Yeats / Citations / Research

Grade 12

• Discussed Yeats' "The Second Coming."
• Hamlet rewrites due by Friday.
• Period 8 journals due on Friday.

Grade 10

• Research review: citations
• Took notes, directions given

Grade 9

• In library for research

Overwhelmed and Overbooked!

Apologies for the failure to update! Will try to keep up this week!

Grade 12

• Collected "The Sick Rose" (Blake) essays. (Am only looking for structure and organization on this one.)
• Discussed the poem. (Very well done in both classes.)
• Have a go at Yeats' "The Second Coming" for homework. Read and annotate.
• Poetry essay due next Monday. Select a poem or lyric. Annotate and plan your essay. Make sure the piece is something that can have a meaning deeper than the literal interpretation. Sometimes a love song is just a love song. Don't choose something too long! The annotated poem must be submitted with the essay.
• Reminders: The marking period ends a week from this coming Friday (4/8). Period 8 needs to have journals in this Thursday. Period 4 the following Thursday. Hamlet rewrites should be in before the end of this week. The poetry essay is due Monday 4/4. Two words: TIME MANAGEMENT!

Grade 10

• Last day of Julius Caesar exam. Anyone not done with the essay will have to finish during a study hall or after school by the end of the week.

Grade 9

• Today was the first day in the library for research:
• "You will be researching a well-known poet of your choice. Your actual research paper will be both about the poet’s life, as well as about the poetry which they wrote/write. Additionally, you will need to select a poem by your poet and memorize it. At the end of the research unit, each of you will create a visual that represents your chosen poem, and you will recite your poem to the class while showing your visual."
• Should have a poet and poem selected by tomorrow at the latest! 

Comfortably Numb / Et Tu Brutus? / Dreams

Grade 12

• Finished discussing Roger Water's "Comfortably Numb." Listened to the song, discussed added dimension of the melody. (If time, watch the music video, discussed context.)

Grade 10

• Finished the play and writing notes. Discussed themes.
• Video tomorrow.
• Start exam on Thursday.

Grade 9

• Langston Hugh's "Dreams."
• Identify metaphors, personification, rhyme scheme, meter.
• Discuss meaning.
• HW: Hugh's "Dreams Deferred" (This piece is also titled "Harlem." We'll discuss the significance of this in class.) Annotate.

About Those Hamlet Essays / Cassius Overreacts / "There Will Come Soft Rains."

Grade 12

• Viewed "Sound of Silence" from Simon and Garfunkfel's concert in Centeral Park.
• Gave back Hamlet essays. (Only those who have submitted and e-file to my folder in the student directory). Went over the importance of planning, how to format long quotes and how to properly cite the text. Rewrites are strongly advised.
• Went over Roger Water's "Comfortably Numb" briefly. Will continue tomorrow.

Grade 10

• Went over Act IV quiz.
• Continued play: Act V through scene 3, line 90.
• E-text with translation: LINK

Grade 9

• Read and analyzed Sara Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains."
• Discussed imagery, personification, alliteration, rhythm, metpahor, meaning
• HW: Read and annotate Langston Hugh's "Dreams.'

Why We're No Longer Roving / Act IV Quiz / Sympathy

Grade 12

• Lord Byron's "So We'll Go No More a Roving." Should have been read and annotated last night. Look it over again, study poem's construction (prosody). Write an introductory paragraph (thesis-proof). Discuss in groups. Discuss in large group.
• Tonight: read and annotate Paul Simon's "Sound of Silence."

Grade 10

• Act IV quiz
• Check Act IV notes

Grade 9

• Read, annotate and discuss "Sympathy" by  Paul Laurence Dunbar

Poetry! / Act IV Finished! / Night is Done!

Grade 12

• Began the poetry unit with a discussion on how one interprets a metaphor.
• Distributed poetry packet. "Poem on an Underground Wall" was read, discussed in groups. Will finish up tomorrow.
• Reminder: All Hamlet essay hard copies are now past due. Electronic copies need to be placed in my folder in the Student Directory in order to receive a grade.

Grade 10

• Finished reading Act IV
• Video tomorrow

Grade 9

• Last day on Night exam. Anyone not finished needs to see me during study hall or after school.

A Long Monday....

Grade 12

• Pd. 4: Study Hall
• Pd. 8: Go over Hamlet exam.
• Intro to poetry.
• All Hamlet essays due today.
• Period 4 journals due Thursday.

Grade 10

• Pd 1: Video: "The Heartless Giant." Summary and literary element analysis due tomorrow for a major grade.
• Pd. 5: JC Act IV, scene ii, to line 161

Grade 9

• Continue Night exam.

Brief Catch Up!

Interim reports and relentless computer glitches have eaten my blogging time!

Grade 12

• Hamlet essays! Hard copies due Monday. No essay will receive a grade until I have an electronic copy saved to my folder in the student directory.

Grade 10

• Period 1 finished the Act III quiz today.
• Period 4 started Act IV through scene 2.
• E-text with translation: LINK
• Went over Antony's Funeral Oration assignment once more. Students have another day to correct and hand in. (Identify every line where antony is being ironic. In other words, he says one thing and means the opposite.) There are at least 35 lines.

Grade 9

• Went over final quiz.
• Viewed the last 2 parts of the Elie Weisel-Oprah Winfrey video.
• Tomorrow: Start unit exam.
• Note: I will still take reading logs.

Very Briefly

Grade 12

• Finished video.
• Brief discussion on Hamlet's and Horatio's relationship
• Went over Act 4 quiz.
• Viewed Shakepearean parody on the "Who's on First" comedy routine.

Grade 10

• Pd 1: Scene 1 to line 197
• Pd 5; Finished Act III

Grade 9

• Quiz on chapter 6 and 7.

Act V Video / Antony Continued / Elie Weisel Video

Grade 12

• Act V video, to be finished tomorrow.
• Short answer exam tomorrow

Grade 10

• Period 1: Finished Act III, scene 1
• Period 5: Act III, scene 2 through line 161

Grade 9

• Discussed chapter 7.
• Watched parts 2 and 3 of Elie Weisel and Oprah Winfrey video
• Quiz on chapter 6 and 7 tomorrow.

Hamlet, at Last / Antony is Not Happy / Throwing Bread on the Train

Grade 12

• Finished Act 5!
• E-text with translation: LINK
• Period 8: Journals due Thursday 3/10

Grade 10

• Period 1: Act 3, scene 1 up to line 230
• Period 5: Finished scene 1.
• E-text with translation: LINK

Grade 9

• Journal: Why did Wiesel parallel the two incidents on page 100?
• Discussed Chapter 7.
• Log check tomorrow