Monday, December 29, 2008

Update to a Few Things


Perhaps none of you still check this blog, but just in case, I wanted to update you on a few things. First of all, I saw "Valkyrie" last night and it was amazing! You should see it. I can't wait to see "Defiance" in a few weeks!!! Secondly, I just bought The Book Thief and I will let you know how I like it. Finally, unfortunately, I got the following email this morning from the Executive Director of my Tennessee Holocaust Commission Fellows Program. It is in regard to the story I read you all about the man and woman who supposedly met later in life and had been at the same camp, but on different sides. It has been proven to be fraud. Feel free to read below:

From Jodi:
I do not know if any of you have told this story your classroom-but sadly it has been exposed as a fake. It is hard enough to comprehend the Holocaust for its own historical event so it is very troubling when individuals embellish the experience.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqrb4uMpbj8D7T-XHwX0ylu0Q-0AD95BQUR00
Anger, sadness over fabricated Holocaust story
By HILLEL ITALIE – 22 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — It's the latest story that touched, and betrayed, the world.

"Herman Rosenblat and his wife are the most gentle, loving, beautiful people," literary agent Andrea Hurst said Sunday, anguishing over why she, and so many others, were taken by Rosenblat's story of love born on opposite sides of a barbed-wire fence at a concentration camp.

"I question why I never questioned it. I believed it; it was an incredible, hope-filled story."

On Saturday, Berkley Books canceled Rosenblat's memoir, "Angel at the Fence." Rosenblat acknowledged that he and his wife did not meet, as they had said for years, at a sub-camp of Buchenwald, where she allegedly sneaked him apples and bread. The book was supposed to come out in February.

Rosenblat, 79, has been married to the former Roma Radzicky for 50 years, since meeting her on a blind date in New York. In a statement issued Saturday through his agent, he described himself as an advocate of love and tolerance who falsified his past to better spread his message.

"I wanted to bring happiness to people," said Rosenblat, who now lives in the Miami area. "I brought hope to a lot of people. My motivation was to make good in this world."

Rosenblat's believers included not only his agent and his publisher, but Oprah Winfrey, film producers, journalists, family members and strangers who ignored, or didn't know about, the warnings from scholars that his story didn't make sense.

Other Holocaust memoirists have devised greater fantasies. Misha Defonseca, author of "Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years," pretended she was a Jewish girl who lived with wolves during the war, when she was actually a non-Jew who lived, without wolves, in Belgium.

Historical records prove Rosenblat was indeed at Buchenwald and other camps.

"How sad that he felt he had to embellish a life of surviving the Holocaust and of being married for half a century," said Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum.

The damage is broad. Publishing, the most trusting of industries, has again been burned by a memoir that fact-checking might have prevented. Berkley is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), which in March pulled Margaret B. Jones' "Love and Consequences" after the author acknowledged she had invented her story of gang life in Los Angeles. Winfrey fell, as she did with James Frey, for a narrative of suffering and redemption better suited for television than for history.

The damage is deep. Scholars and other skeptics as well as fellow survivors fear that Rosenblat's fabrications will only encourage doubts about the Holocaust.

"I am very worried because many of us speak to thousands of student each year," says Sidney Finkel, a longtime friend of Rosenblat's and a fellow survivor. "We go before audiences. We tell them a story and now some people will question what I experienced."

"This was not Holocaust education but miseducation," Ken Waltzer, director of Jewish Studies at Michigan State University, said in a statement.

"Holocaust experience is not heartwarming, it is heart rending. All this shows something about the broad unwillingness in our culture to confront the difficult knowledge of the Holocaust," Waltzer said. "All the more important then to have real memoirs that tell of real experience in the camps."

Among the fooled, at least the partially fooled, was Berenbaum, former director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Berenbaum had been asked to read the manuscript by film producer Harris Salomon, who still plans an adaptation of the book.

Berenbaum's tentative support — "Crazier things have happened," he told The Associated Press last fall — was cited by the publisher as it initially defended the book. Berenbaum now says he saw factual errors, including Rosenblat's description of Theresienstadt, the camp from which he was eventually liberated, but didn't think of challenging the love story.

"There's a limit to what I can verify, because I was not there," he says. "I can verify the general historical narrative, but in my research I rely upon the survivors to present the specifics of their existence with integrity. When they don't, they destroy so much and they ruin so much, and that's terrible."

"I was burned," he added. "And I have to read books more skeptically because I was burned."

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Long Goodbye

Well, it's nearly over! You all have been one of the more interesting classes I have had in English II Honors. I am usually very good at reading people and you all were quite difficult to read. Some days I thought we were all happy to be here, and some days I felt like you all hated me, the class, and the world at large! :) I will say that a strength of this class seemed to be projects and writing. Your creative projects were wonderful every time, and I think this is probably collectively the best group of writers to come through in a while. (Another strength was talking, though not in discussion, just to each other... :) ) I have enjoyed very much being your teacher this semester and I feel like, as with each class, you all are each leaving a little piece of yourselves with me. I think that you all handled being a large class pretty well, most of the time, and I do appreciate your patience at my being slow to return things at times. Grading 34 essay packets of 5 essays each does take a while! :) I am so glad that I did teach the Holocaust unit to you all because your responses were absolutely wonderful. I also have been totally impressed with some of the blog discussions you have had. I hope you are all taking something from this semester that you can use in your future and I wish you all the best and great successes to come. Don't be a stranger! I'll be in room 222, probably for the next 22 years, so come by and say hi sometime! (And you can always email me at adavis@clevelandschools.org anytime.) Remember my Holocaust Lit class next year or the next and my AP class your senior year! I would love to see you in class in the future!

By the way, the posting below is the one you will receive a blogging grade on, though any comments to this post are welcome!

Analysis


Well guys, we have come to the end of the road. I would like to hear an evaluation from you as to which unit you enjoyed the most. Tell me what, specifically, made that unit your favorite and what you feel that you will carry into your educational future as well as your personal life applications from that particular unit. (I am going to have you do an extensive evaluation on the last day of class that will enable you to discuss the negatives as well as the positives. However, those are anonymous since they have a place for constructive criticism. This blog posting will cover only the positive, since you have to put your name on it.) I am anxious to hear your comments!

The units, in case you don't remember, are as follows:
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Inferno
History of the English Language
The Iliad
Julius Caesar
The Essay
The Holocaust (and Night)
Arthurian Legends
Vietnam Literature (The Things They Carried)
Debate

By the way, this is the posting you will receive a grade over. The next post by me is just to all of you. You are welcome to comment on it, but it will not be part of your grade.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Warrior Returns


Although I do not love Anna Quindlen (do not even like her much, to be honest), I thought this was a very interesting article about mothers and war and poetry. Curious yet? I especially like the last poem. Let me know which poems you liked most and what you like about them!

Article

Monday, December 1, 2008

The Wall

Memorials are important to honor the dead as well as to remind us, the living. We have talked about the lack of a World War I Memorial, the World War II Memorial, a little about various Holocaust Memorials, and now it is time to look at my favorite memorial, the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington, D.C. I have linked a site to this below. Go to this site, read about the Wall and how it came about, the designer, and look at the pictures. Then I want you to comment on your feelings about this memorial. What makes it a powerful memorial? If you don't like it (and many DO NOT), what do you feel is not appealing about it? What are your feelings about this memorial compared to others?
The Wall

Week of December 1




We are on the home stretch, friends!!! Less than three weeks left! Our shortened Vietnam literature unit will happen this week. Also, please remember to take the Gateway VERY seriously on Wednesday. It is a seventh of your final grade!!! Here is what this next week holds for us in 1st period:

Monday, December 1
Hero notes
DUE: Extra credit Holocaust Project due

Tuesday, December 2
The Things They Carried
Vietnam history notes

Wednesday, December 3
Gateway

Thursday, December 4
The Things They Carried
Vietnam literature test

Friday, December 5
Library/Lab for Debate Research
DUE: Journals

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thanksgiving and Turkeys...


You all did a quick activity today that provided a little break for all of us and hopefully caused you to reflect on what you are thankful for this holiday season. I did not make a turkey, but if I had, the following four things would have been on his feathers...

1. My Faith. I am so thankful that I can live for Someone beyond myself, and that I have a hope and a future.

2. My Family. There are not many joys in life that can compare with little people who call you "mom"! I am thankful every day for healthy children, both in mind and body. (It also helps that they simply CRACK ME UP much of the time!) I am also thankful for a husband who loves and supports his family, but perhaps most importantly, someone I can laugh with and who is my very best friend. Not many people my age have parents as well as grandparents living, and I am so grateful for those people who have given me an example for living. I also have a wonderful sister and brother-in-law (though we have only viewed each other as wonderful since we have been adult :) ). It is probably even few people who can say that they have amazing in-laws! I love my mother and father-in-law to pieces and I just have the best brother and sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews on earth. Add my amazing extended family (cousins especially) to that, and it just doesn't get any better.

3. My Friends. Boy, there are days I don't think I would survive YOU people if I didn't have my teacher friends to vent to!!! I work with the best faculty on the planet, and I am blessed to call many of them my friends. Then there are those non-teacher friends, those people who keep me grounded in the real world and remind me that there is life beyond teenage drama. These are my "grown-up friends". :) I am lucky enough to have four best friends, people I can talk to about absolutely anything and know that they will always support me. Can life be this good, really?!?!?

4. My Focus. This is a broad category, and it mainly encompasses my passions in life. I would put all of you in this category, along with my job and my love for learning and literature. I truly feel that I was called to this profession and I hope that I am doing it to the best of my ability every single day. I also have to put my second profession in here, photography. I just love to view the world through a camera lens and I am lucky that I get to make money while having fun! Finally, in this category, I would certainly put my areas of focus in my life, the study of the Holocaust and the passion I have to educate on this topic as well as the topic of ridding the world of injustice. (Long sentence, likely a run-on...) I feel very strongly about many things and I like to spend my time thinking and learning about those areas.

So, that would be my turkey. He is an alliterative turkey, as you can tell. :) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your break!!!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Your reactions...


We will complete the Holocaust unit tomorrow. What are your reactions to this unit? What parts did you feel were the most beneficial? What parts did you want to spend more time on? What parts did you think could have been dropped from the unit? How did you feel about the book? What do you think is the main thing you will take away from this unit? Is anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust (by reading more, watching more, or even taking Holocaust lit?)?

SHORT Week of November 24


TWO DAY WEEK!!! How excited are you? :) We have a relatively light schedule this week as we wrap up the Holocaust unit. I have been very pleased with your responses to this unit.

Monday, November 24
Letter to Mr. Dorris
Watch "Life is Beautiful"

Tuesday, November 25
Finish "Life is Beautiful"
Thanksgiving activity

H/W over Break: Do the Extra credit Holocaust project that is due on Monday, 12/1.

I think that if there is one thing we have gained from this unit, it is that we should be appreciative and grateful for what we have. This Thanksgiving, I hope that you will cherish your families, enjoy the meals, take some time to rest, and be safe. Don't forget the feelings you had during this unit about how much we take for granted in our own lives. Have a wonderful break! We will hit the ground running on December 1!!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Amazing Projects






We did a culminating activity for the Holocaust unit in which students used some sort of medium to create a symbol of their understanding of the Holocaust unit. Here are some pictures of the finished products!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Mr. James Dorris



"Once you have seen what I saw, you know that you cannot tolerate unjustice, people treating each other unfairly and with disrespect."

What a unique opportunity we all had this morning!  You all got the opportunity to hear from the best defense to Holocaust denial... someone who saw the atrocities with his own eyes, who comforted the survivors with his own hands, who heard the gunshots of the perpetrators with his own ears.  Mr. James Dorris and his sweet wife came from Chattanooga (at 6:45 in the morning, no less!!!) to talk to you all and tell his story.  

His soft voice and gentle expression contrasted so much to the horrors he told of finding.  However, what an amazing story of hope in this midst of tragedy.  To me, one of the most amazing stories I have heard or read of liberators is his story of the cigarette butt given to him by a survivor.  Mr. Dorris's viewing of that gift, the only material possession that poor man had, as a sign from God that He was still in the world and had put him in that place, at that time, for a reason, is such an inspiration.  

You all, much like my other classes, had an opportunity few students have and even fewer will have in the future.  It really sobered me today on the drive back from Chattanooga when I realized that my own two girls will probably never hear a first-hand account of the Holocaust. By the time the my girls are old enough to hear, the survivors and liberators will be gone or unable to travel much of a distance.  That's a sad thought.  

I want you to consider the opportunity you had today.  What parts of what Mr. Dorris told you spoke to you the most?  What do you think his advice to you is?  What fears does he have for the world today?  Please comment on this posting.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

The New Song

I know that some of you probably are not nuts about the new song I have put on here. However, I specifically selected that song for a reason. An excerpt from the lyrics to that song are posted below. We will be hearing this week from an eye witness to history. You will become an eye witness to an eye witness. Your children will never have this opportunity. These people, and their stories, are kept alive through you and I.

REMEMBER ME
(James Horner/Cynthia Weil)
(Performed by Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska)

Remember:
I will still be here
As long as you hold me
In your memory

I'm with you whenever
You tell my story
For I am all I've done

Week of November 17-- Is it starting to feel like a balancing act???


I know that you all have felt pretty stressed out lately and it probably feels like a balancing act. I feel the same way. But the high stress days and huge assignments are really behind us now. We have a test and seminar this week, relaxed week next week, then a big presentation and test with the following unit (Vietnam), then debates (which you will LOVE), then a nine week test. That's it!!! Book chats (easy!) and journals are the only major grades other the the previous ones. Your high pressure days are behind you. Now you just need to dig in and finish strong, okay?

I am in shock that we are already at the end of the 4.5 weeks of the SECOND NINE WEEKS! I really have had a great semester with you guys and I have been most impressed with you reactions to the Holocaust unit. I absolutely cannot wait until this Friday to get to hear Mr. Dorris.

Monday, November 17
Read Night

Tuesday, November 18
Read Night

Wednesday, November 19
Night Seminar
Holocaust Test

Thursday, November 20
Culminating activity

Friday, November 21
Mr. James Dorris, Holocaust Liberator

Monday, November 10, 2008

Kristallnacht- The November 1938 Pogroms




If you are interested in learning more about Kristallnacht, check out the link above to the USHMM online exhibition. Again, feel free to leave any comments. For example, why were their places of worship attacked? Can you think of other examples in history where places of worship were attacked?

Father Patrick DesBois


I read this afternoon about a French priest who has taken on the mission of discovering every mass grave of Jews in the Ukraine. It is a pretty interesting story and the link to the NY TImes article is below. I am also linking a podcast (below that) from the USHMM about it.

NY Times article:


Podcast:


If you read the article or listen to the podcast, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. These would have been the victims of the mobile killing squads we talked about today.

What is the importance of knowing where someone is buried, of having an actual grave to visit? Why do people return to the scene of accidents and deaths? Why are these things so important to us as humans?

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Week of November 10

I have been so impressed by your attention thus far to the Holocaust unit I certainly think that the further we go into this unit will really enlighten you.

Monday, November 10
Nazi Germany notes
Children of the Holocaust (butterfly activity)

Tuesday, November 11
Final solution notes
Finish photo activities
Finish butterfly activity

Wednesday, November 12
PLAN test

Thursday, November 13
Responsibility Discussion
Triangle
Rescue, Resistance, and Liberation

Friday, November 14
Read Night
DUE: Journals

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Photo Activity


I did not book the computer lab in enough time, so I need you all to do something for me between now and Monday, the 10th.

First of all, jot down three words that you relate to every day life. These words might be eating, sleeping, shopping, playing outside, playing sports, reading, school, etc.

Then, please go to the below website:
http://www.ushmm.org/research/collections/search/ph_catalog.php

At this site, you will find a place to enter a search term into the field and hit search. Enter one of the words you jotted down. It will pull up a list of photos with thumbnails. Scroll through the photos until you find one that really speaks to you. (Please don't just pick the first one you come to!) You might want to search each of your three words. Pick TWO photos that you really like. You need to pick photos that were taken PRIOR TO the camps and ghettos, of everyday Jewish life. (There are descriptions on most of the photos that will let you know that information.)

Once you have selected two that fit the above requirements, please copy and paste them onto a sheet of paper and print them out (they will be black and white). I typically have some questions for you to answer, but since you are doing this at home, we will skip that part.

Bring these printed photos with you on Monday. This is for a grade.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Honor to Whom Honor is Due


You all might have noticed that I changed the song on the blog. I just thought that with Veteran's Day coming up next week, Election Day today, and beginning the Holocaust unit, this would be a great time to reflect on the honor we owe our veterans and current armed forces personnel. You guys will see as we go through this unit how blessed we are to live in America. The rights that we enjoy (the same rights which were taken from the Jews in Nazi Germany) are protected by our military personnel. Your political persuasions don't come into play, your personal opinions about our current war don't matter, and your like or dislike for the way our country is run has nothing to do with the fact that we are a blessed people. Next week, you will be writing a thank you letter to veteran. The week after that, you will hear from a liberator of a concentration camp. I would like for you to spend some time between now and those two days and reflect on what it means to be American, and what kind of a debt of gratitude we owe to people like that.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Week of November 3


Election Week! No matter who you are voting for, this is such an exciting week for our country! We are so blessed that we have the right to vote and that the change of power takes place in such a peaceful way. (AND you get a day off this week! What can be better than that?)

This week is also the start of our Holocaust unit. Holocaust education is really my passion and I am so anxious to share this with you. We are especially lucky to hear first-hand from a Holocaust survivor. Your children will never have that opportunity.

Monday, November 3
Star of David Activity

Tuesday, November 4
OFF!!!

Wednesday, November 5
Holocaust Intro, notes, chronology
DUE: Creative essay

Thursday, November 6
Victim groups, propaganda

Friday, November 7
Photo activity, Nazi Germany notes, Veteran's letter
DUE: Essay packet

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Hillbilly Day!!!


Here is a shout out to our hillbilly friends at Walker Valley!!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

It's CHARACTER DAY!!!


See if you can identify these crazy characters!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Week of October 27


The unit you have all been anxiously anticipating, being that you are in an HONORS ENGLISH CLASS, the unit with all the writing, the Essay Unit!!! It's here!!!

Monday, October 27
Define Unit 8
Essay notes
Assign Packets, rough draft
HOMEWORK: Rough draft of creative essay

Tuesday, October 28
Read and analyze
Peer read rough drafts of creative essays
DUE: Rough draft of creative essay

Wednesday, October 29
Read Satires
Work on packets
HOMEWORK: Satire

Thursday, October 30
Work on packets
DUE: Satire

Friday, October 31
Essay test
Vocab quiz
In-class Knighthood Writing
DUE: Journals

Essay Packets are due November 7.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Resources


If you are interested in the mysteries surrounding Arthur and Camelot, you might want to take a look at this website.

The other website is an interesting illustrated version of the tales.

I don't have any specific questions, but feel free to comment on anything you find interesting on either site.

Reaction


"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."
~Joseph Campbell

Campbell has done a lot of research on heroes, legends, and quests, the stuff that the Arthurian Legends are made of. What reactions do you have to this quote?

As a side note, I chose the picture at the top because it is a photograph of the Holocaust survivor who spoke to us yesterday at Vanderbilt. This photo was taken the day she left on a ship for the United States to her new adoptive family (her aunt and uncle). Her name is Frances Cutler, and her parents put her in an orphanage in Paris to save her. Her mother was murdered in Auschwitz and her father died as a French resistance fighter. I don't think I need to make the connection for you between this quote and this picture. I will say that, though Frances is certainly a hero for telling her story to student groups around the country, I cannot imagine being in a situation where the best scenario for my child to live is for me to have to give her up and leave her with strangers.

Week of October 20


We are starting (and finishing!) Arthurian Legends this week. It should be a good, light unit for us after some pretty heavy stuff.

Monday, 10/20
Define Unit 7
Watch "Camelot"

Tuesday, 10/21
Camelot questions
Camelot notes
Read "Sword in the Stone" for homework

Wednesday, 10/22
Discuss "Sword", read "Sir Lancelot"
Codes of Chivalry discussion

Thursday, 10/23
Watch "Stick in the Log"
Work on shields

Friday, 10/24
Vocab quiz
Arthur unit test

Upcoming: Essay unit next week!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Fall Break!

Hope everyone had a great fall break! I will be gone to Vanderbilt to the Educational Outreach Program for the Tennessee Holocaust Commission today and tomorrow, but you guys will start the Arthurian Legends unit without me. I am anxious to share everything I learn this weekend with you during our upcoming Holocaust unit!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Man/Woman Modeled Poems

We modeled poems after Nikki Giovanni's "Woman" poem.  Here are some stars!


Woman
She wanted to be a rose
But he wouldn't be the stem to hold her up
She wanted to be a voice,
But he wouldn't listen to her.

She wanted to be tears for him,
But he would not weep.
She tried being the stars
But he wouldn't look for her at night.

She tried being the honey,
But he wouldn't be the bear.
She tried to talk to him 
But he wouldn't listen for anything.

She wanted him to notice her
but she knew he never would.

She wanted him to love her
But he didn't realize.

She made up her mind and
changed into a woman.
He saw her do this and changed into a man.
He said to her, "Finally, you are who I want you to be ... yourself."
By Katelyn

Woman
She wanted to be his diary
Where he shared all of his feelings and secrets
Instead he closed the diary
And had to walk away.

She wanted to be his oasis
Where he found strength and refuge
All he saw was a mirage
Something he could not and would not have

She wanted to be his sweet cupcake
Layered with sweets and icing
He acted like he was on a diet
He was never hungry
And he never had a sweet tooth

She wanted to be with him
But she knew it could never be

They were two different people
Separate yet always together

They might have had a relationship
Maybe one day they will
But for now they are still separate
Still in love with each other
And they will until they die.
By Gabby

Man
He wanted to be her shield
amidst the fighting
but she refused to 
hide behind his armor

He tried to be an umbrella
through the storm
but she wouldn't slip on her boots
and dance in the rain

He wanted to be her waves
gently crashing on the shore
but she refused to 
put on her swimsuit 
and step into the water

He longed to be her cloud on a hot summer's day
but she never saw need for rest

He offered to be her crying shoulder
but she always held back the tears

He became a candle
to lead her through the tunnel
but she took her own path
she found herself lost and in the dark
by then he was long gone
and on his own.
By Taylor

Woman
she wanted to be a star
that shone brightly in the sky
but he didn't want to gaze
just simply glance and keep going

she longed to be the air
that he needed in order to live
but he would rather die
than to breathe in such a thing

she wanted to be his laugh
that filled her life with joy
but he dared not smile
he didn't care if she was happy;
no not at all

she tried to be a blanket
but he insisted on staying cold

she desired to be a refuge
but he ran to only himself

she decided to be his ego
that he clung to for dear life
but we all know that men
would never think to surrender that.
By Payton

Poetry Showcase

Here are a few fabulous pieces from my budding Sandburgs...



She looked out the window and was greeted by trees.
She smiled, knowing it hadn't always been like that.
She walked outside and felt rain upon her face.
She smiled, knowing she hadn't always felt like that.
She glanced to her left and noticed a deer.
She smiled, knowing it hadn't always been there.
She saw a pond on her way home, surrounded by peace.
She smiled, knowing she hadn't always seen that.
She hadn't always been there.
She hadn't always had this.
She hadn't always liked it.
She hadn't always known it.
But now she did, and she was, and it did, and it was, 
And she was happy.
By Madison

In a world filled with green, green grass
Why is there so much harmful pollution
The pollution made sick a little lass
O, it seems like there is no solution.

Why is there so much hurtful, harmful pain
What was abundant happiness can change
It is enough to drive someone insane
Yet no one seems to care which seems very strange

Why are human beings so self-absorbed
Is there someone who cares about the poor
Why is it that the others are ignored
Yet when someone reaches out, it causes snores

In a world filled with blue, blue skies
Why does no one care that the poor still cry?
By Alexa


Saturday, October 11, 2008

Week of October 13 (And FALL BREAK!!!)



Monday, October 13
Library/lab to research for History of the English Language paper

Tuesday, October 14
Library/lab to research for History of the English Language paper

Wednesday, October 15
Library/lab to research for History of the English Language paper

Thursday and Friday
Enjoy Fall Break! Be safe, have fun, and come back ready to work hard for nine more weeks!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Caesar Projects!

LOVE the Caesar projects I got this time! The ideas were so different and creative this time around. Great job to all of you, but here are a few of the most interesting... (And yes, there were some projects done by males, some of which were great. I just don't seem to have any pictures of those. I will work on that for a new post.)



Famous Assassinations by Brooke



Famous Suicides by Haley



Cassius and the Fake Notes at Brutus's House by Jenna







Soothsayers through the Ages by Katelyn



"Caesar salad" by Ayesha



Caesar's desired crown by Priscilla


















"The Man" Caesar by Hannah



Photo storyboard by Emily



A calendar by Meryn




















The mob scene by Sheena



Foreshadowing Shadowbox by Brooke

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Week of October 6 (Can you believe it's already halfway through the semester?!?!?)


Wow, end of the nine weeks this week! September felt very long, but it is still shocking to me that the semester is going so fast. Hope you guys are ready to finish the nine weeks with a bang! (And a whole lot of BIG grades...)

Monday, October 6
DUE: Julius Caesar memorizations

Tuesday, October 7
Julius Caesar Test

Wednesday, October 8
9 Week Test (over All Quiet, The Inferno, The Iliad, and Julius Caesar)
DUE: Caesar projects

Thursday, October 9
Poetry Terms, Read and analyze

Friday, October 10
Poetry (write)
DUE: Caesar character analysis, JOURNALS

I know that a two day poetry unit is pathetic, but we really don't have time for much more. It kind of stinks because I LOVE poetry, but we have to get in the rest of the good stuff! :)

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Et tu, Brute?


Considerations for the play...

· Is Brutus a good man?
· Can a good man commit murder?
· Is the quality of shrewdness the fatal missing ingredient in Brutus’ character?
· Or alternatively, is he just an evil person?

Decision '08 and Assassination 63'



At this point in our political cycle, we are no doubt thinking a lot about leadership, politics, and government. In just four short weeks, we will elect the next president of our country. Without discussing anything specific from our own political parties and without making any points for any candidate by name, please think for a few minutes and comment on the following questions that this play raises. What makes a good leader? Is it okay to sacrifice the rights of an individual for the good of many, the way that Brutus and the conspirators sacrificed Caesar for Rome? What would the perfect government look like? Brutus, one could argue, is in favor of a democratic leadership. He fears the total power Caesar wanted to assume. With that being said, is it ironic at all that Brutus chose a VERY undemocratic method of finding a solution to the problem? Are there any contemporary world events-- or any in recent history-- which parallel Brutus' taking of Caesar's life? Do such comparisons help you understand Brutus' position or the world in the play?

Monday, September 29, 2008

Week of September 29

We are exactly halfway through Caesar. You all seem to be getting it pretty well. We will finish it up at the end of the week.

Monday, 9/29
Define Unit 6, finish Act III

Tuesday, 9/30
Character activity

Wednesday, 10/1
Act IV

Thursday, 10/2
Act V

Friday, 10/3
Vocab quiz, Character analysis

Friday, September 26, 2008

Reaction

Hey guys, I hope you all are enjoying Caesar as much as I am. Below is a posting for you to comment on...

Literary critic T.S. Dorsch said that Caesar makes "such extravagant expressions of arrogance that all sympathy for him is alienated, and the action of the assassins is for the moment almost accepted as justifiable."

What do you think?

Monday, September 22, 2008

Tragedy


What is your definition of a tragedy? A tragic hero? Cite a work of literature that you have not studied in school that you think would qualify as a tragedy. Please elaborate on how it is a tragedy and which character you feel is the tragic hero of that work. (This can certainly be modern or contemporary literature...)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Week of September 22


OK guys, the moment you have been waiting for IS HERE!!! (Maybe it is not the moment YOU have been waiting for, but it IS the moment I have been waiting for.) We are starting Shakespeare and Julius Caesar this week. I hope so much that you enjoy the play as much as I do. This play has it all... conflict, inner turmoil, rhetoric, patriotism, betrayal, revenge, war.. kind of sounds like our current presidential election, huh? :) Seriously, I think you will love the play. Even if you don't, these next two weeks rank among my favorite in the semester.

Monday, 9/22
Finish "Troy", watch the Shakespeare A and E, questions over it

Tuesday, 9/23
Shakespeare interview, extra credit, notes

Wednesday, 9/24
BRING POST-IT NOTES
Act I of Julius Caesar

Thursday, 9/25
Act II

Friday, 9/26
Catch up
DUE: Journals

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Week of September 15 (LATE!)


Monday, 9/15

Books 11-15, notes
Define Unit 5

Tuesday, 9/16
Books 16-20, notes
Books 21-24, notes

Wednesday, 9/17
Iliad Test

Thursday, 9/18
Watch "Troy"

Friday, 9/19
Vocab quiz
Finish "Troy"

COMMENT ON BLOG BY FRIDAY...

Caesar NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Try your hand...

Iliad Game

Here is an Iliad Game on the Internet. It's pretty fun. Give it a try and post any comments you have about it.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

September 11




You all got a reprieve :) this week in that you watched the "9/11" documentary instead of the first day of The Iliad. My other classes were required to write a 9/11 Memorial after viewing the video. I did not have you all do that (since it seemed that reading Books 1-10 of The Iliad and studying for vocab and doing a journal were enough to do!). However, if you want to post some sort of memorial or comment on here in honor of September 11, that would be fitting.