Monday and Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving break are all about the work. We've put a lot on the plate -- though in bite sized chunks -- and here are two class periods to accomplish goals.
Vocab.
Tuesday we introduced Roots 6. This is a big deal because it is a reset. You need only know these ten roots for the next quiz. That quiz will happen on Thursday, December 5.
Today we will do a couple of activities designed to help you come up with alternative ways of demonstrating understanding of roots other than word maps.
And here's pics of them!
Homework
Closing Argument: Due Friday, December 6
Photo Essay/Story Corps: Due Tuesday, December 10
Blogs: Get caught up! Should be 12 posts as of Nov 22; be sure to make connections to others and to do the req'd posts for each week.
Today we start with a couple of key questions that will determine our next steps in the day.
Before lunch, though, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. We will read aloud and dissect and analyze and consider. It shall be glorious.
Post the time of the lunch eating, well, we shall see. We shall be spending some time in the inspiration corner, ideating and brainstorming. That's for certain. The rest of the time is largely dependent upon the answers to questions that yet to be asked as I write these lines.
Homework Blog: NONE! Take the week to catch up on past entries or just plain chill. And if you want to blog, I will read it! Blogs continue to be a source of inspiration for me. So much good stuff. If you haven't read through your classmates' thoughts yet, do so post haste!
Synthesis Essay 2: Due Tuesday, November 26th. Google Drive that sucker.
Hamlet: We will pause until we have read in class up to where we have read outside of class. We will be calibrated when we are back from Turkey Day.
We have a Turkey Day ahead of us and then . . . we unleash the full fury of our project-based learning on the Poetry Is Music Is Poetry unit.
Today, we add our third -- and final -- building block so that we can move forward with creating.
Repetition and rhyme are very similar. Miss Rumble built this flipped lesson to help you.
We will take a look at how a couple of different poems use rhyme and repetition effectively and in different ways.
Before we move any further, we are going to craft "If I understand ______ then I can ______ " statements around these four poetic devices. This is all part of unpacking standards.
For example, if I understand diction, then I can choose a better word than "good" to describe my feelings about my relationship with my wife.
Or maybe . . .
If I understand repetition, then I can write a poem that uses the same phrase at the beginning of each line to help get my point across.
Let's fill one of the marker boards with these statements so we can get ideas for how we might demonstrate our understanding through the projects.
You will have time to complete your graphic organizers.
If you've done all the work in the unit & quarter up to now, you will have . . .
12 blog posts (including Oct. 28 - Nov 1)
4 graphic organizers (beat making lab, diction, figurative language, rhyme/repetition)
One quick glance at the Google Drive IN folders suggests that folks have some work left to do. This work is important because it lets me know whether or not you are understanding the basics knowledge before you start trying to create and make.
Homework
Blog: No New Posts! Get caught up! Should have 12!
Graphic Organizers: Check your due dates doc. Have you kept up? Get them into your IN folder.
Monday had a plan. And . . . it did not play out as intended in either class. Here's what would have happened in a more perfect world.
Get inspired for 10 minutes by perusing the items on the inspiration shelf.
Go for a swim through the Mt. Blue Campus, taking in observations and then applying them to a reading of Cheever's "The Swimmer."
Read and discuss Hamlet.
Peer workshop synthesis essay #2 (3B only)
Instead . . . well . . . other things happened in each. And I set a rather crap tone to carry us into our Turkey Day break. This is a public apology for that. We have had a really great fall from my p.o.v. and a confluence of factors came along this morning to disrupt that greatness. My frustration cup runneth over and I looked for blame rather than solutions. NOT the best way to go.
One thing I love about these three classes is that each has its own identity. Today, I disrupted both classes with ill-considered min-rants. They came from a place of truth, but not a place of empathy and thus, they were unfair.
Moving forward. I will blog. Daily. And if the blog is not up when you come to class, you will have time to work, discuss, DO, while I get the blog up. No blog, no class. It's a reasonable expectation.
Moving forward. Please read. I try very hard not to overwhelm with too much work at a time. (Sometimes I fail at this.) And the penalties for lateness are minimal in AP Lit. As a result, I know that class work for other classes can sometimes take precedent. I'm asking everyone to be amplify the cognizance around this: If I can't be confident that the class has read, I can't be confident in planning meaningful experiences around the reading. And that means I make gross, lame, classes. We haven't had many of those I don't think -- at least it hasn't felt that way to me. So . . .
Putting this on the blog in hopes that it will increase my own accountability in these regards.
Mr. Ryder
Homework Blog: NONE! Take the week to catch up on past entries or just plain chill. And if you want to blog, I will read it! Blogs continue to be a source of inspiration for me. So much good stuff. If you haven't read through your classmates' thoughts yet, do so post haste!
Synthesis Essay 2: Due Tuesday, November 26th. Google Drive that sucker.
Hamlet: We will pause until we have read in class up to where we have read outside of class. We will be calibrated when we are back from Turkey Day.
Yesterday, we did an activity around the closing arguments, helping determine to what extent various characters are responsible for the death of Lennie. We worked big on sets of desks, sorting arguments into ethos, pathos and logos.
Here's a video on ethos, pathos & logos that could help you when we aren't around to explain.
Here are some pictures of the work we did in class.
Today we begin with our Roots 5 quiz.
From there, we will look at examples of how to make
a) StoryCorps
and
b) Photo Essay
After going through the examples and the process of making each of those, you will have time to do one of the following:
a) Write your closing argument - Due Friday, December 5 (solo)
b) Plan your photo essay or story corps using storyboard materials (solo)
c) Start the design thinking process around our mobile Humanities booth project
Use this video to help with your interview planning.
As well interview techniques and guidelines at StoryCorps.
Homework
Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Get suited up. Using a tool such a Polyvore.com or Pinterest or even just by finding images from various sources, design your "lawyer" wardrobe for yourself. What would you wear in the trial of the death of Lennie and why?
Also, what would the person on trial wear? Post images and explain your thinking there.
The idea is to consider the types of appeal (ethos, pathos, logos) and how what we wear can influence how audiences think. Also, consider, what makes this extra challenging for people from poverty to tell their stories and be heard?
Closing Argument: Write the closing argument in the death of Lennie Due: Friday after Thanksgiving (December 6)
Today, we continue looking at the poetic devices. You started last class with diction. Today we look at figurative language. Miss Rumble has created a flipped lesson video to help you do your work.
A graphic organizer for figurative language is in your Google Drive. It has links to other resources to help as well.
We will also review your work from last class and get into our Ohana teams.
Homework
Blog: 3+ Posts
Req'd Creative Post: Illustrate a powerful line from a poem or song that speaks to you. It may be a poem of your own creation, it may be a favorite song, it may be a poem that you stumble upon at www.poets.org or www.poetryfoundation.org, it may be one of the one's we've worked with in class. Your illustration may be hand drawn, created digitally, or pulled together by finding images from Creative Commons.
Include a brief paragraph of explanation along with your illustration. Post your illustrations by screenshot, laptop cam, phone pics, whatever it takes -- just them out there where other people can see them. Think of this as a chance to explore whether this is one of the projects you'd like to take on for the unit in a greater sense.
Complete & Post: Marley Remix
Due: Monday, Nov 18
Complete: Poetic Devices: Diction
Graphic Organizer: Complete the graphic organizer on diction. Use the flipped lesson to help you.
Due: TEACHER PACE Wednesday, Nov. 20th (TODAY)
Complete: Poetic Devices: Figurative Language
Graphic Organizer: Complete a graphic organizer on figurative language. Use the flipped lesson to help you.
Today we'll be starting with some review of Roots #5 using Quizlet. There's a quiz over Roots 1 - 5 on Thursday. Word maps are due as well.
Then we'll dive into the closing arguments in the death of Lennie trial. We will learn about the three types of appeal: ethos, pathos & logos
Ethos: Appeal based on the character of the speaker
"Mom, I'm a decent human being. I treat people right. I get my homework done. Please, let me go to the movies."
Pathos: Appeal based on emotion
"Mom, everyone is going to be at the movies tonight and I just won't fit in any more if I'm the only one who hasn't seen Fast 19. I'm just . . <snif> . . so . . . upset right now."
Logos: Appeal based on reason
"Mom, if you let me go to the movies, you can call Aunt Laura and have a ladies night. I won't be here. I won't have any friends over. And I won't be home until after 11. When else will you get a chance to do what you want to do?"
It's not about using one of those strategies. It's about using a equitable balance of those strategies depending on your goal and your audience. You might want to use a little more ethos sometimes, and other times you will want some heavy logos.
We'll analyze the closing speech from the O.J. Simpson trial. You can get a little background on the O.J. Simpson trial here and by watching the clip below. Remember, this event happened in 1994.
We'll look at this closing argument from O.J. Simpson's defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran.
Use a coding strategy to help you find examples of Ethos, Pathos & Logos (E, P, L) and then questions you might have (?).
This is all to help you with your closing arguments in the death of Lennie trial. Remember, you will be playing a lawyer, delivering either a closing argument in the trail of a character you choose to either defend or prosecute. The big question: should that character be held accountable for the death of Lennie?
Homework
Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post:
Get suited up. Using a tool such a Polyvore.com or Pinterest or even just by finding images from various sources, design your "lawyer" wardrobe for yourself. What would you wear in the trial of the death of Lennie and why?
Also, what would the person on trial wear? Post images and explain your thinking there.
The idea is to consider the types of appeal (ethos, pathos, logos) and how what we wear can influence how audiences think. Also, consider, what makes this extra challenging for people from poverty to tell their stories and be heard?
Closing Argument:
Write the closing argument in the death of Lennie
Due: TBA (after Thanksgiving)
We will use this to calibrate ourselves before looking at one or two class papers and provide some effective feedback through Google docs.
Hamlet
We will read 1.2 aloud and learn more of this castle and it's goings on.
Homework Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Allusion-Palooza. Shakespeare's work can be incredibly dense, in part because it is built upon most every idea that came before it. Historical, Biblical, and mythological references abound. Now it's your turn. Craft a monologue or soliloquy (take the time to research the distinction) of around 20 lines or so in which the character expresses an inability to take action or a lack of confidence in decision making.
Pack it full with as many allusions as possible -- they may be classical or modern -- the intention here is to explore how allusion can inform a text and tune your thinking to Shakespeare's strategy.
Due: Friday, November 21 Read: Hamlet, 1.3 (Click for Folger edition online; download PDF from them for handwritten markups) Due: Thursday, Nov 21
Next Draft: Synthesis #2
Source material is anything you've read for class by assignment or choice 2nd Workshop Draft Due:Thursday., November 21st Submission Draft Due: Tuesday, November 26th
Get a stack of index cards from the white design tools cabinet.
Everyone gets two blank cards.
Find two sentences from the chapters that seem to be of particular value or resonance for you.
Put the sentences on the cards (one sentence for each).
Next . . . put the cards together as a deck and shuffle them.
As a class draw a single card.
Imagine that sentence is the thesis statement for a synthesis essay.
Work as a class to brainstorm the evidence that could prove that thesis.
If you want to take it to another level, work together to craft an effective hook intro that would lead to that thesis.
Hamlet
Decide as a class if you would rather discuss and close read 1.2 OR read aloud. In either case, please record the proceedings and upload them to Google Drive for me to hear.
Homework Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Allusion-Palooza. Shakespeare's work can be incredibly dense, in part because it is built upon most every idea that came before it. Historical, Biblical, and mythological references abound. Now it's your turn. Craft a monologue or soliloquy (take the time to research the distinction) of around 20 lines or so in which the character expresses an inability to take action or a lack of confidence in decision making.
Pack it full with as many allusions as possible -- they may be classical or modern -- the intention here is to explore how allusion can inform a text and tune your thinking to Shakespeare's strategy.
Due: Friday, November 22 Read: Hamlet, 1.3 (Click for Folger edition online; download PDF from them for handwritten markups) Due: Wednesday, November 20
Write: Synthesis #2
Source material is anything you've read for class by assignment or choice Workshop Draft Due:Wed., November 20th Submission Draft Due: Tuesday, November 26th
This is the work we did on Thursday and Friday, November 14 and 15, 2013.
We focused on energy primarily on Hamlet, starting with an little trust exercise involving closing our eyes and moving across the room. (Periods 2B & 3B had a full class experience with this.)
We read Hamlet 1.1 aloud, with some side coaching on delivery. It worked out well. We then did a close reading of the scene, with particular attention to Horatio around line 125, the ways in which Shakespeare folded in dichotomies of faith and spirituality, historical and Biblical allusions, and foreshadows the entire play within the space of a few words. In 3B, we even went so far as to look at the the connections between Brutus and Judas. And we pointed toward How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapter 5 and how true that seems to be in just this one sampling of Horatio's dialogue.
In the coming week, we will spend further time with How to Read Lit Like a Professor, using it to inform our synthesis work as well as our analysis of Hamlet.
Lastly, note the new synthesis essay is due for workshopping next week. Plan wisely. Start some pre-planning now and document, document, document your process. You will want it all for your big self-analysis project in the spring. Homework Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Write a brief dialogue in which two characters reveal exactly how they feel about a third, not-present character, without ever using the phrasing, "I don't like ... " or "I really appreciate ____" etc. This is an opportunity to practice showing vs. telling while also gaining perspective on the challenge facing a playwright that doesn't want to bore audiences with exposition. Due: Friday, November 15 Read: Hamlet, 1.2 (Click for Folger edition online; download PDF from them for handwritten markups) Due: Monday/Tuesday, November 18 & 19
Read & Annotate: How to Read Lit Like a Professor, Chapter 6: Shakespeare
Due: Monday/Tuesday, November 18 & 19 Write: Synthesis #2 Source material is anything you've read for class by assignment or choice Workshop Draft Due: Tuesday, November 19 and Wed., November 20th Submission Draft Due: Tuesday, November 26th
Alright, I'm not in class today, so let's see how well this flipped classroom thing works . . .
Bob Marley: Remixed
This is the example I did in class the other day. Jah.
1) Split up into groups of 1, 2 or 3 and grab your designer kits.
2) Each group should grab a set of lyrics from the printed sets there:
"No Woman, No Cry"
"Redemption Song"
"Get Up, Stand Up"
"Buffalo Solider"
I grabbed all my Bob Marley lyrics from here because it has a nice print feature available.
Notice, there's a playlist here to help you out.
3) Grab a set of sticky notes
4) Marley chose his words carefully; one could say he practiced very careful DICTION. Read those lyrics, listen to the songs if you like, and circle, mark, identify the words and phrases you think most important to that song.
5) From those that you mark, put each on a sticky note so you can move them around, shuffle around the ideas on a desk or two. Give yourself plenty of room.
6) Create a new "Bob Marley" song that includes at least a chorus and one verse. Each member of the group should post this to his or her blog and include a short paragraph explaining the this new song.
Why those particular words?
What words did you add of your own?
To what extent does this song seem like something Bob Marley himself would have written? How so?
Poetic Devices: Diction
After creating your Bob Marley remixes, you have your first poetic device work to begin. The teacher PACE due date for this first graphic organizer is Wednesday, November 20th. If you want to adjust that date, be sure to visit the PACE Due Dates doc in your Google Drive.
To begin working toward the standard, you must effectively complete an organizer on a poem or song of your choice. I have provided poems that I think work well at this link.
Req'd Creative Post: Illustrate a powerful line from a poem or song that speaks to you. It may be a poem of your own creation, it may be a favorite song, it may be a poem that you stumble upon at www.poets.org or www.poetryfoundation.org, it may be one of the one's we've worked with in class. Your illustration may be hand drawn, created digitally, or pulled together by finding images from Creative Commons.
Include a brief paragraph of explanation along with your illustration. Post your illustrations by screenshot, laptop cam, phone pics, whatever it takes -- just them out there where other people can see them. Think of this as a chance to explore whether this is one of the projects you'd like to take on for the unit in a greater sense.
Complete & Post: Marley Remix
Due: Monday, Nov 18
Complete: Poetic Devices: Diction
Graphic Organizer: Complete the graphic organizer on diction. Use the flipped lesson to help you.
Little bit of a reset from Tuesday . . . We started by looking at our unit plan for Music Is Poetry Is Music You can watch it evolve by looking at these pics. The final one is the unit plan.
You can also look at the Poetry Is Music Is Poetry in outline form below or at this link.
After talking about the unit, we brainstormed what we already knew, or thought we knew about Bob Marley.
Plays music
He's a man (yes, we put that up there)
Believes smoking weed makes you free
Dad's white
He's anti-violence
Has an undetermined number of children
Vegetarian (though we wrote 'veggie eater')
Original name was Nesta
Died of cancer
Rasta
Then we watched a clip from the 2012 documentary, Marley, by Kevin McDonald, and I lectured for a bit about his career, the gunshot, the exile, and the handshake.
We ended with my modeling how to create a Bob Marley remix, by taking words and lines from his songs and rearranging them into a new song that reflect his ideals, his point of view, his tone and his spirit. I used lines from "Buffalo Soldier," "Redemption Song," "No Woman, No Cry," and "Get Up, Stand Up."
On Monday, you will work in groups of 1, 2 or 3 to do the same with Marley. Plus, you will start on your flipped poetic device work. I'll have at least one video ready to go.
In the meantime, you have the following to complete.
HOMEWORK Blog: 3+ posts Req'd Creative Post: Select a favorite musical artist of yours and create a lyrical remix, an original song made up from the words of that artist's previous words. This is an opportunity to examine how songwriters craft their work, while at the same time giving you a chance to look at the patterns and repetition, rhyme and figurative language of your favorite music.
Include a brief analysis of your song that explains your thinking, the choices you made and how you believe your song reflects that artist's other work.
Due: Friday, Nov. 15 Complete: Three 4 Thinking over Beat Making Lab videos Due: Today Be Thinking: Project Choices & Essay Topics
We'll start with MUGS Quiz #1: It's/Its on NoRedInk.
From there, we will do an activity with Of Mice & Men to help us start seeing the symbolism and themes in the book.
We will revisit the first chapter of the book and use a literacy strategy called coding.
As we read through the chapter again, using the photocopied pages and your design kit tools, use the following codes to mark your thinking. We will try an experiment with working in groups and on a bigger to do this.
!For ideas/ facts/ points of interest/epiphanies ?For further questions, points of clarification & For connections
Then we will look at how this book ties into our poverty work. We'll be using a definition chart from Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty and look for examples from Of Mice & Men to demonstrate our understanding.
HOMEWORK Finish: OF MICE & MEN. If you haven't. Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Choose any character from Of Mice & Men and create a photo essay about that character's hopes and dreams for his or her future. Post or link those images on the blog. Try to write in the voice of the character. Due: Friday, Nov 15 Study & Complete: Roots 5 Quiz & Word Map Due: Thursday, Nov. 21
Mr. Ryder is off saving the world from itself this morning -- he'll be back for period 3, he hopes.
“Trifles”
a. Record a class reading as a radio drama. Use inflection and interpretation of the stage directions to make a plausible product. It is okay to cast females in the male parts to make this work.
b. While most of the class participates in the radio drama, one or two students should storyboard the play. You can see an example from yesterday’s class up on the markerboard. Create your storyboards on paper so they can be easily captured and sent to me.
c. After the dramatic reading, start a separate recording. Discuss Glaspell’s use of symbolism in the play. Consider the following:
The Bird
The Quilt
The Rocking Chair
The Towels
Other items you notice?
d. After this discussion, if there’s time feel free to share a project or two. Make sure you share the recordings with me. Lastly, note the new synthesis essay is due for workshopping next week. Plan wisely. Start some pre-planning now and document, document, document your process. You will want it all for your big self-analysis project in the spring. Homework Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Write a brief dialogue in which two characters reveal exactly how they feel about a third, not-present character, without ever using the phrasing, "I don't like ... " or "I really appreciate ____" etc. This is an opportunity to practice showing vs. telling while also gaining perspective on the challenge facing a playwright that doesn't want to bore audiences with exposition. Due: Friday, November 15 Read & Annotate: Hamlet, 1.1 (Click for Folger edition online; download PDF from them for handwritten markups) It is an admitted challenge. Be brave. We will be reading it all in class as well. Due: Friday, November 15
Prethinking & Starting to Write: Synthesis #2 Source material is anything you've read for class by assigment or choice Workshop Draft Due: Tues., November 19th Submission Draft Due: Tuesday, November 26th (yup. day after our class)
We'll be starting with Roots 5 and giving folks a chance to get their Word Maps started. From there we will work on Of Mice & Men, with Mr. Ryder reading a solid chunk and time to complete Three 4 Thinking #2. Update: By a solid chunk, he finished the book. Everyone should be finished by Wednesday. Then we'll wrap with a chance to do some pre-thinking and planning on our project options. What would you make? Who might you interview? What questions might you ask? What pictures might you take? What evidence might you be able to find? HOMEWORK Finish: OF MICE & MEN. If you haven't. Blog: 3+ Posts Req'd Creative Post: Choose any character from Of Mice & Men and create a photo essay about that character's hopes and dreams for his or her future. Post or link those images on the blog. Try to write in the voice of the character. Due: Friday, Nov 15 Complete: Three 4 Thinking Of Mice & Men #2 Due: Today Study & Complete: Roots 5 Quiz & Word Map Due: Thursday, Nov. 21
