Monday

Please please please don't let us mess it up this time!

Wednesday Thursday Friday

A-day finished the Know-It-Alls and received an outline to help prep for Paper 2 on Tuesday. Here are some helpful documents for those who would rather succeed than complain:

Pretty Good Paper 1 Sample
Pretty Good Paper 1 Mnemonics -- study Sunday night to remember what to focus on during Paper 1
Pretty Good Paper 2 Sample (Of course, this student wrote about novels. YOU must write about your Part 3 poets: Marvell, Keats, Yeats, Plath)
Pretty Good Paper 2 Organizer -- study Monday night to better organize your thoughts. Also study your study guides thoroughly and ABOVE ALL!!! reread the poetry.

Let me suggest that David Constantine's "Watching for Dolphins" shares a great deal with Sylvia Plath's "Channel Crossing." We did not even discuss rhyme, but Constantine does use it -- slant rhyme, hard rhyme, feminine rhyme, and sometimes just plain consonance -- but there are sound correspondences that are clearly purposeful though not fixed in position.

Tuesday

Students continued their Know-It-Alls and received a small measure of guidance for preparing for their Paper 2, to be conducted on Tuesday, May 5.

Monday

A-day completed their Know-It-All projects -- except for one particular student who scampered off to more important things in Columbia. Next time we will practice approaches to paper 2 questions.

Friday

Today was another pretty good presentation day.

Announcement: If you botched your Know-It-All, you may reverse the roles and redo it for a better grade if you do so BEFORE the end of the week.

Thursday

Wow. Great start, A-day. That was terrific.

Wednesday

Students worked on Know-It-All projects. Deliveries of those babies begins Friday for B-day.

You should have, upon entering class --

1 copy of your study guide for me
Clean copies of your three (x2) poems
Clean copies of your critical quotes (x2)
A timer
A clean copy of your rubric
A world o' knowledge

Tuesday

Students worked on their Know-It-All projects. Thursday is the day! Those who are not ready when called upon will be counted late. I will randomize the names and go in the order the spreadsheet tells me to -- unless people volunteer.

Monday

Students worked on final Know-It-All projects, which are due on Thursday/Friday. Be sure to have a printed copy of your study guide with you on presentation day. Use the template provided. Be more detailed in your study guide than you are likely to have time for in your presentation.

You may have on your desk:

• a blank rubric
• a clean, unmarked copy of your three main poems
• a clean, unmarked copy of your quotes from critics

Friday

Know-It-All projects and the study guides are due in class on April 23.

Wednesday

Students completed presentations and studied "Cut" in class. All remaining time was spent working on the Know-It-All project.

No new deadlines will be in effect for any writing until I have returned your extended commentary drafts. That includes the timed commentary. I will not have another paper waiting while I have not finished the last one.

Tuesday

Students worked on the "Know-it-all project." A Word document that you should use as a template for your study guide is linked right here and in the links list to the right of the page.

Monday

Students worked on the "Know-it-all project." A Word document that you should use as a template for your study guide is linked right here and in the links list to the right of the page.

Tuesday

IB Dawgs, rejoice! I am out for one more day (I hope, only) to rest my aching back.Work on your final or on improving your extended commentary -- or, if you need to, on your fistfighting.

Thursday

Students turned in commentaries and worked to read all poems by their individual poets and classify them according to several criteria.

Tuesday

Most students were in exams, but those who were in class worked on their commentaries.

IMPORTANT: Do not remove the critical books from the classroom! Others need them too! I'm calling for the Bloom's Plath that walked out today!

Monday

This class will have some students taking IB mock exams. Some students may arrive a little late. Students attending should work on their researched commentary drafts. Papers on Friday must be double spaced and properly cited even if it is a draft. Use MLA style. The paper should look polished whether it needs content revision or not. You can lose up to 20 points on this assignment for continuing to refuse to format your paper.

Today would be well spent reading an essay in its entirety on your poem. Start with the books in the room, then try DISCUS, then Google Scholar. Do not resort to the open web. These sources will not be counted. You may use JSTOR or other college library databases. You should have at least two critics involved in the commentary.

Ms. Stinson -- I must assign a grade for students' engagement. Please not any student who accomplishes nothing or who talks incessantly off topic.

Friday

Students took their history exams today.

Thursday

Students were taking their history exams today.

Wednesday

This class will be decimated by IB exams; simply allow work time on long-term projects, especially the extended, researched commentary.

Tuesday

Students took a close look at Yeats' "Leda and the Swan." Afterward, they worked on extended commentaries. A few students were taking exams for psychology class.

Monday

Today students took the IB mock exams for English. These two papers will count as 60% of their final exam grade for South Pointe.

Friday

Students read and annotated two poems for the effect of comparing and contrasting them: Keats' "Ode to Melancholy" and Marvell's "Definition of Love."

Report to exam Monday. Develop your exam essays fully. Read them before you turn them in. Remember that language use counts too, so revise with as much polish as possible. Good luck!

Here's a contest: the student who produces the best mnemonic for the commentary approach notes can add ten points to the fourth quarter grade of her choice. The mnemonic chart should be done before spring break.

Thursday

We reviewed a Keats poem and then worked on long-term assignments. Next up? March 26 -- the extended, researched commentary. And good luck on exams Monday. Take your time, remember what you have studied, and do your best.

The "Part 3 Works" means the entire body of work from Marvell, Keats, Yeats, and Plath. NOT DONNE!!!

Wednesday

The comparison/contrast paper is due for B-day by midnight tonight.

Today, the class heard from an international teacher from Algeria on the subject of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tuesday

Students worked on long-term projects. Comparison contrast papers for A-day are due on March 10 at midnight formatted according to MLA style, dropped in my Dropbox, and named "Last.First.Compare." Ten points rest on your ability to follow these simple instructions. If the paper is dropped after 12:00 midnight, it is late -- which means 20 points.

No finals will be taken without a draft and conference.

Monday

Students worked on long-term projects. Comparison contrast papers for B-day are due on March 11 at midnight formatted according to MLA style, dropped in my Dropbox, and named "Last.First.Compare." Ten points rest on your ability to follow these simple instructions. If the paper is dropped after 12:00 midnight, it is late -- which means 20 points.

No finals will be taken without a draft and conference.

Friday

Students again worked on long-term assignments.

Thursday

Today B-day did as A-day did yesterday:

Today students worked on long-term assignments and received feedback on drafts of their comparison/contrast papers for 3Q.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE DRAFT GRADE IS BASED ON EFFORT, TIMELINESS, AND INSTRUCTIONS. IT HAS LITTLE BEARING ON WHAT YOU MIGHT MAKE ON THE FINAL WHEN THE PAPER 2 RUBRIC WILL BE APPLIED. THE DRAFT IS A STARTING POINT FOR FEEDBACK AND GUIDANCE.

Wednesday

Today students worked on long-term assignments and received feedback on drafts of their comparison/contrast papers for 3Q.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE DRAFT GRADE IS BASED ON EFFORT, TIMELINESS, AND INSTRUCTIONS. IT HAS LITTLE BEARING ON WHAT YOU MIGHT MAKE ON THE FINAL WHEN THE PAPER 2 RUBRIC WILL BE APPLIED. THE DRAFT IS A STARTING POINT FOR FEEDBACK AND GUIDANCE.

Tuesday

Today's class composed a timed commentary or worked on researched commentaries. B-day students may turn in comparison/contrast drafts tomorrow with the A-day deadline. (I don't know what happened yesterday -- I just said, for no good reason, that A-day could have another day. It just fell out senselessly.)

Monday

Students submitted first drafts of the comparison/contrast paper and wrote a timed commentary. For next class, come ready to work on comparison/contrast papers and on the extended, researched commentary.

Friday

Students wrote a timed commentary modeled after the IB exam paper 1. All students -- present in class today or not -- should have a sound draft of their comparison/contrast papers on March 2 and 3.

This link leads to notes on an approach to commentary.

Wednesday

Today we did some housekeeping for the written assignments, which are due to be mailed. Second, B-day students finally chose poets and discussed the remaining assignments for the course. See previous posts for third quarter assignments and the link on the right for fourth quarter assignments. Note that the third quarter timed commentary will be an exam extract rather than a poem from Marvell, Keats, Yeats, or Plath.

Tuesday: A and B day

The timed commentary on Thursday/Friday will be based on old IB exams, not on your present poets. You will get a pair of unseen works and will write on them. Study how to approach commentaries, just as many of you did before the orals.

Monday, B-day

Today we worked further on getting to know our poets -- and here are some key dates for third nine weeks. You already have a presentation grade and will have a few more entries as daily grades, so...

You should recruit a partner to help you prepare for the comparison/contrast paper and for your fourth quarter work. B-day is behind A-day by quite a lot with regards to research and preparation for the upcoming work.

• February 27: Timed commentary on a poem from your partner's collection. You and your partner may select it in advance but you may only have the poem (no notes) during the writing session.
• March 3: Comparison/contrast draft 1 -- Write a comparison/contrast essay based on at least two poems from each poet -- yours and your partner's poets. Compare the work of your poet with the work of your partner's poet. This paper should be a good effort formatted according to MLA style. Late work or work not in MLA style will suffer up to a 20-point deduction. Your essay should respond to one of the following questions:
1. The metaphor, based on analogies between things, is a common and expected element of poetry. Show how at least two poets in our study have heightened meaning or interest in their poems by the use of metaphor.
2. Focusing on the works of at least two poets you have studied, explore how imagery is used to create an impact on the reader.
3. Light and dark, country and city: Contrasts of many kinds are used by poets to sharpen their expression of ideas or feelings. In the works of at least two poets you haves studied, explore the way contrasts have been used to achieve particular effects.
• Be sure to discuss both similarities and differences; the essay is an exercise in comparison and contrast.
• Take a position: the paper is not to paraphrase or summarize but to argue a point about similarities and differences. You know -- So what?
• March 11 Comparison/contrast final

Then you will have mock exams the week of March 16. All third quarter grades will be complete at that point, and all work after the March 10 deadline will go on the fourth quarter.

See this link to know what is coming for the final quarter.

You may choose your partner and enter your choices in 1-3 order as a reply to this post.

Marvell/Keats
Marvell/Yeats
Marvell/Plath
Keats/Yeats
Keats/Plath
Yeats/Plath

Friday: A-day

You guys are probably thinking you're seeing way too much of me. On the other hand, when is the last time we had a regular meeting of the B-day class?

Today we worked further on getting to know our poets -- and here are some key dates for third nine weeks. You already have a presentation grade and will have a few more entries as daily grades, so...

• February 26: Timed commentary on a poem from your partner's collection. You and your partner may select it in advance but you may only have the poem (no notes) during the writing session.
• March 2: Comparison/contrast draft 1 -- Write a comparison/contrast essay based on at least two poems from each poet -- yours and your partner's poets. Compare the work of your poet with the work of your partner's poet. This paper should be a good effort formatted according to MLA style. Late work or work not in MLA style will suffer up to a 20-point deduction. Your essay should respond to one of the following questions:
• The metaphor, based on analogies between things, is a common and expected element of poetry. Show how at least two poets in our study have heightened meaning or interest in their poems by the use of metaphor.
• Focusing on the works of at least two poets you have studied, explore how imagery is used to create an impact on the reader.
• Light and dark, country and city: Contrasts of many kinds are used by poets to sharpen their expression of ideas or feelings. In the works of at least two poets you haves studied, explore the way contrasts have been used to achieve particular effects.
• Be sure to discuss both similarities and differences; the essay is an exercise in comparison and contrast.
• Take a position: the paper is not to paraphrase or summarize but to argue a point about similarities and differences. You know -- So what?
• March 10 Comparison/contrast final

Then you will have mock exams the week of March 16. All third quarter grades will be complete at that point, and all work after the March 10 deadline will go on the fourth quarter.

Thursday: B-day

No class because it was cold, I guess.

Wednesday: A-day again

Add to your annotated bibliography and get formatted correctly by Thursday midnight. Focus on biography and large-scale criticism -- that is, criticism of the poet's entire body of work, his style, and his themes.

• Have one entry from DISCUS online source.
• Have one entry from book source in library.
• Choose one representative 20-50 line poem that you will do an extended written commentary on. Choose one that you find well represented in the criticism on DISCUS and in the library, especially in the Bloom's series of critical writings. You will need a couple of critics, so do not choose a poem that does not have some of these critics available. Create a bibliographic entry for this poem as well. Check with me before finalizing.
• You should have a total of AT LEAST three entries with annotations that represent DISCUS and books. Again, due by Thursday at midnight.

Friday

Students selected partners and poets, went to the lab, and started annotated bibliographies based on their chosen poets.

Thursday

Read this poem together as a class. Discuss -- how well does this poem describe and predict the historical and cultural changes of World Wars I and II?

Next, go to the library, accompanied by your teacher, and do preliminary research with Dr. Weaks' help on William Butler Yeats, Andrew Marvell, John Keats, and Sylvia Plath. Familiarize yourself with each of these poets and learn a little about their lives and times. Rank them 1-4 in order of preference if your choice were to commit you to a massive project on the one you ranked highest.

Because it will.

If you have yet to do your commentary, focus on preparations for that.

Wednesday

Students chose some poets and did some preliminary research on their lives and times.

Tuesday

As yesterday, prepare for your orals. Be on time for your appointments! Double check the sign-up list.

Monday

Please remind each other to be on time for your oral commentary. Report to the science lab just down the hall, A223.

Students in this class have no new assignment and should prepare themselves for the oral.

Friday

BE ON TIME for your commentary appointments! You can keep nothing with you when you enter the prep room. You will be given a copy of your poem and plenty of pens and paper. You may bring all you scratched on into the recording room, but you need to leave it behind when you go.

Good luck! You will be fine -- you are prepared.

Thursday

Students practiced an oral commentary based on John Donne's poetry. They assessed peers and then themselves. Good luck Monday on the actual, live commentaries!

Wednesday

Students prepped and presented an oral on Donne. Next class, bring in your Donne poems for one last practice. This time, you will record yourself and then score and comment on your own recording.

Tuesday

Students completed practicing orals with Orwell and returned to the metaphysical. Bring all Donne poems with you for next class.

Monday

Students did another practice round on Orwell. For Wednesday, bring all Donne poems for a little refresher right before the commentaries are recorded.

Friday

TOK today. Be sure you have read ALL Orwell essays from the linked pack on the right or from the textbook.

"Shooting an Elephant"
"A Hanging"
"The Spike"
"How the Poor Die"
"Down the Mine"
"Politics and the English Language"
"You and the Atomic Bomb"

Thursday

Students practiced an oral commentary on self-selected passages from "The Spike." The reading assignment is to complete "How the Poor Die."

An orals schedule will be posted on my door tomorrow morning.

Wednesday

Students selected passages from "The Spike" and practiced orals. Afterward, they were assigned "How the Poor Die" to read for Friday.

Tuesday

Class prepared and practiced an oral commentary on "Down the Mine." Read "The Spike" and select thirty to forty lines that you think are particularly rich in detail and meaning.

Monday

Read "The Spike" for Wednesday.

Friday

Read "Down the Mine." Choose an approximately 30-line section. List all the violations (or clear demonstrations) of Orwell's rules from "Politics and the English Language" or the spirit of those rules in your chosen passage.

Thursday

Read "Down the Mine." Choose an approximately 30-line section. List all the violations (or clear demonstrations) of Orwell's rules from "Politics and the English Language" or the spirit of those rules in your chosen passage.

Wednesday

Students should complete the work on "A Hanging" and read "Politics and the English Language" for Friday.

See last Wednesday's post for the questions on "A Hanging."

Tuesday

Read "You and the Atomic Bomb" for Thursday. Note two of the best examples you find of Orwell's use of understatement. How do those uses affect the piece?

Wednesday

Assignment from "A Hanging" due Tuesday.

1. Mark which paragraphs are predominantly descriptive; then mark which paragraphs are predominantly narrative; then mark which passages are predominantly commentarial; and then mark which passages seem to you the most emotionally charged or even biased. What case is the author making?

2. Discuss the role of these details: the dog, the puddle, the dialogue at the end.

3. What three sense details struck you most forcefully? Explain why.

4. Find two metaphors in "A Hanging." Are they decorative for simple visual appeal (many are) or do they convey and idea or meaning beyond the picture? Explain.

Choose one of the following. Write your pieces clearly and be prepared to present them.

5. a. You're editing "A Hanging" for space. Cut 50-75 words and defend your choice. Mark the edits on your copy and write your defense. Pretend you are making a case to the editor-in-chief, and this essay was your assignment to ready Orwell for publication in your magazine.

5. b. Describe a gruesome scene you witnessed: a robbery, fight, accident, a death. Get 15-20 sharp sense details and a purposeful metaphor into the writing.

Tuesday

Students shared writings from "Marrakech" and did some classwork on "Shooting an Elephant." They  should read "A Hanging" by next class period and mark paragraphs as "narrative" or as "commentary." Highlight what you think of as the "thesis" of the piece. Is it a persuasive piece? 

Here is the classwork for today:

Keep this work very neat and orderly, and have it with you for Wednesday's class (January 21):
1. Look up symbol in your Literary Handbook. Write the definition on your paper. Then determine what the elephant might symbolize. Be sure it is consistent with the essay's action. 
2. Look up and define situational and verbal irony. Find and list four examples from "Shooting an Elephant" with at least one representative example for each type of irony.
3. Do the same for tone (tone can reveal irony), and extract three passages that prove what you say. See board for adjectives describing tone. (They are all words describing ATTITUDE -- and keep in mind, whose attitude toward what? bitter, callous, condescending, contemplative, contemptuous, critical, cynical, defensive, defiant, desperate, detached, determined, didactic, diplomatic, disdainful, dramatic, formal, friendly, enthusiastic, humorous, indignant, informal, intimate, ironic, judgmental, lighthearted, malicious, mocking, nostalgic, objective, persuasive, reflective, reverent, sarcastic, sardonic, satirical, sincere, sympathetic, tragic, urgent, or vindictive.)
4. Look at the essay's point of view. In simple terms, in what point of view is it presented? Now, think more closely, and describe what creates the ironic gap between the narrator and the subject of his narration.
5. Who does Orwell address -- that is, who is his audience? What would he like for them to think or do?
6. Read "A Hanging" for Wednesday, January 21. Prep for exam commentary, which will be Thursday (reread The Piano Lesson and review all Donne poems).

For those who missed the Orwell passage from "Marrakech," here it is.

Monday

A-day exam was today. Please see posts below for assignments for Wednesday.

Friday

Today students emulated a piece by Orwell for presentation next class period. Please bring it to class typed. Here is the piece to be emulated. They are also to read "A Hanging."

Thursday

Keep this work very neat and orderly, and have it with you for Wednesday's class:

1. Look up symbol in your Literary Handbook. Write the definition on your paper. Then determine what the elephant might symbolize. Be sure it is consistent with the essay's action.

2. Look up and define situational and verbal irony. Find and list four examples from "Shooting an Elephant" with at least one representative example for each type of irony.

3. Do the same for tone, and extract three passages that prove what you say. See board for adjectives describing tone.

4. Look at the essay's point of view. In simple terms, in what point of view is it presented? Now, think more closely, and describe what creates the ironic gap between the narrator and the subject of his narration.

5. Who does Orwell address -- that is, who is his audience? What would he like for them to think or do?

6. Read "A Hanging" for Wednesday. Prep for exam commentary, which will be Monday.

Those who missed the Orwell passage from "Marrakech," here it is.

Wednesday

Today we watched the ending of The Piano Lesson on video. Students are assigned George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" for Friday. Read it and consider the ironies you encounter. Also, bring coats for an outdoor experience.

Tuesday

Today's class started with George Orwell and did a writing exercise based on a selection extracted as "Marrakech." (This class is not in sync with B-day at this point.) Finish this piece and revise it as you type it. Have it for Thursday.

"Shooting an Elephant": please read, with an eye toward irony, for Thursday.

Monday

B-day started the movie version of The Piano Lesson today.