Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Final Project


Topics in Literature
Ms. Fichera

Final Project
Due by the time our final exam block begins.

            Because this is not a traditional English class, we are not going to take a traditional final.  Instead of coming in for a long test for which you have (hopefully!) studied ahead of time, you are going to plan for, complete, and blog about a project of your choice.  This project should be based around an interest that arose during your reading for the semester.  Everything that you do in relation to this project (research, planning, execution, and reflection) must be posted in your final blog of the semester, by the time of our final exam.  Please take this blog post extra seriously, as it is the representation of a project that counts for 20% of your semester grade.  This means that you should write an outline and an initial draft, then self-edit and additionally have someone else look it over before you post a final version for me (and any other viewers) to read. 
             
Guidelines:

There are three stages to the project:  research/planning, action, and reflection.
Between these three elements, your project will take approximately 20 hours.

Requirements:

1.      The project must justifiably relate to one of your quarter topics. 
2.      Evidence of research, planning.
3.      At least ten hours where you take action and do something.  Action must be recorded in written testimonials from other people, photographs, or videos.
4.      Reflection/Blog Post (1,000 words):  This reflection should first lay out what you set out to do and why.  Feel free to post excerpts from your planning and link in articles that relate to your topic or goals.  Next, explain not just your project but the results, the way that it affected you (or didn’t), and its connection to your reading.  You may also discuss any challenges that you faced in completing your project.

Because this assignment takes the place of your final, it is worth 20% of your grade for the semester.  That means that if you get a zero on it, your grade will go down 20 points.  You have weeks to complete it, so please make sure that you complete it to the best of your ability.

            I hope that it will be a great experience for all of us.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what you come up with and especially for witnessing how choosing your own topics to study has affected you both personally and intellectually.  As usual, please let me know if you have any questions. 

Good luck! J



Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Quarter Plan


        Though this is an independent class, there are certain requirements I've set up to make it optimally successful.  One of the main guidelines is that while you choose a topic, you aren't just going to wing it for the rest of the quarter.  I want you to know where you are starting, where you are going, what you want to learn, and what resources you're going to use.  Therefore, the first thing that we have to do to have a great experience in this class is to make a plan for the quarter.  The plan has four requirements:

1.  Introductory paragraph with your topic and your reasons for wanting to study this topic.
2.  Essential questions for the quarter (remember that essential questions are open ended).
3.  List of books that you will read for the quarter (must equal at least 80-100 pages a week).  It's better to have too many books rather than too few.  I'd say minimum of four.
4. Schedule of reading.  For this you can download a calendar or simply type a list of weeks and which books/pages you plan to be on each week.


      Please make sure that all of your blog entries, including this one, are interactive.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Fall 2018 Introduction


Topics in Literature
Ms. Fichera
Fall 2018

Overview:

Welcome to what I hope will be a great new opportunity to explore literature in a way that you’ve never quite before.  I am so excited to get started!  As I think you know, this class is not going to function in the same way that your previous three years of high school English have.  Instead, each of you will be designing your own curriculum for the semester and pursuing it independently (with my support, of course).  The idea is this:  each quarter you will choose a particular area of literary interest to study.  You will come up with a plan:  essential questions, books, and a schedule.  Once this plan has been submitted and approved, you will pursue this area of interest until the end of the quarter, reading daily and posting to a blog four times a week, then you will do the same for the second quarter of the semester.  We will meet daily in my classroom, but you will also interact with each other via the class blog.

Requirements:

1.      Read and write about your area of study five days a week.  This should total approximately 80-100 pages of reading and three pages of writing per week.
2.      Keep a composition book for each quarter.  In it, log the pages of your reading, take notes (this should be done in your  own way, perhaps with thinking routines or quotations but should not only be facts, though I imagine that there will be some), and record and define at least ten new vocabulary words each week.
3.      Keep a blog for class and post to it four times a week.  You will have three different types of posts due. 
a.       Friday blog – This is the simplest entry, the most factual.  Please tell me the name of the book and author you have been reading this week since the previous Friday; our reading schedule will run from Friday to Friday (example Heading Home with Your Newborn – Laura Jana and Jennifer Shu), what pages you read (example: 1-113), and list and define ten new vocabulary words from your reading and what pages you found them on (example: colic – persistent crying in an otherwise healthy baby – p. 113).  
b.      Tuesday blog – Relatively informal entry.  500 word minimum. This entry needs to be based around a quotation that you read over the course of the week that inspired you to think and reflect, ideally on something personal.  There should be three parts to your entry.  The first should provide some context of where you are in your book, the second have the quotation and an analysis of the quotation, and the third should be a personal connection or reflection to your life, your school, society in general, etc. 
c.       Wednesday blog – A “quick burst.” Something small that you make a connection to your topic, an inspiring video, etc.  This requires only a few sentences of text. 
Wednesdays will also be “collaboration days” where you will read and comment on each other’s latest posts.  Both of these assignments will fall into a “participation” category.
d.      Thursday blog – More formal, though you can still use “I.”  500 word minimum.  This entry should be more intellectual, analyzing a particular element of your reading for the week. You might choose a symbol, motif, theme, something about the style of writing, etc., but this one will be more typical of what you would write about in an English class. 
Your blogs are due by the time class starts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays.  However, I would not necessarily recommend that you work on these entries during school on the day that they are due as they make up 100% of your grade for the semester. 
I’m hoping that your blog is something that you will be really proud of, so make it interesting!  Add pictures, links, music, etc. (and make sure to cite them! Ask me or see Ms. Costello if you need help with this).  It should not just be type with no “extras.”  In that case, you would be doing the work in a notebook.  So instead, make it informative, but most importantly make it your own. J
4.      Be passionate and independent. 

Final Thoughts:

If this seems like a lot, remember two things:  the topic is one that you have chosen yourself, so reading and writing about it should not feel like traditional work, and you will be using our class time (fifty minutes per day) in addition doing homework (about thirty minutes per day).  That’s a lot of minutes learning about something that you care about, and I’m sure the time will fly by.  You might have noticed that my examples above were about having a baby because I put the examples in when I was home on maternity leave with Violet and reading about newborns.  As of today, Violet’s a pre-schooler!  And I still read a lot about childhood and parenting.  Because I have a personal connection to the topic, I’m motivated to read those things, even when I’m tired or busy.  We make time for the things that matter to us.  I want you to choose two topics that you will be similarly excited about and which will make you feel like English is not work so much as something that is enriching your life.
            I had been dreaming about teaching a class like this for ages, and we’re several years into offering it.  Of course there have been some bumps in the road, like in any experience, but I know that my previous students read and learned a lot more (and about topics that really interested them) than they ever had before.  I hope that you will, too, and that you are genuinely excited to get started.  Please keep an open dialogue with me about topics/books you are considering, any trouble you are having with the blog posts, or anything else that needs clarifying.  We will also use Ms. Costello and the library as a regular resource. I genuinely look forward to reading about your projects (and learning from you!) every day. J

"One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested."

— E. M. Forster





Monday, June 18, 2018

Summer Syllabus 2018


Topics in Literature
Summer 2018
Ms. Fichera

Course Outline

            First, I want to say that I think you made an awesome decision in signing up for this class, so congratulations.  You are going to love it! And so am I. J  I just want to go over some basics here, but I’ll talk more in person at our various meetings.  The reason I’m putting this outline in writing now is so you can get started because I know a lot of you want to. Here goes.

1.      Choose a topic.  This can be virtually anything you are really interested in, but it can’t be what you just did your history research paper on.  It can be related but not the same.  So see me if you have questions about that.
2.      Use the link to my class blog that I sent you via School Loop.  It has a lot of guidelines and examples and also has links to all of my students’ blogs from this year.  I’m keeping this up rather than creating a new one for you because of all of the example topics and blogs it contains.  It’s a great resource and you should spend time exploring it before doing anything else.
3.      Set up your own blog, specific for this class, on Blogger.  Ms. Costello can help you with this, or you might already know how to do it.  Don’t use a blog you already have.  You need to set up a new one.
4.      Loop mail me the link to your blog so I can add it to my site and access your blog anytime.  This way you can also access each other’s blogs anytime.
5.      Choose books on your topic that equal a thousand pages or more.  Again, ask me, your parents, Ms. Costello, other teachers, etc., for help in choosing them. 
6.      Have your blog set up and all of the books in your hand when we meet again during finals week. (I’ll loop mail you a date and time.)
7.      The class officially starts during finals, but you can start now if you want.  (And I encourage you to because then you’ll be done earlier, make your summer easier, etc.)

Requirements:
1,000 pages of reading on your topic, annotated
200 vocab words found and defined
10 quotation blogs
10 analytical blogs
10 “quick burst” blogs                           
Ten hour active project at the end and 1,000 word blog reflection on it


Reminder:
This class replaces and entire semester of you going to class five days a week and most likely doing homework for at least four of them.  Signing up for it and doing it at the end of the school year and beginning of the summer is a no brainer.  You are going to learn a ton about a topic that you are really interested in and have something awesome to show on your college application (if you decide to go that route).  Do not drop it except for in extremely extenuating circumstances; it would be a huge mistake because this is going to be a great experience.  Let’s keep checking in before finals and get everyone on a roll. J

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Navigating the Class Blog

     Welcome to second semester.  Because we are in person most days each week, we do not need to rely too heavily on the class blog.  However, it is a good resource for accessing each other's blogs and for the examples I post to it.  You should set up your blog so that it includes a link to the class blog and also so you get notifications to your e-mail when I add a post. 
      As of right now, there are examples posted for each of the types of posts you need to complete over the course of each week.  There is also an example posted of the "plan" that is due next week. Please model your initial week of blog posts on these until you become more comfortable going off on your own.

Reading and Vocabulary Blog Example

Below is an example of a reading/vocabulary blog.
Notice the number of pages and vocab words! 😉


Thursday, December 21, 2017


Reading/Vocabulary Blog #4

World Gone By By: Dennis Lehane
pages 1-151
Image result for Scabbards
source: Google Images
scabbards
  1. Wickets- an opening like a window;  especially  a grilled or grated window through which business is transacted (Pg.10)
  2. salacious- lecherous, lustful (Pg.16)
  3. Disbarred- to expel from the bar or the legal profession deprive (an attorney) of legal status and privileges (Pg.25)
  4. Consigliere- counselor, adviser (Pg.28)
  5.  Yokel- a naive or gullible inhabitant of a rural area or small town (Pg.31)
  6. Revue- a theatrical production consisting typically of brief loosely connected often satirical skits, songs, and dances (Pg.35)
  7. Troubadours- a singer especially of folk songs (Pg.38)
  8. Pious- marked by or showing reverence for deity and devotion to divine worship (Pg.41)
  9. Scabbards- a sheath for a sword, dagger, or bayonet (Pg.44)
  10. Impregnable- incapable of being taken by assault unconquerable (Pg.48)
  11. Parochial- of or relating to a church parish (Pg.50)
  12. Gauche- lacking social experience or grace;  also  not tactful crude  (Pg.59)
  13. Imperious- befitting or characteristic of one of eminent rank or attainments commanding, dominant (Pg.74)
  14. Fetid- having a heavy offensive smell (Pg.76)
  15. Lug- to introduce in a forced manner (Pg.77)
  16. Middling- mediocre, second-rate (Pg.88)
  17. Bougainvillea- a tropical plant that has usually red or purple flowers (Pg.89)
  18. Image result for Bougainvillea
    source: Google ImagesBougainvillea
  19. Banal- lacking originality, freshness, or novelty trite (Pg.91)      
  20. Unassailable- not assailable not liable to doubt, attack, or question (Pg.101)
  21. Piazza- an open square especially in an Italian town (Pg.104)
  22. Integral- essential to completeness constituent  (Pg.106)
  23. Shyster- a person who is professionally unscrupulous especially in the practice of law or politics pettifogger (Pg.107)
  24. Aggrieved- troubled or distressed in spirit (Pg.117)
  25. Chinks- used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a person of Chinese birth or descent (Pg.118)
  26. Ceded- to yield or grant typically by treaty  (Pg.119)
  27. Aghast- struck with terror, amazement, or horror shocked and upset (Pg.121)
  28. Quandary- a state of perplexity or doubt (Pg.124)
  29. Moke- slang, British  donkey (Pg.134)
  30. Impunity- exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss (Pg.135)
  31. strafe- to rake (ground troops, an airfield, etc.) with fire at close range and especially with machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft (Pg.138)
  32. Harelip- cleft lip (Pg.140)
  33. Guayabera- a usually short-sleeved lightweight sport shirt designed to be worn untucked (Pg.141)   

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Analytical Blog Example

      Here's an example of an analytical blog post from the first time that I taught this class.  As you can see, it was about the same type of year, but this student was already delving into her essential questions.  You can do the same, or you can write about a literary device, strategy, or theme.  Just make sure that you are analyzing, not summarizing.  Have fun with it! 👀


Essential Question 9/26/14: What was van Gogh's process and motivation?

As I am coming to the last few pages of Letters to Theo, van Gogh's motivation is becoming more intense and his process, well, a little bit crazed. What was at the beginning a sweet, heartwarming story about a simple painter trying to make his way has taken a sharp turn into something much darker. At the point I am now reading, van Gogh has been hospitalized on and off during the year due to “overexcitement”, hacking off part of his ear, and thinking that his friends want to kill him. Although this has been a hard portion to read, I think that van Gogh's crazed, "overexcited" state has given me a lot of insight into who he is as an artist.
Van Gogh is, at his essence, a hard worker. Throughout his letters he has accounted the ways that he strives to bring light and life and beauty to the people through his artwork. He works day and night sometimes; usually his schedule is twelve hours of work and eleven of sleep with meal breaks in between if he can afford food that week. As I continue reading, van Gogh's working day goes from "I work only from nine until six..."(11) to "My money ran out on Thursday and I have lived for four days on twenty three cups of coffee, with bread for which I still owe." (393) Needless to say, his process has steadily gotten more intense and unhealthy as the book progresses. Van Gogh’s work day mostly consists of spending his money on paints instead of food and feeling like he cannot eat because he has not earned his bread by selling artwork. In general, this book is getting incredibly sad. I wish I could say it all turns out well in the end.
Upon closer look, one can see that van Gogh’s creation of art was never a cookie cutter process. One of his biggest desires was to be a master colorist, so the paints he used were often the most important part of his artwork. He thought very highly of his colors- he said that one should never use pure blue in flesh because it looks dead and woody, that the browns in leather are truly purple and red, that the mood of a person determines the colors of the portrait. The colors were certainly a big part of working for him. In one of his many paragraphs about the effect of colour, and one of my personal favorite passages, van Gogh describes his intentions behind The Night Cafe. He says “I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity through red and green.” (383) and goes on to detail his intentions behind the placement and use of blood red, dark yellow, lemon yellow, green, orange, and violet. Van Gogh treasures his pigments as the life of his artwork, and they are by far the most important elements of his art.

For context, here are two of van Gogh's self portraits- one of his first, about ten years after he started writing to Theo, and one of his last, just a few months before he committed suicide. Note the difference in colors- the first was warm, loose, and precise, whereas the last is cold and a little harsh. Notice how he uses blue in the flesh, which as I mentioned before, he warned against because of the dead look it gives the subject.
 Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Dark Felt Hat Painting
Self Portrait with Dark Felt Hat. Spring 1886, Oil on Canvas, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam.

Self Portrait. September 1889, Oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.