Thursday, August 29, 2013

August 30, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Entering the world of Wuthering Heights

1. Warm-up: Wandering through the moors and understanding the Brontes' family life

I see...
I hear...
I smell...
I taste..
I touch...

As I ..., I feel ...
I wonder...

2. Oh, the possibilities!  Exploring all the reading ticket options to enhance your Wuthering Heights experience  (click HERE for the link; also linked to the top of the class website)

3. Reading and questioning the first chapter or so aloud; taking time to continue the reading on your own

HW: 
1. Please follow the WH reading schedule; prepare your first reading ticket for Tuesday's Socratic.

2. Finish your first two posts (or your one big post) on your Big Question Blog by Tuesday.

3. Continue working on your college essay.


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

August 29, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Applying your big question to Oedipus Rex; gathering background information on Emily Bronte

1. Warm-up: Taking a little time to think through Oedipus Rex and your big question

2. Small groups: Perusing Emily Bronte's diary entries to gather background information (to learn a bit more about the Brontes' unique and dramatic family life, click HERE)



3. If time allows, starting the first few pages of Wuthering Heights

HW:
1. Please finish your first and second big question blog posts (or your giant, combined post) by Monday.

2. Follow the Wuthering Heights reading schedule (read through page 56/Chapter VII by Tuesday) and prepare a reading ticket.  You will get a list of reading ticket possibilities tomorrow in class.  Bring WH to class tomorrow.

3. Continue working on the rough draft of your college essay.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

August 28, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Synthesizing ideas about Oedipus Rex...why is this an important text?

PLC: Shortened class today

1. Warm-up: Creating a literary 3 x 3 for Oedipus Rex

2. Finishing yesterday's Socratic seminar on Oedipus Rex with a wrap-up that responds to today's focus question



3. Starting on your first and second posts (or a giant, combined post) for the Big Question Blogs

HW:
1. Please finish your first and second posts (or your giant, combined post) by Monday.

2. If you have purchased your own copy of WH, please start bringing it to class tomorrow.

Monday, August 26, 2013

August 27, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Analyzing Sophocles' Oedipus Rex

1. Warm-up: Perusing each other's reading tickets, musical chairs style

2. Engaging in a lively and revealing Socratic seminar on Oedipus Rex

3. Wrapping up the discussion (final 10 minutes)

HW:
1. Make sure your blog is set up before tomorrow (in other words, you need to have finalized your question before tomorrow).

2. Bring Oedipus Rex back to class tomorrow so that you can work on composing your first and second posts in class. If you bring your own laptop, please do so tomorrow.

3. If you are purchasing your own copy of Wuthering Heights, please bring that to class starting Thursday.

4. Start working on your college essay (due September 12).

Friday, August 23, 2013

August 26, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Growing ideas for the college essay and for your "big question" blog

1. Warm-up: Trying out a little brainstorming for the "Scars" prompt

2. Offering a quick and simple overview of the college essay as your first A.P. Literature essay

3. Setting up your "big question" blog

Click HERE to explore last year's big question blogs.

HW:
1. Please review Oedipus Rex, compose your reading ticket (detailed under Friday night's homework), and bring both the text and your reading ticket to class tomorrow for our first Socratic seminar.

2. Continue working on your big question blog (should be set up by Wednesday).

Thursday, August 22, 2013

August 23, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Workshopping your first timed writings and exploring the college essay

1. Warm-up: Debriefing yesterday's timed writing

2. Performing a sample Thursday workshop (with the help of two brave volunteers)

3. Discussing the college essay and experimenting with two prompts

HW:
1. Review Oedipus Rex, bring it to class on Tuesday, and prepare your first Socratic reading ticket for Tuesday:

For your first reading ticket, please find one motif (a word, idea, or object that repeats) in Oedipus Rex. Type three passages from the play that display this motif; analyze each individually, then discuss how the motif transforms (or fails to transform) throughout the play and how this contributes to what you see as the play's larger message.

For example, you could examine the motif of eyes/sight (which I hope some of you do). As you analyze the passages that contain references to eyes/sight and as you try to establish a larger pattern and message, you could think about which characters achieve vision, which don't, and why. You could think about which characters experience a change in sight and what precipitates this change, as well as which characters refuse to alter their vision and the impact this has on their fates.

2. If you plan on purchasing Wuthering Heights, please do so by Thursday.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

August 22, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: Assessing your timed writing prowess

1. Warm-up: A quick debriefing of yesterday's first Socratic

2. Composing your first Tuesday writing for A.P. Literature

HW: 
1. Please start bringing Oedipus Rex to class next week.

2. If you plan to purchase Wuthering Heights (which I do recommend), please do so by next Thursday.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

August 21, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: What kinds of literary approaches are most helpful to us as readers?

If you have not done so yet, please turn in your signed class policies and your personal information sheets at the beginning of class today. Thanks!

1. Wrapping yesterday's Foster presentations (5 min)

2. Reading and discussing Perrine's "Escape and Interpretation" (20 min)

3. Practicing Socratic seminar (25-30 min):

  • Offering you an overview of what Socratic is and how it's assessed
  • Prepping for Socratic with questions and nameplates 
  • Sampling Socratic with a 15 minute discussion of "Werewolves in Their Youth")
  • (If time allows) debriefing what went well and what didn't


HW:
1. Bring notebook paper and a blue or black pen for tomorrow's first timed writing.
2. Reread "Werewolves" and the Perrine article to help yourself prepare for the timed writing.

Monday, August 19, 2013

August 20, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Literature?

Focus: What does it mean to read like a professor?

1. Warm-up: Composing your 6-word memoir and sharing it...or not

2. Discussing How To Read Literature Like a Professor:

a. Commenting on each other's summer reading assignments, musical chairs style

b. Discussing your assigned chapters in small groups:
  • Review, enjoy, and discuss each of your assigned chapters together, reading aloud pertinent passages and talking through your thoughts on Foster's main ideas. 
  • For each chapter, please prepare the following to share with the class: 
    • The best quotation (or two) of the chapter
    • A summary of the chapter's main ideas
    • Your opinion of this chapter
    • An application to the fairy tale/children's story of your choice

c. Sharing your findings with the class and creating a "Pocket Foster" document as a class

3. Reading "Werewolves in Their Youth" in a large circle

HW:
1. Please complete your sheet of 26 questions and bring in your signed class policies by tomorrow (Wednesday).

2. Finish reading and annotating "Werewolves in Their Youth" for tomorrow's first Socratic seminar.

3. We will have our first timed writing on Thursday, and it will involve "'Werewolves" and Perrine.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

August 19, 2013: What's Happening in A.P. Lit?

Focus: What would we like to know about each other and about A.P. Literature?

1. Telling you a little about my journey

2. Introducing yourselves using an unusual pet peeve or phobia, a “guilty pleasure” (in other words, embarrassing) song on your iPod, and/or a personal quirk

3. Enjoying a little flash fiction: Writing your 6-word memoir and sharing in small groups

4. Investigating the syllabus and calendar and asking me anything you'd like know

5. Distributing personal information sheets and "Werewolves in Their Youth"

HW:
1. Bring How To Read Literature Like a Professor and the summer assignment that correlates with it to class tomorrow (Tuesday). You will need these for discussion, and you will also be turning in this portion of the summer reading assignment tomorrow; don't worry about "Wild Geese" just yet.

2. Please sign the class syllabus and fill in the personal information sheet by Wednesday, August 21.

3. Read "Werewolves in Their Youth" by Wednesday; please form discussion questions for Wednesday's Socratic seminar as you annotate (you can just jot these down in the margins of the story).

4. This Thursday you will have your first AP Lit timed writing; it will focus largely on "Werewolves..."