Poetryoutloud

Visit http://www.poetryoutloud.org/.
Pick a poem to memorize over vacation.

We will begin working on a poetry unit when we return in january.
In your comments, list the name of your poem and why you chose it.

Have a happy holiday vacation!

Night Assessment: A Still Life of Shoes and Backpacks

As we were brainstorming today, there seemed to be some interest in a project that had a visual component:
shoes, pictures of shoes, backpacks, symbols and possessions...

List any ideas for combining creative writing and images around those ideas in a way that shows how you understand Night or want to prepare someone for what they are about to read.

It would be great if the assessment had a way to combine everyone's offering into a larger display, like pieces of a mosaic....

Thanks for bringing your creativity to the assessment process!
Dr.G.

Elie Wiesel interviewed by Oprah at Auschwitz Death Camp

As we watch, use the space below to record your thoughts and questions.
Warning: There will be graphic images and historical film footage.
You may wish to simply listen to the conversation.

Night: The Assessment Quest

After reading something for school, there is usually an assessment.
What does a student know now?
What is a student able to do now?

 

Finding an assessment that measures progress is easy if the task is easy--
Do you know the alphabet? Repeat it.
Can you add three numbers together? You add various three number groups until you can do it without error.
If the task is even to remember the plot of a complex novel, you can draw a diagram and we can check that you did not confuse the order or that you did not leave anything out.

 

Finding an assessment that measures higher order thinking skills, complex thinking can be harder.
Knowing the story of Night is not enough--what will you do with it?
Begin here:
What do you know now that you have read Night?
What are you able to do now that you have read Night?

 

How can you apply your reading experience to something new?
How does your reading connect to other reading and life experience?
How does reading Night inspire you to want to know more or do more?
What does Night inspire you to create as a measure of your understanding?

 

1. Brainstorm below the kinds of assessments that you think would be worthy displays of your reading experience.
2. Please check pages 600-601 as ideas, especially if you are drawing a blank for an assessment idea.
3. Many of the assessment ideas on these pages can be modified or combined.
4. Since this can be such a personal subject, I imagine an individual project, but depending on the proposal, I will entertain options.
5. Know also, that I expect a proposal and a draft before vacation (Thursday), but that we will work on it after vacation, too. (p.s. I am aware of science fair--I was young once, too!)

Night: The Textbook Excerpt

Tonight for homework, please read the selection from Night that is in your textbook on pages 593-599.

 

1. What is your response to this excerpt?
2. What questions do you have about what happened before this moment?
3. What questions do you have about what happened after this moment?
4.What connection can you make to other texts you have read or movies that you have seen?

 

Tomorrow's class will be SSR. You may choose to read Night or another book.

• Please read up to page 46 in the full-length book for Monday.
• Please take notes on pivotal moments in the narrative.
• Record any questions about words or history that you might have.

If you find any helpful resources as you read, please note them in your post.

War, Leadership and Cruelty: Short Story Responses

Sorry for posting this a little late today...

Each of the stories has something to do with war, leadership and/or cruelty and the lessons we can learn from the behavior of others in difficult circumstances.

In your comments below:
(List the story title you read, of course!)
1. What is your response to the story you read?
2. What element of the story triggered your response?
3. What is one of the themes you have identified as your authors message to his readers?
4. How could characters in this story benefit from the advice offered by Forster
in his essay, " Tolerance"?
5. What connection can you make between this story and another work of literature, film or play?

NIGHT: Response to the Preface

Elie Wiesel, in his preface to the memoir, Night, writes, " If in my lifetime I was to write only one book, this would be the one."

He realizes that as a teenager, "one's knowledge of death and evil should be limited to what one discovers in literature," and he offers to educate you through his experience.

• What did you learn from him in this preface that will prepare you for what you are about to read?
• What did you learn about his writing process?
• What questions do you hope to have answered?

3-2-1: Tolerance

As a group, respond to today's 3-2-1 exercise here:

3: Mistakes that humans have made over history that we should not repeat.
2: The two best qualities that will preserve civilization and promote peace.
1: Forster's best evidence for tolerance/why (pp.679-681).

(make sure to list all members of the group who participate)
Enjoy your half day!

The Lessons of History: Back to the Books

In this next unit, we will be looking at the lessons we can learn from history as recorded by authors of short stories, poems, a novel and a memoir in Unit Four of our textbook. If you have time today, access the textbook through the electronic link and preview the texts we will be reading, particularly the work of E.M. Forster, who provides the touchstone text for this unit, "Tolerance"and Elie Weisel who contributes both a selection from his full length memoir, Night. and his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech.

The questions I would like to pose before reading are these:

1. Of all the lessons we should learn from history, what is the most important?
2. What quality is it important for us to develop if we want to preserve civilization and promote peace?
3. How do you think reading literature can be part of teaching us to develop this quality?

MSND: Formal Paper Character Selection

So, what character are you selecting for your paper? Why?
What is your working thesis?

A working thesis is general and represents the initial hypothesis you intend to prove before you conduct your rereading of the play and your re-examination of the essays and story in the Literature Connection book.

Of course, as you move to your second draft, you will refine your thesis statement to preview the body you have developed with the evidence you collect from your reading and experience.

You will find that you will inspire each other by noting your character selections and your tentative theses...share the wealth!

MSND: Open Response Group Test on Wednesday INFO/Review

On Tuesday, we will have a "work day" as you prepare with your tablemates for your first group test.
Everyone will get an individual score and a group score, using the Open Response Rubric. The test itself is Wednesday. handouts are on my webpage, 1 click away!

Individual score: You will get a summative grade for the item all students will write [Shakespeare and magic].

Group Score: You will get a summative grade consisting of the sum of all points attained by your table out of the total points available. Athenians + General items.

• 4 person table: 16 possible points--2 Athenian items, 2 General items
• 3 person table: 12 possible points--Select two of one category, 1 of the other.
• 2 person table 8 possible points--1 Athenian item, 1 General item.

In your comment below, list any questions you have about A Midsummer Night's Dream that you need to have solved prior to your group test.

Review should be only for those concepts that you cannot find answers for on your own, or upon finding the answer, to clarify the answer supplied by the text. I am not going to retell the story or provide answers that have already been made available to you.

Remember:

• Look for answers to your questions in the summaries provided before each act and scene in your text.
• Check Shmoop.
• Check Dictionary.com as well.
• Check with your table-mates to see if they know the answer, too.

MSND: More strange than true...

You have been asked to read and annotate the beginning of Act V, scene i, the conversation between Theseus and Hipployta. Theseus represents our rational side, our logos, while Hippolyta sees "constancy" or truth in the "strange and admirable " stories of the Midsummer's night in the forest; she represents the intuituve feeling or imaginative side, our pathos.

• Please comment on the position with which you most agree.
• Why do you prefer that character's position?
• What sort of supernatural phenomenon do you wonder about?
• Do you think anyone will ever prove that supernatural phenomena to be true?
• How can a reasonable person believe in something that is not empirically proven to be true?

MSND: Happily Ever After?

A question from our friends at SHMOOP:

At the end of the play, the issues between the young lovers all seem resolved.
Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander returns to his original love for Hermia.
Still, we know that Demetrius remains enchanted, and that Hermia watched Lysander betray her but doesn't know he was enchanted when he did it.

Does the state in which the lovers leave for Athens then justify the claim that they'll live happily ever after?
If so, why?
If not, Why not?

And then Dr.G. wants to know:
If something like this happened to you and/or your friends in 2011,
what is the likelihood that the couples involved would stay together?

Back to Bradbury: Response to April Witch

So, here we are (a long way from F451), with another Bradbury short story--

• What do you think?
• What is Bradbury's theme?
• How is this story connected in any way to MSND?
• Does this story alter your opinion of Bradbury as a writer? Explain.

Epstein's Essay: Most Effective Example

In her essay, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Norie Epstein offers us this thesis:

"Yet, upon closer examination, A Midsummer Night's Dream reveals, in disguised form, deep truths about our hidden emotional life, (189).

What evidence does Epstein offer us in her essay to prove that this thesis is, in fact, true?

Select the best quote from her essay that supports her thesis and tell us why this sentence is convincing.

Moore's Essay: The most effective example

While we are in agreement about the thesis of this essay from the Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore,

"It is clear that love is never simple, that it brings with it struggles of the past and hopes for the future, and that it is loaded with material that may be remotely--if at all--connected to the person who is the apparent object of love,"

we may be in disagreement when we evaluate the most effective example that proves his point.

In the comments below, identify the most effective example in the essay and explain how it works to convince you of the author's thesis about love.

MSND: Act III Questions--everybody comments!

Please read Act III for Monday.

What is going on in Act III for your character?
Please summarize the scene.
What words did you look up?
Were there any new allusions for you?
If so, what?

By showing us these couples, their lives and loves transformed by potions and magic,
what does Shakespeare want us to learn while we are laughing?

Often, at the heart of every comedy, is some truth we recognize in ourselves.
What are you learning about young love as you look at the trials and tribulations of Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander and Helena?

What makes Titania and Bottom's situation entertaining (besides the mask Garrett will wear on Monday)?
Is Oberon getting his revenge?

Homework? Lysander's translation...

I know we went over the homework, but I forgot to collect it and no one put it in the bin.
Please,
bring your homework back in on Monday in order to get credit for it.
Thanks,
Dr.G.

MSND: Act II: Rising Action

For Tuesday, read Act II of MSND.

• Share your response to the Act
• Summarize what your character is doing.
• What does your character want?
• List any words or allusions that are confusing.
• Ask any questions about the action that is going on, as WS is not a fan of stage directions.
• Make a prediction for Act III ?

MSND: Act I: Exposition

For Monday, read Act I of MSND.

 

In this post,

• Share your response to this act;
• Summarize what is going on with your character;
• What does your character want?
• List any words/allusions that you don't understand;
• Ask any questions about the action , since Shakespeare is not big on stage directions.
• Make predictions for Act II.

MSND: Who is your character? What do you think?

So, we have read through the first few scenes of MSND, just to get an idea of what our characters are like and what the plot's about. This is what a cast would do on the first rehearsal.

Usually, the director has a concept that gives a particular perspective on the play by setting it traditionally, or in another "universe" other than the author intended it. Shakespeare's plays were often done in dress contemporary to the times.

How should we "DO" this play?

Also, each actor develops a "backstory", in great detail, so he or she knows where his or her character is coming from and what that a character wants more than anything in the world of the play. Actors keep developing this backstory in order to provide motivation for speaking, moving, and choosing as the character in the play.

Who IS your character? 
WHAT does he or she WANT?

Please answer those questions below (use internet references to help you out, including images from other versions and performances of the play).

(If you do not have a speaking role in the play, list a few interesting words, allusions, facts about Shakespeare...or send me a picture from today that I can put up on the next post!)

Beyond the Red Ink: Your response

At the conference, the title of a DVD jumped off the table at me-- "Beyond the Red Ink: Students Talk about Teacher Comments." Today, I am going to show it to you, and I would like your responses to help me decide if it is worthwhile to share with teachers, and if so, how.

First, what resonates with you?
Second, do you share the opinion of any of the students in this short documentary? Who? Why?
Third, without naming names, do teachers at Abington High School need to hear this message? Why?

Last, I am thinking of asking Ms. Sullivan to let me show it to the faculty at our next meeting.

• What should I tell her to make my argument most convincing?
• What do you think faculty would get out of the experience?
• What would be the benefit to students?

As always, thank you for your responses.

The KW of KWL: Midsummer Night's Dream

A frequent start-up activity is called KWL. Students are polled for the following information before a unit of study:
What do students KNOW about the topic?
and
What do students WANT to learn about the topic?

After the unit of study is completed, students are asked what they LEARNED.

SO, what do you KNOW about Shakespeare, comedy or Midsummer Night's Dream?
What do you WANT to learn?

Please comment below!

The Word Masters Period 5 Team

Period 5 score: 70

8: Erica Williams

8: Christine Shanahan

7: Jeremy Sullivan

7: Michael Manley

7: Lindsay Ryan

7: Kelly O'Brien

7: Abby Magnussen

7: Brian Nickley

6: Alexia Cerasani

6: Vinny Picardi

Also finishing in the "6" category: Ryan Mariano, Rachel Clarke, Marianna Porcello, Robert McClafferty

Going paperless: Your thoughts

On this Friday morning, I will be presenting a session at a conference of my colleagues sponsored by The New England Association of Teachers of English titled, " Going Paperless: Using  Blogs, Email, Net Books, and Websites in Secondary English Classrooms." I would appreciate your feedback on the blog so I can take you to the conference with me.

In your comments, please share your opinion/experience of class procedures related to:

• Blogs
• Email
• Net Book (if you are using them)
• Teacher Websites
• Websites listed on the Blog and/or Teacher Websites

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Your Role?

After you skim through this Shakespearean comedy, reading the scene synopses, look at the cast list and consider what role you would like to have in this production.

Certainly, we can double cast some scenes or even select one scene for everyone to  in groups. However, there are many roles to choose from: Greek Rulers, young lovers, warring supernatural beings (fairies), and ordinary townsmen rehearsing a play for a wedding gift.

If you would prefer not to act out a role, think about contributing to the performance in anoter way--creating music or sound effects, filming or photographing the performances, selecting costumes or props, providing reference resources when we have questions, or directing by providing alternate ways to interpret scenes.

In the comments below, please give me an idea of how you would like to participate or ask any question that would help you make that decision.

Formal Paper F451: Questions and Answers

If you have any questions while you are working on your paper, post them here.
When reading through the comments, let me know if you are having any of the same difficulties.
If you can answer by sharing your strategies, go ahead.
I will monitor the page over the weekend.
We will be writing in class on Monday and peer editing on Tuesday.

Let's work on these papers together.

F451: Thesis

The most important component of a paper's structure is its thesis.
The thesis provides, for the reader and the writer, a sense of direction.
In most formal papers, the thesis is explicit and previews the development of the paper so that the reader can prepare for what he or she is about to read.
A formal paper is not a narrative, does not depend on conflict or tension, and most of all, is neither a mystery nor a surprise.it can actually be compared to a tuxedo--formal in its language and structure. It is more a mini-van than a sports car... but it doesn't have to be a bus or a truck.

A formal paper is an act of analysis, or mapping, showing the reader the journey you have taken through a text--there may be other ways--and the thesis in the introduction tells what you are about to examine, the landmarks, the points not to be missed.The thesis is that map that gets the reader excited about reading, that gets the engine warmed up and ready to go.

Please comment with your working thesis in preparation for tomorrow's class.

Response: F451 Assignment

In your comments below, please give me some feedback:

How close are you to finishing the novel?
Do you have any questions about the assignment?
When is a reasonable due date?
What kind of in-class time and support do you need?

Remember, the assignment is on my teacher website.

As soon as the majority of the class responds, I will establish a due date and schedule in class writing.

Theme ID F451

Because you are an experienced reader of Bradbury, you are sure to identify the  themes he tends to write about, especially those about the price we pay for progress--but there are others.

What themes do you see so far in this novel? Please comment below!

Remember, a theme is a  statement, not a one-word topic.
These statements are usually:

• advice about desirable behavior
• warnings about undesirable behavior
• observations about the general nature of behavior

Response: Fahrenheit 451

Now that you are reading F451, what do you think?
How is the novel similar to and different from the short stories we have read?
Consider:
The Sound of Thunder
There will Come Soft Rains
The Pedestrian
and The Veldt.

DO NOT concentrate on whether you like the novel or do not like the novel.

• Consider, instead, whether the novel is an effective comment on the price society pays for progress.
• Or, consider whether or not the text has quality, "pores", or fresh and vivid detail.

Compare and contrast

After you have written your Open Response practice, please take a minute to go to the student work for the 2010 ELA MCAS and look at the rubric and the anchor papers.

How would you score yourself? Why?
How is your answer similar to a 4?
how is your answer different from a 4?

What are you going to do when you are studying this evening?

FYI: Test date moved

I just read the blog again and saw that I said the test would be on Tuesday.
Since I want to do a practice activity, I am moving the test to Wednesday.
Study, post on the blog, and come in ready to practice Open Response writing on an authentic MCAS item.
Our test, to be clear, is Wednesday.
Feel free to visit the MCAS links to other items from other years.
It is amazing what looking at other students' work will teach you.

What did you learn about the Grade 10 MCAS today?

So, the Grade 10 MCAS should be demystified.
What did you learn about what people expect you to know and be able to do

• as a reader and
• as a writer

on this assessment?

What did you learn from looking at other students' work?

Your reaction to Team Testing?

I had an idea this weekend that I would like to provide as an option on future Open Response tests:
The Team Test!

My idea?
Anyone who wants to take the test as a four person team would sign up.
Then on the day of the open response test, the team would sit at a table together.
They could huddle for 5 minutes to divide the questions.
The total points would be based on an addition of the points earned by the team.
The entire team would share the same score.
What do you think?
I am open to any variations on this idea.

Also, do you know what pod-casts are? I thought about you being able to record a spoken response to test questions, but I am curious as to where you are with the technology. I know of a way where you could speak your answers into your phone... Are you up for that?

Open Response Test: Tuesday

We will have a test on Tuesday, Open Response style.
You will be able to use your books and notebooks, just as on MCAS you always have a test to refer to.
Needless to say, you will be expected to quote from the story to support your answer.
So, what does that mean to you?

Do you have a strategy to share for successful writing?
What about writing open response items is stressful for you?
Do you have a question about writing for that type of item?

The Veldt: Response and the Price of Progress

So, what DO you think?

How is "The Veldt" similar to and different from other Bradbury stories?

How would it fit into the textbook unit: The Price of Progress?
Would you remive a story in the unit and replace it with "The Veldt" ? Why or Why not?
Is you answered yes, what story would you remove and why?

The dream essay question on the price of progress unit

The directions are simple here:
Write the essay question of your dreams that allows you to make a strong statement as a writer.

Possible topics include :
how the stories are related
how the characters are related
how the themes are related
how you think about the future as a result of these stories
what these stories have inspired in terms of television and movies

or, if you would like to take the creative writing option...
how about writing a short story of your won about the price of progress?

What kind of test do you want to take?

In your comments below, describe the kind of test that would best show me what you know and are able to do as a result of reading, discussing and writing on the blog.

Consider tests you ahve taken in the past and a test you would like to take in the future.
Think outside the box if you would like to ...

Dandelion Wine: Your response to a different Bradbury sample

Bradbury doesn't always write about the future in the same way that Stephen King doesn't always write about horror and the supernatural.
For instance, did you know that Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile are all Stephen King stories?

Please record your response to the excerpt from Dandelion Wine by Bradbury.
What stylistic features are similar to what you have read?
What stylistic features are different from what you have read?

The Pedestrian: Your Response, please

So, what do you think?

Now focus in on the following from question #3, page 101:

What are your impressions of Leonard's world of 2053?

• hat Leonard hasn't seen in ten years of nightly walks
• what passes for normal night behavior in the city
• the condition of the city's sidewalks

Now consider Bradbury's style...

You have read two short stories by Ray Bradbury:

• The Sound of Thunder
• There Will Come Soft Rains

How would you describe Bradbury's style?
Concentrate on selecting examples of:

• specific word choices that reveal a pattern
• specific sentence types
• specific images
• specific emotional adjectives that capture Bradbury's attitude toward character, settings or the situation.

There Will Come Soft Rains: #5

What effect does Bradbury create by including the Teasdale poem in his story?
Think about:

• the message or the theme of ech selection
• the settings of the poem and the story

There Will Come Soft Rains : Response

So, what do you think?

How does this feel like a "Bradbury" story?

Is it more like Vonnegut or more like Benet or something different?

How does this story connect to any of the other stories we have read?

The Sound of Thunder : Question # 5

In your opinion, what theme is Bradbury conveying through the story?   Think about:

The Butterfly effect?

• the society Eckels returns to as compared with the rest of the society depicted at the beginning of the story
• the significance of the butterfly

Response: The Sound of Thunder

So, what do you think?

How would you describe Bradbury as a writer in comparison to Vonnegut and/or Benet?

How is this author connecting to the idea of paying a price for progress?

Bablyon :#s 3, 5, &6 but with style

Return to  one of the questions from the previous post [3,5, or 6 p.53] and support your answer with evidence that comes from an author's style choices.

By the Waters of Babylon: 3,5, & 6

Why do you think it is forbidden for anyone but a priest to visit the Dead Places? Explain.

How does the title of this selection ass to your understanding of the story?

What do you think is the theme of the story?
Remember, the theme should be expressed as a sentence.
The author is usually making an assertion:
readers should do something
readers should not do something
or, regardless of what readers do, this is the way humans will behave.

Use examples from the text, of course.

By the Waters of Babylon Response

So what do you think?
Consider...
Did the references to the forbidden lands of the East make sense to you?
Did you know where you were? What do you think happened?
(Be careful--look up when the story was written before you jump to conclusions.)


Did you like it the same, more or less than Harrison Bergeron?
Explain, of course.

Vonnegut, page 27, #5...same question, but with style!

Same question:
What do you think Vonnegut might be trying to say

• about today's society and
• the role a government can play in achieving equality among people?

Use examples from the style of Vonnegut's writing  (not so much the facts of the story) to support your opinion.
Please note page, column, and paragraph # so we know what you are commenting on.
Think of as many examples as you can and share your best two.

Directions and guidance:

Look for word choices, individual particular words, that are clues to the author's attitude.
Focus in on syntax, or sentence structure.
 by counting things like the number of words in a sentence or the number and kind of punctuation marks.
Are all the sentences "equal" in structure?
Does Vonnegut make any analogies, use similes or metaphors? If so, what is the basis of his comparison?

Start there...if there is any level of detail, any kind of texture of the writing that communicates an emotional sense, list the adjectives that come to mind...do you notice a pattern? What about the proper nouns or names? Do they seem to be symbolic? Is there any foreshadowing you can identify?

. Write on paper if the blog is not working!





You can comment again later if you'd like to add something.

9/11

This is a space to add your thoughts and feelings about 9/11, given that we have just seen a powerful video account of this day. You are not required to post here or say anything, but you may if you would like.
You may add either comments or questions.

Bergeron, page 27, Question 5

What do you think Vonnegut might be trying to say

• about today's society and
• the role a government can play in achieving equality among people?

Use examples from the story to support your opinion.
Please note page, column, and paragraph # so we know what you are commenting on.
Think of as many examples as you can and share your best two.

You can comment again later if you'd like to add something.

Response to Harrison Bergeron

What do you think of this story by Kurt Vonnegut?

• What did you like about it?
• What didn't you like about it?
• If you have a mixed response, give the positive and negative a % [50/50, etc]

Post any questions you have...
And if you can answer someone's question, please do.

You may comment more than once if you are inspired.

SSR? 10, 25, or 47?

SSR is an important component of an ELA class that is designed to prepare you to become lifelong learners.
A person who takes time out regularly to read for pleasure in school is more likely to take that time and more to read for pleasure out of school.The more you read, the more fluid a reader you become, the better your vocabulary will be (if you read at your challenge level).

SSR is your choice. You many read in any school appropriate genre; ask me if you are not sure.
Read beyond novels--try history, science, biography, self-help, essays, humor--whatever.
Read magazines or newspapers.
Take the netbooks and read --many newspapers and magazines have great sites; so do TV channels.
Try reading other blogs...you can use the netbooks to discover ereading.
If you have an ereader (I have a kindle), bring it.
If you have an ereader app on your phone, you may use it--I have iBook and kindle apps.

Please comment: What would you like to for SSR this quarter?
5 ten minute periods?  2 periods of 25 minutes? Just one whole class?
Please say why, and what you plan on reading.

Welcome to our class blog!

This space can be used for discussion, homework, links, and connections to other resources.
We can prepare for discussions here and continue them later.
This can be a brainstorming and drafting place, too.

Search across the web using keywords like: blog, classroom, high school, and English.
What features do you find that you would want to see here?
What kind of posts?
What kind of widgets or gadgets?

Comment on your findings below.