Agenda 1/20/08

1
Agenda 1/20/08

• Focus Dry sense of humor? An overview of satire
• Reflections on your essays of place (15 min)
• Introduction to satire using The Onion
• Is Twain really damning the human race?
  Rereading last nights text
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

2

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  as dizziness, nausea, loss of hearing, insomnia,
  blood clotting, difficult breathing, memory loss,
  bone rot, paranoid schizophrenia, and brain
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  Franklin Laboratories is also the manufacturer of
  Follicin, a hair-restoration formula linked to
  explosive diarrhea and hyperobesity.

3
Satire and The Onion

• Read your article aloud with your group.
• Discuss the following three questions
• WHAT are the satirical targets? In other words,
  what is being satirized?
• HOW are these targets being satirized?
• WHY are they being satirized? Whats the larger
  message/theme?

4
Agenda 1/21

• Focus Growing adept with Twains satire
• Quick ACT mystery of the day
• Warming up to satire A student mockumentary
• Creating your own semester A vote
• Explanation of the summary-response
• Fishbowl discussion The Damned Human Race
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

5
ACT Mystery of the Day

• Please explain the difference between the two
  sentences below and why each one is correct.
• All of Ms. Leclaires students are amazing!
• Every one of Ms. Leclaires students is amazing!

6
A little tougher

• Explain why the following is correct
• Three hours is the average amount of time spent
  on homework.
• The sentence is inverted, which makes it tough to
  find the subject. Heres how the sentence would
  normally look
• The average amount (of time spent on homework) is
  three hours.

7
Summary-Response The Damned Human Race

• Part 1 Type a brief summary of The Damned Human
  Race
• Basic Level Summarize Twains main points and
  the style he uses to portray those points.
• Challenging Level Briefly address Twains
  attitude towards Social Darwinism as well.
• This should be no longer than half a page, typed
  and double spaced.
• No analysis/opinionsummary only.

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Basic Level

• Type an analytical response in which you assert
  what you see as Twains central point in The
  Damned Human Race.
• Although you are asserting your opinion, you
  still want to avoid words like I and you.
• Start with a clear, specific, analytical thesis
• Bullet point three supporting quotations from the
  article
• Type this directly underneath your summary

9
Challenging Level

• Type an analytical response in which you analyze
  the validity of Twains argument (what is one of
  his primary arguments, and did he persuade you?).
• Although you are asserting your opinion, you
  still want to avoid words like I and you.
• Start with a clear, specific, analytical thesis
• Bullet point three supporting quotations from the
  article
• Type this directly underneath your summary

10
Sample Thesis Statement for the Basic Level

• Twains uses satire in The Damned Human Race to
  reveal that humans ironically distort and pollute
  their one advantage over other animalstheir
  sense of morality.

11
Sample thesis for the challenging response

• Twains portrayal of the Moral Sense
  persuasively reveals that morality cannot exist
  without sin, suggesting that all humans possess
  an underlying potential for wickedness.
• Twains depiction of human nature loses truth in
  its exaggeration his juxtaposition of humans and
  animals only highlights the differences between
  the two species rather than conflating them.

12
Satirical Articles

• 1 New, Delicious Species Discovered
• 2 New Anger-Powered Cars
• 3 New Prescription-Only Sandwich
• 4 Scientists Abandon AI Project
• 5 Teen Mortified after Winning
• 6 Books Dont Take You Anywhere

13
As you watch and listen

• Keep a two-columned chart in which you explore
  the following
• (1) What aspects of humanity/society are being
  satirized? (Satirical targets)
• (2) How are they being satirized? (What specific
  techniques/details create the larger criticism?)
• Add onto this list as you listen to your
  classmates presenting their findings from The
  Onion articles.

14
Agenda 1/22

• Focus Wading into the race in the 19th century
• Vindicating Vocabulary Quiz Unit 2
• The exciting and disturbing world of Social
  Darwinism A small group exploration
• Quick and enticing overview of the response
• Ethnic Notions If you think youre ready, youre
  not.
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

15
Class, meet Darwin.

• Read the information about Social Darwinism at
  the link provided in todays in-class activities
  on the website calendar.
• In your notes and with your group, please
  establish the following
• (1) Short definition of Social Darwinism in
  your own words.
• (2) What might make Social Darwinism appealing?
• (3) What might make Social Darwinism revolting?
• (4) Find one specific passage in The Damned
  Human Race that satirizes Social Darwinism.

16
As you watch Ethnic Notions

• Please keep track of two things as you watch this
  documentary
• What are the different racial stereotypes and
  their specific characteristics?
• What social / political purpose does each
  stereotype serve?

17
Agenda 1/23 (Shortened Class)

• Focus Gathering background information on 19th
  century perceptions of race
• 20 minutes of ALIS reading time
• Collect summary-responses
• Watch Ethnic Notions
• 6th hour Announcements and assembly
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

18
Agenda 1/27

• Focus Are Twains characters racist?
• Take-aways from yesterday and Friday (via
  fishbowl15 minutes)
• Early illustrations of race from Puddnhead
  Wilson (10-15 minutes)
• Character close readings and tableaus
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

19
Images of Race in PW

• Please click on the link in todays in-class
  activities.
• Scroll down to the early illustrations in
  Puddnhead Wilson.
• Browse the images. What might some of these
  images reveal about Twains culture? How do they
  overlap with what you learned about race in
  Ethnic Notions?
• Copy and paste a few of these images, along with
  your interpretations of them, into your Ethnic
  Notions notes.

20
Character Distribution

• 1 Roxy
• 2 Wilson
• 3 Tom (born Chambers, but is now Tom)
• 4 Chambers (born Tom, but is now Chambers)
• 5 Percy Driscoll
• 6 The townsfolk

21
Close Readings and Tableaus

• Circle up as a small group and find one specific
  piece of Puddnhead Wilson that reveals something
  important about your character.
• As a group, perform a close reading of the
  passage in which you pull out specific word
  choices (diction) and stylistic devices from the
  passage and explain why they are significant (one
  typed copy per group to turn in to Ms. Leclaire).
• See next slide for the creative part

22
The Tableau

• Last but not least, form a tableaua frozen
  picture with your bodiesthat depicts your
  character.
• All members of your group except for one must be
  a part of the tableau. You may use props,
  costumes, and even music, but you may not move or
  speak think of yourselves as statues.
• The one member of your group who is not part of
  the tableau must read the passage aloud while the
  tableau holds their pose.
• Be prepared to present these first thing tomorrow.

23
Agenda 1/28

• Focus Twains characterization
• Overview of Th and Fri/fishbowl setup
• 5 minutes to finish preparing tableaus
• Present and interpret tableaus
• Chapters 1-10 The literal and the interpretative
• Vocabulary review Unit 3
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

24
Fishbowl Directions

• Write your name on two different sheets of paper.
• Make sure you write down your assigned tasks and
  dates in your student calendar.

25
Agenda 2/2

• Focus Feeling confused? Let New Historicism
  help!
• Visitors from the future
• Twains tricky time periods A New Historicist
  reading
• Fishbowl 3 Chapters 17-19
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

26
Visitors from the Future

• Take out your student calendar and/or one of your
  notebooks.
• Trade with someone who is not sitting near you.
• Pretend that you are a traveler from a different
  culture/a different time, and you are exploring
  this mysterious text that sits before you.
• What inferences about our culture can you make
  from this text?

27
New Historicism

• In Ms. Leclaires terms
• New Historicism is looking at a text, whether
  its a piece of literature, a piece of art, a
  poster, a cookie jar, etc., as a window into the
  time period in which it was produced.
• The text is inseparable from the culture that
  generated it.

28
Twains Tricky Time Periods

• When is Puddnhead Wilson taking place?
• When is it actually written/published?
• Ah ha! Why is this discrepancy significant?
• Sowhat might this book reveal so far about life
  in the 1890s?

29
Agenda 2/3

• Focus Twain, twins, and humans on display
• Reminders and a new grade in this class
• The 19th century human zoos and twins in
  Puddnhead Wilson
• Final fishbowl discussion!
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

30
Reminders

• I still need fishbowl notes from Kristina,
  Leslie, Preston, Jason, Alex and Megan
• 6th hour I need syllabi from all 4 groups TODAY

31
Six Week Participation Grade

• February 14th marks the end of the first 6 weeks.
• This semester, you will receive a
  participation/focus grade at the end of each 6
  week period worth 25 points.
• Right now, everyone has 20 out of these 25
  points.
• This grade reflects several aspects of your
  behavior in class
• Your focus in class Be a good listener and
  thoughtful contributor.
• Your use of the laptops Each time youre
  off-task with your laptop, you lose 2 points.
• The beginning of class You should be in your
  seat with your laptop starting up by the time the
  bell rings.
• The ending of class We go bell-to-bell no
  packing up early.

32
Humans on Display

• Quickly research human zoos. Define in your
  notes what a human zoo is.
• Why do you think people in the late 19th century
  were drawn to human zoos?
• Through a New Historicist lens, what evidence of
  human zoos do we see in Puddnhead Wilson?
  Think metaphorically.

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More Specifically, Twins on Display

• With the person sitting next to you, make a list
  of at least five different twins in PW (again,
  think metaphorically heredont be afraid to take
  a risk).
• The big question So what? What do you see as
  the larger purpose of twins in this satirical
  novel?

34
Agenda 2/4

• Focus Existing in Between Races
• How close is too close? A sample close reading
  through a New Historicist lens
• Fridays practice timed writing
• Hughes, Twain, and Obama A Found Poem
• HW Follow the website calendar (remember our
  vocab. quiz tomorrow). ?

35
Agenda 2/5

• Focus Researching Twain through a New
  Historicist lens
• Turn in your summary-responses
• Mini vocabulary quiz Unit 4
• Time to research/prepare for tomorrows timed
  writing
• HW Follow the website calendar. ?

36
Sample Thesis Statements for Your Enjoyment

• Twains motif of twins in PW reflects his 19th
  societys desire to keep black and white citizens
  in separate classes while exposing the dependence
  of each race upon the other.

37

• The emergence of fingerprinting in the late 19th
  century contributes to Twains interest in nature
  vs. nurture in PW fingerprints symbolize that
  while nature trumps environment in the shaping of
  a person, identity runs far deeper than race.

38
10 minutes of rapid interpretation

• With the person sitting next to you, skim through
  the first 10 chapters of PW.
• The literal In your notes, make a list of the 10
  most important events that have happened so far.
• The interpretative Next to each event, offer a
  brief analysis (or pose an analytical question)
  of what larger idea you think Twain is trying to
  convey through this event.

39
New Historicism

• For the first section of Huck Finn, we will take
  a New Historicist angle in our annotations and
  class discussions. For a strong description of
  New Historicism, please visit the following
  website tonight
• http//english.byu.edu/writingcenter/
• literaryanalysis.htm
• Tonight, please print out and read this article
  carefully highlight and annotate passages that
  you find helpful.

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Fridays Timed Writing

• A New Historicist reading of PW Pick one aspect
  of life in the 1890s that Twain is satirizing.
• Tuesday Twins and human circuses
• Wednesday Fingerprinting and phrenology
• Thursdayconcept map and time to research