I’m afraid something went wrong with the Google Meet recording today. The Meet for third and fourth periods went off without a hitch, except one: somehow, although I clicked “Record,” the session was not recorded. Fifth and sixth periods were recorded but somehow I got muted midway through, so kids won’t be able to hear what’s going on for half the class.

Third and fourth periods finished “My Papa’s Waltz” with the warning not to read too much into the poem with connotations: all the suggestions of abuse in the poem were accidental, which leads to the second lesson: sometimes, connotations can spin out of our control. We finished the class going over “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” one of the most challenging poems we’ll read this year.

With this poem, the challenge really comes in the early stages: what’s physically happening in the poem? There is so much metaphorical language that it’s hard to get that first step accomplished. We’ll finish that tomorrow.

English 8 students worked on Nightjohn, employing the It Says/I Say engagement to keep their reading sharp and critical. Tomorrow we’ll still do some work on voice in the book before moving on to the final chapters.

Homework

• English 8: 
  • work on the one-pager as necessary;
  • work on No Red Ink as needed;
  • work on the article of the week as necessary.
• English I Honors: 
  • work on the one-pager as necessary;
  • work on No Red Ink as needed;
  • work on the article of the week as necessary.