Update Oct. 18

Writing Portfolio
We reviewed our memorization of Matthew 12:33-35. We also introduced our next anchor scripture for literature: John 8:31-14. We discussed how literature can help us see the truth because it serves as a mirror for us. We considered that literature in elementary school had a clearly stated "moral of the story" but in adult literature we tend to look not for a clearcut moral of the story so much as to see a reflection of our own humanity, to see character traits, relationships, and choices/consequences more clearly. We also recognized that not all adult literature tells the truth about these things. We discussed briefly the differences between whole, bent, and broken stories.

Students had time to work on their four-part quotation analysis paragraph (from Hamlet) that was due today at the end of class. This is a paragraph that will be integrated in their final essays on Hamlet. Students conferenced individually with me on their writing.  After they completed the paragraph, they continued to work on outlining their Hamlet essays.

Core
Bellwrite: What is Hamlet (the play) saying about death? What questions is Hamlet (the character) asking about death? Is he Protestant or Catholic in his beliefs about human life and death?

We discussed the theme of death in Hamlet. We looked at some still-life paintings on the theme of Memento Mori (Latin for "Remember you will die."). We considered why people would want to hang pictures like these in their homes. We recognized that our view of death makes claims upon how we live. We wondered what claims Hamlet's view of death made upon his life, how he acted.

We finished watching the movie of Hamlet. We then started reading the final scene of the play (Act 5, scene 2).


Homework

• Continue to memorize your Hamlet monologue. Performances will be in approximately one week.
• Continue to prepare your outline for your Hamlet essay exam. We will finish reading the play on Monday and the exam will be next Tuesday. The exam is open-note, open-book.
• Finish reading Fire in the Bones. Your last two reading logs are due Monday.