Grades up to Date

All grades on Pinnacle are currently up to date with respect to work handed in in class and through Google Drive.

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

12.20 - Assignment Revision and Completion

At the beginning of class today, we watched two videos of baby sloths to help soothe and relax everyone before getting into our work. The focus for today was on completing and revising assignments before break.

The break is an opportunity for everyone to get caught up on and revise work. What was not finished today in class should be finished when we return from break. Assignments which we were focused on today include:

Poetry Out Loud theme prompt

Poetry and Language


Anthem Chapter 1 Post-Reading Questions

Anthem Chapter 2 Questions regarding Equality and Liberty's relationship

Anthem Chapters 3 - 7 significant passages regarding the damage created by government control

Individuals should also be working on any other assignments that they need to complete or revise.

The sloth videos from today were:

Homework:

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

12.19 - Squaring Up on Assignments

Today, everyone had the period to work on completing a variety of recent assignments as well as work on other assignments that they needed to complete or revise.

Computers were available for people to use in doing their work and I conferenced individually with students regarding questions that they had about assignments.

The assignments on which we were focused today were:

Anthem Chapter 1 Post-Reading Questions

Anthem Chapter 2 Questions regarding Equality and Liberty's relationship

Anthem Chapters 3 - 7 significant passages regarding the damage created by government control

Poetry Out Loud Poem Theme Essay

Poetry and Language


Homework:

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

 

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

12.18 - Damage from Control in Anthem

Today, we were focused on reading chapters 3 through 7 in Anthem and looking at the effects of the control that the government exerts over people in the book.

We began by looking at the ways that society exerts control over teenagers in our lives and what the unintended consequences of that control can be. An example of this from class was how everyone is encouraged to "respect your elders." A student shared that this is intended to help us value knowledge, skill, and wisdom that come with age, but can have the unintended consequence of ignoring knowledge, skills, and wisdom possessed by young people.

Everyone then had the rest of the period to work on this work using the Anthem - Control Damage assignment.

At this time, individuals also took turns completing the Endicott Research Survey which asks students about their perceptions and opinions on our school.


Homework:

If you did not do so in class, continue working on the Anthem - Control Damage assignment everyone will have some more time in class to work on this tomorrow.

Finish the Poetry Out Loud theme prompt if you have not yet done so.

Finish the “Poetry and Language” sheet if you have not yet done so.

Complete or revise assignments as necessary.

12.17 - Poem Themes

In today's class we were looking at the themes and significance of the poems that people selected to recite for Poetry Out Loud. To prepare for this, we took a look at a poem together and how to successfully use quotes from a poem with our writing prompt. The writing prompt is included below. The poem we were looking at was "Under One Small Star" by Wislawa Szymbroska.

(click image to enlarge)

Text in blue shows how I set up the quote by paraphrasing part of the line before using the parts of the quote on which I wanted the reader to focus.

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, everyone shared their response with someone near them. We then went around and shared out which lines people had selected to write about (results below):

(click image to enlarge)

Everyone then had the rest of the period to work on their response to the Poetry Out Loud theme prompt. I was on hand to answer questions.

Homework:

Finish the Poetry Out Loud theme prompt if you did not do so today in class.

Finish the “Poetry and Language” sheet if you have not yet done so.

Complete or revise assignments as necessary.

12.16 - Poetry Out Loud Recitations

We started today's class with some discussion about metaphor (using a comparison between one familiar object to describe another familiar object so that we appreciate both in a new way). Then, everyone wrote an "I am..." metaphor poem in their writers journal (prompt and example below).

Next, we had a review of the Poetry Out Loud rubric. In reviewing the rubric, we got familiar with the poem "Litany" by Billy Collins. We then used the Poetry Out Loud performance rubric to assess a recitation of the poem by a three-year-old fan. Below are the videos we watched in class.

After everyone had a chance to evaluate the three-year-old's performance, we discussed the rubric. Students then had a few moments to review their poems and we used the rest of the class to deliver recitations.

We will have time tomorrow to complete the last few recitations and have follow-up recitations for anyone who feels their recitation today did not represent their best form.


Homework:

Finish the “Poetry and Language” sheet if you have not yet done so.

Complete or revise assignments as necessary.

12.13 - Poetry Out Loud Recitations

We started class today by reviewing the “Poetry and Language” sheet that everyone worked on yesterday with the substitute. To review this sheet, I shared a copy which I had completed for my poem (Poetry and Language exemplar). In looking at this example we covered the following two main points for unfamiliar words and familiar words.

1 - Unfamiliar Words - If there are words that you don't know, look the words up in the dictionary. Then explain what that part of the poem means accounting for your new understanding of the word.

2 - Familiar Words - For words that you do know, look up their meaning in the dictionary to get a sense for how they are different from other similar words (e.g. how is "terrible" different from "bad"). Then discuss how that word relates to the meaning of the poem (why did the author say "terrible" when they could have said "bad"? How does "terrible" affect the meaning of the poem).

Everyone had about fifteen minutes to revise previous responses if necessary or complete the assignment. Further revisions or work on the assignment should be completed for homework if it was not completed in class.

We then took a look at the Poetry Out Loud competition scoring rubric that we will be using to assess students' performances. I went over the rubric with everyone and then we watched a sample Poetry Out Loud performance for the poem "The Song of Powers."

We then created a presentation order on a volunteer basis. I ended up presenting my poem, "To a Mouse". Recitations are being recorded so that I can assess the overall performance in class and then go back and assess the accuracy of the recitation later. This is also helpful if anyone has a question about why they received a particular score. People will be able to recite their poem another time if they wish to improve their score.

We will finish presenting poems on Monday.


Homework:

Be prepared to present your Poetry Out Loud recitation for Monday if you did not present today.

Finish the “Poetry and Language” sheet if you did not do so today in class.

Complete or revise assignments as necessary.

12.12 - Poetry and Language (Substitute)

I was out sick from class today so a substitute was covering the class today. The directions for the substitute were as follows:

Students can then complete the “Poetry and Language” sheet using their Poetry Out Loud poem.
They should have a copy of their poem. There are some black and yellow books behind the teacher’s desk if they don’t have their poem. They can also print the poem from the Poetry Out Loud site.

When students are done with this, they can do any of the following:

Finish reading chapter 2 of Anthem and responding to the following questions:

1 - Why does Equality 7-2521 love Liberty 5-3000? What does his love for her tell us about him?
2 - How is love treated in Equality's society? What risks is Equality taking by falling in love with Liberty?

complete the “Poem Tones” worksheet
quietly work at memorizing their Poetry Out Loud Poem
other work that can be completed independently

Homework:

Finish the “Poetry and Language” sheet if you did not do so today in class.

Respond to the chapter two questions listed above if you did not finish them in class.

Finish the Poetry and Tone sheet if you did not do so today in class.

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem in preparation for our presentations on Friday.

12.11 - Poem Recitation / Anthem Chptr 2

We started today's class with 15 minutes for everyone to work on their Poetry and Tone sheet.
If this was not finished today in class, it should be finished for homework.
This sheet should help give people an idea of the tones present in their poem and what emotion they should use in presenting it.

Next, we returned to practicing our poem recitations. Everyone had about 10 minutes to practice reciting their poem.

We then returned to our work with Anthem. We began with the following prompt question which people responded to in their writing journals:

What can you learn about someone based on the relationship partners they choose (friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, spouses, etc.)? Explain your responses.

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt we discussed student responses to these questions. Responses looked at how you learn what somebody values and what sorts of things they are interested in through the different people that they choose as relationship partners.

We then began working with chapter two of Anthem. People were reading or reviewing the chapter depending on whether they had already read it or not. After doing this, everyone responded to the following questions:

1 - Why does Equality 7-2521 love Liberty 5-3000? What does his love for her tell us about him?

2 - How is love treated in Equality's society? What risks is Equality taking by falling in love with Liberty?

Everyone had the last 20 minutes of class to work on these responses.


Homework:

Bring in a hard copy of your Poetry Out Loud poem for class tomorrow. 

Respond to the chapter two questions listed above if you did not finish them in class.

Finish the Poetry and Tone sheet if you did not do so today in class.

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem in preparation for our presentations on Friday.

12.10 - Poet Warrior

We started today's class by watching two Poetry Out Loud performances from Poetry Out Loud's competitions. In watching these presentations everyone took note of the following two elements in their writer's journals:

1 - What tones do you see the performers using in their recitations? How do they communicate these tones to their audience?

2 - These performances are in a recitation style. Based on what you observe, what are some of the characteristics of the recitation style?

After everyone had a chance to respond to these questions, we discussed everyone's answers. Significant points that people noticed were:

Performers communicate their tone via expression in their voice, facial expression, how quickly or slowly they speak, how quietly or loudly they speak, and using pauses in their recitation.

Characteristics of the recitation style are delivering the poem while standing in one place, communicating emotion through the use of voice and facial expressions, and using dramatic hand gestures. While hand gestures are dramatic, we also noted how they were not over done. Gestures are used at very specific moments to make certain parts of the poem stand out.

We then began working with a Poetry and Tone sheet which will help everyone to start thinking about the tones and emotions that are present in their poem. Everyone had time to copy their poem out onto this sheet and to begin to analyze tone.

After 10 minutes, we took a break to practice reciting our poems. Everyone first practiced reciting their poem with a partner. I then introduced a recitation game called "Poet Warrior" that people could play with their partner as sort of a challenge and way to help keep the continued repetition engaging.

Details of this game are as follows:

(Click Images to Enlarge)

We practiced our poems until the last ten minutes of class. In the last ten minutes of class, everyone returned to working on their Poetry and Tone sheet (now hopefully with a better understanding of their poem through the additional practice in reciting and working with it).








Homework:

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem in preparation for our presentations on Friday.

Make sure you have finished your outline and formal response to the question about federal prison inmates and internet access.

Make sure you have finished responding to the post-reading questions for the first chapter of Anthem.

Bring in a hard copy of your Poetry Out Loud poem for class tomorrow. 

12.09 - Inmates and the Internet / Anthem Chptr 1 Questions

At the beginning of class today, we returned to our discussion of whether or not inmates in federal prisons should have access to the internet. We began with everyone writing down their general perspective on the topic. I then handed out outline sheets which everyone filled out to develop their perspective on the topic. Everyone completed the outline sheet and then wrote their response formally in paragraph form.

After everyone completed this, we went around and shared out whether or not people felt inmates in federal prisons should have full access to the internet, no access to the internet, or limited access to the internet. In this share out we came down to a tie between limited internet and no internet.

Next, everyone returned to working on the post-reading questions for chapter 1 of Anthem. Everyone had the rest of the period to complete these questions.

For class tomorrow, each person should bring in a printed copy of their poem.

Homework:

If you did not do so in class, finish your outline and formal response to the question about federal prison inmates and internet access.

If you did not do so in class, finish responding to the post-reading questions for the first chapter of Anthem.

Bring in a hard copy of your Poetry Out Loud poem for class tomorrow.

12.06 - Internet Access for Prisoners

In looking at Animal Farm, "Harrison Bergeron," and Anthem, we have been talking about the ways that governments control and restrict access to information. While we, as Americans, live in a very free and open society, even our society sometimes has to restrict and control information. One way that this happens is in federal prisons where inmates do not have access to the internet. This serves both to further restrict inmates activities (one of the main goals of prison) and prevents prisoners from committing further crimes in prison (stalking, threatening, making illegal sales/purchases online). However, inmates who were imprisoned before the internet was as developed and widely used as it is today are released into a world that is very different from the one they left and this limits their opportunities to positively engage in society upon release.

In class, we read the following article to better understand this situation.

Internet Access in Prison

After reading the article we read and responded to the associated questions. We began discussing individuals' perspectives on these questions and moved to a fish bowl format to enable people to be better heard in this discussion (guidelines for a fishbowl discussion are below).

(Click Image to Enlarge)

We will return to our work with Anthem next class.

Homework:

If you did not do so in class, finish reading chapter one of Anthem. We will have time to finish responding to the questions tomorrow in class.

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem.

 

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

 

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

12.05 - Routines and Government Control

We started today's class with the following writing prompt which everyone responded to in their writer's journal:

Describe your daily (Monday - Friday) routine. Be sure to include at what times you do things and where you do them. This can be written as a narrative, chart, or bullet points.

After everyone had a chance to respond to this question, we shared out some general features like who gets up earliest and who stays up latest. Then we went around and everyone shared out one thing that someone could learn about them by looking at their daily routine. We used this discussion to transition back to looking at what life is like for Equality 7-2521 in Anthem.

I read the passage from pages 27-28 in the  Anthem Setting the Scene Questions handout and then we discussed everyone's responses to questions 5 and 6. Everyone then had the rest of the period to finish reading chapter one and to respond to the post-reading questions for the  Anthem Setting the Scene Questions. 

Homework:

If you did not do so in class, finish reading chapter one of Anthem. We will have time to finish responding to the questions tomorrow in class.

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem.

 

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

 

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

 

12.04 - Equality 7-2521 and Society in Anthem

Our focus for class today was on what Equality 7-2521 in Anthem is like as a person and what his society is like. To guide us through this work, everyone had a copy of the following handout:

Anthem Setting the Scene Questions

We began class with everyone responding to the first two pre-reading questions:

1 - What are some ways that other people control what happens in your life?

2 - What are some ways in which you establish your identity as an individual?

After everyone had a chance to respond to these questions, we discussed students' answers. From here we transitioned into reading chapter one of Anthem. We stopped during our reading to answer questions three through six after reading the selected passages on the sheet as part of the whole chapter. Everyone responded to these questions using evidence from both the featured passages and the rest of the chapter. We will resume working with these questions tomorrow.

Homework:

If you did not finish responding to questions 3 - 6 of the Anthem Setting the Scene Questions in class, do so for homework.

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem.

 

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

 

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

12.03 - Poem Message and Imagery / Anthem

At the beginning of class today, everyone practiced reading their poem out loud for three minutes. In doing this, everyone was encouraged to read the poem once through and then repeat reading it until time was up or repeat specific sections until the end of the 3 minutes.

Next, we returned to working with the illustrated stanza sheet for the Poetry Out Loud poems people have selected. Today, we focused on the question on the back at the bottom of the sheet:

Identify some key images from the poem that you feel are important to the overall meaning of the poem.
Describe how these images enhance the overall meaning of the poem.

In class we discussed how these responses should contain the following pieces of information:

1- Identify and explain the theme/message of the poem (using examples from the poem).

2 - Two images/moments that are key to understanding/appreciating this theme.

3 - Discussion of why these images/moments are key to understanding this theme.

Everyone had about 20 minutes to respond to this question.

I then handed out copies of our next book, Anthem and everyone signed them out using the online sign out form.

We then read the first three pages of the book together and everyone took notes on the following points in their writer's journal:

What is Equality 7-2521 like as a person?

What is the world in which Equality 7-2521 lives like?

Homework:

If you did not do so in class, finish the processing question on the back of your illustrated stanza sheet for your poem.

 

Practice your Poetry Out Loud poem.

 

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

 

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv

12.02 - Illustrated Stanzas

At the beginning of class today, I shared a mailer that I received from the Ayn Rand Institute to promote Rand's works. We reviewed the definition of Objectivism (the rational pursuit of one's own happiness). As a group we read over the mailer and then everyone responded to the following prompt question in their writer's journal:

Is this sort of promotion in keeping with the ideals of Objectivism or does it go against them? Explain your response.

Extra time: What do you think about this sort of promotion (fun contest? tacky ad? clever marketing?)

After everyone had a chance to respond to this prompt, we discussed students' responses.

Next, we transitioned to working with our Poetry Out Loud poems.

I talked a little about memorization and how a key to memorization is connecting with what you are memorizing in different ways. One way that people have found helpful in connecting to something they have to memorize is to clearly visualize what they are saying.

To engage this memorization technique I provided students with an illustrated stanza sheet for their poem. I described how to go about completing this sheet. It is important for drawings to be detailed so that each person is developing clear visual imagery to go with their poem. This does not mean someone has to be a good artist, they just have to have a drawing with plenty of detail. I used the first stanza of my poem "To a Mouse" as an example in class (see below).

(Click image to enlarge)

Illustrations should have more detail (be much fancier) than this illustration.
Due to time constraints, I sketched out the first few ideas for my illustration.

Everyone then had the next 25 minutes to write out and illustrate the stanzas/visual sections of their poem. At the end of class, we went around and everyone shared out what their poem was and what they felt it was about.

Homework:

If you did not do so in class, finish your illustrated stanza sheet for your poem.

Complete missing work and revise any assignment that scored below a 92.

Keep up to date on your grades through Pinnacle:
In school: 192.168.8.7/Pinnacle/PIV
Outside of school: http://pinweb.lisbonschoolsme.org/pinnacle/piv