- I passed out the Mid-Term review sheet (also available in Blackboard). The Mid-Term will be next Wednesday (3/7/12); don't forget to bring a blue book to class.
- We had a discussion about childhood innocence, treating all children the same, and what imagination really is. It was a great discussion!
- We'll talk more on Friday about The Secret Garden, but keep an eye out for the focalizer (see Blackboard for the slideshow with definition) switch in the last third of the book and keep writing down the motifs you notice.
- At the end of class I passed back the paper proposals with comments. PLEASE come talk to me if you need help, have questions, or want clarification.
Homework:
- Finish reading The Secret Garden. On Friday I'll assign articles for Monday and pass out a handout to go along with the article.
- Study for the Mid-Term.
- Be working on your papers (due after Spring Break)
- I will pass back your paper proposals on Wed.
- Check iCampus for the newly posted final exam schedule: this will be when our final paper is due.
- We talked about Frances Hodgson Burnett's background, some historical background, and The Secret Garden. Please see the slideshow for more details, especially the literary terms.
Homework:
- Read chapters 10-18 of The Secret Garden. Keep a list of the motifs you come across while reading.
- Work on paper (due Monday after Spring Break).
- I collected the paper proposals. I will be giving these back as soon as possible with feedback.
- We went over some of the upcoming things on the syllabus, including APA grades, the Mid-term review (next week), and reading The Secret Garden.
- We finished talking about The Hidden Staircase.
Homework:
- Read chapters 1-9 of The Secret Garden.
- Work on the critical argument paper (due 3/19/12).
- We took a quiz over Nancy Drew.
- We continued discussing Nancy Drew, both The Hidden Staircase and the history behind the series. A slideshow summary is available in Blackboard.
Homework:
- Finish The Hidden Staircase.
- Paper proposals are due Friday.
- I passed back the Alice in Wonderland quiz.
- We did some writing about the differences and similarities between Alice and Nancy.
- We talked about the historical background of the Nancy Drew series and a bit about The Hidden Staircase so far. A slideshow summary is available in Blackboard; we'll be talking about the covers on Wednesday.
Homework:
- Read chapters 7-13 of The Hidden Staircase.
- Paper proposals are due Friday.
- We took a quiz on Alice in Wonderland.
- I'm still missing the electronic version of papers from a few people, so submit those asap.
- We talked about thesis sentences in preparation for the paper proposal due next week. The handout is available in Blackboard (look in the MLA & Paper Tips folder).
- We talked about Alice in Wonderland, especially the places where Lewis Carroll makes fun of didactic literature.
Homework:
- Read Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase chapters 1-6.
- Be thinking about your paper proposal (due next Friday).
- I passed back the Into the Woods assignment.
- We talked about Alice in Wonderland, the history of children's literature, and a bit about Lewis Carroll. Two different slideshows are available in Blackboard.
- I passed back the first paper to those who have submitted their papers electronically. If you haven't uploaded your paper to Blackboard yet, do so soon so you can see your papers.
Homework:
- Finish Alice in Wonderland (chapters 6-10).
- Be thinking about your paper proposal.
- Don't forget to submit the electronic version of your space paper.
- I handed out information about the second paper. The handout is also available in Blackboard.
- We finished watching Into the Woods.
- We briefly discussed Into the Woods and turned in the activity sheet.
Homework:
- Read chapters 1-5 of Alice in Wonderland.
- Be thinking about your paper proposal.
- We turned in the first paper! Don't forget to unload the electronic version of your paper to Blackboard sometime soon.
- We almost finished watching Into the Woods. Monday we'll finish watching the movie, discuss it for a bit, turn in the activity sheets, and talking about the history of children's literature.
Homework:
- Get ahead on Wednesday's reading (chapters 1-6 of Alice in Wonderland).
- We had a quiz over Into the Woods.
- We discussed turning in the paper (due Friday!) electronically (see Blackboard) in addition to the paper version.
- We continued watching Into the Woods.
Homework:
- The paper copy of your first paper is due in class Friday (2/10/12).
- We continued watching Into the Woods.
Homework:
- First paper is due Friday (2/10/12)
- We talked about the "Woods and Castles" article, including the different characteristics associated with each of the four spaces mentioned in the article.
- I handed out the activity sheet to fill out while watching Into the Woods.
- We watched the first part of Into the Woods.
Homework:
- First paper due next Friday (2/10/12).
- We took Quiz #2.
- Starting Friday we will be watching Into the Woods. I'll have an assignment sheet for you to complete during the movie, so it is very much a part of the class. Be working on your papers during this break from reading!
- We talked about MLA headings and how to format your papers.
- We talked about Hans Christian Andersen and "The Little Mermaid." A slideshow summary is available online. We will talk a bit about the Thomas "Woods and Castles" article on Friday.
Homework:
