The Importance of Being Earnest/Victorian Research

Explain how your Victorian era research has enhanced your understanding of the play. Write two paragraphs in which you discuss what you learned and what it specifically relates to in the play. Use concrete details from the play to clarify your points and relate them to your knowledge of the Victorian era.

This blog post is worth 25 points - be sure to write two well-developed, thoughtful paragraphs in which you showcase a thorough understanding of both the play and the era in which it was written.

Post and comment on a classmate's blog by Friday, January 29.

New Year's Resolution

Extra Credit! Due Tuesday, January 5, 2010

As you celebrate the New Year, take a few minutes to think about something you could do to improve your life or make yourself a better person. You new year's resolution should be something that you dedicate yourself to for the duration of 2010 - in other words, set an on-going goal for yourself and start working toward it immediately.

Think carefully. What are your shortcomings? What about you needs improvement? What types of things could you do now to help you achieve your goals in the future?

For instance, if lack of organization is keeping you from reaching your maximum academic potential, you may resolve to put everything in it's place rather than just shove things in your backpack, desk drawers, closet, etc. Or maybe you feel so tired after school that you tend to confine yourself to the couch and watch t.v. all afternoon and you feel like you don't have much fun on the weekdays. You could resolve yourself to exercising or eating a nutritious snack when you get home to get your energy level up and then head out with friends and have fun before dinner.

Think for a while about what you would like to improve about yourself or your life and make a new year's resolution. Write at least two paragraphs - one focusing on your inspiration for this goal (your shortcomings or areas for improvement) and the other focused on the goal itself and your on-going plan for achievement.

This needs to be realistic and must be something you can work on every month of the year - not just during one sport season, etc. The goal does not have to be academic. Plan carefully! I'm going to check in with you on this throughout the second half of the school year.

Good luck and happy 2010!

Animal Farm Project: Post to Blog by Thursday, 12/17

Animal Farm Project

DIRECTIONS: Create an artistic project that portrays how one of the themes is shown in the novel and post it to your blog. Present the project in class on Thursday, December 17.

Projects must be posted to your blog - each group member must post his/her project by the due date.

Ideas for projects include:

Group options (up to three or four people can get credit for the same project if they all contribute equally to the production of the project.)

·      Make a movie – either live action or stop-animation (Playmobile/Lego/other toys, etc.) Be sure it is clear that your characters are animals (some type of costume, such as pig ears or noses, would be appropriate). Extra credit is available for quality work.

·      Movie trailer – use voice over, titles and music to show a theme’s usage in several scenes from the book.

·      Write and perform a song. Record the song and post it or post the lyrics and perform the song in class.

Individual options

·      Write a narrative or epic poem (at least one page in length).

·      Create a representation of one of the themes and its impact on the novel using Photoshop.

·      Make a children’s book or comic strip teaching important lessons using a computer drawing program.

·      Your own idea – see Mrs. Gilman for approval prior to beginning.

Presentation/Writing:

·      Before you show your project to the class, give a brief (30-60 second) speech about the theme of your choice and its impact on the novel. Showcase your in-depth understanding of the novel. All group members must participate in the presentation.

·      Write a page of analysis of the theme’s use in the novel and write COMMENTARY on how your project highlights the theme. GROUP PROJECTS – Specifically describe what you contributed to the project and how much time you spent working with your group.

Grading Criteria: 50 points possible

·      Projects will be evaluated on relevance to the novel, understanding of the theme, effort, and creativity.

·      Writing will be graded on insightful understanding of the theme and use of commentary.

Poetry Out Loud Performances

Go to the Poetry Out Loud website (poetryoutloud.org) and watch at least two performances, in addition to the performances we watched in class. Write two paragraphs about one of the performances in which you discuss how the student conveys the meaning of the poem with his/her performance.

The first paragraph should primarily discuss the effectiveness of the performance. Include language from the scoring criteria (physical presence, voice and articulation, etc.) The second paragraph should deal with your interpretation of the poem's meaning, with an emphasis on how specific details of the performance enhances the meaning. Be sure to include the title of the poem.

Due Friday, December 4.

Mockingbird Motif

At the beginning of the year we discussed the meaning of "motif" as it relates to a work of literature. How has reading To Kill a Mockingbird enhanced your understanding of the term "motif?" What is the "mockingbird motif" and how does it add a symbolic level of meaning to the other themes in the novel?

Write at least two well-developed paragraphs in which you address the questions above. Showcase your understanding of the characters, events, and themes in the novel as well as your ability to analyze literature thoroughly and with insight.

Post due Friday, November 20.

Extra Credit: Symbolism

Find and post a photo of something that you interpret as symbolic of one of the character's you are portraying in this week's dramatic reading. Briefly state why you think this symbol accurately represents the character.

To receive extra credit you must:

• Post a photo on your blog.
• The photo must be symbolic (not a picture of a person who reminds you of the character for whatever reason.)
• Spell the character's name correctly.
• Briefly explain your choice of symbol.

This post is due Saturday, November 14.

Life Lessons

In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout learns many lessons from her father, Atticus. Atticus' insightful observations about life help Scout to understand the world around her and the actions of adults. This week we will be discussing indirect characterization of Atticus - specifically, things he says that impact his children.

Think of something insightful that one of your parents or another influential adult may have told you. This should be something meant to help you understand the world around you or the actions of others that resonated - something that you have thought about or considered since.

Write two paragraphs: the first paragraph should explain the context and what was said, the second paragraph should discuss when and how you have thought of this since and the life lesson you learned as a result.

Post and comment by Friday, November 6.