PACE: Introducing the Pitching Power Project & More Introducing of Macbeth

We'll start with a NoRedInk.com MUGS quiz over Commonly Confused Words #1.

Remember, if you are not satisfied with the degree of your understanding, study, come to me for extra help and explanation, look for examples online, show me evidence of practice and I will let you retake the quiz to show your growth.

From there, we will explore Macbeth by looking at some famous lines from the play in one of the tools in the Google Drive.  We'll try to determine what the line might be saying without having seen or read the rest of the play.  The idea is to make a prediction based on an interpretation of the words and then see if it bears out.   These are fairly famous lines -- let's see if we can figure out why.

You will then have time to work on your teaser posters.  Think about how using a line of dialogue could transform those posters.

Finally, we can talk more about the projects.  There are some more parts and pieces in the Google Drive to look at - show bible examples and such. And you can see the rubric that will be updated next week here.

HOMEWORK
Blog: 3+ Posts

Req'd Blog Post: Create a teaser poster for a new film version of Macbeth.  Look at these examples of teaser posters, posters intended to generate interest well in advance of a movie coming out.  They tend to be very minimal and only hint and suggest as what is to come in the film.  They also tend to rely and on people already being somewhat familiar with the characters and/or story.

Examples of teaser posters here.

AP Lit: The Boarding House & Hamlet

Today in class we will return to Hamlet.  Act III.

Then it is all about "The Boarding House," our third reading from Joyce's Dubliners. We will do an activity in which we draw out the characters from the short story and then prove our choices using textual evidence.

We'll follow this with some work on applying the drawing activity to more traditional analysis.

HOMEWORK

Blog: 3+ Posts
Req'd Post #1:
Using a tool such a Polyvore.com or Pinterest or even just by finding images from various sources, design the wardrobe for one character from each of the following stories by Joyce. Include an explanation for each.  For an added challenge, try to find commonalities or visual connections between them.  Joyce created a collection of stories, try to think of the same as you complete this work.
"Eveline"
"Araby"
"The Boarding House" 

Req'd Post #2:

Read and Annotate "How to Read Literature Like a Prof" Chap 22.  "He's Blind for a Reason You Know" 

Indie Book Projects:

Due Wednesday, Jan 29

Graded Class Discussion Wednesday

MUGS: Apostrophes #3

Quiz: Apostrophes 3

Due: Friday, Jan 31

PACE: A Fresh Start for Some, A Continuing Journey for Others

Today, we start our grammar work with MUGS.

Here's how it works:

MUGS (Mechanics, Usage, Grammar & Spelling) Learning and Assessing

Every Monday, you will receive a new assignment and grammar focus on NoRedInk.com. You can choose to complete that assignment or not.  It is formative.  It does not count toward your standards grades.

Every Friday, you will have a quiz over that grammar focus.  This will count toward your standards grades.

You may retake any quiz as many times as you like, as long as you first demonstrate evidence that you have practiced and increased your knowledge by using NoRedInk.com or other resources.

For Example

I take the quiz.  I am unsure of my thinking and skills.  I do not meet standard, scoring a 55 on the quiz. 

So, I use NoRedInk and complete some of the practice exercises.  I take screenshots and send them to Mr. Ryder, who can also monitor student activity on NoRedInk.com.   

Mr. Ryder makes another version of the quiz for me take.  I take and exceed the standard by getting them all correct. 

At the end of the 3rd quarter, the MODE (most frequent) of the scores will be recorded as your MUGS grade.  You will also have MUGS scores from other products (writings, projects) included in the quarter.

After getting set up on MUGS, we will watch a very short film.  Actually, it's a music video from the band, Woodkid.


Woodkid "Run Boy Run" from WOODKID on Vimeo.

We'll do a little activity to see if we can the whole story of this video in as few words as possible.

(Here's what we came up with.)

Which leads us to .  . .

Macbeth.

Macbeth is a long play by William Shakespeare.

Here's the whole thing.

We will read a version that is only 32-seconds long.

The film version we will watch leaves a great deal out.  It was made in 28 days and by one of the greatest filmmakers that ever lived. (Legit.  Orson Welles.  Look him up.)

Here's the whole thing.

Macbeth - Orson Welles from Elariooo on Vimeo.

We will watch a little at a time, discuss, and follow along with the text to see where things change and why.

Now, you have everything you need to go at your own PACE on this work.  There is a folder in the PACE OUT folder with the script, a Spark Notes study guide, and the film.  We'll be working with the play for the next several weeks, so if you want to follow teacher PACE, great! If you want to work through the play on your own terms, AWESOME!  We'll be talking about the teacher PACE project this week and you can choose from there if that's what you'd like to make or if you have other ideas in mind.

HOMEWORK
Blog: 3+ Posts

Req'd Blog Post: Create a teaser poster for a new film version of Macbeth.  Look at these examples of teaser posters, posters intended to generate interest well in advance of a movie coming out.  They tend to be very minimal and only hint and suggest as what is to come in the film.  They also tend to rely and on people already being somewhat familiar with the characters and/or story.

Examples of teaser posters here.

MUGS: Commonly Confused Words 1

Quiz: Friday, Jan 31

All Classes: 1901 - A Three Minute Movie About History

Thoughts?  Does this demonstrate whether or not the filmmaker really knows and understands what happened?  Is it just a cool bit of filmmaking?  Or does it mean the filmmaker really had to consider which images to include and how to do so?

Might you make a project like this for class?

All Classes: Beatboxing Julliard

What if learning looked like this?  What can we learn from creating things like this?

All Classes: Student Motivation

I'd be really interested to hear folks talk about where they fall on this scale if they were to assess themselves.  And it's okay.  I don't hold it against anyone if they are not feeling authentically engaged in my classes -- it lets me know I've got to think about new approaches and strategies.

From Mike Muir's Blog "Multiple Pathways" and adapted from Phil Schlechty 

Authentic Engagement. The student associates the task with a result or product that has meaning and value for the student, such as reading a book on a topic of personal interest or to get information needed to solve a problem the student is actively trying to solve.
Ritual Engagement. The task has little inherent or direct value to the student, but the student associates it with outcomes or results that do have value, as when a student reads a book in order to pass a test.
Passive Compliance. The task is done to avoid negative consequences, although the student sees little meaning or value in the tasks themselves.
Retreatism. The student is disengaged from the tasks and does not attempt to comply with the demands of the task, but does not try to disrupt the work or substitute other activities for it.
Rebellion. The student refuses to do the task, tries to disrupt the work, or attempts to substitute other tasks to which he or she is committed in lieu of those assigned by the teacher.

Testing a Vine Embed