17 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in agenda, direct instruction, discussion, short stories, submission
learning goal: how do the second and third-choice stories compare to the one that evokes the most empathy? Where do they fall short?
group discussions (cf. student discovery paragraph from PDF & Lucille Clifton’s windows and mirrors)
outlines
next steps & timeline
03 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in agenda, direct instruction, discussion, listening, presentation
learning goal: what gifts do we inherit from the four short stories we have read so far–as readers, writers, thinkers, human beings?
For example, which of the four stories evokes the most empathy in its readers? How does it do this?
check reading journals
individually, and in small groups: Guiding Questions for Fiction
small group presentations
individual writing time
reminder re membean
03 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in agenda, discussion, listening, short stories
learning goal: how can fictional stories encourage us to see the good around us?
31 Thursday Aug 2017
Posted in agenda, assessment, discussion, feedback, short stories
learning goal: how important to the overall effect is the character of the narrator?
Quickmark Tally Sheet: In the column labelled “Heaney quote 8/27” put a hash mark in the appropriate row each time a quick mark appears on the text of this assignment
hmwrk: work on your animal poem, which is due to TRNTN before next Poetry Day
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
09 Thursday Feb 2017
Posted in agenda, direct instruction, discussion, listening
learning goal: how best to arrange ideas in a letter to an author
strategies and tactics of effective letters
whole-class discussion of basic principles
feedback given in working groups
time to read novel, or begin drafting letter (due by start of class M/T Feb 13/14)
30 Monday Jan 2017
Posted in agenda, discussion, presentation, The Kite Runner
learning goal: at the halfway mark in The Kite Runner, specifically name one major and one minor conflict. What makes them major and minor?
group conversation about major and minor conflicts
group presentations
detailed references from the group: brief research and application of learning to group’s major and minor conflicts
20 Friday Jan 2017
Posted in agenda, assessment, discussion, The Kite Runner
learning goal: what main conflicts emerge from the first quarter (100 pp.) of The Kite Runner, and what connections do you see between or among any of these?
(5′) explanation of sample entries on large post-its
(15′) in groups, list significant conflicts–both external and internal; where possible provide page number for direct or indirect reference to the conflict
(10′) review lists on the other groups’ post-its
(10′) general discussion
(30′) open “prescribed template,” and individually,independently, begin composing paragraph (topic TBA); by end of class, submit current draft to TURNITIN (KR draft)
05 Thursday Jan 2017
Posted in agenda, discussion, film viewing
learning goal: what distinguishes the protagonist’s situation in the film Whale Rider from that of the corresponding characters in Antigone and A Doll’s House?
review first part of film watched in last class
finish film
05 Monday Dec 2016
Posted in agenda, discussion, Doll's House, listening
learning goals: how do you decide which questions about plot and character need answering before others? How do authors use uncertain situations to bring readers or audiences into a story? Does a play do this differently than a short story or novel?
Review questions that people have after the first two acts of Ibsen’s 1879 play, A Doll’s House.
What are the current ramifications of the play’s title?
Take parts and together start reading Act 3 together
(How do you imagine the play’s conflicts will be resolved? What in the play so far leads you to imagine such resolutions?)
