This weekend has been a real bear. I started out intending to have you read one work. Then I read it, did not like it, so I read another. Again, I read it, didn't like it, and so selected other works. It reminds me of that part in Monty Python about "Swamp Castle." Let's see if I remember this correctly:
Father: People said I was daft to put up a castle in a swamp. But I did it anyway. It sank into the swamp...
Then I built a second castle. That also sank into the swamp. So I built a third castle, that burnt down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But this one stayed up! (or something like that).
I'm hoping that you won't have to marry Princess Lokie.... If you do, please know that I tried.
By the way, I wrote an essay on "The Dead." I want to share that with you--along with the process--by the end of hte we
Monday/Tuesday:
As directed, you should have your white textbooks with you (Literature and Composition). First, you will receive the handout of this week’s agenda. Included in the hand-out will be William Butler Yeats’ famous poem, “The Second Coming.” We will read that in class, along with some information about the background of the poet, his wife George, and his muse, Maud Gonne. You will also learn a little about Lady Augusta Gregory and Robert Gregory. The latter died when his plane was shot down during World War I. We will take a break part-way through the packet to turn to page 302 in your white textbooks. There, we will read Yeats’ “A Prayer for My Daughter.” In small groups, you will answer the questions on pp. 304-305.
Once we have gone over the answers to these questions in class, you will continue reading about Yeats—this time about the context of “A Prayer for My Daughter.”
Following this, you will read Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son.” Together, we will attempt to answer the questions on pp. 306-307.
For homework, you are to read (under “Paired Poems”) Eavan Boland’s “The Pomegranate” (323-325) and Rita Dove’s “The Bistro Styx” (326 - 328). Half of the class will answer the questions that accompany “The Pomegranate.” The other half will answer the questions that accompany “The Bistro Styx.” This homework is to be your work—alone. You are not to work with peers, family members, or anyone else. You are not to use study guides like Cliff’s Notes, Sparknotes, or any other kind of “short-cut.” I want you to attempt to learn how to do this on your own. Your work will be checked for completion.
Make sure that you read the information preceding the poems and that you read the footnotes. They will help you a great deal.
Wednesday/Thursday:
I (or my substitute on Thursday) will check to see that you have completed the homework assignment. We will then go over it in class.
Then, in small groups, you will answer one of the questions 1-5 under "Focus on Comparison and Contrast" (328-329). A leader from each group will discuss what his/her group has found.
There will be a timed, in-class writing assignment of 30 minutes. Paper will be provided. You must write in blue or black ink—and double-spaced. Turn in when the timer goes off.
If time remains in class, you may work on your vocabulary homework--Chapter 8.
Homework: Your “movies” have been delayed until Friday. They were to have been completed on Wednesday /Thursday. Because I cannot be in class on Thursday, they will be due (in flash-drive form—make sure that you have two—just in case) on Friday, December 3rd. Even though half of the class will probably be going on the field trip, it needs to get to me on that day.
Also, your next vocabulary unit is due—Chapter Eight.
Friday:
I will check out your vocabulary. You will download your movies. We will go over the vocabulary.
Read the hand-out on the "No" play.
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