June 15, 2015

This is what we will do in the 9:00 class:

• Five minute grammar review - HOMONYMS - find the mistakes in these sentences.  (Some sentences have more than one mistake, and not all mistakes are homonym mistakes.)
• I like all vegetables, accept for asparagus.
• I am so board, there's nothing to do!
• I need to by some new close.
• It wasn't fare when the bus driver got me suspended.
• Don't turn it down.  I can't here it.
• I have to no alot for my history test.
• The not is kind of lose, so it may not hold.
• Freewrite – Do you like working in groups? Why or why not?  Why is it important to be able to function well in a group when you reach college?
• Complete group activity for "Daddy."  Complete second form for "Adolescence II."  Discuss summaries of two poems as a class.
• Reflection on group activities. Did you agree with the summaries that your group created regarding the poems? 
• Examples of poems read out loud.
• Begin reading "Everyday Use."

HOMEWORK:  Read "Everyday Use."  Finish "Where I'm From Poem."  Rewrite the ending of "Harrison Bergeron

This is what we will do in the 10:30 class:

• Five minute grammar review - HOMONYMS - find the mistakes in these sentences.  (Some sentences have more than one mistake, and not all mistakes are homonym mistakes.)
• I like all vegetables, accept for asparagus.
• I am so board, there's nothing to do!
• I need to by some new close.
• It wasn't fare when the bus driver got me suspended.
• Don't turn it down.  I can't here it.
• I have to no alot for my history test.
• The not is kind of lose, so it may not hold.
• Freewrite – Do you like working in groups? Why or why not?  Why is it important to be able to function well in a group when you reach college?
• Complete group activity for "Adolescence II."  Discuss summaries of two poems as a class.
• Reflection on group activities. Did you agree with the summaries that your group created regarding the poems? 
• Examples of poems read out loud.
• Begin reading "Everyday Use."

HOMEWORK:  Read "Everyday Use."  Finish "Where I'm From Poem."  Rewrite the ending of "Harrison Bergeron

June 12, 2015

I had another great day with Cohort N today!  We have two really big classes, and you come to me awfully early in the morning, but I couldn't ask for a better group of students.  Thank you again for another great day!

This is what we did in the 9:00 class:

• Freewrite (thinking about your homework reading on "Harrison Bergeron") – Is everyone equal in the United States in 2015? Why or why not?  Would it be good if the government made everyone equal? Why or why not? 
• Great work here!  I enjoyed your thoughts. While we needed to have a short discussion because we had a lot to do, you provided some excellent examples of current events that demonstrate why we have not achieved equality in 2015.  
• Read passages from "Harrison Bergeron" (link in post below) and discuss dystopian governments.  Again - good job here!  
• Those were both teacher-led discussions. However, as we discussed today, I want to make certain I devote enough time in our class to discussions in which YOU, the students, are leaders.  So, at this point in our class, we moved to our small groups.   You used your small group discussion form to analyze the theme and poetic elements in the poem "Daddy" (link in post below) by Sylvia Plath.  As I walked around the room listening to your discussions, I was really impressed by all I was hearing.  You were doing a good job of "inviting in" when students were hesitant to share their ideas.  Later, I saw many of you working hard to "build on" each others ideas as you discussed the themes you had generated and the poetic elements you'd found.  We did not have time to reach the summary phase, so we will complete this on Monday.

HOMEWORK:    "Where I’m From" poetry assignment

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This is what we did in the 10:30 class:

• Freewrite (thinking about your homework reading on "Harrison Bergeron" - link in the post below) – What type of government did Harrison represent?  What about Diana?
• Great work here!  We were about to talk about monarchy, communism, anarchy, feudalism, and a number of other issues.  We were also about to talk about whether or not a perfect government is even possible.  I encourage you to continue thinking about these issues.  
• Then, we reviewed the poetic elements in the poem "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath.  (Link in the post below.) Once again, you did a nice job.
• Both of the previous discussions were teacher-led discussions. However, as we discussed today, I want to make certain I devote enough time in our class to discussions in which YOU, the students, are leaders.  So, at this point in our class, we moved to small groups.   You used your small group discussion form to attempt to understand what is happening in the poem "Adolescence II" (link in post below) by Rita Dove.  As I walked around the room listening to your discussions, I was really impressed by all I was hearing.  This is a tough poem to analyze! You were doing a good job of "inviting in" when students were hesitant to share their ideas.  Later, I saw many of you working hard to "build on" each others ideas as you discussed the themes you had generated and the poetic elements you'd found.  We did not have time to reach the summary phase, so we will complete this on Monday.

HOMEWORK:    "Where I’m From" poetry assignment

June 11, 2015

Dear Cohort N,

I enjoyed working with each of the groups today!  You did a fantastic job during our discussion, despite the fact that our projector was on the blink. I appreciate your patience while that was happening.  I am really impressed by all the ideas that you were able to generate regarding extended metaphors and the ways that writers might have created something that we can interpret in a variety of complex and intriguing ways.

Here is a recap of what we did in each class, with links to anything we discussed, in case you need it.

Group 1 (9:00 to 10:15)

We listed to Muse's "Dead Inside."  Since the video wouldn't work for us, here is the link -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5sJhSNUkwQ.  (Notice the drones in the background around the wrestlers/dancers?)  Here is a link to the lyrics (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/muse/deadinside.html.)

We discussed two poems in class today.

"Daddy" by Sylvia Plath -http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178960

We did not have time to get to this poem, but we will read it tomorrow.  If you'd like, you can look at it this evening to prepare for tomorrow's discussion.

"Adolescence II" by Rita Dove -http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/adolescence-ii

For June 12, 2015, your homework is to do the following:

1. Read the short story, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.  (I provided a copy in class, but in case you need it, here is a link - http://www.tnellen.com/westside/harrison.pdf.

Group 2 (10:30 to 11:45)

We also listened to the Muse song (links above).

The projector went completely out by your class, so we were unable to look at the two poems that Group 1 read.  Instead, we read "Harrison Bergeron" together (link above).  I really enjoyed your discussion of this story!

For June 12, 2015, your homework is to do the following:

Think about the possible types of government that Diana Moon Glampers and Harrison Bergeron may symbolize in this story.  When you go to the library, research types of government and come to class prepared to discuss the types of government you feel these two characters may represent along with examples from the text that you feel demonstrate your point.

If you would like, you may also look at the two poems ("Daddy" and "Adolescence II") in preparation for tomorrow's class.

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Tentative Schedule (may be updated tomorrow)

Day	Date	Tentative Schedule of Activities/Assignments
1	Thurs, 6/11	Song, Review poetic devices.  Group 1- "Daddy", Group 2 - "Harrison Bergeron"; HOMEWORK:  Group 1 read - “Harrison Bergeron; Group 2 - Research forms of government
2	Fri, 6/12	Group 1- Discuss Harrison Bergeron; "Adolescence II" - compare the two poems. Group 2 - Discuss two Daddy poems; Discuss homework from last night; New poems Both groups - discuss poetry assignment HOMEWORK: Write draft one of poem; Read "Every Day Use"
3	Mon, 6/15	Discuss “Everyday Use.” Examples of poems.  Share poems. HOMEWORK: Complete poem and practice for competition. Prepare for Reader’s Theater Activity in class. Finish Response Paper.
4	Tues, 6/16	Compile your portfolio. Poetry competition. Reader’s Theater Activity in class. Video of short story reading by Danielle Evans.