Warm Wishes

Wishing you all peace and happiness. 

Please use this time to reflect on the importance of those in your life.  We all have much to be thankful for.  See you in the new year.

Shakespeare

Today:

We went to the computer lab to take a school wide survey.

We decorated the holiday shrub with your sonnets.

Brit Lit:

I apologize that I have been unable to update the blog this week.  Please see me if you have missed work.

Today:

Last night I asked you to read the 1st chapter of the Victorian novel, Jane Eyre on pg 922 and answer questions 1-6 at the end.

Today, we began class with the journal prompt:

At the end of Ch 1 in Jane Eyre, Jane is sent to the Red room for punishment.  Here our imagination, as always, is often greater the reality.  Use your imagination to describe the room that we never see.  Please write a 1st person "I" account of what is in the room and what happens when Jane is placed there.  1 page min.

We then looked at the entire story via an excellent film version.

Reminder:  Secret Santa/Bobo gifts for your classmates are due by this Friday.  Please see me with any questions.

Shakespeare:

We presented your sonnet media projects today.  If you were absent, we will finish them on Monday.

The last 10 minutes we played a game of Othello.

Brit Lit:

Today:

We exchanged names for our class secret Santa.
We looked at foot and meter.
We practiced this with da,dum,da,dum,da,dum...

We diagrammed the poetry of Donne and Keats.

Shakespeare:

I asked for an update on your stickie post it notes.  How did it go?

We looked at modern sonnets.

We did an activity that I call pass the poem.  We started two poems: one on love, one on hate, and passed them around and had each person contribute a line of verse following the rules of a Shakespearean Sonnet.  I will post these soon.  They were both well done.

We looked at the origin of the sonnet- Italian style.  We defined the differences and talked about lasting images in poems.

HW:  Please bring in your favorite printed lyrics.  These do not need to be your fav song- but rather lyrics that are meaningful to you.  We will be making these into a sonnet on wed.  I will also continue to look to getting you into a lab to work on your sonnet media project.

Brit Lit:

Today:

A Block:  We went to the computer lab to finish your paper.  Please see me if you did not get to finish. 

C Block:
We finished the movie.
We read the selected poems by Ben Johnson.

HW:  Please bring in a copy of your favorite lyrics.  Not your favorite song- but words to a song that hold meaning to you.

Shakespeare:

Today:

We selected a line (or two) of powerful verse.  I asked you to write the line down on a stickie note and stick it in a random spot.  I suggested: school, home, work, Patrick's football helmet...

We talked about the discovery of a line.

I went over dramatic language and imagery in the poem.

We define the structure of a Shakespeare sonnet. 
We defined an iambic pentameter. 
I made each of you a unstressed, or stressed syllable. 
We stomped around the room to illustrate the pattern.  I suggested that this is the heartbeat of the poet.  We talked about why this has an impact on us( mother's heartbeat, ocean waves, etc.)

I asked you to write you own sonnet.

We looked at a few samples of previous sonnet projects.  These will be assigned officially on Monday and due next Friday.

Brit Lit:

Today:

A Block:  We finished the play. 
We took notes on acts 4.2-5.8 
We will have a test on Macbeth this Monday.
We went to the computer lab to select one of our last 5 creative writing prompts,  You were asked to select the one that you feel best showcases your writing.  I asked you to clean it up and make it sparkle.  We will finish these on Tuesday in the lab.

C Block:  We finished our notes.  We reviewed for the test Monday.  We went to the computer lab to type one of your last 5 creative prompts. 

Shakespeare:

We all had a chance to share the sonnet that you brought in and covered the following:

Read the poems slowly.  Savor all of the richness of the poem.  We race through life- consider smelling the flower from time to time.

Two lines can stick and stand on their own beauty.

We covered the themes found in the sonnets.

We looked at the life experience that might be needed to understand the complexity of feeling.

HW:  Please read the four sonnets that I gave you at least twice.  S   L   O  W  L  Y....  Find the two lines that you most connect to and be ready to explain why.

Brit Lit:

Today:  A Block shred their Macbeth videos and worked on finishing the play.

C Block:
We watched a few more Macbeth projects.
We finished the play
We reviewed for the test

After lunch, I broke you into small groups to write an outline for a sequel to the play.

Test this Monday.  Please make sure that you have your notes and review the play.

Shakespeare:

We took the test on The Twelfth Night.  If you were absent, please schedule a time with me to make it up.

We began our look at the sonnets.  I gave you my lecture notes.

HW:  Find a sonnet that connects to you and have it ready to share in class on Thursday.  If you can't find one, you are also able to write your own.