21 Monday Aug 2017
Posted in submission, agenda, listening, assessment, The Book Thief
learning goal: in what particular way did my thinking about The Book Thief change after listening to classmates’ comments?
homework from last week:
Bring to class three passages marked in your copy of The Book Thief (BT).
Be ready to explain (in speech or writing) why you marked these passages.
TODAY’S AGENDA
small groups: 1-1-2 exercise
individual: IUTT-BNIT paragraph (typed)
submit paragraph to TURNITIN
17 Wednesday May 2017
Posted in agenda, direct instruction, discussion, Macbeth, The Kite Runner
learning goal: what overlaps (large or small) exist between Shakespeare’s play and Hosseini’s novel? what insights emerge from this comparison–insights about either work, about literature in general, or about life and the human condition?
exercises TBA–based on elements of fiction, and this trio of story-aspects (conflict, resolution, revelation)
with a side order of poetry and poet’s tools
15 Monday May 2017
Posted in agenda, Samurai's Garden
learning goal: how do the various features of Matsu’s or Sachi’s garden serve as a metaphor for facets of the novel?
exercises TBA (cf. “Guiding Questions for Fiction”)
11 Thursday May 2017
Posted in agenda, reading, Samurai's Garden
given the AP World History testers Thursday, we will have a reading day in their honor
remember the schedule asks us to finish the novel this week
continue making notes in your SG booklet–with images or words that capture meaningful moments and/or ideas, especially regarding your focal character
08 Monday May 2017
Posted in agenda, direct instruction, listening, poetry, reading
See the (updated) agenda for F/M May 5/8.
In short, during this T/W class, A block reads while H & E blocks study free verse.
05 Friday May 2017
Posted in agenda, direct instruction, listening, poetry
special announcement: Friday’s A block used this agenda, but Monday’s H and E blocks did not because of people taking the AP Bio exam. Instead, these groups read in our novel, which is what A block will do in Tuesday’s class.
learning goal: What is free verse? What are its advantages over other kinds of verse?
for your Poetry Folder Table of Contents: Pinsky, Frost, Williams; free verse, meter, rhyme, lyric poetry
Free Verse. May 2017
conversation with police outside a Moscow courthouse (April 2012)
Robert Pinsky on “sonic harmony”—i.e., chime without rhyme
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2010/10/wild-and-rhyme-free-verse/
full Pinsky essay at slate.com (how can unrhymed poetry please the ear?)
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2010/10/keener_sounds.html
“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost (blank verse)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44266
“An Old Man’s Winter Night” by Robert Frost (blank verse)
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/old-mans-winter-night
“To Waken an Old Lady” by William Carlos Williams (free verse)
http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/williams_towakenanoldlady.html
“A Plea for Free Verse” by Y.F. Swain
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=17509
Free Verse—a definition
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/glossary-terms/detail/free-verse
03 Wednesday May 2017
Posted in agenda, assessment, Samurai's Garden
learning goal: what subjects and themes emerge from the opening chapter in the novel? how do the basic elements of fiction contribute to these?
exercise TBA
reading time, as time allows
hmwrk reminder: read “Winter” and “Spring” chapters this week, which includes the weekend
01 Monday May 2017
Posted in agenda, assessment, drawing, Samurai's Garden
learning goal: what do the various physical locations look like? where are which features in relation to each other?
draw one or more of the physical locations, with as much detail as you like–e.g., Stephen’s grandparents’ house in Tarumi, the village of Yamaguchi, the area around and including the grandparents’ house, or another physical location of your choice
enter some content (of your own choosing) on one of the squares inside the SG booklet with reading schedule
leave a thoughtful, original comment to one of the posts about The Samurai’s Garden, found at readingcolors
27 Thursday Apr 2017
Posted in agenda, assessment, email, reading, Samurai's Garden
learning goal: which of the three main characters demands my strongest attention so far? why this person–what is it about him or her that resounds in me to this extent?
intro 5′
read 50′
email 15′
read for 50 minutes; afterwards, open your laptop and reply directly to my email–by answering my question(s)
25 Tuesday Apr 2017
Posted in agenda, listening, poetry, presentation, Samurai's Garden
learning goal: what scene or moment captures my attention well enough to plant a poem in my mind? why this one?
poetry and passages from The Samurai’s Garden
intro to favorite Macbeth lines from last Poetry Day
read for half hour–with OCC sheet distributed at start of class
after this half-hour, compose either two haiku or one tanka based on notes from your 30-minute reading session (the subject of your poem(s) is up to you
if you want help with haiku/tanka requirements and dynamics, see either of these these links: “Three Haiku, Two Tanka” by Philip Appleman or “Selected Haiku by Issa,” translated from Japanese by Robert Hass
end class by hearing people’s poems
