12/10: HOMEWORK: Continue to pull together your ideas and your evidence for the assessment
We spent the period prepping for the assessment on Wednesday.
12/7: We rewatched scenes to think more (and take notes for and write about) Coogler's work and to make connections to Monster. This is test prep and will count as a grade.
12/5: We finished watcing Fruitvale Station.
12/4: HOMEWORK:please react to what you saw. Think about the complexity of the portrait of Oscar. Think about ways in which he is like Steve from Monster, about connections to our guiding quotes, to stereotypes of being a man, etc. Fill the back of the notecard.
We did some reflecting and writing before we watched Fruitvale Station.
12/3: : Review the notes from the article and excerpt. For each, come up with the 4 most important ideas (including at least one that challenges your thinking) and list these on the notecard (do it like this - article 1)........ 2).......3)..... 4)....... excerpt 1)....2)...etc.). Then students met in groups to discuss and we discussed as a class.
11/30: First: I do not have work (or completed work) from yesterday for the following (reshare with me): Davis, Josh C., Anthony, Brandon, Sam, Colin, Evan, Jacob, Carly, Madi. Several others have incomplete work. Check the comments on yoru document.
For today: To start, I want to spend just a littel more time thinking about O'Brien's reaction and the ending of the book Plesae pair up and revisitpages 215-229 together. These pages focus on O'Brien's work to prepare Steve for his tetsimony (the practive with the cup). Read closely and carefully and pay attention to O'Brien's use of the cup and what that might indicate. Look carefillu at Steve's testimony after this practice and pay attention to the screenplay notes that refer to the cup exrecise and ask yourselves WHY. When you have talked this through, add to yesterday's document. THINK about what this scene tells you about O'Brien's relationship with Steve, her conversations with Steve, about his relative guilt or innocence, etc. Does it change the way you understand the ending? Does it add anything to Steve's sense of self-doubt? Tell me what you think and why.
Then (either in class or for homework); read and respond to the following two pieces (this is groundwork to get us ready to watch Fruitvale Station next week).
1)Please read this piece making the case for the continued protests started by Colin Kaepernick. Please feel free to click on the links provided in the piece to read for yourselves the documentation Harriot uses. On a piece of paper you could hand in, make a list of his main points. Also make note of what ideas push you - either to think about things differently OR to want to argue with his ideas. Write about why these ideas push you and about what you might argue back (with what evidence).
2) Read the excerpt from A Colony in A Nation (Mrs. McTigue will give this to you). This excerpt presents a historical view of authority and whiteness and its connection to the system that perpetuates racism today. Mark up the text as you read it. When you are finished (on the same piece of paper), write about what struck you, what surprised you and what made you want to push back. Make connections between this reading and the Harriot article and other materials we've read this month. Bring this work with you to class on Monday. No coupons for this.
11/29: If you have not finished reading Monster do that now. Once you have finished, please open a google doc and write about the ending (title it Monster end with your name and share with me at cathy_nicastro@wrsd.net). Write about how you see Steve, what you think about the jury's decision, his lawyer's reaction and especially about what Steve's searching for on that very last page. Be thoughtful and thorough (strive for at least a page). Then, return to the sentencing scene (pages 272-277). Reread that scene, paying attention to the film notes and the way in which "Steve" sets up the climax of the trial on film. Make a list of the cues that you find most interestng (these can be camera cues, visuals, sound, etc.) Pair up with someone in class who has done this work as well and compare your lists. Together, analyze the choices Myers made in this final climatic scene of the film and explain WHY you think he made them (what do these choices say about Steve, about his guilt or innocence, about the court system, etc.).
If you are reading in class, make sure you finish the writing for homework.
11/28: Read today. Please read through the closing arguments (starting on page 240). Read these carefully. For each, make a list (3-5 points) of the best arguments (best arguments = arguments most likely to sway the jury to their side). Also make a list of the 3-5 most problematic pieces of evidence against their side (what evidence - or lack of evidence - gives you a reasonable doubt) and tell me why. Finally, tell me how you would vote if you were on the jury and tell me why. You can hand these in to Mrs McTigue. Read some more. Try to finish the book for tomorrow.
11/26: Work for class for today + homework and class on Wednesday is here
11/20: To start, read through this article about media and race. As you read, write down 6-8 important ideas from the article and its graphs Do this either on a piece of paper that you can hand in OR in the Google doc that you already used for Monster on Thursday last week --(if you choose this option, please start on page one with today's work) Then, pair up and use the article (and yesterday's article "Is Everyone a Little Bit Racist") to think about Monster. One of the things your classmates wrote about in their Monster paragraphs was Steve's fear that he'd been seen as a criminal (or more specifically as a monster). Together, choose five ideas from the two articles (you need at least one idea from each article, and a total of five ideas between them) and THINK about how that idea might possibily have had an effect on Steve's life, the life of people in his neighborhood, on the jurors, judge and attorneys and how they see people like Steve, etc. Write down each idea (identify the article) then tie it to something/someone specific in the novel and explain why/how you think they idea and the novel might be connected.You can turn in one copy - make sure you note both names on that copy. Add it to one of your notes from the article you read today. When you finish this, please continue to read Monster. Try to get through at least to 200 (that means you won't have reading over break).
11/19:HOMEWORK: Read through 151 in Monster for tomorrow.
Here's the link to the article we read in class today (so you can click on the research links and read the studies if you want to). Please read the article and on the front of the notecard: List the 5 most compelling ideas from the article (because they surprise you, because you can see why they would make a difference in someone's life and/or especially because they make you feel a little defensive and/or make you want to push back). Then, read through these headlines from news stories, and on the back of the notecard: write about what you notice about the headlines and about why what you notice matters.
11/15: To start, open up a google doc and share it with me (cathy_nicastro@wrsd.net). If you prefer to handwrite this, make sure to hand it in to the sub at the end of the period. Start by telling me what you think of Steve as a character: what do you know about him (facts) and what is your sense of the kind of person he is and WHY (list some traits you think he possesses and back it up with evidence - like, he's clearly imaginative because he is "documenting" his life as a screenplay, complete with cuts, camera angles, etc.). Then, go back into last night's reading and look at pages 57-64 (the font that looks like handwriting should be read as Steve's diary/inner monologue). What do these pages tell you about Steve? What does he care about and how do you know it? What scares him? What are his dreams? What does he fear? What does his dream reveal about him? Write me a good solid 2/3rds of a page, using evidence to support your ideas. Finally, read this article about brain research and the adolescent brain. Write down the 5-7 most important points the article makes, then, apply what you've learned from the article either to Steve's case and/or to what you read yesterday (Clarence Darrow's defense). In what ways might brain research explain actions Steve's taken? How might those explanations matter to thinking about his guilt or innocence? How do they make you rethink what you read yesterday or what you talked about with the TED Talks? Write a solid paragraph. HOMEWORK: Read through 115 for tomorrow.
11/14: HOMEWORK: Read Monster through 88 for Thursday, through 115 for Friday, through 151 for Monday, through 200 for after break. In class, students read and responded to Clarence Darrow's defense of Leopold and Loeb.
11/13: HOMEWORK: Read Monster: through 88 for Thursday, through 115 for Friday, through 151 for Monday, through 200 for after break. In class, we worked with the TED talks.
11/8: HOMEWORK: Watch and respond to TED Talk and read through 45 in Monster.
We worked on building background about criminal justice issues. Start with disparities by race article. TED talk links are on Resources page (see dropdown menu for this page above).
11/7: We watched and responded to an episode of Law and Order so we could think about the justice system and juveniles.
11/5: Today, we started to think about identity and how it is shaped.