Medea/Oedipus Socratic Seminar Prep

On Friday you have your second Socratic Seminar. I hope you're starting to see value in Socrates' dialectic method (discussion and debate to reach truth).

In preparation for that discussion please complete THIS assignment. Thursday is an in-class work day, so you should have time to finish. Be focused and purposeful in your preparation and the discussion will be so much better!

Tragic Mental Landscapes

Today you received THIS assignment. You will create two Tragic Mental Landscapes for characters from our central texts.

This assignment is DUE MONDAY (Oct. 5th).

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a work day, so come prepared with materials. I will also have materials available. You will have another sub so please stay on task!

Myth of the Golden Fleece & Andrea Yates

Guys, I am so pumped up about Medea. This play is so intense and deliciously evil. I can't wait to talk about it with you.

To help you understand some of the background on Medea's relationship with Jason I gave you copies of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. In this excerpt you will see how Medea saved Jason, sacrificing everything in the process. This should give you some insight as to why his betrayal cuts so deeply.

The second thing I gave you today is a Newsweek article about Andrea Yates. She was a woman who killed her five children by drowning them in a bathtub in 2001. This article is so disturbing and well written, and makes clear allusion to Medea. We will also discuss this tomorrow and think about infanticide (fun times).

Don't forget to study for your terms quiz tomorrow (definitions and sentences due at that time). A big warning--there are some questions about Medea on the quiz so you will want to read it!

Value of Literature Essays

Hi all!

I wanted to let you know that I am grading your "Value of Literature" essays. You may see a grade posted in the gradebook and freak out -- don't worry! Remember that every grade below at 90% has an opportunity to rewrite. I'll explain that process Tuesday.

I am a thorough grader (notice I'm avoiding the word "hard"). It can be difficult to receive negative feedback about your writing, but know that this is an important part of growth. By the end of this year you will see so much progress!

PS: be kind to the sub tomorrow

Weekend Homework (DUE TUESDAY)

Hello all --

This weekend please read and annotate Medea. It's a wild one! I think you'll love it. We will discuss it Tuesday.

You should also do your vocab definitions and sentences (link on the right). Those are due (and you will have your vocab quiz) on Tuesday.


Happy weekend!

Outside Reading (due Nov. 16th)

Today we took the SRI test and also chose our outside reading selection. You need to obtain a copy of your chosen book and finish it by November 16th. HERE are more details about the Outside Reading requirement and how you will be graded.

Oedipus Ending & Socratic Seminar TOMORROW

Today we watched the very end of Oedipus, available HERE (we watched section 10). We considered this adaptation, its differences and similarities with the play.

We discussed the essay by Bernard Knox, "The Last Scene." This was a piece of literary criticism, that while difficult to understand at first, is really important for improving our reading of high-level texts.

Tonight you will read another piece of literary criticism by Bruce Bower, "The Oedipus Complex: A Theory Under Fire." Tomorrow you will have your first Socratic Seminar. Participation requires completion of THIS ticket.

Oedipus Literary Criticism

Tonight and tomorrow night you will read two critical essays about Oedipus. Please see me to get copies if you were absent (there are no PDF's).

On Thursday we will have our first "Socratic Seminar," which is a student-led academic conversation about Oedipus. Socratic Seminars are important as they help us practice inquiry and thoughtful investigation. They also help us develop deeper understanding ahead of essays. College lit classes are seminar based, meaning this will be what most of your college classes look like. Let's get ready!

Oedipus Work Today

Today we worked in groups to closely read and consider four elements in Oedipus:

1) allusions to other important Greek myth
2) motifs (especially seeing, blindness, and deafness)
3) dramatic irony
4) hubris

NO HOMEWORK tonight (unless you need to finish Things Fall Apart). See you tomorrow!

Vocab Due Monday

Just a reminder that we will have a vocab quiz Monday (see link at right for official list). On Monday you will also turn in your list of terms with definitions and sample sentences.

Tragedy Terms

Today we continued our discussion on the history of Greek tragedy. We got more specific about the language of tragedy, specifically:

• catharsis
• dithyramb
• tragodia
• tragedy
• chorus
• peripety
• hubris
• hamartia

HERE is the PowerPoint I gave today.

Weekend Reading (Oedipus The King)

Hi all -- today you picked up Oedipus from the book depository. This books contains 3 plays written by Sophocles. You are reading "Oedipus The King" (Oedipus Rex)--DUE MONDAY.

Hope that clarifies things!

WUW (Sept. 17)

Michigan Stadium holds 107, 601 people! Why do so many people attend these games?What benefit does the community receive? What about individuals?

Roots of Greek Theatre

Last night you read "Roots of Drama: Rites of Dionysus" from Nexus, Antigone and the Greek World (1994).

Today's in-class work:

In pairs, create an illustrated timeline of Greek Theatre from the cult of Dionysus to the development of tragedy.

Key terms:

Dionysian fertility rite

Anthesteria Festival

Tragodia
dithyrambs
Thespis
Aeschylus
The Great Dionysia
Sophocles


We also picked up Oedipus from the book depository. Please read the play by MONDAY.

WUW Sept. 16

Socrates once said

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Is this true? What is the value of examining and studying our lives and the lives of others?

How does Socrates’ fate and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave complicate this idea?

Tiresias & Oedipus (Background)

Hello!

Today you all had to listen to the very dry, very boring back stories of Tiresias and Oedipus. Just kidding! The Greeks were crazy and (let's face it) I'm a brilliant story teller.

HERE is a copy of the PPT I gave. There were a lot of important terms today. I really want you to understand:

• Foresight (Tiresias' gift)
• Sophocles' dates
• Oracle at Delphi
• Sybil
• 3 inscriptions at Delphi
• Oedipus' parents (Laius & Jacosta)
• transgression
• taboo

Class Discussion Points (9/15)

Hello again!

Today we had a great discussion about Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

We began by getting into small groups and thinking about the following:

Figure out what each of the following details refer to (keep notes in your binder):–The cave–Shackles/bonds/fetters–Shadows–Fire–“artifacts”–The light above (the sun)–“the things themselves”
–Persons who leave the cave–Persons who return to the cave

REMEMBER: allegory is not symbolism! Plato is using this allegory to talk about philosophy and education--the important, the difficulty and the dangers. Each of these allegorical components add to the meaning and enhance our ability to understand Plato's regard for philosophers. 

NO HOMEWORK :)

WUW 9/15

Consider your own life and our broader culture. If we are the prisoners chained in the cave, who are our modern puppeteers? What images or ideas do they put before us and tell us are “truth?” What would it take to escape our cave?

Allegory of the Cave (PPT and homework)

Happy Monday!

Today I gave a short lecture about Plato's Allegory of the Cave. You can find that HERE.

HOMEWORK: Tonight, please read The Allegory of the Cave and annotate it. Consider the following questions:

• What is the allegory really about? 
• What connections can you make between Plato's allegory and our society?
• What kinds of people can escape the cave? Can you think of historical or contemporary figures who might be escapees?
• What are the dangers of escaping and returning? Why?

WUW (Monday, Sept. 14)

Today we looked at the following advertisement for Du Pont Cellophane:

Consider this (real!) advertisement

•What is your initial reaction?

•What kinds of societal problems does this advertisement unwittingly reveal?

•What connections can you make to life today?

We discussed how this advertisement is related to consumerism and reflects our society's lack of thoughtfulness around issues of materialism.

Essay DUE MONDAY!

Just a reminder that your "Value of Literature" essay is due Monday. You will also turn in your green brainstorming sheet with questions.

There is No Frigate Like a Book (annotation)

Today we briefly discussed Toni Morrison's essay, "The Reader as Artist."

We also work on annotating Emily Dickinson's poem, "There is no Frigate like a Book" (poem 1286). Here are our group annotations (sorry for the poor picture quality today):

6th Hour

5th Hour

We discussed the war connotations many of the words have, and also some of the subtext about travel and poverty. Most importantly (for our purposes) we discussed her assertion that books "bear the Human Soul." We thought this might be about the author's soul he or she pours into writing. It may also be about our souls--the books we read become our souls OR we put a piece of our souls in every book we read. What a responsibility! Like Larkin, Dickinson may be suggesting that good books are key (who wants bad books in their soul)?

"Study of Reading Habits" Annotation & Essay Assignment

Hi all!

Wow--you guys blew me away today with your deep reading and analytical skills. You absolutely brought it as we discussed Philip Larkin's "A Study of Reading Habits."

Here are our living documents, the annotations we created in class. This is the product of all of our brains working together. You guys taught me some things about this poem.

5th Hour's Annotation

6th Hour's Annotations

We will work more tomorrow with Dickinson's poem and the Morrison essay.

HOMEWORK: Today you received your essay assignment for the weekend. You homework for tonight is to complete the brainstorming questions (pg. 2). 

Wednesday, Sept. 9

If you missed today, please see me about taking the poetry pre-test!

Today everyone took a poetry annotation/analysis pre-test. I will score this but the score WILL NOT count toward your grade. This is to give us a baseline. 

We read and annotated Philip Larkin's "A Study of Reading Habits." 

Homework (due tomorrow): Read and annotate Maya Angelou's "The Reader as Artist"

As always, I expect you to annotate, keep notes and engage deeply with texts I assign. We will discuss!

Answers to some of your questions and concerns

Thank you all for sharing so many thoughtful questions, concerns and goals.  I will share some of the representative questions below and provide answers. Always know you can come talk to me about issues in the class or questions.

Q: I still struggle with rhetorical analysis at times. What can I do?

A: Please know that everyone is still learning this skill. We are going to work really hard on developing and improving our annotation skills. Part of this is learning to ask better questions, identify patterns, understand literary devices, and draw those things together for analysis. We will take it slow.


Q: I am concerned that I will not be able to analyze the literature thoroughly enough for a good essay response.

A: I will give you a lot of guided practice in writing literary analysis essays before I throw a new text at you and ask you to analyze and write on your own. Writing is a skill that requires practice. It CAN be learned. We have a whole year together and I see value in using training wheels and taking them off slowly.


Q: What is the average time needed to complete homework?

A: This is really hard for me to estimate because all of you will read at different speeds and have different comfort levels with different sorts of material. I would estimate that you will spend around 45 minutes/night on some work (either reading, studying or writing).


Q: My biggest concern is time management with my other AP's.

A: I'm not going to lie to you, juggling a full load of AP classes is going to be hard. Again, these are college level classes--in college you will only take 4 such classes at a time. You have 6 classes! If they are all or mostly AP's, you may consider scaling back. I try to be understanding about workload, but this course really requires a lot of reading and writing. There isn't a way to short-cut that.


Q: Will we have small groups or large groups during projects and reading groups?

A: For projects you will be in small groups. I find this is the only way to ensure everyone contributes. For the outside reading, the groups will depend on the number of people who select a given book (there is no limit). If a lot of people choose a particular text I will split you into smaller groups for the discussion.


Q: When is outside reading assigned and due?

A: You will select your first outside reading on Friday, Sept. 25th. It will be due November 16th, at which time I will meet with the groups and listen to your academic discussion about the text. As you read, please keep careful notes, annotate, and ask questions. You will choose your second book just before Thanksgiving break and it will be due after the New Year (January 2016).


Q: What is your definition of "harsh grading?" Can we come to you before essays are due?

A: Love this questions! First of all, YES, please come to me before an essay is due. I love working with students one-on-one, brainstorming theses, and editing. When I say I grade harshly, I mean that I am very particular--I expect a high level of sophistication with your diction, syntax, and ideas. At this point in your educational careers it is no longer enough to "try hard." You have to produce a great product. This takes time, several drafts, and practice.


Q: How often will we have discussions?

A: Hopefully everyday. We will have large-class discussions and also small group discussions. I want to work in more Socratic Seminars (formal academic conversations) this year.


Q: Do we need to have read "How to Read Like a Professor?" 

A: This was one of the assigned summer reading books, but if you haven't read it, please don't. Those of you who did read it get the benefit of this thoughtful book about how to read more analytically, but I will NOT be referring to this text in class.

Welcome to AP English 12!

Hello! I am looking forward to this class and our time together. Here is some important introductory information:

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe -- This was the AP 12 assigned summer reading. You have until October 1st to complete this assignment. Please pick up a copy and read (take notes too!).

HERE is the class syllabus

Please obtain a binder dedicated to this class. We will use it daily. Tab dividers are helpful too! I have several if you want to "shop" (for free!) in my cabinet.


Your first assignment: Email me! kozminskil@a2schools.org OR kozminskil@aaps.k12.mi.us

Subject line: Your name and hour

Email body: Using good email etiquette tell me about something you did this summer that was particularly fun, interesting, or important. This is also the time to tell me anything you think I should know to ensure a smooth year.

Sending Emails – Some Etiquette

1. Make sure your e-mail includes a courteous greeting. This helps to make your e-mail not seem demanding or terse.
2. Address your contact with the appropriate level of formality and make sure you spelled their name correctly.
3. Spell check - emails with typos are simply not taken as seriously.
4. Read your email out loud to ensure the tone is that which you desire. A few additions of the words "please" and "thank you" go a long way!
5. Be sure you are including all relevant details or information necessary to understand your request or point of view. Generalities can many times cause confusion and unnecessary back and forths.
6. Are you using proper sentence structure? First word capitalized with appropriate punctuation? Multiple instances of !!! or ??? are perceived as rude or condescending.
7. If your email is emotionally charged, walk away from the computer and wait to reply. Review the Sender's email again so that you are sure you are not reading anything into the email that simply isn't there.
8. Refrain from using the Reply to All feature to give your opinion to those who may not be interested. In most cases replying to the Sender alone is your best course of action.
9. Be sure the subject field accurately reflects the content of your email.
10. Always end your emails with "Thank you," "Sincerely," "Take it easy," "Best regards" - something!