All Boys, All Blogged: March 1, 2013

Happy March, everybody!  Please have your annotations out and ready to be checked.

Focus: Why is it important to read?  What happens when we ban books?

1. Warm-up: Engaging in a little TCAP practice (will go in your Critical Reading category)

2. Reading your banned books with an eye out for two questions:

• Which sections of your book help you understand why it was banned?
• Which sections of your book make you think it's an important book for everyone to read?

3. Reflecting on your banned book

HW: 

1. Start reading and annotating pages 63-80 for next Tuesday's fishbowl discussion.

2. Finish your banned book.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 28, 2013

Focus: What is Bradbury's vision of our future?  Do you agree?

1. Warm-up: Burned alive...the Kathy Change story

What did she dedicate her life to?

Why did she kill herself so publically?

Do you think her death accomplished anything?

How is she like or unlike Montag? Clarisse?  The woman who burned with her books?

2. Fishbowl #3: Fahrenheit 451, pages 41-63

HW:

1. Read your banned book and bring it to class tomorrow.

2. WE WILL HAVE AN ANNOTATION CHECK TOMORROW; make sure you have all annotations through page 63 ready to go and in class tomorrow.  Any late annotations will receive a maximum of half credit.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 27, 2013

Focus: What does the society in F451 look like?  How does it compare to our society?

1. Warm-up: Responding to the initial survey, but in character (Montag, Mildred, Clarisse, or Beatty)

History books are accurate.

Television news is accurate.

Watching T.V. is bad.

T.V. programs are realistic.

“Reality T.V.” is real.

People must be treated equally.

The government should always try to make people happy.

People should always obey the government.

Technology plays a positive role in our lives.

2. Thinking about how accurate Bradbury has been so far in predicting the future

Small Group Directions: 

a. Type a few sentences of explanation of the role your motif has played in F451 so far. In other words, how is it described and why?

b. Find at least one quotation from the book and include it in your explanation.  Please cite it MLA style.

c. Argue whether or not you think our society is similar to the society in F451 in terms of this particular motif.  In other words, has Bradbury's prediction come true?

d. Find one piece of contemporary "evidence" to support your claim (for example, a commercial, a video, a website, an article, etc).

e. Give your document an MLA heading, proofread it, print it, and turn it in!

Here are the motifs (choose ONE):

Books

T.V. (the "parlour walls")

The "seashells" (the earpieces they're always listening to)

Suicide

Teenage violence

Dangerously fast-faced society

HW: 

1. Complete your reading and annotating assignment for tomorrow's fishbowl discussion.

2. Bring your banned book to school on Friday.

3. Finish today's activity if you did not finish in class.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 26, 2013

Focus: What problems exist in F451's society, and how did they arise?

Please turn in your revisions as you walk in.  Make sure you have followed the revision policy; otherwise, your revision will not be graded.

1. Warm-up: Give me your toughest passages! Close reading a few of Bradbury's challenging pages

2. Fishbowl discussion #2: F451, pages 28-40

3. Debriefing today's discussion with the outer and inner circles

HW:
1. Start on your reading assignment for Thursday's fishbowl discussion.  Bring your annotations for the first two reading assignments to class tomorrow.

2. Read your banned book and bring it to class on Friday.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 25, 2013

Focus: What's going on the minds of Bradbury's characters? Are our minds like theirs?

1. Warm-up: Diagramming your brain

2. Visually analyzing the characters in Fahrenheit 451 through brain diagrams (Ms. Leclaire will be checking your annotations during this time)

3. Engaging in a little Q&A: Which parts of the first reading assignment confused you?  Help a brother out.

4. Starting the next reading assignment together

HW:
1. Prepare for tomorrow's fishbowl by reading through page 40 and using your orange sheet to compose 5-10 good discussion questions.

2. If you received a 39 or below on your timed writing, your rewrite is due tomorrow.  Remember to follow the revision policy: Highlight your changes in two colors, type a paragraph of explanation of your revisions, and attach everything to the original draft with the rubric.

3. You need to finish your banned book within the next week; I will give you class time on Friday and an extra weekend since I haven't given you any class time yet to read, but that's it.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 22, 2013

Focus: According to Ray Bradbury, what does our future look like?

1. Taking a short, enjoyable, and informative quiz on adjectives

2. Warm-up: Reacquainting yourself with fishbowl do's and don't

3. F451 Fishbowl #1: Pages 1-28

HW:
1. You have exactly one week to finish your banned book.

2. Start preparing for Tuesday's fishbowl discussion by reading through page 40; remember that you need 5-10 annotations (use your orange question sheet for help) per reading assignment.

3. If you received a 39 or below on your timed writing, your rewrite is due Tuesday.  Remember to follow the revision policy: Highlight your changes in two colors, type a paragraph of explanation of your revisions, and attach everything to the original draft with the rubric.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 21, 2013

Focus: What does our future look like?

1. Warm-up: Quickly reviewing adjectives

YES OR NO: Is it an adjective?

The orange kitten scratched my husband's face.

My homework is difficult tonight.

I am a teacher.

I am an interesting teacher.

I skied quickly down the steep slope.


Identify all of the adjectives in the following sentence:

I hope that my large, first hour English 10 class will consider joining Link Crew because they are energetic, smart, and driven.


2. Exploring your thoughts on censorship: Agree, disagree, unsure

3. Reviewing fishbowl expectations and signing up for leader and discusser dates

4. Diving into the world of F451 together with your orange question sheets

HW:
1. Finish reading and annotating through page 28 in F451 for tomorrow's fishbowl discussion (annotate by writing 5-10 questions using the orange question sheet).

2. Prepare for tomorrow's very brief, open-note quiz on adjectives.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 20, 2013

Focus: What does our future look like?

1. Warm up: Participating in a survey about the future of our society by clicking HERE

2. Engaging in an impromptu fishbowl discussion of "Harrison Bergeron" (30 minutes); review fishbowl expectations

3. Giving out F451 books, signing up for fishbowl discussions, and if time, starting the first few pages together

HW:
1. Bring your completed adjective packet to class tomorrow for a quick review (QUIZ on adjectives this Friday).

2. Start reading and annotating F451; using your "How To Ask Great Questions" bookmark for guidance, annotate by asking 5-10 great questions per reading assignment.  You can write in your book if you own it, use sticky notes, or keep a reading journal.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 19, 2013

Focus: What does our future look like?

Ever wonder who's really grading all of your essays?

Here he is grading the good essays...

And here he is grading the not-so-good essays...

He says he apologizes for the slow turn-around time, but he is still trying to learn the alphabet.  English is tricky!

1. Warm-up: Viewing an "epic" vision of the future

What does our future look like, according to this video?

What aspects of our 2013 society are being highlighted in this video?

What aspects of our society are being subtly criticized in this video?

2. Participating in a survey about the future of our society by clicking HERE

3. Reading and questioning "Harrison Bergeron" together

• On each page, ask at least three questions (these should be Level 1 and Level 2 questions).
• Try to make one or two solid connections to the video you watched today, to the survey, or to our society.
• At the end of the story, pose at least one good Level 3 question.

HW: 
1. Finish reading and questioning "Harrison Bergeron." If you were absent from class today, click HERE for a copy of the story.
2. Respond to the class blog tonight.
3. Bring your completed grammar packet to class on Thursday (quiz on adjectives this Friday).

All Boys, All Blogged: February 14, 2013

Focus: What are your take-aways from Macbeth?

1. The choice is yours...taking the reading test, or writing the in-class essay?

2. Reading banned books

HW:
1. You should be at least halfway through your banned book at this point; if you're not, please catch up over the long weekend because you have exactly TWO WEEKS LEFT to finish your book (and you're starting a new book next week).

2. Please complete the green grammar packet by Tuesday.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 13, 2013

Focus: Can we argue that Macbeth is a tragic hero?  Why or why not?

1. Handing in your word traces

2. Acting out the last few pages of Macbeth: Who receives a noble death?  Who doesn't?

3. Viewing the film version of Act 5

As you watch, please identify TWO symbolic choices the film makes and analyze their larger significance (costumes, setting, movement, etc.).

4. Forming a thesis statement on the blog that responds to today's focus question.  Remember to lay out two or three specific reasons in your thesis.

Ex: Macbeth is a compelling tragic hero because his guilt reveals his sense of morality but his actions reveal his capacity for evil.

OR

The word "hero" fails to apply to Macbeth because he displays extraordinary violence from the beginning and his selfishness keeps the audience from sympathizing with him.

HW:
1. Finish item #4 on today's agenda if you did not do so in class.
2. Complete the green grammar packet on adjectives.
3. Read your banned book and bring it to class tomorrow.
4. You will have a timed writing on Macbeth tomorrow that will relate to your word trace.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 12, 2013

Focus: What does it mean to have a noble life?  What does it mean to have a noble death?

1. Warm-up: Using the Flobots for a little insight

2. Battling out the rest of Act 5

• Which characters meet a noble death?  Which receive an ignoble death?

3. Performing a poetic reading of Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech

HW:
1. Final draft of your word trace is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.  THEY MUST BE PRINTED BEFORE YOU WALK INTO CLASS.  Remember that you need at least eight entries.

2. Complete the front and back of the first two pages of your new green grammar packet.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 11, 2013

Focus: What does it mean to lead a noble life?  What does it mean to have a noble death?

"It is his capacity for self-scrutiny that makes Macbeth a worthy tragic subject. He never lies to himself about the nature of his deed, never rationalizes to justify his actions.  Aware that he doomed, he pursues his damnation headlong to his own destruction."  (Norrie Epstein)

1. Warm-up: 10-minutes of responding to the focus question

2. Interpreting the film version of Act 5, scene 1

          What, specifically, is Lady Macbeth having nightmares about in this scene?
          Find two things she says or does that are symbolic, and argue what they symbolize.
          How has Lady Macbeth changed throughout the play?

3. Battling out the rest of Act 5!

          Which characters are the most noble and how?  Which are the least noble and how?
          Which characters die nobly and how?  Which die ignobly and how? 

HW:
1. Final versions of your word traces are due Wednesday at the latest.  Remember that you should have at least eight entries.
2. Read your banned book.
3. Complete the front and back of the first page of your new green grammar packet.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 8, 2013

Focus: When does ambition turn to greed? What are the consequences of greedy behavior?

1. Warm-up: Totally irrelevant Friday fun

2. Taking Grammar Quiz #3: Verbs

3. Composing an in-class writing on ambition

4. Reading your banned book (if time)

HW:
1. Spend at least 30 minutes with your banned book (you have a little less than 3 weeks to finish it).
2. Make sure your word trace entries are up-to-date through Act 4. The final draft of your word trace entries is due Wednesday, Feb 13th.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 7, 2013

Focus: When does ambition turn to greed?  What are the consequences of greedy behavior?

1. A partially new seating chart, a brief talk, and a memory check

2. Indulging in a mini lesson on foils:


A foil is a character who serves by contrast to highlight the opposing qualities in another character.  For example, in Harry Potter, Malfoy serves as a foil to Harry Potter; while Malfoy is a bully who manipulates and hurts others, Harry is a hero who selflessly saves and protects others. They both, however, are able to use magic in cunning and powerful ways.



3. Acting out Act 4, scenes 2 and 3

          4.2: Why do we get to see this scene, and why do we meet Lady Macduff?

          4.3: How does Macduff serve as a foil to Macbeth?

HW:
1. Prepare for tomorrow's quiz on verbs.
2. Read your banned book and bring it to class tomorrow in case you finish your timed writing early.
3. Update your word trace entries for Act 4.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 6, 2013

Focus: When does ambition turn to greed?  What are the consequences of greedy behavior?

1. Warm-up: Row races with verbs

2. Acting out Act 4, scenes 1 and 2

       4.1: Filling in the apparition chart (it will be huge when we read Act 5)

       4.2: Figuring out why we see this scene and why we meet Lady Macduff

3. Viewing scene 3
 
      Mini lesson on foils:

A foil is a character who serves by contrast to highlight the opposing qualities in another character.  For example, in Harry Potter, Malfoy serves as a foil to Harry Potter; while Malfoy is a bully who manipulates and hurts others, Harry is a hero who selflessly saves and protects others. They both, however, are able to using magic in cunning and powerful ways.

      4.3: How does Macduff serve as a foil to Macbeth?

HW: 
1. Update your word traces for Act 4.
2. Read your banned book (due at the end of February).
3. Start studying for Friday's verb quiz; also, we will have our next short timed writing on Friday.

All Boys, All Blogged: February 5, 2013

Focus: What happens when ambition turns to greed?  What are the consequences of greedy behavior?

1. Warm-up: Discovering the bizarre, Elizabethan pastime of bear baiting.  Keep an eye out for it today and consider its symbolic significance in Act 3.

2. Watching the rest of Act 3 and taking the Act 3 mini quiz (created largely by YOU).

3. Entering the ghostly world of Act 4 and meeting the apparitions!

HW:
1. Respond to today's focus question ON THIS BLOG before class tomorrow.  Your response should be at least four sentences long (preferably longer), and I encourage you to bring in any examples to support your thinking.
2. Bring your completed green grammar packet to class tomorrow.
3. Update your word trace entries for Act 4, scene 1.
4. Read your banned book (you need to finish it by the end of February, and we're starting a new book in less than two weeks, so chop chop!).

All Boys, All Blogged: February 4, 2013

Focus: What causes a person to lose control, and can that control be regained once it's lost?

And the Acting Company winners are...

1. Warm-up: Interpreting Banquo's haunting of Macbeth

Quickwrites:

a. Why do you think Macbeth is haunted by the ghost of Banquo, but not by the ghost of Duncan?

b. At this point in the play, do you feel sorry for Macbeth, or do you see him as a crazed 

murderer?

c. If you were directing the film and you wanted to evoke sympathy for Macbeth, how would you 

stage 3.4,  the scene in which Banquo’s ghost returns to haunt Macbeth? Things to think about…

would the audience get to see Banquo’s ghost?  What does it look like?  How would Macbeth 

react?

d. How would your staging change if you wanted to distance him from the audience emotionally?

2. Viewing the film version of Act 3 while completing the yellow Act 3 quotation analysis sheet

3. Discussing the yellow Act 3 quotation analysis sheet for deeper comprehension

HW: 
1. Please finish your grammar packet by tomorrow.
2. Read the final scene of Act 3 on your own; be prepared for a mini-quiz on Act 3 tomorrow.

Banned Books Blog

Hello!

I hope you're enjoying your banned books so far.  On this blog, please post the following information about your book:

1. Author and title

2. One-sentence summary of why your book was banned

3. One or two sentences explaining why you personally chose this book

4. What page you're on right now, and what you see as the book's level of reading difficulty (easy and fast, tricky and slow, etc).

5. One big question that you have about this specific book

Please post this by Sunday night (I would recommend taking care of it before the Superbowl). Have a great weekend!