january 31

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Choose a character or a moment in the play and describe it like you’re telling a friend about something that happened at lunch.  This will tell me what gets your attention, what affects your mood as a reader, and what you remember. (Obviously, it will also tell me what you’ve read and understand.)  When it comes to the characters and their words and actions, be as judgmental as you want.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Keep reading (as a class, in groups, or by yourself) and taking notes
3. You should be posting to your blog EVERY DAY now as part of your routine. You can do this during the last part of the period if that makes it easier. Please post your notes (title: MACBETH ACT [x] Scene(s) [xx-xx]). (Don’t type “xx” — use the Act/Scene(s) you read that day.)  You can also post about any Big Question work you’re doing and anything else you want to share with your readers.

january 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine that you are Macbeth's therapist.  (I know: "hahahahahahahahaha!!!")  What would you ask him?  What advice would you give him?  Focus on his ideas about himself, about gaining more power, and about his relationship with Lady Macbeth.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Post

POST:
Take the best elements of today's journal topic and write a scene with dialogue between Macbeth and his therapist (title: MACBETH'S THERAPIST)  You are welcome to share ideas as you write, but your scene must be unique.  Feel free to use humor and any literary techniques we've learned this year.

january 29

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones]

Sometimes when we start a book it's easy to get impatient with all the background information the author gives (on places, characters etc.) before something actually happens.  Why do we get all of this stuff first?  How does it help to know these things when the action starts and the plot gets going?  What would we miss if Macbeth started with a chase scene?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/ discuss exposition and getting the reader to lean in
2. Finish reading Macbeth Act I

3. Finish Act I questions

january 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Choose your own.


AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Macbeth

POST:
1. Why do the witches in this play have power?  Why do Macbeth and Banquo spend energy considering and interpreting their words?  Would you do the same?  (title: WOULD I LISTEN TO A WITCH?)

2. If your Act I post is still incomplete, or if you want to check your answers, read on after the jump

critical thinking 101

Too often, students adopt a perspective that they think will please their teacher.  (After all, if you're not 100% confident in your knowledge, it doesn't hurt to suck up, right?)  There is a BIG problem with this.  Unless we develop critical thinking skills, and the will to use them, we wind up as sheep in a society with any number of wolves who will manipulate us to serve their interests without regard for ours.  (Maybe you've heard about the government shutdown.)

So, instead of this:



We need more of this: (thanks, Janessa!)

when was the last time you were this excited about anything?

january 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What do you think of when you see the word FUTURE?  Do your ideas depend on your experience in the past, or your imagination, or both?  Please explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
3. Macbeth post
3. Continue reading (if time)

POST:
Answer the following questions from the scenes we've read so far.  Instead of numbering your answers like a high school student, write the answers in complete, connected sentences that form paragraphs, so that your post looks like your own original explanation of the play -- and you look like a boss. (title: THE BEGINNING OF MACBETH, EXPLAINED)

Macbeth Study Questions

ACT I

Scene 1:

1) The play opens with thunder and lightning as the three witches enter.  What does this tell us about the mood of the play?  What do the witches symbolize beyond just superstition?  Do you really believe that they are witches?

2) What do the witches mean when they say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”?  What does this tell you about what is likely to go on during the play?

3) How can a battle be “Lost and won”?  What foreshadow might this set-up?  What is the real battle in this play?

4) Graymalkin and Paddock are familiars (a cat and a toad).  What does this suggest about the action of the play?  What might they symbolize?

Scene ii

1) What does the bloody man report?

2) Why is Macdonwald a worthy rebel?

3) What similes or metaphors does the captain (the bloody man) use to describe Macbeth and Banquo?  What is significant about these descriptions?

4)  “Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds, or memorize another Golgotha.”  What is the allusion?  What is significant about the statement?   What does it suggest?  Please keep in mind the religious/superstitious images/symbols already presented.

5) Who was Scotland fighting?

Scene iii

1) Why do the witches talk in poetry?

2) What do the witches predict for Macbeth?  What is the dramatic irony involved?

3) What do they witches predict for Banquo?  What irony is involved in this promise?

4) What is your first impression of Macbeth in scenes ii-iii?  What is your first impression of Banquo?

5) How do Macbeth and Banquo differ in their reactions to the witches predictions?  What does this tell us about their characters?

6) What message does Ross bring?

7) “But ‘tis strange!  And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray us in deepest consequence.”  Who speaks the above quote?  What is the significance or meaning of the quote?

facebook is making you sad

When I was in high school, I could develop different parts of my personality and different ways of being depending on who I was with at the time.  Think about it: there is no way I would have talked the same way at my family's dinner table as I did in the locker room with my basketball teammates.  I'm grateful that I had the chance to make social mistakes -- and learn from them -- without everyone in my life seeing them at the same time.  I am also glad that some of the things I said and did in high school weren't part of some public record that followed me the rest of my life.

As social media has become more influential, I have wondered how today's generation feels.  Years ago I started to suspect that putting so much personal information out there would have negative effects.

Unfortunately, it looks like my worst fears came true.  Read more here.  (Thanks, BoingBoing!)

january 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Take a moment and search the internet for a quote you admire.  What is it about the quote?  The idea?  The person who said or wrote it?  The way s/he put the idea into words?  Write the quote in your journal and explain how you think about it.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Check-in: internet security
3. Macbeth

POST:
What do Macbeth's first few lines tell you about his character?  (title: MACBETH SPEAKS FOR HIMSELF)

when i tell students we're about to read shakespeare

#Didn'tGetTheMemo
#Courage

january 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Yesterday our journal topic had to do with seeing things in the world that demand our empathy and our effort.  Then, in the afternoon, I talked with an old friend and colleague in Los Angeles who told me that he can't bring himself to watch the news anymore.  Now, this man is very successful in every sense of the word, and I respect him very much-- but don't we all have a responsibility to stay awake and pay attention, even if the news is painful and out of our control?  What do you think?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Status: does your blog have a logo/design
3. Macbeth
4. Internet security 101

POST:
Recommend security strategies to your readers. (title: HOW TO KEEP YOURSELF MORE SECURE ON THE INTERNET)

january 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
It's a common phrase: "The best years of my life..." What makes one year better than another? Assuming there is such a thing, how will you recognize "the best years" (or moments) when they happen?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Begin Macbeth

POST:
They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  Describe your first impression of Macbeth. (title: SHAKESPEAREAN BADASS)

it's a landslide

macbeth poll

january 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Sick.  It's an awful feeling.  And it seems like when we get sick, everyone around us has an opinion: rest up, drink fluids, see a doctor, sweat it out, take an ice bath, walk it off... How do you know what to do when you get sick?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Blog audit
3. To Macbeth or Not to Macbeth 

POST:
(If Macbeth) Do some research on the play and describe what you think might be interesting to learn more about.  Topics may include: the history, the role of the supernatural, what happens when people get too hungry for power, etc.  (title: MACBETH N' ME)

(If not Macbeth) Do some research on British literature and recommend something we should read.  Describe the work and why it appeals to you.  (title: BRITISH LIT RECOMMENDATION)

opsec on the internet

We will cover this in detail starting next week.  For now, if you want to get a head start, click this link and start reading.

january 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine a logo for your blog.  What image would you use to describe yourself?  Think about other logos you've seen, and imagine an icon and colors that might represent your personality, your purpose or goals, and the work you do best.  Describe this in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Share your logo
3. Design your logo on the computer and put it on your blog
4. Paul Simon's Graceland 


POST:
We often think of reading and learning as an individual experience, but in reality these activities are often better when they're shared.  What is your experience?  Does your experience align with what you saw in the Paul Simon video?  Explain.

STRIKE: your thoughts?

This week, teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are on strike.  Do some research (the LA Times is probably a good place to start) and take a position: are the teachers right, is the district superintendent right, or is there a way to meet everyone's needs?  Write your answer in a comment to this post and/or in a post on your blog.

january 14

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Let the Day Begin" by The Call; "Where Do I Begin?" by Jill Sobule; "Begin the Begin" by R.E.M.)

Describe a thought or a feeling that you'd forgotten over break and experienced again when you walked back into this room.  Now, remember that this is a new beginning, so here is the important question: How will you re/create the thoughts/feelings you WANT to have in this room this semester?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reboot
3. Introduction to spring semester:

• Review technical elements of literature we covered last semester
• Prepare for the final in June (!)
• Take your Big Question to the next level: Masterpiece Academy starts late April
• Win the Internet
• Speak like a pro
• Create like a genius

HW:
Read up on Macbeth and post to your blog about: a) whether you think it applies in the era of President Trump, and b) whether you're interested in reading it.  (Spoiler: the play features a Game of Thrones-worthy power play, witches, and the most evil, manipulative character never wields a sword-- but she does end up hallucinating and washing her hands a lot.)

Your title is a treasure hunt all by itself.  Look up 'Macbeth quotes' and find the one that Ray Bradbury used as a title (allusion) for one of his books.  If you find the correct title and post this to your blog before tomorrow, you are GUARANTEED success on the next in-class essay.