Research - Last Day / Catcher in the Rye I

College Prep 12

• Last day in the library. Research papers due next Friday.

Grade 10

• Pop quiz on chapter 1
• Added the following vocab word:
• alienation: Emotional isolation or dissociation
• Discussed the title of the story.
• Gave directions for reading logs: Each chapter gets a brief summary plus a strong focus on Holden Caulfield's character development. Why does he act the way he does? Are his thoughts defensive? Accurate? Wrong? What do you learn about him?
• Logs for chapters one through three due on Monday.

Research / LOTF Video

College Prep 12

• We're in the library this week working on research.
• Don't forget that Hamlet essays are due on Wednesday. The play must be referenced in the paper, act, scene and line number.
• Hamlet with line numbers. Hamlet with translation. (For those who need the reference.)

Grade 10

• Watch The Lord of the Flies today and tomorrow.
• Extra credit opportunity: Write a short critical analysis of the movie compared to the book.
• Research project due on Friday.

Hamlet Epilogue / Research

College Prep 12

• Finish exam
• Work on essays which must reference the play. (Act/scene/line #'s)
• Essay choices are:

1. Write an essay on the function of the soliloquies in Hamlet.


2. Examine how Shakespeare makes use of classical allusions.

3. Discuss Hamlet's "antic disposition." Is his madness feigned or real?

4. Conflict is essential to drama. Show that Hamlet presents both an outward and inward conflict.

5. Why does Hamlet delay taking revenge on Claudius?

6. The character Claudius has been compared to Macbeth. How similar are these two characters? In what ways are they similar?

7. Compare Laertes with Hamlet: both react to their fathers' killing/murder. Is the reaction of either right or wrong?

8. Although Hamlet ultimately rejects it at the end of the play, suicide is an ever-present solution to the problems in the drama. Discuss the play's suggestion of suicide and imagery of death, with particular attention to Hamlet's two important statements about suicide: the "O that this too, too solid flesh would melt" soliloquy and the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy.

9. Select one of Hamlet soliloquies and by a detailed attention to the poetry discuss the nature of Hamlet's feelings as they reveal themselves in this speech. What insights might this speech provide into the prince's elusive character?

10. Select a particular scene in and discuss its importance in the play. How does this particular part of the action contribute significantly to our response to what is going on? What might be missing if a director decided to cut this scene (e.g., Claudius at prayer, the scene between Polonius and Reynaldo, the gravedigger scene)

11. Discuss Hamlet's treatment of and ideas about women. How might these help to clarify some of the interpretative issues of the play? You might want to consider carefully the way he talks about sexuality.

12. Hamlet's flaw is that he fails to act on instinct - he thinks too much.

13. Discuss the importance of appearance and reality in Hamlet.

14. What is the role of symbolic image of the Yorik's skull in the play?

15. Is something rotten in the state of Denmark? If so, what precisely is it? Is anyone in particular responsible or is the rottenness simply a condition of life?

16. Think about Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? Did he ever love her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?

17. Analyze the use of comedy in Hamlet, paying particular attention to the gravediggers, Osric, and Polonius. Does comedy serve merely to relieve the tension of the tragedy, or do the comic scenes serve a more serious thematic purpose as well? 

• Essays are due Wednesday.
• We will be in the Library all next week for the research paper.

Grade 10

• Last day in the library. Research paper is due Next Friday.
• Monday we'll go over the  Lord of the Flies exam and start the movie.

Hamlet, Finally / Research

Apologies for being behind!

College Prep 12

• Finished reading Hamlet yesterday.
• Today and tomorrow: view Act 5
• Multiple choice exam after video.
• Hamlet essay due next Wednesday (4/28).
• Next week: library research!

Grade 10

• In library all week doing research. (Directions in THIS post.)
• Due Friday (4/30)

Hamlet XX / Lord of the Flies XVIII

College Prep 12:

• Finished viewing Act 4, started quiz.

Grade 10:

• Began exam. Will finish tomorrow.

Hamlet XIX / Lord of the Flies XVII

College Prep 12:

Note: The translation link has been wrong! Thanks A.V. for bringing that to my attention. Apologies for any confusion.

• Hamlet with line numbers. Hamlet with translation.
• Finished Act 4, started video.

Grade 10:

• Discussed "Notes on The Lord of the Flies" by E.L. Epstein in the back of the book. Reading this is highly recommended in preperation for writing the exam essay.
• Discussed the final two chapters.
• Exam tomorrow and Friday!!!
• Distributed directions for the research project which will start on Monday in the library. Directions are below. Topic must be decided by Friday. There will be no changes allowed!

The Day the Universe Changed


There are moments throughout human history that define a sharp border between what used to be and something new. These moments are all founded on a specific idea or event that changed how humans thought and behaved. Your goal is to choose one and explain, in detail, how it changed history. Tell the story. You need to not only describe what the idea or event is, but how it influenced history to the present moment.
Requirements:

• 3 sources, only 1 Internet source (except for images). Not Wikipedia.

• Font size 12, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins.

• Pages numbered, name in header

• Citations must be in MLA format

• Length: minimum three pages plus bibliography (without images)

• At least 2 images with citations.

• No more than 1 image per page
Some ideas:
1. Copernicus’s Heliocentric Theory of the Solar System.

2. Newtonian Physics

3. Adam Smith’s Theory of Capitalism

4. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

5. The Personal Computer

6. The Development of Agriculture

7. The Discovery of Germs and Bacteria

8. The Vaccine

9. The Discovery of Gunpowder

10. The Telegraph

11. The Internal Combustion Engine

12. The Television

13. The Printing Press

14. The Automobile

15. The Council of Nicea

16. The Black Death

17. Gregor Mendel’s Work with Peas

18. Charles Darwin and Evolution

19. Kitty Hawk: 12 seconds in the Air

20. Trinity: The First Atomic Detonation

21. The Magna Carta

22. Mary Wollstonecraft's "Vindication of the Rights of Women"

23. Karl Marx's "Das Kapital"

24. The Declaration of Independence

25. Pearl Harbor

26. Ancient Greek Philosophy

27. The Rediscovery of Greek Knowledge: Toledo Spain, 1105

Hamlet XVII-XVIII / Lord of the Flies XV-XVI

College Prep 12

• Hamlet with line numbers. Hamlet with translation.
• Monday: read Act 4 through scene 4
• Tuesday: Act 4 through scene 7 line 39
• Note: Scene notes will be checked! Make sure they are done!
• Reflection journals: four through next Monday

Grade 10

• Monday: Journal: what is the symbolic meaning of Simon's death? Discuss chapter 10 with particular attention to the difference between Ralph's and Jack's groups handlingof Simon's death.
• Tuesday: Quiz on chapters 9-10
• Tomorrow: Final discussion. Book needs to be finished.
• Exam: Thursday and Friday