Before Unit One -- The Standards

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):

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.

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

Unit One: Native American and Colonial Periods

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:

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.

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.

Research:

2. Since we are starting at the beginning of American literature, we should start at a time before where we live was called America. Use your favorite search engine to find an example of Native American Literature (a poem, short folktale, or a prayer will work best). Read a few before you choose one. You need to be familiar with the example you choose because you will need to answer some questions about it. Copy and paste the example into your blog post.

3. What do you think of your example? What is it about? Write a 2-3 sentence response to what you chose.

Mini-Lesson:

4. Go to my drop box, and click on the Assignments folder. Watch the video called "Puritans". You should take some notes of the things that stand out to you -- direct quotes from the sermon will be helpful later. You should also take specific notice of their core beliefs:

Total Depravity - through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is born sinful - concept of Original Sin.

Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he wishes - only a few are selected for salvation.

Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone. Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.

Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.

For some more real fun, check out some of these Puritan names.

Work Period:

Compare what your just heard to your Native American example. What are the differences in these two groups of people's cultures that stand out to you. How do their ideas of God differ? Do you see ways in which their cultures may clash? Post your thoughts to your blog. It should be at least a good paragraph with direct support from your example and the sermon in the video.

When you are through here, continue on to The Rationalists.

Interesting Reading

Van Gogh may not have cut off his own ear.
Silly Inventions

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain -- 302 pages

I knew Anthony Bourdain first from television, as the host of one of my favorite shows, No Reservations. Kitchen Confidential is quite different than the television show -- not much of it is dedicated to traveling to the far reaches of the globe to investigate the eccentricities of a particular culture, mostly through their food. Instead, it is about the culture of a restaurant, especially what goes on in the back of the house. I found this book enjoyable since having worked as a waiter, bartender, prep cook, fry cook, salad / dessert guy, dishwasher, as well other stations in a restaurant, I was familiar with the types of people and situations he describes.

Aside from being familar with the setting, this book was great for me because of Bourdain's writing style which while casual and colloquial, is as fluid and graceful as others who are more recognized for their style. I would certainly recommend this, especially to someone who has spent some time working in a restaurant.

Comments?

Are you checking your comments? You should.

In many cases, I leave you comments about what you should do to improve your posts, and I do not give you a grade until you make those improvements.

Any time you post work (and leave me a comment to let me know it is there), you should be in the habit of checking back to see what I have said.

Deliverance by James Dickey (278 pages)

In a way, I have lived with this book since the first time I went camping when one of my friends waited until it was extremely dark and quiet to ask, "has anyone seen Deliverance?". I had not seen the movie, nor read the book at that point, so I did not know what he meant. I had a feeling it was something spooky -- the kind of thing people try to scare each other with while camping. I let the whole idea pass . . . until he told me what happened in the movie.



I still have not seen the movie because I wanted to wait until I read the book which is set in the North Georgia Mountains, the very place my friends and I were camping that night. I enjoyed reading this book because the descriptions of the wilderness were very familiar to me since I grew up not far from where the book took place, and spent almost every weekend from the time I was 16 - 18 camping or hiking in the mountains. Aside from the setting, the book is certainly what I would call a thriller -- something that preys on whatever irrational fears you may have about the unknown. I'll leave it at that. That, and that the words "squeal like a pig" are not a part of the text.

Links are Updated!

Lit 12:
I hope these help!

Somebody Tell Me if This is Good. . .

Twilight Test from Dumb Spot!


Dumb Quizzes | MySpace Quizzes & Quotes | Make a Quiz

My Analytical Writing -- ATL Fans Aren't as Bad as They May Seem

Many fans and sports writers alike love to downgrade Atlanta as a “bad sports city” or they claim that the area teams have some of the worst fans in the country. These people like to talk about the poor attendance teams like the Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and Thrashers see at their home games, and many like to claim that the fans are not as knowledgeable about their teams or the sports they play as other regions like the Northeast and California. I think there are reasons for these perceptions, though I do not agree that they are fair to the Atlanta sports fans, nor that they are true. Casual onlookers may see poor attendance in Atlanta and may be quick to generalize the fan base, but I feel they do this without putting much thought at all into their claim that Atlanta fans are “bad fans”.

The weather is lovely in the South, is it not? While other places in the country are freezing their butts off all winter long, we rarely encounter temperatures below freezing. Our mild winter climate makes Atlanta and the rest of the South an attractive place to move. If one were to spend even a short amount of time in downtown Atlanta, they should not be surprised to find that many of the people they meet are not native to the area – they were born and raised somewhere else and then chose to move here. What does this have to do with sports? Quite a lot. If someone, a sports fan was born and raised in another place, they are likely to follow the team they left at home – the team their family follows. Why would they want to go see the Atlanta Falcons when they can watch their favorite team on television? This is also apparent when an Atlanta team plays a team from New York, Chicago, or another big northern city. A good illustration of this is when the Atlanta Braves play the Chicago Cubs. During these games the fans are split about 50 – 50 between the teams. It can be aggravating to hear people cheering for the visiting team, but these relocated sports fans are only taking advantage of the opportunity to see their favorite team play in their new home.

I am now 34 years old, and have been following the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks since I was about five years old. Not many people in Atlanta can say this. I learned to love sports from my father, who is from Massachusetts. He has not followed the Atlanta teams since he was young; he followed the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics. Since many of the sports fans in the South are originally from other places, the fan base has not been able to mature like other places in the country who have had teams since early in last century. The Braves and Falcons have only been playing in Atlanta since 1966, and the Hawks did not move to Atlanta for Saint Louis until two years after that. Nobody has had the opportunity to follow the Atlanta Falcons or Braves for longer than 42 years, which means not many children in the area are following the same teams as their parents. Just for comparison’s sake, consider the Pittsburgh Steelers who are 75 years old, the Philadelphia Phillies who are 125 years old, or the New York Knicks who are 62 years old. These teams have all been around and played in the same city long enough to build generations of fans, and the Atlanta teams have not been here long enough to do so, which affects attendance.

Lastly, claims that Atlanta fans are not as knowledgeable as other places in the country are irresponsible. People do not avoid Braves games because they do not understand baseball; they do not go because it costs upwards of $100 to bring a family to a game. Everybody knows that football fans in the South are some of the best and most knowledgeable in the country, and who can blame them when we have one of the best and oldest college football conferences in the country. A visit to Athens, Georgia on a home-game Saturday can easily illustrate how rabid southern football fans can be. These fans just are not quite as interested in the NFL that has not been anywhere near the South until 42 years ago. The writers who say that Atlanta fans do not know much about sports are just being lazy; instead of investigating reasons for poor attendance, they resort to being hateful.

I understand why some people may think Atlanta sports fans are not very enthusiastic about their teams, but if they were to think about the nature of the city and the region where it lies, they may come to different conclusions. Since Atlanta is a city of transplants from other places, and the sports teams are young relative to teams in other cities, the fan base is going to be different. Atlanta has a sports tradition that may not be as rich as those in places like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, or Chicago because it has developed under different circumstances than the sports traditions in those cities. It is my bet that the “bad fan” label will be one that is forgotten in Atlanta in the near future.

That's Right!

The Hawks are unbeaten.6-0

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.

Lit 12 Dates to Remember

October 6 -- I check your mentor logs for three hours of contact with your mentor.
October 16 -- I check for seven hours of contact with your mentor, and we start constructing your portfolio:

1. Binder or notebook
2. Title Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Parental Consent
5. Plagiarism Policy
6. Research Paper
7. Revision Form (if necessary)
8. Mentor Agreement Form
9. Mentor Logs
10. Thank you letter to mentor
11. Photos / Evidence of Product
12. Self-evaluation

October 21 -- Revisions due
October 23 -- Products Due
October 27-28 -- Practice Presentations
October 29 -- All lit projects, reading records, and portfolios due
October 30 -- Presentations