Friday September 7th

Homework:

• By monday read 100 pages out of man booker prize independent reading book
• Prepare for in class essay Monday (can have skeletal outline)
• Bring one revised college essay Wednesday (google doc it)

-We finished reading Oedipus the King

Examples of 4 stages of a hero:

Innocence

• (pg.2) “Here I am, myself, world- famous Oedipus”
• Unaware he killed Laus

Initiation (become aware of evil, innocence is lost, intimate awaking)

• (pg.64) “He is dead and in his grave.”
• the city’s distress
• plague
• sickness
• dead bodies
• mourning
• ships

Chaos (start revealing truth, do not believe the truth)

• blinded himself
• he sees that he is the one wrong
• jocasta distancing herself from Oedipus
• Realization of marrying his mother

Resolution (hero has wisdom of experience and a fuller wider vision of world)

• casts himself out of Thebes
• he gives his children advice on their journey and wishes a better life upon them

Connections to Lance Armstrong Article

• went through the hero journey:
• innocence: sport is overall innocent
• initiation: starts doping;l wanted to be greater than the sport itself, wanted to control his fate, competition itself
• chaos: let down country, denial(wanted to go back into innocence period, nostalgia),
• resolution: no wisdom gained, steps away (chooses to make a better choice for his daughter's life), on similar path with Oedipus; realization of reality  

-We discussed the in class essay guidelines

• notes online (Mrs. Smith’s calendar, end of week 3)
• Link to notes: https://docs.google.com/a/lpsk12.org/presentation/pub?id=1p6vkxeHMBJ9ZHqv-SEIcWcUIVirFIFmwpkfvvPnfGuA&start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000#slide=id.g1c8d3cd5_0_0  

-We had about 15 minutes to start the essay at the end of class

Happy doughnut day!

Today in class our latest college essay's where returned and then our motifs homework was checked, we then discussed some of them. We then broke into our independent reading groups and ansered questions about our books(see website for specifics). We then finished reading Oedipus the King and disscussed  the hero's journey. (look at the website for the power point).

Hw: Read your man booker books,
Connect armstrong article to Oedipus.
Prepare for the final college essay meeting.

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!

Homework:

~3 motifs with quotes from Oedipus the King (motif reoccurring theme, emotion, object)

~Read through page 60 in your man booker prize

Started off class by turning in our who am I essays and then used our phones to polleverything our adjectives about Oedipus.

SAT word of the weekend is......hoy-ploy!!!!!! meaning common people or masses.

Reading time HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!

read through page

Looking for motifs through out the story.

Oedipus continues to accuse Creon of killing Laius until Jocasta comes to break them apart. Jocasta tells Oedipus the story of how Laius died and the more in detail she goes the more Oedipus remembers what he has done. He then goes into detail about how the prophecy really did come true, as Jocasta becomes horrified. They wait for the shepherd to be sure that it truly was a band of robbers that killed Laius. A messenger is sent to fetch him so he can present his account on the matter. The messenger comes with news that Polybus is dead which makes them feel they are safe from the prophecy.  Finds out Polybus is really his father (very much a shocker and very well acted in class). Oedipus hears the account from the shepherd and learns what we have known all along. He is the child of prophecy.

Monday 8/27

Monday 8/27


-Make sure you confirm her blogger request on your email!
-We started off talking about the Man Booker Prize.

-For the Man Booker Prize look at the Independent reading instructions: 
       1.  Annotations - need 15 pages of annotations for the whole book.
                                - not just underlining, need actual comments
       2.  journal entry - choose one passage and write a summary response in one page
       3.  Items/Symbols/Motifs - can pic things that are a real or a just a symbol through out the book
       4.  Hero
       Presentation - Will explain all subjects in about 4-5 minutes
- We read Oedipus the King from page 5 (red book) or page 6(in newer book) to page 19 or page 18

      -things to think about while reading
           -Ships
           - Plague
           - Dying/Sickness
           - farming/cultivating/growing
           - ego-pride
           - role of fate/destiny - gods control
           - battle against gods
           - truth

Friday 8/24 class notes

Happy Friday!!!!

I apologize for this being late my family was have some technical problems.

So on Friday in class we started off by getting our Oediopus The King books (See smith on monday to get yours or you can buy a copy in which you can annotate)

Then we proceeded to go over what a good college essay has:
1) creative word choice~ One good resource for this is http://www.lexipedia.com/ an interactive website that shows you synonyms for words by branching them off the original. Make sure not to use words you wouldn't use in real life

2)Make sure to use imagery~ Whither with creating a picture or having the reader connect with you emotionally

3)Start strong and finish strong~ make sure that you are staying strong throughout your essay

4)Remember this rule~ 1/3 story and 2/3 you

Then we continued our notes on a tragic hero with the same powerpoint Hero notes. 

We then discussed the packets we got on Wednesday. Talking about the importance of the masks the actors wore to convey emotion and to help them to speak louder. We also talked about how it was so important that the backdrop was not distracting and how there were only a few main characters were on stage so that everything was focused on the story. This kind of story telling was how Greeks taught their children morals and values. 

After discussing the packets we talked about Oedipus's backround with the following powerpoint oedipus backround. The notes are on the bottom of the page.

We also talked about dramatic irony~ the fact that everyone but the person themselves knows they are doomed 

Then we began reading Oedipus the King pgs. 1-4

Homework:
1) Influence essay~ Write about someone who has influenced you in your life. Must be typed, a page and a half, and double spaced Due Monday
2) Booker prize choice due monday
3) 3 examples of dramatic irony from Oedipus the King (we will talk more about this Monday)

August 22, 2012 Recap

Hey guys! Here's what you missed:

• assigned laptops
• For homework, read "Oedipus Rex" and "30. A Study of Sophocles" packets.
• annotate and highlight
• Post 2 college tips to blog
• Add your e-mail to class blog so you're able to publish
• Discussion over college tips
• Be controversial; but don't cross the line
• Tell a story; use imagery
• Don't babble; be considerate of admission officer's time
• Word choice; but sound like you, not a thesaurus
• Be original; stand out
• Be genuine; show them who you really are
• Revise until perfect
• How to be a scribe
• Record events of the day
• Link assignments
• Have almost too much information
• Post same day (before 9:00 pm)
• Good Donuts vs Bad Donuts
• can bring other foods
• bring napkins
• Laptop Expectations
• no cords hanging out
• get laptop at beginning of class
• handle with 2 hands 
• report damage
• $1,300 to replace

Alright, that's the run down of class. We then discussed and took notes on What is a Hero. The notes we have completed so far are below:

Hero Notes

• Literary Heroes
• To Kill A Mocking Bird; Atikus
• defends someone who was unjustly accused
• Odyssey; Odyseus
• epic hero
• defeats all battles
• Anthem; 
• break out of conformity
• champion of ideas
• Film Heroes
• Hancock; anti-hero
• not typical (ex. drunk)
• Frodo; epic hero
• went through journey
• Katniss; free the people
• introduced a life saving idea to society
• Iron Man; anti-hero, epic hero, tragic hero
• too much pride= tragic hero
• Historical Heroes
• Abe Lincoln
• unified the nation
• MLK
• break free from conformity
• Rosa Parks
• stands up for personal cause that influences others

We recognize that all heroes fight for freedom and spread a message. We now began talking about the specific types of heroes.

• Tragic heroes
• noble birth
• wisdom
• tragic flaw
• faced with a choice then always choose wrong
• reversal of fortune (caused by tragic flaw)
• realize their misfortune is their own fault
• often dies in the end. 

That's as far as we got!

-Jessica Sotwick

College Essay Tips

What are two tips you learned about writing college essays?  Share, but don't repeat tips!