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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Chinese Creation Story II / "Wreck of the Hesperus" by Longfellow II

Grade 12
  • Extra Credit Opportunity! Write an analysis of one of the myths avaliable at the Mythic Journeys website HERE. (Only the red dots are active. From that link you can select a Wrod doc download or view the text with animation.)
  • Discussed the Chinese Creation story, added to annotations.
  • Analysis due tomorrow. Remember: analyze the imagery for symbolic/metapjoric meaning and then predict the values of the culture.

Grade 10
  • Continued "Hesperus"
  • Pd 6: Read, annotated, discussed and summarized through 48. Read, annotated and began discussing through line 64.
  • Pd. 8: Read annotated, discussed and summarized through line 60.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Chinese Creation Story I / "Wreck of the Hesperus" by Longfellow I

Grade 12
  • Distributed revised version of Chinese Creation Story. (There is a cool animation of the story HERE.)
  • Read and annotated.
  • Read aloud.
  • Discussed in peer teams.
  • Analysis due Thursday.
Grade 10
  •  (Note: Last night's HW will be checked on Thursday)
  • Began "Wreck of the Hesperus" by Longfellow:
  • Read the first 5 stanzas (through line 20); annotating for literary elements and questions
  • Summarized the story so far.
  • Read these lines aloud; continued annotating.
  • Discussed each stanza, adding to or modifying annotations.
  • Add to or modify summaries.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Haudenosaunee Creation Story III / "Two Tramps in Mud Time" IV

Believe it or not the interim period ends December 16th. That's just over two weeks away. This marking period will pass by with great whooshing sound. Stay focused!

Grade 12
  • Finished discussing the Haudenosaunee Creation Story. Began analysis which should address the elements (see below) and predict the nature and values of the culture that tells the story. Analysis is due no later than Wednesday.
  • Note 1: For the rest of this unit I will be checking annotations for a minor grade.
  • Note 2: You will be writing an analysis for each creation story for a minor grade.
  • Note3: The Chinese Creation Myth in the packet is the wrong one! I'll give you the right one tomorrow.
  • Group A journals are due tomorrow.
Haudenosaunee Creation Story Elements



Elements/Symbolism:
SkyWorld: heaven, cosmological function, age of innocence, fall from innocence, childhood

Celestial Tree (Shad Tree): Tree of life, knowledge of duality, duality is reconciled or balanced, axis mundi, spiritus mundi, world navel

Sky Woman: goddess, feminine impulse, creation

Pregnant: feminine impulse, creation, new life

Seeds: from the Tree of Life and are therefore divine, a blessing, grants divinity to the natural world, everything is sacred

Animal assistance: results in appreciation and respect: sociological function.


Muskrat/Otter: hero qualities

Turtle: sacrifice, hero qualities, indebted to it, it supports us, it’s alive

Sky Woman’s daughter: feminine impulse, curiosity, forbidden thing, gives birth to duality, Mother Earth

First death: duality, sacrifice

West Wind: masculine impulse

Right handed twin: light and day, good, life

Left handed twin: darkness and night, evil, death

Three Sisters: feminine impulse, nurtures life, sacred food

Tobacco: communicate with the Creator, metaphysical function of myth

Grandmother Moon: feminine impulse, controls feminine cycles, metaphysical function

Caves: subconscious, hell


Grade 10
  • Journal: Select an event from the past weekend and describe it in detail.
  • Finished "Two Tramps in Mud Time".
  • Make sure summary is finished and the poem in annotated.
  • HW:  Critical Thinking 1 and 2 in notebook.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Haudenosaunee Creation Story II / "Two Tramps in Mud Time" III

Everyone have a great and safe Thanksgiving!


Grade 12
  • Broke down the Haudenosaunee Creation Story into its symbolic/metaphoric elements and assigned meaning and significance to each. Analysis paper will be due a week from tomorrow (11/30)
  • Myth analysis papers are due next Monday.
  • Note: Group B journals were due today. Those who were absent, and that's far too many, need to hand them in next Monday. If you don't, 25 points will be taken off the top. Only fair to those who made sure theirs were on time, and considering those absent have another six days to get the work done. Also, I will check those journals for quantity only as I won't have time to read them.
Grade 10
  • Finished reading, analyzing and summarizing the Frost poem. May have some final details to cover on Monday.
  • Make sure both poems are summarized! I will be checking them!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Peer Review / "Two Tramps in Mud Time" II

Grade 12
  • Reminded everybody of the importance of being active and engaged learners. Too many students didn't consider the essay question, given last Wednesday, until last night. College will require a shift in behavior patterns very much in line with the concept of "atonement with the father." This means you are to take control of the forces directing your life. College instructors will expect you to swim. Assume they will not throw you a floatation device. In the larger, lecture hall settings, the instructor won't even notice you're drowning.
  • Peer reviewed the myth analysis essay:
  • Peer review:

    1) Grammar and structure

    2) Quality of analysis:

    a. Did the writer identify metaphors/symbols

    b. Did the writer discuss the meaning of metaphors/symbols?

    c. Did the writer connect the metaphors/symbols into a meaningful pattern which renders the story’s theme clearly?

    d. For Theseus and Perseus were the hero journey and atonement with the father addressed?
  • Final copy due Monday.
  • Reminder! Group B journals due tomorrow. Group A journals due 11/29.

    Grade 10
  • Journal: select two specific details from "La Belle..." and put them in your own words.
  • Continue with the Frost poem: review and then summarize the poem so far in notebooks.
  • Continue with poem.
  • Handed back critical lens essays.Students may rewrite essays for a better grade. Due next week.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Haudenosaunee Creation Story / "Two Tramps in Mud Time" by Robert Frost

Grade 12
  • Intro creation story unit. Creation stories represent the birth of a culture. They give hints to the development of cultural practice, belief, attitude and values.
  • Read the Haudenosaunee Creation Story; underline and annotate elements, archetypes, myth functions, motifs, etc.
  • Read the story aloud. Modify or add to annotations.
  • Discuss.
  • REMINDER: ESSAYS DUE MONDAY FOR PEER REVIEW. NOT IN EQUALS FIFTEEN POINTS OFF THE TOP!

Grade 10
  • Journal: Find two literary elements in "La Belle...", name them and discuss their relevance to the poem with specific details.
  • Start "Two Tramps n Mud Time" by Robert  Frost. read, annotate and discuss first three stanzas.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A Bit of Poetry / La Belle Dam Sans Merci III

Grade 12
  • Reviewed yesterday's Jewkes essay; connected it to the theme of 'regaining lost innocence'
  • Read and discussed Wordsworth's "The World is Too Much with Us" as a group.
  • In peer groups, read "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. Yeats. Annotated and discussed. Contrasted with the Wordsworth poem and analyzed the tone, imagery and meaning. Connect to the theme of the Jewkes essay.
Grade 10
  • Journal: describe a gloomy november day. Be as detailed as possible
  • Finish "La Belle..." (link to poem in Tuesday's post):
  • Read the reaminder of the poem as was done during the previous two lessons.
  • Discuss the meaning, imagery, etc.
  • Complete the story summary in notebooks.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Atonement With the Father, continued / La Belle Dam Sans Merci II

Grade 12
  • Directions for anlaysis paper due for peer review on Monday:
  • Mythology Analysis Paper
Select one of the myths studied (Theseus, Orpheus, Perseus) and analyze each story, in at least 500 words, as discussed in class in terms of metaphor and symbolism, the hero journey and personal meaning. For Theseus, and especially Perseus, particular attention should be paid to the concept of ‘atonement with the father.’
  • Read the introductory essay in Man the Myth-Maker by Prof. J.T. Jewkes in peer groups. Notes from the passage were taken and discussed when the reading was finished.
  • Large group discusson.
Grade 10
  • Journal: Recall something you would have done differently.
  • Continue with "La Bell..." from yesterday. Same routine with the next three stanzas then summarize the plot so far in notebooks.
  • No HW.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Perseus and Atonement With the Father / La Belle Dam Sans Merci

Grade 12
  • Review yesterdays discussion on the imagery of the myth of Perseus, especially in terms of 'atonement with the father.'
  • View the video
  • Tomorrow directions for a short paper will be given.
  • Collected group A journals today
Grade 10
  • Journals:
  • Period 6: write a personal or family story you would want your children to know.
  • Period 8: Reaction to image LINK
  • Intro the poem, La Belle Dam Sans Merci. Read the first three stanzas silently, identifying problematic vocabulary.
  • Define the words, annotate, read aloud and discuss the imagery.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Critical Lens / "Orpheus and Eurydice"

Grade 12
  • Viewed and discussed "Orpheus and Eurydice."
  • All rewrites are due no later than Monday.
  • Writing responses will be checked next week.
Grade 10
  • Continued working on critical lens essay.
  • Draft due on Monday
  • For lens quote, see Monday's entry HERE.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Theseus, The Sword under the Stone / Critical Lens Essay continued

Grade 12
  • Finished the passage from The King Must Die with the finding of the sword under the stone.
  • Viewed some mythic images of Stonehenge, the Uffington Horse, Avesbury Stone Circle.
  • HW Read the Story of Orpheus and write a response.
Grade 10
  • Continued planning the critical lens started yesterday. We may spend part of tomorrow working on this, and the first draft will be due on Monday.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Faulkner, Revisited / Silver Kiss Exam, Finale and Critical Lens Practice

Grade 12
  • Returned last weeks essays that were graded. Students are encouraged to get in any rewrites by Wednesday.
  • Went over the Faulkner passage from last weeks assessment. Worked in peer review teams on questions and went over as a class.
Grade 10
  • Finishing touches on Silver Kiss exams.
  • Reviewed elements of the critical lens essay. Students copied the following quote and began planning the first two paragraphs in their notebooks:
  • "The best literature is about the old universal truths, such as love,
    honor, pride, compassion, and sacrifice." (William Faulkner)
  • Students are able to work togehter in the planning stage for this essay. Planning for first two paragraphs should be done for tomorrow.
  • We will work on paragraphs three and four in class tomorrow, and the final copy will be handed in on Wednesday.

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Theseus and Coming of Age / The Silver Kiss Exam I

Note: Tomorrow all classes will be taking state mandated state assessments.

Grade 12
  • Continued discussing the story of Theseus from Mary Renault's The King Must Die, chapter 2, in terms of imagery and functions of myth.
  • HW: Finish chapter 2, annotate and write response.
Grade 10
  • Silver Kiss exam, day 1. Exam will continue on Friday. Students are reminded to review the first 20 words of the vocabulary list.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Theseus and Coming of Age / The Silver Kiss X

Grade 12
  • Yesterday: intro chapter 2, then read 28 and 29. Respond in journals. Reread aloud to the class. Add to journal- discuss. HW was to read to bottom of page 33 and respond in in-class journals.
  • Today: discuss the significance of Theseus' moment in the sea and the harvest ritual on page 31.
  • Read through top of page 38 and respond.
  • HW: Read through top of 44 and rspond.
Grade 10
  • Journal: Analyze Language in chapter 15. How does the tone shift? What language, words, phrases demonstrate the shift.
  • What is the most important page in chapter 15? Why?
  • Discuss. What is the nature of the story’s ending? Did it have to end that way? Why
  • Note: Exam for the book will begin either tomorrow or Thursday depending on when the interim assessment is scheduled. Also, students are responsible for vocab words 1-20 for The Silver Kiss exam.
  • TOO MANY STUDENTS ARE NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE READING OF COMPLETING READING LOGS. PARENTS, PLEASE TAKE NOTICE. THE BOOK AND ALL READING LOGS SHOULD BE DONE.