Day One: Civil War Literature/Negro Spirituals

Good afternoon! I think that we had some good sessions today. I know there was a lot to cover in the first day, but we accomplished quite a bit in our time together. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to contribute to the class.

Today in class we:

• Read and reviewed the syllabus.
• Distributed textbooks.
• Took notes on a slide presentation of Unit 4 timeline/overview  (from the Prentice Hall textbook.) 
• Read and listened to several negro spirituals (after a review of African-American History)-specifically "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Go Down, Moses." We also looked at a few others just to compare and listened to some modern choral arrangements.
• Responded to the spirituals through reviewing and assessing in writing.
• Looked at biographies of Stephen Crane and Stephen Foster.
• Examined photographs of wounded soldiers and amputees during the Civil War.
• Read and discussed Stephen Crane's "An Episode of War" and Stephen Foster's song, "Willie has Gone to the War."
• Responded to review questions on these selections through written analysis and opinion.

Homework:

1. Have course syllabus read and signed by parent.
2. Read Frederick Douglass from "My Bondage and my Freedom" (pgs 497-502)
3. Read Ambrose Bierce "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (pgs 508-516)
4. Make sure you are filling out the vocabulary on your vocab packet when you read the Douglass and Bierce selections.
5. If you have not finished the responses to the spirituals and Crane/Foster in class-you need to turn those in tomorrow at 8:00 AM.
6. Study your Unit Four overview notes. There will be 25 problem/ True or False quiz over the material tomorrow.
7. There will be a reading quiz over Douglass and Bierce tomorrow. The questions will be short answer and straight forward. If you have read the selection, it will be apparent. If you have not read the selection, it will also be apparent. :)