Short Story Project II -- Non-Fiction

OPENING: Just like you did with your last literature project, you will need to review the Georgia Performance Standards this unit addresses.  This will help you understand what you are supposed to take away from this lesson.  Take a few moments to read the following standards, keeping in mind that you may need to read them more than once:

ELA10RL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation. 


ELA10RL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.


Mini-Lesson: For your next short story project you will read some nonfiction. Nonfiction can take many forms: magazine stories, newspaper articles, memoirs, and essays are all examples. You will read at least two different examples for this project.
The first thing you will need to do is to pick a memior or a personal narrative of an event. The gold and green textbooks have several good examples.
Some Suggestions:
It Can't Be Helped from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston -- page 355 in green anthology;
R.M.S. Titanic by Hanson W. Baldwin -- page 390 in green anthology
A Presentation of Whales by Barry Lopez -- page 432 in green anthology
When I Lay My Burden Down from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou -- page 357 in gold anthology
Haven't I Made a Difference! by James Harriot -- page 407 in gold anthology
If you plan to choose a different memoir or personal narrative, please show me what you plan to use before you begin. Please remember that stories that are very short often make your task harder in the long run.

Work Period: When you are finished reading, post the following to your blog:
1. Write a 2-3 paragraph summary/response to what you have read. Please be sure to consentrate more on your feelings about the story rather than simply summarizing what happened.
2. Explain what you think the author's purpose was for wrinting this story. What do you think he or she wanted readers to come away from this story thinking? Your answer should be between 2 and 3 paragraphs, and the best responses will include some direct evidence from the story.
3. Why do you think it is important to read about moments in other people's lives? Why are these stories so popular? Are there instances in your life that would be helpful to other people to read about?


Closing: Review what you wrote about the  Georgia Performance Standards in the opening part of this unit.  Now, provide specific evidence from your own work to show how it addresses these standards.  If you are having difficulty with this, let me know.

Lit 10 Writing Assignments

Before looking at the actual writing assignments, lets begin by identifying the Georgia Performance Standards they will address as well as the process we will use in this class.

The Standards:

ELA10W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals a satisfying closure.

ELA10W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.

ELA10W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing.

ELA10W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.

As you compose your rough drafts, you should always keep these standards in mind. They will also be instrumental in our editing process.
The Writing Process:

You will receive three grades for each of the four writing assignments you will complete:

1. Rough Draft -- have two pages of double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point text by the day it is due for editing.
2. Editing -- You will edit with one of your peers. This is a timed exercise, and it should be easy to earn a high score on this portion of your writing process.
3. Final Draft -- This will be my evaluation of your writing. You may complete more drafts to earn a higher score if you choose. Any essay scoring below an 80 will need to be revised.

Your Writing Assignments:

Writing One: Autobiographical Writing -- I don't think you can fit your entire life into two double-spaced pages, so you should focus on one important moment that sticks out to you.  You should also spend some of your essay explaining why this moment was so important, as well as how it may have changed you, taught you something, or made you appreciate (or dislike) something.


Writing Two: Persuasive Writing --Persuasive writing is a form with which you are probably very familiar. It appears in newspapers and magazines, and you are likely to have already written your fair share of persuasive writing. The topics for the Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test are usually persuasive in nature.

Persuasive Writing is a piece of writing in which you try to persuade someone to agree with you or to convince them to share your opinion of something.
You may choose a political issue like immigration, upcoming elections, state graduation tests, drivers' licence policies for teanagers, or the war in Iraq to attempt to get others to share your feelings on the issue.
You may choose to argue that your favorite entertainer, athlete, team, television show or movie is the best.
You may choose to convice people that something going on today needs to be changed.
You can read some good examples of persuasive writing here, here, here, and here.
EVIDENCE is one of the most important elements of persuasive writing. If you are attempting to change someone's mind, or influence their opinion, you need to provide examples of why you feel the way you do.

Some Student examples that may be helpful to you:

Curt Cobain did not Kill Himself -- Morgan Chapman

Immigration -- Carlos Baires

Monopoly at McDonald's is not a Rip-off -- Anisha Hayes

The Attendance Policy is Dumb -- Toikia Hancock

Lit 9 Writing Assignments

Before looking at the actual writing assignments, lets begin by identifying the Georgia Performance Standards they will address as well as the process we will use in this class.

The Standards:

ELA9W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals a satisfying closure.

ELA9W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.

ELA9W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing.

ELA9W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.

As you compose your rough drafts, you should always keep these standards in mind. They will also be instrumental in our editing process.
The Writing Process:

You will receive three grades for each of the four writing assignments you will complete:

1. Rough Draft -- have two pages of double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point text by the day it is due for editing.
2. Editing -- You will edit with one of your peers. This is a timed exercise, and it should be easy to earn a high score on this portion of your writing process.
3. Final Draft -- This will be my evaluation of your writing. You may complete more drafts to earn a higher score if you choose. Any essay scoring below an 80 will need to be revised.

Your Writing Assignments:

Writing One: Narrative Writing -- A Narrative is simply a piece of writing that describes a series of events.  Think of the people we call "narrator" in a story, play, or movie -- their job is just to explain what is going on.  For your narrative, you can choose to describe a series of events that you experienced firsthand, something that happened to someone else, or you can create a piece of fiction.

This should be a good opportunity to get your wheels turning without having to worry about evidence or other more complex elements.

Writing Two: Persuasive Writing --Persuasive writing is a form with which you are probably very familiar. It appears in newspapers and magazines, and you are likely to have already written your fair share of persuasive writing. The topics for the Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test are usually persuasive in nature.

Persuasive Writing is a piece of writing in which you try to persuade someone to agree with you or to convince them to share your opinion of something.
You may choose a political issue like immigration, upcoming elections, state graduation tests, drivers' licence policies for teanagers, or the war in Iraq to attempt to get others to share your feelings on the issue.
You may choose to argue that your favorite entertainer, athlete, team, television show or movie is the best.
You may choose to convice people that something going on today needs to be changed.
You can read some good examples of persuasive writing here, here, here, and here.
EVIDENCE is one of the most important elements of persuasive writing. If you are attempting to change someone's mind, or influence their opinion, you need to provide examples of why you feel the way you do.

User Agreement

Using a weblog for our classwork will require some parameters for your safety and the quality of everyone's work. First, you should recognize that your work, as well as mine will be published for the entire on-line world to see. This will ultimately make us all responsible for better and more original output than ever before. By visiting other students' weblogs, you will be able to view all their work, and it will also make it easy for me to see who is not making an effort to submit work that is original.

Once you create your own weblog for this class, I will add it to the class blog roll so everyone's work can be accessed from this page. I encourage you to look at your peers' work for ideas or inspiration, but what you submit must be your own. Language Arts lends itself well to this format since you will be asked to respond to the literature and history we study with your own ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers in a Language Arts class, so looking at other students' ideas can help you. It can also create problems if you choose to be lazy.

I will leave comments about your work. These comments will usually instruct you on how you can improve your work. Please make sure you check your comments and your e-mail regularly, and make sure you are finished with one assignment before moving to the next.

Since this weblog will be part of your education at Classic City High School, any activity on your weblog should be considered school activity, even if it is done outside of school. You should feel free to create posts that are not school related, but you should also be sure to refrain from anything that could be considered inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: references to alcohol or drugs, violence, or gang activity, foul language, nudity, threats, etc.

Plagiarism is submitting someone else's work as your own. This can be done in many ways: copying work from Wikipedia, classmates, Sparknotes, etc. If you plagiarize your work, you will receive a zero -- no questions asked.


THE USER AGREEMENT:

1. I agree to submit original work to my weblog. I realize I will have the opportunity to view my peers' work, and I will use this opportunity constructively. I understand that if I choose to plagiarize, I will receive a zero for the work in question with no option to redo the assignment in question.

2. I agree to keep my weblog appropriate for Classic City High School. I understand that if innapropriate material were to appear on my weblog, be it from myself or an outside comment, I will be asked to remove it. Failure to do so will result in my weblog being removed from the class roll. I also understand that refereneces to illegal or dangerous activities will be reported since it is the legal responsibility of my teacher.


Classroom Procedures and Expectations
Dana Siegmund
Classic City High School

NovaNet:
You are required to score at least an 80% on all post-tests.

You should take notes on all your lessons to use when you take the post-test. Pasting screen shots onto Powerpoint is not taking notes.

I will check your notebook four times during the semester, and these grades will be factored into your total NovaNet score.

I will not override prescriptions after your pretest, unless it is a special circumstance.

If you score lower than a 70 on a post-test, I will reassign prescriptions

Leaving the Classroom:
Please let me know you need to leave before doing so.

Once you leave, take care of your business and come right back. Do not disturb other classes.

If you plan to purchase anything from Jittery Joe’s, you will need the pass.

If your trip is not absolutely necessary, please do not be surprised if I say “no”.

If you are gone for 15 minutes of any class period, I will mark you absent.

Administrative Absences:
If you did not come to school to work, I will mark you absent and ask you to leave.

You shouldn’t take this personally.

There is a waiting list full of people waiting to be a student at Classic City High School PLC, and if you are not making the best use of your spot, it will soon be someone else’s.

Great Headphone Issue:
Some people work well with headphones and others do not.  If you choose to use headphones, you should have your own.  I have a couple sets that are reserved for projects that require them.  Students using headphones need to use them responsibly.  If your headphone use is disrupting yours or other students' work (completely at my discretion), your privileges will be suspended (see Internet Use as well).


Internet Use
The Internet is an extremely useful educational tool, but it can also be misused.  If your Internet use becomes detrimental to your progress (including music), your Internet privileges will be blocked.  Students who attempt to circumnavigate this decision will receive an administrative absence.

Food:
Food is great. Pick up your trash.

Mobile Phones:
I will follow the mobile phone policy explained in the Classic City High School Handbook.

The Classroom:
Please leave it in the condition you found it.

Push in your chairs.

Put books away.

Pick up after yourself. 


To agree, post a comment to this message like this:
I agree to Mr. Siegmund's Weblog User Agreement as well as his Classroom Procedures and Expectations.
I will not add your weblog to the class roll until I receive a comment from you like the example above.

Before Unit One -- The Standards (Lit 9)

Let's start this class with something you will be doing in every single unit you complete -- a discussion of the Georgia Performance Standards, and what they actually mean.  Below you can see I have copied one of the standards for American Literature (Lit 11):

ELA9RL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.

Read it one more time.
I wanted to start with this one since it is one that covers much of what we will do through the course of the class.  Think about what it means.  I realize this is not written in the way we usually talk, so let's work on translating it.

Your task:
Create a post on your blog called "Georgia Performance Standards", and then simply explain what you think the above standards mean.  It should not take you any more than three sentences.  Once you are done, you may want to add why mastering a standard like this is important.

Next:
Take a look at this standard as well:
ELA9RL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to contemporary context or historical background.

Once you have reviewed this one, follow the above directions one more time.  Keep in mind that you are explaining what you think this standard means, and that there are no right and wrong answers at this point.

Once everybody has finished, we will have a brief discussion.

Short Story Project -- THEME

OPENING:  This project will specifically address the following Georgia Performance Standard:


ELA9RL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in literary works from various genres and provides evidence from the works to support understanding.


Take a moment to read it a few times while thinking about what it might mean.  Then create a post on your blog called "Short Story -- THEME", then post the following:


1. Translate this standard into your own words, and then add a sentence or two describing what you expect from this project.


 MINI LESSON:


 "Theme" is the central idea of a work of literature. This does not mean "theme" is the same as the subject of a piece of writing. The subject of a piece of writing can be described in a word or two, "baseball", "farming", or "The Holocaust" to list a few examples. The theme is what the author wishes to reveal about the subject.
Some Examples:
Romeo and Juliet:
Subject: Young Love
Theme: Young love is often more important than family
Boyz in tha Hood:
Subject: Life in South-Central Los Angeles
Theme: Gang life is dangerous even for those who do not actively engage in it.
Back to the Future:
Subject: Time Travel
Theme: Though many people would like to change their pasts, their lives may end up worse if they did.

WORK PERIOD:


For this project, you will need to select a short story to read. Below are some suggestions of stories that are good for discussing theme:
Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird by Toni Cade Bambara -- page 266 in gold anthology
Independence by Ruth Sasaki -- page 278 in gold anthology
American History by Judith Ortiz Cofer -- page 290 in gold anthology
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson -- page 34 in green McGraw Hill anthology
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor -- page 86 in green McGraw Hill anthology
If you would like to read another story that is not on this list, show it to me before you begin.
When you are finished reading, post the following to your weblog:

2. Write a 2-3 paragraph response to the story you read. Please focus more on how you felt about the story than writing a summary.

3. What was the subject of the story? What was the theme? Look at the examples above if you need to. What do you think about what the author was trying to reveal about the subject? Do you agree with the author? Answer these questions in a short paragraph.

4. How does the author's words support the theme they are trying to convey. In other words, how can you tell what the author thought about the subject, and how can you tell what the author was hoping you would think when you finished the story. Make sure you provide some direct evidence from the story to support you r response.

5. Think of your favorite movie. Explain the subject of that movie, and then the theme. How does the person who created this movie deliver the theme? Describe the themes that let you know how the author feels about the subject and convinces viewers to feel the same.

CLOSING:

Review the standards I have listed below, and with direct evidence from YOUR work, explain how you have addressed at least two of the three.


ELA9RL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.


ELA9RL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in literary works from various genres and provides evidence from the works to support understanding.


ELA9RL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to contemporary context or historical background.



When you are through, self-evaluate your work with the help of the Rubric for Weblog Posts, and then leave me a comment to this message telling me you are through.

What do you think?

Cobb County teen told he can't dress like a girl

Read the article, and then join the conversation and work toward mastering the following:

ELA11LSV2 The student formulates reasoned judgments about written and oral communication in various media genres.

Unit Four -- Modernism

What is the American Dream?

Can you define it?

Is the American Dream a Reality for all Americans?

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OPENING: Discussion of Georgia Performance Standards

Take a moment to view the following five standards:

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.

ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.

ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

ELAALRL5 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.

ELAALRC2 The student participates in discussions related to curricular learning in all subject areas.

ELAALRC3 The student acquires new vocabulary in each content area and uses it correctly.

1. Create a new post on your blog called "Unit Four", and then explain which of the above standards you have had the most difficulty mastering.  Make specific references to the work you have done in this class in your response.

Mini-Lesson

The Great War (World War One) lasted from 1914 until 1918, and The United States became involved in 1917. The war was fought to protect humanity around the world, but became a bloodbath before long at all. Nearly 1,000,000 soldiers were killed in the Battle of Verdun alone. This was one of the first times modern technology like airplanes, poison gas, tanks, and other machinery were used to kill large numbers of people. World War One was a turning point for America and the rest of the civilized world, and it had major effects on the literature of our country.

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One of the biggest themes of Moderist American Literature is disallusionment. Disillusionment is defined as freeing oneself, or getting away from an illusion, or getting away from ideas that have no logical basis. One of the most common targets of disillusionment was the American Dream -- the idea that the United States of America was a land of opportunity and that all its people were virtueous. Many writers were beginning to see that this wasn't all true, and they were not afraid to attack this ideal in their work.

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This idea of disillusionment set the stage nicely for the Harlem Renaissance, when African-American artists were beginning to enjoy some mainstream success. These artists expressed the illogical nature of the American Dream since they especially were not permitted to enjoy the lifestyle it seems to guarantee. Many black soldiers who came home after serving in Europe immediately recognized that they were not treated with the same respect in their own homeland as they were in Eurpe. Many of these artists were the children and grandchildren of former slaves, and they too were ready to show that the American Dream was not quite the reality people thought. In their writing, music, and painting Harlem Renaissance artists either focused on the inequities that black Americans faced or celebrating the black American culture many people had not seen in art until this time.

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Throughout the United States there was increased interest in the field of psychology, and this also showed up in the new literature. Look for instances where the author is inviting readers to look inside the minds of the charaters to figure out what may have contributed to their struggles.

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The United States government also decided that alcohol was central to the social evils in the country, so they made its distribution and manufacture illegal in 1919. This contributed to the prevalence of speakeasys (illegal bars) and gangsters who became good at distributing illegal booze. You have probably heard these people refered to as "bootleggers". This shows up in Modernist literature as well. Many people call this the Jazz Age, and you can see many examples of speakeasys, jazz music, and an illegal lifestyle that was pretty common amoung social Americans.

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Many American artists who had served in Europe during the war decided that Europe had more to offer than the United States. These people thought that the American Dream that they had heard about so much was not true, and they enjoyed the more lively and inexpensive lifestyle in Europe. This group, who chose to live mostly in France included writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Earnest Hemmingway, and Gertrude Stein came to be known as the Lost Generation.

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Please post the following to your blog:

2. Choose one of the Modernism themes named above that you are most interested in studying: Disillusionment, the Harlem Renaissnace, The Jazz Age, or Phychoanalysis. Write a paragraph that describes why you made this choice and how you expect to see the topic you chose represented in the literature you are about to read.

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3. Read the story that coresponds to the theme you chose. Chose a topic according to your interests, not the length of the story. Choosing a story because of its length is not the wisest way to approach this assignment.

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Disillusionment -- Soldier's Home by Earnest Hemmingway

The Harlem Renaissance -- Sweat or The Gilded Six-Bits by Zora Neale Hurston can be found here.

The Jazz Age -- Choose a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald here.

Psychoanalysis -- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber

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When you are through reading, you should type a two-paragraph response to the story you read, and then provide another two paragraphs in which you analyze the theme you chose and how it is represented in the story. Take time to explain how the author features the theme you chose, and go deeper and explain what you believe he or she is saying about America.  This will require you to provide examples straight from the texts as well as some synthesis on your part (drawing your own conclusions).

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4. Read the following poems. When you study poetry, it is a good habit to read each selection MORE THAN ONCE.

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Richard Corey by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Mending Wall by Robert Frost

A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes

Incident by Countee Cullen

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Write a paragraph response to each poem in which you explain your opinions about what is being written as well as identify one of the elements of Modernism in each. These paragraphs must contain direct evidence from the poetry to support whatever claims you make. Please be thorough enough in this section so not to have to go back and make adjustmetns after I read your work.

SELF-EVALUATE YOUR WORK!!

5. Review your response to number 1 in this unit.  Then explain how you have addressed the Georgia Performance Standard you said was a challenge for you.  You should support this claim with evidence from your own work.

Once you have completed all of the above, leave me a comment to remind me to check your work.

Another Example of Analytical Writing

This piece is a little long, but I think it is very captivating. Look at all the ways the author as well as the people in the story are analyzing the situation.

Trial by Fire:
Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man?

More Examples of Analytical Writing

Here are some more examples from past semesters that may be helpful to you.

Analytical Writing -- Kayla Fortson -- Rhythm and Blues
Analytical Writing -- Andrea Coleman -- Reggae
Analytical Writing -- Caleb Pope -- Emo Subculture
Analytical Writing -- Jeff Green -- The Magic of Athens

Analytical Writing Example from this Week:

http://onlineathens.com/stories/090809/foo_490723981.shtml

You may have already read it.

How is this writer breaking something into pieces to help form a greater understanding of what happened?

Unit Three -- Dark Romanticism and Realism

Opening: A discussion of a new Georgia Performance Standard:
ELAALRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

Read the standard at least twice and begin thinking about what you may be asked to do before you are through with this unit. Once you are done thinking:

1. Create a post on your blog titled "Unit Three", and then explain what you believe the above standard means, and then go further by explaining what you think you will need to do to meet this particular standard.

Short Review:

1. What is original sin?

2. How did the Transcendentalists feel about it?

If you cannot explain these two questions, you probably need to call me over for a little conversation. It would not make much sense progressing without knowing these things and being able to explain them well.

Mini-Lesson:

Just like every other movement in American Literature you have studied (Puritanism, Rationalism, Romanticm, and Transcendentalism) Dark Romanticism is a reaction to the movement that came before it. Dark Romanticism is a little different because it coincides with Transcendentalism. Sometimes the Dark Romantics are known as Anti-Transcendentalists for this reason.

First, let's review the Transcendentalist philosophy:

a. They believed that everyone was absolutely pure and that each individual is a part of God.

b. They believed that people's thoughts and intuition were the voice of God.

c. They did not believe in institutions like government because they thought the individual human mind was the strongest power in the universe.

What would your argument to this philosophy be? Are all people good? Is the voice inside people's heads the pure voice of God?

Let's review the lives of some of the Dark Romantics to see if we can predict how they would answer these questions:

Nathaniel Hawthorne's great grandfather was one of the judges in the Salem witchcraft trials during Puritan times. During these trials, nineteen people and two dogs were hanged, and one man was crushed to death by stones all in the name of God. Nathaniel Hawthorne was embarrassed by this, so he changed the spelling of his to lessen the association with his relative, a minister and a judge who sentenced people to cruel deaths because other people accused them of being evil. Hawthorne would become famous for his novel The Scarlet Letter and short stories like "The Minister's Black Viel" and "The Birthmark" in which he criticises the Puritan culture. How would Hawthorne feel about the Transcendental philosophy? Reread thier beliefs if you need to.

Herman Melville was not a trained and educated writer like Emerson, Thoreau, or Hawthorne. He instead made his early living in the merchant marine as a sailor because of the fiancial breakdown in his family. Melville, who wanted to become a writer, was working on a ship as early as twelve years old. While sailing around the globe, Melville witnessed many things he would not have seen at his home in New York. One sight that reportedly effected him severely were the cannibals he saw in the South Pacific. Melville would write Moby Dick later in his life. Moby Dick was a novel about a ship captain, Ahab who was so obsessed with killing a white whale that ate his leg that he sacrifices his entire ship and all the men on it. Was Ahab pure of mind to sacrifice all the men he was charged with leading? Would a man who witnessed people eating human flesh agree that everyone was good and pure?

Edgar Allen Poe's mother died when he was very young, his stepfather disowned him when he went to college, and all three of his wives died from tuberculosis. Poe developed terrible addictions to opium and alcohol. By today's standards, he was probably insane. Poe's stories and poetry all feature characters who begin with a small grain of evil in their minds which eventually takes over. Many biographers argue that every one of Poe's stories represent something inside his mind.

In short, the Dark Romantics, after reviewing their life experiences thought that the Transcendental philosophy was severely flawed. They saw that people could be evil, insane, unpure, or generally not 100% good like the Transcendentalists thought. Unlike the Transcendentalists, they believed in original sin, and that it was responsible for the evil that existed inside of everyone.

Post the following responses to your blog:

2. Which side of the divide do you fall? Are you closer to being a Transcendentalist or a Dark Romantic? Explain your answer with a short paragraph.

Work Period:

3. Read either "The Black Cat" or "Hop-Frog", both by Edgar Allen Poe. As you read, keep the Dark Romantics' beliefs in mind because you will be asked to point out these beliefs in the story later. You can also choose to listen to "The Masque of Red Death" below; if you do, be sure to read the text as you listen:

4. Write a 2-3 paragraph response to the story you read. You should explain what you thought of the story as well as how well it illustrates how the Dark Romantics disagreed with the Transcendantalists. You need to provide at least a line or two of direct textual evidence from the story you chose to prove your claim.

You can also see the video a little larger here.

5. Once of Poe's most famous works was "The Raven", a poem he wrote while his second wife was literally dying in the next room. Read the poem (more than once), and then write a response (at least two paragraphs) that includes a few lines that stuck out to you. Add another paragraph or two that should explain how this poem represents an anti-Transcendental idea. As always, responses with direct evidence are always better than those that do not.

6. A symbol is something (usually an object) that stands for a much larger idea. Poe uses symbolism very weill in "The Raven". Can you identify it, and then support what you say with some evidence and analysis? I know you can.

7. Check these out. If you are doing what you should, you are addressing all three (and even more) in this unit. Using your word as DIRECT evidence (cut and paste from your own post) tell me how you are meeting these standards.

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.

ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.

ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

Self-Evaluate Your Work!!

Click Here to continue on to Realism

Unit Two -- Renaissance Sonnets

Opening:
As always, we should take a look at the Georgia Performance Standards this unit will address. Please take a moment to read the standard below published by the Georgia Department of Education:

ELABLRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

You will also address some of the standards we have seen in the past unit: ELABLRL1 and ELABLRL3. You should remember what these standards addressed. If you do not, you should call me over so we can have a little chat.

1. Create a blog post titled "Unit Two" and explain what you think the above standard (ELEBLRL4) means. What kinds of expectations does it give you for this unit?

Mini-Lesson -- Renaissance Sonnets:

The sonnet was the most accepted form of written art during the Renaissance. People loved them then, but today they can leave us scratching our heads. I was often confused by sonnets and their flowery language, but once I learned how to read them, they became much easier to understand.
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IF YOU PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS POST, SONNETS WILL BE EASY FOR YOU TOO.

This will come in handy since you will be writing one of your own.

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First, it would be important to define a sonnet as a fourteen-line poem composed in iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is the beat of the poem, and it essentially means that each line is made up of five pairs (penta) of syllables -- the first one unstressed, and the second one stressed. Here is an example of a line of iambic pentameter from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

But soft! - What light - through yon - der win - dow breaks?

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Now imagine you are a poet writing a sonnet, and if you were a poet in the Renaissance, sonnets and plays (also written in a certain meter) were the only accepted forms of literature. Imagine how dificult it would be to choose words with exactly the right stress as well as number of syllables. You see, these poems weren't written the way they were just to give you a hard time.

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Next, we need to talk about rhyme scheme. This is pretty simple. Check out my example below; it is one that may also help you with geometry:

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Pythagoras had a good ruse (A)

With a rule just for triangles to use (A)

"Add the squares of each side," (B)

He said with some pride," (B)

That's the square of the hypotenuse!" (A)

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The rhyme scheme of this poem is AABBA. All you have to do is look at the last word on each line. I start with ruse, and since it is the first line, I assign it an A. Then I look at use, and see that it rhymes with ruse, and so it is an A as well. Then I look at side, and see that it does not rhyme with ruse or use, so it is a B. Pride rhymes with side, so it is a B as well. At the end, when I see hypotenuse rhymes with ruse, it is an A. That makes the rhyme scheme ABBA.

It is important to understand rhyme scheme when reading a sonnet. If you pay close attention to the rhyme scheme, it can help you divide the poem into sections which will make it much easier for you to comprehend.

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Let's look at an example of a sonnet from the two most popular sonateers, William Shakespeare and Edmund Spencer. These poets use two different rhyme schemes in their sonnets. Shakespeare uses a ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme, and Spencer uses ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. I will draw lines to show how the rhyme scheme divides the poem into four sections.

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Sonnet 18

William Shakespeare

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Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (A)

Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (B)

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A)

And summer's lease hath all to short a date. (B)

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Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (C)

And often is his gold complextion dimmed, (D)

And every fair from fair sometimes declines, (C)

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed. (D)

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But thy eternal summer shall not fade, (E)

Nor lose possesion of that fair thou owest, (F)

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade (E)

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. (F)

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So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, (G)

So long lives this, and gives life to thee. (G)

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Sonnet 30

Edmund Spencer

My love is like to ice, and I to fire; (A)

How comes it then that this her cold so great (B)

Is not dissolved through my so hot desire, (A)

But harder grows the more I her entreat? (B)

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Or how comes it that my exceeding heat (B)

Is not delayed by her heart frozen cold, (C)

But that I burn much more in boiling sweat, (B)

And feel my flames augmented manifold? (C)

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What more miraculous thing may be told (C)

That fire which all thing melts, should harden ice, (D)

And ice which is congealed with senseless cold, (C)

Should kindle fire by wonderful device? (D)

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Such is the power of love in gentle mind, (E)

That it can alter all the course of kind. (E)

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:Work Period:
Continue by adding the following to your Unit Two post

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2. Examine the difference between the rhyme scheme Spencer uses and the one Shakespeare uses. Explain the difference. Which one do you prefer? (If you are unable to give a good answer to this question, it is time to come talk to me.)

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3. The rhyme scheme divides sonnets into four sections. The first section is a question asked from one point of view, the second is the same question asked from another point of view. The third section is called the turn. The turn is a shift in focus or the thoughts of the first two points of view. The last section is the conclusion. Use this method to explain the message in each of the four sections of the two poems above.

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4. Choose one more of Shakespeare's sonnets as well as another one of Spencer's sonnets. You can find these all over the Internet. Post each poem on your blog then: a. Label the rhyme scheme like my examples; b. explain the message in each of the four sections like you did in question #2.

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5. Come get an amatuer sonateer form from me, and then complete both sides.

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6. When you have finished, post your completed sonnet on your blog.

Closing:

7. This unit has addressed the following Georgia Performance Standards:

• ELABLRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events, main ideas, and characteristics) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
• ELABLRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.
• ELABLRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

Using your own work as evidence, explain how you have addressed at least two of the standards above. Better responses will have evidence of all three.

SELF-EVALUATE YOUR WORK!

Peer Editing

Editing with your peers will further address the following Georgia Performance Standard:

1. ELA11W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.

One of your grades for each of your writings will be for completing a peer editing exercise. This should not be a very difficult activity, but it does require that you remain on task for the duration since the person whose writing you are evaluating deserves your best work.

Becoming a good editor is a great way to become a better writer. No one expects you to find every error in a piece of writing, or to make it perfect. The key here is to help your writer improve their writing any way you know how.

Some tips:

1. This is not about finding misspelled words and missing commas. If you see them, mark them, but you are after more important improvements.
2. If something is not clear, write your questions on their paper so they can see what needs to be clarified.
3. Add to their paper. Do they need examples? additional sentences? Treat their paper like it was your own.

The Editing Process:

1. Find another student with whom to trade papers. Do not try to edit your own paper since it would be very hard to satisfy the requirements of this exercise with your own work.
2. Read and edit the other student's paper for a full 30 minutes. Read it as many times as time will allow, and make as many marks, suggestions, questions, or adjustments as you see necessary. Remember, the more you mark, the more you help your writer.
3. When the 30 minutes are over (I will let you know), look at the following Georgia Performance Standard: ELA11W1 The student produces writing that (1)establishes an appropriate organizational structure, (2)sets a context and engages the reader, (3)maintains a coherent focus throughout, and (4)signals a satisfying closure.
4. Turn your writer's paper over and write the following sections on the back of their draft, making sure to leave yourself enough room to make note of at least two things your writer is doing well and two things your writer needs to work on for each of the four elements in the standard above:

• Organization
• Context / Engagement
• Focus
• Closure (conclusion)

Step 5. For each of the above elements, write down notes for your writer. Your notes should include at least two things the writer is doing well, and at least two things they should work on to improve.

Example:

ORAGANIZATION:
1. You have done well to divide your essay into unified paragraphs.
2. The organization of your paper makes it easier for me to understand.
3. There are a couple sentences in your third paragraph that do not really belong there. I would move them to your fifth paragraph since they fit there better.
4. I think your second paragraph is really your introduction. I would think about moving it up.

Step 6. When you are through, you should have a brief discussion with your writer.
Step 7. When you get your paper back, it is wise to make adjustments immediately since you are in a writing / editing frame of mind.
Step 8. Rename your file so that the word "final" appears in the file name, and put your adjusted draft in my drop box. Hand me your edited paper draft so I can make comparisons and see how your writing has developed.

Unit Two -- Romanticism and Transcendentalism

Opening: Let's start where we always do -- with a discussion of the standards this unit will address. Take a moment to read the Georgia Performance Standard I have pasted below:

ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.

1. Read it again. What is a theme? Would you know one when you saw it? Could you provide evidence to support what you say? Take a moment to post to your blog what this standard might mean, and while you are at it, what this thing called theme" is.

Mini-Lesson -- Washington Irving was a straight-up pimpdaddy. Just look at him. If there was MTV then, he would have been on Cribs. He crashed parties at the White House, and he rolled the tightest whips. Most of this is true.

Irving was probably The United States’ first home-grown celebrity, and you are probably familiar with some of his stories like "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". These stories are some of the best examples of American Romanticism, a style of writing that required people to use their imaginations.

Irving was so famous that some of the stories he created are still accepted as fact today. Have you heard the story about Christopher Columbus proving the earth was round? That is fact, right? NOPE.

This myth (as well as some others) were created from Washington Irving’s stories. Irving wrote a children’s book about Columbus in which the explorer wanted to prove the world was round. The fact is that everybody already knew it was round at the time. In fact, globes were a popular thing with which people decorated their homes.

It is not hard to believe that so many people would take Irving’s stories for fact. People needed a little fiction and imagination to get away from their lives because living in the United States during this time (the 1820s-40s) was not the most enjoyable. Most people lived in large cities like Boston, New York (which quadrupled in population in twenty years), and Philadelphia. These places were nasty. People threw their trash and sewage in the street; horse droppings were everywhere; if a horse dropped dead, it would stay in the street to rot; thousands of children and adults were homeless; pirates would come ashore and rob people in the cities; gangs controlled sections of many these cities, and a cholera epidemic killed up to one hundred people a day.

Romanticism is the school of thought that emphasizes intuition over logic, and feeling over reason. You should immediately recognize how this is different from the Rationalist school of thought. Romantics felt that reason and logic can only go so far for someone who is homeless and starving, or suffering the side-effects of the Industrial Revolution like pollution and being injured in large factories.

Be careful not to confuse Romanticism with what we commonly call "romantic" today. They are a little bit different. We call lovey-dovey movies and stories romantic today because it is a kind of Romanticism in that they depict relationships in the way we would imagine them, and not the way they actually are.

The Romantics believed there were higher truths than reason and logic, and they felt this could be accomplished by listening to one’s heart, or using one’s imagination to reach better places than where they were physically.

Many people around the world thought Americans were unsophisticated and stupid, and the Rationalists tried very hard to prove that this was unfair and untrue. Romantics, on the other hand, told stories of ordinary people, like Rip Van Winkle or Natty Bumppo who were unsophisticated and were able to rise to the level of hero. They wanted to prove that Americans were more innocent than Europeans, and that true knowledge was not found in libraries, but in adventures.

Romantics also focused on nature in their writing since they thought it was a way to escape from the loud city, as well as a way to hear ones intuition.

Work Period:
Read either Rip Van Winkle or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and then post the following to your weblog:

Better yet, listen to Rip Van Winkle as you read it. Please take the time to open the text file since reading and listening together will be the most useful, especially since you will need to find textual evidence later.
Rip Van Winkle Audio:








2. What about the story did you find particularly Romantic? You may want to reread the section on Romanticism again to refresh your memory. Give at least two examples with direct evidence for each.

3. You can also find this video in my assignments folder in my drop box. If you view it there, you will be able to watch it full-screen. You can also view it here. How does this poem illustrate all three of the main themes of Romanticism? Make sure you provide evidence for each claim you make.

Closing:

4. Take a moment to review the Georgia Performance Standards we have studied so far:

• ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
• ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.
• ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

As specifically as possible, please explain how you have addressed the above standards. You should have something to say about each.

When you have finished these exercises, continue on to The Transcendentalists.

Lit 12 Writing Exercises

Before looking at the actual writing assignments, lets begin by identifying the Georgia Performance Standards they will address as well as the process we will use in this class.

The Standards:

ELA12W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals a satisfying closure.

ELA12W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.

ELA12W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing.

ELA12W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.

As you compose your rough drafts, you should always keep these standards in mind. They will also be instrumental in our editing process.
The Writing Process:

You will receive three grades for each of the four writing assignments you will complete:

1. Rough Draft -- have at least two pages of double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point text by the day it is due for editing.
2. Editing -- You will edit with one of your peers. This is a timed exercise, and it should be easy to earn a high score on this portion of your writing process.
3. Final Draft -- This will be my evaluation of your writing. You may complete more drafts to earn a higher score if you choose. Any essay scoring below an 80 will need to be revised.

Your Writing Assignments:

Writing One -- The Hero Cycle
This piece of writing, an original hero story, will be related to the work you have done in unit one and your study of Beowulf. Before you start writing, I would like you to be familiar with something called the Hero Cycle: View the Hero Cycle slide show here.

After viewing the slide show, you will begin constructing your own story with a new hero you create. Since your hero should have many of the same experiences as those in the Hero Cycle, it will be very helpful to map out these steps before you start writing. A simple list of the steps and how your hero experiences them would be fine.

Once you finish your list, you should use it as an outline for composing your story. When your draft is finished, put it in my drop box.

User Agreement

Using a weblog for our classwork will require some parameters for your safety and the quality of everyone's work. First, you should recognize that your work, as well as mine will be published for the entire on-line world to see. This will ultimately make us all responsible for better and more original output than ever before. By visiting other students' weblogs, you will be able to view all their work, and it will also make it easy for me to see who is not making an effort to submit work that is original.

Once you create your own weblog for this class, I will add it to the class blog roll so everyone's work can be accessed from this page. I encourage you to look at your peers' work for ideas or inspiration, but what you submit must be your own. Language Arts lends itself well to this format since you will be asked to respond to the literature and history we study with your own ideas and opinions. There are no right or wrong answers in a Language Arts class, so looking at other students' ideas can help you. It can also create problems if you choose to be lazy.

I will leave comments about your work. These comments will usually instruct you on how you can improve your work. Please make sure you check your comments and your e-mail regularly, and make sure you are finished with one assignment before moving to the next.

Since this weblog will be part of your education at Classic City High School, any activity on your weblog should be considered school activity, even if it is done outside of school. You should feel free to create posts that are not school related, but you should also be sure to refrain from anything that could be considered inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: references to alcohol or drugs, violence, or gang activity, foul language, nudity, threats, etc.

Plagiarism is submitting someone else's work as your own. This can be done in many ways: copying work from Wikipedia, classmates, Sparknotes, etc. If you plagiarize your work, you will receive a zero -- no questions asked.

THE USER AGREEMENT:

1. I agree to submit original work to my weblog. I realize I will have the opportunity to view my peers' work, and I will use this opportunity constructively. I understand that if I choose to plagiarize, I will receive a zero for the work in question with no option to redo the assignment in question.

2. I agree to keep my weblog appropriate for Classic City High School. I understand that if innapropriate material were to appear on my weblog, be it from myself or an outside comment, I will be asked to remove it. Failure to do so will result in my weblog being removed from the class roll. I also understand that refereneces to illegal or dangerous activities will be reported since it is the legal responsibility of my teacher.

To agree, post a comment to this message like this:
I agree to Mr. Siegmund's Weblog User Agreement.
I will not add your weblog to the class roll until I receive a comment from you like the example above.

Unit One -- The Anglo-Saxsons

Opening: Discussion of Standards

Before you begin this unit, you should review the Georgia Performance Standards it addresses. Please take a moment to read the standard below published by the Georgia Department of Education:

ELABLRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

1. Before you begin this unit, I want you to have a clear understanding of what you should be learning. Take a moment to post to your blog what you think the standard above addresses, and why you think it is important for you to master. Show me what you have written before you show me the rest.

Mini-Lesson: When looking at a map, it is easy to see that Britain is an island that is isolated from the rest of Europe. In the past, the entire island was known as England, and was the home of many legal and political systems still used across the world today. Since it is an island, England had more than its fair share of invaders, each of whom left as aspect of their culture.

First there were the Celts, who led their lives according to their magical religion. They believed in animism, and contributed many of the myths and tales still told in the world today. The remnants of the Celts' culture are still strongly associated with Ireland.

Beginning with an invasion by Julius Ceasar in 55B.C., the Roman Empire would control the island for the next four hundred years. The Romans were very good at protecting Britain from invaders with their technologically advanced military. They also built roads and walls that still exist in England today. Eventually the Roman Empire would begin to fall, and in A.D. 409, the Romans left Brittain unprotected. Rome would ultimately fall in A.D. 476.

The Angles and Saxons attacked from what is modern-day Germany, and the Jutes (yoots) attacked from what is now Denmark. These tribes eliminated the Brittons who enhabited the island except for the Celts who escaped to Wales. The most famous Celt of them all was King Arthur.

Anglo-Saxon England was not very organized at all. There was a different King for each area, and none of the laws nor customs were similar. This all changed when King Alfred of Wessex, or Alfred the great organized the defeat of attacking Danish pirates we know as Vikings. Alfred's success as well as the spread of Christianity across the island helped unify a new land the Anglo-Saxons called England. Though they were more unified at this point, England was still ruled by a large group of kings.

The centerpiece of Anglo-Saxon culture was the warrior tradition, and the ultimate protection of England from its invaders. Absolute loyalty to leaders was essential to the Anglo-Saxons. Though Christianity was on the rise in England, the old Anglo-Saxon religion was still strong. The most important Anglo-Saxon god was Odin, the god of death, poetry, and magic. The Anglo-Saxon name for Odin was Woden, and this is where we get the name for Wednesday. Other important figures in the Anglo-Saxon religion were Thunor, or Thor, and the dragon, who is usually the protector of treasure or warrior graves. The most important people in Anglo-Saxon culture were the warriors and the bards, who recited tales and poetry that often featured plenty of violence.


Work Period . . .

Read the 12 episodes of Beowulf here. This is a modern translation, which may still be a challenge to read because it is a poem. Don't give up! If you need help, ask me! It would help you to jot down notes on each of the episodes.

post the following to your blog -

2. Write a 4-5 paragraph response to Beowulf. What did you think of the story? What parts stuck out to you the most. You may also want to include some of your thoughts on the Anglo-Saxon culture.

3. Think about what you know about the Anglo-Saxon's culture. How well does Beowulf illustrate what the Anglo-Saxons believed? Give at least three separate examples, and back them up with direct evidence from the poem.

4. How does this story compare to the hero stories from our culture? Provide at least one exmample of how Beowulf is similar, and one of how he is different. You should provide some evidence from the text to support what you claim.

5. What do you think of the way Beowulf dies? Write a 2-3 paragraph response on how you feel about the ending of the story. If you don't know where you are going with this, you should talk to me about it. It is especially important to support your opinions with some evidence from Beowulf.

SELF-EVALUATE YOUR WORK!!

Closing: Review of Georgia Performance Standards:
Please review the standards at the beginning of this unit as well as the one in Before Unit One.
6. Write a few sentences to a full paragraph explaining how completing this unit helped you address these standards.

When you are finished, leave a comment to this post, and I will check your blog for your work and set up a conference when we will talk about what you have accomplished.