december 6

JOURNAL TOPIC:
We spend so much of our lives looking forward and looking back-- in fact, much of what we call "American Literature" consists of historical fiction or futuristic imagining.  How would you describe your life RIGHT NOW, in this present moment?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
* [Call for presentations]
2. Q & A / Final Review
3. Check notes for those who want to use them

december 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What's exciting to you about finals?  What's making you nervous about finals?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Return/ discuss proposals
3. Study/review for final

december 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What did you do over the weekend to prepare for our final and your project?  What will you do this week to achieve the results you want in this course?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Project proposal
3. Final review/ Q&A

project options

Thanks to all of you for contributing ideas for end-of-semester projects!  Please have a look at the three most popular recommendations below.  If you are passionate about doing something different that you think will more effectively highlight what you learned in this course this semester, please persuade me via email. 


OPTION ONE: PAPER

Please write a 3-5 pp. paper in which you explain how any of the texts we read this semester create understanding of their themes through at least three of the following: tone, figurative language, allusion, symbolism, diction, or syntax.


-OR-

Please write a 3-5 pp. paper in which you explain your Big Question.  Specifically, you must: 1) describe your topic; 2) explain why this topic is of interest to you; 3) share the steps you have taken to explore the topic so far; 4) share your plan for further exploration between now and June 2018; and 4) introduce leaders in the field and/or prospective mentors for you as you progress.


OPTION TWO: VISUAL ARTIFACT

Please create a visual representation of a concept you learned through reading any of the texts we read as a class this semester.  You may use any digital or analog medium, as long as you post a one-page explanation of the artifact on your blog.  (Also, please note that posters are notoriously easy to produce, and as a consequence they very often suck, so if you choose such a traditional approach, make it AWESOME.)


OPTION THREE: INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

This may take the form of anything you do with a live studio audience-- performing a song or a skit, or presenting with Prezi/PowerPoint/GoogleSlides/etc., or leading participants on a treasure hunt, for example.  Experiences must be 4-6 minutes long and incorporate at least three literary elements and two texts we read this semester.

the student has become the master

Thanks Lesley!  Here is the link to the resources she described in class:

december 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "A Hazy Shade of Winter" by Simon & Garfunkel; "A Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles]

Today you have a choice.

You can either write about winter-- whatever comes to mind-- or you can listen to the two versions of this song and think on paper about how two different bands can interpret the same idea.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review

poetry resource

I was just nosing around the Internet and found this great resource for "Immigrants in Our Own Land"-- and then I smiled, because this was Jessica Parra's original post when we studied the poem years ago...  Enjoy.