TODAY IN CLASS
1. Make sure to read the "Author's Introduction" and "Preface" ; if your book lacks one or both of these, check online or borrow someone else's book to copy these pages.
2. If you were absent, skim the biography of Mary Shelley in your text up to the summer of 1816.
3. We established a starter set of core thematic ideas: Nature, Education, Parents/Children, Destiny, Justice, Knowledge, Friendship/Companionship. Then with abitrary (numbered) designations, students pored over specific sections for all of these topics (Letters 1-2; Letters 3-4; and (separately) Chapters 1, 2, and 3. This was for class discussion--nothing collected--but hopefully your notes will still be clear tomorrow. . .
FOR TOMORROW
. . . because we will continue talking about this. (We stopped at various points in the three classes.)
But as HOMEWORK for Tuesday, be working on the essay. Remember, a typed draft is due in class on Wednesday. And it will also be due on turnitin.com by class time that day. I'll open it sometime Tuesday morning.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
TODAY IN CLASS
AP Multiple Choice practice: two passages for students to study/answer individually, then time for small group discussion and consensus on one of them.
FOR MONDAY
You should be in on-going work mode for the comparative/contrast essay. But specifically for/on Monday, bring the Frankenstein text with you, and be knowledgeable and well-prepared on the opening letters and Chapters 1-3.
AP Multiple Choice practice: two passages for students to study/answer individually, then time for small group discussion and consensus on one of them.
FOR MONDAY
You should be in on-going work mode for the comparative/contrast essay. But specifically for/on Monday, bring the Frankenstein text with you, and be knowledgeable and well-prepared on the opening letters and Chapters 1-3.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
TODAY IN CLASS
Third period finally caught up by finishing the sound features of "The Eagle" and spending some time debating the metaphorical possibilities for "The Sick Rose."
The beginning point for everyone else was a new poem (hand-out this time, though it's also in your book): Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." After 10-12 minutes for detailed annotation, notes on both the literal and more figurative interpretations, a statement of theme, and other assorted preparation for an analytical paper, we didn't write one--or even discuss. I turned you over to Chapter 37 of the lit book. The in-class instructions were to read carefully the material strewn through that chapter on this poem and to skim everything else; however, the OUT of class instructions are simply to read that chapter. The two goals were to get a measure of what's "expected" in thinking/writing about a poem, and to have a review of the steps and growth expected as drafts grow from jotting down ideas, to "rough" drafts no one sees but you, to the polished draft such as the one you will bring to class next Wednesday.
I also called your attention to a paragraph on the importance of narrowing a paper topic (p.1427, near the bottom). This is your challenge now--I've briefly given a Go/No go message re: your paper topics. For many of you, however, it's a Go for getting started, but with the caveat that you still may find that you need to narrow/restrict your scope as you write.
FOR TOMORROW
Nothing is due tomorrow; there will be in-class AP Multiple Choice practice. But you have "homework" as you prepare for next week:
Third period finally caught up by finishing the sound features of "The Eagle" and spending some time debating the metaphorical possibilities for "The Sick Rose."
The beginning point for everyone else was a new poem (hand-out this time, though it's also in your book): Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." After 10-12 minutes for detailed annotation, notes on both the literal and more figurative interpretations, a statement of theme, and other assorted preparation for an analytical paper, we didn't write one--or even discuss. I turned you over to Chapter 37 of the lit book. The in-class instructions were to read carefully the material strewn through that chapter on this poem and to skim everything else; however, the OUT of class instructions are simply to read that chapter. The two goals were to get a measure of what's "expected" in thinking/writing about a poem, and to have a review of the steps and growth expected as drafts grow from jotting down ideas, to "rough" drafts no one sees but you, to the polished draft such as the one you will bring to class next Wednesday.
I also called your attention to a paragraph on the importance of narrowing a paper topic (p.1427, near the bottom). This is your challenge now--I've briefly given a Go/No go message re: your paper topics. For many of you, however, it's a Go for getting started, but with the caveat that you still may find that you need to narrow/restrict your scope as you write.
FOR TOMORROW
Nothing is due tomorrow; there will be in-class AP Multiple Choice practice. But you have "homework" as you prepare for next week:
- Frankenstein: Letters and Chapters 1-3 due on Monday. Be sure to have the text with you in class. As you read, be thinking about important thematic ideas (the "topics" in this case, not complete statements of themes--there are many--at this early stage).
- The first draft of the essay is due on Wednesday.
- And then, of course, more of Frankenstein.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Second Semester
Second Day- - -
No blog for Day 1. Sorry.
TODAY IN CLASS
We got three strands underway (well, 3rd period, two strands and a fire drill).
Poetry--Start keeping a list of poems we cover (whether lightly in class or via at-home study)
Tennyson's "The Eagle" (501). I presented it as I always have--just asking kids questions--and I didn't read the blurb in the book because kids have never had the big book with them at the time we started the poetry mini-unit during first semester. But later today, I actually did read it--and it turns out that this new edition of the book pretty much covers the main points. So now I wish I'd given you a hand-out as usual, to make sure you weren't able to read what anyone else said about it. I wanted students to act on their own to develop a sense of contrast between the regal majesty of the eagle in stanza 1 and the powerful predator of stanza 2 by looking at all of the features that set up contrast (stanza break, perspective, static/dynamic, different rhyme scheme) as well as to examine the imagery, other devices, and sound features that appear in the poem. That is STUDENTS, using your own powers of observation and reflection, not merely reading what someone else wrote--whether in the textbook or online.
Frankenstein--As noted on the back of the Ibsen/Chopin assignment sheet, you get to start this at a fairly leisurely pace: The Letters and Chapters 1-3 must be read by Monday, Jan. 31.
And if you've been absent, just know that I pointed out the basic starter information that we are looking at a FRAME STORY (similar to HoD), with an outer narrative structure provided by Robert Walton's letters to his sister, a primary narrative by Frankenstein, and the innermost chapters by the Creature himself.
Topic generation--Ibsen and Chopin
No blog for Day 1. Sorry.
TODAY IN CLASS
We got three strands underway (well, 3rd period, two strands and a fire drill).
Poetry--Start keeping a list of poems we cover (whether lightly in class or via at-home study)
Tennyson's "The Eagle" (501). I presented it as I always have--just asking kids questions--and I didn't read the blurb in the book because kids have never had the big book with them at the time we started the poetry mini-unit during first semester. But later today, I actually did read it--and it turns out that this new edition of the book pretty much covers the main points. So now I wish I'd given you a hand-out as usual, to make sure you weren't able to read what anyone else said about it. I wanted students to act on their own to develop a sense of contrast between the regal majesty of the eagle in stanza 1 and the powerful predator of stanza 2 by looking at all of the features that set up contrast (stanza break, perspective, static/dynamic, different rhyme scheme) as well as to examine the imagery, other devices, and sound features that appear in the poem. That is STUDENTS, using your own powers of observation and reflection, not merely reading what someone else wrote--whether in the textbook or online.
Frankenstein--As noted on the back of the Ibsen/Chopin assignment sheet, you get to start this at a fairly leisurely pace: The Letters and Chapters 1-3 must be read by Monday, Jan. 31.
And if you've been absent, just know that I pointed out the basic starter information that we are looking at a FRAME STORY (similar to HoD), with an outer narrative structure provided by Robert Walton's letters to his sister, a primary narrative by Frankenstein, and the innermost chapters by the Creature himself.
Topic generation--Ibsen and Chopin
Today's version was the "shorthand" process of what I would like to have done to give you a chance to be more independent in deciding on an element of your choice to compare and contrast from the play and from the novel. You have to do something usefully "deep"--something that ultimately heightens our understanding (illuminates beyond what any reader would be expected to "get" right away). I wanted you to have a chance to generate some topics of your own before handing you the hand-out, but it barely worked in 1st and not at all in 3rd and 6th. But I didn't want to delay the process, so we're moving ahead.
I am hopeful, however, that you will give some serious contemplation to what might interest YOU first. I'm especially eager for some topics that do not primarily focus on characters, but certainly there are excellent paper topics to be crafted from the people who inhabit Ibsen's and Chopin's dramatic and fictional space.
I am hopeful, however, that you will give some serious contemplation to what might interest YOU first. I'm especially eager for some topics that do not primarily focus on characters, but certainly there are excellent paper topics to be crafted from the people who inhabit Ibsen's and Chopin's dramatic and fictional space.
One caveat: you cannot simply "compare/contrast Nora and Edna"--you must examine some restricted aspect of their attitudes, relationships toward XXX, or something specific that you identify as part of some evaluative and illuminating claim. A second caveat: people invariably start research projects or essays with topics that are too broad. Your goal is a solid four-page paper; select something that with judicious, well-selected quotes (no long block quotations, please!) will be adequately covered in such a span. That means whatever topic you start with will probably be narrowed before you are done.
FOR TOMORROW
Some choice here. By the end of class on Wednesday, you must submit a short prospectus of your paper topic and approach. This is a short form of the proposal grad students must write (and get approved) before undertaking a masters thesis or a doctoral dissertation. In your case, it's VERY short--three to five sentences--and it's absolutely OK to use the first person. It is NOT the same thing as a "thesis statement"; in fact, if you're thinking of a worthy topic that will actually illuminate something to people who have already read these with reasonable care, then you don't actually KNOW the complexities of your thesis until you do some significant data-mining and evaluative contemplation. But it's a start.
Here's where the choice comes in:
- You can decide tonight, write up the short prospectus, turn it in at the beginning of class, and get started with either collecting data from the texts/early planning OR simply reading Frankenstein during class
- OR you can spend class time deciding what you will do, and have a neatly hand-written prospectus to hand in before class time is over.
Either way, the deadlines for successive steps are on the hand-out you received today. I'm linking it here for future reference:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J1l4j85Qk2PyzoGsWCsgM8uzjWVUHrYz5nwKkyUKMQY/edit?hl=en&authkey=CPWskZYM#
P.S. Also note that the back of this hand-out provides the basic dates by which you will need the remaining texts for this course! No more lost time/lost learning, please!
P.S. Also note that the back of this hand-out provides the basic dates by which you will need the remaining texts for this course! No more lost time/lost learning, please!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday Night
To recap the final: covers everything except the short stories and Hamlet
So fair game: Metamorphosis, Heart of Darkness, A Doll's House, and The Awakening
Part I was today--the "Metamorphosis" AP Question 3
Parts II-IV will be on your designated finals day -- Wednesday for 6th, Thursday for 3rd, and Friday for 1st
So fair game: Metamorphosis, Heart of Darkness, A Doll's House, and The Awakening
Part I was today--the "Metamorphosis" AP Question 3
Parts II-IV will be on your designated finals day -- Wednesday for 6th, Thursday for 3rd, and Friday for 1st
- Part II (15 min.): objective questions over A Doll's House and The Awakening
- Part III (35-40 min.): passage analysis, obviously over a specified text you will have in front of you
- Part IV ((35-40 min.): closed-book essay for which you select the work from at least three that will be listed
- Knowledge of texts
- Ability to identify and explain literary devices at work
- Insight into what's going on in the specific passage, including both a close eye for details as well as for seeing patterns and significant generalizations that help illuminate understanding
- For the broader question, the best advice is to make sure you understand the prompt and respond exactly to what is being asked.
- For both essays, write a strong thesis, organize in a way that best conveys your ideas on the text, and support with ample textual evidence
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Updated: Wyatt assignment, plus additional info
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/suicide.htm
Obviously the ending of The Awakening has troubled readers, and various critics have sought to interpret exactly what happens (does she commit suicide?; could the drowning perhaps be accidental?) as well as to justify it as a satisfying artistic and thematic choice.
Read Neal Wyatt's short piece all the way through, and select ONE of the critics he mentions. Write one paragraph (two if you're really on a roll) that asserts which critical view most closely matches your own thoughts on the ending of this novel, and why. If at all possible, try to add further justification/rationale for the critical stance you've selected. (That is, don't just continue to state that you agree, but ADD to the support for that critic's position by providing further evidence from the novel.)
Submit to http://www.turnitin.com/ only. No hard copy.
Due by class-time tomorrow.
AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATE
Though I am sorry we have not yet gotten to the reason for bringing both texts to class (Chopin plus the big lit book), please bring them both tomorrow. There will be some in-class activities related to material in both books.
NEXT WEEK
The final exam, given over two days, covers the following works: Metamorphosis, Heart of Darkness, A Doll's House, and The Awakening. (No short stories; no Hamlet)
Tuesday: In-Class Closed-Book Essay on "The Metamorphosis"
The question will be an AP or AP-style "Question 3" that requires you to use Kafka's "Metamorphosis" as the focus to responding to a broad critical question. (That is, on the actual AP exam, a student would have had the choice of what work to use, either selecting from a list provided or choosing another work that fits the parameters of the question.)
During the 90-minute Finals Period:
You will be expected to be on-time, and to have a pencil for the Scantron section and pens and paper out and ready for the written sections. When the bell rings, we will begin.
Obviously the ending of The Awakening has troubled readers, and various critics have sought to interpret exactly what happens (does she commit suicide?; could the drowning perhaps be accidental?) as well as to justify it as a satisfying artistic and thematic choice.
Read Neal Wyatt's short piece all the way through, and select ONE of the critics he mentions. Write one paragraph (two if you're really on a roll) that asserts which critical view most closely matches your own thoughts on the ending of this novel, and why. If at all possible, try to add further justification/rationale for the critical stance you've selected. (That is, don't just continue to state that you agree, but ADD to the support for that critic's position by providing further evidence from the novel.)
Submit to http://www.turnitin.com/ only. No hard copy.
Due by class-time tomorrow.
AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATE
Though I am sorry we have not yet gotten to the reason for bringing both texts to class (Chopin plus the big lit book), please bring them both tomorrow. There will be some in-class activities related to material in both books.
NEXT WEEK
The final exam, given over two days, covers the following works: Metamorphosis, Heart of Darkness, A Doll's House, and The Awakening. (No short stories; no Hamlet)
Tuesday: In-Class Closed-Book Essay on "The Metamorphosis"
The question will be an AP or AP-style "Question 3" that requires you to use Kafka's "Metamorphosis" as the focus to responding to a broad critical question. (That is, on the actual AP exam, a student would have had the choice of what work to use, either selecting from a list provided or choosing another work that fits the parameters of the question.)
During the 90-minute Finals Period:
- A short series of objective questions over A Doll's House and The Awakening (30-40; 15 min.)
- A passage analysis from one of the works using a hand-out, not your own text
- A closed-book "Question 3" for which you may choose one of the works OTHER THAN "Metamorphosis"
You will be expected to be on-time, and to have a pencil for the Scantron section and pens and paper out and ready for the written sections. When the bell rings, we will begin.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
So it's nearly six . . .
And the blot is late. The faculty meeting lasted until nearly 4:20, and I arrived back at my room--geared up to do the blogs before leaving--only to encounter about six guys armed with power tools who were taking apart the computer tables and building new ones. I left. No blog.
So now I'm 35 miles north, where we still have some snow around the edges, and here is what you need to know/do for sure:
1) The Awakening should be completely finished. There will be a short closed-book quick-write tomorrow that will focus on the ending: everything, essentially, that happens once Edna arrives at Grand Isle (people, activities, conversations, the beach, the water).
2) In all classes, the childbirth scene. Why is it important? What about Madame Ratignolle is significant? What is there about Edna/Edna's reactions that should be noted? Anything else??
3) In 1st and 3rd, some direct squaring off of Alcee Arobin and Robert Lebrun (and maybe some finishing up in 6th).
Be thinking, also, about the sorts of things that are most intriguing, potentially illuminating, etc., to compare/contrast between these last two works.
So now I'm 35 miles north, where we still have some snow around the edges, and here is what you need to know/do for sure:
1) The Awakening should be completely finished. There will be a short closed-book quick-write tomorrow that will focus on the ending: everything, essentially, that happens once Edna arrives at Grand Isle (people, activities, conversations, the beach, the water).
2) In all classes, the childbirth scene. Why is it important? What about Madame Ratignolle is significant? What is there about Edna/Edna's reactions that should be noted? Anything else??
3) In 1st and 3rd, some direct squaring off of Alcee Arobin and Robert Lebrun (and maybe some finishing up in 6th).
Be thinking, also, about the sorts of things that are most intriguing, potentially illuminating, etc., to compare/contrast between these last two works.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Start of the Blog
I'll try to get back to this with the review of the final, etc.
But for now, it is very simple. READ. Without fail, be caught up to where you should have been for today (end of Ch. 32). But also without fail, plan to be DONE with The Awakening for Wednesday.
But for now, it is very simple. READ. Without fail, be caught up to where you should have been for today (end of Ch. 32). But also without fail, plan to be DONE with The Awakening for Wednesday.
Survey Link
Please go to this site, click on the Start Survey arrow, and answer their questions.
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BHA5TVUM9
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BHA5TVUM9
Thursday, January 6, 2011
TODAY IN CLASS
Discussion of "The Storm" (briefly, really--focussing on the metaphorical and thematic implications of the literal storm) and public responses to both Chopin and Ibsen's work. Tomorrow we move fully into The Awakening.
FOR TOMORROW
You should have read at least half the book. (It is really a very short book; the B & N classics edition is 155 pages.) But since I can't deal in page numbers that will apply to everyone, we will say through the end of Chapter 19 (XIX). By Monday, read through Chapter 32 (XXXII). By Wednesday, you need to be finished with the book (XXXIII through the end).
Be sure that you are keeping the details of this story straight, but you should be very aware of Ibsen's play resonating in the back of your mind as you read Edna's story. Don't stop with the obvious--press as far as possible in thinking of similarities, differences (but more importantly, the SUBTLE distinctions within the seeming similarities) between the two works. Don't stop with plot and character, either . . .
Discussion of "The Storm" (briefly, really--focussing on the metaphorical and thematic implications of the literal storm) and public responses to both Chopin and Ibsen's work. Tomorrow we move fully into The Awakening.
FOR TOMORROW
You should have read at least half the book. (It is really a very short book; the B & N classics edition is 155 pages.) But since I can't deal in page numbers that will apply to everyone, we will say through the end of Chapter 19 (XIX). By Monday, read through Chapter 32 (XXXII). By Wednesday, you need to be finished with the book (XXXIII through the end).
Be sure that you are keeping the details of this story straight, but you should be very aware of Ibsen's play resonating in the back of your mind as you read Edna's story. Don't stop with the obvious--press as far as possible in thinking of similarities, differences (but more importantly, the SUBTLE distinctions within the seeming similarities) between the two works. Don't stop with plot and character, either . . .
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
TODAY IN CLASS
Collected homework questions after students marked their strongest/best response.
Discussed Anne Marie and the concluding few lines of Act II, and a variety of topics from Act III
FOR TOMORROW
Continue to be reading The Awakening, but for Wednesday, also take a little time to read a short story by Kate Chopin entitled "The Storm" (p. 108 in your textbook).
Collected homework questions after students marked their strongest/best response.
Discussed Anne Marie and the concluding few lines of Act II, and a variety of topics from Act III
FOR TOMORROW
Continue to be reading The Awakening, but for Wednesday, also take a little time to read a short story by Kate Chopin entitled "The Storm" (p. 108 in your textbook).
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year to the Class of 2011
TODAY IN CLASS
Discussion of Act II and bits of Act III of A Doll's House, based loosely on specific Acts questions on p. 1084. We didn't do too much with the Act III ones, though, because we will focus on a couple of scenes in detail tomorrow.
FOR TOMORROW
Prepare the "General Questions" on p. 1084 (the seven questions in the last section). Although several of these are interpretive, your response should include strong and convincing textual evidence. For question #4, double back to the beginning of the Drama section (806 ff.) It is tied in with the one-act play Trifles, which I haven't assigned and don't expect you to read tonight. However, look over the definitions of key dramatic terms on pp. 820-824--particularly for the discussion of crisis/turning point/climax on p. 822. And for question #6, be sure that you have read the introductory material to Chapter 35 (1027-1031).
Discussion of Act II and bits of Act III of A Doll's House, based loosely on specific Acts questions on p. 1084. We didn't do too much with the Act III ones, though, because we will focus on a couple of scenes in detail tomorrow.
FOR TOMORROW
Prepare the "General Questions" on p. 1084 (the seven questions in the last section). Although several of these are interpretive, your response should include strong and convincing textual evidence. For question #4, double back to the beginning of the Drama section (806 ff.) It is tied in with the one-act play Trifles, which I haven't assigned and don't expect you to read tonight. However, look over the definitions of key dramatic terms on pp. 820-824--particularly for the discussion of crisis/turning point/climax on p. 822. And for question #6, be sure that you have read the introductory material to Chapter 35 (1027-1031).
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