Hello! Weeks 9 & 10 were taken up by your responses to the poetry of Langston Hughes. Be ready, as the summer reading guidelines warned, to be read to present your summer reading projects due THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF CLASS, OR SEPT. 10.
Here is the assignment again, just in case:
Finally, you will be doing a hands-on project to complement either Touching Spirit Bear, Huckleberry Finn or the poems of Langston Hughes. I WANT TO LEAVE THIS PROJECT OPEN TO YOU. THE GRADING CRITERIA WILL SIMPLY BE WHETHER YOU DID IT, WHETHER YOU CAN EXPLAIN HOW IT TIES TO THE SUMMER READING AND WHETHER OR NOT THE PROJECT SHOWS EFFORT AND INGENUITY. You may wish to make a totem pole for yourself after Touching Spirit Bear. You might want to build a little model of a raft like the one in Huckleberry Finn. You might want to bring traditional African American food to school after reading Langston Hughes. You could also write an essay about the themes in Touching Spirit Bear, or you could make a little scrapbook of the symbols favored by Langston Hughes. You could make a map of the trip that Huck makes with Jim. The way you approach this project will be completely up to you; your own strengths, the reading that most piques your interest, and your own level of creativity will guide your choice. Your projects will be due on the first day of the second week of class, but I STRONGLY suggest that you complete them (unless it’s food;) before that time! You can turn them into me at any time (again, unless it’s food) before that. If you complete them early and want to post a picture, you can do that on the blog or you can send the picture or file to me and I’ll post them for you!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Langston Hughes
I would like you to go to the following page: http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=langstonHughes
There you will find a mercifully succinct biography of our final summer reading author, Langston Hughes, by Jeff Trussell. This site is a part of the My Hero Poetry Project. This project is interesting. (In fact, if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll see lots of other poets described, and you might find someone you already like, or find a new favorite.)
Just under Mr. Trussel's writeup, you will see a link to the poetry project, http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83, and from there you will want to click on two poems: I, Too, Sing America, and The Negro Speaks of Rivers.
I would like you to blog your response to those two poems on my website.
To get you thinking, not that you have to answer these exact questions, look at the first poem, (I, Too) and ask yourself what does it mean to be an American for the person in this poem? When you look at the second poem, ask yourself what is the symbolism of the river? What did the river symbolize in Huck Finn? What about the locations that are mentioned in the second poem?
There you will find a mercifully succinct biography of our final summer reading author, Langston Hughes, by Jeff Trussell. This site is a part of the My Hero Poetry Project. This project is interesting. (In fact, if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll see lots of other poets described, and you might find someone you already like, or find a new favorite.)
Just under Mr. Trussel's writeup, you will see a link to the poetry project, http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83, and from there you will want to click on two poems: I, Too, Sing America, and The Negro Speaks of Rivers.
I would like you to blog your response to those two poems on my website.
To get you thinking, not that you have to answer these exact questions, look at the first poem, (I, Too) and ask yourself what does it mean to be an American for the person in this poem? When you look at the second poem, ask yourself what is the symbolism of the river? What did the river symbolize in Huck Finn? What about the locations that are mentioned in the second poem?
Monday, August 06, 2007
Week 7: post a link to the essay on your blog here!
August 4-August 10: Read Chapters 32-43—do a short essay about your concept on your own blog; post a link on my blog to yours. Respond to each others’ essays.
Where does that short essay material come from? As you read Huckleberry Finn, I am going to ask you to notice that the four following ideas keep cropping up: freedom, religion/superstition, education and nature. Please choose one concept to pursue throughout the book. As we read through Huckleberry Finn, I would ask you to keep a list of references to one of the above mentioned concepts. Each time you come across a reference to that concept, jot down the page, and give a brief summary of the reference. By brief, I mean a sentence or two at the most. If you own the book, you could just put “stickies” on those pages. Meanwhile, keep your ear open to the news. As you get attuned to looking for that particular concept, see if any of those concepts are in the news, or if you hear them talked about. You should post this second week about how you see that same concept addressed in today's society. What concepts, issues, concerns crop up today in connection to these same themes? By “short,” I mean a couple of well-developed paragraphs.
Nature in Huckleberry Finn: What does the attitude of Americans toward nature seem to be in Huckleberry Finn, or how does Huck (or any other character) seem to percieve or relate to nature? What knowledge of nature does Twain portay in this book?
Where does that short essay material come from? As you read Huckleberry Finn, I am going to ask you to notice that the four following ideas keep cropping up: freedom, religion/superstition, education and nature. Please choose one concept to pursue throughout the book. As we read through Huckleberry Finn, I would ask you to keep a list of references to one of the above mentioned concepts. Each time you come across a reference to that concept, jot down the page, and give a brief summary of the reference. By brief, I mean a sentence or two at the most. If you own the book, you could just put “stickies” on those pages. Meanwhile, keep your ear open to the news. As you get attuned to looking for that particular concept, see if any of those concepts are in the news, or if you hear them talked about. You should post this second week about how you see that same concept addressed in today's society. What concepts, issues, concerns crop up today in connection to these same themes? By “short,” I mean a couple of well-developed paragraphs.
Nature in Huckleberry Finn: What does the attitude of Americans toward nature seem to be in Huckleberry Finn, or how does Huck (or any other character) seem to percieve or relate to nature? What knowledge of nature does Twain portay in this book?
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