Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Phrases & Clauses Review

and follow the directions below.

Note: This website is a comprehensive resource for reviewing ALL grammar concepts we have studied this year.  I recommend you spend time looking over any concept(s) with which you have struggled or would like to review.

1) Scroll right to "Verbals and Phrases" section. Complete:
- Lesson 1
- Lesson 2
- Lesson 5
- Lesson 6
- Lesson 7
- Lesson 8


2) Write down the exercises you did not get correct on the first try on the sheet provided. Attempt each lesson until you get a perfect score and write down how many tries it takes.

3) Have Ms. BOB sign off on the section before moving to the next section.

4) Scroll to the  "Clauses" section.  Complete:
- Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
- Lesson  7
- Lesson 8 
Lesson 
Lesson 10

4) Write down the exercises you did not get correct on the first try on the sheet provided. Attempt each lesson until you get a perfect score and write down how many tries it takes.

5) Have Ms. BOB sign off on Clauses section before moving on to the extra credit.

EXTRA CREDIT:  You will earn .25 points on your common assessment for every additional lesson you complete in the PREPOSITION, CONJUNCTIONS, and PUNCTUATION sections and on this website.  You must continue to fill out the tracking sheet and get Ms. BOB's signature for credit.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Julius Caesar: The Moment of Reckoning

You're about to read Act 3, Scene 1.  THIS IS IT! Caesar is about to walk into the lion's den and will soon meet his fate!

BEFORE READING...

1) Watch the video below.  This is a mash up of several different film versions of Caesar's assassination.  I'd like you to watch this mash up so you can get a feel for how other people have imagined this scene to go down.




2) Now watch these clips taken from two different Caesar movies (you should recognize them from the mash up.) As you watch each video, jot down details you notice about:

- Caesar's attitude/body language BEFORE he's attacked
- the senators' body language BEFORE they attack
- Brutus' body language BEFORE he attacks
- Caesar's response to being attacked
- Brutus' actions DURING and AFTER the attack
- Caesar's reaction to seeing Brutus


From HBO's "Rome":

From "The Death of Caesar":




3)  Now read Act 3, Scene 1.  Be prepared to discuss your thoughts, reactions, questions, etc in our next class!

Phrases & Clauses Review

STEP ONE: 
A Video Review of Phrases & Clauses



STEP TWO:  
Can you tell the difference between a phrase and a clause??


If you get 4 or more wrong, watch the video again and then retake the quiz.


STEP THREE: 
Review the Types of Clauses

Types of Subordinate Clauses  (ignore the "Restrictive Clause" stuff!)


STEP FOUR: 
Review the Types of Phrases

Types of Phrases  (ignore the "Absolute Phrase" stuff!)


STEP FIVE:
Apply your knowledge!

See Ms. BOB for the handout.




Thursday, April 14, 2016

So You Want to Know About Caesar's "Falling Sickness"




CASSIUS

     But soft, I pray you.  What, did Caesar swound?

CASCA

     He fell down in the marketplace and foamed at the mouth and was speechless.

BRUTUS

     'Tis very likely he hath the falling sickness.




- Julius Caesar, 1.2.256-259





Historians agree with Shakespeare: Caesar did indeed suffer from an illness that caused "swounding" (swooning/fainting). Shakespeare refers to it as the "falling sickness," which in the Elizabethan era was a term for epilepsy.  However, a new study suggests that perhaps Caesar did not have epilepsy, but rather he suffered from a series of mini-strokes.  Considering Caesar perished over 2,000 years ago, it's unlikely we will ever know for sure which condition he had. Therefore, read the articles below to devise your own informed opinion on what you think Caesar's "falling sickness" really was.


From the German Epilepsy Museum website:
http://www.epilepsiemuseum.de/alt/caesaren.html


The assumption that Caesar suffered from epilepsy is backed by several sources dating back to Roman times. For instance, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (Sueton, approx. 70-140 AD), the biographer of the first Roman emperor ('Vitae Caesarum'), reports that Caesar twice had epileptic seizures ('Defectio epileptica') while he was working. Appianus, the Roman historian from the second century AD, also mentions Caesar's 'epilepsy and sudden convulsions' in his description of the republican era. Plutarch states that Caesar had an epileptic seizure in the midst of the fighting during the Battle of Thapsus. 

Caesar suffered this seizure two years before his death. At another point Plutarch also points out that Caesar did not have epileptic seizures until towards the end of his life.
The Roman authors already link Caesar's epilepsy to cerebral sclerosis, while others attribute it to alcohol. This would suggest that in ancient Rome a distinction was already being made between the 'genuine falling sickness' and a symptomatic type of epilepsy.




Julius Caesar May Have Suffered Mini Strokes, Not Epilepsy

// 
Ancient sources report that Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) had episodes of vertigo, dizziness and limb weakness.
The dictator of the Roman empire famously suffered falls during his campaigns in Spain and Africa. The first attack occurred in 46 BC in Thapsus, modern Tunisia, and the second in Cordoba, Spain, when he was over 50 years of age.
The Roman historian Suetonius (69-after 122 AD) claimed that “towards the end he was subject to sudden fainting fits and nightmares as well,” and called his disease “morbus comitialis.”
Caesar’s condition was also reported by the Greek historian Plutarch (about 46-120 AD). In his biography of the Roman general, he wrote that Caesar collapsed in Thapsus and was carried to safety to a “neighboring tower where he stayed quietly during the battle.”
Suetonius and Plutarch’s accounts contributed to produce a diagnosis of epilepsy which has prevailed for centuries.
“The theory that Caesar was epileptic appears not to have very solid philological foundations. If carefully re-examined, the facts appear to suggest a simpler and more logical diagnosis of stroke,” Francesco M. Galassi, an MD at Imperial College London, told Discovery News.
Detailing their review in the journal Neurological Sciences, Galassi and colleague Hutan Ashrafian, a surgeon at the college, argue that most studies have focused on the origin of Caesar’s epilepsy, but virtually none has questioned the assumption that he was epileptic.
“Suetonius uses the words ‘morbus comitialis’, a very general definition, not necessarily meaning epilepsy,” Galassi said.
According to Galassi and Ashrafian, the symptoms reported in Caesar’s life — falls, headache, vertigo, giddiness — are consistent with him having multiple mini-strokes.
“Furthermore, Caesar also suffered from other symptoms including depression and personality changes (exampled by emotional lability when listening to a moving oration by Cicero) which may also be consistent with cerebrovascular disease,” Galassi and Ashrafian wrote.
Another attack might have occurred when Caesar failed to stand up as senators honored him. On that occasion, he reported symptoms of headaches, vertigo and later mentioned giddiness and insensibility.
Considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time, Caesar first conquered territory in Britain, Gaul (now France), and Spain. He crossed Italy’s Rubicon River, giving rise to the five-year-long civil war that left him dictator of Rome.
By 45 BC, Caesar controlled a vast territory that later was the Roman Empire. But his rule was cut short when conspirators, who feared he had too much power, stabbed him to death in the Senate building.
Until now, cardiovascular explanations for Caesar condition have been largely ruled out because until his death he was apparently otherwise well in private and state affairs.
“Even if Caesar participated in an active lifestyle and may have benefited from the background of a Mediterranean diet, there is the added possibility of genetic predisposition towards cardiovascular disease,” the researchers wrote.
Indeed, Pliny the Elder reports that both Caesar’s father and another forefather died suddenly without any real explanation while putting on their shoes.
“This has been explained in terms of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) but it is much more logical and less complicated to think of these deaths in terms of cerebrovascular disease or lethal myocardial infarction,” Galassi said.
There are no records of Caesar suffering from seizures in his youth and it is more rare to develop such attacks later in life.
The researchers concede that while epilepsy is a possibility, it would have to derive from adult onset diseases, such as head trauma, neurocystercosis from his Egyptian campaign,atherosclerosis, syphilis, malaria, tubercolosis and glioma.
At Caesar’s time, epilepsy was regarded as a divine disease. If not Caesar himself, his adoptive son and successor Octavian might have favored the story of the epilepsy in a propaganda drive.
“Had he suffered from epileptic attacks, in such a prominent individual like Ceasar no doubt we’d have many more detailed and informative descriptions than we happen to have,” Galassi concluded.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Julius Caesar: The Major Players


There are A LOT of characters with very difference names than we are used to hearing in the 21st century.  Keeping them straight can be a challenge. Here's an introduction to the characters in the plays...written from their own perspective!  They will help you sot out who's who and what they're up to.


CHALLENGE ACTIVITY: Each character was asked to sum up his or her personality with one word. As you read the play, decide if you agree with their choice.  If not, what word would you use? 



Julius Caesar: I am the leader of Rome. There are some people that think I should share more of my power. But I think I’ve earned the right to become the head of the Roman Empire since I am a great general and have conquered many lands for Rome. My problem is that I feel I have to struggle to maintain my power – there are other men who want to share it – or take it from me. There is someone who follows me and seems to be warning me about the Ides of March (which is March 15) and as much as I think “soothsayers” are silly, there is something about this warning that chills me to the bone. But I am a very confident man and simply cannot believe in this type of fortune telling. CONSTANT 

Brutus: I am the protagonist of Julius Caesar – the central character whose emotional journey the audience follows. I am a man of conscience who carefully weighs the HUGE decisions I make. I end up leading the conspiracy against Caesar. Though I am thoughtful, I seem to be a romantic who believes too naively in the goodness of others. My temperament reflects my belief in Stoicism, which I strive to practice, but not always successfully. The audience sees bursts – flashes of temper and passion. PASSIONATE 

Cassius: I am a commanding officer in the Roman army, and I’m also a Roman senator, so I’m both a politician and a soldier. Brutus is one of my best friends. There are some people who would call me a villain for plotting the assassination of Caesar, but I think it’s closer to the truth to say that I genuinely love my country – the freedoms it allows its citizens—and fear that the only way to protect it and prevent Caesar from becoming a dictator is to kill him. Sure, I’m a hothead who’s easily set off, and I’m usually pretty intense, but I prefer to think that it’s just because I happen to be passionate about the things I believe in. PASSIONATE 

Marc Antony: - Now. Now. Now. Life is in the moment. Live it, be it, breathe it. Life is a wild stallion and it takes a man to tame her. No, not tame her, then she loses her spunk – no, a real man can saddle and ride even while she’s at her wildest. Politics, like life, takes a moment-to-moment skill. It’s a balance of control. You must feel the will of the beast – sometimes letting her take the reins and run where she will, and sometimes digging your spurs into her side to turn her to your will. Life, politics, war. It’s all in the moment. NOW 

Calphurnia: I am the wife of Julius Caesar, Rome’s emperor. I am this powerful man’s partner but am not involved in his political career – only aware that his great power insures him great enemies. The “air” is precarious, and I can feel the danger of the times. I am terrified for the loss of my husband’s life and am pessimistic. FEAR

Portia: I am wife to Brutus and am loyal, loving, and concerned. In the two scenes in which I appear, I seem to be pessimistic, though with good reason. Perhaps I am merely following my intuition. CONSTANT 


Titinius: I am Cassius’ second in command, and I believe in honor and duty. LOYAL 

Brutus: I am a relative of Marcus Junius Brutus, and one of the conspirators against Caesar. It is my job to make sure that nothing stops Caesar from going to the Forum on the Ides of March. I’m a definite follower. I can’t imagine that the assassination was my idea, but I seem pretty happy and excited to be a part of it. Once Caesar is dead, I pretty much disappear from the scene. SLIPPERY 

Octavius Caesar: I am Octavius Caesar. Following the filthy conspiracy of his assassination, I come to right wrongs and fulfill my destiny as the heir to Caesar’s throne. In life there is right and wrong; in battle there is right and left. In both, I will be right. SURE 

Cinna the Poet: I am in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am a citizen of Rome who is mistaken for a conspirator and massacred for it. I am a poet and a romantic. UNFORTUNATE 

Metellus Cymber: I am one of the conspirators against Caesar and am one of the people who stabs him. I have issues with Caesar and am a follower. ANGRY 


Titinius: I am Cassius’ second in command, and I believe in honor and duty. LOYAL 

Casca:  I conspire against Caesar because I believe he has too much power. I confess I am the first one to stab Caesar, but since my co-conspirators also stab him, I feel secure that I did no wrong. After all, we’re doing this for the people… Doing something wrong for the right reason – does that make it right? JUSTIFIED

Popillius: I help move the plot and strike fear in the conspirators. I’m a realist. WISE

Caius Legarius: I am a conspirator against Caesar. I voluntarily ask to be a part of the plot to overthrow Caesar, not knowing what the plot actually is… My character is a follower. I am always looking to be in on the action. KANIEVING 

Cinna the Conspirator: I am one of the many conspirators plotting against Caesar. I am very pessimistic. SUBVERSIVE 

Trebonius:  I’m the only conspirator who doesn’t stab Julius Caesar. I am also central to the conspirator’s decision to let Mark Antony live and, as a close friend to Caesar, have nerves of glass. I believe the most difficult change is often the most necessary. What we cry over today, we will laugh at tomorrow. TRUSTWORTHY 






























So You Want to Know about Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus



Link to Enclyopedia Britannica artikcle here
Romulus and Remusthe legendary founders of Rome. Traditionally, they were the sons of Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa.
Numitor had been deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become one of the Vestal Virgins (and thereby vow chastity) in order to prevent her from giving birth to potential claimants to the throne. Nevertheless, Rhea bore the twins Romulus and Remus, fathered by the war god Mars. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber River, but the trough in which they were placed floated down the river and came to rest at the site of the futureRome, near the Ficus ruminalis, a sacred fig tree of historical times. There a she-wolf and a woodpecker—both sacred to Mars—suckled and fed them until they were found by the herdsman Faustulus.
Reared by Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, the twins became leaders of a band of adventurous youths, eventually killing Amulius and restoring their grandfather to the throne. They subsequently founded a town on the site where they had been saved. When Romulus built a city wall, Remus jumped over it and was killed by his brother.
“Rape of the Sabines” [Credit: Alinari/Art Resource, New York]Romulus consolidated his power, and the city was named for him. He increased its population by offering asylum to fugitives and exiles. He invited the neighbouring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. The women married their captors and intervened to prevent the Sabines from seizing the city. In accordance with a treaty drawn up between the two peoples, Romulus accepted the Sabine king Titus Tatius as his coruler. Titus Tatius’s early death left Romulus sole king again, and after a long rule he mysteriously disappeared in a storm. Believing that he had been changed into a god, the Romans worshiped him as the deity Quirinus.
The legend of Romulus and Remus probably originated in the 4th century bc and was set down in coherent form at the end of the 3rd century bc. It contains a mixture of Greek and Roman elements. The Greeks customarily created mythical eponymous heroes to explain the origins of place-names. The story of the rape of the Sabine women was perhaps invented to explain the custom of simulated capture in the Roman marriage ceremony. By including Mars in the legend, the Romans were attempting to connect their origins with that important deity. In the early 21st century archaeologists discovered remains from the 8th century bc of a cave, possible boundary walls, and a palace that demonstrated parallels between history and legend.
The famous bronze statue of a she-wolf now in the Capitoline Museums in Rome is believed to date to the early years of the Roman Republic (late 6th to early 5th century bc); the suckling twins were added in the 16th century ad. Some scholars, however, have claimed that the statue is from the medieval period.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Intro to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Welcome to our unit study of 
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar! 

Pre-reading Activities

1. Before we begin reading the play, please watch the following
 TedEd Talk about the historical figure Julius Ceasar:


2.  Watch this SparkNotes Video summary of the play as well:


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

So You Want to Know About Marlon Brando and A Streetcar Named Desire...

In the short story "Who Am I This Time?" by Kurt Vonnegut, the fictional North Crawford Mask and Whig club performs the real play by Tennessee Williams' called A Streetcar Named Desire. Watch the original 1951 movie trailer below to learn more about the play/movie:




In the short story, fictional Harry Nash is cast as the "Marlon Brando character" from the play/movie. In the real life play and movie version, Brando played Stanley, a character that Vonnegut describes as "...huge and handsome and conceited and cruel," a man whom "...the sight of a weeping woman made him sneer."  In case you were wondering what that means, here are a few examples of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire: