TODAY IN CLASS
We reviewed the details of the Act I advice Polonius gives to his son Laertes, and we looked closely at Hamlet's soliloquy at the end of Act II ("O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!").
Then, as advertised, the Act I-II quiz. This need to be made up promptly. After school tomorrow would be perfect.
FOR TOMORROW
No homework. Expect daily reading and often written homework from tomorrow through the end of the play.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Quiz Reminder
Act I-Act II Quiz on Thursday
Before the quiz:
Before the quiz:
- We will look at the advice Polonius gives to Laertes. Most of you were "good to go" on that, but others had significant omissions/confusion. Review that.
- We will also look closely at Question 11 on the Act II study guide--Hamlet's soliloquy that ends Act II.
Remember that there will be quotes--"plot quotes" that should make sense if you know what happens/who the characters are, or a few very significant, well-known quotations that we've discussed or that have been on on the study guides.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Yes, It's 3:23 on Monday . . .
ALL CLASSES
1. There will be a quiz on Thursday, Feb. 28 over Acts I-II. It will be fairly detailed, including some quotations. Some matching/MC, but a fair number of direct "answer the question" kinds of responses (very brief to several sentences in length; no full paragraph or essays on this quiz).
2. In class today, we did a brief rehash of Act 2, Scene 1. It does NOT take the place of reading it thoroughly on your own if you were absent when we did both "episodes" of 2.1 in class.
1st and 3rd
In 1st and 3rd, students had some individual reading time to get started on Scene 2, as well as time to write their own responses to questions 1-4 (covering lines 1-181 of Act 2, Scene 2). Then four students from line 182 to the point that R & G explain that the Players are coming to the castle. FOR HOMEWORK--read the rest of Scene 2. You do NOT need to work on questions for tomorrow. Go back and read the synopsis for scene 2 to help you follow the rest of the scene. Know what questions you have.
5th Period
We were very late in getting to the reading time; there was no time left to work on questions 1-4 (which covers up to line 170 in your text). So for tomorrow, you need to do two things:
a. Do questions 1-4 from the hand-out.
b. Continue reading Act 2, Scene2--get up to line 475.
1. There will be a quiz on Thursday, Feb. 28 over Acts I-II. It will be fairly detailed, including some quotations. Some matching/MC, but a fair number of direct "answer the question" kinds of responses (very brief to several sentences in length; no full paragraph or essays on this quiz).
2. In class today, we did a brief rehash of Act 2, Scene 1. It does NOT take the place of reading it thoroughly on your own if you were absent when we did both "episodes" of 2.1 in class.
1st and 3rd
In 1st and 3rd, students had some individual reading time to get started on Scene 2, as well as time to write their own responses to questions 1-4 (covering lines 1-181 of Act 2, Scene 2). Then four students from line 182 to the point that R & G explain that the Players are coming to the castle. FOR HOMEWORK--read the rest of Scene 2. You do NOT need to work on questions for tomorrow. Go back and read the synopsis for scene 2 to help you follow the rest of the scene. Know what questions you have.
5th Period
We were very late in getting to the reading time; there was no time left to work on questions 1-4 (which covers up to line 170 in your text). So for tomorrow, you need to do two things:
a. Do questions 1-4 from the hand-out.
b. Continue reading Act 2, Scene2--get up to line 475.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
TODAY IN CLASS
I stamped your written progress on the Act 1 questions. The expectation for today: completion through question 9 (1-3 from the end of Scene 2, plus 4-9 from Scene 3). Some of you got to 9 by skipping 7--that's not a full credit option . . . You can "buy back" partial credit for items not done by having them completed for tomorrow (in addition to the new work for tomorrow--see below).
Then--we talked briefly about Scene 3; we might have overlapped a couple of the questions, but we didn't answer them all. We especially didn't talk about the complicated word play on the word "tender" (and "fool"), and we did not list out the specific advice Polonius gives.
Next--I switched to the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet for the ghost scene, and we watched Scenes 4 and 5.
FOR TOMORROW
Write out answers to questions 10-22 on these two scenes. I will collect the papers (your answers--YOU keep the questions, so don't staple in advance) at the BEGINNING of class tomorrow. We might say a couple of general things about the act, but mostly, in class, we are going to move on with Act II. And tomorrow will feature little or no film and lots of student involvement.
You don't need to read ahead in Act II for Friday, though--as stated above, the homework is to finish the questions.
I stamped your written progress on the Act 1 questions. The expectation for today: completion through question 9 (1-3 from the end of Scene 2, plus 4-9 from Scene 3). Some of you got to 9 by skipping 7--that's not a full credit option . . . You can "buy back" partial credit for items not done by having them completed for tomorrow (in addition to the new work for tomorrow--see below).
Then--we talked briefly about Scene 3; we might have overlapped a couple of the questions, but we didn't answer them all. We especially didn't talk about the complicated word play on the word "tender" (and "fool"), and we did not list out the specific advice Polonius gives.
Next--I switched to the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet for the ghost scene, and we watched Scenes 4 and 5.
FOR TOMORROW
Write out answers to questions 10-22 on these two scenes. I will collect the papers (your answers--YOU keep the questions, so don't staple in advance) at the BEGINNING of class tomorrow. We might say a couple of general things about the act, but mostly, in class, we are going to move on with Act II. And tomorrow will feature little or no film and lots of student involvement.
You don't need to read ahead in Act II for Friday, though--as stated above, the homework is to finish the questions.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
TODAY IN CLASS
There was a hand-out for the rest of Act I (picking up partway through Scene 2, at Horatio's entrance).
1. We did questions 1-3 in class; that is, students responded in writing, and we went over them quickly.
2. We watched Scene 3 (BBC play version) between Laertes and Ophelia, then joined by Polonius, then just Polonius and Ophelia. If you were absent today, try to read that scene carefully before tomorrow.
HOMEWORK
Read Scene 3 (you can't rely just on what you watched), and answer questions 4-9 carefully and thoroughly. Remember to write in ink, to provide the act, scene, and line numbers for the portion your answer is based on, and use complete, well-developed sentences unless you are specifically told to provide a bulleted list.
I'll check for completion of 4-9 at the start of class.
(
There was a hand-out for the rest of Act I (picking up partway through Scene 2, at Horatio's entrance).
1. We did questions 1-3 in class; that is, students responded in writing, and we went over them quickly.
2. We watched Scene 3 (BBC play version) between Laertes and Ophelia, then joined by Polonius, then just Polonius and Ophelia. If you were absent today, try to read that scene carefully before tomorrow.
HOMEWORK
Read Scene 3 (you can't rely just on what you watched), and answer questions 4-9 carefully and thoroughly. Remember to write in ink, to provide the act, scene, and line numbers for the portion your answer is based on, and use complete, well-developed sentences unless you are specifically told to provide a bulleted list.
I'll check for completion of 4-9 at the start of class.
(
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Note to anyone still needing to make up last Friday's Renaissance intro quiz: yesterday was Day 1. Today was Day 2. Tomorrow BEFORE school--no later than 9:30 a.m.--is Day 3. After school tomorrow is not an option, because there is a faculty meeting. If you did not take this on Friday, and you haven't already made it up, I'll be expecting you.
TODAY IN CLASS
We used a back-and-forth strategy between the BBC Hamlet production and some direct work on language and characterization. We viewed--in steps and stages--from the beginning to the end of Hamlet's "O that this too, too sullied flesh would melt . . ." soliloquy.
We annotated some of the language and rhetorical strategies of the speech Claudius gives to the court at the beginning of Scene 2, and we tracked the major thought points of his "lecture" to Hamlet. We also looked at the director's choice to have Claudius double-check Hamlet's university with Gertrude (HOW well does he know the young man he claims to want to keep nearby for his cheer and comfort?), and we played around with ways in which a director could also use emphasis to show Hamlet's willingness to do what his mother begs, but pointedly making it clear that he's not complying because Claudius says so.
Finally, after listening to the Hamlet's soliloquy, we looked at the three basic "complaints' he raises in that speech. If you were absent, try to figure them out on your own. Since it was the last thing, and sometimes focus is (ahem . . ) lost by then, we'll review that quickly at the start on Wednesday.
FOR TOMORROW
Read to the end of Scene 2. Look over at the notes on the left-hand side to help you understand things that might be difficult.
TODAY IN CLASS
We used a back-and-forth strategy between the BBC Hamlet production and some direct work on language and characterization. We viewed--in steps and stages--from the beginning to the end of Hamlet's "O that this too, too sullied flesh would melt . . ." soliloquy.
We annotated some of the language and rhetorical strategies of the speech Claudius gives to the court at the beginning of Scene 2, and we tracked the major thought points of his "lecture" to Hamlet. We also looked at the director's choice to have Claudius double-check Hamlet's university with Gertrude (HOW well does he know the young man he claims to want to keep nearby for his cheer and comfort?), and we played around with ways in which a director could also use emphasis to show Hamlet's willingness to do what his mother begs, but pointedly making it clear that he's not complying because Claudius says so.
Finally, after listening to the Hamlet's soliloquy, we looked at the three basic "complaints' he raises in that speech. If you were absent, try to figure them out on your own. Since it was the last thing, and sometimes focus is (ahem . . ) lost by then, we'll review that quickly at the start on Wednesday.
FOR TOMORROW
Read to the end of Scene 2. Look over at the notes on the left-hand side to help you understand things that might be difficult.
Monday, February 11, 2013
TODAY IN CLASS
Pairs work/some presentations of brief interchange between Claudius and Laertes, then the beginning of Claudius and Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 2)
In 1st, we got started on the "agenda speech" hand-out.
FOR TOMOROW
Everyone finish the bullet points for the second long speech by Claudius: this starts at line 90 (morning classes) or line 87 (afternoon classes). Don't try to paraphrase the whole speech, but write down the 6-7 most important points he makes.
Then it varies--
1st--we started the first speech; we'll continue in class
3rd-did not even give you the hand-out
5th--yes, I told you (and it still stands) to annotate it as best you can. Look for specifics of diction, word order, special "surprises," things that you don't understand, even after checking the notes on the left-hand side of the book. (Don't worry, on other days other classes will have assignments different from yours.
Pairs work/some presentations of brief interchange between Claudius and Laertes, then the beginning of Claudius and Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 2)
In 1st, we got started on the "agenda speech" hand-out.
FOR TOMOROW
Everyone finish the bullet points for the second long speech by Claudius: this starts at line 90 (morning classes) or line 87 (afternoon classes). Don't try to paraphrase the whole speech, but write down the 6-7 most important points he makes.
Then it varies--
1st--we started the first speech; we'll continue in class
3rd-did not even give you the hand-out
5th--yes, I told you (and it still stands) to annotate it as best you can. Look for specifics of diction, word order, special "surprises," things that you don't understand, even after checking the notes on the left-hand side of the book. (Don't worry, on other days other classes will have assignments different from yours.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Week-end Update
FRIDAY IN CLASS
1. Renaissance Intro Quiz
If you missed it, you know it. Make it up ASAP.
2. Something from the newspaper . . . I frequently regret that I generally don't read a given day's paper until AFTER school. From Friday's Newsline column in the Seattle Times (A2 News), "Today in History" section:
1587: Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
See, the Seattle Times is on top of our subject matter!
3. We reviewed a smattering of somethings ("morn in russet clad," the Julius Caesar disturbances in nature--> disturbances in humankind) left over from the end of scene 1)
4. Several students performed a round-robin reading of the speech given by King Claudius to all the people assembled at the formal court scene. W just "read" it today; on Monday you/we will "deconstruct" it pretty carefully.
FOR MONDAY
Much of your success in reading Hamlet relies on your being willing to do what is asked of you, even on days that there is no direct accountability (that means written homework or a test!). A teacher can tell you "What" to learn, or help explain how a process works, but reading Shakespeare is a skill that you must develop. The teacher's job is to provide some smaller steps (scaffolding), and to provide a context for practice, but YOU and only you can do the work. As I explained in class, some of the assessments will give you nothing but a passage with perhaps some reasonable notes on unexpected meanings, but you will have to figure it out. Just approaching this with "I can't" does no good, and it will not help you learn and grow.
SO. This week-end, your only obligation is to gain some familiarity with the court scene that we began in class. It is NOT all of Act 1, Scene 2--you need to read the section where everyone is gathered in court. You can stop at the point where Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus gather (as promised in scene 1) to watch and see if the Ghost will reappear. Your job is just to read this and try to have a handle on what happens.
In class I told you and showed you the exact line number and page number where this happens, but I did not bring home your various versions of the play this week-end. (Line numbers are the same for everyone who has the Folgers, whether tan or blue, but the 5th period edition has line numbers that vary somewhat. And the later in the scene we go, the farther off they are from Folgers.)
1. Renaissance Intro Quiz
If you missed it, you know it. Make it up ASAP.
2. Something from the newspaper . . . I frequently regret that I generally don't read a given day's paper until AFTER school. From Friday's Newsline column in the Seattle Times (A2 News), "Today in History" section:
1587: Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
See, the Seattle Times is on top of our subject matter!
3. We reviewed a smattering of somethings ("morn in russet clad," the Julius Caesar disturbances in nature--> disturbances in humankind) left over from the end of scene 1)
4. Several students performed a round-robin reading of the speech given by King Claudius to all the people assembled at the formal court scene. W just "read" it today; on Monday you/we will "deconstruct" it pretty carefully.
FOR MONDAY
Much of your success in reading Hamlet relies on your being willing to do what is asked of you, even on days that there is no direct accountability (that means written homework or a test!). A teacher can tell you "What" to learn, or help explain how a process works, but reading Shakespeare is a skill that you must develop. The teacher's job is to provide some smaller steps (scaffolding), and to provide a context for practice, but YOU and only you can do the work. As I explained in class, some of the assessments will give you nothing but a passage with perhaps some reasonable notes on unexpected meanings, but you will have to figure it out. Just approaching this with "I can't" does no good, and it will not help you learn and grow.
SO. This week-end, your only obligation is to gain some familiarity with the court scene that we began in class. It is NOT all of Act 1, Scene 2--you need to read the section where everyone is gathered in court. You can stop at the point where Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus gather (as promised in scene 1) to watch and see if the Ghost will reappear. Your job is just to read this and try to have a handle on what happens.
In class I told you and showed you the exact line number and page number where this happens, but I did not bring home your various versions of the play this week-end. (Line numbers are the same for everyone who has the Folgers, whether tan or blue, but the 5th period edition has line numbers that vary somewhat. And the later in the scene we go, the farther off they are from Folgers.)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Renaissance Intro Quiz on Friday
TODAY IN CLASS
We briefly talked about the staging and content of the types of medieval drama that led directly into the sudden outpouring of more complex, artistically diverse drama during the Renaissance. Those definitions on the worksheet for mystery/miracle plays and for morality plays are part of your expected knowledge, even though they were not directly in the book. But sure to CHECK the book if you left the answers blank concerning interludes as well what Elizabethan playwrights learned from the revival of Latin and Greek dramas. (I am mentioning this only because so many people left these blank.)
But MOSTLY in class--we went over the worksheet from yesterday. These were not handed in; I considered it practice, and the importance was in you yourself understanding how much you "got" out of the text compared to what we discussed in class. You will be handing in similar sheets though, and I will occasionally give you short passages to do something with during class. There are brief elements in each class that we didn't get to (they differ)--I'll even out all inequities after tomorrow's quiz, and then we'll move on.
FOR TOMORROW
Study for the quiz; your guided notes should help, but if you don't have them, review pp. 292-305 directly. Also, be sure that you've looked at a couple of the Richard III links from the post earlier in the week.
Be sure to have your Hamlet text with you in class, tomorrow and every day until we are done.
We briefly talked about the staging and content of the types of medieval drama that led directly into the sudden outpouring of more complex, artistically diverse drama during the Renaissance. Those definitions on the worksheet for mystery/miracle plays and for morality plays are part of your expected knowledge, even though they were not directly in the book. But sure to CHECK the book if you left the answers blank concerning interludes as well what Elizabethan playwrights learned from the revival of Latin and Greek dramas. (I am mentioning this only because so many people left these blank.)
But MOSTLY in class--we went over the worksheet from yesterday. These were not handed in; I considered it practice, and the importance was in you yourself understanding how much you "got" out of the text compared to what we discussed in class. You will be handing in similar sheets though, and I will occasionally give you short passages to do something with during class. There are brief elements in each class that we didn't get to (they differ)--I'll even out all inequities after tomorrow's quiz, and then we'll move on.
FOR TOMORROW
Study for the quiz; your guided notes should help, but if you don't have them, review pp. 292-305 directly. Also, be sure that you've looked at a couple of the Richard III links from the post earlier in the week.
Be sure to have your Hamlet text with you in class, tomorrow and every day until we are done.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
TODAY IN CLASS
Everyone got the Hamlet texts from the bookroom today. If you were absent, get it before class time tomorrow, please. 1st and 3rd: get the Folger edition (tan ones are gone; yours will be bluish). 5th: there's a different edition, which is taller and thinner than the Folgers. All will be at the main library desk, not the bookroom window.
We made varied progress with going over the study guide today. I believe we'll just cross-check for problems on Thursday. There will be a quiz on Friday, so you should definitely start reviewing. There will also be a couple of Richard III questions; be sure that you've read a couple of the articles from yesterday's post.
FOR TOMORROW
No particular homework, but be sure you have your Hamlet text with you in class.
Everyone got the Hamlet texts from the bookroom today. If you were absent, get it before class time tomorrow, please. 1st and 3rd: get the Folger edition (tan ones are gone; yours will be bluish). 5th: there's a different edition, which is taller and thinner than the Folgers. All will be at the main library desk, not the bookroom window.
We made varied progress with going over the study guide today. I believe we'll just cross-check for problems on Thursday. There will be a quiz on Friday, so you should definitely start reviewing. There will also be a couple of Richard III questions; be sure that you've read a couple of the articles from yesterday's post.
FOR TOMORROW
No particular homework, but be sure you have your Hamlet text with you in class.
Monday, February 4, 2013
TODAY IN CLASS
1. We set up a set of hypothetical questions that paved the way for our study of Hamlet, which is to begin shortly. The essential situation was to take a young man away at college who is suddenly called home to face an unimaginable series of family events and personal setbacks and to imagine how we might feel. More importantly, it was to set up our expectations for the sometimes erratic way in which Hamlet himself behaves. Of course, we'll be doing more . . . but it was a start.
Bring your ID with you tomorrow--I hope we will be checking out the books.
2. We spent some time reviewing why 1485 is the end of the medieval period and the start of the Renaissance. If you missed class (or missed what we said), look at p. 29. (Yes, 29.) See the 2nd paragraph under "War and Plague," which explains the reasons for and the outcome of the Wars of the Roses.
That's the backdrop for today's announcement concerning the discovery of the body of Richard III, whose death at the Battle of Bosworth Field over 500 years ago marks the last time an English king was killed in battle. Read any TWO of the following articles about this discovery:
http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/04/16832540-verdict-issued-on-skeleton-found-under-parking-lot-its-king-richard-iii?lite
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/king-richard-iii-skeleton-found_n_2614269.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21063882
Common Core requirements call for increasing the amount of non-fiction writing that students read, including in traditional English classes. Thus reading these articles (2 of the 3) that so closely relate to our current subject matter--beginning the Renaissance, about to work with Shakespeare--that this reading is not "extra" but rather closely tied to our standard curriculum.
2. I returned the homework that was due on Friday, and we barely began going over it. 5th period DID have a few moments to put these in better cause-and-effect order than what your book utilizes. The following categories look a little different from what I had on the board (a new and improved version here), but you don't have to do this again. But 1st and 3rd, use the space at the bottom on the last page of the Guided Study Worksheet to list out the questions (just by number, no "content") that belong under each of the following categories:
The Early Renaissance --where it originated, when, early consequences
The Rise of Humanism
The Reformation--how/where/why it began; its political consequences in England (esp. the effect on the monarchy through Queen Elizabeth)
Continued Turmoil--the rise of the Stuarts and the Defeat of the Monarchy
(We'll work with the Literature section without rearranging the order.)
3. If you did not turn in the homework for 1-day late credit, tomorrow is the last day to turn it in for greatly reduced credit (but better than a zero). Look back at the information regarding late work in the syllabus. If you have lost the syllabus, you can access it here .
(As always, "late work" is not the same thing as "make-up work"; moreover, individual learning plans and accomodations are always respected.)
1. We set up a set of hypothetical questions that paved the way for our study of Hamlet, which is to begin shortly. The essential situation was to take a young man away at college who is suddenly called home to face an unimaginable series of family events and personal setbacks and to imagine how we might feel. More importantly, it was to set up our expectations for the sometimes erratic way in which Hamlet himself behaves. Of course, we'll be doing more . . . but it was a start.
Bring your ID with you tomorrow--I hope we will be checking out the books.
2. We spent some time reviewing why 1485 is the end of the medieval period and the start of the Renaissance. If you missed class (or missed what we said), look at p. 29. (Yes, 29.) See the 2nd paragraph under "War and Plague," which explains the reasons for and the outcome of the Wars of the Roses.
That's the backdrop for today's announcement concerning the discovery of the body of Richard III, whose death at the Battle of Bosworth Field over 500 years ago marks the last time an English king was killed in battle. Read any TWO of the following articles about this discovery:
http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/04/16832540-verdict-issued-on-skeleton-found-under-parking-lot-its-king-richard-iii?lite
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/king-richard-iii-skeleton-found_n_2614269.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21063882
Common Core requirements call for increasing the amount of non-fiction writing that students read, including in traditional English classes. Thus reading these articles (2 of the 3) that so closely relate to our current subject matter--beginning the Renaissance, about to work with Shakespeare--that this reading is not "extra" but rather closely tied to our standard curriculum.
2. I returned the homework that was due on Friday, and we barely began going over it. 5th period DID have a few moments to put these in better cause-and-effect order than what your book utilizes. The following categories look a little different from what I had on the board (a new and improved version here), but you don't have to do this again. But 1st and 3rd, use the space at the bottom on the last page of the Guided Study Worksheet to list out the questions (just by number, no "content") that belong under each of the following categories:
The Early Renaissance --where it originated, when, early consequences
The Rise of Humanism
The Reformation--how/where/why it began; its political consequences in England (esp. the effect on the monarchy through Queen Elizabeth)
Continued Turmoil--the rise of the Stuarts and the Defeat of the Monarchy
(We'll work with the Literature section without rearranging the order.)
3. If you did not turn in the homework for 1-day late credit, tomorrow is the last day to turn it in for greatly reduced credit (but better than a zero). Look back at the information regarding late work in the syllabus. If you have lost the syllabus, you can access it here .
(As always, "late work" is not the same thing as "make-up work"; moreover, individual learning plans and accomodations are always respected.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)