Elephants . . .

On Thursday several 3rd period people were asking about the fate of elephants in Africa, asking mainly about the consequences of the ivory trade.  Well, apparently last night's NBC news knew you were asking; due in part to on-going elephant poaching, these animals are still dying, and some cute little babies are being left in the lurch.  Take a look at this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40704375/ns/nightly_news-making_a_difference/

Transition to Ibsen

TODAY IN CLASS
OK--in all classes we finished HoD (last pictures, last scene, last thoughts on "meaning of the book as a whole).

And in all we BEGAN Ibsen's A Doll's House, getting to the entrance of Mrs. Linde in 1st period, not quite so far in 3rd (announcements . . .), and even less in 6th (a slower start--including a Holiday Sweater picture, which I'll post if someone sends it) plus of a couple of college returnees late in the period.  Sorry--but you too will be welcomed back some day.

FOR TOMORROW
SO--there's a 2 or 3 page difference in the homework, but everyone needs to finish reading Act I (p. 1053).  No "direction" needed--just read.

Bring Big Lit Book!!

Sadly, we are NOT quite done with the final scene. We're trying to compare/contrast the women, using close analysis of the text.  But we barely got started with My Intended. 

Tomorrow, we will 1) finish that briefly, 2) look at 2 or 3 final pictures of the Congo at the time of Conrad's trip, and 3) turn our attention to a woman living in Norway at the exact same time.

TODAY--timed write (passage analysis)
TOMORROW--objective HoD test
WEDNESDAY--wrap-up of Conrad (you will be very sharp and knowledgeable), with an eye toward a   post-break critical paper

THURSDAY--bring lit book:  we start A Doll's House.

Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
Still working on Part II--the only other aspect I intend to pick up on is Kurtz's painting.

FOR TOMORROW
At-home timed writes ("grove of death" passage) are due.

FIRST OF NEXT WEEK
Monday--An in-class timed write (text-based passage analysis)
Tuesday--An objective test over HoD (Scantron! Gasp!!)

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
Manager/Manager's Uncle/ Their view of Kurtz and the Russian
For discussion only:  "Going up that river . . . ." passage (will need to finish in 3rd)

FOR TOMORROW
What are the most important ways in which Part III "informs" our reading of Part II?  (That is, what aspects of Part II turn out in retrospect to be most significant to our understanding of Part III?  Have some ideas here(notes/annotations)--nothing to turn in.

But for Friday, to be done either night: the at-home timed write assignment distributed in class today.

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
1. Part II HoD questions stamped; short discussion of stray Part I ideas.
2. Group work on selected Part II questions and Kurtz's painting from Part I

(1st period also looked at the Congo photographs, which 3rd and 6th had done on Monday.  If you were absent on the relevant day for your class, ask someone with the Norton edition of the text.)

FOR TOMORROW
Finish reading--many of you have already done so.  If you haven't, be cheered:  Part III is the shortest. (But it's not easy . . . )

Monday, Dec. 6, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
We really looked at the language and vocab of the "devils" passage (enroute to the Chief Accountant's office, between the chain gang and the grove of death).  Periods 3and 6 looked at some pictures of the Congo as part of discussion. . . 1st, remind me to start with that tomorrow. Staves, pilgrims, rivets, fires, the brickmaker, LIES, Kurtz's painting . . . .the key thing is to know the essential incidents in Part I, to know how Marlow's interest in Kurtz is gradually being piqued, and to understand the behind-the-scenes shenanigans (serious deception and sabotage, really) that are going on at the Central Station. So progress varied, but essentially, barring final Part I questions, class discussion moves on.

FOR TOMORROW
Complete the questions distributed today over Part II; you should provide complete responses with textual support.  They need not be particularly LONG--just precise and careful.
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ARigzimXmDnvZGZ0dzhmcGhfMjRjOXZkdjVzcw&hl=en


In class tomorrow:  These will be checked for completion, and in groups, students will revise several  plus answering an additional one or two as a strong composite response. 

FOR WEDENESDAY
You be completely done with the book. There may well be a quiz.

Thursday, Dec. 2

TODAY IN CLASS
The homework on 8-10 provocative quotations plus relevant commentary was stamped at the beginning of class and collected at the end.  In groups, students did a quick read of the quotes and noted repeated selections.  That formed the basis of what we did today and will also guide discussion tomorrow.  However, we won't be restricted to the quotations that wound up on the board--I'll be asking for input on all sorts of quotations.  (I've started reading the papers and am doing a very basic scan for individual quality and class-wide range of selections.)

FOR TOMORROW
Though it goes without saying that we will be proceeding with Part I in class, you should be working hard at Part II at home.  Do your best to finish reading II for tomorrow; your understanding of the work as a whole is always enhanced by being able to project forward as well as backwords.  However, no written work is due on Friday.

Wednesday, Dec. 1

Why "alienist"?
Even after hearing the helpful clarification of the word "alienist" as used by Marlow in reference to the doctor at the company headquarters, I was wondering about the origin of the term as applied to psychologists or psychiatrists.  A quck check turned up the following--the reason behind the term is actually pretty interesting.
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Alienist

TODAY IN CLASS
Time to read and work on the assignment for tomorrow.  In short (in case you were absent):  for the section of Heart of Darkness from the company doctor to the end of Part I, find and comment (explain, question, reflect, connect, etc.) on 8-10 significant (and significantly puzzling) quotations.  Write the quotation out in full, together with the page number; I should think no quotation should exceed 3 sentences.  Then write a meaningful discussion that will help promote tomorrow's discussion (and earn you excellent, adequate, or "well, you tried" points). 

FOR TOMORROW
Well, yes, finish the homework.  If time permits, continue reading.  Be aware that although I backed off of your having finished the novella for Friday, you should certainly be done with Part II by then.  Much of our discussion awaits completion of the book--you have to see where and how the journey ends to make sense of some of the landmarks along the way--and the book gets no easier by just dragging out the reading.

What I forgot in the afternoon post . . .

For Biblical allusions, the following source is useful because you can plug in both a specific verse as well as the translation of choice.  Most of the allusions in literature written well into the 20th century are to the King James Authorized Version (1611). 

http://biblegateway.com/  Look up Matthew 23:27 in the King James Version.

Or, check this out and scroll through the various translations (the KJV is well down the list):
http://bible.cc/matthew/23-27.htm

Now after you've looked these up, go back to Conrad's text and reread the paragraph in which Marlow arrives in the city which always reminds him of a whited sepulchre.  WHY?  What is Marlow saying about the city in which the Company is headquartered? 

Back to School

Hamlet Extra Credit Assignment
Respond to both of the following questions, following specific instructions.  Type your response.  Turn it in together with your program and ticket stub. Also submit to http://www.turnitin.com/, and bear in mind that whereas some conversation might have occured among those who saw the play together, I DO NOT expect collaborative responses.  Two different deadlines: 

• If you have already seen the play (I'll know by your ticket stubs), it's FRIDAY, Dec. 3.
• If you see it from now through Dec. 5, it's TUESDAY, Dec. 7.

1.  Select three specific ways in which the production was "modernized" (details of props, staging, costuming, scenery, etc.).  Describe what each modernization consisted of, and then comment briefly (a couple of sentences or so) on the significance--the effect/purpose/aesthetic outcome of the change.  (The three examples may be bulleted, but the content of each one needs to be in complete sentences.)

2. I had debated having EVERYONE write briefly about an ambiguous part of the play beforehand--pinning down a particular interpretive issue that might be resolved by seeing how the director/actors handled the situation--and then sharing these to have a whole set of spots to watch for during the actual performance.  Not having done that, I'm going to turn the problem over to you in a more  way:  select two of the following and develop a short essay (300-400 words or so total, not for each one!) that clarifies the interpretation set forth by this production.
A) Does Hamlet know that Polonius is eavesdropping on his conversation with Ophelia?  If so, how/when does he figure this out? 
B) Explain how the "arras" scene in which Polonius dies is staged in this production, and suggest the significance in terms of what Hamlet "knows."
C) To what extent do you think Hamlet is "feigning madness" vs. really losing control in his rather brutal conversation with Ophelia (the one with the "Get thee to a nunnery" dialogue)?
D) Gertrude:  how much does she know/suspect about Claudius's actions against her husband?  is there any hint as to how she learns the details of Ophelia's death? 
E) Gertrude and Hamlet, in Gertrude's room:  this mother-son scene has been played in various ways.  Try to account for the moods/motivations in this production.
F) How was the death of Polonius staged?  Is there any evidence that Hamlet knew who he was really killing?
G) Was there any way to show how/when Hamlet "gets his act together" before the final scene? That is, when he became less "conflicted" and more sure of himself?  Explain.
H) Free choice:  but be very clear in the "what" you wanted to know and "how" the production clarified its interpretative point of view.

Heart of Darkness--YOU NEED TO HAVE IT ASAP. 
You will do yourself a favor if you read by tomorrow up to the conversation with the Chief Accountant.  But tomorrow is the last day for reading aloud as the modus operandi for class (though with HoD we are forever looking at selected passages).  So if you don't read for tomorrow, life will go on.  But this 100 page book should be nearly finished by Friday and MOST DEFINITELY finished by Monday.

For future reference (sooner rather than later!)
Next week we will still be talking about HoD at least through Wednesday.  But you will be READING
Ibsen's "A Doll's House." It's in your lit book. 
But we will start The Awakening (Kate Chopin) during the week before break, and you will need to finish it no later than by the Wednesday we get back.  So you need to get that ASAP as well.  I have no copies to lend. NO copies.
(P.S.  These were all on the list in June, and on the Quick-Start Guide at the start of the term.)

No, I don't have the rest of the blog post written, but as of 2:20 on Friday, moments after finishing the 6th period discussion of British titles, I saw this on the Yahoo front page:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101119/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_queen_camilla

Oh, and now at 3:40, here's a better article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101119/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_queen_camilla

But wait--I see the URLs are the same, and in checking, I see that the first one has morphed into the second without leaving a trace of its earlier self.  Here's why it's going to be hard to use online sources for all sorts of purposes; I intentionally copied the NEW article, and was intending to leave the original (more spare--less background info, less perspective on why it matters).  I wanted to illustrate the difference between first and second drafts in the the up-to-the-minute publishing world.  But apparently the new article superseded the first one.  So eventually I'll delete that link.

The Blog--Sorry about this week's lapses

TODAY IN CLASS
Frame essays turned in.  Looking forward to reading them.  Some fun titles.
Quiz that focussed mostly on early part of Hamlet.  (Expect to make it up as you walk in the door tomorrow.)
Some discussion of driving forces of the Renaissance/Reformation era and their connection to ideas/issues in Hamlet.

FOR TOMORROW
Well, if you hadn't finished the play, you have sort of an additional opportunity . . . but be forewarned that tomorrow's assessment will focus mostly on Acts III-V.  But it still shouldn't consume too much of the clas period.

Look over the "agenda speech" in which Claudius makes a series of announcements to the assembled court.  This at the beginning of Act 1, Scene 2 (or Act I, Scene ii if you are a traditionalist).  Look closely at the language, the rhetoric--this is no different from what you did so much of in AP Language.

Monday, Nov. 15, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
Official hand-out explaining the framework comparative/contrast paper.  See the final version here if you weren't in class:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxigzimXmDnvZjE2NjU5OWQtZTk4Yi00OGU2LWE3ZWItYmY1MTRmZDIzN2Vi&hl=en&authkey=CN-RhrIG

As noted, this is due on THURSDAY. 

FOR TOMORROW
Work on the frame essay, or work on reading Hamlet--there will be some accountability later in the week (Thurs/Fri) regardless of whether or not you intend to see the play.

Tuesday will be a work day; come prepared with the play to read or the materials you need to work on the essay.  No need to type tomorrow--there's plenty of crafting to do.

Combined Wednesday/Friday Post

Wednesday's Class--Focused on personalizing Hamlet.  By asking a series of "what if . . ." questions, I tried to get students to see the events that Hamlet experienced in a short span of time as a source of a wide range of intense emotions, inevitably leading to extreme personal stress. The play features one of the most dysfunctional families in all of literature.  We also looked briefly at family groupings:  Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, and "Old" Hamlet [dead]; Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia; Fortinbras, (Old) Norway, "Old" Fortinbras [dead].  Read the play for the family dynamics and for Hamlet's response(s) to his increasingly desperate situation.  By the middle of next week.  (E-texts/old book OK for now; best one to buy is the Folger paperback edition for $4.99.)

TODAY IN CLASS
Yes, our AP English topic of the day was "Do cats or dogs make better house pets?"  In all seriousness, students listed advantages and disadvantages of each animal, decided in groups the three "best traits" of each pet, and wrote a simple main thesis that conceded at least one point to the opposite choice:  "Although cats are low maintenance, dogs make more rewarding pets because they are loyal and can be trained in a variety of ways."  WHY did we do this?  Because you are about to write the first of several comparison/contrast papers you will produce this year.  (It's a format often utilized on the AP testing as well as extremely common in university work spanning many disciplines.)

So then we got started on the very constrained paper topic.  Read the material linked below, but be sure and pay attention to the last line.  Don't show up on Monday with a completed paper (insert smiley face here); wait for further instruction.

What I DO expect by Monday:  Decide which characters you will compare and contrast, and take notes on the evidence that you will use to support each body thesis point.

Here is the link for what we discussed in class today; you will receive the completed details as a hand-out on Monday.  But proceed with characters and essential evidence now.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxigzimXmDnvZjkyOTI0MmMtZTIxMi00NGI2LWFiODItYmM2ZTZhMDUwYjBk&hl=en&authkey=CIOe4OAO

Tuesday's Missing Post

First, let me thank the 58 students who wrote letters to veterans.  Your letters were heart-felt, amazingly varied (but pertinent!) in content, and gracefully written.  I am proud of you all.

YESTERDAY IN CLASS
Well, yes.  The short-fiction test.  Make it up ASAP if you were gone.  This morning would be great, but you may be reading this too late to scurry in.  This afternoon is out because there's a faculty meeting.  Thursday there's no school. . .

FOR WEDNESDAY
Just be here. 

Short Fiction Test on Tuesday

TODAY IN CLASS
A preparation/practice day for writing thorough ID responses--as stated on the linked material, real-world indentification responses can vary in length, but within our AP universe, a favorite genre is the "solid-sentence ID." 
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BxigzimXmDnvNmM5OTg0OTItMjRjYy00MDUyLWIwMjQtYTU2ZWEzMTJmMTlj&hl=en&authkey=CIjcpJYG

In addition to the ID's there will be an "incisive connection" section, in which you will either be asked a direct question that relates some element (character/theme/symbol/who knows . . .) from two works, or you will be asked to provide some essential connection between the two.  For this activity you will be required to write exactly three sentences (identifying, stating the connection directly, commenting on significance).

Remember that you were told last week that you need to know authors and titles; the material above reiterates this point.

FOR TOMORROW
So review as needed. 
The optional Letters to Veterans are also due (school deadline).

Friday, Nov. 5

New news in class today:  Short Fiction Test on Tuesday
This will not be a "mega-test" but it will test your knowledge of both the small details of the stories as well as connections/insights about them.  You need to know authors/titles, but no biography, etc. Some writing, but not extended.  You'll be doing a fair amount of writing apart from this test. The terms--the many terms from the fictional elements--will NOT be on this test (expect something specific on that in the near future, however).  But you should have competence regarding the basic elements, and single out the word epiphany as a term you should know.

The test covers all of the short fiction we've read:
Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"
Mansfield's "Miss Brill"
Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"
Joyce's "Araby"
Updike's "A & P"
Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner"
Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"
Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Letters to Veterans--
Don't forget . . .details on yesterday's post.  But more details on US veterans here:

          Veterans’ Day – November 11

Veteran – anyone who has served in the military

Thanking veterans for their service, in a war or not

World War I – 1917-1918 – 53,402 killed
                        1 living veteran

World War II – 1941-1945 – 291,557 killed
                        1,981,000 living veterans

Korean War – 1950-1953 – 33,739 killed
                        2,507,000 living veterans

Vietnam – 1964-1975 – 47,434 killed
                        7,569,000 living veterans

Gulf War – 1990-1991 – 148 killed
                        2,254,000 living veterans

War on Terror – 2001 - – 5760 killed

Total living war veterans: 16,962,000

Total living veterans (periods of war & peace): 22,795,000

TODAY IN CLASS
All classes have now finished discussing Part III.  The rest of the time was spent in some group work in which you tried to synthesize your findings on Kafka's life and personal struggles as described in the "Letter to My Father."

FOR MONDAY
Start reviewing for the test.

Thursday, the 4th of November, 2010

Letter to Veterans--As mentioned in class, ASB is sponsoring a letter-writing activitity through a national organization:  http://www.opgratitude.com/from_iraq.php.  You can consult that site for ideas, but know that for us, the letters showing thanks and appreciation will go ONLY to veterans (not currently deployed servicemen and women).  And for us, all letters go through the school.  Since I'm giving a few "written prep" points for this (10), they actually need to go through ME, then on to ASB. 

The letters must follow these guidelines:
1.Please make sure your letters will fit in a standard size envelope
2. Include your own name in the body of the letter
3. Do not write about politics, religion, death or killing
4. Please do not use glitter
5. This is strictly a letter-writing effort to thank Veterans; please do not send any care package items for Veterans
6. All letters will be screened
7. Hand written letters are recommended. 

Deadline:  your class time on Tuesday, Nov. 9.

TODAY IN CLASS

FOR TOMORROW
1.  Simply read and reflect on the following biography of Franz Kafka:
http://www.kafka-franz.com/kafka-Biography.htm

2.  Now turn to Kafka's Letter to His Father:
http://www.kafka-franz.com/KAFKA-letter.htm

Yes, it's hugely long.  Here are the instructions:

• SKIM it all, looking at paragraph starts and ends, trying to establish the overall content.  You will in no way be expected to read every word.
• But from skimming, settle on TWO sections of interest, 2-3 paragraphs each--whatever it takes in the letter to make the point at hand. 
• For each of those sections, do the following steps IN WRITING:  1) briefly describe or identify the subject matter, 2) explain Kafka's attitude toward his father conveyed at that point, and 3) make a connection to something that shows up in "The Metamorphosis."

HOW LONG?  The skimming shouldn't take more than 30-40 minutes; the write-ups shouldn't take more than 10-12 minutes each. For each of the two sections, you  probably need 10-12 sentences to respond well to all three steps.

Enjoy the Spring-like November Day!

TODAY IN CLASS
1. Hand-out for an extra-credit Hamlet activity
2. "The Metamorphosis" Section II questions were stamped in class (to be handed in tomorrow)
3.  Students were to compare/extend responses for 1-5, then we discussed 6 together and extended to the symbolic interpretation. (Period 1--thanks to our extra five minutes every day--completed this; periods 3 and 6 did not.  We will.)

FOR TOMORROW
Re-read Part III and complete the study questions. 

Tuesday, November. 2, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
OK--We finished the assessment of the family dynamics, looking at some of the differences in how Gregor's mother, father, and sister interact and respond to him.  Despite these variations, it is clear that Gregor's dreary life includes the contempt of parents and employer.  The reactions of his father, mother, and chief clerk have little compassion or understanding.  They initially assume Gregor is malingering or "sick." Gregor communicates with no one well.

We also looked at the last scene not only for the obvious anger, fear, and rejection displayed (father uses a cane and rolled-up newspaper to beat his son back into his room) but also for its psychoanalytical interpretation.  Third period, we didn't get there, but you might have heard about it: review this to see how it may be considered the ultimate rejection:  a reverse birthing experience, if you will.  Look closely at the details and the language.

FOR TOMORROW
Students received a hand-out of study questions for Parts II (to be completed for Wednesday) and III (have these finished for Thursday).  Write out in ink (complete sentences) or type (single space response, but double-space between questions).  Use abundant textual details to support your responses.  You should have a combination of quotations (not long, but rather essential snippets worked in to your own sentences) as well as accurate and precise paraphrase.  Either way, include page numbers, and indicate the edition (briefly:  Dover, Kennedy/Goiia 8th, 9th, or whatever) at the top of your paper.

Monday: Record Rain at Sea-Tac (for Nov. 1)

TODAY IN CLASS
The whole Samsa family makes for an interesting psychological study, and we're still engaged in trying to find the appropriate patterns for analyzing them, both individually and in their relationships with one another.

Tomorrow we will need to finish up what was meant to take just a day . . . so remaining groups, be sharp, focused, crisp, and complete so we can benefit quickly and keep on a-truckin'.

FOR TOMORROW
Everyone regardless of group, needs to re-read the last full paragraph (in the Dover edition) or the last TWO paragraphs (everyone else) of Part I.  We will work with this passage in detail.  And for Wednesday, you need to have RE-read (with care) Part II, but there will also be some written questions to prepare for Wednesday.  Thus it will behoove you to re-read all or at least some of Part II tonight;  Part III for Thursday.

Happy Halloween

TODAY IN CLASS
A quick-write:  Why does Gregor turn into a bug? (a hand-written page or so)

Then things varied a bit:  1st period worked in groups and began presentations.
Third and sixth need to prepare their topic individually (for the group, not to hand in); on Monday you will have 8 minutes or less to confer before proceeding with some class presentations. We went over the topics briefly in class, but if you were absent (or neglected to write yours down because you had faith in a week-end blog post), they are listed below.

FOR MONDAY

For all groups--Base your work on Part I only.

A—Trace the stages/steps in Gregor’s perception of the world around him (think the five senses and the degree to which he is at ease in/with his own body) as well as his perception of himself. 

B—Very specifically:  Gregor’s ability to communicate (what he thinks/what actually happens)

C—Focus on the father’s responses to Gregor; nature of their relationship

D—Focus on the mother’s responses to Gregor; nature of their relationship

E—Focus on the sister’s responses to Gregor; nature of their relationship

F—Focus on Gregor’s life UP UNTIL the morning that the story opens.  What do we know?  What are the clues?

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010

TODAY IN CLASS
What produces humor? What is the source of comedy?  We kicked this around for awhile and then pulled elements from the first part of Metamorphosis to account for why at least some readers really do see some humor in Kafka's description of Gregor's situation.

In 1st, we looked closely at the details of Gregor's room, and less so in 3rd; alas, we didn't make it to that point in 6th. 

FOR TOMORROW
Assignment is just to read:  finish the story (Parts II and III). In no way will this quick read be sufficient; you're advised to re-read each part over the next few days.  So why finish it for Friday?  Because we need to have an eye on WHERE Kafka is headed with this story to appreciated the value of how he gets us there.

Wednesday, Oct. 27

Abbreviated post: 
Homework--Read Part I of Metamorphosis for Thursday; ALL of it by Friday.

If you are in 6th, the online acccess is here:

https://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/stories/kafka-e.htm

or

http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Kafka/00000011.htm

Treading Water

TODAY IN CLASS
1st and 3rd:  focussed on character
6th:  focussed on symbol
We'll switch and move on briefly tomorrow.  Wednesday will be the last day on Baldwin's story.

FOR TOMORROW
Problem:  you need to be starting "Metamorphosis"--but I was unable to schedule a check-out for today.
BE SURE to have your ID tomorrow, and also--if you have access to an old book--we need to have you use that instead.

Suggestion:  Do what you can to work ahead in other classes tonight and save some extra reading time for Wed/Thurs. if you can.

New York, New York

MISCELLANEOUS
First, I had trouble with these links--but maybe they will work for you.  I was hoping you could hear a bit of Louis Armstrong as well as Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, since both were mentioned in the story.
http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/previewquestionsanswered.html

Also, we didn't get to the satellite image some of you were begging for in 1st and 3rd;  here ya' go:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=manhattan+New+York&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Manhattan,+New+York,+NY&gl=us&ei=huTFTJ-LKImWsgORg7WlDQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCQQ8gEwAA

And some necessary corrections to the Monday a.m. Still-Asleep-Syndrome:
Correction to 1st:  Sonny--not the narrator--was 15 when their father died (so narrator was 22)
Correction to 1st and 3rd:  The Staten Island ferry goes from Battery Park (lower tip of Manhattan, between the financial district and the water) to the island where the Statue of Liberty is (called Liberty Island), Ellis Island, and finally Staten Island itself, which is actually across New York Bay from Manhattan.  (It's much closer to New Jersey--separated only by two river-like bodies of water called "kills" [from Dutch].)

TODAY IN CLASS
Setting:  Time and Place.  Getting the geography down for "Sonny's Blues." Haarlem--oh, wait, that's the Dutch spelling--Harlem is oh, so close--but most definitely far away from the mainstream possibilities of life for America in the burgeoning late 40's and 50's.  In fact, many would say that New York City was at its peak of power, influence, and romance at this time--but none of the positive mystique was available to people stuck in Harlem.  And by setting up the time line of ALL the action, we were able to look briefly at the South when the KKK was largely unchecked. Alhough what happened to the uncle was not a deliberate clan action, it clearly represents a time and place when human life was not valued so highly if the skin was black.  That background becomes part of the suffering--of the blues--represented throughout the story.

TOMORROW
Prepare by looking more closely at POV and Characterization (for those who did not already do one of these).  No formal written work to hand in, but I strongly suggest notes or some annotating.  We want to focus on the connections, the significance here--not the obvious.  Who, by the way, is the protagonist of the story??

Post for Friday, Oct. 22

IN CLASS ON FRIDAY
Students turned in all three of the short papers.  We went through a process of sorts, however, that actually consumed most of the class period. For the first two papers, students were given time to mark the thesis and to proofread carefully.  If you were absent or did not have a paper on Friday, do two things:

• Mark ABSENT and the date at the top if you were absent; otherwise, mark it LATE
• On the first two papers, highlight the THESIS.  If you do not have your own highlighter, draw square brackets around the thesis.  
• I'm assuming you've proofread--no class time is allotted for this today.

For the thought paper, students were given time to read all the others on their topic and to mark the three best (most interesting/intriguing/insightful, etc.) ideas from the set.  No way to make that up today . . . just turn yours in.

FOR MONDAY

No specific homework.  In-class focus Monday/Tuesday will be "Sonny's Blues."

Upcoming:  

"Metamorphosis"--books intended to be provided, but only 73 arrived (others are back-ordered).  Stay tuned for the plan for dealing with this.

And then--Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.  This is widely available cheap, and many of your friends probably still have it.  We will have NO time for you to be claiming yours is "on order."  You should have it now.  We will be working with this by the first week in November.  Probably not that Monday--but probably by Tuesday.

Three Short Papers Due on Friday

TODAY IN CLASS
Strictly a work period.  Everyone used time wisely.

FOR TOMORROW
Finish the papers.  If you have misplaced your hand-out, remember that the complete instructions are linked on Google.docs (see yesterday's post).

TODAY IN CLASS
Close focus on the scene in which Paul's mother stands outside her son's room trying to identify the mad rushing sound inside . . . we looked for specific textual reinforcement of the identity Lawrence is establishing between mother and son.

I handed out the written form of the three papers assignment due on Friday, with information about Exploratory Papers (or Thought Papers) on the back.  This material is linked here:
Description of a Thought Paper:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q7czRCcLSuDSs86bTLCjMa55_tLTMJmClrAhYHBdCeI/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJPEoQY
Actual assignment for Friday:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bi08KCAh-9RYNhrjYTWGuUWoPcnEJ25aYj3EHnjYaqc/edit?hl=en&authkey=CLf2318

FOR TOMORROW
Be working on the material for Friday, wherever you may be in the process.  Tomorrow's class will be purely reading/work time.  No book sharing.  Borrow for your class period if necessary.

TODAY IN CLASS
See the end of this post for the make-up assignment if you were absent on Monday.
And the late folder is open on http://www.turnitin.com/

Discussion of RHW, partly rooted in the significance of the luck/lucky, Paul's eyes, and overall motivation from yesterday, with an explicit discussion of theme(s) at the end of the period.  There will be one more snippet to run through tomorrow: we will look closely at the scene in which Paul's mother stands outside the door, trying to identify the sound.
3rd period--all of this was abbreviated because of the Healthy Youth Survey

FOR TOMORROW
You have a busy several days:  one final short story to read, and three short papers.  You should write the first one tonight, or at least a solid working draft that you can revise later.  I am copying/pasting the assignment here now, because it is not quite finished; I need to add the material on the thought paper, which I believe is well-described on a document on my home computer.  (If not, I'll do it again).  But here is what I have so far:

Assignment Due Friday, Oct. 22

Three short papers, divided into two types of writing which we will utilize throughout the year.

The One-Pager (or Microtheme)

• Must fit on one page, typed in the following format:
• Short heading:  on the left, single-spaced (Name, class period, date)
• One-inch margins, 12-font type
• UNLIKE practically everything else, SINGLE-SPACE. (But please double-space between paragraphs unless you are absolutely out of room.)
• Content:  Must have a strong thesis, clear organization, rich supporting details.  Clarity of purpose, effective selection and organization of textual evidence, and concise, grammatically-correct writing style are the hallmarks of good one-pagers.  Professional academic tone is expected.

The Thought Paper (described on the other side)  OK--so not yet--this is the part I will add tonight and republish on Google.docs.

Here are the three prompts for Friday.  I would suggest doing the “Araby” paper tonight.  Thursday will be a work day (in full), so you will have two nights and a class period to read the next story and to do two other papers.  Yes, the pace is picking up.

One-Pagers--these will be in the "Assessment" category

1) Notice that “Araby” begins and ends in darkness.  Trace the various images of light and shadow through the story and show how they define the boy’s feelings at each point. [As I had time to develop in 1st, but not in 3rd/6th:  this LOOKS easy and repetitive, given what we did in class.  Your task, however, is write a model of the clear, complete, and fluent expression that the genre requires.  

2) Identify the protagonist of “The Rocking-Horse Winner.”  Justify your choice by looking not only at aspects of characterization, but also by connecting your decision to such features as elements of plot structure, symbol, and theme.

Thought Paper--these will always go in the Classwork/Daily Prep category

You will be writing on "Sonny's Blues" (pp. 49-70).  There is never a "prompt" for a thought paper, and sometimes they are completely free of constraint.  At other times, I will point you in a direction, but you can freely determine what you notice and ponder along the way.  In this case, you'll be writing a thought paper on some aspect(s) of the literary element for your group.  The DIFFERENCE, however, is that the thought paper gives you the opportunity to "explore"--to consider this or that, so long as you are truly "thoughtful" about it.  Don't  worry about actually WRITING this one until you get more information!

However,  you may want to continue reading the story tonight.  If you do, here are the category assignments:

A -- Tone and Style

B -- Theme

C -- Symbol(s)

D -- Point of View

E -- Character

F -- Setting

Make-up Work for Monday (10/18)

“THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER”

Questions 1 and 2 are essentially “data-mining” (a bulleted list,

with page numbers) followed by several sentences of insightful commentary. Questions 3 and 4 should be short paragraphs

1) Trace the use of the words “luck”/“lucky” in the story.

List the relevant phrases or sentences in bullet form—write however much it takes to make the meaning clear. Include (and clarify) the

phrase “filthy lucker”—which is what Paul understands his uncle to

say.  Then summarize how Paul has “bought into” his mother’s idea

of luck. Does he succeed?

2) Keep track of all references to Paul’s eyes—again, list them

out bullet style (you should have something like 12-14).  Then

show how Lawrence’s emphasis on this feature helps to indicate how the boy changes as the story progresses.

3) Briefly characterize the relationship between Paul’s parents—

or at least Paul’s mother’s attitude about her husband—and explain

how/why it is important.

4) Consider the rocking-horse as a symbol.  What exactly could

it symbolize, and how does that symbol connect with the meaning

of the story as a whole?

Purple and Gold on Friday!

TODAY IN CLASS
1.  Personal essays turned in.  Do not forget to submit to turnitin.com (actually open until Friday night, but please do not procrastinate).

2.  The three classes are all over the map on "A & P"--we may never be fully synchronized on coverage, but the categories should be clear enough.  The chief focus so far has been "language and style," especially as it pertains to characterization and the vantage point/perspective aspect of point of view.

3. On Friday, we will turn our attention specifically to the epiphany, possible themes, and the nature of the quest--when it doesn't involve likely heroes and ladies-in-waiting.

FOR TOMORROW
You need to read the next story:
"The Rocking-Horse Winner," by D. H. Lawrence (pp. 365-375)

Thursday = Deadline for Personal Essays

Yes, you have until Friday to get them onto turnitin.com (though there's no point in delaying).  But the essays and all required parts are due on Thursday.

turnitin.com now OPEN for Personal Essays!

TODAY IN CLASS
"A & P"--beginning with language and style.  No details here, because classes are at different points and I don't want to summarize something that your section has not yet "discovered." 

WEDNESDAY
Whether I see you or not, your work is to be finalizing your personal essay.  They are DUE on Thursday.

THURSDAY
Yes, we'll be going ahead with "A & P."  But with the personal essays behind you, the reading load is about to get heavier, and there will be a series of three short papers ("one-pagers"--but SINGLE-spaced) due the middle of next week.  I'll post more about that sometime tomorrow.

Super-quick Post

Just be aware that for tomorrow, everyone needs to have finished a careful reading of John Updike's "A & P" (starts on p. 16).

TODAY IN CLASS
Close-reading continues . . . 1st period at least got our young narrator to the week that crawled by as he day-dreamed his school days away, focusing only on his week-end excursion to Araby.  We move quickly from here--but know that we are headed towards a sure finale on Monday.

Also today:  two hand-outs summarizing details for finalizing and submitting the personal essay as well as some basic info on grammar/mechanics expectations plus relevant sources. I'm linking the one with the grammar links to make it easier to find those sources:
https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1w8xo49-qLjE7DpwA6qgh7LLNzswJ4pxfh2r8DMDbfBs&hl=en&authkey=CJKwkdIP
Also, you should be aware that although we "missed" National Punctuation Day last week, there is a great website here:
http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/

OVER THE WEEK-END

• Well, be working on the essay.  You want to get it done, but also done well. 
• Be sure that you've finished required literary elements reading in your book.
• If you want to read the story for Tuesday, it's John Updike's "A & P"--can't remember the page, but it's the first real story (after the short sample tales, etc.) in the book.

TODAY IN CLASS
All personal essay revisions are due next week--dates vary:
Mon/Tues. if Oct.15 Early Action/Decision deadline: Wed/Thurs. if not)
Full hand-outs available tomorrow.

Moving on to James Joyce:
30-plus minutes on how many elements of fiction are covered in the first two paragraphs of "Araby," which are ostensibly setting.  Fusion--not discrete analysis--was the goal of the day.  More of that tomorrow.  (Expect several further passages for close scrutiny, but we'll have to skip over some other very good stuff.)

Some new voices spoke up today--hooray!

FOR TOMORROW
The gentle reminder that you are responsible for your own learning . . . don't wait for sticks.
By the end of the week (I think that's Friday . . .) you should be well-versed in ALL of the intro sections on the elements, and make sure that you've read the summary sections added earlier this week.

TODAY IN CLASS
The entire period was devoted to the peer response to the first draft of the personal essay.  Do not lose either the stamped copy or the peer-response sheet, because they must be turned in with the final draft.

If you were absent today or did not have a draft with you to exchange, it is your responsibility to get (and give) peer feedback before proceeding to the final draft.

FOR TOMORROW
Full steam ahead on "Araby."  However, remember that yesterday you were told to have the remaining elements of fiction intro sections (ones you have not yet been designated for your particular group) read by the end of the week.  Also, make sure to read the new summary sections assigned yesterday. 

So assuming you've all been good to go on the Joyce story for several days now, this reading should be your "homework" for tomorrow. 

(Give the paper a rest for tonight.)

Personal Essay Draft Due Wednesday

Essay must be typed and with you in class in order to get completion points. Simple heading (single-space)
Prompt typed out in full and bolded (single-space)
Double-space essay itself
Word count:  essay only  (1st, I think I forgot to mention this to you.)

TODAY IN CLASS
1) Announcement that yes, there will be a major exam over the short-fiction unit.  Not yet scheduled.

2) Some examination of the student-friendly qualities of the required 6th edition of Kennedy/Gioia, including the entirely new material at the end of each section.  Be sure to study these end-points carefully before attempting even informal, overnight writing assignments. And for the test, the terms within each section are all fair game.
The intro material page numbers were given earlier:
Plot:  5-16
Point of View:  25-29
Character  75-77

Setting  105-108

Tone and Style 138-141; also see Irony, 157-158

Theme  173-175

Symbol  189-191

Even though we started slowly, reading as they were assigned, it's time to pick it up; you should have read any sections you haven't personally covered yet by the end of the week.

New Material in the 6th ed--Summary and review at the end of each section (including lists of terms)

Plot:  22-24

Point of View:  72-74

Character:  103-104

Setting:  135-137

Tone and Style (also Irony):  171-172

Theme: 187-188

Symbol:  221, 224

3) We looked specifically at some of the material on plot, (lots of detail to be responsible for!), POV (we noted esp. interior monologue as one aspect of stream-of-consciousness, but also something that can exist on its own), and symbolism ("requirements"--a caveat against scavenger hunts).  And I put up sample papers on point of view and symbol before returning the short element write-ups for "Granny Weatherall."

FOR TOMORROW

Essay.  That's it.

2nd Counselor Visit Today

So no "forward progress" on the English lit. front.  See Friday's post for tomorrow's expectations.

However, this showed up online today.  Please read it as an excellent example of personal detail, "voice," and cohesive imagery.  It's not exactly an application essay, but it it is more valuable for the person/personality it conveys than writing a "one-size-fits-all" sort of essay.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2012956272_pacificptaste03.html?cmpid=2628

TODAY IN CLASS
1. 1st and 3rd picked up the last words on college essays--what to avoid as well as strategies for doing something more original.
2. Slightly varied versions of "Granny Weatherall':  3rd period still needs to pick up the poetry, but to anyone who was absent Thursday in 1st period or Friday in 6th period, you are expected to read two poems by Emily Dickinson.  Both are in your lit book (pp. 687 and 686):  "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died." (3rd, we will all still do this, but it's not homework now)
3. In all classes, though, we established ideas about setting in GW, with slippage into other elements.

FOR MONDAY

• Be working on your draft.  Plan to churn one out over the week-end that you can revise with more detached objectivity over the Monday-Tues. time frame.
• Here is a link to one of the sites I shared in class, and please check the link given later in the article to a whole slew of sites, some with excellent examples:
• http://education.trak.in/2010/three-keys-for-writing-the-best-possible-college-admissions-essay/
• Read the next short story--no writing for Monday, but DO read with a close eye (and probably annotations) for your particular focus for this story:
• James Joyce, "Araby" (345 ff. in the 6th Compact Editon)

Assigned categories for "Araby"
A - Setting
B - Tone and Style
C - Theme
D - Symbol
E - Point of View
F - Character

TODAY IN CLASS
1.  The college essay prospectus papers were returned.  (3rd and 6th, I have one related task for you to do tomorrow in class.) 
2. 1st and 3rd got started on "Granny Weatherall" with general discussion of several characteristics (varied with each class); 6th period met in groups--covered their own subject well, did a partial jig-saw to find out the key ideas from two other groups.  And 1st period looked at two related poems (Emily Dickinson); 3rd and 6th will pick that up later.
3. And 6th got some further application info from a Cornell admissions lecture . . . 1st and 3rd will get that tomorrow.

As you can see, this was mostly to keep me aware of who has done what.

FOR TOMORROW
No new reading/writing.  Consider tonight a "get started on your essay" evening.

TODAY IN CLASS
1) Collected:  the personal essay prospectus.  Suggestion:  don't work on your essay tonight.  You'll get these back on Thursday.

2) Reading Check quiz on "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"

3) Completion of "Miss Brill" (albeit abbreviated) in 1st and 3rd.  Close but not there yet in 6th.

FOR TOMORROW
Written work:  Write one page that applies the literary element that you were assigned for this story to "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." Depending on element, some people will have to work hard to pack in the most essential information; you will need to be streamlined and concise. 

• Typed work appreciated, but not required.  If you type, double-space.  If you don't, make it legible and reasonably neat (a cross-out or two OK--overall sloppiness is NOT)
• Do not take up space with a 4-line double-spaced MLA heading.

The groups were listed in the hand-out you received on Friday.  However, they are re-stated here:

For  Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” (76 ff.)    (and 6^th Compact pages for other sections)

A – Character  75-77

B – Setting  105-108

C --Tone and Style 138-141; also see Irony, 157-158

D –Theme  173-175

E – Symbol  189-191

F -- Point of View 25-29

Senior Culminating Project
I am required to approve your work before it's submitted to the Career Center.  Their deadline is Oct. 15th, but their message is "the sooner the better."  But I won't "approve" if it is not worthy of a high-school senior representing Issaquah High School to the community.  Be warned.

1.  Unless you are going straight into the job market full-time after graduation, your resume should be academically-oriented as complete as possible re: education data, school and extra-curricular activities (with substantial lists appropriately sub-divided, and leadership roles clearly set forth), volunteer experience, work experience, and outside interests). Format in a eye-pleasing and professional manner, and PROOFREAD carefully.

2.  Your typed-out response to Question #1 should be 250-350 words, and must address all parts of the question:

• Summarize your preparation for your education and career goals.  what further steps must you take to achieve your goals?  Describe yow your plans relate to your skills, strengths, interests, and values.  Include a realistic financial plan for achieving your goals.

TODAY IN CLASS
Some final words re: the application process (particularly the new pooling policy for the UW), and then "Miss Brill" close-reading questions.  And some responses/discussion.  But mostly questions. . . By the end of class, 1st and 3rd had just gotten to the paragraph beginning "Two young girls in red . . "; 6th period didn't even get that far (we are at "The old people sat on the bench, still as statues"). 

FOR TOMORROW
1) You must show up with the typed-out prospectus.  I will collect them when the bell rings.  If they are not available to collect at that time, they will not count as completed for points.  However, no essay draft will count until your prospectus is approved.  So you might as well be prepared and receive the points.

2) You were told on Friday's hand-out to have "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall " (p. 76 ff.) read for Tuesday.  Well, today we didn't get to it.  But have it read for sure for Wednesday.

3) Yes.  We will finish "Miss Brill."

The Senior Personal Essay

A.K.A. The College Application Essay

The complete assignment is linked here:
https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=12of2z4dZf7RuISRKikRPG97bdda8xuHhLmzHw-WQ_rU&hl=en&authkey=CJvt5eoD

The first deadline is for the prospectus (described on the hand-out):  Wednesday, Sept. 29.

Day 2 of the Great Voice-Out

TODAY IN CLASS
But today it didn't really matter; we had the scheduled timed-write on Atonement.  If you were absent today, you'll need to schedule 45 minutes after school Monday or Tuesday; Wednesday a.m. is the absolute deadline. Let me know.

FOR TOMORROW
Either I will be here tomorrow and we will discuss "Miss Brill," or I won't--in which case there will be a class activity TBD plus some time to get going on the next story.  So in either case, you need to already have completed the work on the Mansfield story and have your book with you in class.

What WAS the work you should have done?
1) Have read the story carefully.
2) Have read the intro material on whichever group you were assigned.  For this story, the groups were
A-Point of View (and I think a few A's were not prepared to do this)
B-Character
C-Setting
D-Tone and Style
E-Theme
F-Symbol

Silence (Is Not) Golden

TODAY IN CLASS
Ah, well, we did the best we could.  For those who were gone, I'm not going to double back to the "Miss Brill' efforts--we'll just pick that up on Friday when we continue with that story.  And on the blog, I'm not going to recreate what went on in your small groups when I asked you to think through what you found in the passages noted in yesterday's post.  And I'm not going to try to repeat what all we said about betrayal, though I urge those who were gone to give serious thought to WHO ALL (and we weren't necessarily through in class) is guilty of some form of betrayal--other than, of course, Briony. However, let me throw out one very different thought about her:  what, according to the twins' note, seemed to be the thing that sent them packing? What is Briony's role in that? Does it matter?

Let me sort out a couple of additional elements here on the blog. 

  Let’s think about AUTHOR/Narrator.  And truth vs. fiction.

Think back to the issue of who "tricked" you if you felt that the sudden retraction of key events in the story was disappointing and/or unfair.  Was it Briony?   No.  It can’t be, if McEwan wrote the book.  So focus on the "nesting dolls" issue of authorship.  Yes, of course the fictional Briony is the author of the fictional Atonement from its early to its "final" draft.  But too many of you seem to overlook (judging from in-class comments as well as what you wrote in your initial response the "feeling gypped" question) the fact that Briony herself--and the entire plot--epilogue and all-- is the fictional creation of the actual author, Ian McEwan. 

So consider several things:

1)   The subject of what authors should/shoudn't do, which is a different question from what they can or can’t do.  The world they invent is ALWAYS fictional (although the boundaries blur in "historical fiction," and books like In Cold Blood seem to require new labeling altogether). But in general, for the genre of fiction, wherein lies “truth”?

2)   Look at details of the last chapter that show Briony talking about truth/non-truth of small details.  Can you find a couple of such places?  I was perhaps intentionally misleading when we first started talking about this, suggesting that there was no evidence that Briony-as-author gave us any hints that she was about to pull the rug out from under us.  (And insofar as parts I-III are concerned, I stand by my claim.)  But look at these comments:

• 
  
   "I worked in three hospitals in the duration . . . and I merged them in my description to concentrate all my experiences into one place. a convenient distortion, and the least of my offenses against veracity" (336)
• 
  
  After mentioning several corrections from the colonel's letter:  "Like policemen in a search team, we go on hands and knees and crawl our way toward the truth" (339)
• 
  
  And then reflects on them later in the car, "or rather, about my own pleasure in these trivial alterations. If I really cared so much about facts, I should have written a different kind of book" (340)

3)  THEME.  No, I won’t give it to you.  But for tomorrow, and not via the internet, THINK about what McEwan is saying in this book. About humanity. About sin and atonement.  About writing.  About the art of fiction.  About responsibility.

SO FOR TOMORROW
Know that knowledge of a book and its details is always your responsibility; even with books not "summer reading," our in-class mileage will vary.  You should have a pretty good idea by now of how well you know this book. 
Be sure to have blue or black ink and loose-leaf paper with you in class tomorrow.  (No need for the book.  You can't use it.)

And P.S.--after 3 or 4 years of doing the blog, I've gotten into some form of hanging indent today that I cannot get out of.  Sorry. 

Important Clarification of Homework

TODAY IN CLASS
1) First two sentences of "Miss Brill"--focus on style features and potential meaning.  (Clause of concession; tension of "brilliance" with the "chill"; weather/beverage similes; reference to fall, but with fractured awareness, etc.)
2) Groups designated for story elements assignments.  For "Miss Brill," we are dealing with careful notes--nothing to hand in.  For Wednesday, EVERYONE needs to read the story, then

• Also on Wednesday, Group A will be the Point of View experts.  Know what is in the 6th edition (25-29), and be able to talk knowledgeably and insightfully on specific POV issues in "Miss Brill"
• For Friday, all other groups need to have read the relevant background info in the text, and have taken notes on its application to the story.
• B  Character
• C  Setting
• D  Tone and Style
• E  Theme
• F  Symbol

3) POV for Atonement--classifying each chapter/part, with initial thoughts on why/effect, and connection to the fact that McEwan invests both the "life as story" metaphor into each character, as well as language appropriated from the sin===>atonement spectrum.

FOR WEDNESDAY
1) "Miss Brill" and A-group work
2) For Atonement, look at at least one (preferably two) of the following sections:

• Emily, Chapter 12, esp. pp. 136-143
• Briony, Chapter 14, esp. pp. 162-163
• Robbie, Part II, varied spots, but esp. 212-220 (and most concentrated in the early pages of that section)
• There are others, but they are even more scattered--you might note them if you see them

Sorry about the missing week-end post . . .

but here's what many of you missed today and what's essential for later this week.

TODAY IN CLASS
What you missed:  a full-period, information-packed presentation by the counselors (different ones, depending on period).  You will need to access the power-point on their web-site for the college application process.  Do NOT assume you know it all already.  Some aspects involve our own in-house "rules."
There were also two hand-outs:

• Your own transcript (I have them).You need to check it carefully and report any discrepancies to the counselors' office BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON.  They will be working on final rankings starting Wednesday.
• A "flow chart" for the college application process, broken down by types of schools. 

FOR TOMORROW
Atonement discussion will involve the religious metaphors (esp. for the two classes that did not really get into this), selected passage analysis, and the over-arching theme of betrayal. 
Focus groups assigned; POV group ready for Wednesday

Wednesday:  Stray Atonement, if necessary;  POV for "Miss Brill"
Thursday:  Closed-book AP style essay on Atonement
Friday:  Remaining groups prepared for "Miss Brill" in light of their assigned quality.  (For this you will need the appropriate background material in the main text.  No excuses.  No exceptions.)

TODAY IN CLASS
 . . . was sufficiently varied in the three classes that I simply don't have the time at the moment to summarize exactly where we picked up in each section.  Suffice to say that we finished "The Chrysanthemums" (though you will see that nothing in AP Lit is ever really off the table until at least the AP exam in May, and others not until the end of class in June). 

Turning to Atonement, we briefly discussed fate, accidents, human tragedy, and literary tragedy all as prelude to consideration of how Briony is not the only character whose all-too-human mixture of personality traits and predilections help produce the unfortunate sequence of events. And we are at various points of considering our early-in-the-book view of the three central characters:
1st--Briony on an earlier day; Cecilia today; we'll start with Robbie tomorrow
3rd--Have we even worked with Briony??
6th--Briony today; Cecilia and Robbie tomorrow
Robbie seems to be getting short shrift; I hope some of you review his reflections on the the fountain scene (Ch.8) even if you 've already reviewed Cecilia.

Not sure you were all prepared re: pp. 25-29 in the main text.  Fix that, please.  And be sure to have read pp. 5-16.  We'll want these basic terms/examples of genre to be "shared territory" as we launch the rest of the stories next week.

Also, I've mentioned trying to articulate specific stages between sin/guilt and atonement in several posts.  It's time to make sure you've done that.

W

TODAY IN CLASS
We were tantalizingly close to finished in all classes--that is, finishing "The Chyrsanthemums" and turning our full attention to Atonement.  I'm trying to stress two things:  there are multiple meanings and layers of significance to most of what we read, but some explanations are more powerful than others because they provide more cohesion or because their insights take us farther into the text.

At the end of 6th period, someone asked a question about the fights Elisa mentions at the end--asking if there would be blood, assuring Henry that no, she didn't really want to go, and saying that it would be enough to have wine.  Think that through--how does it fit?  (Nothing written required here, but be prepared for me to call on you without waiting for eagerly-raised hands!)

FOR TOMORROW
Review the past two posts; make sure you are up-to-date with Atonement.  And definitely start reviewing what you know or doing some informal research to account for the sequence of steps that lead to atonement in the religious sense (you select the faith--yours, not yours, one you're curious about, any one that will suggest you have examined a possible sequence).  That discussion won't be on Thursday, but tonight would be a good time to get into that.

Oh, So Late

But I really enjoyed meeting so many of your parents, and tomorrow is late start Wednesday, so all is not lost.

TODAY IN CLASS
I collected the homework (three paragraphs on specific "Chrysanthemums" questions).  If you were absent today, make sure you remember to hand it in on Wednesday. 

In 1st  period, we balanced both the short story and some reasonable time for Atonement; in 3rd and 6th, we need to do some catch-up time on the novel.  So hang on to your ideas about the ways in which Briony's character was set up in Chapter 1.

FOR TOMORROW

• We will finish our work with "The Chrysanthemums," looking closely at the "bath scene" (incorporating many ideas from the work you did on it) and trying to fit the story's ending into a cohesive sense of Steinbeck's theme. 
• Make sure that you have read the material on point of view in Kennedy-Gioia (see yesterday's post)
• Choose EITHER Cecilia's version (Chapter 2) or Robbie's version (Chapter 8) of the fountain scene.  Do the same thing for whichever chapter you select as you did for Chapter 1:  what are the overall personality traits we see in these individuals, and what about them might contribute most directly to the tragedy that ensues?

How much of that we do (after all, it's Wednesday) remains to be seen, but tonight is the time to get this done.

Upcoming--be sure to have read the Fiction/Plot intro material (pp. 5-16), and be thinking about the "atonement" process I broached today.  To recap:  for Judaism, Christianity, or another faith, use either your own knowledge or some brief research to specify the steps between a wrong-doing (a sin of commission or omission) and the possibility of atonement.  Both the possible steps or path as well as the language used to describe them varies among religions, but we are wanting to establish some sense of how this process could work.  But Ian McEwan is writing fiction--not theology--so our literary purpose is ultimately to connect the language of his text with real-world counterparts in human thinking.  We'll be looking a several different sections in which different characterize utilize a variety of religous terms to describe their secular concerns.

Multi-tracking in AP Class

 TODAY IN CLASS
We made it about a page further in "The Chrysanthemums" (Henry's compliment; Henry asking Elisa on a "date"--plus her stilted response--and the arrival of the tinker).  Slow going.  It would perhaps have helped if I had done a complete week-end blog, or had been more clear about instructions after the Atonement test on Friday.  And then we shifted gears a bit to lay out the first two focus points for the novel, which will involve the shifting narrative points of view, and how characterization is achieved in the various sections.   And for that, we will need to be very precise with terminology, including some new slants on the familiar material. 

That leaves us with three actual strands to follow at the moment, so here is the prep work for tomorrow and Wednesday:
1) By tomorrow, be SURE that you have read the complete Steinbeck story--which most people really did do for tomorrow. And then respond in writing (ink, about a paragraph each, with support) to three questions:

• Discuss Elisa’s parting “message” to the chrysanthemum shoots: why? what does she mean? what do the chrysanthemums seem to symbolize to her?
• Discuss the significance of the “bath scene" (including getting dressed afterwards) paying particular attention of how it relates to the meaning of the work as a whole.
• Explain the story’s ending—Elisa’s portion of the closing conversation with Henry and the final simile.

2) Also for tomorrow, re-read the first chapter (pp. 3-16 in most editions, I think) of Atonement, with an eye toward Briony's characterization.  Try to discern both those qualities which most seem to be traits a writer might be likely to have as well as characteristics that might help to account for what happens in the book. In other words, you are essentially trying to see how much of the adult Briony was essentially set up by the time she was 13 years old.

3) For Wednesday, be sure that you have read (carefully!) the material on Point of View in the Kennedy-Gioia compact edition, pp. 25-29.
(The opening section--on Fiction and Plot--is interspersed with some short examples and is somewhat longer:  pp. 5-16.  Please have that read by the end of the week.)

If you have your book, you can certainly use it for the Steinbeck story.  If you don't, you need to access this link and PRINT OUT THE STORY.  Everyone will need to have a copy (book or print-out) in class on Monday.

http://www.nbu.bg/webs/amb/american/4/steinbeck/chrysanthemums.htm

Test on Friday

 . . . over Ian McEwan's Atonement.  Remember that the test covers the BOOK, not the film. 

TODAY IN CLASS
If I have time later, I will try to elaborate on what we covered today.  Suffice to say that we spent the full class period on the original excerpt on the hand-out.  First period got their quick-write back from yesterday, and papers from 3rd and 6th were collected today. 

FOR TOMORROW
Just the summer reading test.  I think I would rather have everyone at the same point with the story, so we will simply wait until after the test to go ahead.

Barely a Blog

Not much to post today:
1) Do your best to get the turnitin.com account set up and your Self-Definition into the folder. 

• see yesterday's post or class notes from today for the number/password
• save using your last name, first initial + brief title of choice

2) "Chrysanthemums" -- yes, I'll collect materials from 3rd/6th tomorrow

Self-Definition Due on Wednesday!!

Timed Write Make-Up Reminder: 
If you did not come in after school on Tuesday (four people did!), be sure to be here on Wednesday morning at 8:40 a.m.  Have loose-leaf paper and a blue or black pen. . . .

TODAY IN CLASS
First, there was a change-of-schedule announcement:  Due to a religious holiday on Thursday, the first significant Atonement assessment will be on Friday, Sept. 10.

1. Then we got started on what was intended to be the main event of the day--before I found out on Friday that we would be getting planners today. 

• Hand-out:  the opening section of John Steinbeck's story "The Chrysanthemums"
• Instructions:  first, notice the "color scheme" of just the first two paragraphs (I think I might have told 1st period just the first paragraph; that's OK).  Then read/lightly annotate the rest of the hand-out, and write a short paper (a paragraph or two) about the most salient stylistic features you notice.  Include the use of colors for sure--otherwise it was up to you.
• Problem:  Because of the planner presentation, we didn't have the full 25-30 minutes I wanted you to have to spend on this.
• Solution:  Yes, you need to spend the 15-18 minutes at home that your section "deserves" as additional time.

2.  Planner Presentation:  If you were absent, you will need to go to the office to get your planner, because you are required to sign a list.

FOR TOMORROW
As noted above, finish up and bring "The Chrysanthemum" quick-writes.

But the main thing for Wednesday is the Self-Definition:

• Be sure that you have followed the directions, particularly with respect to formatting. If you have lost the instructions, you can access them here:
• https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1HVTgrBNnXa5YnoK5QvTZULqguKQLSCZHNDajz_Xjdac&authkey=CJuuhOQG&hl=en&pli=1#
• Turn in the stamped resume with the Self-Definition
• If the stamped version was hand-written or merely a typed list with no formatting at all, you need to type up at least a draft in resume format, and turn them BOTH in.
• If you needed to make additions to the original resume, it's OK to just make them by hand, and you can revise it more fully by the time the Career Center requires it later this fall.  You don't need to "make it pretty" for this assignment
• Be sure that you have saved your Self-Definition as a single document.
• Turning it in to turnitin.com--because of the planner presentation, I didn't deal with this in class today. Therefore it is not required for tomorrow.

HOWEVER--some people like to be pro-active. Here is what you need if you are used to doing turnitin.com. and want to get it set up and your paper submitted this evening.
First here's the link for instructions:
http://www.ihs.issaquah.wednet.edu/LanguageArts/Using%20TurnItIn.doc

And here is the actual information for each class:
AP English-Per.1; Course number 3469977; Enrollment Password = purple1
AP English-Per.3; Course number 3470007; Enrollment Password = purple3
AP English-Per.6; Course number 3470026; Enrollment Password = purple6

PLEASE remember what e-mail account you use, and what your personal password is for that account.

The First Timed Write

This just in (as the old news bulletins used to begin):  We WILL be getting planners in English class on Tuesday, Sept. 7.  (The resolution to the mystifying e-mail, to the 6th-period folks who heard me comment on it, was that grades 9-11 will receive planners in their social studies class.)

Yes, indeed, the first timed write.  Those of you who were absent today need to make it up ASAP:  after school on Tuesday or at 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday are the offered times. 

No concrete homework over the week-end, but remember the Self-Definition assignment due on Wednesday.  (And a handful of you are still reading Atonement . . . .)

Enjoy your Labor Day week-end, whether you are doing something active outdoors, going to Bumbershoot, relishing the start of football season, or whatever it may be.

The Self-Definition

TODAY IN CLASS
ID Pictures.  Over and done.
Resumes: 
There were many effectively organized and attractively presented examples, but some people need to think in terms of some fairly significant revision before the Senior STEP materials are due (sometime in October).  The only people who need to make changes before the Self-Definition is due on Sept. 8 are the following:

• anyone whose resume was hand-written rather than typed
• anyone whose typing was either one long list of activities or just long descriptive paragraphs. 

Self-Definition Assignment:
The hand-out you received in class was originally meant to be self-explanatory, but I tried to be a little more explicit in class.  The way you develop either section really is up to you--there is no mandatory content.  Just try to be interesting, informative, and insightful as you try to lift the reader off the page and into your world.  Just make sure to follow the basics:  the first section must focus on something that definitely shows up on your resume (and would probably be noticed by anyone who reads the resume), and the second section can be either something that shows up on the resume only in a very minor way, or is not actually mentioned at all.  Take special care to make sure you follow the formatting instructions on the hand-out, and do not forget to hand in the stamped copy of your resume as well.   Due:  Wednesday, Sept. 8.

FOR TOMORROW
Be sure to bring loose-leaf paper and the proper writing implements (blue or black pens!) to class on Friday.  You will do your first  timed-write passage analysis for AP Lit and Comp.