Monday: Parts of the Course, Text Selection, and Practice

Today we started by looking at the course guide.  You can find it here: LL Guide 2015 Examination

Then, we looked at the required evaluation pieces for all four parts of the course.  They include: written tasks, paper 1, paper 2, the individual oral commentary, and the further oral activity.  We looked at the difference between SL and HL- I strongly, STRONGLY, recommend that you all take Language and Literature in English as one of your HL subjects.  This will be a strategic advantage to you in the future.

Then we looked at the requirements for part 3 and part 4 of the course.  I made some suggestions as to what might work, and then we decided on our 6 works as a class.

Part 3 works: “The Handmaids Tale” by Margret Atwood, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Part 4 works: Carol Ann Duffy poetry collection, “Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen, and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.

Then, we used the remainder of class time to look at the “Test Case” from HTRLLAP.  At your table groups, you looked at what was difficult for you, what was more natural for you, and what readings are most relevant to this text.

HW: Make an account with NoRedInk.com and take the diagnostic test. You need to do this before August 21.

HW: Make sure you are ready to continue discussion on the “Test Case”. 

Wednesday: Poetry- Carol Ann Duffy

Today we started with a review of my list of 20ish terms for IB poetry.  20ish Essential Literary Terms for IB

Then, we began with the CAD poetry packet by looking at the poem “Teacher”.

My advice to you as a reader of poetry:

1. read the poem
2. look at the title
3. look at the shape of the poem
4. notice where the punctuation is, if any
5. read the poem again to summarize/paraphrase the action
6. attend to key words that create tone/mood/ideas/theme
7. read it again- but out loud! — this helps your ear identify rhythm, meter, and rhyme…
8. discuss with a friend

HW: Answer the question, “What is CAD saying about education in this poem?”. Make sure that you use evidence to support your claim.

HW: Read and prepare to discuss “Head of English” and “In Mrs. Tilscher’s Class” on Friday. 

You can also think about how you might use Foster’s advice to view these three poems in terms of symbol.

Friday: Quiz Review, “Head of English”

Happy Friday people.  We started by reviewing “The Story of an Hour” and HTRLLAP quiz from last week.  I discussed what my expectations were for each of the questions, and you had a chance to ask questions for clarification.

We will have a second chance quiz with a different text on August 31, 2017.  I will gladly give you the higher of the two quiz scores.

Then we jumped into the Carol Ann Duffy poems, starting with “Head of English”.  We had a very good discussion based on some teacher posed questions to spark/lead the conversation.

HW: Write a short, multi-paragraph :), response to the following question, ” What is CAD’s attitude toward teachers?”.  Use the three poems we have covered to base your thesis and offer support for your interpretation. Please hand write this for Tuesday.