Week 7 syllabus abbreviated: October 7 and 8

THIS SHORTENED WEEK WE’LL use to tie up some loose ends, including work on “The Machine Stops” and “The Neighborhood.”

MONDAY

• Finishing the film clips from Chaplin’s Modern Times, and reading a bit more from “Chelkash.”

• HW: Writing your machine poem, due tomorrow.

TUESDAY

• In class discussion of “The Neighborhood”

• HW: Read all of “Chelkash.” While reading, annotate for an answer to this question: “What makes a person good or bad in a society?”

WEDNESDAY

• No school for Fall Break.

• HW: Read “Chelkash”

THURSDAY

• No school for Fall Break.

• HW: Read “Chelkash”

FRIDAY

• No school for Fall Break.

• HW: Read “Chelkash”

Modern Times poem

A link to the scenes we watched in class.

Having watched two scenes from Charllie Chaplin’s iconic American film Modern Times, write a poem that answers this question: How do machines effect [our] lives? You have four main criterea for your poem, which is due Tuesday, 10/8. The poem should:

• contain sensory images

• use connotative language

• show distillation of language

• be at least 20 lines long, but shorter than one page

These are to be typed and stapled to your notes on Modern Times, to be collected Tuesday 10/8. Need to watch the scenes from the film? Click on the image above.

"The Machine Stops" Paragraphs

Post your paragraph on E.M. Forster’s short story here, as a comment to this blog entry. If you have any issues posting these, keep a screen shot of the issue you’ve encountered. We will start class tomorrow by sharing these in small groups, and troubleshooting the issue(s).

The above image, a still from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, will take you to the audio to Forester’s 1909 short story.

Week 6 syllabus: September 30 forward

ANNOTATION WILL BE THE FOCUS for our study this week. In small group, we will compare your written notes from “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” and “The Machine Stops” in small groups. Which words have you circled? What questions are written in the margins? What did you write in response to the question, “What makes for a good society?” We will compare notes in small groups. Also this week: initial grade reports.

MONDAY

• No school for Rosh Hashanah holilday. No homework this weekend, except for the reading of “The Neighborhood,” which we will begin discussing on Monday.

• HW: Finish reading the short story.

TUESDAY

• In class analysis small group character analysis of “The Neighborhood,” looking at the Lynches, the narrator, and the other neighbors. How are they similar in actions and beliefs? How are they dissimilar?

• HW: Post your paragraph on “The Machine Stops” for class tomorrow. (The question: step outside of the story for a moment, and reflect on Forster’s intentions. What is he saying about humanity through this story? Write a one paragraph response, and include a direct quote in support of your answer. )

WEDNESDAY

• Reading through paragraphs, and selecting the ONE paragraph that is MOST similar to your own—in terms of style, in particular. Which writer shares the same structure? The same stylistic traits? Look for similarities, not differences, for this one. Choose that paragraph and make a comment with your name and period by the end of class.

• HW: In preparation for class tomorrow night, show your parent our class blog and ask him/her/they to read your paragraph before class.

THURSDAY

• Back to school night. We will look at a couple of the paragraphs selected by students, and revise your own paragraph for those same issues.

• HW: Begin reading “Chelkash” by Maxim Gorky.

FRIDAY

• Reading day. We will delve into last night’s short story. We will likewise watch a clip from Chaplin’s iconic film, Modern Times.

• HW: Continue reading “Chelkash,” , reading and annotating pages. 80-93 for homework for class on Monday.

"The Neighborhood"

Here’s a link to the short story you should have printed and read by class on Tuesday. Remember to annotate: circle vocabulary, write the reader’s questions, and keep notes to answer this question: What makes for a good neighborhood?

The story is here.

Subject/Predicate Practice for when STAR reading test is done.

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) has been helping undergraduate students for years. Their database contains some excellent overviews of rules, as well as practice lessons to hone your skills. Use the link below to access an overview of simple subjects and simple predicates, and also a practice exercise that should help you hone your S/P identification skills:

A simple, pick the subject or predicate out of the hat, exercise.

An online, live quiz to see if you know what’s a subject, what’s a predicate.

An overview on sentence structure, parts of a sentence.

Reading Assessment

Try here.

Post your revised "doors opening" paragraphs here

A focus for this revision should be minimizing to be (helping) verbs: is, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, do, doing, does, can, could, would, should, be, being, been.

Post the REVISED paragraph here.

Week 5 syllabus: September 23 on

ANNOTATION WILL BE THE FOCUS for our study this week. In small group, we will compare your written notes from “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” and “The Machine Stops” in small groups. Which words have you circled? What questions are written in the margins? What did you write in response to the question, “What makes for a good society?” We will compare notes in small groups. Also this week: initial grade reports.

MONDAY

• Small group review of annotation notes. We will compare both “Omelas” and “Machine.” From there, we will have work on some questions for the Forester story.

• HW: Finish the worksheet on “Machine.” Due tomorrow.

TUESDAY

• In class analysis of the “Doors” poem. This will be a second lecture day on the paragraphs identified by the class as the strongest examples.

• HW: Revision of the poem paragraph is due Wednesday, to be posted as a comment to your own paragraph.

WEDNESDAY

• Reading assessment, via the STAR app on your ipads.

• HW: Reading the short story, “The Neighborhood” by Mary Gordon. Circling words, writing questions, and answering the question, “What makes for a good neighborhood?” Due Tuesday, when we will be discussing the story.

THURSDAY

• Large group discussion of “Machine.” I will collect your annotations on this story once discussion is over.

• HW: Begin revising the Ged as a good student essays tonight. Start by typing it exactly as you as you wrote it. Make sure you have access to an electronic copy of the essay for class tomorrow…we are using the classroom as a writing lab tomorrow.

FRIDAY

• Writing day. We will be revising the in-class essays on Ged being a good student, and applying some of the techniques we’ve discussed for the “Doors” poem. Both that paragraph and this essay will be in our writing portfolio, the second semester final for the course.

• HW: No homework Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Week 4 syllabus: September 16 forward

OUR SHORT STORY UNIT of study is next on our academic agenda. We have already read the first story twice, Le Guin’s, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” In class this week, we will complete a baseline writing assignment on the summer reading, writing an essay that addresses the question, “Is Ged a good student?” We will also review the paragraphs on the door poem, looking for stylistic issues and body paragraph structural problems, and we will close the week by discussing “Omelas”,” practicing Great Books discussion format.

MONDAY

• No class for the purpose of late start.

• HW: Spend another 30 minutes—but no more than that—working on the Le Guin crossword.

TUESDAY

• Prewriting for the inc-class, timed essay on Ged and The Wizard of Earthsea.

• HW: If you have not done so, finish the crossword from Friday’s class. Due on Thursday.

WEDNESDAY

• Writing the essay. Due by the end of class.

• HW: Read through the paragraphs posted on “Revised Door Paragraph” entry. Select your three favorite by posting YOUR NAME, and only your name, as a comment to those three paragraphs. We will start class by looking at the ones both classes identify as quality examples.

THURSDAY

• Lecture on body paragraph style and structure. Identify one sentence that deserves revision in your paragraph, specifically one that contains “to be” helping verb(s): is, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, should, could, would, be, being, been, do, doing, does. Copy and paste it as a comment to your paragraph revision. Then revise the sentence, posting the revision with at least one specific noun and one active verb (in class).

• HW: Revisit your annotations on “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” What makes for a good society? Why do some choose to walk away?

FRIDAY

• Large group discussion of Omelas.

• HW: Reading, “The Machine Stops,” by E.M. Forester. Annotate by circling vocabulary, writing your questions (theme is your target, over plot), and annotate for this question: What makes for a good society?

Revised Door Paragraph

Kindly post your REVISED door paragraph as a comment here. Make sure you have signed up for a squarespace account. In doing that, make sure you use your NT email account, 20XXXXXX@student.nths.net, your first name and last initial only, and whatever password that suits your purpose.

Week 3 syllabus: September 9 forward

ONCE WE ARE FINISHED with the writing assignments related to The Wizard of Earthsea, we are going to move into a unit of study relating to short stories. The first we’ll read is a story by Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” From there, we will read copies of stories from a great short-story collection, Coming of Age in America. Typically, students purchase this book. If you have it, you’ll bring it. However, because the book is out-of-print, it isn’t easily available. I’ll provide copies of stories for any student who does not already have this text. (In other words—unless you already have it—do NOT order a copy).

MONDAY

• We were off the syllabus last week, because I missed class for an English Department retreat (the teachers discussed race and identity, and teaching stories that contain difficult lessons relating to racism). We therefore started the Le Guin documentary a bit early. We will finish it today, and then move into small groups and begin revising body paragraphs about “Doors Opening”

• HW: Revision of door paragraphs are due Wednesday. If you missed class on Friday, watch what you missed in the documentary tonight. Notes on the documentary will be due tomorrow in class.

TUESDAY

• Checking in documentary notes. We will then practice our discussion format, starting with a written response to a question, taking notes on discussion, and writing a response to a follow up question. After discussion, I’ll collect discussion notes, as well as the documentary notes.

• HW: Finish revising the body paragraphs for class tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

• Everyone will sign up for a NT related squarespace account. We’ll post your revision, and then begin reading through everyone’s paragraph.

• HW: Read and annotate “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” for class tomorrow.

THURSDAY

• Listening to and discussing “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: circle vocabulary, write your (thematic) questions, and keep notes on: What makes for a good society?

• HW: Begin writing an answer to this question: Why do some walk away from Omelas? We will discuss this in class on Tuesday.

FRIDAY

• Vocabulary day! We will work a crossword on Le Guin’s novel.

• HW: Spend NO MORE than an additional 1/2 hour working on the crossword. You should re-read and re-annote Omelas for class on Tuesday.

• NEXT WEEK: We will Identify one sentence that deserves revision in your paragraph, specifically one that contains “to be” helping verb(s): is, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, should, could, would, be, being, been, do, doing, does. Copy and paste it as a comment to your paragraph revision. Then revise the sentence, posting the revision with at least one specific noun and one active verb.

documentary on ursula k. le guin

Click on the author’s image above to access the documentary, “The Worlds of Ursual K. Le Guin”

Week 2 syllabus: September 3 on

AT THIS POINT you should be finished reading all of The Wizard of Earthsea, and should have re-read and annotated chapters 2, 4, and 5. You have three tasks: notice language, ask questions, and examine the text for a theme: for these chapters, what are Ged’s positive and negative traits, and the lessons/mentors he has on the journey. We will wrap up our work on the novel this week. After WOE, we’ll have a short unit on short fiction (puns intended).

MONDAY

• No school in celebration of Labor Day.

• HW: Finish annotating chapters four and five. We will also annotate chapters seven and ten this week.

TUESDAY

• Reviewing the syllabus and classroom procedures, including IEP testing accommodations. Subsequently, we will return to small groups and continue work on the review chart we started last week. This will be your last bash at the group work.

• HW: Finish these charts tonight for homework. You should have finished reviewing the novel for class tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

• The dreaded and vile “summer assessment,” which is a multiple-choice test which will, for our class, be counted as a participation grade. If you have an IEP with a testing accomodation, please make a point to talking to me BEFORE today.

• HW: Re-read and annotate chapter seven. of The Wizard of Earthsea. Here’s a link to the annotation assignment.

THURSDAY

• Returning last week’s paragraphs. I will review some of them to give everybody a sense of the structural issues on a paragraph level, as well as some stylistic “bombs” you’ll want to avoid.

• HW: Re-read and annotate chapter ten of The Wizard of Earthsea.

FRIDAY

• Revision day. Have your body paragraph with you, in class, as we will be in writing circles, working on revising the paragraphs together.

• HW: Second writing assignment on WOE. Due Monday.

Week 1 syllabus: August 26 on

WELCOME TO FRESHMEN English at Northfield. This week will be a combination of covering the nuts-and-bolts of our class, and establishing the routines of learning, and the essential skill/content of the course. We will practice annotation, some small group work, and use of our course web site here on Squarespace. Make good use of these resources, as they are here for a reason.

MONDAY

• Introductions and class photos.

• HW: Read the poem passed out in class. What do you notice? Of the poet’s tools and techniques, what stands out to you? Keep written notes on the poem itself.

TUESDAY

• Introduction to “crossing the threshold,” one of the first steps in the hero journey. We will look at Ged’s attempt to enter the wizard school at Roke, and re-read the poem introduced yesterday twice, beginning to discuss what we notice and what that means. I will also check student names and pronunciation.

• HW: Write a paragraph, on paper, that explains what you notice in the poem and what it means. Due tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY

• Looking at doors and names as motifs within the novel. Reviewing annotation technique (marking language, noting themes, writing questions): writing as a form of thinking, and annotation as the reader’s dialogue with the text. I will also collect the poem and paragraph written for homework.

• HW: Begin re-reading an annotating chapter two of The Wizard of Earthsea. These will be due Friday.

THURSDAY

• Small group review of the novel. We will model how we get into groups, work in groups, and keep notes during group work.

• HW: Finish re-reaching and annotating chapter two.

FRIDAY

• Sharing annotations in small groups. Mowing into a re-reading an annotation of chapter four.

• HW: Re-read and annotate chapter four and five for class on Tuesday. Here’s a link to the chapter four and five assignment.

Doors poem from first day of class

The natural entrance to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

You can find the handout from yesterday’s class here. As you read, you should keep written notes. What do you notice when you read the poem? What leaps out at you? What evidence of the poet’s tools and techniques can you see? What do you suppose is the message or meaning of this poem?

Audio for the summer reading

Click on this image to access audio for the novel.

You can find mp3 audio files for A Wizard of Earthsea in the following google folder. Note: these are not broken up by chapter, and the entire book is broken into 100+ files. So there is that. If you do use these, you MUST read along with the text WHILE you listen. You will otherwise lose retention and word building that otherwise occurs when using audio.