12th Grade

All-

I decided to change things up a tad this week and end the week with Carver’s story/poem “Lemonade.” It is a really cool piece that explores Carver’s stance on death, faith, and the effects of dwelling on the past. Due to copyright constraints I can’t post it, but you get the poem in class if you weren’t there. You can find the guidelines for the written response here.

Have a nice prom.

With a mere two weeks left we will be focusing on the work of the literary giant Raymond Carver. He’s a favorite of mine, and we’ll be looking at his short stories, his poetry, and his style.

Here’s your week.

Tuesday: I’ll be introducing Carver and his style of minimalism. We have a fun little writing assignment which will involve a little trip, and I’ll be challenging you to start emulating his style. You can find the assignment here.

Wednesday: We’ll be talking about our experiences with attempting to write in a style resembling minimalism, then launch into the story “The Bath.” I’ll try to give you some time to read it, but we’ll see.

Thursday: After a discussion of Carver’s story “The Bath” we’ll jump into a later version of the story entitled “A Small, Good Thing.” I’ll be asking you to craft a response paper on the two pieces, focusing on Carver’s style, the character development, dreams, and your general impressions of the pieces.

Homework: Craft a one page, typed response to Carver’s two stories.

Friday: After we discuss our responses we’ll be reading two of Carver’s poems together in class, but I’m not entirely sure which the second will be. Stay tuned for a bit more on that front.

Weekend Homework: Read “Vitamins” by Raymond Carver. I’ll be handing out copies in class, so make sure that if you’re going to be absent that you get the story beforehand.

Holy cows… very little time left. I’ll post everything later tonight.

Just so you know, I’ll finish 12th grade grades very soon, but if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email.

This week looks more or less like this:

Monday: We’ll be working on the Hitchcock essay, as well as taking a short look at Alex Herbig’s Powerpoint. It is fantastic. You can find it in the here.

Tuesday + Wednesday: I’ll be giving you two days to work on the Hitchcock essay, and I’ll be providing the readings that I’m asking you to use in your work. You may find yourselves having to review some of the films, the essays, or some other things. My expectation is that you’ll have your outline done on Tuesday and a first draft virtually complete on Wednesday. We’re working on this in class primarily because I’m trying to give you some time to complete your Senior Project Presentations outside of school. You’ll actually be getting credit for completing your outline, and credit for your first draft. I’m making you go through the writing process, whether you want to or not.

And I shouldn’t have to remind you that Thursday is your Senior Project Presentation.

And last, but not least, you’ll need to turn in your Hitchcock essay via turnitin.com by 11:59:59 on Friday.

Bests.

Hey! Here are your instructions for your blog day.

Click the picture for a larger image.

So there’s what, four weeks left?

And only ten days until Culminating Exhibition. Thank God for Hitchcock, then

We’ll be looking at his classic (albeit tame by our standards) slasher film Psycho. Before we delve deep into that bizarre piece though, we’ll be discussing mise-en-scene, horror and slasher films, and some other stuff, too.

Monday: We’ll be discussing the difference between horror, slasher, and suspense films, in addition to learning about the French term mise-en-scene. You can find a great analysis of the mise-en-scene in Psycho’s classic parlor scene here.

Tuesday-Thursday: We’ll be viewing Psycho. Woohoo!

Friday: I’ll be distributing the essay prompts for the Hitchcock film unit, and we’ll be working on starting them.

All-

Here is the work for A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act III.ii. These are simply summary questions, designed to have you demonstrate that you have read and at least mostly understand the text.

Make sure that you’re caught up on the reading (through Act III) for tomorrow’s quiz!

If you missed class today, this is a profoundly important presentation. You will be held to account for knowing this information, both in class, and in some very real ways as we begin our blogging unit on Monday.

Check out Part Two of our blogging unit here.

Over the weekend, make a decision about what you want to start blogging about. We’ll be starting on Monday.

Sorry again for the late-ish post. I’m working mighty hard to get my sophomores caught up on their work, and it is cutting into my time tremendously. That said, your week is really, really simple. We have no school on Friday, so it is a four day week (duh).

Monday: I’ll have the laptop cart in the classroom so that you can work on whatever Senior Project stuff you need to. I’ll also be checking the notecards of individuals who have completed them for approval.

Tuesday – Thursday: We’ll be walking through our 5 Minute Presentations. You should have already signed up on my door in room 205, but if you haven’t see me and we’ll figure something out.

Things you need to know for presentations: First, I have little tolerance for flash drives that get left at home, CDs that didn’t burn properly, or emails that didn’t send. I’d suggest that you cover your bases by emailing your presentations to isakson@mrisakson.com and bringing it in on a flash drive. We have very little time for set-up in between presentations, so it will help if they are all on my email. We’ll be able to open them much more quickly that way. Second, we’ll be providing you with some feedback on your presentations in the form of hard data. Simply put, we’ll all be taking notes on your presentation to see whether it meets each of the goals stated in the 5 Minute Presentation Guidelines. This should provide you with the feedback that you need to be successful when you present for real. Finally, you need to remember that this is a required stop on the way to your formal presentation. If you do not present in class (or to another teacher/administrator) you simply cannot present to a panel, and therefore cannot walk. Your mothers will probably kill you.

Questions? Comments? Let me know.

All-

Here are the notecards from my mock 5 Minute Presentation. I hope you see how they connect to the specific points on the 5 Minute Presentation Guidelines.

On a totally unrelated note, here is the reading on Hitchcock’s Rear Window that you’ll to read over the weekend. I’ll give you more direction about my expectations regarding how you’ll be dealing with it, but it is essentially a response paper that discusses how valid you find the authors arguments based on your viewing of the film.

M.

Hola!

Sorry for the slightly later-than-normal post, but I think that you’ll find this week and next much to your liking. Part of my little gift to seniors (though I’m not convinced you deserve it) is to save our viewing of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Rear Window until the end of the year, just as Senior Projects are coming due. We’ll also be watch his classic film Vertigo, but that won’t happen until next week.

That said, here’s your week.

Monday: I’ll be handing out an essay by Joel Gunz entitled “How to Watch Hitchcock.” I view this essay as fundamental in beginning to form an understanding of Hitchcock and his work, and I’ll be asking you to craft a response to his work.

You can find the essay here.

I’ll be distributing Roger Ebert’s brief analysis of the film and giving you some time in class to begin reading it. I expect that you will craft a short response to this review.

Tuesday: We’ll be discussing Joel Gunz’ article about how to watch Hitchcock briefly, then transitioning into the film Rear Window. I want to emphasize the importance of understanding Gunz’ discussion of dualism in Hitchcock’s films. It will be a primary lens through which we view his work.

Wednesday: We will continue our viewing of Rear Window.

Thursday: We should be able to finish the film on Thursday, and I’ll outline what I expect as far a as response goes. Stay tuned, as I’ll post that in an update shortly.

Friday: I’ll be checking off notecards for the 5-minute presentation. Remember, if you are not prepared, you will not receive credit for these. There are no do-overs on this one, as the 5-Minute presentations will be happening next week, Wednesday through Friday. Assume that you’re going on Wednesday. That way, when I call your name you’ll be ready to go.

A final note about the 5-Minute presentation: This will be your final chance to get feedback on your work prior to the May 17th cut-off for students who will not be walking. We will not be doing complete presentations in class, as there simply is not enough time. Those of you who miss the presentations next week will have to make them up on your own time, likely very early in the morning, if you want to walk with your peers. Admin is very much behind us on this, and I will be unmovable on the issue.

Lastly, for those of you sick and tired of PowerPoints, check out this NYTimes.com story. It made me laugh. This one might be even funnier, written by a high-ranking US military official.