Independent Reading Assignment

Yes Virginia, there is Christmas break reading.

The Independent Reading Assignment is due Friday, January 6th, 2012, by 3:30 pm. You are required to use the AP Reading List provided for you for download (it will be a link on the main page as well).

You then are instructed to fill out the handy independent reading guide (it is a word document, so you can type your information into the IR guide).

Remember, you CANNOT use books that were read for class assignments sophomore, junior, and senior year.

Poisonwood Bible: Exodus

UPDATE: Dialectical Journal due Monday, 12.12
Test (Objective/Matching/Characters), Monday, 12.12
PWB In-Class Essay, Tuesday, 12.13

Students: Read Laura Wind’s essay on cultural relativism in Poisonwood Bible…it may help shed a more light on the story (and you can also use what you learn from that essay for your in-class assessments on Tuesday!)  

We finish Poisonwood Bible this week with the book moving fast and furious from the point Orleanna takes the girls and leaves Nathan to try and proselytize the village (we will see how that goes).

Here is this week’s schedule:
Tuesday, Dec. 6th: PWB pp. 388-444 Reading only
Wednesday, Dec. 7th: PW Study Questions: Exodus  from pp.388-444 due.
Friday, Dec. 9th: PWB  Study Questions: Exodus from pp. 444-506 due.

Poisonwood Bible pp. 191-311 (AP 12)

UPDATE: Due Friday, Dec. 2nd: Reading only of PWB pp. 312-377; Dialectical Journals for PWB are due MONDAY, Dec. 5th (do five journals – themes, symbols, figurative language). The Figure of Speech test is still on for the 2nd, so be sure to study!

We are now in the critical portion of the novel, as several events and situations transpire that change the course of the women’s lives forever.

To help you with the thematic dialectical journal, which is  due Tuesday, 11.29, please download the following handouts: PWB Literary Devices; Poisonwood Bible Biblical References; Allusions in The Poisonwood Bible

Due Tuesday, 11.22: PWB Reading 191-244 (In-class Socratic Seminar); students are to turn in either six dialectical journals or ten stem questions with answers.

Due Tuesday, 11.29: PWB Reading pp. 245-311: Students are doing a thematic dialectical journal. Mr. Tyler will explain during class on the 22nd.

Do not forget: Figure of Speech Literary Terms Test (AP Literary Terms List #2) is Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Poisonwood Bible/The Congo

Hope you enjoyed the week away from intense learning…but, that is now over and now it is time for Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. This is a good time that, if you can, get ahead with the reading. You can always back up and add context and ideas as we head into Socratic Seminar.

We start with some research on the Congo (you were provided a handout on Tuesday…a copy is available in Box.net on the lower right hand corner of the page).

Learning goals: SWBAT: 1) Analyze character development through historical and fictional contexts; 2) Merge historical context and its affect on one group of people; 3) Examine point of view of a series of events in time and how different people view those same events and how and why they react to those events . 4) Examine how people view religion and how bias can affect the reading of a text.

We will start with a solid dialectical journal for the first couple of sections. The dialectical journal is critical for this book as there are five distinct voices and it is important to be able to analyze them. A dialectical journal template is provided for you. You will need five entries by Tuesday, 11.15 and another five by Thursday, 11.17 for pp. 5-81. Each quote/paraphrase you analyze must have at least 90 words in commentary and each quote must have MLA. Do not forget to check the calendar for the reading schedule (that schedule is now available!)

Drama Literary Terms Matching Test is Tuesday, Nov. 15th!!!

Macbeth: The End

We are completing Macbeth this week, but this will also be a busy week as well. Hopefully you did not procrastinate and put off your close readings. If you did, this will be a long week. Advisory: This post will be updated a couple of times during the week; check back here during the week. 

Tuesday, November 1st: Applied Practice Passages 11 and 12 (25 minutes); review of Macbeth’s glorious end. Also, turn in your College Fair permission slip. If you forgot Tuesday, they need to be in my mailbox Wednesday morning. Just saying…

Wednesday, November 2nd: Close Readings due (100 points) either in my box by 8 am or via e-mail by 8 pm. Only Macbeth actors have an extra day.

Thursday, November 3rd: Macbeth Assessment (Objective);  Close Readings due beginning of class on Thursday for Macbeth actors. Assigned: Macbeth one-hour essay (details to come on Thursday). This may end up being an in-class essay on Friday with students bringing in evidence.

Friday, November 4th: (Tentative) In-class essay on Macbeth.

Monday, November 7th: College Fair @ Oregon Convention Center

Macbeth Act IV (Week of Oct. 24th)

The three witches

Seniors have safely (at least it appears to be) navigated the ACT. Now we head into Act IV of Macbeth. This would be a good week to make sure that you are actively engaged in your close readings.

Monday, Oct. 24th: Applied Practice Passage #7; discussion of Act III

Tuesday, Oct. 25th: AP Literature Terms, Macbeth Class and Group discussion; 40-minute take home essay (details to be provided in class)

Thursday, Oct. 27th: Banquo Essay due (download a guide to timed writing); Socratic Seminar over Macbeth (group discussion)

Links to help with the Seminar:
http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/macbeth/Fate.html

http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2010/rmartin_macbethice_july2010.asp 

http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/bradley/macquest.html

 

 

 

Friday, Oct. 28th: Applied Practice Passages; In-class rhetorical precis or annotation assignment.

Important Support Links:
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/macbethsources.html

Act III soliloquy analysis: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/soliloquies/tobethus.html

Biblical symbols in Macbeth: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/bibimagery.html

Macbeth Act II and III (Week of 10.17)

Update: New source link for Macbeth: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/macbethsources.html

Act III soliloquy analysis: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/soliloquies/tobethus.html

This week, we not only focus on Macbeth Acts II and III, but also the basics of close reading. You should have received the close reading handout in class on Tuesday, 10.18. Please take time to read over this critical informational sheet, as it will help you get a foothold on these items.

The week:
Tuesday, 10.18: Applied Practice Macbeth Passages 4 & 5 (multiple choice close reading); review of basic concepts of close reading.

Thursday, 10.20: Close Reading analysis (group session); in-class work on close readings (peer assistance and review).

Friday, 10.21: Macbeth Act III reading  (Applied Practice Passage #6)

Macbeth Close Reading Assignments

Tragic_Structure_In_Macbeth (ppt)

Students: You can subscribe to Box.net via RSS (Web feed for frequently changing websites)!

What is foul is fair; what is fair is foul…

AP seniors:

It now gets quite serious.

The first six weeks were preparation, but now the stakes quickly rise. If you have not downloaded the Advanced Placement Guide, do so, because your world now rests on having at least cursory knowledge of it. I will provide a hard copy of the AP rubrics sometime this week, but it also is imperative that you have a strong knowledge, as everything I grade from now on will follow those rubrics.

As you are doing study questions, close readings, and other essays that you are turning in, please do not forget the basic mandates for turning in assignments for this class. Seniors, in essence I am telling you. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for your education. This means you will HAVE TO TAKE TIME to read these handouts. We do not have enough time in class for me to go over everything and still get you prepared for college level analysis and writing.

If you need help, I am available from 7:15 to 7:50 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and after school upon appointment. Also, please e-mail me at dothgrin@gmail.com. I will be providing videos, handouts, and models aplenty in the upcoming days!

Bookmark this page: I will be updating it every two to three days. I will also provide quick five to ten minute workshops on how to use my web pages during the first ten minutes of lunch the next couple of weeks. No excuses allowed for not knowing what is due, how to do it, or what I am expecting.

This (hopefully) will be the last such blunt discussions on this course. If students do what I am asking, things will get easier. If they do not, things will get much, much harder.

Do not forget: If you need help on close reading, visit: http://dothgrin.net/category/online-writing-help/

Macbeth Act I and II

Macbeth starts today (Tuesday), and will be a rather intense run, so make sure you do not fall behind. Visit the Google Calendar for AP12 for more details. We will have at least one MC close reading assignment every class period beginning

A quick look at this week:

Tuesday (10.11): Lecture on Aristotle’s vs. Shakespeare’s View of Tragedy,  AP MC Close Reading, and Macbeth Act I reading (students, take notes…there will not be a formal list of study questions for Act I; I will include a group of guide questions from which you can and should take copious notes).  

Need help with close readings: check out the Writing Models and Assistance tab and the link on close reading modeling!

Thursday (10.13): Act I reading due; In-class questions; in-class reading: “Shakespeare’s Source for Macbeth”; “Literary Devices Used Commonly in Shakespeare”; Act II will be due Monday, October 17th

A.C. Bradley’s Commentary on Macbeth: http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/bradley/tr331.html