Davis Doodles

Snuggle Up with a Good Book...

2012-02-13T11:13:00.003-05:00

Today is cold. C.O.L.D. Cold outside, and cold in our school. So, after we did an abbreviated version of our intro to Macbeth, I decided to introduce the outside reading project a few days early. (After all, we may have a snow day tomorrow and they might need some reading material...) ;) I started with a giant stack of my favorite books, and did a little talk about each one. I know that when I talk about my favorite books, I often sound like a dork. I have accepted that. I love my books like I love my friends, and I LOVE to see kids get excited about them too. After I finished, I asked which ones wanted book I had discussed, and many of them did, which made me very happy. We then went down to the library for the others to find a book and for everyone to snuggle into the couches and read for the rest of the period. It was just a day for that... a day to snuggle up with a good book!

Three Day Week, Anyone?

2012-02-10T11:35:00.003-05:00

Who's EXCITED!?!?!?!?! How about a FIVE.DAY.WEEKEND... yes, please! And perhaps most exciting, we will be starting MACBETH this week!!! I genuinely hope you love it ohsomuch.

Monday, 2/13
Macbeth Introduction and notes
DUE: Senior Memory Book 4

Tuesday, 2/14
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
Macbeth Act I

Wednesday, 2/15
Activity
Act II

Seizing the Day!

2012-02-10T10:35:00.003-05:00

Well, though it is February in Tennessee, it doesn't exactly feel like it. We got to sit outside and do our Carpe Diem poetry, which was quite nice. After that, there were some very clever poems written after Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and Sir Walter Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply". Here are a few:

Nymph's Reply
by Varya
Oh my shepherd, oh my love
You are mine that's sent from up above
I see that you're calling me
And without a doubt I will come with thee
I would love to sit with you upon the rocks
And see all the shepherds feed their flocks
I will lie with you on that bed of roses
and smell these lovely thousand posies.
I will wear that gown that's made of wool
which from your pretty lambs you pull.
And we will live and stay together
for every month, through every weather.

Shepherd's Reply
by JC
But why do you say this, I don't understand
I told you I'd make you a dress and more.
Why would you rather stay where you are so poor?
We would be living the life together.
If you don't like roses, we can lay on feathers.
Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you.
No matter what it is, I'll even make the grass blue.
There is no reason for you not to come here,
To be with me for eternity, don't listen to your peer.
I ask you one last time, come be with me.
For when you come I take out the good glasses to have a cup of tea.
So please, o please, come live on my land.

Shepherd's Reply
by Heath
I was wrong to think you're my love
No longer will I offer you anything
No valleys, groves, hills, fields,
Woods, nor steepy mountain yields.
Never will we sit upon the rocks
And watch the shepherd tend his flock
Nor sleep on beds of roses
and certainly no buckles of pure gold.
I wish you luck in finding your love
One that will give all that I would.
I will delight in each day of not seeing you
Do not come live with me, you are not my love.

My Own Shakespeares....

2012-02-08T14:09:00.002-05:00

Here are a few really creative sonnets...

Remembrance of Love
By Kayla
I think about you day by day
Even though you're gone, I know you're still here.
As my knees fall to the ground, I pray
Please God, keep her with me for I know she's near.

I have a piece of you still left with me.
You always cone back in my dreams.
I know you're in a better place now,
Someday I know we'll meet up somehow.

I wept and cried when you died
Because there was no reason why
Your son is still here with me
I will watch over him for you, and you only.

Till this day I cry and pray
But I know somehow we'll meet up someday.

Sonnet by Holden
A sonnet, in classical form a charm
Soft as sundown, it wakens spirit love
Calling you, wanting you, it takes your arm
And whisks you away on wings of a dove.

There it holds you with it's perfect meter
Lullabying with its iambic tone.
Nothing does compare or could be sweeter
Than the dance of love as poets have shown.

So take my hand and let us dance today
With these magic words penned so long ago.
We shall taste them, taste then without delay,
So succulent it makes our soul to glow.

A sonnet, lovingly given... Hold tight
As dawn's first light makes your spirit take flight.

Music
By Alexis
Sitting in here with headphones in my ears,
I go from dead silent to alive and fantastic
Feeling the vibrations of the beat with no fears
In a zone of music, I feel captured by magic.

This magic is real, and that is no lie
When I listen to the music with that clean open sound
It paints me a picture of cloud free sky
And brings back many memories, to the past I am bound

But the magic doesn't always work the same way
I see blue skies, but you'll see something else
So these magical emotions, all I can say
Is they are not in the music, they are in myself

So as my mind is an endless page of white
I am painting a picture in the silent night.

Carpe... Carpe Diem!

2012-02-06T10:52:00.002-05:00

Can I first say how excited I am that grades are what they are at this point in the semester?!?!?! Talk about some people getting some stuff DONE... you guys are on fire!!! This week is going to cover a few of the smaller parts in Unit 3, The Influences of Love and Power. Then next week-- MACBETH!!!

Monday, 2/6
Wrap up Intro to Unit with Petrarch
Sonnet notes
Sonnet analysis in groups
H/W- Write a sonnet
SR MEMORY BK CHPT 3 DUE

Tuesday, 2/7
Present sonnet group work
Carpe Diem poetry
SONNET DUE

Wednesday, 2/8
Watch "Dead Poet's Society"

Thursday, 2/9
Finish "DPS"
Writing activity

Friday, 2/10
John Donne/Metaphysical Poetry
JOURNALS DUE

GRENDEL!!!

2012-02-03T11:16:00.004-05:00

I am a little late posting this, but we have all enjoyed having the board display each student's interpretation of Grendel. I love how we all read the same work, but all of us had a different idea of what he looked like. The other really interesting thing is to see how other monster ideas from our own culture played into our views...

Canterbury Tales Pilgrimmages

2012-02-02T08:19:00.003-05:00

For our Canterbury Tales project, the kids got into small groups and came up with six pilgrims (two from Chaucer's story, two from other literature, and two real people, though not necessarily living). They wrote descriptions for them, decided what sort of story they would tell, how they would get along, and did a visual. Many groups made Medieval food for their visual, so we had a day of good (and interesting...) eating!

Canterbury Tales Poetry

2012-02-02T08:02:00.002-05:00

After finishing the Prologue of the Canterbury Tales, we wrote a poem based on a profession of our choosing. The ones below are a sampling of the creativity these two classes have.

OCD Artist
by Victoria
I take all the brushes from my cup
Line them all across small to large with points up.
My colors are arranged from the shades of the rainbow
And with everything set up perfectly I take my place in the studio.
Every stroke and shade counts
But one line out of place and I freak out.
With every little thing so precise
If not then it will never suffice.

The Assassin
by Tyler
Hooded and cloaked, black as night
Killing is his dream, passion, and delight
Climbing on rooftops high in the air
A daredevil without fear or slightest care
Moving so quick to his prey that draws near
The fate of a man becomes ever so clear
Pulling out a hidden blade in pristine condition
He leaps from the roof confirming his mission
A strike like lightning, it was fast and discreet
His work is professional, a mastery for the elite.

Rodeo Clown
by Brendan
Drawing attention with
Your foolish attire, witnessing
the Mist of the Bull you
Inspire... Racing your way
Quick be nimble...
Getting away a breeze
So Simple! Did I forget
to mention? He's big,
He's bad, You're boiling
the Tension! White painted
face, Air Jordans strapped
and Laced--> Sir Rodeo
Clown, a.k.a. the ACE.

An End and a Beginning!

2012-01-30T11:04:00.016-05:00

I find it rather hard to believe that we are already at the end of another unit. Granted, it was a short unit, but still...

This week we will begin Unit 3, The Influences of Love and Power (Renaissance and Restoration period). Our essential questions for this unit include:
What changes take place in a society as advances in education and technology occur?
What is power and who has it?
Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?
How do the individual life philosophies of people affect day to day decisions?
What impact do those have on the social circles of which those people are a part?
Do religion and spirituality shape the way people view situations in life and the way they react to them?

Unit 3 is a loooooong one because it includes Macbeth. We will study the sonnets, Carpe Diem poetry (including a viewing of "Dead Poets' Society"), John Donne, Macbeth, and satire.

Macbeth is a play that is usually enjoyed very much by students. I would love to again attempt a cool activity with it (tried it last semester and it was a colossal failure...), so we shall see.

Monday, 1/30
Define vocabulary words (assimilate, cognizant, discursive, ennui, farcical, fortuitous, hyperbole, incognito, mesmerism, omniscient, adroit, allay, blazon, bravado, choleric, colloquy, despot, dirge, expatriate, feign) for Unit 2
Group Canterbury Tales adaptation presentations
SENIOR MEMORY BOOK CHPT 2 DUE

Tuesday, 1/31
4th period vocab presentations
Finish presentations over CT
Sir Gawaine and discussion

Wednesday, 2/1
Possible sub
Final Activity over Unit 2 (artistic creative response)

Thursday, 2/2
Unit 2 Test

Friday, 2/3
Unit 2 Vocab Quiz
Intro to Unit 3 and the Renaissance

Water, Water Everywhere!

2012-01-23T07:51:00.002-05:00

Extra credit to the first person who can tell me where that reference (the title of this blog post) is from... HINT: It is British Lit.

What a nasty Monday we are having! Lots of you are out right now so I know that this blog post will get lots of hits because you will be very anxious to see what you missed... ahem...

This week we are getting deeper into The Canterbury Tales and starting a group project, which I hope you will enjoy. Schedule is below:

Monday, 1/23
Sr Memory Book Chapter 1 Due
Voice Lesson- Diction
Canterbury Tales Prologue- Discuss Part 1, Read and discuss Part 2

Tuesday, 1/24
Voice Lesson-Diction
"The Pardoner's Tale"
Begin Group Activity

Wednesday, 1/25
"Wife of Bath's Tale"
Group work

Thursday, 1/26
Finish up Canterbury Tales
Group work
Write a poem of your own based on prologue

Friday, 1/27
Arthurian Legends
JOURNALS DUE

GROUP PRESENTATIONS MONDAY

One Unit Down, Sixish to Go!

2012-01-17T07:41:00.002-05:00

Happy MLK Day week! I have so many favorite quotes of his, but one of the best is "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." I think that's a good model to base your life on. There are so many times in life that the easier option by far, the safer option, even, is to remain silent. From the most basic example of one person picking on another or jokes that seem harmless but are actually very offensive to the extreme of a country slaughtering its own citizens or children being abused by those who should protect them, silence is not acceptable. Be that person, even if you are standing alone. We talked in this unit about heroes and the many ways to be a hero. Speaking up and speaking out is certainly one way. Be a hero to those around you who need a voice or a hand or a heart...

[Sermon over.]

This week we test over Unit 1 (The Hero) and move right along into Unit 2 (The Individual versus Society). Unit 2 will cover the Canterbury Tales, Arthurian Legends, and "Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight".
Essential Questions for this Unit:
How do we as individuals reflect the society in which we live?
How are our values and beliefs formed and shaped by society?
OR
Do our values and beliefs shape our society?
What is the role of literature in preserving a society?
Can literature be an agent for social change?

Tuesday, 1/17
Define Unit 1 Vocabulary
banal, bellicose, finesse, glib, lampoon, lugubrious, nefarious, nemesis, pseudonym, purloin, abject, admonish, commensurate, distraught, euphemism, nebulous, phlegmatic, propriety, prosaic, revile
Hero Final Activity- Create your own Grendel
Wednesday, 1/18
Vocabulary presentations by 1st period
Unit 1 Test
STUDY
Thursday, 1/19
Intro to Middle Ages
Friday, 1/20
Vocab Quiz
Canturbury Tales Prologue, Part 1

I'm Baaaaack!!!!!!

2012-01-10T08:06:00.002-05:00

After a pretty long class blogging hiatus, I am back this semester to give it another go. This blog will serve as an English IV blog this semester, since that is the grade level class I now teach. Welcome to the LAST SEMESTER OF YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CAREER! That has to feel good, huh? As I told you, I had taught sophomores for years and just had English IV for the first time last semester. I thoroughly enjoyed the curriculum and hope to improve on it even more this semester. Both 1st and 4th period seem to be really great groups and I am excited about the coming semester. (I am also thrilled to have smaller classes for the first time in nine years!!!)

This week we begin Unit 1, The Hero. This unit will cover Beowulf and The Exeter Book, which are two of my favorites in British Lit. Our essential questions for this unit are:
What constitutes a hero?
What differences exist among cultures with regard to their concept of a hero?
Would people all over the world agree?
Which people in your life are heroes?

This week's schedule:

Monday- Introduction
"Troy" scene, discussion, Hero analysis (quotes and small groups), artwork

Tuesday- Beowulf music video, Anglo-Saxon guided notes, Read section 1 of Beowulf ("Jaws" scene)

Wednesday- Beowulf Sections 2 and 3, discussion, "Jaws" scene

Thursday- Beowulf Last Section, last scene of "Jaws"

Friday- Exeter Book notes, read "Seafarer", "Wanderer", and "Wife's Lament", small group discussion on tone, story, and memorable line, class discussion

Week of November 16

2009-11-16T13:47:00.001-05:00

We are finishing the Holocaust unit this week and moving into Animal Farm. I hope you feel like you have gained sufficient information from this unit to change your mindsets about certain things.

Monday, 11/16
"Life is Beautiful"

Tuesday, 11/17
Culminating Activity

Wednesday, 11/18
Animal Farm

Thursday, 11/19
Animal Farm

Friday, 11/20
Animal Farm test, discussion
DUE: Journals

Late (Great!) Caesar Projects

2009-11-10T22:47:00.003-05:00

Sorry it took me so long to post. Here are a few or my great Caesar projects.

Thank You, American Heroes.

2009-11-10T20:38:00.002-05:00

Thank You, American Heroes... from English II, Fall 2009

"Dear Veteran,

No matter how many times I hear about the World Wars, Civil War, or even the world today, I've learned to appreciate and love the people who served in them and fought for our country. I want to deeply and gratefully thank you for your sacrifices and that I appreciate what all you, and your team, has done for my freedom. It's a debt that I could never repay, No matter what I could ever do or try. I may not know how hard the sacrifices you made were, and what kind of sacrifices you made were, or what hardships you had to face and encounter, but I do know and BELIEVE, seeing as we're a FREE and INDEPENDENT NATION, they were a great tribute and don't go unnoticed. I personally wouldn't fight because I don't have what it takes: guts or bravery for a king. But if I have no choice, I will proudly and gladly stand up, and do what it takes to keep my homeland safe, just as you sacrificed to do. I thank God you chose to fight and serve us. You have give the ultimate sacrifice and showed the greatest love, honor, friendship, loyalty, spirituality, courage, strength, and character. You have the right to be called a hero."
~Kyle

Week of November 2

2009-11-02T14:17:00.001-05:00

Well, we are now in the unit I feel most passionate about. I hope you all will gain life-long insights from this unit.

Monday, 11/2

Expert Groups

Propaganda

Tuesday, 11/3

Nazi Germany notes

Photo activities

Wednesday, 11/4

Children/Butterfly

DUE: Research paper

Thursday, 11/5

Finish photo activity

Final Solution notes

Friday, 11/6

Rescue/Resistance/Liberation

Triangle

Responsibility

DUE: Journals

Week of October 26

2009-10-23T12:07:00.001-04:00

We are going to be finishing up our Arthur unit this week and starting the unit that is one of my own educational passions, the Holocaust unit. I hope you are properly receptive to it and that you get out of it what I want for you.

Monday, 10/26

Define Unit 4

Shields

Tuesday, 10/27

Vocab act

Present words

Watch "First Knight"

Wednesday, 10/28

PLAN TEST

Thursday, 10/29

SUB

Finish "First Knight"

Arthur test

Knighthood essay due

Friday, 10/30

Intro to Holocaust

Notes, Chronology

Vocab quiz

Week of October 19

2009-10-09T12:00:00.002-04:00

Everything is a little mixed up due to our unexpected days off (which we are thrilled about!), so here is the new schedule.

Monday, 10/19

Research in library and lab

Tuesday, 10/20

Research

Wednesday, 10/21

Research

Thursday, 10/22

Watch "Camelot"

Camelot notes

SUB

Friday 10/23

Codes

Read "The Sword in the Stone" and

DUE: Journals

Fall BREEEEAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!!!

2009-10-09T11:20:00.002-04:00

I know that you guys are as excited as I am about fall break. I can hardly wait to take nine days to rest and relax with my family. I hope you will all be careful and have fun on your break. Also, please use this time for a little reflection. When we return, the nine weeks ends and a new one begins. Some of you are probably happy with your grade and a lot of you probably aren't. Please come back rested and ready to focus. We have a lot more to do (a lot that I think you will really find interesting), so let's be ready to buckle down and do it!

Week of October 5

2009-10-04T21:06:00.005-04:00

I am sad that Caesar is over... just the finishing touches this week!

Monday, 10/5

Caesar Test

Tuesday, 10/6

9 Week Test

Wednesday, 10/7

Caesar newspapers

Seminar

DUE: Projects

Thursday, 10/8

Recitations

Friday, 10/9

Research (Lab/library)

DUE: Journals

Et tu, Brute?

2009-10-04T21:06:00.001-04:00

Considerations for the play... · Is Brutus a good man? · Can a good man commit murder? · Is the quality of shrewdness the fatal missing ingredient in Brutus’ character? · Or alternatively, is he just an evil person?

Leadership

2009-09-29T21:45:00.001-04:00

Politics play an important role in our country. Without discussing anything specific from our own political parties and without discussing any leader by name, please think for a few minutes and comment on the following questions that this play raises. What makes a good leader? Is it okay to sacrifice the rights of an individual for the good of many, the way that Brutus and the conspirators sacrificed Caesar for Rome? What would the perfect government look like? Brutus, one could argue, is in favor of a democratic leadership. He fears the total power Caesar wanted to assume. With that being said, is it ironic at all that Brutus chose a VERY undemocratic method of finding a solution to the problem? Are there any contemporary world events-- or any in recent history-- which parallel Brutus' taking of Caesar's life? Do such comparisons help you understand Brutus' position or the world in the play?

Week of September 28

2009-09-25T11:07:00.001-04:00

I hope you are enjoying Caesar. I will say that I feel like you all are getting more on your own than most of my previous English II classes. Thanks!

Monday, 9/28

Act III

Tuesday, 9/29

Character activity

Wednesday, 9/30

Act IV

Thursday, 10/1

Character analysis in class-- Sub

Friday, 10/2

Act V

Week of September 21

2009-09-25T11:03:00.001-04:00

We are starting Caesar this week and I am so excited!!! :)

Monday, 9/21

Lab to type resume and persuasive paper

Tuesday, 9/22

Shakespeare video/questions

Wednesday, 9/23

Extra credit

Notes

Thursday, 9/24

Act I

Friday, 9/25

Act II

DUE: Journals

Week of September 14

2009-09-11T09:32:00.002-04:00

This is the end of our nonfiction unit this week. I hope you found it to be interesting. Every day moves us one day closer to Caesar, which is my FAVORITE!!!!

Monday, 9/14

Define Unit 3

"Man in the Water"

Mini-seminar

Tuesday, 9/15

Cosby's essay

Wednesday, 9/16

Review

Vocab act

Thursday, 9/17

Test

Friday, 9/18

Vocab quiz

Persuasive essay

September 11

2009-09-11T09:22:00.000-04:00

You all did a 9/11 Memorial today after viewing the documentary. I will probably post some of those on this site later. However, I would like to hear some of your memories of that day. I was teaching (my fourth week of my teaching career, in fact) an English II Honors class of 12 people. We were in a little closet of a room during 2nd period when Mr. Rockholt came on the intercom and announced that our country had been attacked. He told us that two planes had hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. He said that we don't have a lot of information at the time, but that we needed to remember the victims. I had first lunch, so at lunch we found out that a plane had hit the Pentagon as well. At some point someone heard that a fourth and fifth plane were inbound. (We later learned about the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.) There was just a lot of chaos and nerves. We did not have TV's at the time and I was a floating teacher so I didn't even have my own computer. My junior English class was fourth period and we went on and worked on our lesson, though no one's minds were on it, including mine. During 4th period (my planning period), I went to an empty room with my fellow teachers and watched the coverage. At that point, some stations were still showing the gruesome images of people jumping from the buildings. It was horrific to watch and there was some element of disbelief about it all. I remember waking up the next morning, how it took a minute for it to sink in that the world was a different place than it had been the previous morning. I was not a mom yet at that time, and I can imagine even now how much more terrifying the whole thing would have been if I had already had children. For some reason, nothing in this world is so scary when it is just you and your spouse. It's when little people depend on you that the fear reaches a whole new level. My daughters were born into a post-9/11 world. They don't remember what it was like to get to airports 30 minutes before your flight, to not have to take off your shoes when you go through security, and to live without the knowledge that our security is a precarious thing. September 11 changed a lot of things for the United States, but the freedom we all share remains the same and we should be forever grateful for that.

The Hero in All of Us?

2009-09-10T10:25:00.001-04:00

This unit has some very interesting (real!) events in it. We are working on Rosa Parks and Montgomery Boycott the first part of the week, then on 9/11 and heroism in the end of the week. What are your thoughts on a hero? What does it take for a person to be one? Do we all have the potential for heroism, or only some?

Week of September 8

2009-09-08T23:18:00.002-04:00

We are moving along in nonfiction now! And just think, it's a FOUR DAY WEEK!!!!

Tuesday, 9/8

Articles

Write summary

Watch "Rosa Parks Story"

Wednesday, 9/9

Finish "Rosa Parks"

Cause-effect essay in class

Thursday, 9/10

"9/11" documentary

Friday, 9/11

Finish "9/11" documentary

Write 9/11 Memorials

Read "The Man in the Water"

DUE: Journals

IrfanView HTML-Thumbnails

2009-09-03T11:53:00.000-04:00

IrfanView HTML-Thumbnails

Week of August 31

2009-09-01T11:26:00.002-04:00

We are beginning the nonfiction unit this week! I think we will enjoy it a little more than the short story unit.

Monday, 8/31

Short Story Test

Tuesday, 9/1

Fairy Tales activity

Wednesday, 9/2

Define Unit 2

Finish Fairy Tales

Thursday, 9/3

Vocab act

Nonfiction notes

Friday, 9/4

Vocab Quiz

Frank McCourt

Articles

Read "Fish Cheeks"

Week of August 24

2009-08-24T08:24:00.002-04:00

We are moving right along in Week 2 of our Short Story unit! You guys are doing a great job in discussion so far, and I was pretty impressed with most grades on the fiction quiz! Nice job.

Monday, 8/24

Finish group stories

Grammar concept

Read "Two Kinds"

Tone/Point of View

"Everyday Use"

Tuesday, 8/25

"On the Rainy River", one of my very favorites

Wednesday, 8/26

Suspense notes

"The Masque of the Red Death"

Grammar activity

Thursday, 8/27

My favorite, "Lamb to the Slaughter"

Irony/symbolism

Friday, 8/28

Grammar quiz

Review for test

DUE: Journals

My Favorite Short Story

2009-08-19T11:32:00.002-04:00

Not for the faint of heart, but if any of you want to read an extra (amazing!) story, click the title above and it will link you to my very favorite short story. I don't know if any of the freshman teachers do it, but I LOVED teaching it when I had freshman! If you choose to go above and beyond, read the story and post any comments you have on here!

Week of August 17

2009-08-17T08:54:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are, ready to start English II! I told you all already that parts of this short story unit can be a little slow, but at least the concepts and standards you are expected to learn should be a review for you!

Monday, 8/17

Define Unit 1 vocab

Elements of Fiction notes

Group activity

DUE: Parent Letter

Tuesday, 8/18

Read "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets"

Activity/discussion

Wednesday, 8/19

Vocab activity

Ray Bradbury video

Science Fiction notes

"The Pedestrian"

Thursday, 8/20

"And of Clay We are Created"

Characterization

Friday, 8/21

Fiction Quiz

Vocab 1 Quiz

"Two Kinds"

Welcome to my Newbies!

2009-08-14T14:03:00.001-04:00

Time has a way of passing very quickly and I again find myself in a sea of new faces, frantically trying to memorize almost one hundred names, back to trying to figure out personalities and what makes my students tick! It can be frustrating at times to have to do all of this again twice every year, but there is just something exciting about change and something refreshing about a blank slate! What other job in the WORLD do you get to have a fresh start two times every year? None, I tell you. I am very excited about my English II class this fall. I hope you all will use this blog, enjoy this blog, and maybe even keep following this blog once you are~~out of my clutches~~ gone on to bigger and better things! :) Anyway, welcome to the class. I know we are going to have a great semester and I am excited!

"Defiance"

2009-01-23T12:01:00.001-05:00

When Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was asked why Jews did not fight during the
Holocaust, he replied "...the question is not why all the Jews did not fight, but
how so many of them did. Tormented, beaten, starved, where did they find the strength-spiritual
and physical-to resist?"

Just a reminder, I am going to see "Defiance" on Monday at 4:20 PM at Premiere Theater. If you want to go, you are welcome to. It is certainly not required. If you do go, or if you have seen the movie on your own, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Update to a Few Things

2008-12-29T11:04:00.000-05:00

Perhaps none of you still check this blog, but just in case, I wanted to update you on a few things. First of all, I saw "Valkyrie" last night and it was amazing! You should see it. I can't wait to see "Defiance" in a few weeks!!! Secondly, I just bought The Book Thief and I will let you know how I like it. Finally, unfortunately, I got the following email this morning from the Executive Director of my Tennessee Holocaust Commission Fellows Program. It is in regard to the story I read you all about the man and woman who supposedly met later in life and had been at the same camp, but on different sides. It has been proven to be fraud. Feel free to read below:

From Jodi:
I do not know if any of you have told this story your classroom-but sadly it has been exposed as a fake. It is hard enough to comprehend the Holocaust for its own historical event so it is very troubling when individuals embellish the experience.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqrb4uMpbj8D7T-XHwX0ylu0Q-0AD95BQUR00
Anger, sadness over fabricated Holocaust story
By HILLEL ITALIE – 22 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — It's the latest story that touched, and betrayed, the world.

"Herman Rosenblat and his wife are the most gentle, loving, beautiful people," literary agent Andrea Hurst said Sunday, anguishing over why she, and so many others, were taken by Rosenblat's story of love born on opposite sides of a barbed-wire fence at a concentration camp.

"I question why I never questioned it. I believed it; it was an incredible, hope-filled story."

On Saturday, Berkley Books canceled Rosenblat's memoir, "Angel at the Fence." Rosenblat acknowledged that he and his wife did not meet, as they had said for years, at a sub-camp of Buchenwald, where she allegedly sneaked him apples and bread. The book was supposed to come out in February.

Rosenblat, 79, has been married to the former Roma Radzicky for 50 years, since meeting her on a blind date in New York. In a statement issued Saturday through his agent, he described himself as an advocate of love and tolerance who falsified his past to better spread his message.

"I wanted to bring happiness to people," said Rosenblat, who now lives in the Miami area. "I brought hope to a lot of people. My motivation was to make good in this world."

Rosenblat's believers included not only his agent and his publisher, but Oprah Winfrey, film producers, journalists, family members and strangers who ignored, or didn't know about, the warnings from scholars that his story didn't make sense.

Other Holocaust memoirists have devised greater fantasies. Misha Defonseca, author of "Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years," pretended she was a Jewish girl who lived with wolves during the war, when she was actually a non-Jew who lived, without wolves, in Belgium.

Historical records prove Rosenblat was indeed at Buchenwald and other camps.

"How sad that he felt he had to embellish a life of surviving the Holocaust and of being married for half a century," said Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum.

The damage is broad. Publishing, the most trusting of industries, has again been burned by a memoir that fact-checking might have prevented. Berkley is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), which in March pulled Margaret B. Jones' "Love and Consequences" after the author acknowledged she had invented her story of gang life in Los Angeles. Winfrey fell, as she did with James Frey, for a narrative of suffering and redemption better suited for television than for history.

The damage is deep. Scholars and other skeptics as well as fellow survivors fear that Rosenblat's fabrications will only encourage doubts about the Holocaust.

"I am very worried because many of us speak to thousands of student each year," says Sidney Finkel, a longtime friend of Rosenblat's and a fellow survivor. "We go before audiences. We tell them a story and now some people will question what I experienced."

"This was not Holocaust education but miseducation," Ken Waltzer, director of Jewish Studies at Michigan State University, said in a statement.

"Holocaust experience is not heartwarming, it is heart rending. All this shows something about the broad unwillingness in our culture to confront the difficult knowledge of the Holocaust," Waltzer said. "All the more important then to have real memoirs that tell of real experience in the camps."

Among the fooled, at least the partially fooled, was Berenbaum, former director of the United States Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Berenbaum had been asked to read the manuscript by film producer Harris Salomon, who still plans an adaptation of the book.

Berenbaum's tentative support — "Crazier things have happened," he told The Associated Press last fall — was cited by the publisher as it initially defended the book. Berenbaum now says he saw factual errors, including Rosenblat's description of Theresienstadt, the camp from which he was eventually liberated, but didn't think of challenging the love story.

"There's a limit to what I can verify, because I was not there," he says. "I can verify the general historical narrative, but in my research I rely upon the survivors to present the specifics of their existence with integrity. When they don't, they destroy so much and they ruin so much, and that's terrible."

"I was burned," he added. "And I have to read books more skeptically because I was burned."

Fare Thee Well

2008-12-10T11:57:00.002-05:00

Boy, what a semester! I have two pretty different notes to write to each class, second and third period.

Second Period: You all are, for the most part, a group of hard workers. There were averages that were turned around in your class that I never would have expected to turn around! I have enjoyed the camaraderie we had with each other and the good attitudes that you all have shown nearly all of the time. I wish each and every one of you the best and I know that if you keep the focus you have shown this semester, you will be a success.

Third Period: You guys... what to say? :) When you're on, you're on. When you're off... well, you know, you're REALLY off. Really, we had some amazing discussions in your class when you were focused. You also performed very well on tests and assignments (for the most part). I had a lot of fun with your class (and we can all agree that there were some very WEIRD moments, too). You all have such distinctive personalities, but I felt like I mainly got to see those through your journals. I appreciate your response to the Holocaust unit and the maturity you are showing with the novel project. I wish all of you luck in your future endeavors!

To all of you: I would love to see you in my Holocaust Lit class next year or possibly even in AP your senior year if you are up to that. I have so enjoyed getting to know you and I am glad you were in my class this semester. Feel free to come by room 222 any time (I'll probably be here for the next 22 years or so) or email me at adavis@clevelandschools.org to check in from time to time. Good luck, and thanks for a good semester!

My Favorites...

2008-12-01T17:11:00.002-05:00

Below are a couple of poems that are some of my favorites. Let me know what you think!

Tonight I Can Write

The Creation

Knoxville, TN

Week of December 1

2008-12-01T10:21:00.002-05:00

We are on the home stretch, people! :) Here is our schedule for the upcoming week. (We do have the Gateway this week. Remember, this is a seventh of your grade. It can make ALL the difference. Please be sure to give it your all.)

Monday, December 1
Define Units 15 and 16
Poetry Terms
Poetry Intro

Tuesday, December 2
Gateway Demographics
Gateway Review

Wednesday, December 3
Gateway

Thursday, December 4
Read and analyze poetry

Friday, December 5
Vocab quiz
Write poetry

Thanksgiving and Turkeys...

2008-11-25T13:46:00.001-05:00

You all did a quick activity today that provided a little break for all of us and hopefully caused you to reflect on what you are thankful for this holiday season. I did not make a turkey, but if I had, the following four things would have been on his feathers...

1. My Faith. I am so thankful that I can live for Someone beyond myself, and that I have a hope and a future.

2. My Family. There are not many joys in life that can compare with little people who call you "mom"! I am thankful every day for healthy children, both in mind and body. (It also helps that they simply CRACK ME UP much of the time!) I am also thankful for a husband who loves and supports his family, but perhaps most importantly, someone I can laugh with and who is my very best friend. Not many people my age have parents as well as grandparents living, and I am so grateful for those people who have given me an example for living. I also have a wonderful sister and brother-in-law (though we have only viewed each other as wonderful since we have been adult :) ). It is probably even few people who can say that they have amazing in-laws! I love my mother and father-in-law to pieces and I just have the best brother and sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews on earth. Add my amazing extended family (cousins especially) to that, and it just doesn't get any better.

3. My Friends. Boy, there are days I don't think I would survive YOU people if I didn't have my teacher friends to vent to!!! I work with the best faculty on the planet, and I am blessed to call many of them my friends. Then there are those non-teacher friends, those people who keep me grounded in the real world and remind me that there is life beyond teenage drama. These are my "grown-up friends". :) I am lucky enough to have four best friends, people I can talk to about absolutely anything and know that they will always support me. Can life be this good, really?!?!?

4. My Focus. This is a broad category, and it mainly encompasses my passions in life. I would put all of you in this category, along with my job and my love for learning and literature. I truly feel that I was called to this profession and I hope that I am doing it to the best of my ability every single day. I also have to put my second profession in here, photography. I just love to view the world through a camera lens and I am lucky that I get to make money while having fun! Finally, in this category, I would certainly put my areas of focus in my life, the study of the Holocaust and the passion I have to educate on this topic as well as the topic of ridding the world of injustice. (Long sentence, likely a run-on...) I feel very strongly about many things and I like to spend my time thinking and learning about those areas.

So, that would be my turkey. He is an alliterative turkey, as you can tell. :) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your break!!!

Your reactions...

2008-11-24T12:07:00.001-05:00

We will complete the Holocaust unit tomorrow. What are your reactions to this unit? What parts did you feel were the most beneficial? What parts did you want to spend more time on? What parts did you think could have been dropped from the unit? How did you feel about the book? What do you think is the main thing you will take away from this unit? Is anyone interested in learning more about the Holocaust (by reading more, watching more, or even taking Holocaust lit?)?

SHORT Week of November 24

2008-11-24T09:56:00.002-05:00

TWO DAY WEEK!!! How excited are you? :) We have a relatively light schedule this week as we wrap up the Holocaust unit. I have been very pleased with your responses to this unit.

Monday, November 24
Letter to Sonja
Watch "Life is Beautiful"

Tuesday, November 25
Finish "Life is Beautiful"
Thanksgiving activity

H/W over Break: Do the Extra credit Holocaust project that is due on Monday, 12/1.

I think that if there is one thing we have gained from this unit, it is that we should be appreciative and grateful for what we have. This Thanksgiving, I hope that you will cherish your families, enjoy the meals, take some time to rest, and be safe. Don't forget the feelings you had during this unit about how much we take for granted in our own lives. Have a wonderful break! We will hit the ground running on December 1!!!

Culminating Projects

2008-11-23T21:38:00.001-05:00

We did a culminating activity for the Holocaust unit in which students used some sort of medium to create a symbol of their understanding of the Holocaust unit. Here are some pictures of the finished products!

Sonja DuBois

2008-11-21T09:56:00.004-05:00

"I am the matriarch of a whole family... someone who wasn't supposed to be here... because someone chose not to be a silent bystander."

You two sophomore classes were SO lucky to hear living history yesterday morning and afternoon in the form of Ms. Sonja DuBois, a Holocaust survivor, hidden child. We are so lucky that she and her sweet husband, Ron, came down to Cleveland from Knoxville to talk to my English II classes. She tells her story in such a quiet, gripping way, beginning with a visualization and ending with a plea to you to "pick a cause, any cause, that is close to your heart. Commit yourself to that cause for the rest of your life. You can't change the world, but you can accomplish a lot if you focus on a single area."

She also admonished you that "freedom isn't free. It can't be borrowed or purchased. It has to be protected. By you." This statement had quite an effect, apparently so much so that it turned up on a project today! The responses from your thank you letters to Veterans have shown you so this was a verification of the fact that people protect our freedom daily.

As I drove my speaker to my honors class back home this afternoon, I was struck by a very sobering thought. My two girls will likely never have the opportunity you had today. By the time they are old enough to hear the story of the Holocaust from someone who was there, those people will likely be gone or unable to travel to Cleveland and talk. I sincerely hope that you realize what a gift you received yesterday. And, like other gifts, this gift's effect will be determined by you. Will you heed her advice and make your life count for making a difference in the world, or will you be part of the 85% who were bystanders (or worse, the 10%)?

I would love to hear your reactions to her presentation.

Go to my other blog for information from the speaker for my honors class.

Song

2008-11-18T23:15:00.001-05:00

I know that some of you probably are not nuts about the new song I have put on here. However, I specifically selected that song for a reason. An excerpt from the lyrics to that song are posted below. We will be hearing this week from an eye witness to history. You will become an eye witness to an eye witness. Your children will never have this opportunity. These people, and their stories, are kept alive through you and I.

REMEMBER ME
(James Horner/Cynthia Weil)
(Performed by Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska)

Remember:
I will still be here
As long as you hold me
In your memory

I'm with you whenever
You tell my story
For I am all I've done

Week of November 17-- Is it starting to feel like a balancing act???

2008-11-16T17:22:00.002-05:00

I am in shock that we are already at the end of the 4.5 weeks of the SECOND NINE WEEKS! I really have had a great semester with you guys and I have been most impressed with you reactions to the Holocaust unit. I absolutely cannot wait until this Thursday when you all are privileged to hear Sonja.

Monday, November 17
Read Night

Tuesday, November 18
Read Night

Wednesday, November 19
Night Seminar
Holocaust Test

Thursday, November 20
Sonja DuBois, Holocaust Survivor

Friday, November 21
Culminating activity

The New Song

2008-11-16T17:21:00.001-05:00

Kristallnacht- The November 1938 Pogroms

2008-11-10T13:46:00.002-05:00

If you are interested in learning more about Kristallnacht, check out the link above to the USHMM online exhibition.

Father Patrick DesBois

2008-11-10T13:45:00.001-05:00

I read this afternoon about a French priest who has taken on the mission of discovering every mass grave of Jews in the Ukraine. It is a pretty interesting story and the link to the NY TImes article is below. I am also linking a podcast (below that) from the USHMM about it.

NY Times article:

Podcast:

If you read the article or listen to the podcast, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. These would have been the victims of the mobile killing squads we talked about today.

What is the importance of knowing where someone is buried, of having an actual grave to visit? Why do people return to the scene of accidents and deaths? Why are these things so important to us as humans?

Week of November 10

2008-11-09T22:30:00.003-05:00

I have been so impressed by your attention thus far to the Holocaust unit I certainly think that the further we go into this unit will really enlighten you.

Monday, November 10
Nazi Germany notes
Assess photo activities (extra credit)
Children of the Holocaust (butterfly activity)

Tuesday, November 11
Complete butterfly activity
Photo activity
Final solution notes

Wednesday, November 12
PLAN test

Thursday, November 13
Responsibility Discussion
Rescue, Resistance, Liberation notes
Triangle

Friday, November 14
Read Night

Photo activity

2008-11-06T13:58:00.002-05:00

I did not book the computer lab in enough time, so I need you all to do something for me between now and Monday, the 10th, if you want some extra credit.

First of all, jot down three words that you relate to every day life. These words might be eating, sleeping, shopping, playing outside, playing sports, reading, school, etc.

Then, please go to the below website:
http://www.ushmm.org/research/collections/search/ph_catalog.php

At this site, you will find a place to enter a search term into the field and hit search. Enter one of the words you jotted down. It will pull up a list of photos with thumbnails. Scroll through the photos until you find one that really speaks to you. (Please don't just pick the first one you come to!) You might want to search each of your three words. Pick TWO photos that you really like. You need to pick photos that were taken PRIOR TO the camps and ghettos, of everyday Jewish life. (There are descriptions on most of the photos that will let you know that information.)

Once you have selected two that fit the above requirements, please copy and paste them onto a sheet of paper and print them out (they will be black and white). I typically have some questions for you to answer, but since you are doing this at home, we will skip that part.

Bring these printed photos with you on Monday. This is for extra credit.

Honor to Whom Honor is Due

2008-11-04T15:45:00.002-05:00

You all might have noticed that I changed the song on the blog. I just thought that with Veteran's Day coming up next week, Election Day today, and beginning the Holocaust unit, this would be a great time to reflect on the honor we owe our veterans and current armed forces personnel. You guys will see as we go through this unit how blessed we are to live in America. The rights that we enjoy (the same rights which were taken from the Jews in Nazi Germany) are protected by our military personnel. Your political persuasions don't come into play, your personal opinions about our current war don't matter, and your like or dislike for the way our country is run has nothing to do with the fact that we are a blessed people. Next week, you will be writing a thank you letter to veteran. The week after that, you will hear from a survivor of a concentration camp. I would like for you to spend some time between now and those two days and reflect on what it means to be American, and what kind of a debt of gratitude we owe to people like that.

Week of November3

2008-11-03T00:43:00.004-05:00

Election Week! No matter who you are voting for, this is such an exciting week for our country! We are so blessed that we have the right to vote and that the change of power takes place in such a peaceful way. (AND you get a day off this week! What can be better than that?)

This week is also the start of our Holocaust unit. Holocaust education is really my passion and I am so anxious to share this with you. We are especially lucky to hear first-hand from a Holocaust survivor. Your children will never have that opportunity.

Monday, November 3
Star of David Activity

Tuesday, November 4
OFF!!!

Wednesday, November 5
Holocaust Intro, notes, chronology

Thursday, November 6
Victim groups, propaganda

Friday, November 7
Photo activity, Nazi Germany notes, Veteran's letter
DUE: Journals

It's HILLBILLY DAY!!!

2008-10-30T11:42:00.002-04:00

We are celebrating our cross-county rivals today!

It's CHARACTER DAY!!!

2008-10-30T07:57:00.006-04:00

Who are these characters? I ask myself that almost daily! :)

Caesar newspapers

2008-10-29T09:48:00.004-04:00

These turned out really cool! They are front pages of newspapers from Caesar's time. The kids did a good job in a short amount of time.

Week of October 27

2008-10-27T13:27:00.002-04:00

Monday, October 27
Define Units 13 and 14
Watch "First Knight"

Tuesday, October 28
Vocab act
Finish "First Knight"
List characteristics

Wednesday, October 29
Animal Farm

Thursday, October 30
Animal Farm

Friday, October 31
Animal Farm test, discussion
Voc quiz
In-class knighthood characteristics

Resources

2008-10-21T22:22:00.001-04:00

If you are interested in the mysteries surrounding Arthur and Camelot, you might want to take a look at this website.

The other website is an interesting illustrated version of the tales.

I don't have any specific questions, but feel free to comment on anything you find interesting on either site.

Reaction

2008-10-21T22:10:00.000-04:00

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."
~Joseph Campbell

Campbell has done a lot of research on heroes, legends, and quests, the stuff that the Arthurian Legends are made of. What reactions do you have to this quote?

As a side note, I chose the picture at the top because it is a photograph of the Holocaust survivor who spoke to us yesterday at Vanderbilt. This photo was taken the day she left on a ship for the United States to her new adoptive family (her aunt and uncle). Her name is Frances Cutler, and her parents put her in an orphanage in Paris to save her. Her mother was murdered in Auschwitz and her father died as a French resistance fighter. I don't think I need to make the connection for you between this quote and this picture. I will say that, though Frances is certainly a hero for telling her story to student groups around the country, I cannot imagine being in a situation where the best scenario for my child to live is for me to have to give her up and leave her with strangers.

Week of October 20

2008-10-21T09:35:00.001-04:00

We are starting (and almost finishing!) Arthurian Legends this week. It should be a good, light unit for us.

Monday, 10/20
Define Unit 7
Watch "Camelot"

Tuesday, 10/21
Camelot questions
Camelot notes
Read "Sword in the Stone" for homework

Wednesday, 10/22
Vocab activity
Discuss "Sword", read "Sir Lancelot"
Codes of Chivalry discussion

Thursday, 10/23
Watch "Stick in the Log"
Work on shields

Friday, 10/24
Vocab quiz
Arthur unit test
DUE: Journals

Upcoming: Animal Farm next week!

Fall Break

2008-10-19T11:25:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone had a great fall break! I will be gone to Vanderbilt to the Educational Outreach Program for the Tennessee Holocaust Commission today and tomorrow, but you guys will start the Arthurian Legends unit without me. I am anxious to share everything I learn this weekend with you during our upcoming Holocaust unit!

Week of October 13 (And FALL BREAK!!!)

2008-10-11T23:17:00.005-04:00

Monday, 10/13
Library/lab to research for Shakespeare/Caesar paper

Tuesday, 10/14
Library/lab to research for Shakespeare/Caesar paper

Wednesday, 10/15
Library/lab to research for Shakespeare/Caesar project

Thursday, Friday
Enjoy a couple of days off! Be safe, have fun, and come back ready to work hard for nine more weeks!!!

Caesar Projects!

2008-10-09T14:04:00.013-04:00

LOVE the Caesar projects I got this time! The ideas were so different and creative this time around. Great job to all of you, but here are a few of the most interesting...

Assassination Scene by Bruceann

Caesar's Assassination Scene by JT

The Dead in Caesar by Jake

Front Page by Ayana

Caesar Visual by Katelyn

Portia's Untimely Death by Rebekah

Caesar's coffin by Chelsie

DOUBLE quote illustration by Nisha

Memory Box by Kristen

Et tu, Brute?

2008-10-05T22:20:00.000-04:00

Considerations for the play...

· Is Brutus a good man?
· Can a good man commit murder?
· Is the quality of shrewdness the fatal missing ingredient in Brutus’ character?
· Or alternatively, is he just an evil person?

Week of October 6 (Can you believe it's already halfway through the semester?!?!?)

2008-10-05T22:17:00.002-04:00

Wow, end of the nine weeks this week! September felt very long, but it is still shocking to me that the semester is going so fast. Hope you guys are ready to finish the nine weeks with a bang! (And a whole lot of BIG grades...)

Monday, October 6
Peer read character analysis
DUE: Julius Caesar memorizations

Tuesday, October 7
Caesar test

Wednesday, October 8
Review
DUE: Caesar projects

Thursday, October 9
9 Week test (over fiction, nonfiction, Julius Caesar)

Friday, October 10
Newspaper projects

Decision '08 and Assassination 63'

2008-10-01T14:02:00.000-04:00

At this point in our political cycle, we are no doubt thinking a lot about leadership, politics, and government. In just four short weeks, we will elect the next president of our country. Without discussing anything specific from our own political parties and without making any points for any candidate by name, please think for a few minutes and comment on the following questions that this play raises. What makes a good leader? Is it okay to sacrifice the rights of an individual for the good of many, the way that Brutus and the conspirators sacrificed Caesar for Rome? What would the perfect government look like? Brutus, one could argue, is in favor of a democratic leadership. He fears the total power Caesar wanted to assume. With that being said, is it ironic at all that Brutus chose a VERY undemocratic method of finding a solution to the problem? Are there any contemporary world events-- or any in recent history-- which parallel Brutus' taking of Caesar's life? Do such comparisons help you understand Brutus' position or the world in the play?

Week of September 29

2008-09-29T21:08:00.003-04:00

I do hope that you have been enjoying Caesar this week. We will finish it up by the end of the week.

Monday, 9/29
Define Unit 6, Finish Act III

Tuesday, 9/30
JC Character Activity

Wednesday, 10/1
Voc Act, Act IV

Thursday, 10/2
Act V

Friday, 10/3
Voc Quiz, Character analysis
DUE: Journals

Week of September 22

2008-09-21T23:29:00.000-04:00

OK guys, the moment you have been waiting for IS HERE!!! (Maybe it is not the moment YOU have been waiting for, but it IS the moment I have been waiting for.) We are starting Shakespeare and Julius Caesar this week. I hope so much that you enjoy the play as much as I do. This play has it all... conflict, inner turmoil, rhetoric, patriotism, betrayal, revenge, war.. kind of sounds like our current presidential election, huh? :) Seriously, I think you will love the play. Even if you don't, these next two weeks rank among my favorite in the semester.

Monday, 9/22
Watch the Shakespeare A and E, questions over it

Tuesday, 9/23
Shakespeare interview, extra credit, notes

Wednesday, 9/24
BRING POST-IT NOTES
Act I of Julius Caesar

Thursday, 9/25
Act II

Friday, 9/26
Catch up

Week of September 15 (LATE!)

2008-09-17T08:37:00.003-04:00

Monday, 9/15

Define Unit 3

Cosby's essay, list of 10 ways to get/lose a guy/girl

Tuesday, 9/16

Speeches

Review sheet for test

Wednesday, 9/17

Vocab act

Nonfiction Test

Thursday, 9/18

Persuasive essay

Friday, 9/19

Vocab Quiz

Lab to type essay and resume

DUE: Journals

Caesar next week!!!!

September 11

2008-09-11T11:29:00.002-04:00

The Hero in All of Us?

2008-09-08T14:00:00.003-04:00

Week of September 8

2008-09-07T22:16:00.005-04:00

We will be deep in the nonfiction unit this week. I expect that you will get a lot out of the week in class. Most of the nonfiction during the first of the week will be viewed instead of read. There will be a writing assignment after each one.

Monday, September 8
Grammar concept, watch "The Rosa Parks Story"
END OF 4.5 WEEKS

Tuesday, September 9
Finish "The Rosa Parks Story", write cause-effect essay ("If Rosa Parks had given up her seat, then...")

Wednesday, September 10
Grammar activity, watch "9/11"
DUE: Interview

Thursday, September 11
Finish "9/11", write a 9/11 memorial

Friday, September 12
Grammar quiz, read "The Man in the Water", seminar
DUE: Inspirational narrative

Extra Credit

2008-09-03T10:35:00.002-04:00

Anyone who wants extra credit can tell me by Friday who wrote the book that I am reading aloud to you in class.

Week of September 2

2008-09-02T11:39:00.003-04:00

We have FINALLY finished the short story unit and will be starting our nonfiction unit this week. Here are the plans for the week:

Tuesday, 9/2
Define Unit 2, Fairy tales activity

Wednesday, 9/3
Voc act, finish fairy tales, nonfiction notes

Thursday, 9/4
Frank McCourt, articles, "Fish Cheeks"

Friday, 9/5
Questions over articles, Vocab quiz
DUE: Journals

Week of August 25

2008-08-25T21:57:00.004-04:00

We are going to be moving toward the end of the short story unit this week (I know you are all excited!).

Monday, 8/25
"On the Rainy River", analaogies work individually

Tuesday, 8/26
Tone/POV, Suspense notes, "The Masque of the Red Death", Class story

Wednesday, 8/27
Analogies work in groups, "Lamb to the Slaughter"

Thursday, 8/28
Review

Friday, 8/29
Analogies quiz, Short Story Test

Extra Credit

2008-08-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

The first person who can tell me in class tomorrow the definitions of abstract and tangible will get extra credit.

The Week of August 18

2008-08-20T22:34:00.003-04:00

This week's schedule:

Monday, 8/18
Define Unit 1, read "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets"

Tuesday, 8/19
Discuss "Contents," Ray Bradbury video, read "The Pedestrian," Discuss it

Wednesday, 8/20
Vocab Activity 1, Theme/Characterization, Read "And of Clay Are We Created"

Thursday, 8/21
Fiction Notes quiz, Discuss "And of Clay," Irony/Symbolism, Read "Two Kinds"

Friday, 8/22
Vocab quiz, Read
DUE: Journals

My Favorite Short Story

2008-08-20T22:28:00.002-04:00

Welcome Back!

2008-08-12T13:43:00.002-04:00

First day back... I don't think I have had a better first day in eight years of teaching! Everyone seemed so positive and in accordance with all of the new policies and procedures. I am so excited about the coming year. My classes also seemed to be really great. I am going to be using this blog as a general blog and my English II blog. I have a separate one for English II Honors. Below I have included a calendar for my English II classes for this week.

Wednesday, August 13: Autobiography, Letter to Self, Assign textbooks

Thursday, August 14: Gateway practice test
DUE: Parent letter

Friday, August 15: Elements of fiction notes, group activity over elements of fiction

Again, welcome back to school to all of you and welcome to my class. I think it's going to be an awesome year!

New Blogs

2008-07-09T11:41:00.002-04:00

Hey guys (all two of you who still check this!)! I hope your summer has been wonderful. Mine has been uneventful and fun. I just wanted to let you know that I have set up a couple of new blogs for my classes next year. You guys from Holocaust Lit are welcome to stay active in the new Never Forget blog. In fact, I would love it! The blog address is http://davishlit.blogspot.com.
I am going to use it much the same as the one I did last year. Josh, I think you will LOVE the background! Just for curiosity's sake, I am also setting up http://davisIIh.blogspot.com for English II Honors and http://davisap.blogspot.com for AP. I will use these two kind of like the one last year with some added things. I am going to do a weekly calender on them, too.

Holocaust Lit people: I have not forgotten the garden. I have not been able to find anyone to make it. Then, this past week, I was looking at "The Old House" magazine and I found an idea for a planter out of materials that will be much easier to make (same design). I am going to be talking to someone about it this week. I know we have gone long into summer, but we are going to do it, I promise. I just hated to spend that kind of money, you know (and we don't have that much!)?

Anyway, check out the new backgrounds (no posting yet) and have a great summer (what's left of it!)!

What a Class!

2008-05-22T00:10:00.003-04:00

I don't know if any of you in English II read this, but man... what a class you were! I felt kind of guilty at times because I could not quit laughing at your (immature!) actions! You all really did enjoy life (and each other... and me... and talking!) sooooo much! I appreciate your hard work (well, some of you, at least) and the laughs. You guys are nuts!!! Love ya!

Reflections on Holocaust Lit

2008-05-22T00:00:00.003-04:00

Wow, guys, I can't believe the end is here. I told you most of the mushy stuff in your letters, but here are a few of my own reflections. Each of you has contributed so much to the experience of the class. Probably the day that affected me the most personally, and the day I found it hardest to get through, was the day of the lesson on the Lodz Ghetto and the Rumkowski speech. The book I enjoyed most (reading) was The Cage. The seminar I enjoyed most was the last one over The Hangman and Wiesel's speech. The best work I saw from you all was your ecphrastic poems (the first one, based on The Little Polish Boy photo). I was most impressed by the artistic responses and your final projects. The lesson that surprised me most (the one I really created just to give you something to do while I was in DC) and ended up getting SOOOO much out of was the Memorials Research. It was such a great assignment!!! I was most disappointed by your reactions to Farewell to Manzanar. I know it was the end, but I wish you had stayed with it a little more and I think that is an important book. My favorite movie was Europa, Europa. Your responses to The Sunflower surprised me most. I am most proud of the blog idea. It was totally and completely my own and I think it went SOOO well. I know some of you probably didn't like it, but I think I will keep it, in some way, in all of my classes in the future. I feel worst about the Memorial Garden. I feel like the timing was so off and I am sorry I let you down. It will happen, I just wish it were sooner.

You know how much I loved the class and all of you and I will never forget this semester with you!

Congrats to the Seniors!

2008-05-16T14:16:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to our most recent CHS grads, the Class of 2008!!! I enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you and I wish you the very best. AP Class, you all were genuinely good people and I had fun with you!

Seniors in Holocaust Lit: Thanks for being part of that experience with me! Each of you were an integral part of the class being what it was. I meant every word of the letter I wrote the class. Kieley, Stephen, Allison, Bethany, Amy, and Brock, I hope you all will take the life lessons from this class with you into your futures. It is now your responsibility to Remember and to ensure that it happens Never Again. Good luck guys! Love you!

Poem by a Holocaust Survivor

2008-05-08T21:09:00.001-04:00

The title above is a weblink to an amazing poem I found tonight by a survivor. Let me know what you think.

UPDATE to Memorial Garden

2008-05-08T14:17:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, if any of you are checking tonight, I got the estimate from the Illinois Company. It is going to be $2,687. That is just the planter, not any flowers or anything else. I am checking today with a couple of companies in Cleveland. Thoughts, anyone? I have called Rose Stone Company and a builder I know has mentioned being willing to build a form (not for free), then we could fill it. What do you all think???

Washington, D.C.-- better late than never!!!

2008-05-08T13:25:00.002-04:00

Our trip to Washington, D.C., was great fun. I had a lot of fun and I appreciate all of those who helped in the fundraising. My co-chaperones were WONDERFUL (Mrs. Crump, Coach Collier, Ms. Hines, and Ms. Barbara) and the kids were so good (as far as I know...). We saw a little of everything on the trip, from our day at the monuments and memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, Vietnam, Korean, FDR, Einstein, WW II) to the Smithsonians, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the National Archives. We even worked in a little fun at the ESPN Zone, the Hard Rock Cafe, and King's Dominion. And what is a trip without SHOPPING (the Potomac Mills outlet mall was AWESOME!). I worked hard for us to get to go and lots of people helped make it happen.

The Limits of Forgiveness

2008-05-05T20:51:00.003-04:00

Wow guys, I enjoyed reading the responses to The Sunflower probably as much as I have enjoyed anything of yours I have read this semester. I just can't get over the amazing writing skill of this class. There was not a poor response in the whole bunch. Amazing. Interestingly, there were seven of you who said you would not offer forgiveness, one who very convincingly straddled the fence, and eighteen who would have forgiven. I read one review of this book who said that her Christian students tended to forgive and her Jewish students tended to not. I wonder if that is a religious difference or the fact that the Jewish students related differently since it was their people. Most of the ones who would have offered forgiveness did offer religious reasons as to why in our class. I am not going to put any entire responses on here, but here were a few powerful thoughts.

...The fact that an SS man is begging for forgiveness from a Jew is quite ironic, especially since he joined the SS voluntarily...
...I would turn to him and begin to tell him my story...
...Apathy is what I have been given and apathy is what they will receive...
...He believes that forgiveness is going to make up for the thousands that he voluntarily killed...
...He would have his sunflower on his grave while millions of innocent people would have nothing and be forgotten...
...I will never grant him forgiveness no matter what he does before his murderous life ends...
...the one that matters is God's forgiveness...
...he may have (originally) been a good man, a man of integrity, but I cannot forgive him, for he did nothing...
...How dare he beg and plead for some feeling, some compassion out of me, when no similar emotions surface towards the millions of murders for which no crimes were committed?...
...I cannot forgive you because I cannot speak for all Jews, but you are only asking forgiveness from me... I forgive you...
...The Jews and Nazis who walk past his grave, his sunflower, will see the symbol of forgiveness, a promise that will bind this man's story and mine forever...
...In the end, it comes down to the person's beliefs, thoughts, and ideas...
...It doesn't matter what you have done, when someone asks for forgiveness it is from a heart...
...As I am looking at the sunflower laying across his chest, I think of life...I forgive you...
...If he took the time to ask me for my forgiveness, he really had to have truly meant it...
...He must be forgiven. To not allow him the dignity or mercy of dying being forgiven would make me no better of a person than he...
...I would probably have forgiven him (personally), but not all SS guards...
...I am just glad that he has come to recognize the things he has done as bad things...
...(In the minds of the SS) he is lowering himself to ask my forgiveness...
...I honestly don't understand why I have been chosen to come and talk to him, but I do know God picked me for a reason...
..."Thank you," he said, then he died, finally at peace. The peace that all men deserve to die with...
...No deed is too horrible for its wickedness to be overcome...
...I am glad you are sorry for what you have done and I will forgive you...
...Would God forgive him for all that he has done?...
...I forgive you, though you deserve none. I am better than those who kill my people. I can't let hate and anger continue. Someone must stand up and I intend to...
...Deep inside myself, I felt a new sense of strength. I looked at his bandaged hand and I said, "You are forgiven."...
...I forgive you. What you did was wrong, but I am just as human as you are-- rotton to the core...

I think one consideration that none of you brought up is the fact that he was in the middle of the situation when he was asked to forgive. This is not years later, at a trial, when the murderer of your family asks you to forgive him or her. This is a situation when a murderer has just killed your family in front of you, is holding a gun on you, and asks you to forgive him or her. Does that make a difference? To me, yes it does. And I will say, I would have been one of the seven who said no. I respect those of you who said that denying him forgiveness would make you no better than he was, but I would have just had to lower myself to his level because I don't think I could have said yes while wearing my prison clothes and going straight back into the pit of despair and danger.

Really good and thoughtful responses from all of you. I got pretty sad tonight when I realized that I won't be reading anything from most of you again and not for a long time from some of you. Maybe you all could write some papers for fun over the summer and next year and send them to me? :)

Imperial Dreams a Success

2008-05-04T19:58:00.003-04:00

After much sleep in recovery from yesterday's almost 24-hour day, I just wanted to say that, from our perspective, the prom was a raging success. The guests seemed to have fun, the food was good, the music was good, it looked AMAZING, and the kids were (as far as we know) relatively well-behaved. Aside from the strange moment of discovering a CHS alum as a scuba diver outside the boat (don't ask), it was a great prom. Any congratulatory comments you all have :) or any constructive suggestions for next year would be acceptable on here. Thanks to all of the faculty sponsors, chaperones, and our wonderful executive committee for all those hours after school and on Saturday morning making pagodas and dragons!

Newsweek article

2008-05-01T22:58:00.002-04:00

I will probably read this article aloud to you tomorrow, but I thought it was so striking when I read it, especially in light of our recent discussions on the aftermath of the Holocaust. Use this post as a forum to comment on that article.

The title is a link, by the way.

Best Class Ever?

2008-05-01T22:33:00.004-04:00

I had one of you tell me when we returned to the classroom today "that was our best class this whole semester!" I don't actually remember who said it, and the more I thought about it later, I am not sure if I should be offended or not! :) However, I agree with you that the opportunity to dialogue with Gillad, Dima, and Arik was amazing. I enoyed it as well. What struck you the most from this discussion? There were so many quotable moments from the talk and most of the ones I noted were from Dima. I thought what he said about a Holocaust denier only needing to sit down with a survivor for one hour and it would cure all denial as such a great point.

Senior Countdown...

2008-05-01T22:25:00.003-04:00

Seniors, only one more week and two days of classes!!! You are on the final stretch of what has been a very long and, for some of you, difficult at times, journey. Enjoy this last week of high school life as much as you have time to do. Last prom, last week of classes, last studying for finals, last exams, last time together as a class... and you can all breathe a collective sigh of relief one week from tonight when it is all said and done. You are probably all in that normal senior mindset of "can't wait to get out of here, leave all this, etc", but don't let that distract you from the end of the task at hand. You may be surprised how much you end up missing high school! Have a good day tomorrow!

And congrats to Kieley for getting to speak at graduation!!!

These Great United States of Ours

2008-04-29T22:14:00.002-04:00

We talked today about the United States and the role our country played in the Holocaust. What are your feeling about this topic? Also consider what you see as the United States' role in current world affairs.

Haunting...

2008-04-28T23:22:00.002-04:00

Some of you are wanting another post to respond to (because THREE wasn't enough last week...), so here is something I wanted you all to look at anyway. The title above is a weblink. These people found artwork of Auschwitz and sent them to this photographer for him to go and take "now" pictures of the same places pictured in the artwork. We are going to talk a little next week (or the end of this week) about Holocaust Denial. There are bazillions of arguments against it, but this website to me gives another haunting arguement against the deniers. What are your reactions to the website?

Do Not Mourn Me

2008-04-28T09:34:00.003-04:00

We read John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" in AP. Since they, too, are going on a journey soon and leaving things and people behind, they wrote their own versions of this poem. I really liked Brock's version because I felt like it embodied the fresh outlook on life that seniors hopefully have at this point in their lives, that belief that nothing can stop them from achieving their goals. My very favorite part is the end where he acknowledges that even though he may not become famous, he will still be successful through hard work and committment.

Do not mourn me when I am gone,
For I will be one step closer to my dreams.
I'll write you the most beautiful songs,
And try to figure out what this life means.

When you think of my journey,
Do not shed a single tear,
You should just be happy for me,
And embrace me as you embrace your fears.

I may one day soon return,
To this town I once called home,
The memory of this place will forever burn
As I travel to a new town all alone.

But I am not worried,
I've spent my whole life for this
No I am not discouraged,
I've spent my whole life for this.

So goodbye, and farewell,
I hope that you see my name on billboard signs,
Wouldn't that be swell,
I'll become famous because of these songs of mine.

And if not I'll still likely succeed,
And work hard, to provide for my every need.

Love and Anguish

2008-04-23T15:17:00.003-04:00

Several people showed this in their presentations. I am very curious as to what you all see in this sculpture. I cannot figure out what my interpretation is. You can't see it from this side, but the large arm has a number on it. Therefore, it apparently represents a victim. The people around it? I don't know. I want to hear your interpretations of this one.

Raining Death

2008-04-23T15:03:00.004-04:00

I told you that there were three exhibits that affected me most in this visit to the USHMM. The first was the Tower of Faces, which I talked about. The second was the railcar. I have walked through that car at least eight to nine other times and it always feels uneasy, but this time was different. I was alone at that time in the Museum and I just stood, for about ten minutes, in the car. The air kind of changes when you step in. It is also very musty and stale with age. I stood there, and I looked at the one high window which was boarded up, and I imagined how it must have felt. They had their belongings, were with family in many cases, and probably felt like they were just being relocated. But little did they know, those moments, hours, in that train were the last they would spend with their loved ones. I can't imagine the last memory I had of Kraig and the girls being crammed together in a cattlecar, like animals, breathing that stale air. I found this picture online of the inside of the car and it is just another example of how carefully these are thought out. You have to be diligent in looking, but each photograph, each exhibit, each quote, has been carefully planned. In this photograph you can see through the car to the giant photograph beyond. Wow.

The last exhibit that struck me was a new one, at least new since my last trip in November of '06. They had a glass cabinet with three shelves in it on one side of the passageway and another one just like it on the other side. The one on the left had a shelf of prayer shawls, a shelf of toothbrushes and combs, and a shelf of umbrellas. The one on the opposite side had a shelf of kitchen utensils, one of razors, and one of scissors. The explanation read that these were things that were found in the luggage at the camps. I don't know why, but the pile of spindly, aged umbrellas got me. They looked almost skeletal, for one. Secondly, as a person who does not usually remember to go places prepared (I didn't even take an umbrella to DC), I just was struck by the fact that they had NO IDEA what was happening to them. They took UMBRELLAS, for heaven's sake, to a DEATH CAMP. People don't pack kitchen utensils and scissors for trips. They pack them when they are moving away. And they sure don't take umbrellas to their executions. How utterly unprepared, how little they knew, how caught off guard they must have been... it is heartbreaking.

Memorials

2008-04-23T14:30:00.003-04:00

I cannot tell you all how much I enjoyed your presentations on the Memorials. It's like everything else we are doing in that I have no idea how it will go until we do it. I appreciate your willingness to be guinea pigs in my experimentation for this course. The coolest thing was, even though some Memorials were presented several times, you all had different insight into them. It was wonderful. I am including some pictures I found from the exhibit I told you about at the Museum. It was the one Hillary and Leah talked about. I would welcome any comments you have about those presentations. I will post another thing for you to also comment on, if you wish.

Blended Poetry Based on The Cage

2008-04-17T15:06:00.003-04:00

Holocaust Literature created blended poems by responding to several prompts from me, then highlighting passages from The Cage that spoke to them. The poems consist of one line by Ruth Minsky Sender, then one line by the student, back and forth. I wanted to post a couple of them on here.

By Ruth Minsky Sender and Brian Moran
A world of love and peace
Enjoy life to the fullest
Gives new energy
To give my best
To plan for a better, brighter tomorrow
Becoming a great parent
This day will come
A loving family
How lovely it must be
Being truthful and honest
It is good to be alive
Learning how to become a better person

By Ruth Minsky Sender and Colleen Skelly
Sweet smell of lilac in full bloom
Big oak trees swaying in the breeze
A gentle breeze coming through the open window caresses my face
Jesus sitting under the tree with His arms open, waiting for me
I speak to him of a tomorrow that is coming for all of us
The sun coming through the trees
A world of love and peace
My mother, my rock, my sisters, my strength
I must carry them in my heart, they are only memories of another life
My mother is my courage, my sisters are my strength

By Ruth Minsky Sender and Gage Reason
A gentle breeze coming through the open window caresses my face
I have the nicest lawn in the neighborhood
Such beauty; I hold my breath
and I remember the white sands of Destin.
It is good to be alive.
Inspiration to live and to rise above
How wonderful it is to be free.
I think of the palatial feasts on Thanksgiving,
No more hunger
The serenity of life,
A world of love and peace.

Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed

2008-04-17T15:05:00.001-04:00

This is another highly acclaimed book about the Holocaust. This group will use this post for your discussion.

Survival in Auschwitz

2008-04-16T21:58:00.001-04:00

Primo Levi is one of the leading Holocaust writers. This memoir is very highly acclaimed. That group needs to use this post as a forum for your online discussion over the book.