29 Feb – 2 March 2012

Whew–I’ve been behind on posting for this class.

29 February – I gave you the Dystopia Definition & Characteristics handout ((c) ReadWriteThink) as well as a copy of the Dystopia Journal Prompts.  I asked you to apply these to and journal retroactively about Harrison Burgeron AND either Soft Rains or By the Waters of Babylon.

1 March – We went to the library to select materials using the List of Lists of Book Ideas for 10H Students. In the time that remained to us, we read.  Some of you read your new materials, others got a jump start on Fahrenheit 451.  I’m asking you to read Part I: The Hearth and the Salamander for Tuesday.

2 March – Today we’ll work on vocabulary.  We’re changing things up a little bit for third trimester.  Instead of doing Vocabulary sentences, I’m going to put each student in charge of a word part, and you’ll be responsible for putting together a very short presentation about your word part for the class.  Should be a fun way to learn them, I hope.

22 February 2012

Today we discussed “Soft Rains.”  We’ll tackle “By the Waters of Babylon” tomorrow.

21 February 2012

Today I declared the END OF POETRY (until Task 5, third trimester).

We began looking toward Fahrenheit 451.  In preparation, I asked you to read three short stories:

• There Will Come Soft Rains
• By the Waters of Babylon
• Harrison Burgeron

All three of these have a dystopic element to them that will help us in approaching Bradbury’s novel.  In terms of journal prompts, I gave you these:

Soft rains

• What even precedes the story?  How do you know?
• What does the poem have to do with the story?
• Who is the protagonist?  Antagonist?
• Identify some similes/metaphors that Bradbury uses and make a theory as to why (what they contribute to the text)

Babylon

• Using CLOSE READING and EVIDENCE from the text (i.e. Perrine’s theory), try to identify the places that the protagonist visits.

Harrison Burgeron

• What are the rules, roles and guiding principles of this society?  You’ll need to construct these based on the actions and events of the story rather than from direct exposition.

16-17 February 2012

These two days were dedicated to free verse in your symphony orchestra groups.

15 February 2012

Today was Sonnet Day in your Karaoke Crews.  Some people didn’t get the Literary Terms and Tone Words handout for some reason, but I think everyone officially has it today.  Obviously you need it for the work we’re doing!  :)

And the FAQs of the day…

Q: Why do writers choose to use the sonnet or almost-sonnet form?  

A: Lots of reasons.  But here are six I can think of off the top of my head–think of this list as “Poets might choose to write a sonnet in order to…”

1. Say two different things with one poem.
2. Capitalize on the turn (volta) for humor or irony.
3. Write a romantic poem (sonnets are often romantic).
4. Show something that conforms perfectly to form or is so orderly as to be beautiful.
5. Show something not quite meeting formal standards (too short or “off” syllabically or in number of lines).
6. Show something spilling over formal standards, like it can’t be contained (too long syllabically or in number of lines).

Note that #5 and #6 above work with specific lines, not just with whole poems.  If a particular line is too short or too long, it’s wise to ask why and figure out a good answer.

Q: How do I know why the author used a certain literary device?

A:  You don’t.  Instead, ask yourself what good that literary device does for the poem.  Then, make an assumption that the writer used the device in order to accomplish that good thing.  It’s a fudge, but probably 85% of time it’s a legitimate fudge.

For example, in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet 43,” she uses anaphora in lines 7, 8 and 9.  Why?  Well, what good does the anaphora do?  I see two possibilities.  (a) The anaphora overrides the iambic pentameter rhythm of the sonnet when it’s read orally, putting an emphasis on the phrase “I love thee.”  This override suggests that her love for him overrides everything.  (b) Having the anaphora visually emphasizes the list nature of the poem, creating a sense of there being more and more and more for her to say about her love.

 

14 February 2012

Happy Valentine’s Day, scholars!

Today we’re going to begin the wind-down of our poetry unit.  I’m going to introduce Three More Skills for Explications and then we’ll spend the rest of the week practicing those skills using the schedule on that sheet.

13 February 2012

Today we met in the lab for writing day.  I also asked you to take your vocabulary test on Quizlet.  Most of you did a wonderful job.