The Play's the Thing!

It is hard to believe that we are already approaching the end of the year! It has been such a joy to create together, laugh together, learn together, and dive into great words, stories, and activities.

For our last project of the year, we will be creating original one-act plays! Here is the assignment which we explored in class. 

Here is the board from yesterday, where we reviewed the four types of conflict that authors use to drive their plots forward, and also some formatting note son your plays:

I am so excited to see what you all create! 

Much peace,

Mr. R

Reparations

Today, we will begin to prepare for our debate over reparations. As we finish Frederick Douglass' powerful Narrative, we will explore how governments deal with tragedies and crimes from their past.

You will receive an index card today telling you whether you are FOR or AGAINST reparations for slavery in America. Here is the assignment overview which we'll discuss today. 

Our debate will begin on Friday, and to prepare you will each need one full page of notes to support your side. After the debate, you will have a chance to share what you really believe after conducting your research.

Follow the guidelines set up in our mini-lesson on credibility today to find solid sources, and be sure to remember the rhetorical triangle!

Here are a few sources to get you started today:

20/20 ABC News overview of the reparations debate in recent years

A Huffington Post piece explaining a step-by-step overview of why and how reparations are needed

A National Review magazine article against reparations.

"The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Begin with these articles and start taking notes that you feel will be helpful in the debate. Also, please do use other sources--just make sure they follow the guidelines in our credibility talk!

Our word of the day today is REPARATION, which is: the righting of a wrong; payment for a past wrong.

For tonight, be sure to finish reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (through page 69--end of the book).

Much peace!

Mr. R

'From Whence Came the Spirit'

Today in class, we are acting out one of the most powerful scenes in the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. When Frederick is sent to live with Mr. Covey for a year, it begins as the worst of his already painful life. Mr. Covey is known for "breaking" slaves (p. 40).

For six months, the savage Mr. Covey does just that to Frederick.

And yet!

After being almost killed by Mr. Covey, Frederick says he makes a decision. He tell us, "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man," (p. 39). Frederick proceeds to fight Mr. Covey for two hours, refusing to allow the cruel man to whip or abuse him any longer. He writes that he doesn't know where his determination comes from--"from whence came the Spirit I do not know," (p. 42).

But it guides him and for the first time, Frederick is able to prevent abuse.

Our class discussion and acting out of this scene helped us see how the confidence and taste of freedom that began with reading extends to this moment in the text.

We also did a Quick Write about hypocrisy:  exploring why Douglass says that Methodists were the worst slave owners because of their intense cruelty. We explored how hypocrisy functions in our time, today.

For tonight, be sure to read through page 62 in the book (through the end of Chapter 10 and halfway through Chapter 11). Here is a link in case you want to listen to the book aloud as you read. 

Our word of the day today is ARDENT, which means enthusiastic; zealous; passionate. Our word of the day from yesterday was DETER, which means to prevent or distract.

Much peace,

Mr. R

Shirt Tags and Modern Day Slavery...

After our Poster Project last week, we learned a lot about slavery in its historical context, but also about modern day slavery. Your posters taught me and each other very much.

Today, we talked briefly about our class anthology. If you would like to submit artwork or photographs to be included, be sure to get them in by this coming Friday. Every piece will be included somewhere in the book, and we will vote (anonymously) on the front and back covers.

Today, we played a few rounds of YES, NO, MAYBE SO to respond to controversial statements about slavery--both historical, as Frederick Douglass describes it, and modern day slavery. One of the statements was, "American culture / consumerism contributes to modern day slavery." You had powerful and insightful comments to share, and many classes checked the tags on your clothing to see where it was made and comment on labor laws and working standards and conditions, as well as to talk about how money is linked to slavery.

Thank you for sharing your ideas and comments today.

Then, we read aloud beginning with Chapter 8 in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Our word of the day was RAKISH, which means sleek, dashing, streamlined.

Much peace,

Mr. R

Poster Proliferation!

Today we have been working in our teams to finish creating your teaching posters for our Tracing Freedom project. I have loved seeing your insights, ideas, and summaries thus far, and I am looking forward to our walk-around tomorrow to explore all of the posters in detail.

For tonight, be sure to study the week's five vocab words for our creative quiz tomorrow. Here they are:

OBDURATE
DEPRAVITY
ABOLISH
RAPTURE
RESOLVE

This week's words are from our book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and for tomorrow's creative quiz, we'll be walking around the room to view one another's Teaching Posters and then sharing some responses.

Have an awesome evening! And why not GO OUTSIDE as much as possible and simply use the vocab words WHILE playing outside today!?

For instance, if you choose to walk barefoot across a big field, linking arms with your family and friends, you might have a conversation like this:

You: "To force anyone to miss out on sunshine, fresh air, and freedom to do this is an instance of depravity."

Family member / Friend: "I agree whole-heartedly! And I hereby resolve to make sure that everyone has a chance to walk barefoot across a big field."

You: "Yes!"

Family member / Friend: "YES!!"

In unison: "YES!!!"

Peace,

Mr. R

Tracing Freedom

During our reading of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass thus far, we have discussed not only the horror of slavery, but also the hope of freedom. However, even today, forms of slavery are still in existence.

Today, in your groups, your mission is to look at the scope of slavery in our world--from its origins to its current practice. Use this website, Free the Slaves, to learn about this long history: http://www.freetheslaves.net/about-slavery/slavery-in-history 

After you explore the website with your group, work together to create a Teaching Poster that includes the following on the large piece of paper given you:

-- At least 5 dates from the website timeline

--At least four key people / groups / countries from the website timeline

--A Statement of why you think slavery has existed for so long

--Your Ideas about how to stop it

You can represent these four requirements in any way you see fit; you can use pictures, colors, words, quotes, connections, magazines, scissors, paste, anything else you deem helpful. Also, use your notes from the documentary AND quotes from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass as well to help you include the information above!

We will have the iPads today only (Wednesday). But you will have all of our class period on Thursday to finish your Teaching Posters.

Challenge yourself and your team to create a Teaching Poster that will truly teach and help others to learn and to take action.

I can't wait to see what you create!!!

Peace,

Mr. R

ps--Here is the QR Code for the timeline website in case you would like to access it that way!!

The Power of Writing

We are in the midst of Frederick Douglass' powerful Narrative, and we are exploring the ways in which people spoke out against slavery, seeking to abolish what Douglass calls a system of "depravity."

Our discussions have been energetic and engaging, and I have appreciated all of your wonderful comments about the book thus far.

Today, we screened a documentary created by PBS and narrated by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. which explores slavery in America from 1780 - 1860, the time period during which Douglass writes. The power of his Narrative and its impact on the national scale is huge. Learning to read and write, for Douglass, was a way to help abolish slavery and change the country.

For tonight, be sure that you have read through Chapter 6 in the book. Our word of the day today was DEPRAVITY, which means a state of deep corruption or evil. Douglass refers to slave-owners as being in "depravity."

Douglass, in his book and in his speeches, revealed the power of writing and speaking to change the world.

Peace,

Mr. R

Singing Anguish

Thus far in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, we see that slavery is a gruesome, pernicious, and abhorrent practice in American history. Remember that Frederick Douglass attempted to describe slavery in detail for his readers and those who listened to his speeches so that any myth of its need or could be demolished. Also, Douglass tried to move people to ACT--to do something to help abolish slavery.

Today, we discussed the scene where Douglass writes about the slave songs, "Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains," (p. 8). This was written to directly combat the view of Northerners that the slave songs were somehow joyful or exuberant. They were cries of pain and anguish.

We then read in pairs today, Chapters 3 and 4, and kept a character list. Here is a snapshot of our board with the setup of our character list:

For tonight, be sure to finish reading up through Chapter 4 (through page 15) in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and continue making your character list. 

Our word of the day today was OBDURATE, which means stubborn or unrelenting in one's desire to do wrong. 

Peace!

Mr. R

Douglass and Justice

Today, we began our final book of the year: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. It is a powerful, horrifying, and deeply meaningful account of the life of an incredible man who escaped slavery and then became a catalyst for the Abolitionist movement across the country.

Today, we read chapter 1 aloud and discussed it, as well as went over some of the historical background on slavery in America.

Orr word of the day today is REPLENISH, and our words for tomorrow's vocab quiz are: REPLENISH, SONNET, TUTELAGE, ACRIMONY, and TENABLE.

Peace,

Mr. R

From Slam to Sonnet

This week, we have explored all kinds of poetry--from slam to sonnet and everything in between! It has been fascinating to watch you all channel your inner e.e. cummings, Robert Frost, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, and today, William Shakespeare.

We explored this sonnet by William Shakespeare:

We talked about the rules of a Shakespearean sonnet: 14 lines, following the rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg. And each line has ten syllables in it (iambic pentameter). Talk about structure! These sonnets are the very opposite of the kind of free ranging and far-flinging connections and possibilities of slam poetry, and yet both have a kind of power and beauty and purpose.

This weekend, your homework is to finish writing your own original Shakespearean sonnet. We spent some time in class crafting them and brainstorming ideas; now continue and have fun puzzling out this poem! 

We also watched this brief introduction to Shakespeare.

Our word of the day today was SONNET.

Finally, here is a website, RHYMEZONE, that can help you find great rhymes to complete your sonnet! I use it with my own poems and picture books!

Have a great weekend, and peace!

Mr. R

Gibberish or Beautiful Truth?

After our day, yesterday, of sharing our own slam poems and watching a poem from high school students in the Slam Poetry Competition, we moved into the study of poet e.e. cummings. IN class, we read his poems aloud as a full group and in pairs, and it certainly seemed to us as though he had forgotten the rubric when he wrote his work!!

Yet, by breaking the rules of grammar and socials norms, did he actually convey a deeper meaning--a more powerful truth?

Here are the poems we explored by him (the first three poems in this linked document). 

Also, remember that we discussed how understanding poetry is like a child playing in a sand box. We need to grab a shovel and build with the words in the poems--see what they make and move them around and play with them! We want to be careful not to kill a poem by over-analyzing it. We want to play with the poem, read it and let it sit with us and talk about it with each other.

And today, we each have the chance to step into the shoes of e.e. cummings as we craft of our poems of 16 lines in the same style as e.e. cummings. Re-read the first three poems in the link above, and then try to make your own e.e. cummings-esque poem. Tonight, for homework, finish your poem and come to class ready to either share OR hand it in.

I am loving hearing your poems, and the best way to learn is to do--so we'll be writing all kinds and genres of poetry this week!

our word of the day yesterday was JAUNTY, which means excited, lively. And our word of the day today is ACRIMONY, which means bitterness (and the adjective form is ACRIMONIOUS, which means bitter).

Peace!

Mr. R

Slam Poetry!

Today, we are continuing on with our exploration of poetry by delving into the genre of SLAM POETRY! Consider it a mix of a singer-poet-stand-up-comedian-or-powerful-speaker all crafted to engage, entice, and excite an audience. If you ever thought poetry was dull or boring, think again!

Today, we began by watching two slam poets perform, discussing their poems, and then attempting to craft our own slam poems.

Here are the two clips we viewed today and discussed.

Sarah Kay

Taylor Mali

For homework tonight, be sure to finish writing your own slam poem (no length requirement!).

Our word of the day today is JAUNTY, which means lively, full of energy and joy.

Peace,

Mr. R

Crafting Creatively

Today, we continued crafting our creative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction pieces for our 2016 anthology project. As I did writing conferences with some of you today, I loved seeing the variation and engagement with which you are writing, and I can't wait to see all of our writing come together to create this year's book!

Our mini-lesson at the start of today's class was about showing rather than telling. We discussed how writing that engages readers helps to vividly show the scene--the action, the dialogue, the color, the smells, the sights, the emotion--rather than simply tell the reader what is occurring.

As a wildly goofy and goofily wild example of how showing and telling are different, here's an example from our front board that show the same plot-line in two very different ways. the first simply tells, while the second shows (albeit strangely so!):

Jim McJimerson was so angry when he saw his girlfriend, Bertha McBerthanator, kissing Prune Prunerson.

And here's the example that actually shows us something--however weird that something is:

Jim McJimerson walked into his massive closet, full of orange suspenders; to his great shock, Bertha McBberthanator and Prune Prunerson had managed to attach themselves to the ceiling, where they were passionately kissing.

"Holy suspenders!" Jim roared, as he fell to his knees in anguish.

So, to help us show rather than tell, be sure to include:

COLORS
DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE
EMOTIONS
PLACE (SETTING)
DIALOGUE

Peace!

Mr. R

Anthology Time!

Over the past few days, we have begun work on this year's class anthology, whereby you will be real authors! Here is the overview to the mission. 

We have explored creating a character, a setting, and various kinds of conflicts. We have also tried our hands at a new form of poetry--channeling William Shakespeare and WB Yeats to take a crack at writing iambic pentameter!

We heard a story about love and read the poem "When You Are Old" and then we each had the chance to try writing our own poems in iambic pentameter.

And today, our class became a roomful of authors! I love the sound of so many keyboard clacking, prose and poems flashing, epiphanies splashing, characters snapping, and ideas flapping. YES!

We will have two more days to write our full original drafts for the anthology, and thhen we will revise and edit them.

Peace!

Mr. R

Creating a Protagonist

Now that we have started work on our Anthology Project, we're talking today about what it means to craft an engaging protagonist. What does a hero / heroine do, face, struggle with,, and overcome to make their stories engaging? Why do we as readers want to keep reading about that character?

Here is the Slideshow Presentation that we walked through in class so that I could share a few of my heroes with you, as examples of the different kinds of conflicts and struggles a protagonist can face: they can be internal or external battles, but what matters most is that we give our characters a fairly substantial amount of challenges!

Link to the Slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CHI3wJDlZ2gOvwxnmU9-OV3YL0DEtC8jmUIshynxCVA/edit?usp=sharing

For tonight, be sure to do a brainsplash for your created character and WRITE ONE FULL PAGE describing the character you invent: what is she / he like? Personality? Physical appearance? Conflicts? Even if you don't use all of it in your story--or you change some of it--this is an important step along the creative path of authorship!

Our word of the day is MUSTER, which is a verb that means to stir up; to gather, as in Michael Jordan mustered his strength to try out again for the basketball team after he didn't make it his Freshman year of high school.

And here are a couple of photos from our SUBLIME visit with National Book Award winning author Kathy Erskine on Monday:

4 Types of Conflict...but None About an Anthology!

Today, we explored the 4 types of conflict that we find in stories. Some authors choose to focus on just one type for their stories and novels, and others choose to incorporate more than one--sometimes even all four! Remember that conflict drives a story; it helps to keep the reader engaged and keeps the plot moving forward.

Here are the notes from today (thank you Ms. Shelton for writing them down for us!):

Our word for the day today was QUELL, which means to stop by using force. For example, an antagonist in a novel may try to quell the resistance from the protagonist (sound like a familiar plot?)

Subsequently, we passed out the anthology book from last year's 7th grade and had some time to explore and see what students wrote about last year for the book.

Hopefully, the juices and the inspiration are both flowing and soon you'll be creating your very own creative piece for this year's anthology. Rock on!

Peace,

Mr. Reynolds

An Author's Motive?

Last Friday, we had our 3rd Socratic Seminar of the year, using these questions as a guide. As always, it was VERY hard for me to bite my tongue as I heard fascinating and intriguing connections and ideas from you all--some of you were flipping pages in your novels so fast to try and prove your points. And I love that there were so many powerful articulations of what occurred in the novel and how it relates to our lives.

Remember: English is all about finding out what you really think and believe (and sometimes changing that in the face of a powerful story or approach), supporting your ideas, and then connecting them to life to make a difference. 

Today, we continued reading Mockingbird in class as we prepare for Kathy Erskine's visit on April 4th. We also did a Quick Write and handed in our Nothing but the Truth novels.

Our word of the day today was SUBSIDE,. which means to lessen or decrease; to grow smaller. An example of the word in a sentence is: when I got that huge split lip as a kid, it took two weeks before the swelling subsided. Another example is: I hope your love of reading and writing never subsides.

For tonight, share a few sentences in response to this question: why do you think an author writes a novel?  What do you think drives and sustains the author to complete the book and see it through until publication?

Preparing for Socrates!

Today, we talked about your synthesis essays and you received them back with loads of blue notes on them from me! Blue! We love blue!

We also began reading aloud from Kathryn Erskine's National Book Award winning novel Mockingbird as we look forward to welcoming Kathy to our school for a visit on April 4th!

We will begin preparing for our Socratic Seminar by working on this preparation sheet tomorrow in class.  On Friday, we will then hold our THIRD SOCRATIC SEMINAR of the year, about which I am thrilled.

Our word of the day today is APLOMB, which is a noun that means quiet self-confidence; poise. And yesterday's word was DISDAIN, which is a verb OR a noun that means to look down on someone (verb) or the feeling that someone else is unworthy.

Peace!

Mr. R

To Suspend or Not To Suspend...That is the Question

Today we had impassioned and enlightening conversations about the big question thus far in Nothing but the Truth: was it right for the school to suspend Phillip Malloy?

Embedded within this question are others regarding what truth is, where respect and individual rights meet, and how students and teachers interpret school rules and school communication. It was fascinating to hear your thoughts, and I look for ward to Monday when we'll use our class symbol of the iceberg and apply it specifically to the events of this novel.

We also did a Quick Write today about the relationship between truth and trust.

Over this weekend, be sure to read Chapters 15 and 16 in Nothing but the Truth, and we'll continue our conversation and do an iceberg activity on Monday.

Our word of the day for today is CONCEDE, which means to admit something is true or valid; to yield or surrender. An example of the word in a line is In any intense argument, compromise can start to be reached if each side concedes some points.

Have an awesome weekend!

Peace,

Mr. R

Unpacking the Media...

Today in class, we read the newspaper account written by Jennifer Stewart aloud. Her article in Nothing But the Truth frames Phillip Malloy's act in Miss Narwin's homeroom as one of patriotism--but you all had strong ideas about whether or not that was true.

We did an activity in class called THE BOSTON PHOTOGRAPHS in which, as groups of three, you had to start to put yourselves in the shoes of newspaper editors and decide what their purpose is, what their impact should be, and how they determine truth.

You became editors of the Boston Herald in 1975 and determined what you would have done with the photos taken by Stanley Foreman in July of that year.

Our word of the day today is RELENTLESS, which means unstopping, unceasing.

Our word of the day for yesterday was INCULCATE.

For tonight, share a few sentences about the following question: What do you think the purpose of the media is (newspapers, news networks, etc): to inform, to make a profit, to fulfill a certain bias? Is it possible to have zero bias? Why or why not?