Poems by Hikmet & Solzhenitsyn

Mr. Stone spent a few minutes clarifying points about the imagery in Lorca's "The Guitar" (1043) and Milosz's "Encounter" (1047).  He then went on to read "Meet Nazim Hikmet" (1049) and to read and discuss the form of Hikmet's "The World, My Friends, My Enemies, You, and the Earth" (1051).   Stone also  read "Meet Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" (1072) and read his poem "Mr. Freedom to Breathe" (1074).  Mr. Stone continued to emphasize the influence of politics on the writings of these poets.

Mr. Stone also shared one of his own poems, "Riding the Flexible Flyer."

Homework:  Study the Quizlet sets for Thursday's test over literature of early and modern Europe.

Quizlet Troubles

I created the author title set for Early and Modern Europe, but am currently unable to view it because Quizlet is experiencing technical difficulties and the site is not currently accessible.  I will try again later and let you know as I am able to finish more sets.

Sorry for the delay.  Mr. Stone

Mr. Stone read the introductory material on the Spanish writer Federico García Lorca.  A Spanish-speaking student read Lorca's "The Guitar" in Spanish, and then Mr. Stone read it from the textbook in English.  Students may enjoy this video showing Lorca and a woman reading "La guita." The class discussed the differences and concluded the original Spanish version is much more musical than the English translation.

Mr. Stone then read the introductory material on the Polish poet Czesław Miłosz  and discussed with the class the cost of being a writer with strong political views.  Mr. Stone read Czesław Miłosz's "The Encounter." 

Homework:  Begin studying Quizlet set for Unit test on Thursday.

Kafka's "First Sorrow" and Pirandello's "War"

Mr. Stone chose to have a discussion instead of a quiz over the homework.  Students responded to questions about Franz Kafka's "First Sorrow" (1017) and Luigi Pirandello's "War" (1027).

The conversation included some discussion of existentialism, developmental psychology, and realism.

Homework:  Read Collette's "Two Memories of Sido" (1032-1037).

Dante's Inferno & Akhmatova's "Lot's Wife"

Quiz: excerpt from  Elie Wiesel's Night

Mr. Stone discussed with students the importance of reading autobiographical accounts of history to help them to learn the lessons of history and to provide role models from which they may project a vision of their own adult selves (James Fowler).

FYI:  Mr. Stone's undergraduate thesis applied James Fowler's faith development theory to the life and works of the Briish World War I poet Wilfred Owen.

Mr. Stone read "Meet Anna Akmatova" (1021) and discussed the risks and benefits of contemporary writers responses to contemporary politics.  He read Akhmatova's "Lot's Wife" (1023).  The class will briefly discuss the poem during the next class.

Homework:  Read Franz Kafka's "First Sorrow" (1017-1018) and Luigi Perandello's "War" (1027-1029).  

Excerpts from Dante's Inferno and Elie Wiesel's Night

Mr. Stone read through Canto V of Dante's Inferno and through line 96 of Canto XXXIV, pausing for commentary and clarification.

Homework:  Read the excerpt from Elie Wiesel's Night (1063-1069).

Chekov's The Bet

Homework for Wednesday Night:

pp. 1003-1008

Song of Roland & Candide

Quiz:  "Bisclavret"

Mr. Stone read through the introductory material to the Song of Roland (877) and the selected passages in the text (879-884), providing commentary and explanation.

Homework:  Read pp. 960-966, "Meet Voltaire" and from Candide.  There will be a quiz over these pages at the beginning of the next class period.

Ragnarok & Bisclavret

Mr. Stone read through the introductory material (870-871) on Ragnarok:  the Twilight of the Gods and the excerpt from Sturluson's Prose Edda included in the text (872-874). 

The class viewed a movie trailer for Ragnarok and a youtube video about the Icelandic myth of Ragnarok.

Mr. Stone read the introductory material (886-887) on Marie de France and her "Bisclavret: The Lay of the Werewolf."  Mr. Stone read the first 115 lines of the lay (888-891).

Homework:  Students should finish reading "Bisclavret" (891-895).

Quizlet Sets Available to Study for Southwest and South Central Asia Test

Students have had a review sheet for the Southwest and South Central Asia test since the beginning of the unit, but Mr. Stone has made available four Quizlet sets for last minute study:

Title-Country

Author-Title

Title-Genre

Significant Facts

Surrah 12 Citation and Citing the Bible

“Quran: 12. Surat Yusuf (Joseph): Arabic and English translation HD” YouTube, uploaded by The Meaning of Islam, 29 January 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR611FNDTKM.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/

Don Quixote, Frederico, & Editing of Comparative Analysis Paper

Students viewed thirty minutes of Don Quixote.

Quiz:  Frederigo from the Decameron

Mr. Stone went over changes in MLA using Purdue University's Owl.

Homework:  Edit comparative analysis paper.  Bring final hard copy to class on Wednesday.

Beginning of European Unit

Students took turns reading the introduction to Early Europe (862-868).

Mr. Stone then turned the class' attention to Petrarch (919-921) and read the sonnet "Laura" from Canzoniere.  He described the characteristics of a Petrarchan sonnet.

Homework:  Read Federigo's Falcon from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron (926-932).

Housekeeping

Students received a grade printout for the first quarter and had the opportunity to compare their returned papers to the scores on the printout.  They were to speak to Mr. Stone about any disputes before the period was over.

Homework:  Review Rabindranath Tagore's "The Kabuliwallah" (607-615).

Arabian Nights, Panchatantra, & Aesop's Fables (Frame Stories, Folktales, & Fables)

Students took open-book quizzes over "The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor" from The Thousand One Nights and "The Lion-Makers" from the Panchatantra.

Students swapped papers and graded the quizzes in class.

The class spent a few minutes discussing Aesop and his possible African heritage which led into a discussion of race as a cultural construct.

Homework:  Read Rabindranath Tagore's "The Kabuliwallah" (607-615).

Folktales & Fables: The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor & The Lion-Makers from the Panchatantra

Students submitted their revised drafts of their analysis and response to the Joseph story in the Qur'an and Genesis.  Mr. Stone has delayed the editing and submission time for this paper.  He will announce the new deadline shortly.  He wants to create some distance from the drafting of the paper to help the students to edit it more objectively.

Mr. Stone read the introduction to "The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor" from The Thousand and One Nights.  He spent time making sure students understood what a folktale is and contrasted with household tales.  He shared several household tales from his own family.

Students took turns reading "The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor" (498-502) using the popcorn method.  After the ninth paragraph, Mr. Stone paused the reading and asked a student to summarize the story so far.  Mr. Stone drew attention to the use of periodic summarizing as a reading strategy to promote comprehension. The class stopped reading at the second column of p. 501.

Homework:  Finish reading pp. 501 & 502 of "The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor" and read pp. 595-598, "The Lion-Makers" from the Panchatantra.

There will be a quiz over these two stories at the beginning of the next class period.

Analysis & Response Peer Critique

Students had an opportunity to print out their rough drafts if not printed at home. They received a peer critique form for which the period was designed to use.  Much of the class period was spent with Mr. Stone answering questions from students about the criteria of the paper.

Homework: Complete the peer critique if not completed in class.  (Make use of modern technology as necessary, i.e. scanning, photos, messaging, etc.) Complete a revised draft of the paper to be edited during class time.  Revised drafts must meet the one-and-a-half page minimum length requirement.

Surrah 12 Link

Here's a link to the audio version of the Qur'an we viewed in class:  Sura 12

Islam

Mark Holm gave a guest lecture on Islam.  Students received credit for taking notes.

Homework:  Complete rough draft of comparison and response paper to viewing Surah 12 of the Qur'an.

Oedipus the King Test

Students spent about half the period taking the Oedipus the King test.  After the test they were to read two short excerpts from the Qur'an (textbook pp. 491-494).

Homework:  Read the excerpt from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (textbook pp. 532-540).  There will be a quiz at the beginning of the next class.

Prewriting for Joseph Story Comparison

Students spent the class period working in three groups to complete prewiting tables.  Students who were absent will need to join the third group that is examing the story of Joseph's imprisonment (Qur'an 12:32-42 and Genesis 40).

Homework:  Study for the Oedipus test which will be taken tomorrow, October 26th.

A Comparative Analyis and Response to the Telling of the Story of Joseph in the Qur'an and Genesis

Over two class periods, students will listen to a bilingual reading of the first forty-four verses of Sura 12 of the Qur'an in Arabic and in English.


In response to this experience, students will write a page-and-a-half to two-page comparative analysis and response.  You could compare this assignment to a summary and response assignment. In this assignment, however, students will not summarize their reading.  Rather, they will present first n comparative analysis of Sura 12 of the Qur'an with the telling of the Joseph story in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.


Use a table/t-chart to keep track of your analysis as you compare and contrast the two tellings of one of the three shared stories found in these books:


Joseph's dream and his brother's plot against him (Qur'an 12:1-18 and Genesis 37)
Potiphar's wife attempt to seduce Joseph (Qu'ran 12:23-31 and Genesis 39)
Joseph's imprisonment (Qu'ran 12:32-42 and Genesis 40)

In the first portion of your  paper, compare and contrast the telling of your selected story in the two texts.  In the second portion of your paper, discuss your personal reaction to listening and reading this story from the Qur'an.  Discuss both your personal reaction the content of your selected story and to the experience of viewing and listening to the story in Arabic.


The number of paragraphs in a student's analysis and response paper will vary.  At minimum there will be four:  two for the analysis (one paragraph for the Qur'an telling and another for the Genesis telling) and two for the response (one for the student's response to the content and another for the student's response to the experience of viewing and listening to the story in Arabic).  If a student chooses to compare and contrast the two tellings using and aspect-by-aspect organization, they will have more paragraphs.  A student may also choose to have more than two paragraphs if they wish to subdivide their discussion of their response to the experience of viewing and listening to the story in Arabic.

Students will prepare their rough draft for Monday October 31st.  They will conduct a peer critique in class.  They will make revisions on Monday night and conduct a peer edit on Tuesday, November 1st. 


Students will submit their paper electronically to Turn-it-in (Links to an external site.) and on paper to Mr. Stone. The electronic submission deadline is 11:59 Tuesday, November 1, 2016 and the paper submission deadline is class time on Wednesday, November 2, 2015.


The paper should be written in MLA format.

Oedipus Rex Test on Wednesday 26 October

The Oedipus Rex test, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been moved to Wednesday at the students' request to allow them to better prepare since many of them have a test in another class on Tuesday.

Oedipus Rex Study Guide

Oedipus the King

Characters

(You will be asked to identify each of the following characters by matching them to actions or relationships. )

Oedipus

Creon

Tiresias

Jocasta

Messenger from Corinth

Shepherd

Messenger

Antigone and Ismene

Chorus

Polybus

Merope

Apollo

Setting

(Be able to describe each of the following elements of setting and their connection to the three classical unities.)

Geographical location:  in front of the palace, Thebes, Greece (unity of place)

Historical period:  ancient mythical times (already consider ancient by 500 BCE)

Time of day: the play takes place in one revolution of the sun/a 24 hr period (unity of time)

The prophecy that causes Laius and Jocasta to give up their son, the discovery of the baby Oedipus, and the murder of Laius all happen prior to the dramatic questioning of the causes of suffering of Thebes that is the central dramatic question of the play (unity of action).

Weather:  fires, plagues, and famines

Cultural Milieu:  ancient Greek

Oedipus as Tragic Hero

( You will be asked to explain how Oedipus fulfills each of the following characteristics of a classic hero.)

high rank

violates human, natural, & divine law

poses threat to society

causes suffering and death to family

tragic flaw

Conflict

(Be able to describe the conflict between each of the following characters/forces.)

Oedipus v. Fate

Oedipus v. Self

Oedipus v. Creon

Jocasta v. Fate

Jocasta v. Oedipus

Laius v. Fate

Oedipus v. Society

Oedipus v. Tiresias

Other literary terms

(Be able to define the following terms.)

ode

strophe

antistrophe

Oedipus Rex Analysis

Students finished the last few minutes of the video of Oedipus Rex.  They took notes on the characters and setting of the play.  Tomorrow they will continue to take notes and to discuss the play in preparation for a test.

Homework:  Read this analysis from Ball State University's website:  ClassicNotes: Oedipus Rex.

Oedipus Rex

Students viewed a video of a performance of Oedipus Rex over three class period.


Students will discuss the play next class period in preparation for a test over the play.


Homework:  Review the play's structure and plot using Duke Professor William Johnson's summary of the play.

Introduction to Ancient Greece

Students read the introduction to the Ancient Greece Unit in the textbook.  Mr. Stone focused on Big Ideas 1 and 3.  The class also read the introductory material on ancient Greek drama.


Tomorrow the class will begin viewing Sophocles' Oedipus Rex.


Homework:  Write one page single-spaced handwritten or a half of a page double-spaced typed (That's about 12 lines of 12-point font.) on ONE of the following questions:


What does it mean to be a hero?


OR


What makes something tragic?


Your answer should be your own personal reflections.  You should first think back on your own personal experiences or the experiences of people you know personally.  If you need more material, then think about vicarious experiences you have had through the reading of books or the viewing of movies or television.

End of Modern African Literature Unit

On Tuesday, October 4th, the class read and discussed Léopold Sédar Senghor’s “Night in Sine” and reviewed Sole Woyinka’s “Soldier andCitizen.”

On Wednesday, October 5th, the class listened to a recruiter from La Sierra University who shared a video about La Sierra's programs and distributed a financial handout.

On Thursday, October 6th, students took the Modern African Literature Unit Test.

Students who did not finish the essay portion of the test were able to make arrangements to complete that portion of the test.

Enjoy the long weekend without any Multicultural Literature homework!

More Preparation for Theme Question on Modern African Literature Unit

Students had today's class period to finish preparing their study tables with examples and commentary to answer the theme question on the upcoming test.  (See the last post for details on how to complete the table.)

Students were to show their completed table to Mr. Stone before the end of the period to receive full credit.

Homework:  Review the homework from the weekend and spend time studying for the unit test to be taken on Wednesday.

Preparation for the Theme Question on the Modern African Literature Test

Students worked in groups to prepare for the theme question on the upcoming test.  Working in groups with laptop computers, the students created tables of information.

Each student's table needed to have three columns, one for each of the units three themes:  tradition and change, the price of freedom, and living with indepence.

Students were encouraged to make use of the three theme cards they created during this unit:

Card 1:  "The Rain Came" by Grace Ogot

Card 2: "The Voter" by Chinua Achebe or No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu

Card 3:  Bones by Sadru Kassam or "The Return" by Ngugi wa Thiongo


They were encouraged to seek additional examples from other members of the class.  They should make the commentary their own.

Students need three examples for each theme.  Using examples from three different works for each theme would be best, but students may use two different examples from one work and a third example from another.

Students may use the same scene from one story to illustrate more than one theme; however, by choosing to do so, they will likely increase the level of scrutiny of the evaluater of the quality of their analysis.

Each cell in a student's review chart should include the following:

1. the title of the work (story, essay, play, poem, etc.; e.g. "The Return")

2. author's name (e.g. Ngugi wa Thiongo)

3. a short description of a passage that includes a key event or words related to the chosen theme

4. the student's commentary (analysis) of how the described portion of the work illustrates the theme  (The student should connect key words of the theme to specific actions or words from the portion of the text being described.)  The students commentary must do more than simply connect the theme words and the selected text; their commentary must state what this story reveals about that specific theme.


Mr. Stone re-emphasized the differences between writing for a test question without access to a text and writing with a text.  Students should write their examples as brief summaries of actions in the story or paraphrases of the words used by characters because it is too difficult for most to remember quotations word for word.

Students will have more time to work on their theme charts during the first class of the next week.

Homework:  Listen to the segment from KPCC's The Frame on how  "'Queen of Kwatre' director Mira Nair brings a different African story to Hollywood."  Be sure and watch the videos as well. We will discuss the segment in class.

Ngugi wa Thiongo's "The Return"

The class discussed last night's presidential debate and took an open-book quiz over "The Return."

Homework: Review your third theme card in preparation for tomorrow's conversation and spend time studying for the African unit test using quizlet.

Sadru Kassam's Bones and Wole Soyinka's "Civilian and Soldier"

Students listened to Kenyan Sadru Kassam's play Bones with selected students reading the parts and Mr. Stone reading the stage directions.

A student read Nigerian Wole Soyinka's poem "Civilian and Soldier."

Homework:  Complete a third theme card showing how  either Ngugi wa Thiong'o's "The Return or Sadru Kassam's Bones portrays the themes of the price of freedom, tradition and change, or living with independence.

An open book quiz over Ngugi wa Thion'o's "The Return" will be given at the beginning of the next period before our third academic discussion.

Academic Discussion 2: Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness and Chinua Achebe's "The Voter"

Students used their second theme cards to participate in an academic discussion of how Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness and Chinua Achebe's "The Voter" address the themes of the price of freedom, tradition and change, or living with independence.

Homework:  Read Ngugi wa Thiong'o's "The Return" (133-140).

Feedback on Theme Cards

After a devotional reading of Proverbs 21: 2 and prayer, two students who had missed the last graded academic discussion over Grace Ogot's "The Rain Came" spoke.

Mr. Stone returned the other students'  first graded theme cards and gave opportunity for questions.  Students have the opportunity to revise their first theme cards and resubmit them for an improved score.

Mr. Stone then distributed a revised grading rubric for the students and went over the changes that had been made in response to their writing on their first theme cards.  In order to allow students to improve their writing skills in response to the feedback and to utilize the revised grading rubric, Mr. Stone announced he was postponing the discussion of Desmond Tutu's No Furture Without Forgiveness and Chinua Achebe's "The Visitor" to the next period.

Students took a quiz over Achebe's "The Visitor at the end of the period.

Homework:  Make any needed revisions to the first and second theme cards.

Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness and Chinua Achebe's "The Voter"

Quiz: excerpt from Desmond Tutu's No Future without Forgiveness


Students participated in a mock presidential election and discussed the results and the upcoming American presidential election.


Students began reading Chinua Achebe's "The Voter" (94-99).


Homework:  Finish reading Achebe's "The Voter" and complete a theme response card for either the excerpt from Desmond Tutu's No Future without Forgiveness or Chinua Achebe's "The Voter."  Adhere to the criteria of Mr. Stone's theme card rubric.

Bessie Head's "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses"

Quiz:  Bessie Head's "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses"


The class discussed Head's story and began to relate it to the unit's themes.


Homework:  Read the excerpt from Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness in the text book (103-106) and read the first part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's homepage until it begins to discuss scholarships.  A quiz will be given over these readings at the beginning of the next class period.

Bessie Head's "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses"

Mr. Stone distributed a grading rubric for the theme response cards students completed last week, highlighting the inclusion of the author's first and last name and the use of an appropriate action verb when expressing the thematic idea being discussed.


Students had opportunity to make revisions on their theme response cards during class and will have more time if desired to revise theme over the weekend.


Mr. Stone discussed with students of the advantages and limitations of the readings of literary works by readers from a different culture than the writers.


Students read the introductory material on Bessie Head, a writer from South Africa and Botswana.


Mr. Stone discussed the difference between reading a text which discusses events historical to the reader versus events which occurred during the reader's lifetime.


Homework:  Read "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses" (126-130).  Be prepared for a quiz over the reading and bring your revised theme response card.

Grace Ogot's The Rain Came

Tuesday-Thursday, September 6-8, 2016

A misunderstanding in directions left for the substitute for Mr. Stone on Tuesday resulted in students having a study period on Tuesday and no homework for Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday students read most of Grace Ogot's short story "The Rain Came" in class.

Homework:  Finish reading Ogot's story and complete a three-by-five index card to prepare for Thursday's discussion of Ogot's story.

On the unlined side of the card, students should write their first and last names, the number 4, and "The Rain Came."

On the lined side of the card, students should identify a passage they think relates to one of the three big ideas described in the introduction to the African Unit in the text book.

 (Be sure use quotation marks to begin your selected example, use ellipsis marks to indicate the middle portion of the passage which you will omit for brevity, the ending few words of the selected passage, a closing set of quotation marks, an opening parentheses, the page number where the passage selected was located, and a closing set of parentheses followed by a period.)

Students should then state which of the three big ideas they think their selected passage best illustrates and fill out the rest of the lined side of the index card with an explanation of how this passage illustrates the selected big idea.

Students will use their prepared index to participate in discussion in class on Thursday, September 8th.

Summer Reading: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Tuesday-Thursday, August 30-September 1, 2016

Students worked in small groups to review for the summer reading test over Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird using a teacher-prepared study guide.

Students took the test on Thursday.  No homework was assigned due to Labor Day weekend.

Naguib Mahfouz's "Half a Day"

Monday, August 29, 2016

Students went to the teacher's lounge to eat Koshari (a street food considered a national dish of Egypt) while Mr. Stone read aloud to them Naguib Mahfouz's short story "Half a Day."  Mr. Stone made Koshari to model for the class how a food project could be made to accompany a selection of world literature.  Stone cited as inspiration for his food choice a line from Denys Johnson-Davies translation of Naguib's story which says, "We ate delicious food, took a little nap, and woke up to go on with friendship, and love, play and learning."

Students took a quiz over the story.

Homework:  Study for the summer reading test over Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockinbird.

James Henshaw's The Jewels of the Shrine

 Thursday, August 25, 2016

Students began the quarter and the contemporary African literature unit by reading in class James Henshaw's The Jewels of the Shrine.  Henshaw (1924-2007), a Nigerian playwright of the Efik people, studied medicine in Ireland and Wales and specialized in thoracic medicine in Nigeria.  Published in 1956, The Jewels of the Shrine was Henshaw's second play.

"Ageing in Nigerian literature:  James Ene Henshaw's the jewels of the shrine, " a retrospective article published in a special 1999 edition of the British medical journal The Lancet, noted Henshaw as Nigeria first modern playwright and Nigeria's "most popular playwright" from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.

Students filled out a three-by-five index card with their first and last name and the name of the cultural group to which they most identify.  They took a quiz over the play at the end of the period.

No homework was assigned.