WORK DUE TODAY/LOUDER THAN A BOMB

SENIORS: I collected Love Poem Medley and The Shooter.  We'll go over the answers on Monday.  At this point, you should be working on your slam poem for presentation on June 9.  I will need to see your poem before you present for appropriateness; if I don't see your poem ahead of time, you will not be allowed to present it to class and you will lose those points.

SOPHOMORES: We finished Louder Than a Bomb.  Make sure you fill out the front part of the handout that is associated with LTaB. If you were absent, the entire documentary is on Netflix; the individual poem presentations are available on YouTube.

DUE DATES/LOUDER THAN A BOMB

SENIORS: Your work on Love Poem Medley and The Shooter is due tomorrow, Friday, May 29.  Start working on your slam poem; use the handout called Slam Poetry Writing Advice.  Your ready-to-present poem is due Tuesday, June 9.

SOPHOMORES: We began the Poetry unit today by watching the documentary Louder Than a Bomb, which we will finish tomorrow. There is a Poetry Packet that you will need to get from me upon your return to class. If you miss seeing the documentary, it is available on Netflix.

POETRY WORK/ESSAY

SENIORS: As I was scoring the work on Love Poem Medley, I noticed that about half of the things I was asking for were missing. So, I returned the work with the following instructions: Look at the slam poem rubric (it's on the back of The Shooter); every poetic technique that I'm asking to see in your slam poem, you should identify in Love Poem Medley. If a technique isn't present, then make a note of that. Turn in the work as soon as you complete it.

SOPHOMORES: Your Nature of Man essay was due at the end of the period today. Of course, you can still turn it in late, but you'll lose one grade.

WORK DAY/WORK ESSAY

SENIORS: You have 3 things to work on: 1) Annotating Love Poem Medley, 2) Annotating The Shooter and answering the questions, and 3) Working on your slam poem. The due date for Love Poem Medley and The Shooter is Wednesday, May 27.

SOPHOMORES: Continue your work on your Nature of Man essay. Make sure you check past blogs for MLA format. Due date for the essay is Wednesday, May 27.

SLAM RUBRIC; SHOOTER; LOVE POEM/IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND WORKS CITED PAGE

SENIORS: I went over the rubric for your final, which is to create and present a slam poem of your own.  Click on this link for the rubric. Before you start writing your own slam poem, you need to see how slam poems can be constructed.  Click on this link for a transcript of Love Poem Medley by Rudy Fransisco.  Annotate the poem for the same things you will need to have for your final slam poem (see rubric). Another slam poem that you will need to analyze is The Shooter by Lamar Jorden. Click on this link for that assignment. It would be helpful for you to see these poets in action. See the links above, or, if they don't work, you can find them on YouTube.

SOPHOMORES: I passed out a handout with examples of in-text citations (click on this link) and Works Cited format (click on this link). There is also some advice if you have problems with EasyBib (click on this link). Lastly, as you worked on your essay, I started a Notebook Check.

FOUND POEM;T-CHART/WORK ESSAY

SENIORS: Found poems were presented to the class for extra credit; then, in your notebook, under the title T-Chart, find perfect and slant rhymes for BROWN, TOPIC, and WONDER.

SOPHOMORES: You were given class time to work on your Nature of Man Synthesis Essay.

WORD GAME;POETRY TERMS;FOUND POEM/ESSAY PROMPT

SENIORS: We started with a word game; we'll play it again on Thursday, and you can catch up.  Next, there was a handout of poetry terms for you find examples; upon your return to class, ask for the poetry terms handout. Finally, you got started on a found poem to be presented to class on Wednesday.  I will give you the handout for that upon your return to class.

SOPHOMORES: I handed out the Nature of Man Essay Prompt; click on this link if you want to read it, but you'll eventually need a hard copy as there is some advice on the back of the handout.  Also, I went over some examples of past essays so you could see what is meant by a "synthesis" essay. You can look at these examples upon your return to class.  For a reminder of what the MLA format looks like, go to the Sept.19 blog and click on the second link.

EMINEM/PHILIP ZIMBARDO;COLUMBINE TEENS

SENIORS: We watched the 60 Minutes interview of Eminem.  In it, he discusses what he uses for inspiration and how he creates his rhymes.  I can't create a link for that interview, but you can find it on YouTube if you Google Eminem 60 Minutes interview.  The rest of the class period was used to catch up on work to turn in: Poetry Packet, Alliteration Packet, Children's Book.

 SOPHOMORES: We watched a Philip Zimbardo TedTalk.  Click on the link above to watch (warning: since his topic is about how good people can turn bad, there are some graphic photos); click on this link for the questions you'll need to answer in your notebook under the title Philip Zimbardo.  Also, we read the segment called Columbine Teens Found Validation in Reprogrammed Hi-Tech Games in the Nature of Man packet.  Click on this link and put your answers to the questions in your notebook under the title Columbine Teens.

FULL MOON ME/THOMAS HOBBES

SENIORS: We read a chapter from the book Poemcrazy; the chapter was titled Full Moon Me.  In it is an exercise in which you answer several short questions and then create a poem based on the answers to those questions.  See me upon your return for a copy of the chapter.  The poem you create will go in your notebook under the title Full Moon Me.

SOPHOMORES:  Today the focus was on Thomas Hobbes.  In your Nature of Man packet, read Hobbes' Man is Evil and Warlike.  Then click on this link and follow the directions.

ALLITERATION PACKET/JOHN LOCKE; PIECES OF YOU

SENIORS: I assigned the Look Around poem (the last poem in the Poetry packet).  The idea of the Look Around poem is to do just that: look around your immediate area and create a short poem.  As you can see by the example, it doesn't have to rhyme. Write your poem in your notebook under the title Look Around.  Also, I handed out a new packet, the Alliteration packet. See me for your copy when you return to class.

SOPHOMORES: We dissected the short piece from John Locke titled  Man is Rational and then looked at the lyrics of Pieces of You by Jewel.  Answer the questions to Pieces of You in your notebook, using that same title.  You will find both writings in the Nature of Man packet.

3 POEMS; LIMERICK/ ROBERT ARDREY

SENIORS: Turn to the page in your Poetry Packet that has 3 untitled poems on it.  Read each poem, then decide what the poem is about.  Circle all the words that clued you in to the subject matter.  On the next page you'll see 2 examples of limericks.  Limericks tell a story (usually comic) in 5 lines with a certain beat. The first line tells us either the name of the main character or where the main character is from.  Write your own limerick in the space to the right of the examples.

Children's book: Today was the last day to turn in your children's book without a loss of grade.  Now you have until next Monday to turn in your book, but you will loose one grade.

SOPHOMORES: Read Man is Innately Aggressive by Robert Ardrey in your Nature of Man packet.  Click on this link for the directions for what to do after you read the article.

POETRY PACKET/SAMANTHA POWER

SENIORS: All work is to be done in your Poetry Packet. First, look at the page titled Definitions of Poetry.  Read each statement, circle the number of each statement you agree with, and write the WHY underneath each statement you chose; if there is no room underneath the statement, use the blank space at the bottom of the page.  Then, look at the page titled Emotion List and follow the directions.
For those of you who haven't turned in your children's book, it is due Monday without penalty. After Monday, you lose a grade.

SOPHOMORES: We listened to a TedTalk by Samantha Power; click on the above link to watch. Then, click on this link for some questions and put your answers in your notebook under the title Samantha Power.  Make sure you imbed the question in your answer.

POETRY PACKET/MORALS;GUILT GRAPH;SAMANTHA POWER

SENIORS: You started off in groups, discussing the veracity of the comments on this link. Since you weren't present for this, put your thoughts in your notebook under the title Poetry I.Q. Test.  Then, open your Louder Than a Bomb packet to the page titled The Purpose of Poetry. Look at the questions and write your answers underneath after reading the article on this link.

SOPHOMORES: You started by writing in your notebook (under the title Morals) and responding to the following: What does it mean to have morals? Do you consider yourself to be a moral person? Explain with an example; I expect to see at least a paragraph.  That was followed by working on the Guilt Graph in your Nature of Man packet. Make sure you follow all of the directions.

CST TESTING FINISHED: NORMAL DAY TOMORROW

SENIORS: Don't forget to bring the Louder Than a Bomb packet with you to class.

SOPHOMORES:  Don't forget to bring your notebook and your Nature of Man packet with you to class.

LOUDER THAN A BOMB/CST

SENIORS: We started the new unit, Poetry, with a viewing of the documentary Louder Than a Bomb.  This will be the style of poetry that you will present for your final. There is a packet that you need to get from me.  If you're not going to be present for a while, you can view the documentary on Netflix and click on this link for what you need to do while you watch.

SOPHOMORES: Either you took the CST today or you will take it tomorrow; either way, good luck! Bring a book so you have something quiet to do if you finish the test early.

CHILDREN'S BOOK DUE/THE PRINCE

SENIORS: Your completed children's book is due today; tomorrow we will begin the Poetry unit. However, I noticed that some of you have the makings for a good children's book, but you haven't finished it. Keep working on it as homework, and you can turn it in next Monday with no reduction in the grade.

SOPHOMORES: We read The Prince from the the Nature of Man packet.  In your notebook, under the title The Prince, answer the six questions at the bottom of the page.  Write your answers in complete sentences, embedding the question within your answer and always explaining WHY or HOW you arrived at your answer.

WORK BOOK/B.F. SKINNER

SENIORS: Your children's book is due on Monday at the end of the period.

SOPHOMORES: Read Man is a Product of His Environment by B.F. Skinner (you will find it in your Nature of Man packet). Click on this link for the responses you'll need to write in your notebook under the title B.F. Skinner.  You'll notice that the first set of questions are for group work, so if you can't find the answer to your questions on your own, see me at the beginning of class upon your return.