Focus: Enjoying the post-A.P. Literature exam experience
1. Announcements!
2. Getting back in touch with our childhood sense of fun: Kindergarten games
3. Getting back in touch with trends on the internet: Sharing meaningful youtube experiences
HW:
1. Remember that the four tasks detailed on the purple half-sheet (book turn-in, legacy, survey, and letter) are due TOMORROW.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
This Test's Taken: AP Lit, May 14, 2013
Focus: Displaying our class talents
1. Announcements!
2. So you think you can _______? Enjoying a class talent show
3. If time allows, unveiling your postsecret skills
HW:
1. Brainstorm ideas for "kindergarten games" and be ready to explain the directions!
2. Remember to finish the final four tasks for this class (see purple half-sheet for details) by THURSDAY.
1. Announcements!
2. So you think you can _______? Enjoying a class talent show
3. If time allows, unveiling your postsecret skills
HW:
1. Brainstorm ideas for "kindergarten games" and be ready to explain the directions!
2. Remember to finish the final four tasks for this class (see purple half-sheet for details) by THURSDAY.
This Test's Taken: AP Lit, May 13, 2013
Focus: Celebrating the fact that you're done with the A.P. Literature Exam!
1. Announcements!
2. Reminders regarding your final AP Lit tasks (due Thursday):
a. Turn in all of your books
b. Fill out a class evaluation (via Google forms)
c. Write a letter
d. Prepare your legacy
e. Please make sure you check off your name as you finish each task.
e. Please make sure you check off your name as you finish each task.
3. It's picnic time!
HW:
1. Rehearse your talent for tomorrow's class talent show and bring all necessary props to class.
2. By Thursday, please complete the tasks listed above. They are described in detail on the purple half-sheet of paper you received last Friday.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
This Test's Taken: AP Lit, May 10, 2013
Focus: The Day After...
1. Announcements! And snacks!
2. How did it go?
3. Overview of your final week in AP Lit. Here are your final tasks:
4. Brainstorming film ideas and starting to fill out your class evaluation
5. Experiencing an in-depth lesson on the power of allusion
HW:
Watch THIS VIDEO and remember to treat your mom to something nice on Sunday.
1. Announcements! And snacks!
2. How did it go?
3. Overview of your final week in AP Lit. Here are your final tasks:
a. Turn in all of your books
b. Fill out a class evaluation
c. Write a letter
d. Prepare your legacy
4. Brainstorming film ideas and starting to fill out your class evaluation
5. Experiencing an in-depth lesson on the power of allusion
HW:
Watch THIS VIDEO and remember to treat your mom to something nice on Sunday.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, May 8, 2013
Focus: Building your confidence for the AP Literature Test
Please arrive at the test site tomorrow morning between 7:00 and 7: 15 am.
1. Announcements! And a quick walk down memory lane...
2. Circle story time with Ms. Leclaire
3. A tiny lesson on synecdoche (this is purely to make you feel better)
Definition: A figure of speech in which the part of something is used to refer to the whole of something, and that part is usually physically attached to the whole.
Examples:
Can you give me a hand?
Nice set of wheels!
Narrator from Invisible Man refers to policemen as "blue steel pistols and blue serge suits" (344)
Why do we care? Sometimes an author uses synecdoche to reveal an attitude towards a character or object. For example, by referring to the policemen as "blue steel pistols and blue serge suits," the narrator of Invisible Man dehumanizes them, associating them the impenetrability of "steel" and "serge," as well as identifying them with the constant threat of violence ("pistols"). The repetition of the color "blue" serves to distance the policemen from both black and white citizens, landing them in a cold, inhuman category.
3. Exploring the 2005 essay prompts together
4. Reading a few letters from students of AP past...
HW:
1. Review your bedside stack, go to bed early, eat breakfast in the morning, and leave early for the test. And remember: "Still waters run deep."
Please arrive at the test site tomorrow morning between 7:00 and 7: 15 am.
1. Announcements! And a quick walk down memory lane...
2. Circle story time with Ms. Leclaire
3. A tiny lesson on synecdoche (this is purely to make you feel better)
Definition: A figure of speech in which the part of something is used to refer to the whole of something, and that part is usually physically attached to the whole.
Examples:
Can you give me a hand?
Nice set of wheels!
Narrator from Invisible Man refers to policemen as "blue steel pistols and blue serge suits" (344)
Why do we care? Sometimes an author uses synecdoche to reveal an attitude towards a character or object. For example, by referring to the policemen as "blue steel pistols and blue serge suits," the narrator of Invisible Man dehumanizes them, associating them the impenetrability of "steel" and "serge," as well as identifying them with the constant threat of violence ("pistols"). The repetition of the color "blue" serves to distance the policemen from both black and white citizens, landing them in a cold, inhuman category.
3. Exploring the 2005 essay prompts together
4. Reading a few letters from students of AP past...
HW:
1. Review your bedside stack, go to bed early, eat breakfast in the morning, and leave early for the test. And remember: "Still waters run deep."
Monday, May 6, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, May 7, 2013
Focus: Building your confidence for the AP Literature Exam
1. Announcements!
2. Introduction to today's stations:
[Station 1: Victorian-style prose, multiple choice]
[Station 2: Victorian-style prose, syntax practice]
[Station 3: Victorian-style prose, essay prompt]
Station 4: Bedside stacks
Station 5: Feel good about yourself
Station 6: Contemporary prose, essay
Station 7: Contemporary prose, multiple choice
Station 8: Traditional poetry, multiple choice
Station 9: Contemporary poetry, multiple choice
Station 6: Contemporary prose, essay
Station 7: Contemporary prose, multiple choice
Station 8: Traditional poetry, multiple choice
Station 9: Contemporary poetry, multiple choice
You will select 2-3 stations and spend about 20-25 minutes at each station. The first 10 minutes will be spent in mandatory silence so that you may read in peace. The second 10-15 minutes can be spent in whatever way your group feels is most beneficial to your style of review (independent work, group discussion, etc.).
If you need all 5 review stations, don't worry; these stations and many more will still be available tomorrow.
HW:
1. Bedside stack.
2. AP Lit review book (target your least confident areas).
Friday, May 3, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, May 6, 2013
Focus: Building your confidence for the AP Literature Exam
1. Announcements!
2. Introduction to today's stations:
You will select 2-3 stations and spend about 20-25 minutes at each station. The first 10 minutes will be spent in mandatory silence so that you may read in peace. The second 10-15 minutes can be spent in whatever way your group feels is most beneficial to your style of review (independent work, group discussion, etc.).
If you need all 5 review stations, don't worry; these stations and many more will still be available tomorrow.
HW:
1. Bedside stack.
2. AP Lit review book (target your least confident areas).
1. Announcements!
2. Introduction to today's stations:
Station 1: Victorian-style prose, multiple choice
Station 2: Victorian-style prose, syntax practice
Station 3: Victorian-style prose, essay prompt
Station 4: Bedside stacks
Station 5: Feel good about yourself
You will select 2-3 stations and spend about 20-25 minutes at each station. The first 10 minutes will be spent in mandatory silence so that you may read in peace. The second 10-15 minutes can be spent in whatever way your group feels is most beneficial to your style of review (independent work, group discussion, etc.).
If you need all 5 review stations, don't worry; these stations and many more will still be available tomorrow.
HW:
1. Bedside stack.
2. AP Lit review book (target your least confident areas).
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, May 3, 2013
Focus: Preparing for the AP Lit Exam!
1. Announcements! Any revisions to turn in?
2. Finishing the last ten minutes of R&G and exploring related AP prompts
3. Returning and reviewing your timed writings
4. Dear Ms. Leclaire,
Here are my dream review stations for next week:
5. If time allows, working on bedside stacks
HW:
1. Performing the nightly ritual of your bedside stack.
2. Working through "problem areas" using your Barron's AP review book (bring it to class next week).
1. Announcements! Any revisions to turn in?
2. Finishing the last ten minutes of R&G and exploring related AP prompts
3. Returning and reviewing your timed writings
- Patting yourself on the back for THREE strengths you have as a timed writer, and giving yourself ONE goal for timed writing improvement.
- S-5 and Portrait groups of expertise
4. Dear Ms. Leclaire,
Here are my dream review stations for next week:
5. If time allows, working on bedside stacks
HW:
1. Performing the nightly ritual of your bedside stack.
2. Working through "problem areas" using your Barron's AP review book (bring it to class next week).
Thursday, May 2, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, May 2, 2013
Focus: Synthesizing larger ideas about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1. Announcements!
2. Viewing the film version of R & G Are Dead
What's the bigger story here, and how is it being told?
3. Speed dating while forming thesis statements and outlines for various open prompts that reference R & G
HW:
1. If you are revising your critical review or your poetry essay, please do so by tomorrow.
2. If you have an AP Lit review book at home, please bring it to class tomorrow.
1. Announcements!
2. Viewing the film version of R & G Are Dead
What's the bigger story here, and how is it being told?
3. Speed dating while forming thesis statements and outlines for various open prompts that reference R & G
HW:
1. If you are revising your critical review or your poetry essay, please do so by tomorrow.
2. If you have an AP Lit review book at home, please bring it to class tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, May 1, 2013
Focus: Starting to synthesize larger ideas about R&G Are Dead
1. Announcements! And snack!
2. Warm-up: Singling out the most important passage from your section
As you listen to others' lines, think about how to finish this statement: R&G Are Dead is about...
3. Watching part of an interview with Tom Stoppard to see what he thinks this play is about
4. Viewing a few key scenes from the film version of R & G Are Dead
HW:
1. Keeping up with your bedside stack (remember that it should be a nightly ritual--repetition is key).
2. Remember that if you plan to revise your critical review or your poetry essay, please do so by FRIDAY. Remember to highlight all changes on your new draft, compose a brief paragraph explaining what you chose to revise and why, and staple everything to your original draft with my comments.
1. Announcements! And snack!
2. Warm-up: Singling out the most important passage from your section
As you listen to others' lines, think about how to finish this statement: R&G Are Dead is about...
3. Watching part of an interview with Tom Stoppard to see what he thinks this play is about
4. Viewing a few key scenes from the film version of R & G Are Dead
HW:
1. Keeping up with your bedside stack (remember that it should be a nightly ritual--repetition is key).
2. Remember that if you plan to revise your critical review or your poetry essay, please do so by FRIDAY. Remember to highlight all changes on your new draft, compose a brief paragraph explaining what you chose to revise and why, and staple everything to your original draft with my comments.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 30, 2013
Focus: Analyzing the ending of R&G Are Dead
1. Announcements!
2. Warm-up: A little visual help from Ms. Leclaire on R & G Are Dead
3. As you watch the final performance, please take note of the following:
Given the Player's description of a tragedy in Act Two, is Stoppard's play a tragedy ("The bad end unhappily, the good unluckily")? (2.316)
Does Stoppard's play pay homage to Hamlet or does it ridicule it?
Pose one important question about the play's ending.
4. Acting Company #5: Final warm-up, performance, and discussion of R & G Are Dead
HW:
1. Keeping up with your bedside stack (remember that it should be a nightly ritual--repetition is key).
2. Remember that if you plan to revise your critical review or your poetry essay, please do so by FRIDAY. Remember to highlight all changes on your new draft, compose a brief paragraph explaining what you chose to revise and why, and staple everything to your original draft with my comments.
1. Announcements!
2. Warm-up: A little visual help from Ms. Leclaire on R & G Are Dead
3. As you watch the final performance, please take note of the following:
Given the Player's description of a tragedy in Act Two, is Stoppard's play a tragedy ("The bad end unhappily, the good unluckily")? (2.316)
Does Stoppard's play pay homage to Hamlet or does it ridicule it?
Pose one important question about the play's ending.
4. Acting Company #5: Final warm-up, performance, and discussion of R & G Are Dead
HW:
1. Keeping up with your bedside stack (remember that it should be a nightly ritual--repetition is key).
2. Remember that if you plan to revise your critical review or your poetry essay, please do so by FRIDAY. Remember to highlight all changes on your new draft, compose a brief paragraph explaining what you chose to revise and why, and staple everything to your original draft with my comments.
Monday, April 29, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 29, 2013
Focus: Performance and discussion of the fourth section of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
1. Announcements! And filling in the map...
2. Overview of the bedside stack
2. Today's R & G lesson brought to you by Acting Co #4!
a. Warm-up
b. Performance and passage marking
c. Question-developing and follow-up Socratic seminar
HW:
1. Guess who doesn't have to work on his/her culminating essay anymore? That's right: YOU!
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by FRIDAY.
3. Begin working on your bedside stack; form due WEDNESDAY.
Click HERE for a film version of R&G Are Dead.
Friday, April 26, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 26, 2013
Focus: Performance and discussion of the third section of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Class ends at 10:02 am today (spring assembly).
1. Announcements!
2. Today's R & G lesson brought to you by Acting Co #3!
a. Warm-up
b. Performance and passage marking
c. Question-developing and follow-up Socratic seminar
HW:
1.Finish your culminating essays (due Monday). Click HERE for the "Night-Before Checklist."
Staple your question/booklist to the front of your essay.
Include an MLA heading.
Include a header (Your last name Page #) in the upper right corner of each page.
Cite each quotation properly.
Attach a properly formatted Works Cited page that includes all works referenced in your essay.
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Class ends at 10:02 am today (spring assembly).
1. Announcements!
2. Today's R & G lesson brought to you by Acting Co #3!
a. Warm-up
b. Performance and passage marking
c. Question-developing and follow-up Socratic seminar
HW:
1.Finish your culminating essays (due Monday). Click HERE for the "Night-Before Checklist."
Staple your question/booklist to the front of your essay.
Include an MLA heading.
Include a header (Your last name Page #) in the upper right corner of each page.
Cite each quotation properly.
Attach a properly formatted Works Cited page that includes all works referenced in your essay.
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 25, 2013
Focus: Performance and discussion of the second section of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
1. Announcements!
2. Today's R & G lesson brought to you by Acting Co #2!
a. Warm-up
b. Performance and passage marking
c. Question-developing and follow-up Socratic seminar
HW:
1. Continue working on your culminating essays (due Monday).
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Click HERE for a film version of R&G Are Dead.
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 24, 2013
Focus: Performance and discussion of the first section of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
1. Announcements!
YOU MUST ATTEND AN AP EXAM PRE-REGISTRATION MEETING TODAY. Please go to the Forum during 5th, 6th, or after school.
2. Today's R & G lesson brought to you by Acting Co #1!
a. Warm-up
b. Performance and passage marking
c. Question-developing and follow-up Socratic seminar
HW:
1. Continue working on your culminating essays (due Monday).
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Click HERE for a film version of R&G Are Dead.
1. Announcements!
YOU MUST ATTEND AN AP EXAM PRE-REGISTRATION MEETING TODAY. Please go to the Forum during 5th, 6th, or after school.
2. Today's R & G lesson brought to you by Acting Co #1!
a. Warm-up
b. Performance and passage marking
c. Question-developing and follow-up Socratic seminar
HW:
1. Continue working on your culminating essays (due Monday).
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Click HERE for a film version of R&G Are Dead.
Monday, April 22, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 23, 2013
Focus: Preparing scenes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1. Class ends at 12:49 today (23 minutes of pure brain power)
Culminating essays are now due Monday, April 29.
2. Continue preparing your scenes...
a. Perform an analytical reading of your scene. In other words, don't worry about how to perform it quite yet; instead, think of how to analyze it, interpreting...
- Elements of the Absurd
- Extended metaphors and motifs
- Characterization
- Larger themes
- Staging (entrances, exits, movement)
- Costumes & props
- Making SYMBOLIC choices
- How to pronounce words, when to take pauses, when to shout, when to whisper, etc.
HW:
1. Continue working on culminating essay.
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Performance Schedule:
Friday, April 19, Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23: Preparation days
Wednesday, April 24: Acting Co #1
Thursday, April 25: Acting Co #2
Friday, April 26: Acting Co #3
Monday, April 29: Acting Co #4
Tuesday, April 30: Acting Co #5
Wednesday, May 1: Tuesday Writing on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 22, 2013
Focus: Preparing scenes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1. Announcements!
Culminating essays are now due Monday, April 29 (this will be the final extension).
2. A reminder: Make sure you have performed an analytical reading of your scene and discussed it thoroughly with your group. This part should take at least 20 minutes.
3. Continue preparing your scenes...
a. Perform an analytical reading of your scene. In other words, don't worry about how to perform it quite yet; instead, think of how to analyze it, interpreting...
- Elements of the Absurd
- Extended metaphors and motifs
- Characterization
- Larger themes
- Staging (entrances, exits, movement)
- Costumes & props
- Making SYMBOLIC choices
- How to pronounce words, when to take pauses, when to shout, when to whisper, etc.
HW:
1. Continue working on culminating essay.
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Performance Schedule:
Friday, April 19, Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23: Preparation days
Wednesday, April 24: Acting Co #1
Thursday, April 25: Acting Co #2
Friday, April 26: Acting Co #3
Monday, April 29: Acting Co #4
Tuesday, April 30: Acting Co #5
Wednesday, May 1: Tuesday Writing on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Friday, April 19, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 19, 2013
Focus: Getting comfortable in the Theatre of the Absurd by preparing scenes from R & G Are Dead
1. Announcements!
2. Warm-up: Look back over pages 11 to 17 (the part we read yesterday), and please brainstorm responses to the following questions in your composition notebook:
Acting Co #1: Top of page 17 to "Exeunt" at bottom of page 37
Acting Co #2: "I want to go home" at bottom of page 37 to bottom of page 59
Acting Co #3: Top of page 60 to top of page 85
Acting Co #4: Top of page 85 to "Don't cry" on page 104
Acting Co #5: "Don't cry" on page 104 to end of play
a. Figure out what important events have led up to your scene (focusing especially on what happens right before your scene takes place).
Here is a good site for a detailed summary of the play: Shmoop
b. Perform an analytical reading of your scene. In other words, don't worry about how to perform it quite yet; instead, think of how to analyze it, interpreting...
HW:
1. Continue working on culminating essay.
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Performance Schedule:
Friday, April 19, Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23: Preparation days
Wednesday, April 24: Acting Co #1
Thursday, April 25: Acting Co #2
Friday, April 26: Acting Co #3
Monday, April 29: Acting Co #4
Tuesday, April 30: Acting Co #5
Wednesday, May 1: Tuesday Writing on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1. Announcements!
2. Warm-up: Look back over pages 11 to 17 (the part we read yesterday), and please brainstorm responses to the following questions in your composition notebook:
- Why do you think Stoppard selected these two characters for his play?
- How does he re-create them? In other words, though they are "dreadfully uniform" in Hamlet, they start to take on distinct personalities in Stoppard's play. How are they each characterized?
- What elements of the Theatre of the Absurd have you noticed so far?
Acting Co #1: Top of page 17 to "Exeunt" at bottom of page 37
Acting Co #2: "I want to go home" at bottom of page 37 to bottom of page 59
Acting Co #3: Top of page 60 to top of page 85
Acting Co #4: Top of page 85 to "Don't cry" on page 104
Acting Co #5: "Don't cry" on page 104 to end of play
a. Figure out what important events have led up to your scene (focusing especially on what happens right before your scene takes place).
Here is a good site for a detailed summary of the play: Shmoop
b. Perform an analytical reading of your scene. In other words, don't worry about how to perform it quite yet; instead, think of how to analyze it, interpreting...
- Elements of the Absurd
- Extended metaphors and motifs
- Characterization
- Larger themes
- Staging (entrances, exits, movement)
- Costumes & props
- Making SYMBOLIC choices
- How to pronounce words, when to take pauses, when to shout, when to whisper, etc.
HW:
1. Continue working on culminating essay.
2. If you are revising your critical essay or poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
Performance Schedule:
Friday, April 19, Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23: Preparation days
Wednesday, April 24: Acting Co #1
Thursday, April 25: Acting Co #2
Friday, April 26: Acting Co #3
Monday, April 29: Acting Co #4
Tuesday, April 30: Acting Co #5
Wednesday, May 1: Tuesday Writing on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, April 18, 2013
Focus: Entering the absurd world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1. Announcements!
2. Warm-up: The flip of a coin
a. Take a coin and flip it in the air 20 times. Record how many times it comes up heads, and how many times it comes up tails. Interpret/explain the results.
b. Now, imagine that you take a quarter (a normal quarter) and flip it in the air twenty times. If it were to come up heads each time, would you be surprised? Why or why not? In your opinion, is the world generally an orderly or a disorderly place?
c. Look back to the definition of existentialism I offered you yesterday and to the definition of Theatre of the Absurd I will offer you today. How would an existentialist and/or an absurdist explain the imaginary phenomenon above?
Click HERE for a lecture on the Theatre of the Absurd.
3. Reintroducing yourselves to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern via two clips
- How does the title alone suggest the existentialist undertones of this play?
- Why might Tom Stoppard have picked these two characters for his play?
4. Acting out the beginning of Act One
As we read, keep a log in your composition book of this play's use of extended metaphors:
- Where do you see elements of the Theatre of the Absurd?
- Which objects clearly serve as metaphors?
- What larger ideas to they stand for and how?
HW:
1. Continue working on your culminating essay.
2. If you plan on revising either your critical essay or your poetry essay, please do so by the end of April.
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