Monday, October 30, 2006

Scribe 10-25

So it was another donut day in class, and what a great day for scribing, let me tell you. Today is also the day for dodgeball, and smith may get owned by Cody Scott. It was the first presentation day for our independent study projects, and I get to tell you all about them.

-The first to go was Ashley G.She put on a solid performance with her novel, The Misanthrope. I don't know if that's how you spell it, but it looks good. Her box was nicely decorated with hearts to symbolize the gigantic like fest in the book. Inside her box, each one of her elements was in a envelope, equally as nice to the outside of the box. I do believe Ashley even threw in the word "Slutty slut" in to her presentation making it all the more better.

-Next up was Marie PA pleasant follow up to the strong starter. Reading The Kite Runner, she decorated her box to portray the theme of integrity. We learned about the main characters life, being born in Afghanistan and later moving. She also made clear the significance of blood in her story, and its connection to relationships.

-Following Marie was Scott M.Another strong performance. Scott started off with a nice blue print covered box to show the "blueprints to leadership." The box was nice but it was then followed up by a brief appearance made by Mufassa and Scar from Lion King. Scar was to symbolize people who take power by force, and Mufassa was there to show those who inherit it. It was a good thing. He even left us with a thrilling "cliffhanger ending," due to Marina's time constraints.

-Neeeext up was the Goerk, Chris G.Chris read the lovely tale of Steppenwolf. Chris' box was decorated to show the importance of Steps in Germany and how the main character believes he is a wolf from the steps. There was one word which chris used quite frequently throughout his presentation. Bourgeios. Good word. It was also one of his vocab words, meaning of or partaining to middle class. And might i add Chris looked very nice in his sweats.......again.

-A solid performance by Steph M followed Goerke's.Stephanie (sp?) read 100 Years of Solitude. Her box was lavishly decorated in gold because of the common theme of money in her book of study. Her objects included a picture of a rooster fight. Significance=a strong source of conflict in 100 yrs of tude.

-Sonny W was next to perform, and what a performance it was.Sonny chose to read Crime and Punishment. The novel takes place somewhere in Russia. To be honest i didn't quite pick up on the name. One thing that Sonny made clear is that there was a stron theroy in the novel about Ordinary and Extraordinary people, and the main character's search to discover if he himself was ordinary or extraordinary. There was even a connection made about extraordinary people being insane. His box was a heftily bronze coated cross symbolizing the indestructable beliefs held by the main character. He also had all his papers chained together for that same symbolic reason.

-Tough to follow Sonny, But Amy K did well.The box/container was compared to the suitcase carried by jean val jean (and yes i made up the spelling completely), and how he and his suitcase were inseperable. The story was set in Paris, and the word Father was important to the story. It was only used to show love for the person it was directed towards.

-Chuggin up the rear was Caitlin O. (she went last)Caitlin chose to read Anna Karenina, a book that is, and i quote her, " All about love." Her box was even decorated in red because of its strong connection with love.And that concludes my Breif Synopsis of the day's presentations.-

HW: Independent study continues on Fri. the 27th and Wednesday the 1st. Monday October 30th will be a work day , because Smith will be gone. Probabaly a good day for modernization projects. The end.


Made by China

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Scribe 10/23

Scribe 10/23


Today in class we began by getting our college Scholarships together and ready to turn in. Mrs. Smith asked if anyone had any interesting scholarships they would like to share, so that we may hear any that interest us.

Scholarships
-HAMSA
-Dale E. FriDell Scholarship
-Friday Night Lights scholarship
-Holocaust Scholarship
Scholarship web sites
-Collage Prowler
-All-ink
-FastWeb

Homework
-Independent Study
Due Dates for presenting 10/25, 10/27, 11/1
Vocabulary Visual Presenting Journal
-Modern Pilgrim Project due Nov 3

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Scribe 10-16

Today in class:

Smith passed out Beowulf quizzes (background and partner) and the questions we answered on page 38 so if you weren't there make sure you get those from her.
She has updated grades online so check them out…if you dare. ;0)
Homework:
There will be a quiz on pages 75-88, which we read in class, on Wednesday (Oct. 18). Remember that it is a short period so you won't have much time to guess.
Read pages 99-104 on Caucer and more background on “Canterbury Tales.” This information will not be on the quiz.
Independent Study
Modern Pilgrim Project due Nov 3.
In class we read “The Middle Ages” on pages 75-88. Here are things we discussed and that you need to know:
Who was Duke William of Normandy?
Who was William the Conqueror?
What did he bring to this era?
What did the Anglo-Saxons add to Europe?
What did the Normans add to Europe?
What is the Domesday Book?
How did Taxes come about and who initiated them?
How does feudalism work? Why does it work so well? What causes it to cease working?
What role did Chivalry play during these times?
What key facts can you extract from the blue box on page 82?
How was the middle class established?
What four things did it bring about?
Who was Thomas À Becket?
What good did the church do and what bad did the church do?
What did the Yeoman do?
What were the reasons for the end of The Middle Ages?
At the end of class we got into our groups for The Modern Pilgrim Project and picked which place we were getting our Pilgrims ready for. If you missed this see Smith for a group and the packet we got for the project.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Scribe 10-9

Happy Monday!

Homework:
• College Scholarships
o Due: 10/23
• Test Friday
• Independent Study
o Last meeting tomorrow
o Presentations: 10/25, 10/27 and 11/1

What We Did in Class:

• Today we reviewed the past 12 books of Beowulf
o What connections can you make between Beowulf’s fight with Brecca and Grendel’s mother?
1. He fought both of them under water. Not only could he hold his breath, he could swim, fight a large beast and fight off other monsters under the sea.
2. In both fights his mail shirt saved in both battles. He was also victorious due to the help of his sword, just like Excaliber, King Arthur’s sword in Le Morte de Artur, helped King Arthur.
o What surprised you in book 13 about his fight with Grendel’s mother?
1. Beowulf took the heat of Grendel’s mother not Grendel.
• A connection was made that taking the head of a kill was like a trophy in which the killer shows his dominance over his victim. It is more significant than taking say an arm. Beowulf took the head of Grendel’s mom not of Grendel himself because she was the bigger prizes, hence the reason why he only took Grendel’s arm.
• We were supposed to answer questions on page 48 for homework tonight but we finished reading with enough time so we just discussed them in class instead. Review them! I’m betting that it is going to help on the test Friday!
• We also turned in the questions on page 38 at the beginning of class.




~~~~~~~~~~~ TEST~~~~~~~~~~~~
There will be one essay question and we will get all period to answer it. So STUDY!!!!

Posted by Ashley Mc.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Scribe 10/6

It was a great Friday in Smith's English lit. class.

Our Homework for the weekend is:
-Read books 12&13
-Do questions 1-9 on pg 38
-Independent Study - projects due 10/25, 10/27, or 11/1
-College Scholarships- due 10/23
-Test next Friday over heroes and how they pertain to Beowulf

Today we had a quiz over books 1-11

After that we discussed our main ideas again, here are some highlights:

  • Grendel's Origin- We talked about how his mother is talked about a little. We learned that she lives in a lake. Grendel went there to die after Beowulf fought him.
  • Good vs. Evil- (Christianity vs. Paganism) (God vs. Satan) We said that we think the monks had to make good triumph over evil to show they were right about God.
  • Epic Hero- We came up with some new ways that Beowulf follows the model of an epic hero
    -He won over evil, defeated Grendel
    -His victory was quick and decisive which showed how easy it was for him to win
    -This also showed that he is no ordinary man he has come to a super hero level
    -We said that because he was a normal person with “gifts” he was able to become heroic
  • Good vs. Evil- Comparison of God and Satan and Beowulf and Grendel
    -God kicked Satan out of Heaven
    -God showed mercy/grace on Satan instead of just killing him
    -Beowulf showed mercy/grace on Grendel like God and Satan by letting him go
  • We also thought of the comparison of Beowulf taking on what seems like Satan’s right- hand man (Grendel) and defeating him.
    -Now he has to take on Satan himself in the form of Grendel’s mom.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Scribe 10/2

Stuff we did in class:
- Discuss books 1-5 as they pertain to
Paganism Vs. Christianity
Good Vs. Evil (need for a hero)
Grendel's origin
Attack on Hrothgar
Beowulf Vs. Oedipus
Epic Hero
- Read books 6 and 7

For homework:
- Read books 8-11
- College Scholarships
- independent study and wiki

Some things we discussed about Beowulf thus far:
Paganism Vs. Christianity
- A lot of strong Christian and Biblical references, such as the story of creation in the first book, and "Surely the Lord Almighty Could stop his madness" (line 212)
- Also includes references to Paganism, such as line 90 "And sometimes they sacrificed to the old stone gods"
Good Vs. Evil
- Grendel is the epitome of evil, as is shown by his descent from Cain and his birth from Hell. Also, he travels invisibly, like Satan.
- Hrothgar's throne is a symbol of good, and is protected by God; Grendel cannot touch it.
Beowulf Vs. Oedipus
- Similar in their hubris, or pride.
- Beowulf has faith in God and believes in fate (line 189) "Fate will unwind as it must!", whereas Oedipus holds himself on a level with the gods and fights his fate.
- Beowulf has the people's support in his actions, while Oedipus was opposed by Tiresias and often the Chorus.
Other notes
- Possible reasons for Unferth's challenging of Beowulf: To illustrate Beowulf's "superhuman" achievements, his pride and yet also honesty; also, show Unferth as a killer of his people by not defending them. This makes Beowulf look more the hero.
- Beowulf's decision to fight Grendel without weapons or shield: puts good and evil on the same footing; sets up for Beowulf's triumph over evil without help of weapons. Also, shows loyalty to Higlac, for he might think less of Beowulf if he used weapons.
- Smith also mentioned that she worshipped Satan in her mysterious past. (That's sarcasm in case you didn't know)