Friday, November 6, 2015

AP Lit: Dubliners & Frankliners, Where We've Been, Where We're Going

Phew.

A very cool week and a very nutty week all at the same time.  Lots and lots of goings on of all different sorts.

We explored Dubliners via Literary 3x3s and crafting thesis statements.  We are doing much more deliberate work around thesis statements next week alongside our work with our Frankliners project that begins in earnest next week as well.  We will be balancing the analytical and the creative, the prose and the verse.

We've also given blogging an overhaul with revised expectations, a new rubric, and I think a much better all around experience for you folks.  To be clear: these changes are not because I'm disappointed in the work you've done on your blogs.  Quite to the contrary, I LOVE reading your work.  There have been several outstanding, highest of quality posts this fall already.  And there are more to come.

No, this change is to put emphasis on that quality and less on quantity.


Now, this week was paved with other good intentions of mine.  Let's try to rectify this now that we are at Friday.   Though I said in class, I never posted here, so now here it is:

This week Indie Book Projects are due.  (Thursday and Friday.)  As they come in, I'd love for people to share them.  It won't be a graded presentation, but a way to honor the thinking and creating and to also help us collectively experience the texts you are choosing.  

Also this week was a How to Read Lit Like a Prof Week.  We're a little behind in that regards, so we'll be doing two in a row here.  This week and next will both be How to Read Lit Like a Prof Weeks.   This week?  "Geography Matters." 

Next week?  "So Does Season."

For next class, and this is just stupid degrees of important, read Joyce's "The Dead", the last story in Dubliners.  We will see how well that one story functions as the end result of the others we have read, to see if the circuit holds true, to see if folk tales continue, to see if that one word (ssshhhh still a secret until end of the day on Friday)

Humanities: Test Driving the New Blog

Friday in Humanities . . .

We'll open with DreamTime.

Fill an index card with titles of movies that have never been made that you would love to see.

Fill the other side of the index card with titles of movies that have never been made that you NEVER want to see.

That'll warm up our brains to dive further into blogging today.  Your goal is to get a blog post up and choose which standards you'd like assessed.  Remember, you must also self assess before I will assess your work.

Here's the new blogging rubric.

Here's your creative blog post challenge for the week: Casting Call.

Soledad Pictures has announced a new version of Of Mice and Men to come out in the damn hot summer of 2017.  They are still casting.  Who should be in it?  Amplify your thinking by including clips to prove your casting choices are up to the task.  Amplify your demonstration of the reading by including a line of dialogue from the book that captures the character. Consider how images and links can help demonstrate your thinking.

In addition to your class blog, you may want to start your own passion-driven blog.  This may be entries from your current blog.  I recommend starting a new one, however, so you may try to build an audience.


SHOW YOUR LEARNING.

Blogging.
Due. Friday. 11.6.2015.

Study. Roots Quiz 1-4.
Due.  Thursday.  11.12.2015
Optional.  Roots-Based Word Product.
Due. Thursday. 11.12.2015

Star Wars Episode IV: Analysis & Connections

After we finish watching the film, use these Padlets to collect your thinking.  Use Google Image and Video search to find visuals to support your observations.


CHARACTER.
PLOT. 
SETTING.
After we analyze and break the film down, we want to make connections between the plot, the characters, and the setting of the film and other contexts in our world right now.

Those connections you can make in this Padlet here.




SHOW YOUR LEARNING.

Blog.
Posts Due. 11.6.15.
Option 1. Create a Star Wars themed logo for something you care about. Or mash-up something you care about with a logo. 
Examples: 

Option 2Create a scrolling narrative describing your day (or week). Mimic the tone/language of the Star Wars opening. 
Examples: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDI9c-15c00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKRIUiyF0N4

Option 3. Make an original cast list for Star Wars. Choose from people you know or another theme. (Hip-Hop Star Wars, NFL Star Wars, etc.)
Examples:
Alternative Star Wars Saga Cast


Links for This Week's Blogging