Brit Lit:

Today:

The red pill or blue pill.

You were given the options to:
Rock out to the Army Band in the aud.
Use the time to work on your projects due Friday.

Comp. Lit. II:

Today:

I passed your journals back.  For those that are doing these daily and keeping up with the requirements given, these are tremendous ways to boost your grade in this class.  Foe those that are not doing them, or passing them in late, a reminder that each 10 counts as a major paper.

We rook a cartoon quiz on ch 8-9.  You had 8 blank frames to draw a cartoon of the events from last nights reading.  I played music from Charlie Brown to set the creative tone. 

We discussed 8-9 with specific attention on the death of Simon. 

We broke into small groups and designed posters based on the essay topics for next week.

HW  Please read ch 10.

Brit Lit:

Today:

Some of you took the test for Macbeth, while others had today as a work day for your alternative assessment project.

Thursday, I have us signed up to rock out with the US Army band.  This is optional.  If you need additional time to work on your project (due Friday) please feel free to stay behind and work on it.  I will also be after-school today for any group needing help.

Comp. Lit II:

Today:

We finished work on your character sketches.

We looked at specific reference points for the following symbols in small groups.  Today. we examined: The Conch, Rocks, The Island, Darkness, the mountain, water.  In a small group, I gave you the pg number for the reference and asked you to explain how the symbol is used in the novel.

We looked at the song by U2 Shadows and Tall Trees.  We discussed the loss of innocence and how the imaery of the song ties into novel.  Have you ever seen a literary allusion in a song and then read the book to discover the importance?  You should try it.

We rocked out to early U2.

We took a quiz on ch 6-7.

HW:  Please read ch 8 +9 tonight.  Please look for the things that we have been discussing: Symbolism, Themes, conflict (external and internal) and light and darkness.

Please write three specific questions that you have for class discussion Thursday.

Brit Lit:

Monday:

We finished the movie of Macbeth and discussed your opinion of it.

We also tried to finish the PBS doc. on Macbeth.

Please bring your big book to class for the next two weeks.

Tuesday:

We finished Macbeth.

We watched some examples of the Macbeth movie project.  One of the best from last semester can be watched here:
https://vimeo.com/79317856

Quotes from 17th c vs. 2014.  Write a modern line that matches the intensity and meaning of each of the lines on pg. 411

We looked at the poetry of Donne and Jonson

HW:  Please read pgs 395-410.  You may take notes and use them on the quiz wed.

Wed. will be a work day.  Please have everything needed to work on your Macbeth final project.

Comp. Lit. II:

Monday:

Journal Prompt:  Break into your mock survival group and share your list of supplies with another group.  Steal three things from their list and write a narrative in your journal describing how you obtained them and what you need the objects for.   1 pg.

alt prompt:  Please explain which character that you relate to in the novel with three pieces of evidence from the text to support why.     1pg.

Conflict:  we looked at Man vs. Man, Man vs. self, and Man vs. Nature. in CH 4

We played a web based flash game:
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/literature/golding/lof.html

We used it to take notes on the symbolic nature of the names, and the top 5 objects in the novel that are used as symbols.

We started our character bio sketches for the 5 main characters.

I collected journals 11-21.

HW read CH 5 and look for examples of the three conflicts that we discussed.

Tuesday:

1.     Breaking into small groups again finish working on the character pages that you were given yesterday. (15 min.)

2.       Introduce essay prompts, when they are due and when test will be. (15 min. to 20 min.)

3.       Break the class into 2 groups according to who has read and who hasn’t.  Students who have read will be able to discuss last night’s reading about conflicts, comprehension questions, and discuss what essay prompt they may choose.

4.       If there is time left at the end of class we can read the beginning of chapter six and then let the students get started on their reading for the night.

 

HW Please read ch 6-7

Brit Lit.

Today:

I collected journals 11-20. 

We watched a movie version of Macbeth for review.

I asked you to commit to one of the Macbeth final projects and came around to approve these.

HW:  Have a good weekend.

Comp. Lit. II:

Today:

We watched the Simpson's parody of Lord of the Flies

We discussed the S. King essay on how this novel impacted him.

We reviewed ch 4.

We took a quiz on CH 4

We looked at the ID, the EGO, and the SUPER EGO,

I broke you into small groups and asked you to define 4 main characters by an factual example of how their actions fit Freud.

Brit Lit:

Today:

We finished the play.

I asked you to write a one page goodbye letter from Lady Macbeth.

We finished notes on the play.

I will be collecting your journals this Friday, so please make sure that these are up-to-date.

Comp. Lit:

Today:

Journal Prompt:  Please describe a situation where one person in your LOTF survival scenario dies.   1 pg

We broke into our groups and shared these.  Each group decided on one piece of writing to follow.  The lost student will have an alternative prompts for Monday.

We read an essay by S. King on How Lord of the Flies inspired him to write.

We defined Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and connected this to the situation on the island.  We also considered this research and how it connects to you and your general happiness in life.

We broke into a circle and had our first book talk.  We looked at the emerging conflict between Ralph and Jack.  We looked and light darkness and the description of nature.

HW:  Please read ch 4.

Lord of the Flies Contest Info:

http://www.william-golding.co.uk/flies-anniversary.aspx

The deadline is April 30th.

Brit Lit:

Today:

Journal Prompt:  Find three words in the play and consider how that play would be radically different if they were changed.  Explain what words that you would change and specifically explain what this would change within the plot of the play.                                                 1 page

I assigned the Macbeth Final Projects:

1.Macbeth Part II:  Shakespeare, like many good storyteller’s sometimes left a spot for a sequel.  Please write the sequel in script form to Macbeth.  Min. 3-4 pages.  Must include examples of:  Personification, simile, metaphor, reverse words/sent./thought.  You must deal with the loose ends as the basis for the sequel. 

 

2.Essay:  Think of some of the core themes in the play: power, loyalty, morality, tyranny, fate or any other theme of your own creation.  In a five paragraph essay, explain how one of these themes is demonstrated in the play and how it serves the writer’s purpose in including it.  You must support your writing by backing up your observations and statements with textual evidence. 

 

3. Movie:  Think of a different setting for the plot line of Macbeth: the Old West, Chicago/NY/Boston gangland, Appalachian backwoods, California surfers, Star Wars.  Take a scene from the play and rewrite it to fit the modern context, supplying character/directors notes as well as blocking.   This will then be filmed and edited into a short movie.  Your modern characters and their setting should reflect similar traits/themes that were found in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (lust for power, manipulative lords, fiefdoms, treachery, brutality ect.).  You may use comedy for this.

 

4. Art:  Pick an “epic” moment from the play (the witches approaching Macbeth, the apparitions, Macbeth’s death, Banquo’s ghost) and create an artistic representation of the scene.  The artistic representation must show serious effort.  Some past ideas: interpretive dance, an oil painting, or a mural.

 

5.  Graphic Novel:  Create a graphic comic depicting an entire scene from the play.  This must be done in color and contain at least twelve frames.  Conversation bubbles must be used to contain quotes from the play and you must supply your own commentary in text boxes to explain what is going on in your comic strips.  This will be graded on how well your graphic novel follows the story, and your effort.

 

6.  Traditional essay test.  You may use all notes on this.

 

Please select what you plan on doing for Thursday.  You will have one work day.  These are due April 4th.

We finished notes on act IV

We read Act V, sc 1-3.

We took a quiz on the Shakespeare language terms.

I gave out permission forms for anyone that would like to see real live Shakespeare.  Please see me if you need a form.

Comp. Lit. II:

Today:

Journal prompt:
3 of the rules that your groups has come up with have been broken.  Please describe the three events and what the consequence is.  1 pg.

We defined:
 Theme
Allegories
Allusions
Symbols

We looked at William Golding's daughter and her explanation as to why her father wrote this novel:
http://lordofthefliescover.com/about-book/judy-golding-interview/

We reviewed CH 2.

We played 3 Strikes and You Quiz.

HW:  Read CH 3+ write down one thing for class discussion.

Brit Lit:

Before we get to the payoff of act V, we reviewed the play up to this point.  I broke you into 3 groups and asked each group to identify the 6 main events in each act, and then for fun, we ran these scenes backwards. 

HW:  Look over the lit terms.  I smell a quiz Wed.

Comp. Lit. II:

Today:

I gave you a list of 15 objects that have washed up on shore.  Your groups needed to pick 6 that you would keep and list the justification for each.

Journal Prompt :  I played three new sound effects and asked you to write a 1/2 page on each sound.  I asked you to consider your new objects and consequences that you came up with yesterday.

We looked at 10 quotes from the novel.

I answered any questions from your reading and we took a quiz on CH 1.

We looked at the examples of light and dark in CH 1.  I paired you with a partner and asked for 5 examples of each.  Light= goodness Dark= evil.  Please watch for these in your reading.

HW Please read ch 2.

Brit. Lit:

Today:

Each of you were given time to recite your Macbeth lines.  If you were absent or not ready to go, please make sure that you are ready for Tuesday.  -10 for each late day. 

We finished act 4.  We looked at:

Cool words and abbreviations that were coined by Shakespeare.  We looked at the term COZ and school'd. 

Battle of the wits.  Taking two characters and have them battle back and forth till one waves a white flag.

How Shakespeare makes different characters speak.  Royal like Malcolm, and dumb like a messenger.

How Shakespeare understood the stages of grief and human emotion before these were quantified and labeled by science and psychology.

We took notes on 4.1

HW:  Please read the handout on the supernatural by wed.

Comp. Lit. II:

Today:

Journal Prompt:  We continued with our Lord of the Flies journal prompts.  Today, I played three sound effects and asked you to explain how they happen within your story. These sounds were: brushing teeth, swarm of bees. and a series of gunshots.
                                                                                        1/2 page for each sound 1 and 1/2 page total.

We held a debate in class:  Is man inherently evil?  I broke you into 2 groups and tasked each with one side of the debate.  Each team needed to generate 4 examples to support your thesis.

HW:  Please read ch 1 tonight.  Expect a quiz Tuesday.

Comp. Lit. II:

A Block:
We discussed good and evil.  I broke you into two teams and we debated the topic:  Is Man/woman inherently evil?

C Block: 
We missed class again today due to MCAS testing.  We will hit the ground running with Lord of the Flies on Monday.