Thursday, January 30, 2014

Some Video Remakes of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Over the years, people have been fascinated with the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes.  Below are some classics

A Scandal in Bohemia (with Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes)
The Empty House (also with Jeremy Brett)
The Red-Headed League (also with Jeremy Brett)
The Speckled Band (Jeremy Brett, again)



Final for Great Sherlock Holmes Stories





What Makes a Hero?

Is Holmes a hero?  What qualities do you admire in heroes?  In at least 3 paragraphs, discuss whether or not Holmes possesses these qualities, using examples from the text.  Specific instances and quotes should support your comments.  You may want to consider whether some of the flaws Watson acknowledges keep Holmes from becoming truly heroic in their eyes.  Feel free to compare Holmes with other literary characters.

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 3 (January 30)

Greetings!
It was good to see everyone today after last week's cancelled classes.  With the poor driving weather, I'm also glad to see that we were all safe.  My commute was almost 3 hours, so the class had to start on their Quick Writes on their own.

Our Quick Write for today centered on Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) whose birthday was today in 1882.  He was an avid stamp collector (a philatelist), and I had the students write about a collection they had or one that they knew of. 
Next on the agenda was a discussion of the Sherlock Holmes stories that we have been reading.  Of the six stories in the book, we've read four of them.  I divided the class into four groups and assigned each group to go through one of the stories and look for specific places in the text that describe Holmes.  As groups, they presented to the rest of the class some good analysis of their story and some great descriptions of Holmes's character, personality, skill, and motivation.
For next week, the students are to write a Take Home Essay Final.  I had forgotten to make copies of the handout that explains the guidelines for this:
What Makes a Hero?

Is Holmes a hero?  What qualities do you admire in heroes?  In at least 3 paragraphs, discuss whether or not Holmes possesses these qualities, using examples from the text.  Specific instances and quotes should support your comments.  You may want to consider whether some of the flaws Watson acknowledges keep Holmes from becoming truly heroic in their eyes.  Feel free to compare Holmes with other literary characters.

Our Grammar focuses  for a few weeks are verbal phrases.  the worksheets they were assigned last week had them working with participial phrases, and we discussed gerund phrases today.  These phrases are verbals -- various forms of verbs that are used not as action words but as adjectives (participles) and nouns (gerunds)
The students handed in the rough drafts of their Problem/Solution Essays.  I will hand them back next week.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read the final 2 Sherlock Holmes stories
-- Write an essay to answer the "Hero" question
-- Finish Worksheet 6-5
This week's blogs
Class Notes
Sherlock Holmes Take Home Final

Have a great weekend and stay warm!
Mrs. Prichard

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Writing 2 -- "Cold Day" Homework

Greetings!

My apologies for not sending out an e-mail before this with the homework for next week.  Our family is hosting a fundraiser at our house for our son Ryan who is in Thailand with Youth with a Mission.  The past two days have been full of cleaning, baking, and jewelry making.

Firstly, a reminder of the homework that was due for this Thursday which you should bring to class next week:
Assignments due Jan. 23
-- Problem/Solution Essay Pre-Write
-- Read the handout on Characterization in Sherlock Holmes stories
-- Read "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Red-Headed League"
-- Answer 2 questions for "The Red-Headed League"
-- Grammar Worksheets 6-1, 6-2, 6-3

Assignments due Jan. 30
-- Problem/Solution Rough Draft
-- Read "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" and "The Engineer's Thumb"
-- Using the Study Guide, answer 2 questions for "The Speckled Band" and 2 for "The Engineer's Thumb."
-- Grammar Worksheet 6-4 (attached and in the Dropbox folder)

Extra Credit options:  
-- Make up your own Quick Write.  Choose any topic and write for 7 minutes.
-- Make your own "Word of the Day" list of 3 unusual words along with their definitions.

I've made a new Dropbox folder for this semester's class.  For those who are new to the class, all of the handouts (grammar worksheets, study guides, writing guidelines, syllabus, etc.) are on this site.  I also attach any handouts with the weekly Class Notes.  AND, most of them are in a format so that they can be read on the blog.  It is not necessary to use all three of these sources.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Stay warm!
Mrs. Prichard

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (January 16)

Greetings, once again!

I don't know about all of the students, but I feel that it's good to be back in school again.  Our Quick Write for the day was weather-related because of the snow and high winds in the northwest portion of the state:  Imagine you are stuck somewhere in a blizzard.  What would you do?  Write about it.  For those who are new to the class, we do a these Quick Writes at the beginning of every class.  They help to jump start our brains into a writing mode.  Often, we usually do Words of the Day, a selection of foreign or unusual words and phrases so that we can expand our vocabularies.  We didn't do any words this week because we had a lot to cover.

I handed out a lot of papers this week:   
-- Spring Semester Syllabus
-- Characteristics of a Detective Story
-- Characterization in Sherlock Holmes
-- Study Questions for Sherlock Holmes
-- Problem/ Solution Essay  
-- Grammar Worksheets

We discussed the general plan for the semester that included the writing assignments, the literature, and the grammar plan.  I will attach those documents with this e-mail, with the exception of the grammar worksheets, and will put them on the Dropbox site.  I am using a supplemental workbook published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston which is a fairly big document.  I have the whole workbook on Dropbox, so if a student is missing an assignment, you can download the workbook and print the needed pages.

Resources for the class:
-- Weekly Class Notes
-- Weekly Blogs (same content as the Class Notes)
-- Dropbox document storage site
-- Engrade (an assignment and grading website)
(If you have any questions about these, let me know.  Some students already have Engrade accounts through other classes.  If that is the case, let me know the student number, and I can adjust the number for the account for this class.)

Our first essay for the semester is a Problem/ Solution Essay.  An essay of this kind explores possible solutions to a specific problem. 

We will be using three books this semester:  Six Great Stories from Sherlock HolmesGreat Short, Short Stories, and 101 Great American Poems.  We're starting with the Sherlock Holmes stories.  

Assignments for Next Week:
-- Problem/Solution Essay Pre-Write
-- Read the handout on Characterization in Sherlock Holmes stories
-- Read "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Red-Headed League"
-- Answer 2 questions for "The Red-Headed League"
-- Grammar Worksheets 6-1, 6-2, 6-3

This week's blog posts:
Class Notes


Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard

Week 1 Grammar -- Prepositional Phrases




Characterization in Sherlock Holmes

Characterization

            Even people who have never read the Sherlock Holmes stories often know something
about his character.  If nothing else, they will associate the line, “Elementary, my dear Watson,” with him, although the literary Holmes never actually put these words together – only his film counterparts say them.  Although Conan Doyle named Holmes for one of his favorite authors, Oliver Wendell Holmes, he imagined Dr. Joseph Bell’s appearance for his hero: around six feet tall, with a thin “razor-like” face, a large nose, like a hawk, and small, sharp eyes.  Interestingly, Conan Doyle said the pictures of Holmes usually depict him as handsomer than he imagined him himself.  Holmes wears dressing gowns inside and a cape with a deerstalker hat outside, and he usually appears with a pipe or a magnifying glass in his hand. 
            Entirely unemotional, Holmes remains aloof, coolly rational, and arrogant.  He is often irritable and he possesses several idiosyncrasies that try the patience of even his longsuffering best friend, Watson.  He clutters his rooms with paperwork from his cases and paraphernalia from his numerous scientific experiments.  Watson complains that he keeps his cigars in the coalscuttle, his tobacco in one of his slippers, and his unanswered letters transfixed to the mantle with a jackknife.  He can play the violin well when he wishes to, but Holmes more often scrapes annoyingly and tunelessly on the strings.  He uses the walls of his home for target practice.  Moody and plagued by boredom when no case demands his attention, he injects a 7% solution of cocaine, a habit that his concerned friend finally helps him break.  
            Holmes possesses exceptional gifts and an encyclopedic knowledge of some areas, but remains willingly ignorant of many others, declaring he would rather not clutter his mind with facts that cannot help him solve his cases, even whether or not the earth travels around the sun.  He is respectful and polite to women, but he insists he would never let himself fall in love and marry, as Watson does.  In some ways Holmes resembles a Romantic hero, standing apart from society and even breaking its laws on occasion to obtain the clues he desires.  He will even allow a proven criminal to go free, insisting that he is not, after all, a policeman.  Holmes also can give the impression that his motives for solving his cases have less to do with combating crime or doing good than with amusing himself or impressing others.  
            In “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” when he finds what he supposes is the dead body of
his client, he cries out in rage and grief – at the black mark now on his reputation: “In order to have my case well rounded and complete,” he exclaims to Watson, “ I have thrown away the life of my client.  It is the greatest blow which has befallen me in my career.”  Interestingly, when Joseph Bell learned of his former student’s claim that he was the great detective’s inspiration, he admitted to only a slight resemblance, writing back to Doyle, “You are yourself Sherlock Holmes.”   Conan Doyle confessed, “…A man cannot spin a character out of his own inner consciousness and make it really life-like unless he has some possibilities of that character within him – which is a dangerous admission for one who has drawn so many villains as I.”
            In appearance at least, Conan Doyle seemed to share more with Dr. John Watson, whom he named after a friend, Dr. James Elmwood Watson, than he did with Holmes.  Like Doyle, Watson is a large, athletic man, wearing a bushy mustache.  Like Doyle, Watson studied medicine at Edinburgh University, and he served his country during wartime also.  He loves sports and has an eye for an attractive lady, and like Doyle, he marries more than once.  Watson is as even-tempered and genial as Holmes is moody and aloof.  Their temperaments make them opposites, but the most striking contrast between Holmes and Watson comes when they work together on a case.  Watson consistently fails when he tries to use his friend’s methods of deduction, and he often complains about how foolish Holmes makes him feel.  In “The Hound of the Baskervilles” Holmes tells Watson, “It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light.  Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.”  Yet Watson recognizes that for all his friend’s arrogance, Holmes needs him, and not just to record his history. 

            In “The Adventure of the Creeping Man” Watson notes, “He was a man of habits, narrow and concentrated habits, and I had become one of them.  As an institution I was like the violin, the shag tobacco, the old black pipe, the index books, and others perhaps less excusable.  When it was a case of active work and a comrade was needed upon whose nerve he could place some reliance, my role was obvious.  But apart from this I had uses.  I was a whetstone for his mind.  I stimulated him.  He liked to think aloud in my presence.  …If I irritated him by a certain methodical slowness in my mentality, that irritation served only to make his own flame-like intuitions and impressions flash up the more vividly and swiftly.  Such was my humble role in our alliance.”  Watson clearly foils Holmes; he is certainly less brilliant, less able, less confident.  But he might be more human, as Doyle himself suggested.

Characteristics of a Detective Story

Characteristics of a Detective Story

C. Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature defines a detective story as “a novel or
short story in which a crime, usually a murder – the identity of the perpetrator unknown –
is solved by a detective through a logical assembling and interpretation of palpable
evidence, known as clues.”

            The first detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe, and Conan Doyle acknowledged their influence on his writing.  A good detective story generally follows six “unwritten rules.”  

First, the crime must be significant, worthy of the attention it receives.  Most stories involve murder, though Conan Doyle tied the majority of his crimes to greed and theft. 

Second, the detective must be in some way a memorable character.  He or she must be very intelligent, of course, unusually clever and observant, but also quirky, possessing perhaps some odd idiosyncrasies that distinguish him or her.  Kojak’s lollipop, Columbo’s crumpled raincoat, James Bond’s unruffled cool and high-tech gadgets, all of these things make the hero somehow distinct.  

Third, along with an exceptional detective, there must be an outstanding opponent, a criminal clever enough to be a match for the hero.  Solving the crime can’t be too easy. 

Fourth, because a large part of the attraction of a detective story is the opportunity for the reader to try to figure out the solution along with the detective, all suspects of the crime must be introduced early in the story, and

Fifth, all clues the detective discovers must be made available to the reader also. 


Finally, at the end of the story, the solution must seem obvious, logical, possible.  The crime must not have resulted from accident or supernatural intervention, and the detective must be able to explain all aspects of the case in a reasonable way.  A fine detective story should meet each one of these standards. 

Study Guide for Sherlock Holmes Stories

Study Guide for Sherlock Holmes Stories

Study Questions for “The Speckled Band”

1.      Describe the woman who has come to consult Holmes and Watson early one morning. How is she dressed? What makes Holmes think he should offer her coffee? What is odd about her hair?

2.      Describe what Helen Stoner tells Holmes about her stepfather. Why did he go to India? What forced him to leave?

3.      What happened to Helen Stoner’s mother and how did her stepfather change after her mother’s death? 

4.      Describe what Helen Stoner hears just before her sister dies. What are her sister’s last words to her? 

5.      Describe Dr. Roylott as he appears in Holmes’ room.  Describe Dr. Roylott’s behavior also. What does he do to try to frighten Holmes? What does he want Holmes to do?

6.      Holmes obtains a copy of Helen Stoner’s mother’s will, and it provides a motive for Dr. Roylott’s not wishing his stepdaughter ever to marry.  Explain.

7.      Holmes and Watson see Dr. Roylott return home from their window at the Crown Inn. What do they witness that is another example of his terrible temper? 

8.      Give details about exactly what happens after Holmes and Watson hear the whistle.

9.      Describe what they find when they enter Dr. Roylott’s room after the dreadful shriek.  What is the speckled band? How did the doctor die? 

10.  Earlier in the story Holmes warned Miss Stoner that if Dr. Roylott suspected he was nearby, his journey would be in vain. What did he mean by that? How do you think the doctor might have altered his plan if he had known Holmes was nearby


Study Questions for “The Red-Headed League”

1.      Watson finds Holmes with a visitor, Mr. Jabez Wilson. Give details about his appearance.

2.      Holmes lists the “obvious facts” that he deduces from Mr. Wilson’s appearance. What are they and how did Homes know?

3.      What is the only requirement needed to apply for a vacancy in the Red-Headed League? What are the benefits?

4.      Mr. Wilson is a pawnbroker, one who lends money at interest to people who give him items of personal property in exchange. What is unusual about his assistant, Vincent Spaulding? Why does he spend a lot of time in the cellar?

5.      Describe the work Mr. Wilson must do for the League. What exactly is it? When must he do it? What is supposedly the purpose? What happens if he leaves the office during working hours?

6.      9. Holmes begins to question Mr. Wilson about his assistant. List here some of the things that he learns.

7.      What detail suggests that Holmes already knows who this man is?
7.
8.      Why does Holmes pretend to be lost and ask the way of Mr. Wilson’s assistant? What other odd thing does he do in front of Mr. Wilson’s place of business?

9.      Who are Mr. Jones and Mr. Merryweather? (Note: Scotland Yard is the home of the London police force.) Who is John Clay?

10.  Describe the two people who enter the room from the hole in the floor.






Study Questions for “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb”

1.      Paddington Station is a train station in London. Two men from Paddington appear Dr. Watson’s consulting room, a guard and Mr. Victor Hatherley. What brings them there in?

2.      Describe Colonel Stark, the man who comes to see Mr. Hatherley about the job.

3.      What is the one condition of employment that Colonel Stark insists on over and over?

4.      What is the job he offers Mr. Hatherley? At what time of the day will he perform this job?

5.      According to Colonel Stark, what has he been doing with his hydraulic press, and why does he wish to keep his actions a secret? Is there anything suspicious about his explanation?

6.      What is wrong with the machine?

7.      Explain how Colonel Stark tries to kill the engineer. How does he escape? Explain how he loses his thumb.
7.
8.      Explain what Holmes guesses about the fresh, glossy horse that helps him locate the house.

9.      What was the real use of the machine? What has happened to the house? How did it happen?

10.  How did the unconscious engineer end up near the train station? What evidence tells Holmes and Watson who helped him?


Problem/Solution Essay

Problem/Solution Essay

Definition
            In a problem-solution essay, you analyze a problem and propose a method for solving it. The problem you choose to analyze should be one that offers some challenges but is still possible to resolve. A
problem-solution essay should have the following characteristics:
• a problem that needs to be solved
• a thesis statement that identifies the problem and points toward the solution
• identification of several possible solutions
• specific facts, details, examples, and reasons indicating why one solution is best
• an analytical tone     

Thesis Development
            Your thesis may vary depending on what your topic is, who your audience is, and how much information you have.  Your thesis will state clearly what you perceive as the problem and your suggested solution to the problem.  

Organization
            The simplest way to organize a problem-solution essay is to begin by identifying the problem in the first paragraph, leading up to your thesis statement.  Present the solution that you think works best, explaining why it is the most promising one.
            The simplest way to organize a problem-solution essay is to begin by identifying the problem in the first paragraph, leading up to your thesis statement. Present the solution that you think works best, explaining why it is the most promising one.   

Tips on Writing
Make sure you clearly explain the problem.  The “hows” and “whys” of the issue should be accurately clarified.
Include information about the cause of the problem, especially as it relates to the solution you intend to put forth.
Alternate solutions can be mentioned; if they are failed ideas, it will further strengthen your argument.
 




Essay Guidelines
Due dates:  Pre-Write due January 23; Rough Draft due January 30; Final Draft due February 13
Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)
Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.
Final draft format:
Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)
1 inch margins
Name and date on the upper right hand corner
Number the pages on the lower right hand corner
Title centered above the text of the essay


Spring Semester Syllabus

Spring Semester Syllabus

Week/Date
Literature
Assign. Due
Writing
Grammar
Week 1
(1/16)
Introduction to Sherlock Holmes


Discuss:  Phrases

Week 2
(1/23)
Holmes:  “A Scandal in Bohemia” & “The Red-Headed League”

Problem/ Solution Pre-Write & College Essay
Discuss:  Phrases
Due:  Worksheets 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
Week 3
(1/30)
Holmes: “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” & “The Engineer’s Thumb”
Short Writing Assignment
Problem/ Solution Rough Draft
Discuss:  Phrases
Due:  Worksheet 6-4
Week 4
(2/6)
Holmes:  “The Final Problem” & “The Adventure of the Empty House"


Discuss:  Phrases
Due:  Worksheet 6-5
Week 5
(2/13)
Pushkin (p. 162); Tosltoy (p. 169); Chekhov (p. 26)
2 Short Story Worksheets
Problem Solution Final Draft
Discuss:  Phrases
Due:  Worksheet 6-6
Week 6
(2/20)
Dickens (p. 45); Wilde (p. 189); Kipling (p.101); Munro (p. 140)
2 Short Story Worksheets
Cause/Effect
Pre-Write & College Essay
Discuss:  Phrases
Due:  Worksheet 6-7
Week 7
(2/27)
Hawthorne (p. 73); Bierce (p. 10); Poe (p. 156)
2 Short Story Worksheets
Cause/Effect
Rough Draft
Discuss:  Clauses
Due:  Worksheet 7-1
Week 8
(3/6)
Harte (p. 64); Twain (p. 175)
Jewett (p. 87); Crane (p. 34)
2 Short Story Worksheets

Discuss:  Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 10-1
Week 9
(3/13)
Chopin (p. 30); London (p. 122); Mansfield (p. 130); Gilman (p. 50)
2 Short Story Worksheets
Cause/Effect
Final Draft
Discuss:  Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 10-2





Week 10 (3/27)
Pirandello (p. 149); de Maupassant (p. 134); Henry  (extra handout)
2 Short Story Worksheets
Evaluation Pre-Write
Discuss: Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 11-1
Week 11
(4/3)
Larsen (p. 110); Anderson (p. 1); Hardy (p. 56)
2 Short Story Worksheets
 Evaluation Rough Draft
Discuss: Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 11-3
Week 12
(4/10)
Bradstreet (p. 1); Wheatley (p. 1); Holmes (p. 21); Emerson (p. 4, 5); Longfellow (p. 6 – 10); Whitman (p. 22 – 26); Dickinson (p. 29 – 32)
Poetry worksheet for 3 of the poems.

Discuss:  Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 11-4





Week 13
(4/24)
Wilcox (p. 33); Thayer (p. 34); Dunbar (p. 41 – 43) Frost (p. 44 – 50); Sandburg (p.53 – 54); Williams (p. 60 – 61); Hughes  (p. 75 – 78)
Poetry worksheet for 3 of the poems/

Presentation of poetry recitations.
Evaluation Final Draft
Discuss:  Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 11-6
Week 14
(5/1)
Poetry Presentation
Poetry worksheet for 3 of the poems.
Presentation of poetry recitations.
Re-Write
Discuss:  Sentences
Due:  Worksheet 11-7
Week 15
(5/8)
Poetry Presentation, Final Exam