january 31

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Choose a character or a moment in the book and describe it like you’re telling a friend about something that happened at lunch.  This will tell me what gets your attention, what affects your mood as a reader, and what you remember. (Obviously, it will also tell me what you’ve read and understand.)  When it comes to the characters and their words and actions, be as judgmental as you want.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Keep reading (as a class, in groups, or by yourself) and taking notes
3. You should be posting to your blog EVERY DAY now as part of your routine. You can do this during the last part of the period if that makes it easier. Please post your notes (title: LES MIS pages xx-xx). (Don’t type “xx” — use the pages you read that day.)  You can also post about any Big Question work you’re doing and anything else you want to share with your readers.

january 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
If you could give Fantine some advice, what would it be?  How did you feel when she left Cosette with that couple?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read (in your group or by yourself) 

POST:
1. Post the pages you read today and: 1) what you thought was important; and 2) any questions about ideas/passages/words that you didn't understand (title: READING NOTES)
2. Post your journal topic to your blog (title: REFLECTIONS ON FANTINE & COSETTE)

january 29

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" by Earl Scruggs]

Sometimes when we start a book it's easy to get impatient with all the background information the author gives (on places, characters etc.) before something actually happens.  Why do we get all of this stuff first?  How does it help to know these things when the action starts and the plot gets going?  What would we miss if Les Miserables started with a chase scene?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis
3. Socratic Seminar

POST: 
Do you think Fantine made good decisions?  What about Jean Valjean?  To what extent are we responsible for our choices, and to what extent are we influenced by society, desire, peer pressure, parental expectation, and other social forces? (title: DECISIONS DECISIONS)

january 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:  (write this at the end of the period, after you have your lit circle discussion)

Describe your work in your literature circle today.  What was productive?  What needs improvement?  What helped you understand something about the book?

AGENDA:
1. Work in Literature Circle
2. Journal

january 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What do you think of when you see the word FUTURE?  Do your ideas depend on your experience in the past, or your imagination, or both?  Please explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal (please remember to turn yours in, it's Friday)
2. Les Mis
3. Literature Circle work

POST:
What is your plan for your literature circle on Monday? 
(title: READING AND THINKING TOGETHER) 
(suggested first sentences: "It's one thing to read a book on your own.  But when you share your thinking with others, some interesting thing happens.  I work in a literature circle with ___ other people.  On Monday we are going to...")

facebook is making you sad

When I was in high school, I could develop different parts of my personality and different ways of being depending on who I was with at the time.  Think about it: there is no way I would have talked the same way at my family's dinner table as I did in the locker room with my basketball teammates.  I'm grateful that I had the chance to make social mistakes -- and learn from them -- without everyone in my life seeing them at the same time.  I am also glad that some of the things I said and did in high school weren't part of some public record that followed me the rest of my life.

As social media has become more influential, I have wondered how today's generation feels.  Years ago I started to suspect that putting so much personal information out there would have negative effects.

Unfortunately, it looks like my worst fears came true.  Read more here.  (Thanks, BoingBoing!)

january 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Take a moment and search the internet for a quote you admire.  What is it about the quote?  The idea?  The person who said or wrote it?  The way s/he put the idea into words?  Write the quote in your journal and explain how you think about it.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis

*DOH!!! Our agenda has been hijacked.  After the journal, we will be taking the Renaissance Learning test online.  When you're finished, take any leftover time to work on your lit circle's Google Doc and your blog.

january 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Yesterday our journal topic had to do with seeing things in the world that demand our empathy and our effort.  Then, in the afternoon, I talked with an old friend and colleague in Los Angeles who told me that he can't bring himself to watch the news anymore.  Now, this man is very successful in every sense of the word, and I respect him very much-- but don't we all have a responsibility to stay awake and pay attention, even if the news is painful and out of our control?  What do you think?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Status: does your blog have a logo/design?
3. Return yesterday's quizzes
4. Les Mis
5. Internet security 101

POST:
Recommend security strategies to your readers. (title: HOW TO KEEP YOURSELF MORE SECURE ON THE INTERNET)

january 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Victor Hugo once wrote, "Those who do not weep, do not see."  What do you think he meant by this?  Do you agree?  Why/why not?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Catching up: quiz on reading to p.124
3. Continue reading together

POST:
What do you think people should care more about in 2019 America?  Explain the issue, why it matters, and why you think people should be more mindful.  (title: THOSE WHO DO NOT WEEP, DO NOT SEE)

january 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Sick.  It's an awful feeling.  And it seems like when we get sick, everyone around us has an opinion: rest up, drink fluids, see a doctor, sweat it out, take an ice bath, walk it off... How do you know what to do when you get sick?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis: today we dive back into reading, let's see how far we can get!

POST:
1. Please contribute to your literature circle's Google Doc with your notes from today

2. Please copy/paste that same information into a post on your blog (title: TODAY'S LES MIS NOTES)

january 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine a logo for your literature circle.  What image would describe your group?  Think about other logos you've seen and imagine an icon and colors that might represent your group members, your shared purpose, and the work you do together.  Describe this in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Share your logo ideas with your fellow lit circlers
3. Feedback on Google Docs
4. Discussion: Paul Simon
5. Les Mis

POST:
What about Graceland makes it American Literature?  World Literature?  What's the difference?  How does your understanding of storytelling influence the way you and others think?

les mis lit circles

Please share the link to your group's page in a comment to this post.  Mahalo.

STRIKE: your thoughts?

This week, teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are on strike.  Do some research (the LA Times is probably a good place to start) and take a position: are the teachers right, is the district superintendent right, or is there a way to meet everyone's needs?  Write your answer in a comment to this post and/or in a post on your blog.

january 16

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Let the Day Begin" by The Call; "Where Do I Begin?" by Jill Sobule; "Begin the Begin" by R.E.M.)

Describe a thought or a feeling that you'd forgotten over break and experienced again when you walked back into this room.  Now, remember that this is a new beginning, so here is the important question: How will you re/create the thoughts/feelings you WANT to have in this room this semester?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reboot
3. Introduction to spring semester:

• Review technical elements of literature we covered last semester
• Prepare for the final in June (!)
• Take your Big Question to the next level: Masterpiece Academy starts late April
• Win the Internet
• Speak like a pro
• Create like a genius

HW:

Research Paul Simon's album Graceland (starting with this) and come to class Thursday prepared to discuss whether this qualifies as American Literature.  To do this properly, you will have to do some research and/or review your notes in order to define American Literature and make your case.