Sending strong analysis skills and sophisticated writing to your students tomorrow! Hope you have your favorite thing with which to bide time. This has been the fastest, slow minute year ever!  Beth    ... View more

The following notes and resources are from a previously-held, exclusive Professional Learning Community session. All names and recordings have been removed for privacy reasons. To view the PLC's full length works guide, click here. Thank you for attending last night's meeting! If you couldn't make it or would like to review the session, you can view the slide deck here.   Fences Connections in Literature & Additional Resources Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen: Might be interesting as a paired piece  August Wilson Adventure for Fences Fences FRQ #2 Baseball As History and Myth in Fences Walking around Fences - Going down Swinging Viola Davis performing Rose's monologue (18 Years)  August Wilson’s 1996 Speech, “The Ground on Which I Stand” and Responses and Reflections Bob Kendrick's Twitter The August Wilson Education Project - WQED Building context Language and slang changes over time In Trifles, students were curious about the use of word "queer" and how the usage has changed over time.  "Gay" in Gatsby With important context, certain things are okay. It can be insulting to "try to deodorize the language" As far as Wilson's context, I think it's important to acknowledge that all of the characters in Fences are African American. In most of the other texts I teach that use the "n-word," it is a word used by a non-African-American character as a derogatory term. (Katie Martin) Approach language as a skill--figurative and literal meanings of words What's the word mean? Now? Then? With "bad words," give students some forewarning on the fact that it's there and how it'll be discussed in class (will it be read individually? will it be read aloud with parts assigned to students?) In relation to Passing... I think Troy tries to pass as someone who is confident when inside he is really scared and broken... I think the way Troy tries to pass, Rose passes in the opposite way. Rose is trying to pass as a satisfied wife. Classroom activities: Film vs. play version of Fences have different audience reactions--check them out with students! Q3 practice using Lit&Comp 3e with stable prompt wording, which is a great segway into test prep. PLC Close Reading Activity Extended metaphor of baseball--his value system is just a game. You battle at the plate in baseball, but you tend or nurture a garden. Warrior/Gardener. Their respective roles are very traditional in terms of gender, and this is reflected in their diction and delivery.  Curveballs and bunting: The bunting metaphor is a form of desperation, luck and sacrifice If students can't relate to baseball, have them relate to love! Comment from the meeting: There's something about using baseball as a metaphor -- it's all about failure. The most amazing hitters in history failed 7 out of 10 times they came up to bat. EVERY baseball player is sort of tragic in that way. ... View more

Thank you for the fun session on Fences last night.  We ran short on time this year, but I was hoping to add in a C/C between Fences and Death of a Salesman.  Has anyone ever examined these two texts together?  Again, I think the idea of passing would tie into that comparison as well. ... View more

I teach in Billings, Montana, and not many of the students at my current school have spent much time in major metropolitan areas.  As a result, I like to give them a sense of the cultures and rich histories of neighborhoods such as the one August Wilson himself lived in as well as the types of places his characters experienced.  One way I do that is through an assignment that has them explore parts of Pittsburgh relevant to Wilson and Fences.  I usually give them a handful of "tasks," so I'll share a few of them with you one at a time.   But I'll forewarn you, they're not easy! August Wilson Adventure - Clue # 1  Best, Kate   ... View more

I am so excited about today's session discussing Trifles. I have been using hexagonal thinking in my classes, and I believe this play is an excellent opportunity to use this activity to develop a line of reasoning, understand complexity, and make thinking visual! I also think that a great paired text would be "The Story of an Hour."  My goal is to have students not only dig deeper into understanding the work, but to discover the patterns within a work (finding the ambiguity and tension) that lends to stronger claims. Hexagonal thinking truly draws out great conversations. The challenge in writing is always finding a starting point, and this activity launches the students into areas of the work that they had not even considered!  Hexagonal Thinking: A Colorful Tool for Discussion | Cult of Pedagogy ... View more