Thursday, 10/1/15: Breaking Out Briefly to Weave in the Wiser

* Open

• Vote for your King and Queen

• Mitigate (verb)
• to lessen in severity or harshness; to moderate
• Latin: mitis "gentle, soft"  + root of agere "do, make, act"
• Examples (copy either one):

"When we protect children from every possible source of danger, we also prevent them from having the kinds of experiences that develop their sense of self-reliance, their ability to assess and mitigate risk, and their sense of accomplishment." -- Gever Tulley

"There is no dealing with great sorrow as if it were under the control of our wills. It is a terrible phenomenon, whose laws we must study, and to whose conditions we must submit, if we would mitigate it." -- Joseph Le Fanu

Now create your own example with an opening clause or phrase.

Today, we need some Chesterton before we go on.




Period 6 and 7 Only

Journal: Sir Gawain and the Jolly Knight (G. K. Chesterton)

• First:  Some people think that we should not read tales like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because such fiction fills our minds with false fears, superstitions, or lies.  Let's read a bit by G.K. Chesterton on fairy tales. 
• Questions from fairy tales
• 1.  Chesterton is saying that fairy tales (such as SGGK) are ________ for children to read (choose one)
• a. bad
• b. fine, ok
• c. good 
• d. very good

• 2.  Defend your answer above with three examples.  

• Second:  Consider Chesterton's thoughts on fragments.
• 3.  What are the chief problems with staring blankly at others?
• 4.  What is the chief problem with modernity or the modern world?
• 5.  (Based on your answer in #4.)  Find of a subject, school of thought, or aspect of modern life that seems to have gotten fragmented from the larger picture, and that fragmented version of what once was more whole and wholesome is proving now to be hurtful or inhumane? Explain.
• 6. How does staring blankly at something relate to fragments and wholeness?  Why would he open an essay on fragments that way?  How might "staring blankly at things" be a way of redeeming ourselves or the world for a more humane life?
• 7. Remember, in Part II of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Gawain's virtues are fold-five held in balance--one cannot dominate the others?  How does Chesterton's idea about fragments relate to Gawain?  What does the conclusion of Sir Gawain (end of Part III and Part IV) mean for the balance of his virtues?

HW: Come to 1940 Bonita Ave., in Aptos tonight at 6pm!  You will receive class credit (or you may attend another literary event of your choice over the next few weeks, or enter a contest).   

Wednesday, 9/30/15: Now You Can All Come to Our Chesterton Meeting On Thursday, No?

* Open

• Per. 1; I need to check your note cards. 

ignominious (adj.) 

• disgraceful, shameful, contemptible

Etymology:

• from Latin ignominia "loss of a (good) name" 
• in- "not, opposite of" 
• nomen "name"

Examples (copy #1):
1. Crucifixion was an ancient mode of capital punishment considered especially ignominious to the Romans.  

2. "I was cleaning out the pigsty at a farm in Wales, where my mother had rented a room, when the results of my final school exam were handed to me by the postman, along with the news that I had a state scholarship to Oxford. I had waited for this letter for so many weeks that I had abandoned hope, deciding that I had failed ignominiously."  -- Nina Bawden

Now, create your own sentence (with an introductory phrase or clause).

* Homework Update (due to the SAT; email sent)

SGGK

• Part III Scenes

* Read and Annotate Part IV

HW: Read and Annotate Part IV

Tuesday, 9/29/15

* Open

• Extricate
• P.O.S.: verb
• Definition: to free or release from entanglement
• Etymology: Latin extricatus, past participle of extricare "disentangle," figuratively "clear up, unravel," perhaps from ex- "out of" + tricae (plural) "perplexities, hindrances," which is of unknown origin. Related: Extricated; extricating. 
• "The idea that an author can extricate her or his own ongoing life experience from the tale being written is a conceit of very little worth."  -- Steven Erikson
  

  
  Now please create your own sentence (with an opening clause or phrase)

 * SGGK

• Your Notes
• Mine

HW: SGGK Part III (2/2)

G. K. Chesterton on Fairy Tales (excerpted from "The Red Angel" in _Tremendous Trifles_)

I find that there really are human beings who think fairy tales bad for children. A lady has written me an earnest letter saying that fairy tales ought not to be taught to children even if they are true. She says that it is cruel to tell children fairy tales, because it frightens them. You might just as well say that it is cruel to give girls sentimental novels because it makes them cry. All this kind of talk is based on that complete forgetting of what a child is like which has been the firm foundation of so many educational schemes. If you keep bogies and goblins away from children they would make them up for themselves. One small child in the dark can invent more hells than Swedenborg [popularizer of Spiritualism, the seance fad]. One small child can imagine monsters too big and black to get into any picture, and give them names too unearthly and cacophonous to have occurred in the cries of any lunatic. The child, to begin with, commonly likes horrors, and he continues to indulge in them even when he does not like them. There is just as much difficulty in saying exactly where pure pain begins in his case, as there is in ours when we walk of our own free will into the torture-chamber of a great tragedy. The fear does not come from fairy tales; the fear comes from the universe of the soul.

Monday, 9/28/15

* Open

• Test yer wits!  The picture below illustrates a word from your terms. 
• Any idea?

* Review the Week

• Thursday Night, 6pm, 1940 Bonita Ave. for a Whale of a Time = ). 
• College Essay RD
• College Essay #2 FD
• Sir Gawain
• Chesterton

* Allay 

• Part of speech: verb
• Definition: to mitigate; make less severe; soothe; moderate
• Etymology: Middle English aleyen; Old English ālecgan, to put down
• Quote: Montesquieu wrote, 'There's no sorrow that an hour's reading does not allay."
• Sentence creation: 
• Because it's good to be reminded how to open with a phrase or dependent clause, please do so this week to allay Mr. Schwager's grammar fears.

*Review Part II

• Your annotations
• Some of mine

* Begin Part III (Sir Gawain Annotations)

HW: Finish Reading and Annotating Part III

Block Day, Week 6: Writing Wonders

* Open

• Review until the bell rings

* Quest 2

* Open Prompt ICE #2 (50 min.)

• 50% AP Rubric
• 40% Thesis Excellence: Underline your thesis.
• 10% Two different types of sentences, labelled
• Either keep today's essay or replace the essay in your class folder on the table. 

* Read and annotate (at least 20 annotations; at least 10 of the 20 with written notes) Part II of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 

Free Black Silkie Rooster

Hi friends,

Would you like to have a black silkie?  They're really fluffy. 

We have a rooster on our hands (which is illegal in the city limits) and need to find him a home.

Any takers? 

Ours is younger than this, but is basically the same

Wednesday, 9/22/15

* Open

• Review vocabulary and terms weeks 3-6
• Which perspective of literary criticism is most important for our class?  Why?

* Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• Finish your Arthurian Notes (if you have more to take)
• Read Part I of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
•  Consider: compare the style and story of Beowulf's opening to our Gawain poet

HW: Review for the Qu-est for the Holy Grade (weeks 3-6 vocab. and terms, all grammar, Middle-Ages notes, SGGK, part 1 reading)

• Card #2
• Vocabulary through week 6 

Tuesday, 9/22/15

* Open

• Prepare to read a loose sentence from your vocabulary to the class.  

* Journal: Arthurian Legend

• The King returns!  
• Before you read our story, I want you to get a broader feel for Arthurian legend. To do so, you will explore The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester.  You may work together comparing notes, if you wish.
1. Read and note at least five important ideas or facts concerning Arthur, Guinevere, the Fisher King, Gawain (for more info. on the Gawain text, go here), and any one of your choice.
2. Read and note at least one sentence for any three of the six themes and motifs.
3. Read and note at least one sentence of notes on Avalon, Camelot, and two other places of your choice.

 HW: Make Your Second Note Card

Picture Make-Ups

Monday, September 21 -

Picture Make-Up Day- For any students who did not already have their picture taken or anyone who did not like their initial photo.  Students will meet between the A & B building during Flex period (11:20-11:50).  Email was sent to parents on 9/14 with information.

Monday, 9/21/15

* Open

• Answer in your notes:
• By nature of its style, a periodic sentence would generally be which type of sentence (simple, compound, complex)? 
• Explain, briefly. 

If we finish early (for Tuesday):

* Arthurian Legend

• The King returns!  
• Before you read our story, I want you to get a broader feel for Arthurian legend. To do so, you will explore The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester.  You may work together comparing notes, if you wish.
1. Read and note at least five important ideas or facts concerning Arthur, Guinevere, the Fisher King, Gawain (for more info. on the Gawain text, go here), and any two of your choice.
2. Read and note at least one sentence for three of the six themes and motifs.
3. Read and note at least one sentence of notes on Avalon, Camelot, and two other places of your choice.

HW: Make Sure that You Have Finished Vocab. unit 6

Having Google Document/Drive/Classroom Challenges?

2015 Google Classroom Challenges

If your students are unable to access PDF documents in your Google Classroom, there are a few workarounds that may help.

• Have the student download Google Chrome from the app store and access Classroom through the website not through the app.
• Find the document in Classroom, press and hold the document and choose “Open in new tab”

If they still cannot access the document

• Have students delete the Google Classroom and the Google Drive apps.
• Reboot the iPad by holding both buttons until the white apple appears.
• Reinstall both apps from the App Store.

These steps work in the many cases but not all cases.

Block Day, Week 5: Quiz and Such

* Open

• Review your memorization poem

* Quiz

* When you finish, you may look over an example that takes you from thesis to conclusion in steps: Thesis Guide for Walter Mitty.

* Travel To Britain in June with Us

• Video Trailer
• Blog for Info. and Signups 
• Dates: June 6-16, 2015
• Cost $3,500 to $4,000 (depending on whether we go to Scotland) 
• Meeting Next Wednesday (Sept. 23), during lunch in B22

* AP ICE

• 50% AP Rubric
• 40% Thesis Excellence
• 10% Two different types of sentences, labelled

* Begin Your Homework

HW: Annotation Notes for Ch. 2: The Middle Ages (pp. 14-26)

Wednesday, 9/16/15

* Open

• Review The Periodic Sentence
• Copy one example sentence into your notes. 
• Compose one new periodic sentence of your own in your notes. 

* Per. 1, 3...Tolkien; per. 6, 7: thesis

* "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

• Discussion 
• Thesis Guide for Walter Mitty: We Can Review it On Block Day for 20 min. if Earlier Discussions Take us a While

* No extra terms (beside periodic sentence).  Work on the vocabulary (we are now in week 5).

HW: Vocabulary Through Week 5

Optional:

• Review: Bedford: Grammar Basics: Section 65: Sentence Types (near the end of the book) 
• You may bring any printed (on paper) note card that you wish for Beowulf or summer your reading. 
• Extra Credit Opportunity: If you wish to retake test one (on Beowulf, sentence types, Anglo-Saxon and history notes, vocab. weeks 1-3, and an M.C. passage), you may do so during Flex tomorrow or Friday for up to a 70% score.  

Tuesday, 9/15/15: Reflection #1 on Beowulf, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

* Open

• Thesis Worksheet: Please Read

* Tolkien Annotations

* Read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty":

• .pdf Link here 
• Link to story at The New Yorker Online (if Google Drive isn't working)

HW: Ask yourself as you read: what kind of world does James Thurber create in this short story?  How does he (the author) accomplish this?  What referential meaning might apply from this story to life today?

Monday, 9/14/15

* Open

• Please answer in your notes: what traits distinguish a strong thesis from a weak thesis?

* .pdf links from Block Day

• A Little Bit on Lit. Crit.
• AP Essay Rubric
• Open Essay Prompts
• The Master Craftsman: Tolkien 

HW:

• The Master Craftsman: Tolkien (just annotation)
• Read sample essays from below
• One AP Study Card Due Tuesday; you may work with one other AP student if you wish.

Well, That's Debatable

  

This Day In History: 9/11/2001

On this day Americans remember a wicked attack by Islamic terrorists.

Here is an interview with a pilot from Carmel Valley: http://kazu.org/post/carmel-valley-woman-recounts-piloting-jumbo-jet-911#stream/0

Phyllis Cleveland of Carmel Valley piloted a 747 on 9/11/2001

Long Live the Queen!

And she has...this week, Queen Elizabeth II passed Queen Victoria as the longest reigning queen in English history.

As a British Literature students we join the general chorus: "Long live the Queen!"

Then



And now

Block Day, 9/10-11: Worlds of Words

* Open

• Turn in your College Essay #1
• Make sure your prompt is included
• Staple
• Turn in to your class folder in the silver file holder (table near center of room)

* A Little Bit on Lit. Crit.

When I think of Literary Criticism, I Cry Out Prophetic Doom

* Open Prompt Study 

* If we have more time: The Master Craftsman: Tolkien (just annotation)
 
HW:  Due Tuesday

• The Master Craftsman: Tolkien (at least 10 annotations)
• Read sample essays from below
• One AP Study Card Due Tuesday; you may work with one other AP student if you wish.

Dual Credit? Now (well, Thursday) or Never

Here is the .pdf form: https://drive.google.com/a/students.mvcs.org/file/d/0B--E1Nt1X_Reekcwb2J0NjZ6OVd1cTg1bENHR29ldjh5bW1N/view?usp=sharing

9/9/15: Quiet Riot of Imagery

* Open

• Homecoming Voting
• Check out The Lord's Prayer

* What if I'm not a leader or even very outgoing, naturally?  Is there a place for me in college?  I follow quiet paths:  A College Response for Quiet Kids.

* And for those Louder than Life? A Famous Piece.

HW: FD

* For More College Goodness

• Homeschooling
• Including a Darker Theme
• For the Writers
• Learning to Drive
• Diversity

Monday, 9/8:

* Open

• Go to google classroom (did you fill out the Faith Questions Survey?)
• Do this College Essay Assignment

* College Essay Rewriting Notes

• Verbs (active, not linking or passive; rid the am, is, are, was, were, could have, be, being, been, has, have, had, etc.)
• Opening (in medias res, perhaps)
• Tense (can you make it present?)
• Balance: you have a compelling story, nicely crafted...did you note one or two specific developments in your life directly related to what you learned?

* Review Beowulf Responses and Heaney's Notes

* Finish Guide Questions (through 14)

* Terms and Vocabulary Week 4 (due block day)
 
HW: Work on Your College Essay 

Tolkien's Drawing

Italy- Raphael

Byzantium

Block Day, Week 3

* Open

* Review

* Test/Quiz

HW:

• Answer the first 10 Questions for the Beowulf Study Guide (see the upper right)
• Annotate the following
• Beowulf's Background

Dual Enrollment Form

Signup deadline: Thursday, Sept. 10

Here is the .pdf form: https://drive.google.com/a/students.mvcs.org/file/d/0B--E1Nt1X_Reekcwb2J0NjZ6OVd1cTg1bENHR29ldjh5bW1N/view?usp=sharing

Welcome!

* Your Host

• Marcus Schwager

* The Course: Three Strands

• British Literature
• AP Literature and Composition
• Dual Credit Option
• Sept. 10 (Next Thursday)
• Returning WHCC Students: You just need your ID# to Add to the Roster here at MVC

* How to Help Your Student This Year

Jeremiah 6:16: "Thus says the LORD : 'Stand in the ways and see,/ And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,/ And walk in it;/ Then you will find rest for your souls.' " 
 

 

Wednesday, 9/2

* Open

• Copy, label your sentence type, and give your reason:
• Jeremiah 6:16: "Thus says the LORD : 'Stand in the ways and see,/ And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,/ And walk in it;/ Then you will find rest for your souls.' "

* Trade and Comment On Other Students' Work.  Read 2-3.

• Look for the following:
• Do you hear the voice of this student?  How is it unique?  How is it predictable or generic? 
• Is there a beginning, middle, and end?  How could the narrative flow be improved?  How could the conclusion be more memorable?
• Circle grammar errors.  Suggest improvements as you can.  Circle selections/sections that should be rewritten for greater impact.  

* Work in Class (study or essay FD)

HW: FD College Essay; Study for the Test

• Printed
• Turnitin.com (next week)
• MLA Format
• Include Prompt(s) 
• You may turn in the FD of your essay as late as block day next week. 

Tuesday, 9/1/15

* Open

• Simple vs. Compound Sentence

* Beowulf

• Old Notes

• New Thoughts

HW: RD; Finish Beowulf