Tuesday, December 18, 2012

SCRIBE 12-17-12



Started class by reviewing our thesises from Friday.

Spent the rest of the time getting ready for the final tomorrow 1st period.  Bring in a printed copy of outline before class. DO NOT PRINT IT DURRING CLASS!!!

Keep in  mind:
       Must use at least 4 of the 5 texts
       No personal words: I, you, me, my, our, we, us
       No: This quote means...
       Lead in, "quote" (citation). Quotes can't stand alone. They must be part of a sentence.  
       Proper citation:
       (Sophocles, Oedipus).
       (Anonymous, Beowulf).
       (Chaucer, Canterbury).
       (Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1.2.3-7)
       Skeletal outline printed out a ready to turn in. Print out ahead of time
       Print out essay
       Bring own technology?
       Save outline and save writing numerous times and numerous places

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Friday 12/14

Friday December 14th

First, we took the Act 5 Hamlet quiz
Next, we watched the Mel Gibson version of the fight scene in act 5 and talked about the differences between Branaugh's version.
Last, we went over the guidelines and requirements for the final and will continue on Monday

For Homework:
Come with a thesis, and your quotes for your final essay on Monday.
Here is a link for the power point we saw in class

https://docs.google.com/presentation/pub?id=1a1M5C0rnh2Nr5lnQFEQEIxVLT5NXLPLZ7Rg8WEtTfMo&start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000#slide=id.g5849022b_2_13

Friday, December 14, 2012

Scribe: Wednesday, 12/12/12

Today we watched the Kenneth Branaugh version of Hamlet for the first activity of the class

Then we participated in Act 5 fishbowl

Homework: Study guide posted on Mrs. Smiths web-page, study! remember to respond on Act 5 question on class blog. Have done BEFORE Fridays class.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Wednesday 12/12

In class we watched the Baranaugh fight scene then we had the act 5 fishbowl.

For homework we have to answer the blog question before class on Friday and prepare for the final.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Scribe for December 12/12/2012

Today in class: We had a fich bowl over act 5. Finished Branaugh movie scenes.

Main topics discussed:
  • What contribution did the Grave digger scene bring to the theme of death?
  • Did Shakespear find death humorous when it was caused by someones selfishness?
  • was Shakespear exploring the idea of Karma, having to do with everyone's death?
    What was the change of emotion for in Gertrude toward her son at the end of the play?

Homework: STUDY!! for act 5 test on friday. Answer ACT 5 blog question by friday.

Act 5 Question

With the order of the deaths at the end of Act 5, do you think there is symbolism? What do you think Shakespeare was trying to get across for his last big moment in the play?

Hamlet Act 5 Fishbowl

Monday, December 10, 2012

Monday 12/10/12

Today we had a substitute teacher, Mr. Rosenberg.

When class began, we immediately continued reading Hamlet. We read from Act 5 scene 2, up until the end of the book.

After finishing reading Hamlet, we watched the final scenes from Act 5 in the Branaugh version of the movie. We did not end up having time to watch scenes from the Oliver or Gibson versions of the movie.

For any further information, here is the link to the calendar for this weeks agenda.

Homework: Prepare for Act 5 fishbowl on wednesday.




Sunday, December 9, 2012

Scribe for December 7, 2012

-Started class by assigning parts to read Act-5, then we read Act-5.
-Watched the Graveyard scene of the Hamlet movie and had a quiz over Act 3-4.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Wednesday 12/5/12

Today was a PLC late start.

At the beginning of class we discussed the agenda for the rest of the week, and then immediately began the fishbowl for Act 4.

Throughout the fishbowl we discussed multiple things such as, the sanity of the characters Hamlet & Ophelia, the death of Polonius & Ophelia, the repeating theme of characters losing their father, the ghost of King Hamlet, Claudius' plans for Hamlet, Fortinbras and his army, Hamlet getting on the wrong boat, as well as several other events.

For any further information, here is a link to Week 15 agenda

Homework: Everyone besides the fishbowl leaders need to answer the Act 4 blog question.

Act 4 Question

Do you think Hamlet purposely got onto the pirate ship? If so do you think he knew about Claudius's plan?

December 5, 2012

PLC DAY TODAY!!!

Good morning all. No one brought donuts. Again. I’m going to die of starvation. It’s a rough day. But we have shortened class periods, so that’s good!

Anywho, here’s what we did today:

At the beginning of class we talked about the rest of the week and prepared for the fishbowl.

Then, we had the fishbowl with questions such as:
1. Is Hamlet responsible for Ophelia’s death?
2. Will Hamlet come to a similar end as Ophelia has due to their insanity?
3. Will Laertes think that Hamlet killed Ophelia also?
4. Is Hamlet going truly insane?
5. If he has gone insane, is it in sadness or rage?
6. What will happen to Hamlet since he got on the wrong boat?

And others like these.


If you need any extra information on what this week will entail, here is the LINK to the powerpoint.

Also, if you are struggling with what Hamlet actually means, go HERE and it is really helpful. Although it is Sparknotes, and this shouldn't take the place of reading, if you are struggling on what it means this should help.
HOMEWORK: All you need to do for homework is answer the blog question that has been posted on the blog. Unless you are a presenter.



Hamlet Act 4 Fishbowl

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Scribe December 2, 2012

Make sure you are prepared for the act 4 fishbowl!

Today we took our act 3&4 quiz as we watched the Olivier version of Hamlet.
-We payed close attention to how ophelia has lost her mind.\

Then we watched the other two versions, and compared the difference in the degree of ophelia's lunacy. We also talked about the connection between the type of craziness and the time period the interpretation was created in.

Differences between the first (Olivier), second(Gibson), and third(the other one):

1st- Ophelia's craziness is more innocent and somber, she is so nice, and it appears her mind has regressed multiple years. (she handed out physical flowers to everyone like a young girl would)

2nd- She was a little more ravenous, and depressed. Her clothes were dirty and appeared like poor rags. She acted extrememly innapropriate and was mean. The dirtiness of her clothes also made her appearance slightly less innocent.

3rd- Ophelia was so crazy that she was locked in a room in a straight jacket. She was extrememlyangry and very vocal about it, it appeared she did not have to ability to understand what she was going through. Then she proceeded to hand out fake flowers, just adding to the pity of her family.

-Sorry this is a little late

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Scribe November 30

Today we started class by watching the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet, we watched the bedroom scene.

Then, we talked about the relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet, and why Hamlet is so aggressive/violent towards Gertrude.

Then, we started reading act 4 all the way until class ends.

For Homework: Finish reading act 4, and study and review for the Act 3-4 quiz on Monday.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Scribe for November 28

Hey everyone! So we did not do a bunch of different things today, but here's what you all need to know!

First, we watched the scenes from Hamlet that we started on Monday.

Then, we did the act 3 fishbowl.

And that was it!

All you guys have to do for homework is the blog question from act 3! Have fun guys.

Hamlet Act 3 Blog Question

To what extent is the ghost of Hamlet's father real? Is Hamlet hallucinating at some point, possibly letting the idea of the gist infiltrate his psyche? Or is it real at all?

Hamlet Act 3 Fishbowl

Monday, November 26, 2012

We began class with a new seating chart. We reviewed Act II and finished reading Act III.
        In Act III the theme of eavesdropping was introduced again. Eavesdropping highlights the mutual mistrust of each other that the people in the castle have towards each other.  Questions to ask yourself during Act III.
  • Is Claudius really guilty for killing his brother? 
  • What are the benefits that Claudius has gained because of his brothers death? If anything, what has Claudius lost?
  • If Hamlet kills his uncle, will he be damned? 
  • When his father appears as a ghost to him again, is the ghost a manifestation of his guilt or is the ghost actually existent?  
  • Why can't the Queen see the ghost of her husband? 
  • Why is the King sending Hamlet to England? 
  • Why does Hamlet compare his father and Claudius to his mother?
  • Is the Queen guilty?
  • Why does Hamlet encourage his mother to refrain from contact with Claudius?
  • Is Ophelia living in a prison of herself? Is Hamlet? 
  • Is Hamlet a coward or a man of inaction?
  • What is the significance of Hamlet's vengeance only pertaining to women? (Ophelia, His mother) 
After reading we watched two different versions of the Act. That's it- Have a great day!    

Friday, November 16, 2012

November 16

We read act 3. For the Monday that we get back we have the fishbowl over act 3.
Have a great Thanksgiving. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

11/14/12 Scribe

Hey guys! Here's what you missed:

  • We started class with Smith handing back some (not all) of our graded reading projects.
  • Took the Act 2 quiz, and drew turkeys for extra credit.
  • Then we discussed things to look for in acts 3 and 4:
    • Claudius' reaction to Hamlet killing
    • R&G and their relationship with Hamlet
    • Where does Claudius banish Hamlet to?
    • What's up with Fortinbras?
    • focus on the famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy
    • What's Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship?
    • With the play within the play (playception) how does Claudius react?
    • What's Polonious and Claudius' plot?
    • What up with Ophelia?
    • Hamlet is a man of inaction?
    • How is Ophelia victimized?
And that's it! Don't be too sad if you weren't here today because it was a DONUT-less Wednesday. I'm not upset or anything.... Bye!

-Jessica Sotwick 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Monday November 12, 2012

Hello everyone.

 I don't know about your but my Monday morning was cold, early and tired. I am counting down the days until Fall break. But until then we must push on.
Today in English Literature we read the last few pages of act 2 of Hamlet and discussed the play within the play idea. Then out came lab tops and a tables in a circles to start the act 2 fishbowl. If you want to know what the outer Circe talked about look at the post for act 2 fishbowl. In the inner circle. there was decision about the role of Women in Shakespeare, how character used each other and and overall message from the text.
For homework:
1. Respond the the blog question asked by the act 2 presenters
2. Review act 2 of Hamlet for a quiz on Wednesday

Hamlet Blog Post for Act Two

Do you think it is possible that Hamlet is truly going insane, due to the recent events that have taken place?

Hamlet Act 2 Fishbowl

Friday, November 9, 2012

Friday November 9, 2012

Guess what! Only one more week until Thanksgiving break.

Plus it's a Friday so today was guaranteed to be a good one. Now I could explain further why today was so special but that is not why you are reading my post.  If you are reading this you probably are in Smith English Lit class first hour and you want to know what we did in class. And because I am the scribe for today it is my job to tell what happened. But before I continue, I hope you realize that today was a great day.
Anyway, English went like this:
  1. Smith was gone today (and we missed her) so there was a sub
  2. We read as a class Hamlet starting from 2.2.40 till 2.2.572 (We did finish the act because the sub wanted to have time to watch the movies)
  3. Then we watched some scene from the different Hamlet movies about the act we had just read
Homework: If you are leading the act 2 fishbowl you need to meet as a group and create a critical review, syllabus and blog question
For everyone else I would suggest finishing act 2 because the fishbowl is on Monday

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wednesday 11/7/2012


Wednesday 11/7/2012
Happy day after Election day!
We started with going over what the Critical Reading part of your fishbowl should be. To get help on this you can log onto the subscription sites to do some research. If you are at home: Go to the AHS page, go to the Library tab and scroll down to the Cite Sources. Then on the left hand side of the page it says AHS Online Subscription Resources. Click on this:
Username: ashonline
Password: arapahoe
Then scroll down to the Language Arts section and can click on a site type in what you want to know about Hamlet and create your critical reading part for fishbowl. If you are at school just click on the AHS home page to the Subscription cites and follow the same steps.

*When you are leading the fishbowl make sure you post your blog question ASAP on the class blog so everyone can answer it!

Next we took a quiz over Act 1 in groups of 2-3. If you missed this please see Mrs. Smith to set up a time to take it.

Here are some questions to look at while reading Act 2: (page 69)

1.How is Reynaldo supposed to spy on Laertes?
2.Keep in mind Polonius and Ophelias relationship.
3.What is the characterization we gained about Polonius in Act 2?
4.What does ophelia report to polins? And what is his reaction with that information?
5.What does Claudius ask of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
6.Rosencrantz and Guildenstern make a decision regarding their friendship with hamlet what is 7.Shakespeare trying to tell us about friendships?

We read up to page 81 line 40.
Mrs. Smith will also not be here on friday, but we will continue to read Act 2 and then do the fishbowl on Monday.

Wednesday 11/7/12

Wednesday 11/7/12

We started class with talking about the requirements for the fishbowls.  Make sure you are doing the critical reading.  That mean going onto AHS subscription sites, and under language arts, click any source, and look up the different questions for Hamlet that you need.  Also make sure your blog question are posted the day of your fishbowl!

Next we took the act one quiz.  Make sure to study!

Next week on Monday, we will have the fishbowl for act two.

Start on page 69
We started reading act two.  While reading keep track of... 1.   how is Reynaldo suppose to spy on Laertes? 2.  Keep in mind about Polonius and Ophelia relationship? 3.  What is the characterization of Polonius? 4.  What does Ophelia report to Polonius and what was his reaction? 5.  What does Claudius ask of R, and G? 6.  R, and G make a decision about their friendship with Hamlet...what does Shakespeare want to tell us about friendships?

Think about how smart Hamlet is acting.  Even though he is acting crazy, is he really crazy?  Think about how Hamlet is "killing two birds with one stone" when he goes to Ophelia, and how he needs to find a way to make Claudius to confess.  



Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Hamlet blog post for act one

How does anger define Hamlet as a character and how does anger fuel his life as normal people's live?

Monday, November 5, 2012


11/2/12

Hey everyone.  So sorry this is late.  It was my state weekend.

Reading Hamlet, Act 1,

Ghost scenes: Branaugh (11), Olivier (8), and Gibson (8).

HW: Fishbowl act 1 group meeting review, syllabus, blog question post fishbowl.

Hamlet Act 1 Fishbowl

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

October 26, 2012
  • In Class: continued presentations throughout the entire class period
  • If you have not presented your man Booker prize yet you need to go in and see smith and schedule a time to present to her during an off hour, before, or after school.
  • don't forget Literary Locker Tags were due October 24 and if you did not turn it in with the rubric get it in asap.
  • Next week: we are beginning our hamlet unit, we will be separating in small groups for fishbowl discussions.
  • Don't forget that first semester is coming to an end and the final is an in class essay "what is a hero" everything is online so you can start planning for it earlier.
  • Have a great weekend warriors.
  •  

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ava K. Period 1 2nd Scribe

Happy Wednesday Donut Day!

The first thing we did was hand in rubrics for our Literary Locker Tags, a half page purple sheet that should have all of your group member names. This includes the requirements of drawing your assigned character from the prologue of Canterbury Tales, including their appearance/transportation, how they relate to Middle Ages, vices and challenging them to break those evils, skills they bring to their journey, etc.

Today is the first day of Man Booker Prize Presentations

Here is the list of people assigned to present their projects this day:
1.Addie
2.Savannah R.
3.Kristen
4.Savannah A.
5.Tristin
6.Sam
7.Kim

Ran out time, the remaining order of people will continue first on Friday

8.Luc
9.Jeff
10.Eli
11.Jason
12.Jess
13.Elle
14.Matt
15.Yanni

If you are not on the list for today, make sure you are fully prepared to present on Friday with all requirements.
The rubric can be found on Mrs. Smith's teacher page (http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/Default.aspx?tabid=1873)
under Semester One with the name of Independent Reading Assignment


Friday, October 12, 2012

Ava K. Period 1 1st Scribe

Happy Friday!

We continued reading the prologue for Canterbury Tales pgs. 114-125
Lines 295-766

Discussions of each character:

Oxford Cleric: 
-problems include borrowing money from friends, never repairing them their money which he spends on learning with books and school. 
-doesn't use money to take care of himself based of his hollow look (starving)

Serjeant at the Law:
-"Appearance said enough", does make a lot of money based on his clothing
-Writes judgements based off the law, has an incredible memory for the law
-Seems to be very busy, yet there is not much to do

Franklin:
-Landowner with large amount of money
-Lived for pleasure, he enjoyed company in his house to be a generous host with joy of entertainment
-Gives back to government as a representative and was a model for the gentry (lower class)

Haberdasher, Dyer, Carpenter, Weaver, and Carpet Maker:
-Guild fertilities (trade class) 

Cook:
-Was an excellent cook, yet not very religious

Skipper: 
-Enjoyed being on sea, if robbed by pirates would fight back
-Travels all over, tan from being outside
-Clumsy on land

Doctor: 
-If you weren't that sick, he would still prescribe medicine were you still pay him money and still get back more money from the apothecary
-Used astronomy to tell you the kind of sickness you had 
-Had a special love for gold, greedy. Says it is good for the heart. 

Woman/ Wife of Bath:
-Seems to be a good Christian 
-Had a heart for the Oldest Stances (sex)
-Five husbands
-Wear scandalous garments, spends money on herself more than the church
-gap teeth: especially fitted for love, boldness

Parson:
-He would do what he needed to do in his on parish, yet would never leave the flock
-Very religious and devoted to group, poor yet enjoyed the blessing of his parish   
-Perception of pretty descent guy

Plowman:
-Hardworking, diligent, generous for his worship to God
-Still gives money to Church more than self

Miller:
-Very strong man, very large
-Plays bagpipes, which lead the group out of town
-Farmers would bring grain to Miller either to sell or grind up for them to take home
-Gives unfair prices 

Manciple:
 -Can not read or write, yet is owner of law enforcement
-Cheated on workers on pay
-Takes money for himself 

Reeve:
-He takes care of his state, very good at his job, yet is unfair to his employees 
-He doesn't put effort into himself, indicated by his rusty blade

Summoner:
-Imposes punishment on those for your sins
-When he catches you doing sin, you can give him money/ substance for him to forgive you.
-He does not have a pleasant face, does not take care of anything other than his drinking and his pocket

Pardoner:
-Scams people by selling things such as pig bones as "Wholy bones from Jesus"
-his cap didn't cover his head he was not loyal to the church

Homework: Man Booker Presentation, Literary Locker Tag
Note: If you have a group of four, you are to make locker tags for two characters
          A list of people presenting man Booker for October 24 is on Day Oct. 10 on this blog



























-

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

October 10, 2012


Happy doughnut Wednesday! 
October 10, 2012
Today in class we chose groups and a charter for the literally locker tag, we also read prologue for the Canterbury Tales. Also, we started sign up for Man Booker Prize presentation on 10/24:
1. Addie
2. Savannah
3.Kristen
4. Savannah A.
5. Tristin
6.Sam
7.Kim
8. Luc
9. Jeff
10.Eli
11. Jason
12. Jess
13. Elle
14. Matt
15. Yanni


Literally Locker Tag:
We signed up in groups of three, if you had four in your group then you chose two characters.

Prologue for Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
We started reading on page 107 and ended on 114 at the Oxford Cleric
  • Some background information: Their were 29 travelers and the host will describe all of the charters and along the way each character told there own stories (which are the Canterbury Tales),who ever told the best tale won a nights stay at the tavern
  • while reading keep in mind that the church was a corrupt entity
Her are the characters and their characteristics that we have read so far:

Knight:
has passion in his horse and sportsman, he follows chivalry.He doesn’t care how he dresses
Squire: He cares alot about possessions and looks, when he should not because he should be ready to go into battle, he showers more than others and is more of a renaissance man but he serves his father
Yeoman: carried bows and arrows, he is religious because he carries the metal of St. Christopher, doesn’t dress to fancy, pretty middle class, also carries a dagger shield and sword, dirty because he worked outside a lot
Nun (Madame Eglentyne): Holds herself to high standard, good manners, good personality friendly and outgoing , she is gluttonous (she is a large woman who rides a horse because she cant walk, likes to sound more educated than she is, high forehead, she gives food to animals instead of the poor
Monk: good hunter, does not study, owns many horses, has many possessions (does not adhere to rules of church), has fur lines, gold pins, large man
Friar: gives penits, luxriousness, gives girls little pins and pocket knives, only if you pay him will he give you forgiveness but only really forgives the wealthy because they pay him more money, spends his time in the bars, wears clothes that makes him look poorer than he is
Merchant: he is in hudge debt but does not look like it



HW: Man Booker Prize presentation , work on literally locker tag

Monday, October 8, 2012

Monday October 8th
We started off by turning in the in-class essay that we started on friday

We had a meeting with our Man Booker groups

  • The new due date for our presentation is October 24th
We then took a quiz over the background of Canterbury Tails and the middle ages 
HW:Work on our literary locker tag and start to wrap our man booker story.



Matt Donohoe

Sunday, October 7, 2012

FRIDAY, OCT. 5TH

What's gucci?! Today we spent the entirety of class working on Beowulf essays. It was somewhat enjoyable. It was originally due at the end of class, but no one finished. The new due date is MONDAY OCT. 8TH. The link for the essay requirements can be found on Smith's website and on the scribe post for Wednesday the 3rd. 

I did my essay on how Beowulf embodies four traits of an epic hero; pride, supernatural power, invincibility, and taking a symbolic descent into hell. For your thesis, you must have:
  • Title
  • Author (anonymous)
  • Point that you are going to prove?
  • Why is it relevant/how does it pertain to story?

 In each paragraph, you must do the following:
  • Have 2 quotes. Since I have 4 body paragraphs, I will have a total of 8 quotes.
  • Lead-in for each quote, along with citation.
  • ex. Beowulf exclaimed, "Oh my, I am naked" (Anonymous line 376).
  • Quote explainations: 1. What does it say? 2. Connect it to the point of the paragraph. 3. Connect it to the thesis.
Lastly, you will have a conclusion paragraph. Also, if you would like to receive extra credit, use the word "hiatus" properly somewhere in your essay. Bring a printed copy of your essay to class.
<3 Danger

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wednesday 10/3

LATE START

We have an In class essay on friday over Beowulf, here is the link to the topics: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7HKsWF2Z1WHdkVJV29iYWV6Zzg/edit?pli=1

Here are some tips for the Essay:
  •  Thesis
    • Title, Author, Point, Why
  • Body:
    • Topic Sentence, main idea, why
    • set up situation
    • lead in, "quote" (anonymous 276). - 2/3 per paragraph
    • explain quote
      • connect to point your proving
    • transition to next example
    • concluding sentece
    • repeat for the # of body paragraphs you have
  • Conclusion:
    • Restate thesis
    • summarize argument
    • end in satisfying conclusion
  • Don'ts
    • Personal words - I, you, me, my, our, we, us 
    • No contractions
    • No words like things, stuff, generalities, good, bad
    • Misspelling of characters names
We ended with continuing our poster work on Beowulf

Monday, October 1, 2012

Monday October 1

Homework reminders:
  • Keep reading your Mann Booker prize book, page 245! continue working on your container
  • On friday we will have an in class essay on Beowulf
  • Next Monday we will have a quiz on background knowledge on Canterbury Tales

Finish reading Beowulf, Cantos 12-17
  • In these cantos we see Beowulf become injured and Wiglaf kills Grendel out of loyalty to Beowulf.
  • In the battle between Grendel’s mother and Beowulf we see that Beowulf has to go down to hell to fight her while when he fought Grendel it was in a heaven like place.
  • His pride forces him to also want to fight Grendel’s mother. His pride also makes him bring Grendel’s head down into hell.
  • There are a lot of fate elements, when he kills a monster or is saved Beowulf credits fate. The Christian elements don’t seem to flow as much, like the monks went back a wove it in. One place it is seen is when Grendel’s mom can’t touch Beowulf in water because it symbolizes his baptism in christianity.
  • It shows his fight with the dragon is the end
  • The downfall is very symbolic, it shows the downfall of the Anglo-Saxon ideas, Beowulf’s followers deserting him also supports this idea
  • Christian idea- sprinkle water over his body
  • Kennings: combination of nouns together, example line 595 “the mighty water witch”

On Friday in the class Essay the citation will look like
Lead in..., “Quote...” (Anonymous, Line numbers).

POSTER WORK
  • Look on Ms. Smith’s website for the six different topics
  • On wednesday we will finish the posters

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wednesday September 26, 2012 (Matt Donohoe)

Today we read more of Beowulf and then took a comprehension quiz. We read 5-11.  Basically to sum up what happened in a short sentence it was about Beowulf's journey to defeat Grendel.

Homework: Make sure you read your Man-Booker to page 245 and do your poster work for your story.

Make sure your thoughts and prayers go out to Mrs Smith in a time of need.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012 (Savannah Anderson)

Today, we read turned in the Oedipus essay redoes, and had a quiz over Beowulf 1-4.

Homework: read Man Booker Prize, pg. 230, and work on presentation container.

Notes!

Things to listen for:
-characteristics of epic poems and epic heroes
-impressions of Beowulf, Hrothgar, and Grendel
-Anglo-Saxon ideals
-Good vs. evil
-literary elements

We read 5-11 for Beowulf, and talked about some of the characters. We were introduced to Grendel, the monster that swipes people and murders them. We were also introduced to Beowulf, and he is described as the strongest man that has ever walked the Earth. We were not able to watch the scenes in the movie, but are looking at watching them either Wednesday or Friday.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Scribage for Friday, September 21st, 2012
Danger Engberson

In Class:
     Today we began class by doing the following:
  • Returning copies of Oedipus the King
  • Meeting with Man Booker Prize partners for Independent Reading meeting 2
  • Reviewing notes on Elements of Literature (pg. 2-19, 47)
  • Taking group quiz (no more than 4 people per group) on reading
  • Mrs. Smith allowed a few minutes for the "Gates of Heaven" to open (where you were permitted to use your book and the knowledge of other groups to find answers)
  • Taking notes on Characteristics of Epic Heroes, in this case, Beowulf
Epic Hero Notes
  • Larger-than-life character
Usually favored by or partially decended from dieties
Can't be beaten
Powerful because of supernatural influence
At one point goes on a literal or figurative decent into hell
Proud
Handsome, similar to Matthew McConaughey
Embodies the following: Host, Christianity/Paganism dynamic, loyalty
  • Epic Poem
Long
Passed down verbally through song or chant
Supernatural influence on main character
Main character believes in gods/dieties
Told for entertainment, while simultaneously showing how humans overcome adversity through perseverance


Homework
  • Read Beowulf pg. 1-4 in English book (quiz on monday)
  • Man Booker Prize through page 215
  • Oedipus Essay corrections due Monday, sept. 24th
p.s. Sorry for the late post, I was busy doing my hair for homecoming
<3 Danger

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Skit Reviews


Sorry for the late post but my WiFi at home didn't feel like working last night but here are the
Reviews of modernization of oedipus skits
1st performance
To start the class the first group took on oedipus in a lord of the rings style with characters such as baby Oedipus, Aragon, Arwin, Shepard, Smeagol, and Samwise. almost all were wearing robes except drew who looked naked in my view which was strange for a class performance but he performed well with his with his well rehearsed Smeagol voice brought laughs to help the skit. With that the group also had a well fitting script that fit the story of Oedipus being sent to the mountain die with the lava filled mount doom. all in all the first group started the class nicely with a little comedy.

2nd performance
The second group moved further in time to the nerdy land of the big bang theory. With a cast playing the five main characters and the comic book guy too, the performance fit the big bang theory style well. The stage looked uncrowded as there was usually only 2 people at center stage at a time. There was some slight comedy added in, including a strip to switch characters that revealed some unpleasantly revealing, tight, red jeans. All in all the group performed well and fit the oedipus theme with some poor acting scenes of people dieing.

3rd performance
Oedipus is now Usain bolt, with all his pride and self greeve he thinks he is the best person out there, which he is in the 100 meter and 200 meter run, Usain or Oedipus feels need to use his strength and self glory to bring hope and pride to his country of Jamaica. In an interview he learns his competition is trying to beat him by the use of steroids, however he is 100% prepared and ready to win his races in the Olympics because of his perfection he sees in himself. With a good script to the story of Oedipus the group’s skit was good but less fun to watch than previous performances, no offense to them, but they had less comic scenes.

4th performance
Oedipus returns to high school, the group went a different style when choosing characters, instead of choosing them based off something else, they played as themselves, which worked well. For the story, a rumor was spread that Brendan stole Trevors headphones, Tristan said its a rumor and tries to protect Brenden. Trevor and Brendan get into a fight about them, Trevor believes brenden has his headphones but Tristin and Colton back up Brenden against Trevor. Most people don’t find interest in other people stealing someones headphones but this group seemed to make it work well.

5th performance
This group performed a talk show, called “whos your momma”. in the show a messenger brings news to Jocasta and Oedipus that Oedipus’s dad is dead but  actually he wasn’t Oedipus’s dad at all, then later, they are told his real dad left him on mountain top but she gave him to polybus, at this point Jocasta felt sick and left the show. before Oedipus could find the truth about his dad the talk show ended and left the audience waiting for more. The group did well and told the story from Oedipus in a good way.

6th performance
The last group took Oedipus on in a zombie fashion. with some comically said repeating saying from the guard and some brain eating tendencies, the performance had some comically added parts. A flaw in acting is that Oedipus’s back was turned toward the audience during some short portions of the skit. The story told fit the requirements toward Oedipus, but a flaw in the idea is that Jocasta, a zombie, killed herself and zombies are already dead so how could she of been able to kill herself. Other than that the performance was good and the group did well.

Monday, September 17, 2012

September 17, 2012

Happy Monday!
Today was the first day of Homecoming week, Western day! Yeeeeeha!

In class:
Homework: 
  • Read your Man-Booker Prize books. You should be on page 190
  • Read "Middle Ages" pages 2-19, 47
    • You can copy the necessary pages from the Elements of Literature book, if you aren't a fan of huge books.
    • Think about: Roles of Various groups influencing culture? Women's roles? Wyrd? Bards and scoops? Role of the church? King Alfred? Role of monasteries?
  • Finish the Modernizing Oedipus Project. It is to be performed Wednesday in class
  • There will be a quiz over the "Middle Ages" reading on Friday

Friday, September 14, 2012

September 14, 2012




HOMEWORK: Read Booker Prize-160. make sure you are annotating the book and writing down motifs and specific quotes from your book. College essay final draft due Monday. Work on the Modernize Oedipus performance- will be preformed on Wednesday, no excuses!!!


TODAY IN CLASS:
  • we selected groups on no more than 5 to work on the modernizing of Oedipus project.
  • Make sure you and your group choose one of the following portions of Oedipus to modernize. No more than two groups can do the same scene.
  • their are two main prompts to choose from. A) the prequel, the group will be modernizing the first events that occur in Oedipus's life prior to our meeting him. The major events occurred in this, part I of his prequel include, but are certainly not limited to, hi birth, his families realization of his prophecy, his alleged death, and his adoption into his family in Corinth. B) The Prequel part II. your group will be modernizing the latter portions of his life before our meeting him. These events include the realization of his prophecy, his fleeing of Corinth, his encounter with the sphinx, and his becoming king of Thebes. 
  • All the information can be found in our gold packet titled Modernizing Oedipus the king!!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

PLC Wednesday, September 12th


Homework:
  • Modernize Oedipus assignment
  • College essay rewrite due Monday
  • Read man booker prize to page 145
  • For most of the period we spent time peer editing each others essays (we had at least two separate people’s input)
  •     If you want Mrs. Smith to look over and help edit your essay even more, you can try to schedule a meeting with her on an off hour but her freshman classes already have meetings with her so you can try your best!
  • To end class Mrs. Smith went over our new assignment; Modernizing Oedipus the King
    *We will get in groups of 5 on Friday and present this project on Monday (start brainstorming ideas!)

Monday, September 10, 2012

September 10, 2012

Today we had an in-class essay!
  • If your computer wasn't being cooperative, you have until Wednesday to make it great!
  • Those of you using your own technology as opposed to the class computers, you can share the outline and your paper with Smith through Google Docs at  asmith@lps.k12.co.us .
Homework:
  • Your college essay should be ready for peer review on Wednesday (Google Doc it)
  • Read through page 130 in your Booker Project books
  • And donut day is on Wednesday, which is also a late start!
Have a great Monday night and Tuesday!

Monday, September 10th

IN-CLASS ESSAY!

 

If you did not finish your essay in class due to technology issues (since there were a lot fo them) the essay is due in class on Wednesday, no exceptions!
 
Homework
Continue to read your Mann Booker Prize; you should be to page 130 by Wednesday
Have your almost polished college essay on a google doc and ready to be edited for the next class period
Finish your in class essay if you haven't already