WOW! WHAT A WEEK!

Here's my family enjoying the winter weather. I, of course, was relegated to watching. People who are 6 1/2 months pregnant are not allowed to sled!!!!!



I hope that you are all staying warm! What a crazy week! I'm sure at least some of you lost power during the week. We lost ours on Tuesday night and it came back on Thursday night. Phone and internet were not back on until today (Friday).

I hope everyone was able to make the most of the time off. I know we enjoyed it, although not having power is not a lot of fun.

Regarding our class........We will still have the timed writings on Tuesday, and Act III performers will walk through Hamlet since we shoot again on Thursday. We will begin Oedipus when we can. I had planned to get about half of it read last Friday, but Mother Nature decided differently.

I have enjoyed reading the comments from those of you who have completed the required posts over the timed writing material. If you haven't, you'll need to BY TUESDAY, assuming something doesn't go crazy with the weather again. Those of you who do not have power or internet access, should make sure to find time Monday at school to do your post. YOU ARE WELCOME TO USE THE EXTRA COMPUTER IN MY ROOM AT ANY TIME DURING THE DAY. Each post is worth 5 points (20 points total), so be sure to complete it.

If anyone has any stories from the week to share (loss of power, other calamaties, or fun things you did on your time off), I'd love to hear how your week went. I'm sure others would enjoy your stories as well. Post here with tales from the frozen week or if you have any other questions.

Hopefully, I'll see you on Tuesday of next week!

next to of course god america i--REQUIRED POST #1

DUE DATE FOR POSTS: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28 7:30 AM

Respond to the poem by e.e. cummings. Some things to think about include the following:

What is the poet's view of patriotism? On what evidence from the poem are you basing your thoughts?

What literary techniques does the poet use and how do they contribute to the work as a whole?

What IS the significance of the work as a whole? What are the author's themes? In other words, what is he really trying to say?

What stands out to you about the poem?

What confuses you? What questions would you like to pose to the class?

DON'T WORRY ABOUT WRONG ANSWERS!!!! We have to start somewhere to make meaning of works that are presented to us.

***Remember, you need to post TWICE, substantively. One post must be in response to the post of a classmate. 5 bonus points for any postings made on Monday.

THE SECRET HISTORY--REQUIRED POST #2

DUE DATE FOR POSTS: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28 7:30 AM

Respond to the passage by Donna Tartt. Some things to think about include the following:

What is the narrator's attitude towards death, and what evidence helped you come to this conclusion?

What IS the overall significance of the passage? What are the themes, central ideas, etc? Ultimately, what is the author's point in writing the piece?

What literary techniques are used, and how do they contribute to the overall significance of the work?

What stands out to you about the passage?

What confuses you? What questions would you like to pose to the group?

***Remember, you need to post TWICE, substantively. One post must be in response to the post of a classmate. 5 bonus points for any postings made on Monday.

BACK TO HAMLET ON MONDAY!

We are SHOOTING ACT II on Monday, so performers please bring costumes and have your lines memorized.

Musicians will record during enrichment, so please also bring your instruments and know what you are recording.

On Wednesday of this week, I will be presenting at a conference in Indy. While I'm going, you will complete.........a timed writing. I will return your R and G timed writings tomorrow and give you the new topics for Wednesday so, you will have a couple of days to think about them and prepare.

See you Monday.

Greek Drama

For Thursday's class, we're taking a Hamlet break and spending most of the class on Greek Drama.

Hamlet Act II performers need to know their lines; we will go through them tomorrow and shoot on Monday.

Musicians: Mr. Hughes can't come to record tomorrow, but can record you on Monday during enrichment.

Right now, the pressure is mostly on the performers; however, those involved with editing........you're time is coming as soon as the shoot is over.

Thanks again for all of your effort. Though this isn't "Masterpiece Theatre," I think we are learning a few things and breaking the monotony of the same old, same old. There's something to be said for that.

ADDITIONAL SCRAPBOOK TOPICS POSTED

We didn't get time to talk about scrapbooks today, but I posted the handout that the 12A students receive on my teacher web page. You can find it under "Links" and "Courses." (Find my teacher web page by clicking on "Reitz Web Page" under helpful links below).

You are welcome to use any of those topics. You have the same basic requirements as 12A, so you can go by that handout as well.

Great job today, everyone on Hamlet! Thanks to the performers, those working the cameras, and to all who helped in other ways. It was a good start. Once we get going, I think it will go faster.

Act II performers need to have their lines pretty well memorized by Thursday. We'll work with that some in addition to discussing scrapbooks and Greek Drama.

This project is definitely an adventure! We shoot Act II next Monday.

GREEK DRAMA QUIZ--helpful hints

The quiz on Tuesday is a reading comprehension quiz, so as long as you have read and taken notes over the assigned introductory pages, you should be ready to go.

QUESTIONS 1-10 are mulitple choice questions that cover information in the introductory pages; I talked about some of the important information as we read last week.

QUESTIONS 11-23 are matching. You will be asked to match the term with the definition.

As I said in class, you are responsible for all the highlighted terms, including the following:

chorus, skene, deus ex machina, prologue, parados, episodia, stasimon, exodus, hamartia, hubris, catharsis, reversal, and dramatic irony (these are the terms on the quiz)

QUESTIONS 24 AND 25 are True/ False covering the general information in these pages.

Make sure to study! It's a 25 point quiz.

Also, tomorrow we shoot Act I. I haven't heard from anyone yet regarding crowns, etc. I'm assuming you all got what you needed. If not, please let me know. Again, thanks for all of your hard work. I was so impressed with those who presented their work last Thursday. You were great!

Post any questions (Hamlet, Greek Drama, or "other") here. See you Tuesday.

Thursday, January 15

Awesome job on Hamlet today for both performers and musicians. Act I is really coming together! Be sure to keep running your lines for Tuesday's shoot!!!!!

Also, several of you still need costumes. We must have those by Tuesday.

As for PROPS.......here's what we still need:

2 crowns--1 for the king and 1 for the queen (NEED THESE FOR TUESDAY)

2 spears or "spear-like" objects (think broom handles if we get really desperate) (NEED FOR TUESDAY)

2 swords (preferably toy swords......I'm pretty sure we won't be able to have actual swords in school)

A chalice

a skull

shovels for the gravediggers

I'm sure there's more..........it's up to you all to help figure out what else we need.

Please post and let us know who has been able to secure what. SET PEOPLE, if you could help with some of this it would be great. But we can use help from everyone.

The performers are already taking care of much of this by getting their own costumes. Any help from the rest of you would represent a nice team effort. It would be a great way to help out, especially if you know you probably haven't contributed to the project as much as you could or should.

OTHER CLASS BUSINESS

Look for a Greek Drama post this weekend

Arrggghhhh--we still didn't get to the scrapbook handouts. We will do that at the beginning of the period on Tuesday RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS, BEFORE the Greek Drama quiz.

Additional topics for "writes" have been requested. Your request will be granted. I will try to have additional topics for you on Tuesday.

Wednesday, January 14

Tomorrow's class will consist of the following:

HAMLET business
1. run Hamlet lines
2. record Hamlet music
3. discuss the need for Hamlet props
4. performers will perform Act I WITHOUT scripts, but WITH feeling:)

GREEK DRAMA
5. go over important parts of Greek Drama IN YOUR ANTHOLOGIES (be sure to bring those)
6. take notes over Greek Drama and Oedipus
7. prepare for background quiz on Tuesday

OTHER
8. go over scrapbook requirements


***WE ARE SCHEDULED TO BEGIN SHOOTING HAMLET ON TUESDAY JAN. 20---WE WILL BE USING EVERYONE TO HELP SHOOT THE FILM (CAMERAS, MICROPHONES, ETC.); PLEASE TRY NOT TO BE ABSENT (ESPECIALLY PERFORMERS!)

timed writing tomorrow is over R AND G ARE DEAD

Just a reminder that although the sample free response questions I gave you on Friday include many other texts as possible essay topics, you may ONLY write the essay over Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I just wanted to make sure there was no confusion.

R AND G ARE DEAD ROUND II

Nice job of discussion today, everyone. It's great to see that when you really put your minds to something---like postponing a timed writing-- you can do it:)

Those that participated did a really nice job of raising interesting and thoughtful points about the play. One interesting point of discussion was Colten's suggestion that the entire film is actually a play produced by the players in the forest.

If you click on the link (under "Helpful Links") entitled "Lecture on Stoppard," Ian Johnston addresses this very thing. It's towards the end of the lecture. I would be interested to hear any responses to what Johnston suggests, comparing it to the idea that Colten raised during discussion.

And SPEAKING OF DISCUSSION..... before I assign a grade for today's discussion, I think I WILL ALLOW ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION TO CONTINUE HERE AND COUNT ONLINE DISCUSSION AS PART OF THE TOTAL DISCUSSION GRADE. If you choose to participate under this post, keep in mind that you may.....

respond to issues discussed today

respond to comments made during discussion that you've had further time to think about

ask further questions about the play or about ideas to include for the timed writing

respond to the posts of your classmates

IMPORTANT: if you choose to participate, make sure your posts are substantive and represent thoughtful consideration of today's discussion and the content of the play. I like the idea of continuing the discussion here, especially for those who feel more comfortable with this format; however, I don't want people to just post minimal substance in order to create the illusion of participation. Don't worry about wrong answers or interpretation; just focus on thoughtful questions, commentary, or response to others.

R AND G ARE DEAD help for the timed writing and DISCUSSION

I have linked a page of quotes which YOU MAY USE on the timed writing under "Helpful Links". I have also linked to this blog a lecture on Tom Stoppard which I think is very helpful. You are encouraged to read the lecture; however, YOU MAY NOT use that printout during the timed writing.

Of course, any notes you take from that lecture or class, can be used.

Please review the handout I provided and think about what you will contribute to the pre-timed writing discussion. Discussion credit will also be given for any comments or questions posted here. I will print the post page and any comments (with substance, of course) or questions will be recorded as discussion points. THIS DOESN'T MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE TO PARTICIPATE in the discussion, but it can certainly be considered part of your participation......especially for those who prefer to post a comment rather than make one out loud. RESPONSES TO POST QUESTIONS ALSO COUNT FOR DISCUSSION POINTS.

SHOULD ANYONE DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE, I'LL START OFF THE POSTS WITH A QUESTION......

TUESDSAY, JANUARY 6

We'll continue R and G are Dead on Wednesday. Please continue to take notes for the timed writing.

Also, don't forget that on Friday you have your "Stream of Consciousness" poem due. See page 220 in your anthology for further explanation about this literary technique. If you have questions, be sure to ask in class tomorrow. And of course, refer to the the handout I gave you on Monday regarding friday essays.

Post any questions here. See you tomorrow.