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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Miss Rosie, Monster Quiz, William's Sonnets

10R
  • Went over last night's homework
  • In journals: what is the metaphorical meaning of 'to stand up?'
  • Read Miss Rosie, by Lucille Clifton
when I watch you
wrapped up like garbage
sitting, surrounded by the smell
of too old potato peels
or
when I watch you
in your old man's shoes
with the little toe cut out
sitting, waiting for your mind
like next week's grocery
I say
when I watch you
you wet brown bag of a woman
who used to be the best looking gal in Georgia
used to be called the Georgia Rose
I stand up
through your destruction
I stand up
  • No homeowork
  • Happy Thanksgiving

11R

  • Took quiz
  • Check logs
  • HW: read up to pg 146

English Lit

  • Students reported which sonnets were chosen for project
  • show actual text from Shakespear's '1609 Quarto:'



M Y Miſtres eyes are nothing like the Sunne,
Currall is farre more red,then her lips red,
If ſnow be white,why then her breſts are dun:
If haires be wiers,black wiers grow on her head:
I haue ſeene Roſes damaskt,red and white,
But no ſuch Roſes ſee I in her cheekes,
And in ſome perfumes is there more delight,
Then in the breath that from my Miſtres reekes.
I loue to heare her ſpeake,yet well I know,
That Muſicke hath a farre more pleaſing found:
I graunt I neuer ſaw a goddeſſe goe,
My Miſtres when ſhee walkes treads on the ground.
And yet by heauen I thinke my loue as rare,
As any ſhe beli'd with falſe compare.
  • Continued discussing "Fear No More the Heat 'O the Sun"
  • Read Blakes Chimney Sweep poems as background for the image:



The Chimney Sweeper(Songs of Innocence)

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curl'd llke a lamb's back. was shav'd: so I said
"Hush. Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet & that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned or Jack.
Were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black.

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he open'd the coffins & set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river. and shine in the Sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark.
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.


The Chimney Sweeper(Songs of Experience)

A little black thing among the snow:
Crying weep, weep, in notes of woe!
Where are thy father & mother! say!
They are both gone up to the church to pray.

Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smil'd among the winters snow:
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.

And because I am happy, & dance & sing,
They think they have done me no injury:
And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King
Who make up a heaven of our misery.
  • Sonnet presentations will be Friday 12/5
  • Students are encouraged to meet with me to discuss their sonnets.
  • Happy Thanksgiving!





Monday, November 24, 2008

One Perfect Rose, The Monster's Dream, Working a Shakespearean Sonnet Continued

10R

  • Rewrite the homework assignment, edit and revise, hand in for a grade.
  • Read "The Sonnet-Ballad" by Gwendolyn Brooks:

    Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
    They took my lover's tallness off to war,
    Left me lamenting. Now I cannot guess
    What I can use an empty heart-cup for.
    He won't be coming back here any more.
    Some day the war will end, but, oh, I knew
    When he went walking grandly out that door
    That my sweet love would have to be untrue.
    Would have to be untrue. Would have to court
    Coquettish death, whose impudent and strange
    Possessive arms and beauty (of a sort)
    Can make a hard man hesitate--and change.
    And he will be the one to stammer, "Yes."
    Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?

  • Read through once for tone and clues for theme
  • Read through again to clarify vocabulary and discuss imagery
  • Read "One Perfect Rose" by Dorothy Parker:

A single flow'r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet--
One perfect rose.
I knew the language of the floweret;
"My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.

Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
  • Do the same: read through once for tone and theme, then a second time carefully for full meaning
  • HW: Applying, # 4

11R

  • Journal: discuss the nature of Steve's dream on page 63
  • Discuss the cell scene on page 57; encourage students to "see" the movie as the directions dictate. Why is this scene significant?
  • HW: read to pg 113 and construct 5 questions for the book up to this point.

English Lit

  • Read Sonnet 116:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
  • Read as described above: once through for tone and theme, then carefully, examining the imagery carefully
  • Contrast this sonnet with that from Friday's class.
  • Start "Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun"
  • Annotate and be prepared to discuss tomorrow.



Friday, November 21, 2008

Poe vs Mr. Lambert, The Monster's Flashback's, Shakespeare and Those Sonnets

10R

* Journal: discuss the metaphor of 'Eldorado' in the poem.
* Compare the theme with that of my own work:

Polaris

A boy climbs the wall to reach a star.
Should a man turn his gaze to the ground?
I will look up, my arm outstretched
Though age brings agony; the days
Of the world take me to my knees.
Though failing, laid weak upon the ground,
Still will I reach, gnarled hand, hopeless.
For when, at last, I fly this dusty shell
That outstretched arm will guide me true; home


* Contrast the theme and the tone of the two.
* Discuss the meaning of 'shadow' which is repeated in each of the stanzas in 'Eldorado.'

HW: page 616 #5

11R

* Check reading logs
* Reading logs should be done around every 20 pages. There is leeway either way.
* Discuss the connection between the flashbacks and the main story line. Example: the first flashback is connected to the main story line by the word 'jury'. How is the context connected?

* Hw read through page 88. Should be at least two logs.

English Lit

* Read and respond to Shakespeare Sonnets 29, 130

XXIX

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.


CXXX

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.


* Note the irony in 130, which is almost a parody of the exalted language of the lyric poetry of the time.

* HW: I'm giving more time to study the Shakespeare handout in order to choose the sonnet to be analyzed and presented. Next Tuesday is the deadline.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Danny Deever, Monster!, Sir Walter's Son

10R

* Journal: Write another stanza (just 4 lines) after line 24 of Kipling's "Danny Deever" explaining why Danny killed his comrade. Use the same conversational format. (Check HW)

Example:

"Why'd he do his mate to death?" said Files-on-Parade.
"'Is anger got the best of him," the Color Sargeant said.
"He loved her strong and true enough," said Files-on-Parade.
"But did she him, I'm a wonderin'" the Color Sargeant said.

* Share some.

* Discuss # 7

* Homework: read "Eldorado" by Poe. Write response in journal. Look for patterns, meaning, etc.

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old,
This knight so bold,
And o'er his heart a shadow,
Fell as he found,
No spot of ground,
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength,
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow;
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be,
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains
Of the moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"


11R

Pd 1: Continue Monster through page 43. Finish for HW. Write reading log.
Pd 7: Read through 64

Both classes: reading logs will be checked for a grade tomorrow.

12R

Distribute Shakespeare Sonnets.
* Read them over.
* Select one by Monday. For that do the following:
1. short essay analyzing the poem
2. present the sonnet to the class. (Friday, 12/5)

* Read "To His Son" by Sir Walter Raleigh

Three things there be that prosper up apace
And flourish whilst they grow asunder far;
But on a day, they meet all in one place,
And when they meet they one another mar:
And they be these -the wood, the weed, the wag.
The wood is that which makes the gallows tree;
The weed is that which strings the hangman's bag;
The wag, my pretty knave, betokeneth thee.
Mark well, dear boy, whilst these assemble not,
Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild;
But when they meet, it makes the timber rot,
It frets the halter, and it chokes the child.
Then bless thee, and beware, and let us pray
We part not with thee at this meeting day.


* Work the poem individually.
* Ask questions!
* Discuss how much is meaningful, what gets in the way, etc.
* Go over archaic vocabulary.
* Discuss what can be inferred about the father and the son.

Homeword: Applying #7

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Danny Deever's Demise, Essay Completion, Raleigh vs. Marlowe

10R

* Journal: Describe the difference between military and civilian life. (Note: Journals will be checked at five weeks for a major grade starting with this entry.)

* Read and discuss the short bio of Rudyard Kipling and the historical context. Explain what the Nobel prize is.

* Define some terms (color sargeant, files-on-parade, hollow square, gallows)

* read poem, "Danny Deever"

"What are the bugles blowin' for?" said Files-on-Parade.
"To turn you out, to turn you out", the Colour-Sergeant said.
"What makes you look so white, so white?" said Files-on-Parade.
"I'm dreadin' what I've got to watch", the Colour-Sergeant said.
For they're hangin' Danny Deever, you can hear the Dead March play,
The regiment's in 'ollow square -- they're hangin' him to-day;
They've taken of his buttons off an' cut his stripes away,
An' they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.

"What makes the rear-rank breathe so 'ard?" said Files-on-Parade.
"It's bitter cold, it's bitter cold", the Colour-Sergeant said.
"What makes that front-rank man fall down?" said Files-on-Parade.
"A touch o' sun, a touch o' sun", the Colour-Sergeant said.
They are hangin' Danny Deever, they are marchin' of 'im round,
They 'ave 'alted Danny Deever by 'is coffin on the ground;
An' 'e'll swing in 'arf a minute for a sneakin' shootin' hound --
O they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'!

"'Is cot was right-'and cot to mine", said Files-on-Parade.
"'E's sleepin' out an' far to-night", the Colour-Sergeant said.
"I've drunk 'is beer a score o' times", said Files-on-Parade.
"'E's drinkin' bitter beer alone", the Colour-Sergeant said.
They are hangin' Danny Deever, you must mark 'im to 'is place,
For 'e shot a comrade sleepin' -- you must look 'im in the face;
Nine 'undred of 'is county an' the regiment's disgrace,
While they're hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.

"What's that so black agin' the sun?" said Files-on-Parade.
"It's Danny fightin' 'ard for life", the Colour-Sergeant said.
"What's that that whimpers over'ead?" said Files-on-Parade.
"It's Danny's soul that's passin' now", the Colour-Sergeant said.
For they're done with Danny Deever, you can 'ear the quickstep play,
The regiment's in column, an' they're marchin' us away;
Ho! the young recruits are shakin', an' they'll want their beer to-day,
After hangin' Danny Deever in the mornin'.



* HW: Do questions 4,5,7

11R

* Journal: If your life was a movie, what would hte title be? Who would play the lead role? Why?

* Handout screen play vocab sheet, go over, discuss

* Distribute books. ( Monster, by Walter Dean Myers) Read intro, 1-5.

* HW, read through page 20.

English Lit

Discuss answers to Sydney questions, then read and discuss Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love":

COME live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dale and field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.

There will we sit upon the rocks 5
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies, 10
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull,
Fair linèd slippers for the cold, 15
With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw and ivy buds
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my Love. 20

Thy silver dishes for thy meat
As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be
Prepared each day for thee and me.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing 25
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my Love.


Then read Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd:"

If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.

Time drives the flocks from field to fold
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,
And Philomel becometh dumb;
The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yields;
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall,

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten--
In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,
Thy coral clasps and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy love.

But could youth last and love still breed,
Had joys no date nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy love.


Discuss the contrast in tone and theme.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Longfellow's Wreck Continued, Regents Part B Essay, Sidney's Sonnet 39

10R

* Checked HW while students wrote the following in their journals:

What is the theme and tone of "The Wreck of the Hesperus?" Use evidence from the poem to support both answers.

A lively discussion followed. Students talked about the nature of tragedy and the imagery in the poem that evoked this mood. We also discussed the difference between ignorance and arrogance in describing the skipper in the story, how his arrogance led to the tragedy and how this leads to the theme: arrogance can end in tragedy.

No HW today.

11R

Write, or finish writing, the Regents essay. Finish for homework if not done.

English Lit

*Went over the structure of the sonnet, defined 'iambic pentameter.'
*Reviewed Sidney's Sonnet 31 briefly.
*Read Sonnet 39 silently, annotated and asked questions as needed. Discussed the imagery afterwards.

No Homework today

Monday, November 17, 2008

A Longfellow Shipwreck, Regents Practice continued, Philip Sydney; Sonnet 31

10R

* Writing situation, pg. 600
* Collect poems
* Intro "The Wreck of the Hesperus", pg 600
* Analyze prosody (rhyme scheme and rhythm).
* Start reading, underline or highlight examples of foreshadowing

HW: Interepreting questions 6,7,8 on pg 604

11R

Continue Regents Practice Part B

* Check HW
* discuss nature of planning page
* write planning page
* start essay, finish first two paragraphs for HW

Note: Period 7 played catch up, so the planning page is due for HW tomorrow. Essay will be started in class.

English Lit

* Discuss Renaissance, historical context.
* Intro Philip Sydney, read short bio
* Discuss the sonnet, sonnet cycle
* read Sonnet 31; read once through, ask for reaction. Read again, analyze imagery. HW: pg 224 numbers 3 and 5

Friday, November 14, 2008

Revising Poetry, The Dance is Over, The Renaissance Begins

10R

Spent a few minutes modeling poetry revision with a piece of my own.

Draft:

Surrounded by Chickadees

The calm collapses in a cacophony of chirping and fluttering,
One alights on a branch before me,
Does he speak to me or about me?
He flies off with his frenetic friends through the forest,
A small riot of sound in motion through the trees.

Revision:

Surrounded by Chickadees

The calm collapses;
A cacophony of chirping, fluttering,
One alights, a branch before me,
And speaks to me…
About me?
With his frenetic friends
Through the forest,
He flies off,
A riot of sound
In motion
Through the trees.


Students spend 5 minutes revising individually, then break into groups. Poems are shared and peers give feedback

HW: Final copy, double spaced.

11R

Go over HW, check sentences generated. Finish movie. If time start HW: M/C questions in packet. Proof answers with line numbers.

English Lit

View some pics of England as follow up to the 'faery mound' imagery in The Green Knight. Showed burial mounds, Stonehenge and the Uffington Horse, all remnants of prehistoric and bronze age cultures.

Discussed last night's reading on the development of the English language after the Norman invasion. Briefly discussed the importance of the rediscovery of classical knowledge as the inspiration for the Rennaisance.

HW: Read the Achievements of the English Rennaisance handout. Highlight and annotate.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Finally Frost, Regents Part B cont., Excalibur Concludes

10R

* Check HW. Rewrite character description (#2, Critical Thinking) to hand in.
* Go over answers.
* Distribute directions for narrative poem and discuss.
* HW: write first draft

11R

* Check HW
* View chart, discuss how to study
* Model constructing sentences from the data
* HW: construct three sentences from the data on the chart

Continue movie.

English Lit.

Distribute Eng. Renaissance packet. Finish Excalibur

HW: Read 'The Changing English Language,' highlight and annotate, write two m/c questions.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Regents Practice, Frost Continued and Excalibur

10R

Continue with Frost's "Tramps."

Examine personification in 37-40. First read then journal. Share thoughts with groups, then share.

Discuss in groups the meaning of lines 55, 56.

HW: Applying 9,10 and Critical Thinking and Reading 1,2

11R

Distributed Regents part B. Went over the directions, situation and task, highlighting important elements.

Discussed importance of annotating text in terms of task, and monitoring comprehension. HW is to annotate the passage.

Eng Lit

Continued Excalibur.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Keats Continued, Wolves and Swords

10R

Journal: Describe the lady in Keat's poem. What does she do? How does the knight react? What is her nature?

Discuss the literal meaning of the poem, then what keats may actually be referring to.

Intro poetry activity. Think about you topic. Directions will be given tomorrow, but here they are now:

Write a short narrative poem with or without rhyming lines.
• First think of an interesting real or imagined event.
• Then list three or four pieces of information needed for the event to make sense to a reader.
• Plan a stanza of as many lines as you need for each piece of information.
• Use the first stanza to ask the question, and the other stanzas to answer it.
• The last stanza should bring it to a close.
• When revising, make sure you’ve related the events in a logical order.


11R

Continue movie

English Lit

Briefly discuss Green Knight essays. Return exams.

Continue Excalibur.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Dances with Wolves, Keats, Excalibur

10R

Continued "La Belle Dame sans Merci:"

~analyzed rhyme scheme
~analyzed rhythm

Broke the poem into sections and continued analyzing the imagery for meaning. (for example: lily=death, fading rose=withering, dying beauty)

HW: Annotate the poem through line 32. Note imagery, meaning.

11R

As follow up to The Education of Little Tree we started watching Dances with Wolves. Students were told to look for parallels to the book and be prepared to write about it.

English Lit

Continue Excalibur

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Essays, Keats, Excalibur

10R

All Regents essays need to be handed in by friday.

Started a poetry unit today with the intro and discussion of some vocabulary;:

Poetry: the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.

Prosody: study of poetic meters and writing verse; the particular system of verse in a poem.

Prose: the ordinary form of spoken or written language


Introduced "La Belle Dame sans Merci" by John Keats. Discussed the first two stanzas:

O WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms! 5
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.

11R

Finish Regents essays.

English Lit

Begin Excalibur

Monday, November 03, 2008

Finishing Little Tree, Regents Practice, GK Essay

10R

Continue Regents Part B practice

11R

Little Tree Exam

English Lit

SGGK Exam. Essay question is below.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Analyze this narrative poem in terms of structure, imagery and symbolism. Discuss the impact of the work’s realism, tone and what the essential theme may be. Make sure you include details of all three sections of the story and also explain how they relate to each other.