This week in Language Arts

This week we focused on POETRY. We took as our subject poem one concerned with heroism and self-sacrifice by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade (available on classzone.com). Below is the daily breakdown.

On Monday

• I issued what I called the Poetry and Figurative Language Pre Assessment. The task was easy (as I so often like to think of my assignments). First, write the list of terms down (38 of them) skipping one line after each term. Second, write down every definition tat you are certain (beyond a doubt) thatyou know. Third, place a check mark next to all of the remaining words – theones you do not know. As a group, we then reviewed the ones students thought they knew to clear up any misunderstandings.
• After we established the list, we moved to our subject poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade.
  • We covered the background story about the british and allied forces who charged right at Russian/Cossack cannons TOTALLY outgunned and outmanned.
    • Read the poem here.
    • HEAR  Alfred, Lord Tennyson HIMSELF read his poem as recorded by phonograph onto a cylinder.
    • Read about the film adaptations The Charge of the Light Brigade , or here.
    • Want MORE MORE MORE on this, then read this book, Hellriders: The Truth about the Charge of the Light Brigade.
  • We talked about the poetic techniques we’d be confronted with such as imagery, repetition, rhyme (or rime), rhyme pattern, and stanza. We talked about theme, and of tone a bit too. Then we put chekc marks next tot he terms we’d talked about, so we could have a way to keep track of the things we were discussing and have a way to relfect over what we had already talked about. We want to be able to make connections.
  • Then we went over the expectations for while we read the poem and what we will do after we are done reading it (a few times).
    • We set up a table with spaces for six events as shown on page 197 (bottom right of page). I asked you to fill in one event for each stanza. The first event was filled for you.
    • Then we flipped to page 71 n our notebooks to see what follow up questions we are responsible for – 2,3,5,6 and 8(optional).
      • Question #2 – pick your favorite line, lines together, or stanza. Draw a picture to represent what it would look like to you.
      • Questions #3,5,6 – Question in the answer, your answer, 2-3 details to logically support your answer.
      • Question#8 – Rewrite the poem from the Russian/Cossack point of view. Your rewrite has to be a poem of as many lines and stanzas.
• HW – Finish looking up the rest of the Poetic Techniques and Figurative Lnaguage Terms.

On Tuesday

• Well, I found an average of a 93% failure rate on the HW. That was really disheartening. I was so disappointed. I vented to everyone who would listen. ANd a lot fo people did. The problem I found was that the people I vented to told me they have similar problems with their chlidren. I wasn’t sure if they were talking about their actual children (by birth) or their students. Eh, neither here nor there.
• The classes – all of them worked on the vocabulary for the block, and then I would have liked to do what you see next, next, but it had to wait until Wednesday.
• HW – work on word game(s).

On Wednesday

• We started with a clip from Glory to give you a good idea of what the battle scene might have looked like. We watched what on YouTube is called Glory 1989 Battle Scene 3.
• By the way, you can watch clips from the film adaptaions mentioned above on YouTube. HERE.
• Then we looked the poem over for our own Personal Vocabulary Lists (or PVL), and talked about the PVL.
• Then we read it:
  • Once by one student volunteer straight through.
  • Second time we heard it read by six students, each one read one stanza a piece.
  • Third time, I read through it and as I read it, I talked iwth them about what the event was that the stanza was actually talking about.
    • Stanza one –     What did we talka bout? 
    • Stanza two –              Add a comment to this post
    • Stanza three –            to help keep the discussion alive.
    • Stanza four –     
    • Stanza five –     
    • Stanza six –       What action should I take, now that I know the story of the Light Brigade?
  • The rest of the class time ( about 30 minutes) was devoted to working on the follow up questions – more than enough time.
• HW – Finalize your Approach Papers.

On Thursday

• I went desk to desk to do a few things one on one.
  • I looked over the answers you all wrote down for 3,5, and 6. This was a great time for all of us as I was pleasantly treated to a lot of spot on answers. You guys know your stuff!!!!!
    • I found that
      • you were (about 83% of you) interpretting the questions properly – you knew what the questions were asking.
      • you knew the answer (about 72% of you)
      • BUT you were not PROVING your answers.
        • you prove you know the answer by providing details from the text tha support your answer.
    • I know you can do this. I hear it in your oral answers when we talk. You have to put it in writing.
  • I asked if you were planning to do the #8 extra credit question.
  • I checked to see if you brought your personal novel with you.
  • I looked over your notebook for an informal first 4th Quarter notebook check.
• Then the bell rang
• HW – Chill tonight.

On Friday

• Shoudl be an interesting Friday.
  • Approach Papers are due.
  • Poetic Terms Word Games are due.
  • THe Charge of theh LIght Brigade is done.

Let us not ever forget the Light Brigade.