American Studies: 12/14

Periods 1-3: Bring O Pioneers! to class tomorrow

Period 1/2: Write one page double spaced analyzing the relationship between man and nature shown in the stories "The Open Boat" and "To Build a Fire." Are they the same? Different? Explain and draw conclusions.

Period 3: Bring completed Knowledge/Instinct analysis to class.
"To build a Fire" online: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/Writings/LostFace/fire.html

All Classes: HWP due day after Break

European Studies 12/8

Friday in class: What is Romanticism?
Monday: Macbeth Essay due... hard copy to class with all drafts and peer edits plus submit a copy to turnitin.com
On Monday we will finish "A Modest Proposal" as well
Wednesday 12/14: Vocab

American Studies: 12/8

Vocab Test has been postponed due to teacher error. List 6 will be tested on the Friday after Winter Break because it is cumulative. List 5 (now on my website) will be tested next Friday right before Winter Break.

Due 12/12 Monday: Huck Finn Essay (hard copy with all drafts and peer edits); also submit your essay to turnitin.com
Due 12/13 Tuesday: Stephen Crane and Jack London bio. notes; also "To Build a Fire" plus accompanying assignment.
Thursday 12/15: Bring O Pioneers! to class

American Studies: 12/7

What's Next - Naturalism: Stephen Crane and Jack London (Thursday thru early next week)

Due Dates Coming Up - Vocab Test on Friday; Huck Finn Essay due Monday (also to turnitin if it is functioning properly)

Next Week - We'll start O Pioneers! on Thursday next week. (10 pts. E.C. if you have your own copy).

European Studies Journal

Act I, Scene 1
Lady Macbeth's Speech
Act I, Scene 5 Journal
Macbeth Thesis
Act 2
10/31 Changes in Macbeth
11/7 Lady Macbeth

American Studies Update: December 5

Dates have changed because of the snow:
Today: We discussed Emily Dickinson
Tuesday: Finish discussing Emily, correct and practice grammar (adverbs/adjectives)
Wednesday: Bring draft of essay to class ready to peer edit
Thursday: TBA
Friday: Vocab Test
Monday: Huck Finn Essay due to turnitin.com plus a hard copy due in class

American Studies: 12/1/05

Due tomorrow: Emily Dickinson work in journal. We will discuss Emily's poems tomorrow.

Huck Finn Essay:
Monday: Bring in at least 2/3 of your paper, so at least two pages. This may be the intro. plus the first 2/3 of your body, or it may be the whole body minus intro. and conclusion. This should be typed, double spaced. Be ready to peer edit. Also on Monday we will correct the "Adverbs" worksheet I gave you last week.
Tuesday: Completed draft is due to turnitin.com by 7:25 AM. We will do peer reviews in the lab during class.
Thursday: Final revised draft is due, both to me (hard copy) and to turnitin.com

What's next
Wednesday: Intro. to "O Pioneers!" Bring book to class.
Don't forget Independent Reading, due Jan.3

European Studies: Macbeth Essay

Today I introduced the Macbeth Essay and we discussed brainstorming techniques and tried out a technique called "speculative writing."
Due tomorrow: Macbeth Brainstorming. You need to have chosen the topic of your essay by tomorrow.

If you were absent today, topic choices are listed below. You may pick up the complete assignment sheet in class tomorrow.
Choose one of the following prompts:
•Write a multi-paragraph essay discussing whether Macbeth is personally responsible for his own tragic ending, or whether he is the victim of forces beyond his control.
•Character Analysis: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, or both. Write a multi-paragraph essay that makes an argument about either one of these characters or the relationship between these two characters. Malcolm, in his last speech of the play, calls Macbeth and Lady Macbeth “this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.” Instead of a character analysis, you may choose to present an argument in your essay as to which of the two is worse: Macbeth, or Lady Macbeth. If you choose this particular option, you will need to discuss both characters in your essay
•Write a multi-paragraph essay that makes an argument about the significance of the witches, the witches and the supernatural, or evil in the play Macbeth.
•Write a multi-paragraph essay arguing that a specific theme which is important in the play is the most significant theme in understanding the play.
•Shakespeare set Macbeth in the Middle Ages but wrote it during the Renaissance. Using a character or theme from Macbeth, argue that your character or theme reflects historical elements of the Renaissance or Middle Ages such as the Great Chain of Being, religious beliefs, chivalry, position of women, Machiavellian philosophy, humanism, etc. You will need to fully explain the character or theme and fully explain the historical element you’re using for connection.
'•”Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” Lord Acton, 1887 Write a multi-paragraph essay discussing whether this statement is true or not with regard to Macbeth. You may want to integrate a discussion of Macbeth as a Machiavellian ruler into this essay.
•If you have an idea for another essay you would like to write, check with me.

What's Next: Thesis Statements and Shaping

American Studies: Vocab 4

OK guys, sorry for the confusion...your vocab test is this Wednesday. I will not assign the Huck Finn essay until we return on Monday. The vocab list is on my web page, which you can reach through the Skyline page.

Macbeth Seminar Make Up

If you were absent for the seminar, or if you did not prepare and were not allowed to participate, you may make up the seminar by typing a one page, double spaced answer to each of the 4 seminar questions. You should turn in a minimum of 4 pages typed. This is due by next Monday, Nov. 21.

European Studies: What's Next

Homework: Prepare for Socratic Seminar and finish grading your paragraph. Start studying for the Macbeth Test.

Schedule:
Monday: Final Macbeth Discussion (Socratic Seminar)
Tuesday: Macbeth Test
Wednesday: Vocab. Quiz and Research Time for Renaissance Ball
Thursday: Learn to Dance
Friday: Renaissance Ball

Socratic Seminar: Macbeth
Prepare for the seminar by answering the following questions. You must back up your answers with lines from the text and reference to the text. This will be your entrance slip to the Socratic Seminar on Monday. You will not be able to gain entry to the seminar without all of the questions completed.

What is the significance of the witches?
Who is a better or worse person, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth?
Which theme that you have been following is the most important to your understanding of the play? Explain.
What is the main message of Macbeth?

Macbeth Test
Test will be a combination of multiple choice, matching, quote identification and writing.

To study:
Review your notes taken as we read Macbeth. If you have your own copy which you have been annotating, read back through your annotations, paying attention to the most important lines, actions and concepts. As you are doing this, try to formulate possible test questions or guess which lines might end up in the quote ID section. Anything that was discussed and emphasized in class is more likely to end up on the test. Review your theme chart to remind yourself of how the various themes develop in the play. Some concepts you must be sure to review are the concept of the Great Chain of Being and how it is important to the play, the medieval and Renaissance mindsets, including beliefs about witches and about heaven and hell. Also know and understand the following Shakespearean terms and be able to identify them: soliloquy, aside, antithesis, imagery, dramatic irony.The written portion of the test will come from our Seminar on Monday.

American Studies: Whitman

Per. 3: Finish identifying poetic elements in Whitman and answer the following two questions in your journal:
How do you think Whitman decides when a line should end and when to continue it?
What evidence of transcendentalist philosophy do you find in Whitman's poem? (Find and list specific lines.)

Per. 1-3:
Sum up Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" in terms of both subject and style in a paragraph of thoughtful, errorless prose. Be sure to support what you are saying with examples from the poem. Typed, double spaced, due Monday.

What's Coming Up:
Monday Nov. 14: Be through Chapter 31 of Huck Finn (Quiz)
Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 15-16: Huck Finn, pro and con
Wednesday, Nov. 16: "Song of Yourself" due
Monday Nov. 21: Finished reading Huck Finn
Tuesday Nov. 22: Huck Finn Exam
Wednesday Nov. 23: Huck Finn Essay Assigned
Wednesday Dec. 7: Vocab 4 tested (NOTE Date Change!!)

Don't forget your independent reading! You must read either The Jungle, The Awakening or The Red Badge of Courage by Jan.3.

American Studies: What's Next

Due Wednesday: Per. 1/2, finish reading "Modern Poetry" and entering notes for each question into your journal; read and take notes on pp. 342-346 (this assignment will go in your HWP).
Wednesday: Walt Whitman and "Song of Myself"
Monday: Be finished with "Huck Finn" through Ch. 31
Wednesday, Nov. 23: Vocab Test 4
January 3: Independent Reading due (Red Badge of Courage, The Awakening or The Jungle)

European Studies: 10/31

Today I signed the theme chart and the Act 2 journal and collected extra credit. We discussed the journal, then watched Act 2 (motorcycle Macbeth.) Afterwards, students did a journal in class answering the following questions:
Has Macbeth changed from the end of Act I to the end of Act 2? Explain.
Has your opinion of him changed? Explain.
We had a discussion, then started Act 3, reading through the end of Macbeth's soliloquy in Scene 1.
No homework.

European Studies: 10/28

Due Monday: Act 2 Journal (see assignment below) and 6 new entries in your theme chart from Act 2.

Journal: Act 2
1. What did the servant see and hear?
Imagine that you are one of Macbeth’s servants at Inverness. You have watched Macbeth’s behaviour since he returned from the wars, and overheard snatches of what he and Lady Macbeth said. Write a letter home to tell what you know. Minimum ¾ page.

Read Act 2, Scene 4 yourself. Use notes in your text to figure out the meanings if you’re not sure…otherwise, use the context to figure out the meaning as clearly as you can. Answer the following questions:
List three examples of unnatural acts described by Ross and the old man which mirror the unnatural act of murdering the king.
Which theme do the above examples connect to? Explain.
Who does Macduff says “did this more than bloody deed”?
Ross asks Macduff, “What good could they pretend?” He means, how could they benefit from Duncan’s death. Macduff answers, “They were suborned.” What does he mean by this?
Who is being suspected of getting the two servants to murder the king? Why are they suspected?
What does Ross mean when he says, “’Gainst nature still.”?
What has happened to Macbeth?
Find out all you can about Scone and Iona (Colmkill). What might these two places symbolize, based on the historical information you find out?
Where do Macduff and Ross say they will go?

American Studies: Poe Day (Halloween)

To prepare for Poe Day on Monday, October 31st, read Poe's biography in your lit book, pages 260-261, then read The Fall of the House of Usher, pp. 264-279 and answer the following questions:
1. How would you describe the Ushers as a family? List a couple quotes here.
2. What is Roderick Usher like himself?
3. How is the house seen by the narrator? By Roderick Usher? What do you think the house might symbolize or represent?
4. To what extent has Roderick Usher's environment become a symbolic representation of his own morbid mindset?
5. HOw is the ending a classic scene of Gothic horror?
6. To have one's dreams come true is ordinarily supposed to be a desirable thing. Is it a desirable thing for Roderick Usher?
7. What is the doom on the House of Usher? Why does the story "work" as a tale of terror?

Due Tuesday, Nov. 1: be finished with Chapter 12 of Huck Finn and be ready for a quiz.
Next Vocab (List 3)...Friday Nov. 4.

American Studies: 10/27

Today we had a quiz on Chapters 2-5 of Huck Finn, corrected the grammar worksheet and practiced grammar.
Tomorrow: Grammar quiz and discussion of Chs. 1-5

By Tuesday: Read through Chapter 12

American Studies: 10/26

Read Huck Finn through Chapter 5 by tomorrow. You will have a quiz on the chapters tomorrow. While you are reading, you need to be making a list of characters and of settings/places and keeping notes on them. If you have your own copy of the book, you should be annotating the reading; if you don't have your own copy, use post-its to make notes in the margins and mark important passages, or keep a reading journal, noting down important ideas, thoughts, questions as you read.

European Studies: Mon. and Tues.

Monday: I stamped the homework on Scene 7; then we went over the Scene together and discussed it. For the quiz, students needed to be prepared to find examples of "fair is foul and fair" in Act I; they needed to be able to identify, for six important passages, who said them, who they were said to, and what was happening in the play when they were said; they needed to know what dramatic irony was and be able to find an example of it. Add 6 entries to theme chart.
Tuesday: Act I Quiz. Make-ups must be completed by next Monday. Pronoun-Antecedent agreement sheet was stamped and gone over. Pronoun Use reference sheet was handed out...keep for future reference. Plot Notes handout was given out...students are required to fill in the sections corresponding with "Exposition," which correlates to Act I.

American Studies: 10/21

Grammar Practice sheet due Monday; Bring Huck Finn Monday
HWP due Monday: (see list below)
Authors Chart: Bryant, Emerson, Thoreau (NS)
Romanticism Videos Qs. (S)
American Romanticism Notes (S)
“Thanatopsis” Qs. (S)
New England Trans. Video Notes (NS)
“Nature” Analysis (S)
Self-Reliance Prep. (S)
Walden Notes (S)
“Resistance to Civil Gov’t.” Crit. Rdg. (S)
Parent Interview (S)
Fishbowl Prep. AND NOTES (S)
Journal due Monday:(should include the following...)
"Opinion"
9/28 "Thanatopsis"
10/4 Hudson River School
10/12 Affluenza Intro.
10/13 Quote Response (Stamped)
10/17 Affluenza Reflection
Parent Interview Reflection (Stamped)

American Studies: 10/20

Don't forget...you have a vocab. test tomorrow!!!

European Studies: 10/20

Today we read Act I, Scenes 4 and 5. Scene 4 revolves around the idea of "fair is foul and foul is fair;" appearances can be deceiving. Macbeth is confounded when Duncan proclaims his son Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, the title of the heir to the throne. He moves closer to thinking about acting to become king. Duncan will head to Inverness, Macbeth's castle, to cement the bonds of their close relationship. In Scene 5, we meet Lady Macbeth. She is reading a letter from Macbeth about his encounter with the 3 witches and what followed. We find out that Lady Macbeth thinks her husband is ambitious, but too kind and too afraid of damnation to do what needs to be done. She gives a speech which makes her sound like a witch, where she summons up the dark forces to help "unsex her," making her cruel and ruthless like a man so she can commit murder. Like Macbeth, she doesn't want anyone to know about any evil deeds, though. Macbeth enters and tells her Duncan is arriving...Lady Macbeth tells him that his face gives him away, and he needs to "look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it."

Homework (due tomorrow): ( I gave each student a large sheet of paper to create this chart on)

Theme chart:
Choose 5 themes to follow through the play from the themes listed in your packet. Find lines from Macbeth that relate to each theme. You should have lots of lines for each theme. You may just write the line numbers instead of the lines. After the lines (or line numbers), write an explanation of the lines and what they reveal about the theme using complete sentences.

Sample entry:
FATE VERSUS FREE WILL
1.4.158-159
In these lines, Macbeth says that if it’s fated for him to be king, fate will make him king and he won’t have to do anything at all. Macbeth realizes he has the free will to act (and kill Duncan) or to choose to wait and leave everything to fate.

For tomorrow, choose all five themes and you need two entries for each theme...

European Studies: 10/17

We read and discussed Act I, Scenes 1 and 2; we brainstormed the qualities exhibited by Macbeth in Act I Scene 2, and talked about the contrast between the two scenes.
HW: Write a newspaper account (past tense, 3rd person, objective) about the battle described in Act I, scene 2. It should LOOK like a newspaper story as well (typed...)

European Studies: 10/13

Sonnet homework is due Monday, Oct. 17. It includes: Petrarch: Work with the Sonnets, Shakespeare Sonnet Questions, and your copy of your class sonnet
Monday: Act I, Scene i Performances and Act I, Scene i Journal due
Journal: Act I, Scene i: (due Monday)
How does this scene seize the interest of the audience?
What atmosphere is created?
What is the conflict that is introduced?
What seeds of catastrophe are sown?
What major theme is established? (you may look over the themes in your packet)
What prediction does the scene make about what the play will be about?
Also for Monday: Read the pages in your Macbeth packet that have to do with witches and history.

American Studies: 10/13

Yesterday's journal, if you missed it:
1. When do you have money to spend? How do you earn the money you spend?
2. Do you prefer to spend your money right away?
3. What kinds of things would you save for?
4. Do you buy things only when you need them?
5. How do you differentiate between what you "want" and what you "need?"
6. Do you shop when you have to, or do you shop for other reasons?
7. Do you have time to yourself? How do you spend it?
8. How do you get to the places you want to go? How would you get there if you could?
You don't have to copy the questions, but by your answers it should be clear what the question was.
Monday: Parent/adult interview due; complete Thursday's "Walden" journal (below), keeping in mind whether Walden is relevant today.
Write a minimum 3/4 page response to this quote in your journal…tape or glue this quote in above your response.
“The nation itself, with all its so-called internal improvements, which, by the way are all external and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, cluttered with furniture and tripped up by its own traps, ruined by luxury and heedless expense, by want of calculation and a worthy aim, as the million households in the land; and the only cure for it, as for them, is in a rigid economy, a stern and more than Spartan simplicity of life and elevation of purpose. It lives too fast. Men think that it is essential that the Nation have commerce, and export ice, and talk through a telegraph, and ride thirty miles an hour, without a doubt, whether they do or not; but whether we should live like baboons or like men, is a little uncertain. If we do not get out sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to the work, but go to tinkering upon our lives to improve them, who will build railroads?” Henry David Thoreau, Walden
For Tuesday: Read "Resistance to Civil Government" (often known as "Civil Disobedience") in your textbook, pages 249 to 254
Thoreau wrote this piece after he spent a night in jail as a result of refusing to pay his poll tax to protest the Mexican-American war.
You need to take critical reading notes on the piece.
What's next:
Monday: Affluenza
Tuesday: Discuss Affluenza and Civil Disobedience
Wednesday: Civil Disobedience
Thursday: Romanticism/Transcendentalism Fishbowl
Friday: Test on Vocab. List 2
Monday 10/24: Start The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

American Studies: 10/11

Today we discussed Emerson's "Self-Reliance." Grammar (Subject-Verb) is due tomorrow. Walden by Thoreau must be read and notes completed by Thursday (lit. book, pages 233-244). Notes on the following questions:
What does Thoreau say about Nature?
What is he trying to teach his readers?
What is he critiquing?
What transcendentalist principles (as we've learned about through reading Emerson) are evident in Thoreau's writings?
Write down important quotes you find and let me know why you think they're important.

European Studies: 10/11

We completed our sonnet mini-unit today. If you didn't take the quiz today, you must make it up by next Tuesday. Tomorrow is vocab. quiz 10/12. You'll get a new list tomorrow with words for the next four weeks. Your pronoun worksheet is also due tomorrow. On Thursday we start Macbeth...bring your books!

European Studies 10/7

Both classes met the sonnet challenge!!
Memorize sonnet 116 for Monday...sonnet review on Monday. Sonnet quiz on Tuesday, and then we will start Macbeth. And don't forget...you have a vocabulary quiz on Wednesday.

European Studies: 10/4

Homework: On an 11 by 17 piece of white paper, take your assigned sonnet, read and think about it until you understand it, then illustrate your sonnet like a comic strip, remembering to put the words of your sonnet next to each illustration. Each quatrain will have its own section and the couplet will have the final section. Due Thursday, October 6th. If you were absent, choose any but the first two Shakespearean sonnets to work on.

Don't forget: study vocab. for your quiz tomorrow!

American Literature: 10/4

Today: Finished Thanatopsis; Hudson River School paintings (journal entry)
Homework: Take your squares of the painting and enlarge each square to 4 inches by 4 inches. Use any artistic medium you like (watercolor, crayon, etc.) and reproduce your square, copying your square's letter and number onto the back. Due Tues. Oct. 11. Have fun!
Period 1 and 2: you can view your painting at this link...
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/C/cole/cole_clove.jpg.html

Tomorrow: Intro. to Transcendentalism

European Studies: 10/3

Sonnet performances finished.
Begin in class and finish at home: Petrarch: Work with the Sonnets (HWP)

What's next:
Tuesday: English sonnets
Wednesday: Vocabulary 10/5
Thursday: Finish English Sonnets
Friday: The Sonnet Challenge! Can you write a sonnet?
Monday: Sonnet Quiz
Tuesday: Macbeth...

American Studies 10/3

Essays were peer edited today. Save your draft and peer edit sheet for process points. Final draft of essay is due next Monday, October 10th. Be sure to give your essay an appropriate, creative title...NOT "Personal Essay!"

HW: Thanatopsis Questions (HWP)

What's Next:
Tues. : Finish Thanatopsis; Romantic Art; Intro. to Transcendentalism
Wednesday: More Transcendentalism
Thursday and Friday: Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Nature"

European Studies: Novels

For those parents who wanted to purchase novels for their students and never got the form we sent home, here are the novels we will read this year:
MacBeth by William Shakespeare (coming up soon!)
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (in textbook, but you may want to have your own copy)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Night by Elie Wiesel
1984 by George Orwell

American Studies: Vocabulary

Your next Vocab. Test will be on Friday, October 21st. Vocabulary Lesson 2 is on my website. Learn the roots, prefixes and suffixes as well as the words.

American Studies: Novels

It's always a good idea to have your own copies of the novels we read in class. That way you can practice your critical reading skills and prepare much more easily for class discussion, papers and tests. The novels we will be reading this year are:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

We will also read The Crucible, which is in our textbook.

American Studies: Independent Reading

Independent Reading choices for first Semester:
Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Have your novel read when you return from Winter Break on January 3rd and be prepared to write an in-class essay about your novel. The prompt will ask you to relate the novel to our studies in class in some way. The essay test will be open book. Happy Reading!

American Studies: Thanatopsis, 9/29

Poetry packets were handed out today. Save this because you will use it throughout the year. Journal entry: Predict what the poem Thanatopsis will be about based on the meaning of the Greek words which made up its title: Thanatos (death) plus Opsis (seeing).
Review of Romanticism Introduction, and notes added to author chart on William Cullen Bryant.

Tomorrow: Vocabulary Test 1
Monday: Draft of Personal Essay is due; bring Lit. Books to class (one for every 2 people please)

American Studies Extra Credit Opportunities

Seattle Art Museum (downtown)
Exhibit: The American Landscape's "Quieter Spirit": Early paintings by Frederic Edwin Church
The exhibit runs until October 16th.
To earn extra credit (20 pts. in English and History) you need to visit the exhibit, take notes on what you see, save your ticket stub, and write a one page minimum review of the exhibit, making connections to both American Romanticism and to Lewis and Clark and the westward movement. Turn in notes, review and ticket stub. Full credit will be given to those who do a good job on the notes and review.
Intiman Theater
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck runs from October 7 to November 13. Tickets for age 25 and under are only $10. Go to the play, save your ticket stub, go home and write a one page minimum review which explains what you learned about the Great Depression and about the novel, Grapes of Wrath, and explains what you liked or didn't like about the play. Full credit will be given to those who do a good job on the review and turn in both review and ticket stub

American Studies 9/27

Homework: Read pages 138-150 (Romanticism) in your lit. book. If you were absent today, you'll need to get the Romanticism video worksheet and get notes from a classmate for the part you missed.
Journal Make Up: Read the following poem and write a reflection on it.
Opinion, by Baron Wormser
Halfway to work and Merriman already has told me
What he thinks about the balanced budget, the Mets’
Lack of starting pitching, the dangers of displaced
Soviet nuclear engineers, soy products, and diesel cars.
I look out the window and hope I'll see a swan.
I hear they’re bad-tempered but I love their necks
And how they glide along so sovereignly.
I never take the time to drive to a pond
And spend an hour watching swans. What
Would happen if I heeded the admonitions of beauty?
When I look over at Merriman, he's telling Driscoll
That the President doesn't know what he's doing
With China. "China," I say out loud but softly.
I go back to the window. It's started snowing.

What is going on in the poem? Who is the speaker? What is the situation? What is being thought of and/ or discussed? What is the major conflict presented in this poem? Who do you relate more to, the "I" or Merriman. Why?

European Fishbowl Make-Up

Write a one-page (minimum) typed, double-spaced response to four of the fishbowl questions using evidence from the readings and from history class. (You'll turn in a minimum of four pages.) Due by Monday the 3rd.

Questions:
Should strong measures be taken to end the alleged corruption in the Church?
Does the Social Structure of the Middle Ages apply to CT?
The status of women in society
The understanding/interpretation of the code of chivalry
Does Chaucer have a positive or negative view of society?What view of love or romance is portrayed in CT?

American Studies

What's up next....
Tuesday: Intro. to Romanticism
Wednesday: Thanatopsis
Thursday: Thanatopsis
Friday: Vocabulary Test

European Studies

What's coming up:
Tuesday: Middle Ages Exam
Wednesday: Vocabulary Quiz 9/28; Middle Ages HWP due; turn in your journal
Thursday and Friday: Petrarch and Italian sonnets...va bene!

European Studies: Fishbowl

Prepare answers to the fishbowl questions that would make sense for your character. If you need to reread Chaucer's description of your character in the prologue, use the General Prologue Link to the right. Be sure to base your answers in what we have learned in class and in the text. Fishbowl is Monday.

Middle Ages Exam is Tuesday
What will be on the test?

Marie de France: dates, what she wrote, what we know about her, language she wrote in
Medieval genres, especially the lai
Courtly love and chivalry
Bisclavret: plot, symbolism, message
Chevrefoil: plot, symbolism, message
Expository paragraph: how to write
Chaucer: dates, language he wrote in, his social class, why he is important
Canterbury tales: Language it was written in, when in the Middle Ages it was written, organization of tales, premise of story: who is traveling, where are they traveling, why are they traveling, what game will they play while traveling?
Thomas a Beckett: know why he is significant
Wife of Bath’s tale: plot, main ideas or themes, message
CT Characters: how did they fit into the social system, what did Chaucer think of them, what critique might Chaucer have been making about medieval society through his depiction of these characters

Vocabulary: vernacular, frame story, satire

American Studies: Exam Monday

Fill out your Conversational Round Table. You need both ideas and QUOTES to support your ideas. Bring it to class on Monday. You will need it for your test, and you will turn it in with your test.
Unit 1 Exam
Be familiar with all the authors and writings we have discussed this first unit, as well as Calvinist Doctrine and Rationalism/Deism. The exam will include a multiple choice section, a short critical reading and essay, and a dialogue you will write based on your Conversational Round Table.

Homework Packet and Journal are also due Monday.

European Studies

Your Canterbury Tales group work on your character is due tomorrow. You will have the first 15 minutes of class tomorrow to finish preparing your poster.

What's Coming Up:
Friday, 9/23: Canterbury Tales group work due
Monday, 9/26:Canterbury Tales Fishbowl
Tuesday, 9/27: Middle Ages Exam
Wednesday, 9/28: Vocab Quiz
Thursday: Begin Sonnets!

American Studies

What's Coming Up
Friday 9/23: Prepare for Unit Exam
Monday9/26: Unit 1 Exam
Tuesday 9/27: Begin study of Romanticism and Transcendentalism
Friday 9/30: Vocab Test #1
Monday 10/3: First draft of Personal Essay due in class for peer editing

American Lit: "Sinners in the Hands"

"Personal Narrative" critical reading was stamped and discussed. We then listened to "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and compared the two. You selected 5 images from the sermon to add to your list of Puritan images in your journal; you then categorized the images in 3 categories, Nature, the Divine, and the Individual.
Homework: In Journal: 1 page total
1) How would you summarize what the Puritans were all about on the basis of all we've read and learned about them (poetry, "city on a hill" speech, "Personal Narrative," "Sinners," and doctrine notes.)
2) Contrast your chart of Puritan images with the Native American chart. Compare the world views of the Puritans and the Native Americans.
3) Predict what would happen if a group of modern day Americans were subjected to the ideals and code of behavior of the Puritans.

vocabulary
Print your first vocab lesson from Mrs. Heldt's website: Alvey's Vocab. #1, by Thursday.

European Lit: 9/19

Journal entry was stamped and coats of arms collected.
Please look at your peer reviews on your paragraph at turnitin.com...you will be writing and submitting a revision of your paragraph soon.
Today: Discussion of Wife of Bath's Tale; We will also begin the General Prologue today.

American Studies: 9/16

Homework: Critically read "Personal Narrative." Finish your peer reviews at turnitin.com. By 11:59 PM Sunday night, you should have reviewed four papers. If you were absent, you must complete your reviews by this time...this can't be made up and will be a participation grade. Log in to American Studies 3 , click on PR, review the two papers that have been assigned to you plus two of your choice (click on the little yellow pencil to do those two.) Don't forget to click submit after typing each answer, or your work won't be saved.

VOCABULARY

Your first vocabulary lesson of the year needs to be printed off Mrs. Heldt's website. Go to Classroom Webs on the SHS website, and click on Alvey's Vocab. Print off the lesson and start reading and studying it. We will go through it in class on Thursday or Friday, and your test will be Friday September 30th.

European Lit.: September 15

TURNITIN.COM
It is your responsibility to complete 4 peer reviews on our "First Paragraph" assignment. You have until Sunday night (11:59 PM) to do this. Login and go to your class portfolio...click on PR. Two paragraphs have been assigned to you, and you may select two to review. If you have trouble, try the help menu. All the instructions you will need are available.
Be sure to click submit after answering each question...otherwise you will have to type your answers again!!

As of 12:00 AM Monday morning, you may read the reviews of your paragraph. Then you need to revise your paragraph. You may submit your revision to the "Revision" assignment any time after Tuesday at 2:30...it is due on Thursday by midnight!

What's Next
We will be studying Chaucer's Canterbury Tales...stay tuned for more details.

American Studies: Sept. 15-19

Critical Reading of "Personal Narrative," keeping in mind the questions listed on the board in class, is due Monday and will be discussed then.
Turnitin.com Peer Reviews
Tomorrow in the lab you will review 4 pieces of writing from the "Phyllis Wheatley" paragraph at turnitin.com. If you log in and go to "PR" under the "Phyllis Wheatley" assignment, you should have four pieces ready to evaluate...two are assigned to you and you get to choose two. Follow the rubric. You will be graded on your feedback. Make sure to click "submit" whenever you write comments -- after each one -- or you'll lose the comment and have to retype.

If not completed in class, reviews must be completed by 11:59 Sunday night...the reviews on your paragraph will be available for you to read on Monday. Go over them and then revise your original paragraph and submit it to the "Revision" assignment by Thursday, Sept. 22.

Book Sales!

Please return your book sales form signed by a parent tomorrow if you wish to purchase your own copies of the novels we will read this year. I highly recommend that you purchase your own copies. This allows you to read critically and to annotate, which in turn makes it much easier for you to write essays and study for tests.

European Studies: Heraldry

Paragraphs are due to turnitin.com. If you have not yet submitted yours, please submit it tonight!
Vocab. list number one was distributed. It has the vocab. words for the first four weeks. Your first quiz is next Wednesday, Sept. 21.
Heraldry: We discussed the importance of symbols in the middle ages; students took notes on heraldry, and were assigned to create their own coat of arms based on the rules of heraldry. If you missed class today, pick up a handout tomorrow. Your coat of arms is due Monday, Sept. 19.

American Studies: Puritans

Block: Today students picked up a lit. book and a Writer's Inc. from the cage. Lit. books are currently in the room, but will be taken home Friday to be covered.
We finished reading Equiano and discussed the connections between him and Wheatley. Then we began discussing the Puritans, another of the "founding identities" in American history. Students took notes on Calvinist doctrine (the philosophy underlying Puritanism). Homework: Puritan poetry, due tomorrow.

Split-block: Today students picked up a lit. book and a Writer's Inc. from the cage. Students are required to take their Lit. books home, cover them, and return them by Friday to be kept in the classroom for the time. We finished reading Equiano and discussed the connections between him and Wheatley. Then we began discussing the Puritans, another of the "founding identities" in American history. Students began taking notes on Calvinist doctrine (the philosophy underlying Puritanism.) These notes will be completed tomorrow.

European Studies: Courtly Love

Today I stamped the work you did in your journal over the weekend and had you add line references, citing evidence from Chevrefoil for each "rule of courtly love" you found evidence for. We collected the rules on the whiteboard, and you did a good job of defining courtly love based on the story of Tristan and Iseult.
We reviewed the structure of the expository paragraph (thesis, evidence or support, analysis (explaining the connection between the support and the thesis) and concluding sentence. We agreed that for a strong paragraph, you would need at least two pieces of evidence.
Your assignment: Write an expository paragraph taking a stand on the following issue: Is our modern view of romance influenced by the medieval tradition of courtly love, yes or no?

Write your paragraph and submit it to turnitin.com....we will be doing a peer review assignment on Thursday in the lab, but your paragraph must be submitted by tomorrow.

American Studies: Equiano

Today we discussed Phyllis Wheatley's poem. Your paragraphs should be submitted on turnitin.com...we will be doing a peer review assignment with them on Thursday, and you will then revise them.
Today we read most of the textbook section of Olaudah Equiano's "Interesting Narrative..." (page 57 and on) You will check out your textbooks tomorrow, so please bring an ASB card.

Turnitin Codes

In case you've lost or forgotten them, here are your turnitin codes:
Period 1: American Studies 1, 1346952, english
Period 2: American Studies 2, 1346953, english
Period 3: American Studies 3, 1346954, english
Period 5: European Studies 1, 1346956, english
Period 6: European Studies 2, 1346957, english

American Studies: Phyllis Wheatley and HW

Complete the assignment: define the italicized words, once you understand the poem, write a reaction to it on the back; then type up an expository paragraph analyzing the poem. Decide what the poem is about, and use examples from the text to support your interpretation. Bring a copy (typed, double-spaced) to class, and submit a copy at turnitin.com as well.

Also: Those who have their journal in class on Monday will get points.

What it means to be an American visual due Monday as well!

Welcome to European Studies

Welcome to European Studies!
Today we discussed love and romance...our views of them and how they differ, and what images or words best represent love for us. We also had a short discussion about Shakespeare's view of love in Romeo and Juliet and whether it was similar to our view. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the Renaissance, but you might be surprised to see that some of his ideas come from the Middle Ages. As we start studying European Literature, we will be looking for the answers to the following questions: what was the medieval view of love? What connections are there, if any, between our view of love and the medieval view of love?

Be sure to sign up at turnitin.com, and get yourself a journal (spiral or composition book) for English by Monday!

Welcome to American Studies

Welcome! I hope you will find this page handy during the course of the year. Today in class we discussed the question, "What does it mean to be American?" We started with our own ideas, then read and discussed a number of articles written by people with varying viewpoints.
Homework: Create a visual that takes our discussion into account and represents not only what being American means to you, but some of the new ideas raised in class. Be creative! Don't forget to write an explanation of your visual on the back. Due Monday.

Also, the last day to return the signature portion of your syllabus for credit is tomorrow, Friday the 9th.

Journals (a spiral notebook or composition book of some kind) must be brought to class by Monday.

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet Act III

We took Vocab. Quiz 3.3 today...this is the final vocab. quiz of the year.
We finished reading Act III today. A term that was introduced and discussed is "dramatic irony." This is when the audience knows something that the characters onstage don't know. We watched Act III in the movie as well.
Homework due tomorrow:
1. Fill in Plot Notes
2. Characters’ motives: List each character who appears in this act. In your journal, write a single sentence for each which begins ‘What I want most is…’.
3. In your journal: With which of the characters do you most identify? Write down some of the reasons why you feel in tune with that character.
With which character do you least identify? – and why?

American Studies: Adjective Clauses

Today we peer edited "This I Believe" essays. Final drafts are due next Monday, stapled to top of edited draft. Revise your essay a couple times this week focusing on word choice, fluency, organization, and just making sure that you like it.
We finished correcting the Noun Clauses worksheet. Today I introduced adjective clauses: these are clauses that act as an adverb in the sentence, answering the questions where?when?why?how?to what extent? They often come first in the sentence, and they begin with a subordinating conjunction, a list of which you can find in section 746 of your Writer's Inc. Worksheet must be completed by tomorrow.
Book club books must be finished by Friday...Sixties Museum is tomorrow!

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet

Today we finished Act II, and watched the movie of Act II. Homework: Journal: Glance through Scenes 1-6. Five are written in verse, one in prose. Why do you think Shakespeare changed his style from verse to prose in that particular scene? Next, read aloud the last word only of each line in Scene 3. Then read the last word only of each line in Scene 2. You'll make some interesting discoveries. Be prepared to discuss them.
Also: study for a quiz on plot, character and language. Go back over Acts I and II: know the main events, the characters, oxymoron, antithesis, sonnet, couplet, quatrain, rhyme scheme, personification, pun.
Email me three possible quiz questions and their answers (this is a homework assignment) at lunde@issaquah.wednet.edu
I will use the best questions on the quiz tomorrow!

American Studies: This I Believe

"This I Believe" final essay was introduced today. A link to the project at NPR is included in the links on this page. You will find more models there. A draft of your essay is due June 6th for peer editing. Final copy of essay is due June 13th. Have fun with this! I am looking forward to hearing you on the radio as I drive to work next year...

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet

Today we read Act II, Scenes 2 and 3. Homework is Activity 2 on the homework sheet given out yesterday: Go back and reread the Balcony Scene (Scene 2). For each 20 lines, choose what you feel are the 3 strongest words. You will end up with 27 words, some of which may be the same. Put these words into a short poem or some sort of diagram. Attach a short paragraph explaining your poem or diagram. This activity should NOT be done in your journal, but on a separate piece of paper!!

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet

Today we finished reading Act I and watched the movie of Act I. HW: In your journal, make a bulleted list of the important events that happen in Act I, Scenes 2-5. How would you characterize the Nurse, Juliet, Lady Capulet and Capulet? List lines or parts of lines that back up what you think.
Also: On line or in the library: find out who the following tragic females Mercutio will speak of in Act 2 Scene 4 are: Dido, Cleopatra, Helen, Hero and Thisbe. Take notes on each of these women (will be collected in your homework packet.)

Vocab. Notecards were collected today

American Studies, May 27th Update

If you were absent, make up Vocab. Quiz 9/1 the day you return!
Book Club Meeting #2 was successfully conducted: homework is to continue reading...

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet

Yesterday we read through and discussed Act I, Scene 1. We discussed oxymorons, and students had an assignment where they had to identify the oxymorons in speeches of Romeo and Juliet, then illustrate one of Shakespeare's oxymorons and make up one of their own and illustrate it on the other side. Students were also required to list the important things that happen in this scene in their journals, and describe the characters of Tybalt, Benvolio and Romeo so far, listing phrases or lines that back up their decisions.
Today we read Act I, Scenes 2-4. We discussed the characters of the Nurse and Juliet. We also discussed sonnets and 'extended metaphors,' with reference to Lady Capulet's description of Paris, and 'puns', with reference to Scene 4, where Mercutio and Benvolio are punning to try to get Romeo to cheer up. Then we tried to guess what Romeo's bad dream might have been that is giving him such a foreboding feeling about the evening to come (lines 106-111).
Homework:
Until he sees Juliet, Romeo believes he is in love with Rosaline. Write a few entries in Rosaline's diary. How does she feel about Romeo's infatuation? What did she say as she kept him at a distance (see Act I, Scene 1, lines 199-215) refusing his advances? Remember, she's Juliet's cousin, so she's a Capulet too! (Romeo is a Montague)
Credit will be given for creativity and authenticity!
Due Tuesday, May 31, along with flashcards

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet

Today we covered the Prologue of the play. You should be able to identify the who, what, where, when and why of the story of Romeo and Juliet by reading the prologue. Students also learned about iambic pentameter and practiced writing it; they learned the pattern for a Shakespearean sonnet (the prologue is an example) and need to write a parody of the Prologue following sonnet form by tomorrow, May 26th.
Instructions:
The quickest way to learn to write a sonnet is to have one in front of you and to write a parody of it. (A parody is a funny version imitating the real thing.) Turn to the Prologue and complete the following sonnet by carefully fitting the last twelve lines to the rhythm and rhyme scheme of Shakespeare’s language:
Two classrooms, quite unlike in atmosphere,
In our school building, (where I write this down),
….
Remember to write in iambic pentameter: 5 unstressed syllables alternating with 5 stressed syllables to make a 10 syllable line (tap to check the rhythm.)
Remember to follow the sonnet rhyme scheme:
ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG.

American Studies: Grammar

Students took notes on the 4 sentence types and practiced writing sentences of their own for each type. See 759 in your Writer's Inc. or get the notes from another student, and be sure you know how to identify and write each type of sentence.

World Studies: Vocabulary

Vocab. Flashcards 51-60 due Tuesday. Vocab. Quiz words 41-60 on Wednesday, 6/1.

World Studies: Romeo and Juliet

Today students checked out copies of the play in the book room. If you don't have your own copy, you will need to arrange with Ms. Eide in the library to check out a copy when you return. You will need to have your Romeo and Juliet in class every day.
We started out by taking a look at the Globe Theater and doing an online Scavenger Hunt about it. The link for the Scavenger Hunt is listed here on my page: you will need to pick up a copy of the purple handout from the gray file box and complete it if you were absent. This page will be in your homework packet.
Shakespeare created a lot of words and phrases that we use every day: he was also a master of the insult. Using the links on this page, we practiced insulting one another, then created insults of our own. In pairs, students created a short skit using the insults they had created. Skits were performed and collected for participation points. If you were absent, pick up the handout called "What Did you Call Me?" from the grayfile box and complete it; use the links on this page to check out some insults and create 5-6 of your own. Then write a short skit, using the skit on "What Did you Call Me" as a model, and turn it in for credit. Save the handout for your homework packet.

American Studies: Robert Lowell, "For the Union Dead"

Today we discussed your conclusions about the New York School poets. We came to the conclusion that their poems are about the poet setting off for a destination without knowing exactly where he/she is headed, so they are about the process of writing the poem. We also decided that the New York School poets are indirect: they get at their message sideways instead of hitting it head on. They also seem to stand at a distance from tragedy, not wanting to address it directly. Their poems are personal, but they're not confessional: not exposing all your emotions for everyone to see.
Today we moved on to the Confessional Poets. The New York School poets didn't particularly like the confessional poets. They felt the poetry was too personal. The Confessional poets were influenced by Allen Ginsberg and the other Beats. Robert Lowell was one of the first. Read his bio in your Lit. book (page 948) or on poets.org. We read his poem, "For the Union Dead," (written in 1964) in the lit. book, pages 950-952. This is a poem that you must read more than once to understand. You should also read the background information on page 949, and the captions under the pictures on pages 950 and 952. After analyzing and discussing the poem, students were asked to make a journal entry explaining what they understood the message of the poem to be. Robert Lowell influenced other confessional poets such as Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath: we will look at them later in the week.

American Studies: New York School Poets

We discussed Frank O'Hara's poem "The Day Lady Died" today, as an example of a poem of the New York School, the same artistic movement Jackson Pollock belonged to. Homework assigned was to read another poem by O'Hara as well as a short essay about him, and analyze the poem yourself, coming up with a definition of the New York School movement. If you were absent today, handouts are available under "Monday" in the blue bin. This assignment is due tomorrow.
Also, please bring Lit. books to class tomorrow...we will be using them for the next few days in class!

World Studies: Progress Reports

Progress reports were handed out today...get them signed and return them on Monday for 5 pts. If you were absent, be sure to pick up your progress report from the gray filebox in the classroom when you return.

American Studies: Book Club Meeting #1

Book club meetings went well today; I checked off preparation, both notes and discussion questions. If you missed the meeting, be sure to get your preparation checked off when you return. Students needed to write up a detailed account of the most interesting topic the group discussed in their journals. Weekend homework is to keep reading your books...
Vocab. Quiz 8/3 happened...if you missed it, you need to make it up the day you return!

American Studies Vocabulary

Vocab. Schedule for the rest of the year:
Vocab. 8/3, Friday, May 20
Vocab. 9/1, Friday, May 27
Vocab. 9/2, Friday, June 3
Vocab. 9/3, Friday, June 10
Lists are under American Lit., Handouts on my webpage

American Lit.: Contemporary Lit Book Clubs

Book Club meetings will take place on the following dates: Friday, May 20; Friday, May 27; Friday, June 3; Wednesday, June 8. Be caught up on your reading by each meeting. Don't forget to document your reading as required, and be prepared with quality discussion questions for each meeting.