The Wife

2: After our little drill, in which Anna became the designated teacher for me, we returned to class and finished our analysis of "The Wife's Lament," noting repeating symbols, characterization, and themes. In addition, we clarified the Anglo-Saxon ideologies of community, warrior culture, and pagan societies. To end the hour, you received your New Historicist essay assignment. For your essay, you will select one of the Anglo-Saxon ideologies (community, warrior, storytellers, monster, epic hero, etc.) and analyze its initial meaning and its reinterpretation via at least two texts. The first draft will be needed for Thursday's block class; the final draft will be needed on October 14. Fill out the chart this weekend as a means of organizing your thoughts for the essay.

4: Check out second hour's synopsis. The only difference is that you had a vocabulary quiz to start the hour instead of a lockdown drill.

The Performances of Grendel

While second hour had a partner vocab quiz, fourth hour had a review of unit 3, which means their quiz will be tomorrow.

To liven up a humdrum analysis of Grendel, you performed dramatic interpretations of a scene from the text - these scenes involving the dragon (metaphorical or real), Unferth's brand of heroism, Wealtheow and her assault, the differentiation of legitimate violence and violence, the priests' and their brand of religious fervor, and the arrival of that muscular man, The Stranger. While it would be fun to act out novels and do nothing else in class, we actually used each scene as a starting point for analysis of the text and the chapter's main ideas, motifs, and whatnot.

The bell stopped our final thoughts in fourth hour, so if you have something else to add regarding the cessation of Grendel's life, prepare your observations now. Meanwhile, second hour ladies, we may have a delay during tomorrow's class, but that does not mean we can't analyze "The Wife's Lament" and the two interpretations that are present.

Your First Box Prompt

While AP Lang concentrates on full 40-minute prompts, AP Lit mixes up the action by using box prompts throughout the year to practice analytical skills on a smaller scale. 

What is a box prompt? It is a series of boxes organizing an essay in which you compose a thesis in box one; select three literary elements, jot down related evidence, and thoroughly analyze the element in regards to the prompt in boxes 2-4; and write down 1-2 sentences for a conclusion in box 5. In essence, you are organizing an essay without writing an entire essay. 

Today, you completed a box prompt for a passage in Grendel. Since this is your first box prompt, I gave your 35-40 minutes (the rest of the hour) to work on your analysis. Normally, you will only have 25 minutes to do so. Any absentees, you will have to wait for a hard copy as I do not have a digital one for you. 

On Thursday, we will discuss the rest of chapters 5-7, and I will share my epiphany regarding your box prompt passage. Then, we will analyze the remainder of Grendel -- just wait until you see how Gardner organizes later chapters! (Personally, I think Grendel is trying out different narrative styles to tell his story.) In addition, we have one more text, a poem, to read prior to your first big essay assignment. 

2: Vocab Quiz on Thursday

4: Vocab Review on Thursday

Grendel Angst

After vocabulary -- which is in need of review for some of you -- we spent the hour discussing chapters 1-4 of the Grendel, the text where stream-of-consciousness, mommy issues, and epic similes abound on each page. Other than learning a whole new form of vernacular from humanity, Grendel has picked up on man's hypocrisy, want of immortality through legendary deeds, and overall violence towards each other, animals, and nature. That's a lot to take in for a teenage monster! Today's discussion was for participation points, so you will need to show me your notes upon returning to class. 

See you tomorrow for chapters 5-7. We will be doing something a little different. 

And for those of you just itching to know what will be coming up in the next few days, your first outside of class essay assignment and a poetry writing prompt will occur very shortly. After our epic heroes, it will be all poetry, all the time. Yes, that would also mean multiple choice is on the horizon too!

Hounds and Fawns

With only 40 minutes, we were much more focused with our discussions today.

1. Vocab Experts
2. Discuss the Iliad, breaking up into groups of 3-4 to analyze the epic similar of the hound and fawn and how this impacts the remaining conflict of Hector & Achilles, the role of gods and goddesses, the differing perspectives of war victory from our two protagonists, and the tones of our narrator to the the ever lithe and handsome Hector and the brilliant and taunting Achilles. (Using polysyndeton today -- teaching it next week in AP Lang, so I guess it is on my mind.)
3. Grendel - you received the book. Here is an online link if you were absent: http://pkhedar.uiwap.com/Ebooks.txt/Gardner-Grendel.txt
4. Presented your second book card.

Make sure you read Chapters 1-4 of Grendel.

And, I forgot to remind fourth hour, you are more than welcome to store your big green AP Lit books in my room when you do not need them.

Gilgameshing

After vocabulary today, we finished overanalyzing the first 8 sections of Beowulf, focusing on the building motifs of light and dark, the juxtaposition of Grendel and Beowulf, and all that blood, bones, and gore left behind. Then, we underanalyzed the ending, looking more at the continuing motifs and ideologies and feeling the love for Grendel's mother.

Next, we used post it note questions to focus small group discussion on Gilgamesh and its three characters, epic similes, and motifs.

For homework, you still have your second book card due tomorrow. You also need to read The Iliad pgs. 65-76 (I think -- I am without a book at this current moment).

GRENDEL IS COMING TOMORROW!

Scapegoats & Brad Pitt

2: Today's class began with the drama of screaming goats, thanks to our vocabulary word "scapegoat" and Geico's obvious ode to the much blamed animal. After our vocabulary, we analyzed Beowulf - although, I suppose we spend as much time gathering pathos for the much maligned Grendel as we do the titled protagonist. As a class, we noted the juxtaposition of darkness (Grendel, hell, violence, pagan dealings with the devil) and light (men, earth, nature, signing, a throne of God's making) and how these two opposites seem to merge into one "gray morning" resplendent of man and monster morphing into one complex reflection of humanity.  We began our partner overanalysis and will finish said discussion on Thursday.

Reading-wise, finish Beowulf by reading pages 36-38, live like it's 999 by reading pages 40-41, and meet Gilgamesh by reading 56-63.

4: We started class discussing the dissolution of Angelina & Brad's marriage while copying down our next unit's vocab words, which will begin Wednesday. Then, we did all the same stuff as mentioned for second hour, so make sure you read through their synopsis and complete the same reading assignment.

Anglo-Saxons

Second hour copied down the latest unit of vocabulary while fourth hour completed the vocab quiz for unit 2. Any missing students will need to take the quiz by Wednesday.

Next up, we finished learning about New Historicist criticism, which will be the focus of your eventual paper. As cultural ideologies are at the center of this form of criticism, we created a class list of Anglo-Saxon ideologies, which we will use during our reading selections this week.

For homework, read Beowulf pages 21-36 and be prepared to over-analyze everything involved.

Into the New Historicist Lens

All classes: You now have a big green textbook, which will you use to read pages 4-20 this weekend. As you learn about the Anglo Saxons, write a list of their ideologies and behaviors to share in class on Monday. The last part of the reading sets up Beowulf, which will be on our agenda next week. And, do not forget that your second book card is due on Friday, September 23. And, make sure to turn in your Kate Chopin text by September 23. Write your name on the inside front cover for me.

2: We completed the vocab quiz for unit 2, which means any absent students will need to make up the quiz by Tuesday. Then, we peer evaluated your free response essays, which were then collected by me. To end the hour, we started to look at New Historicist Criticism, which deals with ideologies of the past and how they are represented to a modern culture. We will continue the background of this critical lens on Monday, and hopefully meet Beowulf and that pesky descendant of Cain.

4: We reviewed vocab, which means you will be taking the quiz on Monday. Then, we did everything listed under second hour.

The Random World of Free Response Essays

In the realm of vernacular improvement, second hour reviewed for their vocab quiz and fourth hour completed experts for unit 2.

For the remainder of our shortened hour, you worked on composing a practice free response essay on society and character reaction. (You may want to do your second book card on your free response text selection - unless it is The Awakening, which would cause a redundancy issue.)

Remember, always include small details that show your comprehension of the book. This may include an appositive clarifying a character's role, indicating the era of the time, or throwing in a related motif that reflects the prompt.

For tomorrow's class, bring in the finished essay. It is just a DRAFT!

And fourth hour, since you cannot have a carousel on your class t-shirts, several of us would like TABLE LEADER with someone raising a hand on the shirt this year.

Pure Imagination

While we did not completely abandon AP Lit today, we did spend the first part of our class stuffing ourselves with candy, reading quotes, and learning gobblefunk diction of Roald Dahl, the birthday boy who would have been 100 today. Hopefully, you will keep his optimistic outlook of magic, imagination, and reading as you continue into more AP Lit texts and assignments. If not, you now have gobblefunk as a type of diction category.

For the remainder of our time, you heard more about the free response prompt. You received a sample prompt, brainstormed possible texts, selected your favored text, and completed a thesis statement. You will be using this thesis statement for Thursday's class -- so be ready to write!

It's Over!

The presentations finished today! Phew! The best of the bunch was KP's from second hour, a mix of pyschoanalysis, feminist, historicist, and literary analysis with a dash of multiple Chopin texts and outside texts as well. She brought in the "Yellow Wallpaper" as a coup de gras!

To wrap up class, we made it back to vocabulary, and you received the 101 Texts handout. For homework, make sure to highlight all the texts you have read. You may be using these in the near future -- yes, tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, we will have our Roald Dahl celebration for his 100th birthday! And, we will start work on free response essay writing with a step by step essay.

Still Going

Day 3 of presentations. We will finish on Monday -- no matter what!

To give you something to do this weekend, complete your book card on The Awakening, which is due on Monday.

The Motifs Keep Coming

Yes, the presentations are taking longer than anticipated. However, the presentations are full of so much -- themes, characterization, literary devices, connections to other Chopin texts -- that it has been a pleasure to listen to students support their short stories with strong, passionate analysis. Who knew Chopin could bring such zealous attention to all of her motifs?

We will (maybe? hopefully?) finish presentations tomorrow. I would like to remind all of you to have a focused presentation for class.

And, if I have time to finish typing something, you will have something to do this weekend. It will involve highlighting and possible arts and crafts.

Lastly, since I was talking about cakes in second hour. Here are the three cakes I made this year for my babies:

Ingram's CHEESE Cake, made of 10 cheeses for her 10th birthday.. In case you are wondering, Ingram has very expensive tastes. Her favorites are Mobay and Chihuahua cheeses.

Monty's first birthday cake had to be special-so I made Gesine Bullock Prado's The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me Cake. Yes, her recipe is an ode to Kermit the Frog. When I think of Kermit, I think of joy and happiness: the same qualities I see in my little Monty every day. 

For Tango's third birthday, I made a cake that looked like a pumpkin. Tango was completely afraid of it, so I don't have a picture of him enjoying it. Seed is more his thing!

Sorry I can't make you deserts like this anymore. But, we will have store-bought goodies for our Roald Dahl celebration on Tuesday!

The Very Thorough Presentations of Chopin, Her Birds, and Her Nineteenth Century Patriarchy

And I thought last year's presentations were dynamic and full of original analysis! While we only made it through nine of the thirty-four presentations today, all of them sang with enthusiasm for the short story, the milieu of Chopin's literary canon, and the literary elements apparent in the writer's craftsmanship of characterization.

We will continue presentations tomorrow...and Friday the way it is going. I would like to expedite the presentations a tad, so do be aware that you do not need a lot of "filler" or summation. As you analyze the text for theme, characterization, milieu, and connections to other texts, you will inevitably share the story's main plot points with the reader.

She's Still Swimming

Poor Edna. While the majority of us were firmly in her corner, supporting her awakening against patriarchy and its ill effects on men and women, her childish behavior began to wear thin on us, driving us to question her true awakening overall. Whether you liked the ending or not, we have finished The Awakening and are ready for presentations tomorrow. Be ready with your notes, texts, and evidence (with citations) to share your vision of Chopin's writing with the class. I'll be reading (and rereading) all the short stories tonight!

P.S. Second hour did fit in vocabulary today; fourth hour will have to wait until after the presentations.

SIS Woes

When I logged into SIS today, I noticed that three grades were missing from the AP Lit classes: the Helen group discussion, the Lucetta/EJ thesis work, and the Hawthorne prompt. Never fear -- I have a hard copy version that I will transfer to SIS later today. Urgh.

Finishing the Individual Close Reads

Alex Babel gave me approval to do these close reads again, so I am glad that you are gaining a great deal from this surprise analysis of a given passage. For all hours, finish The Awakening this weekend. We will finish previous chapters and the finale during Tuesday's class. Your short story/Chopin presentation will be Wednesday!

Close Reading Edna's Awakening

Well, it looks like my AP Lit classes are starting to think like English majors and break down the multiple meanings of diction, imagery, and symbolism existing in The Awakening!

To start class, you copied down unit 2 vocabulary words and received your expert assignment, which will begin tomorrow. Metamorphosis should prove a popular vocabulary word as our protagonist Edna continues to forgo sleep and awaken to life's possibilities.

Next, we finished our partner/group discussion of chapter 11 (second hour) and chapters 8-11 (fourth hour).

And last, and most entertaining, the individual close read of a passage from the text. On the board, each of you close read a passage and provided an analysis on the spot of the characterization, motifs, and literary elements used by Chopin. We will finish our individual close reads tomorrow before diving into the next chapters.

Reading assignment for tomorrow=

Second hour = Chapters 26-30
Fourth hour = Chapters 23-28