After spending a week reviewing and revising our Georgetown argumentative essays, the students submitted their final drafts this week. We'll be moving on to our next unit starting next week—can't wait to get started on The Crucible! We'll ease into Puritan Lit with "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards (fun fact: he is the grandfather of Aaron Burr, the "fire and brimstone preacher" he sings about in Hamilton). The week felt a little disjointed because of department-wide assessments, so we're excited to get back to our regularly scheduled programming next week. Here are the caption contest winners from the past two weeks! P1 "Date knight." - Gisselle G. "When he says he’s really old-fashioned." - Alejandro G. "Man, you really take Round Table pizza seriously." - Alex H. "I guess chivalry isn’t dead after all." - Stephen K. P2 "So Sharon…I heard you like Beowulf." - Allison B. "Chivalry isn’t dead after all." - Charles C. "So like...are you a morning person or knight person?" - Arend V. P3 "I thought we were going to Medieval Times." - Christian G. "Sorry if I’m a little rusty. I don’t usually do the whole dating thing." - Justin O. "Just like old times." - Ellie S. P4 "I know you wanted to go to Medieval Times, but this was the best I could do." - Roz A. "Your picture seemed a little different in your profile…" - AnnElise M. "So how is your knights so far?" - Aleks N. P1
“Don’t mind me, I’m just waiting for someone to fall.” - Lance A. “Who’s the new guy.” - David M. “I used to sit up here too.....” - Denny V. P2 “Aye, you got the pizza or nachos Lunchables?” - Danny A. “When you have been working overtime for a month straight.” - Danny M. Worker: “This job is so boring I’d rather die” Death: “Just say the word” - Sam T. P3 “Hey um... death, were kinda on our lunch break. Could you do your job after?” - Grace H. “Killer view up here. Would be a shame if one of you were to... fall.” - Ivy N. “Mind cutting the crust off my PB and J?” - Justin O. P4 “Grim working conditions.” - Kimani E. “Don’t mind me, just waiting for Phil.” - Russell K. “Please tell me it’s gonna be John.” - Aleks N.
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The next section of our Colonial Lit unit gave us a different perspective. We dove in to an excerpt by Olaudah Equiano about his experience as a slave after he was kidnapped from Nigeria and sent to Barbados as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade. We examined his text for ethos, pathos, and logos as he sought to persuade his audience of "nominal Christians" that their actions did not align with their beliefs. Even though the slave trade ended in 1809, the lasting effects of slavery can still be felt. We read "My Sojourn in the Lands of My Ancestors" by Maya Angelou as she detailed her trip to a small town called Dunkwa in Ghana. Unsure whether she would be accepted by the Ghanaians and other Africans, on her trip she proved that despite the intervening years of forced separation and cruelty, she could still return home and be not only recognized, but accepted. Finally, we brought it all the way to present day and listened to a few news stories from NPR about Georgetown University ("Starting School at the University that Enslaved Her Ancestors") ("Georgetown University to Offer Slave Descendants Preferential Admissions"). In 1838, the nascent university was struggling financially, so two Jesuit priests in the administration sold 272 men, women, and children to keep the university afloat. Today, they are acknowledging their tarnished history and attempting to make reparations for their past actions by offering preferential admission to the descendants of those 272 people. There are many differing opinions about this solution, including among the descendants themselves. After some additional research, the students will be arguing whether this is sufficient restitution. Read the NY Times article here! Let's see what the students think! Featured Student Work!A few weeks ago, the students wrote their own creation myths and trickster tales. Take a look at some of the stories, along with a comic drawn by Christie W. to complement her story!
And here are last week's Caption Contest winners! P1
“Wait, can you go back? I wanted mustard.” - Sammy B. “Add this to our collection of worldwide hotdogs.” - Jake E. “These hot dogs are on point.” - Emily N. ”Where’s my drink?” - Michael R. P2 “Top dogs.” - Cavin K. “When your manager says its time to take the business to a higher level.” - Sam T. P3 “When traveling, we only eat food from the top of the food pyramid.” - Grace H. “Yeah. I don’t think Chad would’ve climbed up there just for you.” - August P. “And here I thought they weren’t going to make me work for food.” - Kalan S. P4 “Nothing stands between me and food.” - Jasmine C. “Bob, I said I wanted mustard.” - Christina R. Women: “At what angle must I go up to get a hotdog?” Man: “Not sure but you’re most certainly an acute angle.” *women walks away* - Destiny M.
Moving right along in our First Encounters and Colonial Literature unit, we continued to explore the writings of the early explorers and colonists. When I was at UCLA, a comedy group did a sketch about William Bradford, so naturally we had to watch it before reading an excerpt from Of Plymouth Plantation. I think it's hilarious--the students described it as "cringe-y"--but that won't stop me from continuing to show it every year. In addition to annotating Bradford's documentation of Plymouth Colony, the students extrapolated and made inferences to step into someone else's shoes rewrite the piece from the perspective of the Native Americans.
After Bradford, we read two primary documents, both written by John Smith, detailing his first encounter with the Native Americans. Each account tells a very different story, so the students compiled evidence and debated which one they believed to be the "true" story. The students did a phenomenal job acknowledging the opposing side of the argument and clearly presenting evidence in support of their claim. Periods 1 & 2 both believed Document B told the real story, whereas the majority in periods 3 & 4 believed Document A. Overall, it was a pretty even split.
Here are this week's caption contest winners!
P1
"You ruined our fun so now we’ll ruin yours." - Don R. “Sorry Jimmy this one is for 40 year olds and older.” - Denny V. P2 "The movie theater during the opening of Incredibles 2 like" - Allison B. "Wait your turn kid, we haven’t had fun like this in a while." - Lea J. "Take your parents to recess day." - Sebastian M. P3 "Hey Johnny can you catch me at the bottom?" - Kai H. “Wait your turn like the rest of us, kid.” - Jack M. “Run along now Timmy, the adults are play— working, the adults are working.” - Justin O. "Leave me alone, I’m working." - Mauricio V. P4 "The annual 'Bring Your Parent to Play’ day." - Kimani E. “Sorry son, I have business to attend to.” - Edgar F. "We need this more than you do." - Alessandra G. "Sorry kid, this is an adults only meeting." - Gavin H. "Please son, just let me have this." - Russell K. |
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September 2019
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