Is finally here!!!
I can't believe that it is the end of an era... I saw The Order of the Phoenix last week (my favorite of the 6 in print), and it just set the stage and intensified my anticipation. I am dressing as Hermione Granger on Friday night and heading for the Borders Bookstore Potter party. There will be festivities all night, and at midnight they will present us with our 40% off pre-ordered copy. I plan to come home and read ALL night long. And all day the next... and the next... I've cleared my schedule, and this, to me, is what summer is all about--and this summer, it presents itself as an exceptionally HIGH highlight among the otherwise monotonous packing and unpacking of boxes... :)
Anyway, I have such mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am ready for all of my questions to be answered: Is Snape bad? Is Dumbledore really dead? Will Harry die? What about all the prophecies...? On the other, at the end of the book, it will be OVER. I don't know if I am quite ready for this. But, hopefully by Sunday (at the latest! :)) I will have my answers and some closure.
This pleasure read, followed by my class reunion the next Saturday, serve as my finale for Summer. Then, I am forcing myself to get back into school mode. I recently found out that this year I'll be teaching 10th grade honors and general classes. It will comprise of world literature, composition, and speech. It will be quite a change from my 11th and 12th American and British lit classes, but it is a welcome change as I will also get to teach some of these modern world lit pieces: The Kite Runner and Night. Although both have been on my list, I've yet to read either. So, I'll be busy!
11 comments:
Hey Kristy,
I think you've posted on my blog before, and I found you through Jen's blog...
Anyway, I teach 10th honors, too. I haven't read The Kite Runner, but I have read and taught Night, and the students really like reading it, and we had some good discussions from it. I really feel as though I don't do justice to literature like that...but still, I think you'll find that your students will like it. What other books do you teach with 10th honors?
I remember reading Night in high school and loving it. Sounds like you are going to enjoy this next school year.
I can't wait to hear all about your new students and your new co workers! :) I bet it's gonna be a great year. Right now I'm doing my year long calendar planning, and once again I'm realizing how much of our time is eaten up by the grad exam weeks...
I'm heading to the Potter party in Tuscavegas Friday night, too. Can't wait!!! (But I totally understand what you mean about the mixed feelings.)
Meanwhile, good luck with your classes. Sounds like you have some great picks. I enjoyed both of them, but they're both really sad. Good stuff for discussion, though.
I totally do not understand the Harry Potter mania, but I am laughing at the thoughts of you dressing up as one of the characters. Have fun and don't cast too many spells!
I have to admit, I am laughing at the thought of you dressing up & going to the party. Not out of ridicule, but just pure amusement. You need to post pics of your "costume"!
One of my co-workers read a spoiler for the book. I dare not tell you what he told me, as it could possibly ruin the book for you! :-)
1. omgah cant wait
2. im screwed bc im working on this FOREVER long project and will not be finished by friday
3. i can savor it as long as someone doesnt BLOW it for me, aka posting signs on the overpass of an interstate
4. since i cant do "book club" due to time constraints but love to read, perhaps you can guide me in future reading endeavors.
haha--I'll get Patrick to take pictures of my costume although he is embarrassed but kind enough to accompany me. :)
Amy and Tiffany--I would appreciate any advice on teaching Night. I'm also teaching Oedipus and Antigone--any thoughts on that?
Ash--read 19 Minutes. So so good!!!
Okay, I am so with you on your love for Harry Potter. However, I must admit... I don't read the books really. I just like the movies. My husband reads all of them the day they are released. I have to say that I should have stopped reading your post about half way down because I read the words: "Is Dumbledore really dead?" OMG!!! I knew it. I freaked out and called my husband at work to ask if the big D bites it in the 6th book. He's just ignoring me. I can't take it. I'm going to have to start reading from the very beginning...
I think with Night, the main activity I did was a reflection journal where they had to choose a passage that stood out to them and then respond to it. Usually our discussions were about what they chose and why. I found that their personal reactions were very poignant--hey, as long as they were really thinking and internalizing what they were reading. They were currently studying WWII in their history class, so I didn't really make them do any kind of Holocaust research. I think we might have done some browsing on the web--the US Holocaust Museum website had some interesting material. I'm also contemplating buying the DVD of Oprah's interview with Elie Wiesel. (Our school has a video of Wiesel's return to the prison camp, but it had a lot of stuff in it that the students really weren't interested in. I think they would be more into the Oprah interview.)
I'm teaching OEDIPUS for the first time this year, so I really don't have anything to go on for that one. I have taught ANTIGONE...I don't really have anything stellar for that one, either. Last year, we covered it toward the end of the school year when everyone was sort of on "autopilot." It's defintiely something I could improve on this time!
Sorry for the loooong comment!
OK, I've never actually taught either of these...just encouraged kids to read them! :)
But a teacher I met from another school last year got the kids to do a "digital re-telling" (i.e. short video/movie) of Oedipus. The ones I saw turned out pretty cool.
I think our teachers have also done journaling with Night, as well as art/graphic representations for a potential cover.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
Good luck teaching it--keep us updated.
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