Flickr Poems and Quotation Samples

As part of our celebration of National Poetry Month, we're going to join some of the super-creative folks who've posted artsy photos of lines taken from famous poems on flickr, which is a photo-filled site.

You all are going to have a chance to recreate a line or two from a favorite poem or a poem from a favorite author. Freshmen, please keep in mind that your creative photo should somehow relate to your genre project. This could count as an art piece.

Sophomores, please keep in mind the themes for your vignette project. This piece could enhance one of your vignettes in a big way!

Junior and Seniors: You're going to recreate a line from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Make sure that you use the left side for this activity! Or, a simple google search should produce some quick suggestions!

To help you all in your understanding of what I'm looking for, I've included some pics of famous quotations that I used for a group project I've been working on for a class I'm currently taking. Please help me and Ms. G. brainstorm materials that you all may need to complete your project. I can get almost anything if you give me enough notice!

Making Twelfth Night Come Alive!

We read and acted out the rest of Act II in Twelfth Night. After that we got a little crafty! In order to really understand what is going on in Twelfth Night, it helps to see the characters and their relationships to one another. We made characters out of craft supplies so that we can display them and use them while we read and act!

Here they are!

After making our characters, we talked about "Poem In Your Pocket Day" which is on April 29th -- the Thursday after break. As a class, we have each chosen a poem we like (something someone else wrote or something original) and have emailed them to Mrs. DeRaps. We will be working with Mr. Fontaine in Digital Media to create iron-on transfers for our finished product on Tuesday. If all goes well we can wear them on Thursday! Yay for Poetry Bandits!

The House on Mango Street

Today we began The House on Mango Street. We talked about the vignette project a little more and looked another example. We went over the guidelines and then we began to read the book. We read up the first six vignettes (up to "Laughter") and we began a question packet we will be using throughout the book. The questions cover details about the plot but they also include many questions that will help you think about your own life. You will find that Esperanza, the main character, has a different life than yours. Even if that's true, there are common experiences we can all relate to. For example, there is a vignette about her name and what it means to her. We all have a name and maybe your name will be something you will want to write a vignette about for one of your chapters.

Sandra Cisneros, the author of The House on Mango Street.

The Five Senses Poem

We started our multigenre project today! The first thing we worked on was picking a theme that could be carried through the entire collection of writing. If you missed class today make sure you think about what you might want to write about. After a little brainstorming we started writing poetry. Today's poem was a sensory poem. Each line focuses on a different one of the five senses (smell, sight, taste, touch, hearing) and how your topic is related to them.

Here’s how to write a Five Senses Poem:

Line 1: Emotion or idea and what color it is
Line 2: What it tastes like
Line 3: What it sounds like
Line 4: What it smells like
Line 5: What it looks like (a comparison)
Line 6: How it makes you feel

There are examples available for you to look at if you want to, just ask Mrs. DeRaps or Ms. G!

Acting Twelfth Night

Today we continued Twelfth Night. We read and acted up to page 109. Things are becoming increasingly more like a Shakespearean comedy. The confusion between lovers is building, Sir Toby is making more appearances, and tricks are beginning to be played on certain characters.

At the end of the class we completed a 5 question exit ticket.

Beginning the Vignette Project

Today we began the vignette project that will accompany our reading of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

A vignette is "a short descriptive literary sketch ". It is like a short scene and generally focuses on one specific memory or moment. Because a vignette is so short, it helps so use rich, descriptive words. We talked about this and thought of some examples.

In class, we wrote about an everyday experience. Some examples were lunch at school, getting your first job, your first home and looking at clouds. We wrote a quick, short scene on a note card detailing this one moment in time.

Next, we wrote about an experience that is not so everyday. This is an experience that is unique to your life. This could be dealing with a possessive / jealous boyfriend or girlfriend, being somewhere where you don't speak the language, feeling endangered, or seeing a parent cry for the first time.

We wrote these mini-vignettes on note cards and read them to each other. We will continue this next class.

Words that could describe the school lunch in the picture: mushy, gloppy, putrid, slop-like, pungent, slippery, spongy, and choking. These are good descriptive words to use in a vignette.

The Tragic End of Romeo and Juliet

We finished Romeo and Juliet today. The lovers have met their fate (we finally get to see what the prologue told us would happen!) and many others have come to an untimely end.

When we finished we took a test over the book.
There were four sections:
1.) Matching -- who lives in what house?

2.) Quotes -- respond to quotes and tell what was happening in the play at this time

3.) Identify -- identify literary terms

4.) Vocab -- Write an acrostic poem or paragraph using 3 -5 vocab words
















On the right of this picture you can see an acrostic poem started. It spells "Tybalt" down the side and each letter is used to begin a line about the character.

Reminder: If you haven't brought in a binder already we must have these by Thursday or it will reflect in your grade!

Opinion Piece -- Facebook Fiasco

Today we completed an opinion piece. We discussed Facebook, Myspace and other social networks and whether or not the information posted on them should be used by others. Some specific people we talked about were prospective employers, scholarship committees, the police, and college officials. Ms. G talked about an incident involving Facebook that happened at the University of Maine at Farmington and she read some opinions of college students regarding the issue. After that, everyone worked on the opinion piece.

The Merchant of Venice -- we're done!

Today we finished The Merchant of Venice. We finally found out what happened to Shylock and Antonio and our ladies in disguise! We talked about the ending (which was not what everyone expected it to be) and then we revisited our "Trag - I - Comedy" Venn diagram.

Everyone wrote down one element of tragicomedy from the end of the play before class was over.

Romeo and Juliet -- we're up to page 205!

We are trying to finish Romeo and Juliet before April break, so we focused on being ready for your part today! We read up to page 205.

We added to our preditions now that we've learned more about our "star-crossed lovers".

We also completed and exit ticket!

Types of Comedy

Here are the results from our Think-Pair-Share about the definitions of various types of comedy.

High Comedy
- Focuses on upper class
- Based on making fun of upper class people
- Not physical, sophisticated language, witty, sophisticated setting

Low Comedy
- Depicts lower class people
- Drinking, vulgar language, lower class behavior, blue collar, slapstick/physical
comedy,

Dramatic Clown
- Entertains the king
- Court jester
- High comedy
- Smart, witty, double speak

Satire
- Uses irony and sarcasm
- Making fun of people
- Points out weaknesses of certain people or a society

Farce
- A little “out there”
- Situations are not believable or practical
- This comedy is not supposed to seem real

Shakespearean Comedy
- Plot is non-linear
- Confusing
- Love
- Cross dressing
- Humorous names

Tragic Flaw: In the Play and In Ourselves

On Tuesday we talked about the literary term tragic flaw. We decided that the definition of tragic flaw is “a personality trait or an action that leads to a character’s downfall”.

We also decided that we would definitely see Antonio and Shylock struggle with their tragic flaws in The Merchant of Venice.

Below are two quotes that show each character’s tragic flaw. Pick one quote to write more about and answer the questions at the end of the blog. Write your answers in your own class blog.

After Bassanio has concerns about the loan agreement, Antonio says:
“Don’t worry about it, man, I won’t have to pay any penalty. In two months – a month before this loan is due – I expect to earn more than three times that much from my investments.”
– page 39

This quote shows us a lot about the way that Antonio expects too much or "counts his chickens before they hatch".


Shylock, after being asked why he won’t show mercy and take money instead of a pound of flesh:
“… so I can’t give a reason, and I won’t give a reason (other than the simple hate and loathing I feel for Antonio) why I’m pursuing this unprofitable case against him. Does that answer your question?”
– page 167

This quote shows us a lot about how Shylock seems to let his emotions get the better of him and how those emotions may stop him from thinking clearly about decisions.

Questions for you to answer:

Look at the quotes from Shylock and Antonio and pick ONE question to respond to.
1.) How do Antonio’s expectations lead to his downfall?
OR
2.) How do Shylock’s emotions lead to his downfall?

Now think about your own personal life and your own tragic flaws. Pick ONE question to respond to.
1.) How has counting your chickens too soon ever gotten you in trouble or led to your downfall?
OR
2.) How have you let your emotions get in the way of your judgment and led to trouble or to your downfall?

If you can’t think of how you fit into either of these categories, think about your tragic flaw and write about that. Feel free to ask Mrs. DeRaps or Ms. G. for help!

For the last question, take a look at your tragic flaw.
1.) What can you do to make sure your tragic flaw doesn't lead to your downfall?

When you’re done with your answers, find a picture to attach to your blog that represents something you wrote about.

The Capulets and The Montagues Meet Again

Today we finished our vocab activity at the beginning of class and then continued onto read more of Romeo and Juliet. There were sword fights, near-death experiences, a visit from the Prince and our favorite dramatic friends, Romeo and Juliet. We read up to page 165 and we will begin next class with an exit ticket.
















Here is our interactive word wall for Romeo and Juliet!

What is comedy?

Today we're going to learn about comedy. Soon we will be reading Twelfth Night, which is a comic play by Shakespeare, and in order to really understand comedy, we need to understand different types of comedy. We also need to explore and think about the ways in which dramatic elements can be considered funny. In a Think-Pair-Share activity, you're going to use the links below to answer some questions at the end of this blog post.

Farce

Monty Python “Dead Parrot”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218&feature=related

Satire

South Park History of America/NRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLzo9pOXa-s

Dramatic Clown

The Movie The Court Jester
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr8hPi93xZQ

High Comedy

The Movie Clueless
http://www.jaman.com/movie/Clueless/0OK31mRjz_WU/

Low Comedy

2 And A Half Men -- “Cupcakes”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3u9OpyJYMk

Shakespearean Comedy

The Movie She's The Man
http://www.spike.com/video/shes-man-you-could/2703969

Questions

1.) With your partner read the definitions in the link for your term. After reading, work with your partner to create a definition you like that is easy for you to understand.

2.) Write your definition in your blog.

3.) Watch the clip associated with your term and answer the following questions in your blog:

- Why is this clip an example of your comic term?

- What makes it funny?

4.) Now watch the other clips and look at the other terms. Your goal is to understand what each type of comedy is about.

- Out of all of these kinds of comedy, what is your favorite?

- What is your least favorite?

________________________________________

After answering the questions everyone was assigned parts for Twelfth Night. each person was given a character and an understudy to make sure that there will always be someone to act each part.

We then read to page six in Twelfth Night.

Tragic Flaw and The Merchant of Vencie

Today we talked about the term "tragic flaw". First, we brainstormed about what the words "tragic" and "flaw" mean by themselves.















After that we thought about what it would mean if a person had a tragic flaw. We came up with one definition.

















As a class we decided that Shylock, Antonio and Bassanio may have tragic flaws. This is something to look for as we continue reading.

We read to page 183 and completed an exit ticket before the end of class. We are now in court to see how much Shylock will stick to the contract!

Romeo and Juliet and Vocab

Today we read to page 131 in Romeo and Juliet. We met Friar Lawrence and Romeo has asked for Juliet's hand in marriage. When you read you'll find out if the young couple will be allowed to marry and if so, who will be willing to marry them with such a fierce hatred between the two families?





























After we read we began a vocabulary activity using prefixes and roots found in the pages we have read so far.

Writing About The World Part 2

Here are some pictures from class. This shows how we put the globe together.















First we cut out our answers to the questions on the last blog post.















Then we put on a layer of Mod-Podge (kind of like glue).

We pasted our words down on different parts of the globe and added another layer of Mod-Podge over the paper.

We had to be careful to cover each word carefully with the Mod-Podge or the paper would stick up or fall off.

We broke the globe into 3 sections. The top was for our words about the present day, the middle was for our futures and the bottom was for our answers about the past.

Here is what it looks like so far! Those of you who were absent -- we left you plenty of room for your thoughts and answers to the questions!

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Our book of the week comes from Laurie Halse Anderson, a successful author of YA lit. I've read all of her books now, including Speak, Prom, Fever 1793, Chains and Twisted. She has another book called Wintergirls coming out this month, so stay tuned if she's one of your favorites.

The major way that Twisted differs from her other titles is that it is told from a teen boy's perspective. Tyler, the main character, was a dork in high school until he is caught defacing the school with misspelled graffiti. Once he has a parole officer and is forced to complete community service, his status changes. Suddenly, the girl of his dreams no longer ignores him. This is a turn for the better on one hand, because he really wants to get with her, but it's also a negative turn because when something horrible happens to her he is the first one accused.

What I truly enjoyed about this book was getting to know Tyler. He was a pretty funny character and seemed to speak and think like an actual teen. The plot was not the most exciting, but I definitely wanted to find out what would happen to him in the end. I found myself rooting for him, nervous that he would not find a way out of his troubles when times got too tough for him. This is not a long book, but it's not short either. It's not super thrilling, but seems realistic. I think you'll like Tyler once you meet him. He's a good guy.

Writing About the World

This is our world.
Well, this is really our globe made out of a beach ball, newspaper and paint but we're going to make it bigger and better.

Today you're going to write in stream of consciousness format. “Stream of consciousness” means that you write without punctuation and traditional sentences. It’s kind of like a list, but in paragraph form.

You are exploring our world and the world that Fahrenheit 451. You are going to write about the past, the present and the future.
Answer the following questions in a stream of consciousness format.

PAST
On page 163, Granger talks about the Phoenix, a bird that continually burns to ashes and then regenerates. From our history as a nation and on this planet, what lessons are we in danger of repeating if we don’t pay attention?



PRESENT


What makes our world a dystopia?

What makes our world a utopia?



FUTURE


As Granger says on page 156, we all “need to leave something behind” when we die. What do you hope to leave behind when you die?

After you've answered the questions read through your work again and pick out some words. Pick words that really mean something and stand out to you. What words feel powerful when you read them? Which words to you simply like and want to highlight? Make those words bigger.

When you're done play around with the format of your writing. Put some words in different fonts. Make some words big. Make some words tiny. Make your writing look cool so that when we add it to our globe we will have all sorts of different words covering the whole thing.

Quote from The Merchant of Venice

Today we looked at quotes from The Merchant of Venice and decided if they showed elements of tragedy, comedy or tragicomedy. Everyone was split into groups where they discussed their quote and decided if it related to tragedy, comedy or tragicomedy. Then we talked about why they fit that category.

After that, we read and acted up to page 137 of The Merchant of Venice.