2018 January Updates
Wednesday, January 10th: Please ask your parents to sign the syllabus and permission slip if you have not already done so. For your first notecard tonight, select a Greek Myth (your choice). Please do not read a bulleted list or a summary; read a story. You may wish to choose an adventure, like the stories of Perseus, Hercules, or Odysseus, or you may wish to select a story about the gods, like Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, Poseidon, etc. There are many selections that are worthy and I would like you to have the freedom to choose as well as see how many our class may bring in and how the details may be slightly different. The internet has many versions, just make sure it is a story version, not a list.
On your notecard, identify the name of the story, make a claim (this is not a summary, but an opinion.) The best claims make meaning of what you read. Support your claim with evidence (reasons why you think the way you do that come from the story) and make a connection. You may connect to a personal experience, a comparison to another story, a movie, a song, a moment in history, etc.
An example might read like this:
When I read Hercules, I was surprised at how much Disney had changed from the actual Greek myth. I was used to seeing a funny Hercules who was kind of goofy, with sidekicks. In the film, Hades is slick and has two sidekicks who try to trap Hercules. In the real story Hercules suffers so much. He struggles with the twelve labors, but it his relationships with the women in the story that are so tragic. Juno hates him, he kills his first wife and children, and his second wife, in trying to make him love her always, is tricked into poisoning him so badly, he wishes to die, and eventually does. The fates in the Disney version are still very cool though.
Thursday, January 11th: Thank you to the students and parents who stopped in to say hello at open house. Tonight please make sure that you actually have a story and not just a description of a character. Please do not forget to write a notecard after you have finished your reading. Each class had different selections they could choose from:
1st period could choose the stories of Kronos or the Twelve Labors of Hercules.
2nd period could choose the stories of Perseus or the Twelve Labors of Hercules.
3rd period could choose the story of Theseus or the Twelve Labors of Hercules.
Don't forget that tomorrow we will take our first vocabulary quiz. The quizlet is posted on a separate page for your convenience.
Friday, January 12th: Reflecting on the week, can you answer the following questions? If so, you should feel good, that you are on track going in to next week. If not, go back and review your notes and/or "bank" a Greek or Roman myth to know well.
Notecard for tonight: Follow the same four steps--title of the work, claim, evidence, connection--as you read the Norse myth about the origin of the world and the death of Balder.
Tuesday, January 16th: Parents, everyone chose a book today, which you should see your student reading. Write your notecard on a chapter of the book you selected today. Use the formula for a notecard, but make sure to add an author since you have one. Make your claim based on what you think the central idea for one of your chapters is. Use your notes describing theme to help you. Support with evidence and make a connection.
Wednesday, January 17th: This week we are aiming for two main objectives, that we understand how to identify, write, and support a thesis, like we practiced together and you wrote yesterday in your notecard. The second is to understand plot. Plot is the sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story. Don't confuse plot with the events of the story. Plot is not what happens in the story; it is the way that those events are structured. Some plots happen in order while other stories are told using flashbacks or foreshadowing, both of which either tell parts of the story from the past, or hint at events that are going to happen.
With Mrs. Brannan last year, you looked at the classic structure of a plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
- One famous poet, Lord Byron wrote that Prometheus's "only crime was to be kind." How could you prove this to be true--or false?
- What is the difference between myth and mythology?
- What is an allusion? Can you explain the allusions "Achilles hell" and "Pandora's box"?
- What do the names Prometheus and Epimetheus mean?
- Who were the first most powerful gods?
- What happened to overthrow the old gods? Who was the leader of the new gods?
- On what mountain did the new gods live?
- Which two myths did you read? Do you know them well? Could you state its central idea or theme?
- If given a myth you had never seen before, could you draw out a theme from it?
Notecard for tonight: Follow the same four steps--title of the work, claim, evidence, connection--as you read the Norse myth about the origin of the world and the death of Balder.
Tuesday, January 16th: Parents, everyone chose a book today, which you should see your student reading. Write your notecard on a chapter of the book you selected today. Use the formula for a notecard, but make sure to add an author since you have one. Make your claim based on what you think the central idea for one of your chapters is. Use your notes describing theme to help you. Support with evidence and make a connection.
Wednesday, January 17th: This week we are aiming for two main objectives, that we understand how to identify, write, and support a thesis, like we practiced together and you wrote yesterday in your notecard. The second is to understand plot. Plot is the sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story. Don't confuse plot with the events of the story. Plot is not what happens in the story; it is the way that those events are structured. Some plots happen in order while other stories are told using flashbacks or foreshadowing, both of which either tell parts of the story from the past, or hint at events that are going to happen.
With Mrs. Brannan last year, you looked at the classic structure of a plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
This year we are going to look at a specific type of plot structure called the hero's journey. The good news is that you already know it. If you pause to think, you have seen this pattern since you were a child. Disney movies use this pattern, seasons of a t.v. or Netflix series also often use this structure too. Take a look. For your notecard today, watch the video and then look at the beginning steps of the Hero's Journey as I posted below. After you have read your book, select one of the steps on the hero's journey that you see in your book. Notice that the hero's journey is set up and moves like a clock. On your notecard, connect how one of the steps of the hero's journey applies to the novel or book you are reading. If you are one of the students who has a history book or the history atlas, consider how even history can fit one of the steps. I may ask a few questions (quiz) about the video tomorrow.
Thursday, January 18: The hero's journey is all about how the hero changes through the course of the journey. How does your hero start out? For example, think about how the author describes the hero, how the character speaks, how others speak of him or her, or how others respond to the hero. Usually at the beginning, the hero has something special, but is held back by something--a situation, a fear, etc. Can you imagine what sort of challenges your hero may need to face in order to be strong enough to save the community? Write your notecard after considering what kind of hero is developing in your story.
If you are reading a history book, consider these questions for a story that you know well, make a note of it on your notecard, then write about the book you are reading.
Vocabulary quiz tomorrow
Friday, January 19: Today, test how well you understand the hero's journey pattern. A pattern that is repeated in many cultures throughout many time periods is important. Understanding a pattern, or archetype, that is repeated in all cultures, although for different purposes and in different ways, is crucial.
Like I said in class, choose a novel, movie, or story you know well and chart the steps of the story drawing out the image above or in your notes. You may do this on your notecard. Then choose four of the steps to apply the step and describe how it applies to your story. Keep reading your book. The image below, from Idea Sandbox, describes the steps a bit more, since fourth period our time was cut short. Notice that although the steps are sometimes called by a different name, their meanings are essentially the same. Sometimes the order of the steps may be shifted, but this shows the flexibility of the story form. Make sure to adapt the pattern to your story.
If you are reading a history book, consider these questions for a story that you know well, make a note of it on your notecard, then write about the book you are reading.
Vocabulary quiz tomorrow
Friday, January 19: Today, test how well you understand the hero's journey pattern. A pattern that is repeated in many cultures throughout many time periods is important. Understanding a pattern, or archetype, that is repeated in all cultures, although for different purposes and in different ways, is crucial.
Like I said in class, choose a novel, movie, or story you know well and chart the steps of the story drawing out the image above or in your notes. You may do this on your notecard. Then choose four of the steps to apply the step and describe how it applies to your story. Keep reading your book. The image below, from Idea Sandbox, describes the steps a bit more, since fourth period our time was cut short. Notice that although the steps are sometimes called by a different name, their meanings are essentially the same. Sometimes the order of the steps may be shifted, but this shows the flexibility of the story form. Make sure to adapt the pattern to your story.
.Monday, January 22: Make sure you are reading and writing a notecard on your book tonight. Tomorrow we will head to the library.
Tuesday, January 23: Ready your book and write your notecard.
Wednesday, January 24: Your notecard tonight is student's choice. You may write about the story we read in class today, integrating the ways we prepared to read with your thoughts on the story itself, or you may read your book and write about that. Either way, make sure you continue to read your book. Vocabulary Quiz Friday
Thursday, January 25: A parable is a short, allegorical story that teaches a moral or religious lesson about life. It differs from a fable in that fables employ plants, animals, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters.
Compare and contrast "The Three Questions" by Leo Tolstoy and "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer. Why would these two writers use the parable form or elements of the fairy tale? What purpose do they serve? Are they effective? Why or why not? Support your claim with evidence.
Friday, January 26: Notecard tonight on your book. Make sure to name your book and author in your claim, and add a quote as evidence. After the quote give the page number where you found your quote. Next week, on Wednesday, we will take our first test. Make sure to review here. These are the information, but make sure you know how to use it. Most of the stories that we have read are short. If there is one that you do not know well, go back and reread it. I will also be asking that you demonstrate how to make a claim, write a theme, and be able to use the hero's journey on a story you may not have seen before. Everyday you have written a notecard you have practiced how to write and support a claim.
Tuesday, January 23: Ready your book and write your notecard.
Wednesday, January 24: Your notecard tonight is student's choice. You may write about the story we read in class today, integrating the ways we prepared to read with your thoughts on the story itself, or you may read your book and write about that. Either way, make sure you continue to read your book. Vocabulary Quiz Friday
Thursday, January 25: A parable is a short, allegorical story that teaches a moral or religious lesson about life. It differs from a fable in that fables employ plants, animals, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters.
Compare and contrast "The Three Questions" by Leo Tolstoy and "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer. Why would these two writers use the parable form or elements of the fairy tale? What purpose do they serve? Are they effective? Why or why not? Support your claim with evidence.
Friday, January 26: Notecard tonight on your book. Make sure to name your book and author in your claim, and add a quote as evidence. After the quote give the page number where you found your quote. Next week, on Wednesday, we will take our first test. Make sure to review here. These are the information, but make sure you know how to use it. Most of the stories that we have read are short. If there is one that you do not know well, go back and reread it. I will also be asking that you demonstrate how to make a claim, write a theme, and be able to use the hero's journey on a story you may not have seen before. Everyday you have written a notecard you have practiced how to write and support a claim.
Monday, January 29: Students and parents, I have updated your journal grade. Since this is early in the semester and there will not be any major grades entered until after Wednesday when you take your Mythology Test, journal grades made an impact. Many grades are soaring, so study for the test so that you can "keep" that grade. I will be calling parents of students who are not regularly reading and turning in notecards. If you see that a grade is less than 100% for notecards, it means that something is missing, either in the amount of notecards (most likely), or in writing very little or the same thing several days in a row.
Texts we have read that may appear on your test:
Greek and Roman Mythology: Kronos and the origin of the world and gods of Mt. Olympus, Prometheus and the gift of fire, Pandora's Box, the stories of the heroes Hercules, Perseus, and Theseus, Odysseus and the Helios's cattle
Norse Mythology: The origin of the world and the death of Baldur
Leo Tolstoy "The Three Questions"
Nadine Gordimer "Once upon a Time"
Homework: Write a notecard with the refined criteria we went over today. If you were not able to finish your TPEQEA, here is a link to the TPEQEA steps and to the story, "The Indian Cinderella" by Cyrus Macmillan.
Texts we have read that may appear on your test:
Greek and Roman Mythology: Kronos and the origin of the world and gods of Mt. Olympus, Prometheus and the gift of fire, Pandora's Box, the stories of the heroes Hercules, Perseus, and Theseus, Odysseus and the Helios's cattle
Norse Mythology: The origin of the world and the death of Baldur
Leo Tolstoy "The Three Questions"
Nadine Gordimer "Once upon a Time"
Homework: Write a notecard with the refined criteria we went over today. If you were not able to finish your TPEQEA, here is a link to the TPEQEA steps and to the story, "The Indian Cinderella" by Cyrus Macmillan.
Tuesday, January 30: Make sure to study for your test tomorrow. Check to make sure you can use the literary terms. If you want to read and write a notecard tonight, do so and you can use it any time this week. You will be ahead one day. If you need to just study, just study, and start your reading back tomorrow.