Tuesday, September 29, 2015

COLLEGE ESSAY SIGN-UPS

Dear Students,

It's college essay appointment time! I'm using VolunteerSpot to organize our upcoming sign-ups.

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/De9cSx
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot...but if you do, VolunteerSpot will email you a helpful reminder before your appointment. :-)

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

AGENDA 9/29

Thinking Map: Defining "What Is Poetry"

Construct a circle map in plain pen or pencil, with "poetry" at the center, and list out everything you know about poetry (e.g., types of poems, famous poets, what poetry does, literary terms associated with poetry, etc.)

Collaborate with a partner and share maps. Add to your map if you desire.

Return to your seat and apply color to categorize some of the thinking in your map and add a key/legend to explain the meaning of the colors.

Draw a frame around the margins of the page in the same plain pencil or pen. We'll call this our Frame of Reference.

Now, in blue (or banded in blue), label "My Current P.O.V. of Poetry" and write a complete sentence to explain your current point of view: Do you like poetry? Dislike it? Find poetry confusing? Find poetry inspiring? (Remember: Blue is for Point of View)

Get Perrine's Sound and Sense from the textbook room. Read pages 3-10, Chapter 1, "What is Poetry?" Add 3 pieces of textual evidence from the reading to your map and put a green band/circle around it (or write in green if you prefer). Make sure to cite the textual evidence (Perrine #)! (Remember, Green is for the source your ideas spring from or grow from)

NOTE: If, while reading the source, you come up with other information to add to your original circle map, you absolutely should! Just circle that word/phrase in green (in addition to any other categories you've already circled it for) to distinguish that it came from the source rather than your prior knowledge.

Use red to band/frame/write a complete sentence answering "So What?" near the top of your frame: What is a working definition of poetry? Taking together your initial ideas and the reading, what IS poetry?

Use red to band/frame/write a complete sentence answering "So Why?" near the bottom of your frame: Why do people study poetry? Why does poetry endure? Why is poetry important?
(Remember, Red is for Stop and Reflect or Stop and Synthesize)

Bring your completed map to class tomorrow and be ready to discuss. Here's our sample-work-in-progress map with sticky notes giving directions on items yet to be completed.

HW: Finish map/reflection and finish revising Candide papers (final draft due to Turnitin.com by Sunday evening!)

Thursday, September 24, 2015

AGENDA 9/24

1. Return to the prompt "The Other Paris" that we examined in class. Reread the passage and select the two parts of the passage that best communicate the satire or social commentary. In a sentence or two, explain what Gallant's social commentary is: how is this particular satirist holding up a mirror to society, and what does she see as these couple's (and by extension, society's) flaws? In another sentence, explain what larger meaning Gallant reveals in this short story about love and selecting a partner with whom to share one's life. What are we supposed to realize about love and marriage?

Share three responses aloud with the class. After three responses are read, ask students to discuss: what is similar about each response? What did students do well? What might be expanded on or is missing to analyze the piece fully?

Need a glossary for literary terms? Here's a good one focusing primarily on drama

2. Building Context:
Video #1: All About the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason

Take notes during the video. Consider major ideas, keywords, significant details, connections to Voltaire and Swift, and satire and drama. Following the video, discuss with your sharing partner: what did you decide to take notes on? What seems most important to help you understand the literature of this time period?

Video #2: Restoration Comedy: Theatre of the 1700s

Again, take notes during the video. Consider major ideas, keywords, significant details, connections to Voltaire and Swift, and satire and drama. Following the video, discuss with your sharing partner: what did you decide to take notes on? What seems most important to help you understand the literature of this time period?

HW: Continue to draft and revise Candide essays and college essay personal statements.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

AGENDA 9/22

Shape Notes and Word Clouds - two options for visual note-taking

Brief video on Jonathan Swift and "A Modest Proposal"

Peer review of Candide essay drafts - review rubric and questions on board

HW: Revise Candide essay drafts. Email me for help!

Friday, September 18, 2015

AGENDA 9/18

In-class partner work on Swift's "A Modest Proposal"
Discuss Candide post-it thesis statements
A few notes:

  • Avoid using "proves" in your essay. Fiction rarely proves anything. :-) Instead, use "suggests," "contends," "asserts," "reveals"
  • Avoid "you" and "your" in formal writing. Instead, use the first-person plural "we," "us," "our," or third-person singular "people," "society"
  • Keep the focus on the author's choices, not "the reader's" reactions. Try to use the author's name twice as often as the names of any characters.
  • Introductions should include a hook, context, and your thesis. For more help on these components, ask!
  • Your goal is a solid, plausible literary analysis and interpretation of Candide. It should serve as a model for you for the rest of the year.
  • Body paragraphs should incorporate direct/specific evidence (cited in parentheses by page number) and analyze both how Voltaire communicates themes and how he uses language to provoke "thoughtful laughter"
  • The thesis should include not only a discussion of Voltaire's theme, but also why Voltaire uses satire to help convey this theme: What is special about satire that allows it to "pave the way" for this particular conversation with his audience? How does satire function here: does it let him speak challenging truths to people in power? Does it hold up a mirror to society and cause us to reflect gently on our own foibles? Does the exaggeration help us imagine a future or world not too far from our own if we don't change our ways? What's the specific aim of this particular use of satire??? Refer to our Satire Notes for help.
HW: Typed draft of Candide essay due in class on Tuesday. If you need help this weekend, consider sending a chat request through Remind or ClassDojo! I might get to it more quickly that way :-)

Thursday, September 17, 2015

AGENDA 9/17

Preparing a thesis for Candide papers

Discuss themes/big ideas in Candide: review and reread the last two pages of the book. Then consider:


  • Why a "garden"? How does this mirror Ch 1 and 2?
  • What elements of Leibniz's philosophy and Optimism does Voltaire exaggerate?
  • What does Voltaire show through the "honest Turk" at the end of the book? How does "cultivating a garden" keep men safe from "weariness, vice, and want"? What does Voltaire think people should do to be happy?
  • What are the roles of women in the book? What does Candide (and through Candide, what do WE realize) realize about "love" and the treatment of/roles of women? How does his perspective change, and what might we learn from this?
  • What is the significance of the paradoxical El Dorado?

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

AGENDA 9/16

Discuss Candide PPT  - learning the context of an author's life and times can help us better understand the themes/arguments the author presents (especially with a satire, which is often topical)

HW: Formulate a working thesis for your Candide paper - we'll be sharing them publicly on post-it notes tomorrow!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

AGENDA 9/15

Review Introduction to Satire Notes (generated as a class)

Small groups: analyze William Hogarth's "Beer Street" using OPTIC strategy; discuss and compare with "Gin Lane"

Want to learn more about Hogarth's work and times? Try this link from the BBC

Share out findings

Discuss potential themes and moments of "thoughtful laughter" in Candide

HW: Continue to review Candide; make progress in independent reading; continue to draft and revise college essays

Friday, September 11, 2015

AGENDA 9/11

Introduction to Satire Notes (generated as a class)

Small groups: analyze William Hogarth's "Gin Lane" using OPTIC strategy

Share out findings

HW: Review ch 1-13 of Candide; make progress in independent reading; continue to draft and revise college essays

Thursday, September 10, 2015

AGENDA 9/10

Introduce ClassDojo.com

Watch and discuss college essay videos from Khan Academy:
Writing a Strong College Essay
Avoiding Common Admissions Essay Mistakes
Sample Essay 1 with Admissions Feedback

HW: Make progress in independent reading book. Continue to draft and revise college essays.

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT Presentation and Bookmarks for Parents

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

AGENDA 9/9

Review and approve Independent Reading choices
Take notes, observe, reflect, question as we view and discuss: The Connections Between Art and Bible as Literature: Paintings of New Testament Scenes through the Ages

HW: Start independent reading book. Continue to revise college essay drafts.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

AGENDA 9/8

Discuss recommendations for Independent reading: select a book from this list and bring it on Wednesday!

Peer revision #1 of college essays - model in front of class and then ask partners to read their drafts aloud while partner sketches/answers questions.

HW: Begin indie reading book--bring it tomorrow!

Friday, September 4, 2015

AGENDA 9/4

College Essays: Review and share tips for UC prompts and Common App prompts.

Discuss Reading Journals: Revision and Table of Contents

Independent reading: select a book from this list and bring it on Wednesday! Want suggestions? Ask and I'll help you find the perfect book!

HW: Bring a typed draft of any college essay (Common App, UC, supplement, or any other specific essay prompt you need to write) to class, ready to share on Tuesday. Select an independent reading book from this list and bring it to class on Wednesday (feel free to start reading!).

Thursday, September 3, 2015

AGENDA 9/3


Candide reading quiz
Discussion/Escalating Questions: "Or the Bible"from How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Submit Reading Journals #1 and #2 for feedback and scoring

Introduce and discuss UC prompts and Common App prompts: bring a working draft of one essay on Monday for sharing and early revisions

HW: Bring a working draft of a college essay on one of the UC prompts or Common App prompts for Monday. Need extra help? See me today or tomorrow at lunch or make an appointment to meet after school!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

AGENDA 9/2

Presentation in College Center

HW: RJ Entry #2 due Thursday: selections from the Hebrew Bible/OT. Complete A1, A2, and two options from among B-H. Reading quiz over Candide on Thursday.

Selections: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
GENESIS  Ch 1 to 9; 11, 22
EXODUS  Ch 1-14; 19 to 20
JUDGES  Ch 13 to 16
RUTH  Ch 1 to 4
JOB  Ch 1 to 3; 8 to 10; 38, 42
ECCLESIASTES  Ch 1 to 3; 12
SONG OF SOLOMON  Ch 1 to 4
JONAH  Ch 1 to 4

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

AGENDA 9/1

Finish PPT and Notes: Introduction to the Bible as Literature (Per 5 only)

Finish Allusions Workshop and share out from each group: How do allusions add to the meaning of a work? (Per 5 only)

Begin reading and discussing Thomas C. Foster's "...Or the Bible" from How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Per 2 and 5)

Begin work on Reading Journal Entry #2

HW: RJ Entry #2 due Thursday: selections from the Hebrew Bible/OT. Complete A1, A2, and two options from among B-H. Reading quiz over Candide on Thursday.

Selections: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
GENESIS  Ch 1 to 9; 11, 22
EXODUS  Ch 1-14; 19 to 20
JUDGES  Ch 13 to 16
RUTH  Ch 1 to 4
JOB  Ch 1 to 3; 8 to 10; 38, 42
ECCLESIASTES  Ch 1 to 3; 12
SONG OF SOLOMON  Ch 1 to 4
JONAH  Ch 1 to 4