Friday, November 6, 2009

A myriad of fun activities awaiting us today!

Gifted English II: Focus papers are due today by 3:30; of course, I prefer if you submit them in class during first and second period so we can have a Title Parade. After I collect focus papers from (some of) you, I'll give you a few minutes to review your Poe vocabulary words, and then we are taking the awesome and mighty Poe Vocab Quiz, complete with rat-related clip art and a bonus question. Then, and only then, will we watch the opening scene of The Count of Monte Cristo while we generate a list of How This is Not From the Novel in Any Way, Shape, or Form.

(Note: I don't like showing movies in class; in fact, we only have two other films scheduled for this year--Julius Caesar and Monty Python's Holy Grail. Both of those are worthwhile and related to my curriculum, but a movie day is a day we don't interact and I fail to see the point of that. You may as well have a robot for a teacher.) This may be the only day we watch CMC since I'd really, really like to start the satire unit on Monday. If you want to see more, you might have to come by at lunch or after school on Wednesday. Or go home and add it to your NetFlix queue. You are the digital generation.)

APeeps: After I return the Act II quizzes from yesterday, some of which contained inadvertently hilarious answers, we will take a long look at the soliloquy from Act III, scene i--the famous one you may remember from Billy Madison. Hamlet has now spun from grief to anger and back to grief again, but this one really resonates as he questions the entire scope of the human experience. After we deconstruct this brilliant speech, I have an additional resource for you--a recently published article related how Hamlet is still relevant to 2009. Fantastic stuff, or so sayeth I.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Gifted English II: Since so many students needed additional time for the Monte Cristo tests yesterday, today we will do the following four tasks:

1. Finish setting up for the Author of the Day presentations;

2. Finish the horror unit lecture/discussion from the notes;

3. Go over the Edgar Allan Poe vocabulary and discuss "Pit;" and

4. Go over ideas for the focus paper and the Gifted English Style Guide.

APees: The Act II Quiz will be tomorrow, and it is a lulu due to my fondness for asking you about quotes. Thus, today--review of Act II from stem to stern, so to speak! Go, Hamlet!

Monday, November 2, 2009

NOTE: Yesterday was Mrs. Nicoll's birthday. As she is a Woman of a Certain Age, it would be most advisable to wish her a happy birthday. . .and not ask her how many she has had thus far on her life's journey. The Wise One does deserve friendly acknowledgement. Happy Birthday, O Wise One!

Gifted English II: Today is the Count of Monte Cristo check-reading test. Bring your novel, a pencil OR a pen, and your brain. Today is also the assignment of the first official focus paper of the year. Last quarter, writing assignments turned into Epic Fail due largely to shifting deadlines for multiple students--some of whom did not have Gifted English last year, some of whom simply did not do to the summer reading, some of whom were suffering from Schedule Change Existential Woe. I focused pretty heavily on reading, vocabulary, and critical thinking last quarter, and our focus is shifting this quarter to Writing Skills.

Focus papers are short, sharp, focused--hence the title. This paper is due on Friday, no exceptions. It is only 300-400 words long, and you will have a revision opportunity next week if your score is lower than a B-. The topic for this FP is CMC, and over the course of this quarter you will have several focus papers to generate, some of which will be ideologically connected to the literature we are studying, some of which will be more FCAT-y. Regardless, this is the format you will be writing in during AP Lit and Comp your senior year, and it mimics the kinds of essays you are expected to generate on most AP exams. Time to get with the program, sophys! I will help you as much as I can.

AP Literature and Composition: Today might be a Hamlet Act I quiz, depending on the level of emo I sense in the room. Over the weekend, I asked you to read as much as you comfortably could in Act II and address as many of the guided questions as possible. I will most likely start the class by reviewing the concepts and elements of Act I and gauge where the discussion is going; the beauty of Socratic instruction is that YOU determine the lesson's outcome. Be alive, alert, and awake, and all will be well. The quiz is easy IF you read it with focus and "got it." Otherwise, it is mind-bendingly awful.

Friday, October 30, 2009

No school for students today!!!

Enjoy your three-day weekend; second quarter begins Monday.

SOPHYS: Count of Monte-Cristo check-reading test on Monday; bring a pencil or pen and your copy of the novel. Also, we will be assigning dates for the Author of the Day project.

APeeps: Read Hamlet Act II over the weekend and answer the questions as best as you can; we will start discussing and analyzing the text (particularly the significant soliloquy "O what a rogue and peasant-slave am I. . .") in class Monday.

Happy Halloween! Make good choices!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

NOTE: I am leaving very quickly after school today for an appointment, so if you need help with a college essay or an existential crisis, please see me during A or B lunch. I will be in 313 during A lunch and 315 during B lunch.

NOTE NOTE: Poetry Reading is Friday after school from 2:30-4:00 in room 315. Bring a beverage; I will bring cookies.

NOTE NOTE NOTE: Project X-Mas is having an organizational meeting Thursday after school in room 313. The meeting itself is fairly short--we need you to "pimp the cause" to your various teachers and clubs--but afterwards Katie C. will be hosting crafts for sale for the cause.

Gifted English II: Reading Day for The Count of Monte Cristo. You get 10 points for reading, so BRING YOUR BOOK.

AP Lit and Comp: Finish the questions for Macbeth, then do an amazing MacScavenger Hunt to prepare for the inevitable, but fun, Mactest, which I think is Friday. I could push it to next week, but why would I? I LOVE THIS PLAY.

Monday, October 20, 2008

I have to leave today immediately after seventh period (possibly ten minutes before the end of the period, if I can get someone to cover my class) so I won't be able to give make-up work after school. I will be available tomorrow until around 5:15 p.m. for anyone who needs to finish any assignments.

APees: Hamlet, Act I, scene ii soliloquy and the rest of Act I.

Gifted English II: The beginning of the mini-unit on the Icarus unit. Also--the next text we are going to be reading outside of class is Voltaire's Candide. I'll be mentioning a few things about this satirical novel over the next few days.

Reminder to sophys: Count of Monte Cristo paper is due on www.turnitin.com by Wednesday night at midnight, with the hard copy turned in the next day for comments.

Something for the Sophys! The Trailer for CMC. . .

This is from the EXCELLENT (although eight-hour-long) French miniseries Le Comte du Monte Cristo. Enjoy. Rent it, if you can--it's amazing.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ah, Fay; we had temporarily forgotten about you. But today, the day we should be home contemplating our navels or sunning ourselves on the beaches of Florida, here we are slogging our way to school. Thank you, Fay. Without your stormy goodness we'd have a day off, and who needs that?

Since we're here, though, let's make the best of it and acquire Higher Levels of Meaning!

Sophys: Author of the Day presentation, followed by Count of Monte Cristo peer edit. If we have time, we're going to read an awesome poem by Ovid. Change your life, this will.

APees: Hamlet, review of Act I, i (your homework). Analysis of the first major soliloquy in Act I, scene ii--Hamlet's emo-ness reveals itself for the first black-stocking-clad, beret-wearing, latte-sipping time. But the allusions are so cool!

Monday, October 13, 2008

22 days until the National Election!

1 week until Homecoming Festivities begin!

2 days until the PSAT!

Sophys: Distribute the Count of Monte Cristo focus paper assignment and discuss; review PSAT vocabulary; distribute HW for this evening and go over (monosyllabic critical thinking fun times!)

APees: Analysis of Frost poem in relation to Macstuff; multiple choice practice. I know you can't wait!

If you need to take the make-up version of the Mactest, see me after class today to schedule some time tomorrow or Wednesday. I cannot give a makeup test today due to other commitments.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Please excuse us for a brief word from our sponsors on the subject of Senior Skip Day.

Some of you have gleefully (or grudgingly) shared with me that tomorrow, 10/10 (ten-ten) is some kind of Senior Skip Experience. Ahem. So. . .all of you are going to go to a central location and revel in being seniors? Or is this merely an excuse to go to the beach?

I am not opposed to revelry; revelry rocks. And several of you have had SEVERAL absences thus far this year, for everything from Justified Medical Woes to Existential Crises. And I was out Tuesday, too, although I would have rather been floating around 313 than where I was being X-rayed and whatnot. BUT. . .and here is the kicker. . .this supposed holiday makes no sense. Mathematically, it should have been September 9 for class of 2009. Or the 9th day of a month, or nine days before graduation, or, preferably, nine days AFTER graduation. No one ever asks me. If you're out, I won't make fun of you too much, but I want you to consider a couple of things:

1. You have a major test tomorrow, and the make-up version is truly heinous. I cannot lie--I might enjoy its heinousness a bit more than would be polite.
2. Due to the new seven period day, we are losing 30 days of instruction per year, per course. Do the math--we went from 61 minute periods last year to 49 minute periods this year. That kind of attrition adds up. We're already behind.
3. I do not teach AP Hang Out With Miscreants at the Beach. There are plenty of opportunities to beach it out--heck, with the new bell schedule, you could get up, enjoy sunrise at Daytona, catch a few waves, and be back in time for first period.
4. Skipping is not cool! If you need a mental health day, discuss it with your parental units and arrange an excused absence.

So. . .final analysis: I will give you a make-up test if necessary, but I would just ask that you think about it. Particularly if you are taking multiple hard classes--if you think I'm humorless on the subject, see how an American Government instructor, or AP Physics teacher, or AP calc doctor perceives it.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Sophys: Part II of The Count of Monte Cristo test.

APees: Mactest!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

A thousand apologies for not getting this entry up sooner; I'm really not feeling that well.

Underclass: If you are interested in Picture Retake day, pick up a form from the table in the front of the room. Picture retakes will be 10/14, all day.

Sophys: Count of Monte-Cristo Check-Reading test, part I.

APees: Three goals for our learning today: 1. To discuss the AC Bradley piece from yesterday; 2. To go over the focus points listed below; 3. To review for the Mactest tomorrow. If we have time left over, a short scene from the terrible-yet-brilliant Orson Welles classic version of Macbeth, starring very few people from Scotland and filmed nowhere near Scotland. (And featuring a very festive hat that looks for all the world like a cooking funnel with fur hot-glued around its base. One must do what one must do with a limited budget.)

Focus points:

Ambition, both denotation and connotation
How does this play react to/related to The Gunpowder Plot (Remember, remember the fifth of November. . .) and what does it suggest about monarchical rights, governance, and the rights of a responsible citizenry?
What implications might this play have for a modern readership?

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

I've just been informed that I have a meeting before first period and another meeting immediately after seventh--both mandatory, my favorite word--so I won't be able to conference with anyone about college essays unless you can give up A lunch. Yay for meetings!

Sophys: Review PSAT vocabulary; review CMC for tomorrow's fun test, review Antigone for the take-home essay test, review PSAT strategies (hey--are you seeing a theme here? Lots of REVIEW.)

APees: MacFinalization in preparation for an eventual Mactest. I'm thinking Friday.

Apropos of Nothing: Project Runway Finale, part I is tonight! Just saying.

Primary Text Supplement for AP Lit:

AP Literature and Composition
Literary Criticism of the Macplay by A.C. Bradley
(from his series of 17 lectures on the play, presented in 1935)

4. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MACBETH AND LADY MACBETH

. . .From this murky background stand out the two great terrible figures, which dwarf all the remaining characters of the drama. Both are sublime, and both inspire, far more than the other tragic heroes, the feeling of awe. They are never detached in imagination from the atmosphere, which surrounds them and adds to their grandeur and terror. It is, as it were, continued into their souls. For within them is all that we felt without the darkness of night, lit with the flame of tempest and the hues of blood, and haunted by wild and direful shapes, 'murdering ministers,' spirits of remorse, and maddening visions of peace lost and judgment to come. The way to be untrue to Shakespeare here, as always, is to relax the tension of imagination, to conventionalize, to conceive Macbeth, for example, as a half-hearted cowardly criminal, and Lady Macbeth as a whole-hearted fiend.
These two characters are fired by one and the same passion of ambition; and to a considerable
extent they are alike. The disposition of each is high, proud, and commanding. They are born to
rule if not to reign. They are peremptory or contemptuous to their inferiors. They are not children
of light, like Brutus and Hamlet; they are of the world. We observe in them no love of country, and no interest in the welfare of anyone outside their family. Their habitual thoughts and aims are, and, we imagine, long have been, all of station and power. And though in both there is something, and in one much, of what is higher honour, conscience, humanity they do not live consciously in the light of these things or speak their language. Not that they are egoists, like lago; or, if they are egoists, theirs is an egoisme a deux. They have no separate ambitions. They support and love one another. They suffer together. And if, as time goes on, they drift a little apart, they are not vulgar souls, to be alienated and recriminate when they experience the fruitlessness of their ambition. They remain to the end tragic, even grand.

Definition: egoisme a deux: 1. "Selfishness of two" or "double selfishness"; a satirical description of love, variously and dubiously attributed sometimes to the French medieval writer of romances, Antoine de la Sale (circa 1385-circa 1460), to the 18th century philosophe, Antoine de Lassalle, and to the Swiss-French belle-lettrist, Madame de Staël (1766-1817): "L'amour est un égoïsme à deux," which translates as: "Love is a selfishness of two."

2. A situation in which two people are in love with each other but lack brotherly love for others.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Can you believe it's already October? At least there is a sense of coolness in the air. Autumn is upon us!

Today is National Vegetarian Day, and something about Circles. Many thanks to both Eric K. and Megan B. for providing us with all of the wacky days in October--hilarity will ensue.

Sophys: Count of Monte Cristo Final Reading Day As Voted on Democratically by Most of You. Yes, I know some of you don't like reading in class--it's too quiet, or it's too visually distracting, or you're not in the mood at this hour in the morning. If you'd rather read this amazing critical essay ABOUT CMC you can read that instead. Regardless, Dumas is getting his claws into your psyche this morning, and hopefully this will help all of you catch up.

Planning Ahead, Sophomore-Style:

1. This Friday, October 3: Mastery Test for 120 Literary Terms. Multiple Guess; bring a pencil.
2. Next Thursday, October 9: Count of Monte Cristo Test (essay and short answer format.) Bring a pen.
3. Wednesday, October 15: PSAT. You have all been signed up to take this test, and the 20.00 fee has been covered by school improvement funds. You will be excused from your first three classes that morning for testing, and you will need to bring a pencil. This test is important to you in several ways; as we discussed in class, it's A) the best way to prepare for national merit Qualifying next year; B) a measure by which we can best place you in AP classes next year and the year afterward, and C) terrific practice for the SAT and ACT. Pleas take this seriously. It is a highly respected, nationally recognized exam that is actually interesting in content.

APees: Sixth period needs to take the Act III quiz, due to ongoing delays from last week's Senior Panoramic Picture. Everyone else will forge straightaway into Act IV, scene i analysis, and develop thesis statements for the MacFocus Paper that is due next Tuesday. (You still need to bring your finalized thesis statement and rough materials with you Friday for in-class conferencing.) MacGoodness all around! And more cartoons on the board.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

According to Eric K., today is National Comic Book Day. Please don't spend hours regaling me with the advantages Aqua Man has over Batman. Can't do it. Just can't.

Sophys:

1. Reminder that The Count of Monte Cristo is now due on October 9. This is a major extension in my world, so don't take advantage of it--and don't think you can just get the book on tape or see the movie and you''ll be okay. You have had TWO state-sanctioned reading days in class, and a very thorough character list to assist you, and you've had a while for reading. A handful of students are finished already. Please, please, please read this awesome book--we have three assignments related to it and reading this book may impact your future studies! I will remind you again in class AND we'll have a Book Talk Q&A one day next week to clarify any "confusement." Yes, that's not a word; I'm just trying to be funny. Ha ha.

2. Today! Antigone! What will she do next? Goodness--the poor girl. Oh, and some grammar. I love grammar. It is your friend, and you should love it, too.

APees: Finish and review Act II in all of its finery.

Community Service: As you know, I am no longer working with the Orlando Shakespeare Festival due to an ideological parting of the ways. If you are interested in volunteering with them, there are other groups in the Orlando community who usher for them and I'm sure they'd love to have you, or if you're 18 you can volunteer as an individual. There are other opportunities for community service here at Boone, and frankly I could use some help before school with some stuff. It's not particularly challenging work, but a lot of things are still missing from the summer and might be packed into the boxes that line the walls. If you are interested in earning comm serv in or out of my classsroom, see me and I will gratefully A) use you and give you hours directly or B) put you in touch with the right agency.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!!! Avast and ahoy, mateys!!!

You can access the web site at http://www.talklikeapirate.com/ if you are curious about pirate-themed things. Warning: The site isn't purely polite, landlubber. Kinda PG. So. . .aaaarrrgghhh!

I will have eyepatches to distribute on a first-come, first-served basis. I have almost three hundred left, but you never know. Some pirates are greedy, you know.

On to serious academic things:

Gifted English II: Our Author of the Day today is Sophocles, the Greek playwright. Why? Because we're going to start studying some Greek tragedy, that's why! I'm so excited. You will need to bring your textbooks with you for a while; after Antigone, you can retire them to your locker or under your bed until further notice. Final review for vocab quiz; discussion of CMC; introduction to Greek Theater complete with classy cartoon/chart on board. I love me some Sphinxie and once I figure out how to scan my "art" I'll be happy to post it here.

APees: After reviewing the poems from yesterday, we are making a transition into the world of Shakespearean tragedy. I have tons of resources for you; today is mostly lecture material and note-taking before we embark on the Macplay. Life-changing stuff, this. Yup. If you haven't acquired your own copy of the Macplay yet, do so; if you don't want to spend the money, I have a plethora of copies on the shelves for your perusal.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

REMINDER: APees--bring your anthology today! Sophys--bring CMC today and your literature book tomorrow!

Gifted English II: Second and final state-sanctioned reading day for CMC. Some of you are woefully behind on your reading; you will have an opportunity to fill out a second progress slip today and we can confer about your reading speed. This novel is due October 1--still two weeks away.

AP Literature and Composition: "On the Road to Delphi" analysis and a poem by Muriel Rukeyser. Tomorrow--lecture fun!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Tonight at Boone we are having a guest speaker in the auditorium at 7 p.m.--Dr. Something will be talking about a year he spent "as a teenager." Might be interesting, and it's free. Also tonight at BHS in my classroom, at 6:30, is the travel meeting for the spring break trip to Germany. This is probably my last year traveling abroad with students (I've been at it since 2002!) but I'd like to go out with a bang, so to speak. Come if you are interested.

(There are other travel opportunities this year that might interest you, too--the band is apparently doing a spring break trip, and one of the foreign language teachers might be organizing a trip to Italy at some point. I'll post more specifics if I find out for sure.)

SOPHYS (Periods 1 and 2): Today is the day for Edusoft Benchmark Testing. Some of you will finish quickly; others will require the whole period. Bring something to read. Would you like a suggestion? How about. . .oh, I don't know. . .The Count of Monte Cristo? Sounds good to me! Bring a pencil for your testing--I have some but they are of shockingly low quality.
Sadly--no Author of the Day today.

APees: Now that you have done your Guidance thing, I want to clarify what's due for the next focus paper. Here is the contract I'm willing to offer:

IF you turn in your paper on time, both in person and on www.turnitin.com;
IF it is double-spaced and has a cool title; and
IF you made a good-faith effort to address either prompt, then. . .

You get a 100 on this paper.

(I believe in a concept called "The One A Paper." Some of you write one each week, because you are always going to hit the 8 or 9 level on the College Board scale; some of you are so, so talented in other academic areas, but not language arts, and an A is as foreign to you as AP Calculus Success would be to me. So. . .you get a 100, and I mark the HECK out of it. Brutal. Slashy. How the AP readers would grade it. But you can take a risk, jump out on a limb, make outrageous claims, and experiment with your writing without the worry that your grade will die just in time for progress reports. Honestly, who doesn't like a 100?)

Focus paper due Friday--by 4:30 p.m. in my hand, and by midnight that night on www.turnitin.com.

Today in class--Oedipus Rex and oracles! We start with the four questions on the oracle sheet, and work our way into Higher Levels of Meaning.

Word of the Day: mendicancy (noun): the practice of begging for alms or food; related to extreme poverty. (This word occasionally appears in 19th century texts--Dickens, etc.)