April 14 & 15: Brave New World Day 1

• Students began Brave New World today.
• Chapter reading assignments can be found on the calendars at the top of individual blog sites. Chapters assigned on a specific day are expected to be finished before the next class. Quizzes can be expected.
• Students were put into groups according to the caste system found in Brave New World: Alpha-Plus, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. (There are actually only 5 castes, but "plus" and "minus" are parts of those casts. I have used the Alpha-Plus so the class will have 6 smaller groups instead of 5 larger ones)
• Group Folders:
  *On the outside, write your caste name (Alpha, etc.) and class period.
  *On the inside, write your names
  *There is a glossary of terms and 2 copies of a PowerPoint in your folder. You will add additional handouts to the folder that your group will share. If you want copies, you will have to make them yourselves.
  *As you read today’s PowerPoints and the book, jot down characteristics of your “caste.”
  *You will eventually decorate the folder to symbolize your caste.
• Pre-Reading assignment using PowerPoints inside the folders (each caste has a different PowerPoint). (1st period should choose someone from their group to post their 8 questions as a comment to this post. Due Friday, 11:59pm)
  *Highlight information about
  *Events in the author’s life that might have influenced his works
  *Themes of Brave New World
  *Information you, as a group, deem important to know before reading.
  *Answer as many of the pre-reading questions on the handout as you can at this point.
  *Create one question that begins with each of the following
  *Who, what, when, where
  *Create two questions that begin with each of the following
  *Why, how
• Students read Chapter 1 aloud in class.
• Vocabulary Assignment: Define the first 7 words (give multiple definitions when possible) Links to definitions are posted in this entry.
  **Find a logical relationship between at least 3 words.
  **For example: Putrefy means to rot or decay; acrid means sharp or biting to the taste or smell; rank means highly offensive and disgusting. These 3 words all have something to do with "yuckiness."

HOMEWORK:

Vocabulary, Read Chapter 2.

Vocabulary 1-7

• Define the first 7 words (Give multiple definitions when possible. Links to definitions are below.)
• Find a logical relationship between at least 3 words.
• For example: Putrefy means to rot or decay; acrid means sharp or biting to the taste or smell; rank means highly offensive and disgusting. These 3 words all have something to do with _________________________ .
  
  burgeon
  
  carapace
  
  chronic
  
  decanted
  
  fulminate
  
  hypnopaedia
  
  fulminate

Romantic Poetry Project

DUE: 1st period on April 1. 4th period on April 2. No part of this project will be accepted after spring break!

PART 1: Romantic Poet and Romantic Poetry Analysis. (1st Quiz Grade)
Instructions:

• Choose one (or two) of the following Romantic Poets: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats.
• Find and read a biography of the poet. Fill out the poet information in the “Poet Fact Sheet” PowerPoint found on the Y-Drive “Romantic Poetry” folder. Find a picture of the poet, and insert it on the second slide. (You may not use Wikipedia for the biography or picture.) On the third slide, create an MLA formatted bibliography for the source(s) used.
• Find, print, and read 2 poems by that poet. (If you choose 2 poets, choose one poem by each.) Analyze each poem for the specific literary elements on the analysis sheet. Then analyze it for characteristics of Romantic poetry. Fill in the chart accordingly. (Not all squares will be filled in, but the majority should be.)
• Find or create at least 3 images for each poem. If you find the images on the Internet, you must create a bibliography for them. Present the images creatively on an 8x11 piece of paper.

PART 2: Peep Diorama (2nd Quiz Grade)

Information: The Washington Post is currently sponsoring its third annual “Peeps Diorama Contest.” Peeps are those disgustingly sweet bunnies and chicks that make their way onto grocers’ shelves shortly after the stale Valentines are discarded. You will follow the rules of The Washington Post’s competition. You may do this assignment individually or in pairs.

Instructions:

• You will be randomly assigned a scene from “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. You will find (online) and read a biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
• Create a diorama to illustrate the assigned scene from “Kubla Khan” and creatively incorporate an event from Coleridge’s life into that scene. (You may not choose the story we read in class about how Coleridge came to write “Kubla Khan.”)
• Diorama MUST be in a shoebox or comparably sized box (12x5x7).
• The diorama must be decorated to create the “setting” for the scene of the poem.
• An event from Coleridge’s life must be creatively incorporated into the diorama.
• ALL characters must be played by PEEPS (bunnies or chicks).
• Title must include deftly (cleverly) applied PUNS. (A pun is the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words. In other words, you need to incorporate the word “peep(s)” into your title.)
• A title for the scene MUST be clearly displayed on the diorama.
• Grading will be based on creativity, effort, and accurate depiction of the event & poem.
• I MUST be able to determine your scene by looking at the diorama.
• Presentations will be no more than 2 minutes. You will explain the specifics of your scene, using quotes from the poem. You will also explain the event in Coleridge’s life that you incorporated into the scene.

March 25: 4th period

Students finished watching GATTACA.
Students were given the following assignment:
"Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
•Read the note on the first page.
•Read the poem – draw images/scene as you read. Read again.
•Analyzing Literature Worksheet – complete this.
•“Xanadu” by Rush – identify imagery in song
–If you work in groups, you still have to complete the work on your own handout.
•Turn in Friday.

We will be in lab 317 on Friday!

Romantic Poetry: March 23, 24

Journal: "Romantic" – Write a paragraph response to the question "What does it mean to call something Romantic?"

Romanticism Notes: coincides with the "age of revolutions" – American, French, Industrial

• Definition: Romanticism refers to a movement in art, literature, and music during the 19th century.
• Romanticism is characterized by the 5 "I"s
  Imagination
  Intuition
  Idealism
  Inspiration
  Individuality
• Imagination was emphasized over "reason."
  This was a backlash against the rationalism characterized by the Neoclassical period or "Age of Reason."
  Imagination was considered necessary for creating all art.
  British writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it "intellectual intuition."
• Intuition
  Romantics placed value on "intuition," or feeling and instincts, over reason.
  Emotions were important in Romantic art.
  British Romantic William Wordsworth described poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings."
• Idealism is the concept that we can make the world a better place.
  Idealism refers to any theory that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter – thought has a crucial role in making the world the way it is.
  Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, held that the mind forces the world we perceive to take the shape of space-and-time.
• Inspiration
  The Romantic artist, musician, or writer, is an "inspired creator" rather than a "technical master."
  What this means is "going with the moment" or being spontaneous, rather than "getting it precise."
• Individuality
  Romantics celebrated the individual.
  During this time period, Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were taking root as major movements.
  Walt Whitman, a later Romantic writer, would write a poem entitled "Song of Myself": it begins, "I celebrate myself…"
• Origins
  Romanticism began to take root as a movement following the French Revolution.
  The publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1792 is considered the beginning of literary Romanticism.
• Basic Concepts of Romanticism
  1.The connection of poetry to the poet
  2.Poetic spontaneity and freedom
  3.The glorification of the commonplace
  4.The supernatural, “strangeness of beauty”Poetic spontaneity and freedom
• 1. Poetry and the Poet
  The poem is completely self-originating, flowing from the poet’s experience
  Poet’s feelings and emotions are of the utmost importance, not subject or audience.
  The poem is an attempt to express the inner-self of the poet, not to critique the outside world.
• 2. Poetic Freedom
  The poem is not something to be crafted over much time.
  "The spontaneous flow of emotions"
  More structural freedom than in the past (however, sonnets and standardized forms are still common)
  Inspiration and capture of a single moment
• 3. Glorification of the Common
  Many of the themes of the romantics are rural, rustic, everyday life
  The common man is lifted up, the simple life is revered.
  This move affirms the individual, who in all urban parts of England was being exploited and mistreated.
• 4. Strangeness in Beauty
  The supernatural or imaginative is often involved (Coleridge)
  Different concepts of beauty
• General Features of Romantic Poetry
  References to nature
  Intimate self-revelations of the poets
  Direct expressions of emotions
  Imagery reflects a careful attention to concrete particulars
  Setting is often the remote past
• Romantics often use visionary images
  Ancient legends
  Dream visions
  Imagined scenes
  Elemental images like fire, water, clouds, forests
• Wordsworth’s theory of poetry:
  Poetry should be about common people and events and should be written in the language of ordinary men and women.
• Historical Context of Romantic Poets
  Remember the context in which they wrote in order to understand their disdain for the new fast-paced modern world. Answer these:
  (A) How might they have been disillusioned by the industrial revolution?
  (B) Why would this cause them to romanticize the past?
  (C) Make a comparison with today. Do you know people who are fed up with the fast-paced life we follow, with the ever-changing technology, etc? Explain.
• "Kubla Khan"by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1st period only, March 24)
  Read Coleridge’s note. Below, write a few sentences summarizing this note.
  (anodyne: pain reliever, opiate or narcotic)
  Close your eyes and listen to the poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK5EcMxuQzk
  Now draw images from the poem, continue listening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSNpOk7JZAk
  Now read along with the poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fhhrGCMxm0
  Which of these versions do you prefer? Why?
• Imagery: language that appeals to the senses
  Analyzing Literature Worksheet
  "Xanadu" by Rush – identify imagery in song
  If you work in groups, you still have to complete the work on your own handout.
  Turn in when finished.
• Romantic Poets (4th period only, March 23) (page 621)Take a look at these poets (biographies, poems) and think about which you would like to study closely.
  William Blake (p. 606, we will consider him a Romantic poet)
  William Wordsworth
  Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  Lord Byron (George Gordon)
  Percy Bysshe Shelley
  John Keats

Survey for Extra Credit

•Take this quia survey to replace a zero (daily grade only). Due by Tuesday, March 10
•Please answer all questions seriously.
•http://www.quia.com/sv/274259.html

Survey

Please take this survey regarding reading a novel as a class.
http://www.quia.com/sv/274259.html