Thursday, June 2, 2016

1st period:

1. Instructions for the final exam and Socratic seminar handed out and discussed
2. Articles for final exam and Socratic seminar handed out ("Lorraine Hansberry: Her Chicago Law Story;" "Discrimination in Housing Against Nonwhites Persists;" "Market for Fixer-Uppers Traps Low-Income Buyers;" "A Brief History of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;" and "The Case for Reparations"
3. Finish "Introduction to A Raisin in the Sun" video (13:30-22:50)
4. Watch "Race: Power of an Illusion: The House We Live In" (26:00-56:00) and take notes
5. Watch video "Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev'ry Voice" and take notes

3rd and 4th periods:

1. Instructions for the final exam and Socratic seminar handed out and discussed
2. Articles for final exam and Socratic seminar handed out ("Lorraine Hansberry: Her Chicago Law Story;" "Discrimination in Housing Against Nonwhites Persists;" "Market for Fixer-Uppers Traps Low-Income Buyers;" "A Brief History of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;" and "The Case for Reparations"
3. Read the first part of "The Case for Reparations" and text-mark it and create Level One and Level Two questions and share them with class and discuss what we read
4. View maps of red-lined areas of Chicago and Portland
5. Watch video about the Chicago Contract Buyers League and take notes
6. Finish "Introduction to A Raisin in the Sun" video (13:30-22:50)
7. Watch video "Portland Civil Rights: Lift Ev'ry Voice" and take notes

Here are the links to the supplemental articles for the final exam essay on A Raisin in the Sun:

"This Town Needs a Better Class of Racist" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

"The Chicago Neighborhood That Inspired A Raisin in the Sun May Rise Again"

"The Air I Breathe" by Ifanyi Bell

"Can Portland Avoid Repeating San Francisco's Mistakes?"

Here is the Grading Rubric for the Final Exam

Tuesday, May 31, 2016:

1. We finished up the Metaphor Project Presentations and handed in notes on them.
2. Raisin in the Sun reading quiz
3. Discuss the play and final exam in explained
4. Pairs / small groups shared the write up about how the poem "A Dream Deferred" is relected / represented by the characters in the play.
5. Hand in Dream chart and "Dream Deferred" write-up

On Tuesday, May 24 and Thursday, May 26, we heard Metaphor Project Presentations and watched  A Raisin in the Sun.

Friday, May 20, 2016:

1st period:
Issue Group

3rd and 4th periods:
We watched and took notes on the video "Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 3"

DUE DATE: Tuesday, May 24: Metaphor project (2 paragraphs and the project)

Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Today's Agenda:

1. Write self-reflection on thesis and then include it in your portfolio
2. Hand in Thesis Portfolio (YAY!!!)
3. Watch A Raisin in the Sun and take notes 

Periods 1 and 4: be prepared for the Issue Group on Friday.

Issue Group articles for period 1:

Anti: http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/5-things-white-people-cultural-appropriation/

Informational: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/magazine/is-cultural-appropriation-always-wrong.html?_r=1

Pro: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/08/21/to-the-new-culture-cops-everything-is-appropriation/

Monday, May 16, 2016
Today's Agenda:

1. Review Thesis Portfolio contents (see page 4 of the Thesis Packet)
2. Review calendar and upcoming due dates 
3. Go to library and check out the play A Raisin in the Sun
4. Read background information on Lorraine Hansberry, the author of A Raisin in the Sun
5. Read the epigraph (Langston Hughes's poem "A Dream Deferred") to the play and discuss the poem's imagery and what the images might mean
6. Get note-taking chart for tracking dreams in the play
7. View first half of video  introduction to the play (up to 13:38) and take notes with this sheet 
8. Review the cast of characters and read the opening pages / set directions
9. Watch Act 1, scene 1 (video)

DUE DATE: Wednesday, May 18: THESIS FINAL DRAFT AND PORTFOLIO

                       Tuesday, May 24: Metaphor Project

                        Tuesday, May 31: Finish reading A Raisin in the Sun and hand in note-taking chart (on dreams)

Thursday, May 12, 2016

1. Review calendar
2. Review Thesis Portfolio requirements (see page 4 of the Thesis Packet)
3. Metaphor Project (also known as the  "Biographical Report / Artistic Representation Project") assigned, explained, and demonstrated. here is the scoring rubric for the metaphor project.

Here is the list for presentation times for each class:

1st period presentation list

3rd period presentation list

4th period presentation list

On Tuesday, May 10, we peer-edited the 2nd draft of the thesis.

On Friday, May 6, we did two practice timed-writes to prep for the AP test

REMINDER: Final Draft of thesis and portfolio are due on Wednesday, May 18.

Biographical / Metaphor Report is due on Tuesday, May 24

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Today we prepped for the AP Test. We read and analyzed and discussed an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "A Letter From Birmingham Jail." Then we covered some different terms related to "syntax" (powerpoint--see me for these terms.)

YOU CAN FIND MANY USEFUL TERMS FOR THE AP TEST IN YOUR TEXTBOOK (THE LANGUAGE OF COMPOSITION) ON PAGES 58-59.

REMINDER: 2nd draft of thesis is due on Tuesday, May 10