Wednesday, April 29

Freshmen Period 6: Today we began presentations; your homework is to read 4.3 of 12th Night and begin Act 5. Letter to the Editor has been moved back to 5/7.

Sophomores: Today we nearly finished Into the Woods (no one saw but in period 7, the person who claims to hate musicals was weeping when the baker's wife died - don't hide that sensitive side!), but mainly we discussed Polonius and began a Triple Entry Journal. You are to read 2.1 tonight from Hamlet, complete your list of 12 memories of your mother, and bring a typed draft of your essay for next block period.

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29

Freshmen: Periods 4 and 6: We handed in your projects today. Finish 12th Night for Friday, and chapter 10 vocab for Monday. We began presentations. Period 2, your projects are due Friday.

Thursday and Friday, April 23 and 24

Freshmen: We processed the presentations we saw, picked presentation dates, and we also read 4.1 and 4.2. Period 4, your projects are due Tuesday, April 28, Period 6, yours are due Wednesday, April 29, and Period 2, yours are due Friday, May 1.

Sophomores: We started reading Hamlet. Act I is due Wednesday, April 29. You have an essay due to turnitin.com Monday at 8 am, and a list of 12 memories of your mother due Wednesday.

Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday April 22

Freshmen: Today we had guest presentations; tomorrow we will conclude Act III in 12th Night and pick presentation dates.

Sophomores: We concluded the Hamlet film; you are to take the 21 notes you compiled from the two Bloom essays and the introduction to your text, and write an essay that answers the following prompt: Why read Hamlet, and how should one do it?

Your essay is due by 8 AM Monday, April 27, to turnitin.com. The assignment is Hamlet 1. Period 7, your class number is 2556759. Period 8, your class number is 2440659. The password for both classes is Judge. Be sure you are including information from your notes and referencing Bloom.

Monday, April 20

Freshmen: Today we read 3.3 and 3.4 (period 4 should read 3.3 on their own and we will read 3.4 tomorrow, as we went to the Invisible Children presentation). We also discussed the presentation rubric and will see sample presentations next period.

Sophomores: We continued viewing Hamlet. You should read the next Harold Bloom essay I passed out and take seven notes in it, due Wednesday. Due for Wednesday, then, will be having read two Harold Bloom essays and the introduction on reading Shakespeare from your text, with a total of 21 notes. I will assign an essay based on these Wednesday.

Friday, April 17

Freshmen: Today we fread 3.1 and 3.2. Next weeks we will focus on the presentatoin aspect of your project.

Sophomores: Read the essays by Harold Bloom that I gave you. Take seven notes on teh smae page where you took notes on the intoduction to Hamlet. This is due Monday; I will collect the essays then. In class, we began watching Hamelt.

Thursday, April 16

Freshmen: Today we concluded Act II in 12th Night and went over the rubric that will be used to assess your capstone project. Use the rubric as a guide to ensure you are doing each portion of the project correctly.

Sophomores: Today we did an overview of the plot of Hamlet. You are to read the homework listed on yesterday's blog.

April 15

Welcome back. Do your taxes.

Freshmen: We read 2.4 in 12th Night, discussed how to correctly punctuate dialogue, and worked on your capstone. Remember, they are due soon, so keep working hard.

Sophomores: We started Hamlet today with an overview. You are to read "Shakespeare's Hamlet" and "Reading Shakespeare's Language" - it's about 11 pages. You can stop at "Shakespeare's Life." You are to take notes on the 7 most important ideas in the text. This is due Friday.

Sophomore Extra Credit:

For those of you who are interested, you can do one of the following essay options for extra credit. The amount of credit you earn will depend on the quality of your essay – no minimum is guaranteed, though I think I will go as high as 50 points for something that is really dynamite. Of course, it goes without saying that you should quote often from the text to support your opinion, and that outside research might earn you bonus points, if it is cited correctly. The more difficult the prompt, the more likely you are to earn the full 50 points. Here are the prompts, from toughest to easiest.
1. Each of the four surviving narrators deals with guilt in a distinct way. Examine how each narrator deals with her guilt, as well as the source of that guilt.
2. Each Price daughter has a distinctive relationship to language. Choose one of the girls and analyze how her relationship with language defines her personality.
3. Write an I Remember My Mother essay from the point of view of the daughter your group focused on.
If you wrote all three, I might be persuaded to give you credit for all three of them…

Have a great break. Come forward into the light.

Monday, April 6

Freshman: Today we read Act 2, Scene 1. For homework, read Scene 2. Keep working on your capstone project. We also concluded listening to Billy Collins and looked at another short story model – “Charles”, by Shirley Jackson. Tomorrow, you should have the majority of the period to work on your capstone project.

Sophomores: Today we concluded Book Seven – finish on your own if we didn’t in class. You need seven items for discussion tomorrow – questions, observations, ideas, etc. You will need Hamlet for when we return from break.

Friday, April 3

Freshmen: Today we read Act 1, Scene 5 and Sherman Alexi's "Travelling."

Sophomores: We concluded Act I of Into the Woods; Book Six from The Poisonwood Bible needs to be finished for Monday; Tuesday we will have a seminar. I will post an extra credit option soon.

Thursday, April 2

Freshmen: Today we read 1.3 from Twelfth Night. You should read Act 1 Scene 4 tonight if we did not get to it in class today. We also continued to work on the written portion of your capstone.

Sophomores: You decided that we, in fact, do NOT have too much homework in class (good thing I didn't bet in Vegas or I would have lost a ton), and therefore, you need to finish everything through Book 6 in The Poisonwood Bible for Monday; we will have a seminar on Tuesday.

Sophomores: April 1

Today we went to Lagoon, so if you missed class today, you really missed out. Yes, a lame April Fools' joke, but only a fool would miss class. We took a quiz, had a discussion, and watched another scene from Into the Woods. Finish through 533 for Monday in The Poisonwood Bible for Monday - we'll read the last part together that day and have a seminar on Tuesday.