"The Art of Questioning"

Dear Juniors,
If you missed class on Monday, we completed the following:

1. We discussed the 6 different types of questions. Notice that I have indicated them for you below. We reviewed what took place within chps. 1-4. We continued by viewing those same chapters via the film. Then we read chapter 5 together, and we reviewed chp. 6-8 via the synopsis sheet .

HOMEWORK:

1. Please read Chps. 7-8 and complete your vocabulary for both chapters.
2. Develop 3 different questions for chapter 7, selecting from the different types of questions. Develop 3 different questions or chapter 8, selecting from the remaining type of questions that you did not create for chapter 7. Make sense? So, you are writing 6 different questions, 3 for 7 and 3 for 8, but you aren't repeating any of the question types.
3. I returned all the Memoir Assignments. You were asked to revise them and then have your first draft ready for Friday, the 11th!

TYPES OF QUESTIONS:
1)  Knowledge: Tests ability to memorize without fully understanding a concept
Useful Verbs: Tell, list, describe, relate, locate, write, find, state, name
Sample Question Stems: 
What happened after...
Can you name the...
What is...
Which is true or false...
What is the definition of...

2)  Comprehension: Tests ability to summarize and describe paraphrasing
Useful Verbs: Interpret, distinguish, compare, discuss, explain, predict, restate, translate
Sample Question Stems:
What was the main idea...
What differences exist between...
What was the main idea?
What are examples of...

3)  Analysis: Require students to break material into parts describing patterns and relationships.
Useful Verbs: Analyses, distinguish, examine, compare, contrast, investigate, separate, predict
Sample Question Stems:
What was the underlying theme...
What do you see as other possible outcomes...
How is ____ similar to ____?

4)  Synthesis: Require students to form new ideas, by combining ideas from different sources.
Useful Verbs: Compose, create, plan, predict, devise, formulate, propose
Sample Question Stems:
Develop your own plan for  handling...
What would happen if...
Propose a possible new  solution to...

5)  Evaluation: Develop opinions and make value decisions based upon specific criteria.
Useful Verbs: Access, critique, determine, evaluate, justify, judge
Sample Question Stems:
Is there a better solution...
Can you defend your position about...
How would you have handled...

6)  Application: Apply or transfer learning to a different content.
Useful Verbs: Solve, show, complete, examine, use, design
Sample Question Stems:
Design a market strategy for your product using a known strategy as a model.
Take a collection of photographs to demonstrate particular point.
Can you apply the method used to some experience of your own...
Do you know another instance where...
What factors would you change if...

May 1, 2012

Dear Juniors,

        If you missed class on Friday , April 27th, we completed the following:
1. Introducing info. regarding Gothic Literature was reviewed. Obtain this info form someone in class.

2. We discussed the significance of a "frame story." Obtain the definition from someone in class.

3. We discussed the 6 Primary characters of  "Turn of the Screw"

•      The Governess
•       Mrs. Grose
•       Quint
•       Mrs. Jessel
•       Flora
•       Miles     

4. Journal #2 "Gothic Traits found in  The Changeling"
Students viewed a clip for the Gothic horror movie called The Changeling, and then identified the Gothic elements found in the film

May 1st, 2012

If you missed class Tuesday May 1st, 2012, you missed the following:

1. We completed the Introducing info. (yellow sheet)

2. We discussed the significance of Color Symbolism in literature. The following aspects can easily be associated with the indicated colors

RED: Love, Passion, War, Violence and Anger
BLACK: Sophistication, Death, Evil, Fear, Mystery and Mourning
WHITE: Purity, Innocence, Peace, Dream-like and Trust
BLUE: Honor, Loyalty, Honesty, Peace, Cold and Harsh
PURPLE: Royalty, Wisdom, Age and Depression
PINK: Hope, Youth and Femininity
ORANGE: Warning, Life, Vitality, Energy, Attention and Warmth
GOLD: Class, Money, Power, Nostalgia, Untrustworthy and Shallow
SILVER: Wealth, Betrayal, Depression and Uncertainty
GRAY: Wisdom, Mystery, Hiding and Neutrality
BROWN: Poverty, Common Man, Earth, Honest, Simplicity and Reliable
GREEN: Envy, Jealousy, Money, Life and Hope

Homework
1. Quiz covering the intro info for Gothic Literature is Thursday.
2. Please read the first 4 paragraphs on your Synopsis handout.
3. Develop 5 Questions pertaining to the info. you read for #2              

03/29/12 and 03/27/2012

Dear Juniors,
If you missed class on either Tuesday or Thursday, we completed the following:

1. On Tuesday we discussed your upcoming CRT exam. The exam is scheduled for April 17th, 19th and the 23rd! We will review a little each day to help you prepare for the exam. Today you were introduced to the LATIN ROOTS. YOU WILL HAVE A QUIZ covering the roots on MONDAY, April 2nd. I have included the roots for you below.

1. cracy=government
2. demo=people
3. dia=across
4. dom=rule
5. dyna=power
6. fid=faith
7.form=shape
8. ject=to throw
9. lent=full of
10. liber=freedom
11. phile=love
12. photo=light
13. spir=breathe
14. sym=together
15. tract=to pull
16. trib=to pay
17. bene=good
18. vita=life
19. vore=eat greedily
20. ad=toward

We then worked in our groups and completed the final memoir section. We then went to the lab and worked on our power point presentations regarding our memoir assignment.

HOMEWORK:
1. PREPARE for your Latin Roots quiz, cute kids!

PRACTICE QUIZ:
Each of the following words contains a Greek or Latin root that is one of those on the State Core list for 11th grade roots. WITHOUT USING YOUR NOTES (John Proctor is watching), identify the root and the meaning for the following roots.



HOMEwork

Dear Juniors-
It is time to consider preparing for your exam concerning poetry. We have analyzed several pieces together and now it is time to use the TPCASTT method without the assistance of myself or your peers. Actually, that isn't entirely true, you may select 2 of the five to obtain assistance from either myself and/or your peers.

You will "blindly" select two of the 5 poems indicated below. You won't know which pieces you will select until the day of your test, which is Friday.

How do I prepare, Mrs. Crampton?
Relax, as I will give you class time to work on this, but the best way ti prepare is to TPCASTT each poem.

Can I use my TPCASTT notes during the test?
Of course! In fact, I will require your to submit a TPCASTT format sheet for each of the poems. However, your exam involves writing an analysis for only two of the pieces. You will submit all the TPCASTT format and the two 8 sentence (minimum) analysis on Friday.

YOU CAN DO THIS, CUTE KIDS, because you are smart, and you are going to prepare! I am aware that you will need to THINK, and THINK hard, but I believe in you!

The following pieces of poetry will be the focus for your exam. Each student who attended class received a hard copy of the poems and 5 TPCASTT format sheets.

If you missed class, please locate the poems via the internet! You can obtain the TDCASTT format sheets from me.

#1. "On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High."
by D.C. Berry

#2. "A Work of Artifice"
by Marge Piercy

#3. "The Man He Killed"
by Thomas Hardy

#4. "To Make Use"
by Marge Piercy

#5. "The Letter"
by Jane Kenyon

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Dear Juniors,

STOP MISSING CLASS, cute kids. Visit with your friends about
what you missed in class!

1. We reviewed the poem "Ready to Kill" and discussed your interpretations of the piece; well done, my young friends. I appreciated those of you that expressed a different opinion to that of the poet, Carl Sandburg.

2. We then discussed two more poems, "Metaphors" and "To a Friend Whose Work has come to Triumph. " I have indicated those for you here. Please obtain the TPCASTT method for both from a friend.

Metaphors

I'm a riddle in nine syllables,
An elephant, a ponderous house,
A melon strolling on two tendrils.
O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!
This loaf's big with its yeasty rising.
Money's new-minted in this fat purse.
I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.
I've eaten a bag of green apples,
Boarded the train there's no getting off.

To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph

Consider Icarus, pasting those sticky wings on,
testing that strange little tug at his shoulder blade,
and think of that first flawless moment over the lawn
of the labyrinth. Think of the difference it made!
There below are the trees, as awkward as camels;
and here are the shocked starlings pumping past
and think of innocent Icarus who is doing quite well.
Larger than a sail, over the fog and the blast
of the plushy ocean, he goes. Admire his wings!
Feel the fire at his neck and see how casually
he glances up and is caught, wondrously tunneling
into that hot eye. Who cares that he fell back to the sea?
See him acclaiming the sun and come plunging down
while his sensible daddy goes straight into town.

HOMEWORK:

1. Please make sure that your memoir assignment is ready for Tuesday! Remember that you have to have the 2nd 1/3 of your book read by Tuesday, the 13th. I gave each student another copy of the yellow sheet to submit for Tuesday.

2. Your "Metaphor" poem is due on Thursday. The handout for this assignment was given to to each student in class. Please stop by and pick=up a handout, and then visit with a friend.

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Dear Juniors,

STOP MISSING CLASS, my young friends!

1. You were introduced to an effective method poetry interpretation method called TP-CASTT. I have included the "key" for TP-CASTT for you below. We obtained this information in class.

One of the difficulties students tend to have with analyzing poetry is figuring out how to start. TPCASTT is one way that will help with analyzing a poem.

TPCASTT is an acronym standing for title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shift, title (again), and theme.

1.Students begin by looking at the title of the poem to determine what they think it might be about and what it might literally mean.

2.Next, they read the poem and paraphrase it. What is the “story” of the poem in their own words? They should also define words they don’t know at this stage.

3. Examining the connotations means looking at words that might have multiple meanings and trying to determine if there is a meaning beyond the literal that lies beneath the surface of the poem. At this stage, students are truly analyzing the text.

4. Attitude involves determining the tone and emotions associated with the subject. What sort of attitude does the speaker take toward the subject?

5. Many poems involve a shift in tone. Next, students examine the poem to see if they can detect a shift, and if so, where it occurs, what kind of shift it is, and how it changes the direction and meaning of the poem.

6. After examining the poem, students return to the title again. Are there any new insights about the title after they have read the poem?

7. The final step is determining the theme. What greater message did the poet hope to convey? Why did he/she pick up the pen?

One advantage of this method is that it provides students a framework and process for analyzing poetry. Students examine subject, purpose, and audience through this analysis.

We then practiced using the TPCASTT METHOD with the following two poems. Students received participation points for attending class. You are welcome to attend a Flex session to assist with recovering the points.

"We real cool.

SEVEN AT THE 'GOLDEN SHOVEL" by Gwendolyn Brooks

We real cool.

We Left school.

We Lurk late.

We Strike straight.

We Sing sin.

We Thin gin.

We Jazz June.

We Die soon.

"The White Man Pressed the Locks, 1970" James C. Kilgore

Driving down the concrete artery,
Away from the smoky heart,
Through the darkening, blighted body,
Pausing at varicose veins,
The white man pressed the locks
on all the sedan's doors,
Sped toward the white corpuscles
in the white arms hugging the black city

HOMEWORK:
1. Remember that the second 1/3 of your memoir needs to be read by Tuesday, March 13th!
2. Please TPCASTT the included poem entitled, "Ready to Kill" by Carl Sandburg. Please see the explanation for the assignment below. If you have questions, don't hesitate to see me during Flex.