AP Lit 3G: Hamlet 1.2, Lit Like a Professor & Synthesis Pre-Writing

I won't be in class today, so here's the plan.

How to Read Lit Like a Professor

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

AP Lit 2B/3B & 3G: Hamlet Begins

AP Lit 2/B, 3/B & 3G: Hamlet Begins

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

PACE: Remixing Marley & First Flipped Poetry Lesson: Diction

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.

Your three choices of organizers are in the PACE Poetry Is Music Is Poetry Folder in 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.

Diction on the old Flight307.wordpress.com, created by UMF practicum teacher, Ms. Clark.  

The example in the flipped lesson.

"My Papa's Waltz"by Theodore Roethke

Hear it read by the poet here. (Sometimes that can tell us something about the poem.)

The flipped lesson videos can be accessed here: http://www.screencast.com/t/Brr3xGEdSAt9

PACE 2013 Poetry (Diction)

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: Wednesday, Nov. 20th

Update: Weekly Work Plan & Due Dates Forms

Due: ASAP and As Needed

PACE: Poetry Music Unit Plan (Finally) & Bob Marley

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

Humanities: Of Mice & Men, Symbolism, Themes & Poverty

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

AP Lit 2B/3B: Trifles

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)

Humanities: Roots 5 & Of Mice & Men and More

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