A Few Barbs for the Bard!

Now that we have a few insults behind us...maybe we can get into the spirit of Act I, scene i, which starts out with a few macho guys swaggering around town, bragging about how tough they are. Good set up for a fight, huh? We'll read through the Prologue (which you have already figured out tonight) and start into the first scene. Don't forget to bring your books, your portfolios, and your study guide questions which we will fill out as we go. It's a good reference, so hang onto it.
Some of the puns in scene i are difficult to understand because of the time period and the evolution of the meaning of the words. By the way, soccer dude in second hour links us to a very cool site on archaic words. Check it out! Here's a link to his post.
Since tomorrow is a 90 minute class period, we'll read for the first part of class and reserve the second half for blogging. Your final drafts of your papers are due to turn in on Monday, along with the first two drafts, your conference notes, and your letter of reflection.

For those of you wondering what a pun is, click on this link for the pun of the day!

And for a little practice of your own, try out this lesson on puns!

Art Thou Ready to Read Shakespeare?

Tomorrow we will begin by looking at second drafts. I hope that first draft conferences helped you, but don't forget that in addition to the 6+1 traits (word choice, sentence fluency, organization, content and ideas, conventions, voice), you might also consider a change of form or genre.

I notice that some of you are blogging about Shakespeare. Good for you! Some of the most beautiful and lyrical lines of poetry appear in the play we are about to read, but there are always those of us who are intimidated by the language. For that reason, tomorrow we are going to "play" with words, Shakespearean words and elevated language. So get thy books out and thee shall enjoy a battle of barbs for the bard! You'll see; it's easy. If you want to get some practice in before class, click on the Shakespearean Insults site for fun!

Wednesday...

Blogger has been down, so here I am in the wee small hours of the morning with my post. For that reason, it will be short. Today I'll hand back your first drafts and conference notes. Those of you who didn't come in with a first draft yesterday will have to find a writing group outside of class. We'll look at second drafts on Thursday. I saw some very creative first drafts, so if you are still searching, maybe your group sparked some ideas. I'll be anxious to post some of your final drafts to the blog; I think you'll enjoy them.

Sounds like a dramatic shift, but we are looking at the Renaissance period today and starting our study of Shakespeare. I have a wonderful introduction called Shakespeare in the Classroom which is a view from the actors in the film Shakespeare in Love. They discuss the time period, the poetry, the theater, and more. Adieu!

An interesting link to life in the 1500's tells us about some of the myths and facts.

Short Class, First Drafts

Today we collaborated on possible writing topics (RAFTS) connected with our semester's reading, media and class discussions. I hope that you found some interesting ideas. Please bring your RAFT charts with you to class tomorrow as well as a first draft of a writing. Remember, a first draft is rough, just the "bones" of your ideas. Once you find your related topic and decide on your role and audience, your writing can take shape in many forms: letters, essays, editorials, feature articles, research, lyrics, and so on. If you are still searching, you might look back over the blog.

Third block class will be a bit longer, and due to interviews today, only third block will continue to brainstorm on our RAFT charts, collaborate with partners or teams, and freewrite our topics. Third block must bring in your ideas, but we will have time to finish the charts and then write.

Your topics do not have to be limited to the novels we just finished. You may wish to tie your writing to one or more of the radio dairies or an interview from Face to Face. Good luck!

What is Courage?

There's nothing like hearing an author or poet read his or her work aloud. A friend of mind sent a link to a public reading of A Wreath for Emmett Till read by the poet Marilyn Nelson. Click on the site to hear her read.

I hope you've experienced a restful weekend. My internet has been down, so I'm lucky I can even post now and am especially lucky to have not lost power this weekend. I hope you have all stayed warm. I have been anxious to read your posts from the radio diaries, and now that I can, I have to say that I'm impressed with your reflections.

Bring your books with you tomorrow - Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman or Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry , and we'll check them in. You'll need your textbooks starting on Tuesday, so you'd better dig them out of your bedrooms or lockers so that you can bring them to class.

Inquiry for Monday: What is courage? Of all of our reading this semester, from Odysseus to Miss Jane, Roll and Mockingbird, from the radio diaries to interviews on Face to Face, how has courage been tested and demonstrated? How does this issue relate to our personal lives and to the world? How are adolescents faced with the test of courage? This is a topic we'll explore for our next writing. We'll be free writing about this topic on the blog today.

This week we'll enter the Italian Renaissance period!