ACE English (meeting BCE)

English 9 (Block 9.01, meeting days ACD; 9.02, meeting ABD; 9.03, meeting BDE; 9.04, meeting BCE)

Daily: start periods with episodes from video on Odyssey, approximately 5 minutes of video, with pausing to note significant signs of plot, theme, characterization. [Teacher needs to note where video stopped, in order to keep classes at same point and in order to return to appropriate points. This activity takes about ten minutes in total.]

Daily: review Global voc. (abbot, abdicate, absolutism, acid rain, the Acropolis, The Age of Enlightenment, imperialism, alloy). [Teacher may use PowerPoint to review.]

Day 1:
Teacher returns essays; students may revise them out of class. Revision due at start of last class of week.

Through week [This section may last two weeks.]:
Students define “love,” recalling instances of it in earlier readings and in their own relationships. [Typically, students find that love includes taking care of the other one, wanting the other one (in one way or another), needing to be near or within sight of the other.] They should find instances in “No-Guitar Blues” (72), “Thank You, M’am” (77), “Antaeus” (111), “The Most Dangerous Game (xxx), and The Odyssey, and in their essays of last week. [Notice examples of self-love as well as love of others. Which seems more helpful, useful, kinder?]

Students and teacher read “She loved him,” (Elements 333), “Mrs. McKinney,” (Elements 326), and “Kidnap Poem,” (Elements 297). Students post questions and answers about these texts. Follow up with student oral answers to questions following the texts. Students individually or in groups of 2-3 provide a drawing, poem, or story that summarizes “She loved him,” (Elements 333) or “Mrs. McKinney,” (Elements 326). Students explain their projects orally: why did they choose this text? Why did they create these projects as they did (for example, why focus on the hands in “She loved him”?)

They then write a parallel to “Kidnap Poem,” (Elements 297). Earlier models are posted around the room. The teacher will be grading these for how faithfully they follow the original.

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ACE English (meeting BCE)

Finish an essay responding to 158, ‘Writing Assignment’ #2. Email it to <scher@corning-cc.edu>.

Continue discussion, analysis, and application of approaches to the natural world (with one essay). [This unit may last 2 weeks. We are still waiting for sufficient internet connections so that we can work on our research papers.]

Before class, read 241-251 and 254-259.
For Ovid’s “Creation,” Findings, 243–244, students act out at least one scene from the story, demonstrating how Ovid thinks of the universe, as composed of already existing elements. {This activity could easily take two days, one for preparation and another for performance and explanation.}

For Aristotle’s excerpt from De Partibus Animalium, 244–245, students use their own experience with science to make clear how Aristotle has influenced our thinking: that we should take pleasure in examining the natural world and yet find “something wonderful” (by which he means some divinity). Students must show from his text where he distinguishes between natural and divine and why we prefer to examine the natural. {This activity will probably take one day.}

For Emerson’s excerpt from “Nature” (245-246), students draw, act, make real his notion that there is a “guiding identity,” a wholeness, a following of law behind everything that we encounter. {This activity will probably take one day, maybe two.}

For Lewis Thomas (247–251), students argue orally to answer questions 1–10 on 251. They connect his way of thinking with Ovid, Aristotle, or Emerson. [Probably finding closer similarity with Emerson than with his predecessors, because of his insistence on universal law and no reliance on divinity.] {Take the students for a walk through the campus, to hear and to take note of the variety of sounds, the system of sounds: for example, what in the natural world tells them that they are nearer to Mr. Coleman’s class than to Mrs. Streb’s? What patterns of sound distinguishes the primary classrooms from the upper elementary?}
Note to teacher: before leaving, let the high school office know that you are leaving our building and ask the elementary principal (Mrs. Ring) for her agreement with your walking the halls. Remind our class to avoid disruption of other classes.
{This activity will probably take one day or two.}

For Sagan (254–259), students answer questions 1–10 (259) orally, again connecting this author with his predecessors. [This time, they should note similarities to Aristotle especially, as well as to Emerson, because of his interest in particular details in the world of nature.] {This activity will probably take one day or two.}

Students write an essay on Eiseley, 333-339: how does (or does) Eiseley’s essay reflect the interests and skills of the other writers in this unit? Look at how he approaches his subject matter, how he examines it, what assumptions he makes about his world.
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English 12 (meeting days BCE)

Continue to view It: the Creature from Beyond as sci fi and as literature generally. Use a Venn diagram or T chart to relate this creaky origin of Aliens to other literature (look for plot, characterization, foreshadowing, atmosphere. . . .).

Play it with stops and starts for observation and discussion of plot, characterization, foreshadowing, atmosphere, signs of the culture that produces that movie (attitudes to gender roles, science, the military) camera angles, the use of background music. . . .

Teacher shows three movie reviews on the PC’s desktop as a model: what do reviews include, what exclude? What literary terms do th ey use?

Next, students view Independence Day for same purposes and in same fashion. We will end this section with students presenting or writing a movie review detailing strengths and weaknesses of the two movies.

Standards 2.1.1,2.1.2,2.1.3,2.1.4,2.1.5,2.1.6,3.2.1,3.2.,42
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ELA Lab.09 (meeting day B)

Students catch up or work ahead of English class. Students may work on other subjects, with teacher leading them into using ELA skills.

Draft of 10/24/04 . . . printed 11/19/04 . . . page 1 of 1

Draft of 10/26/04 . . . printed 11/19/04 . . . page 3 of 3