Tuesday, 30 November

Karen Karbo Residency for 3rd & 4th.

Karen reminded the class of the deadline for the 1,000 word memoir on January 21st.

Karen apologized for being sick last week. We will reschedule to "make up" that class period.

Photos: remembering from a visual cue; they help us remember details.

Karen talked about he importance of including the Who?; What?; When?; Where? and Why? which are the famous essential questions of journalism in writing memoir as well.

Karen talked about a "Golden Rule" of good writing: "Show Don't Tell." Specifically don't just say that something was "awesome" or "amazing" or "agonizing" or aweful, as you write about that thing include specific details that show how wonderful or woeful it was.

For example:

Thanksgiving was awesome this year. We had fifty-five of my favorite relatives, four turkey's and vension that my cousin Daniel had shot on his first hunting trip last week. Everyone laughed and played, and no one was stuck with the dishes because everyone pitched in just a little.

Don't forget the weather for finding details.

Free Tip: always stop in the middle of sentence; it makes it easier to....

Monday, 29 November

We "tossed" the following lines from the Scottish Tragedy (we can't use the original title in class because we are turning the class into our theatre, and the play's title carries a curse).

We checked out copies of the play.

Here are the lines we tossed:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair… (1.1.12)

So foul and fair a day I have not seen. (1.3.39)

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me

Without my stir (1.3.157-158)

Stars, hide your fires;

Let not light see my black and deep desires. (1.4.57-58)

Yet do I fear thy nature;

It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness… (1.5.16-17)

Come, you spirits

That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here… (1.5.47-48)

Look like th’ innocent flower,

But be the serpent under ‘t. (1.5.76-78)

If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well

It were done quickly. (1.7.1-2)

HOMEWORK:

Writers need to bring the photograph(s) of themselves that they brought last Friday.

For Wednesday students should read the introductory materials to the play.

Wednesday-Thursday, 17-18 November

We continued our study of Oedipus Rex.

We considered the statement at line 583 when Creon says, "Would any man exchange/ A quiet life, with royal rank assured,/ For an uneasy Throne?"

We continued reading and discussing dramatic irony and other issues through page 55.

Tuesday, 16 November Begining of Memoir Unit

Today 3rd and 4th periods met with Karen Karbo, Writer in Residence from Writers in the Schools. Periods 5 and 7 followed the same plan under the tutelage of Mr. Zartler.

The unit that was begun today is the Memoir unit. The drop-dead deadline for a 1,000 word memoir is January 21st, 2011.

Students will work on their memoirs with Karen or with Mr. Zartler every Tuesday and Friday between now and the deadline of January 21st (except December 6th with be a memoir day -- not December 10th.)

Students created a "Real Facebook" profile by answering the following questions:
Name
Birthdate
Pets
Political Views
Religious Views
A Secret
Likes & Interests
Musical
Movies
TV

Students in periods 3&4 put this profile in their WITS folders. Writers in periods 5&7 labled them "Memoir" and kept them in their binders.

HOMEWORK:
For class on Friday, students are to bring 1-3 photographs of themselves. The photo(s) should be more than a year old, and tell some story or be of an important moment that the writer remembers.

Friday there will be a substitute (plus Karen Karbo) in periods 3&4.

Friday, November 12th

Class began with students being assigned new seats.

Class continued with a discussion of the prewriting question about fate and free will.

Students were asked to add the film Bruce Almighty to the Macbeth section of The Friday Night Film Club.

Mr. Zartler lectured on the history of tragedy.

Have a good, safe weekend.

Wednesday, 10 November

Students wrote self evaluations of their Lord of the Flies paper. These questions are available in class.

Students received this handout which has a prewriting assignment for our next text, Oedipus Rex.

Tuesday, 9 November

Students in periods 3 & 4 met author Karen Karbo. Karen is an award winning author of several very successsful non-fiction works, and several novels. She has published many, many magazine articles. Karen will be a resident writer in these periods courtesy of Writers in the Schools. Students will work with Karen to write memoir pieces for the remaining part of the semester.

Class was devoted to editing the final rough drafts of Lord of the Flies papers.

Writers highlighted the thesis and all topic sentences. Reading just these sentences aloud to a partner was a test of the structure and organization of the paper.

Writers highlighted the first four or five words of each sentence in the paper. Reading these aloud, or writing them down in five columns helped students identify if there was a repetitive pattern of sentence structure in their paper. If there was, writers were encouraged to change the structure of some sentences.

Writers ensured that their conclusions were expansive.

Writers reviewed the proper format for embedding quotes in text by chanting the quote pattern.

Intro the Quote
Quote the Quote
Cite the Quote
Explain the Quote

Here is an example:
Mr. Zartler writes in his blog, "Writers reviewed the proper format for embedding quotes in text by chanting the quote pattern," (www.blogger.com). What he means by this is he made us chant in a silly way to help us learn.


Bob says to Cherise, "'I think we should go home'" (137). What he is saying is that the monster in the woods will eat them if they don't run away.

Notice that quotes in the second example that is quoting dialogue changes the double quote marks in the text to single marks, and adds double marks to indicate that the quote is being quoted.

Monday, 8 November, 2010

Students had their rough drafts "checked off."

Revised rough drafts are due in class tomorrow. Bring both your first and second rough draft.

Students followed the following conferencing protocol:

Assemble according to group numbers. (Oldest student goes first.)

#1

With a pen in hand, read YOUR essay ALOUD (mark problems as you read)

#2

Conference partners should say “Wait” if / when they get confused

#3

Author marks that passage (goes back and revises it later)

#4

When author is done conference partners say only what was good, unless author asks for constructive criticism

#5

Repeat with next author(s)

#6

When all authors have read their own papers aloud only then may they hand their paper to a peer for them to read.

Week of November 1-4

Sorry for the delay in posting.

This week we've worked hard on developing thesis statements, preparing arguments, and in general preparing to write a rough draft an essay on Lord of the Flies due on Monday, 8 November.

Thesis statement handout here.

We worked to revise thesis statements, and to ensure that each addressed a "big question."

Then we created a "Argument Outline." This is simply a list in the steps that the author has to lead their reader through to make a clear and convincing argument.

We discussed the general / theoretical structure of an essay. See notes here.

The Lord of the Flies essay will be about three (3) pages long -- printed of course! It should have three embedded quotes, but if you believe that there are not three appropriate quotes see Mr. Zartler on Tuesday with your 2nd rough draft.