My brain has been turned to complete mush because of this awful cold that so rapidly dehabilitated me this week. And unfortunately, my memory seems to have suffered the worst of it. But here's what I do remember about class since the last time we did a response:
First off, the obvious. We started a new play! When we did our first read of Hamlet, I played Rosencrantz, so it's actually a lot of fun for me to see him portrayed in what I would call a "silly" way. My class is extremely helpful in my attempt to understand the play because there are some people who just get it, and they always let the rest of us in on the secret. And in the case of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, that makes the play much more enjoyable. I actually really like the style and idea behind the play. Although it's a little hard to grasp at times, it's something I enjoy reading. I'm excited to see where it will go from here and how many times our actors will mix themselves up.
We've also been doing a lot of work with multiple choice practice lately. Surprisingly, I've found I do much better with poetry pieces than with prose pieces. In the homework we had, I was always getting lost in the prose pieces because they seemed to drag and I'd lose focus halfway through a sentence. It kind of reminded me of reading excerpts from The Scarlet Letter in American Lit. Grading that homework also brought on the realization/fear that the AP is approaching fast, and I'm no where near ready to get the score I want. Unlike most tests I take, I'm actually more worried about the multiple choice section than I am about the essay section. I'm pretty good at writing essays, so as long as I remember to break down the prompt and figure out what they're REALLY asking me to do, I should be okay with that.
Open prompt revisions? Sure, let's talk about those. At first, I didn't think it would make any noticeable difference to revise my open prompts. But after I reread the comments I got on them and then tried to follow up with what they were saying, I found that a big chunk of my body paragraphs changed (hopefully for the better).
Well. I think that's as much thinking as my brain can handle for tonight. Good thing this is the only homework I had.
I also like discussing the book with my class because, like you said, some people just get it a lot better than others. By throwing ideas around, it helps everyone work toward the final goal of analyzing (and unfortunately annotating) the text. I also fear what I am gonna get on the AP test, but I'm sure that Ms. Holmes has prepared us well!!
ReplyDeleteNice job covering everything! I agree with you and Erica that talking about the books in class is extremly helpful. It is so nice to see multiple perspectives and ideas. The multiple choice work (as frustrating as it is) it needed. It's crazy we are so close to the AP. I agree, it is hard to maintain focus throughout the prose pieces. For me, they are easier to understand than the poems. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteR&G has by far been my favorite work! Maybe it's the shift into comedy, or maybe that it isn't by Shakespeare, but either way I really enjoyed it. I think discussing with our class helps measure what topics are well understood and which ones aren't. Ms. Holmes also helps me understand the actual meaning and if I'm understanding the text correctly.
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