Wednesday, December 1, 2010

It's DECEMBER!!!!!! Can you believe it??????

Okay. Couple of announcements first, peeps:

1. The Honors Breakfast is during first period tomorrow; please check in with me if you are in that class so I don't erroneously mark you absent. You all know how talented I am with ProgressBook; let's not exacerbate the woe! The breakfast will start at 6:45 for those of you who don't want to miss a morning class, but I swear I won't hold it against you if you decide to go. We can review Candide more on Thursday. No worries. Benchmark Testing for English will be Tuesday or Thursday next, so don't panic.

2. Guidance will be visiting all the AP classes on Thursday at the beginning of the period to go over your Bright Futures login. This website will allow you to track your financial aid and determine if you qualify for the 75% (now more like 56%) or the 100% (now more like 84%) scholarships, but the cool thing is that you can also track other state-based funding here, too. Let me share with you from prior experience: DO NOT LOSE YOUR PASSWORD after you create it. Make it something memorable. DOE will take FOREVER to help you track it if lost, and no one at BHS can help you. Oy.

So. . .today! It's Wednesday! Whoo!

Periods 1 and 2: For those not attending the Honors Breakfast, a review of Candide and a chance to rewatch something funny if you are so inclined. Second period will probably have a whole-class lesson on the political symbolism of the novel.

Periods 3-7: Instead of doing a Timed Writing for this month, we're going to do a Timed Outline, which will take you the same amount of effort/ingenuity/timed performance. Here's the rationale: The AP Lit (and Lang) exams are READING TESTS more than they are writing tests. In other words, you need to be able to write clearly, coherently, and intelligently, but if you have nothing to say you cannot write your way out of it. Interpretation is everything. I will give you a passage (p. 140 in the CLIFF book) that is likely to appear in some iteration on the exam, and you will have the period to generate a thesis statement, find support, and outline your product. The emphasis is on READING. And I think you will enjoy the passage. I know I did.

Squee!

If you need hours, I can help today--I already have two lovely assistants coming in after school to tidy up and record some data, so more help is welcome. Let me know; I have a teacher coming in for some assistance with satire at the same time. Love to all!!!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Today is the SENIOR BREAKFAST. It will begin at 6:45 in the cafeteria for students who can't miss a morning class, and will go on through first period. Bon appetit! The Honors Breakfast will be tomorrow, same time, same place.

Gifted English II: Candide, backwards and forwards, and satire in action (handout).

AP Lit and Comp: Evaluation of Nash's critical essay of Hamlet and his delay, followed by the Act III quiz and possibly the introduction of Act IV.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Was your Thanksgiving week awesome? I mean, really, really awesome? I don't think we have enough awesomeness in our world, or if we do, we fail to appreciate it. Cheers to awesomeness and no residual turkey-related gastrointestinal distress.

Welcome back!

GIFTED ENGLISH II: Be warned, guys--we have TWO tests this week. Thursday is Edusoft Benchmark Testing, Part II, and we HAVE to show improvement over the last score or. . .dun dun dun. . .we have to do Mini Benchmark Activities in class instead of the AP-prep stuff I'd rather do with you. I'll go over the expectations in class tomorrow. Friday is an open-book assessment of Candide. I'll go over that tomorrow, too! Hope you fulfilled your moral obligation and read that book over the break. . .if not, find a good hour during the week and READ. It goes fast. Most chapters are three, four pages, tops. And it's HILARIOUS.

Today, though: Author of the Day review of dates for presentations; journal entry related to Candide and then a discussion; reiteration of satirical elements of the short stories/novel we are generating; review of the Monty Python paper revision, which is due WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1. As in WEDNESDAY.

AP LIT AND COMP: Before the break, I gave each of you a critical essay and asked you to read SOME of it. (It's plot-spoiler-y, so at some juncture you have to set it aside and wait for Acts IV and V to elapse. But the central motif of the critique, Hamlet's delay, is so central to our discussions this week that the essay is a necessary evil now. Wait until you see what T.S. Eliot thinks of the Melancholy Dane.) Today, we are generating Hamlet's resume, part I (on the board and in your notes), reviewing Act III, and then taking the Act III quiz if time permits. We have a lot to do this week, guys. . .moving onward and upward.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: We need help in the Writing Center, particularly during the A lunch shift. And we need help coordinating the Winter Party for the custodians, too. If you need service hours for NHS or Bright Futures see me.

Also, I am writing a grant to get copies of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the hilarious sequel to Hamlet written in 1967 by subversive playwright Tom Stoppard. We currently have 24 copies hanging out at Boone, so we could do it as a class set, but I'd rather have copies students can check out and take home. (Yes, the play is that good, and yes, I'm biased because I wrote my AP Lit FRQ on it in 1989 and got a 5, so I think it's a panacea.) Anyway, as mentioned in the course syllabus that none of you read, this is the ONLY expensive text of the year, but if you have to acquire your own copy for future purposes or if you need to write in the text, you can get a copy at this website for only 11.99. (Regular price ranges from 12.99-16.99 depending on the publisher.) www.prestwickhouse.com. Just FYI. I'm working on getting these outright for 313.

Three weeks until Winter Break!!! Can you believe it?

Cheer Pressure: Third Annual Edition

To celebrate the Recession that is plaguing America, I am reposting my suggestion list from my now-defunct LiveJournal blog, with a couple of edits. So read on, if you feel the need. Pardon any irreverence in the tone; 'tis the season to be stressed out! Falalalalalalalalala.

This post is strictly meant to be helpful.

Did you know that the average American family will go into debt over holiday presents?

And that the average holiday expenditure per family of four is over one thousand dollars?

And that everyone seems to want something out of you on the holiday trainwreck--whether it be get-togethers, expanded tipping for the people who provide services throughout the year, or the incessantly tinntinnabulous bellringers outside of local constabulatories?

So, Hilley has solutions for you. Of course, I'd like to suggest gently that we just stop with all of the gift-giving, but that would be really hypocritical of me since I lurve giving presents to people. LOVE IT. I love all of it--selecting them, wrapping them lovingly a la Martha Stewart, and watching with glee as the recipient(s) opens my carefully-contemplated schwag. Love it.

What I don't love is the pre-holiday anxiety about how in the heck I plan to pay for all of this material joy.

So, short of standing on street corners with a sign statingWill Conjugate/Edit/Proselytize for Christmas Money, I have been casting about for financially sound holiday solutions for Loved Ones, and I want to share my new-found wisdom with you.

NEW SUGGESTIONS FOR 2010's CONTINUING ECONOMIC CRISIS:

1A. Just tell your friends and family that the recession is hitting you particularly hard, and you will be praying for them/thinking of them/writing poetry in honor of them in lieu of presents. How can anyone argue with that?

1B. Write up lovely cards stating that you donated to The Human Fund in their name to celebrate Festivus.

1C. Just promise to not discuss politics with them for the next twelve months in lieu of a tangible gift. Most of us would appreciate that, especially if your political views are Wrong and theirs are Correct. In their estimation, of course.

1D. Go to sleep on the 23rd and awaken on the 26th, holiday over. Then hit the 80% off sales, beg for forgiveness, and enjoy the savings. (My trig teacher at LMHS convinced his two kids that Christmas was 12/29 each year so he and his wife could deep-discount their gifts. Lasted until the kids could read calendars. . .)

Now on to the suggestion list from last year, reposted in lieu of a present to many, many of you, because I love you and because I apparently love handbags more than I love you. My apologies. And NONE of these places have given me anything to write about them, so please don't accuse me of being overly commercial.

1. Do not re-gift, unless you are ABSOLUTELY certain that the original gift-giver has moved to Saskatchewan and that the new recipient will not be posting pictures of the new bling on Facebook or whatever. In our newly savvy techno-age, there are a myriad of ways in which a regifter can be busted. I speak from vicarious experience, since my BFF has regifted virtually every gift I've ever given her. . .to me. In recent years I've gotten smart and only given her expendables, like face cream or a gift card. You'd be amazed at what that woman is willing to return, and in what condition, and without what receipts. She is so lucky I love her. (Note from 2010: For her birthday on 11/21, I gave her something I liked just in case it finds its way under my tree on the 25th.)

2. Homemade presents are always great, but be careful that you don't end up spending more money on the materials than you would have on some pre-made stuff of similar ilk. Six years ago, BFF and I went soap-crazy and made homemade soaps for all of our beloveds. While some of the soaps were well-received (and some were hilarious--like the one we filled with toenail clippings, and the one we filled with leftover Ramen Noodles) the average cost per bar of soap was over eight bucks. In other words, NOT COST-EFFICIENT.)

3. Hit the dollar spot at T____ (national discount chain with a bullseye logo). They have amazing stuff there, and, more importantly, they have really good-quality gift wrap and bows for A DOLLAR. Failing that, start saving unusual shopping bags, pieces of paper, and fabric for unique gift-wrap. Those card-stock, unrecycle-able community newsletters? Great giftwrap, guaranteed to raise eyebrows! And I'd also like to point out that P___ (local grocery store chain) has nice reusable grocery bags with festive prints--pop a gift in, close it, and you have two gifts in one!

4. For those of you who are girly: This website has Sephora-level quality cosmetics for a dollar apiece, and gift sets in the five/ten/fifteen dollar range:http://www.eyeslipsface.com. Their packaging is good and the shipping prices are decent. Lately, they've been offering FREE SHIPPING. Whoohaa.

5. For those of you are super-girly, try this website, where every piece of jewelry is "free" (actually, 6.99 for shipping, but when it arrives the stamp says 82 cents, but whatever):www.silverjewelryclub.com

6. For those of you with a slightly higher budget and a quirky sense of humor, try any of these websites:www.fredflare.com,www.blueq.com, andwww.perpetualkid.com.

7. There is absolutely nothing wrong with findingsomething vintage and amazing at Goodwill Boutique--especially the one near Park Avenue in Winter Park. Dechoes is good, too, if you are looking for something in particular--they closed the one on Curry Ford, but the ones on Edgewater and Colonial Drive are still there, and still awesome. Local churches also have thrift stores with a huge array of finds for relatives and friends.

8. If you have a slightly higher discretionary income and want your money to go to good use, you can't beat the fair-trade handmade bags at Amani Ya Juu, which I got for my mom, sister, and sister-in-law last season. All of the proceeds go to the women in the tribe. Special thanks to the Chitty family for their hands-on work with this organization. www.amaniafrica.org.

9. You cannot underestimate the power of a deed or an event. Offer to take a younger sibling out for an afternoon, or pack a picnic for your sig-o, or offer to help the disorganized adult in your life redo her filing system, or whatever. Write the offer in a nice card and revel in the money you're saving--and the real impact you might be creating.

10. Also, don't underestimate the power of your own talents. Burn a DVD of a film you've made, or a performance in which you participated, and include a detailed write-up; take your oddest/most innovative playlist and commemorate it on a CD; make a painting, or write a poem, or short story; if you have leftover art materials from previous craft projects, get creative and see what you can make. Grandparents will squee in glee; little kids will love it; your friends may tease you but secretly adore it.

Final note: You really do not have to get presents for teachers, although the greediest among us do love bling. Overweening giftage can be awkward, and the majority of us would really prefer a heartfelt note wishing us a nice holiday and saying how the class is going so far. Save your money; buy your girl/boyfriend something, go to the movies, go buy a book and READ IT. Then write me a note about how you used the money you almost blew on an apple paperweight or bookmark and how much you really love literature, and we're gravy. Of course, if you are a millionaire, I would like to mention how much I like Starbucks.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Gifted English II: Peer Review for paper--final draft due 12/10/2010, followed by non-fiction information and satire.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet, Act III--both in film and play form. Please don't forget to pick up the critical essay by Kenneth Chan titled "Why Hamlet Delays His Revenge." A copy will be on ProgressBook for your convenience, but it's easier to read in hardcopy form. This essay will be due (meaning read and annotated) after the break.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle: Hamlet, Explained Part II

In which we look at individual scenes and particular details you should note.
Did you know that Hamlet has been translated into Klingon? Really! I had a copy once, but it took a walk right out of my classroom. Oh,Qu'vatlh guy'cha b'aka!


Act I, scene i

We open with a ghost scene; fascinating that the first words of the play are "Who's there?" Suspicion dominates from the very beginning of the play; several guards, some of whom have oddly Italian names, have seen a ghost walking and have asked the trusted Horatio to come take a look. While they wait, Horatio engages them with the protracted tale of how the Norwegian-Danish conflict thus far had been resolved prior to the play's beginning.

Elements to look for: external and internal conflict; supernatural imagery

Act I, scene ii

Claudius, the new King of Denmark, begins this scene with a marvelously nuanced speech about his ascension to the throne; he refers to his bride as "th' imperial jointress to this warlike state." in other words--power comes through Gertrude. Good to know. No one in Denmark seems particularly perturbed by the haste with which the two have married (with mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage) except for the emo boy in the corner, who promptly gets into it with his new stepfather. "Cast thy nighted color off," entreats his mom; after all, how much mourning can a new bride tolerate? He shrugs and promises to obey her, but gives little reply to Claudius's twin edicts that Hamlet A) stop mourning, as it's bringing everyone down, and B) stay here in Denmark, instead of popping back to Wittenberg for further graduate studies in melancholia.

This scene truly takes flight, though, in Hamlet's remarkable first soliloquy--our first gaze into his soul, and our first look at the honest, un-socialized Danish prince. He is profoundly depressed by his father's death and his mother's seemingly oblivious reaction to it. How could she marry so quickly, and to his father's brother? He ends the ruminations when he greets Horatio, an old friend whom he had apparently not seen in some time. When Horatio informs Hamlet of the ghost's appearances on the castle walls, Hamlet perks up and seems eager to investigate this happening for himself. Despite his trepidation (Renaissance thinkers were notoriously skittish about such things) his curiosity outweighs his fear, and he plans to join Horatio and the other guards at the top of the castle after eleven that very night.

Elements to look for: allusions to Greek mythology and the Bible; Claudius's silky diplomacy; Gertrude's maternal requests; Hamlet's use of language alone and with others; color imagery

Act I, scene iii

The scene switches to Polonius's chambers within the castle. Laertes is earnestly talking to his younger sister, and telling her that Hamlet is not a long-term option for her, as he is "subject to his birth." Ophelia, recognizing her brother's genuine concern and affection for her, responds with gentle humor, telling him not to be hypocritical and to watch his own sexual behavior. Since he is heading off to "study" in Paris, we can only assume that he is a bit of a party boy. Polonius himself bursts into the room, chastising Laertes for packing too slowly, then "helps" him by giving him tons of advice on living. Some of it is actually pretty solid--don't get in a fight, but if you do, win; don't lend out money; be careful whom you trust. The most interesting tidbit is when he ways "to thine own self be true," which may as well be engraved on Polonius's self-serving heart. Then, Polonius browbeats his daughter into discussing Hamlet with him, too, and he urges her to "tender yourself more dearly." If his daughter were to be publicly associated with Hamlet's desires, it could be detrimental to his own ambitions.

Elements to look for: metaphors, platitudes, the relationship between father/son and father/daughter, sexual mores of the Renaissance as expressed to both genders

Act I, scene iv:

This comparatively brief scene takes place atop the castle walls. Marcellus, Bernardo, Francisco, and Horatio accompany Hamlet in much conversation before the ghost appears. When the ghost does manifest itself, the brave soldiers lose their bravado and attempt to force Hamlet to stay with them, fearing his destruction if the ghost is a demon. Hamlet threatens his friends with his sword and runs after the ghost. Time loses all meaning as Horatio and the men "search" for Hamlet, presumably while the next scene unfolds. This scene hosts the famous "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" line, as intoned by Marcellus.

Elements to look for: visual imagery; Renaissance attitudes toward the supernatural

Act I, scene v:
Hamlet confronts the ghost of his father, who is fairly talkative for a armor-clad spectre. Hamlet the Elder reveals that even though the party line claimed he died after being bitten by a serpent, he's actually the victim of fratricide--the oldest Biblical crime. His brother Claudius had waited until he had fallen asleep in his orchard (as was my custom) and poured poison in his ear, killing him with wrenching agony and without an opportunity to make confession. Thus murdered, "with all my sins upon my head/No reckoning made," the ghost must spend each day in Purgatory, suffering, and each night walking the earth. He demands that his son avenge his murder, but leave his mother "to Heaven." Hamlet, spurred to revenge, seems eager to get to work, and once reunited with his peeps, forces them to swear on his sword to keep silent about his plan. He will pretend to be crazy so people will leave him alone--not the greatest plan in the world for someone a few credits shy of a PhD. His "antic disposition" will entertain the Danish for many weeks to come.

Elements to look for: religious symbolism, father/son separation anxiety, serpent imagery


mupwI' yI'uchtaH! (Good night!)

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle: Hamlet, Explained

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle: Reprinted from 2008

Hamlet Review, Part I: For the Land of the Lost

Two years ago,, I wrote summaries/explanations for this puzzling play. Rather than reinvent the wheel, here they are again for your delectation. Trash or treasure, o peeps:

Hamlet, Explained (Part One of an Occasional Series)

Hamlet is more complicated than Macbeth, with higher diction levels--but most of the complications arise from the interweaving of several subplots.Macbeth, you will recall, contains one driving narrative thread--the collapse of one man's morality as he ascends in power. Although other motifs and symbols figure within that tragedy, all go back directly to that main plot. Hamlet is far more complicated, with political intrigues, conjectures, and elements of ambiguity there to enhance the text.

Some things to consider:

1. Hamlet may or may not be insane, which complicates your understanding of his role and his use of language immensely. Note how he pops back and forth effortlessly from prose (paragraph form) to unrhymed iambic pentameter (blank verse) to rhyming couplets, regardless of his audience. The only solidity we get from him is contained in his soliloquies, which are confusing enough due to his high level of education and insight.

2. Claudius is not a completely "bad" bad guy--he is greedy, narcissistic, venial, selfish, and did a very, very bad thing. His sin is Biblical (fratricide) and was motivated by the greatest of all human motivations--jealousy. He has moved into his older brother's life--wife, crown, title--and seems competent in governance if not in morality. On some level, he wants Hamlet's cooperation and approval, but he goes about trying to "parent" the errant prince in increasingly uneven and careless ways.

3. Gertrude, the DSQ, is probably more ignorant than dumb. There is a difference. She and Ophelia, while more complex than other female stock characters in Elizabethan theater, are still two-dimensional compared to the men who rule them. Try to see her as a baffled woman attempting to regain a sense of sexual independence and her role might make more sense.

4. Polonius and other courtiers are interfering and obtuse, to the point of obscuring some of the main narrative thread. Every time Polonius is featured in a scene, we are tempted to see him as the commedia dell'artestock character of the "pantaloon"--the foolish old man. (Hamlet himself refers to him as a "tedious old fool.") However, Polonius is critically important to understanding the overriding motifs of duplicity, spying, and dishonesty that govern everything that goes on in Elsinore Castle--and may well have been going on even before the death of Hamlet the Elder.

And, to further clarify what's been going on thus far, I am going to repost something that appeared in McSweeney's a while ago. I hope that I am not violating copyright; this has made the rounds on Facebook and on several blogs and I am only posting to bring clarity and understanding to my poor, confused students. Here are the first three acts of Hamlet, Facebook- style:

HAMLET
(FACEBOOK NEWS
FEED EDITION).

BY SARAH SCHMELLING

- - - -

Horatio thinks he saw a ghost.

Hamlet thinks it's annoying when your uncle marries your mother right after your dad dies.

The king thinks Hamlet's annoying.

Laertes thinks Ophelia can do better.

Hamlet's father is now a zombie.

- - - -

The king poked the queen.

The queen poked the king back.

Hamlet and the queen are no longer friends.

Marcellus is pretty sure something's rotten around here.

Hamlet became a fan of daggers.

- - - -

Polonius says Hamlet's crazy ... crazy in love!

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.

Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.

Ophelia removed "moody princes" from her interests.

Hamlet posted an event: A Play That's Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family

The king commented on Hamlet's play: "What is wrong with you?"

Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind.

Polonius is no longer online.

(I will post the next two acts after we have read further. No plot spoilers here, unless you've seen The Lion King!)

And here is Hamlet, South Park style:

Another element that might help you understand this play:

Three Reasons Why Shakespeare is Hard to Understand

1. Grammar. Particularly in Hamlet, Elizabethan grammar is different than Standard American English. One common element we see in conversations between characters is inversion, which is easy enough to follow in simple declarative sentences (Go you here today?) but is harder to parse in complex, lengthy expressions--the ones favored by our titular hero. This is where the modern English version can help you, if read WITH the Elizabethan text. (Guys, I'm sorry, but I'm never going to lose my fascination with asking you to identify quotes.)

2. Archaic words. What is a bodkin? Who or what are fardels? What is aquietus? Shakespeare frequently uses words that are no longer in our vernacular, and I'm not merely talking about thou, thee, and whilst. I will continue to define words as I can in class, but out of class in private reading you might need to consistently avail yourself of the footnotes available in every edition. Also, I will be publishing a glossary of Hamlet words, but I have to warn you--it's looooooooong.

(Note: A bodkin is a dagger, and fardels are burdens, and a quietus is the conclusion of one's life.)

3. Words with different meanings. The best example of this is when Hamlet confronts Ophelia in her closet, which at the time simply meant a private chamber or room. A very different visual image than Hamlet, in dirty stockings and no hat, grabbing her amid a sea of coat hangers, eh? If you are hit by the "confusement" train, be sure that the word you think you are reading in its context actually means what you, a 2009 reader, thinks it means. Again, make liberal use of footnotes.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

ALMOST TIME FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!

Gifted English II: For the first part of the period, we're going to go over the rubric for the final copy of the essay (due Tuesday November 30 because I'm so awesomely nice) and peer-edit if we have time. For the second part of the period, we're going to do something truly odd that involves critical thinking, visual imagery, and possibly a chimpanzee. That's just how I roll.

AP Lit and Comp: Yesterday, I had you assess two elements of Act III--Hamlet's soliloquy and his subsequent treatment of Ophelia. I think some of you are getting lost in the diction, so I'm reposting the awesome Explanation Du Hamlet I wrote for 2009's group. Today, we're watching Act III and receiving the assignment you need over the break-- a critical essay on Hamlet's delay that DOES INVOLVE PLOT SPOILERS. But we're not concerned about little things such as plot, right? We, like the Elizabethans, are engaging in dramatic irony. Oh, yeah.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Today is Teach-In, during which guest speakers come across our campus to educate young people. Some of you will have a guest speaker in your second period class; I won't, due to an incident in 1994 that still rocks my memory banks in a negative way. As soon as George Clooney is available as a guest speaker (or JK Rowling) I will have one, but unfortunately second period has work to do tomorrow. I hope everyone is nice and respectful to their guest!!!

Gifted English II: Writing assignment from yesterday; you have all period to plan and execute your essay. Final copy will be due Tuesday, November 30.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet, Act III. And how.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Gifted English II: Further satire exploration with a Monty Python essay assignment (haHA!) and pre-teaching for Candide. HAVE YOUR SATIRE PACKET so we can discuss both last night's HW (selecting three or four episodes of MP for analysis) and go over the character list for Candide.

AP Lit and Comp: Finish going over Act II questions before I collect them, followed by a quiz that will take some of you the remainder of the period and will work quickly for others.

Monday, November 15, 2010

One more week until Thanksgiving break!!!

Thank Goodness.

Gifted English II: Finish "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail" and then discuss the various techniques of satire utilized in the film.

AP Lit and Comp: Act II Quiz on Hamlet will be tomorrow; today, Act II analysis and discussion of the questions I gave you on Friday. Seventh period Friday watched the single-greatest scene in the Zifferelli Hamlet film, and so third, fifth, and sixth should today. It's that awesome. Mel Gibson acting irrational? Well. . .

Love to all. Study study!

Veggie Tales - Shakespeare's Omlet

This is cute. Don't hate the overposting of videos--it's out of love.

Sesame Street: Soliloquy On B

The venerable Patrick Stewart as Hamlet in Act III, scene i. Or so it seems. . .

Hamlet Act I Scene II

Smell the acting! This is Mel, channeling Hamlet in Act I, scene ii.

NewsRadio Minisodes - Super Karate Monkey Death Car

This is the video I told you about in class regarding the dangers of translation, as seen in the 1990's sitcom "NewsRadio." Enjoy.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Gifted English II: Read "My Melancholy Face" by Heinrich Boll and answer the few discussion questions at the conclusion. This is the last short satire piece before we get knee-deep into a lengthy film version.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet Quiz for Act I; begin reading Act II. Tomorrow I will go over the subtleties of Act I AND we'll watch the Zifferelli edition for clarity and focus.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The weather is clear and cool, thank goodness, and the kids at BHS are sweet little angels. Or so it seems!

Gifted English II: After we collect the HW questions from "A Modest Proposal" and discuss the implications of the satire, we will read the "sequel" by T. Coraghessen Boyle. It's so, so funny. Much to do, peeps! The first Author of the Day presentations will be tomorrow, with Lindsey in first period and Ivy in second.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet, Act I, scene ii, with annotation of the famous first soliloquy. HW: Read Act I in its entirety for plot and characterization; quiz and in-depth analysis tomorrow.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Gifted English II: "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, and related analysis, and a review of expectations for the Author of the Day project.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet (bring your lit anthology or your copy of the play) Act I, scenes i and ii.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Gifted English II: After we collect the HW from Monday, we will take a super-easy quiz on PSAT Vocabulary and then discuss the Author of the Day project, which will begin next week. After that, we will review the Mark Twain tale and make the transition into "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. This is a challenging text but I know you will appreciate its humor and density. BTW: I've ordered the copies of Candide, and they should be delivered in just a few days! If you need a copy still, the Media Center does have a few for check-out.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet-related insults and pre-reading questions, followed by a brief look at the Green Sheets from the 2009 AP Lit exam.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Gifted English II: Today, I am in a workshop during first and second period; be nice to your substitute, Mr. Velazquez. This is the last day to view CMC--ever! Mwahahahahahaha.

AP Lit and Comp: Hamlet Language: We are learning new terms for analysis and discussing various elements of figurative language in preparation for this play. The handout is on ProgressBook if you lose it.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Gifted English II: Everyone gets a new satire packet, and we are going to discuss elements of satirical language. And Mark Twain.

AP Lit and Comp: Introductory notes to Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark. Find out how this play, ultimately about three sons mourning for three dead fathers, elevates Shakespeare into eternity.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Weird week!!!

Gifted English II: Please read "The Lowest Animal" by Mark Twain in the textbook, after which we'll watch more of CMC.

AP Lit and Comp: 3rd and 7th period will read the Dylan Thomas passage for analysis, and 5th and 6th will continue our discussion from yesterday with regards to multiple choice questions connected to Thomas's witty irony.