Thursday, April 30
We finished reading the ending of Chapter 9 of The Jungle. Students then received two handouts related to unionist and socialist Eugene V. Debs: an excerpt from 42nd Parallel, the first part of the USA trilogy by John Dos Passos (entitled "Lover of Mankind" it is a poetically-written biography of Debs), and excerpts from Debs's Canton Speech, for which he was sentenced to ten years in a federal penitentiary, where he ran for President, receiving nearly a million votes.
HW due Friday:
Read Waiting for Lefty and prepare to answer questions about it.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 29
Students took a 5-question quizlet over the handout on child labor, and we graded it. Then we returned to The Jungle and read more selections, primarily from Chapter 9.
HW due Friday:
Read Waiting for Lefty (handout) and prepare to answer questions. Be thinking what scene or scenes you might want the class to read aloud and what role or roles you might like to take.
Students took a 5-question quizlet over the handout on child labor, and we graded it. Then we returned to The Jungle and read more selections, primarily from Chapter 9.
HW due Friday:
Read Waiting for Lefty (handout) and prepare to answer questions. Be thinking what scene or scenes you might want the class to read aloud and what role or roles you might like to take.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 28
We watched, and students took notes on, a short film about the industrial revolution in late 19th-century America, focusing on the Chicago stockyards. We compared one image of Packingtown from the film (a luminous, inspiring image) with verbal images from Chapter 2 of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, which students read Monday in Mr. Potratz's absence.
HW due Wednesday:
Second crack at the handout distributed Monday about the crusade against child labor. Be prepared to answer questions about it.
We watched, and students took notes on, a short film about the industrial revolution in late 19th-century America, focusing on the Chicago stockyards. We compared one image of Packingtown from the film (a luminous, inspiring image) with verbal images from Chapter 2 of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, which students read Monday in Mr. Potratz's absence.
HW due Wednesday:
Second crack at the handout distributed Monday about the crusade against child labor. Be prepared to answer questions about it.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 22
Mr. Potratz read aloud several student paragraphs with different interpretations of Collins's motives in "A Mystery of Heroism" by Stephen Crane. Students then divided a sheet of paper into three columns for three proposed motives (simple thirst, concern for his comrades, peer pressure) and assembled quotations from the story (CD's) supporting each possible motive. After this, students shared some of their quotations and we discussed them.
Mr. Potratz read aloud several student paragraphs with different interpretations of Collins's motives in "A Mystery of Heroism" by Stephen Crane. Students then divided a sheet of paper into three columns for three proposed motives (simple thirst, concern for his comrades, peer pressure) and assembled quotations from the story (CD's) supporting each possible motive. After this, students shared some of their quotations and we discussed them.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 20
Students worked in small groups with Stephen Crane's book of poetry The Black Riders and Other Lines. Students in each group read two pages of a twelve-page handout, then as a group chose a single poem and presented it to the class as a whole. One member read the poem aloud, one explained why they had chosen the poem, and one summarized what the poem said to them.
HW due Tuesday:
Read pages 484-92 in Elements of Lit (the bio of Stephen Crane and his story "A Mystery of Heroism"), then write -- and type -- a solid two-chunk paragraph in response to Question 6 on page 493.
Anyone with an excused absence for last Friday may make up the SAT practice essay by Tuesday after school. The possible times to do so are first and second lunch periods and after school. The exercise takes 25 minutes.
Students worked in small groups with Stephen Crane's book of poetry The Black Riders and Other Lines. Students in each group read two pages of a twelve-page handout, then as a group chose a single poem and presented it to the class as a whole. One member read the poem aloud, one explained why they had chosen the poem, and one summarized what the poem said to them.
HW due Tuesday:
Read pages 484-92 in Elements of Lit (the bio of Stephen Crane and his story "A Mystery of Heroism"), then write -- and type -- a solid two-chunk paragraph in response to Question 6 on page 493.
Anyone with an excused absence for last Friday may make up the SAT practice essay by Tuesday after school. The possible times to do so are first and second lunch periods and after school. The exercise takes 25 minutes.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, April 16
We read Walt Whitman's Ms. poem "Live Oak, With Moss," abridged to fit our time constraints. Mr. Potratz read the poem aloud, after which students counted off into five groups, each of which was asked to answer "What sort of love is depicted in the poem?" and to provide CD's from the poem explaining why the group thought what they thought. A presenter from each group presented the group's CM's and CD's to the class as a whole.
We read Walt Whitman's Ms. poem "Live Oak, With Moss," abridged to fit our time constraints. Mr. Potratz read the poem aloud, after which students counted off into five groups, each of which was asked to answer "What sort of love is depicted in the poem?" and to provide CD's from the poem explaining why the group thought what they thought. A presenter from each group presented the group's CM's and CD's to the class as a whole.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Wednesday, April 15
Students took a short open-book quiz over last nights reading on the Realist period of American Literature, and we went over the answers, after which we compared the Realistivc and Romantic outlooks via a contrast between Stephen Crane's dialogue of man with the Universe and Emerson's account of his oneness with the Universal Being.
Finally, we posed, and addressed the question "Is Huckleberry Finn a Romantic or a Realistic novel?"
Students took a short open-book quiz over last nights reading on the Realist period of American Literature, and we went over the answers, after which we compared the Realistivc and Romantic outlooks via a contrast between Stephen Crane's dialogue of man with the Universe and Emerson's account of his oneness with the Universal Being.
Finally, we posed, and addressed the question "Is Huckleberry Finn a Romantic or a Realistic novel?"
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, April 14
We watched the part of the PBS Mark Twain documentary which deals with Huckleberry Finn while students took notes, then shared observations from people's notes.
HW due Wednesday:
Read pp. 408-422 in the textbook ("The Rise of Realism") and prepare to answer questions about what you read.
We watched the part of the PBS Mark Twain documentary which deals with Huckleberry Finn while students took notes, then shared observations from people's notes.
HW due Wednesday:
Read pp. 408-422 in the textbook ("The Rise of Realism") and prepare to answer questions about what you read.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, April 13
We discussed the literary use of irony in its various forms and how it is manifested in Huckleberry Finn, and Mr. Potratz had observations and suggestions about the second drafts of students' Huck Finn essays.
HW due Wednesday:
Read pp. 408-422 n the textbook ("The Rise of Realism") and prepare to answer questions about what you read.
We discussed the literary use of irony in its various forms and how it is manifested in Huckleberry Finn, and Mr. Potratz had observations and suggestions about the second drafts of students' Huck Finn essays.
HW due Wednesday:
Read pp. 408-422 n the textbook ("The Rise of Realism") and prepare to answer questions about what you read.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, April 3
We finished, and summarized the point of, Mark Twain's curious re-translation of the "Jumping Frog" from French back into English: that its humor cannot be separated from its language, and that humor like poetry is often lost in the translation. The words we use matter, not just what those words mean. From that we passed to talking about levels of diction and about the distinction between denotation and connotation. We put a word on the white board, then generated other words with the same denotation but different connotations and levels of diction.
HW:
Students should continue working on their Huck Finn essays, whether or not they have finished their second drafts. (Second drafts turned in Monday after the break (April 13) will receive 80% credit.)
Students who feel they have done as much work on their essays as they can at this point may choose to read a classic of American literature, borrowed from Mr. Potratz or the school library, for extra credit. This will require students to come after school or during their lunch period to answer questions orally about their book. Up to 20 pts. extra credit, depending on the book and the answers. (Students who did not take a book but wish to read one should email Mr. Potratz for a brief list of approved choices.)
We finished, and summarized the point of, Mark Twain's curious re-translation of the "Jumping Frog" from French back into English: that its humor cannot be separated from its language, and that humor like poetry is often lost in the translation. The words we use matter, not just what those words mean. From that we passed to talking about levels of diction and about the distinction between denotation and connotation. We put a word on the white board, then generated other words with the same denotation but different connotations and levels of diction.
HW:
Students should continue working on their Huck Finn essays, whether or not they have finished their second drafts. (Second drafts turned in Monday after the break (April 13) will receive 80% credit.)
Students who feel they have done as much work on their essays as they can at this point may choose to read a classic of American literature, borrowed from Mr. Potratz or the school library, for extra credit. This will require students to come after school or during their lunch period to answer questions orally about their book. Up to 20 pts. extra credit, depending on the book and the answers. (Students who did not take a book but wish to read one should email Mr. Potratz for a brief list of approved choices.)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Thursday, April 2
Students submitted their second drafts of the Huck Finn essay. Mr. Potratz announced that he would accept such drafts on Friday for 90% credit and on the Monday following the break for 80% credit, after that not at all without prior negotiation.
We finished our review of minimal MLA citation requirements, then listened to Mr. Potratz read the story which made Mark Twain famous: "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
Students submitted their second drafts of the Huck Finn essay. Mr. Potratz announced that he would accept such drafts on Friday for 90% credit and on the Monday following the break for 80% credit, after that not at all without prior negotiation.
We finished our review of minimal MLA citation requirements, then listened to Mr. Potratz read the story which made Mark Twain famous: "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, April 1
Language lessons:
1. Spell checking
a. The spell check poem
b. Handout & discussion
Conclusion: Use spell checking, but use it warily and not as a substitute for your brain!
2. MLA citation
Students wrote a Works Cited listing for their edition of Huckleberry Finn.
Mr. Potratz stamped Quotation/Commentary worksheets.
HW due tomorrow: Second draft (typed, completed) of the Huckleberry Finn essay
Language lessons:
1. Spell checking
a. The spell check poem
b. Handout & discussion
Conclusion: Use spell checking, but use it warily and not as a substitute for your brain!
2. MLA citation
Students wrote a Works Cited listing for their edition of Huckleberry Finn.
Mr. Potratz stamped Quotation/Commentary worksheets.
HW due tomorrow: Second draft (typed, completed) of the Huckleberry Finn essay
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