Day Fifty-Three / 11.30.10

Today we started with an Art Master's lecture on Lois Jones. Her "Initiation Liberia" is below:

Next we wrote on a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: "You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do."We responded to the following questions: Do you feel that people are consistently analyzing you? Does that affect how you act?

Finally, we started working on our responses to literature on the hero in Beowulf. We used the following handout to guide our time:

Response to Lit 4 Paragraph Essay Formula

Day Fifty-Two / 11.29.10

Today we started by sharing stories from our Thanksgiving break. Then we had a firedrill, and after that we discussed new classroom participation rules. We even changed seats. Then we wrote on a quote from Alan Lightman: "I believe in survival of the fittest of the ideas: if an idea has survived for a few years within the jungle of my mind, then I feel like it's worth pursuing and writing a book." We discussed: Do you feel it is important to let an idea develop before writing?

Or is writing a means of developing ideas? Next, we discussed the formula for a "chunk." It is below:

1. Address the Question.

2. Set the Context, Give the quote.

3. Explain the significance of the quote.

4. Tie the quote’s significance into the question.

Finally, we began discussing our Hero 1 page response. The prompt is below. And here's an example essay.

Literary Response

Day Fifty-One / 11.19.10

First, we turned in our stickmen. Then we moved to a quote by Roland Barthes: "Literature is the question minus the answer." Next, we reviewed for our Beowulf test. We took the test, did a MAZE test, and finished with a lesson about Thanksgiving.

Day Fifty / 11.18.10

Today we started with a quote from G.K. Chesterton: "A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author." Then we Finished Chapters 11 and 12. We took a mini-quiz on Chapter 12, to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. Next, we finished the book.

Day Forty-Nine / 11.17.10

Today we started with a quote from Beowulf: “That man is truly brave who, feeling fear, yet puts his fear to use and plucks new courage from the fear itself” (69). Then we took a vocabulary quiz. Next we outlined what an IB "Thinker" would look like. Next, we started reading chapters 9 and 10.

Day Forty-Eight / 11.16.10

Today we started with a quote from Henry Miller: "The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts." Then we went over the Cain and Abel handout. Next we read Chapter 7, then we worked on our stickmen. Finally, we finished with reading Chapter 8.

Day Forty-Seven / 11.15.10

Today we started with a quote from Beowulf: "The truly good man finds good where he can.” We then began reading chapter 5. We took a break, and then I introduced the Beowulf stickman (see below). We began working on this assignment, then read chapter 6. We finished by discussing the history of "the son of Cain" idea, which is a prevalent figure in myth and literature.

Stick Man

Day Forty-Six / 11.10.10

Today was the Hankey Hawk Trot. After the festivities of the trot we started with a quote from MLK Jr.'s book, Why We Can't Wait. We then took our vocabulary quiz. We ended by finishing chapter 4 of Beowulf.

Day Forty-Five / 11.09.10

Today you started with a quote by John Barth: “Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.” Then you finished chapter 3 of Beowulf, then worked on the chapter 3 questions. Next you covered the vocabulary words for the quiz on Wednesday, then started reading chapter 4.

Day Forty-Four / 11.08.10

Today we started with a quote from Beowulf: "He was strong because he was good, and good because he had the strength to accept things in him that were bad." We reviewed the first 2 chapters of the book, then started reading Chapter 3 and continued working on our exaggeration paragraphs.

Day Forty-Three / 11.05.10

Today you started with a quote from John Henry Newman: “Calculation never made a hero.” You journaled, then took the lose / loose / loss / lost Quiz. You started reading Chapter 3 of Beowulf, and then went to the computer lab to fill out the Quarter 1 (Q1) survey.

Day Forty-Two / 11.04.10

Today you started with a quote from Bob Dylan: “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." You journaled, then continued practicing loss v. lost. You read Beowulf chapters 1 and 2. Then you worked on the following exaggeration handout.

Exaggeration Handout

Day Forty-One / 11.03.10

Today you had a substitute teacher. You wrote on the following quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” Then you practiced loss v. lost. Next, you studied for your vocabulary quiz. You read silently, then started taking notes on the epic genre and read the Introduction to Beowulf.

Day Forty / 11.2.10

Today we started with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: -"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." Then we continued working on lose/loose. We reviewed the vocabulary, then reflected on our persuasive essays.

Next, we continued working on our hero posters. Then we presented our posters.

Day Thirty-Nine / 11.1.10

Today we started by presenting our persuasive essays. We then went over lose/loose, then responded to the QOTD, a line from Beowulf: "Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning." We discussed the code of the hero. Finally, we began by creating our own heros, based on this stickman:

Hero Stickman