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)

REMINDERS and UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

• 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?

Shocking.  I know, beYOND shocking. There is a new blog entry.

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.

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY
(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?

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.
.

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.)

FINAL QUESTION ON Frankenstein  (40 assessment points)

 

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

                         Incorporate at least two quotations from the text.

                         Make sure your paper does exactly what you circled as your intention.

 

·         Type (because otherwise you can't submit it to turnitin.com)

·         Word Count

·         Double-space 

·         Homework heading

·         Use parenthetical citations

·         No need for a Works Cited

·         www.turnitin.com deadline 7:30 a.m. Monday, May 4

·         Hard copy in class on Monday as well—will be used as part of class activity

 

STAPLE THIS SHEET (filled out) TO YOUR PAPER

 

 

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.

See yesterday's post for the reading schedule for completing Frankenstein.

TODAY IN CLASS
1.  Completed 11-15 discussion, with a bit of Ch. 16.

2.  Took a quiz that covered 16-20 (though the quiz said 17-20; sorry).

3.  Worked on the first stage of a mapping activity.  Today's work was to begin at Geneva and trace the geographical route of Frankenstein's journey.  You need to label each country that was visited, each city mentioned, and to follow the route itself. Show where Clerval went someplace different by using a doted line. Hang on to the map; we will add something further when you finish the book.

FOR TOMORROW
Keep reading.

But take a bit of time to review--or don't if you feel you've got it all under control.  Because--

Tomorrow you'll do what I'm calling a "review exercise."  Full disclosure; I created it as a quiz over Ch. 1-19.  But tomorrow I'm calling it daily points, essentially as review practice.  It's closed book--the point is for you to know what you do (or don't) know--but again, it won't be assessment points.

Yes, Virginia, there is a English class BLOG!

So, Frankenstein--Reading complete through Ch. 16.  In class today 1st and 2nd finished the group quick sections of the Ch. 11-15 reading points; 5th didn't quite get there.

• Tomorrow in all classes we'll wrap up the questions covered by the remaining bullet points for that section:  consider them on your own and be able to discuss the content.
• Tomorrow in all classes we will also consider the questions in Ch. 16.  Consider them well and have a clear idea of both pros and cons (as the final bullet point indicates) BUT ALSO have an opinion of your own:  should Victor Frankenstein agree to the Creature's request or not?  

FOR TOMORROW

Continue reading:  Chapters 17-21.  

That obviously covers the bullet points for Ch. 17-19, but also get you through the first three bullet points of the next section.  

There will be a reading check quiz tomorrow.  It COULD include an item or two from earlier chapters, but mostly it will cover 17-21.

FOR WEDNESDAY

Finish the book:  Chapters 22-24 (Ch. 24 includes the final letters; they are not a separate chapter).

On Thursday  I'll give you an assignment to complete for Monday--it will be handed in on Monday typed, at the beginning of class (on turnitin.com before school that day). 

TODAY IN CLASS
Forces were depleted by the illness, the blood drive, the Microsoft field trip, and some who departed early for vacation.  We went on without you.

Handed out in class: the Peer Review sheet to use in class, AND a "Self-Check" list to use on your own complete paper before turning it in on Friday.

Students did NOT turn in the following (though some tried); keep these for the final packet on Friday:

• Do not turn in the in class pre-writing (discussion notes and personal plan)  from last Friday, Mar. 27
• Do not turn in the hand-written draft of the thesis + body paragraphs you worked on on Monday and Tuesday this week.
• Do not turn in the typed "as is" (verbatim) typed copy of your hand-written material.  

But remember, all of the above will be turned in on Friday as part of the packet. KEEP IT.

What DID get stamped and exchanged for peer review today:
The revised/improved version of the thesis plus body paragraphs.

SO, if you were gone today, you need to have someone in my course peer review your thesis and (not necessarily your class, though that would probably be the best; no one can do more than ONE, and everyone has to do one).

FOR TOMORROW
Nothing is actually "due" tomorrow; however, you should follow the guidelines given in the "Full Scoop" hand-out from Tuesday.
Try to split the work between implementing thesis/body changes based on today's review, and maybe writing the draft of the intro and conclusion; try to do that much tonight.
Then on Thursday night you can do final editing and make sure the MLA formatting is correct.
And then you can print the hard copy, submit it to turnitin.com, put your packet together, and BE DONE before break!

FRIDAY IN CLASS
Starting the Hamlet Process Essay--all parts to be retained and submitted as part of the final Hamlet essay packet.
1) Students discussed three topics (or at least 2 of the 3) in small groups.  Notes from these discussions were to be recorded under the heading "Group Discussion Notes" and dated 3/27.
2) On the same piece of paper, students wrote a "Personal Plan" for this essay, essentially stating which prompt and (if #3) which parent-child pair was being selected. (Also dated 3/27) This is an informal overview of what you intend to show; it was okay to use "I," and it did not have to be in academic style.
3) If you changed your mind over the week-end, you were supposed to have added an "Amended Personal Plan," dated whichever day.

TODAY IN CLASS
Without being distracted by lots of wordy instructions, students began working on a hand-written draft:  the text of the play, the mind of the student, paper and whatever writing implement most pleases the writer.

Simple directions for this stage:
1) Start with a "Working thesis" (or Hypothesis, if you prefer).  This is the main idea or claim that your paper will support.  Do not worry about word-smithing, and expect that you will revise it.  It will be much better after you proceed to step 2.
2) Begin writing your body paragraphs.  Start with the assumption that you will have 3.

• Each one must have a "body thesis" that a) shows how the paragraph relates to the main thesis and b) covers (like an umbrella) whatever goes in that paragraph.
• Later, some of you may decide that one or more paragraphs are too long, too packed with concrete detail and commentary, to be a single paragraph.  DO NOT CUT GOOD STUFF OUT.  At this point, you may use a minor transitional phrase and proceed, so long as everything is appropriate under the BODY THESIS for that section.
• But guess what--I don't want you to worry about that on Monday and Tuesday.  Just generate three solid body paragraphs.
• You need 3 "chunks" (quotation plus commentary) for each paragraph.  It's possible that one paragraph really has only two really relevant elements of support, but they are very convincing. If you are certain, and your other paragraphs are exceptionally solid, two will be okay.

Your progress will be stamped at the end of each day.  You will have both Monday and Tuesday in class to work on these paragraphs.  Do NOT worry about the introduction (let alone a conclusion) at this stage.,

FOR TUESDAY

• You could continue looking for appropriate support in the text and jot down notes.
• If you got well into the 2nd paragraph today, then you are probably on target to finish tomorrow.
• If you did NOT get that far today, you will probably want to try to catch up as homework.

Hamlet test tomorrow, Thursday 3/26; mostly objective; a few quotes but not many; either one or two "solid paragraph" responses.

TODAY IN CLASS
Hamlet quizzes and the Acts 3 and 4 study guides were returned.
Students had a few minutes to consider/collaborate on the following key spots of Act 5; then we discussed them briefly together.

• Implications of Horatio's exclamation "Why, what a king is this!"
• Osric--what are we supposed to make of this character?
• what is the actual content (message) of his conversation with Hamlet?
• how do both Hamlet's comments (directly to Osric plus asides to Horatio) AND what Osric says (substance as well as style) help tell us what kind of person he is?
• Serious conversation between Hamlet and Horatio:
• one spot we didn't discuss:  look at 5.2.11-12 (Folger): "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will--"  Look at what your book says about this; then actually look it up online; then try to apply it to how it applies to Hamlet's frame of mind at this point.
• what we DID discuss:  see 5.2.223-238 (Folger) and 5.2.209 to the long stage direction in the 5th period book

TOMORROW
Before the quiz--we will make sure to have the fullest possible understanding of the Effects (results) of the specific Causes (actions) listed in #21 of the Act 5 study guide.

TODAY IN CLASS
1) Collected the Act 3, Scene 4 "imagery" assignment.  (See yesterday's post for details.)

2) Handed out the Act 4 Study Guide.  It is due on Monday.  Read the questions for each section, read that section of the play and answer the questions, then move on to the next section.

3) Students tracked "tone" in the Hamlet / Gertrude conversation.  What is the exact tone or attitude each one expresses along the way?  The precise term (or even phrase) isn't as important to agree on as the general shifts that both participants experience in their own mood, in their self-insight/self-perception, and in their attitude towards the other person.

4) Then we watched the whole scene from the David Tennant version and all (or most) from the 1990 Mel Gibson / Glenn Close film.

5) Finally, students wrote a short (8 minutes or so) summary of their own reactions to or opinions of the two versions.

FOR TOMORROW
Get started on Act 4.  I will not check progress specifically for tomorrow, but remember that the completed study guide is due on Monday.  If you were absent today and don't have the hand-out yet, at least start reading Act 4.

TODAY IN CLASS
There was a quiz over Acts II-III.  Make it up tomorrow afternoon or Friday afternoon if you missed it today.

I collected the Act III study guides just before the quiz; I also returned the Act II guides.

I did NOT collect last night's homework; apparently I forgot to tell one class that the details of a short imagery assignment would be on the blog, and some individuals in another class seemed to feel that the link was broken. (?) I am giving all of us a bit of slack on this work:  everyone can turn it in tomorrow!!

SO, FOR TOMORROW
Here, just copied and pasted, is what was on yesterday's post:

As homework, write a short analysis of three of the following four passages from Scene 4.  Each passage contains an analogy or imagery that helps convey the literal meaning. Here are two quick examples of what you need to do.

Ex. #1:   " . . . you shall not budge./ You go not till I set you up a glass/ Where you may see the inmost part of you."  (Folger 3.4.23-25; McD-L 3.4.19-21)

Hamlet's analogy uses "glass" in the sense of a "mirror," only as a special kind of mirror which would show what is inside a person instead of the mere reflection of the exterior.  He is saying that he is going to force his mother to look inside herself to see what is really on her conscience.

Ex. #2:  "Look here upon this picture and on this, / The counterfeit presentment of two brothers."
(Folger 3.4.63-64; McD-L 3.4.54-55).  [And this is expanded in the following lines.]

Hamlet is actually using literal props here; he indicates two actual portraits, one for each brother.  They may be paintings on the wall, small portraits on a dresser, or even a "miniature" (of his own father) that he wears around the neck.  He points to each picture, as needed, to support his description of the noble character of the dead King vs. the "mildewed ear" of corn or grain that is Claudius.

CHOOSE THREE OF THE FOLLOWING FOR SHORT EXPLANATIONS OF YOUR OWN:

Folger 3.4.100-103 / McDougal Littell 3.4.91-93

Folger 3.4.126-7 / McDougal Littell 3.4.114-115 (What is the nature of the analogy, and what is the Ghost urging Hamlet to do?)

Folger 3.4.161-163 / McDougal Littell 3.4.146-147

Folger 3.4.165-170 / McDougal Littell 3.4.149-155

Tomorrow:  Quiz over Acts II and III

TODAY IN CLASS
Group debriefing and then a whole-class discussion of the main ideas of Claudius' soliloquy and Hamlet's response; these hand-outs were collected.

Then--an enactment of the opening portion of Act 3, Scene 4, depicting the start of Hamlet's conversation with his mother and the killing of Polonius.  Every class did this twice--getting the "stage business" down to make the scene more realistic was important (and pretty entertaining!).

FOR TOMORROW
Read/review the rest of the scene; use the synopsis at the beginning of the scene to help your understanding.

As homework, write a short analysis of three of the following four passages from Scene 4.  Each passage contains an analogy or imagery that helps convey the literal meaning. Here are two quick examples of what you need to do.

Ex. #1:   " . . . you shall not budge./ You go not till I set you up a glass/ Where you may see the inmost part of you."  (Folger 3.4.23-25; McD-L 3.4.19-21)

Hamlet's analogy uses "glass" in the sense of a "mirror," only as a special kind of mirror which would show what is inside a person instead of the mere reflection of the exterior.  He is saying that he is going to force his mother to look inside herself to see what is really on her conscience.

Ex. #2:  "Look here upon this picture and on this, / The counterfeit presentment of two brothers."
(Folger 3.4.63-64; McD-L 3.4.54-55).  [And this is expanded in the following lines.]

Hamlet is actually using literal props here; he indicates two actual portraits, one for each brother.  They may be paintings on the wall, small portraits on a dresser, or even a "miniature" (of his own father) that he wears around the neck.  He points to each picture, as needed, to support his description of the noble character of the dead King vs. the "mildewed ear" of corn or grain that is Claudius.

CHOOSE THREE OF THE FOLLOWING FOR SHORT EXPLANATIONS OF YOUR OWN:

Folger 3.4.100-103 / McDougal Littell 3.4.91-93

Folger 3.4.126-7 / McDougal Littell 3.4.114-115 (What is the nature of the analogy, and what is the Ghost urging Hamlet to do?)

Folger 3.4.161-163 / McDougal Littell 3.4.146-147

Folger 3.4.165-170 / McDougal Littell 3.4.149-155

Briefest of blogs tonight--
The handout with the soliloquys by Claudius and Hamlet--finish the "summa-phrase" so that you will be ready for some group processing on this.
If you just got the Act III study guide today, do your best to get that done through #15.

Quiz still Wednesday.

Good afternoon to you all on the first day of Daylight Savings Time 2015.

Upcoming:  Quiz over Acts II and III of Hamlet on Wednesday

FRIDAY IN CLASS
There was some initial time to get started on the Act III Study Guide by answering questions 1-10 as review of material already assigned/discussed, including readers' theater segments.  We briefly set up some of the elements of the play-within-the play:  is it good drama (why/why not?); how would you expect Ophelia to react to Hamlet when she sees him at the play?  How would you expect Hamlet to act with Ophelia?

Then we watched the David Tennant version from Hamlet's advice to the players through Claudius' reaction after rising and calling for the lights.  If you were absent on Friday, make sure that you give a thorough second reading to the "play within the play,"

FOR MONDAY
First, read the rest of Act 3, Scene 2--approximately from line 300 through 432, and answer just a few more questions on the Act III Study Guide:  11-15.

Then continue reading:  Act 3, Scene 3.  You don't have to answer the questions yet,and we will proceed with Act 3, Scene 4 in class tomorrow.  (However, you can certainly feel free to finish reading the act on your own first).

RE: the Study Guide--I do not have this digitalized, so I can't link it here.  However, if you were absent, here are questions 1-15 so that you can catch up.  Answer on your own paper.

Act Three, Scene 1:
1. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to Claudius?
2. How does Claudius react when Polonius says, " . . . with devotion's visage, And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The devil himself"" (52-55)
3. What plan do Polonius, Claudius, and Ophelia not put into action?
4. What is the nature of Hamlet's soliloquy (lines 64-98)?
5. What is Hamlet's main argument against suiciide?
6. Why does Hamlet treat Ophelia as cruelly as he does?  What has changed him?
7. What thinly-veiled threat does Hamlet voice, after he becomes aware of his hidden presence?
8. At the end of the scene, what does the King decide to do with Hamlet?  (What modification does Polonius suggest?)

Scene 2
9. What qualities in Horatio cause Hamlet to enlist his assistance?
10.  What does Hamlet ask Horatio to do?
11. Summarize what happens in the play-within-a-play,.
12. Why, in line 261, does Hamlet refer to the play-within-a-play as "The Mouse-trap"?
13. What is the King's reaction to the play?
14.  In lines 375-402, to what object does Hamlet compare himself?
15.  As Hamlet goes to his mother at the end of the scene, what does he admonish himself to do?

TODAY IN CLASS
1st period was very prepared with the soliloquy; thank you.  Obviously, due to my not adjusting to the missing 5 minutes, 2nd and 5th did not get the hand-out and instructions, so there was some in-class time.

All classes discussed their "summa-phrase" in groups, and some aspects of that carried over into the whole class discussion.

FOR TOMORROW

• Pick up at the end of the soliloquy and read the rest of Act 3, Scene 1 (Hamlet talking with Ophelia; Ophelia, the king, Polonius talking) 
• Then read Act 3, Scene 2 up to where Horatio enters (3.2.55)

TODAY IN CLASS
We had a short timed write, looking at the end of Act II from the point of view of Hamlet and one other assigned character (Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, or Ophelia).  The title was "What's on my plate?" and the idea was to write a short first-person journal entry that would lay out everything facing that character at the end of Act II.
We discussed Hamlet's qualities of character as we see them at this point (#28 of the guide, but the idea was to be as complete as possible; and in our discussion, we considered the evidence for all traits mentioned).
Also, I collected the Act II Study Guides.

Then in 1st and 2nd we read the first part of Act III up to Hamlet's "To be or not to be . . . " soliloquy; we'd gotten that far yesterday in 5th.  In 1st and 2nd we need to discuss the imagery of Polonius' self-incriminating statement as well as the King's aside--we ALMOST got done with that in 5th.

FOR TOMORROW
1st period--you received a copy of the soliloquy.  Read it, and annotate it, please.  You can wait for class to do the paraphrase if you wish.

2nd and 5th--we ran out of time and you did NOT receive the copy.  You would still be wise to read it carefully tonight, but you can annotate at the start of class tomorrow.

FRIDAY IN CLASS
1st/2nd periods:  discussion and some time to work.  5th:  discussion and some time for a film.  We'll make up the difference tomorrow.

FOR MONDAY
Finish reading Act II.  Some parts are somewhat hard; I've told everyone not to worry about the "child actor" discussion, because though it was important to Shakespeare at the time, it really has no bearing on our understanding of the play.  Also, the actor's rendition of the excerpt from Dido and Aeneas is difficult for people who don't know the story, but it IS important.  Do your best with it now;  There will be discussion before you hand in the study guide questions later in class.

HOWEVER, have the questions completed before class starts; I will mark or stamp the papers before we begin.

TODAY IN CLASS
Act I quiz.  See me ASAP to arrange a make-up if you missed it.

Students received an Act II study guide, and there was some time in class to work on it.

We finished the "phishing" idea, and carefully laid out why Ophelia had reason to be alarmed by Hamlet's behavior when he burst into her room.

FOR TOMORROW
You only need to complete questions 1-9 on the study guide, which covers the material you read and discussed together in class on Monday.

Quiz on Wednesday

Act I Hamlet quiz on Wednesday--short.  Some matching/multiple choice/fill in the blank.
There will be a few "plot quotes" (if you know the Act I action, you should know who said it).

TODAY IN CLASS
We wrapped up Act I completely.

FOR TOMORROW
Tomorrow after the quiz you'll continue work on Act II, but you don't  have to continue Act II tonight.  Just be ready to ace the Act I quiz!

TODAY IN CLASS
This week we have been proceeding through Act I at a very slow pace, generally having students read sort sections (shorter than entire scenes) and then piecing out meaning just a few lines at a time.  We have also tried to keep everyone focussed on the bigger picture of what's happening in the play, remembering to look at everyone's motivations, frame of mind, expectations about both the "world around them" (in general) as well as about what other people may be thinking or doing.

There was some written work (to go over and keep/not handed in) on Claudius' "Agenda Speech" at the start of Act I, Scene 2.

Today students received study questions that pick up later in Scene 2 (about line 163) with the meeting between Hamlet and Horatio.  Students answered study guide questions 1-6 over material we'd read but hadn't really discussed, and then answered 7 concerning the list of "precepts" that Polonius gives to Laertes. People were encouraged to collaborate on this. I then shuffled rows so that students could cross-check their responses (esp. about the nine pieces of advice) with a different set of students

In 1st/2nd we went on to Polonius's conversation and "orders" to Ophelia AND to a bit of the Scene 4; in 5th we did not start Scene 4 at all.

HOMEWORK
You've been advised for several days to keep reading Act I.  Now answer the study questions for Scenes 4 and 5--you may be wrong or confused on some, but do your best.  Part of learning how to read Shakespeare is TRYING, and writing down what you think--then you'll have a chance to improve your responses as we discuss this.

We may read a couple of short segments in class (students in front of the room style), but mostly we will not be reading the rest of this act  in class.

I will check the study guide for completion at the start of class tomorrow.

TODAY IN CLASS

Act I, Scene ii--
Claudius' "Agenda Speech" (lines 1-39)
Students should have provided a paraphrase (a "loose" paraphrase, getting the main ideas down).  The main takeaway, though, is that you can answer each of the following questions based on the ttext of Claudius' speech:

• Why does Claudius keep using "our" to refer to himself?  (Look up "royal we")
• How does Claudius use language to bridge the quick time between funeral and wedding? (see esp. 10-15)?
• Note how much "stuff" intervenes between between mention of the queen and the end of the sentence (the MESSAGE-bearing part of the sentence):  "taken to wife."
• What does Claudius think gives Fortinbras hope that his attack will be successful?
• What does Claudius think is the level of the King of Norway's knowledte of what his nephuew has been up to?
• What action does Claudius take at the end of this speech--how does the king hope to defuse the threat of war?

So--do you think Claudius has the makings of a smart and effective king"

We then read farther--in 5th up through approximately line 132, where Hamlet begins his first soliloquy.  In 1st/2nd, we didn't get quite so far. 

FOR TOMORROW

1st/2nd:  read (on your own) up THROUGH the soliloquy; you can stop where Horatio and the two soldiers enter on p. 31.

5th:  Review what we read in class today, and read Hamlet's soliloquy beginning around line 130-something (I do not have your book).  You can also stop at the point where Horatio, Marcellus, and Barnardo enter.

TODAY IN CLASS
First, yesterday (Wednesday):

• A quick run-through of the content of p. 324 and 340-347 in the big lit book, mostly to show you that the brief references to Macbeth don't matter.  Nearly everything there is equally useful for preparing you to read Hamlet. It's direct, clear reading, and was assigned last Friday along with the Renaissance intro (294-305), but not everyone had a chance to finish reading it in class. However, you're responsible for it.  I'll do my best to get the link working (the "Accessible Pages" for linking textbook to the blog is a quirky mess).  But if I don't, there will be some time specifically allotted on either Friday or Monday for students to read/study this material, or to have some class time for reading Hamlet.
• We got the Hamlet books. IF YOU'VE BEEN ABSENT, you need to pick up the copy during open hours for the bookroom--see the library door.  Please do this ASAP.  If you are in 1st/2nd, be sure to ask for the "Folger Edition" of the play.  If you are in 5th, you need to ask for the "McDougal-Littell" text. 

Today--

We started thinking about the play by tracing through a series of life circumstances; I asked students to think of themselves, away at college, and then being called home to encounter and experience a stunning array of unexpected events.  The events more or less track what happens to Hamlet, and the idea was help understand that in many ways, this is a young adult who suddenly has to deal with a rapid-fire series of disorienting events and threatening situations.  How would YOU feel?

Then four students read parts for most of Act I, Scene i, and then we doubled back to talk about key information/ideas along the way. 1st period got about five minutes farther along (yes, we have 5 more minutes to work with!), so we did the first thing listed below in class, but I'm writing this for what 2nd/5th needs to do.

5th period--also note that for certain reasons, the line numbering in your edition is slightly different.  I have not picked up a copy of your text for me yet, so the lines below may not be precisely accurate.  But know that we are dealing with what Marcellus asks (all of the lines) and what Horatio answers (the whole thing) that are found pretty much in the lines listed.

So--

For Marcellus (81-90), be able to paraphrase--restate in clear, direct, modern English--the precise questions he asks ("tell me, he that knows . . .").  

For Horatio's long answer (end of 90-119), do the following:  Re-read it, and keep stopping to read all the explanatory notes on the left hand side.  Then read it one more time to put the new information into context,  Be able to follow most of the explanation Horatio gives.  DON'T WORRY much about the legal document--we will unravel its complexity together.

Finally--I should have asked you in class (but didn't) to re-read the next chunk of Horatio's response (124-137) in the same way.  We'll work on this together, but you'll still have a headstart if you review it yourself.  (Those who read Julius Caesar instead of Macbeth in 10th grade will have an advantage here!)

TODAY IN CLASS
Students worked in groups on three points of our Renaissance pentacle.
The the focus for today was the following three areas:

• The Reformation (esp. in England):  Theology and The King/Succession
• The (English) Civil War:  Theocracy vs. "Divine Right" to rule
• The World Beyond (Ren. England):  Exploration (Discovery) and REdiscovery (of the past)

Students worked in groups of four to produce five quality bullet points for each discrete category; the idea was to come up with powerful, important explanatory facts or claims for each of the big points. The idea is to organize material into these separate areas, but to understand that they interconnect and inter-relate.  This material truly is an endless knot.

Then we began/will begin a short jigsaw component.  In first, we completed one round; in 2nd and 5th, we'll do that tomorrow.  After two rounds, we will produce a "final version" containing 5-7 points per category.  DON'T LOSE the papers from today.

And we'll add the information for the final two points of the pentacle--Language and Education, and Literature. 

FOR TOMORROW

Be sure to have your ID cards tomorrow or Wednesday to get Hamlet.

TODAY IN CLASS
Brief discussion of homework; then the ballad assessment.

Many did not quite finish.

FOR TOMORROW
Finish this as homework.  I'll collect it at the start of class on Friday.

TODAY IN CLASS
We discussed "Get Up and Bar the Door" (224-225); it is a rare example of a humorous ballad (and nobody dies!).

Then students read pp. 216-217, material about ballads, their poetic form, and the use of dialect.

Finally, there were two hand-outs with variants of two additional ballads:  "The Twa Corbies" and "Lord Randal."

Here is the link to the material on ballads as well as the three anonymous ballads we've worked with so far this week:    Ballad Intro and 3 ballads

FOR TOMORROW
Re-read the two ballad hand-outs from class: use the second version of "The Twa Corbies" to help you understand the Scots dialect version.  For "Lord Randal," read both the short and long version. Then proceed with the specific tasks outlined below:

1) I mentioned in class that REPETITION is a feature of most ballads that the book discussion leaves out.  This repetition can occur in various ways--of a word, a phrase, or a whole line.  Sometimes the repetition will be of part of the phrase, with a slight change each time it occurs.
So, Task #1:  Give examples of each type of repetition.  You only need one example per type, but overall, select examples from at least THREE ballads (book, hand-outs, or a combination).

2) "Tragedy" is an oversimplification.  Ballads often involve love gone wrong (unrequited love or bad break-ups, betrayal, infidelity, etc.), other kinds of human betrayal or wrong-doing, or sometimes things beyond human control, like sudden disaster.
So, Task #2:

• For "The Twa Corbies," what details of the ballad shed light on how/why the knight might have been killed ("new slain")? 
• For "Lord Randal," how does the LONG version of the poem provide a better explanation of why the young man died?  

3) Sometimes ballads do a good job of characterizing; sometimes they do not.  

Task #3:  

• Consider the couple in "Get Up and Bar the Door."  At the beginning of the poem, do you sympathize more with the husband or the wife?  At the end of the poem, do you feel the same way about them, or have your sympathies shifted?  In what way?
• How does the long version of "Lord Randal" help to characterize him?  What personal traits can you identify?

You should write this material down; be ready for a very quick discussion tomorrow.  I'll be calling on people, and I expect you to be prepared with ideas and information.  I am not collecting it, however.

For the rest of the class period, you will do an assessment that will involve a ballad you have NOT read as well as one that we have; however, even for that one, you'll have a copy of the text.  It may not take you the entire time, so have something else to read or  work on if you finish early.

   

Beginning the Last Semester of Your Senior Year

MONDAY/TUESDAY in CLASS

"Robin Hood and the Three Squires"--pp. 220-223
Read; answer some questions for your own notes; discussion followed today.  Main message:  the story reveals social circumstances, Robin Hood's unfairness, and his daring (and law-breading) ways of helping people. BUT this ballad's surprise ending also shows a more vicious, sinister side of Robin Hood.

"Barbara Allan" --pp. 218-219
We focussed on the narrative gaps in the story, as well as the characters of the two individuals involved.  "Make my bed . . . Make it soft and narrow" is a ballad code word for coffin.

We began the set-up for "Get Up and Bar the Door" in 5th (not in 1st/2nd)

ON WEDNESDAY
We'll do "Get Up and Bar the Door" as well as two other ballads from hand-outs. Focus will be on pulling together features of ballads.  You'll read pp. 216-217, and use the ballads we've read to supply some additional ballad features that the book should have mentioned.

ON THURSDAY
An in-class ballad assessment; open note, asking you to read a ballad we did NOT work on in class to show what your understanding of a particular ballad and of ballad conventions.  There will also be a question related to versions of "Barbara Allan."

Final Exam

TEXTBOOK MATERIAL
Here is the link for our last literary work:
Le Morte d'Arthur

For all the previous work, I need to have you go back to the source; these are trickier to copy and paste than you might think.

SO--from the beginning

Introductory material for BOTH Anglo-Saxon and Medieval units:
Sept. 24--scroll down to the link that says "Anglo-Saxon Introduction." But GUESS WHAT--this is the link to the Anglo-Saxon AND Medieval introduction!!

Oct. 16:  General background for Beowulf (useful review)

Dec. 2:  General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (review the specific pilgrims listed on your study guide)

Dec. 11:  "The Pardoner's Tale"

Dec. 15:  "The Wife of Bath's Tale"

Of course, you have all of your Gawain material on hand=outs (packets 1-4)

STUDY GUIDES and ESSAY QUESTIONS PREP
Use the hand-outs you received on Friday.

Clarification of instructions for the multi-paragraph essay:  It is like the single paragraph response above in that I will put TWO choices on the test, and you will need to select one.  That means you need to prepare at least two questions to be sure that you don't plan for the very one I leave out.

Some people may choose to prepare all three, but that is not necessary so long as you are satisfied with both of the ones you DO prepare and can live with just having one of the two on your actual test.

HAVE WITH YOU FOR THE TEST

• A pencil for the GradeCam portion (heavy solid pencil marks seem to work best)
• A blue or black pen for writing your paragraph and essay.
• Paper, because you will receive the questions on a half-sheet.  I won't supply blank paper for you to write on.
• ****And your prepared half-sheet of notes/quotes!

Wednesday in class:
Quiz over "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"--Objective section and an applied writing section in which students were to provide evidence of virtues from the code of chivalry using their hand-out text copies of the poem.
But--many people did not finish.

SO--TODAY IN CLASS
Students had the opportunity to finish their work (many were very close), and there was a new hand-out--a set of questions on Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
The copy I gave to 1st period skipped a couple of questions--but the "corrected" copy introduced a different problem.  We went back to the first version, and tomorrow I'll give you the missing question directly.

2nd and 5th received proper corrected copies.

Everyone--if you started on these pretty late in the period because you were finishing the quiz, you need to make sure to get them underway tonight.  I am expecting solid, well-supported responses, based on your looking closely at the appropriate sections of the text.  See Tuesday's post for the link.

During class tomorrow I'll be giving you information about the final exam, but you will have about 25-30 minutes to work on the questions.  THEY ARE DUE AT THE END OF THE PERIOD.

If you were absent today and need a copy of the questions, here is the link:
Le Morte d'Arthur Questions
 

Tomorrow:  Quiz over Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--no background on this (either for the poem itself, the writer, or the medieval context) EXCEPT that it does represent the genre of a "medieval romance."

There will be a section short-answer and multiple choice questions which you'll do and then turn in--then an open book section (using all four of your hand-out packets) section for some longer responses.

TODAY IN CLASS
Students received an "recycled"  medieval quiz to use as a study guide for the Medieval Period; use it  it together with your earlier study guide that focussed more on Chaucer.

There was also time to begin reading the selection from "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory.  Be sure that you read the intro material on p. 246, the paragraph about conflict on p. 247 (though we emphasized in class that the first sentence misleadingly suggests that medieval romance is the only genre of literature that features conflict as part of plot--nearly all plots involve conflict!).

FOR TOMORROW
Yes, the quiz, but if you read, kept up, and listened in class you should need only light review.

You should plan to spend some additional time (30 minutes or so) to continue and hopefully finish the story:
Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur

You can fill out the medieval quiz-as-study-guide any time over the next couple of days. Start on p. 28 of the following link for the Medieval Unit.
Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Unit Introductions

ON Wednesday--there will be a quiz over Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  One component will be objective (not long--probably 15-20 questions), and the other will involve some open book writing. In this case, of course, "open book" means the packets you have received for this poem.

By now everyone should have four total packets for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:
Packet #1--received on Dec. 19, the Friday before break
Packets #2, #3, and #4--received last week
Also--the insert for Packet #3 containing the missing stanzas.

FRIDAY IN CLASS
Students received the very important insert, and we read/discussed it thoroughly, covering all the questions posed in last Thursday's post as well as looking closely at the language of how Gawain negotiated the tricky line between preserving his purity, not wronging his host, and not insulting the lady.  We looked closely at the gift he rejected as well as what he accepted, and why.

TODAY IN CLASS
Discussed Packet #4--Gawain's New Year's Day visit to the Green Chapel, and its aftermath.

FOR TOMORROW

• Be reviewing for Wednesday's quiz.
• Locate the medieval study guide you did for points (showed me, but did not hand in).  Hopefully this sheet is right in your notes/notebook, but possibly stashed at home where you keep stuff you think you don't need.  

Tomorrow when you come to class, you'll actually need to get out your textbooks!

TODAY IN CLASS

More details later--but if you were there, and got both the final hand-out as well as the missing page from the previous packet--all you need is the list of things to focus on in the newest hand-out.  Here's the list I shared briefly at the end of class:

·        Details of setting (effect)

·        What happens (x 3)

·        “Green Knight’s” explanation for each step of the “what happens” actions

·        What Gawain is told about his character; what further hospitality the Green Knight offers at the end.

·        How Gawain responds to that offer; the aftermath (what we’re told about his future)

First, Wednesday's missing post:

• During class on Wednesday, we went over the "five fives" of the pentacle on Gawain's shield. We looked at the larger meanings of the simple stuff (faultless in his five senses, the five fingers that never failed him), and made sure that students understood the scope of the five virtues listed as specifically applying to Gawain:  bounty,  brotherhood, courtesy, a clean heart, and compassion.  
• Students also worked in small groups to make sure they had covered the categories and specific challenges of all the obstacles that Gawain encountered on his journey. It because obvious that the journey shares much with any quest that is both a geographical journey as well as a test of one's character and/or other traits.  You can also recognize elements of "the hero's journey" in Gawain (though the Joseph Campbell description came many centuries later!).
• Then students received Packet #3 in class, and the assignment was simply to read it carefully for Thursday.

TODAY IN CLASS
First, a very short reading check quiz with four fairly easy questions and one somewhat harder one.

I filled in a bit more detail about the transition between Gawain's arrive at the lord's castle (Stanza 38) and the new section (since Gawain has said he doesn't want to go out hunting, the lord proposes a exchange: at night, each man will give the other  whatever he has won during the day).

After numbering off into three groups, students looked at one of the episodes between Gawain and the lord's wife.  There was then time to discuss the findings for that episode with others in that same group (in pairs or threes).  For tomorrow, everyone should look closely at each of the two episodes you did not examine during class, using the same set of questions:

1. Where is Gawain as the host’s wife begins to speak to him?

2.  How does she embarrass him/put him on the spot? Give at least 2 specific examples.

3.  Locate what you think is the MOST POLITE thing he says to her.  Look for a place where he is having to reject her/put her off, but he can’t be insulting to her.  What does he say to maintain courtesy to a lady?

4. What does he ultimately accept from her? 

5.  What does he give the host that evening?

I do not plan to go over all of these points in detail; our greater purpose is to discuss how this section of the text builds on the "test" of Gawain.  He experienced one set of challenges during the journey between Arthur's court and the Lord's castle; during this section, he is facing a different sort of test.

TODAY IN CLASS
New packet covering the time between the departure of the headless Green Knight on New Year's Eve and Gawain's arrival at a castle on Christmas Eve nearly twelve months later.

Students got started (or close to finished) with their own depiction of a pentacle and the specific "five fives" associated with it.  The important carry-over, of course, will be to Gawain's character--that is, why this particular insignia on the shield is so appropriate for him.  We'll compare its tenets to his behavior as the story progresses.

FOR TOMORROW:
1) Complete the labelled pentacle (you are essentially making a graphic organizer for stanzas 27/28)
2) Finish reading Packet #2, and write brief notes in the wide right margin keeping track of the various obstacles Gawain encounters in his journey.  Consider everything--weather, terrain, things/people/animals, or any other aspect of his surroundings or personal circumstances.

Happy New Year!!

TODAY IN CLASS
We recapped the content of the first few stanzas of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," which we had read aloud in class on Friday (Dec. 19).
Miscellaneous things we mentioned along the way:

• "bob and wheel": the term for the 19-line stanzas (15 long, 4 short )
• Sir Gawain's most famous strengths:  purity and the degree of his courtesy
• this story is set up as a quest--or, yes, a "hero's journey," but that concept was not formalized with all its many parts until much much later.  Still, the traditional quest is where most of Joseph Campbell's ideas came from.

Then, students read the rest of the first part, with instructions to do three things:

1) Briefly note the essential content of each stanza in the margin.

2) Mark examples of colors OTHER than green.

3) Mark words/phrases you don't understand (or aren't sure about).

Be sure to hang on to this packet, which by now should have your name on it and be labeled "Packet 1."  (There will be three.)

FOR TOMORROW

No homework, actually, mostly due to teacher-fail on getting the next packet to the copy room on that last day before break!