Monday 6

In class: due today is your vocabulary 8
              partner assessment on the poem analysis project
             Review of Whitman's Learn'd Astronomer....any I do not have in my possession now are not needed, as we are going over this in class.
              Looking at the images of Jacob Riis
              Semi-colon review.  Handout; copy below.   Due tomorrow.
 Due tomorrow: Introductory questions from the Introduction to Riis' How the Other Half Lives
Due Wednesday: your assigned chapter from How the Other Half Lives.  Check last Friday's blog, if you have forgotten the details.  Quick summary: you are turning in a list consisting of 10 opinions / biases from the text and a list of 10 factual statements from the reading.  AND you are posting on the blog a summary of what you read, incorporating the material from your list. This is a minimum of 250 words.

When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer

By Walt Whitman

WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;	5
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. All responses should be in complete sentences. Preferably this should be typed. What visual aids does the astronomer use during his lecture? How does the speaker respond to the lecture? Where does the speaker go when he leaves the lecture?  What does he look up at from time to time? How is the speaker’s attitude toward the stars different from that of the astronomer? The word mystical means “spiritually significant.” Why do you think Whitman chose this word to describe the moist night air in line 7? Who do you think is more ‘learn’d” in regard to the stars? Explain. What is the theme of the poem?  How does Whitman’s use of parallel structures in the first four lines reinforce the theme?  8. In no fewer than 200 words, respond to the following: How would this poem be different if it were written in verse with regular meter and line length?  In your response demonstrate that you know how to correctly use an MLA heading, cite and insert line breaks.   COPY OF CLASS HANDOUT- due Tuesday. Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences A group of words containing a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought is called a sentence or an independent clause. Sometimes, an independent clause stands alone as a sentence, and sometimes two independent clauses are linked together into what is called a compound sentence. Depending on the circumstances, one of two different punctuation marks can be used between the independent clauses in a compound sentence: a comma or a semicolon. The choice is yours. Comma (,) Use a comma after the first independent clause when you link two independent clauses with one of the following coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. For example: I am going home, and I intend to stay there. It rained heavily during the afternoon, but we managed to have our picnic anyway. They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark, so they decided to camp for the night. Semicolon (;) Use a semicolon when you link two independent clauses with no connecting words. For example: I am going home; I intend to stay there. It rained heavily during the afternoon; we managed to have our picnic anyway. They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; they decided to camp for the night. You can also use a semicolon when you join two independent clauses together with one of the following conjunctive adverbs (adverbs that join independent clauses): however, moreover, therefore, consequently, otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc. For example: I am going home; moreover, I intend to stay there. It rained heavily during the afternoon; however, we managed to have our picnic anyway. They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; therefore, they decided to camp for the night. Practice: 1. It is raining outside I will bring my umbrella with me. raining outside umbrella 2. Hopefully, the weather will change soon otherwise, the whole summer will go by without the sun shining. soon otherwise summer 3. She doesn't understand algebra therefore, she will probably not pass the math final. understand algebra therefore 4. We will play tennis tomorrow then we will go out for dinner. play tennis tomorrow 5. She had very high grades in high school she applied to Harvard University. grades school applied 6. Some colleges offer full time scholarships others do not. colleges time scholarships 7. There is a lot of financial aid around you just have to know where to look for it. lot aid around 8. Some institutions require a lot of financial support from parents some require only a little. support parents require 9. You should always choose a college according to whether you believe you'll be happy you're the one who will be attending for four years. college believe happy 10. It's such a beautiful day I will walk in Niagara Falls. beautiful day walk 11. He wanted to take a walk, so we drove to Niagara Falls and walked around the park. walk Falls no semicolon 12. She did the laundry she used the last of the laundry detergent. laundry up no semicolon 13. They both went swimming while they were on vacation in Mexico. swimming vacation no semicolon 14. They finished digging in the garden and planting flowers they admired their work. garden flowers no semicolon 15. To build the fence around the garden, they needed to dig trenches close to seven feet deep. garden trenches no semicolon 16. The garden contained vegetables they will harvest them in fall. vegetables them no semicolon 17. Their house and garden are extremely important to them that's why they take care of their property so well. garden them no semicolon 18. When planting impatiens, it's important to plant some in the sun and some in the shade because it's hard to tell how much of each they need. sun shade no semicolon 19. All of the garden tools are kept in the garage they are cleaned every spring. tools garage no semicolon 20. My favorite flower is forget-me-nots even though some people consider it a weed. forget-me-nots though no semicolon