D - The one when Phoebe didn't feel targeted, just isolated.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does it feel to be targeted?

Learners shared dad jokes!

We played an in-person version of Among Us, with dots. Mr. Cole asked if anyone felt targeted, Phoebe said she didn't, but she did. =)

As an introduction to Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible (see the link to the left, too), we watched:

After the lengthy prologue and introduction, Mr. Cole decided to summarize what gets us to the opening of the play. We assigned parts and read the first part of Act 1 together.

READ: the rest of Act 1

NEXT CLASS: Act 2

G - The one with rizz and being someone's Roman Empire.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How have late eighteenth century literary trends affected our study of literature today?

Learners shared from their 21st century dictionaries in the spirit of Ben Johnson's Dictionary from the late 18th century.

We discussed some of the features of 18th century literary texts in comparison to the previous literary age.

We read together Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." We identified and discuss allusion to previous literary ages and a return to poetry and imagination in the Pre-Romantics. Learners used the rest of the period to work the stanzas they read and appreciate the text.

PRACTISE: Appreciate you assigned stanzas from Gray's "Elegy" and be ready to share your ideas

READ:

• Burns's "To A Mouse"
• Blake's "The Lamb" and "The Tyger"

NEXT CLASS: The (Pre) Romantics

D - The one that was very short.

Today was Winter Sports Photo Day and Holy Thursday. People trickled in and out of the thirty-five minute class. Learners worked on their own practise work.

POST: Is the Lady of Shalott a tragic figure? (Repeated from last class. Please post your response to the digital whiteboard.

NEXT CLASS: Politics, revenge, community, Miller's The Crucible

G - The one with the dictionary.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is value of satire?

Learners shared their favourite lines from Canto V of Pope's Rape of the Lock. We compared the elevated language of Pope's mock epic and Milton's Paradise Lost, and decided that the rhyming couplets are key to establishing the satirical tone of Pope's piece.

We chatted about Ben Johnson and his dictionary. Learners used the rest of the period to construct their own 21st century dictionaries, paying close attention to the format of Johnson's dictionary.

PRACTISE: Write your own dictionary. Define at least 25 words copying Johnson's style.

READ:

• Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
• Blake's "The Lamb" and "The Tyger"
• Burns's "To A Mouse"

NEXT CLASS: The Pre-Romantics

D - The one about the tragic hero.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What makes something tragic?

We spoke briefly about Hamlet's advise to the players about oral story-telling, and about respect for good text.

We looked at the opening paragraph of Nabokov's novel Lolita and  appreciated it for the playfulness and quality of the text. (ie. literature is fun because the writer crafts the text with the intention that it will be read aloud!)

We gave brief notes on tragedy and on the tragic hero.

We read together Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" and learners  posed questions to try to uncover meaning.  We discussed the importance of really practising close reading and inquiry skills. (We will not be giving you "what this poem is about"!)

POST: Is the Lady of Shalott a tragic figure? (post your response to the digital whiteboard)

RE-READ: Notes on Tragdey

NEXT CLASS: Ethan, Azel, Imogen perform!, quiz on tragedy, introduction to The Crucible

G - The one about silly things.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What makes satire so effective?

We reviewed Swift's "Voyage to Lilliput" and discussed satire in "Voyage to Brobdingnag." We spoke about the use of prose in eighteenth century literature and the art of political and social commentary.

We read together and broke down Canto III from Pope's mock epic poem, The Rape of the Lock.

READ:

• Canto V
• Pope's Epigrams

PRACTISE:

• Favourite lines from Canto V and why
• Modern epigrams

D - The one with the Venn diagram.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Why is belonging so important to the individual?

We continued our study of Camus's "The Guest." Learners used a graphic organizer to compare Daru with Meursault (from Camus's novel, The Outsider.) 

Learners reflected on and discussed the title - in the original French: L'hôte, and discussed who is "guest" and who is "host," including the possible Christian connotation of host as a "sacrifice" - ie. who is the sacrificial figure in the story?

NEXT CLASS: Theme