September 30, 2013

Poetry

Why do students hate poetry? 

1. Confusing
2. Tends to use complex, indirect language
3. Requires thinking
4. People are looking for the easy answer
5. Can be boring
6. Maybe it’s too deep
7. Maybe they can’t relate to the poems they get
8. They are forced to study it in school
9. Don’t understand the language used
10. They always get it given to them as WORK - analysis

First Step

Finding poetry that isn’t automatically a problem. 

Teach a pattern to analyse poetry more easily. You can apply the pattern and have more comfort in the work.

Figure other ways to “study” poetry that will also help. 

Find poems that are more relatable and understandable in your life. 

Contextualize the poetry. Putting the story into the poem or seeing the story around the poem.

Charles Bukowski - poet

Wrote in the 50s and 60s and 70s.

Knowing that influences how we see his work.

When we read his work, we can think about who is this guy? Where was he? What was his life like? And this gives us more to think about and enjoy. 

Bukowski is the opposite of the effete, British, dandy character writing about his feelings in some incomprehensible way

Bukowski is just a person - he is a man in a place who has a lot of thoughts and writes them down in a direct, powerful way. 

Charles Bukowski (1920 - 1994)

I Met A Genius

I met a genius on the train
today
about 6 years old,
he sat beside me
and as the train
ran down along the coast
we came to the ocean
and then he looked at me
and said,
it's not pretty.

it was the first time I'd
realized
that.

September 26, 2013

I am a BLOG

This is my email.

This is my mom and me and I.

The Host - Japanese host culture (answering the question - some people explained the Host thing, that is incorrect - explain the motivation of the women who use that service)

(this is a common teacher trick - don’t get bogged down explaining the subject, when the question is an application of the subject)

Paragraph of creative writing - a setting place with a lot of emotion and description

Pre-reading Strategy - reading for a certain area of concentration

Reading the story

Group Prep for the areas of focus

Rough Work in groups

Create Qs

Create As in groups

September 25, 2013

The Boat - Story Story Summative

Read the short story called The Boat p. 261
This will be a group presentation (mark will be individual)
Make observations, conclusions that you will be presenting
Design questions that you will answer. Questions will be part of your mark

What questions do you need to hit?

theme - chase
setting - alyssa
plot - kieran
characterization - kieran
symbolism - owen
character arch- maddie
character motivation - conner
character change - maddie
Making connections between story and his life, story and real life- chase & owen
Style, structure, format - conner

Your group must:

create some kind of multimedia presentation - google docs, prezi, powerpoint, keynote
have multimedia components - pics, music, video, text
have at least one complex discussion point per person - NOT simple explicit question/answer
you will be exchanging question within your group
there will be some kind of self and group analysis. Why did what, how did it go, who did what, what worked well

Level 4 

hitting the bulk of those 10 points in good balance
using the group wisely to help you - individual marks - prepare in group
detail - go into depth in your explanation when you’re making a point
try to avoid cliches, example the mother was caring (I know. go deeper)
make associations that add interest and creativity (but aren’t too outlandish)

September 24, 2013

Theme

What do you know about it already?

a common response is “The moral of the story.”
what is a moral? “A lesson you learn from a story.”
learning is figuring out what YOU would do in a given situation
learning is getting new information that YOU can use for some purpose that YOU have
learning is building a new framework for your thinking and decision-making

What does theme have to do with YOU?

a moral is not a theme
maybe it’s the main idea
what is an idea? a thought or suggestion
the author might have this thought or idea AND then the reader has his/her own

The theme is the interpretation of meaning that the reader gets from a story.

There is a NEGOTIATION OF MEANING in finding a theme.

A story will have something like a soul in it. A bunch of ideas or thoughts or a way of looking at the world - and a good reader can figure that out

However, the reader ALSO HAS ALL OF THOSE THINGS. And the reader APPLIES his/her own way of looking at the world at that story.

That means that there is no “only answer”.

Some answers are more correct than others.

The only way to know is by proving your view. Or answer. Or opinion. Or essay. Or paragraph. Etc.

It’s all about the negotiation of meaning. Finding the way to show that you’re right.

A theme is like an attitude that applies to the world, people, a subject.

It’s a universal concept, in many cases.

A theme is never said in one word - it’s more complex than that.

What do you think could be the theme of Come to Daddy by Aphex Twin?

Come up with some thematic possibilities and some proofs.
it’s got something to do with growing up and becoming like their parents
the children have the same face as their “father”
this symbolizes growing up to become what you are raised with (or whom you are raised by)
the children are behaving in a way that seems to suggest that they are proud of the “father” character, even though it’s terrifying - thematic element - we don’t recognize when we’re being brought up with something negative - children can be imprinted with negative behaviours or learning and not know it
people with certain beliefs or ideas may be frightening to others and may be dangerous in defense of their beliefs - (harder to prove)
Come to Daddy - daddy - a god-like character? there literally was a rebirth or a birth of some kind - the disturbing daddy character - religious element?
thematic elements about death and aging and the breaking down of our bodies and weakness and the strength of youth
the entire of this is HOOKED BY THE TV
understanding the TV opens the entire theme idea - the TV IS DADDY
the children are being programmed, they were “made in his image”
the TV is their god
the TV represents the media - games, TV, shows, movies, etc
kids are controlled by the media, and the media is SCARY and DARK and is a literal monster
one aspect of thinking can link ALL the elements into a clear meaning

The title might help with theme - Karma Police
Symbolism helps with theme - symbolic meanings are often loading into theme

The Blues Merchant - theme

Come up with some thematic material - observations, symbolic elements, ideas, possibilities, etc

Rough work on theme (brainstorming)

September 23, 2013

Character - check
Plot - check

Setting

isn’t just where, it is when
this isn’t all that setting is
setting provides a bunch of RULES for the story
ie in Man of Steel - there is an alien planet, aliens, super powers, etc.
the setting of the movie ALLOWS for all those things without the audience being skeptical
things seem fake if the setting isn’t built correctly
our expectations for what CAN happen come from setting, among a few other things
eg Disney movies are set in places where UNREAL things are expected - ie talking animals, etc
in general, the setting brings possibilities and likelihoods and expectations
ie cemetery - brings a particular set of story possibilities
a good setting can be a shortcut for the reader to already set things up

setting evokes MOOD and ATMOSPHERE
using words to enhance our sense of place will also give us a deeper sense of feeling about a place - VICARIOUS (remember?)

setting can be SYMBOLIC - there are some CLASSIC symbolic elements in settings
Friday the 13th (movie) the setting is Camp Crystal Lake - what could it symbolize?
could symbolize isolation, fun (ruined), crystal ball - seeing things more clearly? realizing what they did? the water can also represent some kind of religious baptism and then a rebirth - the water is broken around him as he emerges
the most common settings that are symbols are obvious
eg forest/wilderness = no rules, danger
eg city by night = danger/crime/craziness
eg farm = simplicity/honesty
What could THIS setting represent? (where THIS = any given story you’re reading)

BLOG ASSIGNMENT: write a descriptive paragraph about a place you know, or like, or hate, that you think could be a) well-described and b) symbolic in some way

Brainstorm a list of descriptive words that would be useful in that paragraph
Think about phrases and terms that will help
Think about types of description - FIVE SENSES - can you hit
Details in the place - be specific - good description is all about details

September 18, 2013

We are experts in Character and in the analysis thereof!

Time for PLOT.

Rehash - secondary characters - support the main character(s)
they either help or hinder the main character’s goal (or motivation)

Rehash - job of the main character - to advance story, to give us a POV (we “ride” in his/her mind), CHANGE (we learn something and we are entertained)

Interesting push into For Mataji - the POV is interesting

Plot -

we are going deep here

Plot is the storyline.

Plot is made up of the events that take place.

Plot is what happens.

Plot is also what the characters do.

Plot can be CHARACTER-DRIVEN - the character TAKES ACTION

Plot can be FATE-DRIVEN - the character receives the action

Bob makes a decision, does something, and there is a response -> A REACTION.

ACTION -> REACTION

This is called a CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP.

There is a series of causal steps that leads to a great CRISIS in most stories.

That crisis IS the point of the story.

It’s the resolution of those decisions, actions and events.

A + B = C + D = E + F = and so on to the end.

Dialectics is a philosophical belief in the power of CONFLICT and OPPOSITION

A situation plus something that breaks that situation leads to a new situation.

Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis

Try to think about this conceptually - the idea is that things only progress and change and grow through direct contact with opposing energy

Fire is a good thing that comes from the destruction of other things.

That is what plot is all about. No conflict = no progress.

This is also true in our lives.

State A (the status quo) + State B (disruption) = Progress (positive change)

Hey! It looks like the plot line is the outside factor that causes a lead character to change!

Plot is a series of events designed to force action and change onto a lead character.

The lead character’s decisions and reactions ARE the point.

Imagine a story as a testing ground for the lead character

What is he/she learning? What are WE learning by riding around in that POV?

Plot as Fate

There is another kind of plot structure.

Events acting on characters and forcing change from the outside in a more Fate-driven way.

Classic - survival stories are good examples of this - the testing ground part is really obvious in these stories

The Grey is a good example - the wolves represent NATURE, which is harsh

winter, hunger, creatures, night, fear, violence, inner doubt, etc.

All this comes in reaction to the giant forces of Fate.

Nature is the ultimate testing ground

The problems are basic - remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Plot as character-driven

Characters working against each other and creating problems and testing each other through similar or competing motivations.

Competition movies - we all want the same thing! motivation is the same, they want an X

Good guy/Bad guy movies - we want opposite things - Good guy wants peace and harmony, bad guy wants death and chaos

Think about the best movie or TV show you’ve ever seen.

Then, I want you to jot down the 5-10 most exciting things you would tell someone when talking about that movie or TV show.

September 18, 2013

Get an iPad.

Try to make a blog!

(use a computer)

Try to send me an email TODAY

we need to do this before we can progress

Remember that one student who was lazy? Maybe that student could upgrade his/her blog post, and so could you?!

For Mataji -

Q’s 1,3,4 on page 283

September 17, 2013

Motivation

not like “Hey, Tina! You can do it!”

why do we do what we do?
why does Character A do what she does?

the best part of English class is the the answers are similar
the root of why is what motivation is

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

this is ONE way to think about the reasoning behind character actions
it’s actually a good one -
there are many other ways, but we will start with this and think about how it could apply to stories we read
the way to apply it is not to say “according to Maslow’s blah blah blah”
the way is to say something like “when we are afraid for our lives, we behave like X” and THEN you refer to Maslow to support YOUR statement




Then, make that character and motivations chart for the 4 stories we've read thus far.

I can't put my examples chart in here, but you know what I mean:

Story Name - Character Name - Motivational Drive

Read Twins and do that motivation check above. 

Also for Twins:

There is a great twist here.

1. Was there any foreshadowing or hint that this twist was forthcoming?

2. What do you think the title means? What is the irony implicit in this title?

(do you know what irony means?)