AP Room assignments

AP Lit exam this Thursday: go to Schluntz

AP Language exam next Wednesday: go Schluntz too (this is a CHANGE from original schedule)

That's all the information they gave me!  Easy, right?

Chapter 5 HW (Due Thurs. 5/10)

Song of Solomon Chapter 5 Homework Assignment

Fair warning, Chapter 5 is long—start reading tonight.

For your assigned character (Hagar, Pilate, Ruth), please answer the following question.  Take note of AT LEAST one significant quotation.  You may refer to evidence in ch. 4 that relates to this question, if you wish.

·      What issues and themes does Morrison want to explore through the women of Song of Solomon?  What recurring motifs and images (concerning women) do you see?  How are they significant?  Do the stories/significant events of chapter 5 make you sympathize with your assigned character? Why or why not?

Discussion leaders, I am counting on you to post longer posts about your assigned character.  Remember to try to post early on so others can comment.  Please include more than one quotation.

Everyone else, you should comment under one of the discussion leaders, if possible.  You may post EITHER a shorter paragraph about one of the ideas/quotations raised by a discussion leader OR another quotation that seemed significant to the question, with only a couple bullet points of context and analysis.

As always, if there is something you find particularly confusing or compelling, you make write your post about this instead.

Our Discussion Leaders Are: Meredith, Daniella, Dan (I know you're up for the challenge!)

**Regardless of which character you were assigned in class, Meredtih, please focus on Hagar.  Daniella, please focus on Pilate (remember to consider knife fight in ch. 4).  Dan, please focus on Ruth.

Chapter 4 HW (Due Tue 5/8)

Sorry, folks.  I goofed and didn't put the homework up when I thought I had.  You can continue to post under the discussion leaders' (Laura, Neethi, Emma, Daniella) posts under Chapter 3 HW OR post here, under Chapter 4 HW.  Remember, discussion leaders should go a bit long, everyone else can go a little shorter (a short 5-6 sentence paragraph).

Song of Solomon Chapter 4 Homework Assignment

Up until this chapter (and again, after this chapter) Milkman remains a passive character who is hard to pin down, in terms of personality and values.  We get some insight during this chapter here.  As you read, think about Milkman as a character, especially considering his relationship with Hagar and his conversation with Guitar (102-106) in this chapter:

To what extent is Milkman himself responsible for feeling that his life is “boring” and “pointless” (107)?  To what extent is his family, his circumstances, his community to blame?

For this homework, please allow the 4 discussion leaders to post and then try to comment on what one of them said.

The four discussion leaders are: Laura, Neethi, Emma, Daniella

Chapter 3 HW (Due Mon 5/7)

Song of Solomon – Chapter 3 Homework

Please read Chapter 3 (pages 56-89) and post a comment in response to one of the following questions.  Your response should include AT LEAST ONE significant quotation, though you will help yourself if you take notes in your notebook on more than one quotation.

The first person to comment on a question should comment on my post “Chapter 3 Homework.”  If you’re interested in a question someone else has already discussed, please “reply” to the person who has already posted on that question.

The Options (choose at least 1):

1)    To what extent is the scene where Milkman hits his father a turning point?  Why?

2)    Though Milkman wants to believe that he is being “wide-spirited and generous” and “defending his mother” (69) by hitting his father, there is evidence to suggest that deep down, Milkman has other motives and his actions has unanticipated ripple effects on his family.  Why do his sisters give him a look of hatred, for instance?

3)    What does Macon tell Milkman about his mother (Ruth)?  Do you believe this story? Why?  (Keep in mind that what Macon claims is “the whole truth” is later modified by Ruth’s version of the same events).  How does Milkman react to these revelations?

4)    Why is Milkman obsessed with his physical appearance (his limp, lack of mustache, reflection in mirror p.69)?  What’s the deeper significance/anxiety there?

5)    How is Guitar affected by his past/family history?  What does he associate with the smell of candy?  Why does he tell the hunting story?  What do these moments reveal about his character?

6)    Other moments and/or themes you find interesting, puzzling, confusing, fascinating, or otherwise worth noting?

Chapter 2 HW (due Fri 5/4)

Song of Solomon

Chapter 2 Homework Assignment

Please read chapter 2 (pages 31-55), and respond to any of the following:

At the end of the chapter, Macon Dead tells his son, “Pilate can’t teach you a thing you can use in this world.  Maybe the next, but not this one.  Let me tell you right now the one important thing you’ll ever need to know: Own things.  And let the things you own own other things.  Then you’ll own yourself and other people too” (55).

1) What do you make of Macon’s advice for Milkman?  Is it good advice?  Why?  Do you trust what Macon has to say about Pilate?  How is this idea of “owning things” potentially problematic?

2) To answer these questions, I’d like you to consider the contrast between Macon Dead’s personality, values, and relationship with the community (and family) and Pilate’s personality, values, and relationship with community.  What “lessons” do they each teach Milkman?  Has Milkman already learned something important from his first mature interaction with Pilate?

3) Finally, please continue to take note of significant references to naming and any questions that occur to you.  Talking about what you find interesting, confusing, misleading, strange, or complex is the most important thing you can do!  This text wants you to question, to interrogate. 

How to "Post"

1) Find the appropriate blog post.  For example, for tonight's homework, you need to find the post "Chapter 1 Homework Assignment."

2) Click on "0 comments" (or however many comments there are) at the bottom of this post.

3) Either create a new comment or click "reply" to a comment someone else already made on my original post.

4) To ensure you don't accidentally lose any work, write your paragraph in a word doc and then copy and paste into the blog.  SAVE YOUR WORK!

5) In the drop down menu next to "comment as" select "google account."  (You can select "aim" and then enter your aol email username and password too).  Also twitter, flickr and supposively yahoo accounts work, but I haven't tested these out.

6) Click "publish."

7) It will take you to a new screen that will prompt you for your gmail username and password.  Either enter one that you have already, OR enter the information from the dummy account I just set up.

username: bhssongofsolomon@gmail.com
password: ihatesats

If you enter your own username and password, don't worry; you're not giving away any access to your email.  The blog just needs some kind of legitimate (or semi-legitimate) way to recognize you online to allow you to publish.

Chapter 1 Homework

Chapter 1: Homework Assignment 

Finish reading Chapter One. 

For your assigned character, please take notes and POST on the following:

• ·      What seems significant about their personality and values?
• ·      How would you describe their relationship with other family members?  Does anything seem odd or surprising about these relationships?
• ·      Names: What do you know about how they got their name/nickname?  Symbolism or connotations of their name?  What are the traditions about naming that seem significant?
• ·      Family history: Significant myths/stories/memories about this character?

Your post should include AT LEAST one significant quotation.  Let's try this: The first person from each group should just post under this post.  Everyone else in the group, can you enter your post as a comment on the first group members?  

You will help yourself enormously if you take note of a couple more quotations that seem important.  As always, feel free to also post on anything else that seems weird/strange/surprising/confusing in this chapter.

Your Character is (circle one):

Macon Dead (Milkman’s father) 

Emma, Theo, Jhoan, Jessica, Amanda, Neethi, Anne

Macon Dead III/Milkman (the son/baby) 

Gabrielle, Matt, Daniella, Kaitlyn, Laura, Mike

Ruth/The Doctor’s Daughter (Milkman’s mother) 

Audrey, Tony, Phoebe, Amalia, Ian Crowley, Adam

Pilate and Family (Milkman’s aunt and Macon Dead II’s sister) (Reba & Hagar)

Lisa, Sarah, Dan, Ian Chin, Chaewon, Meredith