Thursday, June 10

We listened to Act IV of The Crucible and briefly discussed the play afterwards, concentrating especially on Miller's comments prefatory to the action at the beginning of the Act I. Students were advised that these parts, and all the material of the play, whether spoken dialogue or unspoken commentary, will ne fair game for the final exam. The commentary was also recommended as a rich vein for the character booklets.

Day of Final:

Bring textbooks (and any other books still out) and completed booklets.

Wednesday, June 9

Mr. P lectured briefly, reviewing the historical background (which we learned about in the documentary film previously) of Arthur Miller's writing of The Crucible, focusing especially on the importance of "naming names" to satisfy the anti-Communist interrogators, a matter which is especially important to understanding Act III.

Then we proceeded to listen to the recording of Act III as students read along and worked on their character booklets.

Tuesday, June 8

Students were reminded that on the day of the final exam they will be required to turn in:
*their textbooks,
*their Crucible character booklets, and
* their exams.

The exam will cover The Crucible, The Crucible only, and all of The Crucible (not just the dialogue). The many sections Miller added to the play as published are also essential, and will be valuable in doing the character booklet.

We listened to Act II of the play, and read along silently.

Monday, June 7

Students turned in their Outside Reading asignments. Papers turned in Tuesday will lose 10%; papers turned in Wednesday will lose 20%. No papers will be accepted after Wednesday, and no one can pass the class without at least one star's credit, no matter what grade they may have. Wednesday is also the last day for submitting Outside Reading papers to turnitin.com.

We discussed the characters introduced in Act I of The Crucible and students began to fill in their character booklets. Afterwards we listened to more of the play while students read along.

Booklets will be due the day of the final exam, which will cover The Crucible only and will require a detailed knowledge of the play.

HW due Tuesday:
Read through Act III.

Friday, June 4

We listened to most of Act I of The Crucible while students read along silently (escept in Per. 6), where we watched parts of yesterday's video.

HW due Monday:

(1) Read Act II of The Crucible.

(2) Final deadline for the Outside Reading Assignment. (See Documents page for a copy of the assignment sheet.)
The assignment must be turned in to turnitin.com as well as to me.


Thursday, June 3

Students watched part of a documentary film on The Fifties as background to The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote the play in response to what he and many others regarded as the anti-communist witch hunt in that period.

Wednesday, June 2

Students took the Gatsby unit test, consisting of two essay questions, one chosen by Mr. P, the other by each individual student. At the end students turned in their books (Gatsby) and motif booklets along with their tests.

HW due Friday:
Read Act I of The Crucible, to be found in our textbook.

HW due Monday:
Outside reading assignments.

Tuesday, June 1

We prepared for tomorrow's unit test (see Friday entry below) by examining representative passages, themes and motifs.

HW due tomorrow:
Unit test on Gatsby. Bring books and booklets.