Homecoming...

Collected a few things (warm-ups and This I Believe homework) and checked out The Catcher in the Rye. Make sure you get the book if you weren't in class and bring it everyday!

What do super heroes believe?

After a wrap up discussion of Rumi's "Wean Yourself" today, we continued our look at this I believe essays. We discussed the "Be Cool to the Pizza Dude" homework and then each student chose an essay from the This I Believe website to analyze. This analysis is due tomorrow.

Start here to choose a "This I Believe" essay to analyze using the questions below.

1) What is the essay’s thesis (main point)?

• Quote it.
• Paraphrase it in your own words.

2) How does the writer support his/her thesis? Think DRAPES (notes in class). Give at least three pieces of supporting evidence the author uses to explain why s/he believes what s/he does.

Funerals, the Pizza Dude and Twin Day

Today we continued our discussion of Rumi's poem and we completed our analysis of
"Always Go to the Funeral." Then we moved on to a similar analysis of "Be Cool to the Pizza Dude." Students should complete this analysis for homework (due 9/27). For the questions, see yesterday's blog entry.

Personal Essays and Transactive Writing: This I Believe

We continued our look at personal writing today, clarifying the difference between the personal essay and transactive writing (primarily persuasive writing). We also began looking at examples of personal writing, specifically the essay "Always go to the Funeral" from NPR's This I Believe Series. We listened to the essay and responded to the following questions:

1) What is the essay’s thesis (main point)?

• Quote it.
• Paraphrase it in your own words.

2) How does the writer support his/her thesis? Think DRAPES (notes in class). Give at least three pieces of supporting evidence the author uses to explain why s/he believes what s/he does.

POW & Personal Writing

Today we started our first poem of the week (POW), "Wean Yourself" by the Persian poet Rumi. This poem will feature in warm-ups for the rest of the week.

We also began our discussion of personal writing. If you were absent, you'll need to get the notes when you return.

Quiz & Build You Own Sonnets

Today we took a brief quiz on the Shakespearian sonnet form. The rest of the day was spent writing a sonnet based on end rhymes we brainstormed as a class. If you weren't here, write a sonnet in which each line ends with the appropriate word below. For extra credit, try to write in iambic pentameter. Due Monday.

---Period 1----------Period 2
A---ball---------------dog
B---same-------------bike
A---call---------------hog
B---game-------------spike
C---you---------------laser
D---word-------------plethora
C---poo---------------taser
D---bird--------------Dora
E---banana-----------dance
F---colt---------------banana
E---savanna----------Lance
F---jolt---------------Montana
G---gun--------------shake
G---shun-------------bake

Sonnet Project Continued

Today we worked on the sonnet project. Completed projects are due Friday.

The Sonnet Project

Today we started our final sonnet project. Check the handouts page for a copy of the assignment and click here to pick your sonnet.

Due Friday, when there will also be a quiz on the sonnets.

Sonnet #29

Today we finished our work with sonnet 29 with three questions:

1. Look closely at Sonnet 29 and your paraphrase. Where does the meaning shift? What is Shakespeare’s main message or theme in this sonnet.
2. Now look back at Sonnet 18? Where does the meaning shift? What is Shakespeare’s main message or theme in this sonnet.
3. Notice a pattern? What is it?

I collected the work on sonnet 29 and assigned the following homework:

• Read Sonnet 130.
• Label the rhyme scheme, the quatrains and the couplet, and the meter.
• Paraphrase the sonnet.
• What is Shakespeare’s theme in this sonnet?

Due 9/19.

When in disgrace with Fortune...

Today we reviewed the formal details of the sonnet and then began work on a paraphrase of Shakespeare's sonnet 29. To be continued...

Shakespeare: He Wrote Poetry Too!

Today we started our look at Shakespeare's sonnets. Essentially we took quite a few notes. If you weren't here, you'll need to get them when you return.

Poetry Presentations

Today we presented the poems and poem art that we worked on yesterday and for homework. I collected your preliminary work on "Little Elegy" and the poem you presented (well, in 2nd period I did; I'll get 1st period tomorrow) as well as the art.

Poetry Art Project

Use an 8” by 11” sheet of paper or something close to it- it is art after all, so feel free to experiment with sizes and shapes. (Think like Goldilocks; not too small, not too big, but just right for the project.) The front will contain all of the following:

1. Poem title and author
2. Poem text- in original line format
3. Summary of the poem
4. Artwork

You decide on the placement- preferably for maximum visual effect. Be creative!

Now, the back will contain both of the following:

1. Your own paraphrasing of the poem, and
2. A heading in the proper format.

Be creative and have fun! Due 9/13.

Poetry, Part 2

Today we reviewed figurative language and finished up work on the poem, "Little Elegy." Next we moved on to applying the same analysis to other poems. If you weren't here, you should apply the steps below to "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks.

1. Read the poem through twice.
2. Rate your initial understanding from 1 to 10 (10 being best).
   
3. Mark lines, words, etc. that you don’t understand.
   
4. Look up any words in the poem that you do not know.
   
5. Mark any examples of figurative language.
   
6. Discuss any lines you do not understand.

The following steps were HW if you did not finish them in class.

1. Paraphrase the poem (re-write it in your own words).
   
2. Summarize the main point of the poem in ONE sentence.
   
3. Choose a “Golden Line.”
   
4. Re-Rate your understanding of the poem.

Poetry Review Continued

Today we reviewed the terms metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, stanza, and rhyme scheme. You'll need to get these notes.

Partners did some further work on the poem "Little Elegy," which we started in class Friday.

Individuals are responsible for the following (due 9/11):

1. Paraphrase the poem (re-write it in your own words).
2. Summarize the main point of the poem in ONE sentence.
3. Choose a “Golden Line.”
   
4. Re-Rate your understanding of the poem.

Concluding Roots

Today we finished our work with roots. I collected the make-your-own-words homework from last night, and then we had a short quiz using student-coined terms.

We then read a short poem in preparation for Monday.

Period 3 HW: Finish word coining assignment (see yesterday's post) for Monday.

Word Roots and Word Coining

Today we started by making a list, in your notes, of root words, probably 40 of them or so. Then we moved on to the following assignment:

Word Coining Assignment

By combining some of the Greek and Latin roots, suffixes and prefixes we’ve been studying for the past few days, make up 15 new words. List them and their definition on a separate piece of paper. Your goal is for people to be able to guess the meaning of your words using only their knowledge of Greek and Latin. Due 9/7

Greek and Latin Roots, Part 2

Today I handed out the course policies page and we went over some of the policies and took a quick tour of the course web site.

We then started (and mostly finished) the second part of the roots assignment from yesterday. Tomorrow we will wrap up part two with some notes and a discussion. There is no new homework.

Start Here Today

This online dictionary is perfect for the word roots assignment we're doing in class today: www.etymonline.com.

Roots Continued

Today we continued our roots work from last week. By now, students should have the roots handout completed. We went over this handout in periods 1 & 2 today. Tomorrow we will begin phase two.