We WILL confiscate toys brought to class--Consider yourself warned by the Ghost of Detentions Future
WED: Classes discussed reactions to theater and recorded differences between presenting stories "On the Page vs. On the Stage." Students worked in groups to share specific details about costumes, acting, sets, special effects, music, lighting etc.
THURS: We shared PPT of other versions of sets, costumes etc through the years at Trinity Rep and students pointed out the advantages and different advantages and messages that come through different choices.
We read the First page of Dickens' novel and then began reading and acting out the first page of the play to see how famous lines from the novel are put into character's mouths and to show bringing a scene to life with some props, costume pieces and a little bit of a set in class.
FRI:
All Classes enjoyed a successful trip to the theater! If you were absent, see me for ideas for versions you can watch at home so you can participate in class discussions of drama.
No homework. Field trip tomorrow.
We discussed field trip logistics and the need to bring snack and lunch.
We reviewed the need for respectful enjoyment of the show tomorrow--clap and laugh appropriately but you are NOT the show. We want to be as proud of how you represent the Ahern this year as we were with last year's group.
NO NEED TO TAKE written notes on the play, but take MENTAL NOTES on the following:
We reviewed the Beehive handout in Per 1.
In other classes, we reviewed some background on Dickens and why he is so sympathetic to the poor. His family history--he was comfortably well off and attended a good school until age 12 when his father got into debt and went to debtor's prison. All of the family went with the father except young Charles, who had to work in a boot polish factory and bring food to visit his family in prison. Even after the family was released, Dickens was not allowed back to school. He carried the pain and humiliation of this period of his life to his death--and it made him highly sympathetic and empathetic to the poor. He felt society looking down on those who fell on hard times and saw how easily a mistake could ruin a life in a harsh world. Look for this spirit in the play tomorrow.
We will learn more about Dickens and life in London in the mid-1800s after seeing the play. We will begin reading OUR version of the play Wed.
1. Students took Literary Terms Unit test. If you were absent plan on staying after MON or TUES to take the test.
1. Beginning of DRAMA/Dickens unit
Social Classes activity--We played "trashketball" to model the inequality between social classes in the 1800s. Excercise showed that people born into the upper classes could succeed more easily than those born into less fortunate circumstances. All students picked a random symbols and were seated at different distances from the "basket" based on the symbol they pulled. Students who were "born" closest to the basket were like royalty and nobles, while those furthest away represented the poorest segment of the society. Although the measure of success for rich and poor was the same--get a paper ball into the basket--the distance gave the rich an unfair advantage. Students who made the basket "earned" a HW pass. After all students agreed that the process was not fair, I asked who might give their pass back to the "king" or "Queen" to give to a needier student. Very few students were willing to give up their advantage--illustrating how hard it would be to decide HOW to redistribute and how hard it is to give up anything when you are ahead of others.
We will work with these basic concepts as we analyze the Victorian world Dickens lived in and what drove him to try to achieve social change through his writing.
Study for FINAL UNIT TEST!!! Below is another blank version of the study guide to fill in 1 more time from memory and then compare to the orange study guide to see what you may STILL be fuzzy on. You should have already done this at LEAST once. See suggestions from HW since last Friday about ways to review. SAME HW tomorrow!
1. Students participated in their FIRST Socratic Seminar. Students did a great job overall of using specific examples from stories we read to support an opinion about WHICH story teaches more about effective writing. Students incorporated literary terms to describe what they liked about the writing in each story. There were some very interesting debates about style preferences--One interesting point was about whether a shorter, simpler to understand story has a little less tension because the reader does not feel small tensions develop and does not have to think as hard to figure things out. Great points made about both stories.
IF YOU WERE ABSENT: You must turn in the purple and green sheets and your mark-up of "The Veldt" tomorrow.
PREPARE for Socratic Seminar discussion TOMORROW--WEDNESDAY-- about WHICH story --"The Veldt" or "All Summer in a Day" teaches MORE about writing. If I have to cut back to teaching only 1 of the stories, which should it be? You need to discuss in a large group, what MAKES good writing and explain/prove how the story you choose SHOWS that using specific examples from each text. The grade will be on how well you participate tomorrow and on the completed written work described below.
To DO THIS: COMPLETE reading "The Veldt" as we were doing in class. As you read
(If you were pulled from class for DRA testing this week, you must finish the GREEN note-taking sheet on "All Summer in A Day" but you do not need to finish "The Veldt" purple sheet. This only affects about 6 people and you know who you are.
1. I CHECKED HW to see who had done the first page of the green sheet as assigned last night.
2. I reviewed the plans for a Socratic Seminar tomorrow, comparing details from "The Veldt" and "All Summer in a Day" to support an opinion about WHICH story is a better story to use to teach kids next year how to write well. The HANDOUT from yesterday summarizes WHAT to look for and which literary terms to look for in good writing.
3. We highlighted examples of what makes good writing in the first 5 pages of "The Veldt" together. I have posted the kind of markup I expect students to make in the sample sections below. Students will COMPLETE highlighting and labeling in margin for the REST of the story (all 11 pages) Only 1 comment and highlight is REQUIRED per page but you should be able to find more.
Start your review by
3. Anyone retaking the wk 5/6 quiz must do so after school WEDNESDAY.
Handouts: below all in one file
2. We reviewed the definitions for PLOT, CONFLICT, and CLIMAX and applied the definitions to the story "All Summer in a Day."
3. We discussed that the Socratic Seminar will ALSO ask you to discuss which story, "All Summer in a Day" or "The Veldt" has a better THEME that the reader connects to or that can be applied to past and future examples in life. In "All Summer..." we identified an early EXTERNAL CONFLICT when William would not believe that Margot knew what the sun was. We noted that the TRUTH ABOUT LIFE or HUMAN NATURE (Theme) revealed in this conflict is that we often resist changing our beliefs, and often question experts.
TRUE IN PAST: It is hard to let go of a world view. The theme is a timeless truth--We related this to when Gallileo was locked up for saying the planets revolve around the sun and not around Earth 400 years ago.
THEME-TRUE NOW AND PROBABLY IN FUTURE: Students noted resisting new beliefs STILL happens around such issues as vaccination or man-made climate change. During the upcoming Socratic Seminar you might argue that "All Summer.." has a more relevant THEME as a way to remember that theme CAN be a Timeless TRUTH ABOUT LIFE OR HUMAN NATURE" to support your choice of this as the story to keep next year.
4. Most classes read a little of "The Veldt"--we will continue this tomorrow and you do not have to do the reading on your own tonight.
2. STRONLGY SUGGESTED HW: (I won't check this, but DO IT to help yourself --build strong independent study skills.) Fill in the Literary Terms study guide ONCE from memory and check answers against the orange Unit Reference sheet I gave out in class today. BOTH are reprintable from the file inserted below.
3. If you were on the field trip yesterday and did not do the work assigned yesterday, catch up! See yesterday's homework entry.
4. ANYONE RETAKING the WK 5/6 quiz MUST stay after Mon or WED next week. EMAIL if that is not possible.
1. I reviewed makeup test times for WK 5/6 quiz (next week after school Mon,Tue,Wed). Discussed TEST on ALL literary terms scheduled for NEXT FRI Dec 13.
2. Students submitted names of peers they might want to be grouped with for the next unit. See me if you were absent or EMAIL names of 2 students you can work productively with and anyone who you know might distract you.
3. We marked up Terms on the Unit Test REFERENCE SHEET: You must know the EXACT definitions underlined on the sheet for the following terms:
You have been quizzed on most of these several times so you should already know many by heart.
3. I explained how to use the study guide to determine what you need to study before the test so you can CHUNK studying and not cram the night before.
4. I explained the Socratic Seminar we will have next week (Tues?) and we began reading "The Veldt" together. We will read and take notes together on Monday. This is NOT homework. Discussing in Socratic Seminar format will help you apply literary terms as a review for the Friday test.
Complete Reading "All Summer in a Day" and answering the questions. Stop at the end of each section to answer the questions to chunk your reading and help you focus and understand as you read.
The story and the questions are in the Short Stories section of One-Note OR you can use the hard copy I gave out in class.
Students on Field trip know they need to make up this work tonight.
STUDENTS HANDED IN any HARD COPY PLANNERS for "Harrison Bergeron" endings. All endings should be complete and in the Writing Folder Section of One-Note on the "Harrison Bergeron" ending page.
I was chaperoning a field trip. Students worked in lab to read and complete answering questions on the short story "All Summer in a Day."
Sub read the directions at the top of the page out loud and answered questions. Students on field trip need to make up this work independently. See HW space for details.
(Tues was snowday)
1. Complete planner and FINAL revisions and edits to your "Harrison Bergeron" story ending.
I reviewed that homework is to complete the "Harrison Bergeron" ending, including adding new vocabulary from list distributed today. The words were compiled from suggestions found by students as they read their novels.
I re-explained that students who scored a D or F on the Week 5/6 quiz must stay after for review this week to have the chance to retake the quiz tomorrow or next Mon-WED after school.
I handed back any Week 5/6 quizzes that had not been handed back before the Thanksgiving break.
Students turned in novels. If you did not turn you book in yet, do so tomorrow. Take out and recycle sticky notes.
Students had full period to work on drafting endings in the computer lab. I helped some students who had trouble with planners or who needed to review their understanding of the story.
I will add Daily Class Notes after 5--heading home to escape snow!
I reviewed that homework is to complete the "Harrison Bergeron" planner and start ending. Students were supposed to have completed full sentence answers to the comprehension questions in the Short Stories section of One-Note. ALL students were told to revise by the end of the day.
I explained that students who scored a D or F on the Week 5/6 quiz must stay after for review this week to have the chance to retake the quiz tomorrow or next Mon-WED after school.
I handed back half of the Week 5/6 quizzes.
Students turned in novels. If you did not turn you book in yet, do so tomorrow. Take out and recycle sticky notes.
Students had full period to work on planners and drafting endings in the computer lab. I helped some students who had trouble with planners or who needed to review their understanding of the story.
I was chaperoning a field trip today. Students read the short story "All Summer in a Day" and answered questions. The questions will help review literary terms for a final Narrative Literary Terms Unit test next Thursday or Friday. Students had the option of working on-line or on a hard copy. Students MUST finish the questions tonight. The markup can wait.