Friday, October 31
Halloween Special.
We watched a dramatization of E.A. Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," and briefly discussed the history of gothicism in literature (see p. 274 in Elements of Lit).
HW due Monday:
Finish Fred D's Narrative.
Quiz Monday over Chapters X, XI, and the Appendix.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 30
Mr. Potratz passed around his copy of The Columbian Orator, and we read what Frederick D. wrote about it his Narrative, especially his account of the dialogue between a slave and his master.
A xerox of that dialogue was distributed, we read it and discussed it.
HW due Friday: Read Chapter X of Frederick Douglass's Narrative.
Mr. Potratz passed around his copy of The Columbian Orator, and we read what Frederick D. wrote about it his Narrative, especially his account of the dialogue between a slave and his master.
A xerox of that dialogue was distributed, we read it and discussed it.
HW due Friday: Read Chapter X of Frederick Douglass's Narrative.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, October 29
We compared the poetic form of "Casey at the Bat" with that of "Amazing Grace," and concluded that if we broke each line of "Casey" in half, the two poems can be seen to share the same form -- four line stanzas of iambic verse, alternating four-foot and three-foot lines. The only difference is that in "Casey" the first and fourth lines do not rhyme (abcb as compared with abab). Mr. Potratz explained that "Amazing Grace" is in the form known as common meter or hymn meter, while "Casey" is an example of ballad meter. (It is no accident that the poem's subtitle is "A Ballad of the Republic . . .".)
We compared the poetic form of "Casey at the Bat" with that of "Amazing Grace," and concluded that if we broke each line of "Casey" in half, the two poems can be seen to share the same form -- four line stanzas of iambic verse, alternating four-foot and three-foot lines. The only difference is that in "Casey" the first and fourth lines do not rhyme (abcb as compared with abab). Mr. Potratz explained that "Amazing Grace" is in the form known as common meter or hymn meter, while "Casey" is an example of ballad meter. (It is no accident that the poem's subtitle is "A Ballad of the Republic . . .".)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 28
Students took the second quiz over Frederick Douglass's Narrative, covering Chapters VI, VII, and VIII (30 pts.), and we graded it in class.
We returned to our study of poetry. Students pulled out "Casey at the Bat," and we watched a film of it being recited by the man who made it famous, DeWolf Hopper. Then, using the yellow sheet on Poetic Terminology, we reviewed the major types of metrical lines in English poetry and tested our understanding by beginning to scan our own names.
Students took the second quiz over Frederick Douglass's Narrative, covering Chapters VI, VII, and VIII (30 pts.), and we graded it in class.
We returned to our study of poetry. Students pulled out "Casey at the Bat," and we watched a film of it being recited by the man who made it famous, DeWolf Hopper. Then, using the yellow sheet on Poetic Terminology, we reviewed the major types of metrical lines in English poetry and tested our understanding by beginning to scan our own names.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Friday, October 24
We finished pooling information on arguments which were advanced in defense of slavery in the U.S. before the Civil War.
HW due Monday:
Read Chapters VII, VIII, and IX of Frederick Douglass's Narrative.
Mr. Potratz will not be in class Monday. Students will watch the beginning of a film biography of Frederick Douglass.
Tuesday: Quiz #2 over the Narrative.
We finished pooling information on arguments which were advanced in defense of slavery in the U.S. before the Civil War.
HW due Monday:
Read Chapters VII, VIII, and IX of Frederick Douglass's Narrative.
Mr. Potratz will not be in class Monday. Students will watch the beginning of a film biography of Frederick Douglass.
Tuesday: Quiz #2 over the Narrative.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Thursday, October 23
We pooled information from our online research into arguments advanced in defense of slavery in the U.S. in the period before the Civil War, with students adding new information to their worksheets in colored pen. Students returned the worksheets to their notebooks to finish in class Friday.
We pooled information from our online research into arguments advanced in defense of slavery in the U.S. in the period before the Civil War, with students adding new information to their worksheets in colored pen. Students returned the worksheets to their notebooks to finish in class Friday.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 22
Students worked in the computer lab, using techniques reviewed on Tuesday and researching various arguments which were advanced in the defense of slavery in the United States in the early nineteenth century.
Those students who worked through the period were given the option of completing the worksheet (see Documents page) at home and turning it in at the beginning of class Thursday.
Students worked in the computer lab, using techniques reviewed on Tuesday and researching various arguments which were advanced in the defense of slavery in the United States in the early nineteenth century.
Those students who worked through the period were given the option of completing the worksheet (see Documents page) at home and turning it in at the beginning of class Thursday.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 21
Implied Boolean and the Search for Wisdom
Students read a handout by that name and we spent the period working to sharpen internet research skills in preparartion for tomorrow's computer lab worksheet (see Documents) on arguments advanced in defense of slavery in the period before the American Civil War.
Implied Boolean and the Search for Wisdom
Students read a handout by that name and we spent the period working to sharpen internet research skills in preparartion for tomorrow's computer lab worksheet (see Documents) on arguments advanced in defense of slavery in the period before the American Civil War.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monday, October 20
Students took the quiz over Chapters I-VI of Frederick Douglass's Narrative, and then graded it.
We resumed reading the Narrative where we had left off on Friday, which was in the paragraph on pages 5-6 in which Douglass alludes to the Curse of Ham. We read the passage in Genesis 9 (Verses 20ff.) on which the notorious tradition is based, and talked briefly about how religion was used by both camps in the struggle over slavery in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Students took the quiz over Chapters I-VI of Frederick Douglass's Narrative, and then graded it.
We resumed reading the Narrative where we had left off on Friday, which was in the paragraph on pages 5-6 in which Douglass alludes to the Curse of Ham. We read the passage in Genesis 9 (Verses 20ff.) on which the notorious tradition is based, and talked briefly about how religion was used by both camps in the struggle over slavery in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Friday, October 17
Students copied onto the back of their vocab sheets the following words from Chapters 1 & 2 of Frederick Douglass's Narrative:
privation
confer
diligent
raturous
ineffable
obdurate
impertinent
intimation
odiousness
deference
presume
esteem
evince
Then we began to read the Narrative, stopping on occasion to gloss a few of these words, and ending at the bottom of page 5.
Quiz on Monday over Chapters I through VI.
Students copied onto the back of their vocab sheets the following words from Chapters 1 & 2 of Frederick Douglass's Narrative:
privation
confer
diligent
raturous
ineffable
obdurate
impertinent
intimation
odiousness
deference
presume
esteem
evince
Then we began to read the Narrative, stopping on occasion to gloss a few of these words, and ending at the bottom of page 5.
Quiz on Monday over Chapters I through VI.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thursday, October 16
Mr. Potratz distributed copies of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself.
We returned to the vocabulary sheet passed out yesterday and investigated the meaning and etymology of several more words, examining in the process parallel- and cross-derivations within the Indo-European language family.
HW due Monday:
Read Chapters I through VI of Douglass's Narrative. There will be a quiz Monday over those chapters.
Mr. Potratz distributed copies of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself.
We returned to the vocabulary sheet passed out yesterday and investigated the meaning and etymology of several more words, examining in the process parallel- and cross-derivations within the Indo-European language family.
HW due Monday:
Read Chapters I through VI of Douglass's Narrative. There will be a quiz Monday over those chapters.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 15
To further illustrate the absurdity of racial categories in the United States, we watched the "Racial Draft" episode from the Chapelle Show.
Afterwards, Mr. Potratz announced that the Narrative of Frederick Douglass's life, written by himself, would be the next text, and that it would be issued to students on Thursday.
Finally, Mr. Potratz gave students a handout of "The Top 66 Words on the SAT" which we will work on over several weeks, and we began with "decorous," examining its etymology as well as its meaning.
To further illustrate the absurdity of racial categories in the United States, we watched the "Racial Draft" episode from the Chapelle Show.
Afterwards, Mr. Potratz announced that the Narrative of Frederick Douglass's life, written by himself, would be the next text, and that it would be issued to students on Thursday.
Finally, Mr. Potratz gave students a handout of "The Top 66 Words on the SAT" which we will work on over several weeks, and we began with "decorous," examining its etymology as well as its meaning.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday, October 14
Students took a quiz for fun: the "Race Literacy Quiz" developed by California Newsreel in association with the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Using scientific and historical research, the quiz overturns many common assumptions about race and shows that the category as we know it in the United States is a relatively recent concept (with no basis in genetics) developed at the time of the country's founding to justify slavery and explain away the transparent contradiction between slavery and the idea that "all men are created equal." Thomas Jefferson (who explicitly unmasked that very contradiction in the original draft of the Declaration of Independence) is cited as the first prominent American to suggest that European-Americans were "racially" superior to their slaves.
Students took a quiz for fun: the "Race Literacy Quiz" developed by California Newsreel in association with the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Using scientific and historical research, the quiz overturns many common assumptions about race and shows that the category as we know it in the United States is a relatively recent concept (with no basis in genetics) developed at the time of the country's founding to justify slavery and explain away the transparent contradiction between slavery and the idea that "all men are created equal." Thomas Jefferson (who explicitly unmasked that very contradiction in the original draft of the Declaration of Independence) is cited as the first prominent American to suggest that European-Americans were "racially" superior to their slaves.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, October 13
The Declaration of Independence and Parallel Construction
We parsed the first two sentences of the immortal document, discovering that though the famous second sentence ("We hold these truths . . ."} is longer than the first it is considerably simpler in structure, consisting of a simple independent clause, followed by a series of (increasingly elaborate) parallel dependent clauses.
We then moved on to the students' homework, the worksheets covering (primarily) problems with parallel construction.
The Declaration of Independence and Parallel Construction
We parsed the first two sentences of the immortal document, discovering that though the famous second sentence ("We hold these truths . . ."} is longer than the first it is considerably simpler in structure, consisting of a simple independent clause, followed by a series of (increasingly elaborate) parallel dependent clauses.
We then moved on to the students' homework, the worksheets covering (primarily) problems with parallel construction.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thursday, October 9
We watched the rest of Jefferson's Blood and then discussed what it tells us about the confused and confusing concept of "race" in the United States.
HW due Monday:
Mr. Potratz passed out a 4-page worksheet treating (1) wordiness and (2) parallelism in writing.
It is due at the beginning of class Monday.
We watched the rest of Jefferson's Blood and then discussed what it tells us about the confused and confusing concept of "race" in the United States.
HW due Monday:
Mr. Potratz passed out a 4-page worksheet treating (1) wordiness and (2) parallelism in writing.
It is due at the beginning of class Monday.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday, October 6
Students made lists of central metaphors in Johnathan Edwards' famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" while Mr. Potratz read it aloud.
HW due Tuesday:
Read pages 117-123 in Elements of Literature and prepare for a short quiz.
The selection is the first draft of the Declaration of Independence as published in Thomas Jefferson's Autobiography, showing the deletions and changes Congress made in the document as ratified. Students should pay particular attention to the alterations and why they were made.
Students made lists of central metaphors in Johnathan Edwards' famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" while Mr. Potratz read it aloud.
HW due Tuesday:
Read pages 117-123 in Elements of Literature and prepare for a short quiz.
The selection is the first draft of the Declaration of Independence as published in Thomas Jefferson's Autobiography, showing the deletions and changes Congress made in the document as ratified. Students should pay particular attention to the alterations and why they were made.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Friday, October 3
In the context of the controversy over the cancelled "blackout" at tonight's football game, we looked briefly at the history of blackface in American culture (we watched Al Jolson singinging "Mammy" in The Jazz Singer), and read an online article about a confrontation over racial caricatures.
Thursday, October 2
Mr. Potratz was absent. Students wrote their "Two Captivity Narratives" essays in class.
In the context of the controversy over the cancelled "blackout" at tonight's football game, we looked briefly at the history of blackface in American culture (we watched Al Jolson singinging "Mammy" in The Jazz Singer), and read an online article about a confrontation over racial caricatures.
Thursday, October 2
Mr. Potratz was absent. Students wrote their "Two Captivity Narratives" essays in class.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday, October 1
Students turned in their summary paragraphs and we read and evaluated several of them.
Poetry Day
Mr. Potratz read the class "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. He also passed out a handout with terms used in poetic analysis. We focused on aspects of rhyme and meter, analyzing "Casey's" use of those elements.
Tomorrow (Thursday) Mr. Potratz will be absent and students are to spend the period writing their Captivity Narrative essays. Essays are due at the end of class. Students should bring any prewriting documents, notes, and their books. The required total minimum number of chunks is reduced to five, with the number of body paragraphs left up to the student.
Students turned in their summary paragraphs and we read and evaluated several of them.
Poetry Day
Mr. Potratz read the class "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. He also passed out a handout with terms used in poetic analysis. We focused on aspects of rhyme and meter, analyzing "Casey's" use of those elements.
Tomorrow (Thursday) Mr. Potratz will be absent and students are to spend the period writing their Captivity Narrative essays. Essays are due at the end of class. Students should bring any prewriting documents, notes, and their books. The required total minimum number of chunks is reduced to five, with the number of body paragraphs left up to the student.
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