Today we did an Act I quick quiz and then discussed quotable quotations from Act I, Scenes 1-2. I then gave some quotable quotations from Act I and we discussed them on the following points:
a) who is speaking?
b) to whom is he/she speaking?
c) what's going on in terms of the plot? (what is or has just happened - or what is about to happen?)
d) what is the significance of this speech?
We then watched the film up to the point, in Scene ii, where Laertes is given permission to leave for France.
Please remember to post a comment to the blog to meet your journaling requirement. You may like to start to pre-read Act II. On Tuesday we'll watch the rest of Act I and do a little writing activity. Have a nice long weekend.
Ive been really enjoying this unit so far. Mainly because it's a break from our regular read then do an essay format. Its more intuitive and less repetitive. Im excited to read the rest of the play and figure out what happens in the end and who dies. I havent read it before so i dont know what will happen.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Becky, I enjoy this unit because it gives me time to sit back and enjoy Shakespeare's literary work. Also, agreeing with Becky on the point of giving us as students a break from our regular format of reading, and essays. I'm very excited to keep reading to find out how this play turns out, and to keep getting chances to read more lines in class!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading scene 1, however, I havn't really been up to date with the rest of my reading due to the snow. I missed the following classes when we read the rest of the act. I am planning on reading the rest of it tomorrow. I feel like i missed out on a lot of usefull class time(discusions)and now find i will have trouble understanding act one.
ReplyDeleteI have not enjoyed this unit so far, unlike Becky and Shelby I would rather do reading then write an essay. I find Shakepeare to not interest me, therefore I am unable to really focus on what is going on within the play.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your ideas, ladies. Your comments prove it's difficult to please everyone, but I hope there's something for everyone as we vary our activities. Becky and Shelby, you said you're enjoying the break from essay writing - apart from the blog and in-class discussions, can you think of ways that you could express your learning? There are about six weeks of classes until your provincial exam and I want to keep your writing honed, but there is more to English than essays. On a related note, those who are not doing journal blogging may have to represent that aspect of their learning in another writing form (hint, hint, threat, threat).
ReplyDeleteOh god there were two of them. I quite enjoyed discussing the quotable quotations, and even heard several from others that I had not thought of myself, which is always nice. I also look forward to the writing activity, whatever it may be, although unlike many others here I don't mind writing essays at all, I find the creative freedom they allow to be liberating. Someone as arrogant as myself can't help but love a chance to rant uninterupted for pretty much as long as I want. Essays also represent a clearly defined goal; once you have learned what needs to be learned, you just have to think of a good way to express it. As for the play itself, I don't have much more to say than what I have said in my comment on the last post, which I made about ten minutes ago. I was fairly busy this weekend, and besides, I work better under presssure, or something (excuse, excuse, lie, lie)!
ReplyDeleteThe Hamlet unit isn't too bad so far. I've enjoyed it more than the previous Shakespeare plays we've read. I like that there is different ways to look at characters and what they think and feel about what is going on. Hamlet isn't as strait forward and not as boring as other plays therefor it has kept my attention.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Becky that this is an enjoyable section of the english curriculum. I am also looking forward to reading the rest of the play especially since it is Shakespeare's best. I think that Hamlets character is intriguing and am looking forward to see if he is going to put on an "antic disposition" or if he will really go mad. I predict he will go mad and end up killing himself but I also look forward to, possibly, being proved wrong
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying reading the "Hamlet" play more then any of the other Shakespeare plays I have read. However this doesn't change my opinion on the fact that I would rather write essays, just as some of my classmates have stated above.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mike, Hamlet is definatly more interesting than the previous Shakespeare plays we've read over the years. However I still find Shakespeare boring and I would much rather write than read something we won't use in the future.
ReplyDeleteSo far I am enjoying Hamlet. It seems to be more exciting than any of Shakespeare's other plays that we've read. I've found Hamlet fairly easy to follow. That might be because of all the practice we've had reading old english, or maybe becasue it just is an easier play. I find myself always dreading doing the shakespeare unit, but every year when we start, I surprisingly enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with Mitch J on this one. I don't find Hamlet to be an intriguing character and I find that he often rants about his emotions. This was fine at first but at this point I'm beginning to dread reading whatever he has to say because you have to pick through all the lines and lines of proverbial garbage of "ohhh woe is me, my lifes @#$%", before he speaks of what it is he actually plans to do. This being said, I didn't find this so much when reading the first Act, it was mainly the movie that made me start to hate his character. Perhaps if I steer clear of the movie for the rest of the unit, I won't hate his character quite so much.
ReplyDeleteSo far Hamlet has been really easy for me. Its funner than normal work and I enjoy reading big roles infront of the class. Im going keep it short becuase the bell just went.
ReplyDelete