Wednesday, April 30
Mr. Potratz was absent. Students watched the first 50 minutes of the 1950's Sci-Fi classic movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Quiz over the Vonnegut handout postponed to Thursday.
Tuesday, April 29
"It had to happen": Rumfoord vs. Billy Pilgrim. Variesties of fatalism.
Pessimism vs. Fatalism.
Handout with 2003 interview with Vonnegut, and excerpt from Breakfast of Champions. Quiz over it Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 28
We listened to Kurt Vonnegut and Mr. Potratz reading from Slaughterhouse Five. Then we looked at a reproduction of Picasso's "Guernica" to introduce a discussion of the bombings of civilians in 20th century warfare. We pooled what we knew about "the Blitz," the notorious German bombing of London and other English cities, and we read and deciphered a handing from a book called Bombing Vindicated (1945) by a high official of the British Air Ministry.
Friday, April 25
We continued our investigation of the Arthurian Literature by watching another half-hour of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Thursday, April 24
Students took and we graded a quiz over Slaughterhouse Five.
We listened to Kurt Vonnegut and Mr. Potratz reading from Slaughterhouse Five. Then we looked at a reproduction of Picasso's "Guernica" to introduce a discussion of the bombings of civilians in 20th century warfare. We pooled what we knew about "the Blitz," the notorious German bombing of London and other English cities, and we read and deciphered a handing from a book called Bombing Vindicated (1945) by a high official of the British Air Ministry.
Friday, April 25
We continued our investigation of the Arthurian Literature by watching another half-hour of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Thursday, April 24
Students took and we graded a quiz over Slaughterhouse Five.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, April 22
Mr. Potratz (with some help from Kurt Vonnegut) read aloud from Chapter Five of Slaughterhouse Five.
Wednesday: Quiz over the entire book.
Monday, April 21
Did Billy Pilgrim really go to a planet called Tralfamadore?
Students wrote for several minutes on this question, after which we shared what people had to say on the subject.
Afterwards, Mr. Potratz played some more of the recording of Vonnegut reading from Slaughterhouse Five.
Mr. Potratz (with some help from Kurt Vonnegut) read aloud from Chapter Five of Slaughterhouse Five.
Wednesday: Quiz over the entire book.
Monday, April 21
Did Billy Pilgrim really go to a planet called Tralfamadore?
Students wrote for several minutes on this question, after which we shared what people had to say on the subject.
Afterwards, Mr. Potratz played some more of the recording of Vonnegut reading from Slaughterhouse Five.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 17
Students took a pop quiz over the day's reading assignment in Slaughterhouse Five and we graded it.
Then we used the quiz as our way into a discussion of chapters 3 & 4, focusing on questions of free will and determinism and of people's ability or inability to influence history. We reread parts of the assignment and began Chapter 5.
HW due Monday: read at least through Chapter 6 (page 153). Possible quiz.
Students took a pop quiz over the day's reading assignment in Slaughterhouse Five and we graded it.
Then we used the quiz as our way into a discussion of chapters 3 & 4, focusing on questions of free will and determinism and of people's ability or inability to influence history. We reread parts of the assignment and began Chapter 5.
HW due Monday: read at least through Chapter 6 (page 153). Possible quiz.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Friday, April 4
Students turned in their Alice in Wonderland papers.
Mr. Potratz announced that once again those submitting papers today would receive extra credit and those turning it in on Monday after the break (4/14) would receive full credit.
Students turned in their copies of Alice in Wonderland and signed out copies of Slaughterhouse Five. No assignment was given, but students were encouraged to read or at least begin the book over break.
We read the rest of the "Humpty Dumpty" chapter of Alice, including H.D.'s explication of "Jabberwocky," and we puzzled over problems of meaning in language.
Students turned in their Alice in Wonderland papers.
Mr. Potratz announced that once again those submitting papers today would receive extra credit and those turning it in on Monday after the break (4/14) would receive full credit.
Students turned in their copies of Alice in Wonderland and signed out copies of Slaughterhouse Five. No assignment was given, but students were encouraged to read or at least begin the book over break.
We read the rest of the "Humpty Dumpty" chapter of Alice, including H.D.'s explication of "Jabberwocky," and we puzzled over problems of meaning in language.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Wednesday, April 2
We re-viewed the Mad Tea Party scene from the BBC film, and compared both it and the Disney version of that scene to the book.
Mr. Potratz then passed out copies of the Humpty Dumpty chapter from Through the Looking Glass, which shares with the Mad Tea Party a preoccupation with meaning and language, and he began reading it aloud.
We re-viewed the Mad Tea Party scene from the BBC film, and compared both it and the Disney version of that scene to the book.
Mr. Potratz then passed out copies of the Humpty Dumpty chapter from Through the Looking Glass, which shares with the Mad Tea Party a preoccupation with meaning and language, and he began reading it aloud.
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