The Metacognitive: October 1, 2019

Focus: How does your mind puzzle through a sonnet?

1. Warming up by getting set up for your metacognitive

• You may either handwrite or type.

• At the top of your paper or document, please your name, date, and the title of the sonnet you're exploring (it must be from the original sonnet packet).

• Please use all of the class time given. If the class time is not enough, you can finish up at home tonight. This will count as a timed writing grade.

• Remember the two big goals of the metacognitive:

(1) You should be constantly bringing in words and phrases from the sonnet. All metacognitives stem directly from the author's language.

(2) You should end in a better place than where you started. What did the process of the metacognitive help you understand better or differently about your sonnet?

2. Getting metacognitive with your selected sonnet

• Click HERE for an overview of the method and purpose of the metacognitive (given out yesterday in class).

• If you handwrote, please turn in your metacognitive at the end of class if you're finished.

• If you typed, please share your Google doc directly with me before you leave class today.

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Please finish your metacognitive if you did not finish in class.


2. For Friday, Oct 4: Read Chapters 16 through 19 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

"The Free, Exploring Mind": September 30, 2019

Focus: What does Steinbeck want us to understand about the movement from Part 1 to Part 2?

1. Warming up with three good things, a quick overview of tomorrow's metacognitive, and a drill on authorial intent

2. Enjoying a Pinwheel Socratic seminar on East of Eden, Chapters 12 through 15

3. Wrapping up with kudos, epiphanies, and lingering questions

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Decide which sonnet to perform your metacognitive timed writing on. Be sure to bring the actual sonnet to class that day.

2. For Friday, Oct 4: Read Chapters 16 through 19 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself: September 27, 2019

Focus: How does Steinbeck create the character of Cathy, and to what effect?

1. Warming up with a close reading of Cathy's characterization

Step 1: Find several physical details about Cathy. Write them out and leave a little space.

Step 2: Musical chairs: Read closely the lines in front of you. 

• What do these details make you think of? 

• How do they connect and disconnect from each other? 

• What do they suggest about Cathy? 

• What larger effect might Steinbeck be trying to create?

2. Enjoying a Socratic Seminar on Chapters 8 through 11

3. Wrapping up with kudos, questions, and lingering questions

HW:
1. For MONDAY: Read Chapters 12 through 15 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

2. For Tuesday, Oct 1: Decide which sonnet to perform your metacognitive timed writing on. Be sure to bring the actual sonnet to class that day.

3. For Friday, Oct 4: Read Chapters 16 through 19 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

Approaching the Sonnet: September 26, 2019

Focus: What do we need to reflect on to help us progress?

1. Warming up with Billy Collins'  and Edna St. Vincent Millay's meta-sonnets

• What are they teaching us about sonnets?

2. Exploring "An Echo from Willow-wood"

• Moments: Which images, diction, etc. make you pause/take a moment?
• Movement: What patterns can you uncover? Are there any shifts?
• Multiple Meanings: What do you think the poet is trying to do here (tone/themes)?

*A mini break for a puzzle challenge (and metaphor)*

3. Reading and marking up Foster's "If It's Square, It's a Sonnet" 

• How does the form contribute to the poem's meaning?

4. Trying out your newfound sonnet knowledge on Keats

HW:
1. For Friday: Read Chapters 8 through 11 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

2. For next Tuesday, Oct 1: Decide which sonnet to perform your metacognitive timed writing on. Be sure to bring the actual sonnet to class that day.

Of Monsters and Men: September 25, 2019

Focus: What is a monster, and why does Steinbeck introduce us to one?

1. Warming up with your thoughts on the word "monster"

• What is a monster?

• How has your definition of this word changed over time?

• What makes one susceptible to a monster?

2. Reading Chapters 8 through 11 in East of Eden

3. Taking the Sparknotes Oath

HW:
1. For Friday: Read Chapters 8 through 11 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

2. For MONDAY: Read Chapters 12 through 15 and prepare a Socratic ticket.

3. For next Tuesday, Oct 1: Decide which sonnet to perform your metacognitive timed writing on. Be sure to bring the actual sonnet to class that day.

Cain/Charles and Abel/Adam: September 24, 2019

Focus: What does Steinbeck's allusion to Cain and Abel mean?

1. Warming up with a close examination of Steinbeck's allusion to Cain and Abel

• What's an allusion?

• What direct parallels does Steinbeck draw between the Biblical story of Cain and Abel and his own story? Try to get specific here; find lines to support your thinking.

• What does he change, and why might those changes be important?

2. Enjoying a Socratic Seminar on East of Eden, Chapters 4-7

3. Wrapping up with kudos, epiphanies, and lingering questions

HW:
1. For Wednesday: Bring East of Eden to class for reading time.

2. For Friday: Read Chapters 8-12 and prepare your next Socratic ticket.

3. By the end of the month: Finish the A.P. Central multiple choice questions on characterization we started in class today.

4. For next Tuesday, Oct 1: Decide which sonnet to perform your metacognitive timed writing on. Be sure to bring the actual sonnet to class that day.

Next Stop...A.P. Central! September 23, 2019

Focus: How do we deepen our understanding of literature outside of class?

1. Warming up with three good things :)

2. Shaking hands with the sonnet essay

3. Accepting the hand that A.P. Central is offering to you: Help with multiple choice!

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Read chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 and complete your next reading ticket.

2. By the end of the month: Finish the A.P. Central multiple choice questions on characterization we started in class today.

3. For next Tuesday, Oct 1: Decide which sonnet to perform your metacognitive timed writing on. Be sure to bring the actual sonnet to class that day.

First Impressions: September 20, 2019

Focus: What does Steinbeck want us to start thinking about?

1. Warming up by questioning Steinbeck's first chapters with a Bucket List

Level 1 Bucket: questions for clarity--what's confusing you about the plot?

• Who is the narrator? Is it Steinbeck himself?

Level 2 Bucket: Socratic-style questions

• On page __, what do the descriptions of Samuel Hamilton's strengths have in common? Why might Steinbeck emphasize this particular pattern?

"What Would Foster Say?" Bucket

• After being beaten nearly to death by his brother, Adam lies briefly in a stream of water. What would Foster say about the significance of this "baptism"?

3. Discussing your Bucket questions in a Socratic

4. Wrapping up with kudos, questions, and epiphanies

HW:
1. For MONDAY: Bring your laptop to class. Also, be sure to get a portion of your East of Eden reading done over the weekend.

2. For TUESDAY: Read chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 and complete your next reading ticket.

Odyssey Thursday Workshop: September 19, 2019

Focus: How do we use workshop to improve our timed writing skills?

1. Warming up by leaving kudos, questions, and epiphanies on each other's Big Blogs

2. Perusing a few sample essays together to figure out what we're aiming for

3. Peer editing the structure of each other's timed writings

HW:

For FRIDAY: 

• Complete your final poetry response (autumn poetry packet given out last Wed).

• Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in East of Eden and complete your first reading ticket.

And Still, the Box Is Not Full: September 18, 2019

Focus: Why this book, right now?

1. Warming up with a metacognitive on the opening letter in this book

2. Offering you the best gift I have:

"Well, here's your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full." -- Steinbeck

3. Reading the opening chapters of East of Eden

A challenge for you: The first chapter of a good book has an important job, and that is to set up every important tension of the novel. In his lengthy, stunning descriptions of setting, what underlying tensions are you noticing?

HW:

For FRIDAY: 

• Complete your final poetry response (autumn poetry packet given out last Wed).

• Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in East of Eden and complete your first reading ticket.

Writing About The Odyssey: September 17, 2019

Focus: How can a timed writing help you deepen your understanding of a text?

*Please turn in your school copies of The Odyssey.*

1. Warming up with kudos, questions, and epiphanies on each other's blogs

2. Walking through your first AP Lit prompt as a class; composing your first "Tuesday" writing individually

• Find the heart of the prompt and underline it.
• Brainstorm and/or outline in a way that works for you  (5 min).
• Don't start writing until you have an idea of what you're going to say after your first body paragraph.
• Write in the present tense.
• Go narrow, go deep (the more precise you can get with your examples, the better).
• MOST IMPORTANTLY: Let yourself discover new meanings as you write. End in a better place than where you started.

3. Wrapping up with thoughts on your first timed writing

HW:

1.  For TOMORROW:

• Bring East of Eden to class.

2. For FRIDAY: 

• Complete your final poetry response (autumn poetry packet given out last Wed).

• Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in East of Eden and complete your first reading ticket.

Endings and Beginnings: September 16, 2019

Focus: How do we wrap up our first unit and get ready for the next one?

*Friendly reminder: If you don't have your college essay printed yet, please submit it by 4:00 pm today. Remember to staple the checklist to the top.*

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Sharing beautiful words from your college essays

3. Introducing to you the East of Eden reading schedule and reading ticket possibilities

4. Finishing your Big Question Blog posts on The Odyssey

HW:

1.  For TUESDAY:

• Finish your Big Question Blog post if if you did not finish in class.

• We will have a timed writing on The Odyssey this day. You may not use your book.

• Please bring your copy of The Odyssey to turn in.

2. For FRIDAY: 

• Complete your final poetry response (autumn poetry packet given out last Wed).

• Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 in East of Eden and complete your first reading ticket.

Go Big or Go Home: September 13, 2019

Focus: What do we really want to explore this year?

1. Warming up with big, big questions: List of possibilities

2. Exploring two sample Big Question Blogs:

Mike's Sample Blog

Mara's Sample Blog

3. Checking out www.blogger.com and setting up your own blogs

• Please make sure give yourself a unique blog title that includes your first name.

• Include your big question in the header.

• E-mail me your blog address (it ends with "blogspot.com") as soon as you have one.

4. Creating your first big blog post using The Odyssey

• Bring in specific lines / highly specific scenes. Strangely, to "go big" you have to first "go small."

HW:

1. For MONDAY: Finish your "best draft so far" of your college essay to turn in by 4:00 pm on Monday. Please use this checklist (hard copy given in class and sent to you via Remind).

2. For TUESDAY:

• Finish your Big Question Blog post if if you did not finish in class.

• We will have a timed writing on The Odyssey this day. You may not use your book.

• Please bring your copy of The Odyssey to turn in.

3. For NEXT FRIDAY (SEP 20): Complete your final poetry response 

(4. Suggested, but not required: Start reading East of Eden.)

It's About Time: September 12, 2019

Focus: How do we use pacing in our personal narratives to clarify meaning?

1. Warming up by exploring the role of slow motion in film and writing

2. Offering you easy techniques for jumping around in time

As you read Charlotte's essay, try out the following:

• Mark any places where she moves around in time and space.

• What craft moves are you seeing? In other words, how is she accomplishing the jump from one temporal space to another?

• Take a look at your essay and try out the same exercise: Mark the places where you're moving around in time. What techniques can you borrow to make sure you're being crystal clear?

3. Drafting, editing, and conferencing

Note: If you're applying to a highly specific program, ask me for a copy of Sarah's college essay.

HW:
1. For THIS FRIDAY: Bring The Odyssey and your laptop to class

2. For MONDAY: Print and turn the "best draft so far" of your college essay by 4:00 pm.

3. For NEXT FRIDAY (SEP 20): Complete your final poetry response 

(4. Suggested, but not required: Start reading East of Eden.)

Shaping Your Personal Essay: September 11, 2019

Focus: How do we shape our personal essays?

1. Warming up with ye ole narrative arc

2. Drafting, conferencing, and (peer) editing with attention to narrative shape

HW:
1. ONGOING: Keep working on your college essay draft.

2. For THIS FRIDAY: Bring The Odyssey and your laptop to class

3. For NEXT FRIDAY (SEP 20): Complete your final poetry response 

4. Suggested, but not required: Start reading East of Eden.

Gifts: September 10, 2019

Focus: How does opening up a gift open up an understanding of something or someone?

1. Warming up with a creative quickwrite on gifts

2. Exploring the 2018 Question #3 prompt on gifts

3. Forming thesis statements and outlines for practice

4. Offering you my greatest gift: East of Eden, with a recommendation to start reading ahead of time

HW:
1. For WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY: Keep working on your college essay draft.

2. For NEXT FRIDAY (SEP 20): Complete your final poetry response (packet to be given out on Tuesday). 

3. Suggested, but not required: Start reading East of Eden.

The Real Reason for the Quest: September 9, 2019

Focus: What is the real reason for Telemachus' and Odysseus' journeys?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Taking a step back to explore the final step of the hero's journey in The Odyssey: The real reason for the quest

3. Enjoying our final Socratic Seminar on The Odyssey: Books 20-24

4. Wrapping up with kudos, epiphanies, and lingering questions

HW:
1. For TOMORROW: Bring The Odyssey to class with you for a practice Q3.

2. For WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY: Keep working on your college essay draft.

3. For FRIDAY: Complete your final poetry response (packet to be given out on Tuesday). Also, bring your laptop and The Odyssey to class.

The March of the Minor Characters: September 6, 2019

Focus: What do small characters teach us about big concepts?

1. Warming up with your reading tickets, musical-chairs style

• What do these first-person rewrites help you understand better or differently about a character, a relationship, or a situation?

2. Enjoying a Socratic seminar on The Odyssey, books 13-20

3. Wrapping up with epiphanies, kudos, and lingering questions

HW:
1. Ongoing: Continue drafting your college essay and coming in to conference with me. 

• Essays are due September 16 by 4:00 pm.

2. For Monday: 

• Reread the rest of the books in The Odyssey to prepare for our last Socratic seminar.

• Prepare a ticket by using any style of reading ticket we've tried so far. Your choice.

Figuratively Speaking: September 5, 2019

Focus: How can you use figurative language to both liberate and structure your writing?

1. Warming up "Salvador, Late or Early" and an MMM reading

2. Experimenting with surprising figurative language in your writing: Trying out an abstract-to-concrete writing drill

3. Returning to drafting and conferencing on your college essays

HW:
1. Ongoing: Continue drafting your college essay and coming in to conference with me. 

• Essays are due September 16 by 4:00 pm.

2. For Friday: 

• Reread Chapters 13-20 in The Odyssey to prepare for our one Socratic seminar next week.

• Prepare a ticket by trying out the following exercise in character empathy: Rewrite one scene from the first-person perspective of a minor character (not Odysseus or Telemachus). You can handwrite or type and print, and it should be about a page.

• Compose your next poetry response. Instead of a packet, I'd like you to use this website: https://poets.org/poem-a-day and select one of the current or past poems-of-the-day. We're going contemporary!

Shaping Your Lens: September 4, 2019

Focus: What is the difference between scene and reflection, and how do you balance these in a college essay?

1. Warming up with an MMM approach to "A Wider Lens"

2. Discussing the essay's craft moves, scene, and reflection

3. Drafting your own college essays with attention to craft moves, scene, and reflection

HW:
1. Ongoing: Continue drafting your college essay and coming in to conference with me. 

• Essays are due September 16 by 4:00 pm.

2. For Thursday: Bring your laptop to class for college essay drafting and revising.

3. For Friday: 

• Reread Chapters 13-20 in The Odyssey to prepare for our one Socratic seminar next week.

• Prepare a ticket by trying out the following exercise in character empathy: Rewrite one scene from the first-person perspective of a minor character (not Odysseus or Telemachus). You can handwrite or type and print, and it should be about a page.

• Compose your next poetry response. Instead of a packet, I'd like you to use this website: https://poets.org/poem-a-day and select one of the current or past poems-of-the-day. We're going contemporary!

Slow Reading "The Century Quilt": September 3, 2019

Focus: What complex meanings does the speaker attribute to the Century Quilt?

1. Warming up with three good things

2. Starting our slow-down with a whiteboard brainstorming of the poem's title

3. Indulging in individual MMM readings and partner explorations of the extended metaphor

4. Composing thesis statements and brief outlines

HW:
1. For Wednesday and Thursday: Bring your laptop to class for college essay drafting and revising.

2. For Friday: 

• Reread Chapters 13-20 in The Odyssey to prepare for our one Socratic seminar next week.

• Prepare a ticket by trying out the following exercise in character empathy: Rewrite one scene from the first-person perspective of a minor character (not Odysseus or Telemachus). You can handwrite or type and print, and it should be about a page.

• Compose your next poetry response. Instead of a packet, I'd like you to use this website: https://poets.org/poem-a-day and select one of the current or past poems-of-the-day. We're going contemporary!