Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Humanities: Upright Frameworks Pays Us a Visit

We'll start class with a quick review of due dates.

Today, IGNITE Research Presentations are due.  We'll be showcasing those soon, so be certain to get it in if you haven't already.

Thursday, Reflective 5 Paragraph Essays: Cardboard Challenge are due.

We will have Wednesday to meet with folks and help them out.

Assigned today is Roots 3 Quiz & Word Map.  Find links in the right hand sidebar and remember that the quiz will be over Roots 1, 2 & 3.  That quiz will be next Thursday, 10/24.  Word Map is due that day as well. (Last lists for the quarter!)

Now . . . on to our guests.

Upright Frameworks

Mr. Ryder asked Upright Frameworks founder, and Mt. Blue grad, Josh Wojick to come and talk about the work he does as a weatherization and energy efficiency specialist.  His company is a great example of a business that is both financially successful and works toward a larger purpose.

I also think his work is a prime example of design thinking in action.  The skills he and his crew use daily are the sorts of thinking we've been doing in class with the classroom redesign & the cardboard challenge builds.

Essential Question: How might we use design thinking in a real world business?


Homework

Submit: Cardboard Challenge: IGNITE Research Presentation (12 slides, 2 minutes)
Place in your Humanities IN Folder on Google Drive
Due: Today

Write: Cardboard Challenge: 5 Paragraph Essay Reflection on Product, Process, Outcome
Due: Thursday, 10/17

Blog:
3+ Posts
Required Post: TBA
Due: Friday, 10/18

Learn: Roots 3
Word Map & Quiz (Roots 1 - 3)
Due: Thursday, 10/24

AP Lit 2B/3B: Remxiing J. Alfred & Preparing for a Party

We have a couple of housekeeping items & then we've got plenty of work to do.

Revisions.

As you complete revisions, remember to also complete a "Revision Submission Form."  This helps me track your work as well as better ensure I take note of all the work you've done. This form is in the "AP Lit 2013 OUT" folder.  (I might end up putting a link to it over in the right sidebar as well.  We'll see.  I don't want to clutter that space up.  Though to emphasize revision. . . )

Blogging.

This week's required post isn't creative.  Instead it's analytical.  (I'll make it up to you next week with a doozy.)  

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

We'll start with Ellie Goulding.  Naturally.



And follow that with a little DJ Earworm.




Which takes us to a discussion of remix/mashup culture and the argument that T.S. Eliot, brilliant literary mind, has really crafted himself quite a magnificent remix/mashup of many styles, voices, points of view and created a thing quite worthy of its own accord -- but impossible to have crafted without its predecessors.

We'll take large print outs of the poem and slice that thing apart, taking trophies of poignant language and harvesting keepsakes of gorgeous thoughts.  We want to find those elements of the poem that best signify its essence -- without them, the poem would cease to be -- as well as the recognizable moments, the access points, the hooks.  (Anyone else remember Akon? All that dude did was sing the hook.  We need to find Eliot's Akon moments.  And file that under "Things never said by an AP Lit teacher -- ever.")

And then we will pause and return.  This is but day one.  We will come back to Eliot & J. Alfred next week with fresh readings and fresh perspective.

Dallowinian Party

The Party is upon us.  We must make certain everyone knows his/her roles, relationships between each character, the schedule for that day, and familiarity with the stream of consciousness writing form being employed, as well as the character preparation form. You'll be handwriting to capture the primacy of the moment -- and then transcribing to your computer for documentation & discussion purposes.

We also need to come up with a list of interruptions that will add context & plot to the party.

Homework

Prepare:
Dallowinian Party
Character Preparation Form
Due: Thursday, 10/17

Revise:
Synthesis & College Essays
Revision Submission Form
Due: Last day to submit revisions 10/25

Blogging:
 3+ Posts
Due: Friday, 10/18

Analytical Post: Since we have such a creative endeavor ahead of this week in class, the assigned blog post will be analytical in nature.  However, one may want to use creative means of uncovering meaning between these two texts. (Taking pics can be a great way to share non-tech work on your blogs.)
Choose one of the several items of criticism at the link provided.  Choose one that captures an interesting angle, reflects or refutes your thinking, opens your eyes or otherwise engages your thinking.  These are not easy reads, some more challenging than others. Be unafraid to dig further, to research allusions.  Document your process (this may be more than a single blogpost's worth of work) and then post your thoughts in relation to the critic's.  Q: To what extent to you concur with the critic's assertions?
EQ: To what extent can amateurs demonstrate the quality of thought presented by experts?

Read & Create:
Indie Book Project
Due: First week of 2nd Quarter

Monday, October 14, 2013

AP Lit: Prufrock Analyzed

Since we have such a creative endeavor ahead of this week in class, the assigned blog post will be analytical in nature.  However, one may want to use creative means of uncovering meaning between these two texts. (Taking pics can be a great way to share non-tech work on your blogs.)

Choose one of the several items of criticism at the link provided.  Choose one that captures an interesting angle, reflects or refutes your thinking, opens your eyes or otherwise engages your thinking.  These are not easy reads, some more challenging than others. Be unafraid to dig further, to research allusions.  Document your process (this may be more than a single blogpost's worth of work) and then post your thoughts in relation to the critic's.  Q: To what extent to you concur with the critic's assertions?

EQ: To what extent can amateurs demonstrate the quality of thought presented by experts?

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/prufrock.htm

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

AP Lit: Mrs. Dalloway Party Planning

Using design thinking strategies of brainstorming, researching, sorting, prioritizing, empathizing, recursive thinking, outcome-based, human-centered decision making to shape up our Dallowinian Party event next week.








Humanities: Cardboard Challenge Essay & IGNITE Rubric

Today we started class with a quick improv game to see how we felt about our Cardboard Challenge Projects.  It was interesting to hear the various responses.  I'm glad so many folks felt great about their work and I wondering why so many folks didn't.

From there we did a little Pictionary-style activity to prep for Roots 2.  REMEMBER: The quiz is over BOTH Roots 1 & 2. And you have a word map due over Roots 2! (Or a roots-based word product of some sort.) Super important that you study both.  Click on the link in the sidebar to find your Roots study tools.

That led to breaking up the class in two to cover the expectations for the Cardboard Challenge IGNITE research presentation and the Cardboard Challenge 5 Paragraph Reflective Process Essay.  Those expectations are in the rubric below:


This rubric is available as a PDF in your Google Drive.

Homework:

Study: Roots Quiz #2 (over 1 & 2) and Word Map
Due Thursday, 10/10

Blog: 3+ quality posts on your blog. (Make sure you are caught up! Need ideas? Post your pre-thinking about your essays, about your IGNITE research.  Post pictures of your work on Cardboard Challenges.  Post the results of your Roots practicing.
Due Friday, 10/11

Cardboard Challenge IGNITE Research Presentation: 2 min, 12 slides
Due Tuesday, 10/15

Cardboard Challenge 5 Paragraph Essay: Intro, Product, Process, Outcome, Conclusion
Due Thursday, 10/17

AP Lit 2B/3B: Mrs. Dalloway, The Hours & the Party

Today we have three major goals/outcomes:


  1. To better identify Woolf's techniques and styl
  2. To identify how Cunningham's techniques and style reflect(s) Woolf's
  3. To establish our setting and archetypes for the Dallowinian Party


And laugh.  It would be helpful today to laugh.  We'll see if that happens though . . . 

We'll start with some photocopies -- shudder -- of passages from Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours, passages I think particularly well suited to finding connections between Woolf & Cunningham.  We'll do some small group close readings w/ a particular focus on:

* stream of consciousness
* symbolism/motif
* diction
* imagery

(Yup. They are all from Wikipedia.  Except for imagery -- which isn't particularly descriptive -- these are pretty solid entries.  More examples for "motif" would be nice.  Hoping to find other resources for us.)

You'll be using your design kits and annotation skills to make these connections. 

From there, we have to get very serious about our Dallowinian party.  We'll work together to choose a setting -- time period, physical location -- and then establish the archetypes we've seen emerge from these two texts.   If possible we'll cast today.  We'll go over the character preparation forms that need to be completed for next Tuesday.    If we don't cast today, we'll cast on Thursday and that will inform what you need to include in your preparations.

Homework

Blogs: 3+ Posts for the Week
Creative Blog Entry: Choose a supporting character from Mrs. Dalloway or The Hours, one who may not get much time or attention.  Write a paragraph of story that Woof or Cunningham left out.  It need only be a paragraph.  Do your best to emulate the style of the writer.  Then write a single paragraph of analysis explaining your approach.

Read & Listen: Tracy K. Smith's "Duende"  Annotate & consider how she employs repeated imagery, structure and diction to inform themes similar, or perhaps dissimilar, to Woolf & Cunningham.

Dallowinian Party Gathering & Planning: Make use of Google+ and Drive to plan for the party.  Keep me within your loops.

Revisions: Start the process in earnest. You have until Oct 25th to submit revisions, get feedback, and resubmit again if you so choose.