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.