Focus: Welcoming you back; revisiting the past and looking ahead to the future

My winter break and yours A glimpse of your future in A.P.

Literature Battling out the answers to the multiple

choice questions on your final exam HW: Start reading Metamorphosis;

purchase books if you’d like your own copies (especially Metamorphosis).

Metamorphosis—Kafka

The Stranger—Camus

Beloved—Morrison

Slaughterhouse-Five—Vonnegut

Waiting for Godot—Beckett

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead—Stoppard

Modern book of your choice (must be a work of fiction, not a memoir, and it must have been published within last five years—nothing older than 2005).

You only have three big writings this semester, and only one of those is a formal literary essay:

Critical Review

Creative Poetry Project

Culminating Essay (involves your “big question”)

Skim back through the passages and identify the type of each passage as closely as you can.

Ex: 17th century sonnet, or modern essay

Identify which one was the easiest for you, and which one was the hardest.

Focus: Figuring out how to pick the right answer During announcements: A Pop Quiz pop Quiz pop

quiz Pop quiz (just give it your best effort and finish as much as you can by the end of announcements)

Augmenting your vocabularies through the fun and intellectual stimulation that is…pictionary!

Finish strategizing how to answer multiple choice ?s Tomorrow: Frost/Dickinson timed writings HW: Start reading Metamorphosis (finish by

Monday); think about what book you’d like to read for your critical review.

The class will be divided into two teams. Each “artist” will get one minute at a time to

get his or her team to guess the definitions of the words assigned.

Each correct definition guessed will earn that team one point.

“Artists” may use symbols, but they may not use words, make sounds, use the technique of “sounds like…”

The winning team will receive a warm plate full of homemade cookies at some point this week.

Focus: How to become an even better timed writer During announcements: An actual pop quiz, but you

only need to half of them right in order to pass. Dickinson vs. Frost: Don’t get left in the dark!

• TIGHT points of comparison Look over sample essays on Dickinson and Frost and

get yours back Norming your grading with sample essays on the

prose passage; fast circle assessments of your essays

HW: Read Metamorphosis by Monday; make a decision about your critical review book and email me the title, author, and year of publication.

“We” vs. “I” (point of view)

Focus: Assessing your final two timed essays During announcements: Look back to yesterday’s

samples; write one sentence of defense for each grade you assigned

Is it a 1? Is it a 6? Sharing your grading from yesterday on “The Street” and circle grading your essays on “The Street”

Quick norming with the open prompt and circle grading of your open prompt essays

Calculating your actual score, if time… HW: Read Metamorphosis in all its glory and create a

reading ticket that addresses the first third of the book; email me the title, author, and year of publication of your critical review book if you have not yet done so.

Focus: Questioning Kafka’s The Metamorphosis During announcements: Figure out your 2 timed writing

grades by calculating the average score on each. Ex: If your graders gave you a 4, 5, and 6 on your second timed writing, your grade would be a 5.

What did you get on your midterm? Calculating your A.P. score and setting goals for yourself

Unleashing the “monster” of Kafka’s Metamorphosis: Small group Q & A

HW: If you haven’t emailed me your reading proposal yet (author, title, and year of publication), please do so tonight; look over your vocabulary before you go to bed; see website calendar for discussion schedule of The Metamorphosis.

If you get 20% of the MC questions right, you need to get 6’s and 7’s on the essays to get a 3, and 8’s and 9’s to get a 4. A 5 is not feasible.

If you get 30% of the MC questions right, you need 5’s and 6’s to get a 3, 7’s and 8’s to get a 4, and all 9’s to get a 5.

With your group, please discuss the first 3rd of Metamorphosis. Here are a few guidelines:

Share and discuss your reading tickets. As a group, create five good discussion questions and

write each one on a separate card. Try to include at least three passage-based questions,

and include the passage on the card. When you finish your questions, place them in the bin of

knowledge and take out two new ones. When you finish discussing your two questions,

exchange them for two new ones. The quantity of notes you take is up to you, but you

should be jotting down ideas and questions to share with the class (and to keep for yourself).

Focus: A more structured look at Metamorphosis; overview of the critical review

During announcements: Vocab. fun! Reading ticket quickwrites and give-aways! What’s a critical review? Samples of style,

structure, and substance HW: Create reading ticket for second half of

Metamorphosis based on one of today’s statements.

Focus: Turning your Kafka questions into Kafka responses

During announcements: Vocab. pop quiz #3 Warm-up: Gallery walk of reading tickets What’s bugging you about The Metamorphosis?

Exterminating your Kafka issues, fishbowl-style HW: Read your critical review book; start your

final reading ticket for Friday. For that final reading ticket, use Galenet to find an article on The Metamorphosis; print it and read it, then type a half-page to a page summary and opinion of it.

Why doesn’t anyone question his transformation?

What is the metamorphosis other than physical?

Is the metamorphosis exemplifying Gregor or his family?

What is the significance of Grete in the story? Why does she leave?

What is the central conflict?

Focus: Analyzing The Metamorphosis During announcements: What happened to

Ms. Leclaire? Character dance-off Socratic seminar: The Metamorphosis

• Goal #1: 100% participation• Goal #2: Share ideas from your articles

HW: Incorporate The Metamorphosis into your big question blog/wiki; read your critical review book; poetry response due next week.

1st step: Get into character by brainstorming everything you know about the character on your card.

2nd step: Think about how this character would act, say, move, etc.

3rd step: As the music plays, wander/dance around the room. When it stops, grab a partner.

4th step: I will post a question on the overhead, and you must discuss it with your dance partner for 2 minutes IN CHARACTER.

Focus: Seeing Kafka’s “bigger picture” During announcements: How’s your

memory? Vocab. list 1, revisited Snack time! Remember your initial Metamorphosis

questions? How well can you answer them now?

Tuesday Writing #1: Open prompt HW: Bring Metamorphosis to turn in

tomorrow; read your critical review book.

Focus: Sharing final thoughts on The Metamorphosis and exploring background to The Stranger

During announcements: Quietly enjoy a cookie bar from Ms. Leclaire

What killed Gregor? An MMM approach Pre-reading questions for The Stranger Distribute copies of The Stranger HW: Read through Ch. 4 of The Stranger for

Friday, using one of today’s questions as the basis for your reading ticket; poetry response.

Focus: Addressing our social cravings During announcements: Quietly respond to

the quick survey on the overhead. Is a cockroach sometimes just a cockroach?

Discussing “The Meaning of No Meaning” Prereading questions for The Stranger:

Brainstorming and discussion HW: Read through Ch. 3 of The Stranger for

tomorrow, using one of today’s questions as the basis for your reading ticket; poetry response.

Do you think that analyzing a text detracts from the text’s beauty and/or power?

Absolutely Kind of Not at all Do you think that a piece of literature

must have a “deeper significance” in order to be worthy of reading?

Absolutely Kind of Not at all Please explain your two responses.

How is conformity encouraged, even mandated, in our society?

What are the consequences of being non-conformist?

How is lying a part of being social? What are socially “acceptable” lies? Which is more expensive—the truth

or the lie?

What matters? According to whom? Why?

Which is an ethically-correct choice given a life and death situation? Explain.

When does the “socially marginal” become criminal? Explain.

Is this right?

Focus: Addressing literary distortion and reality

Any last poetry responses out there? Discussion of The Stranger, Chs. 1-3 Writing Workshop: Tuesday writing on

The Metamorphosis• Sample essay and rubric• Peer editing

HW: Read chapters 4 through 6 for Monday; critical review book.