March 31-April 11 April 14, 2008

The past few weeks have been extremely busy, and I have gotten quite a bit behind with my blogging.  Here’s an update on our classroom activities for the past weeks–we have completed quite a few activities, including the following:

• We’ve been doing an intense grammar review.  So far, we’ve worked on parts of the sentence, clauses, and sentence types.  We’ve also reviewed verb tenses, punctuation, and pronoun forms.  Finally, we have examined agreement and clear reference.
•  Senior Project letters are in the fnal stages of revision.  Final drafts of the letter to the mentor and the letter to the judges are due on Monday, April 21.  These letters should use full left block business letter format.  They should be edited carefully for correct grammar and spelling.
• Students are working on completing their Senior Project products.  Many students have completed several hours already with their mentors.  Senior Project products should be completed by May 1.
• Students have begun working on a poetry presentation in groups of three.  The first set of presentations will be held tomorrow.  Students have selected a poet and poem of their choice from the British literary anthology.  They have written literary response journals, created handouts, and designed tests based on their poems.  They have also developed oral and visual presentations to share with the class.  Finally, they have written a group literary analysis essay. 
• Laptops will be distributed tomorrow, April 15, at 6:00 p.m. in Moffat Auditorium.  Parents must be present in order for students to receive their laptops.  Once students have their laptops, we will begin developing our Senior Project presentations.  This process will take us a few weeks, and then we will be ready to present the projects to the community on May 13.  Parents and mentors are invited to attend the presentations.

There is more to come as I continue to update this blog.   

Tuesday and Wednesday, March 18-19 March 19, 2008

On Tuesday, we played a Macbeth bingo review game.  We also worked a little on sonnets and discussed the major test for Wednesday. 

Test is on Wednesday… sonnets are due on Thursday.  Remember to continue working on Senior Projects.   

Monday, March 17 March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

We read and discussed several examples of sonnets today.  Students in the class have an assignment.  They must write an original sonnet and submit it by Thursday, March 20.  The sonnet must contain the following features:

• 14 lines
• ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme sceme
• Three quatrains plus a rhyming couplet (organization)
• Problem/solution (organization)
• Iambic pentameter (daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM)
• A clear, logical theme

The sonnet must be typed and must include at least one image and a colorful border. 

Thursday and Friday, March 13-14 March 14, 2008

We finished reading and viewing the play Macbeth.  On Friday, students did 32-second skits based on the play.  This was very funny!  The class actually managed to act out the play in 27 seconds.  We also looked at several quotations from the play, identified the speaker, addressee, and context and then discussed them as examples of paradox or equivocation. 

Wednesday, March 12 March 12, 2008

We finished reading Act IV today.  Students then created a wanted poster for Macbeth.  We will share these posters tomorrow and move on to Act V. 

Discussion Question for March 10-16

If you were going to compile a soundtrack for Macbeth, what songs would you include?  Why?  Identify at least five songs you would choose and explain your choices. 

Your response to this discussion question is due by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 16. 

Tuesday, March 11 March 11, 2008

Students shared their motifs visuals today.  They covered blood, death, insanity, and manliness.  I went over the remaining motifs with the class.  We then moved on the witches’ cauldrons and discussed how the ingredients and Macbeth’s willing interaction with the witches reflect his evil nature.  We then read more of Act IV, getting through most of Scene 1. 

Monday, March 10

Today students finished assignments they began last week–the witches’ cauldron close-reading activity and the motifs chart.  Some students finished early and viewed clips from the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s performance video. 

Thursday, March 6 March 6, 2008

Today we finished viewing Macbeth, Act III.  We then began three assignments that we will complete tomorrow:

1. Finish reading Act III, Scenes 6-5
2. Trace one motif as it appears throughout the play so far.  Create a visual representing this motif.  Include illustrations, symbols, and quotations in your visual.  You can choose from the following motifs:
   • blood
   • death
   • sleeplessness
   • guilt
   • hypocrisy
   • insanity
   • manliness
   • ambition
   • equivocation
   • hell
   • disorder
3. Read Act IV, Scene 1.  Create a drawing of the witches’ cauldron.  Include all of the ingredients in the cauldron and label each of them. 

Be prepared to discuss and present your cauldron and motifs on Monday.  Daphne has volunteered to go to Hocutt to get more markers if necessary.

I will not be here on Friday.  Have fun working on these assignments.  I will see all of you on Monday!  Have a great weekend. 

Wednesday, March 5 March 5, 2008

We viewed Macbeth, Acts I-II today.  We will view Act III tomorrow and move on to an oral reading of Act IV.