Hamlet Reading Schedule 2013

Here's the schedule for Hamlet. For each due date, please have some sort of seminar prep for our discussions. Questions are going to be particularly important as we ensure everyone understands what we're reading. Note: you will probably have to read each scene multiple times in order to understand as well as you ought to.

5/1 - Introduction to Hamlet; Begin reading Act I.

5/6 - Act I due.

5/10 - Act II due.

5/16 - Act III due.

5/20 - Act IV due.

5/23 - Act V due.

5/28 - Begin Tuesdays With Morrie.

Tuesday, April 30, and Wednesday, May 1

Freshmen: Today we had some terrific sample Capstone presentations. Keep working on you projects.

Sophomores: Today we began Hamlet.

CNF: Today we checked at some videos about Joe Ehrmann and began Season of Life.

Monday, April 29

Freshmen: Today we worked on our projects in class. I extended the due date for the written work to Thursday, May 9. Honors students have an AM seminar at 7:35 on Thursday.

Sophomores: We had our final seminar on The Poisonwood Bible. Honors students have an essay due on Thursday.

CNF: Today we began reading Season of Life.

Friday, April 26

Freshmen: Today we focused on working on your Capstone. This weekend you should spend some time working on your poetry and fiction section.

Sophomores: Today we wrote an essay in class. Finish the novel for Monday.

CNF: Today we read from Batman and Philosophy and discussed the concept of moral exemplars.

Tuesday, April 23 and Wednesday, April 24

Freshmen: Today, we began writing your essays for the Capstone Project, building off yesterday's step. We also talked about how to craft an interesting character in preparation for writing your short story. Begin writing your poems and continue with your essays.

Sophomores: Today we did a plethora of things, culminating with determining the archetypes of various characters in The Poisonwood Bible. Keep reading.

CNF: Today we concluded No Impact Man and talked about it a bit; tomorrow, we will discuss the end of The World Without Us; Friday we will read a bit from Batman and Philosophy and next week start up with Season of Life.

Monday, April 22

Freshmen: Today our focus was on this question regarding your Capstone topic: What do you want to say and how are you going to say it? This question forced you to do two things: Determine your thesis statements (you wrote three) and determine which rhetorical device (narrative, compare and contrast, argument, etc.) will help you prove it most effectively (bear in mind you have to have one essay from each category). We then started to sort your information according to which thesis it best supports. Continue research, and tomorrow bring They Say I Say to class tomorrow.

Sophomores: We had a visit from Spy Hop. Keep reading; Book V due Thursday, the novel is due Monday.

CNF: Today we began viewing No Impact Man. Finish Part IV for Thursday.

Friday, April 19

First off, congratulations to Paul Oliver, Bryn Petron, and Emily Thompson, who came in first, second, and third, respectively, in the state-wide Letters About Literature Contest. That is an incredible feat for our school to sweep that competition.

Freshmen: Today in class we continued to research your topics. Continue this over the weekend. We will soon begin writing, and you need to be an expert on your topic. Honors students, remember you have a letter to the editor due soon.

Sophomores: Today our focus was on the Hero Catch Phrase Project and reading. You need to finish The Poisonwood Bible in a week and a half.

CNF: We're tying to get The World Without Us finished as soon as possible.

Thursday, April 18

Freshmen: Today our focus was on your research; we also took the vocab exam. Continue researching your topic.

Sophomores: Today we took a vocab exam; continue with your reading.

CNF: Today we began Part IV and hope to finish it the first of next week.

Tuesday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 17

Freshmen: Today we focused on researching your Capstone topics as well as exploring the structure of short stories. Continue to conduct your research this week, and be ready for the vocab exam on Thursday.

Sophomores: Continue to read, and remember, we have vocab due on Thursday. Honors students, we will meet at 7:35 Thursday morning.

CNF: Today we studied Voyager and some of the things connected to it, such as the Golden Record and the love story that occurred in the creation of this project.

Monday, April 15

Freshmen: Today we focused on Question Based Research. You were to write down questions you have about your topic on your index cards; as you research, you will write down the answers to your questions on the back of the index cards, making note of your source. Additionally, as you come across big ideas you hadn't anticipated in your question formation, you should write the big idea on one side, with supporting details on the back side. You can use your 20 minutes of nightly reading for research, and should bring your sources with you each day to class and remember vocab is due on Thursday.

Sophomores: Today we focused on some small group discussions and wrote a poem based on a poem called "My Daughters in New York." We wrote these poems from the perspective of Orleanna, writing about all four of her daughters in the Congo. Continue to read, and remember vocab is due on Thursday.

CNF: Today we talked about some of the issues present in Part III of The World Without Us.

Friday, April 12

Freshmen: Today we wrote an argument essay in class in response to one of the two models we have studied thus far. Your homework this weekend is to finish collecting your sources for your Capstone Project - you need to bring a minimum of five to class on Monday, along with at least a dozen index cards. Read for 20 minutes this weekend.

Sophomores: Today we continued our study of archetypes through your presentations. Due Monday is your essay about your archetype and Book IV from The Poisonwood Bible.

CNF: Finish Part III for Monday's class and come prepared to discuss it.

The Count of Monte Cristo Reading Schedule:

Thursday, April 11 - Begin reading.

Thursday, April 25 - Chapter 25 due.

Thursday, May 2 - Chapter 35 due. Seminar this date at 7:35 AM.

Thursday, May 16 - Chapter 55 due.

Thursday, May 30 - Book due. Seminar this date at 7:35 AM.

You should use your nightly 20 minutes of reading homework as well as your in class reading for this assignment. As you read, take some notes in preparation for the seminar. They do not need to be extensive - about half a dozen things that strike you as important to talk about during the seminar. See me if you have questions.

Thursday, April 11

Freshmen: Today we continued our emphasis on the rhetorical device of argument. Continue gathering research and sources for your Capstone project. You need a minimum of five sources and a dozen blank index cards for Monday. Read for 20 minutes tonight.

Honors students: Respond to the prompt on the blog. Your responses should be thoughtful, and consist of a couple of paragraphs. Please respond to what others have said in your post. Prompt: Is revenge ever morally acceptable, or are we always obligated to forgive others, regardless of what they have done to us?

Sophomores: Today or focus was on the information you collected about your particular archetype. Your task is to write a research essay that describes your archetype's attributes and characteristics. At least twice in your essay, cite from one of your sources, word for word. Tell stories about characters or people from history that are exemplars of this archetype as a way to support your research. Choose characters from stories outside the pantheon we have studied in class. Be sure to indicate the lead and conclusion technique you are using, have an interesting title, and make sure your essay is free of conventions errors. Submit it to turnitin.com by 8 AM on Monday morning for full credit. Essays not submitted to turnitin will not be eligible for full credit. Also due Monday is Book IV of The Poisonwood Bible.

CNF: We continued with Part III today.

Sophomore Extra Credit Assignment

Research US involvement in the Congo in the early 1960s and the change in Congo leadership from Patrice Lumumba to Joseph Mobutu. Cite from your sources and include a bibliography. Compare what you learned to what is contained in Orleanna's account in The Poisonwood Bible. This is due to turnitin.com by 8AM on Friday, April 19.

Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10

Freshmen: Today we focused on the Capstone Project by talking about the topics you have chosen and by looking at previous projects. We also focused on the rhetorical device of argument. Read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday; honors students, remember we are meeting at 7:35 Thursday morning.

Sophomores: Today we had a seminar on The Poisonwood Bible and began a study of archetypes. You are to come to class on Thursday with five facts about your assigned archetype, and these facts need to come from two different sources (e.g. one fact from one source, four from another, or three from one, and two from another). Keep reading.

CNF: Today we studied The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.

Monday, April 8

Freshmen: Today we introduced the Capstone Project and you got a handout detailing what is expected and when it is due. For tomorrow, you should have some ideas for possible topics, and by next Monday, you need to have a total of five sources, two of which need to be non-internet sources. Continue to read for 20 minutes each night; honors students, you may start with The Count of Monte Cristo, and we'll meet about it on Thursday at 7:45 AM.

Sophomores: Today we did a Hero Catch-Phrase entry and read; Book III is due on Wednesday.

CNF: Today we started Part III.