Thursday, November 19, 2009

Arthur Miller Blog Post

Sorry this is so late!!!
Read some biographical information about Arthur Miller. What are the subjects of his other writings? What have critics said about his importance in modern drama? In what ways are his experiences reflected in his writings?

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Death of a Salesman Unit

English 11 Honors - Mrs. Baker
*Many of the ideas in this unit came from a great site: http://ubdeducators.wikispaces.com/Dana+Death+of+a+Salesman+Unit
Essential Questions:
What is the American Dream? Why do some achieve it while others do not?
What is the importance of being "well liked" and popular?
How do we form our identities?
How do capitalism and modernization affect American workers?
Students will know...
The concepts of the tragic hero.
The plot and themes of Death of a Salesman.
Students will be able to...
Analyze the impact of globalization and modernization on society and compare it to the "outsourcing" of Willy Loman.
Synthesize information about globalization and modernization from various sources.
Determine what skills 21st century workers will need in order to be successful in a global economy.
Evaluate how globalization and modernization will impact the concept of the American Dream, how we form our identities, and how we define success or become successful.
Relate Death of a Salesman's themes and message to American life in the 21st century.
Assignments:

__________Class Notes: dramatic Irony, flashback, tragic hero, Freytag’s triangle
__________Blog Post: Read some biographical information about Arthur Miller. What are the subjects of his other writings? What have critics said about his importance in modern drama? In what ways are his experiences reflected in his writings?
__________Make a sketch of the stage set as you envision it from Miller’s description at the start of the play. (In notebook)
__________Read play and respond in your notebooks to the attached study guide questions.
__________View Film
__________The film version starring Dustin Hoffman differs from the staged version in having numerous sets. Compare the filmed version to the staged version described in your book. Does the film resemble a stage play in any way? Miller says the media of film in itself changes the play. How is this true? (In notebook)
__________Tragedy and The Common Man- Arthur Miller (attached)
__________Blog Post: Who are some tragic heroes from modern day literature, movies, and media? What qualities/flaws do these people/ characters possess?
__________Complete a plot diagram in your notebook
http://www.bard.org/education/studyguides/deathofasalesman/deathclassic.html
__________Watch: "Did You Know 2.0," aka "Shift Happens.” Write a brief reflection on this clip in your notebook.
http://huffenglish.wikispaces.com/Death+of+a+Salesman
__________Watch excerpt from "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore" episode of The Simpsons. Write a brief reflection on this episode in your notebook.
__________Watch "The Other Side of Outsourcing" Thomas Friedman/Discovery Times. Write a brief reflection on this program in your notebook.
http://huffenglish.wikispaces.com/Death+of+a+Salesman
__________Read Chapter Six "The Untouchables" (278-307) from The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
Write a one paragraph response to this chapter in your notebook.
__________Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: A Celebration By Joyce Carol Oates
http://www.usfca.edu/~southerr/arthurmiller.html
__________SAT In Class Essay
Supplementary Material:
“The Death of a Salesman in a Flat World”
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/neba/journal/v1n1p17.pdf
Yale Rep. Study Guide:
http://www.yalerep.org/about_rep/willpower/Salesman_Study_Guide.pdf
Arthur Miller’s Missing Act: Arthur Miller’s Son, Daniel:
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=12914210&m=12914213
NPR Weekend Edition
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18607090
Death of a Salesman Vocabulary

1. mercurial-quick and changeable in temperament
2. sentiment- tender, romantic or nostalgic feeling
3. agitation- disturbance- disturbance; annoyance
4. idealist- one who sees the best things in life
5. avidly- enthusiastically; with great interest
6. enthralled- held spellbound; captivated
7. insinuates- becomes introduced gradually
8. incipient- beginning to emerge
9. liable- likely; at risk of experiencing something unpleasant
10. incarnate- personified; given a human form to
11. laconic- using few words
12. trepidation- a state of alarm or dread
13. dispel- to rid one’s mind of
14. philandering- engaging in many casual love affairs
15. remiss- not attending to duty; negligent; careless
16. subdued- made less intense; toned down
17. solidified- made strong, sturdy or stable
18. intent- concentrating; engrossed
19. dictation- to say aloud to be recorded and written by another
20. solitary- existing alone
21. comradeship- friendship; spirit of working together for the common good
22. incredulously- unbelievingly
23. carte blanche- with full permission; unrestricted authority
24. candidly- characterized by openness; frankly
25. raucous- rough-sounding; harsh; boisterous
26. agonized- suffering great anguish
27. gist- main idea
28. clinches- settles something conclusively
29. falters- stumbles; moves unsteadily
30. befuddled- confused
31. overstrung- pushed to one’s emotional limit
32. elegiacally- sadfully or mournfully
33. obstreperous- nosily or unruly
34. reticence- taciturn; reserved or reluctant
35. crestfallen- disheartened; dejected
36. requiem- 1. a. A mass for a deceased person.b. A musical composition for such a mass.
2. A hymn, composition, or service for the dead.
37. scrim-1. A durable, loosely woven cotton or linen fabric used for curtains or upholstery lining or in industry.
2. A transparent fabric used as a drop in the theater to create special effects of lights or atmosphere

Friday, November 13, 2009

Class assignment: November 13, 2009

Good Morning! I am out sick today with a sore throat and laryngitis-not fun! Please use your class time today to find out more about the poetry contest that I briefly discussed in class yesterday. Most of your time should be spent on # 4 below. Have a great day! Mrs. Baker

1. Videos of past winners: http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/video_bestpractices.html
http://www.poetryoutloud.org/2009videos.html
2. Contest FAQ's: http://www.poetryoutloud.org/students/faq.html
3. Evaluation Criteria: http://www.poetryoutloud.org/students/checklist.html
4. Spend most of your time today exploring the poems on the website. By next Friday, you will choose a poem from the site that you will eventually memorize and recite. Begin to make a list of some favorites:
http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/browsepoems.html
Shorter poems:
http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/poems.20lines.html

Friday, November 06, 2009

American Literature Nonfiction Unit Overview

Essential Questions:
What does the text reveal about what it means to be an American?
How does the author structure the text and support his/her argument/theme?
What themes are particularly American? Which are universal?
Objectives:
*Critically analyze a piece of non-fiction
*Effectively identify many points of view of a situation
*Recognize the author’s bias/purpose in a piece of non-fiction
*Recognize/Argue the relativity of ‘truth’ found in non-fiction
*Develop effective strategies for reading genres of non-fiction
Unit Plan:
One of the goals of this unit is to provide you with some choice in what you would like to read. You will be given 2-3 days in class to read your text, and you will be required to read for 30 minutes at home each night. There will be a group discussion which will occur in “fishbowl” format at the end of the unit. Your classmates will be able to listen in on your group’s discussion.
Text Choices and Discussion Questions:
Lucky- Alice Siebold
What does this novel reveal about violence in American society?
What role does race play in Alice’s story?
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman- Jon Krakauer
What does the book reveal about American attitudes toward Afghanistan?
What view does the book present about the American military?
The Blindside: Evolution of a Game- Michael Lewis
What does the text reveal about the following topics?
*College Athletics Recruiting
*College Financial Aid
*Inter-racial adoption
*Public School Education Shortfalls
*School Funding
*The Foster Care System
Beautiful Boy- David Sheff
What does this memoir reveal about the meth epidemic in the United States?
How does the integration of pop culture references—quotes from literature, song lyrics, movie dialogue—contribute to the book? Look particularly at what Sheff used as the epilogues to each section of the book: John Lennon, Kurt Cobain for Part I, Shakespeare for Part II, etc. Why might Sheff have chosen these particular passages? How do they help your understanding of events, and of Sheff’s mindset?
In his suicide note, Kurt Cobain quoted Neil Young and wrote “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” When Sheff interview John Lennon, Lennon said, “I worship the people who survive. I’ll take the living and the healthy” (p. 118). Who do you agree with, Cobain or Lennon? Why does society glamorize those rock stars and other artists who burn out? Nic Sheff’s glamorization of alcoholics and drug-addicted artists ostensibly contributed to his own downfall. How should we counsel children and young adults on the dangers of idolizing such people?
The Devil in the White City- by Erik Larson
In what ways does the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 change America? What lasting inventions and ideas did it introduce into American culture? What important figures were critically influenced by the Fair?

Larson writes, "The juxtaposition of pride and unfathomed evil struck me as offering powerful insights into the nature of men and their ambitions" [p. 393]. What such insights does the book offer? What more recent stories of pride, ambition, and evil parallel those described in The Devil in the White City?

What is the total picture of late nineteenth-century America that emerges from The Devil in the White City? How is that time both like and unlike contemporary America? What are the most significant differences? In what ways does that time mirror the present?

Shooting Stars- LeBron James
"The clock ticks, the suspense tightens, the scrappy kids from hard-luck Akron leave you hanging on every shot. But the wonder of Shooting Stars is that it's hardly about basketball. Instead it is a nuanced coming-of-age drama about American culture and race, about organized sports as redeemer and exploiter, and about the blessing and curse of celebrity. At this book's heart, though, is an uncommon bond forged in youthful innocence and desire, a friendship at least as meaningful as anything LeBron James will ever add to his trophy case." --Steve Lopez, author of The Soloist
What does this memoir reveal about American culture? Race? Organized sports as redeemer and exploiter? The curse of celebrity? Dreams?

Monday, November 02, 2009

Due Wednesday...

PRINT FOR CLASS ON WEDNESDAY! Please copy & paste into a Word file the following posts:

1. Transcendentalism in Popular Culture:What examples can you find in comics, music, movies, television shows, etc…?*This assignment is ongoing. Please use the class blog to post examples at least twice throughout the unit. (20 Points=2 blog entries)

2. As we begin to wrap up our discussion of Nickle and Dimed, please use this forum to comment about ideas that you were unable to share in class or any concluding thoughts. Please reference particular page numbers in the novel where appropriate. (10 Points)

3. Locate pertinent information about John Steinbeck's life that might have influenced his writing in The Grapes of Wrath. What other interesting facts can you find? (10 Points)

4. Comment on your thoughts about Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springstein's lyrics/ Music. Do you notice any thematic parallels? Feel free to comment on other aspects of the music/ lyrics as well. Listen to songs from Bruce Springsteen’s 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Why would Springsteen use that allusion? (10 Points)

5. What can be learned from photographs from the Dust Bowl era?Link to Dorothea's Lange's, "Migrant Mother? Choose a photograph from the Dust Bowl Era. Include the link in your response/ blog comment. Write about what you believe the image conveys. You may use the following questions to help guide your response:Why would the artist have taken the photograph?Who do you see in the photograph?Where do you think they are?What can you tell about these people based on the photograph?How do you think they feel in this picture? How can you tell?What techniques does the photographer use to draw you into the subject matter or to draw an emotion from you? (10 Points)