Tuesday, March 26 Prezis continue Wright video

In class: we are continuing with the Prezi presentations
Wednesday, March 27- vocabulary quiz ...matching
If you are absent, please make sure to watch this short clip on Richard Wright.
Black Boy due the Monday after break. Don't forget the graphic organizer

http://newsreel.org/video/RICHARD-WRIGHT-black-BOY

Born outside Natchez, Mississippi in 1908, Wright overcame a childhood of poverty and oppression to become one of America's most influential writers. His first major works, Native Son and Black Boy, were runaway best sellers which are still mainstays of high school and college literature and composition classes. According to critic Irving Howe, "The day Native Son appeared American culture was changed forever."

Monday, March 25 Prezis; collecting Black Boy

Due at the beginning of class: 10 sentences from the vocabulary that was handed out on Friday, if you have not previously turned it in and your Prezi outlines.
In class: drawing lots for the presentations.
              Collecting Richard Wright's Black Boy from the library. This is independent reading. You will have a content test on Monday, April 8 at the start of class. We will review the text the Monday and Tuesday after the break.   As well, you will turn in your graphic organizer for the text. handout in class / copy below.

Wednesday, March 27- vocabulary quiz
BACKGROUND READING FOR RICHARD WRIGHT'S BLACK BOY

 "http://www.gradesaver.com/black-boy/study-guide/about/"Tao, Andrea. "Black Boy Background". GradeSaver, 23 June 2000 Web. 24 March 2013.

Recently named among the top 25 non-fiction works of the century, Richard Wright's Black Boy  has made a strong impact on American literature with its strong commentary on the cultural, political, racial, religious, and social issues of 20th century American society. Critics often describe the novel as a superb example of subtlety-crafted narrative describing Wright's journey into adulthood. Many critics question as to whether the book should be considered pure autobiography, particularly because they doubt the accuracy of Wright's recollection as well as because of its novelistic style. But it is agreed that the book monumentalizes an important piece of American, as well as African-American, history.

Black Boy celebrates Wright's talent for narrative in its description of the brutal South from the black perspective between 1900 and 1945. Perhaps not meant to be a social commentary, Black Boy has nevertheless become an integral piece of African-American literature, dealing with the prejudices of Jim Crow laws and the unity of the black community. Wright criticizes black culture for not providing a strong foundation for its race, but place hope in the idea that African-Americans will overcome and defeat racism. Wright is able to depict being a black male in an oppressive society by selecting symbolic moment from his own life, drawing insights from his own personal experience.
More true, however, is that Black Boy is able to transcend what appears at first glance to be a novel from a limited perspective ? that of the black male in American society. Rather, Wright discusses a universal existence by discussing religion, intellectual hunger, and basic human emotion. Many have even described Wright's analytic style as metaphysical, with his discussion of ghosts and dreams.
Published in 1945, Black Boy has become a celebrated document of prejudice in the South and struggle in the North for African Americans, as well as a depiction of Richard Wright's version of the "American Dream."

Richard Wright’s Black Boy     graphic organizer…due Monday, April 8 (first day back from break)

Per the introductory material on the blog from Monday, March 25, I would like you to focus on the universal themes of existence by discussing religion, intellectual hunger, and basic human emotion.  As you read the novel, jot down five textual examples of each, noting the page numbers. We’ll use your material in class.

Religion	1   2.   3.   4.   5.
Intellectual Hunger	1.   2.   3.   4.   5.
Basic human emotions	1.   2.   3.   4.   5.

 

Friday, March 22, Ethan Frome vocabulary

http://www.fairygodmothersrochester.com/

scha·den·freu·de

/ˈʃɑdnˌfrɔɪdə/ Show Spelled [shahd-n-froi-duh]    

noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

---

Origin:
1890–95; < German, equivalent to Schaden harm + Freude joy

When was there an instance in Ethan Frome, when Zeena felt schadenfreude? 

Due this Monday, March 25: outline and Prezi.
The "smash-up"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhXCRgvs1gg

In class: Choose 10 of the following words and construct a sentence that from its context the meaning of the word may be implied.

For example:  Her venemous tongue spouted sardonic words meant to demean the love he had just professed.
 Note: we'll have a matching vocabulary quiz next Tuesday on these...and it will include schadenfreude.
Ethan Frome Vocabulary Words

1.  sardonic: adj. Scornfully or cynically mocking; sarcastic.

2.   colloquial: adj.  1. Characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks

                            the effect of speech; informal.  2. Relating to conversation; conversational.

3.    innocuous: adj. 1. Having no adverse effect; harmless. 2. Not likely to offend or provoke to strong

                        emotion; insipid.

4.  reticent: adj. 1. Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself;

                              restrained

                           or reserved in style. 3. Reluctant; unwilling.

5. poignant: adj.  Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings: poignant anxiety; profoundly moving;  touching: a poignant memory.

6. wraith:  n. 1. An apparition of a living person that appears as a portent just before that person's

                            death. 2. The ghost of a dead person. 3. Something shadowy and insubstantial.

7. wistful:  adj. 1. Full of wishful yearning. 2. Pensively sad; melancholy.

8. undulation: n. 1. A regular rising and falling or movement to alternating sides; movement in waves.

9. tenuous:  adj. 1. Long and thin; slender: tenuous strands. 2. Having a thin consistency; dilute;   

          having little substance; flimsy: a tenuous argument.

10. throng: n. 1. A large group of people gathered or crowded closely together; a multitude.

                throngs  v.tr.  1. To crowd into; fill: commuters thronging the subway platform.2. To press in  

                    to gather, press, or move in a throng.

11. vex:   (verb) 1. To annoy, as with petty importunities; bother. 2. To cause perplexity in; puzzle.

12. laden:  adj. 1. Weighed down with a load; heavy: "the warmish air, laden with the rains of those

               thousands of miles of western sea" Hilaire Belloc.  2. Oppressed; burdened: laden with grief.

13. preclude:  1. To make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent. 2. To exclude or prevent (someone) from a given condition or activity: Modesty precludes me from accepting the honor.

14. succumb: (verb) 1. To submit to an overpowering force or yield to an overwhelming desire; give up or give in. 2. To die.

15. foist:  (verb) 1. To pass off as genuine, valuable, or worthy: "I can usually tell whether a poet . . . is foisting off on us what he'd like to think is pure invention" J.D. Salinger.

    2. To impose (something or someone unwanted) upon another by coercion or trickery: They had extra work foisted on them because they couldn't say no to the boss. 3. To insert fraudulently or deceitfully: foisted unfair provisions into the contract.

Thursday, March 21.library writing

Due next Monday, March 25: outline and Prezi

In class. As I said earlier in the week, I am at an all-day workshop. If you have questions, please send an e-mail. I'll be checking it during the day.

You are in the library. This is your assignment. In a well-written essay in which you use two-detailed examples from the novel Ethan Frome, consisting of a minimum of 200 words, respond to the following:

Does the tragedy result from circumstances which the characters have no control over or from avoidable errors in judgment ?

(ways to think about the tragedy: literally, metaphorically, societally and under the umbrella of Naturalism (heredity and environment).

Wed, March 20 Ethan Frome discussion

Due next Monday, March 25: outline and Prezi.
In class; discussion day- circle time- we will talk about character qualities, as well as apply the hierarchy of needs to Mattie, Ethan and Zeena.

Thursday: in library lab. I am at a workshop. You will have a reflective writing piece that will be due at the end of class.

Character Prompts     

1.       A sense of arrival

2.       A sense of belonging

3.       A sense of satisfaction

4.       A sense of dissatisfaction  with themselves

5.       A sense of dissatisfaction with others.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow (1954) presents a hierarchy of needs model which can be divided into basic (or deficiency) needs (e.g. physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and growth needs (cognitive, aesthetics and self-actualization).
One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.
Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs

Tues, March 19. Ethan Frome Hierachy of Needs

Due next Monday, March 25: outline and Prezi.
Wednesday: discussion day
Thursday: in library lab. I am at a workshop. You will have a reflective writing piece that will be due at the end of class.
Due today: graphic organizer based on assigned character from yesterday and your having finished the novel.
Quick write: Describe in detail the "smash up".
  In class work: we are reviewing your responses from yesterday.

Character Prompts      Using your text, please respond to the following as it applies to one of the characters,  using textual details from the novel.  You will randomly select one. Remember to think beyond the literal! Your responses will not necessarily be the same as anyone else’s.

1.       A sense of arrival

2.       A sense of belonging

3.       A sense of satisfaction

4.       A sense of dissatisfaction  with themselves

5.       A sense of dissatisfaction with others.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow (1954) presents a hierarchy of needs model which can be divided into basic (or deficiency) needs (e.g. physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and growth needs (cognitive, aesthetics and self-actualization).
One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.
Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs.
In class: Ethan Frome was to be completed today. Quick write.
              Applying Maslow's Hierachy of Need to Ethan Frome's characters. What obstacles would have hindered their development?

Monday, March 18 Ethan Frome through chapter 7

Quick writes missing from Friday:  Sierra, Jamichael- see me today to make this up.

Due today, March 18: you were to have read through page 128, chapter 7...yup, content quiz

Please turn in your graphic organizer from last Thursday's class. Those of you who completed more than page 1 will receive extra credit. Anyone who turns in nothing will receive the corresponding grade.

Homework for Tuesday, March 19- finish novel.

Prezi due on Monday, March 25. If you have misplaced the handout, all the information is available on Wednesday's blog. If you need a pass to work in the library, see me soon! Remember that, although everyone will obviously not be able to present on Monday, everyone will turn in an outline that follows the presentation. This will include your essential question, your thesis statement / controlling idea for each point you are making, textual evidence for each part and the image you have put in. You may have more, but not less.

In class: we are working with character prompts today. You are responsible to complete this for Ethan, if youare not in class. participation grade.

Character Prompts      Using your text, please respond to the following as it applies to one of the characters,  using textual details from the novel.  You will randomly select one. Remember to think beyond the literal! Your responses will not necessarily be the same as anyone else’s.

1.       A sense of arrival

2.       A sense of belonging

3.       A sense of satisfaction

4.       A sense of dissatisfaction  with themselves

5.       A sense of dissatisfaction with others.

Thursday, March 14

In class: content quiz through chapter 3

graphic organizer on tone

Homework for Friday, March 15: please read through page 87,  chapter 4- again, expect a quiz

Homework for Monday, March 18: read through page 128, chapter 7...yup, content quiz

Homework for Tuesday, March 19- finish novel.

Prezi Presentation.

DUE MONDAY, March 25
Although you may not be presenting that day, everyone is responsible for turning in his or her outline.

 

You were to have read through chapter 3. For this exercise we are focusing on the literary element of tone, which is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject. Wharton varies her tone over the course of the text, which is created by specific language, imagery, details, diction and syntax.  For each of the chapters, find a textual example that supports each of the following. (Note that you have a separate sheet for each chapter)

Chapter 1

Language	the overall use of language, such as formal, informal, clinical, jargon, etc.
Images	vivid appeals to understanding through the senses  Note: identify the sense.
Details	Facts that are included, or those that are omitted
Diction*	the connotation of the word of choice (what may be inferred
Sentence Structure	how the structure affects the reader’s attitude (syntax, that is word order. )
Tone	Speaker’s attitude toward the subject

·         Ideas to consider when analyzing diction

monosyllabic  / polysyllabic

colloquial / informal / formal

denotative / connotative

concrete / abstract

euphonious / cacophonous

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton  

You were to have read through chapter 3. For this exercise we are focusing on the literary element of tone, which is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject. Wharton varies her tone over the course of the text, which is created by specific language, imagery, details, diction and syntax.  For each of the chapters, find a textual example that supports each of the following. (Note that you have a separate sheet for each chapter)

Chapter 2

Language	the overall use of language, such as formal, informal, clinical, jargon, etc.
Images	vivid appeals to understanding through the senses  Note: identify the sense.
Details	Facts that are included, or those that are omitted
Diction*	the connotation of the word of choice (what may be inferred
Sentence Structure	how the structure affects the reader’s attitude (syntax, that is word order. )
Tone	Speaker’s attitude toward the subject

·         Ideas to consider when analyzing diction

monosyllabic  / polysyllabic

colloquial / informal / formal

denotative / connotative

concrete / abstract

euphonious / cacophonous

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton  

You were to have read through chapter 3. For this exercise we are focusing on the literary element of tone, which is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject. Wharton varies her tone over the course of the text, which is created by specific language, imagery, details, diction and syntax.  For each of the chapters, find a textual example that supports each of the following. (Note that you have a separate sheet for each chapter)

Chapter 3

Language	the overall use of language, such as formal, informal, clinical, jargon, etc.
Images	vivid appeals to understanding through the senses  Note: identify the sense.
Details	Facts that are included, or those that are omitted
Diction*	the connotation of the word of choice (what may be inferred
Sentence Structure	how the structure affects the reader’s attitude (syntax, that is word order. )
Tone	Speaker’s attitude toward the subject

·         Ideas to consider when analyzing diction

monosyllabic  / polysyllabic

colloquial / informal / formal

denotative / connotative

concrete / abstract

euphonious / cacophonous