"The Pasture"       by Robert Frost 1. Copy the poem 2. The poem ends with the words, "You come too." The implication is that we would be happy if we were to follow him. Your assignment is to write a paragraph explaining why  we would be happier if we were to follow him.  3. Before you write, I want you to brainstorm three or four ideas at the top of  your paper. Actually  number them 1, 2, 3. I also want you to circle five important words from the poem and put them  in quotes.  4. Write your paragraph. Insightful topic sentence. Start by stating your interpretation. You might start with something like:                                   In his poem "The Pasture," Robert Frost implies that . . . Write a sentence citing a specific detail from the poem that leads you to your interpretation Write a sentence or two explaining how that word(ing) leads you to your interpretation Write a sentence citing another specific detail from the poem that leads you to your interpretation Write two sentences explaining how that word(ing) leads you to your interpretation Write a concluding sentence 7 sentences minimum "The Pasture"       by Robert Frost

I’m going out to clean the pasture spring;

I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):

I sha’n’t be gone long.—You come too.

I’m going out to fetch the little calf

That’s standing by the mother. It’s so young,

It totters when she licks it with her tongue.

I sha’n’t be gone long.—You come too. Three more poems by Robert Frost: Fire and Ice   Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Robert Frost Nothing Gold Can Stay Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day Nothing gold can stay. Robert Frost The Quest of the Purple-Fringed I felt the chill of the meadow underfoot, But the sun overhead; And snatches of verse and song of scenes like this I sung or said. I skirted the margin alders for miles and miles In a sweeping line. The day was the day by every flower that blooms, But I saw no sign. Yet further I went to be before the scythe, For the grass was high; Till I saw the path where the slender fox had come And gone panting by. Then at last and following him I found— In the very hour When the color flushed to the petals it must have been The far-sought flower. There stood the purple spires with no breath of air Nor headlong bee To disturb their perfect poise the livelong day ‘Neath the alder tree. I only knelt and putting the boughs aside Looked, or at most Counted them all to the buds in the corpse’s depth That were pale as a ghost. Then I arose and silently wandered home, And for I one Said that the fall might come and whirl of leaves, For summer was done.

The Road Not Taken--by Robert Frost

To begin the period, I would like you to take out a sheet of paper and copy "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Then write 3/4 page telling me what you think the message of the poem is. This 3/4 page is supposed to be one very strong paragraph, starting with a topic sentence (what you think the message is) and supporting details from the poem that lead you to this interpretation. We will hand it in at the end of the period.

Be sure that you tell us what Robert Frost is telling us about life. What point is he making about decisions we make.
Examples of topic sentences:
ex. 1  . . . in life there are two different paths and you need to make a decision of which one to take.
ex. 2Frost is sayinig that you have to put a lot of thought into your decisions so that you don't regret them in the future.
ex. 3 Be careful about the decisions you make because you can never go back . . .
ex. 4.The choices that you make will affect your life forever.
ex. 5 The meaning of the poem is to not doubt what you're doing in life, and to always take confidence in your choices and decisions.
ex. 6 Robert Frost is saying that we should be very careful about our decisions because they can affect the direction of your life and if you don't choose wisely, you will regret it for the rest of your life.
ex. 7 Robert Frost is saying that all your life you will have decisions to make, and though you may try the first, you will always wonder what the second would have been.
No matter what, you're going to live with regret because, as humans, we have to make choices that will define our lives, but we'd better choose carefully because there are no second tries. As The Indigo Girls say, "Nobody gets a lifetime rehearsal."

The Road Not Taken TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

Today Charlie Hebdo magazine released a new edition of it's magazine. Here's the cover:
Charlie Hebdo, January13 Cover


Of Mice and Men Vocab, Chapters 4-6
Of Mice and Men Vocab chapters 5,6
BBC Update on Charlie New York Times Terror Attack on Charlie  Hebdo Newspaper in Paris Kills 12
Witness video of Shooting
BBC News The provocative cartoon
He Drew First
HOMEWORK:
Write one strong paragraph explaining the point being made in the following cartoon:
Cartoon: Pencil pointing toward gun

Vocabulary Test Friday
Of Mice and Men Vocabulary, chapter 1
             Vocabulary, chapters 2, 3

Write a paragraph interpreting the song

To write an argumentative or expository paragraph, you will need the following:
1. A topic sentence (your idea stating why the point you're making is valid)
2. Evidence from the text (a quote or other example, that supports your argument)
3. Elaboration (explanation of how the evidence supports this argument)
4. Concluding sentence.

Poem: When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
Directions:
1. Underline all negative words
2. Double-underline all positive words 
3. Circle all nature references
4. Squiggly  underline one image (your favorite one)

Vocabulary Test Friday
Of Mice and Men Vocabulary, chapter 1
             Vocabulary, chapters 2, 3

Write a paragraph interpreting a poem
(telling me what the poem means)

To write an argumentative or expository paragraph, you will need the following:
1. A topic sentence (your idea stating why the point you're making is valid)
2. Evidence from the text (a quote or other example, that supports your argument)
3. Elaboration (explanation of how the evidence supports this argument)
4. Concluding sentence.

Poem: When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
Directions:
1. Underline all negative words
2. Double-underline all positive words 
3. Circle all nature references
4. Squiggly  underline one image (your favorite one)

WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;	5
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. 1. "This poem  . . . says that true enlightenment comes from within and not from someone else." 2. For example, in the poem we read that "I wandered off by myself, in the mystical moist night air, and from time to time looked up in perfect silence at the stars." 3. He doesn't want to hear someone else's interpretation of what stars mean--he wants to figure it out for himself "in the mystical moist night air." 4. Enlightenment always come within. Example 2 (Abbey): "This poem  . . . says that true enlightenment comes from within and not from someone else." 2. You don't need to be lectured to be taught. In fact, when the professor "divides" and "charts" the sky, he strips it of all meaning In his poem "when I heard the Learn'd astronomer" Walt Whitman is saying that true understanding is not about finding the answer, but about creating your own personal feelings towards the subject. The answer in meaningless if there is no feeling between the subject and you. One piece of evidence from the poem is "when I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room, how soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick." This demonstrates that the author is not interested in the astronomer's "lecture." Later in the poem, the author wandered off by himself, and started to feel the mystical, moist night-air and time while looking at the stars silently. One quote from the poem is "Till rising and sliding out, I wander'd off by myself, in the mystical, moist night-air, and from time to time. look'd up in perfect silence at the stars." This demonstrates that the author is making a connection with the mystical universe by becoming one with the universe by becoming one with nature. This is, shown when the author states "perfect silence" which it mimics the silence of the night. An answer that do not create a feeling with you is not a true answer.

1."In his poem 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,' Walt Whitman is saying that we should find deeper meaning in the world and not just understand it intellectually."
2. "In his poem 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,' Walt Whitman is saying that we don't need people to lecture to us because we can figure it out ourselves."
3. "In his poem 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,' Walt Whitman is saying that to understand the universe without help and disregard information not needed."
4. "In his poem 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,' Walt Whitman is saying that nothing in Nature has an exact meaning--that you have to figure it out for yourself."
5. "In his poem 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,' Walt Whitman is saying that the ultimate way to find out something is to find out for yourself." 
For example, the speaker of the poem says that he "wander’d off by [him]self" and walked of the lecture because it was focusing on unimportant things like "figures" and "charts.

WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;	5
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.--Walt Whitman Why is it important for him to be alone? Hint: Walt Whitman is a Transcendentalist You have to find the beauty of the world by yourself because what is beautiful to you might not be beautiful to me What is wrong with the way the professor experiences nature (the universe)? "He just wants to focus on reality, not all of the words and terms." Before you interpret a poem, be sure that  you understand the context of the entire poem.

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men Vocabulary, chapter 1
             Vocabulary, chapters 2, 3

Of Mice and Men vocabulary 39 terms

Of Mice and Men Audiobook chapter 1
Of Mice and Men Audiobook chapter 2
Of Mice and Men Audiobook chapter 3
Of Mice and Men Audiobook chapter 4
Of Mice and Men Audiobook chapter 5
Of Mice and Men Audiobook chapter 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CagYuULX28

























Automatic License Plate Regognition--Pro's and Con's

TED The Dangerous Information the Police Track about You
American  Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) response to Automatic License Plate Recognition

Automatice License Plate Readers

Assignment:Write a paragraph convincing the reader of a benefit of Automatice License Plate Recognition use and a second paragraph arguing against the use of this technology.

Prewrite: watch the above videos and read the articles and take notes. To do this, make a T-chart
                         Automatice License Plate Recognition Use
     PRO                                                                       CON                                                           
1
2
3, etc.
To write an argumentative paragraph, you will need the following:
1. A topic sentence (your idea stating why the point you're making is valid)
2. Evidence from the text (a quote or other example, that supports your argument)
3. Elaboration (explanation of how the evidence supports this argument)
4. Concluding sentence.

Dec 5

Dead Poets Society

The real life Mr. Keating    Real to Reel, by Gerald Pitts (the guy with the "unfortunate name")

Homework: Read Huckleberry Finn to the end of chapter VI. Uh, that's 6, for you guys who don't know your Roman numerals. Page 39.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: vocabulary from his essay "Self-Reliance,"    Quizlet, Emerson
Using your cell phones, find example sentences and paste them into the following Google Doc:
Our vocab Sentences
You will be quizzed on the first 10 Tuesday.

December 1

Transcendentalism
"transcend" means "to go beyond, in particular, to find a deeper meaning"

Brief summary of Transcendentalism:

• Emphasis on the individual and individuality. Your unique perspective is important
• Nature is seen as the Great Teacher which teaches you deeper truths about life
• Intuition is more important than logic (heart over mind)
• Question Authority (find your own truth)
• Find your own path in life--"imitation is suicide"  You will find it if you seek

As you watch Dead Poets Society, take 1/4 page notes of examples from the film showing Transcendentalist ideas.

Paragraph

Topic sentence (tell us the idea you will be talking about) "This quote means that . . ."

Give an example 

Explain how the example backs up your idea

Conclude by restating your idea

Dead Poets Society

The real life Mr. Keating    Real to Reel, by Gerald Pitts (the guy with the "unfortunate name")

Today we will start our unit on the Transcendentalists. Most of you will like this unit quite a bit, I believe, because the Transcendentalists believed that each person should be a unique individual and that "imitation is suicide," that to conform to what other people say you should do and be is a huge mistake.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: vocabulary from his essay "Self-Reliance,"    Quizlet, Emerson

Take out a sheet of paper.
Number 1-5, double-spacing

Today, as we read "Self-Reliance," I would like you to write down a list of 5 quotes that resonate with you. Then you are to write 1 paragraph telling me what the quote is saying to you.

Be an Individualist and an Innovator, says Rodney Mullen: Pop an Ollie and Innovate
Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Changing Education Paradigms

Top 20 TED Talks