11/26 English 9HP

We debriefed the questions you answered on Goldstein's book and discussed the ending of part two, Winston's capture and the symbolic shattering of the glass paperweight.

Homework:
Read the second half of your independent book (due Dec. 8).

11/26 English 10HP

We applied the characteristics of a tragic hero to Okonkwo, including his tragic flaw ("Roaring Flame"), his error in judgment (killing Ikemefuna and Ezeudu's son), his fall (his exile and suicide), and his epiphany ("Living fire begets cold, impotent ash"). We discussed how Okonkwo's tragedy mirrors the tragedy of imperialism. Finally, we discussed how Achebe speaks through Nwoye, Okonkwo's son, and Obierika, whom foils Okonkwo with his rationality and adaptability.

Homework:
Read your independent book (due Dec. 15).

11/25 English 9HP

We discussed the social structure of the society portrayed in 1984. Then we created a social pyramid for Samohi. We noted a possible inverse relationship between power and freedom.

You answered seven questions on Goldstein's book and made connections to our society. We'll discuss them in class tomorrow. Here they are again:

1.) What are the two central goals of the Inner Party?
2.) How is perpetual war no different than perpetual peace?
3.) Why does the Inner Party alter the past? Is it important that our present society remember the past?
4.) What purposes do advanced science and technology serve in Oceania? Would two-way or interactive televisions be seen as progress today? What advanced technology today has limited your privacy or freedom?
5.) What is the greatest threat to the Inner Party losing its power?
6.) Would the Inner Party authorize the military to bomb its own people? Would our government ever do such an act?
7.) Who determines what is true, moral, and sane in our society today? Can what is true, moral, or sane today change in the future?

Homework:
Read the second half of your independent book.

11/25 English 10HP

Okonkwo breaks Ibo taboos three times in part one. We discussed Okonkwo's motivations, including his fear of failure and his "passionate intensity." I noted that Achebe uses masculine and feminine as a metaphor in the book. We analyzed Uchendu's wise words: "Mother is Supreme." Indeed, Uchendu notes Okonkwo's failure to accept comfort from his motherland, his rejection of all things feminine. Could this be his tragic flaw?

We reviewed the characteristics of a tragic hero, and you applied these characteristics to Okonkwo, finding at least one quote to support your conclusions.

Homework:
Finish Things Fall Apart, and if you didn't finish it already, complete your class work.
Read your independent book (due 12/15).

11/24 English 9HP

After taking a few minutes to prepare individually, you met with your book club to discuss how your independent novel is a dystopia. After your group's discussion, you reflected on one of the following:
- Something I hadn't realized is...
- Someone in my group said something interesting about...
- Something I disagreed with in my group discussion is...

Homework:
Finish your independent book by December 8! You'll have another book club discussion on that day!

11/24 English 10HP

We finished the "Characteristics of West African Life" group presentations. Then you took a quiz on part two of Things Fall Apart.

Homework:
Read part three of Things Fall Apart (due Wednesday).
Read your independent book (due Dec. 15).

11/21 English 9HP

As promised, we analyzed Winston's dreams (his dream of O'Brien, his dreams of his mother and sister, his recurring rat nightmare, and his dream of the Golden Country). Specifically, we discussed whether the dreams gave us information about the past or foreshadowed certain events in the plot and how the dreams revealed Winston's character.

Homework:
On Monday, be prepared for a book club discussion on the first half of your independent book!

11/21 English 10HP

You met in your peer groups for the first 25 minutes of class. Then groups began presenting. The remaining groups will present on Monday!

Homework: Read Part Two of Things Fall Apart (due Monday).

11/20 English 9HP

We discussed your Venn diagrams on Julia and Winston. Afterward, we analyzed the symbolism of the glass paperweight.

Homework:
Read the first half of your independent book (due Monday!).

11/20 English 10HP

I presented a little background information to enhance your understanding of Things Fall Apart. You began planning your group presentations on characteristics of West African life and whether Achebe's depiction of your group's designated ceremony/incident/belief "corrects" stereotypes about Africans and/or whether he is criticizing or questioning an aspect of pre-colonial Ibo culture. Your group will present during the second half of the period tomorrow or during class on Monday.

Homework:
Read Part Two of Things Fall Apart for Monday! Be prepared for a quiz on Part Two and/or Part Three next week.
Acquire and read your independent book (due Dec. 15).

11/19 English 9HP

We had a somewhat heated agree/disagree-style discussion on the following statement: "Opposites attract." Afterward, you created a Venn diagram on Winston and Julia. In many ways, they are opposites, but they do have some common ground. Your Venn diagram should include:
1.) age/physical condition
2.) job responsibilities
3.) community groups
4.) memories of the past
5.) experience in deception
6.) reasons for rebelling against the Party
7.) attitude toward Big Brother
8.) intellectual understanding of Party
9.) attitudes toward physical relationships
10.) hopes about the future
11.) personal fears

Homework:
Finish your Venn diagram (due tomorrow).
Read the first half of your independent book (due 11/24).

11/19 English 10HP

We debriefed your homework, gender roles and expectations in Ibo society.

Homework:
Read Ch. 8-13 of Things Fall Apart (part one) for tomorrow's class! Make certain you read and bring your books!
Read your independent book (due 12/15).

11/18 English 9HP

We discussed how doublespeak intentionally "misleads, distorts reality, and corrupts the mind" (Lutz). We looked at specific examples of doublespeak from our current society.

Homework:
If you haven't already, finish 1984.
Read the first half of your independent book (due 11/24).

11/18 English 10HP

Yesterday, you selected (modern African) independent reading books. Today we discussed what it means to "act like a man" and "act like a lady" and how these gender roles are enforced. Afterward, we discussed how Okonkwo epitomizes the "act like a man" role in Things Fall Apart.

(Due 11/19)
Homework:
Complete the chart on gender roles and expectations for men and women in Things Fall Apart.
Read Ch. 8-13 (part one) of Things Fall Apart (due 11/20)
Acquire your independent book and begin reading (due 12/15).

11/14 English 9HP

We discussed the language of 1984. Specifically, we discussed the irony in the names of four ministries and the paradoxes of the party slogans. Afterward you completed an activity on doublespeak while I continued individual writing conferences.

Homework:
Read 1984 and your independent book.

11/14 English 10HP

The title Things Fall Apart and the epigraph at the beginning of the novel reference "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats. We had a thoughtful discussion on both the mood of the poem and how the epigraph provides insight into the novel's theme.

Homework: Read Things Fall Apart.

11/13 English 9HP

We briefly discussed how Orwell satirizes the misuse and abuse of language with doublespeak and newspeak. You worked in pairs to define key terms from 1984 and to answer a few questions. Meanwhile, I began individual writing conferences.

Homework: Read 1984 (Ch. 9-10 of Part Two) and your independent book.

11/13 English 10HP

We juxtaposed facts about Okonkwo with facts about Unoka and noted the contrast. In fact, Okonkwo's drive comes from his fear of weakness, a characteristic which he attributes to his father.

Homework: Read Ch. 4-7 of Things Fall Apart!

11/12 English 9HP

Groups presented the mind maps from Monday. I interjected on occasion, and everyone took notes. We now have a pretty complete picture of Winston.

Homework:
Read 1984 (Ch. 9-10 of Part Two) for Friday's class.
Read your independent book.

11/12 English 10HP

You submitted your essays. Then we took a walk to the textbook room where you returned Oedipus books and picked up copies of Things Fall Apart. I gave a very brief description of setting and you began reading your assignment for tonight.

Homework:
For tomorrow, read Ch. 1-3 of Things Fall Apart (see your bookmark for future reading deadlines).

11/10 English 9HP

You met with your book clubs to determine the half-way point for your book.

I gave you the following independent book deadlines:

1st half of book due: November 24
2nd half of book due: December 8

Note: Please read and notate the text to prepare for your book club discussions on these dates.

To prepare for a discussion on Winston's character, you worked in small groups to create mind maps for Winston. You incorporated descriptions of his feelings, beliefs, personality traits, fears, obsessions, desires, and influences. And you included textual evidence from 1984 to support each description.

Homework:
Read 1984 (Ch. 5-8 of Part Two)
Read your independent book.

11/10 English 10HP

I gave you some tips on incorporating quotations in an essay; then you edited your peers' essays.

Homework: Final Oedipus essay due Wednesday!

11/7 English 9HP

Today was a graded reading day, an opportunity to catch up on your reading and earn a few points!

Homework:
Acquire a copy of your independent reading book by Monday!
Read 1984 (Ch. 1-4 of Part Two are due on Monday).

11/7 English 10HP

During an assembly in Barnum Hall, we viewed Invisible Children's newest film about children in Uganda.

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php

Homework: Using the feedback you received, revise your essay and bring another draft to class with you on Monday.

11/6 English 9HP

You signed up for book clubs. We discussed how setting affects mood. With a partner you found details and descriptions of Winston's home, Victory Mansion Apartments, and Winston's Workplace, The Ministry of Truth. You also recorded the mood each detail and description creates. We debriefed your findings as a whole class.

Homework: Read Ch. 7 & 8 of 1984. Acquire a copy of your independent book by Monday.

11/6 English 10HP

Alex and I modeled a peer conference for you; after, we discussed your observations. You conferred with two peers.

Homework: Using the feedback you received, revise your essay and bring another draft to class with you on Monday.

11/5 English 9HP

We updated grade sheets and discussed your answers to the questions I asked you about your utopian society presentations. Afterward, I presented the independent reading book options:

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World
Richard Condon's The Manchurian Candidate
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Yevgeny Zamyatin's We

Homework:
Read, think about, and discuss the reading options with your parents and come prepared to class tomorrow with a first and second choice.
Read Ch.6 of 1984 for tomorrow.

11/5 English 10HP

We updated grade sheets. Then I gave you a few tips for writing a powerful conclusion. Afterward, you wrote a conclusion for your Oedipus essay.

Homework:
Bring a complete draft of your essay tomorrow for peer conferences!

11/4 English 9HP

Your groups' spokespeople presented the utopian societies you created yesterday. Then you began answering the following questions in your Reader's-Writer's Notebook:

1. Is there less personal responsibility or more responsibility in your utopian groups than in society right now?
2. Can a utopian society actually exist? Why or why not?
3. Is a utopian society dependent upon the individual and his or her inner morality, or upon the outside force of a governing system?
4. Which is easier to create, a utopian society or a totalitarian society? Why?
5. Can a totalitarian society be a utopia?
6. What do you think anti-utopian means?

Homework:
Read Ch.1-5 of 1984 for tomorrow's class.
Finish answering the questions above. We'll discuss your answers in class tomorrow.

11/4 English 10HP

I gave you some information on standard transitional devices and paragraph hooks. We identified these transitions in a sample essay and you created transitions for your Oedipus essay.

Homework:
Many of you need to complete your body paragraphs!

11/3 English 9HP

I introduced the term utopia. The word "utopia" comes from the Greek word for "no place." Is that appropriate for a word that means "ideal society"? Then you worked in small groups, creating your utopias. You'll present tomorrow!

Homework:
Your Kindred essay is due tomorrow! Bring your analysis rubric with you.
Read Ch.1-5 of 1984 for Wednesday.

11/3 English 10HP

We discussed "leads," and you read several examples before creating three of your own for you revised thesis statement.

Homework:
Be certain to bring your three leads and your body paragraphs tomorrow!