APELC Class Notes
Period 4 APECLers, you did the same as your colleagues yesterday. We got more out of the sentence-mimic, and we’ll certainly try more.
See you next week.
English 9 Class Notes
Periods 2 and 6 freshmen, we completed much the same as your peers yesterday. Please make sure you attend the homework I gave you in class.
Have a a great weekend.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) processed texts from multiple genres, and 2) mimicked an author’s style.
Third juniors and seniors, before you processed the Brit piece from the text, I engaged you on a idea Ben offered in class the day before, that, members of any system can never examine such a system objectively and that individuals necessarily bring biases. I challenged fourth period and you then to examine the idea that science, as our socially constructed means of examining the universe, that is, the objective real system in which we exist, is subjective and therefore is as biased as in its truth claims as any religion. You seemed to conclude that science and even math aren’t as trustworthy as we may think, and that acceptance of their truth claims are a matter of belief or faith. Intriuguing.
We examined more of the life of Malcolm X and the claims of Elijah Muhammad and finished the day with a sentence-mimicking exercise, something your 2007-2008 peers practiced a lot but which I’ve not planned much this year. I’ll plan more. It was a popular activity before, and is a neat exercise in creativity.
Peace.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and corrected conventions errors in consultative, written language, 2) identified and explained character, setting, idiom, plot, imagery, irony, point of view, motif, symbol, and theme in a drama.
Period 1 freshmen, you began by correcting conventions errors in a piece of writing I projected on the board today. Then we completed the second act of our drama and were able to watch a portion of the film before you turned in your homework and took a quiz. I think the rest of the play may go slowly, but I think it’ll be worth it to get as much out it as we can. Think of it as a serialized drama. (I’ll explain in class.)
Attend your homework.
See you Monday.
APELC Class Notes
Period four juniors and seniors, we covered the same material as yesterday but fell too short on time to discuss the Britt piece. Please pay close attention to following note intended for all APELCers.
ASSIGNMENT UPDATES. Because of the nature of problems posting to the site these past two days and my failure to mention it in fourth today, the Critical Writing paper I’d intended you to write for the Britt text is canceled. If you’ve already done it or still want to do it, you may turn it in for an extra-quarter writing credit.
Further, because of time constraints, I didn’t properly address the new mode paper and so I’ve moved the first draft due date to next Tuesday and Wednesday; please examine item 1 under Additional Writing Topics on page 221 of your reader for a subject or select one of your own in the same vein.
And, because I’ve moved the due date for your first comparison and contrast draft, the I-search summary-proposal due date has changed to Thursday and Friday.
I’m trying to keep it together for you, kids.
Peace.
English 9 Class Notes
Second and sixth freshmen, we had no time for conventions error correction practice today because of the shortened hour, but we covered the same material in Romeo and Juliet as your peers did yesterday.
Here’s a painting by Frank Dicksee of his interpretation of the balcony scene from the second act of our drama, Romeo and Juliet from 1884.
Please don’t wait to complete the homework due Friday. Start it now.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers processed texts from multiple genres.
Third hour juniors and seniors, we began by looking at the visual texts from the reader, American Gothic by Grant Wood and “Rural Rehabilitation Clients” by Ben Shahn, which I’ve posted below and then we began our discussion of the Britt piece.
Finally, we reviewed Elijah Muhammad’s account of the origin of black and white men as retold by Malcolm X in his autobiography, and I asked you whether we legitimately evaluate this foundational aspect of the Nation of Islam’s worldview as true or false. Delicious discussion ensued.
Please check your class page for homework details.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and corrected conventions errors in consultative, written language, 2) identified and explained character, setting, idiom, plot, imagery, irony, point of view, motif, symbol, and theme in a drama.
First freshmen, today we began the second act of our drama and watched the same portion (the famous balcony scene) of the film after some conventions error corrections practice. That’s all.
Check your class page for homework details.
See you Thursday.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) defined and explained metaphor, and 2) reviewed aspects of worldview.
Periods 3 and 4, we talked over metaphor, and I offered you some examples from Lakoff and we tried develop some of our own. Check out more at the Conceptual Metaphor Homepage. Then I spent some time detailing the research paper on worldview you’ll be completing this quarter, more about which you can find on your class page. (Please pay close attention to the dates of various drafts of the paper.)
Attend your homework. I’ll see you next class.
NOTE. Today Tony mentioned that he discovered God over the weekend, and he inlcuded in his explanation concepts of time. Since I haven’t posted a real linkjam this year, I thought I’d at least post some links in the class notes, this time about…time. One of the episodes of Melvyn Bragg’s In Our Time this season is about the physics of time, and it’s well worth a listen. The Philosopher’s Zone isn’t archived or available for streaming after the initial podcast, but if you’re up for some reading you can read the transcript of “Time for Philosophers” from last spring. It was also a quality program. And Taylor and Chongwoo mentioned different infinities, so here’s a BBC documentary from 2006 related to time, in two parts, that I found enlightening: “A Brief History of Infinity: Space and the Universe”.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and explained character, setting, idiom, plot, imagery, irony, point of view, motif, symbol, and theme in a drama, and 2) compared a film text presentation to an audio and traditional texts’.
Freshmen, today we spent time in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film version of our drama and I pointed out several differences between the visual and audio presentations. Many of you were taking great notes, and that shows your interest. Good job.
We’ll begin the second act next class. Please attend your homework detailed on your class page.
APELC Class Notes
Fourth juniors and seniors, not as fiery as your third period peers yesterday, but interesting nonetheless. Check your colleagues’ notes for objectives and details.
See you Monday.
English 9 Class Notes
Periods 2 and 6 freshmen, we did the same as your friends in first period yesterday, so check their notes for objectives and details.
Have a great weekend.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) wrote an argument (synthesis), and 2) processed an autobiographical text.
Period 3 juniors and seniors, you completed timed-writing 7 today (actually your twelfth if we count A, B, and your three practice free-response essays from the penultimate week of the fall semester), and we went on to discuss The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the subject’s time as Detroit Red. Lauren suggested the purpose of the text was an exposition of Malcolm X’s life in which he laid out his worldview for his audience; Andrew argued further that the purpose of the book is apologetic.
Megan noted Malcolm’s ability to evaluate himself and his worldview critically without fear (I would add this is a product of his reflection later in his life as broke from the Nation of Islam); and, in an attempt to define the terms in response to Andrew’s claim that Malcolm’s worldview was merely pragmatic, Megan also astutely differentiated between utilitarianism and pragmatism: the former promoting the greatest good, the latter encouraging the greatest expediency.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen will identify and explain character, setting, idiom, plot, imagery, irony, point of view, motif, symbol, and theme in a drama.
First period, I relied on your preparation from Tuesday as we plowed through the first act of Romeo and Juliet today. This drama, as with all of Shakepeare’s play, can be quite naughty and quite enlightening with the former sometimes engendering the other. We’ll keep it interesting for the next few weeks as we proceed through the story.
Check your class page for homework details and have a nice weekend.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) processed a speech, and 2) responded to peers’ definition drafts.
We started, fourth period with a familiar favorite today, Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech; it was apropos. Then you spent the rest of the class trading and reviewing your colleagues’ second definition drafts.
You’ve seen it many times, but here’s a video presentation of King’s speech; perhaps you might see it in a different light since our process and discussion.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen identified and explained character, setting, idiom, plot, imagery, irony, point of view, motif, symbol, and theme in a drama.
Second and sixth freshmen, we began Romeo and Juliet in earnest today and we spent a lot of time on the first and the beginning of the second scenes, going over, in detail, ways to understand Shakespeare’s challenging Elizabethan (early modern) English. We’ll continue next class.
APELC Class Notes
As I wrote to the freshmen, check you peers’ notes tomorrow for objectives and details of what you covered today as it’ll be the same.
I regret being out today since I’m sure I’ll miss some fun discussion about the inauguration. We’ll talk about it next class.
See you then.
English 9 Class Notes
First freshmen, what I left for you today I’ll also do with your second and sixth period peers tomorrow. Please check their notes for objectives and details when I post them.
I hope you were good for the sub today. I’ll find out when I return.
APELC Class Notes
Fourth period, a slow day today was with many of you were absent (best wishes to our Decathletes) or tardy (don’t be tardy). We briefly discussed Leong and your reactions as your third period colleguaes did yesterday. And we began to see how Malcolm Little’s disorganized worldview was the beginning of what would later become Detroit Red’s much more deliberate, established mode of living and understanding his world in Boston and New York.
We spent the portion of the period in the liberry where you scanned possible topics for your worldview paper. Some of you seem close to selecting a worldview, and others still have some deciding to do, bu there’s plenty of time. I’ll present you with details next week about your worldview paper.
Timed-writings and cover sheets Tuesday, and drafts Wednesday.
Have a good weekend.
English 9 Class Notes
Second and sixth period freshmen, we did much the same as your first period peers did Tuesday. I’ll also be looking at your scores closely to see how I mihgt use them to better serve you.
Have a good weekend.