Friday

Students studied "Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness."

For Wednesday, B-day should perfect the responses on sound in "The Prohibition."

Thursday

Students studied "The Prohibition," discussed a video adaptation of the poem, and closely looked at aspects of sound.

Wednesday

Students studied "The Prohibition." We spent part of the class outside.

Tuesday

Students studied "Love's Usury."

Monday

Students reviewed and discussed "Love's Usury" in class today.

Thursday

Students finished presentations and took the Lit Terms 4 quiz.

Here is "A Finger, Two Dots Then Me" by Derrick Brown. (Explore the rest of the site -- Andrew Allen is a curator of the site).

Students studied, among themselves, "Love's Usury."

Wednesday

Students wrote their timed commentaries in class.

All missing Lit Term quizzes from B-day should be made up in ICU Wednesday or Thursday.

Mr. Galeota has graciously allowed us to perform imaginaterpretive thingies Thursday at the very start of second block.

Tuesday

A-day wrote timed commentaries in class today. We will finish all presentations on Thursday. A-day only will take the Lit Terms quiz.

Monday

Please place all preliminary drafts to your commentaries, stapled together, on the roll table by the door as you enter. Or after you have been seated and have seen this note, place them there...

Note that you will have a timed commentary in class on Wednesday. Prepare by reviewing all poems we have discussed in class -- including today's poem, "Love's Usury." This assignment will be the last grade in the quarter.

Be seated in a nice, cozy circle. Take the poem, "Love's Usury." Read it aloud at least twice. Come on, readers! Step up. Justin, how about you? On the second reading, try ACTING! (By the way, I'm really sorry I'm not there for the imaginaterpretive thingies today. Can you please have them Wednesday or Thursday (if Mr. Galeota allows)?

First, choose a facilitator among yourselves -- someone who can help guide the conversation through these steps. Of course, everybody should help with this, but it helps to have one who is thinking about it. (Facilitator: don't rush it, and fear not when silence descends like a pall. Which isn't likely knowing this crowd).

Then, after the readings, discuss the unfamiliar terms and phrases. Look them up, if necessary. And answer -- why is this guy "praying" to the god of love now? Does he feel himself falling? No? Wut?

Next, discuss in depth all figures of speech. Line by line, identify any figures of speech you see. You can use your "Lit Terms" handout if you need to. Note them on the poem and discuss with the group to have consensus on what figure it is (metonymy? metaphor?) Be sure you realize what comparisons reside in those figures, and discuss how the figures affect meaning. Put little stars by the two or three standout figures of speech that you find most important to the poem. You might identify other aspects of the poem that can be identified with your "literary terms" under "meaning."

Then discuss in depth all aspects of structure and form that contribute to the poem's overall effect. Note the stanza form and the meter. Any reasons for these choices that you can see? Does it fit within Alicia's hypothesis about Twoo Wove, Devotional, and Cynical poems? Explain that to each other.

Finally, take on sound. Discuss and choose two limited, key spots in the poem where sound stands out the most -- where has the poet interfered most flagrantly with the established meter? Where does he use other aspects of sound as defined in your lit terms? What effect do his disruption of pattern and his re-establishment of pattern have on the poem? (It won't always be directly about meaning...)

Apply this thinking to other poems to prepare for the commentary.

TEACHER: The Pointe Time plans are as follows -- Explain that we are trying to gather some data on student understanding of PBIS. Here is a link to a quiz students are to take in Pointe Time to help collect that data. Allow them to use their phones for this (I guess -- how else?) After the quiz, link to this video. Ms. Dreher next door may be helpful in explaining the assignments for this time, but the video is related to Ms. Fields's "Celebrate My Drive" initiative. Now go to the third block web site.

Thursday

Commentaries from A-day should be submitted to Dropbox, named as instructed and formatted according to MLA style. All previous drafts and comments should be turned in during class tomorrow. Papers NOT in the Dropbox, not named correctly, or not formatted according to MLA style will not be timely but late. Attempt to improve all areas I commented on. Please pay attention to detail on your last draft.

A number of students seem to be willing to fail utterly. I am surprised and taken aback. Please don't be that guy!

A-day will also have a lit terms quiz on Sound and all preceding terms.

Wednesday

Students presented their imaginaterpretive thingies and studied "Love's Growth." See below and calendar for upcoming assignments.

Tuesday

Several students made up the Lit Terms Quiz. We reviewed "Love's Growth" and the class had some very interesting takes on it.

Tomorrow, we begin presentations of the imaginaterpretive thingy. Thursday and Friday classes will take the fourth lit terms quiz.

Friday (A) and Monday (B) are due dates for the written commentaries dropped into Dropbox. Old drafts should be resubmitted on the same dates.

On October 21 and 22, students will write in-class timed commentaries, which will complete the nine weeks' work. The last day of the quarter is October 23.

Friday

Students took a Lit Terms quiz. I acquainted them with important deadlines listed on the calendar in in Thursday's post. Class reviewed "Twickenham Garden."

Thursday

A class diminished by the SAT prep course took Lit Terms Quiz 3 and reviewed "Twickenham Garden."

See the calendar for upcoming deadlines to the end of the quarter. The "timed commentary," having only one item in it at quarter's end, will weigh ten percent of the quarter grade.

Oct. 15-16: Imaginaterpretive Thingy
Oct. 16-17: Lit terms quiz 4
Oct. 17-20: Final drafted commentary (graded with rubric)
Oct. 21-22: Timed written commentary

Wednesday

Oh. So. I see how it is.

Remember the lit terms quiz tomorrow. See the October 2 post below for a larger description of expectations for that quiz.

Bring fresh minds to "Twickenham Garden" and "Love's Growth."

Presentations are due on October 15/16.

Tuesday

Remember the lit terms quiz from "Structure and Form" on Thursday/Friday. Also, the imaginaterpretive thingy is due on October 15/16. Theater students who will perform live go upon their return; those theater students who mean to produce a video, submit it BEFORE you go.

Today, go look at "Twickenham Garden" and do the responses attached. Write neatly on your own paper. Submit to the teacher at end of class. Then you may work as teams on your presentations for next week.

Teacher: Please display the linked file and scroll up or down according to student need. The poem should be read aloud at least twice in class.

Monday

Remember the lit terms quiz from "Structure and Form" on Thursday/Friday. Also, the imaginaterpretive thingy is due on October 15/16. Theater students who will perform live go upon their return; those theater students who mean to produce a video, submit it BEFORE you go.

Today, go look at "Twickenham Garden" and do the responses attached. Write neatly on your own paper. Submit to the teacher at end of class. Then you may work as teams on your presentations for next week.

Teacher: Please display the linked file and scroll up or down according to student need. The poem should be read aloud at least twice in class.

Friday

Classes met with Mr. Galeota for a history assessment today. The imaginaterpretive thingy is due on October 15/16. Expect a lit terms quiz on "Structure and Form" terms on October 9-10.

Thursday

Class met all together in English. Students took a literary terms quiz and examined "The Relic." Imaginaterpretive Thingies are due on Oct. 15 and 16. Meet all together in history tomorrow.

Next lit terms quiz will be Thursday and Friday, October 9 and 10. It will focus on the "Structure and Form" words but will be recursive. Five items will require you to apply "meaning" terms. You will have to call them up from your memory, not from a list, and you will need to be able to apply the best term to a sentence. For example:

21.______ The White House is angry with the suits down at the Secret Service. And I don't think the Crown is much happier with her British security.

You write metonymy.

Wednesday

Today's poem was "The Sun Rising." Students received a new assignment, the imaginaterpretive thingy, which is due on October 15/16. The rubric is linked in yesterday's post.