4/1: Classwork attached below ("Beats poetry work and critique starters"). HOMEWORK FOR MONDAY: Please bring in at least a full page of notes of ideas for your critique. These can take any form that works for you (outlining, notes, paragraphs, etc.) but they should not really be brainstorming (we should be beyond that by a little – I mean, webbing probably isn’t helpful). Remember that the guiding question here is what you have discovered about some aspect of the “problem of the color line (racism)” through our studies together and why that matters. You can write about the topic your group focused on – choose one of the discoveries you made (like courage displayed through leadership is the most effective at breaking down stereotypes) – or a new idea, or you can use one of the art pieces created in class as the piece you critique (I will try to take a few photos and post them on the website). Think in terms of three organizing principles and at least two pieces of evidence – some from literature and art we’ve studied and some from the historical materials we covered – for each idea that you are proving. On Monday you need to have with you a working thesis idea (or two), evidence for each organizing idea (in its context from the piece or from history) and your ideas about how it fits your critique (analysis)
3/30: Your task (before you leave today) is to split up the homework tonight among group members – somebody commit to watching the clip of the Beat poets on the website (12 minutes), somebody commit to listening to the podcast about the Ginsberg poem, also on the website (15 minutes) and the final two will each take one of the readings. FOR ALL OF THESE (1st grade on term 4): on the front of the notecard: take notes about what strikes you as important about the Beats and/or poetry (facts and ideas you can bring back to the group). I want to see a full side of notes. ON the back: write about what you heard, saw, read – what new ideas struck you, how do you see this as a “rebellion” against ‘50s ideas of conformity and structure, maybe try to wrestle with the art all over again by comparing it to what you learned, etc. Fill both sides of the card. NO COUPONS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT – YOUR GROUP MEMBERS NEED YOU TO FOLLOW THROUGH.
3/28: In class today, we worked on the "Florilgium assessment" (attached below). If you were out today, you will need to complete your own version of this by Friday (it is an assessment grade - please see me). I also handout out an extra grade assignment (it is attached below - "Cont Am Culture Burns extra grade"). This is optional and will be due next Monday (no coupons and no late accepted).
3/24: Click on the Art page link below for tonight's homework.
3/23:In class: Today, take a few minutes to look over the notes that you took when you listened to the podcast/read the essay. I am going to ask you to talk in small groups first, then we’ll come together as a whole group, then small groups again. Before we talk, on the front the notecard, write down for me your thoughts about the podcast and/or the essay. I am looking here for what struck you, what you found interesting, what surprised you, whether or not hearing about the history gave you any more clarity about the use of the word in our society, etc. These will also be your talking points in the groups today. OUR GOAL, by the end of the class, is to bring ourselves back to the literature we’ve read in order to THINK about doubleness, about the legacy of history on the characters’ and people’s actions and views of themselves, and how these still resonate with complications about race in our society today. I have posted the two art pieces below ("Ruby Bridges" and "Norman Rockwell The Problem…"). One is the photograph of Ruby Bridges that you’ve already seen and the painting Rockwell did of that moment (Rockwell’s painting is called The Problem We All Live With). For each, describe what you see (just like we do in class – do this on a piece of paper you can turn in NOT in your journals), then analyze – use the elements of art, but also look at the pieces through the lens of the discussions we have been having and especially through the ideas generated by your classmates’ statements. Try your hand at finding evidence to support at least one of the statements for each piece (I am expecting about a page – between writing about what you see, analyzing using the elements of art and notes about at least one of the lenses) for each of the pieces.
3/22: Here's the podcast and the essay from the Grant High School newspaper (here's the url: http://grantmagazine.com/thewordpodcast). Please listen to the podcast and read his essay. There is some language that you or your parents might find offensive toward the end of the podcast. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can watch Jabari Asim's appearance on Stephen Colbert's show instead. Remember our purpose here (to understand the shades of the word, its history, how it is used, etc.) and take notes for class tomorrow in your journals.
3/16 and 3/17: We worked with the quotes (my quote example is below) and the other materials in an effort to use the evidence we found to develop opinion statements about how how black Americans lived their lives, navigated through white America and its restrictions, etc.
Weekend’s homework: Read James Baldwin’s “Roy’s Wound.” (I scanned in the pages - you can find them below. You'll need to download and print for them to be readable). Like Ellison’s Invisible Man, and Hurston’s “How It Feels…”this story examines the damage done by the tensions created by separate and unequal. As you read, mark up the text. Pay attention to the tensions in the family – to Roy’s wound, but also to John’s reaction to that, to his family and the tensions that revolve around the relationships with the father. Highlight 3-5 quotes that help you to connect these ideas to patterns we have already talked about. 3/15: (B BLOCK ONLY): If you missed the Emmett Till clip from Eyes on the Prize you can watch it here. After you've watched, react to what you heard and saw on the video.
Close reading quotes and (C BLOCK ONLY): Today you’ll be watching about 25 minutes of one episode of the PBS series called The African-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. Today’s section should give you some background/context about race in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, and I hope that it will allow you to make connections to “Green Book” podcast and will give you context for Invisible Man and “How It Feels To Be Colored Me.” As you watch the video today, take notes (in your journals) about important events and people highlighted in the opening (to figure out what’s important, remember why you are watching – to gain background knowledge and context for the lives of blacks in America in the 1950s. After the excerpt is over, reflect about what you saw, make connections to “The Green Book” podcast episode that you listened to, the story/excerpt you read, write about what surprised you, what struck you as important, etc. If you missed class, you can find the video here. Start at the beginning, skip Paul Robeson and the bus boycotts, resume with Ruby Bridges' story and end after Ella Baker.
Homework: Melba Pattilo Beals and Lillian Smith: Read each woman’s memoir. In your blue books, react to each woman’s account of her life: what sticks out to you, what helps you to understand the time, what surprises/confuses you, etc. and make connections to what we’ve talked about in class. Fill two pages.
3/11 (B BLOCK ONLY): Today you’ll be watching about 25 minutes of one episode of the PBS series called The African-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. Today’s section should give you some background/context about race in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, and I hope that it will allow you to make connections to “Green Book” podcast and will give you context for the homework this weekend.
As you watch the video today, take notes (in your journals) about important events and people highlighted in the opening (to figure out what’s important, remember why you are watching – to gain background knowledge and context for the lives of blacks in America in the 1950s. After the excerpt is over, reflect about what you saw, make connections to “The Green Book” podcast episode that you listened to, write about what surprised you, what struck you as important, etc. Keep your journals – we’ll use them in class on Monday. If you missed class, you can find the video here. Start at the beginning and watch until the end of Ruby Bridges' story (you will see a still photograph of her on the way down a set of stairs.)
3/10: Notes from your notecards and sticky notes from the two stories are attached below. Homework for Monday: (excerpt from Invisible Man for honors credit and “How It Feels To Be Colored Me” for CPA credit). I expect that you will read the piece you have at least twice before completing the writing assignment. ON THE INDEX CARD: choose two quotes from the text that you think are essential to understanding the writer’s style and point of view (one quote on each side of the card). Copy the quote down (with page number) then write about WHY it matters. Make sure that you put the quote in context, break it down for me as you understand it (look at language too) and how it connects to the whole. You can find a copy of "How it Feels…" here and Invisible Man attached below.
3/7: In class, we delved more into the letters received by the New Yorker about Jackson's story and looked at the problems with nostalgia about the 1950s (two readings are attached below). We explored "The Enormous Radio: and looked for similarities between it and "The Lottery." HOMEWORK: between now and Thursday (3/10) please listen to the (99% Invisible podcast episode called "The Green Book" - MAKE SURE YOUR SCROLL DOWN TO FIND THAT EPISODE. IT'S EPISODE 201. ( you can find it here or come to my classroom Tuesday or Wed morning to listen or bring in a flash drive). On a regular sized notebook sheet: take down notes - write down interesting information, things that surprise you, etc. (these are bulleted and you should fill about 2/3rd of the page). Then, reflect on what you heard and on what view of the 1950s this piece gives you. How does it challenge the view of the '50s in other pieces we've studied and/or read? What does it tell you about life in the 50s for people who were not white, how does it relate to the discussion we had about nostalgia, etc.? Fill at least half a page.
3/4: In class essay. Homework: “The Enormous Radio” (a copy of the story is attached below): On the front of the notecard, bullet points you want to make sure to talk about and/or questions or confusions you have about the story. On the back of the card, compare the world John Cheever creates with the one Shirley Jackson created in “The Lottery.” THINK about the differences in setting, in character type, in tone, in theme. THINK about any similarities you see in character type, in concerns these authors are wrestling with, their view of the world, etc. Fill the back of the card. Here is an audio version of "Enormous Radio" part one and part two“
3/2: B and C Block: journal work today: First, brainstorm what you know about the 1950s. List everything - important people, ideas, cultural landmarks, etc. Then, situating ourselves in the 1950s: Read Bill Bryson’s introduction to his book, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Pay careful attention to his very first sentence. As you read, look for places where Bryson supports that sentence but also where he contradicts it in an effort to see whether his opening is straightforward or ironic. When you finish, return to the blue book and reflect on what you’ve read and Bryson’s view of the 1950s. In your reflection, you should include specific ideas from Bryson’s introduction and should strive to make connections to your prior knowledge about the 1950s and should try to get a handle on the time period (the reflection should be at least a page and a half long).
HOMEWORK (or, if you have time, start this in class): Read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (if you have read this before, read it again. We are reading it for different purposes): This story was first published in the New Yorker in June of 1948 and it generated more letters than any other story in the history of the magazine). Read closely and carefully, paying attention to plot but also to what’s left unsaid.- here's an audio version (start at 3:00 in) and here's the text (n case you were out or left yours at school). ,
On the front of the notecard: make a list of important features of the town, of its citizens and of the lottery ritual. On the back of the notecard: THINK about why this story was so upsetting to people who read it coming out of WWII. THINK about how the story might connect to (or threaten) the view of the 1950s world that Bryson presents in his introduction. Fill the back of the card.