All Boys, All Blogged: November 12, 2014

Focus: How can we augment our vocabularies?

PLC: Shortened Class Today

Please have out your journals/sticky notes so I can have a look.

1. Warming up: Taking ten minutes to start making your vocabulary flashcards for the week

2. Enjoying a little contest: Who can create the most entertaining and fair vocabulary quiz for the week?

• Look at your previous two quizzes for ideas.

• You need a fill-in-the-blank section, preferably with 10 questions (and preferably one that tells a story).

• You need a creative section with about 5 questions.

HW:
1. Read and annotate Chapter 21 by tomorrow; leaders should prepare their fishbowl syllabus.

2. Finish making your vocabulary flashcards (Chapters 11-14); start studying for Friday's quiz.  Remember that if you want to retake any grammar quizzes from the past 7 weeks, Friday is your day.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 11, 2014

Focus: How is the will to act/answer the call essential to Amir's journey?

1. Warming up by applying the call to action to Amir's journey in The Kite Runner:

Hello, students!  I've got a sick little Henry at home, so I won't have the pleasure of joining you today.  On the hero's journey document you started yesterday, please take a full 15 minutes to individually freewrite on the questions below. Make sure the document is properly shared with me, because I will be giving you credit for your in-class work today.

• Whose fault is the rape of Hassan? Try to come up with as many possibilities as you can and explain each one.

• What is Amir's blue pill, and what is his red pill?

• What misconceptions does Amir hold in the world of the blue pill?

• What does Amir have to believe in order to enter the world of the red pill?

• What does he have to lose on this journey? 

• What does he have to gain?

• Reread the last two pages of Chapter 18 (p.226-227).  What has specifically given him the will to act/to answer the call to action?  Offer at least one specific quotation to support your thoughts.

2. Enjoying an enlightening fishbowl discussion of Chapters 19 and 20

3. Wrapping up

HW:

1. Please read and annotate Chapter 21 for Thursday's fishbowl discussion; leaders should prepare their syllabus.

2. Start making flashcards for Kite Runner, Chapters 11-14; we will have our next vocabulary quiz this Friday, along with any make-up grammar quizzes from the past seven weeks.

3. Continue preparing your book talk if you have not delivered yours yet.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 10, 2014

Focus: What is the call to action, and why is it important to the hero's journey?

1. Warming up with a rousing round of book talks!

2. Understanding the call to action and its larger important in a few heroic film clips:

The will to act

• What inner demons are tormenting the hero in this clip?

• What is the will to act, and why is it important?

• Listen for one or two lines you like: Write them down as precisely as possible.

The red pill vs. the blue pill

• What symbolic choices are you noticing in this scene?  Consider color, weather, and any other possible images that might carry symbolic weight.

• How does the mentor in this scene define what the red pill and blue pill each represent?

• In our daily lives, what might the red pill and the blue pill represent?

Why is answering the call to action a crucial part of any hero's journey? What does it prove?

3. Applying the call to action to Amir's journey in The Kite Runner:

• What are Amir's specific inner demons, and what will it take to defeat them?

• What is Amir's blue pill, and what is his red pill?

• Reread the last two pages of Chapter 18 (p.226-227).  What has specifically given him the will to act/to answer the call to action?  Offer at least one specific quotation to support your thoughts.

HW:

1. Please read and annotate Chapters 19 and 20 for tomorrow's fishbowl discussion; leaders should prepare their syllabus.

2. Start making flashcards for Kite Runner, Chapters 11-14; we will have our next vocabulary quiz this Friday, along with any make-up grammar quizzes from the past seven weeks.

3. Continue preparing your book talk if you have not delivered yours yet.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 7, 2014

Focus: What's starting to shift in The Kite Runner, and why are these shifts important?

1. Warming up with a rousing round of book talks!

2. Enjoying an intellectually stimulating discussion of The Kite Runner, Chapters 17 and 18

3. Wrapping up: Reflect on an important shift or make a prediction

HW:
1. Read and annotate Chapters 19 and 20 for Tuesday's fishbowl discussion; leaders should prepare the syllabus.

2. If you have an upcoming book talk, please prepare and rehearse it.  Think about the very first thing you're going to say to us, and try to grab our attention.

3. Bring The Kite Runner, your hero's journey chart, and your sticky notes/blue journals to class on Monday.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 6, 2014

Focus: How's it going?

Very shortened class today: CMAS

1. Dear Ms. Leclaire,

• What's going well for you?

• What's not going well for you?

• What can I do to help you succeed?

• What's going on outside of class?

• What are the next two months going to look like for you?

• Anything else?

HW:
1. Read and annotate Chapters 17 and 18 for tomorrow's fishbowl discussion; leaders should prepare the syllabus.

2. If you have an upcoming book talk, please prepare and rehearse it.  Think about the very first thing you're going to say to us, and try to grab our attention.

3. Remember that this Friday marks the end of the 12 week period.  All make-up work, late work, and redos/retakes must be completed by this Friday for credit.

Exception: Make-up grammar quizzes will have to wait until next Friday because of book talks and fishbowl tomorrow.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 4, 2014

Focus: Do I need to make up work for this class? What Level 2 and Level 3 questions do I have regarding The Kite Runner so far?

1. Warming up: Since this Friday marks the end of 12 weeks, I would like you to take a moment to look carefully at your grades for this class, keeping in mind the following:

• All make-up work, late work, and redos/retakes must be completed by this Friday for credit.  This includes missed fishbowl blogs, retakes on quizzes, Kite Runner annotations/journal entries, grammar assignments, and any other work collected over the past six weeks.

• Remember that if you missed an outer circle day on the fishbowl, you must make up the blog by e-mailing me an extended response that includes at least one quotation from the assigned chapters.  

• If you are planning to make up any grades, please speak with me or e-mail me right now to develop a plan to ensure it gets taken care of by this Friday.

• If your grades in this class are fine, then use this time to look up the two goals that you sent me a few weeks ago after our conference (one reading goal, one writing goal).  Are you working towards those goals right now? If not, what do you need to do?

2. Fishbowl #3: Discussing Chapters 14, 15, and 16 in The Kite Runner


3. Wrapping up fishbowl with take-aways and questions

HW:
1. Start reading and annotating Chapters 17 and 18 for Friday's fishbowl discussion; leaders should start preparing the syllabus.

2. If you have an upcoming book talk, please prepare and rehearse it.  


3. Remember that this Friday marks the end of the 12 week period.  All make-up work, late work, and redos/retakes must be completed by this Friday for credit.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 3, 2014

Focus: What larger patterns are you starting to find in The Kite Runner, and why are they important?

1. Warming up with a rousing round of book talks!

2. Brainstorming motifs from The Kite Runner together on the board, then drawing them together to form good discussion questions.  Each of you should post your best one on today's blog and then pick one to reply to.

For example, let's say that one of the motifs on the board is violence, and that another is redemption. 

You could ask a question like this: Is violence a way of achieving redemption? 

Or, you could ask something like this: Can Amir ever find redemption for the violence he allowed to happen to Hassan?

Again, once you've posted your question on the blog, please reply to someone else's question.

3. Returning to the hero's journey: Look over the first page of the Joseph Campbell's hero's journey chart given in class today.  With a partner, fill out as much of the first page as you can for The Kite Runner:

• Think "outside the box" a little.  For example, there may not be any actual dragon battles in The Kite Runner, but there are battles with monster-like people and ideas.
• Be as specific as possible, citing quotations or at least page numbers whenever possible.
• Stay in the middle column (the column on the right will be used later).
• Don't worry if every single step doesn't apply; you can leave a couple of boxes blank if they don't work.

3. Starting Chapter 14 together, if time allows

HW:
1. Finish reading and annotating Chapters 14, 15, and 16 in The Kite Runner.
2. Leaders and discussers need to be prepared for tomorrow's fishbowl discussion.
3. No vocabulary this week.