Nature Sonnets - FINAL DRAFTS!

This blog entry should have been posted earlier. Sorry! Please post the FINAL DRAFT of your essay on "Nature Sonnets" here. Though I understand that posting this late may result in some confusion and delay, I hope to see EVERYONE's final drafts here within the next couple of days!

Have a great break!

(Remember to learn your Death of a Salesman lines over these two weeks!)

Our Scene!

Here is a filmed version of the key scene we are working on from 1985 with Dustin Hoffman as Willy and John Polito as Howard.

A Quick Question!

How is it going with your poetry video?

Please take a minute to answer this question in one or two sentences.

Have a great long weekend!

Variations on Wall Paper

Charlotte Perkins-Gilman's "The Yellow Wall Paper" is a widely-read story that has written about and adapted often. If you look it up on youtube, you will find numerous such adeptations, most of them school projects. In case you are interested, here are two professional adaptations.

"The Yellow Wall Paper" - SCASI

You knew it was coming. Here it is!

Please submit your "SCASI" essay on "The Yellow Wall Paper" here.

Nature Sonnets - FIRST DRAFT - DUE Monday, March 21

Please write an essay that represents 30-40 minutes of your best ideas and writing on the following question.

How do the two sonnets "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket" and "Report to Wordsworth" present and deal with the theme of nature?

This FIRST DRAFT MUST be complete BEFORE CLASS on Monday, 21 March. (This basically means by Sunday night.) If a student has not submitted a first draft TO THE BLOG on time, a grade of "zero" will be recorded for which there will be no make-up. Since we will need your first draft ON THE BLOG ON MONDAY, there will be no excuses, including absence or computer problems for it not being there. For this reason, you may want to make a point of finishing this homework sometime this week and letting me know in advance if you are having some problem.

In Case You're Looking for Something to Do...

In case you are bored this weekend or on an afternoon this week, feel free to be early in recording your poem!

Poetry Videos!

Today, we will begin working on the creation of poetry videos using Windows MovieMaker. Your video will include an audio recording of you reciting the poem along with appropriate accompanying visual elements. Before beginning, take a look at some of these videos created by some former students from the previous set of poems.













Now, please go to our list of poems and choose the poem for which you will create a video. You may choose one of the four poems with which we have already worked closely, the poem for which you created a poster, or any of the other poems. Please give yourself a full ten minutes to look through and consider each of these poems before making your choice.

When you have chosen, please write a paragraph about what you imagine your video will look and sound like. Try to think not only in terms of specific images that you may use but also in terms of the general "feel" that you will be attempting to establish. Please submit this paragraph as a comment here.

When you have finished with your planning paragraph, you can get started. I know that a number of you have used MovieMaker before, and it is not difficult software, so helping each other should allow us to do everything we want. You will be working on this project largely outside of class, so be sure to send yourself not only the MovieMaker project itself (the .mov file), but also all the associated files (the JPGs, etc.). Please record the audio of you reading the poem at home where you have appropriate silence and time.

Deadlines:
Send me the MP3 Recording of you reading your poem before Friday, March 26 (the last day before break). I expect that many/most of you will send these long before this.

The full project is due before Friday, April 16. When you are finished working on your project, click File > Publish and publish your video as an .AVI file. (Don't worry if this sounds confusing. I'll show you how.) I expect that many/most of you will be done long before this deadline too.

Death of a Salesman - Scene - For Monday, April 12!

In Quarter 4, we are going to be working closely with a two-person scene from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. You will be divided into pairs for work on this scene that will involve learning the lines and performing the scene in class. The role of Willy will involve learning a bit more than that of Howard, so decide with your partner how you will be casting your scene. (If an agreement cannot be reached between a pair, I can assign the roles.) Though this scene involves two male roles, it can still be effectively played by girls.

The scene begins in the middle of page 76 with "Willy: Pst! Pst!" and ends on page 84 with "Howard:...Pull yourself together, kid, there's people outside." Please have your lines learned by April 12 (our return from break).

9A Pairs (with one group of three)
(Drama Students)
Christina and Anne-Mieke
Michael and Onur

(Non-Drama Students)
Kalean and Nathan
James and Kim
Evita, Ryan and Tatiana (This group of three can assign two students to one role, but each of these two will be responsible for the whole role.)

9B Pairs (with one group of three)
(Drama Students)
Siri and Sam
Luke and Max
Evelina and Sara

(Non-Drama Students)
Toby and Rosie
Andrew and Polina
Dylan, Caroline and Valentina (This group of three can assign two students to one role, but each of these two will be responsible for the whole role.)

Romeo and Juliet - Act 3, Scene 1 - For Monday May 3!

In Quarter 4, we are going to be working closely with Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. You will be divided into groups for work on this scene that will involve learning the lines and performing the scene in class. Here are your groups and the roles for you to distribute among yourselves. (If an agreement cannot be reached among a group, I can assign the roles.) Though this scene is light on female roles, it can still be effectively played by girls. We will work closely with (including performance of) scenes with more female roles next year.

You will notice that for each pair of pages, the left page has lines in Shakespeare's own words where the right page has a directly corresponding set of lines in modern English. I am providing you with this format in order for you to better understand the scene. You are responsible for learning ONLY Shakespeare's words. (Sorry. Learning the modern English version might be easier, but that is not the version we are studying.) This means that we will be performing ONLY the even numbered pages (130, 132, 134, ... 144). Please have your lines learned by Monday, May 3.

9A - Group 1 (Drama Students)
Christina
Michael
Onur
Anne-Mieke

Roles:
Benvolio
Mercutio
Tybalt
Romeo

9A - Group 2 (Non-Drama Students)
Kalean
Nathan
James
Kim
Evita
Tatiana
Ryan

Roles:
Benvolio
Mercutio
Tybalt
Romeo
Lady Capulet
Prince
Montague/Citizen

9B - Group 1 (Drama Students)
Siri
Sam
Evelina
Max
Luke
Sara

Roles:
Benvolio
Mercutio
Tybalt
Romeo
Lady Capulet
Prince

9B - Group 2 (Non-Drama Students)
Toby
Rosie
Andrew
Polina
Dylan
Caroline
Valentina

Roles:
Benvolio
Mercutio
Tybalt
Romeo
Lady Capulet
Prince
Montague/Citizen