Brit Lit:

Today:

We welcomed the last day of school before break by opening presents by the holiday shrub.

We finished our look at George Orwell, and I passed out our last novel, the iconic 1984.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We reviewed our notes from yesterday.
We learned some Shakespearean insults. I paired you each up with a partner and we practiced the insults on each other. Don't look now, but I saw a bunch of you laughing while doing Shakespeare...just saying.....

We took a quiz on the intro notes, and Tom showed off his memory.


HW: Please begin to learn the Puck lines on pg 66. of the script (last page). These are due Jan 4th and will count as a test grade!

Don't forget your secret Santa gifts!

Brit Lit:

Today in class we:

Lecture on George Orwell, with an insight into his political mind.

We read and discussed his short story To Kill an Elephant.

Please remember your secret "Santa" gifts for Thursday.

Feels Like Monday...

Episode 4 or our school web series is now live and available to watch on http://feelslikemonday.com.

Happy holidays from the cast and crew!

Soph Lit:

Yesterday:
We finished the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. We continued to look at hope in the midst of the darkness of the Holocaust.

Today:
I passed out A Midsummer Nights Dream

We began our discussion on Shakespeare and took intro notes for the play.

We learned about insults that Will used in his plays, and had a round of Shakespearean Insults.

Brit Lit:

Today:

We finally were able to get to the computer lab to type your papers. Please make sure that I have both a rough and final draft before we break for glorious vacation.

Word O' the Week:

Twerp: A pregnant goldfish

World of Shakespeare:

Today:

We held the world premiere for you Shakespeare movie projects on the big screen.

They took a bit longer than I was hoping- but I hope that it presented you with a fun and unique way to study his plays and to see their relevance in 2010. I will post them as soon as I can here....

Soph Lit:

Today:

We took the exam for Night and I collected your books. Please see me if you were absent for the make-up.

Brit Lit:

Today:

We took another look at Frankenstein via THE Bobbie D ver. We focused on the real story, vs. the BW one from earlier in the week.

World of Shakespeare:

Today in class:

We started off class looking at parody. We watched a 5 minute clip of The Simpson's making fun of the story of Hamlet.

Next, we looked again at the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet. We discussed his crazy scene. Is Hamlet crazy, or playing crazy? How would you play acting crazy, clearly showing that you are not crazy?

Friday we will be sharing your 3 week projects in the aud. on the BIG screen. Please see me if you will not be ready for any reason

Soph Lit:

Via a special episode of Oprah, we went with Elie back to Auschwitz to hear his account of the camp. I hope that this helps you visualize the story; but also, allows you to connect with the cold reality of truth in the story.

We took a quiz on pgs 65-98ish.

HW: Please finish the novel and study for the test Friday.

Brit Lit:

Today:

We discussed Joesph Conrad in class. We read the short story, The Lagoon.

We defined alliteration, and point of view. Specifically, we looked at how the story jumps from 1st to 2nd. What did this do to your understanding? Do you think that this was deliberate, or a result of Conrad speaking 3 languages? Can mistake become style in art?

Soph Lit:

Today in class we started off talking about human cruelty.

Wiesel wrote of those things that he will never forget (pg. 32.)-
Pick an event in your life where you witnessed human cruelty. Try to pick a moment that you have never forgotten.

I will grade these on the following rubric:

Have detailed description of the event
Questions that you still have over the situation
How did it make you feel inside?

Brit Lit:

Today we talked about sequels. What makes a good one?

I asked you to brainstorm on what Frankenstein II might be like.

We wrote bullet points (10) of a plot outline, with the focuss on unreolved issues and new conflicts.

We wrote a 2 page sequel to the story.

Today:

We looked closer at the character conflicts in Hamlet. We used the costumes again and acted out Act2, sc2.

After lunch, we made an offering to the Snow God, and decorated the holiday shrub with our favorite books and plays. Video bellow....

Please remember your secret Santa gift this week.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:
Journal #21 "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
George Orwell

We discussed your reading.

We took a quiz.

HW: Please read pgs 65-85 in Night.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

Frankenstein.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We reviewed ch 1 and took a quiz. Too many of you are not reading. Please use this weekend to catch up.

We discussed use of the word night and foreshadowing.

We acted out your All My Sons skits.

Brit Lit:

We watched part 2 (who knew there was a 2nd part) of Wuthering Heights.

I am sorry we did not have time to get to the writing lab- we will be type your final drafts next week.

World of Shakespeare:

Today:

We reviewed act 1 sc 1-3 in Hamlet.

We talked about how the play allows the actor to portray the emotions and motives of the characters in differing ways.

To illustrate this, we looked at Claudius and how his dialogue to young Hamlet might be said. I broke you into groups of 4 and asked you to show the lines in a differing way.

We defined all of the main parts.

We acted sc 3-4 in class after lunch.

HW: Please finish act 1.
We will work on editing your movies all class Friday. At this point, each group should be done with all filming.

Soph Lit:

We began working again on our journals.

#18 " Truth is stranger than fiction."

We discussed pgs 3-12 in Night. HW: Please finish CH 1.

We looked at hope, and the significance of the title Night.

We finished our 10 years after skit for All My Son's. What if Larry was alive and came back?

Brit Lit:

Today:

We watched the film version of Wuthering Heights.

Feels Like Monday...

Episode 2 is now online. Unlike the first, it is quite good. Please check it out and support the cast in taking the poll to help decide our next episode.

http://feelslikemonday.com

Soph Lit:

Today:
I collected All My Sons.
I passed out our next book, Night.

We discussed the situations that led to the holocaust. We continued our themed discussion of the power of fear and hate. During the next two weeks, we will be reading one of the darkest moments in human existence, the organized extermination of a group of people based on their religious beliefs.

We watched the documentary, One Survivor Remembers.

HW: Please read pgs 3-12. Please be prepared to discuss in class.

I passed back your A Picture is Worth 1,000 words stories. Please get these from me if you were absent.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We introduced the other Bronte, Emily. I broke you into reading groups and we read an excerpt from Wuthering Heights.

We focused on 1st person narration and discussed the pro and con of this form of writing.

World of Shakespeare:

Today:
We worked on editing your project movies. All films are due at the end of class Tuesday.

Soph Lit:

Today:
We reviewed All My Son's
We finished the movie
HW: Study for the test Tuesday. Review essay questions are below if you lost the sheet.

Brit Lit:

Today:
We finished our ghost stories (3 pages)
We made visual storyboards of your tale (12 slides.)

Word O' the Week:

Dotty: (DOT-ee) adj. Eccentric, mentally unbalanced, unconventional.

Think:

A normal house cat has 32 muscles per ear.

Soph Lit Review

Questions:

1. Compromise is a theme in the play. Describe the compromise that three of the characters have had to make. What is your opinion of their compromise?

2. Do you think Chris and Ann will be happy together? Give reasons for your
answer based on the play.

3. Larry does not appear in the play but is mentioned. What is his role in the play?

4. What picture do we get of the American society?

5. Why is the play called “All My Sons”? How does the title reflect the human and moral issues of the play?

6. There are two different concepts in the play; on the one hand – idealism, and on the other – practicality. Classify each of the following characters – Chris, Ann, Joe, and Kate according to the above concepts. Do they undergo any change during the course of the play?

7. How do family loyalties conflict with other kinds of responsibilities (to one’s
principles, conscience, society) in this play? Give at least TWO examples.

8. Choose ONE of the following characters:
Joe Keller / Ann Deever / Chris Keller / Kate Keller / Jim Bayliss
a. Give a description of this character. b. Choose a decision made by this character and state your opinion of it, giving reasons for your opinion.

Soph Lit:

Today:

I passed out review sheets for the play. Test on Tuesday.

We acted out act 3 on stage.

I broke you into groups of 4 and asked you to show the entire play in 45 seconds. Nice job on those!

Brit Lit:

Today:

We wrote the first draft of our gohst stories modeled afer Dickens.

We will be giving them the movie treatment and storyboarding these on Monday. If you did not have time to finish, please do so over the weekend.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We looked at horror. We discussed what makes a good ghost story. I broke you into rows and asked you to show the ghost story that you read for HW in 32 sec. or less.

The second half, we wrote original ghost stories designed to scare a modern audience, with a nod to the classics discussed in class.

We will be storyboarding these tales in class Friday, so please finish for HW.

WOS:

Today in class:

Day 3 of filming.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

I passed back your Lord of the Flies Exams.

We finished Act 2.

We watched a rare, out of print film version of the play.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We started class with the iconic scene from the Shinning: Red Rum! We then shared a few of your red room continuation stories fro Jane Eyre.

We went to the computer lab and typed your final drafts.

We learned about who Charles Dickens was and discussed the events in his life that influenced his writing. Reminder- Field trip money by Friday.

HW: Please read the ghost story, The Signalman in your Anthology.

World of Shakespeare:

Today in class;

Filming. Each group filmed their scripts. I will give each group 2 full days to finish filming, with Friday used for pick up shots/sequences.

Soph Lit:

We finished up your modern casting sheets for All My Sons. Best pick: Jessica Alba playing Annie. Well cast.

I broke you into groups of 4 and asked you to read/act out Act 2.

I will try and get you on the stage for Wed.

I also finished your Lord of the Flies Exams. I will be passing these back tomorrow, so if you did not take it, you will need to take the make-up exam after school this week.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

I so needed and enjoyed having a good class with you today. I love talking about deep and honest topics.

We read the 1st chapter in Jane Eyre. It ended with Jane being sent to "the red room."

HW: Please write in 1st person narration a continuation (Ch2) in one page. Please select at least 10 vocab words that were unknown to you and use them in your writing. Try to imitate great art. Remember, you are not eating a Big Mac on the Mass Pike; chew and write slowly and deliberately.

Feels Like Monday...

Feels Like Monday has gone live.

Please check out: www.feelslikemonday.com

Word O' the Week:

Rebus: (REE-buhs)
Noun. Representation of words by using objects or symbols, often in the form of a puzzle.

Think:

Of all of the English words, "set" has the most definitions.

Soph Lit:

Today:

We completed acting Act 1.

I asked you to cast each character with a "modern" actor, and list 5 adjectives for each.

Brit Lit:

This morning:

We wrote Thanksgiving themed poems reflecting on the break to warm up.

We looked at the poetry used in The Dead Poets Society.

I passed out our next novel: Jane Eyre.

Soph Lit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist

Brit Lit:

We read and discussed some of your love poetry.

We continued watching Dead Poets Society.

Tomorrow, we will read and look at some of the poetry used in the movie.

A good read..

Interested in how the Internet will ultimately change the way the world works? A well written essay from Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google:

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66781/eric-schmidt-and-jared-cohen/the-digital-disruption

Is this disruption headed for academia?

WOS:

Today in class:

Each group began rehearsal of their play. We will be rehearsing these this week and filming them after the Thanksgiving break.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We went to the computer lab to type our 1,000 word picture stories.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We read and discussed poems that dealt with love.

HW: Please write an original poem dealing with the theme of love. Please be ready to share these in class Tuesday.

T.ED Brunch

Feels Like Monday on location

Filming Feels Like Monday

Feels Like Monday

We finished the filming of the pilot episode of Feels Like Monday last night. We continue working to premiere our first episode by next Wed. Stay tuned Tantasqua!

www.feelslikemonday.com

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We read our plague poetry assigned for HW.
We discussed how emotion is the necessity of all poetry. Our emotional response to death is a defining part of being human.

Each of you were given a future plague story that was not your own.
You had two choices:

Write three stages of poems based on the three stages of plague progression that we detailed the last 2 days: The beginning, The Spread, the ending death.

Or

You were asked to write one page detailing your place within this fiction.

Next week we will be looking at a very different emotion: love.

HW: Finish your writing responce/pem responce if needed.

World of Shakespeare:

Today in class:

We took a quiz on Act 4. Please see me asap to make up.

We worked on our group scripts for Act 4. We finish friday, and begin rehearsal Monday.

Brit Lit:

Today:

We typed the final draft of of future plague 1st person stories.

HW: Please finish typing and pass in Friday. Also, you are reminded that you need a poem that is about the original block plague. We will be sharing and discussing these on Friday, so please make sure that you have one to share.

World of Shakespeare:

Today:

We scripted Act 3. Please continue to read an act each night. Act 1-5 in modern script due Friday at the end of class.

Reminder: The T.ED brunch is this Sunday at the Tavern at OSV. Please see me on your way out this fri to pick up your costume if you are attending. This is a wonderful way to give back our thanks for the costumes that we use. I would encourage you all to try to attend if possible! Thanks to those that are able to in advance.

Soph Lit

Today in class:

We broke into groups of 2 and made 20 multiple choice review questions.

We played the review game.

HW: Study notes and review novel. Test Thursday.

Brit Lit:

Today:
We finished the future documentary on what a future plague may look like.

We wrote our first draft of your New Black Death paper. Remember, these need to be in the first person. We will be typing them in one of the labs this Thursday or Friday.

Part 1: The start
Part 2: Daily life with disease
Part 3: The end

3 pages.

This will lead us back to looking at poetry that was inspired during the original plague. We will be using your fiction as inspiration for future poems.

What happens to art in times of great human pain?

Soph Lit:

The power of the dark side.....

World of Shakespeare:

Today in class:

We took a quiz on act 1-2.

We broke into groups and scripted Act 2. Did I mention how excited I am about these projects? Good stuff thus far.....

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We took a quiz on CH 8-10.

We debated good and evil.

We did a small writing assignment exposing the good and evil in you.

HW: Please finish the novel. We will be playing the game three strikes and we quiz tomorrow. Please be ready and expect a quiz.

Test Thursday.
I will be afterschool this Wed. and Thurs. if you need extra help. I encourage you all struggling to use this.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We read a 1st person journal about the plague. We defined 1st person and examined the positives of writing using "I."

I put on a mocumentary on a future plague. Tomorrow in class, we will be writing in the first person about your observations on this fictional new plague.

World of Shakespeare:

Day 2 of the film project:

Today I assigned an act per night. Each group finished their script for act 1. Act 1-5 are due Friday, so please keep on schedule.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We completed and passed in your survival journal. Please pass these into me asap.

Speaking of asap, we also looked at text slang and abbreviations. We had a good discussion on whether txt is hurting our language, or just a natural progression. Remember, Shakespeare used coz.

We defined 20 txt abbreviations.

We imagined that there was txt msgs in Lord of the Flies and completed 5 txt msgs.

HW: Please read ch 9-10. Please find three examples of light/darkness in the reading and explain how each are used to symbolize good/evil. Remember, even subtle uses of light like reflections are actually symbolic.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We looked at the idea of what a sequel to Macbeth may have looked like.

Macbeth II: The Empire Strikes Back
I broke you into 5 groups and asked you to make a sequel that has Fleance rising above his name (flee good Fleance) and becoming King. Great job Guys!

Wed. afterschool is the make-up for the Macbeth Exam.

Feels Like Monday...

Didn't today feel like Monday?

Feels like Monday....coming soon.
A new weekly web series, written by and staring a great cast of Tantasqua students. Each week, the school will be able to vote on the next episode.

www.feelslikemonday.com

World of Shakespeare:

Shakespeare Movie Project:

Over the next three exciting weeks, you will be working within your group to produce a modern version of your selected play. We will be breaking this assignment into three parts. At the end of each week, I will be asking each group to evaluate their performance, and I will also be giving you a weekly grade based on observations. Translation: If you do nothing your grade will reflect this.

Each group should have the following parts assigned:

Director
Actors
Camera/filming/sound
Editors (knowledgeable in imovie)


Week One: November 10th- 17: Script construction.
Over the next week, you will have one day to convert each scene and make your master cue-card script. Each group will be given a large over-sized note board to write your lines. You will need to keep on task to complete this in the week given. Please read one act per night for HW and be prepared to work converting as a group.


Week Two: November 17th-24 Rehearsal week/begin filming:
You will have at least three days set aside to practice your play. Please use this time to work out blocking. Each group will need to pass in a storyboard that shows in detail your filming ideas. Please make these as detailed as possible. Towards the end of this week, groups that are ready will begin filming.


Week Three: November 24th-December 1 Filming/editing

Each group will have 2 days to film, and 2 days to edit. Please make sure that you follow a schedule and use your time wisely.

Soph Lit:

Today:

We broke into small groups and completed a packet on symbolism in the novel. While most books have some form of symbolism, Lord of the Flies is loaded.

Remember, A Symbol is an object, person, idea, etc., used in a literary work, film, etc., to stand for or suggest something else with which it is associated either explicitly or in some more subtle way. Who..that is a mouthful.

We did journal #9. We will be finishing this project Monday, so if you do not yet have it on aged paper, please do so over the weekend.

Brit Lit:

Today in class we took the Macbeth Exam. I will do my best to have these back for Monday.

World of Shakespeare:

Today I broke the class into 3 groups of 10 and assigned three different plays. Each group will have roughly three weeks to read, understand, convert and film a play.

HW: Please read act 1 in your selected play. I will have an official rubric and assignment sheet for Friday.

Enjoy the day off!

Word O' the Week:

Blue Rinse: adj. Of or relating to elderly women.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:



We took a quiz on ch 7-8.

I passed back a slew of work and gave out term grades.

We went over Maslow's Hierarchy and then applied it to ourselves.

We completed journal #8.



No HW- enjoy the day and make sure that you thank a veteran for the freedom that we all enjoy.

Soph Lit Fun read...

World of Shakespeare:

Today:

We took the Measure for Measure exam.

I collected books.

Up next, Hamlet.

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We watched the modern Lord of the Flies.

We had a quick writing assignment on the differences between the book and movie.

HW: Please read CH 8. Quiz on 7-8 Wed.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We finished watching Macbeth. We watched the last two Macbeth projects. Review for test Wed., test on Friday. Very proud of you guys. I think 100% of you understand the play completely. Most important, I think that you all had fun learning....

Macbeth Movie Sample #3

One more before the weekend...

Macbeth Movie Sample 2010

Soph Lit:

Today in class:

We watched the Simpson's parody of Lord of the Flies and defined a parody.

We took a quiz on CH 6.

We completed journal #6 of 10.

I passed back your oral presentation grades.

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

We watched 3 more Macbeth Movie Projects. The last 2 groups that had tape issues will re-film on Monday. Please make sure that you have everything that you may need.

We watched a modern version of Macbeth.

Brit Lit:

Today we worked on Act 5 in Macbeth.

Macbeth Movie projects were due. Please make sure tho have your project if it was not ready today. This is the last MAJOR grade for term 1.

HW: Please begin to review the play. Test Monday, or Tuesday.

Soph Lit:

Today:
We finally finished presentations. Grades Friday.
We completed journal #5 of 10.
We broke into small fractions, named our group and developed 5 rules and consequences for your new tribe.

No HW- make sure that you are up to date on your reading.

World of Shakespeare:

Today:

We talked about Morality, and demonstrated in in short skits. Does Measure for Measure teach any morals?

Each student needed to make 4 multiple choice questions on the play. One question from each student will be the foundation for the test.

After lunch, we went down to the stage and performed selected scenes, with a monkey on your back. This alter ego stated what your character is really thinking in the scene.

World of Shakespeare:

We worked on Measure for Measure storyboards. Please finish all 16 slides for HW.

Soph Lit:

We took a class trip to the machine shop for two oral presentations.

We wrote in your Lord of the Flies journal and created two new rules.

HW: Please read ch 4-5. We will have a quiz Tuesday- so make sure that your read!

Brit Lit:

Today:

We caught up on the video

We did act 4, sc 3 in class.

Reminder: You have class Tuesday to work on the Macbeth video. These are due Wed.

Today I told my ghost story from my year living in Ireland. Happy Halloween! Please be safe this weekend.

Soph Lit:

Today:
Last night you read ch 3. We started class with a quick quiz. Too many of you failed this. You can't pass if you do not read!