LAST WEEK we began our discussion of American literature—and perhaps ironically by looking at a cartoon, “I Yam What I Yam,” in which we see Popeye meet (and kill) native Americans. Students wrote about stereotypes presented in that story, turning in the short, typed responses. We also began discussing how to take notes from a documentary, as we began Reel Injun. During class, students looked for the director’s focus, the film’s main ideas, and then noting supporting detail (rather than just making a transcript of the entire film). Over the weekend, students posted a favorite passage from The Round House on our blog.

Monday

No school today for Labor Day.
HW: Remember to identify and post on our blog a passage from The Round House that you found particularly interesting, well written, or deserving. Citation should include the author’s last name and page number inside parenthesis marks, and the passage should end with the end mark (period, questions, exclamation).

Tuesday

Read and annotate the first two passages in the reading packet, Lydia Sigourney’s “Indian Names” and the selection from Charles Eastman’s From the Deep Woods to Civilization. What are the central ideas presented in Sigourney and Eastman? What argument does each document put forth? What are their supporting reasons and evidence? What can we know about the authors’ agenda, credibility? What questions does each document raise? What questions remain unanswered?
HW: Research both Sigourney and Eastman, taking notes on their background, lives, work, credibility within their field.

Wednesday

Review of and then collection of notes on documentary. Discussion of the main ideas presented, as well as the director’s intention, and our remaining questions. (What point is Diamond making about the "reel injuns" portrayed in Hollywood film and their relationship to the "real native Americans" in life?
HW: Research Neil Diamond (the documentarian, not the singer/songwriter). Also, read selections from Black Elk Speaks and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Thursday

As we did yesterday, we will discuss the Black Elk and Brown selections, and then conduct research on the authors, trying to determine their place in the literary cannon of Native American literature.
HW: Use the packet of quotes to check your annotations in The Round House. Did these passages strike you as important? If so, how so? How would you describe your annotation method in the summer reading? What has your experience been in writing as you read in the past?

Friday

Annotation day. We will look at a selection of my annotations from The Round House, and students will also work on a vocabulary exercise from the summer reading.
HW: Write a sample annotated bibliography using the framework provided in class. Remember that your annotations are not mere summary. Rather, they detail the author’s purpose/argument in the work, their place in the scholarly field, and the important questions raised by their work.