September 22

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Changes" by David Bowie and "Changes" by Seu Jorge]

Figure out your new seat. Introduce yourself to your partner. Conduct the following interview and take notes for your journal today:

• What is your full name?
• Who is your favorite superhero and why?
• What is your favorite sport/ team/ athlete? Why?
• What is something that other people say or do that, for some reason, really annoys you?  (For example, I hate it when people talk on their phone or text while it is their turn at the cash register).
• What is one food that you find totally disgusting and why?

AGENDA:
1. Seats/Journal
2. Hero's Journey

There are many, many resources with information about Joseph Campbell and the monomyth (hero's journey).  We'll be working with this on and off throughout the year, so if you find a resource worth consulting please include it (with link) in a comment to this post.  Thanks!

HOMEWORK:

1. Reminder, Myth blog post due 9/24 by 11:59 pm. Please post link to Myth Final Study Session

2. Latin Roots #3 due Friday, 9/26

3. Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/28 by 11:59pm

The Hero's Journey (Monomyth)

September 19th

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Hello, I Love You" and "Love Her Madly" by The Doors]

Reflect on your group project. How was your group's chemistry (how did you work/not work well together?)? What did you learn from working in a group? How do you think you did? What grade do you expect to receive? What grade do you think you earned?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Myth Presentations (finish?)

3. "Zeus"

HOMEWORK:
1. Myth Blog Post (cement your learning and give your peers further access to your hard work by posting):

• Main Characters: give names and brief description of physical appearance and personality.  Indicate whether they are god/goddess or human.

• Describe the setting(s).

• What was the main plot of the story? (summary of action)

• Describe the main conflict.

• What does this myth attempt to explain? (natural phenomenon, human flaw, origin of destruction of something) 
• DUE 9/24 by 11:59pm

2. Latin Roots #3 due 9/26

3. Yo! You heard?  Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/28 by 11:59pm

September 18th

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: whatever happens to be streaming from Spotify]

AGENDA:
1. No Journal
2. Myth Presentations (finish?)
3. Self Evaluation Discussion

4. "Zeus"

HOMEWORK:
1. Self Evaluation due tonight by 11:55 pm
2. Latin Roots #3 due 9/26
3. Yo! You heard?  Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/29

September 17th

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: whatever happens to be streaming from Spotify]


AGENDA:
1. No Journal
2. Myth Presentations (continue)
3. Self Evaluation

HOMEWORK:
1. Self Evaluation due tomorrow (Thursday) 9/18 by 11:55 pm
2. Latin Roots #3 due 9/26
3. Reminder: Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/29

Know Thyself

"‘Know Thyself’ was written on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Legend tells that the seven sages of ancient Greece, philosophers, statesmen and law-givers who laid the foundation for western culture, gathered in Delphi to inscribed ‘know thyself’ at the entry to its sacred oracle. The adage subsequently became a touch-stone for western philosophers, and extended its reach as the influence of Greek philosophy expanded" (Braverman). --complete resources available at thyselfknow.com)

September 16th

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Why Can't We Be Friends" by War ; "Twenty Questions" by Beastie Boys]

Do you think technology (such as cell phones and portable music players) brings people closer together? If three people are together but two are listening to headphones and the third is on the phone, how is this different than being alone? Explain your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Myth Presentations (begin)
3. Self Evaluation

HOMEWORK:
1. Self Evaluation due Thursday, 9/18 by 11:55 pm
2. Latin Roots #3 due 9/26
3. Reminder: Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/29

September 15th

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Time" by Pink Floyd; "Time" by The Alan Parsons Project]

What is your view of the future? What do you think the world and/or your life will be like in 5 years? 20? 50?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Latin Roots #3
3. Myth Project work time

HOMEWORK:
1. Myth Presentations begin tomorrow
2. Latin Roots #3 due 9/26
3. Reminder: Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/29

Words from Latin Roots #3

Roots and Derivatives

1. aud(it)
2. avi
3. bell(i)
4. ben(e)

Word List

1. antebellum
2. audit
3. auditory
4. avian
5. aviary
6. avionics
7. bellicose
8. belligerency
9. benefactor
10. beneficiary
11. benign
12. inaudible

Latin Roots Quiz #2

AGENDA:

1. Turn in your Latin Roots practice pages and study
2. Quiz #2
3. Discuss Myth Presentations/Retellings. We will begin our presentations on Tuesday.

HOMEWORK:

• Be prepared to discuss your progress and do a self-evaluation of your learning next week
• Literature Analysis #1 due Monday, September 29th

September 11th

Liberty and the World Trade Center. 
Original 1983 print by New York Times photographer Fred Conrad.

      On that day — the Sept. 11 that requires no year — the sun set on crushed buildings in a reimagined world. It set on a recontoured skyline and a haunted city. The equations of life no longer worked. That’s the way it seemed.

      A decade now since the tall towers fell in New York and the Pentagon was gashed open and a diverted plane dropped into a field near Shanksville, Pa., people know where they were when they heard the unheard-of.

- From N.R. Kleinfield’s essay in “The Reckoning,” a special Times section that commemorated the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

JOURNAL: What do you know about the events of Sept. 11, 2001? What are the most important changes, in your life and in the world, in the last 13 years? Do you feel life for Americans has changed drastically? 

AGENDA:

1. Journal
2. Checking for understanding
3. Myth Presentation Overview
4. Here are the directions

HOMEWORK:

1. Post your favorite journal to your blog

2. Trolling blogs due today, September 11 by midnight

3. Latin Latin Latin Roots Roots Roots (Blog Post and Worksheets) by Friday

4. Schedule your work so as to finish Lit. Analysis #1 by Friday, September 26

September 10th

JOURNAL: [today's tunes: Nada]

No Journal Today. Get going on Myth Cluster Readings!

AGENDA:
1. Individual Work Time: Grab your Myth Cluster Folder and Get Readin'!
2. Make sure to finish comprehension questions as you go.
3. Reply/comment to this post if you have any questions or need any clarification.

HOMEWORK:

For Tomorrow:

1. Finish Myth Cluster Readings and Questions due Thursday (tomorrow, in class)

 (FYI, Cluster 3, I will scan in your Readings/Questions ASAP)

2. Post your favorite journal to your blog

3. Trolling blogs by September 11 (midnight)

4. Latin Latin Latin Roots Roots Roots (Blog Post and Worksheets) by Friday

5. Schedule your work so as to finish Lit. Analysis #1 by Friday, September 26

September 9th

JOURNAL: [today's tunes:  "Chidori No Kyoku" by Satomi Saeki & Alcvin Takegawa Ramos]

When you say something is "valuable" what exactly do you mean? Do you define value in terms of money?  Emotion?  Scarcity?  What the marketplace thinks?  Or do you have a different standard? What is the value of your work in school?  What is the value of this moment and the thinking/writing you're doing right now?

AGENDA:

1. Journal

2. Discuss Greek Mythology Clusters Assignment

3. Work Time

HOMEWORK:

1. Post your favorite journal to your blog

2. Trolling blogs by September 11

3. Latin Latin Latin Roots Roots Roots (Blog Post and Worksheets)

4. Schedule your work so as to finish Lit. Analysis #1 by Friday, September 26

September 8th

JOURNAL: [today's tunes: None]

AGENDA:

1. Begin Greek Mythology

• Ancient Greece
• Mythology Review
• Introduction to Greek Gods and Goddesses

HOMEWORK:

1. Review Slides/Notes
2. Post a journal to your blog

3. Trolling blogs by 9/11

4. Latin Roots #2 due 9/12 (Blog Post and Worksheets)

5. Lit. Analysis #1 due 9/26

September 5th

AGENDA:

1. Read Unabridged "Quetzalcoatl"

2. Track Archetypes of Mythology

HOMEWORK:

1. Post a journal to your blog

4. Trolling blog by 9/11

5.  Latin Roots #2 due 9/12 (Blog Post and Worksheets).

September 4th

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Aqueous Transmission" by Incubus]

Take a paper out for a quiz...Ready? GO!

AGENDA:

1. "Romulus and Remus" Quiz

2. Trolling & Why Blog

3. Osiris and Isis

HOMEWORK

1. Read Quetzacoatl (track 7 Archetypes/Common Themes of Myth like we did in class)

2. Come to Back to School Night ---see extra credit opportunity (tonight, 9/4, 5-7 pm)

3. Post a journal to your blog
4. Start trolling blogs (see post below)

5.  Latin Roots #2 due 9/12 (Blog Post and Worksheets). 

Why use blogs?!?

 Since this whole going on the internet and posting our classwork online is new to most of us, it's worth noting here that the word blog developed from "web log" in the late 1990's, and generally refers to a site that includes a series of posts from one or more authors.  Blog topics range from personal diaries to hobbies to newspaper-y feeds of current events.  I use blogs as our starting point for a few reasons:

1. Blogs are easy to create and use.  I have watched toddlers and grandparents create blogs in seconds.   
2. Blogs are personal and customizable.  This ain't no three-ring binder.  Your blog says more about your thinking than a piece of paper ever could.  The colors, the design, the layout, the features you select, and the content you post provide your readers insight into your creativity, your personality, your critical thinking, and your ability to collaborate.  (NOTE: This also gives you the opportunity to create a competitive advantage-- while other applicants have to tell potential employers and scholarship/admissions committees what they've done, you can show your accomplishments.)
3. Blogs can include a variety of media that effectively convey your ideas.  Sometimes a picture-- or a mindmap, or a video, or a .gif, or an animation, or a [?]-- is worth a thousand words.
4. Blogs are a virtual base of operations that create value.  As you learn more about the Internet's culture this year, you will come to realize how important it is for you to tell your own story.  Beyond the purpose/s of our study, you can create blogs for any purpose you like.  Maintaining a blog will teach you how to manage your own identity and share your interests & achievements in a way that creates value for yourself and others.  When someone searches your name you want them to find something more impressive than a pre-teen rant or party picture.

Blogs demonstrate the ultimate in trust and accountability.  This may be the most important factor in our work together.  Most teachers are still a little hesitant to allow students to use the public Internet.  Although more and more teachers have warmed to the idea, there is still a heavy temptation to dictate what students can and cannot do, instead of giving students the freedom to be truly accountable for their own performance.  We will be talking a lot about this.

They see me trollin'...

*Special thanks to Chamillionaire's "Ridin" for the inspiration to this post's title. 

In all seriousness, I've been using the word trolling incorrectly for a while. I was unaware of the dual denotations of the word:

troll²

trōl/

verb

gerund or present participle: trolling

1. 1.

   informal

   make a deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.

   "if people are obviously trolling then I'll delete your posts and do my best to ban you"
2. 2.

   • carefully and systematically search an area for something.

     "a group of companies trolling for partnership opportunities"

   
   

The point being, we're all learners here.

I want you all to start trolling each other's blogs-- not posting offensive comments, but carefully and systematically checking them out (I sometimes call it blog stalking amongst friends). 

More specifically, I would like you to make comments and posts on each others blogs. It might feel a little forced at first, but as you get the hang of it, it will become more natural. 

We have such a wealth of information and ideas that are never discussed in class-either due to time, format or other limiting factors. Furthermore, we're even limited to our specific period. The digital world gives us access to all members' blogs and unlimited time to unload and upload thoughts.

So, with this in mind, happy trolling!

Here is the form to hold you accountable. Once you've commented on 6, send it my way via email. 

Let's put a deadline of Thursday, 9/11.

A note about comments:

• You will earn full credit if:

• Your comments show that you read your peer’s post, and you make a valuable contribution to the discussion.


• Your comments are respectful in nature. When you disagree with your peer’s argument, you present your opinion without being rude or inappropriate.

September 3rd

Pickup  your journals/ Turn in your Archetypes of Myth Project

JOURNAL TOPIC: None [today's tune's: none]

AGENDA:

1. Turn in Archetypes of Myth Project

2. Latin Roots

3. CFA #1 Pre Test

HOMEWORK

1. Read Romulus and Remus
2. Check out Back to School Night extra credit opportunity (this Thursday, 9/4, 5-7 pm)

3. Latin Roots #2 due 9/12 (Blog Post and Worksheets). 

September 2nd

JOURNAL TOPIC: Turn in your journals [today's tune's: none]

AGENDA:

1. Turn in Journals

2. Let's do some math!

• Literature Analysis #1 is due at the end of this month- 9/26. We have four weeks of school until that date. Count up the number of pages left, divide by three, and determine how many pages you're going to have to read each week to finish on time...Give yourself that last week to do the post. Don't procrastinate too badly.

3. Your time to work on what makes the most sense to you:

• Archetypes of Myth Project
• Literature Analysis
• Latin Roots
• Back to School Night
• Your blog

HOMEWORK

1. Archetypes of Myth Project. Due Wednesday, 9/3 (tomorrow!)

2. Check out Back to School Night extra credit opportunity (this Thursday, 9/4)

3. Latin Roots #2 due 9/12 (Blog Post and Worksheets). 

Back to school night is this Thursday. Get here whenever you can. Bring whoever you want. Offer them the benefit of what you know and find a way to learn from them too. Share new ideas about technology and how you can use it to get ahead in life.

Here is the program:
1. Learner-led conference (see below)
2. Periodic "Intro to Ostini's Class" presentations

Here is the process:
1. Think about these questions and your answers to them;
2. Bring an interested adult to Hack to School Night;
3. Have them ask you these questions, be suitably brilliant in your replies, and demand that they take notes so that you know they're paying attention;
4. Turn in their notes to me, get your extra credit, listen to me brag about you briefly;
5. Go home and finish your homework.

Here are the questions for you to complete prior to showing up:

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

Student-led Conference Script 

for

Mr. Ostini's Classes

1. What is the purpose of this class?



2. Describe something interesting that you have learned, read and or written in class.



3. What is the easiest/hardest/most interesting work you have done so far?



4. What is your goal for the next grading period? For the semester? For the year?



5. What is a blog and how are you using it?

Words from Latin Roots #2

Roots and Derivatives

1. anni, annu, enni
2. aqua, aque
3. arm
4. art

Word List

1. aqua
2. aquaculture
3. aqueous
4. armada
5. armature
6. armistice
7. artifact
8. artifice
9. artisan
10. millennium
11. perennial
12. superannuated