Mrs.+Bangs'+Blog

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The following was originally published February 22, 2012 at http://mrsbangs.blogspot.com/2012/02/3rd-period-today-students-participated.html

Today, students participated in the pre-assessment portion of a unit on villains in literature. This assessment does not count against the students: they were told up-front that the test was for cookies, not for a grade. With that in mind, our students did admirably well. I have been to identify some areas of need for instructional purposes, and our lessons over the next few weeks will reflect the data I was able to collect today. Afterward, we read through the opening monologue to Shakespeare's history play, //Richard III//. Richard III is my top choice for evilest Shakespeare character; the students were able to identify why he is just so villainous through our examination of this monologue.
 * 3rd Period:**

Just for fun, I put together two Wordles which represent our students ideas of heroism and villainy. Enjoy!

Today, we read "The Wife of Bath's Tale," through which we learned a valuable perspective on gender relations in the late Medieval period. Our discussion of our responses to yesterday's poll show that a divide exists between the boys in the class and the girls in the class as to what women desire. The Wife of Bath, however, tells us that women want only to dominate their relationship with their husband (self-same sovereignty). Our in-class essay for //The Canterbury Tales// will be tomorrow (February 23rd); you can use the notes you took about essay writing on Monday and the information I included in Monday's blog post during your in-class essay! //The Canterbury Tales// test on "The Prologue," "The Pardoner's Tale," and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" will be on Friday (February 24th). Study hard! I know you'll do well.
 * 4th Period:**

The following was originally published February 21, 2012 at http://mrsbangs.blogspot.com/2012/02/tuesday-february-21st-2012.html

We finished watching //Becket// today; after we reviewed the study guide questions, students took a test on the film (plot-based questions only). Our viewing of //Becket// is the last major mental break before we get to //Lord of the Flies//, so I hope our students enjoyed it. Wednesday we will begin our unit of study that focuses on the anti-heroes and villains in literature. We'll be reading Shakespeare's tragic play, //Macbeth//, and William Golding's novel, //Lord of the Flies//. I hope to fit a few pieces of poetry into the mix, but it depends more on how the weather treats us (and school activities too). Thank you, students, for all your hard work so far. It's paying off!
 * 3rd Period:**

We continued reading //The Canterbury Tales// today by reading "The Pardoner's Tale." Students should have completed their study guide questions as we discussed the text during our class readings (check the sheet! I did not always say "here's the answer to #8"). After we finished the tale, we discussed the concept of desire for gain, something the Pardoner's views as a sin for all those except himself. Namely, we concerned ourselves with with when it is OK to want more and all the rules and regulations which restrict our personal desires (both religious and legal). Finally, we took a poll via PollEverywhere.com in which we submitted our thoughts on the question, "what do women desire the most?" To view the results, check out the Wordle I made. We'll use this Wordle to jump-start our class on Wednesday, in which we'll be reading "The Wife of Bath's Tale."
 * 4th Period:**

The following was originally published February 20, 2012 at http://mrsbangs.blogspot.com/2012/02/monday-february-20th-2012.html

We continued watching the film, //Becket//, which we started Friday after our //The Canterbury Tales// test. The film tells the story of Thomas Becket's rise within the court of King Henry II and within the Catholic Church, the latter of which leads to his death/martyrdom. As we discussed in class, the pilgrims in Chaucer's //The Canterbury Tales// are on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The film gives us just a bit more perspective on what the characters in Chaucer's tale are like. As we watch the film, we are answering questions on the viewing guide and discussing our reactions to the events of the film.
 * 3rd Period:**

We covered so much ground today! I am incredibly proud of our students for staying focused and engaged in the lesson. We summed up the remainder of "The General Prologue" of //The Canterbury Tales// today before focusing on the first of two pilgrims whom we will study this week. We read Chaucer's description of the Pardoner in "The General Prologue" and then read "The Pardoner's Prologue," an introduction before he tells his tale. The students decided that the Pardoner is a less than admirable man. Several epitaphs include: hypocrite, liar, cheat, scam artist, tiny goat-man, greedy scum bag, etc. The Pardoner, as we discovered through his prologue, takes advantage of the poor country "yokels" who fear for their lives in the presence of the Black Death by selling them pardons for the sins for which they believe God is punishing them. We started a Popplet bubble-map of our background knowledge about the Black Death. In order to better understand their fear, we watched a brief video about the Black Death, which you can find on The History Channel's website: [|http://www.history.com/topics/black-death/videos#coroners-report-plague]. If the Black Death interests you further, The History Channel has a full length documentary about the plague available on DVD. To read some eyewitness accounts to the devastation of the Black Death, visit []. We finished our Popplet with the new knowledge we gained from The History Channel video; this Popplet can be found at http://popplet.com/app/#/198449. We closed out our class period today by approaching how to construct an in-class essay, modeling our discussion with a prompt about the Pardoner and the plague. If you follow the guidelines we talked about, you'll have great in-class essays. The guidelines for a good essay response as discussed in class are as follows:
 * 4th Period:**

1) BREAK THE PROMPT DOWN TO ITS FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS (how does he take advantage, why does he take advantage, how is it so easy for him to take advantage, is it OK for him to take advantage); 2) REFER BACK TO THE TEXT TO FIND EVIDENCE; 3) WRITE A SOLID THESIS STATEMENT OR TOPIC PARAGRAPH; 4) INCLUDE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT (quotes) TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS AND STANCES; 5) EXHAUST THE TOPIC (you can never write too much, but you can definitely write too little); 6) IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME, BULLET THE REMAINDER OF YOUR ESSAY (complete the thought rather than leave it blank).

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The following was originally published February 10, 2012 at http://mrsbangs.blogspot.com/2012/02/dear-students-and-parentswelcome-to-my.html

Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to my classroom blog! I look forward to working with students and parents alike as I complete my student teaching experience at Fred T. Foard High School.

Literature has always been a passion of mine, and I can't wait to share my love of reading with my students. I can't promise they'll love literature as much as me, but I do hope that reading and writing become a little less painful.

Most of our classroom information, including worksheets, study materials, and details about the works we are studying, can be found on our classroom wiki: https://mrsbangs.wikispaces.com/. I will be updating the classroom wiki on a daily basis, so check it often as a reminder of upcoming assignments...or check it out if you miss a class and need the assignments...or check it out if you left your study guide at school and have a big test. If you would like to see a page added to the wiki, please let me know via comment on the wiki page, via e-mail, via phone, or in person. The more I know, the better I can make our classroom website.

You may contact me in the classroom at (704) 462-1496, extension 5312. My e-mail address is anne-marie.bangs@my.lr.edu.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bangs