Today we listened to this song then each wrote a fable to interpret it. We came up with a range of responses and different "morals." Then we looked back at the lyrics to see which ones were the basis of our interpretation. By looking back at the words, discussing aspects of the lyrics including repetition and word choice, we were able to see how our interpretations grew out of the text. Great job!
Friday, December 14, 2012
One more pop song
Today we listened to this song then each wrote a fable to interpret it. We came up with a range of responses and different "morals." Then we looked back at the lyrics to see which ones were the basis of our interpretation. By looking back at the words, discussing aspects of the lyrics including repetition and word choice, we were able to see how our interpretations grew out of the text. Great job!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Re-thinking pop songs as fables
Greetings!
Sadly, I'm out sick today and not able to celebrate 12-12-12 with you. I hope you enjoy it!
For today, we will be using the form of fables to explore the idea of voice in our writing.
First, read these few short fables from Aesop's Fables - a childhood classic:
You can see that the form is pretty basic - a simple (yet ultimately complex) story is told, using animals or natural elements in place of humans. It is followed by a statement of a moral truth.
For today, you will revisit the pop songs you chose to write about last Friday. Start by re-reading what you wrote (if you were out you still need to complete that step before moving ahead).
Then, re-write each one as a fable, substituting an animal or natural object for the people in the song. Be sure to change it from a song lyric to a story, like in the examples above.
Also, be sure to have a moral at the end!
After you post these onto your blog, write out answers to these questions at the bottom of the blog post:
1- Why did you choose the animals you did?
2- In what ways is your story similar to / different from the original song?
3- What did you learn about the original song by re-writing it into this form?
If there is time left at the end, check out what other people posted onto their blogs!
Sadly, I'm out sick today and not able to celebrate 12-12-12 with you. I hope you enjoy it!
For today, we will be using the form of fables to explore the idea of voice in our writing.
First, read these few short fables from Aesop's Fables - a childhood classic:
The Fox and the Grapes
One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard
till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which
had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench
my thirst," quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and
a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a
One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again
and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to
give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I
am sure they are sour."
It is easy to despise what you cannot get.
|
The Wind and the Sun
The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger.
Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the road, and the Sun
said: "I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can
cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as
the stronger. You begin." So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and
the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller.
But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his
cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair.
Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the
traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.
Kindness effects more than severity.
|
The Hare and the Tortoise
A HARE one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the
Tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the
wind, I will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing her
assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and
they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the
goal. On the day appointed for the race the two started
together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on
with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course.
The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last
waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise
had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her
fatigue.
Slow but steady wins the race.
|
You can see that the form is pretty basic - a simple (yet ultimately complex) story is told, using animals or natural elements in place of humans. It is followed by a statement of a moral truth.
For today, you will revisit the pop songs you chose to write about last Friday. Start by re-reading what you wrote (if you were out you still need to complete that step before moving ahead).
Then, re-write each one as a fable, substituting an animal or natural object for the people in the song. Be sure to change it from a song lyric to a story, like in the examples above.
Also, be sure to have a moral at the end!
After you post these onto your blog, write out answers to these questions at the bottom of the blog post:
1- Why did you choose the animals you did?
2- In what ways is your story similar to / different from the original song?
3- What did you learn about the original song by re-writing it into this form?
If there is time left at the end, check out what other people posted onto their blogs!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Syntax and Rhetoric in pop songs
Greetings!
I'm out of town today, as you might recall. Here's the plan:
I'm out of town today, as you might recall. Here's the plan:
- Spend 10 mintues looking through the blogs of other students in the class to read what they wrote about the JFK inaugural speech. Feel free to leave comments.
- It's time to look at the lyrics of some of your favorite songs!
- Think of a few songs you really like - current, classic rock, whatever - as long as there are lyrics!
- Do an internet search for the lyrics. Choose one song to use first.
- Copy the lyrics into a new post on your blog.
- Open up this document - it's the one we used to list the rhetorical elements of the JFK speech. Complete the chart based on the lyrics for your song.
- In the same blog post as the lyrics, write a rhetorical analysis of the song! What are the different rhetorical techniques the song uses? What is their effect on the feel and meaning of the song? Based on this look at the language, what are you now noticing in the song that you might have missed the first time around?
- After you do this for one song, repeat it for one more song - put your responses into a new blog post.
- When you are done, spend the rest of the period reading what songs other people put onto their blogs, and feel free to comment.
- *Something cool - if you want to insert a YouTube clip of your song into your post, us the little movie clapboard icon - it's right up there two to the right of "link" - that way we can listen to your song while reading what you had to say about it!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Syntax, Rhetoric, Thanksgiving, and JFK
Today you'll start by browsing through the blogs of other people in the class. You'll find links to them all on the Home page of the class blog. Read their entry about Thanksgiving, and feel free to leave a comment afterwards.
Then, we'll shift our attention to look at the ways in which syntax and rhetorical devices play a role in yet another political speech - this time, we'll examine John F. Kennedy's inauguration speech from 1961.
First, read the introduction to the speech on the first page of this document.
Then, we'll listen to the speech while you follow along. Here is a link to a video of it.
Next, download this document which lists a variety of different rhetorical devices JFK uses in his speech. Spend some time completing it, listing at least one example for each category.
Next you'll look at this document to see the changes between the suggestions JFK received from his closest advisors and the final version he delivered.
Lastly, you'll write an analysis of the speech:
Then, we'll shift our attention to look at the ways in which syntax and rhetorical devices play a role in yet another political speech - this time, we'll examine John F. Kennedy's inauguration speech from 1961.
First, read the introduction to the speech on the first page of this document.
Then, we'll listen to the speech while you follow along. Here is a link to a video of it.
Next, download this document which lists a variety of different rhetorical devices JFK uses in his speech. Spend some time completing it, listing at least one example for each category.
Next you'll look at this document to see the changes between the suggestions JFK received from his closest advisors and the final version he delivered.
Lastly, you'll write an analysis of the speech:
- look at the different rhetorical devices he uses
- look at the difference between the suggestions and the final version of the speech
- choose two sections to analyze / explain:
- How does the language Kennedy used in his inauguration speech affect and play a role in the meaning of it?
Please type out your response and post it to your blog. I'll read it and give feedback to you there!!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Thoughts on Thanksgivng
Thanksgiving was earlier than usual this year. I hope you enjoyed your break and time with family and friends. Because we did not get a chance to meet beforehand, we'll take some time today to think about this American Holiday by examining what different people have to say about it.
Go to your blog and start a new post (give it a title that has something to do with Thanksgiving) with few minutes of writing about what Thanksgiving means to you and why you think it is a holiday.
Next, read one of these editorials and add to your post with a response explaining what this other essay is saying about Thanksgiving
Then, go to this website and read one of the Presidential proclamations about Thanksgiving and write another part of your post explaining what this proclamation is saying about the holiday and its importance.
Go to your blog and start a new post (give it a title that has something to do with Thanksgiving) with few minutes of writing about what Thanksgiving means to you and why you think it is a holiday.
Next, read one of these editorials and add to your post with a response explaining what this other essay is saying about Thanksgiving
Then, go to this website and read one of the Presidential proclamations about Thanksgiving and write another part of your post explaining what this proclamation is saying about the holiday and its importance.
Finally, compare and contrast the syntax used in these three different views of Thanksgiving.
Syntax is the "grammatical structures in a piece of writing. This includes the phrases, the classes, the sentences, and the relationships that exist among them" (Heller). It is understanding where the author is putting her / his emphasis and how that happens: "By manipulating the sentence structure, writers emphasize key images, the tone, diction, or pace - all of which help the reader understand the writing's larger purpose."
Write a paragraph explaining this comparison / contrast, being sure to explain what each author is emphasizing and how s/he achieves it.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart" and Syntax
First, read Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart."
Next, on your blog, write a new post to answer the question I put at the end of the story:
Next, on your blog, write a new post to answer the question I put at the end of the story:
- Write a paragraph explaining how Edgar Allan Poe conveys the sense that the narrator is mad and that his motivations are not grounded in reality.
- Please be sure to give your post a title including the name of the story.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
"This Is Water" speech
Greetings!
As you can see, I'm out today. I do wish I could be there to talk with you about the speech you are about to read and write about, because it is one of my favorites. We'll have the chance to talk about it next week when I return.
The author David Foster Wallace gave this as the commencement address at Kenyon in 2005. You'll start class today by reading the text of it: you'll find the full text of the speech here.
Next, you'll write a page (or more) explaining his use of pathos, logos, and ethos in the speech. Refer back to the handout from the other day for complete definitions of those words, or you can click here for a look at a website we used earlier.
Type this out (and save it!) during the rest of the period this morning, print it out, and give it to the sub by the end of the period.
Enjoy - I'm looking forward to what you have to say! (And to our dance party next week!)
As you can see, I'm out today. I do wish I could be there to talk with you about the speech you are about to read and write about, because it is one of my favorites. We'll have the chance to talk about it next week when I return.
The author David Foster Wallace gave this as the commencement address at Kenyon in 2005. You'll start class today by reading the text of it: you'll find the full text of the speech here.
Next, you'll write a page (or more) explaining his use of pathos, logos, and ethos in the speech. Refer back to the handout from the other day for complete definitions of those words, or you can click here for a look at a website we used earlier.
Type this out (and save it!) during the rest of the period this morning, print it out, and give it to the sub by the end of the period.
Enjoy - I'm looking forward to what you have to say! (And to our dance party next week!)
Friday, October 12, 2012
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Ehtos - Pathos - Logos
To help keep track of these terms, refer to this website.
Today, we'll watch / read excerpts from last night's debate between the candidates for Vice President and analyze how they built their arguments.
To help keep track of these terms, refer to this website.
Today, we'll watch / read excerpts from last night's debate between the candidates for Vice President and analyze how they built their arguments.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Characterization
How do we define character?
In class we read the original Grimm Brothers version of "Cinderella" which you can find here.
To write about characterization in the story, you chose a character then selected three details about then. In a paragraph you explained each detail then reached a conclusion about the character.
- Descriptions
- physical
- personality
- Interactions with others
- Influence on others
- Points of view
- values
- beliefs
- how they see the world
- How they speak
- tone
- speech patterns
- body language
- language they use
- What others think
- Back story
- childhood
- explanations for their current state
- Actions
In class we read the original Grimm Brothers version of "Cinderella" which you can find here.
To write about characterization in the story, you chose a character then selected three details about then. In a paragraph you explained each detail then reached a conclusion about the character.
Friday, September 21, 2012
You're such a character!
Today we'll start our exploration of the concept of characterization - and we'll do it with a creative activity!
Start by brainstorming a list of your favorite characters from movies, books, legends - whatever.
Choose one to work with today.
Then, head over to Google and sign in.
Go to "documents" or "drive" - listed in the toolbar on the top of the page.
On the left hand side of the page, click "create" and pull down to "presentation."
You will be creating a power-point style presentation about your chosen character. The functions here are all pretty straightforward - the toolbar will help you create your slides.
Start browsing the internet - you are looking for quotations and pictures associated with your character to use in your slideshow.
Part of the fun here is to choose pictures that reveal aspects of your character without specifically showing or naming her/him. The same goes for quotations. Choose things they said, or were said about them, but try to avoid making it too obvious.
The idea is we'll all view these presentations and try to guess who the character is, based on the quotations (language) and images you assemble.
So, when you are done (10 or so slides?) you will "share" your document. How? On the upper right-hand corner you'll see a "share" button - click it. The default setting is "private" - click on that and change it to "anyone who has this link." Then, copy the URL at the top of the window and paste it into an e-mail to me.
I'll collect all of these, post them onto the blog, and we'll all be able to check them all out.
Enjoy!
Start by brainstorming a list of your favorite characters from movies, books, legends - whatever.
Choose one to work with today.
Then, head over to Google and sign in.
Go to "documents" or "drive" - listed in the toolbar on the top of the page.
On the left hand side of the page, click "create" and pull down to "presentation."
You will be creating a power-point style presentation about your chosen character. The functions here are all pretty straightforward - the toolbar will help you create your slides.
Start browsing the internet - you are looking for quotations and pictures associated with your character to use in your slideshow.
Part of the fun here is to choose pictures that reveal aspects of your character without specifically showing or naming her/him. The same goes for quotations. Choose things they said, or were said about them, but try to avoid making it too obvious.
The idea is we'll all view these presentations and try to guess who the character is, based on the quotations (language) and images you assemble.
So, when you are done (10 or so slides?) you will "share" your document. How? On the upper right-hand corner you'll see a "share" button - click it. The default setting is "private" - click on that and change it to "anyone who has this link." Then, copy the URL at the top of the window and paste it into an e-mail to me.
I'll collect all of these, post them onto the blog, and we'll all be able to check them all out.
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Analyzing the tone of President Obama's speech
Last night President Obama delivered a speech accepting the Democratic nomination.
Your task today is to analyze the tone of the speech using some of the words we've been working with in class. You can find copies of those words under the "class handouts" tab.
Start by reading these excerpts from the speech. While reading, keep track of some of the different types of tone you detect in the speech.
When you are finished you will write an analysis of the speech's tone.
Start with an assertion - a thesis - about the speech, naming three words to describe what you see as the speech's tone. For example, you might say, "President Obama's speech was sarcastic, clinical, and bombastic."
Then, continue your writing by using examples (quotations) from the speech to support the three words in your assertion. Be sure to explain which words in the speech link to the tone you are asserting. This is the analysis of your evidence that will help to prove your point.
You should write all of this in a new document - be sure to save frequently! Print it out when you are finished and I'll collect them by the end of the period.
Your task today is to analyze the tone of the speech using some of the words we've been working with in class. You can find copies of those words under the "class handouts" tab.
Start by reading these excerpts from the speech. While reading, keep track of some of the different types of tone you detect in the speech.
When you are finished you will write an analysis of the speech's tone.
Start with an assertion - a thesis - about the speech, naming three words to describe what you see as the speech's tone. For example, you might say, "President Obama's speech was sarcastic, clinical, and bombastic."
Then, continue your writing by using examples (quotations) from the speech to support the three words in your assertion. Be sure to explain which words in the speech link to the tone you are asserting. This is the analysis of your evidence that will help to prove your point.
You should write all of this in a new document - be sure to save frequently! Print it out when you are finished and I'll collect them by the end of the period.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Books Are Here!
I'm excited to announce that the book for our class has finally arrived!
It is called AP* English Bound and is now available in the DHS bookstore for $30. Please get a copy soon - we will start using it next week.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tone and Political Speeches
Last time we introduced the concept of tone. We read speeches by Ann Romney and Gov. Chris Christie delievered at the Republican National Convention. Today we'll read the speech delivered by the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.
You'll find the text of his speech here.
After reading the speech, add a comment below, naming what you consider to be its tone. Use two or three different tone words, accompanied by two or three quotations from the speech.
Next, you'll choose a news source from the list below. Look for the story about Governor Romney's speech and read that article. You are looking for the ways in which they describe the speech, specifically its tone (they'll probably comment on a lot of things, from the specific policies to what he had to say about President Obama, but we are looking at the tone, not the content).
After you read what they had to say, add another comment to the thread below. Name which article you read (and the website) then write a brief description of how they saw it. Include at least one quotation from that source.
http://abcnews.go.com/
http://www.cbsnews.com/
http://www.cnn.com/
http://www.foxnews.com/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.usatoday.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
You'll find the text of his speech here.
After reading the speech, add a comment below, naming what you consider to be its tone. Use two or three different tone words, accompanied by two or three quotations from the speech.
Next, you'll choose a news source from the list below. Look for the story about Governor Romney's speech and read that article. You are looking for the ways in which they describe the speech, specifically its tone (they'll probably comment on a lot of things, from the specific policies to what he had to say about President Obama, but we are looking at the tone, not the content).
After you read what they had to say, add another comment to the thread below. Name which article you read (and the website) then write a brief description of how they saw it. Include at least one quotation from that source.
http://abcnews.go.com/
http://www.cbsnews.com/
http://www.cnn.com/
http://www.foxnews.com/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.usatoday.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
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