PCs for extra credit (due 12/16).
Students spent the rest of the day on their Candide presentations which are due tomorrow.
Students spent the rest of the day on their Candide presentations which are due tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Work Time
Today we reviewed the prompt from the last timed writing and then spent the rest of the period on the Candide projects.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Annotation Time
Today we did a bit of annotation modelling on a passage from Candide, and students had the rest of the period to work on their own annotations for the project.
Monday, December 5, 2011
I'm Back
Today we began with a short Candide quiz and then groups had their final literature circles.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Discussion Time
Today we spent the period discussing The Woman Warrior and wrapped up with a brief intro to the literature circle project that will begin when we return from break.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Wrapping Up the Poetry
Today we had the last poetry presentation, and then students spent the rest of the period working on the Woman Warrior questions from yesterday. You should be through at least question 4 for class tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Tuesday
After a two more poetry presentations, we spent the last part of the period starting some discussion questions for The Woman Warrior.
Monday, November 14, 2011
A Short But Busy Monday
Today we began with a quiz on The Woman Warrior and then squeezed in two more poetry presentations.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Poetry Presentations
Today we had our first poetry presentations and then talked a bit about the Ashland field trip. There are only 14 spots and money is due tomorrow: first come, first served.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Period 3 Poems
Wednesday, 11/9
Tuesday, 11/15
Wednesday, 11/16
Wednesday, 11/9
- "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost
- "A Poison Tree" by William Blake
- "Apparently with No Surprise" by Emily Dickinson
- "The Debt" by Paul Dunbar
- "A Noiseless Patient Spider" by Walt Whitman
- "Caged Skylark" by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Tuesday, 11/15
Wednesday, 11/16
Poetry Projects Presentations Begin Tomorrow
Today we had a quick quiz on the first half of The Woman Warrior, followed by an explanation of the poetry HW below. Students had the remainder of the period to work, during which time we drew group order.
Poetry Project Audience Homework
Each night you should study the poems that will be presented the following day in class by answering the questions below. Poems should be in Sound and Sense, but are usually available online if you do a quick search for the title. Do all the assignments on the same paper, heading each assignment with the date and the poem’s title.
Poetry Project Audience Homework
Each night you should study the poems that will be presented the following day in class by answering the questions below. Poems should be in Sound and Sense, but are usually available online if you do a quick search for the title. Do all the assignments on the same paper, heading each assignment with the date and the poem’s title.
- Paraphrase the plot of this poem. Briefly, what is it about?
- What is the overall tone of the poem?
- Note a few literary techniques which stand out in this poem.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Stuff and CRAs
After briefly discussing missing AP contracts, the AP Ashland trip, and tomorrow's final work day, we talked about the basic outline for the poetry presentations and looked at a sample CRA. Students had the rest of the period to work.
Friday, November 4, 2011
More Poetry Analysis
Groups spent the day working on their poetry analyses. A few groups started their presentations on the computers.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Woman Warrior & Poetry Annotation
After a warm-up focused on "No Name Woman" and a brief introduction to the novel as a whole, we looked a quick annotation example and students had the rest of the period to annotate their chosen poems.
New Due Dates:
New Due Dates:
- Read "White Tigers" through "Shaman" and post at least once by 11/7.
- Finish The Woman Warrior and post at least one more time by 11/14.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Poetry Project
Today we began the first poetry project. I went over the assignment handout and assigned groups. Most groups managed to choose poems before the end of the period.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Fun with Meter
Today we practiced the terms we learned yesterday. It was fun. You should have been here. There will be a quiz Monday. You should ask your friends who were here to run through the mnemonics we practiced with you. Then you might pass the quiz. ;-)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Poetry Intro
Today we went over several of the Poetic and Stylistic Terms on the Literary Terms handout, using them to explore Jean Toomer's poem "Reapers."
Tuesday: Faulkner Timed Writing
Today, after I collected the study guide and character sheet, we spent the day writing about Faulkner's novel.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Friday and Monday
Friday we spent the day norming and scoring essays from the "Eleven" AP test prompt.
Monday we spent one more day on Faulkner, reviewing theme and potential thesis statements and comparing Cash's thoughts on sanity with Emily Dickinson's from her poem, "Much maddness is divinest sense."
Monday we spent one more day on Faulkner, reviewing theme and potential thesis statements and comparing Cash's thoughts on sanity with Emily Dickinson's from her poem, "Much maddness is divinest sense."
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday/Thursday
Over the last few days we have written about and discussed Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, responding to the eight prompts below.
- New Due Dates: PC, SG, Character Sheet, and Faulkner Quickwrites due Monday, 10/24
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I lay Dying Questions
- Anse Bundren may be one of the most feckless characters in literature. Why do you think his neighbors repeatedly come to his aid? Is it out of pity, respect, guilt, charity, community, or is Anse just that good at manipulation?
- Faulkner allows Darl and Vardaman to express themselves in language that would be impossible given their lack of education and experience in the world. Why does Faulkner break with the realistic representation of character in this way?
- What does the novel reveal about the ways in which human beings deal with death, grieving, and letting go of loved ones?
- Why do you think Addie's chapter (40) is placed where it is? How does her chapter change your earlier perceptions of the Bundren family? For example, how well did Cora really know Addie?
- In chapter 40, Addie meditates on the distance between words and actions. Is Faulkner saying that words—his own chosen medium—are inadequate? What do Addie's definitions say about her as a woman?
- Humor and the grotesque are often interdependent in this novel, such as Vardaman's accidental drilling of holes in his dead mother's face so she can breathe, the family setting Cash's broken leg in cement and the family's apparent imperviousness to the stench of Addie's rotting corpse. What are other examples? What does this add to Faulkner’s narrative?
- What does Faulkner achieve through his use of fifteen different narrators and narrative voices? How does this shape the story and support Faulkner’s themes?
- The title As I Lay Dying is an allusion to Homer’s epic The Odyssey* (you may have read it your freshman year), which tells the story of the hero Odysseus’ return from the Trojan War. In what way is the Bundren’s journey an odyssey? What is the effect of this connection on the overall meaning of the novel?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Fecklessness & Faulkner
We began the day with a look at an especially descriptive Faulkner quotation. Then we started a new sheet of quick writes with this one:
- Anse Bundren may be one of the most feckless characters in literature. Why do you think his neighbors repeatedly come to his aid? Is it out of pity, respect, guilt, charity, community, or is Anse just that good at manipulation?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Faulkner Quiz 2
Today we had the second Faulkner quiz and spent the rest of the period generally discussing the book.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Shouldn't we be to 12 by now?
Today we planned an essay based on the "Eleven" prompt. For extra credit, students may actually write the essay (take no longer than 30 minutes and handwrite, please).
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
More Eleven
After getting our largely ancient copies of Sound and Sense, we continued our look at Cisneros' "Eleven" by hunting down and labeling all the figurative language and stylistic techniques we could find.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Being 11
Today we talked a bit about being eleven and then read and discussed Cisneros' short story, "Eleven." More "Eleven" work tomorrow.
Monday, October 10, 2011
As I Lay Tie Dying...
Today we spent the period talking about, and clarifying much of, Faulkner's novel, after a short quiz of course.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Fun with Figurative Language
After a look at another Faulkner quote, we spent the rest of the period playing and adjuducating figurative language bingo.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Home at Last!
Back in our new room, we warmed up with a Faulkner quotation and spent the rest of the day filling in the figurative language handout.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Figuratively Speaking
Today we started by reviewing the difference between figurative and literal, and then spent some time talking about As I Lay Dying in a general way. At the very end, we touched on the figurative language terms handout given in class.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
As I Lay Dying Work
Today students did the assignment below for the first few chapters of As I Lay Dying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting Acquainted with As I Lay Dying
For the first few chapters of As I Lay Dying, carefully consider and respond to the questions below for each chapter. - You may work with a partner (and share a text) if you’d like and can do so efficiently; however, you may also choose to work alone.
- Work through as many chapters as you can in the period. This is not homework (though you may continue taking similar notes if you find it helpful).
- Unless the substitute decides otherwise, this will be collected Wednesday.
- What do you learn about the narrator of the chapter in this chapter? Consider especially character traits and motifs associated with the character. What is the character’s relationship to Addie Bundren?
- What do you learn about other characters in this chapter? Do you find this narrator trustworthy? Why?
- What questions arise for you at the end of this chapter?
- What questions from previous chapters are answered here?
Monday, October 3, 2011
Faulkner
Today we talked about modernism, William Faulkner, and his novel As I Lay Dying. The notes are at Moodle.
New Due Dates:
New Due Dates:
- Sections 1 through 31 by 10/10
- Finish it by 10/17
- Forum posts are due at Moodle by 10/10 and 10/17 as well.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Bye, Bye Medea
Today, after handing in the warm-ups (yep, all of them since the first day of school) and the study guides, students spend the rest of the period on the Medea timed writing.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday & Thursday
Wednesday we continued our look at Medeawith the rest of the terms posters and a few quick writes (interrupted by the fire drill in period 3).
Thursday we wrapped up our discussion of Medea with a few more quick writes and some discussion of the study guide. PC and study guide due tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday
Today we continued our terms hunt in Medea, dividing into groups and preparing posters for discussion on Wednesday.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Friday & Monday
Friday we started with some irony practice in the warm-up and then had the Medea quiz. Oh, and of course Mrs. Gardner came in to talk about the rules.
Monday we continued our work with Medea, searching for examples of the terms we introduced last week--allusion, stichomythia, and irony--in the play.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
More Irony
Today we reviewed the concept of irony with a warm-up examing Robinson's poem, "Richard Cory" (below). We wrapped up the period with an open-ended discussion of Medea and added the term "allusion" to the notes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the poem to the right, by Edwin Arlington Robinson, relies much on irony. What type of irony is featured here and how does it affect your reading of the poem?
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the poem to the right, by Edwin Arlington Robinson, relies much on irony. What type of irony is featured here and how does it affect your reading of the poem?
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Isn't It Ironic?
Today we spent the day on the concept of irony, defining the terms, judging Alanis Morissette, and wrapping up the day with a fun video.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Greeks & Medea
Today we spent the period talking about the Greeks and the origins of drama.
HW: Finish Medea by Friday.
HW: Finish Medea by Friday.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
The Study Guide
Today we pent the whole period talking through the various parts of the study guide and actually doing about 1/2 of it in class.
HW: The Study Guide is due on Monday before the timed writing.
HW: The Study Guide is due on Monday before the timed writing.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Study Guide Begins
Today we began with the warm-up below and I collected revised CRAs. We then spent the rest of the day review questions left over from Tuesday and working on the first two sections of the first study guide. Handouts available in class and at Moodle.
WU (9/15): Review the CRA paragraph you wrote yesterday and revise it, preferably using another color pen or pencil so that your revisions are obvious.
WU (9/15): Review the CRA paragraph you wrote yesterday and revise it, preferably using another color pen or pencil so that your revisions are obvious.
- Are the aspect and effect clear, especially at the beginning, but also throughout the paragraph?
- Are all of your quotations smoothly integrated into your sentences?
- Have Medea by 9/20
- The Awakening Study Guide and Timed Writing 9/19
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Awakening: a CRA
Today we spent the day looking at two passages of The Awakening, first annotating them and then choosing one aspect of the annotation and writing it up as a CRA paragraph (like the Neruda paragraphs). The prompt is below.
Reread chapter 6 and the final chapter. Explore Chopin’s style in these chapters, especially the repetition of structure and motif. How do the elements of the novel as a whole come together around these two chapters?
Reread chapter 6 and the final chapter. Explore Chopin’s style in these chapters, especially the repetition of structure and motif. How do the elements of the novel as a whole come together around these two chapters?
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Talk Time
Today we began with a short warm up about the end of the novel (below) and then spent the rest of the period talking about The Awakening in a wide ranging fashion.
Consider the end of the novel. Does it have to end this way, or does Edna have another way out? Think particularly about the events leading up to her suicide: her final visit with Robert, her attendance at Adele’s labor and subsequent discussion with Dr. Mandelet, and finding the note from Robert upon her return to the pigeon house. How do these things lead her to make her fatal choice?
Consider the end of the novel. Does it have to end this way, or does Edna have another way out? Think particularly about the events leading up to her suicide: her final visit with Robert, her attendance at Adele’s labor and subsequent discussion with Dr. Mandelet, and finding the note from Robert upon her return to the pigeon house. How do these things lead her to make her fatal choice?
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
A Couple Quick-Writes
We began today with this warm-up: Is Edna “awake” yet? If so, how awake is she? To what exactly has she been awakened? After learning to unsubscribe from Moodle forum emails and wrapping up the "Reading and Responding to Literature" presentations, we added the following quick-write to the warm-up page: In chapter XVII, after fighting with Léonce at dinner, Edna, in a moment of anger “[takes] off her wedding ring” and “[flings] it upon the carpet.” The narrator says, “When she saw it lying there, she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the little glittering circlet” (87). There are two levels to this moment, literal and symbolic. Explain them.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday
After briefly considering the feminist interpretation of The Awakening, we spent the rest of the period on "Reading and Responding to Literature" presentations, which we almost finished. Almost.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday & Wednesday
On Tuesday we started looking at an introductory essay called "Reading and Responding to Literature" by each reading a section and taking notes, then sharing those notes with a larger group, and making a poster of key points to present to the rest of the class.
Wednesday we spent the whole period on our first reading quiz.
Wednesday we spent the whole period on our first reading quiz.
New Due Date
- Finish The Awakening by 9/12 with at least one more Moodle post.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Picture Day
Today we began with a brief course description quiz, went over my classroom rules a bit, had pictures taken, turned in final draft CRAs and had a short introduction to The Awakening.
Due Dates:
Read chapters 1 through 16 in The Awakening and post at least once by 9/7
Due Dates:
Read chapters 1 through 16 in The Awakening and post at least once by 9/7
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wrapping Up the CRA
Today we wrapped up the CRA assignment we started yesterday by having a look at the exemplary examples selected by the groups. We ended the day with a look at Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour."
HW Revise CRAs, due 9/2
HW Revise CRAs, due 9/2
Remember, tomorrow is picture day!
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