boards open and snowed-out parties

E3H students:

The Portrait boards, which I thought I had opened before vacation, are now open for business. (I guess no one had missed them until Thomas G wanted to post on Monday and sent me a message.)

To everyone:

Because of the snow day right before break, we never had our parties, which included, of course, Secret Santas. You all bought presents and, I assume, may still have them? If you'd like, I will allow a "party" makeup on Tuesday when we get back. We'll actually be in workshop mode that day, but you can bring in goodies and gifts as well.

--kt

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vacation conferences

I have been asked: Is it possible to have a conference over vacation?

The answer, of course, is yes, but it is a bit, um, complicated. As you know, the definition of a conference involves dialogue, which leaves emailing a draft for feedback off of the list of possibilities.

However...

If we (or any of you) met online for chats, that could most definitely count as conferences. Here is how it would work:

• Meet up on AIM, iChat, facebook, Gmail chat, or any other online interface;
• Send the latest version of your piece(s) via email;
• Discuss;
• Print out the chat for evidence of conference.

If you would like to meet me for a conference:

My best suggestion is to get yourself a Gmail account. They are free (and, BTW, the very best of the free email accounts out there). Once you get an account, add me to your contacts. My address is ktsunspark@gmail.com. I am almost always online, but I am not always available. I should appear in your chat list with a little green dot signaling that I'm here; go ahead and try me. Please understand, though, that there are three possible outcomes:

1. I'll say it's a bad time.
2. I won't answer at all (because I'm actually not at the computer).
3. I'll give you the conference.

Don't take offense at (1) or (2); just leave me a message and send the email with your piece, for later. We'll catch each other. (BTW: Gmail chat messages "wait" for the recipient; I'll get it even if I'm offline when you send it.)

So that's how to do it.

Meanwhile...

Merry Christmas!!!!

--kt

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about annotations

I got an email from one of my sophomores asking about her annotations grade. She said that she did not think I had been fair in my assessment, that she had done better than the "√-" I had given her, and that she had heard that others had done half the assignment and gotten better scores. Maybe I had really not read these carefully enough? So I wrote this back, and I thought I'd share it, since some of you might also have similar concerns:

The grades were based on the annotations that you actually did, so if someone did fabulous annotations for three chapters I gave them a score based on the quality of those annotations while noting that they had only done those three chapters. They still--obviously--have to do the rest over break or the score will adjust downward to reflect the fact that it was only partly completed.

As to yours, I admit that I read them quickly--I read ALL of them more quickly than I had planned in order to get them back a day earlier than I had initially planned--but I do seem to recall that you needed more specificity and a lot more notation about Steinbeck's style (his use of varying structures, repeated phrases and words, etc.), the kinds of descriptions he gives to characters, symbolic elements, etc.

None of this is bad. It just means that I want you all to focus more, and I do tend to give lower scores on those first annotations (which of course can be changed completely anyway) so that you will see what I am looking for. Still I do acknowledge that I could be wrong about yours: you have it in front of you and I do not. And everything last Thursday was an enormous rush, as you might imagine when I thought I had two days to do something and found myself condensing it into one. (And thank goodness that I did so.) I apologize if I underscored yours. But don't worry too much: it isn't going into the gradebook until I see the "final" version.

If you are a junior, just substitute things about Joyce for things about Steinbeck in those paragraphs. And all of you look at the previous post for the vacation assignments as well as at last Friday's post for specifics on annotation.

Happy Holidays! Hope you're sufficiently bundled!

--kt

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the rise of snowzilla

As the Abominable Snow Monster of the North rises from the southwest (huh?), we again take our leave...possibly for weeks, but definitely for tonight. So in order to make things as clear as possible, here is what is expected from all of you in the next two weeks:

If you are a member of the Creative Writing class:

You have a portfolio due the day you get back. I'm available for feedback via email if need be over break. If absolutely necessary, contact me and we'll arrange an online chat for a conference.

If you are a member of the E3H class:

Your Writing Workshop continues. So does your Reading Workshop. But the most salient issue right now is your shared literature. Portrait of the Artist is ongoing, and you should read through Chapter Four during the break. While everyone will do this at his or her own pace, I'd suggest (for better online conversations) the following schedule:

• Chapter Two: 12/23
• Chapter Three: 12/30
• Chapter Four: 1/3

Annotate thoroughly and participate in online discussions. (I'll be hanging out there too.)

If you are a member of the E2H class:

You also have both Writing and Reading Workshops ongoing, but your shared literature (The Grapes of Wrath) is your most important element at this time. You have the Great Depression Interview Project due when we return. But you should also continue reading, annotating, and discussing the text online. The next chunk to read is the one encompassing Chapters 7-11, which I have labeled "Packing a Life." Following that is the one that goes from Chapter 12 through Chapter 16, "On the Move." Then the much smaller 17-19 section, which I have called "Crossing the Desert" follows. As you read each section, annotate thoroughly (far more thoroughly than you did the first section, I might add).

As you finish each section, go online and join the discussions, which will presuppose that participants have finished those chapters of the book. Though you'll all read at your own paces, for help with the online discussions, I'll suggest the following schedule:

• "Packing a Life": 12/23
• "On the Move": 12/30
• "Crossing the Desert": 1/3

I'll be hanging out in the conversations.

And now, for your viewing pleasure...



:-)

j: snowzilla returns: this time it's personal
music: christmas has come: erin sitton

--kt

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tuesday

j: skate away
music: river--joni mitchell

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warning: pagan crossing

I hope you enjoyed the Dar Williams song today; it's one of my personal seasonal favorites. I'll be sharing a few more of my personal favs as the week wears on...

E3H:

Finish Chapter One. I will be collecting books to grade annotation on Wednesday, and you'll be doing more reading and annotating over the break. I have not yet determined how much. (Somewhere between the end of Chapter 3 and the end of the book, I suspect.)

E2H:

Finish Chapter 6. I will be collecting books to grade annotation on Wednesday, and you'll be doing more reading and annotating over the break. I have not yet determined how much. (Somewhere between the end of Chapter 15 and the end of the book, I suspect.)

CW: confs confs confs......

and now a holiday word from the Kinks...



j: just a week to solstice
music: the christians and the pagans--dar williams

--kt

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new books!!!

So we have these new novels to start! Yay!

As I said in class today, both of these novels are a challenge to the class reading them, but both contain rewards. The Grapes of Wrath is a long piece, but its faithful rendering of the struggles of the Great Depression (I hope that's not something we end up calling the old Great Depression...but given our current economy, who knows?) tell us of things that 21st Century students in Lake Forest cannot comprehend in any other way. And Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, as challenging as its structures make it, shows a young man coming to terms with issues connected to growing up, issues that still concern young people today.

Besides, both of these books contain beautiful writing. :-)

So...let's get specific...

You need to annotate the book, so a note about annotations:

Annotate the book as you read by highlighting and writing notes in the margins or even adding post-its if need be. Annotations can be many things:

• Be Personal: How do you feel about a character or event? Has such and such a character or person ever reminded you of something that’s happened to you. How well do your relate to the novel. Does it ring true? Do you love or hate or empathize with a character.
• React: Be blunt. This is boring; this character is petty and I can’t stand him; nobody I know would do this under these circumstances. Be prepared to justify such comments in class discussion.
• Note wordplay: What “games” does the author play with language? When does the pure word choice, whole phrases and sentences, or figurative language call attention to itself? What ideas do you have about why this might be?
• Cross reference: If a certain word or concept or image comes up on a certain page and you see it come up again, note that recurrence by putting the page number in the margin. For instance, if the main character makes reference to a favorite character from a book and many pages later that same book comes up, go back and find the pages and make a marginal note where they occur. Why? Because tracing patterns will lead to an understanding of how the novel is structured and work like blazing a trail through a forest of words. Cross references help you find and remember patterns that lead to ideas about the novel. This will help for class and online discussion and writing papers.
• Circle unfamiliar words: This can save you interrupting your reading to look up words on-line or in the dictionary. You can ask about them later and note definitions in the margins so you can re-read those sections.
• Pose questions about things you don’t understand: If you do this, you will make a positive contribution to discussion when you ask them in class or online. Your questions will often be similar to other class members; besides, many who didn’t have a question about a certain passage will still have a lot to learn too.
• Make Outside Connections: If something from outside of the book strikes you as connecting to the book, discuss it. Or even (if it can be done) paste something about it into the book from the web. Your brain fires synaptic connections a million miles a minute: let them be a part of your annotations too!
  

E3H:

I'm going to ask you to begin reading the text this weekend. The first two pages contain Joyce/Stephen's earliest memories. As you read this section:

Imagine yourself a young child and write about a very early childhood memory (possibly even your absolute earliest memory), but write it as if you were the age you were then. For instance, if you were 3 and fell off a Big Wheel and skinned your knee, write the story the way a 3-year-old would tell it. Do this in the online "Childhood Memories" board.

Following this section, you will find the rugby match we mentioned in class (pages 4-7, ending in "All in! All in!"). After reading this section carefully, I want you to try to parse the stream of consciousness within it in a graphical illustration. Visualize it in any format you'd like, bonus points for creativity. Be specific, when you create it, about placing plot elements onto it.

Example: show Stephen's conversation with Nasty, show his reflection about Cantwell, etc.

Online, discuss this scene:

• What are some of the things on Stephen’s mind?
• Which of them are most important?
• How do we know?
• What is the importance of the “All in, All in” at the end?

The specific reading for Monday is through through page 39 (the Xmas dinner), but you should continue on as you can to page 61 (the pandybat incident), which is the end of the chapter. All of these will be fodder for in-class and then online discussion next week.

Next week: MT: Portrait W: Counselors Th: Readathon F: party

Don't forget the yellow-striped readathon pieces!

E2H:

Your specific assignment, as I noted in class, is to read through the fifth chapter of the book. Get through at least the first three chapters by Monday, but try to move through all five; it's not really all that much.


Start keeping track of characters in a notebook: there are a lot of them and it may become difficult if you do not.

Annotate the book as I note above, but also discuss online on the boards I am providing. Consider some fundamental questions as you read:

• Who is Tom Joad? Why was he in prison and what does that tell us about him?
• What do we learn about Jim Casy?
• What does the way Steinbeck describes things tell us?
• Do you sense a metaphor (or more than one) in the turtle chapter?
• What's the deal with Joe Davis's boy?
• What do we learn about the Joads from Chapter 5?

Don't forget the green-striped readathon pieces!

CW:

Ya'll know...

Don't forget the blue-striped readathon pieces!

j: it's freakin' cold
music: cold outisde--lowen and navarro
silly 70's: beach baby--first class

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essays' end

OK, E3H and E2H: it's time to bring this two-week essay process to a close. Bring 'em in tomorrow:

Black draft on top.
Multicolor draft paper-clipped below.

And buy the books! You'll need them this weekend: Grapes of Wrath (sophs: $16) and Portrait (jrs: $10). Cash or checks only.

Also, it's time for the readathon!!!

Don't forget: Your name (or a pseudonym including the number of your class period)
A Good Title
My Name

and... the stripes! Sophomores Juniors Seniors


j: perchance to dream
music: stranger than dreams--lowen and navarro

--kt

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killer karaoke

Karaoke rage is not unheard of in Asia. There have been several reported cases of singers being assaulted, shot or stabbed mid-performance, usually over how songs are sung.

Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” has reportedly generated so many outbursts of hostility that some bars in the Philippines now do not offer it on the karaoke menu anymore. In Thailand this year, a gunman shot eight people dead after tiring of their endless renditions of a John Denver tune.

And a good time is had by all.

E2/3H: today's revisions focus on the conclusion and title.

A couple of words about these:

A good conclusion does not simply repeat things already said, nor does it start new arguments about interpreting the text. Rather, though it probably summarizes your arguments, it takes them to some new plane, perhaps a more universal one, perhaps one that ties back to an opening idea you used for the essay.

There is nothing wrong (and lots right) with using a well-chosen quotation from the text or from somewhere else to help make your point here, though again you should avoid new textual interpretation; that's the job of a body paragraph.

As far as the title is concerned:

Clever and interesting is good, but obscure is just plain weird. If your title's connection to the subject of your essay is not readily apparent, you might consider using a subtitle (as in A study of transcendentalist thought in Thornton Wilder's Our Town). Indent this, center it, and single space it with a smaller-than-usual font size.

CW: 28/9 and counting...



j: Q
music: theme from avenue q; quidam--cirque du soleil

--kt

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hi from beautiful peoria

I'm at Bradley University and it's cold outside. I'm glad that, at this moment anyway, I'm not outside with the chilly air. Instead I am in a hotel room typing a blog to you all.

E3H/E2H:

This weekend's revision color is actually BLUE. Yes, I know I wrote orange on the white board, but I screwed up: orange was yesterday's color.

3H: Tonight ends the special run of the art terms board. Focus this weekend on your essays. Use the Asher essays board.

2H: I've opened an OT/H&M essay feedback board; use it to post essays or parts of essays for feedback. Help each other! (Remember the dreaded quotation marks; just deal with them...)

CW: I hope you enjoyed Pete today; he was certainly full of great advice and information. Those who bought his book: I think you'll find it to be a good read.



j: will it play in peoria?
music: rudolph the red nosed reindeer
silly 70's: how do you do?--mouth and mcneal

--kt

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Snow? again?

It's 5:30. I'm in my classroom. Does anyone know why?

E3H/E2H: Today's revision focus is transitions. Today's revision color is purple.

And on we go, into funland:

j: speed the plow
music: speed of sound--coldplay

--kt

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angels whom we've heard were high...

Wait. That's not right...

(Though something was up at the end of that song today...)

So I hope you got the drift of the lesson today re: variety being not only the spice of life, but also the spice of essays. Be aware of that as you work through your essays this evening in Draft Three: The Green Draft.

Meanwhile,

E3H continues to work on the online stuff that starts here, and

E2H redrafts diligently, and

CW remembers that WINTER BREAK IS COMING......

calling all angels...



j: night of the zippo
music: angels we have heard on high

yesterday:

j: SNOWZILLA!
music: let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!--nelson rangell

--kt

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post-tryptophan

E3H: Revise at least the intro; use red text or bold (if you don't have a color printer) to denote changes. Bring in tomorrow.

Also: In reading the posts for the November posting grade, I noticed something I was not happy about: only Anna actually examined the terminology and all of the referenced artists, etc. I asked you to examine two weeks ago. Now, I was very tempted to give Anna an A+ on an assignment and everyone else an F, but I decided, no, what would you all be learning from that?

So the first board assignment of December begins today, and it takes off from here. Anna has done all of the hard work. Your job is to do exactly what she suggested: draw relations to these artists/works/styles to Asher Lev. You have only the next few nights to engage in this conversation, for it is an Asher board I was not really counting on. Do it well...

E2H: Revise at least the intro; use red text or bold (if you don't have a color printer) to denote changes. Bring in tomorrow.

Read more!

happy thanksgiving

So I am sitting here, wishing I were at home but realizing that I will in all likelihood be here for another few hours attending to school stuff and forensics stuff, and I need to get this out before my room is inundated with people who, for whatever reason, decide that they don't need to start their four day weekend until hours after everyone else does.

:-)

So here goes:

E3H and E2H:

We're doing workshopped essays this week. You need to come in on Monday with a printed copy of a 2-3 page essay that follows the prompts below. A few general principles:

• Don't open with a rhetorical question. (If your essay starts with "Have you ever...?" I'll stop reading right there.)
• A strong essay invites the reader into it in some way from the beginning: a powerful or provocative quote, a clever opening metaphor, an interesting comparable scenario, even a personal anecdote. Strong, clear and dynamic writing always helps. Show us your own voice from the start.
• A strong essay has a clear and specific thesis that works as the rubric says a strong thesis ought to work.
• A strong thesis paragraph has a clear map, whether or not that map is divided into individual sentences.
• Body paragraphs follow the map and are developed logically and thoroughly. They bild from each other.
• Points are supports with the text.
• Text is cited according to MLA internal support guidelines. (For the movie, you only need to use the name of the film, not any page number.)
• A strong conclusion does far more than merely restate the thesis or summarize the paper. It takes the reader somewhere new, building on everything we have learned. And it concludes whatever opening device you used in the thesis paragraph.
• Don't forget a title; a clever title works wonders. (Note that the name of the play or book is not a title that you should use as yours.)
• Do not refer to the author by his or her first name; you are not old friends.

E3H Essay: In My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok shows us an internal battle between faith and tradition on the one hand and personal freedom and artistic passion on the other. In a 2-3 page essay, explore one specific element of the book that illustrates this dynamic.

E2H Essay: In both Our Town and Harold and Maude, we see modern writers tackle Transcendentalist themes. Thornton Wilder's play and Colin Higgins' screenplay (along with Hal Ashby's direction) show us that the ideals of Emerson and Thoreau are still alive in the modern world. In a 2-3 page essay, compare these works in their exploration of specific transcendentalist concepts.

CW: Guess what? There is finally a letter!!!! It's on Edline!!!


In Thanksgiving Tradition, Bush Pardons Scooter Libby In Giant Turkey Costume

j:thank you to the holiday gods
music: thank you--the redwalls



--kt

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one-inch kangaroos

It's just so hard to imagine, isn't it?

:-)

E3H: We will be in workshop tomorrow. But tonight you should discuss online the "atonement" issue as well as the artistic influences of Asher Lev.

E2H: We'll finish up Harold and Maude tomorrow and there will be a writing assignment over the weekend.

CW: confs confs confs P- 13 school days

and here is an example of a song of praise subtitled for the hard of hearing...BY the hard of hearing...



j: and then there were two
music: two pina coladas--garth brooks

--kt

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i'm dreaming of a white thanksgiving...

Wait.

That's not right.

E3H: Asher and that mythic ancestor, Jacob Khan, and Guernica and the Pieta...

E2H: We are watching Harold and Maude.

CW: Confs confs confs... P - 14 school days and counting...

and purely for fun...



j: white morning
music: staying alive--bee gees

--kt

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short and sweet

Congratulations McKee!!!

E3H: Jacob Khan and the mythic ancestor...

E2H: Simon's "ignorance and blindness" speech v. Emily's "Goodbye GC" speech...

CW: confs confs confs

And at midnight...



j: all smiles
music: pretty woman--roy orbison

--kt

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tonight's the night!

America's Next Top Model! Congratulations, McKee!!!



OK, E3H: The boards tonight continue to focus on the artists and art works from yesterday as well as the education of Asher Lev and his growing movement toward art and away from a traditional Hasidic childhood.

E2H: "Waiting for the eternal part in them to come clear." Discuss that and the 12th birthday and the stars...

CW: confs...



j: a perfect 10
music: ten year's night--lucy kaplansky

--kt

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brittany mckey

I hope that everyone will be rooting for Brittany tomorrow night when she wins America's Next Top Model!

I know I will be!

The show is on the CW at 7PM tomorrow night...that's Channel 9 for those who don't know jack...

;-)

Anyway...

If you can concentrate on anything other than the photo above...

Here's what is happening tonight:

E3H:

Go online and discuss issues connected to Asher Lev. Write about anything you want, but here is a new focus:

Asher and Art:

>Art terminology: arabesque, matrix, baroque, impressionist, expressionist, surrealist, cubist, abstract expressionist

Artists referenced by Asher Lev: Chagall, Picasso, Robert Henri, Poussin, Modigliani, Soutine, Pascin, Michaelangelo, Rubens, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Mondrian, Renoir, Kandinsky, Rembrandt, Monet, Gaughin, Matisse

Works referenced: “Guernica,” “Massacre of the Innocents,” “The David,” “The Pieta”

Who or what are all of these? Why might they be important as influences?

E2H: Continue discussing Our Town online with the focus on Act Three, especially Emily's 12th birthday, Simon Stimson, and the stars.

CW: We'll be conferencing tomorrow...



j: wandering into black
music: 1952 vincent black lightning--richard thompson

--kt

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hello, winter

It's cold and getting colder. The weather page shows a low tonight in the lower teens. OY!!!

Sit by a fire with your laptops and post. :-)

All classes: see Friday's post for assignments.

winter song



J:thoughts of orange snowmen
music: colors of the wind--pocahontas soundtrack

--kt

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tgif again

And so we come to the end of another week!

And tonight's forecast includes...ugh...snow. (Is it too late to move to Hawaii?)

Clarification for E3H:

About the prospectus for tech portfolios: If you have ideas that you want to try out, first see me about them and let's talk for a bit to find out if they are tenable. Then you may proceed to writing the prospectus, which should be an essay of about two pages that clearly outlines both what you plan to do and how it will cover all of the portfolio requirements. You should then email me the essay.

and while i'm at it...

E3H:

OK, we're going to be in Asher Lev until it's done, so bring your books on Monday. As for this weekend, I'm putting some information on the E3H page for you to peruse. (It is under "Asher Lev info.") Use it as you will to enhance discussions on the board, which at this point need to become a lot more focused. Also, go onto the WW boards and continue the thread started by Arnett that has different writers telling a continuous story. And while you're at it: start a few more! Also, go to the Wikicab board and the Official List Playground: start playing with the official list words. Use them! Build songs, poems, rhymes, stories, games, puzzles, etc. around them. Be creative!

E2H:

We will be in Our Town until it is done, so bring your books on Monday. Go to the E2H page to find a categorized list of lines from the play; use these to enhance and focus your online discussions. Also, go to the Writing Workshop board and someone begin the thread in the new board I have created called "class story." Write a paragraph of a story. Set it up. Be descriptive and careful. Then let it go so someone else can continue it! (Be careful! Someone could be writing at the same time you are!) Also, go to the Wikicab board and the Official List Playground: start playing with the official list words. Use them! Build songs, poems, rhymes, stories, games, puzzles, etc. around them. Be creative!

CW:

Working on revisions, working on getting conferences, working online on the continued stories that we discussed in class today. Have a great weekend!

before i go, here's the most famous song from melanie, the one she wrote at and about woodstock:



j: if the spirit moves
music: gathering of spirits--carrie newcomer
silly 70's: brand new key--melanie

--kt

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hump days and toilet seats

So it's Wednesday, and that means it's Hump Day, which means the week is more than half over, which is pretty awesome (and even more awesome when you consider the turkey we'll be eating in two weeks!) so even though I am exhausted I'm good.

What have we learned today?

Let's see...

• Hitchcock was a psycho about toilet seats.
• Cutting casaba melons sounds like knives entering flesh.
• 2nd period finally has a representative in the 100+ club. (Go, Bianca!)
• Ben Davidson is a fantasia god.
• Hanna has something going at a Blockbuster in Kenosha.
• Someone gave my whole 2H class an overdose of sleeping pills.

And what about tomorrow?

In E3H: There will be a Reading Workshop. Bring your books!

In E2H: There will be a film day: back to Our Town. As for tonight, go to the boards for this discussion.

In CW: Conferences, conferences, and more conferences.



j: the doldrums
music: all is quiet--lowen and navarro

--kt

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feeling the chill

Walking into school this morning, I was behind a girl who was wearing a very short skirt, nothing at all covering her legs, and flats with no socks. And all I could think was: do you know what today's date is?

Last week, the calendar was lying to us. This week, a scant seven days after temps climbed into the mid-70's to celebrate Obama's rally in Grant Park, it's winter. And this girl isn't even wearing sweats or something at least until she's through the door? I mean it's not as if she was coming from a car in the lot; she was walking from somewhere, for crying out loud. And I know it is not as cold yet as it is going to be, but I'll lay odds that that girl is wearing something similar (but with Uggs) when it's 5 below. I saw girls like that last year when they had to go outside to go to gym or chorus!!!

What is up with that?

I detest winter. Snow, just fallen, is pretty enough. Skiing is fun; so is skating. Cold and icy winds? Give me a hot day on a beach any time! We are entering into my least favorite time of the year...at least once we get past the holidays.

There is something redeeming about the holidays...

But couldn't we celebrate them sipping lemonade at the pool?

E3H: Wikicab poll for 3H is here. Writing workshop tomorrow. Board topic: Asher's family!

E2H: Wikicab poll for 2H is here. Our Town tomorrow. Board posts: the wedding!

CW: More and more conferences!!!



j: feel the chill
music: chills--grey eye glances

--kt

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ten november

On ten november, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm in Lake Superior. 29 men died. Twice here at LFHS, I directed a play written by Steven Dietz about this devastating loss, based on the Gordon Lightfoot 1976 hit, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. To commemorate the anniversary of the disaster, I offer you this video:



E3H: We will attempt to finish up our fantasias tomorrow. Post, darn it! And BTW: there is a wikicab poll! And a nifty follow-up to the word "schadenfreude."

E2H: WW tomorrow.

CW: Confs continued tomorrow.

J: another monday morning
music: just another morning here--nanci griffith

--kt

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way cool new will.i.am!

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omg i missed two days!

The forgotten blog

by Ima Knucklehead

Once upon a time, there was a homework blog. The blog's creator wrote in it diligently day after day after day for an entire academic quarter without fail. And then came a single crazy night in Grant Park. And things went straight to hell...

I'm back!!!

Sorry about the missing days. If someone reminds me what the journal topics and music were, I'll be happy to record them. (Or just send me a comment here, and effectively post them yourself.)

This weekend...

E3H: You should be reading Asher Lev, targeting a halfway point by midweek. Boards are open for both background and text discussions. We will continue fantasias Monday.

E2H: Boards are open for Our Town. Discuss anything you want, esp. topics in Act One. In particular, discuss the Jane Crofut letter and its significance.

Both E2H and E3H: For Monday, you need to write an essay (or bullet points or power point or whatever) of about two pages in which you either justify the score I gave you on your in-class essay or argue with it. Use the rubric. Quote from both the rubric and your essay.

CW: Post your fairy tales on the new Fairy Tale boards and provide feedback. Time to start paying attention to portfolio requirements.

And here's a music video from someone who used to go to LFHS:



j: sitting in a cafe
music: free man in paris--joni mitchell
silly 70's: spiders and snakes--jim stafford

yesterday

music: elected--alice cooper

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omg i got a ticket...

heading downtown shortly...i'll be up all night after that grading stuff!

3h: ww and fantasias tomorrow; asher lev coming up

2h: our town tomorrow

cw: confs

and now, a recap:

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j: all that's left is the waiting
music: waiting on the world to change

--kt

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one day more

One day. One. Then it will be over.

I promise.

:-)

WW tomorrow. Bring Workshop summaries!!!



j: state of exhaustion
music: sleep through the static--jack johnson

--kt

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happy halloween

Boo!

E2H...

Read Our Town by Wednesday. Boards are open. RW/WW Mon and Tues.

E3H...

Begin reading Asher Lev if you bought it today. Boards are open. If not, "What's Hasidism all about?" board is open, so work on finding that out. RW/WW Mon and Tues.

CW...

Everyone must have a conf Mon or Tues for qtr assessment!!!



no journals today; we partied instead :-)

--kt

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personalities

Important note to juniors: My Name Is Asher Lev is now available in the bookstore. You should purchase it tomorrow with cash or check for $14.95.

You know what I find fascinating?

Two English classes, consisting of friends, balanced in intellectual approach and creativity, both enthusiastic about a subject, nonetheless manage to have such completely different experiences when conversing about that subject!

Case in point:

Period 2 today, a wild and wacky ride through the crazed and barely controlled chaos that was our "what is art?" conversation (part two): insightful, insane, bewildering, overlapping, random, frustrating, argumentative, opinionated, and brilliant, dominated by the question of whether "art" as self-defined by the madmen who murder or commit other criminal acts and call these art belongs within our ever-expanding (or never-limiting) categorization;

vs.

Period 5 today, a much more calm and reasoned conversation on the same subject that began with the same premise (that there must be a definition for the word "art" because not to have one essentially makes the very word meaningless), but no less passionate, no less focused, no less full of opinion for the fact that it was not as wild and free-form as 2nd Period's conversation was. This time the conversation was dominated by the notion that, as Colin expressed it, there must be a difference between what can be art and what we perceive to be art. (That, he said, is the difference between the pile of candy on the street and the one in the museum.) Take away murder and rape and killing animals for fun and profit and the discussion gets a bit less emotional, I guess.

One thing I will say for both classes: you guys so rock!

Tomorrow is Halloween. I have a costume that scares the crap out of me. It's cheesy as heck, but it is scary as heck too. One hint: the category is politics.

(Duh.)




j: infomercials
music: vegematic--steve goodman

--kt

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stil riding high

This morning's E3H-2 class was a major kick: what an unexpected, fantastic discussion! I felt like DC Berry in that "whacking words" poem; it was undoubtedly the first time I ever had a class blow off RW to have a discussion!

Mrs T <-- smiles

anyway...

We'll come back and continue that conversation, after I am sure considerable online rehashing tonight, and new records set, in tomorrow's class. Friday, as you know, is Halloween. And a party. You've earned it.

:-)

Bring goodies.



j:the long, slow-moving line
music: the long and winding road--the beatles

--kt

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painless

Hi, all!

Well, I managed to get through the day. Now an hour or so of 4N6 and then I'm off to vote. (Vote early; vote often. I cut my political teeth in Chicago.)

I'll do my best to get to more grading tonight. If the lesson did not manage to sink in today: your posting grades are going to bite you badly if you don't start doing them better. Of course, many of you are posting brilliantly, as our near-record totals attest, but come on! How can we have people with 15, 10, 5, zero posts at this stage? In this first quarter, with fewer grades to balance them, the posting grade will count as much as 1/3. Heck, it might even count more! Why are you doing this to yourself when this grade should be a "gimme" A?

Remember: this is analytical writing to learn. It doesn't even matter if ultimately you decide that your argument was incorrect, having weighed other counter-arguments. It's the participation that matters.

Tomorrow:

E2/3H: RW (but 3H should bring les objets d'art)
CW: projects and confs

this is fantastic:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

j: socrates' last words: "hemlock? what hemlaa...."
music: suicide is painless--theme from M*A*S*H
silly 70's: i think i love you--partridge family

--kt

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post-weekend blaaaahhhhg

I guess you all figured out that that was not me sitting in class today, right? I mean: I don't know who it was, but I'll bet he or she wasn't wearing an "**Insert Random Plural Noun Here** For Obama" button. :-)

Yes, I was out sick, and yes I've been sick this weekend. Which means yes, I have not managed to get everything done that I had hoped to get done. I'm working now, trying to get whatever I can finished, but it will not be everything, and that basically, um, isn't good. And I'm not able to access my gradebook for some reason, so I can't even post what I have graded. When it rains, it pours. (Or, in the case of last night, it snows.)

We'll do tomorrow what we were supposed to do today. You might even get some things back; who knows? Crazier things have happened.

Meanwhile, have a nice evening.

--kt

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100th attic post!!!

This is my 100th Topham's Attic post! (And they said it would never last!) :-)

Today, on this joyful Friday when the weather decided that fall was not quite good enough and maybe we all need a reminder of what winter is about (29 degrees on Sunday? is that necessary?), E2/3H had in-class essays and CW is finishing up a collage poem project.

Moving on...

As noted earlier this week, E2h is heading to Grover's Corners, NH for Our Town; find a copy somewhere and start reading. We will have an introductory discussion on Monday to give you the lay of the land and move the workshops back a day or two.

E3H is firmly ensconced in What Is Art-ville. Part Two of Bring Your Art Day is Monday. Over the weekend, take a look at these quotations from artists and others about what art is. Then let's start a new board online to discuss them. You'll find it under Asher Lev, which is the next book we'll be reading (which happens to be about an artist).

CW? Write stuff!!! And finish your collage projects over the weekend. I can hardly wait to see them!

And one more thought...

Zamboni Palin???? Really??? Zamboni?

--kt

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ants at the picnic

Let's hope not! But let's also hope that some of you were or are are the production of Picnic at the RMA this evening (7:30 start).

I hope not! But I do hope that you were or are at Picnic in the RMA tonight (7:30). If you do/did see it, I've started a board about it online; dive in!

As for tomorrow:

You know the drill:

E2/3H have in-class essays tomorrow. We will not have journal time tomorrow in order to accommodate these essays. (Silly 70's on Monday instead.)

CW continues the project and maybe we do some conferencing.


Ah, life! So much to do. So many websites blocked by silly barracudas.

j: life is not a picnic
music: stoned soul picnic--fifth dimension

--kt

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perpetually moving on

...and in the grand scheme of things, you might wonder, what are we going to be up to next?

well, i'll tell ya:

--if you're an e3h-er, the fantasia project will fill up our time for a bit, along with an exploration of what is art? that begins with your assignment from this morning; following that, we'll be reading a novel by Chaim Potok called My Name Is Asher Lev, which will be available in the book store probably next week.

--if you're in e2h, as we bring our discussion of Dickinson to a close, that doesn't mean we are through with poetry; however, since we still have at least two stops on the Transcendentalist journey remaining, we'll come back to the land of verse. After this week, we'll be traveling to Thornton Wilder's Our Town. See if you can procure a copy.

--if you're in cw, we're working on several pieces already and starting this collage-based project; we will also be looking at how point of view affects narrative and how form affects poetry in the coming few weeks.

the immediate future:

thursday:

cw: working on collage project in class
e3h: what is art? discussion begins
e2h: final dickinson discussion

friday:

cw: collage project again/confs
e3h: in-class essay: poetry
e2h: in-class essay: dickinson

Now, if you are in E3H, you might notice that there is an in-class essay on Friday that I had not mentioned. That is due to the fact that several of you asked me not to have a weekend essay. So in lieu of doing so, I am going to have you write a holistically-graded in-class essay instead. The advantage of course is that it will be done immediately. The disadvantage is that you cannot take your time in composing it. However, you do need practice in this type of writing. (What did you get on last year's semester one final?) For a reminder of the English Dept. grading rubric, check the link to the right.

Fantasias will be due on 11/3.



j: perpetual motion
music: number six driver--eddie from ohio

--kt

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the secret is out

Psst...don't tell anyone...this is the coolest blog in the whole school!

(No, I don't toot my own horn or anything...)

But really: I mean there's Hangman, for crying out loud. Hangman. And weird quotes and silly ads and occasionally entertaining videos and challenging vocab puzzles and lots of other insane stuff.

And did I mention Hangman????

Oh, and yeah, there's, like, your homework and stuff here too. There's that. :-) E2H: More commentary online re: the Dickinson poems and the Dickinson parodies.

E3H: Ready for tomorrow's discussion re: the other Ch 6 poems? Online discussions continue.

E2/3H: Wikicab!

CW: Bring in your dialogues and magazines and glue sticks and scissors.

j: spilling the beans
music: water spirit--jan carter

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howling at the moon

It really doesn't do any good. Trust me. I was all over it after the Rays won...

Anywho...

Hey, 3h...new uploads to look at for Fantasias here and here. The latter one has a truly messed up audio, and neither has the music, but I'm still working on that...

E2/3H: Discussions online are ongoing...WW tomorrow.

CW: Discussions online are ongoing...Confs tomorrow.

j: howling at the moon
music: howl at the moon--cheryl wheeler

god i'm so original!

For those who miss the debates...

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coming home

As I write these words, it is only five and a half hours until the homecoming game.

Go Scouts!!

OK...that being said...

it's time for weekend homework!

(I know: you're beyond excited, right?)

CW:

Post the character sketches! Then work on creating the stories into which you'd like to place these characters...

Here are a few concepts:

Bringing your character to life:

Write a back story for your characters. What would have happened to make them as they are today? What caused their problems and created their needs and desires? Just free write for 5 or 10 minutes...

Dream one of your character's dreams in a free write...

Interview your character; explore his or her motivations and emotions and concerns; let yourself be surprised at the answers.

As you go through the story, keep these things in mind: What does she want? What's in her way? How does she get in her own way? How will she overcome internal and external obstacles? How will it end? How will the reader feel at the end?

Tips for plot creation:

Use the writers' rules of three: have your character try three times to solve a problem. Write from the perspective of problem/solution. Ask yourself "what happens next?" and just free write. If you get stuck, make a list of 100 possibilities, no matter how crazy they might be; include ideas that make no sense, that are illegal, that are obvious, that are too scientific, that are magic, that are hilarious, that are out of character, that are ridiculous, that are unwise, etc.

Never forget the critical importance of conflict. Conflict comes from action, atmosphere, argument, problems, emotions, word-choice, sensory details, mystery, or what-have-you, but everything comes from conflict.

E3H:

Online, continue the boards. Especially discuss "Ulysses," as fifth period didn't get to do so in class. Consider that we will be moving next week toward a project in poetry.

This project is called a fantasia.

A fantasia combines a poem, your own interpretation (literal or allegorical), visual images, your voice, and music.
For information about how to make one, click here. Below, you'll see a student's visuals from a few years ago. Imagine the student reading the poem and music playing that enhances the mood and experience; the audio did not copy.

I tried to embed it, but it would not embed. Go here to watch it.

So, in addition to continuing the discussions this weekend, you should begin the process of developing this project. Our lab time is limited in availability, and I do not know if I will be able to get you in there as a class, but I will try. First step: select a poem! I need to approve it, so email me when you know what you want to do. Most poems in S&S are eligible.

There is a new board called Fantasia Poems, where you should post your selections once they are approved for discussion and assistance. Peers can help you with ideas for images and interpretation and even pronunciations. I'll have much more info on this later.

E2H:

Continue the discussion boards on Dickinson; remember that you'll be writing an essay later next week. Meanwhile, there is a new board open called "Dickinson parodies" into which you should post your own personal parodies of the Dickinson style. Base your poems on any of ED's poems (other than the ultra-short ones), but you don't need to copy her topics. Just her style. :-)

Have a great weekend!

j: live long and prosper
music: never lived at all--ellis paul
silly 70's: gimme dat ding--the pipkins

--kt

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no more debates!

well, i for one am psyched about that :-)

one thing that is most definitely not debatable is that i have to get caught up on my grading, and you guys all know it. again i ask that if you have handed in an essay in writing you also email me a copy; i have a mislaid folder that still has not turned up containing several random papers, some from each class. i'd like to reconstruct these scores asap...

homework...

much better posting these last two nights...keep up the good conversations...

e2/3h: continue the discussions for one more night, with an eye toward focusing the conversation in the shortened period tomorrow

cw: post your character sketches (and, optionally, your ally/antagonist/mentor characters) in the "character sketch" board for feedback

80's day flashback:





speaking of 80's day...

i received this in an email today...how perfectly timed! thought i'd share:

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up, what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning…

uphill...

BOTH ways…

Yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today:

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter, with a pen! Then we had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either!

When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids.’ Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your Imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens; it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only m-net And there was no on- screen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel! And there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!

And we didn't have microwaves, either. If we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that! If we wanted Popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,

The over 30 Crowd

j: #20 + #1
music: sweet dreams (are made of this)--eurythmics

--kt

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