to all the teachers: this is way last minute, but I need some cute activity ideas

[GoogleGirl]

I am struggling with teaching Italian and english sonnets to seniors right now. I have to teach them about Sir Philip Sidney tomorrow. I seriously do not have enough material to do a good hour lesson. Also, I am going to be teaching an excerpt of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen on Wednesday and I have nooo idea how to approach that one. Any teachers out there who have taught these things?? I need ideasss!!!

[Krishna]

Are you doing a lesson on allegory or what? I dont have any "cute" ideas for this...I'm a little out of my league

[GoogleGirl]

well, i guess i'm supposed to bring up the idea of the allegory and connect it to the story. that's all I've got. I'm so stressed out about this.

[Krishna]

You have a much better grasp on allegory than I do, I'm sure, but why not bring in other examples, and then have the kids extrapolate the allegory from this story? Classic example would be like the statue of liberty or something.

Alternately, you could do this: http://webpages.ursinus.edu/chstephenson/new_page_3.htm

[capella]

It doesn't have to be cute. I'm a little rusty on my allegory and my Edmund Spenser right about now (3rd graders are still learning phonics if that gives you any idea of the level I work on mostly ;) ).

What I would do is present the concept of allegory. Read the selection. Model identifying an example of allegory (I love the overhead for stuff like this). Have students work in pairs to find other examples (they are seniors and AP students right?). Then pairs share what they found. Discuss meaning. If you have time give them a modern topic and have them write an allegory (like a story with two meanings) for it. That would take a whole class period in my opinion. Would fables work for a simple version? Just thinking out loud. You could start with a fable and ask the kids to identify the literal story and the meaning behind it.

For sonnets: I have a great poem analysis strategy called TP-CASTT. If you want I have a generic frame worksheet they can use to analyze the poem. Identify the structure (quatrains, iambic pentameter, etc.) and maybe have them write a sonnet. It could be on silly topics. A sonnet on leaving high school. A sonnet on the prom. A sonnet on their crush. Whatever. Make it relevant to their lives.

And I'm a little rusty on my Sir Philip Sydney so I can't help you much there. :redface: If you want to talk Gary Soto or Cam Jansen or Dav Pilkey I'm your lady!

Gotta love last minute planning, eh? Some of the best lessons are "wingers."

[GoogleGirl]

interesting...thanks! This seems like it could perhaps be a good idea.

[capella]

I am the queen of last minute lessons!! I know for a fact that TP-CASTT would take them an entire hour. It stands for Title (read the title and guess what the poem is about), paraphrase (rewrite lines or stanzas of the poem in your own words), Connotation (what connotations do you see in the poem. look for words with a lot of weight), Attitude (what is the author's attitude), Shifts (does the mood/tone change in the poem. Most poems shift in the last few lines... it would be the last quatrain and the couplet especially in a sonnet. Let them figure it out and then reinforce the structure of a sonnet that way.), tone- What is the overall feeling of the poem. and Title again (look at it again, was it about what you thought? How did it change?).

That takes a long ass time. Good quality thinking and a solid lesson plan in my opinion. I've done it on Robert Frost poems and even I found things I hadn't seen before. Fantastic. PM me your email addy if you want the worksheet.

[GoogleGirl]

my next question would be this: HOW THE HELL DOES A TEACHER STAY ORGANIZED?!?!?! I can't seem to do this well at all. I'm about to go NUTS!! My unit for early renaissance is ever which way in my apt right now.

[capella]

my next question would be this: HOW THE HELL DOES A TEACHER STAY ORGANIZED?!?!?! I can't seem to do this well at all. I'm about to go NUTS!! My unit for early renaissance is ever which way in my apt right now.
Time, patience and hiding things. :razz: It does get easier to get efficient. The thing to remember is that the work load doesn't change, but you find ways to simplify. And after a year or two at one grade level things get easier because you have a good idea of where you want to go in the quarter and the year. That's the hardest part for me... the what the hell am I doing feeling. It helps to map out a long range plan and then get the details hashed out as you go.

[spokes]

i think i need remedial grade school because i don't have a hot clue of what the hell an allegory is. however if you need a lessons on the integration of the public and private healthcare systems in canada i could give you a 4 page dissertation.......