AP English Croquet Party!

Be there, or be square!

—Your Super Cool English Teacher, Dr. B.

AP English: Maurice Sendak (Part 2)

In yesterday's class, we worked on the first two parts of our creative writing project: steps 2 and 3 of our children's book assignment, here.  You selected your conflict (step 2) and organized your plot (step 3). Many of you also posted step 4, which was to identify your main characters.

For today, we will begin class by finishing Stephen Colbert's 2012 interview with literary giant Maurice Sendak (here) and I will show you my own copy of I Am a Pole (and So Can You!).

When we are finished, please get with your partners and jump into steps 4 and 5. Step 5 is now the most important: Write a rough draft. Make sure to confine yourself to twenty pages (see the back of your assignment sheet) and let me know if you have any questions.  When you are done, please post your answers to steps 4 and 5 in the comments section below.

AP English: Writing Your Own Children's Book

Part 1 of my favorite 2012 interview with Maurice Sendak (author of Where the Wild Things Are) with Stephen Colbert.

My lovely AP students, I was so moved yesterday when we went down to the library, pulled out some children's book and began to read. It felt like that day in elementary school and when your teacher says, "We're going to the library!" and every kid jumps up from their desk and says, "Yay!" As I looked around the library yesterday, you were all laughing and excited about the stories you were reading, and something suddenly became clear: some of our favorite books are not long, three-volume Victorian novels, but those written for children.

Today, we will be finishing step two of our Children's Book Project (assignment sheet here), making an outline of the story. I encourage you all to also finish step three, characters, so you are ready to jump into the rough draft tomorrow.

For today, we will warm-up by watching this 7-minute interview (Part 1) of Stephen Colbert's interview with children's book author Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, which was first published in 1963, and very much like Lewis Carroll's Alice stories, still resonates with us today.

When we are done, get with your partner and complete step 2 (and 3 if you can) from your assignment sheet. Post your answers in the comments section below to turn in your assignment.


Standard/Rubric for this Assignment (here)
W3, "I can write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences."

AP English: Adaptations of the Croquet Match in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Writing Prompt:

As we close in on the end of our discussion of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it is time for us to look at my (Dr. Brigman's) favorite scene: the croquet match with the Queen of Hearts that goes incredibly wrong. 

As time changes, so do the characters in the stories we tell, and I find the changes to Alice's foreboding, hot-headed queen some of the most interesting! I have often thought Carroll (and his illustrator, John Tenniel), based her off of the most famous queen of their Day: Queen Victoria.

Do you see the similarity between the image (above) and the one Tenniel illustrated (below)?

Clip from the 1951 Disney animated feature, Alice in Wonderland.

2010 Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland featuring Helena Bonham Carter (Tim Burton's wife!) as the Queen of Hearts.

Questions for Discussion:

1) In your opinion, which Queen of Hearts is the most like the one that appears in Chapter 8, "The Queen's Croquet Ground" (60-67)? Please use specific textual evidence.

2) Vice versa, which Queen of Hearts is the least like the one that appears in Chapter 8?

3) Pick one of the two Queen of Hearts we saw today and discuss appropriation. Remember: appropriation means, "to take something and make it your own." What was the creator (either Tim Burton or Walt Disney) taking? What were they making their own? What do you think the creator was trying to accomplish with this version? 

4) Lastly, why a Queen of Hearts?

AP English: Cheshire Cat

Hands down, the Cheshire Cat remains one of the most iconic images from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He speaks in riddles, floats through the air, and grins without stopping. What makes him so interesting is often hard to describe, and there are many ways to read this magical, mysterious, and curious character.

For today, watch the following clips and answer the discussion questions in the comments section below. Pay close attention to how the Cheshire Cat is characterized and how he is like/unlike the one represented in our books.

1951 scene from Disney's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton's 2010 adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

1999 Cheshire Cat scene from the made-for-TV movie Alice in Wonderland

Questions for Discussion:
1) In your opinion, which cat (from the above adaptations) is most like the one that appears in Chapter VI of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Please use specific textual evidence to support your ideas.

2) Which cat is the least like Carroll's Cheshire cat? Why?

3) Pick your favorite Cheshire Cat quote. Explain the nonsense and the logic behind it.

4) Lastly, why a Cheshire cat?

A Very "Unbirthday Party": Appropriations of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Last week, we looked at a number of adaptations of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (here).  Iconic scenes like the journey through the rabbit hole and the caterpillar's inquisitive remarks, "Who are you," tell us a lot about the world Alice envisions whether she is underground or above it.

For today, we will look at one of the most famous: the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Please watch the following clips and answer the discussions questions in the comments section below. You may wish to reference your notes from last week on child logic, nonsense, and storytelling.

1951 Disney adaptation, Alice in Wonderland.

2010 Tim Burton adaptation, Alice in Wonderland

A lesser-known made-for-TV movie adaptation from 1999, Alice in Wonderland featuring Tina Majorino, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martin Short as the Mad Hatter.

1) Pick an illustration from our Norton Editions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. What visual similarities do you see between the John Tenniel's illustrations and one of the adaptations from above? (e.g., Disney's 1951, Tim Burton's 2010, or 1999 TV movie)

2) In your opinion, which adaptation follows the storyline the closest? What is kept the same, and therefore, stays true to the story? Why would the creators keep this part of the story?

3) Vice versa, in your opinion, which adaptation is the farthest from the original storyline? What is made to be different, and therefore, changes the story? Why would the creators have changed this part of the original story? What might be their aim?

4) Lastly, why a tea party?

Getting to Know Lewis and Alice: Who Was Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell?

Before we fall down the metaphorical "rabbit hole" with Alice, we must first learn a little bit about the life of Lewis Carroll and who the infamous Alice Liddell was that inspired Carroll to write Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

For today, watch 5-10 minutes of The Secret Life of Lewis Carroll. Then, listen as Dr. B. explains a few theories about Carroll's relationships with children, stammering, and storytelling. (Video on stammering, here.)

When we are done, answer all of the discussion questions below.

1) Who was Alice Liddell?
2) How did Carroll and Liddell meet?
3) What drew Carroll to Alice?
4) What made Alice different from the other children?
5) According to scholars in The Secret Life of Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is the "third most-quoted book after the Bible and Shakespeare."  Do you agree with this claim? Why or why not (be specific)?

AP English: The Final Countdown!

For today's class, we are going to do something a little bit different. Rather than have you do the writing, Dr. B. is going to show you how she would write an AP exam essay.  Your job for today is to watch the process that unfolds as she
1) reads through a prompt,
2) identifies the questions the AP exam writers want to be answered,
3) breaks down the passage, and
4) answers the question.

In the comments section below, comment on anything you notice or find important in Dr. Brigman's technique: how does she break down the question? How does she jump into the writing task? What can you do during Wednesday's exam that will involve the same strategies?

You might also consider Amanda Vickery's advice, "a mind at work." What does Dr. B. do that shows you (and the AP readers) her mind is "at work" while answering the question?

AP English: Some Universal Truths about Comedy

Playwright and author Oscar Wilde (1854—1900), who was famous for his use of comedy to make fun of social situations.

Writing Warmup: 
On page 6 of your Drama Packets, you will find some Universal Truths about Comedy.  Comedy...

1. Is always at someone's expense.
2. Binds and excludes people.
3. Lessons social tensions.
4. Has the potential to have real tragedy embedded within it.
5. Gives power to those who make us laugh.

Using one or two of the universal truths above, describe a key moment in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (pictured above).  How does that moment prove the universal rule about comedy?

AP English: The Reader's Theater

Beginning Activities

A Doll House and The Importance of Being Earnest

Activity One:  Reader’s Theater

1.  Before students begin reading either play, randomly assign students to read and perform the following scenes.

2.  Allow five minutes for a read through and a brief discussion among the group on how to read/perform the parts.

3.  As students watch the performances, have them record initial impressions and make predictions.

4.  As they read the plays, students should test their initial responses against their later ones.

Suggestions for Student Notes:

1.  What conclusions can we draw about the characters? Do they remind you of

                  people you know or of characters in other works?

            2.   What conflicts seem to emerge in act one?  Act three?  

            3.  What leads you to your conclusions?

            4.  If the same passages are performed, are there differences in characterization?

            5.  What commonalities do you see between the two plays?  Differences?

            6.  What questions do you have after watching the plays?

Suggested Scenes from A Doll House (Dover Thrift Editions)

Act 1: 

            Pages 1 – 2.  Beginning scene through Nora’s speech that begins with          “Whatever you say Torvald.”  (Nora, Torvald, Delivery Boy (“Porter”))

            Pages 6 – 7.  Entrance of Mrs. Linde through her speech that begins with “Your     husband?  How marvelous!” (Nora and Mrs. Linde)

            Pages 14 – 15. Krogstad’s first lines “It’s me, Mrs. Helmer” through Nora’s          speech that begins with “Oh come on Dr. Rank – you really do want to live     yourself.”  (Krogstad, Mrs. Linde, Nora, Dr. Rank)

           

Suggested Scenes from The Importance of Being Earnest.  1899 Google Boocs Ed.

Act I:

            Pages 1 – 5. Opening Scene through Algernon’s speech that begins with      “Lane’s views on marriage seem somewhat lax. (Lane, Algernon)

           

            Pages 6 – 8.  Jack’s line “I am in love with Gwendolen through Jack’s speech         that begins with “Cecily!  What on earth do you mean?”

            Pages 19 - 21.  Lady Bracknell’s line “Good afternoon, dear Algernon, I hope…”   through Lane’s exit after Algernon discovers there are no cucumber         sandwiches.(Lane, Algernon, Gwendolen, Lady Bracknell, and Jack.)

Act II: 

            Pages 55 – 57.  Beginning of scene with Miss Prism through Cecily’s speech that begins with “I wish Uncle Jack would allow that unfortunate young man, his            brother, to come down here sometimes.”

            Pages 59—?.  Begin with Miss Prism and Dr. Chausible’s return from their walk:             

            Miss Prism:  “You are too much alone, dear Dr. Chausible…” and end with Jack’s

            entrance.

Port Veritas: Day 5 (AP English)

We began today's class by watching Neil Hilborn's performance of "OCD" (above) as a way to warm up our public speaking skills.

Then, each student was given fifteen minutes to practice reading a poem they wrote this week.

Speaking and Listening Instructions:
1) The speaker should introduce themselves.  "My name is ____, the poem is titled____."  If it is untitled, just say so.
2) Each of the five students is given 15-minutes each.  3-5 minutes to perform, and an additional 5-10 for feedback and a second performance.
3) Read through once, get feedback, then repeat.

Here are some of the poems we heard today:
1) One student read his sonnet on escaping the Maine winters for warmer climates.  When workshopping their poem with Robin yesterday, he put the poem in iambic pentameter! It was so cool! The sonnet was musical and punchy right when the student writer wanted it to be.

2) Our second student writer read his revised metaphor poem about a lemon, which became a personification of the bitter-sweetness of life.

3) Our third student read a poem she started last week using the Shakespearean sonnet.  The topic was about friends and dating, ending on the importance of the speaker's own heart.

4) Our fourth student read a poem about basketball and winning the state of Maine Class-D Girls' Basketball Championships.  Her rhymed coupled at the end showed how meaningful the championship was, ending with, "won the gold ball."

5) Our last student read her sonnet personifying the idea of time, using images of world clocks and people's reactions to time to stress how time affects us.

Some Tips: 
1) Look off your page! Be sure to look up as you say your lines to the audience.  Don't just read off the page.  Taking time to look at the audience and engage is an important part of public speaking.
2) Smile when it's appropriate.
3) If you have a line that ends with a single word, take a pause and deliver that word with gusto.
4) If you're going to deliver poetry that is personal and funny, and you're not sure how to deliver it, you can imagine a scenario that makes it work.  For example, delivering a poem as if the person you are talking about is at the back of the room.  Play around with your audience.
5) Always work on projection.
6) Stress words that you want stressed.  If you have trouble finding areas of the poem to stress, ask for help.
7) Don't rush off the stage after you finish reading! Pause and leave when it's appropriate.  If you are workshopping, you will need to stay "on stage" until you have received feedback and practiced reading your poem to the audience a second time.
8) Students with long or unruly hair, pull/push it out of your face so the audience can see you.

Port Veritas: Day 4

Today, we had the whole group back together for our period 2, AP English, writing workshop.  The senior who workshopped with Nate, Beau, and Robin shared the poem he workshopped yesterday and got feedback from the rest of the group.  The poem changed in meaningful ways since the last workshop, and it was a treat to hear the poem's implied metaphor from classmates.

Each student stood in front of their workshop table and read their favorite of the two writing prompts they received on Tuesday.

Samples from today's metaphor poems.  Some students chose to type or hand-write their copies.

Here are some of the topics workshopped today by our student writers:
1) One student wrote about time, aging, and decay using the image of chipped nail polish.  At the end of the poem, the word had a double meaning and "polish" became a representation of the polish of youth.

2) Another student shared a poem about "Otto," a dog who experiences loss and excitement as their owner comes and leaves.  Because the image was so easy to understand, we discussed the poem's metaphor as separation anxiety and loss.

3) A third student wrote about a tree that starts as a seedling and grows into a lush tree.  One of my favorite lines was this one: "Eventually the tiny tree / Has grown into a lush one / yielding more fruit than Eden."  The author wanted to convey a message of growth even with limitations that keep something from growing.  Workshop members, however, thought it might be a metaphor for the growth one experiences in high school.


More workshopping tips from today:
1) Cut repetition for the sound of the poem.  For example, "Those cracks and those chips" could be "Those cracks and chips."  It sounds better and has a clearer meaning.

2) You don't have to start poems with word banks.  In fact, you can do a free write on a topic, image, object, or idea, and go back and do a word bank.  When we heard about the tree that yielded "more fruit than Eden," for example, we discussed making a word bank about Eden so that the biblical imagery could appear elsewhere in the poem.

3) Write with confidence! We talked a little bit about this yesterday, but I think the discussion today was even more helpful.  Phrases such as, "almost like," should be, "like," to create authority in the writing.

Tomorrow, we will focus on speaking and reading poetry out loud to wrap things up.

Port Veritas: Poetry Workshop Day 3

One of our seniors working with Port Veritas poets Nate and Beau.

Unlike Day 1 and Day 2 of this week's poetry workshops, today we started with a new poet, Beau Williams, and only one student in Period 2!

It was amazing.

How often does a young writer get to work with three professional creative writers workshopping his/her own work one-on-one?

Our lucky senior started by sharing last night's writing prompt (see here).  He chose to write about the smell, feel, and experience of working down at the Vinalhaven Fishermen's Co-Op.

The poem was filled with lovely phrases like "the smell of ocean and pennies" to describe the foulness of bait.

Speared bait bags (photo © by Helana Brigman, 2012.)

Some workshopping tips:
1) Play around with a thesaurus.
2) Circle all of the adjectives in your poem and try another one.  See if you like it more.
3) Beau: "give the words the power they deserve.  Confidence is key."

4) Think about the distinction between words.  What do you mean when you say "life" versus "livelihood?"

5) Trim it up: "Rotten fish may just seem like rotten fish / but to the fishermen it's their livelihood" is much more powerful, punchy, and meaningful when condensed to "Rotten fish may seem like rotten fish / but it's their livelihood."

One definition of a metaphor Beau recently heard at a play: "Trying to say one thing by saying something completely different without lying."

Senior student reading poem.

What was great about today is that our student had a lot more voice in how his poem was workshopped.  Because he was talking with Robin, Nate, and Beau one-on-one, he got really comfortable talking frankly about how he was editing and revising his work.  My favorite moment was when our student writer said, "I don't want to criticize you on my own poem...but..." and told Port Veritas's founder, Nate, that he had made an error when reading his poem.  Of course, Nate was very apologetic, but it highlighted the democratizing effect of a poetry workshop.  Student writers, although growing, really do become poets.

AP English: Discovering the Sonnet

The Sonnet: a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter (five feet of stressed and unstressed syllables).  

As we get ready for a visit from the lovely poets at Port Veritas next week, we've started to read poetry--lovely, concise, perfect poetry.  From the Greek verb poiein, meaning "to make," poetry is one of our oldest genres of literature, positioning the writer as a "maker" of rhythms, images, and verse.  In fact, many scholars surmise that poetry historically grew out of the rhythmic chanting and singing of oral traditions.  It is possible that poetry is one of our oldest modes of communication, and it is rooted in the human drive to communicate clearly, concisely, and with great feeling or meaning.

Poetry's link to oral traditions.

Yet what's really interesting about poetry is the way in which it allows the writer to use language in its most condensed form.  While it might take me 500-words to explain an idea, it might take a poet fifty or a hundred words to communicate the same thing.  Because of this compression, I have often thought that reading poetry required more work, but with greater benefit.  Poems don't always make their meaning obvious to readers, and they require a level of collaboration with the text that you don't usually see when reading a novel by Charles Dickens.

"Collaboration with the text?"

Basically, becoming involved in the creation of a poem's meaning.  By nature, reading is a passive act, but poetry doesn't allow its readers to be passive.  Readers go back, ask questions about a poem's meaning, look for repeating images, sounds, ideas, and "unpack" a text as they work their way through its short lines and intentional movements.

Here is an example of a poem our class worked with on last year, "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" by William Wordsworth:

Wednesday's poetry explication: "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" by William Wordsworth.

I put the poem on the board as a way to show how readers shouldn't just read a poem--they have to have a relationship with it.  This relationship is especially important because Wordsworth's poem is a sonnet, a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter with alternating end rhymes for each line of the work.

This particular example by Wordsworth is a Petrarchan Sonnet that is divided into two parts: an octave, or 8 lines, at the beginning, and a sestet, or six lines, at the end.  Usually, the octave will suggest a situation or an idea and the sestet will comment on that idea, offering a solution.  In the image above, our class identified the rhyme scheme (abba, abba, cddccd), the main idea at the beginning: nuns, hermits, students, maids, and bees are happy in their monotonous, "restricted" lives, and the solution or resolution at the end: the "speaker" believes that the "prison unto which we doom / Ourselves, no prison is" (lines 8-9).  This argument is a lovely way of contradicting the idea that nunneries/monasteries, cells, and citadels, just like the Sonnet form (line 11), are not places of restriction but opportunities to express meaning in a structured way.

Ultimately, Wordsworth is using the Petrarchan sonnet form to explain why he (or any poet) uses the sonnet form: its classical restrictions still offer modern poets (nineteenth century) the ability to express themselves.

Could our class have gotten to Wordsworth's argument without first annotating his poem?  Maybe, but not likely.  Like most poems, sonnets beg to be poured over and engaged.  It's one of the things I love about poetry and the reason for tonight's homework!

Homework 
Rough Draft: DUE Friday, March 31, 2017
Revised Draft: DUE Monday, April 3, 2017
Write a 14-line sonnet about a topic of your choice following the Shakespearean model: three quatrains (4-lines each) and a rhymed coupled (two lines at the end of the poem).  The turn in the Shakespearean sonnet occurs at the end of the third quatrain with the rhymed couplet commenting on (or resolving) the topic/issue/idea your sonnet is about.

Your sonnet can be on any topic you like, but it must be 14-lines and use the following rhyme scheme:

line 1 - a 
line 2 - b
line 3 - a
line 4 - b
line 5 - c
line 6 - d
line 7 - c
line 8 - d
line 9 - e
line 10 - f
line 11 - e
line 12 - f
line 13 - g
line 14 - g

AP English: Envy vs. Jealousy in William Shakespeare's Othello

Dr. B found this fabulous photo of Othello and Iago from the Bell Shakespeare Company in Australia.

The last couple of days, we have discussed the terms envy and jealousy, using them almost interchangeably.  While it is acceptable to say that you are "envious" or "jealous" of someone when they get a new car, the two words have important distinctions.

According to Stanford University's Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Jealousy involves three parties, the subject, the rival, and the beloved" ("Envy vs. Jealousy," emphasis mine).  When a person feels jealousy, his/her "real locus of concern is the beloved, a person (or being) whose affection he is losing or fears losing." 

Envy, on the other hand, is a two-party affair, in which " the envious person’s locus of concern is the rival."

For example, let's take the story of Cinderella.  In the fairy tale, Cinderella (the subject) loves her father (the beloved) and he loves her.  One day, Cinderella's father decides to remarry, introducing the wicked step-mother (Cinderella's rival).  Cinderella fears losing the love and affection of her father to her rival, the step-mother.

Using these two definitions, please answers the questions below.

Questions:
1) Based on what we have read in William Shakespeare's play Othello, who experiences jealousy within the play? 
2) If jealousy is a "three party" event, who is "the subject," "the rival," and "the beloved?"
3) If envy is only a two-party affair, who is "the subject" and "the rival?"

AP English: Central Moral Action in William Shakespeare's Othello

Quote 1: "If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject." - Ayn Rand

Quote 2: "Aim above morality.  Be not simply good, be good for something." - Thoreau

Quote 3: "Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual." - Nietsche

Quote 4: "Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that...morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." - George Washington

Instructions: 
1) Pick the quote above that best reflects your point of view (POV).
2) Then, meet with other students who chose the same quote.  Create a defense for your definition of morality.
3) Pick a speaker and share your group's defense with the rest of the class.

AP English: Think - Puzzle - Know—Writing about Poetry

I chose this picture for today because it reminded me of our discussion about Walt Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric."

For today, I wanted to finish our discussion on Writing about Poetry from Tuesday's class.  Before we do, please answer the questions below.

1) What do you think you know about writing about poetry?

2) What puzzles (confuses) you about writing about poetry?

3) What do you want to know more about writing about poetry?

AP English: Open Form Poetry Discussion

In the last week, we have spent a good amount of time discussing poetry that breaks the rules.  Rather than restrict itself to a specific formula, meter, or style, modern poetry experiments with the poem's form, asking the question, "What is a poem?" (See your notes on Lawrence Ferlinghetti and "Don't Let that Horse.)

Today, read Walt Whitman's poem "I Sing the Body Electric" located in your "Open Form" poetry packets as well as the introduction.  Then, answer the following questions in the comments section below.

Questions:

1) Free Response: What informs this speaker's attitude toward the human body?

2) Read the poem aloud.  Is it simply a tedious enumeration of body parts, or do the lines achieve some kind of rhythmic cadence?

AP Socratic Circle (1/5/16)

For today's socratic circle, Hannah, Rosie, and Evan will be our "fishbowl" group members, leading a discussion about the final section of A Christmas Carol.  Our second group will be our audience, observing how discussion is going and if they agree/disagree with the conversation taking place in the middle.

Instructions: 
Audience members: in the comments section of this post, make thoughtful observations about the conversation taking place in the "fishbowl."  Good observations will do the following:

1. Identify when you agree/disagree with observations and specifically state why (ASR: Apt Specific Reference).  
2. Observe what specific group members did that helped to "propel" conversation forward, respond to their group members, and provide thoughtful observations.

Fishbowl members: in yesterday's class, you worked with your group members to pick what sections of Staves 1 and 2 you wanted to discuss and what roles you will play (i.e., discussion leader, "Sherlock Holmes," "Librarian," "Matchmaker," etc.).  You also wrote your own Level 1, 2, and 3 questions about your passage(s).  Students receiving a 3, "Meets," on Speaking and Listening 1, will do the following: 

1. Come to discussion prepared, having read and researched materials beforehand. SL1a
2. Work with peers to promote a civil, democratic discussion, set clear goals, and establish individual roles. SL1b
3. Propel conversations forward by posing and asking questions that probe reasoning and ask for evidence. SL1c
4. Respond thoughtful to diverse perspectives, synthesize (combine) comments, claims, and evidence, resolve contradictions, and investigate meaning. SL1d

AP English Socratic Circle (12/20/16): A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

For today's first socratic circle we will be breaking into two groups: the first will be our "fishbowl," leading a group discussion about Staves 1 and/or 2 of A Christmas Carol; the second will be our audience, observing how discussion is going and if they agree/disagree with the conversation taking place in the middle.

Instructions: 
Audience members: in the comments section of this post, make thoughtful observations about the conversation taking place in the "fishbowl."  Good observations will do the following:

1. Identify when you agree/disagree with observations and specifically state why (ASR: Apt Specific Reference).  
2. Observe what specific group members did that helped to "propel" conversation forward, respond to their group members, and provide thoughtful observations.

Fishbowl members: in yesterday's class, you worked with your group members to pick what sections of Staves 1 and 2 you wanted to discuss and what roles you will play (i.e., discussion leader, "Sherlock Holmes," "Librarian," "Matchmaker," etc.).  You also wrote your own Level 1, 2, and 3 questions about your passage(s).  Students receiving a 3, "Meets," on Speaking and Listening 1, will do the following: 

1. Come to discussion prepared, having read and researched materials beforehand. SL1a
2. Work with peers to promote a civil, democratic discussion, set clear goals, and establish individual roles. SL1b
3. Propel conversations forward by posing and asking questions that probe reasoning and ask for evidence. SL1c
4. Respond thoughtful to diverse perspectives, synthesize (combine) comments, claims, and evidence, resolve contradictions, and investigate meaning. SL1d