The Uncanny: October 31, 2017

Focus: What aspects of the familiar and unfamiliar makes us feel fear?

1. Warming up with quick close readings: "The Tell-Tale Heart"

2. Daring to explore Gothic Mystery #3: The Uncanny

3. Reading/listening to "The Minister's Black Veil" with a focus on the uncanny


HW:

1. BY TODAY:  Make sure your "Fall of the House of Usher" and "Tell-Tale Heart" journals are complete and posted on /linked to the blog.

2. BY THURSDAY: Please finish "The Minister's Black Veil" with a journal entry (you can use the Gothic journal entry or go back to your ELIC journal--pick the one that helps you the most out of the story). You will have 30 minutes of reading time in class on Wednesday.

3.  BY FRIDAY: 

• Prepare to share a part of your of memoir (somewhere between a sentence and a paragraph).

• Bring index cards to class on Friday; we will do some brainstorming for your big speech and develop some itty bitty warm-ups.

4. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me. 

All revisions must be submitted by November 10, which is the end of 12 weeks.

Poe's Inner and Outer Landscapes: October 30, 2017

Focus: What does Poe teach us about our inner and outer landscapes?

1. Warming up  with three good things and a subject-verb agreement mini quiz

2. Taking a Freudian self-quiz

3. Unraveling Gothic Mystery #2: Repression

4. Trying out a psychoanalytical approach to "The Tell-Tale Heart"; use today's lesson to guide you as you work through the story with your Gothic journal

NEW: IF YOU ARE TYPING YOUR GOTHIC JOURNALS, PLEASE LINK THEM TO A POST ON YOUR BLOG. ALL JOURNALS SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE THROUGH YOUR BLOG.


HW:
1. Bring index cards to class on Friday; we will do some brainstorming for your big speech and develop some itty bitty warm-ups.

2. Finalize and submit your memoirs (make sure they are double spaced with an MLA heading and title). 

Final drafts are due today by 3:00 pm (I extended the deadline by one day).
We will be submitting them www.turnitin.com, so no need to print.
Also, this Friday, be prepared to share one line, a few lines, or a paragraph from your memoir.

3. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me. 

All revisions must be submitted by November 10, which is the end of 12 weeks.

Delivering a Powerful Speech: October 27, 2017

Focus: What skills do we need to start working on NOW to deliver a powerful speech later?

1. Warming up with a psychological reading of "Fall of the House of Usher":

Imagine that the house is a repressed human mind. Find THREE different parts of the story that represent different aspects of how the human mind works. Things to think about:

• What kinds of things do we repress? How is that symbolized in "Usher"?
• How do we repress them? How is that action symbolized in "Usher"?
• Why do we want to repress them? How is that desire symbolize in "Usher"?
• What happens when we repress something? How does that manifest in "Usher"?

• Note: You can do this right in your journal.

2. Offering you an overview of the American Literature final and using the speech rubric to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and questions as a presenter

3. Watching sample Ted Talks on the science of happiness and power of vulnerability:

• As you watch, start a brand new speech document: 

• What makes a good speech for an audience? 
• Consider the first thing a presenter says to an audience, as well as the last thing. Look at how they use media, how they stand, how they use their voices, etc. What works for you? 
• How does the speaker make the content relevant to you / the audience? What are some of your big takeaways?
• Type your ideas on the speech document as you watch.

4. Picking one-minute speech topics, preparing your opening line, and delivering it!

5. Wrapping up with an important exit ticket

HW:
1. Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. All rough drafts should now have my feedback. If you'd like further feedback or a conference, please ask me by Wednesday afternoon.

Final drafts are due Monday by 3:00 pm (I extended the deadline by one day).

2. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me. 

All revisions must be submitted by November 10, which is the end of 12 weeks.

3. Mini subject-verb agreement assessment on Monday.

Watching the House Fall: October 26, 2017

Focus: Why and how does the house of Usher fall?

1. Warming up by circling the wagon with your Level 1, 2, and 3 questions (and the Gothic reading journal)

2. Listening to "The Fall of the House of Usher" with an artistic focus, and then a psychological focus

As you listen: Sketch the images that you're hearing/seeing (or jot down key words and phrases if visual art doesn't really help you process things)

After you listen: Imagine that the house is a repressed human mind. Find THREE different parts of the story that represent different aspects of how the human mind works. Things to think about:

• What kinds of things do we repress? How is that symbolized in "Usher"?
• How do we repress them? How is that action symbolized in "Usher"?
• Why do we want to repress them? How is that desire symbolize in "Usher"?
• What happens when we repress something? How does that manifest in "Usher"?

• Note: You can do this right in your journal.

3. Completing an exit ticket about why/how the house of Usher is falling

HW:
1. Finish reading "Fall of the House of Usher" and complete your Gothic journal entry; make sure this is inside your "Gothic Literature" folder so I may give you credit and feedback. DUE FRIDAY (BEFORE CLASS).

2. Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. All rough drafts should now have my feedback. If you'd like further feedback or a conference, please ask me by Wednesday afternoon.

Final drafts are due October 27 by 3:00 pm (I extended the deadline by one day).

3. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me. 

All revisions must be submitted by November 10, which is the end of 12 weeks.

Entering Usher's House: October 25, 2017

Focus: What does the Gothic house reveal about its hosts and guests?

1. Warming up: Draw a Gothic house and label FIVE significant elements it possesses

2. Quickly reviewing yesterday's Gothic mystery with a wider focus:

In American Gothic texts so far, how would you characterize the purpose of the house?

3. Applying yesterday's Gothic mystery to the beginning of "The Fall of the House of Usher"; you may use your "Gothic Mystery #1" notes to analyze this, or if you're the artistic sort, you can draw the house, the host,  and the guest as you listen

4. Offering you the Gothic journal (also linked to the website)

5. Giving you time to read/listen "Fall of the House of Usher" as you analyze the relationship between the house, its host(s), and its guest (the narrator)

HW:
1. Finish reading "Fall of the House of Usher" and complete your Gothic journal entry; make sure this is inside your "Gothic Literature" folder so I may give you credit and feedback. DUE THURSDAY (BEFORE CLASS).

2. Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. All rough drafts should now have my feedback. If you'd like further feedback or a conference, please ask me by Wednesday afternoon.

Final drafts are due October 27 by 3:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.

3. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me. 

All revisions must be submitted by November 10, which is the end of 12 weeks.

4. Heads-up: On Friday, we will have a "quiz" on subject-verb agreement. You don't need to study for this as it is open-note, open-friend, and open-teacher.

Entering the Gothic House: October 24, 2017

Focus: What background should we build in order to understand American Gothic literature?

(image from https://www.thinglink.com)

1. Warming up: Playing musical chairs with Gothic topics

2. Making predictions about the Gothic stories with the quotation on the front of your booklet:

• By yourself: What does this quotation mean? Do a little bubble brainstorming or freewriting to unpack it.

• With a partner: How does this quotation connect to any or all of the brainstorming you did during musical chairs? What topics do you think we're likely to find in these Gothic stories?

3. Taking a time-out to explore how this unit will work and to set up your folders:

• Create a folder called "Gothic Literature" (or something of that nature).

• Place it inside your shared American Literature folder.

• Click HERE for Gothic Mystery #1; make a copy, and save it inside your Gothic Literature folder.

4. Investigating Gothic Mystery #1: What is the role of the Gothic house?

The Others: 0-10:00
Edward Scissorhands: 7:55-16:30

5. Wrapping up with an exit ticket

HW:
1. Continue working on your ELIC-inspired memoir. All rough drafts should now have my feedback. If you'd like further feedback or a conference, please ask me by Wednesday afternoon.

Final drafts are due October 27 by 3:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.

2. If you wish to revise the content of your cultural hysteria essay (not just the grammar), you must conference with me.

All revisions and make-up work must be submitted by November 10, which is the end of 12 weeks (and also Ms. Leclaire's birthday :).

3. Heads up: We will begin reading "The Fall of the House of Usher" in class tomorrow, and the homework will be to finish it and the journal (linked here and on website) by Wednesday.

4. We will have a short assessment on subject-verb agreement this Friday.

Editing Your Memoir: October 23, 2017

Focus: What do we need to focus on as we revise our memoirs?

Please make sure your memoir is labeled "READ THIS ONE" and is in your shared folder.

1. Warming up with three good things and a quick recap of subject-verb agreement (DON'T SUBMIT)

2. Peer or self-editing your memoir with the editing sheet

• At the top, make a note of one thing you're doing well in this memoir.
• Make a note of one thing you're struggling with in this memoir.

3. Revising your memoir based on today's feedback

4. Wrapping up: Read over the completed editing sheet, and review what you wrote at the top. What do you still need help/direction with?

HW:
1. Continue working on your memoir; they are due Friday, October 27 by 3:00 pm in www.turnitin.com.  There is a rough draft folder if you'd like to use Turnitin to check your grammar before submitting your memoir. 

2. If you wrote down on your yellow sheet that you'd like a reading conference, come in during 4th hour or after school. Also, if you'd like help with your memoir, come in for a quick conference during 4th hour or after school.

3. There will be a quick assessment on subject-verb agreement this Friday.

Shaping Your Memoir: October 18, 2017

Focus: How do we finding meaning and shape in our memoirs?

1. Warming up with thoughts about your ELIC journals and two choices for those of you who didn't get to conference with me:

• Stop by for a conference during an off hour or after school; write the date and time you're going to come in at the top of your yellow rubric and in your planner, and hand the rubric back to me.

• OR

• Fill out the top of the yellow rubric and hand it in by the end of class.

2. Returning to memoir writing and considering your narrative arc

• Trying it out with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

• Making sure you've chosen your memoir, labeled it "READ THIS ONE," and placed it inside your Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Folder.

• Shaping your memoir using the narrative arc; figuring out which scenes still need to be written
• Try to identify your turning point first; the rest of the arc will fall into place.

3. Continuing to structure and draft your memoir/conferencing on your ELIC journals

4. E-mailing me the names of people you'd feel comfortable your memoir with (your choices can also be "anyone" or "no one").

PLEASE TURN IN YOUR YELLOW SHEETS BY THE END OF CLASS IF YOU HAVE NOT YET CONFERENCED WITH ME.

HW:
1. Come in for a conference between 10:10 am and 11:35 am or after school! We can talk about your memoir, your reading journal, your hysteria essay, or whatever you need!

2. Keep working tirelessly on the draft of your memoir. They are due by 3:00 pm on October 27.

PLEASE REMIND YOUR PARENTS THAT I WILL ONLY BE AT CONFERENCES BETWEEN 3:00 AND 5:30. 

Writing in Reverse: October 17, 2017

Focus: How can we use writing in reverse to resolve a difficult memory?

1. Warming up with a crash course on sensory imagery

2. Experimenting with writing in reverse: Click here for today's slides.

3. Workshop share!

HW:
1. Spend 20-30 minutes completing today's writing exercise. Decide which of your four memoir writings you'd like to revise for your formal writing assignment. Here are the choices:

• Day 1: One-Word Biography
• Day 2: Rimba with Jovan Mays (turn it into a memoir)
• Day 3: Artifact Writing
• Day 4: Writing in Reverse

2. Bring your ELIC book to turn in if you have not done so yet.

3. FINAL DRAFTS OF MEMOIRS ARE DUE FRIDAY, OCT 27 BY 3:00 PM IN www.turnitin.com

Artifact Writing: October 16, 2017

Focus: How can you use artifacts to write memoir?

Please have out your white sheets from Friday's workshop with Jovan Mays.

1. Warming up with three good things and a reminder of our memoir overview

2. Thinking about Mr. Jovan Mays and using memoir to unpack artifacts

• His Nana's birdcages

• From ELIC: The falling man

3. Finding the story in your artifacts: Click HERE for today's memoir slides.

HW:
1. Spend 20-30 minutes continuing today's writing exercise. 

2. Bring your school copy of ELIC to turn in by Wednesday at the latest.

3. Come in for a conference (end or 3rd, all of 4th before second lunch, or after school) if you'd like to revise your cultural hysteria essay.

Performance Poetry: October 13, 2017

Focus: What can we learn about writing from Mr. Jovan Mays?

1. Please go right to the theater for class today.

2. Sit together.

3. Bring this sheet with you.

4. Enjoy!

HW:
For Monday:

• Bring in five items that hold significance to you (an old, printed photo, an object, something you carry around for luck, a gift you received, a letter, etc).

• Reading journal conferences will continue next week. Please make sure ALL JOURNALS ARE COMPLETE BY MONDAY.

The Resolution of Reverse: October 12, 2017

Focus: What does Foer want us to understand better/differently from the ending of his novel?

1. Warming up with World War II in Reverse and your emotional response to the novel's ending

• As you watch: Which images stand out to you? What's it like to watch a war in reverse?

• After you watch: Reread the ending of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, starting on page 325. What effect did these final pages and images have on you? How do these final pages connect to the video you just watched?

2. Considering the final stage of the archetypal hero's journey and your intellectual response to the novel's ending

In the final stage of the hero's journey, the hero returns home, but he has gained a new understanding of the world around him. He can no longer live in fear of the future nor regret over the past. 

• To what extent does Oskar (or the grandmother or grandfather) fulfill the final stage of the hero's journey? 

• In other words, how does he return home? What's his new understanding of things? To what extent has he confronted his fear of the future/regret over the past? Why does Foer put the ending in reverse?

3. Enjoying our final fishbowl discussion of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Page 307-end

4. Wrapping up with our responses to the focus question

HW:
1. For Friday: GO DIRECTLY TO THE THEATER. BRING SOMETHING TO WRITE WITH AND ON.

2. For Monday:

• Bring in five items that hold significance to you (an old, printed photo, an object, something you carry around for luck, a gift you received, a letter, etc).

• Reading journal conferences will continue next week. Please make sure ALL JOURNALS ARE COMPLETE BY MONDAY.

The Final Countdown: October 11, 2017

Focus: What does Foer want us to understand better or differently?

PSAT: Crazy short class!

1. Reading, journalling, and conferencing

2. Handing back cultural hysteria essay feedback and exploring the possibility of revisions

HW:
1. Finish the book and your final journal entry for Thursday. 

2. Bring in five items on Friday that hold significance to you (an old, printed photo, an object, something you carry around for luck, a gift you received, a letter, etc).

Dark Matter: October 10, 2017

Focus: What do Foer's characters fear? What do they do to feel safe?

1. Warming up with puzzling together the motif of "black" in grid groups

Round 1: Put a sticky note on page 284. Hold it close. Hold it far away. 

• What does it look like? 
• Find a quotation from this chapter that you think explains somewhat why this page looks this way (literally, why is it black?).

Round 2: Put a sticky note on page 305. Reread Stephen Hawking's letter. 

• Look up "dark matter." How does it connect to this book?
• Look up a summary of Hawking's A Brief History of Time. How does it connect to this book?
• How does his letter connect to your response from Round 1?

Round 3: Everyone Oskar visited on his quest had the last name "Black." Foer could have chosen any name in the universe, but he chose to repeat the name "Black." 

• How does this connect to the answers for Rounds 1 and 2?

Round 4: Put a sticky note on page 318. Flip back and forth between page 284, page 305, and page 318. Read over the answers to Rounds 1, 2, and 3. 

• Make a thematic statement: What do you think Foer is up to with the concept of "Black"?

2. Enjoying our penultimate fishbowl discussion: ELIC, pages 260-306

3. Wrapping up with takeaways (for an extra challenge, work in a new tone word)

HW:
1. Finish the book and your final journal entry for Thursday. 

2. Bring in five items on Friday that hold significance to you (an old, printed photo, an object, something you carry around for luck, a gift you received, a letter, etc).

Oskar's Inventions: October 9, 2017

Focus: What do Oskar's inventions reveal about his quest?

1. Warming up with Oskar's inventions:

(a) Make a journal entry on YOUR PERSONAL BLOG to generate a list Oskar's inventions.

Pages I found with Oskar's inventions (I may have missed a few): 

1, 3, 35, 38, 72, 73-4, 217-223 (the "Sixth Borough is really Oskar's dad's invention, but it works), 235, 250, 258-9

Oskar tells the renter, "I want to stop inventing. If I could know how he died, exactly how he died, I wouldn't have to invent him dying inside an elevator that was stuck between floors, which happened to some people, and I wouldn't have to imagine him trying to crawl down the outside of the building, which I saw a video of one person doing on a Polish site, or trying to use a tablecloth as a parachute, like some of the people who were in Windows on the World actually did. There were so many different ways to die, and I just need to know which was his" 

(Foer 257).

(b) According to Oskar's statement above, why has Oskar been inventing? Why does he want to stop?

(c) Pick two or three of Oskar's inventions that interest you. How do they relate to your answer to question (b)?

2. Taking a musical stroll with your blogging buddies:

• Read what they wrote and say hello.
• Ask a Level 1, 2 or 3 question about something they wrote (something you'd genuinely like answered). 

AND/OR

• Offer a meaningful reflection on something they wrote.

3. Reading, journaling, and conferencing

Tomorrow's leaders may use this time to touch base in the hallway.

HW:

1. Your penultimate reading assignment, pages 260-306 is due Tuesday. Let's do this. (If you're feeling daunted by the # of pages, don't be--many of the pages are weird). Compose your 7th journal entry; now is the time to catch up if you have fallen behind.

2. Reading conferences will continue next Monday and Wednesday.

3. If you're wondering about how journals are graded, you get two grades:

a. The first grade you get after you conference with me. This is a Growth grade. Although I hope you're caught up in your blogs, this grade has nothing to do with that. Instead, it's about the quality of what you're doing and to what extent your journals are preparing you for discussion. This is worth 40 points, and you have a say in your grade

b. The second grade is an Attempt and Completion grade; it reflects that you have completed each assigned journal entry (5 points per journal). This I grade these NEXT MONDAY, so that should give you plenty of time to catch up if you've fallen behind.

(Le)Clarification: October 6, 2017

Focus: What tools can we use to clarify the confusing parts of ELIC?

1. Warming up with a 5-minute review of ELIC vocabulary words using www.quizlet.com

• Flip through flashcards, do a little Matching, play Gravity, etc.

2. Taking the ELIC vocabulary assessment

• Do as much as you can without looking up the words, then look up words when you get stuck.

• Flip over to the back of the quiz and highlight the square on the top row of the rubric that fits you best.

3. Watching the film version of ELIC with your film notes; PLEASE HAND IN YOUR NOTES TO MRS. FRIIS BEFORE YOU GO TO THE ASSEMBLY.

4. Leave your backpacks in the room and enjoy the assembly!

HW:

1. For Tuesday: Read through page 306 for our penultimate fishbowl. Prepare your journal entry using any of the options. There are 30 pages of actual reading in this assignment.

2. Have a safe Homecoming weekend!

Places and People: October 5, 2017

Focus: How does the New York landscape interact with / influence the characters?

1. Warming up with reading time and a few possible journal ideas if you're stuck:

Flashback to yesterday's warm-up: 

• What does the idea of the 6th borough represent to Oskar? (Revisit the image on pages 60 and 61 after you read that part)

• What symbolic role does the Empire State Building play in this part of the story?

OR

Interview a Character:

• Try interviewing one of the characters in the story who doesn't get a narrative (the mom, the dad, Dr. Fein, any of the characters named Black, etc.). Include the questions you're asking and how you think they'd respond.

2. Enjoying ELIC Fishbowl #4: Pages 208-259 

3. Wrapping up with lingering questions, epiphanies, and kudos

HW:

1. For tomorrow: Review your ELIC words tonight for tomorrow's assessment.

2. For Tuesday: Read through page 306 for our penultimate fishbowl. Prepare your journal entry using any of the options. There are 30 pages of actual reading in this assignment; you could about 10 tonight, 10 on Monday in class, and 10 Monday night if you don't want to read over the weekend.

NY Landscapes: October 4, 2017

Focus: What role does the New York landscape play in this part of the novel?

1. Warming up with a map of NY's boroughs, and image of Central Park, and a virtual tour of the Empire State building

The Boroughs

Central Park

Making Predictions:

• Why might Foer include a chapter about an imaginary 6th borough?

• Why might the Empire State Building symbolize in the story?

2. Reading, journaling, and conferencing

• What does the idea of the 6th borough represent to Oskar? (Revisit the image on pages 60 and 61 after you read that part)

• What symbolic role does the Empire State Building play in this part of the story?

3. Writing a quick exit ticket by clicking here

HW:

1. Read pages 208-259 for tomorrow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your next journal entry.

If you miss a Fishbowl, you must make it up. Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. 

2. We will continue our READING JOURNAL CONFERENCES in class next week. Click HERE for the rubric. 

One-Word Biographies, Continued: October 2, 2017

Focus: How can a one-word biography help you uncover a shift you've undergone?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Finishing Friday's freewriting: Click HERE for today's memoir slides on creating one-word biographies

3. Reading, journaling, and conferencing with Ms. Leclaire on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

HW:

1. Read pages 174-207 for tomorrow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; complete your journal entry using either the three passage, three question format or one of the more creative choices. Do what works for you! 

If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog. 

2. Spend five minutes today with your ELIC vocabulary words; we will have an assessment on Friday.

3. TODAY IS THE FINAL DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ANY WORK FROM THE LAST SIX WEEKS.