Tuesday, February 28, 2006

WRITING EXAM REVIEW SESSION TWO

  • Cause and Effect Prompt: What does a definition prompt look like?
  • Review Rubrics for Prompts
  • Outline a Cause and Effect Prompt
    • Various models of C&E prompts

February 28 Agenda

  • No Short Essay
  • Complete Antigone reading
  • Complete Antigone questions
  • Review Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy and Compare to plays

Reading Due: Complete Antigone
Work Due: Complete Antigone Work

Monday, February 27, 2006

Download Graphs and Rubrics for Writing Test


Above is a graph that depicts how scores have changed over the past couple of years. Note the drop: this writing test is hard.


NC WRITING TEST REVIEW SESSION ONE

Today's Goal: Review Grading Process of Writing Test

Writing Prompt Review: 2003

You may download the sample prompt from this website.
You may go over possible grading guidelines from this website.


AGENDA:
  • Review Prompt
  • Speed Plan for Prompt
    • What would make a good essay?
  • Practice grading
    • What score does each essay deserve?
    • How do the graders grade?

February 28 Agenda

  • No short essay
  • Review: Socrates
    • Socrates said: "The unexamined life is not worth living."
    • Compare to both Antigone and Oedipus Rex
  • Guided Practice: Antigone
    • Complete reading play
    • Answer questions

Work Due: Antigone Questions
Reading Due: Antigone

Friday, February 24, 2006

February 27 Agenda

  • No Short Essay
  • Review: Oedipus Rex
    • Review five main themes of play
    • Assign homework: Essay Questions on Oedipus Rex
  • Input: Seven Against Thebes
    • Summarize/Flow Map: Oedipus at Colonus
    • Review history: Battle of Seven Against Thebes
    • Review characters: Dynamic vs. Static
  • Guided/Independet Practice: Antigone
    • Begin reading Antigone and answering questions with each prompt

Work Due: Oedipus Homework Due Tomorrow! Begin answering Antigone questions
Reading Due: First part of Antigone

February 24 Agenda


  • No short essay: All "Intro to Greece" work is due!
  • Review: Themes of Oedipus
  • Input: Meaning of "She doth protest too much," and how it applies to Oedipus/Jocasta
  • Guided/Independent Practice: Oedipus Rex
    • Read to end of play
    • Answer and turn in all questions

Reading Due: Complete Oedipus Rex
Work Due: Oedipus Questions

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy

As Aristotle said, a tragedy needs certain things....

  • A series of unrelated events + a tragic flaw = tragedy
  • A series of unrelated events = coincidence
  • A tragic flaw = hubris = pride

Other things that make a good tragedy:
  • Everything happens in one day
  • The main character is basically good
  • The main character is upper class

February 23 Agenda

  • No short essay: Work on "Intro to Greece" worksheet
  • Review:
    • Oracles and their purpose
    • Greek theater
  • Input:
    • Five themes of Oedipus Rex
      • Fate vs. Freewill
      • Abuse of Power
      • Nature of Innocence and Guilt
      • Nature of Moral Responsibility
      • Quest for Identity
    • "Ignorance is bliss"
      • Discuss meaning and implication
  • Guided Practice: Oedipus Rex
    • Begin Reading Play
    • Answer questions as a class

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Feb. 22 Agenda

  • No Short Essay: Instead, work on completing the worksheets on Greek beliefs.
  • Go over important definitions and places from reading:
    • Oracles and Prophecies
    • Delphi
    • Dionysus
    • Fate
    • Funeral rites
    • City Dionysia
    • Theater construction
    • Theater players
  • Input: Theory of Tragedy
    • Developed by Aristotle
    • Formula for Tragedy/good tragedy characteristics
    • Tragic Flaw
      • Hubris = Pride
  • Input: Oedipus Rex
    • Written by Sophocles
    • Story of Oedipus Rex
  • Input: Themes of Greek Plays
    • Go over themes of Greek plays / Oedipus Rex:
      • Fate vs. Freewill
      • Abuse of power
      • Nature of innocence and guilt
      • Quest for Identity
      • Nature of moral responsibility

Work Due: Greek Intro worksheet (if not done sooner)
Reading due: Greek Intro packet, notes on info on board

Monday, February 20, 2006

2/21/04 Agenda

  • No Short Essay
  • Greek gods presentations by class
  • Introduction to Oedipus Rex/Greek beliefs

Work due: presentations
Reading due: Greek information

Agenda 2/20/06

  • No Short Essay: All portfolios will be returned tomorrow, graded. If you have not turned in your portfolio yet, please be sure to do so ASAP.
  • Work on and complete Greek gods posters
  • Work on presentation of gods posters for tomorrow

Work due: gods posters

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Greek Interet Project Instructions

You may work by yourself or in a group. If you work in a group, everyone in the group must turn work in.

Only ONE person per group needs a computer; groups should be no larger than 3-4 people.

First, click on the god/goddess your group is assigned:

  1. Erinyes
  2. Moerae
  3. Apollo
  4. Dionysus
  5. Hades
  6. Sphinx

Second, answer the questions on the worksheet dealing with your god/goddess.

Third, create a poster that tells me who this god/goddess is. Your poster should include:

  • Greek name of god (in both English letters and Greek letters)
  • Roman name of god (if applicable)
  • 2-3 pictures of the god
  • Purpose, power, or ability of the god
  • 5-10 facts about the god

Need help? Try these websites:

The posters should look good, and have good information, and not be crap. Put some effort into these. Use markers, poster paper, images from the internet, etc., to complete your poster.

ON MONDAY, YOU WILL PRESENT YOUR POSTER TO THE CLASS. PART OF YOUR GRADE WILL BE YOUR PRESENTATION.

The Hero's Journey

The archetype of the "Hero's Journey" was developed by a man named Joseph Campbell, and explained in his book, Hero of a Thousand Faces. Among other things, Campbell asserted that every culture has a "hero's journey" story/myth, and that these all had certain characteristics. To sum it up, the steps of the hero's journey are:
  1. Ignorance: the hero's doesn't know he's special
  2. Mentor: a mentor teaches the hero of his power
  3. Initiation/trial: the hero must go through a training period
  4. Scar: the hero receives some sort of scar. NOTE: This scar could be external (like Harry Potter's scar on his head) or internal (like Harry's emotional scar of the loss of his parents)
  5. Denial: the hero denies his power and/or responsibility (usually in the form of "It can't be me, I can't do it")
  6. Acceptance: the hero accepts his power and/or responsibility (usually in the form of "I have to do it to save ___________.")
  7. Dragon: The hero must fight a "dragon." (Dragon = whatever great evil the hero must vanquish, i.e. Voldemort, Darth Vader, Sauruman, etc.)

If you're interested in this sort of jazz, check out The Power of Myth, also by Joseph Campbell, or some basic books of Carl Jung, Campbell's predecessor.

You may also want to check out these links:

A good summary of an interview with Campbell explaining these ideas can be found here.

This site goes more in-depth about the hero's journey than I went over in class. It's very interesting.

February 17 Agenda

  • Short Essay: What do you know about Ancient Greece? What would you like to know? Be specific and add lots of detail!
  • Independent Practice: Quiz!
  • Group Work: Greek Posters
  • Create a poster that exemplifies a Greek god. Choose from the list above for more information.

Work due: Quiz, Posters

February 16 Agenda

  • Short Essay: Free write! Write a paragraph on anything.
  • Independet Practice: Study for exam on "Theseus," Hero's Journey and Intro to Greece

Any notes taken today or yesterday in class may be used on the quiz tomorrow.

Reading due: Page 211-223, Blue book
Work due: Notes, to be used on exam tomorrow

February 15 Agenda

  • Short Essay: Would you like to be a hero?
  • Input: Hero's Journey Archetype
  • Go over all the steps of the hero's journey
  • Prove theory thorugh modern day examples (i.e. Star Wars, Lion King, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings)
  • Read "Theseus" (Blue book, page 29)
  • Prove: Is Theseus a hero according to the Hero's Journey Archetype?

Reading: "Theseus," page 29

Work due: Theseus worksheet

February 14 Agenda

  • No short essay
  • Review: Grammar
  • Common Grammar Mistakes based on previous writing test practice
  • Writing Test Practice: Definition Prompt

Homework Due: Writing Test Practice

Make sure that you also turn in your rough draft with your original paper for the grades to be averaged together.

February 13 Agenda

Unit Test on Mythology and African Literature (including Egypt)

If you are absent on the day of the test, it is your responsibility to come up with a time that you can meet with me after school to make up the test. Tests may NOT be made up during class time.

Feb. 10 Agenda

Sundiata

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

STUDY FOR TEST

Unit test tomorrow!

Things to study up on:
  • Mythology
    • Creation Myths
      • How are they similar?
      • What symbols repeat?
    • Flood Myths
      • How are they similar?
      • What symbols repeat?
  • Parallelism
    • What is parallelism?
    • What are some theories of parallel mythology?
      • What are the three possible explanations of parallel mythology?
    • What is archetypal theory?
    • Who invented archetypal theory?
  • Egypt
    • What is the Cult of the Dead?
    • What are the main Egyptian gods?
    • What are some Egyptian symbols and what do they mean?
    • What is the legend of Isis and Osiris, and how does it reflect Egyptian culture?
    • What are some Egyptian beliefs and how do they show up in Egyptian literature?
    • What is the Book of the Dead and why is it important?
    • How did the Egyptians believe the world was created?
    • How were mummies made and why is this information important?
    • What is the Rosetta Stone and why is it important?
  • African Literature
    • What is oral literature?
    • What is a proverb, and what do some proverbs mean?
    • What is a dilemma tale?
    • What is the purpose of a dilemma tale?
    • How is Dead Men's Path a dilemma tale?
Study hard!!!

February 9 Agenda

  • No short essay! Yay!
    • Short essays will NOT be taken up this Friday...instead, they will be taken up NEXT Friday.
  • Review
    • Complete and print any essays not yet done and turn in, with first draft stapled to front
    • Start reviewing for the test
  • Input:
    • African Literature outside of Egypt
      • Oral tradition
      • Proverbs
      • Dilemma Tales
  • Input:Modern African Literature
    • Chinua Achebe
    • "Dead Men's Paths"
  • Homework: STUDY FOR UNIT EXAM

Work due: Essays (if not complete)
Reading due: African literature and "Dead Men's Paths"

Excellent Citation

Here's an example of an excellent use of quotes:

Only about "1% of Ancient Egypt could read hieroglyphs. This made scribes greatly valued as it gave them great social advancement" (Handout 3). Most scribes were men which reflect how the culture of ancient Egypt was mostly run by men because most women were illiterate.



Well done! It makes the quote flow...you can hardly tell that it's a quote unless you look for the quote marks.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

February 8 Agenda

  • No short essay! Yay!
  • Review: Rough drafts
    • Go over common grammatical mistakes in rough draft essays
    • Review MLA format
  • Independent Practice: Essays in MLA format
    • (Honors) Make a complete final draft of essay using laptops
    • (Honors) Use MLA format correctly, including a works cited page
    • (Standard) Turn paragraph into a full page, typed essay using MLA format
  • If work is finished early, find additional sources to include in essay online.

Work Due: Final drafts of essays

Monday, February 06, 2006

February 7 Agenda

  • Short Essay: What is the most interesting thing you have learned about Egypt so far?
  • Input: MLA Format
    • What is MLA?
      • Modern Langauge Association
    • What is MLA format?
      • A style of writing research papers that is commonly used in colleges
    • How do you format an MLA paper?
  • Independent Practice: Writing an MLA style paper
    • Use the highlighted readings you got yesterday to complete the assignment
    • Honors: Choose from the following two prompts to write a 2 page essay in class using MLA format
    • Standard: Write 1/2 page essay on each of the following two prompts
      • PROMPT ONE: What are heiroglyphics? What importance did the Egyptians place on them? Why were they important to the Egyptians?
      • PROMPT TWO: What is the Rosetta Stone? How was it discovered/deciphered? Why is it important?

Work due: Papers written (may be homework if not done in class)

Friday, February 03, 2006

February 6 Agenda

  • Short Essay: What is your opinion on the Book of the Dead? Be specific and give lots of detail.
  • Input: Movie--what is Egypt?
    • Watch short movie on Egypt
  • Input: Alphabet Origins
    • Review timeline of the alphabet
    • Hieroglyphics' connection to English
  • Input/Guided Practice:
    • Break into partners and read articles on Egyptian writing and the importance that was placed by Egyptians on their writing
    • Review Rosetta Stone, it's founding, and it's importance
    • Highlight article packet and take notes on it
  • Note: I will be taking several questions from this article packet for your upcoming test, so don't slack off. Read it carefully.

Work Due: None (keep your highlighted readings)
Reading due: Article packet

Thursday, February 02, 2006

February 3 Agenda

  • Short Essay: Freewrite--Write one paragraph on anything you'd like to write on.
  • Note: Turn in ANY work you've not yet turned in!!!
  • Input: Book of the Dead
    • Purpose of Book of the Dead:
      • A spellbook to protect the dead person in the afterlife
      • A guidebook to guide the dead through the afterlife
      • A list of the dead's innocence
    • Archeology of the Book of the Dead
      • Scrolls of papyrus usually wrapped with mummies
      • Real title: The Chapters of Coming Forth by Day
      • Sometimes shortened versions, sometimes lost in time
        • Therefore, there is no one complete scroll
        • Most complete verion is the Scroll of Ani
  • Guided Practice: Reading "The Book of the Dead"
  • Independent Practice: Hieroglyphics
    • Go over hieroglyphics, their purpose, and importance
    • Create names in heiroglyphics

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

February 2 Agenda

  • Short Essay: Would you have liked to have lived in Ancient Egypt? Why or why not? Be specific and add lots of detail.
  • Complete your Webquest if you have not already
  • Guided Practice: Legends and Myths from Egypt
    • Read page 35, "Osiris and Isis"
    • Read page 73, "The Great Hymn to the Aten"
    • Answer questions on both readings
  • Any work not completed is homework!
Work due: Webquest, Questions on Egyptian Myths and Legends
Reading due: "Osiris and Isis," "The Great Hymn to the Aten"