Ideal America Speeches, Day 2: December 18 or 21, 2018

Focus: What American ideals do we share?

1. Remembering the presentation order with you and establishing a timer

2. Reminding you to be a good audience

• Listen. I mean, actually listen.

• Respect the speaker's vulnerability, especially when you don't agree with their points.

• Nod. Smile. Be kind to each other. 

• Use the note catcher to find take-aways.

3. Starting our presentations!

HW:
1. Sleep lots.
2. Eat yummy food.
3. Hang out with good people.

Ideal America Speeches, Day 1: December 17, 2018

Focus: What American ideals do we share?

2nd Hour Only

1. Warming up with a quick 3 good things and establishing a timer

2. Offering you a few thoughts on being a good audience

• Listen. I mean, actually listen (without judgment).

• Respect the speaker's vulnerability, especially when you don't agree with their points.

• Nod. Smile. Be kind to each other. 

• Use the "Note Catcher" to help you find your big and small take-aways.

3. Starting our presentations!

4. Concluding with my final grade math

89.50% = A -
89.49 = B +

79.50% = B -
79/49 = C +


HW:
I will see you tomorrow at 11:30!



6th Hour Only

Focus: What speaking habits can we practice to fine-tune our presentations?

1. Warming up with three good things and the clapping game

2. Practicing your speech in a mirror to focus on eye contact; practicing your speech with a partner to work on timing

3. Enjoying the power of remotely clicking on your slides!

4. Concluding with my final grade math

89.50% = A -
89.49 = B +

79.50% = B -
79/49 = C +

HW:
I will see you Friday at 10:00 am!

Showing Command in Our Speeches: December 14, 2018

Focus: How do we make our speeches compelling?

1. Warming up with how to begin

• Recapping the first 30 seconds of Wednesday's Ted Talk

• Finding TWO of your favorite Ted Talks and watching the first 30 seconds of each.

• How do your two speakers open their speeches?

• Can you steal any techniques from them?

• What will be the first thing you say to us?

• Be vulnerable.
• Consider telling a story.
• Consider addressing/involving your audience.
• Consider shocking/intriguing us with a fact.

2. Sharing thoughts on using that giant, glowing screen behind you

• Watching the rest of last Wednesday's Ted Talk without sound

• What's on the slides?
• What's the purpose of slides in a presentation?

• What will be on YOUR slides?
• Images?
• A single word or short phrase?
• A quotation?
• A graph or chart?
• A video you made that's no longer than 20 second in duration?
• Remember to avoid guiding bullet points or any writing that goes beyond a phrase or single quotation.

3. Teaching you how to prep an index card and how to hold it

4. Considering how to conclude your speech

• What will be the last thing you say to us?
• Make us believe in your ideal.
• Consider calling us to action.
• Your speech took us on a little journey. The ending should be even better than the beginning.
• "And that's my speech about ____."  "And that's pretty much it."

5. Click here if you'd like a prep sheet / structured outline for your speech

HW:
1. Prepare to give your speech on the day you have signed up for. Click HERE to view the sign-up sheet. Please note that changing your presentation date or not being ready to go on the day you signed up for your presentation will result in an automatic 50% deduction.

2. Make sure your Google slides for your presentation are in your SHARED FOLDER.

3. Time your speech to make sure it's no shorter than 4 minutes and no longer than 6 minutes.

• 2nd hour exam time: Tuesday, December 18 at 11:30 am.
• 6th hour exam time: Friday, December 21 at 10:00 am.

Final Day of Book Clubs: December 13, 2018

Focus: What are your transcendentalist book club take-aways?

1. Warming up with Post Secret

2. Contributing a real, live book review to a reading community

• Scholastic
• Amazon 
• Barns & Noble 
• Goodreads 
• Allreaders.com (beware internet trolls)
• LibraryThing
• Figment

3. Enjoying your final day of book clubs

• Structure and Shift: Reread the last couple of pages, Then reread the first couple of pages. What has shifted, and why?

• Theme and Tone: What does your author want us to understand better or differently?

4. Composing an exit ticket on the dynamics of your book club


HW:
Prep that speech! MAKE SURE YOUR GOOGLE SLIDES ARE IN YOUR SHARED AMERICAN LIT FOLDER.

What Must We Transcend Today? December 12, 2018

Focus: What must we, as Americans, transcend today?

1. Warming up with "Less Stuff, More Happiness"

• What do you, personally, connect to in this Ted Talk?
• What connections can you find between this speaker's message and any of the Transcendentalist essays?
• What are your takeaways from this Ted Talk?

2. Exploring modern transcendentalist communities (some are actual places; some are cyber spaces)

• What are the goals of each community or each speaker?

• Which transcendentalist concepts (self-reliance, strong connection to nature, living deliberately, redefining "essential," and civil disobedience) are celebrated in these communities and by these speakers? What's being transcended, and how?

• Do any of these communities / speakers appeal to any part of you? Why or why not?

Websites:
Acorn Community

The Farm in Tennessee

Twin Oaks

Utopian City

Utopian States

Julia Butterfly Hill (and her tree, Luna)
Trash Is for Tossers

Ted Talks:
Tiny Houses

Becoming Minimalist

Modern Science and How Everything Is Connected
Suelo's Ted Talk
Zero Waste

HW:

1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for Thursday. This will be your final book club discussion.

2. Work on your final speech by writing/outlining, preparing your media, and practicing every night. Be ready to deliver it on the day you signed up; THERE IS A 50% DEDUCTION IN YOUR GRADE FOR NOT GOING ON THE DAY YOU SIGNED UP FOR.

3. Click HERE if you'd like to preview the rubric for your transcendentalist blog posts. Your blog, as well ALL MAKE-UP WORK / REVISIONS FROM THE LAST 6 WEEKS must be completed by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 14. Please note: This will be one of the few assignments that you will not be able to revise or take extra time on because we are at the end of the semester.

Transcendentalist Book Clubs, Day 4: December 11, 2018

Focus: What larger patterns and themes are emerging in our transcendentalist texts?

1. Warming up with 20 minutes to read / make sure all blogs are published

2. Enjoying the penultimate day of our transcendentalist book clubs

Challenge 1: Putting the puzzle pieces together

• What patterns (motifs) have emerged at this point?
• What are some of the prominent symbols, and are their meanings shifting?
• What larger themes are starting to take form?

Challenge 2: Making the transcendentalist connection

We've dabbled in the following transcendentalist concepts:

• Self-reliance
• Nature (and its connection to human nature)
• Living deliberately and redefining "essential"
• Civil disobedience

Which ones are surfacing in your books? How so?

3. Wrapping up with an informal exit (no clicking necessary--simply discuss with your groups): What do you hope to accomplish in your final book club meeting on Thursday? What questions need to get answered? What topics need to be discussed?

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for Thursday. This will be your final book club discussion.

2. Work on your final speech by writing/outlining, preparing your media, and practicing every night. Be ready to deliver it on the day you signed up; THERE IS A 50% DEDUCTION IN YOUR GRADE FOR NOT GOING ON THE DAY YOU SIGNED UP FOR.

3. Click HERE if you'd like to preview the rubric for your transcendentalist blog posts. Your blog, as well ALL MAKE-UP WORK / REVISIONS FROM THE LAST 6 WEEKS must be completed by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 14. Please note: This will be one of the few assignments that you will not be able to revise or take extra time on because we are at the end of the semester.

Civil Disobedience: December 10, 2018

Focus: What is civil disobedience, and when is it justified?

1. Warming up with three good things, signing up for your presentation, and returning your Gothic literary essays

2. Sharing with you a trick I played on my unsuspecting Honors American Lit class back in the day and playing a round of "Yes, No, Maybe"

Follow-up questions:

Think about these “new requirements.”  What common denominator(s) do these requirements share? 

What relationship do they create between the government (in this case, the administration) and the individual (the student)?

Where did you draw the line for yourself, and why?

3. Engaging in high-velocity, highly opinionated writing using some of Thoreau's and Martin Luther King's statements from their time in jail

4. Finding your own understanding of "civil disobedience" on your blog

• Develop your own definition based on what we've read and reflected on today.

• Find an example of civil disobedience (any time from the last century is fine) and connect it to Thoreau or MLK.

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for Tuesday. Keep in mind the feedback you received on your first and second syllabi.

2. Work on your final speech by writing/outlining, preparing your media, and practicing every night. Be ready to deliver it on the day you signed up; THERE IS A 50% DEDUCTION IN YOUR GRADE FOR NOT GOING ON THE DAY YOU SIGNED UP FOR.

3. Click HERE if you'd like to preview the rubric for your transcendentalist blog posts. Your blog, as well ALL MAKE-UP WORK / REVISIONS FROM THE LAST 6 WEEKS must be completed by 4:00 pm on Thursday, December 14. Please note: This will be one of the few assignments that you will not be able to revise or take extra time on because we are at the end of the semester.

Preparing a Strong Speech: December 7, 2018

Focus: How do I organize and prepare a strong speech?

1. Warming up with a Ted Talk on the power of vulnerability

2. Honing your speech topic; click HERE for the slides.

(If you still have no idea what your topic will be, you need to spend more time outside of class thinking about it. Feel free to browse the topic sign-up linked HERE to see what other students have done in the past.)

3. Looking through your raw materials and finding patterns (color-coding can help with this); using those patterns to organize and develop ideas

• Click here if you'd like a prep sheet.

4. Giving you a heads-up on signing up for your presentation dates:

• After school today, I will Remind text you a Google doc on which you can establish your own presentation order. You may enter your name, but you may not move anyone else's name or add slots to the sign-up sheet. It's a first-come, first-served situation.

• Seven people will need to present on Monday, December 17.

• Everyone else will present on Tuesday, December 18.

• There are no make-up times for this exam; you must be ready to present on the day you sign up for. If you fail to show up on the day you signed up for, or you show up and tell me you are not ready to present, you can receive no more than half credit (50%) on your presentation. This is why we are starting to prepare now.

HW:
1. For TUESDAY: Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating. Keep in mind the feedback you received on your first and second syllabi.

2. Work on your final speech.

3. Click HERE if you'd like to preview the rubric for your transcendentalist blog posts. Your blog, as well ALL MAKE-UP WORK / REVISIONS FROM THE LAST 6 WEEKS must be completed by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 14. Please note: This will be one of the few assignments that you will not be able to revise or take extra time on because we are at the end of the semester.

Transcendentalist Book Clubs, Day 3: December 6, 2018

Focus: How can we be more "deliberate" in our Transcendentalist discussions?

1. Warming up by browsing each other's "Nature" and "Walden" blogs and leaving comments:

Click HERE for your blogging buddy groups.

• Make sure your  "Self-Reliance," "Nature," and "Walden" blogs are complete and posted.

• Leave comments on the your blogging buddies' posts. Here are some ideas:

• At least one, deep, philosophical question inspired by the blog/"Nature"
• Ex: Why do the blue skies of winter make us feel distant from nature, while the blue skies of summer make us feel wrapped up in nature?
• At least one intellectual reaction and/or emotional reaction
• Ex: I think people connect most to the human-like aspects of nature, such as the arm-like branches of trees, or the toughness of a single, tiny ladybug.
• Ex: I loved this line from Emerson's "Nature," too. I definitely felt more connected to nature as a child.
• At least one comment on transcendentalism: To transcend is to rise above and beyond, to exceed limitations. What is being transcended here?
• Ex: Your photo and the Emerson line you chose remind me of the importance of looking up, both literally and metaphorically. In the daily grind, it's easy to forget how vast the Colorado winter sky is. For some reason, it makes me think about tomorrow instead of today. It makes me think about possibility instead of reality.

• Bonus: Make one connection between the blog and what you're reading for your book club.

2. Sharing an awesome syllabus from last Tuesday

3. Enjoying your third book club discussions!

4. Wrapping up with a quick exit ticket

HW:
1. For TUESDAY: Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating. Keep in mind the feedback you received on your first and second syllabi.

2. Work on your final speech by gathering evidence (personal stories, others' stories, historical events, parts of literature that we've read, interviews, images). Bring all collected evidence to class this Friday for your last in-class day of speech preparation.

3. Click HERE if you'd like to preview the rubric for your transcendentalist blog posts. Your blog, as well ALL MAKE-UP WORK / REVISIONS FROM THE LAST 6 WEEKS must be completed by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 14. Please note: This will be one of the few assignments that you will not be able to revise or take extra time on because we are at the end of the semester.

Walden: December 5, 2018

Focus: What's essential to living a fulfilling life? What does it mean to live deliberately?

PLC / Tribe: Shortened Class

1. Warming up by taking inventory of your material possessions

Start a new post on your transcendentalist blog in which you try the following:

• Make a list of the material possessions you use on a daily basis. 

• Which ones are essential to you? Put these in bold or a different font color.

• How did you define "essential" as you were doing this exercise?

2. Meeting the Man Who Quit Money

• What is essential to Suelo?

• What is deliberate about his lifestyle?

3. Reading the excerpt from Walden

• How does Henry David Thoreau define "essential"? In other words, what do humans need to live a fulfilling life?

• What must humans transcend in order to live a fulfilling life, and how do we do this?

                                                                           Walden Pond
HW:
1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for tomorrow. Keep in mind the feedback you received on your first and second syllabi.

2. Work on your final speech by gathering evidence (personal stories, others' stories, historical events, parts of literature that we've read, interviews, images). Bring all collected evidence to class this Friday for your last in-class day of speech preparation.

3. Click HERE if you'd like to preview the rubric for your transcendentalist blog posts. Your blog, as well ALL MAKE-UP WORK / REVISIONS FROM THE LAST 6 WEEKS must be completed by 4:00 pm on Friday, December 14. Please note: This will be one of the few assignments that you will not be able to revise or take extra time on because we are at the end of the semester.

Transcendentalist Book Clubs, Day 2: December 4, 2018

Focus: What role does nature play in what you're reading and what you're doing?

1. Warming up with 15-20 minutes of reading time

2. Enjoying your second book club discussion!

3. Completing an exit ticket

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for Thursday.

2. Work on your final speech by gathering evidence (personal stories, others' stories, historical events, parts of literature that we've read, interviews, images). Bring all collected evidence to class this Friday for your last in-class day of speech preparation.

Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

Getting into Nature: December 3, 2018

Focus: What is the relationship between nature and the human spirit?

1. Warming up with three good things and finishing up our one-minute speeches

2. Offering you a little scientific evidence that you and the universe are composed of the same stuff and getting into nature (literally): Going outside and looking for evidence of the human spirit in nature

• Take photos of all aspects of nature that, to you, represent some aspect of human nature/the human spirit (kindness, melancholy, independence, acceptance, competition, etc.).

• You will have 7 minutes (we'll set our timers together).

• You must stay on campus, preferably within earshot.

3. Reading Emerson's "Nature" together and finding lines that support/add complexity the photos you took

4. Creating your next transcendentalist entry on the blog

• Upload your photos from today (or other relevant nature photos you happen to have). 
• Explain what aspect of the human spirit you see in each natural image. 
• Bring in a line or two from Emerson's "Nature" that supports/adds complexity to each image and reflection.

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for tomorrow.

2. Work on your final speech by gathering evidence (personal stories, others' stories, historical events, parts of literature that we've read, interviews, images). Bring all collected evidence to class this Friday for your last in-class day of speech preparation.

Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

One-Minute Speeches, Round 3: November 30, 2018

Focus: What delivery skills do we need to practice?

1. Warming up by circling the wagon with your personal speech goals

2. Assigning roles, being an empathetic audience, and delivering your speeches

a. Assign one time keeper. 

• Hold up your hand when there are 10 seconds left. 
• The speaker must remain standing for at least 50 seconds, even if that person runs out of things to say. 
• You can let the speaker go 10 seconds over, but then you have to cut him/her off.

b. Assign someone to film each speech (optional, but encouraged). 

• The filmer must send the video to the speech giver once all the speeches have been given.

c. Please be efficient in transitioning from one speaker to the next. MAKE SURE ANY SLIDES YOU MAY HAVE ARE IN YOUR SHARED FOLDER.

3. Reviewing your goal: Did you meet it? If so, how did you improve? If not, what do you need to work on over the next two weeks?

HW:
1. For MONDAY: 

• Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.
• IF YOU WERE ABSENT TODAY, YOU WILL GIVE YOUR SPEECH ON MONDAY.

2. For TUESDAY: Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating. Feel free to Google search "Teaching ______ (name of your book)" and utilize activities and questions that are already out there. Just be sure to cite on your syllabus which websites you used.Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

Transcendentalist Book Clubs, Day 1: November 29, 2018

Focus: What does it take to be self-reliant?

1. Warming up by connecting to your peers' perceptions of self-reliance (10 minutes)

• Priority #1: Make sure your blog is complete and posted.

• Priority #2: Leave comments others' blogs. Intellectual reflections? Emotional reactions? Questions? Please be specific and thorough (much like Fishbowl blogging).

• Priority #3: In your book club book, try this out: Flip through the reading you've done in your book so far. Are there any lines in your book that connect to "Self-Reliance"? Or to the idea of transcending something? Mark them on comment in the margins, or add them to your blog or syllabus.

• As a class: According to Emerson, what must we do to be self-reliant?

2. Engaging in your transcendentalist book clubs: Day 1 (40 minutes)

3. Completing a quick exit ticket (5 minutes)

HW:
1.  For FRIDAY:

• Prepare your one-minute speech (click below to see the topic you signed up for). PLEASE USE AT LEAST ONE SLIDE OR PROP IN YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT NO MORE THAN THREE.
• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.
• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

2. For TUESDAY: Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating. Feel free to Google search "Teaching ______ (name of your book)" and utilize activities and questions that are already out there. Just be sure to cite on your syllabus which websites you used.

Self Reliance: November 28, 2018

Focus: What does it mean to be self-reliant, and why did the Transcendentalists value self-reliance

1. Warming up with a satirical criticism of millennials and their lack of self-reliance; creating a "Self-Reliance" post

• Before watching: What does it mean to be self-reliant? Create your own definition.

• While watching: To what extent is the video's criticism accurate? Do you think millennials lack self-reliance? What enables this?

• After watching: Based on your definition, would you describe yourself as self-reliant? Why or why not?

2. Taking time to read "Self-Reliance" and journal/blog

If you finish early, click HERE for a recent article about helicopter parenting.
Reading...

• Read Emerson's "Self-Reliance" (there's a vocab sheet if you're getting stuck).

• Let your eyes skim over the lines that don't interest you as much.

• Let your eyes settle on the lines that resonate with you. Underline them.

Journaling...

• Find 3-5 lines from the essay you appreciate/love/agree with. ENTER THEM IN THE BLOG JOURNAL (the one you kept for ELIC).

• For each line you've chose, reflect and react. You can simply write, you can create a short video, you can draw and upload your drawing, or you can include a combination of photographs and writing. 

• Use your reaction to figure out why you're connecting to the lines you've chosen. Why does this matter to you? Why should this matter to everyone?

• "To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature...The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child." -- from Emerson's "Nature"
•  I chose this image of my three-year-old and five-year-old, bundled up in sweaters, jackets, and hats, because they beg me each morning and afternoon to go outside. They enjoy the quiet darkness of a winter morning. They can't wait to kick their legs on the swings in the summer. In the fall, they chase leaves, In the spring, they taste rain and leave sloppy footprints in the leftover snow. When did I stop going outside to play? 

HW:
1.  Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for Thursday. Feel free to Google search "Teaching ______ (name of your book)" and utilize activities and questions that are already out there. Just be sure to cite on your syllabus which websites you used.

2. For FRIDAY:

• Prepare your one-minute speech (click below to see the topic you signed up for). PLEASE USE AT LEAST ONE SLIDE OR PROP IN YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT NO MORE THAN THREE.
• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.
• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

Going Book Clubbing: November 27, 2018

Focus: How do we set up successful Transcendentalist book clubs?

Please turn in your signed letters.

1. Warming up with brainstorming ideas for your final speech: What is your ideal America? (15 min)

2. Offering you an overview of book clubs: Your freedoms and responsibilities

• Click HERE for a sample book club syllabus.

3. Setting your own schedules and manifestos

• Fill out the bookmark: Which reading will be due which days? Who will be in charge of the syllabus each day? Please write this on your bookmark AND in your calendars.

• Create a shared folder called "Book Club Folder." It should be shared with each member of your group and placed inside your Transcendentalism folder. ALL SYLLABI AND CLASSWORK must be placed inside this folder.

• Complete your book club manifesto and place it inside your shared book club folder

HW:
1.  Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for Thursday.

2. For FRIDAY:

• Prepare your one-minute speech (click below to see the topic you signed up for).
• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.
• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

Your Verse: November 26, 2018

Focus: What will your verse be?

1. Warming up with three good things and reflections on your memoirs

"That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."

From Walt Whitman's "Oh Me! Oh Life!"

2. Offering you an overview of the final speech and brainstorming possible topics for your speeches on ideal visions of America

• As you peruse the links below, take out one index card for each commercial. 

• Jot down the specific vision of America that each offers. 

• Another way of thinking about it: What do we, as Americans, value? What do we want our country to be?

Michael Phelps/Rule Yourself
Women's Gymnastics/Rule Yourself
Jeep: Free To Be
Jeep Superbowl: Portraits
Liberty Mutual
Nike: The Jogger
Nike: Excuses
Nike: Extra Time
Go Army
iPhone/FIFA
iPhone/Olympics 2016
Dicks Sporting Goods: Gold in US
Visa Go World
Dove: How Our Girls See Themselves
Be Brave
Michael Jordan: Failure
Subaru: Daughter
Ram Trucks: Farmer
Ram Trucks: The Courage Inside
Still I Rise: University of Phoenix
Panera: Eat Clean
What Will Your Verse Be?

If you can think of other ads/short videos that focus on ideal visions of America, please e-mail them to me right away & I'll add them to this list.

3. Collecting, ranking, and specifying your ideals by personal interest and importance

• Click HERE to enter your final speech topic.

4. Finalizing your transcendentalist book clubs

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: 

• Bring your book club book and signed letter to class.

• Make sure your Gothic assessment is complete and inside your shared folder.

2. For THURSDAY: Assigned book club reading (to be determined by club on Tuesday).

3. For FRIDAY:

• Prepare your one-minute speech (click below to see the topic you signed up for).
• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.
• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• Finalize your topic for your FINAL SPEECH by entering it here.

Mastering the Gothic Unit: November 16, 2018

Focus: How do we apply what we've learned throughout the Gothic unit?

1. Warming up with and overview of the timed writing: Click HERE.

2. Composing a Gothic timed writing on The Village

3. Wrapping up by making sure your essay is inside your shared Gothic folder

HW:
1. If you did not finish your timed writing in class, please finish over the break (no later than Tuesday after break).

2. For TUESDAY AFTER BREAK: Bring in your transcendentalist book and your signed proposal.

3. For FRIDAY AFTER BREAK: Start preparing your one-minute speech for next Friday, November 30. Use the rubric to guide your preparation. If you have not yet selected your topic, please do so immediately.

• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

Close Reading The Village: November 15, 2018

Focus: How do we analyze evidence from a film?

1. Warming up with a "Friday" freewrite on The Village and 9/11:

M. Night Shyamalan (writer, director, and producer of The Village) has stated that he created this film in response to the post-9/11 culture of fear and hysteria. 

• Where do you see this film specifically addressing post 9/11 culture? 

• What does this film have to say about our semester questions:
• What do Americans fear?
• What do we do to feel safe, and does it work? Why or why not?

3. Performing a sample close reading of a scene together to get you ready for your end-of-unit assessment tomorrow

Gather evidence: List at least three specific details from this scene that could be read symbolically. Look especially for details that can be read in at least two different ways.

Find the pattern: Brainstorm what ideas theses details have in common.

Connect to something bigger: Look through our Gothic mysteries and your Village viewing guide. Does anything here connect to the ideas/evidence you just explored?

Draft a thesis: Compose a thesis statement that asserts how one of the Gothic elements or a specific symbol reveals a larger theme about fear and/or safety (a Level 3 idea) in The Village. What do we fear? What do we do to feel safe? Does it work?

Sample: In The Village, M. Night Shyamalan uses the Gothic element of the forest's uncanny sounds to illuminate that our greatest fears result not from external forces but from our own insecurity and imagination.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Switching gears!

4. Offering you the transcendentalist book club overview and giving you time to browse and start forming groups

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Finalize your thesis for tomorrow's in-class writing on The Village. Click HERE for a detailed overview of the timed writing expectations.

2. For TUESDAY AFTER BREAK: Bring in your transcendentalist book and your signed proposal.

3. For FRIDAY AFTER BREAK: Start preparing your one-minute speech for next Friday, November 30. Use the rubric to guide your preparation. If you have not yet selected your topic, please do so immediately.

• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

Exiting The Village: November 14, 2018

Focus: What Gothic elements does The Village use, and to what purpose?

1. Warming up with mental jousting on The Village

2. Watching the ending of The Village with a critical eye

3. Composing a thesis statement about the symbol of your choice and posting it on today's blog

Ex: The Village uses the symbol of _______________ in order to illustrate that / criticize how / suggest that _________________ (thematic statement about what we fear and/or what we do to feel safe).

HW:
1. By TOMORROW: Please peruse the one-minute speech topics and make your selection by inserting a comment with your name next to the question you want.

• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

2. For FRIDAY: This Friday we will have an in-class writing on The Village. If you miss any days of viewing The Village, you need to watch the film by Friday. If you're absent on Friday, you need to finish the timed writing on your own time by the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break.

Considering Symbols in The Village: November 13, 2018

Focus: What symbols does The Village use, and to what purpose?

[If you were absent yesterday: Setting up our close reading of The Village

• Click HERE for the viewing guide.

• Make a copy and save it in your Gothic lit folder.

• This will turn into your Gothic unit assessment; please use the viewing guide thoughtfully and thoroughly.]

1. Brainstorming connotations of different symbols using the following: Your brain, research, the film

2. Watching The Village with a critical eye

3. Wrapping up with new symbols and new takes on old symbols

HW:
1. By THIS THURSDAY: Please peruse the one-minute speech topics and make your selection by inserting a comment with your name next to the question you want.

• 2nd hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

• 6th hour: Click HERE for your speech topics.

2. For FRIDAY: This Friday we will have an in-class writing on The Village. If you miss any days of viewing The Village, you need to watch the film by Friday. If you're absent on Friday, you need to finish the timed writing on your own time by the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break.

Entering the Village: November 12, 2018

Focus: What Gothic elements does The Village use, and to what purpose?

Reminder: I'm grading your Gothic journals; if you have anything you need to hand in, now is the time.

1. Warming up with three good things and Grammar You Must Know #4

2. Setting up our close reading of The Village

• Click HERE for the viewing guide.

• Make a copy and save it in your Gothic lit folder.

• This will be a big part of your Gothic unit assessment; please use the viewing guide thoughtfully and thoroughly.

3. Watching The Village with a critical eye

4. Wrapping up with your viewing guide questions 

HW:

1. For THURSDAY: Short in-class assessment on Grammar You Must Know #4.

2. For FRIDAY: This Friday we will have an in-class writing on The Village. If you miss any days of viewing The Village, you need to watch the film by Friday. If you're absent on Friday, you need to finish the timed writing on your own time by the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break.

We Wear the Mask: November 9, 2018

Focus: What does it mean to wear a mask?

1. Warming up with a short vocabulary assessment on "The Minister's Black Veil" vocabulary

2. Enjoying a Friday freewrite: "We wear the mask."

3. Group readings of Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask":

Round 1 (Vocabulary): Footnote the words you don't know, then look them up.

Round 2 (Coding): Highlight the words and phrases that you associate with "the mask" in one color. Then, highlight the words and phrases you associate with what's really underneath the mask in a different color. 

Round 3 (Motifs): In the margins, explain what patterns you notice among words associated with the mask. Then, explain what patterns you notice among words associated with what's underneath the mask.

Round 4 (Tone): Skim back through our tone words (linked HERE). Which word best captures Dunbar's tone? Support your thoughts with three words or phrases from the poem.

Round 5 (Context): Take a moment to look up our author, Paul Laurence Dunbar. What aspects of his life might connect to this poem? Write them down underneath the poem (if you need help, check out the image at the top of today's blog).

Round 6 (Theme): What do you think Dunbar wants us to understand better or differently after reading "We Wear the Mask"?

4. Enjoying grid group discussions to sort through your Level 1 and 2 questions

• Topic #1: How do people initially react to Mr. Hooper's veil? What different types of reactions are there throughout the story? How does it affect his relationship with Elizabeth?  How do people's reactions to the veil / opinions of Mr. Hooper shift by the end of the story?

• Topic #2: What do other people (including Elizabeth) see the veil as a symbol of? What does Mr. Hooper say it's a symbol of on the last page? What do you think it symbolizes?

• Topic #3: Which lines did you mark as displaying some aspect of the uncanny? How does the veil weaken Mr. Hooper, and how does it empower him?

HW:
For MONDAY: All make-up work / revisions from the past 6 weeks due. 

The Minister's Black Veil: November 8, 2018

Focus: Why does the minister wear a veil, and how does this relate to the "uncanny"?

1. Warming up with one last round of "Minister's Black Veil" vocabulary fun

2. Reading "The Minister's Black Veil" and marking the text for signs of the uncanny:

3. Enjoying grid group discussions to sort through your Level 1 and 2 questions

• Topic #1: How do people initially react to Mr. Hooper's veil? What different types of reactions are there throughout the story? How does it affect his relationship with Elizabeth?  How do people's reactions to the veil / opinions of Mr. Hooper shift by the end of the story?

• Topic #2: What do other people (including Elizabeth) see the veil as a symbol of? What does Mr. Hooper say it's a symbol of on the last page? What do you think it symbolizes?

• Topic #3: Which lines did you mark as displaying some aspect of the uncanny? How does the veil weaken Mr. Hooper, and how does it empower him?

4. Thinking "outside the box" by creating masks to explore Hawthorne's imagery, tone, and themes

HW:
1. Finish your mask assignment if you did not finish in class.

2. Prepare for tomorrow's brief assessment on "The Minister's Black Veil" vocabulary.

The Uncanny, Take 2: November 7, 2018

Focus: What aspects of the familiar and unfamiliar makes us feel fear?

1. Warming up a Quizlet Live review of "The Minister's Black Veil" vocabulary

2. Daring to explore Gothic Mystery #3: The Uncanny

3. Reading/listening to "The Minister's Black Veil" with a focus on the uncanny and an overview of your mask assignment

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Finish reading "The Minister's Black Veil"; bring any mask materials you might need tomorrow.

2. For FRIDAY: Short assessment on "The Minister's Black Veil" vocabulary.

3. For MONDAY: All make-up work / revisions from the past 6 weeks due.

The Uncanny: November 6, 2018

Focus: What aspects of the familiar and unfamiliar makes us feel fear?

1. Warming up with a finishing "The Tell-Tale Heart" and enjoying a vocabulary challenge:

• Use the vocabulary from "The Minister's Black Veil" (on Quizlet) to create a wanted sign for either "The Tell-Tale Heart" narrator or for one of the characters in "A Rose for Emily." 

• You must have a picture, a description of the character's appearance, what the character might be armed with, an explanation of the character's crime, and the reward.

• Use at least 5 vocabulary words from "The Minister's Black Veil," but the more, the better.

2. Performing a little psychoanalysis on "The Tell-Tale Heart"

3. Daring to explore Gothic Mystery #3: The Uncanny

4. Reading/listening to "The Minister's Black Veil" with a focus on the uncanny if time allows

HW:
1. TODAY: Make sure your memoir has been submitted to www.turnitin.com by 4:00 pm today.

2. For FRIDAY: Short assessment on "The Minister's Black Veil" vocabulary.

3. For MONDAY: All make-up work / revisions from the past 6 weeks due. 

Poe and Repression: November 5, 2018

Focus: What do Poe’s stories teach us about repression?

1. Warming up three good things on reflections on Friday

2. Returning briefly to themes from "A Rose for Emily" and grid groups

Topic #1: Plotwise, why might Emily have killed Homer Barron and slept with his dead body for forty years?

Topic #2: On a symbolic level, what do her actions suggest? What do the details of the house symbolize? If we're looking at the house as a character, why was Homer Barron's body kept in the attic?

Topic #3: Thematically, what does this short story teach us about isolation? Insanity? What aspects of small town southern life might Faulkner be criticizing?

3. Enjoying Gothic Lesson #2: Repression

4. Listening to Edgar Allan Poe's "A Tell-Tale Heart" and analyzing the role of repression

HW:
For TOMORROW:

• Submit your memoir to Turnitin by 4:00 pm.

• Finish the “Tell-Tale Heart” questions for Gothic Mystery #2.

One-Minute Speeches, Round 2: November 2, 2018

Focus: How can we develop our confidence in delivering speeches?

1. Warming up with a 5-minute Friday freewrite:

• In your opinion, what is the best or worst movie ever made, and why?

2. Interviewing your partner and preparing your one-minute speech

• Click HERE for the slides.

3. Delivering your partner one-minute speeches

4. Reflecting on your own speech and filling out the self-reflective rubric

HW:
FOR FRIDAY-TUESDAY: Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. If you'd like to conference, come on by! I'm off 1st and 3rd, and I am around after school.

Final drafts are due between Nov 2 and 6 by 4:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.

Redacting "A Rose for Emily": November 1, 2018

Focus: What is the nature of the Gothic relationships in Faulkner's story, and what themes do they contribute to?

1. Warming up with redacted poetry

2. Applying it to Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" to isolate a single relationship:

• House--Host (Emily)

• House--Guest (townspeople)

• Host--Guest

3. Enjoying a gallery walk of each other's redacted poems with a thematic focus:

• What topics arise from these poems?

• What does Faulkner want us to understand better or differently about _____ (insert your favorite topic here)?

4. Unraveling Gothic Mystery #2: Repression

5. Offering you a preview of tomorrow

HW:
1. TODAY: Please finish filling out the last section of the Gothic Mystery #1 Note Catcher if you did not finish in class.

2. FOR FRIDAY-TUESDAY: Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. If you'd like to conference, come on by! I'm off 1st and 3rd, and I am around after school.

Final drafts are due between Nov 2 and 6 by 4:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.

Entering Emily Grierson's House: October 31, 2018

Focus: What are the roles of the house, guest, and hosts in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"?

1. Warming up with a little Faulkner vocabulary (5 minutes)

• Go to www.quizlet.com

• Find "A Rose for Emily" vocabulary.

• Spend five minutes using whichever Quizlet review technique you like (flashcards, Gravity, Matching, etc).

2. Listening to "A Rose for Emily" (21 minutes); try to fill out the Gothic Mystery #1 Note Catcher as you listen

3. With partners, using yesterday's Gothic Mystery #1 Note Catcher to unpack ideas about the Gothic house, host, and guests if time allows

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Please finish filling out the last section of the Gothic Mystery #1 Note Catcher if you did not finish in class.

2. FOR FRIDAY-TUESDAY: Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. If you'd like to conference, come on by! I'm off 1st and 3rd, and I am around after school.

Final drafts are due between Nov 2 and 6 by 4:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.

Entering the Gothic House: October 30, 2018

Focus: What role does the house play in American Gothic literature?

(image from https://www.thinglink.com)

1. Warming up with a visualization / activation of your pre-existing knowledge of Gothic homes

2. Investigating Gothic Mystery #1: What is the role of the Gothic house?

• Create a folder called "Gothic Literature" (or something of that nature).

• Place it inside your shared American Literature folder.

• Click HERE for the Gothic Mystery #1 Note Catcher; make a copy, and save it inside your Gothic Literature folder.

The Others: 0-10:00
Edward Scissorhands: 7:55-16:30

3. Reading the first page of "A Rose for Emily" together with a focus on Faulkner's depiction of the house, the host, and the guests

4. Wrapping up with an exit ticket

HW:
1. FOR FRIDAY-TUESDAY: Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. If you'd like to conference, come on by! I'm off 1st and 3rd, and I am around after school.

Final drafts are due between Nov 2 and 6 by 4:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.

2. FOR THURSDAY: Heads up: We will continue reading "A Rose for Emily" in class tomorrow, and the homework tomorrow will be to finish it and the questions at the bottom of your Gothic Mystery #1 note-catcher (linked here and on website) by Thursday.

Nine-Week Check-In: October 29, 2018

Focus: Where have we been, and where are we going next?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Reflecting on our first 9 weeks of Academic Character and checking in with how we're doing

3. Playing musical chairs with Gothic topics

(image from https://www.thinglink.com)

4. Making predictions about the Gothic stories with the quotation on the front of your booklet:

• By yourself: What does this quotation mean? Do a little bubble brainstorming or freewriting to unpack it.

• With a partner: How does this quotation connect to any or all of the brainstorming you did during musical chairs? What topics do you think we're likely to find in these Gothic stories?

5. Taking a time-out to explore how this unit will work and to set up your folders:

• Create a folder called "Gothic Literature" (or something of that nature).

• Place it inside your shared American Literature folder.

HW:

1. The turn-in window for the final draft of your memoir is Nov 2-6 (4:00 pm). Please submit it to www.turnitin.com

2. Please turn in your school copy of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close if you have not yet done so.

Editing Your Memoir: October 26, 2018

Focus: What do we need to focus on as we revise our memoirs?

Please make sure your memoir is labeled "READ THIS ONE" and is in your shared folder.

1. Warming up with a mini assessment on Grammar You Must Know #3: Run-On Sentences

2. Peer or self-editing your memoir with the editing sheet

• At the top, make a note of one thing you're doing well in this memoir.
• Make a note of one thing you're struggling with in this memoir.

3. Revising your memoir based on today's feedback

4. Wrapping up: Read over the completed editing sheet, and review what you wrote at the top. What do you still need help/direction with?

HW:
1. Turn in your ELIC  book.

2. Final draft is due in www.turnitin.com between November 2 and November 6 by 4:00 pm. I will grade them in the order in which they are turned in.

Using Narrative Arc To Finish Your Draft: October 25, 2018

Focus: What is a narrative arc, and how can you use it to bring meaning to your writing?

1. Warming up with negotiating a final due date and offering you a draft of the rubric

2. Returning to narrative arc and how to use it to develop your essay

• Shaping your memoir using the narrative arc; figuring out which scenes still need to be written
• Try to identify your turning point first; the rest of the arc will fall into place.
• Remember: If your memoir has no turning point, then it has no point.

3. Finishing the draft of your memoir to give it a narrative arc

• Do you need to develop your exposition (who, what, when, where, why)?

• Do you need to develop your rising action (building conflicts / heightening tension)?

• Do you need a turning point in which you experience a shift in your thinking? Do you need to slow down on your turning point?

• Do you need more falling action and resolution in which you come to understand something better or differently?

HW:
1. For FRIDAY: Complete rough draft of memoir due (30 points in Attempt and Completion).

2. Final draft of memoir is due in www.turnitin.com between Nov 2 and Nov 6 (4:00 pm). I will grade them in the order in which they are submitted.

Shaping Your Memoir: October 24, 2018

Focus: What is a narrative arc, and how can you use it to bring meaning to your writing?

1. Warming up with a sample artifact memoir: "Eleven," by Sandra Cisneros

• What sensory imagery do you find the most engaging?

• What is the narrator's epiphany (light bulb moment)? In other words, what does she come to realize better or differently?

2. Returning to memoir writing and considering your narrative arc

• Trying it out with "Eleven"

• Making sure you've chosen your memoir, labeled it "READ THIS ONE," and placed it inside your Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Folder.

• Shaping your memoir using the narrative arc; figuring out which scenes still need to be written
• Try to identify your turning point first; the rest of the arc will fall into place.

3. Editing your memoir to give it a narrative arc

• Do you need to develop your exposition (who, what, when, where, why)?

• Do you need to develop your rising action (building conflicts / heightening tension)?

• Do you need a turning point in which you experience a shift in your thinking? Do you need to slow down on your turning point?

• Do you need more falling action and resolution in which you come to understand something better or differently?

HW:
1. For FRIDAY: Complete rough draft of memoir due.

2. For TUESDAY, Oct 30: Final draft of memoir due in www.turnitin.com by 4:00.

Writing in Reverse, Continued: October 23, 2018

Focus: What can we understand better or differently by writing in reverse?

1. Warming up with a sample essay written in reverse

• Where do you see the writer using multiple senses? 

• Which sensory imagery is the most powerful to you?

• What does the narrator come to understand better or differently by putting this event in reverse?

2. Returning to yesterday's writing (click here for the slides)

Step 1: Sensory Imagery

• Which senses are you using? Which do you need more of to create a multidimensional universe? Enhance what you've written using sensory imagery.

Step 2: Finish the Story

• Finish telling the story. Keep writing the event in reverse until you get back to a peaceful starting point.

Step 3: Find the Epiphany

• Epiphany: A lightbulb moment in which you suddenly see something in a new or exceptionally clear way
• Once you’ve finished writing, think about what you understand better or differently from putting this event in reverse.
• Write your epiphany as the final line.

3. Returning to memoir writing and considering your narrative arc

• Trying it out with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

• Making sure you've chosen your memoir, labeled it "READ THIS ONE," and placed it inside your Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Folder.

• Shaping your memoir using the narrative arc; figuring out which scenes still need to be written
• Try to identify your turning point first; the rest of the arc will fall into place.

HW:
Take whichever memoir starter you got the most out of and spend about 20 more minutes writing the rest of the story. Keep writing until you have one single-spaced or two double-space pages.

Writing in Reverse: October 22, 2018

Focus: How can we use writing in reverse to resolve a difficult memory?

1. Warming up with three good things and Grammar You Must Know #3: Run-ons

2. Enjoying a crash course on sensory imagery

2. Experimenting with writing in reverse: Click here for today's slides.

3. Workshop share!

HW:
1. Spend 20 minutes completing today's writing exercise. Decide which of your four memoir writings you'd like to revise for your formal writing assignment. Here are the choices:

• Day 1: One-Word Biography
• Day 2: Rimba with Jovan Mays (turn it into a memoir)
• Day 3: Artifact Writing
• Day 4: Writing in Reverse

2. Bring your ELIC book to turn in if you have not done so yet.

3. FINAL DRAFTS OF MEMOIRS ARE DUE TUESDAY, OCT 30 BY 3:00 PM IN www.turnitin.com