F - ... when we talked about shiny things.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Is silence safer than honesty?

FREE WRITE: Learners wrote for 15 minutes using R.E.M.'s music video, "Shiny Happy People," as the prompt.

Learners worked in pairs to flush out the elements and devices of Munro's short story, "The Shining Houses." Learners then discussed the following questions:

• What do the neighbours (the community) value?
• What does Mary value?
• Who decides "what" (or who) belongs?
• Is Mary defeated or does she choose integrity?
• How do communities "punish" without ever appearing cruel?

We also discussed executive functioning skills like, engaging each other in discussion by posing appropriate follow responses and questions.

READ: Birney's "January Morning / Downtown Vancouver"

NEXT CLASS: detached observation, the cost of belonging

B - ... when you wrote about time.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is the valued of writing a timed piece?

Learners used the entire period to read and annotate Shakespeare's "Sonnet 55," then wrote an explication essay 

READ:

• The Jacobean Age - The Metaphysical Poets, page 263
• John Donne, page 264
• "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" page 266

NEXT CLASS: The Jacobeans

F - ... when you read aloud together, alone. Wait. What?

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Who decides "who" or "what" gets to "belong"?

FREE WRITE: Learners wrote / typed continuously for 15 minutes on the prompt, "When you feel wronged, what do you owe yourself, others, and the community"? (Learners used the period/dot to press whilst they waited for the next words to flow out.)

Learners used the period to read aloud in pairs Munro's short story, "The Shining Houses." When we came back together, we tried to use the short story checklist to engage in discussion, but learners admitted that they needed more time with the story.

PRACTISE: Finish reading the story and annotate it. Make some brief notes about the elements and prepare for discussion next day.

NEXT CLASS: Vision, resistance, power in Munro's short story

B - ... when you decided on problem plays.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Does Shakespeare really still matter?

We reviewed the Inquiry on Shakespeare and viewed "Why You Should Read Hamlet?" from TedED:

Learners used the rest of the period to work on their inquiry and reported out the plays they chose:

• Azza - Othello 
• Sara - Much Ado About Nothing
• Aiesha - King Lear
• Alison - Cymbeline
• Simar - Merry Wives of Windor

NEXT CLASS: Explication Test

F - ... when you figured out Daru had zero good options and Camus doubled down in The Outsider.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Why do we often struggle stick to personal choices in the face of societal expectations?

Learners shared their monolgues/diary entries from last class's practise.

We discussed the complexity of Daru's position at the end of "The Guest" and I reminded learners that if they put the "puzzle pieces" together, they should discover Camus attempt at social commentary.

We reviewed Camus's beliefs and how those beliefs influence characters like Daru and Meursault. They discussed briefly about which title: The Stranger or The Outsider works better for a translation of L'Etranger, the OG French title.

We began our study of The Outsider: learners worked in pairts to list the event of Part One.

NEXT CLASS: Meursault and accountability

ENTRANCE TICKET: In Part One of the novel, Meursault lives in the sensual present. What does this mean (Post your response to the digital whiteboard before you come to class next day.)

F - ... when I dropped the French title lore-bomb of Camus's short story and your whole interpretation ascended.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What happens when personal choice conflicts with societal expectations?

Learners read their independent novels.

Learners worked in their pairs from last class and tried to recall their understanding of setting, plot character, conflict in Camus's "The Guest." Learners shared details from the text that spoke to moral ambiguity, isolation, the conflict between personal choice and societal expectation, and indifference to the "universe."

We also discussed how understanding that the original French title, L'Hôte, means both "guest" and "host" deepens our understanding of the short story as social commentary, as does using a Catholic lens, especially when we consider "host" as Eucharist - a sacrifice.

PRACTISE: With today's understanding, revisit or rewrite the Daru's monologue / diary entry at the end of the short story.

NEXT CLASS: Daru & Meursault

B - ... when we moved from knights and chivalry to the very un-glam, very real life of common folk in the ballads.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is regular society doing whilst Arthur's knights are going on quests?

I asked learners to consider one more question when it comes to Le Morte Darthur (and we discussed it): What happens when the chivalric code meant to create order instead exposes the flaws of those who uphold it?

I spoke briefly about the ballad, the learners worked in pairs to read and discuss their assigned ballad. Simar and Anne started us off by talking about Sir Patrick Spens.

NEXT CLASS: the other three ballads, The Renaissance