TODAY IN CLASS
In 1st and 2nd period, we got a good start on the propaganda presentations. Fun and clever work, people! Fifth period ran into a document camera glitch; Mr. Pazan has tended to the problem, and I hope we are all good to go tomorrow.
Groups got started on a new assignment, explaining what the three slogans of the Party meant in terms of the society of 1984, and also making connections to contemporary America.
These should be completed in class tomorrow and part of Thursday. They should not require individual homework UNLESS you are absent two days of the three days allotted to this work.
Don't forget that everyone should take individual notes even though only one copy needs to be prepared neatly and completely enough for me to grade.
FOR TOMORROW
If you haven't read the newspaper articles from yesterday's blog post, be sure to do so! This is material to have in your brain for the last group assignment, for your essay, and perhaps even for the paragraph options on the final exam.
From this point on, homework time should be devoted to the individual final essay. Copies were passed out in class both yesterday and today. It is also available here: 1984 Final Essay (Individual)
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Sunday, May 31, 2015
REMINDERS and UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
From the Magna Carta to 1984
There are two things tonight that feed into our reading and thinking about 1984.
1)This entire article captures the significance of this document that was, yes, just one of the many historical facts about England that consumed some of our (your) time during the first semester. We are NOT going back to that semester now except for this one thing; read this article, and be able to tell me which paragraph most resonates with our study of Orwell. (Okay, there's more I want you to get out of it, but just read it, please.)
The Magna Carta: 8 Centuries of Liberty
2) The attacks we've come to summarize as 9/11 happened at a point that I was substituting, and so I was not even teaching senior English, let alone teaching 1984 at a point that the country barely debated the implications of the Patriot Act during a tense and very fearful time in our nation's history.
But the renewal and possible revision of certain points of the Patriot Act a few years later prompted very lively classroom and written discussion. From time to time, there have also been local xconcerns--the proposal to place security cameras in certain Seattle parks, for example--that allowed students to debate the conflicting merits/limitations of measures, powers, or devices intended to provide greater protection (viewed in one way) or to encroach on personal privacy and freedoms (viewed in another).
So far this year we haven't made explicit connections between Orwell's world and ours. But as you might be aware, the Patriot Act has been the subject of intense Congressional scrutiny in the past weeks and days. There are three articles in this section that you need to read for Tuesday (students in clas today got a headstart).
Here is an a basic "starter" article from Sunday night:
The Patriot Act Lapses
And this one is updated this morning from the Seattle Times (as you can see); it also has a sidebar column containing the actual text of the most controversial provisions:
Seattle Times Patriot Act article
Article that spells out the most controversial parts and also explains the next steps.
Read these three, please--and consider what YOU think the Senate should do. And is your opinion affected by whether an article starts out by discussing a "surveillance program" that has lapsed, or if it says that a "spy program" has been suspended?
Is this English class? YES. Because George Orwell wants people to think about the role of government, government policy, the language we use to talk about the actions governments take, the role government plays in people's lives, and at what cost (not so much money--but everything else)--and clearly, the cost can be for both what government DOES as well as what it does NOT do. Orwell's guidance and his opinions are useful only up to a point, because his perspective is over 66 years earlier than yours. And yet people keep making connections--why??
And A Couple More
3) Here's a random thing--a weather article, sort of--that I saw the other day; it takes awhile to get to the key phrase, and maybe you think the connection is a bit strained; my point is simply that even in the seventh decade after 1984 was published, allusions in the press pop up all the time. This one was from last week:
Connecting Texas Floods to Big Brother?
Beyond the technology slant of the article, here's a thought regarding Washington state. Where is the line between telling people where they CAN'T build a home vs. where it might be dangerous to build a home?
4) Finally, we ran out of time during Frankenstein before we could see "AI" or really discuss lots of other ways in which scientific capability (or near-capability) might run afoul of ethics or somehow run amok by violating laws of nature that we don't even fully understand. But this article touches on an area that both Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have also cited as a very major fear.
A Frankenstein Connection?
- All propaganda PowerPoints or videos should be ready to upload to the front desk computer at the start of class on Tuesday (except for Orkila group and the three students I spoke with this morning).
- We will hear 3 or 4 on Tuesday and the remainder on Wednesday.
- With the rest of Tues./Wed (maybe into Thursday) there will be a group assignment related to the slogans.
- Friday will be a 1984 wrap-up day--essays ideally due so you are done.
- Final Exam: 1984 only (GradeCam objective plus two paragraph responses)
- 5th period--on Monday, June 5th, during regular class time
- 1st and 2nd periods--on Wednesday, June 10th, during regular class time
From the Magna Carta to 1984
There are two things tonight that feed into our reading and thinking about 1984.
1)This entire article captures the significance of this document that was, yes, just one of the many historical facts about England that consumed some of our (your) time during the first semester. We are NOT going back to that semester now except for this one thing; read this article, and be able to tell me which paragraph most resonates with our study of Orwell. (Okay, there's more I want you to get out of it, but just read it, please.)
The Magna Carta: 8 Centuries of Liberty
2) The attacks we've come to summarize as 9/11 happened at a point that I was substituting, and so I was not even teaching senior English, let alone teaching 1984 at a point that the country barely debated the implications of the Patriot Act during a tense and very fearful time in our nation's history.
But the renewal and possible revision of certain points of the Patriot Act a few years later prompted very lively classroom and written discussion. From time to time, there have also been local xconcerns--the proposal to place security cameras in certain Seattle parks, for example--that allowed students to debate the conflicting merits/limitations of measures, powers, or devices intended to provide greater protection (viewed in one way) or to encroach on personal privacy and freedoms (viewed in another).
So far this year we haven't made explicit connections between Orwell's world and ours. But as you might be aware, the Patriot Act has been the subject of intense Congressional scrutiny in the past weeks and days. There are three articles in this section that you need to read for Tuesday (students in clas today got a headstart).
Here is an a basic "starter" article from Sunday night:
The Patriot Act Lapses
And this one is updated this morning from the Seattle Times (as you can see); it also has a sidebar column containing the actual text of the most controversial provisions:
Seattle Times Patriot Act article
Article that spells out the most controversial parts and also explains the next steps.
Read these three, please--and consider what YOU think the Senate should do. And is your opinion affected by whether an article starts out by discussing a "surveillance program" that has lapsed, or if it says that a "spy program" has been suspended?
Is this English class? YES. Because George Orwell wants people to think about the role of government, government policy, the language we use to talk about the actions governments take, the role government plays in people's lives, and at what cost (not so much money--but everything else)--and clearly, the cost can be for both what government DOES as well as what it does NOT do. Orwell's guidance and his opinions are useful only up to a point, because his perspective is over 66 years earlier than yours. And yet people keep making connections--why??
And A Couple More
3) Here's a random thing--a weather article, sort of--that I saw the other day; it takes awhile to get to the key phrase, and maybe you think the connection is a bit strained; my point is simply that even in the seventh decade after 1984 was published, allusions in the press pop up all the time. This one was from last week:
Connecting Texas Floods to Big Brother?
Beyond the technology slant of the article, here's a thought regarding Washington state. Where is the line between telling people where they CAN'T build a home vs. where it might be dangerous to build a home?
4) Finally, we ran out of time during Frankenstein before we could see "AI" or really discuss lots of other ways in which scientific capability (or near-capability) might run afoul of ethics or somehow run amok by violating laws of nature that we don't even fully understand. But this article touches on an area that both Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking have also cited as a very major fear.
A Frankenstein Connection?
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Shocking. I know, beYOND shocking. There is a new blog entry.
We had a very productive class today:
We had a very productive class today:
- Students turned in the short 1-15 questions on Part Two.
- Students turned in the longer (1-22) questions on Goldstein's book, begun in class on Wednesday with table groups and completed individually at home.
- And IN class, a fast-moving quiz over Parts I and II. A few didn't quite finish (35 questions; 25 class minutes); you will be allowed a few more minutes in class tomorrow.
- And finally, students received the short version 1-15 Part Three questions.
Here is the hoped-for situation; by tomorrow, you will have finished reading 1984. Part Three is the shortest, contains some fairly gripping action, and does not contain an economic and political treatise to be studied and dissected. You can do this! BUT--If for whatever reason (and I've heard a wide array) that is not possible, the world will not end if you do not finish until over the three-day week-end.
Without fail, however, have the book DONE and the short, to-the-point questions completed by class time on Tuesday.
We will be talking as a class tomorrow, probably viewing a couple of video supports, but steering clear of the VERY end of the book out of plot-spoiler respect for people with genuine reason to need just a bit of extra time.
.
Tomorrow: Classes begin at 10:15.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY
(While some of you were testing or otherwise absent)
(While some of you were testing or otherwise absent)
- Tuesday: Some final thoughts on Frankenstein, and the objective portion of the test
- Wednesday: The quote responses for those those who did the main portion on Tuesday; people gone Tues. were allowed to make up the main portion in class. SOME of those people also finished the quotes.
- ***Note--if you did NOT do the quote section on Wednesday, that will be tomorrow (Friday) in class
TODAY IN CLASS (Thursday)
Students responded to a set of 10 statements about their beliefs about aspects of society/culture/government . . . then we got an overview of where people stood. After that, students worked in groups to really hash out what they thought and why. KEEP these filled-out sheets to compare with what you believe after reading George Orwell's 1984.
We checked out the books. If you were absent . . .
1st period --get the white book if there are any left; if not, the purply pink one (I know . . . )
2nd period--get the GRAY book with additional readings
5th period--get the purply pink one
Then we read the first two paragraphs and discussed some of the details--what do we know about setting from just the opening passage? What reference did (most of you) recognize?
Monday, May 4, 2015
Frankenstein Test on Tuesday!
TODAY IN CLASS
1. Small-group sharing of Frankenstein short papers--these were turned in afterwards.
Make sure yours gets submitted to turnitin.com (had been due this morning!)
2. Finished maps; allowed to work together. Will be collected tomorrow.
TOMORROW IN CLASS
1. Final discussion of some key ideas.
2. Test.
WEDNESDAY IN CLASS
Silent reading on something new (textbook); people who are taking the AP Calculus exam on Tuesday will be allowed to make up the Frankenstein test during class time.
.
1. Small-group sharing of Frankenstein short papers--these were turned in afterwards.
Make sure yours gets submitted to turnitin.com (had been due this morning!)
2. Finished maps; allowed to work together. Will be collected tomorrow.
TOMORROW IN CLASS
1. Final discussion of some key ideas.
2. Test.
WEDNESDAY IN CLASS
Silent reading on something new (textbook); people who are taking the AP Calculus exam on Tuesday will be allowed to make up the Frankenstein test during class time.
.
Friday, May 1, 2015
UPCOMING TESTS/MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
1. There will be a test over the book on Tuesday, May 5. (Anyone taking an AP exam that day can make it up in class on Wednesday, May 6.)
2. You got back your review exercise today. Go over the answers on the question sheet; look up ones you were not sure or about (or simply guessed). We will check for accuracy on Monday.
3. Remember that the writing assignment for Frankenstein needs to be handed in both formats--turnitin.com by the start of the school day on Monday, and a hard copy for an in-class activity. If you've been absent and didn't get an assignment sheet yesterday, here it is:
(Sorry, I can't close up the spacing on this copy and paste version.)
Defend or refute (attack) ONE
of the following propositions:
A) Although the creature may be more readily
seen as “the monster,” the consequences of Victor Frankenstein’s own behavior,
attitudes, and failure to act make him “monstrous” as well.
B) Although by losing his
brother, best friend, well-loved family servant, wife, and indirectly, his
father, Victor Frankenstein certainly suffered harm at the hands of the
creature, the creature himself has a stronger claim to being a “victim.”
Circle the proposition you are writing about: A B
Circle the stance you are taking: defending/supporting OR
refuting/attacking
Instructions:
Write about 200-250 words
·
Type (because otherwise you can't submit it to turnitin.com)
1. There will be a test over the book on Tuesday, May 5. (Anyone taking an AP exam that day can make it up in class on Wednesday, May 6.)
2. You got back your review exercise today. Go over the answers on the question sheet; look up ones you were not sure or about (or simply guessed). We will check for accuracy on Monday.
3. Remember that the writing assignment for Frankenstein needs to be handed in both formats--turnitin.com by the start of the school day on Monday, and a hard copy for an in-class activity. If you've been absent and didn't get an assignment sheet yesterday, here it is:
FINAL QUESTION ON Frankenstein
(40 assessment points)
Incorporate at least
two quotations from the text.
Make sure your paper
does exactly what you circled as your intention.
·
Word Count
·
Double-space
·
Homework heading
·
Use parenthetical citations
·
No need for a Works Cited
·
Hard copy in class on Monday as well—will be used as
part of class activity
STAPLE THIS SHEET (filled out) TO YOUR PAPER
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
TODAY IN CLASS
Review exercise (counted as daily/homework points) over Ch. 1-19. Some people did very well; congratulations on solid reading, good attention to detail, and retention of what you have read and/or we have discussed. Other people did not fare so well.
I will post the scores tomorrow, but it will probably be Friday before we have a chance to go over the material.
FOR TOMORROW
Just make sure you have finished reading the book; according to the schedule, you should have been done today, but you have a chance tonight to catch up.
At the start of class tomorrow I will distribute a short writing assignment that is due on Monday. If you've finished the book, you will be ready to tackle it.
Review exercise (counted as daily/homework points) over Ch. 1-19. Some people did very well; congratulations on solid reading, good attention to detail, and retention of what you have read and/or we have discussed. Other people did not fare so well.
I will post the scores tomorrow, but it will probably be Friday before we have a chance to go over the material.
FOR TOMORROW
Just make sure you have finished reading the book; according to the schedule, you should have been done today, but you have a chance tonight to catch up.
At the start of class tomorrow I will distribute a short writing assignment that is due on Monday. If you've finished the book, you will be ready to tackle it.
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