AP Literature and Composition CHS

Week 38

2008-06-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

It is with some melancholy that I create this last BLOG of the school year. I want to thank those who have diligently checked in weekly...I did notice...I did have my "cult" following. We have come to the conclusion of the school year and of Ken Kesey's great novel. Two questions need to be answered: does McMurphy win or lose his battle with Nurse Ratched? and why does Bromden smother Mac?

I want to thank my students for a wonderful school year...each of you have made an impact in my life.....smile abundantly and enjoy your summer....

Mr. D.

Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoos' Nest reading schedule:

Wednesday, June 11: finish the book.

We will review for the ELA assessment ALL WEEK.

Have a good week and stay focused. Remember, "the road is better than the inn."

Week 37

2008-06-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 37:

Week 37 MS Word

Week 37 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 36

2008-05-26T08:37:00.001-07:00

Why does MCMurphy fight Nurse Ratched?

The Nurse is obsessed with the need to control her patients and her ward. She cherishes order, authority, and conformity. McMurphy is a rebel, a nonconformist. Intitially, he fights her because she imposes regulations which limit his freedom. His first battles, eg. the World Series episode, may be largely self-serving; he manipulates the patients as well as the staff to assert his will. But gradually, as Mac begins to comrehend the extent of Nurse Ratched's power over the staff, the other patients, and himself, he challenges her authority for nobler reasons...pay attention to these reasons during your readings.

Have a good week and we will talk more!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 36:

Week 36 MS Word

Week 36 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 35

2008-05-18T16:51:00.001-07:00

Some writers will forever be identified with a time period. Ken Kesey will forever be labeled and pigeon holed into the 1960s, along with the Grateful Dead. The movement in the 60s was the psychedelic revolution. The first “acid tests” were happening and LSD was being introduced. Kesey, part of the counterculture movement, and his friends became known as the Merry Pranksters. They were notorious for their “acid tests” and use of LSD. It was his experience with LSD that altered Kesey professionally and personally. While he worked at a psychiatric ward, he had hallucinations about an Indian sweeping floors. Thus, this became the foundation for his novel.

Have a good week and we will talk more!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 35:

Week 35 MS Word

Week 35 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 34

2008-05-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Congratulations on completing your first college level examination. Your preparations for this exam date all the way back to September; that is 33 weeks of training--writing, reading, and sharing. This is impressive! But, there is life after the AP exam! In fact, we have to meet two objectives: one is to read and study our last work, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoos' Nest, and two, prepare ourselves for the New York State Regents Exam (ELA). So, this means the year is not over...let's continue to work hard through the next six weeks.

This week I will work with you on frontloading information about the novel and the author. For next Monday's class read pages 1-90. The first scene sets up the novel, where we are taken through the daily life of a mental institution (ward). It is an example of "in medias res" or beginning in the middle of things. Be patient with your narrator, the Chief. He has too much electroshock and drugs.

Also, you will take parts of the ELA exam to determine strengths and weaknesses (there are 4 parts).

Have a good week and we will talk more!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 34:

Week 34 MS Word

Week 34 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 33

2008-05-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

AP Literature Exam Thursday, May 8, 2008

YOU ARE SMART AND WELL-PREPARED

Have a good week and ask questions that need answering.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 33:

Week 33 MS Word

Week 33 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 32

2008-04-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

AP Literature Exam Thursday, May 8, 2008

YOU ARE SMART AND WELL-PREPARED

Have a good week and ask questions that need answering.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 32:

Week 32 MS Word

Week 32 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 31

2008-04-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 4th Quarter. Our focus for the next few weeks to efficiently plan and prepare for the AP Literature Exam. Therefore, our activities will center around the exam questions and the different parts. We will write, discuss, analyze, and grade anchor papers. Ask questions and participate in class.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 31:

Week 31 MS Word

Week 31 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 30

2008-04-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

AP Literature Exam Thursday, May 8, 2008

Let us continue to focus on three objectives:

1. Finishing our poetry unit: at the culmination of this unit, your poetry journal is due.
2. Discuss final chapter in The Great Gatsby; a timed writing and essence quotes will end our unit
3. Continue our preparations for the AP Exam: discuss outlines and train for answering the different sections to the exam.

Have a good week and ask questions that need answering.

Major assignments for week:

1. Essence quotations on The Great Gatsby due no later than Thursday.
2. In class timed writing on The Great Gatsby scheduled for Friday.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 30:

Week 30 MS Word

Week 30 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 29

2008-04-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

AP Literature Exam Thursday, May 8, 2008

Let us focus on three objectives:

1. Finishing our poetry unit: at the culmination of this unit, your poetry journal is due.
2. Read and annotate The Great Gatsby; we should finish next week.
3. Continue our preparations for the AP Exam: discuss outlines and train for answering the different sections to the exam.

Have a good week and ask questions that need answering.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 29:

Week 29 MS Word

Week 29 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 28

2008-03-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

GOING WITH THE FLOW

It has been said that you can never put your foot in the same river twice. Rivers are alive, flowing, and in constant motion. The river that was there a moment ago is long gone. The same is true for poetry, music, art, and even movies. We never really hear the same song twice or see the same piece of art twice. What we bring to a second or third or hundredth exposure to a song or a painting is always different than the time before. We bring memories, feelings, and sensations. And the effect is cumulative. Even when I run, I never really run the same route exactly the same. It is impossible for me to recreate the exact circumstances for each run. I can’t have the same weather or the same people around me. I bring to each run a new sensation and experience. My point here is that each of us brings our own experiences to poetry. However, it is essential to try to become the poet when you read his/her poem. Walk in the shoes of the writer. Determine who is speaking, what the poem is about, and how the poet created the meaning (literary devices). Trust the poet, then all will be well.

Stay focused this week in our quest to better understand poetry. It really is beautiful and powerful. Perhaps, then your preconceived myth of poetry could be altered in a more positive way.

On The Great Gatsby:

When reading The Great Gatsby this week think about the values and goals that Fitzgerald describes in the chapters. Do they conflict with your own? Remember, each chapter is rich in imagery, symbols, foreshadowing, juxtaposition, irony, paradox, sentence patterns, and speech styles. And within this mastery of literary techniques is Fitzgerald’s criticism of a materialistic society focused on this American Dream. For this, The Great Gatsby is a social epithet, and a work that has endured to tell us something about the human condition, which is universal.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 28:

Week 28 MS Word

Week 28 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 27

2008-03-09T09:41:00.001-07:00

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is often acclaimed the best picture of the years tagged the “Jazz Age.” It offers a vividly realistic portrayal of the artistic, political, and economic climate of the 1920s. It discloses the psychological outburst of release from enforced sacrifice and deprivation of WWI.

In the nine chapters Fitzgerald captures the myth of the “American Dream” with its hope, search—the knight looking for the grail – and illusion, as corruption, intolerance, prejudice, and self-interest lead to tragedy.

Each chapter is rich in imagery, symbols, foreshadowing, juxtaposition, irony, paradox, sentence patterns, and speech styles. And within this mastery of literary techniques is Fitzgerald’s criticism of a materialistic society focused on this American Dream. For this, The Great Gatsby is a social epithet, and a work that has endured to tell us something about the human condition, which is universal.

Just about every other sentence in the novel is a textual moment. A significant theme is American Idealism corrupted by materialism. When reading the book look for ways Fitzgerald describes social class divisions in the 1920s and how the setting emphasizes the differences between the classes.

When annotating consider imagery, diction, syntax-- language. This is how Fitzgerald gets his point across. Look up vocabulary words that are unfamiliar. Always choose a meaningful quote, then be able to explain its significance within the context of the piece.

Smile abundantly this week! I am proud of all of you!

DUE DATES:

Tues, March 11: Read Chapter 1, The Great Gatsby
Thurs, March 13: Read Chapter 2, The Great Gatsby
Spring Break Assignment: Finish reading and annotating The Great Gatsby; work in journal and finish poems from the poetry unit. I will check all work when you get back from the break.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 27:

Week 27 MS Word

Week 27 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 26

2008-02-21T17:31:00.001-08:00

De-Mystifying Poetry

"Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted." ~Percy Shelley-1821

We move into our second week unraveling the ambiguity within a canon of poetry that has endured for centuries. I am impressed with our in-class discussions; they are complex, insightful, and sophisticated. Be prepared for class-- that means annotate the poems and reflect in your journals...this will allow you to participate in class.

Here are a few more key questions to consider when analyzing and explicating the poems:

• Who is the speaker?
• What is the poem about?
• Why is the first stanza longer than the second?
• Does the poem have a rhyme scheme? If so, what is it and what is its significance?
• Do you notice any sound devices? Alliteration? Assonance? Consonance? What is the significance of the devices you identify?
• How do the devices create meaning?

Continue reviewing your AP Literary terms and tone words.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 26:

Week 26 MS Word

Week 26 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 25

2008-02-21T17:25:00.000-08:00

De-Mystifying Poetry

"All my poems are suggested by real life and therin have a firm foundation...No one can imitate when you write of the particular, because no others have experienced exactly the same thing." -- Goethe

We begin our quest to unravel the mystery behind great poetry that spans from 1500 to 1947. Essentially, poetry is ambiguous (as life is), it is subject to multiple interpretations. Consider a poem as being analagous to a piece of art. When interpreting art we bring to it our own experiences; well, this is the same with poetry. Yet, sometimes I come across lines that are beautiful, yet I have no idea what they mean; looking at art, I sometimes feel the same way. We will never really know what a poem really means because the poet is not here to tell us; so we need trust the poet -- do not say "I think he is trying to say" -- the writer will tell you if you listen.

Here are a few more key questions to consider when analyzing and explicating the poems:

• Who is the speaker?
• What is the poem about?
• Why is the first stanza longer than the second?
• Does the poem have a rhyme scheme? If so, what is it and what is its significance?
• Do you notice any sound devices? Alliteration? Assonance? Consonance? What is the significance of the devices you identify?
• How do the devices create meaning?

Continue reviewing your AP Literary terms and tone words.

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

PROJECT DATES:

FEB 25: final essay due along with draft and outline.
Ongoing: work in Poetry Journals
MAY 8: AP EXAMINATION

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 25:

Week 25 MS Word

Week 25 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 24

2008-02-18T05:28:00.000-08:00

Final Thoughts

How do we become who we are? Who or what molds us into the people we become? At the start of the year I said there are things that shape our identity: religion, family, friends, environment, ethnicity, education just to name a few. Each person is different, yet individuality is condemned in Orwell’s 1984. For most of the novel Winston Smith did not conform to the ideals of the party; so he was considered an outsider, a heretic, an enemy. If we are all the same, then there can be no development socially, intellectually, spiritually and ideologically. Winston Smith fought to the bitter end to keep his identity, to hold onto a past that was real for him. Now “the long-hoped-for-bullet was entering his brain.” So what is Orwell telling us?

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

PROJECT DATES:

FEB 20: outlines and first typed draft due for peer review.
FEB 22: final essay due along with draft and outline.
MAY 8: AP EXAMINATION

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 24:

Week 24 MS Word

Week 24 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 23

2008-02-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

1984

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

PROJECT DATES:

FEB 14: last day to show me annotations and journal.
FEB 20: outlines and first typed draft due for peer review.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 23:

Week 23 MS Word

Week 23 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Room 101 - Short Film

2008-02-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the short film... Cast your vote for best supporting actor in a small, small, small film (DIEGO).

Week 22

2008-02-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

Power in 1984

There is a truism in American politics which holds that although you can fool some of the people some of the time, you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Yet, in 1984, the Party seems to have mastered the techniques of keeping the people fooled nearly all the time. How has the Party managed to gain complete power? Could such methods work in America? or in other countries around the the world?

This week please keep pace with the readings and the in-class discussions. Your insight to those discussions and the timed writings will determine your success...do not be parasitic in the classroom...you owe it to your peers to contribute...take a RISK!

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

READING SCHEDULE FOR 1984 and OTHER DATES:

Finish BOOK 3 due Wed., Feb 6.
Essense quotations due on Friday - typed.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 22:

Week 22 MS Word

Week 22 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 21

2008-01-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

1984 by George Orwell

How does the Party manipulate human emotions? 1984

George Orwell, in Part 2, shows us the start of the secret relationship between Winston and Julia. These are universal deceptions of appearances- the girl is not who she had seemed to be; Winston assumed her to be a devoted Party member and a spy. Why is she so important to him?

This week please keep pace with the readings and the in-class discussions. Your insight to those discussions and the timed writings will determine your success...do not be parasitic in the classroom...you owe it to your peers to contribute...take a RISK!

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

READING SCHEDULE FOR 1984 and OTHER DATES:

Finish BOOK 2 due Thursday, Jan 31.
Finish BOOK 3 due Wed., Feb 5.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 21:

Week 21 MS Word

Week 21 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 19

2008-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

1984 by George Orwell

Language as the “Ultimate Weapon” in 1984

George Orwell is interested in the modern use of the English language and, in particular, the abuse and misuse of English. He realizes that language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public, and he wishes to increase public awareness of this power. He accomplishes this by placing a great focus on Newspeak and the media in his novel 1984. Demonstrating the repeated abuse of language by the government and by the media in his novel, Orwell shows how language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people, leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality. Language becomes a mind-control tool, with the ultimate goal being the destruction of will and imagination.

This week please keep pace with the readings and the in-class discussions. Your insight to those discussions and the timed writings will determine your success...do not be parasitic in the classroom...you owe it to your peers to contribute...take a RISK!

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

READING SCHEDULE FOR 1984 and OTHER DATES:

Finish Part I for Tues., Jan 15
Finish BOOK 2 (105-225) during Regents Week, due Monday, Jan 28.
Independent Reading Assessment is scheduled for Friday, Jan 18.
Poetry Professor is scheduled for Thursday, Jan 17.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 19:

Week 19 MS Word

Week 19 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 18

2008-01-05T07:39:00.001-08:00

1984 by George Orwell

Assuming that you have read the first three chapters of Orwell's dystopic novel 1984, it is important to consider personally some of the freedoms that you as citizens of the US are granted. Winston, who operates in an oppressive milieu, feels stifled simply because he has been denied these freedoms. Winston longs for human communication, he is dissatisfied with the quality of life, he is a Party rebel and an individualist...for this he is alone.

When we read, let us consider some overarching questions: How does the novel represent power? What happens when the power to govern gets in the wrong hands?

This week please keep pace with the readings and the in-class discussions. Your insight to those discussions and the timed writings will determine your success...do not be parasitic in the classroom...you owe it to your peers to contribute...take a RISK!

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

READING SCHEDULE FOR 1984 and OTHER DATES:

CH I-III for Mon., January 7
CH IV-VI for Thurs., January 10
Finish BOOK 1 for Monday, January 14

Independent Reading Assessment is scheduled for Friday, Jan 18.
Poetry Professor is scheduled for Friday, Jan 11 and Thursday, Jan 17.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 18:

Week 18 MS Word

Week 18 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 17 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

2007-12-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

1984 by George Orwell

Written in 1949, George Orwell'a dystopic novel 1984 has always been a book of high interest; but, never before have its eerie details seemed more accurate and relevant in today's society of technology, surveillance and suspicion. In our post-9/11 world, everyone seems to be watching someone else and some believe the government gains more power every day. Reading 1984 will provide a venue for a variety of topics; it will open a door through which you will learn about totalitarian rule, control and power. Orwell show us how language can be manipulated and how history can be revised or erased. There are areas of the text that are sexual and violent in nature, and the overall mood of the novel is, to say to least, incredibly somber.

Why did Orwell write the book? To show us what the world would be like and to warn us.

Check out the 1984 PowerPoint located to the left side of the Blog under DOCUMENTS.

Please keep pace with the readings and the in-class discussions. Your insight to those discussions and the timed writings will determine your success...do not be parasitic in the classroom...you owe it to your peers to contribute...take a RISK!

Have a great week and remember, be empathetic to each other and work diligently...I always notice!! Smile, too!

READING SCHEDULE FOR 1984 and OTHER DATES:

CH I-III for Mon., January 7
CH IV-VI for Wed., January 9
Finish BOOK 1 for Monday, January 14

Independent Reading Assessment is scheduled for Friday, Jan 18.
Poetry Professor is scheduled for Friday, Jan 11 and Thursday, Jan 17.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 17:

Week 17 MS Word

Week 17 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 16

2007-12-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

AP Talk

Hello my AP students. The focus this week is to talk more about the AP exam. We will practice taking the multiple choice and look at the prose part to the exam. When we get back from Christmas break, we will attack Orwell's 1984. Continue to read your works of literary merit independently. The quarter is ending....meaning an assessment is on the horizon.

I want to extend a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 16:

Week 16 MS Word

Week 16 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 15

2007-12-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

Othello

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 15:

Week 15 MS Word

Week 15 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 14

2007-12-01T18:24:00.001-08:00

Othello

Our goal this week is to put closure to perhaps the most moving of Shakespeare's tragedies, Othello. We encountered one of his vilest villans, one of his purest heroines, and of course, one of his most tragic protagonists. The beauty of reading Shakespeare is that the works crystallize for us the problems of love and death, passion and betrayal, jealousy and nostalgia, power and temporality, memory and imagination...what is our alternative? If we do not read Shakespeare, how will we come to know what we already understand?

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 14:

Week 14 MS Word

Week 14 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 13

2007-11-24T15:42:00.001-08:00

Othello

In act 3, "what goes around comes around!" After the riotous evening that closed Act 2, Act 3 opens with a clown dismissing the unwelcome musicians from Othello's hearing. Cassio sends the Clown to bring Desdemona out to speak to him. In this last scene of Act 3, it is Desdemona who sends the Clown to find Cassio so she may assure him that his cause with Othello has not been forgotten.

The "handkerchief" takes on some significance. Figure out what it means for Cassio, Bianca, Othello, and Desdemona. Also, it is important to note the lack of genuine communication between the victims and their oppressors. Iago continues to weave his web, while Othello's noble character morally disintegrates. In Act 4, Shakespeare illustrates this through Othello's language, once noble and lofty, and his psychological and physical abuse towards Desdemona. As readers, our hatred toward Iago intensifies; he is the devil.

Let us work hard this week by studying and analyzing the play's tragic movements...I am proud of you!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 13:

Week 13 MS Word

Week 13 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 12

2007-11-18T09:33:00.001-08:00

Othello

The fundamental question of philosophy is: Is the nature of man good or evil? Every philosopher, politician, and author intends to answer this question. As a teacher, I might also reach a conclusion depending of the day or week I have experienced. William Golding in Lord of the Flies leaves no doubt about his belief: man definitely tends toward evil. Left alone on an island without societal constraints, man will return to savagery, and destroy all who hold to the beliefs of a previous society. Further, evil lies within mankind itself, not in some outside force or "beastie." Psychologist Victor E. Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning asserts that there are "two races of men in this world, but only these two races-- the 'race' of the decent man and the 'race' of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society." Thus the universal idea surfaces again: can good and evil coexist? The answer is yes: Othello is good and Iago is evil.

Have a good week!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 12:

Week 12 MS Word

Week 12 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 11

2007-11-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

Othello

This week we begin our quest to study how a great poet, Mr. Shakespeare, portrays the fall of a noble soul who is entrapped by jealousy into deeds of violence which bring about their own destruction. "I am not what I am." Iago
Although the story line of Othello is a spin-off of an Italian novella by Cinthio, the Hecatommithi (1565), Shakespeare’s end product is a vastly richer, more deeply probing presentation of human love. As Othello and Desdemona live out their love story in the two-hour condensation of his stage, the author reveals them in shifting lights of hateful Iago (the most hated villain in the literary world), the shallow Cassio, the wordly-wise Emilia, and the foppish Roderigo. Each character, dexterously manipulated by Iago into his web of destruction, is caught by his/her own weakness. As each character in this action-packed drama “struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more,” we realize that Shakespeare has once again held up his magic mirror wherein we can see ourselves and our times reflected clearly.

Note well that imagery expresses the themes of jealousy, revenge, and love; the conflicts of good and evil, of man vs women; of attitudes to love and marriage. We are involved immediately in the action of the play. How does Shakespeare do this? Why? -- What does the opening scene establish (characterization, tone, imagery).

I need two students from each section to prepare and present a poem for our Poetry Professor on Monday 11/19.

Have a good week!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 11:

Week 11 MS Word

Week 11 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 10

2007-11-04T08:34:00.001-08:00

As we commence with the 10th week of classes, it is essential that we ask ourselves "have we made a genuine committment to the AP Literature and Composition course." Take a look at your course syllabus; see if you have met my expectations of you. I expect and maybe even demand excellence; anything less is not accepted. The great John Wooden coined the idea that hard work and enthusiasm equate success...be passionate, work hard, and if you hit the metaphoric brick wall, do not turn away; that is too easy. Instead, figure out a way to break down the wall, overcome the obstacle...you will be a better person for it! Have a good week...SMILE too!

Important Assignments:

11/5: IR in class assessment.
11/7: Timed writing on The Awakening.
11/9: Blog your initial impressions on the playwright William Shakespeare and the tragedy Othello. Remember your blog must be at least 6 sentences for credit.
11/9: Independent Reading choice due.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 10:

Week 10 MS Word

Week 10 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 9

2007-10-27T13:42:00.001-07:00

Let's consider your reaction to ending of The Awakening. It is ambiguous in a sense that it is subject to multiple interpretations. We must understand that even as a child Edna instinctivley apprehened the DUAL life - that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions. Thematically Edna's awakening is a self-discovery, an escape from tradition and authority. Her awakening is clear only when we understand the motives, attitudes, and beliefs of the people who knew, loved, or respected her.

The sea is a significant metaphor...let's try to make sense of its importance!

Important Assignments:

11/2: IR in class assessment.
11/5: Timed writing on The Awakening.

Improvisers don’t look at change as an obstacle; we look at it as fuel. We know that the next great idea lies just on the other side of the change. We are constantly asking ourselves, “What can I do to incite change?” Well?
-- John SweeneySpeaker, trainer and author of Innovation at the Speed of Laughter.

Have a good week...SMILE too!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 9:

Week 9 MS Word

Week 9 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 8

2007-10-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Edna's need for an awakening is clear only when the reader understands the motives, attitudes, and beliefs of the people who knew, loved, and respected her. During this era those with the most profound effect on her life are the men, whose conventional roles were those of possessors. Perhaps this is a reason for Edna's rebellion.

Continue to work diligently and always smile....I always notice. Have a good week!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 8:

Week 8 MS Word

Week 8 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 7

2007-10-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Our focus this week is to trace the progress of Edna's awakening which essentially begins and ends with the sea. Kate Chopin drew heavily on Walt Whitman's poetry as a source of many of the images and symbols used in her book.

Continue to work diligently and always smile....I always notice. Have a good week!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 7:

Week 7 MS Word

Week 7 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 6

2007-10-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Awakening Kate Chopin

The French were not alone in their restrictions on women's lives in the 19th century, but fortunately, one courageous woman uses French New Orleans as the setting to daringly show the effects of the French social strictures on a young matron who discovers the limitations of her world.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1851-1904) was considered by some critics to be scandalous, yet others decided that the work is a fascinating character study of a woman far ahead of her time, who struggles against invisible barriers and reject the rigid role expected of her by their social system. Perhaps the novel transcends feminism to reveal society, its weaknesses, and the tragedy of people trying "to fly with clipped wings."

We, as readers, need to go beyond simple definitions of morality to a consideration of the psychology of the characters, the mores of the society, and the effects of time amd place. Along the way, you may discover that determining guilt is a complex process and that sinners are not obvious. Also because a person errs in actions does not necessarily mean that society is infallible.

Continue to work diligently and always smile....I always notice. Have a good week!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 6:

Week 6 MS Word

Week 6 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 5

2007-09-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 5th week of school! Yes, we have reached the midpoint of the first quarter. Please continue to self-reflect. Have you developed disciplined work habits? Do I show concern for others? Have I made positive contributions to the class?

Remember, in order to succeed in this course, YOU must accept responsibility by attending class consistently and participating regularly. Daily grades are based on the your sincere effort to:

--- arrive in class on time everyday
--- come prepared with materials and homework
--- use class time wisely by working hard and showing respect for others

Work hard...I always notice!

Some important deadlines/notes:
10/1: First draft of comparative essay due
10/3: Final copy due
Please bring Ibsen's A Doll's House to class this week.
Please bring in $2.00 for The Awakening.

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 5:

Week 5 MS Word

Week 5 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Week 4

2007-09-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

We have covered a good deal of information in the opening weeks of school. You are beginning to look at literature carefully by considering the writer's craft: what is in the language that creates the meaning? I am impressed by your work ethic and commitment to our discussions.

Remember, in order to succeed in this course, YOU must accept responsibility by attending class consistently and participating regularly. Daily grades will be based on the your sincere effort to:

--- arrive in class on time everyday
--- come prepared with materials and homework
--- use class time wisely by working hard and showing respect for others

Work hard...I always notice!

Here are your assignments/Agenda for Week 4:

Week 4 MS Word

Week 4 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.

Welcome - Weeks 1-3

2007-08-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Advanced Placement Literature and Composition. This course is a challenging one, based on concepts rather than facts, where each unit builds on the one preceding it. Therefore, in order to succeed in this course, each student must accept his responsibility to attend class consistently and participate regularly. Daily grades will be based on the student's sincere effort to:

--- arrive in class on time everyday
--- come prepared with materials and homework
--- use class time wisely by working hard and showing respect for others

Assignments Weeks 1-3

Week1-3 MS Word

Week 1-3 pdf

If you have questions about these assignments, please leave a comment or email me directly. Remember, I will check the blog until 9:59 pm. You know I need my Seinfeld fix.