First day of class: Class introductions. English I2 as part of the Prep English sequence and as a reflection of the NAD Curriculum Guide (reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing). Distribute copies of course syllabus. Review of journaling as part of the writing process. Assembling English notebooks. Journal Writing #1:

1. What was the BEST part of your summer?
2. Brag on yourself about something you've done in the last 12 months of which you are very proud.
3. What I need to accomplish this school year . . .
4. This year will be the same . . .
5. This year will be different . . .

Reading survey. Finish reading course syllabus. No hmwk. [SA Handshake and POP Back-to-School supper tonight!]

View "Mother Tongue" (video in The Story of English series). No hmwk.
Leave notebooks in classroom for initial check. (For full credit, you need to have a notebook, five tabs--correctly labelled and in right order, a syllabus in "Handouts" section, Writing #1 in the "Journal" section, and your name on the front cover and/or spine.)

Finish reading Beowulf selections (in lit text) aloud in class (start p. 53). Discuss merits of Beowulf story, modern works that have similar cultural roles. Begin qstns #1-6, 9, 10, 12 & 13. Due by end of class Thursday. And/or begin hmwk browsing.
Hmwk: Check out this website: http://www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/ --an adaptation from the Old English. Read "A Note on the Translation." Read "Episode2 - Grendel Attacks," "Episode 3 - Beowulf Comes to Herot," "Episode 4 - Grendel Meets Beowulf" or "Grendel Attacks Again," and "The Expedition to Grendel's Mere." AND Browse in Wikipedia article on Beowulf.

Due at beginning of class: Beowulf Projects. Share projects with classmates. Notice translation difficulties (from Old English to Modern Engish), pp. 135-6. Read aloud selection from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, pp. 136-144. No hmwk.

Finish up Sir Gawain selection, pp. 144-151. Test review notes on board. Test fodder:

• Selections from Beowulf, pp. 44-59
  • "The Epic and the Epic Hero," p. 42 [Wikipedia: "Epic hero"]
  • "The Anglo-Saxon Period and the Middle Ages," pp. 33-40
• Venerable Bede, p. 78
  • "The Anglo-Saxons Embrace Christianity," pp. 80-83
  • "Caedmon," pp. 83-84
• Selections from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, pp. 134-151
• "Mother Tongue" video notes
  • When were the three invasions of Britain? (You don't have to know the exact dates; the century for each is OK)
  • Who was the invading force for each invasion?
  • What was the impact of each invasion on the development of the English language?

Test format: matching, ID and significance, short answer, short essay.
Hmwk: Study for test.

College writing. Check off hard copies of sentence outlines. Discuss drafting methods. Begin drafting.
Hmwk: Finish creating at least three paragraphs of your rough draft for check-off tomorrow.

Essay conferences. (Bring two hard copies to your conference.) Students not in conference should meet in Mrs. Denton's room during class.

Continue reading "Babette's Feast," Dinesen
Hmwk: Research Babette's background. Re-read Achille Papin's letter on pp. 29-30. Why is the year 1871 significant in Paris? What was going on? What was Babette escaping? Communards? Petroleuse? General Galliffet? What part in the civil disturbance does it seem that Babette may have played? Document your research with at least a page of notes--in your own words, in your own handwriting. Include source/s. Due tomorrow at the beginning of class. (Suggested resources: notes for a talk on "The Paris Commune," the Wikipedia entries on the Paris Commune, General Galliffet, and Petroleuses, and publisher's note for Unruly Women of Paris: Images of the Commune.)