Wednesday-Thursday March 20-31

In class we reviewed the questions about the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda.

We made a list of and briefly discussed human atrocities. We considered how genocide and civil war might be regarded as different.

We watched a documentary on Mauricio Lasansky and his "Nazi Drawings."

Finally we considered the question of the relationship between art and that which is terrible.

For more details and images of all of the "Nazi Drawings" visit: http://www.lasanskyart.com/art/collections/nazidrawings/nd_tour_overview.shtml

Tuesday, 29 March

In class today I mistakenly announced to third period that they would be doing the state reading test tomorrow, that testing will be on the 13th -- my bad!

In class all students had questions, and packets to read on genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda.

Also students were given the opportunity to weigh in on what courses they would be interested in taking in English next year.

To take the survey students may go to: tinyurl.com/grantsurveyenglish

Monday, 28 March

In class today, we studied The Book of Job. We also looked at Friedrich Nietzsche's phrase, "God is dead."

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Students turned in their Night essays today. On the back of the essay each student addressed the criteria for the assignment and argued for a grade they believed they earned. The criteria are:
3 Pages
Character Analysis
Summary / Paraphrase Evidence
Properly Embedded Quote(s)
Thesis
      supported by
Topic Sentences
     supported by
Body Paragraphs of Evidence
Transitions
Expansive Conclusion
Style & Interest

After turning the papers in we discussed teh film about Gerda Weissmann One Survivor Remembers. We focused ont eh questions about powerful scenes/ images; Nazi dehumanization of the jews (and others); the role of fantasy & delusion in survival; other examples of persecution; and hope and heroes -- both in Ms. Weissmann's story and else where in the Holocaust.

Monday, 14 March

Today we viewed a film that tells the story of Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann. We will discuss the film after tomorrow after essays are turned in.

11 March, 2011

Rough Drafts were due today.

On the left in the photo below are the requirements for the essay.

On the right are the steps we followed in class for peer response.

Tue-Thursday 8-10 March

In class we have been working on revising thesis statements, developing outlines, and writing topic sentences for the essays. Rough Drafts are due on Friday. Below is a snap shot of notes about paragraph structure of the essay. We also discussed the importance of having a topic sentences that support the thesis statement of the essay, and which are supported by the evidence in the paragraph.

Monday, 7 March

Today we discussed the nature of the character analysis essay due next week. Below are two version of the notes for the day.

Homework: Write a thesis statement and identify two formative and two illustrative events in Elie's life.

Next Deadlines

All students should have completed their reading of Night by Monday, 7 March.

Next week we will begin writing the first essay of the Night unit. This essay will be character analysis of Ellie. It is important to note that the memoir Night covers three years in his life, and that Ellie waited ten years after the events he writes about before he wrote the book.

Students may want to consider whether Night is the story of one or of more than one change in Ellie.

Tuesday/Wednesday/ Thursday 1 - 3 March

The Close Reading of Night (Chap 1-3) work is the focus of class this week.

Students self divide into expert groups on a quote. In these groups they discuss there initial analysis; find common understandings and insights; and they discuss alternative interpretations. After a thorough examination of the quote in the expert group, the experts create a mini-lesson / presentation for the class to help everyone understand the meaning / significance (or multiple meanings / significance) of each passage.

This activity is repeated for three sections of questions.

After each round of presentations, the class debriefs the presentations? How was the presentation effective in helping students read the text closely? Was the presentation clear?