Oral Presentations/Final Portfolio

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Learning Tasks for Monday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 7

Essential Question: Why are public speaking skills crucial to success?

Objectives: I can...

-research an author that I have read this semester.

-plan and create an organized presentation.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

1. Writing into the Day

2.  Planning Oral Presentations

Your final project in your ENG 113 course is an oral presentation.

This presentation is worth 10% of your final grade.

Your task: To very briefly (5-7 minutes) present some aspect of the research you have done this semester. 

Instead of simply reading your paper, try to present an aspect of your research to the class. Did you encounter some interesting ideas that didn’t quite fit into your paper? A story about your author you’d like to share? Was your author a member of any larger artistic movement? 

Some helpful presentation guidelines:

1. Make eye contact with your audience (i.e. the camera...).
2. Speak up - Make certain your voice carries and is audible
3. Speak slowly and clearly
4. Avoid repetitive mannerisms and phrases. We all say things like "Uhhh," "Umm," or "You know?" from time to time, so just be mindful.
5. Relax and smile -- Enjoy the time you have to share information about a topic with which you are very familiar (or just pretend you're Miss America).
6. Practice before you present - Go through your presentation several times to become familiar and comfortable with the content.  We will practice in class before filming your submission.
7. Intro/Conclusion - Develop a clear introduction and conclusion to your presentation.
8. Visual aids - Practice with visual aids so that they will be a positive addition to your presentation, not a distraction.  I highly recommend Prezi or Haiku Deck!
9. Stay on schedule. You must stay within the 5-7 minute time limit.
10. Finally - Enjoy your presentation and have fun with it! Don't worry about being nervous; it's normal. Stop, take a breath, and begin a sentence or phrase again if you need to. It's okay! :)

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Learning Tasks for Thursday, May 8 - Friday, May 9

Essential Question:  How do purpose and audience affect writing?

Objectives:  I can...
-analyze the purpose and audience of my writing.
-revise my writing based using feedback from peers.

1.  Writing into the Day

• Thursday:

• Friday:

2. Final Portfolio

For your final portfolio, you will significantly revise and showcase one of your papers from this course. It is up to you which paper you would like to significantly revise. In revising your work, you will reconsider your writing for a different purpose, audience, and/or genre.  For this reason, writing portfolios do not necessarily have to be in academic format. They can include genres such as brochures, comics, pamphlets, advertisements, digital/video presentations, and websites (although note that whichever genre you choose must be appropriate for its intended audience and purpose).  We will brainstorm and discuss ideas for revision during class.

Components:

• Your original paper
• Feedback from your instructor
• Peer review of your paper
• Revised paper
• Revised paper in a new format (brochure, comic, website, advertisement, etc…)
• Cover letter

Guidelines:

• The portfolio should be in either a Google Doc folder or, if you choose to submit a hard copy, in a physical folder.
• The portfolio must be clearly labeled and organized. How you do that is your choosing.
• The portfolio must also include a cover letter, which we will complete on Exam Day.

The goal of this project is to get you thinking about audience and purpose.  For your cover letter, you will be asked to justify the changes you made to your paper by identifying the specific needs of its audience and how your new project fulfills its purpose.  Be sure to be mindful of the revisions you make so that you are able to thoroughly explain them in your cover letter.

Drama/Poetry Exam & Oral Presentations

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Learning Tasks for Monday, April 28

Essential Question:  How are poetry and drama related?

Objectives:  I can...
-recall what I have learned about theatre and poetry this semester.
-define and apply terminology related to theatre and poetry.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Study for Exam

Use this collaborative Google Doc to define key terms and recall plot elements from the works we've read. 


***REMEMBER:  You must take the Drama/Poetry Exam by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, April 30!!!

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Learning Tasks for Tuesday, April 29

Essential Question:  How are poetry and drama related?

Objectives:  I can...
-recall what I have learned about theatre and poetry this semester.
-define and apply terminology related to theatre and poetry.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Study for Exam

Use this collaborative Google Doc to define key terms and recall plot elements from the works we've read. 


***REMEMBER:  You must take the Drama/Poetry Exam by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, April 30!!!

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Learning Tasks for Wednesday, April 30

Essential Question: Why are public speaking skills crucial to success?

Objectives: I can...

-research an author that I have read this semester.

-plan and create an organized presentation.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Planning Oral Presentations

Your final project in your ENG 113 course is an oral presentation.
This presentation is worth 10% of your final grade.

Your task: To very briefly (5-7 minutes) present some aspect of the research you have done this semester. 

Instead of simply reading your paper, try to present an aspect of your research to the class. Did you encounter some interesting ideas that didn’t quite fit into your paper? A story about your author you’d like to share? Was your author a member of any larger artistic movement? 

Some helpful presentation guidelines:

1. Make eye contact with your audience (i.e. the camera...).
2. Speak up - Make certain your voice carries and is audible
3. Speak slowly and clearly
4. Avoid repetitive mannerisms and phrases. We all say things like "Uhhh," "Umm," or "You know?" from time to time, so just be mindful.
5. Relax and smile -- Enjoy the time you have to share information about a topic with which you are very familiar (or just pretend you're Miss America).
6. Practice before you present - Go through your presentation several times to become familiar and comfortable with the content.  We will practice in class before filming your submission.
7. Intro/Conclusion - Develop a clear introduction and conclusion to your presentation.
8. Visual aids - Practice with visual aids so that they will be a positive addition to your presentation, not a distraction.  I highly recommend Prezi or Haiku Deck!
9. Stay on schedule. You must stay within the 5-7 minute time limit.
10. Finally - Enjoy your presentation and have fun with it! Don't worry about being nervous; it's normal. Stop, take a breath, and begin a sentence or phrase again if you need to. It's okay! :)

REMEMBER!!!  With practice, your presentation will be THIS:

 

Not that...

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Learning Tasks for Thursday, May 1

Essential Question:  Why are public speaking skills crucial to success?

Objectives:  I can...
-research an author that I have read this semester.
-plan and create an organized presentation.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Oral Presentations

See post for Wednesday, April 30.

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Learning Tasks for Friday, May 2

Essential Question:  Why are public speaking skills crucial to success?

Objectives:  I can...
-research an author that I have read this semester.
-plan and create an organized presentation.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Oral Presentations

See post for Wednesday, April 30.

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Drama 3 and Exam

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, April 22

Essential Question:  How is theatre relevant to real-life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify elements of theatre in Chekhov's The Bear.
-analyze the plot of Chekhov's The Bear

1.  Writing into the Day

2. Reading
Together, we will read through and discuss Anton Chekhov's play, The Bear.

Learning Tasks for Wednesday, April 23

Essential Question:   How is theatre relevant to real-life?

Objectives:  I can...
-analyze the use of dramatic elements in Chekhov's The Bear.
-recall plot details from Chekhov's The Bear.

1.  Writing into the Day

“In order to feel comfortable among educated people, to be at home and happy with them, one must be cultured to a certain extent.” -Anton Chekhov

What does it mean to be cultured?

2. Reading
Together, we will read through and discuss Anton Chekhov's play, The Bear.

3.  Quiz
Log into Blackboard and take a brief quiz on The Bear.  The quiz has five multiple choice questions and a five-minute time limit.

Learning Tasks for Thursday, April 24

Essential Question:  What elements do poetry and theatre have in common?

Objectives:  I can...
-recall what I have learned about theatre and poetry this semester.
-define and apply terminology related to theatre and poetry.

1. Writing into the Day

2.  Study for Exam


Use this collaborative Google Doc to define key terms and recall plot elements from the works we've read.


***REMEMBER:  You must take the Drama/Poetry Exam by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, April 30!!!

Learning Tasks for Friday, April 25

Essential Question:  What elements do poetry and theatre have in common?

Objectives:  I can...
-recall what I have learned about theatre and poetry this semester.
-define and apply terminology related to theatre and poetry.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Study for Exam

Use this collaborative Google Doc to define key terms and recall plot elements from the works we've read. 


***REMEMBER:  You must take the Drama/Poetry Exam by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, April 30!!!

Drama 2 & 3

Learning Tasks for Monday, April 14

Essential Question:  Are Shakespeare's plays still relevant?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the themes and plot elements of Hamlet.
-rewrite Hamlet as a contemporary play.


1.  Writing into the Day
Hamlet repeatedly sees his father's ghost.  Do you believe in ghosts?  Why or why not?

2.  Assignment:  Rewriting Shakespeare
Choose one of the excerpts you have read from your textbook to paraphrase. You will paraphrase your chosen text into a contemporary script. In other words, you will rewrite the Shakespearean English into modern English. You should use the text annotation, a dictionary, and your summary to help you paraphrase the lines. Do not try to paraphrase in a word by word manner. Instead, look at the ideas that are conveyed, and try your best to get at the overall sense of the text.

Excerpts (choose just one):

• Act I, scene ii: Hamlet, the Queen, and the King, lines 64-160.
• Act I, scene ii: Horatio, Marcellus, Barnardo, and Hamlet, lines 165-255.
• Act I, scene iii: Laertes and Ophelia, lines 1-54.
• Act III, scene i: Hamlet and Ophelia, lines 56-161.
• Act IV, scene vii: Laertes, the messenger, and the King, lines 1-89.
• Act IV, scene vii: Laertes and the King, lines 75-195.
• Act V, scene i:  Hamlet, the Gravedigger, and Horatio, lines 61-201
• Act V, scene i: Hamlet, Laertes, the Doctor, the Queen, the King, and Horatio, ll. 207-343.

Awesome comic versions of Shakespeare's plays. Which one is your favorite?

A useful infographic that keeps track of all of Shakespeare's deaths for you.

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, April 15

GOOD LUCK ON THE... ehh, I'm not even going to jinx it.

Learning Tasks for Wednesday, April 16

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day
Create a pie chart illustrating what YOU do.

2. Assignment:  Rewriting Shakespeare
Continue working on your play!  We will share our finished products with each other once we're finished.

FYI:  Benedict Cumberbatch to play Hamlet on stage in London

Learning Tasks for Thursday, April 17

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives: I can...
-compare dramatic conventions of tragedy and comedy.
-analyze plot devices used in Chekhov's The Bear.

1. Writing into the Day

2.  Lecture Notes
Together, we will read through and discuss the Lecture Notes posted in Blackboard.

3. Reading
Together, we will read through and discuss Anton Chekhov's play, The Bear.  Enjoy the light-hearted nature of this play after a long week of Hamlet!

Drama 1 & 2

Learning Tasks for Monday, April 7

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day

Is theatre important? Why or why not?

2. Reading
Together, we will read and discuss A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.

3. Homework

Finish reading A Doll's House and answer the following questions in your Word Doc:

Act III

1. Why is Kristine willing to “risk everything” for Krogstad?
2. Why does Kristine encourage Krogstad to let Torvald read the letter revealing Nora’s deception?
3. Dr. Rank suggests Nora should go to the next masquerade dressed as “Charmed Life,” and that she should dress “just as she looks every day.” What is the implication about Nora’s daily life? Is it charmed? Or is the charm a masquerade? Explain.
4. Discuss the irony in Torvald’s accusation that Nora has played with him “like a puppet.”
5. Helmer’s pronouncement that “before all else, (Nora is) a wife and mother” is contradicted by Nora’s “before all else, I’m a human being.” Is this issue significant today, or is it only a sign of Ibsen’s time? Explain.
6. Discuss Nora’s decision to leave her family. Is it truly the only way she can reclaim her identity and humanity?
7. The last sound the audience hears is the door slamming shut after Nora’s departure. Examine the theatrical, literary, and historical significance of this stage device.

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day
A Doll's House is full of references to puppets and playthings.  According to most critics, this theme is due to Ibsen's personal views on strict gender and social roles.  Do you think strict social roles are an issue in today's society?  Why or why not?

2. Quiz
You have 30 minutes to complete the Doll's House quiz in Blackboard.

3.  Discussion Board:  Task Two

Choose one of the following discussion questions to answer on the Task 2 discussion board. Your answer should be at least 100 words long. Respond thoughtfully to a classmate’s post.

1. Defend or support Torvald’s beliefs about moral corruption and heredity.
2. Is Nora’s decision to leave her husband and children acceptable? Explain.
3. When Nora submits to Torvald, telling him, “Whatever you do is always right,” Torvald replies, “Now my little lark’s talking like a human being.” But later, Nora says “Before all else, I’m a human being.” Compare and contrast Torvald’s and Nora’s definitions of “human being.”
4. Many Ibsen critics argue that A Doll’s House is not a feminist play, and is more about asserting self, regardless of gender. Yet Joan Templeton, in her afterword to the Signet Classics edition of Ibsen: Four Major Plays Volume I, disagrees, asserting that “Make (Nora) a man, and the play becomes not only ludicrous, but impossible.” What do you think? Is A Doll’s House a play about feminism or humanism? Explain.
5. At the end of the play, Nora slams the door to the “doll house” and walks away. Yet she leaves Torvald with hope for “the greatest miracle.” Why did Ibsen write an ambiguous ending? Cite evidence from Nora’s and Torvald’s closing speeches to indicate what you believe to be the ultimate ending to this drama.

4.  Discussion Board:  Task Three

In A Doll’s House, Nora is referred to by a number of nicknames such as, “little lark,” “squirrel,” “spendthrift,” and “sweet tooth.” Nora refers to her husband as “darling” and “dear.”


Brainstorm nicknames or pet names currently used when talking about men and women. Post at least five for each to the Task 3 discussion board.  Then write a second post noting any commonalities, trends or patterns you see after reading through your classmates’ posts. For instance, are the nicknames used for one gender more condescending than the other? Is one set more physically oriented? Is one more comparable to children? Or are both sets equal?

Learning Tasks for Thursday, April 10

Essential Question:  Are Shakespeare's plays still relevant?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the themes and plot elements of Hamlet.
-make connections between the play and context of Hamlet.

1. Writing into the Day
Bottom line:  Shakespeare's tragedies are about terrible, terrible things.  Think of a time when you first became aware of a dark or evil side in the world.  How has that experience shaped or changed you? 

2.  Reading #1
Together, we will read through and discuss the Lecture Notes posted in Blackboard.

3. Reading #2
Together, we will read through and discuss Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Remember- we are reading the summary version in Blackboard, not the entire play!

Learning Tasks for Friday, April 11

Essential Question:  Are Shakespeare's plays still relevant?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the themes and plot elements of Hamlet.
-rewrite Hamlet as a contemporary play.

1.  Writing into the Day
A tragic hero traditionally has a tragic flaw, some failing in his character that brings about his downfall.  What would you say your tragic flaw is?  It could be something serious OR silly (saaaay, an addition to pizza and Netflix). 

2. Reading
Together, we will read through and discuss Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Remember- we are reading the summary version in Blackboard, not the entire play!

3.  Assignment:  Rewriting Shakespeare
Choose one of the excerpts you have read from your textbook to paraphrase. You will paraphrase your chosen text into a contemporary script. In other words, you will rewrite the Shakespearean English into modern English. You should use the text annotation, a dictionary, and your summary to help you paraphrase the lines. Do not try to paraphrase in a word by word manner. Instead, look at the ideas that are conveyed, and try your best to get at the overall sense of the text.

Excerpts (choose just one):

• Act I, scene ii: Hamlet, the Queen, and the King, lines 64-160.
• Act I, scene ii: Horatio, Marcellus, Barnardo, and Hamlet, lines 165-255.
• Act I, scene iii: Laertes and Ophelia, lines 1-54.
• Act III, scene i: Hamlet and Ophelia, lines 56-161.
• Act IV, scene vii: Laertes, the messenger, and the King, lines 1-89.
• Act IV, scene vii: Laertes and the King, lines 75-195.
• Act V, scene i:  Hamlet, the Gravedigger, and Horatio, lines 61-201
• Act V, scene i: Hamlet, Laertes, the Doctor, the Queen, the King, and Horatio, ll. 207-343.

Poetry 4 and Drama 1

Learning Tasks for Monday, March 31

Essential Question: How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?
Objectives: I can...
-apply feedback to my writing.
-organize and draft an essay.
1.  Essay #3 - Conferences and Drafting
Using any of the drafting techniques posted on the classroom wall (by the windows!), begin writing your rough draft. Remember, a rough draft is NOT a perfect draft!

While you are working, Ms. Jones will meet with each of you one-on-one to discuss your papers.

You all have been working hard, so here's a little poetry humor:

(...if you don't get it, please take a listen below and come out from under that rock ;) )

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, April 1

Third Time's a Charm... GOOD LUCK ON THE ACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Learning Tasks for Wednesday, April 2

Essential Question: How does revision improve writing?


Objectives: I can...
-apply feedback to my writing.
-revise and edit my writing.
1.  Proofreading and Editing
On Blackboard, pull up your previous two papers written for this course.  What aspects of your writing did Mr. Stumpf mark for improvement?  Have you addressed those concerns in your current paper?

With a partner, you will proofread and edit your paper.  Pay attention to grammar, punctuation, formatting, and any other concerns that Mr. Stumpf noted in your previous papers.

2.  Revisions
Using feedback from your peers, Ms. Jones, and Mr. Stumpf, make any needed revisions to your paper before submitting your work to Blackboard.

YAY for another paper down!  You've got this!!! :)

Learning Tasks for Thursday, April 3

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day
If there was a movie about your life, who would play the main character (you)?  Who would play supporting characters?

 

2. Reading
Together, we will read and A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.  Open up your books to Page 1,135!!!

3.  Discussion Questions
Answer and save the following questions from in a Word Doc:

Act I
1. From the beginning of Act I, Torvald calls Nora several pet names. What do these names suggest about Torvald’s perception of his wife and his marriage?
2. Compare Nora’s and Kristine’s lives since marriage. Who is better off? Explain.
3. What might be the link between Nora’s “contraband” macaroons and her “huge desire to say – to hell and be damned?”
4. What crime has Nora committed?
5. Do Nora’s motives for committing the crime excuse her in some way?
6. What does Nora’s tree decorating and chattering at the end of Act I reveal about her character?

Learning Tasks for Friday, April 4

Essential Question:  In what ways does theatre offer insight into real life?

Objectives:  I can...
-identify the necessary elements of theatre.
-analyze the plot of a play.

1.  Writing into the Day

2. Reading
Together, we will read and discuss A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.

3.  Discussion
Answer and save the following questions from in a Word Doc:

Act II
1. When Nora sees the box of masquerade clothes, she wants to “rip them in a million pieces!” What does Ibsen symbolize with this characterization?
2. Discuss the foreshadowing in Nora’s conversation with Anne-Marie.
3. Why does Torvald make such a decisive show of mailing the letter firing Krogstad against Nora’s pleas?
4. After Dr. Rank professes his love, Nora demands the lamp be brought in. Why? Is this light real or artificial? What might Ibsen be suggesting about truth and light in the Helmer’s household?
5. Some histories of the tarantella dance explain that it is used to fight off the venomous effects of a spider bite. Other interpretations suggest it represents a woman’s frustration in oppression. Which of these explanations best fits Nora’s violent practice at the end of Act II? Might both apply? Explain.

4. Homework

Finish reading A Doll's House and answer the following questions in your Word Doc:

Act III

1. Why is Kristine willing to “risk everything” for Krogstad?
2. Why does Kristine encourage Krogstad to let Torvald read the letter revealing Nora’s deception?
3. Dr. Rank suggests Nora should go to the next masquerade dressed as “Charmed Life,” and that she should dress “just as she looks every day.” What is the implication about Nora’s daily life? Is it charmed? Or is the charm a masquerade? Explain.
4. Discuss the irony in Torvald’s accusation that Nora has played with him “like a puppet.”
5. Helmer’s pronouncement that “before all else, (Nora is) a wife and mother” is contradicted by Nora’s “before all else, I’m a human being.” Is this issue significant today, or is it only a sign of Ibsen’s time? Explain.
6. Discuss Nora’s decision to leave her family. Is it truly the only way she can reclaim her identity and humanity?
7. The last sound the audience hears is the door slamming shut after Nora’s departure. Examine the theatrical, literary, and historical significance of this stage device.

Poetry 3 and 4

Learning Tasks for Monday, March 17

Essential Question: How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:
I can make connections between poetry and learning.
I can analyze plot elements in film.

1. Writing into the Day

Set a SMART goal for Poetry 3.  How will achieving this goal benefit you?  What resources or support do you need in order to reach your goal?

2. Finish Dead Poets Society

Do you think it is important to learn about poetry? Why or why not?Mr. Keating introduces students to the Latin phrase "Carpe Diem." Do you "seize the day?" Explain.Describe the setting of the movie. Why is it significant? How would the movie be different if it took place in a more modern setting?One of the central conflicts of Dead Poets Society is Individuality vs. Conformity. Select a character and analyze his/her struggle with this conflict. Is the conflict man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, man vs. fate/divine/supernatural?Read the following quote by Professor John Keating from the movie Dead Poets Society. What do you think it means? Why? "We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”Read the following quote by Professor John Keating from the movie Dead Poets Society. What do you think it means? Explain. "I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things a different way. The world looks very different up here . . . Just when you think you think you know something you have to look at it in another way..."

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, March 18

GOOD LUCK ON THE ACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Learning Tasks for Wednesday, March 19

Essential Question:  How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Readings

We will read and discuss Edgar Alan Poe's "Annabel Lee" and Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool."  

3. Assignment
Choose four lines of a poem or song of your choice. You may even write the four lines if you are feeling especially creative. Analyze the sounds (use of alliteration, assonance, and rhyme) and meter (use of rhythm) in your chosen lines. Share your analysis on this discussion. Your analysis should be at least 100 words.
Be sure to include your four lines at the beginning of your analysis!

Learning Tasks for Thursday, March 20

Essential Question:  How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:

1. Writing into the Day

From "Humans of New York":

"What’s the most frightened you’ve ever been?"

"Probably when I was five, and I learned I had Polio."

"What’s one way that Polio improved your life?"

"It made me more tolerant of failure in others."

Think of your biggest fears, failures, and challenges.  How can facing or overcoming them improve your life?

2. Readings

We will read and discuss Donne's "Holy Sonnet 14," Thomas' “Do Not Go Gentle into
That Good Night,” and Nikki Giovanni, “Nikki-Rosa.” (Side-note: Nikki Giovanni came to ECU last year! She was amazinggggg!!! :D )

3.  Quiz:  Form

Review the poems we've read today, including the poems' speakers, audiences, and purpose.  Take the Blackboard quiz in the Poetry III: Form folder.  The quiz has a five minute limit.

Learning Tasks for Friday, March 21

Essential Question:  How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:

1. Writing into the Day

Write an obituary for the last thing you threw away.

2.  Assignment:  Sonnets for Everyone

This exercise will ask you to pay attention to the rhythm and rhyme of a sonnet. You should be begin this activity by refreshing your memory about what a sonnet is. Use your textbook and the course lecture notes to help. Then complete the steps below:

1. Choose a sonnet from Sonnet Central.
2. Read and understand the sonnet thoroughly, looking up any terms that need defining.
3. Learn about the sonnet's author. In the case of some the more obscure writers, this may be a challenge; in other instances, you may find the amount of information a bit overwhelming. Let me know if you need any assistance.
4. Write a discussion board post which introduces your sonnet to your teammates. You should explain the sonnet (at least 100 words), introduce the author of the sonnet (25-100 words), and finally write a full paragraph (at least 100 words) answering the question "how does sound influence meaning in your chosen sonnet?"

Your entire post should be a minimum of 225 words, not including the sonnet you have chosen, which you should reproduce in your post as well. You may not write about a sonnet that someone else has already chosen. Be sure to check your classmates' posts.

3.  Poetry 4
If you finish early, begin reading poems from the Poetry 4 folder.

Learning Tasks for Monday, March 24

Essential Question: How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:
I can make connections between poetry and learning.
I can analyze plot elements in film.

1. Writing into the Day

Set a SMART goal for Poetry 4.  How will achieving this goal benefit you?  What resources or support do you need in order to reach your goal?

2.  Readings

We will read and discuss Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese" and Gary Soto's "Oranges."  Don't forget to read Mr. Stumpf's Lecture Notes!!!

3.  Assignment:  Symbolism

What symbolizes you? A rock? A tree? A tiger? An eagle? A pencil? Choose anything in the known universe to symbolize you. Write either a descriptive paragraph (at least 200 words) or a poem of at least 10 lines to fully explore and explain your symbol.

Comment on at least one of your classmates' posts.

Learning Tasks for Tuesday, March 25

Essential Question:  How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:  I can...
-generate ideas for a paper.
-analyze a writing prompt for understanding.

1.  Writing into the Day

2.  Essay #3:  Poetry Explication

Your third essay is a poetry explication which is a detailed reading and analysis of a text. This means that you should take your reader through, in this case, a poem and point out any images, figurative language, symbols, allusions, traditional (or non-traditional) forms, etc. More importantly, you should form this analysis around a specific thesis which links all of your observations into a coherent and unified point. You may use any poem in your textbook in writing this explication.

Prewriting: Use your journal or notes from class for your paper. Try writing an extended journal entry that not only records your impression of the poem, but also begins to give a close reading of it. If your poem is short, try remarking about every word of the poem. Since you are still at the level of prewriting, don't worry about every one of your points making complete sense. If there is a central or extended metaphor, explore the ramifications of the comparison. Wander as far from the poem as you want at this stage: it may lead you to an original idea.

Planning and Drafting: Your introduction is arguably the most important part of an essay, so take some time to think about ways of making your introduction an interesting, unique, and engaging paragraph. Is there something about the poet's life that you can discuss which can lead into your theme? What about the setting of the poem? Take time to introduce not only the poem, but also some of the ideas that the rest of your paper will explore in more detail. Then, of course, state in as precise terms as possible, what your main argument will be. In this essay, your thesis should answer the following question: what is the theme of this poem and how does the writer use the formal elements of poetry to arrive at that theme?  An example of a thesis: Theodore Roethke uses ambiguous language, a waltzing rhythm, and dark imagery in the poem, "My Papa's Waltz," in order to illustrate a child's confusion at the abuse he suffers from his beloved father.

Next, make a rough outline of your body paragraphs. Will you have separate paragraphs for metaphor, imagery, form, etc? Or will you mirror the structure of the poem and work through the poem line by line, stanza by stanza? This is less original but perfectly acceptable; just don't allow yourself to simply restate the poem in prose--that would be the equivalent of summarizing a story. One way to avoid this is to write the topic sentences of all your paragraphs before you start writing the rest of the essay. This helps keep your comments related to your own theme.

Finally, try to give some attention to not only content, but the form of the poem as well.

Documentation: Titles of poems, like short stories, are put in quotation marks.

Ex.: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." In-text citations should note line numbers. Ex: (line 5).

For quotations that are four lines or longer, indent twice and reproduce the lines exactly as they appear in your text. Like block quotation from prose works, these quotations do not need quotation marks.

The essay should be approximately 3 pages, typed, MLA format. No outside sources except the poem you have chosen!

3. Prewriting

Peruse your textbook for a poem that interests you.  As suggested by Mr. Stumpf, use a journal, list, or annotations to document your reaction to a poem.  This will help you once you begin writing!

4.  Thesis Statements

Once you have selected a poem, create a thesis statement for your paper.  Remember that your thesis must be a debatable claim.  What are you going to argue about your particular poem?  Keep all the literary devices we've learned from the Poetry Unit in mind while creating your thesis (e.g. symbolism, figurative language, sound, meter, etc.).

Learning Tasks for Wednesday, March 26

Essential Question:  How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives:  I can...
-organize a paper.
-identify and use drafting techniques that work for me.

1.  Writing into the Day

2. Drafting

Using any of the drafting techniques posted on the classroom wall (by the windows!), begin writing your rough draft.  Remember, a rough draft is NOT a perfect draft!
***Ms Jones will check your draft for a grade tomorrow, so be sure to work diligently.

Learning Tasks for Thursday, March 27

Essential Question:  How can literacy skills promote effective communication and understanding?

Objectives: I can...
-apply feedback to my writing.
-organize and draft an essay.

1. Writing into the Day

From "Humans of New York":

"Who would you say has influenced you most in your life?"

"My 7th grade math teacher, Mr. Tejada."

"How did he influence you?"

"It’s hard to explain. He’s the only one who would give me extra credit when I was failing. And if I didn’t know something, he’d know what to do."

Who has influenced YOU the most in your life?  Why?

2.  Conferences

You will meet one-on-one with Ms. Jones to discuss your paper.  While you are waiting for your turn, you should be working on your draft.

Learning Tasks for Friday, March 28

Essential Question:  How does revision improve writing?

Objectives:  I can...
-apply feedback to my writing.
-revise and edit my writing.

1. Writing into the Day

2.  Writing Workshop

Using feedback from Ms. Jones and help from your peers, you will workshop your paper.  This means that we will collaborate to provide informal constructive criticism of each others' work.  

3. Homework

Be sure to make revisions over the weekend!