Well, we've done it. We've finished Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Everyone should always pat themselves on the back when they finish a Dickens book. These books are long and complicated, and readers need to be committed and work hard to get to the end. We started our conversation with a discussion of the themes. I've included a picture of the board with our list and comments. (Note: Every week we fill the white board with our discussion questions and make notes of our answers and comments.)
Now that we've finished this thick piece of fiction, we're on to writing that intentionally uses fewer words to express ideas -- poetry. Our first poetry readings are from the Romantic period. No, this does not mean that all of the poems are love poems. The Romantic period literature was more idealistic and took a more sensory view of life.
I don't have a book for this section but have instead put together a collection of poems that I feel are representative. Attached is the handout, in addition to some information about reading poetry and about Romantic poetry.
Students can read all of the poetry, but the ones I've selected to discuss are as follows:
Blake's 2 Chimney Sweeper poems
Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
Byron's "She Walks in Beauty"
Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
A note about discussion questions: Because this is a discussion-based class, not a lecture-based class, these questions serve as the basis of our class time. They help us think about and analyze the literature. Make sure you come to class with questions prepared.
Assignments for April 5
-- Read the poems listed above
-- Read the information about poetry and the Romantic Period
-- Write 1 discussion question per poem
Links for This Week
Class Notes
Have a WONDERFUL Spring Break!
Mrs. Prichard
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