So the initial thing is to read the play.

Then watch Baz’s version in movie form, and while watching analyze some of the choices he made and get a little bit into the ways you read a movie.

From there we’d introduce the music project in which the class would either be divided into groups or individuals would pick a song from the soundtrack (all songs would need to be spoken for, however).  Then they could have a number of choices

1. Analyze the song as a piece of literature and discuss how it’s meaning/lyrics relate to the play–specifically the part Baz used them for if they appeared in the movie, or more generally and openly if they were just “inspired by” instead of used in. They could, of course, always go with the whole “although Baz used it here, it’s really much more appropriate here” in their relation as well (because, let’s face it, I love it when people argue with the creator and seek better ways to do things)

2. Create a collage or some other artistic work to go with the song–either incorporating moods or lyrics and also incorporating lines from the play. This could be a word collage or something more visual. Either way it needs to be accompanied by a short explanation of what it all means and how it all works.

3. Create a music video for the song that depicts (in direct action or symbols) the meaning of the song as it relates to the movie–clips can be used, but it can’t just be the scene as it appears.

4. Find a companion song–either the antithesis or it’s sister/brother–and explain why they make a good pair and how the two contribute to understanding the play.

And maybe some more. I’d only thought of the first two when I started writing. I’m not so sure of the last one, but something about it seems worth trying. I think it has crazy potential, not just for enhancing the understanding of the play and the director’s choices for a movie, but for coming up with some crazy creative things. There’s lots of possibilities, I think. Obviously 1 is really straightforward, and 4 is a little wimpy right now, but 2 and 3 have a lot of open-ended possibility. The bottom line, of course, would be bringing it back to the play somehow. 3 would need to incorporate the things they learned about movies… Heck, 5 could be “make a mini-movie (3-5 minutes) in which you use the song in a way that mimics its relation to the play”

Interpretive dance, so long as it’s accompanied by a written explanation.

Who knows.

But I definitely think it’s worth trying. And kids always need a challenging but fun project after they get through any Shakespearean play.

Possibilities…

Mythology

• This seems the most obvious of all, and would probably be the easiest to slap together. Some digging online has revealed the possible pitfalls that I often forget when I’m away from a classroom–mostly that students have attention spans of goldfish, fear of long novels, and may need a little more help than I’d initially expect with comprehension.
  Initially I was thinking that I’d let students choose one of the innumerable mythological characters from the text and have them do a mini-research–explain who the person was/is, where they hail from, and an example of a typical story (or a story that fits their character as Gaiman portrays it).
  NOW, I’m thinking that it might be a good intro project, so that they all have a little bit of a base in mythology before we read the novel. Instead of using the novel as a starter for mythology, I could use mythology as a starter for the novel–perhaps go over the idea of archetypes and then mix that into the project required for their figure. I’d have to furnish the list and maybe even give them a day to dig around on the internets to get a feel for one they like if they can’t decide on a whim (it surprises me how many won’t do that…), but after that it’d be all them. I could even do the webquesty thing and find different sites that have info on the mythic figures (not the characters) and guide them in their searching. This, of course, would help narrow the searching for stories (although I have a good store of them in tangible form right now) and that might be pretty useful. Woot. Possible webquest just invented… perhaps to be formulated in the coming days of boredom.

Story-telling

• Okay, so this has the obvious relation to the mythology but I was thinking of it more as including the Coming to America portions (which, according to a grown-up blogger who actually taught this, are often skipped over or reluctantly read) and other little interludes. I was also thinking of this in relation to ‘A Larger Memory’ by Takaki–it’s sort of an experiment in recognizing the multitude of stories that make America what it is. In this case, it’s the stories that brought people here (and that people brought with them–ie myths), and you can see the way in which past stories have shaped the worlds that these characters live in. It’s the same for us, and sometimes (almost always, I’d wager) it goes completely unnoticed.
  It’d be a cool little project for students to either find a story from their own history, or find one that resonates with them in some way (the second being the harder of the two). Of course, it could also be a matter of creating their own stories… Their own “Coming to Miss Krall’s Classroom” kind of interlude. It wouldn’t have to be scholastic (in fact, I wouldn’t really want it to be, if given the choice), and it has the possibility of being one of those really powerful things where kids are not just asked to examine their own place in the world (and how they got there), but given the opportunity to define themselves outloud without the fear of being told they’re off base. (I’m not sure that makes sense outside of my own experience, but I think there are kids out there–a few I’ve had the pleasure of teaching–who would understand what that means). It’d be a challenging project–creating your story, and perhaps having to tell it to the class or at least one other person–but I think it’d be a great opportunity not just to explore their own powers of story-telling but the way story-telling shapes history AND future.

Identity

• Okay, so the last leads into this one and, indeed, the personal identity wasn’t something I’d really thought of before so this is now getting split
  Cultural Identity–kids could look at their own roots and see how geography or culture has played a role. This, of course, kind of sucks because sometimes kids don’t feel like they have anything to play on here, and sometimes they really don’t (not everyone knows where they came from). But I guess if I explained the whole scope of “cultural identity” and included things like musical subcultures and whatnot (actually, musical subcultures would be an interesting project in itself in this respect.. the crossroads of economics, geography, culture, history… but that’s a bit heady for most high school students)
  Complexity of identity–this is more of a philosophical thing. It’s more of a challenge to define yourself and then a discussion of whether or not it’s possible. Questions about whether or not you can really define America–Is Wednesday right when he says it isn’t the same country? Is it possible and/or can it ever be possible? How has it changed in the past? Is it different than other countries–Is it easier to say (from an outsider’s perspective) that that’s so -insert country-? Is that why Gaiman (who isn’t American) was able to write this? Why would he use America as the setting?
  Obviously, I’ve thought of identity more as a discussion than an actual project/assessment.
  Even leading on with questions about how what Gaiman has done reshapes the identity of mythology in a modern context (obviously, that’s a little intellectual speak, but if I had time, I could break it down a little more)…

I don’t know. The more I think about it, the more I think that the unit kind of forms itself–I mean it just did, didn’t it? It starts out with the more concrete–the mythology, the archetypes, the research–and then moves a little deeper –the literary devices (a tie-in), the impact of stories, the creation– and then gets super heady –analysis and introspection–. It would be an insanely long unit, but when you think about it, there’s really two units tied in with a more generic (although wonderful) “let’s read and discuss this awesome book” unit (which could even include discussions about whether or not I should even be allowed to teach them this book, and whether or not anyone should be allowed to decide what they can/”should” read).

It just seems so awesome

I definitely don’t think my 10th graders would go for all of that… I mean, I probably could have conned them into it, but they would have given up and I would have had to constantly reorganize everything until it was Frankensteined out of control (not that that’s always a bad thing…). But I think, generally, that it would work better with seniors or maybe juniors. The car crowd.

And I’m not sure it’d lend itself to a conventional final assessment… No big test tying the themes into the book, but maybe a reading journal of some sort could come in handy here. Pain in the ass for me, but more useful to them and easier than trying to get them to spew theory out on a test one afternoon (although my 10th graders were better at that than most would give them credit for). I guess it could be a longer sort of analytical paper–pick one thing and tie it up nicely for teacher. Give them a long time to mull it over, talk it over, write it over and over.

(In terms of Work Sample BS, the preassessment would have to be some sort of random questions, I think, about possibilities for things or knowledge of things, or the power of things?… No idea. It’s kind of there… and might be useful even without having to make the monster. Something to revisit at the end.)

Now all I need is a classroom. And a free curriculum.

It’d be an interesting experiment, I think… even if it flopped. It’s got too much possibility not to try.
Is this where I sound like the “young, idealistic” teacher instead of the cynic? Perhaps the excitement wasn’t completely purged before I started this…

Das ist alles.

.

I haven’t had a peer review yet, but here’s what John said:

Good job.

(He’s talkative and I’m sarcastic.)

My podcast is actually an example of an assignment I’d give to my students.

You can look at the assignment here: Podcast Assignment

If you don’t feel like looking at the actual assignment, here’s a shorthand summary:

Students are reporters working on a documentary focused on the events at Animal/Manor Farm. They can do interviews, news broadcasts, ten-years later, or advertisements. This was a broadcast example.

The assignment as a whole has lots of benchmarks attached to it. This particular example attaches itself to this beauty:

EL.08.LI.03: Identify and/or summarize sequence of events, main ideas, and supporting details in literary selections.

How it does what it’s supposed to: The news broadcast, in essence, is a summary. That’s pretty straightforward, non?

How it’s affected my fully myelinated brain: This was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. (That makes me kind of sad). At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to record the thing, and then I remembered that my mp3 player doubles as a digital recorder. Presto Bingo Silly reporter and sillier speeches created.

Then the trouble was putting it all together. I really liked messing around with GarageBand at school, but I live in a PC household (No Macs Allowed) so I had to mess with Audacity. I probably would have ended up using Audacity if it weren’t for my prior knowledge of a program called FruityLoops (John–the man friend–uses it for musical purposes). FruityLoops is a lot more user friendly than Audacity. Or maybe it just felt that way because I’ve used FruityLoops before, and Audacity required a bit too much accommodation for my over-stressed brain. It’s most likely this second theory–I’ve been known to dislike change and trying to adjust to a program that is somewhat similar to one I know pretty well but different enough to be difficult is exactly the kind of thing I’ll shy away from if I can. I’m resistant. But everyone who reads this and is stuck in PC land should check out FruityLoops and tell me that I was right and it’s much cooler. p

All of that said, the stitching together pieces wasn’t bad (it was actually quite fun), and I’m pretty satisfied with the final project (I did–I admit my laziness–get tired of fiddling with the settings for each of the pieces, so it’s not as silky as I’d like it to be, but it’s a lot better than it was when I started).

So that’s the story of the little podcast that could. I wish I had time to do it in my current placement ( Guess it’ll have to wait until fall.

End transmission.

Here’s what Andrea had to say:

Hey beautiful,

I loved this project of yours. I really liked being able to see everywhere that he has lived and he has lived in a lot of places. (Or had lived whatever, I am going to continue talking about him in the present tense) I don’t really have much to say about it or things that you can change. Partly because I have no background knowledge about George Orwell. But this is really good background information and a great tie in with history/social sciences because you can discuss WWI, WWII, and even a little about the British Empire. A great jumping off point.
Andrea

And here’s what Asher had to say:

Hi Casey,

I really like the idea of following around an artist or author to give context to that person’s works. Especially for someone like Orwell, who traveled so much, and whose work was so influenced by the context. Again, putting quotes from the relevant works in the place marks is a good way to connect the author to locations. The only suggestion I might have would be a couple of pics, though I’m not sure whether that would enhance the content all that much. Perhaps links to the books free text versions of the books if they’re in the open domain. Anyway,good job!

Asher

And as always… Here’s the benchmark:

EL.08.RE.14 Read textbooks; biographical sketches; letters; diaries; directions; procedures; magazines; essays; primary source historical documents; editorials; news stories; periodicals; bus routes; catalogs; technical directions; consumer, workplace, and public documents.

What it is: As I explained to my spectacular reviewers, I intended the whole thing to be an introduction to Orwell’s life before he wrote Animal Farm. After the class has gone through the bio, we’d have a discussion on how things from his life influenced the story. (Or something like that).

How this project has impacted my little world: This was the toughest project I’ve had to do so far. It isn’t that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy or get into GoogleEarth–it was trying to tie it into Animal Farm that proved troublesome. I think other novels lend themselves more easily to being great Google Earth topics… Animal Farm, not so much. But George Orwell’s life is pretty interesting and I knew that his history had a lot to do with his ideals (which in turn have a lot to do with the novel), so that was the best connection I could come up with. (I actually think it might lead to a really interesting discussion, and I DO think that without GoogleEarth to highlight the distance he traveled throughout his life to that point, the impact of the bio would be diminished).
The other problem I encountered was the need for pictures. Generally I intended to us the Panoramio pictures of the places (I wanted kids to focus more on the places than on photos of Orwell at specific times), but then I found this picture of Orwell in the Spanish Civil War to throw in. I also couldn’t think of a good use for the hyperlinks until Asher’s brilliant idea (I really owe him one there).
Overall, I think I’d be more inclined to use Google Earth with different novels (either ones that have a specific geographic location like Grapes of Wrath or –my favorite– post-colonial novels in which geography is a key component and the distance between worlds is extraordinarily important).

Final words: I wish I was a science teacher so I could use Google Sky (I was thinking that I could possibly make an excuse if I ever covered mythology… but that’s a bit of a stretch p)

Thus endeth another blog.

You have to click on the video and go to YouTube to watch the whole thing. (sorry)

There’s also a really great version of Technologic.

I had to share it. I swear that when I found the video I was legitimately working on a project for my middle schoolers.

(Seriously, it had to do with paraphrasing and Kanye West’s sampling of Daft Punk… I couldn’t make that up if I wanted to. Legitimate school business p)

Here’s what the illustrious Diane had to say about it.

Casey,

This is a great, well organized and creative web quest. It is an interesting activity that will give your student a wide exposure to literature through group activity, allowing you to pack a lot of learning into one project. The instructions seem clear, and you provide tools for the students to successfully complete the project. I think I would have been into this when I was an adolescent.

Diane

Yay.

I don’t think I need to say anything else in this entry, and since I’m feeling a little feverish right now I should stop typing while I’m ahead.

Das ist alles.

.

And… Here’s what Andrea had to say about it

Chère Casey,

I love your Powerpoint. Not only do your slides demonstrate the use of perspective and its effect on how you “see” a piece but it is a fun game too! I know you already have a lot of slides and don’t really need more but I would add more if possible. The students will love them and the more they can try the more attention they will pay to the lesson. The only other thing I would fix would be the video. I could not get it to open and I don’t think I could even click on it (it was black the screen was black, I couldn’t tell what was what.) Other than that I give you an A+ especially since you used the Eiffel Tower in there, you know I have a weakness for the Eiffel Tower.

Bon chance,
Andrea

The Benchmark:

EL.08.LI.11 Analyze and contrast the use of point of view, such as first-person, third-person, limited and omniscient, and subjective and objective, in literary text, and explain how it affects text

How it relates: The presentation is designed to highlight the differences between various points of view (both first & third as well as limited & omniscient and implicitly subjective & objective). By basing the presentation first on the visual I hope to assist students to better understand the differences between these perspectives (as well as provide a better pathway to understanding for my visual learners). The presentation is basically an initial activity that ends with larger questions about why someone would use one perspective over another (which entails and understanding of how it affects the text & meaning).

Why it is what it is: I designed the presentation as a learning tool–one to be used at the beginning of a lesson on point of view. Originally, I had thought about using it in conjunction with a larger literary text. For some reason I thought of To Kill A Mockingbird, and then imagined the ending questions leading into questions about the way reading the book from Scout’s pov impacts the story that’s being told. After talking to Andrea about the addictive nature of Macro Mysteries, however, I’d probably also continue to use the game throughout the year as one of those end of class “Oh no, I’ve got an extra 5 minutes” games. (They’re just so fun!)

How this project has impacted me: Once again, I’m surprised. I think that my major breakthrough is the realization that presentations don’t have to be the typical boring “PowerPoint Outline of What I’m Saying While You’re Zoning Out.” I really love the idea of powerful images and I like using presentation software as a way to present those images.
I even imagined using it in conjunction with a SmartBoard–In that case, I’d pause the video between the first & third person switch and write my students’ observations on the side of the slide (one side for each) before moving on to the charts. Then the amount of text in the charts wouldn’t be quite as personally annoying–it would just be summarizing/adding to what they’ve already said.
That was a bit of a tangent. Sorry. ANYWAY. Overall, this was a great project and, in addition to softening my admitted prejudices against PowerPoint, I can’t say enough about the way it’s encouraged me to think more about powerful images and the ways that I can use them in my largely linguistic content area.

And we all lived happily ever after. (Happy Spring Break)

Mark suggested that I post the links to the cool Macro Guessing Game stuff I found. (I used Macro shots as part of my PowerPoint on Perspective & Point of View) SO here are a handful.

This is a forum that’s dedicated to the Guessing Game (Really cool Macros, but not a source of any from my PP presentation, and like all forums, there can be a fair bit of wading through words)

A Single Macro (I used this one)

Multiple Macros of the Same Thing (I almost used these)

And last but not least…

A Blogger Who Occassionally Plays the Game (Unlike the other sites, when someone guesses the macro, he’ll show a picture of the whole object. Unfortunately there are only three, but his other pictures are super cool as well)

A few years ago (read: at least 4) I remember visiting a site that was dedicated to Macro Mysteries. Unfortunately, I have no idea where it was. It probably doesn’t even exist anymore. Not having found the source, I waded through a bunch of random Google findings to find the links above. If anyone happens to search for (or know of) another site dedicated to this amusing pastime, pass it along. I dig macros.

And, on a somewhat related tangent, if you have any interest in crop circles this is quite possibly the coolest crop circle site I’ve ever wandered around.

Und das ist alles Klasse.

Here’s what Andrea had to say about the diagram:

I love the overall look and theme of your diagram. The rainbow in the middle, the rainbow progression of text, the storm picture in brainstorming and especially the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I think that students will be able to more easily remember the process and complete every step, or maybe that would just be me. The websites you choose were great. Couple of sentences that I tripped over that you may think about changing. In the first step instead of understand assignment maybe understand the assignment. Same idea in the note under introduction, grab the reader instead of grab reader. Also in body note more clarification on what the writer needs to support.

I also missed several of the notes until I checked the outline form. Maybe having them as another bubble attached to the main ones but have them hidden until needed. I know I would have found them easier that way.

And, the benchmark I was working toward:

EL.08.WR.05 Use the writing process—prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing successive versions.

Now for my thoughts on the whole thing…

How it relates: To illustrate the steps of the process, I created a separate diamond for each step (and added in research). In addition to this, I added minor points to each of the steps to remind students what each stage looks like (and added notes within those points for even more specificity). The diamonds are colored as a rainbow to indicate that they also exist as a larger whole and are arranged in a circle to reinforce the recursive aspect of the writing process.

Why it is what it is: I designed the diagram as a knowledge tool–one that I would likely use explicitly at the beginning of the year to review the process (I might even focus on the individual branches as individual mini-lessons). I would then keep it up on a website (or print it out for students to keep in their notebooks) for kids to reference throughout the year whenever they have a writing assignment. As I kind of noted above, it was created to both distinguish the steps as individual parts and reinforce the fact that they’re all essential parts of a larger process. It takes all of the individual steps to make the full rainbow.

How this project has impacted me: I’m surprised how much I really enjoyed using Inspiration. I’m generally not that thrilled about creating concept/mind-maps because my thinking somehow gets even more confused when I try to draw them. I do think, however, that I would use Inspiration to create these sort of diagrams as a reference when working with the writing process (it’s always good to find ways to visually represent things when you’re teaching writing). I might even introduce it to my students as a project if the school has the resources. It was really easy for me to get the hang of the program and I love all of the cool little tools that make the program a lot more versatile than I originally expected. Overall–I’m convinced of Inspiration’s usefulness in my future classroom.