Hamlet - Day 6

Today we will start with a short review of key scenes from Act I, using both the film and the group work you did in class on Monday.

Next, you will work in groups to explore the complexities of the plot in Act II.
Please use this handout with your group, and remember to share your document with me.

Hamlet - Day 5

Today we met in E114 to watch the Act I of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

In case you missed it or would like to see it again, here is a link to the part we watched today.

Hamlet - Day 4

Greetings! Happy Monday! I'm on a field trip with my American Studies class today, so I won't be with you this morning.

Please get into your groups and follow these directions:

Today’s theme is “Asking / Telling another person what to do, and why.” 

Your group will discuss Act 1, scenes 3-5. In those scenes, several characters fit into today’s topic:

• Laertes talking to Ophelia
• Ophelia talking to Laertes
• Polonius talking to Ophelia
• Horatio talking to Hamlet
• The Ghost talking to Hamlet

After you talk through these scenes to recap what happens, your group will explore these five examples of one person “asking / telling another person what to do, and why.”

In a Google Doc you will share with me (and everyone in your group - be sure to list everyone’s names) you will list for each example:

• A quotation
• Commentary explaining what the person is asking / telling the other person to do, and why
• A sentence or two considering what this adds to your understanding of the characters involved or of the play overall

Tomorrow we will meet in E114 to watch the film version of Act I!

And if you actually read this far, go check out today's video - it's Radiohead covering a great Neil Young song that fits into today's theme: "Tell Me Why"

Hamlet - Day 3

Group work continues!

Your group will focus on these lines from Act I, scene 2:

1- Lines 1-40
2- Lines 41-66
3- Lines 67-89
4- Lines 41-66
5- Lines 1-40
6- Lines 67-89

PLUS, all groups will look at lines 90-132

Answer these questions / Do these things:

• What is being said? (Plot)
• How is it said? (Literary features)
• Identify a key quotation
• Create a tableau to show the key quotation

Then, we will all read and discuss Hamlet's first soliloquy together, lines 133-164

Hamlet - Day 2

Today we will start in groups, looking at the ways in which Shakespeare uses language:

Groups 1 & 2 - Imagery
Groups 3 & 4 - Figurative language (metaphor, simile)
Groups 5 & 6 - Wordplay - inversions and rhymes

We'll find and share example of these uses of language from some of your favorite songs, and then check out how the Bard himself puts them to use in the opening scene of Hamlet.

1 Sara Nicole Jacob Tyler	2 Halle Ilana Zach Matt	3 Casey Erin Maddie Jonas Eddie
4 Caitlin Kat Eli Max	5 Becky Bella Hannah Josh	6 Eliana Lizzie Garret James

1 Kylie Alan Marli Michael	2 Josh Missy Justin L Audrey	3 Erika Claire Jacob Conor
4 Judd Skyler Caitlin Cam	5 Camille Ellie Dan David	6 Justin G Maddie Aiden Harry

Hamlet - Day 1

We started the day in the courtyard with an activity based on lines from Hamlet. Each person received a line, said it in different ways, and created brief scenes with one or two other people. We'll be getting the play up on its feet as much as possible during this unit! When we got back to the classroom you copied your line down into your notebook and write a brief reflection.

After a look through the book, we turned our attention to the list of characters. The first one is "the Ghost." So, we did a little writing about ghosts - what are they? when and where do they appear? what is their purpose? We shared a few ghost stories too!

Link to unit calendar

College Essay workshop #1

On Monday, September 19th, we will have a short workshop on writing college essays.

(You do not have time to work on your Antigone essay during class. The essay is due on Tuesday by midnight.)

For our activity, you will read through these four essays:

• Essay #1
• Essay #2
• Essay #3
• Essay #5

Helpful handouts:

• Keyhole / Detail focus
• Overview
• Sample College Essays

Antigone - Day 6 - Planning your essay

The bulk of today is set aside for you to use as personal time to prepare / write your essay.

Not sure where to get started? Need some food for thought? Want feedback from me?

• Use this Antigone essay prep worksheet. Make a copy and save it in your folder.

Although I am not requiring it, I highly recommend it as a way to get your head around your essay. Also, if you would like feedback from me, please complete as much of the worksheet as you'd like then share it with me.

Antigone - Day 5 - Structuring an essay

The main focus of today is to review the structure of the single-text analytic and personal / hybrid essays. Remember, you can find full details about them under the "General Handouts" tab in the "Notes on Essay Options" handout.

Here are the main points I shared:

Single-Text Analytic Essay

• Introduction
• No "attention grabber" (rhetorical question, definition, random quote)
• Name the text and author
• Preview your main point (which means you need to know what they will be!)
• State your thesis
• Body paragraphs
• Start with a topic sentence, clarifying the focus of the paragraph
• Supports all claims with well-chosen evidence
• All evidence is introduced (set context) and interpreted.
• Use the methods we developed in our work on explications (see the handout under the Oedipus / Antigone tab)
• Paragraph ends with a link back to the thesis
• Conclusion
• Restates thesis and recaps main points
• Considers how your topic fits in with the play overall 
•  
• Overall structure - here are some possible ways to divide up the sections of the paper - choose the one that fits what you are trying to prove
• Chronology - Before / During / After - Follows the progression of the story / particular events
• Examples - perhaps one paragraph per character, but then also needs to compare / contrast
• Reasons - Name one reason per paragraph - in our example, we named different reasons why characters in the play might take their own lives, so perhaps a paragraph on despair, on loss of power, and on loss of faith
• Cause / Effect - or one of these related divisions:
• Challenge / Action / Results
• Intention / Action / Impact
• Cause / Impact on others / Results

Personal / Hybrid Essay

• Goal of this essay is to see how your personal connection helps you to understand the text, and how the text helps you to think about your personal connection
• By "personal connection," I do not necessarily mean your own life - it can be whatever comes to mind as you read the text. Maybe a movie, current event, other book, etc.
• Do not organize this essay by writing separate sections on your personal connection and the text - the two need to be integrated into each point.
• You still need to use details from the text, and from your personal connection, to make your points.
• Refer to the "overall structure" section above to think about how you can organize your essay

Creative Project

• Refer to details in the handout
• Be sure to read and answer the questions in the required accompanying write-up

Antigone - Day 4 (Monday)

We started the day by naming some of the key events from the final section of the play:

• Creon changing his mind
• Antigone's suicide
• Haemon's suicide
• Eurydice's suicide
• Creon's realizations / reflections
• The final words of the Chorus

We discussed some questions stemming from these events:

• Why does Creon change his mind?
• Why do different characters commit suicide?
• What is the meaning of the last lines of the play? To whom does it refer?
• How do the earlier conflicts in the play link to the tragedies at the end?

Antigone - Day 3 - New issues and challenges

We started the day with a brief look at the posters we made yesterday, naming national issues and the different factors influencing people's perspectives. We circled back to our question: What do we do when different values come into conflict with each other?

Next we returned to the play and read through the conversation between Creon and Haemon starting on line 649. What are their different reasons behind their actions and beliefs? What new factors appear in this section?

Lastly, we read Antigone's speech, focusing on lines 883-887 - what is she asking here? Our discussion explored the ways in which this seems to be a crisis of faith.

I gave you your assignment to conclude our work with Antigone, which will continue next week. Please be sure to check the calendar and read through the "Notes on Essay Options" under the "General Handouts" tab for more details.

Antigone Day 2 - Competing Values

The day started with some personal writing, naming the different factors that might influence your decision-making - this could be anything from a minor daily decision to major life events. Some of the factors we named included: Parents, the law, Religion / God, Money, Time, Personal goals, social pressure, transportation, and many more. Then, I asked you to think of a time in your life when two (or more) of these factors came into conflict. You briefly described the situation, and then write about how you tried to resolve it. Did you choose one side? Why? What are the ways in which you tried to figure out what to do?

We then turned our attention to national / societal issues. With a group you named an issue and the factors that potentially inform a person's feelings / beliefs about it. For example, we talked about abortion and named these issues: fear, law, religion, health, future plans, crime, money, access, and more.

Tomorrow in class we'll share our findings and then bring those ideas back into our discussion of the play, specifically to the actions of Creon and Antigone.

Antigone - Day 1

Happy Tuesday! Hope you had a great weekend!

Today you worked with a partner to read and study the first section of the play. I gave you some background information about Polyneices and Eteocles, the two brothers, sons of Oedipus, who killed each other in battle.  You read the first 101 lines - a dialogue between Antigone and Ismene.  I asked you to keep track of these factors for the two sisters:

• Beliefs
• Actions
• Reasons

We shared these and had a brief discussion about the ways in which they are addressing the competing values that inform their beliefs and actions.  We then turned our attention to Creon and the speech he gives on lines 156-204. I asked you to keep track of the same factors as you did for the sisters above.

Final look at Oedipus (for now)

Today we'll continue the small group work we did yesterday, exploring the final pages of the play.

I'll hand back the explications you submitted earlier in the week, and will assign the Oedipus final explication, due Tuesday.

Check out this video:
https://www.facebook.com/ZBeats808/videos/1768545963389977/