Beowulf coming to a television near you??

What do you think of the concept described for this show?

TODAY IN CLASS
Completed and turned in the questions on "The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale."
Most students had plenty of time to get started with reading the Wife of Bath's Prologue (a one page excerpt of a much longer work) and the Tale that she tells (complete in your book).

FOR TOMORROW
Finish reading her Prologue and Tale.  No questions yet, but make sure you have read it carefully.
The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

Here is the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale in case you DO want to work on it tonight! However, you'll have some flex time in class to finish the questions on this story before getting started on reading "The Wife of Bath's Tale."

If you were in class today, you already have the questions.  If you weren't in class today, it will be enough to read both the Exemplum description and the right-hand box on p. 169, and then read both the Pardoner's Prologue (in which he explains the way he operates his business) and the tale that he tells.  You can pick up the questions in class tomorrow.

Here is the link to the material in the lit book:
The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale

Quiz on WEDNESDAY

As noted in all three classes today, the Canterbury Tales Prologue quiz will be on Wednesday, Dec. 10, not tomorrow.  See the previous post for details on what it covers.

TODAY IN CLASS
We went over the additions to the lists on the board, and reviewed why Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is such an excellent overview of late medieval life:  all three "estates" are covered (land, church, and town); there are representatives of various status levels in each category, and the range of human ethics and morality is covered in each category as well.

In 1st and 2nd today:
Finished the Parson; also covered the Plowman, the Miller, Manciple, and Reeve

In 5th:  Still need to do the Manciple and Reeve==Be sure to read them carefully before class starts!

FOR TOMORROW, everyone
You received a two-sided graphic organizer, one side for the Summoner and one for the Pardoner. Fill them out carefully and completely.

Upcoming--
Quiz over the General Prologue--Tuesday, Dec. 9

• Will cover the "nuts and bolts" of the beginning and end of the Prologue (details about the pilgrimage itself and the contest established at the end of the selection)
• Will cover the pilgrims, asking students to match a particular pilgrim with a brief descriptive phrase, either an exact quotation from the text or a close paraphrase summary of something stated in the description for that pilgrim

TODAY IN CLASS

We briefly discussed the Cook--the shortest description among the 5 pilgrims assigned for today.  

Students identified the specific pilgrim they focussed on last night, and then wrote brief summaries that varied, depending on the pilgrim.

• For the Skipper and the Doctor, the individual brief written discussion was to summarize the professional or technical STRENGTHS/SKILLS of the person but then also to state his moral or ethical shortcomings.
• For the Franklin and the five guildsmen, the individual written summaries were more general:  summarize what the student thought stood out as a "good thing" about the person, but also to note anything that could be criticized, even mildly so.  

After getting this start, students were put into small groups for their character and asked to discuss all the features we've been routinely assessing for the pilgrims, and to expect reporting back to the class. This was not by means of a formal group presentation; instead all students stood and fielded quick questions about the character and were allowed to be seated after successful responses. 

We didn't finish. . . 

Skipper and Doctor will be tomorrow; in 5th we even have to complete the Guildsmen.  So review your notes/skim over the character again before class if your group did not "present" today.

FOR TOMORROW

Read three more pilgrims--with equal care and attention.  Everyone is equally responsible for all three of these (pp. 156-158):

• the Wife of Bath ("a worthy woman from beside Bath city)
• the Parson
• the Plowman (brother of the Parson)

FOR TOMORROW
Respond to the following questions with text-based support.  The first three can be fairly brief--just a few sentences each.  The fourth one needs to be at least a fully-developed paragraph, and probably the best-reasoned responses will require two paragraphs.

• Type your responses if at all possible; if not, you may use ink.  Use complete sentences and academic tone.
• Do not use page numbers, but DO put the line numbers in parentheses after direct quotations.
• Feel free to incorporate phrases that are merely parts of lines.  If you go over a line break with a quote, use the forward slash / to mark the end of a line. 

Link to the complete Prologue in your textbook:
http://my.hrw.com/la_2010/na_lit/student/ebook_gr12/osp/data/u1_canterbury_prolo_se.pdf

1.  Briefly account for how we know that the Monk is fairly wealthy.   Provide plenty of concrete details; some may be summarized/paraphrased, other elements might best be quoted exactly.

2. In what specific ways--besides simply having kept some source of personal income--does the Monk violate the expectations of  life in a monastery?  (brief)

3. In what ways does the Friar go beyond what he's allowed to do as a member of a begging order?(keep this one brief too).

4.  Show how the Friar's actions significantly mislead others and can bring direct harm. Be as complete as you can in explaining both his actions and their effect on other people.

TODAY IN CLASS
Work on what Chaucer expects to accomplish for each pilgrim.  Students copied the following into their notes, duplicated here for future reference:

Now, in your own notes, you should keep track of the details the narrator reveals about each traveler:

·       profession/job [both Chaucer’s term and modern

 term/description]

·       general physical appearance

·       clothing/attire

·       other accessories that are mentioned

·       chief character traits and how we know

·       does the narrator seem to approve or disapprove? 

do we believe him (sincerity vs. satire)

·       anything else that seems important for a particular

pilgrim?

We worked quite a while with the Knight--finished with him, but did not get on to the Squire and Yeoman.  We will work with  them tomorrow.

AND also

FOR TOMORROW
Read about the Nun (the Prioress), pp. 148-149, lines 121-166.
Take notes, paying attention to the elements listed above (and in your own notes!)

Oh, my, catching up with the blog.  There are several things to be aware of:

1) The Beowulf essay was due online Thursday night (Nov. 20) and the hard copy was due in class on Friday, Nov. 21.  One-day extension papers were due today (class copy--get it online before midnight).  Two-day extension work is due tomorrow.

2) There was a Study Guide for Chaucer-related material that was checked off for completion on Friday.

TODAY IN CLASS
We talked about several of the more commonly missed questions (1, 3, 5), discussed different kinds of pilgrimages, learned a few things about bubonic/pneumonic plague (based in part on a current outbreak:  Plague Outbreak in Madagascar ), and added information about Henry II's friction with Becket.
Know the usual translation (from French) of the king's fateful words:  "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"  Sadly, King Henry did not mean for his exasperated outburst to be taken literally by his over-eager barons.

FOR TOMORROW
We'll get into the descriptions of the pilgrims.  For tomorrow, read carefully the material on the Knight, the Squire, and the Yeoman.  Starting on p. 146 in the section linked to this post, read lines 43-121.
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

Upcoming Major Assignments and Tests
Beowulf Essay--assigned Friday, Nov. 14  Beowulf Essay: Topics Hand-Out
Due Thursday night, Nov. 20 on turnitin.com; hard copy in class on Friday

Additional information:   Supplemental Instructions for Beowulf Essay
You don't need to print this out; you'll receive a hard copy tomorrow in class.

TODAY IN CLASS
I checked (almost) everyone's progress and answered basic questions.  If you were absent today, I'll check you off tomorrow.  If I didn't GET to you today (a few people in 2nd and 5th), I will also check you off tomorrow.

FOR TOMORROW
Only homework tonight through Thursday will be to work on the essay.
We will move forward with new reading/discussion starting tomorrow in class.

Class Instructions for Wednesday, Nov. 12

MONDAY IN CLASS--if you were absent

Please get a hand-out from Monday.  Read it tonight. Mark in the margin the sections that have something to do with the Beowulf epic poem or the figure of Beowulf himself.  Be sure to bring it with you tomorrow and we'll move on to the next step.

Instructions for today, WEDNESDAY, Nov. 12

1. Get your big lit books.

2. Read pp. 28-33. (Yes, that's back to the beginning, it seems, but remember that your book chunks the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval sections together).

Now--double back just to the section on pp. 28-30.  For this part you can you can use a phone or one of the class computers.

3. Find out FIVE MORE FACTS about FOUR of the terms /people in bold, just for 28-30. Your goal: quality, useful facts.

4.  You must make a hand-written list of your five facts for each term--NOT a computer print-out.

• Write the term/word and underline it, and below it write out the five additional informative facts. 
• Then go through the same process for the second , third, and fourth item. 

     These are due at the end of class.  If you do not finish, TURN IN WHAT YOU HAVE

TODAY IN CLASS

Beowulf Rap Videos--

1st period had to finish up

2nd/5th/ got to see one or two extra

Discussion of comitatus (yesterday's hand-out)--application to Beowulf

The most essential finding was that comitatus diminished as the epic went on

TOMORROW

The second Beowulf quiz--will emphasize the poem from where the last quiz left off (partway through the battle with Grendel's mother) to the end of the work. However, expect a few questions over material that applies to the work as a whole that might have been covered before, or even a few questions from the first part of the work.  Still--the main focus is on the last half.

Some basic places to review (see early October posts for links to the textbook . . .I'll try to re-link them here later on): 

Background on Beowulf—p. 36-37

Epic—p. 37 plus additional features such as the ritual boast, arming scene, catalogue (of warriors, foods at a feast, etc.), extended formal speeches, use of epic similes

epic from A Handbook to Literature:

                A long narrative poem in elevated style presenting characters of high position in

adventures forming an organic whole through their relation to a central heroic figure

 and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.

Common characteristics:

o    the hero is a figure of imposing stature, of national or international importance, and of great historical or legendary significance

o    the setting is vast, covering great nations, the world, or the universe

o    the action consists of deeds of great valor or requiring superhuman courage

o    supernatural forces—gods, angels, and demons—interest themselves in the action and intervene from time to time

o    a style of sustained elevation and grand simplicity

o    the epic poet recounts the deeds of the heroes with a measure of objectivity

(There follows a list of common conventions, but many apply more to “art” epics composed by a single known poet, not to “folk epics” of uncertain authorship.  I summarized the essential ones above.)

I don't plan to ask you specific questions about the additional epic features--we didn't stress these this year--BUT it's still "good to know" if you're one of those people who like to see how works fit into larger chunks of literature.

Additional terms (we've had these all along, with the exception of this week's new term comitatus)

ubi sunt formula:  a convention often used in poetry rhetorically asking “where are” (ubi sunt) particular things which, to the poet, represent an ideal—especially of times past (sort of the lost “golden age”).  The idea is often connected with observations about the transitory nature of human life, and the fact that things change (mutability).

scop:   bard/poet/storyteller, who often recited poetry to the accompaniment of a stringed

 instrument

wergild :     literally man-price, a form of victim’s compensation

comitatus:   the idea that everyone protects the king at all costs even if it means a warrior giving

            up his own life. If a king is killed, the warriors must avenge the death of the king or they

can no longer serve as warriors for the next king.

wyrd:   the concept of fate or destiny—but read more about it here:

http://www.octavia.net/anglosaxon/Wyrd.htm

An Oh-So-Late Blog Post--

But I think you know the drill.

Beowulf Raps tomorrow!!

We'll watch/listen to your creative videos--try to get them on the big desk computer before school.

In class, you'll turn in BOTH copies of the written product:

• the plain unmarked version that I'll post
• the highlighted, marked version (make sure to cover all the points listed)

TODAY IN CLASS
Full period to work on the Beowulf rap mini-project.

1st--had to focus first on comparing/consolidating  the abridged versions and deciding on the basic content.  Most groups were able to get started at least with the process of turning the content into rhythmic "rap."

2nd and 5th--Most groups were ready to get the actual writing underway.  The goal today was to get at least half of the lines written, hopefully more.

TOMORROW
Will be the last full day of in-class worktime.  Bring a laptop if you can.  The goal will be to finish the draft, check to see that it fulfills all the requirements, and start practicing as a group.

1st--you must follow the exact instructions for #4 on the hand-out.  Bring your typed copy of your abridged passage, and make sure that it is on turnitin.com by 11:59 p.m. tonight.

2nd and 5th--

Only abridged passages that are on turnitin.com will be counted for points.  Many of you were absolutely prepared today with your typed copy of your shortened passage in class after having already submitted it to turnitin.com.  Thank you for being responsible! 

Do note that even if you had your copy in class, I am scoring only what's on line.  Get it submitted by tonight. 

TODAY IN CLASS

2nd and 5th periods--
If you were in class today, you should have 1) received a rap hand-out, 2) signed up into groups, and 3) found out what your passage is after someone from your group drew lots.  SO--your assignment for tomorrow is to write the summary of all essential points.  The idea is to turn about 100 lines of actual text into 32-40 lines of rap.  Follow the individual instructions, submit to turnitin.com, and bring a copy of your summary to class tomorrow.  The turnitin.com on-time folder is until 9:55 a.m. on Wednesday.

Then we worked somewhat with sections 35-41.

1st period--mainly just finishing up 36-43; students signed up for the Beowulf rap project, and representatives drew numbers for your actual passage.  However, the bell rang before everyone got a firm handle on the actual passage.  So.  If possible, you should proceed with the individual work, but if you didn't get the word on your passage, we will have to adjust.  I'm opening turnitin.com though.

Spirit Wear for Thursday: 80's/Neon Attire

TODAY IN CLASS
I announced a revision to the tardy policy, prompted by some changes in administrative emphasis and available resources:  the 4th tardy results in a lunch detention assigned by the teacher.  The 5th (as stated in the syllabus) results in an administrative referral.

We went over a few of the drawings to show what an accurate depiction of the text information would look like.

In 1st we also talked about the first several short questions--2nd and 5th did not do that today.

FOR TOMORROW
Finish reading sections 32-43, and write out accurate and complete responses to questions 1-15 on Tuesday's hand-out.

Tuesday's Attire: Back to the Beach Day

FRIDAY IN CLASS
Some quick review, including a hand-out of 20-23 (quiz was through 22) so that we could pinpoint just a couple of really major things from the last few pages.  The rest of that sheet was for Monday's discussion.

Make arrangements to make up the quiz if you missed it.

TODAY IN CLASS
Collected #19 and#20 drawings, based on material in Section 23.
We picked up from Friday's VERY brief mention of some highlights necessary for the quiz; by now students should have good personal notes on the questions and supplemental class discussion on Ch. 20-23 (except for what was covered by the drawings).

FOR TOMORROW
Read Ch. 24-28 (71-85)

Beowulf Quiz on Friday!

Quiz information:
We reviewed the following terms today:
wyrd
scop
vellum
poetry terms:  kenning, caesura, alliteration, assonance
wergild
Beowulf's name (kenning and the reason)

We also reviewed the early section of the powerpoint from the intro to Beowulf, and then completed the last few slides.

Study the background pages for the text of Beowulf
http://my.hrw.com/la_2010/na_lit/student/ebook_gr12/osp/data/u1_from_beowulf_se.pdf

Use your book and notes to review the text of the poem from the Prologue through Section 22 (p. 67).  You should probably review 20-22 (pp. 59-67).

TODAY IN CLASS
Students worked in assigned groups to complete questions 5 and 6 from Wednesday's hand-out, and had a chance to discuss and improve responses to 1-4 and 7-14.
Students who had been absent (full credit)or had not completed their individual preparation (reduced credit) had time to work.

Quiz review.

TOMORROW IN CLASS
I'll return today's work.  We will discuss a couple of items.  We will go over (quickly) some highlights of 20-21.   I expect to use 20-25 minutes of class time on this section.

Quiz

TODAY IN CLASS (15 min. long)
Students received three hand-outs; you may get them all tomorrow.

FOR TOMORROW
Complete 1-4 and 7-14 of the questions handed out today covering sections 15-19 of Beowulf.  That material did not get saved on my school computer, so I can't link it to the blog right now. We'll make provisions in class tomorrow for the handful of people who were absent today who did not receive the hand-out.

Everyone who GOT the hand-out should be prepared for the group work tomorrow.

AND--on Friday there will be a quiz over the background material on Beowulf and the poem through Ch. 22.

There will be a Beowulf quiz on Friday.
Make SURE you've read through 22 for tomorrow (yes, Wednesday); there will be additional reading for Thursday.

There will probably be an updated post later this evening, but I must leave for my appointment now.

Calendar of Upcoming Events
CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement: OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations *

*CHECK THIS SOURCE OUT FOR SURE.  I am belatedly realizing that it is this sheet (created Oct. 31, 2013--so after last year's submissions) that lists Objective as a requirement on your culminating project resumes.  But today I asked for clarification from the College and Career Center, and the word is you do NOT need to include this for the Culminating Project if you are doing an academic resume.  Anyone planning to apply to college should be doing an academic resume; if you are planning to work next year, then the Employment Resume format is what you should follow.  And for that, starting with "Objective" is standard practice.

But here is why the one-page version is useful--it gives you a list of categories to pick and choose from (so you can find the best organization for your situation).  There is no one right way. 

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course. Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.

Our class--
Quiz--Friday, Oct. 17  Beowulf 
Background in the big lit book, the powerpoint (we will finish it), and the content of the poem from the Prologue through Ch. 26.  Poetry terms (still) plus scop, wergild, and the kenning for Beowulf's name.

TODAY IN CLASS
Pick up on Unferth:  note that Beowulf says Unferth was drunk--that he wouldn't have had the never to challenge him had he been sober.  Beowulf "cuts him some slack" as a result (530-534). However, Beowulf also accuses Unferth of something pretty serious--murdering his brothers (587-589). That's all we know about this right now . . .

Ch.10--the "disarming" scene and Beowulf's rationale for fighting without a weapon or armor
Ch. 11-12--Grendel's journey, intentions, arrival at Herot, the first victim, then the battle with Beowulf and its gruesome outcome. We also looked at the first few lines of Ch. 11 in Old English, noting the ominous sound and the intense alliteration.
Also in 11-12 (though we didn't find them in Old English) are important kennings for Grendel:  shepherd of evil, guardian of crime, and hell's captive.

Reading time --last 20 minutes of class.  Start with 13 and read until the end of class

FOR TUESDAY
Read through Section 22 (p. 67).
You're free to read more /much more, of course; many students find that reading this book once through fairly quickly and then re-reading as I give smaller assignments is the way to understand it best.

Look at yesterday's post for the recurring Culminating Project reminder!!

TODAY IN CLASS
We finished looking closely at the material left out of your questions--Beowulf's presentation to Hrothgar of what he wants permission to do, and Hrothgar's response (sections 6 and 7).  For Unferth's role at the banquet, we used images from Dix It cards to try to convey what Unferth was feeling and why.  Lots of insightful (and fun!) interpretations emerged from various groups.  One class finished discussing material from Ch. 9 and most of 10--the other two classes will have to catch up on that, but it will be brief.

FOR TOMORROW
Read Sections 11-12--four pages only, but action-packed.  Read these pages twice.  No prep questions, but if there is anything you don't feel you understand as you read it (by the second time through, anyway), make note of it.  Plan to ask tomorrow.

Sorry for the late post--blogger.com was slow and would not save/publish during the late afternoon.  I gave up.

Calendar of Upcoming Events
CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement: OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations *

*CHECK THIS SOURCE OUT FOR SURE.  I am belatedly realizing that it is this sheet (created Oct. 31, 2013--so after last year's submissions) that lists Objective as a requirement on your culminating project resumes.  But today I asked for clarification from the College and Career Center, and the word is you do NOT need to include this for the Culminating Project if you are doing an academic resume.  Anyone planning to apply to college should be doing an academic resume; if you are planning to work next year, then the Employment Resume format is what you should follow.  And for that, starting with "Objective" is standard practice.

But here is why the one-page version is useful--it gives you a list of categories to pick and choose from (so you can find the best organization for your situation).  There is no one right way. 

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

(I have tried and failed to link a pdf version of the handbook, since very often this year there has been a downloading issue; however, it's not working right now.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course. Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.

TODAY IN CLASS
Students had a few minutes to work in groups to consider the encounters between Beowulf and the coast-warden and Hrothgar's right-hand man Wulfgar. We used that discussion as a basis for a few more thoughts on this section before moving on to Hrothgar's explanation to Wulfgar of what he had already heard about Beowulf.

And this led to the kenning of Beowulf's name.  Test yourself:  do you remember the parts?  And what about yesterday's term wergild --what is the literal translation of the parts?  What does the term mean?  How did it apply to Grendel's behavior?

FOR TOMORROW
We need to finish up Ch. 6-10 (discussion prep questions 8-11).
You can certainly start reading more; I don't have my book at home to be sure of what's needed for Friday.

TODAY IN CLASS

• Recap of the dichotomy between good and evil, represented in part by Herot (place of goodness)  and Grendel's lair ("not hell, but hell on earth").  
• Why the oversimplified battle between good and evil is sometimes not as intriguing as having more complexity to characters and motivations (people who are not all good/all bad) Beowulf will show this mixture of traits in much of the text.
• Why Grendel is "so bad"; concept of wergild. 
• How Grendel twisted the hearts of Hrothgar and his men, making them focus on heathen ways and the Devil's guidance in trying to deal with Grendel.
• Why Beowulf wanted/needed to go to foreign lands to fight (gain glory).
• We were just ready to pick up on the Danish watchman's reaction to him

FOR TOMORROW

SO this gets us to question 6 on your hand-out (or see yesterday's post, which included the questions).

Make sure that for tomorrow you have finished reading through 10 and that you've taken notes on questions 6-11.

If you've done that--then work on your Culminating Project.  Due next Wednesday!

UPCOMING MAJOR WORK

**Now WELL past due:  Final Draft, Personal Essay (Hard Copy/turnitin.com)**

Friday, Oct. 3--Open-book assessment on the three lyric poems (short poems from the Exeter Book)

Content, thematic ideas, connection with Anglo-Saxon culture, poetic devices . . .  You'll need the Poetic Devices hand-out and the Michael Alexander translation of "The Wife's Complaint."  

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course.  Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.

TODAY IN CLASS
1) Time to finish Friday's assessment
2) If necessary, catching up with Sections 2-3 of Beowulf
3) Getting started on reading sections 4-10 of Beowulf

 . . . which, for most people carried into homework FOR TOMORROW

Here is the half-sheet hand-out distributed in class:
Beowulf

DISCUSSION PREPARATION QUESTIONS  (Prologue through Part 10)

1. Describe Herot.

2. Describe Grendel’s lair.  How does it compare to Herot?

3. What is the significance of Grendel being descended from Cain?

4. Why does Grendel attack Herot?

5. What had Herot symbolized before the coming of Grendel?  After?

6. Why is the coast-warden concerned about the arrival of Beowulf and his men?  How does he recognize Beowulf as worthy of consideration?  How does he challenge him?  How does Beowulf pass the test?  What “safety measure” does the coast-warden require?

7. How does Hrothgar’s  man at Herot recognize Beowulf as a hero?  Why should he refrain from letting this man and his men in to see Hrothgar?  Why should he WANT this man (and his men) to see Hrothgar?

8. Why does Unferth bring up Beowulf’s swimming match with Brecca?  How does Beowulf respond?

9. What is Welthow’s role in Herot?  What does the narrator praise her for?

10.  What is the significance of Hrothgar’s speech in lines 655-661 (44)?

11.  What are Beowulf’s thoughts as he waits for Grendel’s arrival?

                                                                  

Friday Post on Saturday

UPCOMING MAJOR WORK

**Now past due:  Final Draft, Personal Essay (Hard Copy/turnitin.com)** Still a few who are missing either the hard copy, electronic submission, or both! 

Friday, Oct. 3--Open-book assessment on the three lyric poems (short poems from the Exeter Book)

Content, thematic ideas, connection with Anglo-Saxon culture, poetic devices .  [Time to finish on Monday--see below]

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course.  Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.


FRIDAY IN CLASS
In-class poetry assessment:  took longer than I anticipated (and special apology to 1st period for the clutter of resolving the copy error).  As I told you when you turned in your work, you WILL be allowed more time on Monday.  I'm not fixing the absolute right now; my plan is to join the work with some Beowulf specific work so that if you're done/almost done with the assessment, you'll have something to move on to.  And other people can complete that as homework.

FOR MONDAY
You're still expected to have read the (very short) sections 2 and 3 in the Beowulf text.
Be sure to bring back the Alexander copy of the poem AND the version that I gave you on Friday.

Anyone absent on Friday--you will begin the assessment in class.  You may need to finish up at another time, or you may be able to finish it in class.  [Note to everyone:  usually you're not allowed to make up quizzes or tests during class time.  This is an exception.]

UPCOMING MAJOR WORK

**Now past due:  Final Draft, Personal Essay (Hard Copy/turnitin.com)**

Friday, Oct. 3--Open-book assessment on the three lyric poems (short poems from the Exeter Book)

Content, thematic ideas, connection with Anglo-Saxon culture, poetic devices . . .  You'll need the Poetic Devices hand-out and the Michael Alexander translation of "The Wife's Complaint."  

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course.  Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.

TODAY IN CLASS
Beowulf:  Nearly line by line going-over of the rest of the Prologue (more connections with the Sutton Hoo ship burial) and Section 1.  We started Section 2, getting no farther than Grendel's second attack and the consequences, ending with "Hate had triumphed."

Deliberate digressions from the text into two directions:  how aspects of motivation for Grendel are shared with a well-known Dr. Seuss character, the Grinch.  But then we looked at the deeper motivation (evil, in opposition to good) for Grendel, looking closely at his heritage (a warped form of "genealogy").  That included some perspective on the fact that the literature we study does contain material that reflects Biblical material, both old and (sometimes) new testaments.  Recognizing the references and being to fill out the rest of the associated story are a necessary part of understanding the literature.

FOR TOMORROW
Read the rest of Section 2, and Section 3 (pp. 8-13).

UPCOMING MAJOR WORK

**Now past due:  Final Draft, Personal Essay (Hard Copy/turnitin.com)**

Friday, Oct. 3--Open-book assessment on the three lyric poems (short poems from the Exeter Book)

Content, thematic ideas, connection with Anglo-Saxon culture, poetic devices . . . 

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course.  Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.

TODAY IN CLASS

1)  Essays collected.  For papers not yet in, be sure to use the cover sheet you got today or get one from the bookshelf by the door if you were absent.

2) Students got copies of the epic poem Beowulf from the bookroom.  Check out in the library on your own if you were absent.

3) We looked at the first 11 lines in Old English, and read/discussed the first 17 or so in the Burton Raffel translation that you have.

FOR TOMORROW

Such a short assignment--but please read with care, at least twice.  Ask yourself questions about what you think is important.

Prologue and (Section) 1:  pp. 3-7 

CALENDAR SECTION

Personal Essay due on Wednesday!!

Reminders:  Read and Heed

Final Formatting: 

o   Single-spaced heading on left:  Name, class period, date, Personal Essay Final Draft

o   The Common Application or UW topic, as worded on the original assignment sheet, also single-spaced. Put the topic in bold.

o   If you changed topics from the first draft, type that out in bold exactly as worded on the application form. Otherwise you may omit it on the final draft.

o   Body of essay: Double-spaced, 12-font Times New Roman.

o   Make sure the word count listed on the paper and stated below is for the essay only.

What to turn in:

• This cover sheet on top
• Then the hard copy of the final draft
• Then the first draft (the stamped one, even if you’ve changed topics)

• On the bottom, the Peer Response sheet to the first draft.

       ** Each draft should be stapled, but PAPER-CLIP the full stack.  Don’t try to staple through it all.

Deadlines:

• Turn in hard copy plus support material on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
• File your paper electronically on www.turnitin.com by the 9:55 a .m. on Oct. 1

***IMPORTANT INFORMATION***

With the help of Mrs. Cote in the College and Career Center and her contacts in the admissions world, we have resolved an issue that several people brought to my attention today.  I have disabled the "student repository" section of turnitin.com.  Your essay will still be evaluated against commercial sites, online journals and other media, etc., but if a school or even the Common App people were to assess your paper, it would not show up as a match with your very own paper.  No worries!

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project

See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

Both the resume and response to Question 1 must be typed, of course.  Be sure to save them both in a way that can be accessed at school.

CALENDAR SECTION
Wednesday, Oct. 1:    Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)
Folder for "Final Draft Personal Essay" now open.

***IMPORTANT INFORMATION***
With the help of Mrs. Cote in the College and Career Center and her contacts in the admissions world, we have resolved an issue that several people brought to my attention today.  I have disabled the "student repository" section of turnitin.com.  Your essay will still be evaluated against commercial sites, online journals and other media, etc., but if a school or even the Common App people were to assess your paper, it would not show up as a match with your very own paper.  No worries!

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15

12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project
See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.
================================================================

TODAY IN CLASS
1st and 2nd:  focus was on "The Wanderer," then we got partway through "The Wife's Lament"
5th: We worked with "The Wife's Lament" and barely started with "The Wanderer"

FOR TOMORROW
No reading in the book.  Be working on your essay revision!

CALENDAR SECTION
Wednesday, Oct. 1:    Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15
12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project
See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.

========================================================

TODAY IN CLASS
Read  and discussed  p. 102--know basic facts about the Exeter Book

Read the third poem from that source that's in our book--"The Wife's Lament"  (Ann Stanford translation).  Then read a different translation by Michael Alexander translation ("The Wife's Complaint."

After individual reading, students worked in pairs to complete some questions about the poem, including providing the text-based line(s) for your opinions.  You could use either translation for any one of the questions--whichever seems clearest to you. Include initials AS or MA before the lines.

FOR MONDAY
If you didn't finish answering the questions during class, finish them over the week-end on your own. They will be collected at the start of class on Monday--no additional work time for this.
You have the Alexander translation as a hand-out, and you can access the Stanford one here:
Exeter Book poems (scroll to p. 112).

CALENDAR SECTION
Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)
Even if you did not have this draft yesterday, you cannot proceed to the "final draft" unless this step is completed.

Thursday, Sept. 25:  Quiz, Anglo-Saxon background material.  TODAY.  See me re: make-up.

Wednesday, Oct. 1:    Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)

CULMINATING PROJECT, a state high school graduation requirement:  OCT. 15
12th grade: Senior English classes assign a Resume and and answer to Question #1 in September. Note: Resumes completed in Bridges in 10th grade cannot be used for your senior resume. All Seniors (even those not in English classes at IHS) must complete a resume and the typed answer to Question 1. The resume and question 1 are turned into the Career Center by October 15th of senior year. Senior Resume Guidelines and Expectations

Senior Packet for the Culminating Project
See the resume section of the College Resource Handbook for more help with resumes.


TODAY IN CLASS
First 20 minutes--quick review (partly teacher-led, part student time)
Then the Anglo-Saxon background quiz.

Re: the Culminating Project--Although English teachers are required to "assign" this, it is NOT an English grade.  I am supposed to check your work before you turn it in, but it is really a quick check to see that it's presentable. I don't get into the details, really, but even at a glance,  I have a really sharp eye for typos.  I will mark them so that you'll have to fix them and reprint.  So you'll be better off if you proofread carefully first.

FOR TOMORROW
We'll be talking about "The Wanderer" tomorrow, and working with the last lyric poem as well.
But on your plate right now:  revision of the personal essay, and getting going on the Culminating Project.

Peer Response Day!

Upcoming Major Work (Essays, Tests, Projects)

Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)
 If you didn't have the essay on turnitin.com, get it there ASAP.  Info tomorrow on what needs to happen with papers that did not receive a peer-response today (for whatever reason).

Thursday, Sept. 25:  Quiz, Anglo-Saxon background material--See below for a new link

• textbook pp. 23-27 and definitions p. 41
• the hand-out on Anglo-Saxon poetry terms (a longer list than on p. 41)
• the 7-page introduction by David Adams Leeming ((hand-out)
• in-class supplemental lecture notes 

Wednesday, Oct. 1:    Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)


TODAY IN CLASS
Yes, the peer response took place.  Do not lose the materials from today--the first draft itself and the peer response to that draft.  You will need to turn both of these in with your final draft next week.

FOR TOMORROW
Study for the Anglo-Saxon unit background quiz.  Elements are listed above.  Here is a link to pp. 23-27, but you'll have to scroll a bit to get there:

Anglo-Saxon Unit Introduction

 I won't ask "content" questions about the two poems so far ("The Seafarer" and "The Wanderer") but I WILL use some examples from those poems to check your understanding of the basic poetry terms on the hand-out you have.

The quiz questions will reflect the areas we stressed most in class--the peopling of Britain, the Roman invasion/occupation, and the successive invasions by the Anglo-Saxons, the Scandinavians (Vikings), and the Normans. But as part of knowing about this era, the content of pp.23-27 and the Leeming hand-out provided much information about culture, the spread of religion, and some of the earliest literature or historical writing that we know about.  All of this is "fair game" for the quiz.

I won't be collecting the "quizlet" hand-out you've had for quite awhile, but you should have that filled out (including the questions I added about both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon religious beliefs) as a guide. We'll go over it briefly during the first part of class.  Tomorrow's quiz will be longer than this very short one, but many of the questions might overlap!

Essay Draft Due on Wednesday!

Upcoming Major Work (Essays, Tests, Projects)

Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)

Thursday, Sept. 25:  Quiz, Anglo-Saxon background material

• textbook pp. 23-27 and definitions p. 41
• the hand-out on Anglo-Saxon poetry terms (a longer list than on p. 41)
• the 7-page introduction by David Adams Leeming ((hand-out)
• in-class supplemental lecture notes 

Wednesday, Oct. 1:    Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)

TODAY IN CLASS
We went over reminders about formatting on the overhead:  see the original assignment sheet for the bullet points we discussed.  Only one addition:  when you type out the prompt in bold, just single-space that part.

Some sample review questions for the "peopling of Britain" and the Roman era; additional info on the Anglo-Saxons.   In 2nd, I think we even got to the Normans!

Regardless of where we actually stopped in your class,  I've linked a "notes" sheet for the Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian (Viking), and Norman portions of invasion history:  Historical Notes

FOR TOMORROW
Most definitely read yesterday's post re: essay pointers, if you neglected to check the blog yesterday.

Show up with your printed draft, ready to give and receive feedback.  Make sure it's on turnitin.com before school starts (folder already open.)

P.S. -- Turns out I have a Tech Committee meeting at 7:30.  So the only option if you need to print is 9:35.  Please try to take care of this at home!

Upcoming Major Work (Essays, Tests, Projects)

Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)

Thursday, Sept. 25:  Quiz, Anglo-Saxon background material

• textbook pp. 23-27 and definitions p. 41
• the hand-out on Anglo-Saxon poetry terms (a longer list than on p. 41)
• the 7-page introduction by David Adams Leeming ((hand-out)
• in-class supplemental lecture notes 

Wednesday, Oct. 1:    Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55 a.m.)

Catching Up--
Friday in class--

• A bit more cultural information on the Celts (see sliding board . . . material still there)
• The first "invasion"--the Romans--but the bottom line is that though the Romans arrived in Britain by 43 A.D. and stayed until 410, their presence was really an "occupation."  I will ask you tomorrow to summarize why that is a plausible claim.

Week-end homework--

To be working on the personal essay; hopefully you were able to churn out some form of draft, however imperfect it may be!  Now you have a couple of evenings to make it much better.

TODAY IN CLASS

"The Wanderer" (pp. 108-111) --the second of the three "Exeter Book" short poems in the textbook.

Students read the poem and answered nine study guide questions.  Most students turned in in at the end of class. If you didn't finish, here is a link to a PDF file of the Exeter Book poems in the text; you'll have to scroll to "The Wanderer": The Exeter Book Poems

FOR TOMORROW
Yep, keep working on the paper.  Here are five dimensions or parameters to keep in mind, whatever your actual topic is:

1) the OPENING.
The essay needs to engage the reader straight from the start.  How you do this will vary by topic, but your essay needs to start at a high interest level that genuinely encourages even tired, over-burdened readers of thousands of applications to become focused on yours.

2) ORIGINALITY vs. PREDICTABILITY.
There is a certain "sameness" that goes with various kinds of experience that does become familiar to readers who have read thousands of personal essays written by 18-year-olds.  You are unique, but the student accounts of various experiences sometimes sound eerily the same.  The best way to avoid that is to focus on small slices of experience; the angle or perspective you choose, and the details you develop, will have a greater chance of being fresh.  As advised with the "mission trip essay," for example, don't try to write the entire narrative; select a much narrower focal point to describe and reflect upon--hopefully avoiding the sameness that too often blurs these essays into the fill-in-the blank template we "wrote" together in class.

3) INSIGHT INTO THE WRITER
Whatever the prompt, the most important subject matter is YOU.  Readers want to know you better after reading your essay, and this means more than realizing that you had predictable emotions after a certain experience.  All strong personal essays amount, in one way or another, to a window into your character and/or "what makes you tick."  So one tip I have is that right now, before continuing tonight, you jot down somewhere the 2 or 3 insights that you would hope your reader gains about you.  I don't mean that your essay should identify or label explicit character traits, but I do mean that after reading a solid personal essay, the reader should be able to recognize some significant aspects of your make-up.  Then make sure your essay contains the material that would help your readers see what you want them to know about you.

4) DETAILED vs GENERIC
This dimension is related to some of the others, but it focuses on the means of achieving interest, originality, insight, etc. Good writing always needs detail, example, illustration, precise description, etc., to be effective, but sometimes people who can write a powerful, well-supported argumentative essays or literary analysis shy away from the specifics that are needed to "personalize" the personal essay.

5) LIVELY, ENGAGING STYLE
Word choice:  vivid, precise, rich . . . Don't be a walking thesaurus, and I know you want to keep your own "voice," but stretch yourself a bit!!  Sound like you belong in college. :)  (But remember the specificity and details mentioned in #4; you can't just dress up flat writing with fancy words.)

Sentence style:  Remember that varied sentence length usually relies on varied complexity.  Try to balance complex and sophisticated syntax with simpler, incisive, memorable text.  Don't overthink this as you write your first draft, but keep it in mind as you revise.

Figurative language:  Effective use of occasional figurative language is an asset; strained effort or relying on cliches can backfire.  This is also an area to focus on between the first and second drafts more than in the first draft.

Counselor In Class Today

Upcoming Major Work (Essays, Tests, Projects)

Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55)
Wednesday, Oct. 1:     Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55)

TODAY IN CLASS
A counselor presented a video summarizing the college application process, provided further information, distributed transcripts, and answered lots of questions.  Your most immediate task: check the unofficial transcript carefully for errors/omissions; let the counselors office know of any problems by tomorrow afternoon.  (Start with Ms. Werre; you may be referred to Ms. Michael.)

And for our class, try to decide what prompt you'll use for your personal essay by tomorrow.  Then you can get started over the week-end and meet the first deadline above.

We'll move on with the Anglo-Saxon historical background material--my supplement notes to your two written sources--during Friday's class.

Upcoming Major Work (Essays, Tests, Projects)

Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55)
Wednesday, Oct. 1:     Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55)


TODAY IN CLASS
1) Hand-out for Personal Essay distributed.

Here are two links which provide helpful support for the Common Application topics.  Please don't wait until you start writing your paper to consult these sites; the material might be useful as you narrow the topic choices and start to generate ideas.

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/a/common-application-essay-prompts.htm

http://www.collegeessayadvisors.com/portfolio-items/2014-15-common-application-essay-prompts-a-guide-topics/

2) Class Notes
        Backdrop note:   BCE and CE vs. B.C. ("Before Christ") and A.D. ("Anno domini"):

• Why have historians tried to replace B.C. and A.D?  
• What undercuts these efforts (what is the basis point for determining BCE vs CE?)
• What practice does your textbook follow? 

    The Peopling of Britain--

• We don't need to deal with the earliest people who were there but displaced by the first and second ice ages, but there were some really early populations that historians are aware of
• Origin (time/place) of the Celtic people
• The geographical distribution of the Brythons, Picts, and Gaels
• for the Brythons:  from the Iberian peninsula (now Spain/Portugal); name reflected in Britain

We'll look at the four main groups who came to Britain later on tomorrow and/or Friday. Focus will be on the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons; less additional material on the Scandinavians and (for now) the Normans.

Some class time tomorrow will be taken up by a counselor, who will be discussing the college application process.

FOR TOMORROW

Start thinking about what topic you'll select for your personal essay.  Read over the links above.

TODAY IN CLASS
Students received a new hand-out on additional background material; some class time devoted to reading this and completing additional facts on the "quizlet" paper.  If you did not finish that work in class, you'll need to finish it on your own.

During the last part of today's class, I provided some brief groundwork for the upcoming personal essay.  Full details and due dates on Wednesday, but today I mentioned two areas of caution and developed some of the rationale for avoiding these topics:

• Many advisors warn against writing about any of the "Four D's":  divorce, disease, depression, and death.  
• The formulaic "mission essay"--avoid the narrative from packing to return with predictable slots to be filled by the details of your particular trip, but drawn from such a small pool of options that veteran essay readers can write this essay by heart.  Instead, find a significant slice of your experience and develop that. 

TOMORROW 

You'll receive the complete essay assignment.

We'll do the final piece of the Anglo-Saxon background material.

Overview of Anglo-Saxon Unit:

Part I:

• "The Seafarer" content (pp. 104-107)
• New literary terms--p. 41, additional hand-out Poetic Devices--> practice; apply to "The Seafarer"
• Introduction to Anglo-Saxon history/culture/literature:  pp. 23-27 of the text, hand-out, lecture notes/graphic organizer--some assessment/quiz over historical background
• Briefly apply new info to "The Seafarer"
• Two more lyric poems
• Test over material to this point 

Part II:  the epic poem Beowulf (main text from bookroom, support material from your regular textbook)
                Will include varied assignments, quizzes, tests, an essay (possibly one of the major process
                 essays/perhaps a shorter one); definitely a group project)

TODAY IN CLASS
Review of kennings; additional examples of student-generated kennings.  Text-based examples of alliteration and assonance drawn from "The Seafarer."  Time to read pp. 23-27 in the text.  Students used a former really short quiz for recording what "answers" came directly from the reading in the text book--you'll be adding to this after you read another background article and receive some additional lecture/discussion information.  You'll have a few more minutes to work on this tomorrow.

FOR TUESDAY
No outside work.

To a very few of you--I spoke individually with people in 1st and 2nd who are are missing either the hard copy of the Self-Definition or who have not submitted it to turnitin.com.  In 5th period I did not touch base with each person, but several of you are missing one or the other (or both!).  Please take care of this or see me ASAP if there is a problem.

We Survived "Armageddon Day" and the First Full Week!

TODAY IN CLASS

First--"Self-Definition" papers collected.  Most people had the hard copy in class and had submitted it to turnitin.com  . If you are missing one obligation or the other, 

Then--We looked at the textbook structure for the Anglo-Saxon unit before picking up on p. 41 with literary terms that apply to poetry of the period. 

Students received a hand-out with those terms plus more, and a review questions for "The Seafarer" on the back.

We discussed the terms alliteration, caesura, and kennings, and 1st period completed a quick exercise on kennings.  Periods 2 and 5 will finish the kennings part on Monday, and everyone will apply the other definitions to the Seafarer text.  But we will do that in class using the book, so . . . 

FOR MONDAY

No homework over the week-end! :)

Self-Definitions Due on Friday!

Upcoming Essays, Tests, and Major Assignments 

• Friday, Sept. 12--Self-Definition

Necessary information for turnitin.com
Class ID Numbers

British & Western Per. 1 = 8633282
British & Western Per. 2 = 8633303
British & Western Per. 5 = 8633333

Password for all three sections = gold

The turnitin.com folder for this assignment is open and ready to receive entries!
But don't forget to print out your work; you need to have the hard copy of your work with you in class tomorrow.

Getting Underway

Upcoming Essays, Tests, and Major Assignments (not a comprehensive list of all work assigned)

• Friday, Sept. 12--Self-Definition

Necessary information for turnitin.com
Class ID Numbers

British & Western Per. 1 = 8633282
British & Western Per. 2 = 8633303
British & Western Per. 5 = 8633333

Password for all three sections = gold

THIS WEEK IN CLASS
Monday

• Background discussion of the Self-Definition assignment; connection with the resume due in a few weeks as part of the Senior Culminating Project
• Overall course description; survey of student knowledge of England before 1500

Tuesday

• Self-Definition hand-out distributed
• Discussion of the appeal of reading literature; concept of universality
• Textbook:  Began "The Seafarer" (pp. 104-106).  We are reading the poem essentially together, and so far, just tracking the content/shifting focus of each small section.  Students are taking some guided notes on this poem, and these will be collected on Thursday. 

Wednesday--Continued work on "The Seafarer" 

HOMEWORK

No literature homework yet; just be working on the Self-Definition