May
20
ELA 30: May 20 End of Hamlet video / Intro Social Condition unit…
- Students were given back their essays they just handed in Thursday before the break. (Something that doesn’t happen that often all the time!) Those Hamlet essays still not in will be accepted for two days (due Thursday at the end of the day, as I will be away on Friday and can’t accept it then). Anyone who hasn’t completed or handed it in by Friday will then be given a new essay topic, same requirements and length of time to work on it, but starting over.As mentioned, the intention here is to encourage people to finish their first assignment on time. After a duration of time, though, it is no longer fair to let you hand things in when you have had longer to work on it than others. Thus, the new assignments.
- I’ll be giving out Mini reports very soon (tomorrow hopefully) for students to see where their mark is currently. This will include the Blog mark that was 10% of their overall mark, not 10% of assignment marks etc. This will greatly affect some people’s marks, while others will simply maintain a mark they’ve already been working to keep high.
- We finished watching the video of Hamlet. I think most of the class (I won’t venture so
far as to say “all”) enjoyed this play and our consideration of it. I am glad that they are so enthusiastic when talking about it or answering the “nagging questions” that came up in our discussions. I’ve heard several people say they hated Shakespeare but only because their teacher didn’t care for it or taught it poorly. I enjoy this play a lot and like to have fun with it, so I hope everyone here can have a long-lasting fond taste of Shakespeare now as a result. - Once we finished the movie, we reviewed the Human Qualities that were focused on from the play, Doubt and Fear. I reviewed the other units from our first unit, influences to personal identity, where those influences come from and how they shape us, the relationships we form with others and the types of human qualities we are all born with. These things are all within the person, the individual. I drew a poor stick figure on the board to visually accentuate this concept, that the first unit was about the person. Then I drew the world to the side, society, and said we’re going to look outside the individual now (outside our selves) and evaluate what that individual we’ve gotten to know is responsible for when it comes to the world it exists within. This is the basis for the next unit we will have until their final in June.
- Students were given a handout with several guiding questions that all focus around the concept of society and responsibilites of people. They were asked to consider them, answer at least four of them before the bell, and then were allowed to go. We’ll discuss them and move on to read a story called “The Inheritor” in tomorrow’s class.