February 28th

1. Quiz over entire book Animal Farm. 

2. Make sure the following is in your notes.  (4th Hour already has this. Bring responses to class on Wednesday)

Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Rhetoric: the art of persuasive speaking or communication (written)

1. Read through the following information on image one. Make sure that you get the seven types of propaganda in your notes! 

2. Do the 10 exercises on paper to turn in. Examine the reality of the statement. For extra credit, identify the type of propaganda being used. 

Monday, February 27th

1. Animal Farm should be pretty close to finished today. We will have a quiz over the entire book tomorrow (Tuesday).
2. Sacred Literature Response- Google Classroom is due today.
3. We are getting close to EOC testing. Today, we will be taking another practice EOC test to see where we are are in February. Are we making advancements?

Remember with Spring Enrollment Conferences this week to make smart, informed decisions about your course work next year! Think about your end goal and put the smartest path in front of you to get you to that goal!

Friday, February 24th

1st and 7th Hours:

1. Finish presentations. 

2. Reflection on Sacred Literature.. (SEE Google Classroom. Due Monday)
3. Finish Animal Farm for Monday, February 27th.  Quiz TUESDAY over entire book 

4th Hour:

1. Hold onto Propaganda homework from Wednesday. 

2. Presentations. (MONDAY)

3. Finish Animal Farm for Monday, February 27th.  Quiz TUESDAY over entire book
4. Reflection on Sacred Literature (Google Classroom. Due date is MONDAY)

Wednesday class today

Presentations postponed until Friday: 4th Hour, ONLY

Make sure the following is in your notes. 

Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Rhetoric: the art of persuasive speaking or communication (written)

1. Read through the following information on image one. Make sure that you get the seven types of propaganda in your notes! 

2. Do the 10 exercises on paper to turn in. Examine the reality of the statement. For extra credit, identify the type of propaganda being used. 

International Baccalaureate Information

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

At the junior level, Language A is the first year of a two year program that follows the International Baccalaureate Language A syllabus. Students study texts in depth for literary analysis, write commentaries, and prepare oral presentations. Students need proficiency in written and oral skills. Over the two years, the IB assessment requires oral presentation, two papers, and a four-hour written examination in May of the senior year.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

• What knowledge of literature can be gained by focusing attention on the author?
• What knowledge of literature can be gained by focusing attention solely on the work itself, in isolation from the author or the social context?
• What knowledge of literature can be gained by focusing attention on its social, cultural or historical context?
• What constitutes good evidence within the study of literature?
• What knowledge can be gained from the study of literature?
• What is lost in translation from one language to another? Why?

Books read in IB 11: 
1. The Road- Cormac McCarthy
2. The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Into the Wild- Jon Krakauer
4. A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich- Alexander Soltzenhetsyn
5. A Chronicle of a Death Foretold- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. A Doll's House- Henrik Ibsen

Benefits of IB: Benefits for IB Students

For those who are wondering about college credit and the IB programme, here are some links to Missouri and surrounding colleges about what they offer for IB courses and Diploma Candidates. This list is not exhaustive:

Missouri State IB Transfer Credits

UMSL IB Transfer Credits

KU IB Transfer Credits

UCM IB Transfer Credits

University of Arkansas IB Transfer Credits

February 21st-

1. Oral Commentaries will take place today and on the block day.
2. Read up through chapter 8 for Friday... finish the book by Monday.

Class: February 16th and 17th

1. You will need to open up a Google doc and take out your Animal Farm historical context PowerPoint notes. You will need to write the top 10 points that you have learned about the historical/biographical background of this novel that you feel has the most significant influence on the book. You will need to upload this document on Google Classroom by the end of class on Thursday, February 16th.
2. You should have read chapters 1-2 in Animal Farm by today. You will now need to go back and read the Preface and Introduction. As you are reading these, I want you to take notes on the major ideas expressed, plus consider the first 2 chapters of the book. What ideas expressed in the Preface and Introduction are proving to be true in the first two chapters? You will find a prompt in Google Classroom asking to respond with the findings. This will be due by the end of the day on Friday, February 17th.
3. For Tuesday, February 21st, they will need to read and annotate chapters 3,4,5 of Animal Farm.
4. You will be giving your Oral Commentaries next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. You need to be ready on THE DAY you signed up to present.

February 15th

1. In order to strengthen understanding of satire, we are going to examine this device's usage in "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

Make a copy of this assignment sheet: A Modest Proposal- Satire.  You will need to fill in the chart addressing Swift's modest proposal to fix the ills of Ireland. After identifying the exaggerated proposal, interpret Swift's use of satire to determine what he REALLY feels would the a solution Please upload YOUR COPY of this assignment to Google Classroom by class tomorrow.

2. Please make sure that you are up through chapter 2 in Animal Farm for Thursday, February 16th. ALSO that you are up to slide 31 in the Animal Farm PPT. This should be reflected in your NOTES!

3. Remember that ORAL COMMENTARIES over sacred literature are next week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). You need to be ready to present on the day you signed up to present.

February 14th- Happy Valentine's Day

Remember that satire is a type of literature that seeks to point out human vice and foolishness by using humor. It takes a very serious issue and "pokes fun" at it to ridicule society.

Examples of Characteristics of Satire:

Most satire has the following characteristics in common:

• Satire relies on humor to bring about social change. When our vices are made humorous, the idea is that it will encourage us to change.
• Satire is most often implied. The reader has to pick up on the humor or he/she will miss the satirical nature of the writing.
• Satire, most often, does not go over individual people. Instead, satire is directed at society as a whole, or types of people in society-the politician, the adulterer, the prideful, etc.
• The wit and irony of the satire are exaggerated-it is in the exaggeration that people are made aware of their foolishness.

1. You will read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" and looking for examples of the characteristics of SATIRE. 

A Modest Proposal- Swift

2. Read chapter 2 of Animal Farm for Wednesday. 

February 13th

Welcome to Animal Farm! 
As I mentioned in class today, we will be focusing upon some very specific literary devices when reading this text.

Many of these devices are "end results"... the devices and plot within the text work to achieve these results. What this means is you have to take in a lot of the book and then step back to see these. 

1. Allegory: A story with two levels of meaning. The first level is the plot level. The second level is the symbolic/representative level. 
2. Symbols: A concrete object that has an abstract meaning. 

The difference between allegory and symbolism: An allegory uses symbols for building an overall symbolic meaning. It is the entire work functioning as a symbol. Symbolism is a single reference. 

3. Satire: a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or society by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies. (Think Saturday Night Live). 

4. Dystopian Literature: 
Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions. 
Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system. 

5. Historical Context: The influence of a time period upon the author and his/her literary text. 

6. Theme: The universal message that a text projects. Most literary devices work to result in the work's theme(s). 

7. Motif: A recurrent image, idea, or symbol to help develop a theme in a text. 

For Tuesday: Do a close reading of Chapter 1 of Animal Farm. Close reading means.. thoroughly examine the text for its literary devices as you are building meaning. This is what we started in class on Monday. 

Read and take notes on slides 12-31 (Up to Lenin) on the PowerPoint. 

Happy Friday! February 10th

1. Before we turn in the final copy of your Praise Song response, you will need to code your own response using the directions from last class period.. Underline thesis, etc. Staple on top of your 3 rough drafts.

2. Today we are will be having a literary device scavenger hunt. Using the four sacred texts, Genesis, Qu'ran, Analects, and Praise Songs of the Orishas, you will be looking for evidence demonstrating the following literary devices:

Form: (This would be the characteristics of Sacred Texts. 2 examples)

Allusion: (2 examples)

Parallelism: (2 examples)

Historical context: (Connect a piece of history or biography to specific textual reference. 1 example)

Visual imagery: (2 examples)

Imagery of your choice: (Pick from the remaining types of imagery. 2 examples)

Didactic(ism): (State the lesson and 1 textual example to support. 1 example) 

Simile: (1 example)

Mood: (Identify the mood and provide specific textual evidence. 1 example)

Personification: (1 example)

Characterization: (1 adjective and 1 textual example from a text other than the Praise Songs)

Figurative language: (2 examples)

Symbol: (2 examples)

Analogy: (1 example) 

You will need one list among your group. You can only reference our text book. No Google. 

When you are done, you will need to put all group member's names on your answers and turn it in to Mrs. Cole. 

FOR MONDAY: 

Under Animal Farm links, you will find an Animal Farm PowerPoint. Please read through slides 1-11 and take notes. Do not copy every word down from each slide. Condense. Summarize. 

February 8th

1. You should have your hard copy of your three responses with you when you come to class. We are going to mark them each for their writing components that they should contain.

You will switch with a classmate. Please mark the following in each response:
1. Underline the claim/thesis. This may look like the prompt restated and answered.
2. Circle the literary devices that are referenced. Ideally, there should be more than one.
3. Put a box around the direct quotes used as support SHOWING how the claim is evident. There should be a minimum of two direct quotes.
4. In reference to the direct quote usage: Put the following letters near the quote if these components are utilized. I: Quote is introduced.  C: Quote is contextualized and cited.  E. Quote is explained back to the argument.
5. Put a squiggly box around each transition.
6. Put a C by the concluding statement.

2. After the response has been marked, please list what the response is specifically missing.
Example: 1. Not enough transitions  2. Quotes are not introduced.

3. Then, you will then answer the following questions for each response:
1. Has the question been thoroughly answered?
2. Do you feel that the response is well-supported, adequately supported, poorly supported?
3. Does the writing flow smoothly from idea to idea?
4. On a scale of 1-3, where would this writing response score. 3: Answered thoroughly, with all expected components evident.  2. Answered, with some missing expected writing components. 1. Answer is difficult to understand, with multiple missing expected writing components.

4. Once you receive your writing prompts back from your scorer, you will need to thoroughly review the marks and notes made for each response. You will be able to see what exactly you do have.. and what exactly you are missing. From this, you will need to pick ONE response to revise, clean up, etc. as a final draft.

The FINAL draft will need to have all the expected writing components, MLA formatting, a works cited entry at the bottom of the page, and stapled on top of your three preliminary responses.  This is due at the beginning of class on Friday, February 10th.

REMEMBER to be working on your ORAL COMMENTARY.

February 7th

For today, you should have specific examples of characterization, imagery, and allusions in your notes from the African praise songs.

From our last responses addressing the literary value of Confucius' Analects, it is clear that we need some review work in writing to ensure that we are communicating effectively.

In class today, you will responding to the following three prompts:

1. How is (insert god/goddess) characterized in their specific praise song? What literary devices are utilized to support this characterization? Why do you think that the god/goddess is characterized in this manner? 

2.  What type of imagery is most prevalent in (insert specific praise song)? What purpose does it serve for the ultimate goal of this praise song? 

3. What is the most significant allusion mentioned in (insert specific praise song)? How does this allusion enhance the meaning of the overall song?

To do this... you need to think about the following:

1. Thinking back to first semester, I want you to review the 8 Steps of Writing.  First, think about AUDIENCE PURPOSE. What does your instructor want to know/understand with this prompt.

2. Thesis/Claim- Restate the questions and answer them specifically.

3. Evidence. Warrants.  You must give specific textual evidence in answering these questions. You must remember how to integrate textual information correctly. Introduce. Contextualize. Explain.. Do you have enough evidence to answer the question efficiently. (Audience pleased?).  Have you cited the text? Please reference the extended paragraph structure that you were taught first semester.

4. Transitions.

5. Concluding statements.

Please have all three done and in hard copy form when you come to class Wednesday/Thursday.

Rough Sample:
The African god, Shango, is characterized as prideful in the praise song dedicated specifically to him. His characterization is supported by the use of analogy. The song begins by depicting an elephant who "must pay his respects to his new wife" (2). The elephant, who can represent the individual, must be aware of how he behaves in context to his new wife, who would be insulted by the lack of proper greeting. Furthermore, the analogy of animals as the devoted worshipers continues as the song references the guinea fowl, who must remember to "prostrate to the lord of the forest" (4) or "be killed by the hunter" (6). These examples of animals that must show awareness of other animals with more strength or power demonstrates how the worshiper must be delicate in their reference to the prideful Shango, or suffer similar wrath. 

The characterization of a prideful Shango is developed additionally through the use of first person point of view. The first stanza concludes with "Shango, I prostrate to you every morning, before I set out to do anything" (13-14). This emphasizes the individual's personal voice and how he/she specifically bows before Shango to appease his pride. It is no longer a generalized song of praise, but specific to the individual speaking. 


The literary devices of analogy and point of view emphasize the characterization of Shango in this praise song in order to demonstrate the hierarchy of individuals in this society--Shango falling well above those who sing his praises with caution. 

ORAL COMMENTARY: FEBRUARY 21st, 22nd, 23rd.
Oral Commentary Assignment Sheet
Oral Commentary Sign Up

February 6th

1. Have the following information concerning characterization in your notes:

Characterization: The techniques an author uses to develop a character. (Notice that it is a study of the techniques or the strategies... it is not the result of these strategies)

Direct Characterization: Tells the audience what the character's personality/purpose is
Indirect Characterization: Shows the audience things that reveal the personality of the character.

Techniques an author uses for INDIRECT Characterization: STEAL
S: Speech- What does the character say? How does the character speak?
T: Thoughts-What is revealed through the character’s private thought s and feelings?
E: Effect- on others toward the character. What is revealed through the character’s effect on
     other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
A: Actions- What does the character do? How does the character behave?
L: Looks-What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Imagery: Words and phrases that invoke the senses (Think of the five major types of imagery)

Allusion: Indirect reference to a notable person, event, book in history/literature/art, etc. Provides added meaning with the reference.

2. You will be applying the practice of characterization of the three African gods in the praise songs.

• You will identify adjectives that will help you recognize the result of the characterization. This is your starting point (WHAT). 
• Then you will turn to the manner in which the character is developed. For this, utilize STEAL. (HOW)

3. As you are performing characterization, you will need to keep a look out for IMAGERY and ALLUSIONS. Please note examples in your notes.

February 2nd: Happy Groundhog Day!

You have already examined one of the characteristics of Sacred Literature by recognizing the instructional purpose. Now we are going to dig into the literary value/purpose of the text.
You will need to pick ONE ANALECT from the text that you worked with for Wednesday. Of this Analect, you will ask the two following questions: 1. What recognizable human experiences are portrayed in this text? (Look to the figurative/underlying purpose) 2. What is the artistic style of the passage? What use does the passage make of literary techniques like metaphor, simile, diction and a multitude of other literary devices? (Terms) You will need to pick five literary terms from our expansive list to explain their presence and purpose in the Analect. Upload a Google Document with proper MLA format. You will also need to put the works cited information at the bottom of your writing. It is a work from an anthology. Please reference the OWL.

READING for FRIDAY: Introduction to Africa, 612-621... Get a start on it. You will have some time on Friday to read.

Did the Groundhog see his shadow??
Washington Post- Groundhog Day 2017

Class today: February 1st

1. Literary Terms Test!
2. Upload image of your homework (12 Analects) to Google Classroom.
3. For Friday: Read pages 612-621. Take very good notes. Read pages 642-647. Take good notes.