Class Assignment for 02/10/2014--AP and IB English

Hello, True Believers.

I'm still sick. As such, I will not be at school on Monday, so I am posting the assignment in a novel fashion (for our classes, that is).

Thus, here are your assignments for Monday, 02-10-2014, for both AP and IB:

1. Sign in like normal.
2. Bellringer: Verify that your vocab assignment is complete--all parts: definition, part of speech, sentence, synonym. When I check them upon my return, the grade will be a do-it-or-screw-it grade, all or nothing, no make up. You have been given time in class to complete the assignment; it's time to spread your tiny wings and glide past the gaping maws of the ground creatures below. (Note: this takes less than 3 minutes; you should have already done this at home and still have a chance to finish it there before tomorrow. Move on.)
3. Classwork: Read Kipling's "The Gods of the Copybook Headings". If you have mislaid your text, then another copy can be found by clicking the title of the text above. Read the poem solo, then read it again with your buddy. TPCASTT the poem on a sheet of paper with the help of your partner. Consider the implications of this poem and their relation to the novel we are studying. At the bottom of the page, make like Kurtz and hand-write your understanding of the link between this poem and Heart of Darkness in one succinct sentence. Every individual student will turn in their version of their team's TPCASTT notes as you exit class. Budget your time. You do not need to work with a partner. In fact, several of you work better WITHOUT a partner, even those of you who love to prate with your confreres (*cough* second period *cough cough*).
• Link to the poem, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings", again
• Link the Wikipedia article that may help decode the poem
• Link to a PDF that explains TPCASTT to you, again
4. Homework: Find a complete copy of T. S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men". Print it out, if possible, or at least have the text available to you on your person. If one of your family members went to college and took an English class, they may have an old copy of a Norton's Anthology of Literature. I love that book series. The footnotes are AMAZING (hint hint hint). Having acquired the text of the poem, make whatever notes you deem proper and useful, and bring it to class tomorrow. 
• Link to a VERY handy hypertext of the poem.

 So, that's it. Let's break this down one more time:

• Vocab 22 - 3 minutes
• Read Kipling's poem - 10 minutes
• TPCASTT Kipling's poem - 34 minutes
• Write a one-sentence thematic statement - 1 minute
• Turn in individual work - 0 minutes, turn it in to the appropriate class box as you leave
• Check out Eliot's poem in anticipation of tonight's homework - final few moments of class

Anyone without a web-enabled communication device is welcome to use the desktop terminal in my classroom individually or with a partner, but you have been issued a packet with "The Gods of the Copybook Headings" a while ago and should still possess it. It's the packet with "If" and "The White Man's Burden" in it, too.