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