Some questions and a poem to read...

First tell me about your Crucible Project.
Click on THIS FORM and answer the questions.

Then read the poem below. At the bottom of this post there is a link that says "comments" click the link and leave a comment about your thoughts on the poem.
What do you think the title might be? Who wrote it? Why? What does it mean?

Hint: After you click the comments link then open another tab and go to the blog again. That way you can go back and forth between the blog and your comment.


I DWELL in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls,
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.

O'er ruined fences the grape-vines shield
The woods come back to the mowing field;
The orchard tree has grown one copse
Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops;
The footpath down to the well is healed.

I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart
On that disused and forgotten road
That has no dust-bath now for the toad.
Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about:
I hear him begin far enough away
Full many a time to say his say
Before he arrives to say it out.

It is under the small, dim, summer star.
I know not who these mute folk are
Who share the unlit place with me--
Those stones out under the low-limbed tree
Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.

They are tireless folk, but slow and sad,
Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad,--
With none among them that ever sings,
And yet, in view of how many things,
As sweet companions as might be had.

Going Public

Many of you are ready to publish your Origin Story to the web. Today I'll show you how to do that in Google Docs.  I highly recommend you take your last name OFF your story BEFORE you publish it.

AFTER you publish your story THEN you can visit this form to publish it to the web. The form will fill up a spread sheet and I will publish the spread sheet shortly.

Read published stories here.

The Crucible: Project Phase

Good morning,
  You've read The Crucible, most of it anyway. You are ready to take it to the next level. It's time for a project.
Check out this page of Crucible Project Options. Choose your project carefully. We will use the Source From to help each other with sources. View Sources Here!

The Crucible Act III Quiz and English Journal Entry

Good morning,
Are you ready for the Act III quiz?  Sure you are. Some of your classmates are probably already taking the quiz. You're not because you know that sometimes I hide hints and clues and secret words up here in the introductory text. So you are reading this hoping for something that will help you with an extra point or two. I'll tell you this. You can find at least 1-2 right answers by looking at the vocabulary list for Act III.

TAKE ACT III QUIZ HERE

ENGLISH JOURNAL WORK:

After you finish the quiz please open your English Journal and add another character diary entry. You are not writing ABOUT the character. You are writing like YOU ARE the character. Show what he or she would be thinking at this point. Remember what motivates your character. Include what he or she might be thinking about the OTHER characters in the play.

Also try Recomending a Book to the class. Hint Look for the  "Submit a suggestion" button at the bottom of the page.

Dramatic Irony- I know something you don't know...

Hello,
  If you were here today you know we watched a short video. It's from you-tube so you won't be able to view it again at school, but if you are at home you can take another look. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP-1kt92vqY
(Insert big lecture about why smoking is very bad for you and the people you love.)

The point of watching that was to learn about dramatic irony.  Dramatic irony, as we discovered in class, is when the audience knows something that one of the characters does not. In this case the woman did not know that the can belonged to the man and the man did not know what she put in the can.

We are looking for examples of dramatic irony in The Crucible, especially in Act III.
And you have homework, so be sure to check the homework link on the right.

A cinematic experience...

Today was the close of the grading period. Most of you got to watch the first 45 minutes of The Crucible film while I met individually with people I needed to talk to.

Some things I hope you noticed:

• The film is able to show the story in several more settings than the play can.
• The filmmakers chose to mix together information and events from Act I and Act II.
• And you saw what John Proctor was holding the first time he appeared on screen right?

Open House 2010

Welcome!


Our class is a little different. Every student uses a computer and most of our work and reading is on-line.
Things you need to know about are:

1. The Blog www.imdoingmyhomework.blogspot.com (You're already here.)
1. The Start Here section
2. Important Links
3. Polls
4. Wish List
5. Gradebook Explained
2. Having a computer with internet at home is helpful, but not required.
3. Google Docs You can get an account and have your student share their work with you too.
4. Recent and future learning opportunities.
   

The Plot Thickens...

Good morning,
 We finished Act II yesterday and we've been learning about that plot graph (see post below). Let's see what you know. We are going to take a quiz on Act II.  Once again I expect many of you are not actually reading this, so again I wish to reward those of you who are. I have a new secret word for you. It is prodigious. You must add it at the end of the first short answer question. I suggest making it all caps.

TAKE ACT II QUIZ HERE

Post-Quiz Priorties

1. English Journal- Make sure you have it complete, neat, dated in reverse etc. 
2. Origins Story- Make corrections if you need to. If you think it is perfect and I should print it let me know.

If all of that is FABULOUS then you can check out these resources below related to the Salem Witch Trials.
John Proctor's Diary
Which Witch?
Secrets of the Dead

Reading Act II

This morning I drew two lines on the board and asked if any of you recognized them. Some of you did. (I wish more of you did.)

We eventually decided this was the plot graph commonly found in literature, plays, movies and even TV shows.

I told you that this graph applies to the four acts of The Crucible, but there is also a plot graph like this for each act. Then you read more of Act II with your group.  We are looking for the climax of Act II.

Let's take a quiz

Good morning,
 I know you're not really reading this. Most of you already clicked the link below for the quiz, but I'm going to write it anyway. If you are reading this I wish to reward you. Add the secret word, apple, at the very end of the written question on the quiz and I will give you an extra point. Don't tell or no one gets it.
TAKE ACT I QUIZ HERE

ENGLISH JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT

On Monday night I asked you to write a diary entry showing the thoughts of ONE of the characters in Act I. At that point we had only read a bit of the play though, so you may not have known your character very well. Go now to your English Journal and write another diary entry showing the thoughts of ONE character at the end of Act I. You can write from the POV of the same character or a different one.

 Pointer News:  You need to know what's going on. Joint the Pointer news e-blast. Go to the school website and enter your e-mail address in the box near the upper left. Follow the directions.

Also read today's bulletin here!

The Crucible, Act I

 The presentation below follows the characters as they enter and leave the stage in Act I. If you were absent Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday please check the homework page.

The Run-On Epidemic of 2010

Good morning,

1. Go to THIS LINK
2. Copy the SECOND paragraph into your English Journal (date it today)
3. Correct it: periods, commas, capitals.
4. Open your Origins Story.
5. Correct it too. 

AFTER you have done the things above visit THIS SITE. Answer the questions below in your English Journal.

1. What did you find there?
2. What happened to "you"?
3. Why do you think this is relevant?