Learning Spaces and Creativity: February 29, 2016

Focus: What is the role of creativity in high school?

My epiphany from Friday:

We're used to accepting classrooms, hallways, etc. for what they are. They have become nearly invisible to us. What if we looked at learning spaces like playdoh? If you could let your imagination run a bit wild, how would you shape your learning space?

1. Warming up: Describe a classroom in which you felt creative--a space in which you felt you were really learning. This doesn't have to be a space at AHS; it can be from elementary school, or maybe from something totally unrelated to school.

• What specific, physical aspects of this space fostered your creativity?
• What spacial concepts did your discussions last Friday share?

• Light (click HERE to read about a recent study about natural light and your brain)
• Spread-out space
• Comfortable chairs (click HERE to read about comfort in the classroom)
• More bathrooms (click HERE to read what a urologist has to say about this)
• Access to good food (click HERE to see how nutrition affects learning)
• Access to water (click HERE to read about hydration and learning)

2. Considering whether we're growing into or out of creativity: "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

• In your "Space" document, type a few things Sir Ken Robinson says that ring true for you.
• Are your current learning spaces allowing and/or inspiring you to create? Why or why not?

3. Sharing your recent ideas with a gallery walk of ideal learning spaces:

• What do you like about the space?
• How might it improve your academic life? Your creative life?

4. Looking over your notecards, reflecting on today's class, and posting a relevant question about creativity and/or learning spaces that starts with "What if...?"

• Ex: What if there were exercise spaces throughout the school (running, yoga, weights, climbing walls, etc.), and there was a 30 minute gap between second and third hour each day to do something physical?

• Please post this on today's class blog. Thanks!

HW: 

1. Investigate bell schedules of other schools; try find different kinds of schools (elementary schools, colleges, Montessori schools, schools in other countries, etc.). The more the better, but find at least three. Past the schedules (or links to them) in a Google doc called "The School Day." This should go in your "Imagination/Invention" folder.

2. Synthesis essays are due in www.turnitin.com by this Thursday (I'm extending your deadline by a day). Come in for conferences if you'd like extra help beyond the feedback I've left for you. Click HERE for the update regarding feedback.

3. By Thursday, complete "What Happens Next" and "What Should I Do If I Get Stuck?" on your Banned Book Problem.

4. Please let your parents/guardians know that I will only be at conferences this Thursday from 4:00 to 6:00.

Re-imagining Learning Spaces: Feb 26, 2016

Focus: How can we re-imagine the spaces where we learn?

1. Warming up a brief www.noredink.com quiz on FANBOYS and commas: creating student-generated tips before we get going

2. Reading over your banned book problem and brainstorming ways to solve it

3. Watching New Orleans high school students have a "What if" discussion about school: https://xqsuperschool.org/news/2384

• Write down something you hear that rings true for you.

Follow-up discussion: revisiting your thoughts on Arapahoe's learning spaces:

• Describe at least five changes you'd make to the space you've chosen.
• Why would you make those changes? How would it improve your learning/life?
• Pick one person in your group to e-mail those to me.

HW:

1. Complete your banned book problem brainstorming by Monday; make sure it's in your English 10 folder and labeled so that I can find it.

2. Continue working on your second draft of your synthesis essay; keep an eye out for my feedback, and feel free to solicit help if you need it immediately.

3. Find (or draw) one image of your ideal physical learning space and save it in your "Space" doc. Here's my example of an ideal cafeteria:


Or maybe...

Make It New: February 25, 2016

Focus: How can we re-imagine school and our place in it?

1. Hitting "restart" (or "revision," "re-imagination," "renew," "realize," etc.): Renewing expectations we need to have in place to make this unit work.

New folder: Imagining/Inventing the Future

New doc inside that folder: Space

2. Rethinking our school's use of space (you can either write your responses or sketch, take a pic of your sketch, and upload it to your doc):

• What do other schools look like? 
• What kinds of learning do their physical spaces foster? How?
• What appeals to you personally? Why?

Microsoft's School of the Future (Philadelphia)

Forest kindergarten (Switzerland)

India's School under a bridge

New Zealand's school with no rules

School lunch in Japan

Why does Finland have the best education system in the world?

10 most unusual schools

High pressure schools in South Korea

Elementary school kids imagining future schools

TED Talk on schools and 21st century skills


3. Taking a tour of Arapahoe:

• What do our learning spaces look like (feel free to take pics)?
• What kind of learning do they foster? How?
• What appeals to you? Why?
• What would you change? How? Why?

HW:

1. Take 15 more minutes to continue working on #3 (Arapahoe's physical spaces) OR to continue watching and responding to some of the links above.

2. BRING YOUR BANNED BOOK TO CLASS TOMORROW.

3. Finish up your www.noredink.com assignment on FANBOYS; brief "quiz" tomorrow.

Make It Work: February 24, 2016

Focus: How can I revise the style of my essay to make it work for me and for others?

from www.goodreads.com

“Reinvent new combinations of what you already own. Improvise. Become more creative. Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret for the next step.”
― Karl Lagerfeld

1. Warming up with a little stylistic advice from Tim Gunn and Project Runway

• Make it your own.
• Make something that resonates for others.
• Make it work.

2. Swiftly attacking a stylistically weak essay

3. Peer editing each other's essays for style; click HERE for the editing slides.

HW:

1. For the essay timeline, click here. Start checking your rough draft for feedback.

2. BRING YOUR BANNED TO CLASS ON FRIDAY.

3. Please complete the FANBOYS www.noredink.com assignment (it's not new--just the same one as last week); brief "quiz" on Friday.

The Draft, Part 2: February 23, 2016

Focus: How can we discipline our first drafts into stronger second drafts?

From www.goodreads.com

“The writer must have a good imagination to begin with, but the imagination has to be muscular, which means it must be exercised in a disciplined way, day in and day out, by writing, failing, succeeding and revising."

[The Writer's Digest Interview: Stephen King & Jerry B. Jenkins (Jessica Strawser, Writer's Digest, May/June 2009)]”

"Me takey your books today." --Ms. Leclaire

1. Celebrating your opening sentences

• In this world, there are two kinds of people. There are people who know exactly what they’re doing at all times. They never question themselves, they never worry, and they have their mind one hundred percent under control. And then there are the people who aren’t lying to themselves.

• Solipsism and a lack of empathy can destroy the lives of others. Those two terms describe Macbeth and the character from “I, Myself” by Angel Gonzalez.

• Corruption feeds on internal conflicts.

2. Peer or self editing for format and content (our focus tomorrow will be style)

Click here for the editing slides.

3. Wrapping up with creative concluding sentences using visual imagery

• Close your eyes and let images from Macbeth roll through your mind, particularly images from the play's ending.

• Reread the last stanza or two of "I Myself" and picture the speaker.

• Go to Google images and search terms such as "crossroads," or "final scene of Macbeth." You might find some inspiring images. Do a little freewriting and see where it takes you.

• Let your creative writing into your concluding sentences.

HW:
1. For the essay timeline, click here.

2. Banned books should be complete by this point.

3. Please complete the FANBOYS www.noredink.com assignment (it's not new--just the same one as last week); brief "quiz" on Friday.

The Draft: February 22, 2016

Focus: What small steps can we take to composed distinguished essays?

1. Warming up by aiming high: how do we get to the "Distinguished" category?

On the rubric, read the boxes in the "Distinguished" column.

Identity your essay's relationship with each box:

• Put a star or smiley face (or something that makes you happy) by the ones you feel like you're meeting right now.

• Put a question mark by the ones you don't really understand. Make sure you ask about these when we conference.

• Put a minus sign or a contemplative face by the ones you definitely need to work on.

2. Reading through the sample essay together

• With a partner, find one example of how this writer is distinguished in each category. 

• Mark your findings on the essay itself and be prepared to share your findings.

3. Working on drafting and revising independently (tomorrow, we will peer edit)

• Click HERE if you'd like an outline (optional).

• Click HERE if you'd the online version of the sample essay.

HW:
1. For the essay timeline, click here.

2. Banned books should be complete by this point.

3. Please complete the FANBOYS www.noredink.com assignment (it's not new--just the same one as last week); brief "quiz" on Friday.

Heightening Our Writing: February 19, 2016

Focus: How can I heighten, or bring to a new level, my written analysis?

1. Warming up with a little Friday goal-setting: In the next hour, I will...

2. Banned book reading, essay writing/revising, and thesis conferences (please have yesterday's rubrics out)

3. Checking on our lead-ins: Revising independently to make sure they're doing their two jobs

4. Developing my lead-outs, keeping the pyramid in mind:




HW: 

CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE SYNTHESIS PARAGRAPH (it's on "The Ball Poem" and A Long Way Gone).

CLICK HERE FOR AN OUTLINE. The outline is completely optional but recommended if you're struggling to organize your essay.

1. Finish revising your thesis and lead-ins if necessary.

2. Finish drafting your lead-outs. On Monday, you will be receiving an attempt and completion grade for having a thesis, 3-4 quotations, lead-ins, and lead-outs. In other words, by Monday, this should look like a well-developed paragraph.

3. Finish your banned book.

4. Complete this week's www.noredink.com assignment on FANBOYS by Friday, Feb 26.

Heightening Our Writing: February 18, 2016

Focus: How can I heighten, or bring to a new level, my written analysis?

3rd hour: Here's a little teaser to help you get ready for tomorrow...

1. Warming up with a creative entrance to writing

2. Taking five minutes to "Fix My Thesis"

2. Enjoying two rounds of musical peer editing the thesis using this rubric; revising our thesis statements based on peer feedback and turning in the rubrics

3. Checking on our lead-ins: Revising independently to make sure they're doing their two jobs

4. Developing my lead-outs, keeping the pyramid in mind:





HW: 
1. Finish revising your thesis and lead-ins if necessary.

2. Finish drafting your lead-outs. This weekend, you will be receiving an attempt and completion grade for having a thesis, 3-4 quotations, lead-ins, and lead-outs.

3. Bring your banned book to class tomorrow for your final day of in-class reading time.

4. Complete this week's www.noredink.com assignment on FANBOYS by Friday, Feb 26.

3rd HOUR: MEET IN THE FORUM TOMORROW. BRING YOUR QUESTIONS FOR ERIKA, AS WELL AS SOMETHING TO WRITE WITH AND ON.

Writing About Macbeth: February 17, 2016

Focus: What larger ideas can we synthesize from Macbeth and "I Myself"?

1. Warming up with grid groups (for the final time, really)

Topic #1: Characters' Deaths 
How does the film have Lady M die, and how is this fitting for her character? How does the film have Macbeth die, and how is this fitting for his character?

Topic #2: Macduff's Emblem 
What is Macduff's emblem, and how is this fitting for his character?

Topic #3: Final Scene 
What's up with the weird, added final scene?

2. Working through the poem "I Myself" together

3. Revising your thesis statements with a little checklist:

• Does my thesis mention both titles and both authors?

Original: “I Myself” by Angel Gonzalez expresses the struggles people go through when they are trying to achieve a certain goal.

Revised: Both "I Myself" by Angel Gonzalez and Macbeth by William Shakespeare express the struggles people go through in trying to achieve a certain goal.

• Is my thesis a single sentence?

Original: Angel Gonzalez in his poem “I Myself” has a very similar conflict to Macbeth in Shakespeare's famous play “Macbeth.” Both have occurrences where they are the ones standing in the way of their own success.

Revised: Angel Gonzalez in his poem "I Myself" and Macbeth in Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth both have occurences where they are the ones standing in the way of their own success.

• Does my thesis address a larger theme (underlying message) that both works share?

Original: Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the speaker from Angel Gonzalez’s “I Myself” are both fighting an internal battle against themselves.

Revised: Macbeth from William Shakespeare's Macbeth and the speaker from Angel Gonzalez's "I Myself" both reveal that the greatest battle a person battles is with himself.

• Does my thesis avoid "you" and "your"?

Original: Listening to your conscience is an important part of life, but in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the poem “I Myself” by Angel Gonzalez both completely ignore their conscience through greed and pleasure, but pay for it through losing themselves.

Revised: Listening to one's conscience is an important part of life, but in the play...

4. Checking on your supporting evidence. You should have 3-4 quotations:

• 1-2 quotations from the poem "I Myself"
• 1-2 quotations from Macbeth (hint: USE YOUR WORD TRACE QUOTATIONS if applicable)

5. Smoothing out your lead-ins

HW:
1. Revise your thesis and supporting examples as needed; MAKE SURE ALL QUOTATIONS HAVE SMOOTH, PROPERLY PUNCTUATED LEAD-INS.

2. Read your banned book (due next Monday).

3. Complete the www.noredink.com assignment, "Sentence Fluency: FANBOYS" by this Friday.

Writing about Macbeth: February 16, 2016

Focus: What larger ideas can we synthesize from Macbeth and "I, Myself"?

1. Warming up with the film version of the final battles of Macbeth with your final thoughts on symbolic choices...

• How does the film have Lady M die, and how is this fitting for her character?

• How does the film have Macbeth die, and how is this fitting for his character?

• What is Macduff's emblem, and how is this fitting for his character?

• What's up with the weird, added final scene?

2. Working through the poem "I Myself" together

3. Revising your thesis statements with a little checklist:

• Does my thesis mention both titles and both authors?

Original: “I Myself” by Angel Gonzalez expresses the struggles people go through when they are trying to achieve a certain goal.

Revised: Both "I Myself" by Angel Gonzalez and Macbeth by William Shakespeare express the struggles people go through in trying to achieve a certain goal.

• Is my thesis a single sentence?

Original: Angel Gonzalez in his poem “I Myself” has a very similar conflict to Macbeth in Shakespeare's famous play “Macbeth.” Both have occurrences where they are the ones standing in the way of their own success.

Revised: Angel Gonzalez in his poem "I Myself" and Macbeth in Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth both have occurences where they are the ones standing in the way of their own success.

• Does my thesis address a larger theme (underlying message) that both works share?

Original: Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the speaker from Angel Gonzalez’s “I Myself” are both fighting an internal battle against themselves.

Revised: Macbeth from William Shakespeare's Macbeth and the speaker from Angel Gonzalez's "I Myself" both reveal that the greatest battle a person battles is with himself.

• Does my thesis avoid "you" and "your"?

Original: Listening to your conscience is an important part of life, but in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the poem “I Myself” by Angel Gonzalez both completely ignore their conscience through greed and pleasure, but pay for it through losing themselves.

Revised: Listening to one's conscience is an important part of life, but in the play...

HW:
1. Check your timed writing's supporting evidence. You should have 3-4 examples:

• 1-2 quotations from the poem "I Myself"
• 1-2 quotations from Macbeth (hint: USE YOUR WORD TRACE QUOTATIONS if applicable)

When you walk into class on Wednesday, these examples should be in your timed writing (even if you don't have any lead-ins or lead-outs yet).

2. Read your banned book (due next Monday).

3. Complete the www.noredink.com assignment, "Sentence Fluency: FANBOYS" by this Friday.

Past, Present, and Future: February 12, 2016

Focus: What do I need to polish up from yesterday, for today, or for the fututre?

1. Warming up with a quick verb tense game

2. Optional: Retaking the active vs. passive voice quiz on www.noredink.com

3. Banned book reading OR word trace (re)working

4. Composing a thesis statement on your word traces that combines your word with a larger theme

Thesis: In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of _______________ (your word) to expose/encourage/criticize/suggest/assert that...(larger theme).

Sample thesis: In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to show that humans are not born evil; they develop it through an insatiable desire for power.

5. Viewing the film version of Act 5

HW:
1. All revisions, make-up work, grades that need to be changed, etc. due today.

2. Banned book reading (10 days left...and the countdown begins).

3. Final word traces due today.

Just a heads-up: We're going to be turning our timed writings into polished essays next week.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: February 11, 2016

Focus: What does this play teach us?

Slightly shortened class: Advisement

1. Warming up by sectioning the play with your grid groups (15 min)

Topic #1: Find two shifts in the play (where would you draw dividing lines?). What's changing at these points in the play? How do?

Topic #2: Now that you have divided the play into three sections, find one line/phrase that captures each section.

Topic #3: Develop two themes (underlying messages) from this play that you could apply to yourself and/or any high school student. Why do most high schoolers read this play?

2. Reading Macbeth's "Tomorrow" soliloquy (15 min)

• Moments (interesting word choices, figurative language, unusual grammar, imagery, sounds, etc.)
• Movements (places where ideas seem to shift)
• Multiple meanings (patterns and themes)

3. Composing a thesis statement on your word traces that combines your word with a larger theme

Thesis: In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of _______________ (your word) to expose/encourage/criticize/suggest/assert that...(larger theme).

Sample thesis: In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to show that humans are not born evil; they develop it through an insatiable desire for power.

4. Viewing the film version of Act 5 if time allows with a focus on symbolic choices


HW for Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow:

1. Final versions of your word traces are due this Friday at the latest. Remember that you should have at least eight entries.

2. Read your banned book and BRING IT TO CLASS TOMORROW; make sure you're on track to finish by Feb 22.

3. There is a www.noredink.com assignment this week called "Verb Tenses" to help you understand active vs. passive voice. IF YOU RECEIVED A 17/20 OR BETTER ON LAST WEEK'S QUIZ, YOU ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT. Also the only grammar quiz this Friday will be an optional retake on Active vs. Passive Voice. There will not be a quiz on verb tenses; this lesson is to help you with active vs. passive voice.

4. This Friday marks the end of six weeks; any make-up work and revisions must be completed by this Friday at 3:00 pm.

Nobility in Battle: February 10, 2016

Focus: According to Shakespeare, what does it mean to lead a noble life? What does it mean to have a noble death?

1. Warming up with the lyrics of the Flobots and connecting them back to Macbeth's (self-?) destruction

2. Battling out the rest of Act 5 with a focus who lives, who dies, and why it matters:

In your in-class work document (or with sticky notes--your choice), keep a list of which characters die. For each one, discuss and write down...

• How does the character die?

• Is the death a "noble" one (think back to your brainstorming from last week)?

• How is the manner of death is fitting for each particular character? Try to think of each death symbolically.

• Which characters get to live, and why is significant that they survive?

3. If time allows, viewing and discussing Polanski's interpretation of Act 5

HW:
1. Final versions of your word traces are due this Friday at the latest. Remember that you should have at least eight entries.

2. Read your banned book; make sure you're on track to finish by Feb 22.

3. There is a www.noredink.com assignment this week called "Verb Tenses" to help you understand active vs. passive voice. IF YOU RECEIVED A 17/20 OR BETTER ON LAST WEEK'S QUIZ, YOU ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT. Also the only grammar quiz this Friday will be an optional retake on Active vs. Passive Voice. There will not be a quiz on verb tenses; this lesson is to help you with active vs. passive voice.

4. This Friday marks the end of six weeks; any make-up work and revisions must be completed by this Friday at 3:00 pm.

Catching Up: February 9, 2016

Focus: What's catching up to the characters in Macbeth? How can you and I catch up?

1. Warming up: How much of Act 4 did you understand?

2. Performing 5.1 together and talking through your 5.1 questions and responses

3. Looking to your word traces:

Consider our focus question of the week:

• What's catching up to the characters as we approach the ending of the play?
• Or, what have they sacrificed, and was it worth it?

Try to connect these thoughts to some of your conclusions in your word trace.

For example, Jacob noticed in his seventh journal entry on "night" the following: The more nights that go by, the more evil is spread. Pain, fear, death, etc. all these are emotions that are coming from night. The author puts sets the mood for bad things by having them occur at night. It causes the reader to prepare for evil when night falls.

What a smart young man Jacob is!

Here's what he could add with regard to today's focus question: As night seems to dominate the play more and more, it becomes clear that Macbeth has sacrificed his ability to return to state of goodness. Night doesn't bring sleep or any kind of break from what he's done; he will be tormented until his dying day. He sacrificed his morals for power, and it wasn't worth it.

4. Viewing the film version of Act 4 and 5.1: Click HERE for the film version: Act 4 starts around 1:24:30 (this is the BBC version; the Polanski version of Act 4 is too horrifying to show)

HW:
1. Final versions of your word traces are due this Friday at the latest. Remember that you should have at least eight entries.

2. Read your banned book; make sure you're on track to finish by Feb 22.

3. There is a www.noredink.com assignment this week called "Verb Tenses" to help you understand active vs. passive voice. IF YOU RECEIVED A 17/20 OR BETTER ON LAST WEEK'S QUIZ, YOU ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT. Also the only grammar quiz this Friday will be an optional retake on Active vs. Passive Voice. There will not be a quiz on verb tenses; this lesson is to help you with active vs. passive voice.

Macduff vs. Macbeth: February 8, 2016

Focus: What does it mean to lead a noble life? What does it mean to have a noble death?

"It is his capacity for self-scrutiny that makes Macbeth a worthy tragic subject. He never lies to himself about the nature of his deed, never rationalizes to justify his actions. Aware that he doomed, he pursues his damnation headlong to his own destruction." (Norrie Epstein)

1. Warming up by e-mailing Ms. Leclaire your three good things

2. WITH YOUR GRID GROUPS, making your way through the rest of Act 4 and the beginning of Act 5.

• PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE DOC YOU WILL NEED TODAY. Make a copy of it in your Macbeth folder.

• I will grade these tonight. They are worth 30 points in the growth category.

3. Watching Act 4 and the beginning of Act 5 in a different film version, if time allows, keeping track of important symbolic choices in your notes.

Click HERE for the film version: Act 4 starts around 1:24:30 (this is the BBC version; the Polanski version of Act 4 is too horrifying to show)

HW:
1. Final versions of your word traces are due this Friday at the latest. Remember that you should have at least eight entries.

2. Read your banned book; make sure you're on track to finish by Feb 22.

3. There is a www.noredink.com assignment this week called "Verb Tenses" to help you understand active vs. passive voice. IF YOU RECEIVED A 17/20 OR BETTER ON LAST WEEK'S QUIZ, YOU ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT. Also the only grammar quiz this Friday will be an optional retake on Active vs. Passive Voice. There will not be a quiz on verb tenses; this lesson is to help you with active vs. passive voice.

Grammar, Banned Books and Witches...Oh My! February 5, 2016

Focus: What/whom should we trust, and how do we know?

1. Warming up: How using active voice can make you more trustworthy and responsible

Consider the following two e-mails:

Dear Ms. Leclaire,

My homework was not done on time. Can it still be turned in for credit?

--Lucius the Student

Dear Ms. Leclaire,

I did not do my homework on time. May I still turn it in for credit?

--Jon the Student

• Which one is in the passive voice, and which is in the active voice?

• Which student--Lucius or Jon--takes more responsibility for not getting his homework done?

2. Taking the www.noredink.com quiz: Active vs. Passive Voice, Part 2

3. Relaxing into the world of your banned book (remember to keep an eye out for parts that help you understand why the book was banned, and/or why your book should not be banned)

4. Reading 4.2 with your Acting Companies and responding to the following questions in your in-class work docs:

• Why might Shakespeare have the audience witness the murder of Lady Macduff and her son instead of having it happen off stage?

• How does Lady Macduff compare/contrast to Lady Macbeth?

• Take our your apparition charts from 4.1, and talk through the prophecies and Macbeth's reaction to them. Are there any paradoxes here?

HW:
1. Read your banned book (2 weeks left, kids).

2. Update your word trace entries for 4.2 if applicable. 

3. Check yourself before you wreck yourself: 

• Have you finished Thursday's timed writing?
• Have you finished your apparition chart?
• Are your www.noredink.com assignments and quizzes done?
• Are you close to done with your banned book?
• Are you getting close to 8-10 word trace entries?
• Are you ready for the Super Bowl? To make sure, please click HERE.

The Witches Are Back! February 3, 2016

Focus: Who is being baited, and by whom or what?

1. Warming up: Sketching some bear baiting and attaching multiple metaphorical meanings to it

a. Draw a bear baiting arena complete with the following items: 

• A bear
• Chains
• Some dogs

b. For each item above, name TWO ideas/characters/emotions in Macbeth it could represent, and be prepared to defend your thinking.

c. Find ONE direct quotation from Act 3 that connects to the symbolism of bear baiting, and write it at the top of bottom of your sketch.

d. Posting a thesis statement on today's blog that goes something like this: Polanski uses bear baiting to reveal/suggest/expose/(any strong verb) that...

2. Skipping 3.5 (with good reason), finishing 3.6 with a focus on what kind of king Macbeth is, and acting out the ghostly scene of 4.1

3. Working on the apparition chart to prepare yourself for the play's ending

HW:
1. Update your word trace entries for 3.6 and 4.1.

2. Complete your www.noredink.com assignment, Active vs. Passive Voice, Part 2, before class on Friday.

3. Finish your apparition chart if you did not do so in class today.

4. Banned book reading (due Feb 22).

The Witches Are Back (But Not Ms. Leclaire): February 4, 2016

Focus: What larger patterns/themes emerge in the first three acts of Macbeth? 

Grading for this assignment: 

20 points for the reading journal

60 points for the essay (it's just one paragraph)
Both grades will be entered in the GROWTH category.

1. If you're going to handwrite the journal but type the essay, please create a new Google doc, call it "Timed Writing," and place it inside your Macbeth  folder. Be sure to turn in your handwritten journal at the end of class.

If you're going to type the journal and essay, please click HERE for the timed writing; make a copy of the Google doc, name it "Timed Writing," and place it inside your Macbeth folder.

2. Read the poem carefully, annotating it for the following:

• Moments (interesting word choices, figurative language, unusual grammar, imagery, sounds, etc.)
• Movements (places where ideas seem to shift)
• Multiple meanings (patterns and themes)
• Connections to the first three acts of Macbeth.

3. Fill in the reading chart with your five most significant observations; in the middle column, keep pushing towards patterns, themes, and connections to Macbeth.

4. Compose the essay, following the instructions. You can compose the essay on the SAME DOCUMENT you already called "Timed Writing" (just add onto it).

5. Click HERE for the rubric (it's the same one we used last semester).

HW:
1. Finish your timed writing if you did not finish in class.

2. Complete your www.noredink.com assignment, Active vs. Passive Voice, Part 2, before class on Friday. We will have a warm-up and a brief quiz tomorrow.

3. BRING YOUR BANNED BOOK TO CLASS TOMORROW.

Baiting the Bear: February 1, 2016

Focus: What is shifting in Act 3, and why are these shifts significant?

1. Warming up with sporty thoughts:

It's a cool, sunny day outside. The following players are warming up for the big game (the sport is up to you):

Macbeth

Lady Macbeth

Banquo's ghost

Fleance

The three witches

Malcolm and Donalbain

Macduff

Imagine that you are the sports commentator. Describe how these characters behave and interact during the warm-up, as well as how they play during the game. 

2. Viewing Act 3 with a focus on the following questions (I simplified the questions created by your Acting Companies because there was some overlap):

Before you watch...

• Heart: How is the dynamic between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth changing, and how does this affect our attitude towards Macbeth?

• Spade: There are three witches and three murderers; in the original productions of the play, the same actors often played the witches and the murderers. What is the connection between the witches and the murderers?

• Diamond: Why does it matter that Fleance got away?

• Club: Why is Macbeth haunted by the ghost of Banquo but not the ghost of Duncan?

• Everybody: Look up "bear baiting"; find a good description and add it to your in-class notes.

As you watch...

• Comment on two symbolic choices (the bear baiting, how the ghost of Banquo is filmed, etc.).

• Extra challenge: Try to connect those symbolic choices to the topics discussed above.

3. Discussing the film's choices, if time allows

HW:
1. Now that we have made our way through most of Act 3, you should have at least FIVE word trace entries. Use the Harvard Concordance link on the website if you need help locating your word. You will be receiving a GROWTH grade in the next few days on these five entries; please make sure that you have revised your entries based on my initial round of feedback.

2. Read your banned book.  They need to be finished by Feb 22 (it's 3 weeks away).

3. Complete your new www.noredink.com assignment ("Active vs. Passive Voice, Part 2") before class on Friday.