We had a good class this week. The
students were payed close attention during the instruction and engaged
in discussion about our literature. The Quick Write prompt had 2
parts: 1) "My favorite number is ______ because ________." and 2)
Write a formula for something/anything. We talked about how formulas
are like recipes for numbers. Again, they were quite creative.
The Latin phrases for today might be familiar to some parents: circa (about/ around); cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am.); and compos mentis (of sound/composed mind).
We've finished our O. Henry stories; I hope they have enjoyed them as much as I have. We're now reading from Great Short Poems,
a collection of American and British poetry. In addition to reading
Langston Hughes's classic poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," we took a
lengthy time to discuss one of my personal favorites: "The Red
Wheelbarrow." At first glance, this doesn't seem to have much umph --
one student even called it "lame." William Carlos Williams wrote this
as an imagist poem intending, in part, to activate our senses. Below is a
copy of the poem. What do you see, hear, feel, or smell as you think
about the image Williams is painting with words? (We decided that our
sense of taste wasn't really called on for this poem.)
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
We're continuing to discuss Punctuation,
and I presented to them the uses for the semicolon and the colon. They
were to take notes, which will help them prepare for an end of the
semester grammar test. Already curious about what will be on the test, I
assured them that it wouldn't be too hard. I'll put on the test the
punctuation information that we've discussed along with some material
from last semester.
They handed in their rough drafts for their News
Stories. We ran out of time to discuss how to cite sources from which
they've gotten some of their information. We'll cover that next week.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read the poems from the following poets:
Wordsworth: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud; My Heart Leaps Up; She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
Elizabeth Browning: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways;
Robert Browning: Meeting at Night; Parting at Morning; Pippa's Song
Bronte: The Old Stoic
Hopkins: Pied Beauty; God's Grandeur;"No Worst, There Is None"
-- Note: We will discuss the Wordsworth and Hopkins poems
-- Fill out both sides of the 2 poetry worksheets. One poem per side.
-- Review notes taken in class about the period, semicolon, and colon.
Last week's blogs:
This week's blogs
Class Notes (Week 11)
4 uses of the semicolon
10 uses of the colon
It appears that winter wants a "do-over." Stay safe and keep warm!
Mrs. Prichard
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