Week of March 14th
Dear oib class,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Congratulations to those of you who made it through all of Apocalypse Now with me! It's kind of pointless if you don't watch it all the way until the end....
I hope you have some better idea of the absurdity of keeping up Western so called civilized ways in the midst of horror, and see why it's absurd to call others' methods unsound because they embrace horror whole heartedly.
You can probably understand why Marlow makes a choice that is morally cowardly. It's a lose lose situation.
We'll talk about it on Monday.
On Monday, too, we'll do a close reading of a passage from acts 1 and 2 of Hamlet. There will be some choice in the matter.
You should be re-reading Heart of Darkness. Note that I posted a really, really good article for you to read on the blog. It really helps put things in perspective.
Finally, please read Act 3 scene 1 for Wednesday.
Thursday is poetry day.
Have a great weekend!
Week of March 7th
Dear oib class,
Words, Words, Words...Read Hamlet!
Be sure to read scenes 2 and 3 for Monday; finish Act I for Wednesday.
Your Heart of Darkness commentaries are due for Thursday.
See here for regular updates on what's coming up...
Week of February 22nd:
On Wednesday, we will wrap up Heart of Darkness by having a discussion on Poisonwood Bible and Heart of Darkness. We'll also listen to a TED talk: The Dangers of a Single Story by Nigerian writer C. Adichie.
On Thursday, we will begin our next work in depth: Hamlet! Please read scene 1 for Thursday.
Week of January 24th:
Read through chapter 1 of H of D, write an rr and post an excerpt on the blog. You are becoming scientifically interesting...
Week of January 17th:
Read to the bottom of page 17 in Heart of Darkness. Remember to post your ideas on the blog!!
Week of December 6th:
Read Streetcar scenes 4 and 5 for Monday
DST on Wednesday
Finish Streetcar for Thursday
Week of November 29th:
Dear oib class,
I hope you've had a good Thanksgiving! I'm late in getting the sheet of the week, but hopefully you haven't missed me too much. Hopefully, you aren't cringing at the very thought of my filling your inbox with work to do!
The good news is that we've now begun Streetcar, and that's going to open up a lot of good conversation. Look what we did with the setting alone. I hope you took good notes on that, as I really think that knowing those stage directions would be great meat for an essay sometime. Either for imagery or for setting (or both!)
Remember: start preparing study sheets for each work. I'll post a worksheet on the blog for you to use.
Speaking of the blog, I haven't received any notes in a very long time...what's up with that?
Now, on to the work of the week:
For Wednesday, please remember to read scenes 2 and 3 and write an RR.
For the following Monday, you'll read scenes 4 through 6; you'll finish reading the play for that Thursday (the 9th). Feel free to read the play all the way through early. It really doesn't take all that much time!
On the 8th, we'll have our next DST. You'll have 2 essay questions to choose from. Polish up on your works!
Enjoy the next two days--I have to work tomorrow :(
Week of November 15th:
Dear oib class,
So next week is an oral fun filled week! I actually think you'll enjoy it and be proud of what you can do. You'll learn a lot about close reading from modeling it out loud, and we'll be working hard on making links with other works. I forgot to say: don't be afraid to bring in the books you make the links to, and to read passages out loud. Sometimes, seeing that book that hasn't been opened in a while will jog your memory and make you bring it back: you NEED last year's books!!
The Medea synthesis questions are due on Friday. Please don't forget the blog!
Enjoy your weekend!
Week of November 8th:
Dear oib class,
So, here's the week, short and simple:
Monday: close reading exam
For Wednesday, finish reading Medea. We basically have two periods to finish discussing, so we have to be quick in wrap up. I'll give you Thursday to prepare your orals. Note: we'll be going over the play's language carefully with the orals, so some of what we didn't say in discussion will come out then.
The orals will take place the week of the 15th. Also due that week are the synthesis questions on Medea.
I will start assessing you this week on your blog work. So be sure you're posting. I'm going to say this: one good post is the minimum. For a grade over 14, you need to post/comment twice.
I'm counting the grade you got on the short rhetoric writing I gave back as a bonus.
And your final grade is your participation. I count what I see as well as hear so make sure you are taking notes and paying attention!
Have a good weekend!
week of October 11th
No school Monday
Dear oib class,
Well, we are behind, of course. So now we will spend Tuesday’s session doing the following:
I will ask you to write for ten minutes on rhetorical strategies you noticed in your reading.
We will then talk about otherness and MLK, followed by Civil Disobedience, which inspired the letter.
We’ll talk about these pieces more later on.
On Wednesday and Thursday, with your subs, you will be investigating A Room of One’s Own. You MUST have your books.
Over the vacation, you will read in medea and work on your essays.
Send your outlines to me next week for approval.
Get on the blog.You need to post, a real post, at least 3 times, and you won't get a good grade if they all come in the last week...
Good luck on your SATs tomorrow, if you're taking them!
Week of October 4th
Dear oib class,
We are getting closer to wrap up on The Bluest Eye, but we still have some big chunks to complete. This can't move along, however, if you don't refresh...you need to know the book better and participate more, in other words.
On Monday, we need to finish spring. That means we need to talk about:
--the incident with the cobbler at the Fisher house (still Pauline)AND we didn't talk about Pauline's babies...
--Cholly's childhood and his freedom
--the rape
--Soaphead Church
--the fallout
Be prepared to discuss these.
We made need time on Wednesday to wrap up. We'll be moving on to some essays that will connect to the work. We'll be starting off with Martin Luther King Jr's "A Letter from a Birmingham Jail" which I'll give you to read in class on Monday. Then, we'll read an Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, which inspired King, for next Monday.
Your DST rewrites are due on Thursday.
I'm waiting for some of you to send me your essay topics still....
