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Day One (08/28/2017)
A class newsletter for August will be sent home. The newsletter includes important reminders about class structure and policies and the bottom portion of the second page should be returned tomorrow, signed by parents. The newsletter can be accessed via the CLASS NEWSLETTER button on the right sidebar of the blog, or by clicking HERE. Today, students will focus on three learning goals: 1) Analyzing a poem and a short story for the authors' use of literary devices 2) Explain how specific stylistic choices support the development of tone and theme 3) Compare and contrast how two different authors explore similar subjects and themes. Students will read and annotate the poem "My Mother Pieced Quilts" by Teresa Paloma Acosta (click HERE for a copy of the poem) and the short story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker (click HERE for a copy of the story). Students should take care to note the use of figurative language. Figurative language includes imagery, symbolism, metaphors, and more. Learn about all the types of figurative language by clicking HERE. Students should then answer questions #1-2 on pg 74 and questions #4-8 on pg. 83-84. Day Two (08/29/17) Students will begin the day with an introduction to their new vocabulary program - the Vocabulary Football League. All 10th grade literature classes will be participating in the program. Students will be grouped into teams of 3-5 and assigned an NCAA team from the Power 5 Conference. Each Tuesday, students will be given 10 new words to study, and a quiz will take place each Monday (Monday Football). Students team scores will come from the collective scores of each member on the quiz. While all students will receive individual grades for their quizzes, students will collectively participate in a motivating and fun "game" with prizes for the winners. Eventually play will narrow to the best teams in each class playing in a playoffs and a championship. The hope of the 10th grade collaborative team is that this program will motivate students to study vocabulary and encourage each other. Following up our reading and study from yesterday, students will complete a Venn Diagram, comparing and contrasting the poem "My Mother Pieced Quilts" and the story "Everyday Use." Venn Diagrams will be due at the end of the block. The first VFL Quiz will take place on Tuesday, September 05 after the Labor Day weekend. Click HERE for Week 1 Vocab.
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Day One (08/21/17) Enjoy the solar eclipse! Day Two (08/22/17) Students will continue their study and discussion of cultural identity and how it impacts writing by reading an excerpt from Indian author Santha Rama Rau's memoir "By Any Other Name" starting on pg. 43 of their SpringBoard text. Students should annotate, looking for cultural elements that reveal a sense of the author's cultural identity. Learn more about what a memoir is HERE. After reading the text, students will complete questions #1-8 on pgs. 48-49 of the SpringBoard text. Day Three (08/23/17) Based on class discussion of the excerpt "By Any Other Name" and the experience of some immigrants at Ellis Island, students will complete an interactive tour of Ellis Island at Scholastic. For the tour, click HERE. Students should complete the following Web Quest as they tour Ellis Island - click HERE. Web Quests are due at the end of class, or must be finished for homework and turned in at the beginning of class on Thursday. Day Four (08/24/2017) After our virtual tour and Ellis Island WebQuest, students will begin the period by playing Immigration Survivor. The game presents different scenarios of new immigrants to the United States in the early 1900s at the peak of Ellis Island traffic. Students will guess whether immigrants are cleared for entrance into America, or deported due to their circumstances. To see the game, click HERE. After the Immigration Survivor game, students will read an excerpt from the cultural essay "Where Worlds Collide" by Pico Iyer (access HERE) about his experience living in culturally diverse southern California. Students will annotate, looking for allusions. To learn more about the literary device allusion, click HERE. When finished reading, students should answer questions 1-6 on pg. 65 of their SpringBoard text. Day Five (08/25/2017) Students will begin the class with 20 minutes of independent reading. For independent reading students may bring their own reading materials or select something from the class library. After quiet independent reading, students may work in groups if they need to complete the film study from last week for Mona Lisa Smile. When finished, we will begin a new film study, viewing the 2015 movie Brooklyn, rated PG13. Learn more about this Oscar-nominated film HERE. Brooklyn is based on the novel of the same name, by Irish author Colm Tóibín and tells the story of Irish immigrant Eilis Lacey to New York in the 1950s. Following yesterday's reading of When Worlds Collide by Pico Iyer, students will create a written response describing how Brooklyn, like Worlds Collide, juxtaposes the idea of the American Dream with the reality that new immigrants find. For this assignment, click HERE. Day One (08/14/17)
Students will 1) analyze a particular point-of-view regarding a cultural experience expressed in literature and art and 2) compare and contrast the representation of a subject in different media, using the biography and art of Frida Kahlo. Students will begin by watching the short film clip, The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo by PBS HERE. Students should take notes on how Kahlo expresses her life and culture through her art. Students will then study the same subject (Kahlo's life, culture, and art) as expressed in the excerpt from Frida, a Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera. Students should annotate the work, looking for examples of how Kahlo uses her art to express her culture. Working individually or as groups, students will complete questions 1-6 on pg. 35. After discussing the questions as a class, we will view and discuss the Kahlo painting Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States. Finally, students will complete a multi-paragraph written response, discussing how Kahlo expresses her cultural identity in her art, drawing on examples from all media (film clip, biography excerpt, and painting). See the full color rendering of Kahlo's painting below. Day 2 (08/15/17) Embedded Assessment #1 - Students should plan to write a thorough essay explaining their cultural identity for the first common formative assessment of the year. All 10th grade lit students will complete the same formative assessment. Students should begin by reviewing the rubric for assessment 1 on pg. 58 of the SpringBoard text. What should a proficient or an exemplary essay include? Students should make a list of what they need to include in their essay to be successful based on the rubric. Afterward, students should begin brainstorming how they will write their essay. What will you include about your culture? How will you organize your writing? Students should complete the first draft of their essay in class or for homework. Successful essays will include basic elements of structure including an opening paragraph, a concluding paragraph, and transitions. Day 3 (08/16/17) Students should bring a completed draft of their essay to class for peer review. Working in pairs or groups, students will read each others essays, looking for mistakes and giving them a potential score based on the scoring guide (rubric) on pg. 58. After peer review, students will have 30 minutes to rewrite the final draft of their essay, due at the end of the period. Day 4 (08/17/17) After completing the first common assessment, students will continue reviewing cultural identity as presented in unit 1, by reading the poem, Legal Alien, on pg. 40. Students should annotate the poem, paying particular attention to the idea of juxtaposition. Juxtaposition is the arrangement of two or more things for the purpose of comparison. How does author Pat Mora use juxtaposition to explain her cultural identity? Listen to Pat Mora read the poem Legal Alien HERE. After reading the poem, students will answer questions 11-14 on pg. 41. Finally, students will complete viewing of the film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, comparing and contrasting the cultural views presented within. Completed venn diagrams will be due at the end of class. Day 5 (08/18/17) Students will have a period of independent reading (silent) for the first twenty minutes of class. If students do not like the books provided in the class library, they may bring their own book or magazine to class. After Independent Reading, students will view the film Mona Lisa Smile. Students will complete a film study activity, where they note how different characters either conform to or dissent from the "culture" of the time period presented in the movie. Students should consider 1) What is the culture of Wellesley College? What are the values of the women who work and attend there? 2) How do some characters refuse to conform to (agree with) the culture there? Mona Lisa Smile is rated PG13. Learn more about the film HERE. Students will complete the activity HERE due at the end of the movie. Going into Week 2, here is a potential sketch of the material we hope to cover.
Introduction to SpringBoard SpringBoard is the new English/Language Arts resource that Cobb County has acquired for grades 6-12. For 10th grade, the focus is world cultures. Each student will be given a textbook in which they can write. Textbooks will be kept IN CLASS. The replacement cost for a lost SpringBoard book will be $80. UNIT 1 - CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS Day 1 (08/07/17) As we begin unit 1, we will first take time to explore what learning goals we have in unit 1. Unit 1 includes a collection of poetry, short stories, and essays, all focusing on some element of cultural identity. What is cultural identity? Watch THIS VIDEO to learn more about what culture is. Students should be prepared to answer the essential questions: 1) What is my cultural identity? and 2) How do cultural experiences shape, impact, or influence our identity and perception? Students will begin to think about how culture can be defined. Students should complete the CULTURAL IDENTITY QUESTIONNAIRE to help them define their own cultural identity, as well as understand where other people's identity comes from. Day 2 (08/08/17) Students will begin SpringBoard Activity 1.3, "Exploring Cultural Identity" by discussing the difference between academic writing and personal/memoir writing. On pg 9, students will briefly read and attempt to "decode" the academic piece "What is Cultural Identity?" Students should note the purpose of the text, potential audience, and tone. Students will then read the more personal essay "Ethnic Hash" by Patricia J. Williams on pg 13. Students should annotate the piece as they read, making note of important ideas, terms they may not know, etc. Once finished reading, students should answer questions 10-12 on pg. 15. Students will then work in groups to create an "Ethnic Hash" collage, describing how each of their favorite foods reflect their culture. Day 3 (08/09/17) Students will continue their exploration of other cultures through writing, by reading the novel excerpt "Two KInds" by Amy Tan on pg. 21 of their SpringBoard text. Students will begin with a silent, individual reading and annotation of the text, paying special attention to conflict in the excerpt. Once finished reading, students will complete the Conflict Map, answering the following questions: 1) What is the main conflict in this story? 2) What causes this conflict? 3) How is the conflict resolved? 4) What are some other ways the conflict could have been resolved? Day 4 (08/10/17) Students will re-read "Two Kinds" and/or listen to the audio, available HERE. After reviewing the text, students will work in groups to answer questions 1-9 on pgs 30-31 of the SpringBoard text. Day 5 (08/11/17) Students will be introduced to Independent/Sustained Silent Reading. 1-2 times per week, students will independently and quietly any text of their choice. They may read books on their phone, but must show them to the teacher beforehand. We have a classroom library of texts, and students may also choose their own book, blog, or magazine. After independent reading, students will view the film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, furthering our discussion of cultural expression across different media. Students will complete a venn diagram, illustrating the differences and similarities between the cultures of Toula and Ian as portrayed in the medium of film. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is rated PG. Read more about this film HERE. Welcome to 10th World Lit with Dr. Conley. As you know, week 1 was a busy, challenging week. Below, you will find an outline of what we covered in week 1, as well as links to download any resources you might need if you missed them.
Day 1 (07/31/17) - Introduction Class /School policies Syllabus Day 2 (08/01/17) - Pre-Test Multiple choice benchmark test on student knowledge of literary terms and analysis. If you missed, the pre-test, please see me about making this up AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Day 3 (08/02/17) - Benchmark Writing Sample Student writing sample on 1 of 3 topics. Students must complete an essay on the topic of their choice. If you missed the Benchmark Writing Sample, please see me about making this up AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Day 4 (08/03/17) - Archetype Notes and Lecture Students will take notes (click HERE) during an interactive lecture on archetypes. For the presentation on archetypes, click HERE. What is an archetype? Click HERE to learn more. If you missed the notes/ lecture, please see me about making this up AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Day 5 (08/04/17) - Film Analysis Using their archetype notes, students will analyze a film from popular culture (10 Things I Hate About You) based on a Shakespeare play (Taming of the Shrew). Students will find two archetypes in the film (situation, character, or symbol) and write a paragraph about each archetype explaining the archetype and how it is used in the film. Due Monday! For the assignment, click HERE. NOTE: By signing and returning the syllabus, parents agree to allow their child to watch G, PG, and PG13 films that relate to the material of the course. 10 Things I Hate About You is rated PG13. Learn more about the film HERE. |
DR. MEGHAN CONLEY
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