A.P. Lit Is Getting Ready for the Big Test! December 15, 2014

Focus: What area few last-minute things we can do to prepare for the midterm?

Please turn in your poetry essays.

1. Warming up with our final poetry projects

2. Sampling our review stations

Review Station 1: Poetry multiple choice

Review Station 2: Prose multiple choice

Review Station 3: Free responses

Review Station 4: Invisible Man blogs


3. Cooling down with a tiebreaker

HW:
1. Remember that our final exam takes place tomorrow (Tuesday, December 16). The exam will begin promptly at 10:30 and will continue until about 2:00 pm.  I will bring bagels and cream cheese, but if you'd like something else to eat, please bring it with you.

2. Final grades will be posted by the end of the day on Thursday.

A.P. Literature Is Enjoying Some Poetry: December 12, 2014

Focus: How can others' projects deepen our understanding of poetry?

1. Warming up with a little trivia (and some good acapella music)

2. Enjoying each others' poetry projects

3. Cooling down with Billy Collins' poetry project

HW:
1. Paper people...anyone turning one in today?  Anybody?

2. Finish that Invisible Man blog before your final on Tuesday.

3. Literary essay revisions?

A.P. Literature Is Enjoying Poetry: December 11, 2014

Focus: What can we learn about poetry from each other's creative projects?

1. Warming up with reflections and advice:

• What went well?
• What didn't go well?
• Advice to paper people?

2. Establishing the grand order of poetry project presentations

Thursday
Alex
Brooke
Jackson
Joe
Katie
James
Chase

Friday
Lauren
Annie
Rachael
Gabby
Drew

Monday
Emma

3. Enjoying each other's poetry projects

HW:
1. Paper people...anyone turning one in before Monday?  Anybody?

2. Finish that Invisible Man blog before your final on Tuesday.

3. Literary essay revisions?

A.P. Literature Is Reviewing: December 10, 2014

Focus: What do we want to know about the AP Literature exam?

1. Warming up with some "big picture" blogging on Invisible Man

2. Engaging in a little Q&A about the AP exam

• In section one, how many multiple choice questions are there?

• How much time do we have to answer them?

• How many passages can we expect to read in the multiple choice section?

• Are the passages mostly poems or mostly prose?

• Are the passages mostly modern or mostly traditional?

• Should we try to answer every single question?

• What percentage of our AP score is the multiple choice section worth?

• About how much money is spent on creating the average multiple choice question?

• How many essays do we write in the second section of the test?

• How much time do we have to write these essays?

• Do I have to write the essays in order?

• For the open prompt, do I have to pick a book from the list?

• Who grades the AP tests?

3. Taking a look at the essays (called "free responses") from the past three years and discussing strategies

Order?
Timing?
Structure?

HW:
1. Poetry project presentations begin tomorrow.
2. Keep turning those poetry essays!
3. Revisions?

A.P. Lit Can See the Invisible Man! December 9, 2014

Focus: What larger conclusions can we draw about Invisible Man?

Project people: Please make sure I have your poem by the end of today.

1. Warming up with our favorite intoxicated white lady: Sybil

What descriptions of Sybil surprise you?

What does Sybil have in common with...

• The other white ladies?
• The Sambo bank?
• The Sambo doll?
• The college scholarship in the narrator's briefcase?
• Birth of a Nation (first American motion picture--KKK as hero saving white woman from raped by black man)?
• Tatlock and Brockway?
• Optic white paint?
• Mr. Norton?
• Mary?
• Ras the Destroyer?
• The symbol of the boomerang?

2. Revisiting the Prologue and the beginning of Chapter 1 and attempting a redaction with a focus on how the narrator has changed (what self-knowledge has he gained?)

3. Drawing larger conclusions about Invisible Man using your brilliant big question blogs

Try using our MMM approach to your blog if you're feeling overwhelmed:

• Moments: What symbols, minor characters, and specific events do you find most intriguing?
• Movements: What larger patterns are you noticing?
• Multiple meanings: What does Ellison want us to make of these patterns? How does this relate to your big question blog?

HW:
1. Just those poetry essays and projects...yep.

2. If you're trying to decide whether or not to revise your literary essay, here's a thought:

6 = 90%
7 = 93%
8 = 95%
9 = You should be teaching this class.

Also, the difference between, say, a 6 and an 8 on the actual A.P. test is quite significant.

A.P. Lit Is at the End of a Journey: December 8, 2014

Focus: To what extent does the ending of Invisible Man boomerang us back to the beginning?

Project people: Please turn in a copy of your poem.

1. Warming up: Looking through Chapters 24, 25, and the Epilogue, please do the following for EACH chapter:

• Identify a central image.
• Find what you think is the most significant line.
• Ask a specific question.

2. Discussing the end of Invisible Man in a Socratic seminar

3. Wrapping up (10 minutes)

HW:
1. Bring your laptops to class tomorrow; we will have some time to compose your big question blog response to Invisible Man.  

2. Remember the big deadlines:

Projects are due Thursday, December 11.

Essays have a rolling deadline; the earlier you turn it in, the earlier it will be graded.  The final deadline for these is the last day of class, December 15.

3. If you have any missing work, or you'd like to revise your independent literary essay, please do so by Monday, Dec 15 (the last day of class).  

4. Our final exam will take place on December 16, 10:30 am to 2:00.  If you have a conflict that cannot be resolved, please see me immediately.

A.P. Lit Is Immersed in Poetry: December 5, 2014

Focus: What do you need to make some progress with your poetry paper or project?

1. Warming up: Offering you a little help from our old friend, Billy Collins

2. Working on projects and papers

PROJECT PEOPLE: Please print a hard copy of your poem for me by Monday.  I will make a packet of all of your poems for the class.  Include your name and the poet's name on your printout.

Also, remember that your project does need to include a polished, dramatic reading of your poem.

PAPER PEOPLE: Please include an MLA heading on your paper and page numbers. Staple your poem to your essay. 

There should be a thesis somewhere in your essay, but it doesn't need to be at the end of the first paragraph.

In the explication/analysis portion of your essay, please organize your paragraphs by argument; then, use poetic devices (allusion, metaphor, imagery, alliteration, repetition, slant rhyme, etc.) to support your arguments.

HW:
1. Please finish Invisible Man for our final, all-out Socratic Seminar on Monday, December 8.  Reading ticket of your choice (just make it good and come ready to talk).

2. If you are writing a poetry essay, bring your laptop to class tomorrow.  If you're doing a project, bring any materials that you might want to work with.

Projects are due Thursday, December 11.

Essays have a rolling deadline; the earlier you turn it in, the earlier it will be graded.  The final deadline for these is the last day of class, December 15.

3. If you have any missing work, or you'd like to revise your independent literary essay, please do so by Monday, Dec 15 (the last day of class).  

4. Our final exam will take place on December 16, 10:30 am to 2:00.  If you have a conflict that cannot be resolved, please see me immediately.

A.P. Literature Is Workshopping: December 4, 2014

Focus: How can improve our prose timed writing skills?

1. Warming up a few rounds of Save the Last Line for Chapters 21-23 of Invisible Man

Round One: Most significant image from Chapter 21

Round Two: Most important sentence from Chapter 22

Round Three: Most pressing question from Chapter 23


2. Exploring the official 2003 rubric for "The Other Paris" and a few samples (PPP vs. DDD)

3. Circling the wagon to hear one of your essays and to offer feedback

HW:
1. Please finish Invisible Man for our final, all-out Socratic Seminar on Monday, December 8.  Reading ticket of your choice (just make it good and come ready to talk).

2. If you are writing a poetry essay, bring your laptop to class tomorrow.  If you're doing a project, bring any materials that you might want to work with.

Projects are due Thursday, December 11.

Essays have a rolling deadline; the earlier you turn it in, the earlier it will be graded.  The final deadline for these is the last day of class, December 15.

3. If you have any missing work, or you'd like to revise your independent literary essay, please do so by Monday, Dec 15 (the last day of class).  

4. Our final exam will take place on December 16, 10:30 am to 2:00.  If you have a conflict that cannot be resolved, please see me immediately.

A.P. Lit Is Moving in and out of History: December 3, 2014

Focus: What does it mean to be inside or outside of history? Where is the narrator?

PLC: Shortened Class Today

1. Warming up with organizing objects inside and outside of history

2. Performing a quick close reading of Clifton and his dancing Sambo doll (drawing optional), only this time, please put your symbolic observations in the form of questions

Ex: Why is the thread that Clifton uses to make the Sambo doll dance both black and invisible? (446)

3. Enjoying a few rounds of "Save the Last Line" in groups of four

Round One: Most significant image from Chapter 21

Round Two: Most important sentence from Chapter 22

Round Three: Most pressing question from Chapter 23

HW:
1. Please finish Invisible Man for our final, all-out Socratic Seminar on Monday, December 8.  Reading ticket of your choice (just make it good and come ready to talk).

2. If you are writing a poetry essay, bring your laptop to class on Friday.  If you're doing a project, bring any materials that you might want to work with.

Projects are due Thursday, December 11.

Essays have a rolling deadline; the earlier you turn it in, the earlier it will be graded.  The final deadline for these is the last day of class, December 15.

3. If you have any missing work, or you'd like to revise your independent literary essay, please do so by Monday, Dec 15 (the last day of class).  

A.P. Lit Is Writing about Prose: December 2, 2014

Focus: How can we improve our timed writing skills?

Project people: Please turn in your proposals

1. Warming up: Offering you a special glimpse of how my mind works when I calculate your overall grades in progress

2. Trying out a few tips for Free Response Question #2

Tip #1: Pay very, very careful attention to the first inch and the last inch of the passage and how the author establishes tone.

Tip #2: Consider the passage's point of view and why the author has chosen it.

• First-person point of view is in use when a character narrates the story with I-me-my-mine in his or her speech. The advantage of this point of view is that you get to hear the thoughts of the narrator and see the world depicted in the story through his or her eyes. However, remember that no narrator, like no human being, has complete self-knowledge or, for that matter, complete knowledge of anything. Therefore, the reader's role is to go beyond what the narrator says.

• Second-person point of view, in which the author uses you and your, is rare; authors seldom speak directly to the reader. When you encounter this point of view, pay attention. Why? The author has made a daring choice, probably with a specific purpose in mind. Most times, second-person point of view draws the reader into the story, almost making the reader a participant in the action.

• Third-person point of view is that of an outsider looking at the action. The writer may choose one of the following:
• third-person omniscient, in which the thoughts of every character are open to the reader; this is a godlike point of view.
• third-person limited, in which the reader enters only one character's mind, either throughout the entire work or in a specific section. Third-person limited differs from first-person because the author's voice, not the character's voice, is what you hear in the descriptive passages.  

• Please remember that we say "narrator" when we're talking about prose (as opposed to "speaker" when we're analyzing poetry).

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-point-of-view-in-literature.html

Tip #3: Read the passage as closely as you would read a poem, seeking significant imagery, diction, symbols, metaphors, etc.  

3. Performing a timed writing on Free Response Question #2

HW: 
1. Please read through Chapter 23 for tomorrow and through the end of the novel for our final Socratic seminar on Friday.  Reading ticket possibilities:

• 10 good questions/inferences
• A mini metacognitive on an important little paragraph
• Charting out patterns established in Chapter 1
• Drawing a significant scene and identifying/explaining briefly at least five symbolic elements in that scene

2. If you haven't started working on your poetry paper or project, now is a good time to do so!  Remember that we will have a work day on Friday and our final Socratic on Invisible Man on Monday.

A.P. Lit Is Breaking the Bank: December 1, 2014

Focus: Does the narrator succeed in destroying the Sambo bank?

1. Warming up with happy Monday thoughts!

2. Helping the narrator break open the Sambo bank

Revisit pages 319-321, and draw this scene, identifying as many symbolic elements as you can.  Strive to make connections back to the elements we've been charting since Chapter 1.

Revisit pages 327-330.  As he tries to throw the broken bank away, look closely at his interactions with other black people.

• What stereotypes are revealed here?  How does this fit a larger pattern?
• What does it mean that he can't get rid of these pieces?

3. Enjoying a rousing Socratic Seminar on Invisible Man, Chapters 17-20

4. Wrapping up

HW: 
1. Please read through Chapter 23 for Wednesday and through the end of the novel for our final Socratic seminar on Friday.  Reading ticket possibilities:

• 10 good questions/inferences
• A mini metacognitive on an important little paragraph
• Charting out patterns established in Chapter 1
• Drawing a significant scene and identifying/explaining briefly at least five symbolic elements in that scene

2. Project people: Complete your proposals for tomorrow.  Stop by if you'd like to talk it out with me.

I Yam What I Yam: November 21, 2014

Focus: What are we starting to understand about the narrator in Invisible Man?

1. Warming up with our old friend, Foster, and what he has to say about eating

From "Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion":

"Here's the thing to remember about communions of all kinds: in the real world, breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace, since if you've breaking bread you're not breaking heads.  One generally invites one's friends to dinner, unless one is trying to get on the good side of enemies or employers. We're quite particular about those with whom we break bread...The act of taking food into our bodies is so personal that we really only want to do it with people we're very comfortable with. As with any convention, this one can be violated." (8)

"...writing a meal scene is so difficult, and so inherently uninteresting, that there really needs to be some compelling reason to include one in the story." (8)

Check out two eating scenes from recent chapters:

• Pork chops and grits for breakfast: Pages 178-179

• I yam what I yam: Pages 263-266

What specific words and phrases stand out to you in these descriptions, and why might they be important?

Through these scenes of eating, what do we learn or understand about the narrator?

2.  Enjoying small group discussions of Chapters 14-16 (20 minutes)

3. Getting a head start on your reading assignment for Monday

HW:

1. Read through Chapter 20 for Monday's big Socratic seminar.  I'd like everyone to be caught up at that point.  If you get on a roll and decide to finish the last two reading assignments for Invisible Man, the last three reading tickets are your choice:

• 10 good questions/inferences
• A mini metacognitive on an important little paragraph
• Charting out patterns established in Chapter 1
• Drawing a significant scene and identifying/explaining briefly at least five symbolic elements in that scene

2. Poetry project people: Please work through that proposal and turn it in on Tuesday.  Check your metacognitives, as I will be giving you feedback on Monday.

A.P. Lit Students Are Venturing into Their Own Minds: November 20, 2014

Focus: What's going on inside your mind as you process a poem?

1. Warming up by thinking about next semester

• Do you enjoy this class?

• Is this work you're putting into this class worth what you're getting out of this class?

• What is the ultimate reward of taking this class for you?

• If you're taking it largely for the A.P. credit, do the colleges you're considering take A.P. credit?  If so, what scores do they accept, and are you likely to achieve those scores?

• Do you know what the concurrent enrollment classes are, and do you think they'd suit you better?

2. Recapping the idea behind metacognitive writing and looking at an example

3. Performing a metacognitive writing (this counts as a Tuesday writing, but it's not graded at all like  a Tuesday writing)

Here's what we're going for:

Constant references to specific pieces of text

Questions and ponderings

Inferences and patterns

Possibly tone and themes?

HW:
1. If you need more time on your metacognitive writing, please finish it before Thanksgiving break.

2. Read Chapters 14, 15, and 16 for Friday (broken into two nights, it's about 27 pages a night).  We will read Chapter 17 together in class on Friday. For your reading ticket, find one passage that is no more than half a page in length and perform a metacognitive writing on it.

3. Project people: Start up the back burner in your mind and let the ideas simmer.

A.P. Literature Is Both Invisible and Manly: November 19, 2014

Focus: If it's Optic White, is it the Right White?

1. Warming up with the grand overview of your final hurrah here in A.P. Literature: The Poetry Project vs. the Poetry Essay

2. Enjoying an illuminating conversation about Invisible Man, Chapters 7-14

3. Wrapping up

HW:
1. Look over your five poems, and select ONE that you think would work well for your project or poem.  Bring that poem to class tomorrow for a metacognitive writing.  This writing will count as a Tuesday writing.

2. Bring a laptop to class tomorrow if you have one.

3. Read Chapters 14, 15, and 16 for Friday (broken into two nights, it's about 27 pages a night).  We will read Chapter 17 together in class on Friday. For your reading ticket, find one passage that is no more than half a page in length and perform a metacognitive writing on it.

A.P. Literature Isn't Getting Enough Sleep: November 18, 2014

Focus: How can we combine different literary devices to respond effectively to Question 1?

1. Warming up: Question marks, exclamations and periods, oh my!

• How many questions are in this speech?
• How many exclamations?
• How many simple, declarative sentences?
• What do these sentence structure statistics reveal about the speaker?

Revisit the syntax of the final line.  Aside from the fact that it would throughout off the rhyme and rhythm of final heroic couplet, why isn't it written like this?

Uneasy rests the head that wears a crown.

The head that wears a crown lies uneasily.

Uneasy lies the king's head.


2. Exploring a sample essay together for strengths and weaknesses

3. Playing the matching game

Find one strong analysis of imagery in the first body paragraph.

Heart: Find two specific verbs that support the statement

Diamond: Find two examples of euphony and/or cacophony that support the statement

Spade: Find a word with a double meaning that supports the statement

Club: Find two examples of alliteration, assonance, perfect rhyme, and/or slant rhyme that support the statement

4. Editing your own timed writings

Round 1: Thesis and topic sentences

Round 2: Paraphrasing vs. analyzing

Round 3: Mixing it up instead of being a one-trick pony (using multiple literary devices within a body paragraph)

Round 4: Style

HW:
1. Read up to (but not through) Chapter 14 for Wednesday; for your reading ticket, please track one or two patterns just as we were doing in class yesterday.  Jot down the page numbers on which you find these patterns, and form 10 good questions/inferences based on the passages that display them.

2. By tomorrow, compose a list of about five poems that intrigue you and seem worthy of intensive study.  Time period does not matter, but difficulty does. Toss them into a Google doc, and be sure to include title, author, and year published.

Have You Seen the Invisible Man? November 17, 2014

Focus: What larger meaning can start to make of the patterns in Invisible Man?

1. Warming up: Taking moments from Chapter 1 and exploring how they play out in Chapters 3-9

The narrator's speech

The white lady

The chaos of the Battle Royal

Tatlock

The blindfolds

The arena

The electrified rug

The coins

The briefcase

The scholarship
The grandfather's advice

Make yourself a big, messy chart in which you focus on a few of the items above and explore how they resurface in subsequent chapters, perhaps in slightly altered forms.

How does it change? How does it stay the same?
Why is it important?

2. Taking time to read Chapter 10 and deepen these patterns

3. Wrapping up

HW:
1. Read through Chapter 14 for Wednesday; for your reading ticket, please track one or two patterns (just as we were doing in class today).  Jot down the page numbers on which you find these patterns, and form 10 good questions/inferences based on the passages that display them.

2. By next Wednesday, compose a list of about five poems that intrigue you and seem worthy of intensive study.  Time period does not matter, but difficulty does.

A.P. Is Trying to Find the Invisible Man: November 14, 2014

Focus: What vivid symbols and stereotypes are at work in Invisible Man?

1. Using your artistic skills to unravel a few symbolic scenes from Invisible Man's early chapters

• Battle Royal (22-26)
• The road from the college to Trueblood's cabin (34-37)
• The narrator driving around Mr. Norton (37-40, and top of 44)
• Reviving Mr. Norton at the Golden Day (79-81)
• Supercargo takes charge (82-85)

2. Enjoying a Socratic seminar on Invisible Man, Chapters 3-6

3. Wrapping up

HW:
1. Read Chapters 7, 8, and 9; please pick one image/scene that has symbolic purpose to it.  Type the passage, illustrate it, and label what the different pieces of your illustration symbolize (just as we did in class today).  You will be given 30 minutes of reading time on Monday to read Chapter 10.

2. By next Wednesday, compose a list of about five poems that intrigue you and seem worthy of intensive study.  Time period does not matter, but difficulty does.

A.P. Literature Is Exploring Some Dangerous Stereotypes: November 13, 2014

Focus: What stereotypes dictate the narrator's world in Invisible Man?

1. Viewing part of Ethnic Notions to gain an understanding of the danger and depth of black stereotypes

Please use the handout given out in class (and also linked HERE) to help you sort through, understand, and apply the stereotypes presented in Ethnic Notions

2. Applying these stereotypes to Invisible Man


HW: 
1. Please follow the revised reading schedule and read Chapters 4 through 6 for Friday's Socratic.  Your reading ticket assignment is the same as it was for today: 10 good discussion questions on specific elements from the pages and their possible connections to larger patterns.

2. By next Wednesday, compose a list of about five poems that intrigue you and seem worthy of intensive study.  Time period does not matter, but difficulty does.

Invisible Class: November 12, 2014

Focus: What's surprising you in Invisible Man, and what questions are starting to arise?

PLC: Shortened Class Today

1. Warming up by forcing myself to give you back your stuff (I keep carrying it around for no reason)

2. Enjoying our first Socratic seminar on Invisible Man, Prologue through Chapter 3

3. Wrapping up

HW: 
1. Please follow the revised reading schedule and read Chapters 4 through 6 for Friday's Socratic.  Your reading ticket assignment is the same as it was for today: 10 good discussion questions on specific elements from the pages and their possible connections to larger patterns.

2. By next Wednesday, compose a list of about five poems that intrigue you and seem worthy of intensive study.  Time period does matter, but difficulty does.

A.P. Literature Is Choosing the Right Answer: November 11, 2014

Focus: How can we improve our multiple choice skills?

1. Explaining today:  Hello, class!  Henry is sick, so I won't have the pleasure of joining you today.  Please enjoy the multiple choice questions I've selected especially for you today.

Feel free to mark up the tests (and be sure to hold onto them until we can discuss them further), but record your official answers on the scantron sheets.  Do your best, but try not to worry about your score too much.  In the words of Taylor Swift, shake it off.

You only need to do questions 1-40; you do not need to read the Faulkner piece at the end (unless you're dying to).

2. Wrapping up: In the last 10-15 minutes of class, please grab a partner and work through the questions.  When you and your partner disagree on a questions, take the time to talk it out until you agree on one (feel free to change your answer on the actual scantron).

3. Turning in your scantrons (I'll let you know how you did)

HW: 
Please read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in Invisible Man for tomorrow; read them carefully and slowly because your understanding of the rest of the novel will rest heavily on these first chapters.  Form at least ten good questions using the method from today and/or the Socratic questions sheets given out in class.

Invisible Class: November 10, 2014

Focus: How can I translate my Invisible Man confusion into deeply intellectual questions?

Turn in those literary essays!  Woo hoo!

Also, I have revised the reading schedule slightly to make it more manageable.

1. Warming up: Using the symbols and imagery in the Prologue to scaffold some good questions

Step 1: Form a question about the basic properties of the symbol/image

• What's the difference between an arrow and a boomerang?  

Step 2: Draw the symbol back to the specific context of the novel/use it to clarify something

• When the narrator asserts on page 6 that the world moves like a boomerang, what does he mean? 

Step 3: Take it to the next level by connecting it to a larger pattern

• If the narrator sees the world as a boomerang instead of an arrow, what does this suggest about his history?  And his future?

2. Playing musical chairs to dive into your Prologue questions

3. Reading Chapter 1 together, pausing to pose questions for Wednesday's big Socratic

HW: 
Please read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in Invisible Man for Wednesday; read them carefully and slowly because your understanding of the rest of the novel will rest heavily on these first chapters.  Form at least ten good questions using the method from today and/or the Socratic questions sheets given out in class.

Invisible Class: November 7, 2014

Focus: What does it mean to be invisible?

1. Warming up with a quick yet important checklist for your literary essay final draft:

2. Freewriting on some big questions for Invisible Man; discussing them in small groups

3. Starting to work through the Prologue together

HW:
1. Literary essays due Monday.  If you're absent Monday, please Google share your essay with me and bring in a hard copy as soon as you return.  See the checklist for important reminders.

2. Finish reading the Prologue for Monday; we will prepare reading tickets in class since your essay is also due. I have altered the reading schedule slightly to make your reading assignments more manageable; please click HERE for the adjusted schedule.

3. Turn in Henry IV.

A.P. Literature Is Close Reading: November 6, 2014

Focus: How do I perform a close reading of prose?

Very shortened class today: CMAS

1. Offering you one of my sample close readings from college

Moments: What imagery, diction, sounds, metaphors, and other examples of figurative language stand out?

Movement: What patterns are starting to emerge?  What interesting contradictions are you noticing?  Shift happens: What's changing? What's staying the same?

Multiple meanings: What larger themes and tone does this passage contribute to? How do your observations about this quotation support and deepen your thesis?

2. Trying out a close reading on one of your literary essay quotations

HW:
1. Bring Invisible Man to class tomorrow.

2. Finish your Henry IV blog; don't worry if it's a bit shorter than your other blogs.  Bring your book tomorrow or Monday to turn in.

3. Literary essays due on Monday.  If you are absent Monday, Google share it with on Monday and bring me a hard copy as soon as you return to school.

4. College essay revisions (along with any other minor assignments you want credit for) are due tomorrow; please follow my revision policy of highlighting your changes, typing a brief paragraph of explanation of changes you made and how they improved your essay, and attaching it to the original draft with my comments.

A.P. Literature Is About To Go Invisible: November 4, 2014

Focus: What does Henry IV suggest about honor?

1. Warming up with quick whip-around of symbolic choices in Act 5:

The most important choice that The Hollow Crown makes in its depiction of Act 5 is ___________________ because ________________.

On Friday, Joe asked, "Why is this play called Henry IV?"  Not a bad question, Joe.  The BBC apparently agreed with you because they renamed it The Hollow Crown.

• Why do you think they chose this title?  Why focus on the crown, and why is it hollow?

• Do you think that it better fits this play than the original title?  Why or why not?  

• Can you think of a better title?

2. Reading Falstaff's speech about honor and viewing the Orson Welles performance of it and his thoughts on Falstaff as a nostalgic representation of an earlier, more innocent England.

3. Mental jousting by considering the following questions:

• Henry IV is an honorable king.
• Honor pertains only to the dead, not to the living.

• Henry IV is essentially an anti-war play.

4. Wrapping up the play with some big ideas:

• The most important moment in Henry IV is when...

• The most important relationship in Henry IV is between...

• The most important shift in Henry IV is when...

• The most important aspect of Henry IV that doesn't change is....

• The most interesting foil in Henry IV is...

• The most prominent image in Henry IV is...

• A significant question that Henry IV raises is....

A heads-up: We will have a Tuesday writing, but it will not be Question 3; instead, it will be a poetry prompt that (as you could probably guess), focuses on a Shakespearean speech.

SHIFTING GEARS...

5. Creative freewriting: Offering you last year's thoughts on being invisible

• Describe a time (or two) in which you felt invisible.

• What does it mean to be invisible?

HW:

1. The majority of your draft should be completed; feel to share part or all of it with me for feedback (or, even better, come in for a conference).

2. Please bring TWO of the quotations you are using/plan to use in your essay to class on THURSDAY, along with any analysis you have done of them. If you don't have a laptop, please bring in a hard copy.

3. By Friday, please compose your big question blog entry for Henry IV, Part 1.

A.P. Literature Has a Surprise Writing: November 3, 2014

Focus: How can we improve our poetry timed writing skills?

I'm switching the Tuesday writing to today. Please don't hurt me.  Candy, anyone?

1. Warming up with happy Monday!

Who needs a copy of Invisible Man?

2. Performing a quick close reading of Hotspur's final speech on page 215 (5.4)

3. Enjoying a new timed writing on a Shakespearean soliloquy

HW:

1. The majority of your draft should be completed; feel to share part or all of it with me for feedback (or, even better, come in for a conference).

2. By Friday, please compose your big question blog entry for Henry IV, Part 1. Bring the play to class tomorrow.

3. If you have your own copy of Invisible Man, please bring it to CMAS; your Invisible Man reading assignments start this week. Click HERE for the Invisible Man reading schedule.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 31, 2014

Focus: What does Act 5 of King Henry IV suggest about honor?

1. Warming up with a close reading of Vernon's description of Prince Hal; comparing it to Prince Hal's Act 1 soliloquy

[2. Reading Falstaff's speech about honor and viewing the Orson Welles performance of it and his thoughts on Falstaff as a nostalgic representation of an earlier, more innocent England.]

3. Preparing for Act 5 and mental jousting by considering the following questions:

• Henry IV is an honorable king.
• Honor pertains only to the dead, not to the living.

• Henry IV is essentially an anti-war play.

Quickly read through the scene summaries for Act 5, and for each one, jot down how the scene supports or challenges one or more of the statements above.

As you view The Hollow Crown's version of Act 5, consider what symbolic/directorial choices the film makes in responding to the statements above. Jot these down in your composition notebook.

After viewing, you will be assigned "agree" and "disagreer" roles, and you will be verbally jousting each other regarding the three statements above.

(Note to self: Act 5 is 24 minutes long and begins at 1:36:05

A heads-up: We will have a Tuesday writing, but it will not be Question 3; instead, it will be a poetry prompt that (as you could probably guess), focuses on a Shakespearean speech.

HW:

1. The majority of your draft should be completed by Monday; feel to share part or all of it with me for feedback (or, even better, come in for a conference).

2. By Friday of next week, please compose your big question blog entry for Henry IV, Part 1.

3. If you have your own copy of Invisible Man, please bring it to CMAS; your Invisible Man reading assignments start Monday night. Click HERE for the Invisible Man reading schedule.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 30, 2014

Focus: How can we better understand Henry IV through both performance and close readings?

1. Warming up with a few of your observations from yesterday

2. Viewing and analyzing the rest of Acts 3 and 4 in The Hollow Crown

3. Closely reading a few of Hotspur's speeches in Act 4

Round 1: Moments

• Images (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches)
• Diction (especially verbs)
• Metaphorical language (what's being compared to what and why?)
• Sound devices (alliteration, assonance, euphony, cacophony)
• Puns (words with double meanings)

Round 2: Movements

• Shifts (try circling your buts and sectioning the speech)
• Patterns (what categories do the images and diction fall into?)
• Extended metaphors (what's being compared to what and why?)
• How does this speech compare/contrast to other speeches in the play?

Round 3: Multiple Meanings

• Looking at Rounds 1 and 2, what are you learning about characters (and their foils)?
• What's changing and why?  What's staying the same?
• What larger statement might this play be making about what it means to be a true king or prince?  Or what it means to be valiant?  Or what honor is?

HW:

1. Continue revising your thesis, working on your outline, and developing your introduction and first body paragraph.  Remember that all analyses should stem from quotations that describe your concrete motif.  

2. If you plan to purchase Invisible Man, please do so by next Tuesday.

3. College essay revisions due by next Friday, November 7.  Please follow my revision policy.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 29, 2014

Focus: How does viewing a performance of Henry IV help us understand the shifts of Acts 3 and 4?

PLC: Shortened Class

1. Warming up with a partner: Establishing the underlying purpose of each scene in Acts 3 and 4; consider what's shifting and why

2. Viewing The Hollow Crown's version of Act 4 with the following focus:

Try to find three directorial (symbolic) choices in The Hollow Crown that emphasize or challenge the underlying purposes you have established for Acts 3 and 4; consider use of colors, physical movements, facial expressions, setting, etc.

(Note to self: Act 3 starts at 56:20; Act 4 starts around 1:24. Also, 4.1 and 4.2 are reversed.)

HW:
1. Please check your e-mail and revise your thesis; work on outlines and introductory paragraphs.  See me or e-mail me if you'd like any feedback along the way.

2. If plan to purchase your own copy of Invisible Man, which I highly, highly recommend, please do so by Tuesday of next week.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 28, 2014

Focus: How can we better understand Act 3 of Henry IV through performance?

If you were absent yesterday, please see yesterday's blog for important information regarding the literary essay you're drafting this week on your independent reading book.

1. Warming up with five minutes to dress and prep

2. Performing, enjoying, and discussing our Act 3 performance

3. If time allows, viewing The Hollow Crown's version of Act 3 and entertaining its symbolic choices

HW:
1. If you didn't e-mail me your thesis last night, please do so as soon as possible.

2. Compose your literary essay outline.  You may share it with me if you wish, but it's not required.

3.  If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 27, 2014

Focus: How can we better understand Henry IV by preparing a performance?

1. Warming up with happy, happy Monday

2. Offering you some thoughts on how to start writing an essay on your independent reading book

Click HERE for an overview of your first literary essay.
Click HERE for an example.
Click HERE for a thesis worksheet to get you started.

3. Returning to your acting companies and preparing your performance and mini lesson for Act 3

a. Please follow the same steps for preparing your Act 3 performance as you did for your Act 1 performance (see handout for details).

b. A new challenge: Give us something specific to focus on as we watch your scene (a guiding question, repetition of a specific word, use of symbolic prop, etc).  When you finish your performance, give us one follow-up question that you relates to what you asked us to focus on.  In other words, you're providing us an analytical frame for your performance.

Example:
  
Focus: As you watch Hal's speech from Act 1, note his physical movements as he delivers his soliloquy.

Follow-up: How did his movements parallel the significant shifts in his speech?

HW:

1. Be ready to deliver your moving Act 3 performances tomorrow.

2. Compose your literary essay thesis tonight and e-mail it to me; see the timeline in the overview linked above for further essay dates.

2. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 24, 2014

Focus: What larger picture do the little pixels form among the Henriad speeches?

1. Warming up: Regathering with your group for five minutes to finish up your speech explications from yesterday; if you finished yesterday, talk through it together to figure out what you'd like to emphasize as you share your findings with other groups

2. Jigsawing it out!  Four groups of six shall become six groups of four

a. Share and care, kids.  Share and care.  Reveal your brilliant epiphanies and feel free to ask questions, too.  Go in the order of the speeches.

b. Discuss the larger patterns that emerge when you see these speeches right next to each other.  What's repeated? What changes and how?  What stays the same and why?

c. How does the first speech, in which Henry takes the throne, compare to the final speech, in which Hal ascends the throne?


3. Returning to your acting companies and starting to prepare your performance and mini lesson for Act 3

a. Please follow the same steps for preparing your Act 3 performance as you did for your Act 1 performance (see handout for details).

b. A new challenge: Give us something specific to focus on as we watch your scene (a guiding question, repetition of a specific word, use of symbolic prop, etc).  When you finish your performance, give us one follow-up question that you relates to what you asked us to focus on.  In other words, you're providing us an analytical frame for your performance.

Example:
  
Focus: As you watch Hal's speech from Act 1, note his physical movements as he delivers his soliloquy.

Follow-up: How did his movements parallel the significant shifts in his speech?

HW:

1. You have less than one week remaining to finish reading your independent reading novel. Remember that you're looking for one concrete motif to follow throughout the novel.  You will be writing the essay next week.

2. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Shakespearenness: October 23, 3014

Focus: How do you explicate a speech/poem, and how will it help us understand Henry IV?

1. Warming up with small group discussions on yesterday's Act 2 questions

2. Learning how to explicate a speech with a few helpful tools (you'll need my website for this)

3. Explicating speeches from the Henry plays to gain a richer understanding of patterns

HW:
1. Please finish whatever speech explication steps you did not finish in class today; you need to be ready to share your work first thing tomorrow.

2. You have less than one week remaining to finish reading your independent reading novel. Remember that you're looking for one concrete motif to follow throughout the novel.  

3. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeareanness: October 22, 2014

Focus: What larger ideas do Shakespeare's little scenes represent?

1. Warming up with The Hollow Crown's version of Hal's speech and discussing revealing imagery, diction, sound devices, and metaphors (and, by the way, whom does he name as his foil?)

(Note to self: Prince Hal's soliloquy starts around 11:02)

How do Prince Hal's physical movements reflect shifts in his soliloquy?

2. Viewing Act 2 with a focus on the following:

(Note to self: Act 2 starts at 21:19, and 2.1 is skipped)

Why does Shakespeare offer us a personal conversation between Hotspur and his wife in 2.3?  What new view of Hotspur does it give us? What qualities do we see in him?

As you watch Prince Hal in the Tavern of Eastcheap, what do you notice about how people react to him?  What qualities does he have that might make him a good king one day?

Why might Shakespeare have included the role playing scene between Prince Hal and Falstaff?  What larger ideas might this scene evoke?

What words and phrases do you hear Falstaff repeat?  Why might this be?

What do you think Falstaff represents?  When Falstaff says, "Banish plump Jack, and banish all the world" (2.4.496), what do you think he means?

What directorial choices are you noticing that add to your understanding of the play?  (Symbolic objects, colors, costumes, casting, movements, etc.)

3. Wrapping up with thoughts and questions

HW:

1. You have less than one week remaining to finish reading your independent reading novel. Remember that you're looking for one concrete motif to follow throughout the novel.  

2. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Shakespeare: October 21, 2014

Focus: How can deepen our understanding of Henry IV by reading it like poetry?

1. Offering you a little helpful background on the genealogy behind Henry IV

2. Finishing the Scene 3 performance and discussion

3. Enjoying a quick mini lesson: Foils

A quick quiz on foils...

Harry Potter's foil is....because....  What does Harry's foil reveal about Harry?

Batman's foil is...because...  What does Batman's foil reveal about Batman?

On Breaking Bad, Walter's foil is... because...  What does Walter's foil reveal about Walter?

On Friends, Monica Geller's foil is... because...  What does Monica's foil reveal about Monica?

On Game of Thrones, Lord Renly Baratheon's foil is... because... What does his foil reveal about him?

In The Hunger Games, Peta's foil is... because... What does Peta's foil reveal about Peta?

In Scrubs, JD's foil is... because... What does JD's foil reveal about JD?

In East of Eden, Samuel Hamilton's foil is...because... What does Samuel's foil reveal about Samuel?

In Henry IV, Prince Hal's foil is...because... What does Hal's foil reveal about Hal?

In Henry IV, King Henry IV's foil is... because... What does Henry IV's foil reveal about Henry IV?

4. Performing close readings of three central Act 1 speeches (one from each act) with Moments, Movements, and Multiple Meanings

Round 1: Moments

What images, diction, sound devices, and possible symbols/metaphors grab your attention (aka make you take a moment)?

Round 2: Movement

What larger patterns are you noticing among sound devices and images? Categories?

Is there an extended metaphor lurking in there? What represents what and why?

Any shifts happening?  From what to what?

Anything evolving, devolving, or otherwise changing?

Round 3: Multiple meanings

What larger understanding of characters, foils, conflicts, situations, and/or themes does this speech offer?

HW:

1. You have less than one week remaining to finish reading your independent reading novel. Remember that you're looking for one concrete motif to follow throughout the novel.  

2. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Awesomeness: October 20, 2014

Focus: What can we discover about Henry IV through performance?

1. Warming up with happy Monday thoughts

2. Taking ten minutes to prepare for your presentations; each group needs to give me one rubric with all of your names on it (be sure to include absent members)

3. Delivering your Act 1 performances; discussing your symbolic choices

Here's what happens in Scene 1 (or 2 or 3)
1.
2.
3.

What do we learn about characters and conflicts in this scene?

4. If time allows, exploring the fascinating genealogy of Henry IV's family

HW:
1. You have one week left to finish your independent reading book.

2. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Awesomeness: October 15, 2014

PSAT: Shortened Class

Focus: What can learn about Henry IV through performance?

1. Warming up for your performances with any questions you may have

2. Practicing, practicing, practicing

HW:
1. Prepare for your performances on Monday.

2. Independent reading (this is a great time to catch up/finish).

3. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Awesomeness: October 14, 2014

Focus: What can we learn about characters and themes through performance?

1. Warming up with The Hollow Crown trailer

As you watch, try to find objects and colors with symbolic significance, and consider what they might symbolize.

2. Reading the overview of your acting company performances and giving you time to prepare

3. Wrapping up with goal-setting for tomorrow

HW:
1. Please remind your parents that I will only be at conferences on Wednesday night.

2. As a group, decide what you need to finish preparing before tomorrow; performances will take place Monday, and class tomorrow is only about 28 minutes long.

3. Independent reading (books must be finished by October 27).

4. If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

A.P. Literature and Awesomeness: October 13, 2014

žFocus: What can we learn about Henry IV through performing a single scene?

1. Warming up: Happy Monday journaling on one aspect of you as a son/daughter that your parents value

ž2. Performing two read-throughs of Act 2, scene 2 (sitting in a circle)

The first read through:

Who are these guys? How do you know?

What is going on here?

Do these guys know each other well?

žWho is the boss of this group?

Who would like to be the boss?  How do you know?  Is there more than one boss?

In between read throughs:

žwhoreson caterpillar = miserable parasite

žgorbellied = great bellied

žcolt = trick

žuncolted = unhorsed

žpeach = to inform on žsomeone

Where does this scene take place?

What time of day is it?

Who is the most important person in the scene?

žWho thinks he’s the most important?The second read through

The second read through:

žMake notes on new information you discover the second time around.

What does the performance emphasize in terms of character interpretation, conflicts, situation, etc?

žWhat new understanding of this scene and the play as a whole does the performance help you achieve?

3. Assigning and starting to prepare Act 1 scenes with your acting companies

žHW: 

1. Please read the summaries of the scenes in Act 1 by tomorrow; you will have tomorrow and a shortened class on Wednesday to prepare your performances, which will take place on Monday.

2.  If you choose to revise your college essay, you must do so by November 7.  Attach your new draft to the original one with my comments; highlight all changes on your new draft and type of brief explanation of what you changed and why.

3. Independent reading (the first week is now up, and you have about two more weeks to finish your book).