Truman's Christmas Memory, Holmes on the One Hand- Not on the Other, Macbeth Act IV

10R

• Finish Capote story. Do Critical Thinking Questions page 490

11R

• Pd 1: Watch Sherlock Holmes Christmas story: "The Blue Carbuncle"
• Critical Lens Practice: Quotes 1 and 2 should have been applied to the formula for the introductory paragraph. Do the same for the third quote and hand in for a grade tomorrow.
• Pd 7: As I have to leave early today, this class will continue working on critical lens practice:
• finish the first paragraph for quote three and four (on seperate paper to be handed in at the end of class)
• Choose one of the quotes done so far (1-4) and write the first body paragraph of the critical lens essay.

English Lit

• Start Act IV of Macbeth.
• All questions due tomorrow. Answer to the Malcolm/Mcduff question is to found on page 333.
• Periods and authors need to be chosen for research project. Work NEEDS to be done on this over the holiday break. Students are endouraged to email me with any questions or concerns.

Capote's Christmas Memory, Critical Lens Practice, Macbeth Act III

Apologies for the lack of updates the past few days. Here's some catching up:

10R

• Poetry unit is in the can. Vocabulary section was retested yesterday due to poor performance. All essays should be in.
• Yesterday we began reading Truman Capote's, "A Christmas Memory." Will continue in class today after a journal entry.
• No HW.

11R

• Monster essays finished. Reading logs checked.
• Handouts: Critical Lens Essay Rubric, list of 12 critical lenses, Critical Lens Essay Layout
• Important skills for writing a critical lens essay will be covered. Today we worked on lens interpretation. Students must paraphrase the quote correctly in order to do well on the essay. Todays lens:
  

  All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion,
  not reason, that motivates characters in literature. (Duff Brenna)

• Write the paraphrase and discuss.
• Follow the layout to complete the first paragraph of the essay. Finish for HW.

English Lit

• Discuss the evolution of Macbeth's personality.
• Discuss Act III. Watch video through Banqu's murder.
• HW: first three scenes of Act IV.
• Questions for first three acts are due.
• Litereature periods and authors for research project to me by Friday.
  

Poetry Unit Test, Part A Monster Review, Sonnet Presentations

10R

• Started the poetry unit test with the following essay question

Select one of the poems we’ve read and write a short essay, which includes
the title and author, which answers the following questions:

What kind of poem is it? What is the poem about? What is the theme of
the poem? What lines prove this is the theme (write the line in quotes)? What is
the poem’s tone? What words or images support this? What is the poems rhyme
scheme?

• Finish for HW if not done.
• Study poetry packet.
• Study vocabulary

11R

• Defined "Ambiguity" as doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning, in prep for book exam.
• Discussed moments in the book that lead to ambiguity.
• HW: work on reading logs

English Lit

• Continued sonnet presentations
• HW: Read first two scenes of Act 2 of Macbeth.
  

Sonnet 18 Model Part 1, Monster Finale Part 1, Sonnets and Macbeth

10R

• Add vocabulary word of the weeK:

Conundrum - (noun)
1. a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
2. an intricate and difficult problem

• In notebooks: summarize another novel with attention to plot, theme and characters
• Reread Sonnet 18. Write a short paragraph interepreting the meaning and theme:

Shakespeare Sonnet 18

In this sonnet, Shakespeare is saying that the subject is more beautiful than a summer’s day. For example, in line 2 he says that the subject is "more lovely" and "more temperate." This means that summer days are not consistent, as the beauty of the subject is. Sometimes it’s too hot (line 5). Sometimes windy (line 3), sometimes cloudy (line 6). More, Shakespeare claims that the subject’s beauty will never die, as summer does (line 4). He says that beauty is immortalized by the lines of the poem (line 12-14). This is the theme of the poem: beauty can be immortalized through poetry.

11R

• Continue reading.
• Final discussion on the story will be tomorrow, exam on Wednesday.
• Intro Essay question.
• Finish the book for homework.

English Lit

• Began sonnet presentations, which will conclude tomorrow
• Discussed Act 1 of Macbeth
• Students are strongly encouraged to decide which literature period they are going to do their research paper on: go to the library, get a book, start gathering data.

"Shall I Compare Thee...,"

10R

• Notebook: Select one the novels you've listed and write a short summary concentarating on plot, characters and especially theme. We will be completeing summaries of all the books listed in preperation for critical lens essay practice starting next week.
• Two new vocabulary words:
  

Simile: a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared, as in "she
is like a rose."

iambic pentameter: The most common meter in
English verse. It consists of a line ten syllables long that is accented on
every second beat.

• Discuss the meaning of 'iambic pentameter'.
• Discuss the structure of the english sonnet: three quatrains (abab) and one couplet (cc).
• Review the difference between the narrative and the lyric poem.
• Read through Shakepseare's Sonnet 18 once aloud. Ask for meaning
• Read through again and model how to 'attack' the imagery for meaning

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

• For example, what does 'lease' mean in line 4? Think: What do you associate a lease with? Car? Apartment rental contract? 'Too short a date' and 'lease' should lead you to understand that 'summer is limited and ends too soon.'
• HW: study vocabulary

11R

• Continue reading Monster. Finish through 253 for Monday.

English Lit

• Note: Due to time constraints, page three of the research project eliminated.
• Sonnet presentations are potstponed until Monday, as I emphasized that the wuality of the presentation will be a significant part of the grade, so practice, practice, practice!
• I handed out a glossary of terms for Macbeth today.
• We read through scene three. FINISH ACT ONE OVER THE WEEKEND, and each of the following questions should have one complete sentence as an answer:

1. What concerns does Lady Macbeth have about her husband's ambitions?
2. What does Lady Macbeth mean by, "Like the poor cat I' th' adage?"
3. What is Macbeth contemplating at the end of Scene 4?
4. What happens to the thane of Cawdor's titles?
6. What title is King Duncan giving to his son, Malcolm?
7. In Scene 1, who or what is Graymalkin?
8. Who do Macbeth and Banquo battle after defeating MacDonwald?
9. What does Duncan order be done to the thane of Cawdor?
10. What prediction do the witches make about Banquo?
11. Where do the witches agree to meet?
12. What prediction do the witches make about Macbeth?
13. While Banquo speaks to Ross and Angus in Scene 3, what does Macbeth contemplate doing that makes his heart pound?
14. Where does Macbeth live?

Poetry Readings, Novel Recall, Macbeth Wins the Day

10R

• Students shared their poetry. Served as a great springboard for discussion Students who shared are to be commended!
• In preperation for the next Regents practice, and January's Benchmark exams, students brainstormed a list of the novels they've read. They are encouraged to consider them carefully for theme, plot, characters, etc, as they will need to choose two to write about.
• Finish the list for homework

11R

• Class was delayed a bit due to weather.
• Began generating lists of Novel's read in preperation for Regents practice and January's Regents exam. They are encouraged to consider them carefully for theme, plot, characters, etc, as they will need to choose two to write about.
• Finish the list for homework

English Lit

• Parts assigned, read first two acts of Macbeth.
• HW: prepare sonnet for tomorow's presentation.

"The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man," Monster Quiz 3, The Torment of Faustus

10R

• Check HW (annotate poem)
• Directions: One more day to hand in the "Night is..." poem. Work it to the best of ability, make sure it looks polished. For 10 bonus points, prepare to present the poem to the class.
• Go over vocabulary for Dickinson poem:
  

The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man

The Wind -- tapped like a tired Man --
And like a Host -- "Come in"
I boldly answered -- entered then
My Residence within

A Rapid -- footless Guest --
To offer whom a Chair
Were as impossible as hand
A Sofa to the Air --

No Bone had He to bind Him --
His Speech was like the Push
Of numerous Humming Birds at once
From a superior Bush --

His Countenance -- a Billow --
His Fingers, as He passed
Let go a music -- as of tunes
Blown tremulous in Glass --

He visited -- still flitting --
Then like a timid Man
Again, He tapped -- 'twas flurriedly --
And I became alone --

• define the words, discuss the imagery
• HW: Finish poem

11R

• 20 minutes to polish up reading logs
• quiz number three
• check reading logs through page 200
• HW: read to page 224

English Lit

• Collect homework
• Discuss research project. Students a strongly urged to select their periods by next week, as we still have to get through Macbeth before spending class time on research and writing. The marking period ends January 29th, but that last week is Regents Week!
• Discussed the imagery, language, tone and theme of Faustus' last monologue:
  
  Faust. Ah, Faustus,
  Now hast thou but one bare hour to live,
  And then thou must be damn’d perpetually!
  Stand still, you ever-moving spheres of Heaven, 30
  That time may cease, and midnight never come;
  Fair Nature’s eye, rise, rise again and make
  Perpetual day; or let this hour be but
  A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
  That Faustus may repent and save his soul! 35
  O lente, lente, curite noctis equi. 1
  The stars move still, 2 time runs, the clock will strike,
  The Devil will come, and Faustus must be damn’d.
  O, I’ll leap up to my God! Who pulls me down?
  See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament! 40
  One drop would save my soul—half a drop: ah, my Christ!
  Ah, rend not my heart for naming of my Christ!
  Yet will I call on him: O spare me, Lucifer!—
  Where is it now? ’Tis gone; and see where God
  Stretcheth out his arm, and bends his ireful brows! 45
  Mountain and hills come, come and fall on me,
  And hide me from the heavy wrath of God!
  No! no!
  Then will I headlong run into the earth;
  Earth gape! O no, it will not harbour me! 50
  You stars that reign’d at my nativity,
  Whose influence hath alloted death and hell,
  Now draw up Faustus like a foggy mist
  Into the entrails of yon labouring clouds,
  That when they vomit forth into the air, 55
  My limbs may issue from their smoky mouths,
  So that my soul may but ascend to Heaven. The watch strikes [the half hour].
  Ah, half the hour is past! ’Twill all be past anon!
  O God!
  If thou wilt not have mercy on my soul, 60
  Yet for Christ’s sake whose blood hath ransom’d me,
  Impose some end to my incessant pain;
  Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years—
  A hundred thousand, and—at last—be sav’d!
  O, no end is limited to damned souls! 65
  Why wert thou not a creature wanting soul?
  Or why is this immortal that thou hast?
  Ah, Pythogoras’ metempsychosis! were that true,
  This soul should fly from me, and I be chang’d
  Unto some brutish beast! All beasts are happy, 70
  For when they die,
  Their souls are soon dissolv’d in elements;
  But mine must live, still to be plagu’d in hell.
  Curst be the parents that engend’red me!
  No, Faustus: curse thyself: curse Lucifer 75
  That hath depriv’d thee of the joys of Heaven. The clock striketh twelve.
  O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air,
  Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell. Thunder and lightning.
  O soul, be chang’d into little water-drops,
  And fall into the ocean—ne’er be found. 80
  My God! my God! look not so fierce on me! Enter DEVILS.
  Adders and serpents, let me breathe awhile!
  Ugly hell, gape not! come not, Lucifer!
  I’ll burn my books!—Ah Mephistophilis! Exeunt DEVILS with FAUSTUS.

Where Snowflakes Land, Monster Author, Research Project, Oh My!

10R

• Journal work: List as many specific images of a snow flake falling and landing as possible. for example:

The snow flake balanced on the edge of the leaf
Then fell and melted into the pond.

• Check homework in the meantime
• Impress the importance and power of specific images, choice of language and use of modifiers (adjectives and adverbs.)
• Share images, discuss language and word choice
• HW: Read "The Wind Tapped Like a Tired Man" by Emilty Dickinson
• Annotate

11R

• Journal: Based on what you've read from the book, and knowing that authors write about what they know, project who the author is, family, where he lived, experiences, etc.
• Share
• Discuss Steve's comment on page 153: "In here, you don't smile back at people who smile at you..." What does this say about Steve, given we have no indication that he learned this the hard way.
• HW: Read to page 200. Quiz and log check tomorrow.

English Lit

• Handed out and discussed directions for research project. Students should begin the process of choosing which period of English Literature they are going to work on.
• Discussed the historical context of "The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus."
• HW: Read the text, answer 2 of the four questions under Analyzing Literature.
  

What's a Metaphor?, More Monster, Nashe's Litany

10R

• Define metaphor as:
  

Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily means one thing is used to mean another, thus making a comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare).

• In journals, brainstor a list of metaphors for "morning." After, do "night."
• Read "Metaphor" by Eve Merrian:

Morning is
a new sheet of paper
for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,
all day,
until night
folds it up
and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words
are gone
until dawn
and a new day
to write on.

• Read and discuss.
• For Homework: questions 4,5,6
• Also, write a poem starting with "Night is..." Due Wednesday.

11R

• Read/work on logs (15-20 minutes)
• Those absent last tuesday take quiz
• Go over quiz
• Discuss story so far- spefically flashback on page: 58
• HW: Read to page 172

English Lit

• Thomas Nashe: historical context
• Read "A Litany in Time of Plague"
  

  
  
  Adieu, farewell, earth's bliss;
  This world uncertain is;
  Fond are life's lustful joys;
  Death proves them all but toys;
  None from his darts can fly;
  I am sick, I must die.
  Lord, have mercy on us!
  
  Rich men, trust not in wealth,
  Gold cannot buy you health;
  Physic himself must fade.
  All things to end are made,
  The plague full swift goes by;
  I am sick, I must die.
  Lord, have mercy on us!
  
  Beauty is but a flower
  Which wrinkles will devour;
  Brightness falls from the air;
  Queens have died young and fair;
  Dust hath closed Helen's eye.
  I am sick, I must die.
  Lord, have mercy on us!
  
  Strength stoops unto the grave,
  Worms feed on Hector brave;
  Swords may not fight with fate,
  Earth still holds open her gate.
  "Come, come!" the bells do cry.
  I am sick, I must die.
  Lord, have mercy on us!
  
  Wit with his wantonness
  Tasteth death's bitterness;
  Hell's executioner
  Hath no ears for to hear
  What vain art can reply.
  I am sick, I must die.
  Lord, have mercy on us!
  
  Haste, therefore, each degree,
  To welcome destiny;
  Heaven is our heritage,
  Earth but a player's stage;
  Mount we unto the sky.
  I am sick, I must die.
  Lord, have mercy on us!
  

• Discuss
• Interpreting 3,4,5 for homework