Friday & Tuesday; September 25 & 26

Six stations. we used all of class but will take about 15 minutes to finish a couple classes later.


Student Name _________
Class and Section _______

1.  Lee Chew

What year did he immigrate to U.S.?                  To where?       

Where did he learn laundry business?

When he learned English and about Jesus, of what did it remind him?

Find out about the Chinese Exclusion Act. Someone in your group use a phone for this:

What incident teaches him about prejudice? Explain.

Was he happy with America? Give evidence or inference.

2.  Boat in Quest of Freedom.

What year did the emigration occur?         From where?

How many people were on the boat?

What were their apprehensions (use phone or dictionary)?

What problems did they encounter?

How many survivors?

What was the reason for their leaving that country?

What American item served as a symbol of this freedom?

3.  The Devil’s Highway

List five strong details and explain how they add to the mood. Think about which images are the strongest.

1

2

3

4

5

Who or what are the Yuma 14?

Why is the government using CSI techniques to find out who these people are?

Make a statement (claim) about the facts on the back of the sheet and cite the fact you are using as evidence.

Choose a picture of the Devil’s Highway. Based on the picture, what is at least one inference that you can draw?

 4.  US rejects Cubans who were 100 ft from freedom

What year did this take place?

What location in what state?

Look at the map and make some inference.

What is the wet-foot dry-foot policy?

Why were these particulare Cubans returned to Cuba?

Is this policy fair?

4.  The Hard Path to Citizenship

What year did this take place?

In the decade after 9-11, how many men and women serving in the armed forces were naturalized?

What does naturalized mean (phone or dictionary)?

What did Sgt. Rafael Peralta do?

What does the word posthumously(phone or dictionary) mean?

What is the story of Sgt. Claudius Stewart?

5.  “I hear America Sing”

Watch a video on youtube.          https://youtu.be/ajKwri2QCBs

Read the poem on page 365 of your textbook.

After reading the definition in the text, in your own words state what the literary technique “cataloguing” means.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TuRQDrySOVQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Answer questions 1- 5 on page 366

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2_____________________________________________________

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5.  “I, too, sing America”  by Langston Hughes (1945)

 

see video at end of blog

I, too, sing America. 

I am the darker brother. 
They send me to eat in the kitchen 
When company comes, 
But I laugh, 
And eat well, 
And grow strong. 

Tomorrow, 
I'll be at the table 
When company comes. 
Nobody'll dare 
Say to me, 
"Eat in the kitchen," 
Then. 

Besides, 
They'll see how beautiful I am 
And be ashamed-- 

I, too, am America.

In Hughes’ poem, what is he saying about America?

Whether you think it is patriotic or not, give reason for your belief.

What year was this written?

Can the year give you any ideas about why he might have written it? Make some guesses.

6.  “Letters of Arrival”

Read the letters, taking notes on something you learn from each primary source.

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Wednesday & Thursday; September 22 & 23

Yogi Berra homage

Equiano, read packet, take Cornell notes

Monday & Tuesday; September 21 & 22

First, we turned in our assignments from last class. It was to have a full page with MLA heading, writing about any coming to America story that you want. This might work into your larger assignment we will have down the road.

Then we watched a video on Cornell Notes. We took Cornell Notes on the video.


Next we used chromebooks in the classroom to go to the blog. Everyone practiced commenting on the blog.

Finally, we used a classroom set of packets on "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of. . . Equiano." We read the first two pages, using techniques from Cornell Notes. The story is also in our textbooks.

Thursday & Friday; September 17 &18

We collected our assignments from last class; that assignment was one paragraph about "The New Colossus."

Vocab needed for today's reading:

furlough- Leave of absence granted to a member of the armed services.

apprentice- A person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages.

immigrant- A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

quota- A limited or fixed number or amount of people or things.


Vocab needed for the rest of your life:

snapshot- writing about a short moment of time and expanding it with details

dialogue- conversation between two or more characters

inference- drawing a conclusion from a given set of details


We got in our groups:

Create a Coming to America story based on answering these questions. This is an anticipatory set related to today's reading In 1923, why did Stewart come to America?
How was he treated upon arrival?
In what ways was America a welcoming place to him, or not?
What is Stewart’s ultimate attitude about America?

Include one snapshot of something happening
Group come to a consensus/ share with the class.


Now we read the story. See the link below.

We discussed tomorrow's assignment:
MLA Heading (4 lines; top left-don’t mess this up)
What is your own coming to America story?
Fill up the page; if you double space, then do front to back. Write so it is legible…….
Use ‘dialogue’ and ‘snapshot’ (place and time)


This is a daily assignment. It will probably be five points. It will get you ready for our larger assignment that will be announced in two classes.

Want to read what we read in class? Sorry that pages 1 and 3 are on the first pdf. Page 2 is on the second pdf.

Pages 1 and 3 of Stewart Wickham, click here

Page 2 of Stewart Wickham, click here

Tuesday & Wednesday; September 15 &16

Assignment for next class: Use the Magic Four to write one paragraph about "The New Colossus."

No two members from the same group should use the same claim.

Here are the directions as we discussed things in class:

Paragraphs typically run between four to seven sentences. Those who dislike writing often say that they are not good at creative writing. The attempt today is for you to see that the writing of a paragraph is more formula than creativity.
1. Write a claim. The word opinion is often substituted here when people are writing in persuasive papers. In a paragraph, the claim might be the topic sentence. Why are topic sentences so cool? They make it easy to tell what belongs in that paragraph. For a reader, they let him know what to expect in that paragraph. Where do topic sentences typically appear? In the first sentence of the paragraph. That is not mandatory, but it is a good idea for most people.
If you have heard the word thesis used, it is basically the topic sentence for an entire paper. It typically appears at the end of the first paragraph.
2. Use evidence that proves your point. Cite the text is a great way to do this. Facts, statistics, or anecdotes are other methods. We will concentrate on using at least one text citation. Many students like to quote the text as much as possible because it makes their paper longer. The best method is to whittle the quote down to the most important words that prove your point. We want more of your thinking and less of the quoted material. Get in the “habit of parenthetical citations” (32). That citation would tell you that the quoted words came from page 32 of your text. Notice that the period comes after the quotation mark.
3. Explain how your evidence proves your point. Evidence is best if it is followed by one or two sentences of explanation. Don’t assume the reader will interpret you evidence the same way you do.
4. Explore the effect of your claim. This can be the hardest for most people. If your claim is accurate, what is the consequence of that claim? In a novel, the consequence might be what you project will happen later in the story. If you have finished the story, the effect might be what actually happened at the end, due to your claim.

Practice: Let’s look at what that would look like. Start by choosing a claim. Ideas the class came up with:
In “The New Colossus,” the poet Emma Lazarus illuminates American ideals.
The poem “The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus, should not be on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty because it isn’t true.
When Emma Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus,” she meant that the statue should empower immigrants.
The Statue of Liberty, as described in Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” is a symbol of hope to immigrants.
In “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, the poet uses alliteration to make her writing stronger.
In “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, the poet uses a sonnet to strengthen her message of hope.
In Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” the poet starts with an allusion to the Colossus of Rhodes in order to make clear her point of acceptance.
(It would be okay to start with a working thesis, or topic) Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus” sucks/ rocks. By the time you are done with your evidence, you should be able to rewrite your thesis (topic) to make it more focused.



Even though this assignment is a minor assignment and does not have to be typed, your papers should always approximate MLA standards, even when you are handwriting your assignments. Here is a great video for you to see the overview:
So you want to write an MLA style paper: Click here.

Friday & Monday; September 11 & September 14, 2015

We checked in with the teacher about parent signatures on the course overview.

All five classes had written what they thought the American Dream meant. We looked at all five and found what they shared in common. Some groups added to their descriptions.

We looked at five pictures of the Colossus of Rhodes. In their buddy groups, students discussed what characteristics they noticed about each picture, and then they discussed what that characteristic would symbolize. This was then shared in large group.

We pulled out our assignments for today. We discussed the words they looked up last night. Wrote four words on the side: allusion, alliteration, rhyme scheme, and sonnet.
Allusion: reference to a something well known.
alliteration: use of the same initial consonant sounds at the beginning of two or more words relatively close together.
rhyme scheme: pattern of end rhyme in a poem or song. Example: abba abba cdcdcd; or abab cdcd efef gg.

If you want more review for rhyme scheme, watch the following video.


If you want to understand what a sonnet is, here is a quick review:


We went through the poem and discussed. Wrote definitions for the four terms listed above,and looked how those words were appropriate to this poem. To have fun with alliteration, we watched Johnny Carson:




To offer a counter to this patriotic view of America, we watched the opening scene from "Newsroom". Please excuse the three uses inappropriate language. See the video at the link below:
https://youtu.be/1zqOYBabXmA

Wednesday & Thursday, September 9 & 11

Welcome to the first day of class for American Lit. I am happy to see all of your smiling faces. First, we went through the course outline:

American Literature and Composition

Mr. Joe Dessert
email: jdessert@ttsd.k12.or.us
voice mail: 503-431-5396
blog: http://dessertamericanlit.blogspot.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course explores the myriad of cultural differences and perspectives portrayed by American writers. Students will develop their communication skills through reading and responding to American literature. The class will read and analyze novels, plays, short stories, and poetry for the influence cultural and historical events have had on American writers. Critical reading, writing in a variety of modes, and offering personal interpretations of learning will encourage students to reflect on their own American experience.

GUIDING QUESTIONS
What is the American Dream?
What does it mean to be an American?
What is the American Character?
What is the American Story?
What are the unique characteristics of American Literature?

READING
The Crucible, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, Raisin in the Sun, one book of the student’s choice, and a number essays and poems/ songs from Elements of Literature, Fifth Course and other sources.

WRITING
This is the THS Language Arts Department mission statement on writing: Fostering conscientious writers who effectively express original thought, demonstrate an awareness of audience, edit and revise, and ultimately publish with pride and confidence. Writing includes a fiction or non-fiction story, multi-genre works on Huckleberry Finn, The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, and A Raisin in the Sun.

MATERIALS
Bring a pen and paper to class. Have some method of organizing class materials. Keep graded papers until they show up on Synergy. Grades will not be rounded, nor will they be weighted.

GRADES
A (90-100%) = superior, special recognition
B (80-89.9%) = above average,
C (70-79.9%) = meets minimum requirements
D (60-69.9%) = below average, fulfills most minimum expectations
F (0-59%) = failing, minimum requirements not met and lack of competence demonstrated

Participation Grade-- Criteria: Participation in class discussions and activities as an active speaker, listener, reader and writer. This grade is based on my observation of your performance

MAKE UP WORK/ LATE WORK
Work due on a day of absence is due upon your return. For work assigned on a day of absence, you are allowed the number of days absent plus two days according to school policy. This policy also applies to tests and quizzes. Late work will lose at least 10% value, with the percent continuing to increase.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
This is what the Tigard High School Staff Handbook says: “Academic integrity refers not only to dishonesty on exams but to any behavior, such as plagiarism and cheating, that violates academic standards. Actions that compromise academic standards in a class assignment (paper, project, exam, etc.) will result in a failing grade for that assignment. Avoid copying from sites like sparknotes.com, cliffsnotes.com, pinkmonkey.com, essaydepot.com, echeat.com, or the many others like them.

RESPONSIBILITY
Students are responsible for keeping track of deadlines and missed assignments, and for arranging times for making up missed tests and quizzes. Check the daily agenda in class each day. Check your grade on-line at least once bi-weekly. If you are at all confused, please ask me directly.
HELP
Ask for help during appropriate times in class. For additional help, please request appointments with me for times outside of normal class meetings. These are the times I am available for appointments:fourth block on A days, second block on B days, after school most days, and weekday mornings, with Tuesdays being sometimes taken for meetings.
TARDIES
We follow school policy. Students are allowed four tardies without consequence for each semester. On the fifth tardy, students will be assigned a 30 minute detention for each tardy.

RESTROOM BREAKS
Students should attempt to take all restroom breaks during passing periods. Student should limit emergency restroom breaks to ten over the course of the semester, with the exception of those who can provide a doctor’s note indicating medical necessity for unlimited access to the restroom. Going to one’s locker to get needed materials or homework would count as a pass. Two bonus points will be awarded at the semester for each unused pass.

BEHAVIOR
To ensure an environment conducive to learning, please follow the rules outlined in the student handbook. Be safe, respectful and responsible.

FOOD AND DRINK
The THS Staff Handbook says: “Food and drink are not permitted in classrooms, unless refreshments are part of a staff supervised activity. Bottled water is allowed.” We will follow this policy with an exception for Period 3A and 3B classes.

ELECTRONICS
Except in cases in which they contribute to the academic experience, electronic devices are not to be used in class. Students are to refrain from social media at all times during the class period. No texting, tweeting. If you need to use your phone for an approved reason, ask permission each time.

FILMS
In this course we may be watching in whole or in part the following films:
Huckleberry Finn (portions from different sources)
The Crucible (starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, 1996, rated PG-13)
The Great Gatsby (starring Leonardo DiCaprio, 2013, rated PG-13)
A Raisin in the Sun (starring Danny Glover, unrated, made for Public Television)

Parent signature _____________________________


We then copied down the poem "The New Colossus" onto notebook page. Start with MLA heading on the top left of your paper. It will look like this:

Inigo Montoya
Mr. Dessert
American Lit Period 3A
29 January 2015

Double-spaced the lines as we write the words to the "Colossus."



The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


Circle the following words:

brazen
Grek
astride
imprisoned lightning
Mother of Exiles
beacon-hand
air-bridged harbor
storied pomp
yearning
refuse
teeming
tempest-tost

Your job for next class is to explain in writing what these terms mean as used in the poem. This is a written assignment. We will delve into the poem next class.
Your only other job is to get the parent signature on the class outline.


We watched a few videos and did some responses orally.




What was the mood of this song?

Students may receive up to 28 points for memorizing "The New Colossus" and reciting to the teacher. This does not have to be done in front of class, thought that might add some points if done enthusiastically. We did watch the teacher perform the poem on video.