18/19 May 2017

Today our class was lucky to spend time with writer and educator Mary Rechner, who engaged students with a poetry lesson to extend our consideration of key themes in Station Eleven. The lesson focuses on the concept of erasure. Students began by writing from the perspective of a character from the novel, considering what that character might miss from "before" the epidemic.

Next, students worked in groups as members of a kind of Travelling Symphony. Groups were assigned a poem to rehearse and perform, giving a reading of the piece that conveys the poem's meaning. Poems include the following:

"Life on Mars," David Bowie
"The Museum of Obsolescence," Tracy K. Smith
"City That Does Not Sleep," Federico Garcia Lorca
"Poetry of Departures," Phillip Larkin
"The Summer Day," Mary Oliver
"Campo dei Fiori," Czeslaw Miloz

After performances, Mary Rechner introduced students to the concept of erasure as a poetic technique, reading selections from the work poet Robin Coste Lewis (author of Voyage of the Sable Venus). (https://literary-arts.org/archive/robin-coste-lewis/)

As a class, we examined a range of examples of erasure poems (Coste Lewis’s slide show of examples of erasure in poetry can be viewed at http://literary-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Lewis-Final-Race-Within-Erasure_low-res.pdf).

Students then used their freewrites and the poems they worked with to create erasure poems of their own. At the end of class, students shared their work with their peers.

To take it further, listen to Coste’s Portland Arts & Lectures lecture about erasure and poetry on the Archive Project https://literary-arts.org/archive/robin-coste-lewis/

"Station Eleven" In-Class Essay Make-Up Session

For students who intend to miss the Station Eleven in-class essay scheduled for Thursday, 25 May and Friday, 26 May, there will be a make-up session on Tuesday, 23 May from 3:30-5 p.m. in Room 219.

17/22 May 2017

Today after SSR, students learned about oral storytelling strategies from This American Life producer Ira Glass, then viewed Michael Massomino's "Making Waves" performance  from The Moth. After discussing the strengths of the performance, students had time to work on developing their own oral narratives, which will be performed in class on 30/31 May 2017.

15/16 May 2017

After the reading test, students engaged in SSR, then spent time discussing the motif of science and science fiction as it is developed in the novel.

11/12 May 2017

Today during SSR students focused on collecting examples of different types of storytelling in the novel. We discussed the purpose of each type of storytelling, and the significance of the motif in the novel.

Discussion turned toward the role of storytelling in our own lives and the attributes of a great oral story.

The Museum of Memories assignment was distributed, and students got underway listing possible stories to use as the base for that project.

Museum of Memories Project

The culminating activity for this unit involves creating a Museum of Stories that focus on your experiences at Grant. We will spend time brainstorming story ideas in class, then begin crafting stories to represent your experience as a student here. The assignment guidelines can be found here.

9/10 May 2017

Today students took a reading test over chapters 1-26 of the novel, then worked on the literary postcards that were assigned during our last session. At the end of class, students shared their postcards, then discussed some of the realizations those pieces led them to in relation to the novel and its themes.

Senior Thesis Bootcamp for Students Needing Support

Join Ms. Cooper on Tuesday, 9 May in Room 129 for support in completing your senior thesis. Remember, all late work must be turned in by Wednesday, 10 May at 3:30 p.m.

5/8 May 2017

Today students viewed two short videos that provide plot overviews for King Lear and A Midsummer Night's Dream. They took notes on the central actions and themes in each play, then made connections to events and themes developed in Station Eleven. Afterward, we engaged in a period of SSR.

Students then turned their attention to a Literary Postcard activity designed to enhance their engagement with the visual elements of the novel. During our next session, they will complete and turn in their literary postcards.

There will be a reading test next session.

The last day to turn in the Senior Thesis is 10 May 2017.

All late work, including the senior thesis, must be turned in to me no later than 3:30 on Wednesday, 10 May. Please consult with me if you need support in meeting this important deadline.

1/2 May 2017

Today students checked out the novel Station Eleven, our last for the year. The reading calendar is here.

In class, we began our work by considering aspects of modern life that we love most and hate most, thinking about what qualities those things bring to our experience of the world and the people in it.

25/26 April 2017

Today students discussed the argument Peter Brooks presents in "Fictions of the Wolfman: Freud and Narrative Understanding," and how that argument about narrative structure illuminates some elements of Wolf in White Van. They then participated in a seminar discussion about Darnielle's novel, considering issues of interpretation in anticipation of the in-class writing that will bring this unit to a close. The in-class essay will take place on Thursday, 27 April and Friday, 28 April.

• A make-up session for the seminar discussion will take place during flex on Thursday, 27 April. Students should come prepared to discuss Brooks' essay and its connections to the novel. 
• The make-up session for the in-class essay will take place after school on Wednesday, 3 May in Room 219, starting at 3:30. The make-up session will last 83 minutes.

21/24 April 2017

Today students reviewed Chapter 10 of Wolf in White Van, mining the chapter for traces that connect with the novel's themes. Then, students worked in small groups, reading selections from the following:

• Robert Howard's "The Thing on the Roof"
• Sigmund Freud's The Unconscious and Civilization and Its Discontents
• "Backmasking" (Wikipedia)
• "Types of Castles" (Wikipedia)
• "Conan the Barbarian" (Wikipedia)

As students read through these selections, they took notes on places where each text illuminates events or ideas in Wolf in White Van. In their small groups, they shared what ideas they pulled from the pieces they worked with, then made connections to specific scenes from the novel.

For next class, students should be prepared to discuss Peter Brooks' "Fictions of the Wolfman: Freud and Narrative Understanding."

19/20 April 2017

Presentations are winding down, and we will very soon return our focus to Wolf in White Van. In preparation for our Socratic Seminar about the novel next week, students will read two short selections from Freud's The Unconscious and Civilization and its Discontents, and Peter Brooks' essay "Fictions of the Wolfman: Freud and Narrative Understanding." Students should read the texts, then make connections between the articles and the ways these texts shed light on the novel, the narrator, and the narrative structure of the book.

10/11 April 2017

This week, students will be making presentations about their senior theses in class. Students should continue reading Wolf in White Van, the discussion of which will continue when presentations come to a conclusion.

Today in class, in addition to presentations, students completed peer review on the first draft of the personal narrative. The final, revised narrative is due on 17/18 April.

Wolf in White Van Reading Schedule

The reading calendars can be found here.

Personal Narrative -- rough draft due 10/11 April

During our reading of Fences, we began working with a range of different narrative prompts. You will choose one of those starts to complete, using the guidelines here to structure your work. First complete draft is due on 10/11 April for peer review in class.

Presentation Guidelines

Thesis presentations begin on the week of April 10; make sure you've signed up for a slot, and make sure you're prepared to present your work on the day you've signed up for. Guidelines for the presentation are here.

20/21 March 2017

Today students engaged in peer editing and received the checklist for the final thesis folder, which is due on 23/24 March. On that day, Ms. Margolis will pass out folders, and students will turn in the complete thesis folder.

17/20 March 2017

Today students worked with a body of poems that explore parent-child relationships. In small groups, they used the AP TPS-FASST protocol to analyze a poem they were assigned to work with, then made connections between the poem and Fences. Students shared their group's findings with the class.

14/15 March 2017

Today is the last in-class workday for the senior thesis. Students checked out laptops, registered for the PCC Dual Credit portion of this class (CRN 25924), reviewed presentation guidelines for the senior thesis, then used the thesis scoring guide and checklist, along with feedback, to begin revision.

A printed copy of the thesis is due on 20/21 March for peer editing.

13/22 March 2017

Today we began class by listing times when we have established different kinds of limits for ourselves, from the smallest of transitions (giving up a hobby or habit) to the most explosive decisions (I'm so done! It's over!). We shared stories, then students began drafting narratives that explore this theme.

We discussed how similar moments occur for some of the characters in Fences as we finish our reading of the play. We worked specifically with Act II, scenes 4 and 5, reflecting on the ways music heals the family as they reckon with Troy's complicated legacy.

9/16 March 2017

Today students made lists of disappointments they have experienced in their lives, from haircuts that went badly to relationships that were doomed. We told stories, then students began drafting narratives about one of the disappointments they have experienced.

We discussed disappointments characters in Fences have encountered so far, and we began to work with Act II, scenes 1, 2, and 3, where some major disappointments emerge.

6/7 March 2017

Today students engaged in peer review, using a set of guidelines tied to the assignment. Anyone who misses this peer review session will need to make it up during one of our flex periods this week.

This is our only workday for the senior thesis this week.

3/8 and 10 March 2017

Today we began class with a narrative prompt focusing on one of the key themes in Fences: father/son relationships. We considered our relationships with different authority figures in our lives--parents, guardians, mentors, community elders--and developed some of the complexities that characterize those relationships. Students wrote narratives describing one of those relationships to set the stage for our examination of Act I, scenes 3 and 4. We read and discussed Act I, scene 3 in class.

The first draft of the senior thesis is due on 6/7 March for peer review and revision.

1/2 March 2017

Today's class began with some consideration of the concept of home. Students made lists of places that they considered "home," then built out details that describe one of those places. They then began writing a personal narrative built around one of those places, or a story tied to one of those place. We used that building of perspective to work our way into August Wilson's Fences, the introduction to which begins with a detailed description of the Maxson home. We made connections between the description of their house and the background building we did with "The Case for Reparations" and "The House We Live In." We then began reading Act I, scene 1. For next class, students should complete the reading of Act I, scenes 1 and 2.

A reading calendar for this unit can be found here.

The first draft of the senior thesis is due on 6/7 March.

27/28 February 2017

Today students turned in their thesis outlines, then engaged in a workday. The first draft of the thesis was assigned. First drafts are due on 6/7 March.

Next session, we will begin reading Fences.

23/24 February 2017

At the beginning of class, students turned in notecards. We checked out August Wilson's play Fences, then read "The Crucible of Identity" from John Rickford's Spoken Soul; the article "Turning Back the Pages"; and the article "What August Wilson Means Now". Students also reviewed "The Case for Reparations" and "The Meaning of Serena Williams," then engaged in class discussion exploring the ways each essay raises issues around the idea of barriers or obstacles.

Notecards were passed back at the end of class, and the outline was assigned. Outlines are due next class.

21/22 February 2017

Today was a thesis workday. Students came to class with a provisional enthymeme to use to develop topics for notecards. Notecards will be due next class.

16 February 2017

Students received the Notecards assignment. The first set of notecards (15) are due on 23/24 February.

Students also received Ta-Nehisi Coates' essay "The Case for Reparations," which they will read and annotate for the sessions on 23/24 February.

15/16 February 2017

Students viewed "The House We Live In," an episode from the PBS series Race: The Power of an Illusion. They took notes on the following guiding questions:

1. Who was allowed to become a naturalized citizen before 1954 and who wasn’t?
2. What rights and privileges do citizens have that non-citizens don't have?
3. What were the consequences for those denied citizenship?
4. How did European “ethnics” become white? What changes made this possible?
5. How did federal housing policies institutionalize segregation and wealth disparities?
6. Why do property values go down when a neighborhood changes from white to nonwhite?
7. Who plays a role in this?
8. What happens to measures of racial disparities in terms of education and welfare rates when groups of similar income AND wealth are compared?

This work is part of our background building toward our reading of Fences by August Wilson.

13/14 February 2017

Today was a lab day during which students used time to research their thesis topics, using the databases we discussed last week. Students worked on annotated bibliography entries. Four complete entries will be due on 16/17 February.

10/15 February 2017

Today we began laying the groundwork for our reading of August Wilson's play Fences. We discussed the naming of Serena Williams as Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year for 2015 and the twitter responses to that designation and performed a close reading of two specific images of Williams to begin to identify what she represents in relation to the experiences she has had as a public figure. Students are to read Claudia Rankine's essay "The Meaning of Serena Williams" for our next class meeting.

8/9 February, 2017

Students reviewed the formal thesis assignment, along with the timeline. Students learned how to search the Multnomah County Library databases most effectively. The majority of the class session was devoted to lab time. The Annotated Bibliography was discussed and assigned.

6/7 February 2017

Today students engaged in some brainstorming activities as we begin the Senior Thesis. We discussed the parameters and timeline for the assignment and generated sets of potential topics under the categories "Passions," "Controversies," "Confusions," and "Curiosities." Students should have several possible topics ready to being exploring during our next class session.

23 January 2017

Today we discussed "Reinforcing the Stereotypic Binaries," defining key terms, then assessing the evidence used in the essay to develop an "Orientalist" reading of The Kite Runner. We then went back through the novel to consider the ways the narrative depicts Afghanistan and Afghan culture, identifying positive and negative representations that might be used to complicate the assessment put forward in the essay.

At the end of class, students received two assignments, both due next time they see me; the first is an essay by Salman Rushdie entitled "Imaginary Homelands," which students should read with the intention of finding similarities between Rushdie's experiences as a displaced writer and Hosseini's similar circumstances; and the second is a set of statements requiring students to take a stand, then use evidence from the novel to support their point of view for each claim. We will use both pieces during our last session before final exams as part of our culminating discussion. Students should be prepared to discuss them then.

19/20 January 2017

Today students completed their character posters and made presentations.

Students wrote in response to the following freewrite prompt:  In what ways might we consider Afghanistan to be a character in the novel? What are its traits, qualities, values, strengths, challenges? In what ways does it change over the course of the narrative? How do we learn about these qualities?

At the end of class, students received the essay "Reinforcing the Stereotypic Binaries: Orientalist Reading of Hosseini's The Kite Runner" by V.K. Chitra Rekha. For next time, students should read the essay, identifying the thesis statement and evaluating the evidence, considering to what extent they accept or agree with the writer's claims. We will begin our next session with discussion of the essay.

10/18 January 2017

Today students were introduced to the Pashtunwali, the code of conduct that prevails in Afghan society, along with the obligations and prohibitions of Islam. Students worked in small groups to evaluate how individual characters in the novel uphold or reject these cultural values, and the roles each character plays in the novel. They will make presentations based on their evaluations during the next class.

5 January 2017

Today students took a reading test, then had some time for SSR. We spent time watching the BBC documentary program Dispatches episode "Behind the Taliban Mask," noticing the contrast between representations of the Taliban in the documentary and the novel. Afterward, we had a discussion about how the documentary contributed to our thinking about the book.

3 January 2017

Today students wrote reflections about the synthesis essays they completed at the end of the Football unit, then turned their essays in. After SSR, we discussed the central characters in the novel, then began discussing some of the motifs Hosseini uses to develop the novel's central themes. We used a motif tracking chart to begin recording patterns we recognized in the book.

12 December 2016

Today students checked out The Kite Runner and began reading the novel. (Some students, who have already read The Kite Runner, checked out A Thousand Splendid Suns.) Reading calendars are here. Students should expect a reading test at the end of the first week back after the winter break.

In class, we completed the My Plan essay, a district graduation requirement. Students submitted their essays to me, and once they were approved, they uploaded their approved essays to Naviance. The essay can be used as a portion of the personal statement for the OSAC scholarships. Students should complete the scholarship application before 15 February in order to take advantage of additional "early-bird" funds.