THURS 1/29 SOUTH IHS

Class gets to vote on whether we have a quiz or not! (Surprise! All 3 classes voted not to have one!)

I read and we discuss portions of the book

Work with a partner to create questions for your interview story

HMWK:
Read Chapters 11 & 12
Bring in notes of and questions for your interview -- at least 2 pages single spaced of hand-written notes. Can be double spaced if you ended up typing the notes.

WED. 1/28 CHS IHS

Hand in typed contact info for you'll interview for your story

Receive vocab list and vocab assignment

Receive information on how to create a good interview and discuss possible questions

"What can a photo tell us?" discussion/activity of photos taken by Central Asia Institute

HMWK:
Read Chapters 4, 5, 6

TUES. 1/27 SOUTH IHS

Turn in TYPED information on the person you're going to interview

View Pakistani truck art like the one above. Mortenson rode in such a truck in Ch. 7.

In a.m. class, we finally got to watch "Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes"

Get vocabulary list and assignment. If you missed class, your word and due date is posted on the bulletin board.

Discuss how to conduct an effective interview for your story assignment and get tips on this on a blue sheet titled "How to get a good interview"

In both p.m. classes, we had a quiz

Working with a partner, discuss what part of the book you have found most interesting and also find a paragraph that has good sense description (like you'll want in the story you'll write). IF YOU MISSED CLASS, you should write this out --about a half sheet of information

HMWK:
Read Chapters 9 & 10

MONDAY 1/26

Check out "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Discuss genres of writing and literary non-fiction in particular

Intro and background of the book -- Get reading schedule, character list, and list of Arabic terms

Receive basic information about a literary non-fiction writing assignment we'll be working on

Finish our work on "Gilgamesh" with the drawing of a character from the story. You can get a piece of card stock from me and do this assignment if you missed class. Here's how it'll be graded: 1) NEATNESS -- show a willingness to slow down and be careful 2) Fill the page with your work 3) Create an artistic cuneiform border around the edges 4) Make it colorful 5) Put the name of the character on the front and your name on the back

HOMEWORK:
Read the first 3 chapters of "Three Cups of Tea"

FRIDAY 1/23 SOUTH IHS (A)

In afternoon classes, we watched "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes." Didn't get to watch it in a.m. (tech problems), but we'll do so another day. A.M. class had an extra credit quiz (Making 4/5 or 5/5 got you extra credit. Less than that, and you go no extra credit, but it didn't count against you, either.)

Get assignment sheet and a list of characters in "Three Cups" that you'll be required to know. If a name's not on this list, I won't put it on a quiz.

Discuss what literary non-fiction is and get an assignment to write a piece of literary non-fiction based on a real life interview.

Look at photos around the room (from the magazine put out yearly by Greg Mortenso's Central Asia Institute) and discuss our perceptions based on photos, then hear some real facts about the people in the photos.

Begin discussion of "Three Cups of Tea"

HMWK:
Typed half sheet with name and contact info for the person you will be interviewing
Read pgs. 70-97

WED. 1/21 SOUTH IHS AND THURS. 1/22 CHS IHS

Meeting of Great Minds! Lit class is cancelled for these days. See you again next A/O day.

IF YOU MISSED THE GREAT MINDS AT CHS, HERE'S YOUR MAKEUP ASSIGNMENT.
1) A typed, double spaced version of the one-minute introduction you would have made to your group about your Great Mind
2) A typed, double spaced paragraph (5-8 sentences) that responds to each of the 9 topics listed on the Great Minds website (not this blog. That'll be 9 separate paragraphs. You can find the list of topics by going to the website (which we've looked at several times in class), clicking "Second Quarter Assignments" and then clicking "Meeting of Great Minds."
3) Bring in the artifact you would have taken to the meeting and the name plate you would have used
4) Attach to your typed work a photo of you in the costume you would have worn


HMWK:
SOUTH IHS -- HAVE READ FIRST 6 CHAPTERS OF "THREE CUPS OF TEA" BY FRIDAY
FINISH GILGAMESH ART

TUESDAY 1/20 CHS IHS

Finish discussion of Gilgamesh.

Brainstorm answers to quiz on Gilgamesh, and then take a fun group quiz.

In a.m., we interrupted class to watch Obama's inauguration speech.

Next class, come ready to have our Meeting of Great Minds. Bring in your lit homework.

HMWK:
Bring in a TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACED paragraph of 100-150 words that addresses one of the following topics:
1) Why are we still reading this ancient epic? In your opinion, SHOULD we still be reading it? Why or why not?
2) Compare Gilgamesh and Othello as heroes.
3) Examine the role of one of the female characters and what she contributes to the epic.

FRIDAY 1/16 SOUTH IHS (MLK ASSEMBLY)

Collect typed Gilgamesh hmwk

Check out our next work -- "Three Cups of Tea" -- and intro to this literary non-fiction. I read from the introduction and talk about Greg Mortenson, as well as the genre of literary non-fiction.

Begin work on your Gilgamesh art, either scratch art or drawn on card stock paper. Unfortunately, the scratch paper I bought turned out to be of very low quality, so you can either work with it or do another drawing. Feel free to copy an image you see; for instance, you could do a google image search for Ishtar and see her picture. If you were gone, you can get card stock paper from the homework box and see examples of past scratch art. The same criteria apply, whether you scratch or draw. Here's the criteria (worth 25 pts):
Rough draft in pencil (no need to be colored) on same size paper as the final will be done on
Fill the page with artwork
Have a cuneiform border around 4 sides
Colorful and NEAT -- For example, using a ruler to create the border
Name of character you're drawing (anyone from "The Epic of Gilgamesh") on the front, and your name on the bottom right corner. If you're doing scratch work, you can put your name on the back in regular pen/pencil.

HMWK:
Read first 6 chapters of "3 Cups" for FRIDAY of next week. We won't have lit class on Wed. because of your Meeting of Great Minds
Finish Gilgamesh artwork

THURS. 1/15 CHS IHS

Group work on "Epic of Gilgamesh." Students were graded both on focused class participation and notes taken in groups.
If you missed this class and want to make up the points, you should get the handout of questions for each book and submit a typed, double space response to questions for any TWO of the Books 1-5. Each response should be at least a half page in length. You can go into the classroom and get copies of the questions out of the homework box; they're on a blue sheet. Due NEXT CLASS.

HMWK:
FINISH READING THE EPIC
FINISH STUDY SHEET YOU RECEIVED LAST CLASS
READING THE EPIC AND FINISHING THE STUDY SHEET WILL PREPARE YOU FOR THE TEST WE'RE GOING TO HAVE.

WED. 1/14 SO. IHS (LATE START)

Finish discussion of "Epic of Gilgamesh"

Class review and group test

HMWK:
Type a 100-150 word double spaced paragraph answering one of the prompts below. Spelling, grammar and sentence fluency count!
1) Why is this story still being read 3,750 years after it was written? In your opinion, SHOULD it still be read? Why or why not?
2) Compare and idea or event in the epic to a current day idea or event.
3) Compare Gilgamesh and Othello as heroes.

TUESDAY CHS IHS 1/13

Finish viewing "Othello" and "Stage Beauty"

Begin Middle East lit with telling of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves"

HMWK:
READ BOOKS 1,2,3,4 & 5 of "GILGAMESH"
BEGIN WORK ON STUDY QUESTIONS

-s

MONDAY 1/12 SOUTH IHS

Look at cuneiform on British Museum site

Working in groups, discuss questions on the reading assignment for today. Share with class. If you missed class, you should get these questions from me. You'll need to respond to questions on TWO of the books in "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in a typed, double-spaced paper, giving about half a page to answers for each book (one page total).

HWK:
Finish reading "Gilgamesh"
Finish the study sheet
Be ready for a small test on "Gil"

FRIDAY 1/9/09 CHS IHS LATE START

Due to a flurry of technical problems, we were unable to watch the very end of "Othello" and/or the excerpt from "Stage Beauty," but we'll do this next time. We did get to finish the Othello presentations put off by the snow days.

We began to examine "The Epic of Gilgamesh" by looking at cuneiform and background of this story (the first story ever written down in the history of humanity, as far as we know.) If you weren't in class, you need to get a copy from the back of the room and write your name on it.

No homework until we finish "Othello" completely and begin reading Gilgamesh (which I hope will be next class.)

THURSDAY 1/8/09 SOUTH IHS
Begin our look at literature from the Middle East by listening to an oral rendition of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves." Use this storytelling to examine some of the ways in which oral stories and histories have been shaped in cultures throughout time.

Get a copy of "The Epic of Gilgamesh" from the back of the room and write your name on the back of it. Look at cuneiform and history behind this epic. As time permits, begin reading.

HMWK:
Read through Book V of "Gilgamesh" and begin to answer study questions I passed out. They won't be due until we finish reading the epic, but getting started now is a good idea.

WED. 1/7 CHS LATE START

Finish "Othello" presentations left undone because of our snow days before break.

Time permitting, finish watching "Othello" on video.

HWK: None

TUESDAY 1/9/09 SOUTH IHS
AM Class -- watch portion of "Stage Beauty"
PM Classes -- "Othello" presentations

All Classes -- Socratic circle as discussion forum to compare Oedipus and Othello. IF YOU MISSED THIS, please get the topic sheets from me. You'll need to type a one page (double spaced) response to one of the topics.

HMWK:
None. Next class, we start "The Epic of Gilgamesh"