Educators and to all who choose to use documents and information from this site - Should you choose to use these documents in your classroom or for any other purpose, please remember not only to cite this website as your resource, but also to request permission to use these documents. Requested permission is as easy as clicking on the mail icon at the top of the page and sending your request to me via email. Thank you.
Under construction
2010-2011 notes will be updated at the beginning of each unit in the 2011-2012 academic year.
Scroll down. Look for days and dates highlighted in green beside a smiley face and you will find classwork and homework.
Your Classwork/Homework is highlighted in yellow.
a. Information is presented and documented in a PowerPoint during class.
b. Students can come in any morning between 7AM-8AM to preview, review, study, and use the PowerPoints presented during class.
c. Students can use the TeacherWeb.com site to review all classwork presented in the PowerPoints.
URLs and study guides are in blue type.
3. Overview:
Overview: Unit 1: Myths
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Frameworks Aligned to the Curriculum Study of Unit 1 Myth
Unit 1 Introduction to Myths
Unit 1 Myth - Lion King
Note: This is a guide. The timeline may change to support the needs of each student; to address lost class time (fire drills, assemblies, etc).
a. Information is presented and documented in a PowerPoint during class.
b. Students can come in any morning between 7AM-8AM to preview, review, study, and use the PowerPoints presented during class.
c. Students can use the TeacherWeb.com site to review all classwork presented in the PowerPoints.
Class: Students define myths and preview study guide
Preview: Unit 1 Myth Syllabus
Note: Keep this syllabus in your school to home folder. It is the assessment you will take at the end of the unit. We will match everything we practice in class and all that you study for homework to the information in this syllabus. Every topic, skill and strategy we match will be the topics, skills and strategies on your assessment.
The following pages are the pages in your September 7 - 24 study guide/syllabus. You have "hinged" many of these pages into your journals.
Read: Kingdom of Mali - page 8 and page 10 in your syllabus/studyguide
Interactive Reading Skills: What do you notice tonight that you did not notice last night?
We are making connections:
World Literature
World History
Reading Comprehension - Maps and graphic organizers
(Look in your syllabus/study guide to find this resource.)
Friday, October 1
Note: Many students have asked if the Summer Reading Project Resource page is due typed today - no
It is due typed Tuesday, October 12th, the same day the project is due.
Note: We must postpone the reading of this myth until Monday.
There is an assembly today. ...and two unexpected fire drills plus a shortened lunch period ...
- just one of those mixed-up upside-down, backwards days
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali
Retold by David WIsniewski
Class:
a. Quick overview of myth in-class project:
Choice 1: Astronomy myth
Choice 2: Music Myth
Choice 3: Porch Myth
Post a message on the wall:
"What did you read this summer? What do you do in your spare time?
160 characters - YIKES!!! - is all you have to make me think or laugh or wonder, but do not put me to sleep. Are you up for the challenge? Include your first name/class period with each post to earn homework credit. For safety - no last names."
2. Preview: building background and gleaning ideas for myths:
Students are honored at the White House as their share their discoveries about astronomy. Each student asked a question and explored the mythical possibilities of science before finding an answer. Will you choose one of the constellations or a new star, or the wonder of what we have yet to learn from astronomy and create a myth?
What would the gods of your Astronomy Myth look like? How would the interact with others? What kinds of imagery would you use to give vivid details to the setting of your myth? What cultural influences would you use to shape the imagery? What would your audience learn?
What mythical elements would you include? What excitement and knowledge will you share with your audience?
b. Music Myth
We read the Mexican myth, The Creation of Music and learned how important music is to that culture and the different ways in which people experience music throughout the world.
Think about the possibility of writing a myth about music. Down the hall in room 207, Mr. Correia has suggested to his students that they might choose their favorite musician and transform that musician into the god of their music myth. Watch the following clip and learn how music transformed the Broadway production of The Lion King, a myth about the balances and responsibilities of life; the sun-filled savannah and shadowy corners in life. Will you choose a music myth???
What would the gods of your Music Myth look like? How would the interact with others? What kinds of imagery would you use to give vivid details to the setting of your myth? What cultural influences would you use to shape the imagery? What would your audience learn?
What mythical elements would you include? What excitement and knowledge will you share with your audience?
Understanding the Music Effect: The Disney Lion King Education Series
c. Porch Myth
Preview: building background and gleaning ideas for myths: Look at the ways a team of people transformed the feature length Lion King to a Broadway stage production. Apply what you have learned about the elements of a myth. Our class is not a test to pass, but an experience to live. What did these people create? How will you create your myth?
Watch the clip and then review our discussion about porches. Scroll down passed the Disney clip and you can read about the Porch Myth.
The Disney Lion King Education Series: From Screen to Stage
My Notes:
You have just seen what the artists and writers did to transform the 74-minute feature length animated Lion King to the Broadway theater production of The Lion King. What will you do - write and illustrate or write and act out your own myth? What elements will you include? What excitement and knowledge will you share with your audience? Look at some possibilities (see three possibilities listed below). Choose one and make it your own. Think big!!! Answer the mythical questions all people ask as they move through this life.
Forget the worksheet-driven classroom from a 20th century English class and begin to create your own possibilities by sharing your creative responses with respect to a 21st century English experience. We meet in room 212 Mondays through Fridays, but we live this experience using technology to share our thoughts and ideas and creative responses.
Myths are cultural stories. Remember to include culture, for example: if you speak another language, create in English and then translate your myth to another culture by translating not only the language, but also the respect for the cultural influences.
What myth will you choose????
Choice !: Music Myth
Choice 2: Astronomy Myth
Choice 3: Porch Myth
My Notes: Porch Myth
What is the Porch Myth? I brought you back to a time when there were no cells phones or computers. When people could not go to the stores or movies on a Sunday because stores and movie theaters - nothing as a matter of fact - were allowed to open. People usually shared time with the faith community of their choice and then gathered on porches after a family lunch or breakfast. Porches or stoops were places where people shared life experiences.
As I reminisced about this time in history, I also shared that students who were in my classes about eight years told me not to worry. [Yes. I have shared this anecdote with other students.] These students told me not to worry because the porches on homes today might be decorative and reminiscent of a time past like hay and corn stalks and pumpkins are reminiscent of another time in our collective pasts, but porches have donned the garb of the 21st century. Porches are the emails we share with families and friends; the pictures we attach for those who no longer live close by. Porches and stoops might still be ways in which we can share our experiences. Porches and stoops have entered the 21st century and are in the realm of metaphor.
You can imagine as my students spoke, I stopped listening to what they were saying and marveled at the ways in which they so naturally included all we had studied in English that year - the connections they made, the literary terms that had become part of their natural speaking voice; the hope-filled perspective they used to remind me that people still find ways to be connected.
If you choose to work with the Porch Myth, how would you describe the porch of 2010? Only eight years have passed and emails might still be metaphorical porches. However, technology continues to transform our world. What other forms of 21st century technology keep us connected with families and friends; what other forms of 21st century technology get our classrooms connected? What would the gods of the Porch Myth look like? How would the interact with others? What kinds of imagery would you use to give vivid details to the setting of your myth? What cultural influences would you use to shape the imagery? What would your audience learn?
What elements would you include? What excitement and knowledge will you share with your audience?
Note: Remember to stay positive. We could discuss the negative aspects of communicating online and waste time and energy or we can recognize "those Elephant Graveyards" online and choose to set an example by making positive choices in our use of technology.
My Notes:
We have read The Creation of Music and will read tomorrow, Sundiata: Lion King of Mali. We have examined these myths to learn not only about myths, but also about the literary tools, the construction and writing skills needed to create our own myths. As we read and examine the work of the artists, writers and theater crews who created and recreated The Lion King, know you will be drafting your own myth.
Monday, October 4
Yes. We are playing catch-up after two fire drills, a very short lunch, and an assembly on Friday. Three classes were disrupted and it is only fair to go back and re-do Friday. Each student deserves time to process information in an uninterrupted environment.
Classwork:
20 minutes: Quick Quiz - pages 8 and 10 in your myth syllabus.
Remainder of class:
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali
Retold by David Wisniewski
2. Reminder - Summer Reading Project due Tuesday, October 12th
This is the week to solve problems and/or resolve your ability to manage a long term project.
Remember, you must send an email identifying any problems you have and then you must see me before or after school to earn a revised due date. You can see me any morning between 7:15 and 8AM or Monday and Wednesday late-bus afternoons this week.
a. Projects handed in - complete - on Tuesday, October 12th are graded out of a possible 200 points.
You also earn 10 bonus points for managing a long term project well enough to pass it in on time
b. Projects handed in on Wednesday, October 13th are graded out of a possible 200 points only if you have requested in writing an earned revised due date. If you are a day late and did not manage your project well enough to ask for an earned revised due date then you loose 20 points.
c. Projects handed in after Wednesday, October 13th: All other projects are graded according to the earned revised due date. If you do not have an earned revised due date than you have mismanaged this project and must see me before or after school to earn a grade of 100 out of 200 points. If you do not see me before or after school than you have earned a 0 out of 200 points.
Tuesday, October 5
PROGRESS REPORTS handed out today and due signed ASAP
Classwork:
Identify the elements of a well-written proof.
Creation of Music:
Tezcatlipoca told Quetzacoatl the earth needed music.
Quetzacoatl, the god of learning and the arts, became the wind and searched for music.
Watch this short video and learn how Tezcatlipoca came to earth.
... and thank you, Mr. Correia for finding the great resource :)
2. Glue in the revised proofs that you received in class - Creation of Music
3. Latest Summer Reading Notes:
Use the following link to download the Word document we discussed in class. This may help you organize the primary source data you need for your summer reading project due Tuesday, October 12th. If you have any problems, send me an email at turnerd@seekonk.k12.ma.us. Tell me who you are and ask for this Word document. I will send it to you as an attachment.
2010 Summer Reading Project Journal
4. Reminder - Summer Reading Project due Tuesday, October 12th
This is the week to solve problems and/or resolve your ability to manage a long term project.
Remember, you must send an email identifying any problems you have and then you must see me before or after school to earn a revised due date. You can see me any morning between 7:15 and 8AM or Monday and Wednesday late-bus afternoons this week.
a. Projects handed in - complete - on Tuesday, October 12th are graded out of a possible 200 points.
You also earn 10 bonus points for managing a long term project well enough to pass it in on time
b. Projects handed in on Wednesday, October 13th are graded out of a possible 200 points only if you have requested in writing an earned revised due date. If you are a day late and did not manage your project well enough to ask for an earned revised due date then you loose 20 points.
c. Projects handed in after Wednesday, October 13th: All other projects are graded according to the earned revised due date. If you do not have an earned revised due date than you have mismanaged this project and must see me before or after school to earn a grade of 100 out of 200 points. If you do not see me before or after school than you have earned a 0 out of 200 points.
3. Character Development:
My Notes: As we read and examine the work of the artists, writers and theater crews who created and recreated The Lion King, know you will be drafting your own myth.
Use the following resources to begin thinking about and crafting the characters for your myth.
Masks and Characters and Costumes: The Disney Lion King Education Series
Homework:
1. Latest Summer Reading Notes:
Use the following link to download the Word document we discussed in class. This may help you organize the primary source data you need for your summer reading project due Tuesday, October 12th. If you have any problems, send me an email at turnerd@seekonk.k12.ma.us. Tell me who you are and ask for this Word document. I will send it to you as an attachment.
Interactive Reading - Pages 13-16
Lion King: Story Origins, TImeless Themes, and Story Comes to Life
See DVD Special Features
5. Reminder - Summer Reading Project due Tuesday, October 12th
This is the week to solve problems and/or resolve your ability to manage a long term project.
Remember, you must send an email identifying any problems you have and then you must see me before or after school to earn a revised due date. You can see me any morning between 7:15 and 8AM or Monday and Wednesday late-bus afternoons this week.
a. Projects handed in - complete - on Tuesday, October 12th are graded out of a possible 200 points.
You also earn 10 bonus points for managing a long term project well enough to pass it in on time
b. Projects handed in on Wednesday, October 13th are graded out of a possible 200 points only if you have requested in writing an earned revised due date. If you are a day late and did not manage your project well enough to ask for an earned revised due date then you loose 20 points.
c. Projects handed in after Wednesday, October 13th: All other projects are graded according to the earned revised due date. If you do not have an earned revised due date than you have mismanaged this project and must see me before or after school to earn a grade of 100 out of 200 points. If you do not see me before or after school than you have earned a 0 out of 200 points.
Thursday October 7
Classwork:
As we read and examine the work of the artists, writers and theater crews who created and recreated The Lion King, know you will be drafting your own myth.
Use the following resources to begin thinking about and crafting the opening scene for your myth.
Disney Studio Narrates:
a. Story Origins: TRANSCRIBED FROM THE 1994 Disney DVD - Special Features:
1. The story connects itself to primal stories.
You are entering in that world that has always dealt with large, basic principles and basic abstracts.
The more you try to make it authentic and true and deeper and more resonant, the more it is going to be like the great myths that have endured and resonate now.
These are fundamental elements of the human experience: betrayal, redemption, fitting in.
2. Because we were intentionally trying to work in the realm of archetypes, I think, then, as soon as you do that you see how it relates to other great mythical
stories.
Whether, it’s scholars like Bettelheim and Uses of Enchantment or, of course, Joseph Cambell and his analysis of the hero’s journey. Even more contemporary versions of primal tales like the Shakespearean angle, of course, the Hamlet angle that gets talked about. We took in all of that as we began to shape the story. Simba and Nala: Whoaaaa… b. Timeless Themes: TRANSCRIBED FROM THE 1994 Disney DVD - Special Features: My Notes: As we read and examine the work of the artists, writers and theater crews who created and recreated The Lion King, know you will be drafting your own myth. Use the following resources to begin thinking about and crafting the themes for your myth. Theme Study Guide: http://teacherweb.com/MA/DrKevinMHurleyMiddleSchool/dsturner/gotheme.pdf Disney Notes: The Disney Lion King Education Series: Behind the Story http://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyOnBroadway#g/c/749105D50D29325E
TRANSCRIBED FROM THE 1994 Disney DVD - Special Features:
One of the interesting things in the process, I think, is sorta finding the themes. Sometimes, you go through these kinda soul-searching times when you begin to question: Is this really our theme? or Is there another theme emerging?
I think from very early on we were going to take on the telling of a story about coming of age, and because it was about kingship, it was the taking of responsibility.
Mufasa: “One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new king.”
In this case, the story was telling you that it wanted to tell - itself - about responsibility.
The metaphor of how are you responsible for your own community; how are you responsible in your own family. I think that is something universal that people can relate to and I think it is always appropriate.
Whether it is expressed as loyalty; whether it is expressed as taking your place in the circle of life, this notion that Simba takes responsibility for himself and realizes that, although, he makes mistakes he must go back.
Rather than checking out of life because life is too hard, he choose to actually go do something that is much more life-affirming. It was very important to embody that theme about taking responsibility and about the defining moment that happens when you choose to stand up. We were talking about how were we going to teach the lesson; how were we going to convey it. ..and then, Irene, as a joke, said: “Why doesn’t he just hit him over the head?”
Rafiki hits Simba over the head.
Simba: “GEEEEZE, What was that for?”
Rafiki: “It doesn’t matter, it is in the past.
And that’s one of those times when the crazy idea becomes the great idea.
You think you have a theme, and as the movie pulls together, it becomes more apparent in each scene.
We wanted to not skirt the issue of death, because it was essential to the story. It’s the big story that every one deals with – it’s about dealing with life in the face of death.
Mufasa: “Simba, let me tell you something that my father told me. Look at the
stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars”
Simba: “Really?”
Mufasa: “Yes. So, whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will
always be there to guide you …and so will I.”
Life is about balances and it is the contrasts of it all that make it work. Sun only shines in contrast to the darkness. So, the brighter you want the movie to be, the more celebratory and joyous, you have to, at times, go into the darkness and show that side of the movie. You had to deal with the bottom rung of life in terms of loss to be able to celebrate the last scene of all the gain that this character goes through. Experiencing the full spectrum of life from joy to sorrow; from hopes to hurts. …and all of that spectrum is what we tried to follow in what we asked of the audience.
So, it sorta goes beyond the quotation marks of story-telling and it speaks to experience. It doesn’t matter how bad things are or can get, you can get through it and the human spirit can rise above everything,
The strength of animation - and certainly the team of artists that made The Lion King - is that together we made something that not one of us could have made on our own. …and that is a very magical thing.
We are all part of something bigger than us; that we all belong and our time here is brief, but that our impact can be everlasting, if we will stay part of that circle of life.
c. The Story Comes to Life:
TRANSCRIBED FROM THE 1994 Disney DVD - Special Features:
TRANSCRIBED FROM THE 1994 Disney DVD - Special Features:
In retrospect people go back and analyze the movie and say, “Oh, how clever, they wove in these influences and those influences.” If you really saw how the movie was put together you would say, “Oh, my god, you mean they did it this way?”
We made each other laugh, so much, during these story sessions and script sessions. There was a great mixture of people in the room that we could bounce off of each other and we could write together and create together.
We would be rushing into a recording session and like, you know, shoving pizza into our mouths … and sitting in the lobby – we’ve got to come up with something for Nathan (Timon) to say. It’s done very spontaneously and it’s like playing jazz and the ideas start to come together and inspire other ideas and that turns into the movie. (storyboard clips)
All works of art … all great works of art always are from the process and they are not always self-evident while you are doing them.
Image on the screen needn’t be epic and vast and grandiose - although, we tried to do all those things. One of the most compelling images is of the father’s (Mufasa’s) paw print and Simba’s little paw going into it. It had everything to do with ideas and Robin and Roger had an idea about the thematic between father and son and the son taking his father’s place. I think it became really moving for the audience after awhile. (Mufasa: Remember… )
We are artists and film-makers, so intuitively you bring your emotions and feelings to the table. We all – Robin, Roger, and I and so many of us - had strong feelings about our dads and our relationships with our families.
My father died just a few years before we started The Lion King. It was definitely in there informing the whole thing. I know when we finished the movie one of the things we decided to do was to dedicate it to our fathers; to all fathers, which I thought would be a nice idea.
Clearly, there is an element in the movie … ah … I’ve always called the daddy issue. What have I resolved with my father; what remains; what guilt do I have that was never cleared with my father?
Simba has this horrible guilt that he feels that he somehow has caused his father’s death – and then the chance to go back; the chance to see his father …
We were building this idea of Mufasa returning. That idea wasn’t always in the story and in the very early drafts Mufasa dies and that’s it! I think, when we went into our major re-looking into the story that was one of the main things we came up with was that Mufassa would return in Simba’s hour of need. I think that is something that internally we have all dreamed of but never talked about. Wouldn’t you love to reach out in time and touch your father; your ancestor – someone who came before you and say. “What do I do; what am I doing wrong? Show me the way!” Simba gets to do that.
Mufasa: “You have forgotten who you are and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba.”
It’s very cryptic, but it’s really meaningful because the theme then is the answer is not out there somewhere (points away from his body), but the answer is in there (points to his heart).
!. Review - Character Development
2. Story Origins
3. TImeless Themes
4. Story Comes to LIfe
After previewing the opening three scenes Friday, October 8th, check your class notes to see if you have the information you need to answer the following questions. No:) The questions are not homework. The questions are a strategy you can use to check the quality of your notes. If you have the answers in your notes then, "Well done!" If you do not have the answers in your notes, then "What could you do better?"
"Circle of Life" opening scene:
Identify the conflict of the myth. (Look back to the commentary from the writers and artists - Thursday, October 7th)
Discuss the orange titles printed on a black background with respect to the conflict of this myth.
Discuss the Disney icon emerging on a black background - no sound - with the same icon and background - jungle animals sounds - transitioning to the sunrise.
Discuss the imagery, symbolism, sounds, and colors in the opening scene with respect to the conflict of the myth.
Identify the themes of the myth. (Look back to the commentary from the writers and artists - Thursday, October 7th)
Discuss the colors in the title over black background opening seconds.
Discuss the animal silhouettes against the oranges of the sunrise.
How does the reverse of these color sequences identify the theme explained: "
Life is about balances and it is the contrasts of it all that make it work. Sun only shines in contrast to the darkness"
We noticed a baby giraffe stepping out of the protective shadow of its mother in the "Circle of LIfe" scene. "...and blinking stepped into the sun" were the lyrics we heard as this happened. As the Disney writers and artists made the final revisions, why do you think it was important to sync this image and these lyrics? How does this image and these lyrics foreshadow the theme explained as, "
We are all part of something bigger than us; that we all belong and our time here is brief, but that our impact can be everlasting, if we will stay part of that circle of life."
Bullet examples of the cultural influences illustrated in the "Circle of Life" scene.
Bullet examples of respect for others and respect for life illustrated in the "CIrcle of Life" scene.
How can you use these techniques to mature your writing style as you continue to write your own myth?
"Scar" scene:
Explain the opening lines spoken by Scar: "Life's not fair, I shall never be king and you shall never see the light of another day." (HInt: Do not forget the importance of the fact that Scar is in the darkness of a cave and his words speak of the "light of another day")
Compare the "Circle of LIfe" scene with the "Scar" scene. Identify the contrasts between Mufasa and Scar.
Compare the "Circle of LIfe" scene with the "Scar" scene. Identify the contrasts between the last two images of the savannah. (The savannah is filled with peaceful shades of blue and mauve. The mode is serene. verses Rain falling on the savannah quietly and gently at first and then building to a torrential downpour. The colors are darker - grey shades with touches of blue.)
How can you use these techniques to mature your writing style as you continue to write your own myth?
"Morning Report" scene:
Why did the writers and artists change the pace of the first two scenes and craft this scene with humor?
How can you use this technique to mature your writing style as you continue to write your own myth?
Explain the difference between situational irony and irony. Use the examples I gave in class to support your explanation.
Note: If you scroll down to Tuesday, October 12th, you can watch the "Morning Report" scene again.
If your summer reading project is complete, you have no new homework.
Enjoy the weekend.
Monday, October 11 - Columbus Day
Review the class notes and Disney videos (Friday, October 1 through Friday, October 8th) to get ready for class tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 12th
Class:
1. Summer Reading Project due and collected.
I went to each student during class and documented the parts of the summer reading project that they handed in today. Three parts were due: 1) hard copy primary source quotes from the novel and MLA citation, 2) the actual project, 3) the notes and journals students kept during the summer.
Students,
Congratulations to all students who came in early or stayed after school last week to problem-solve technology. What a great choice. You made sure your project was ready today:)
Congratulations to all students who problem-solved through emails last week and handed in all three parts of your summer reading projects today:)
Some students need to think about what they could do better next time. If you are missing any part or parts of your summer reading project then you have given yourself homework. You will loose points for every day your project is late unless you asked for an extension in writing. Extension requests were due 24 hours before the project was due.
2. Journal entries:
2a. Title of your in-class myth: Choose a theme from the them study guide.
2b. Protagonist profile: Give your protagonist a name, and then use the resources in your journal to begin creating the profile for your protagonist. Writing strategy - the four methods an author uses to create a protagonist/character.
2c. Character profile:
Note: If you are addressing each of the four methods an author uses to create a character then you should have a page or more of ideas for your protagonist and another page or more of ideas for the character/super natural being.
15 minutes:
a. No cell phones, ipods, or any technology can be used during this 15 minute homework assignment.
b. SIt on your back porch or rake a few leaves or go for a walk or shoot some hoops, or ...
c. What should you think about during the 15-minute homework assignment? Pretend you are the protagonist of your myth. How would the protagonist of your myth respond to the mythical question: Who are we? Think. Imagine. Wonder. Do not write anything down - yet. (You will write tomorrow during class.)
Bonus Points:
GIve your cell phone to your parents before you go to bed. If you have an ipod that sends messages, then give that to your parents before your go to bed.
NOTE: Tomorrow you will take a homework report card home with you. Have your parents fill out the homework report card grades for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Have them fill out the extra credit grade. Bring the homework report card to school Friday - signed.
15 minutes:
a. No cell phones, ipods, or any technology can be used during this 15 minute homework assignment.
b. SIt on your back porch or rake a few leaves or go for a walk or shoot some hoops, or ...
c. What should you think about during the 15-minute homework assignment? Pretend you are one of the San Jose miners and you are waiting for your turn to enter the capsule. It is 6AM and seven miners have been rescued. You wait patiently with hope-filled expectation knowing the dangers of this operation. You wonder: How? You wonder: Why? You ask yourself: Where are we going?
Think. Imagine. Wonder. Do not write anything down - yet. (You will write tomorrow during class.)
Bonus Points:
GIve your cell phone to your parents before you go to bed. If you have an ipod that sends messages, then give that to your parents before your go to bed.
NOTE: Take a homework report card home with you. Have your parents fill out the homework report card grades for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Have them fill out the extra credit grade. Bring the homework report card to school Friday - signed.
1. What did you learn when you turned off the noise last night???
2. 15 minutes in-class myth draft -
As individual students you have collected and drafted character profiles for your protagonist, a supernatural being profile, and the setting, mood, and imagery. You have this time to bring your ideas to your group brain-storming session. Present all ideas and use this time to revise the character profile, the supernatural being profile, and the setting, mood, and imagery.
3. Review and Quick Overview - Myth as dramatic screenplay:
"Disciplinary Star" Scene
"Be Prepared" Scene
4. 30 minutes - Watching Film With a Purpose:
We have practiced skills and strategies for watching a film with a purpose.
You have been taught skills and strategies for taking copious notes to explain the following three questions:
How is the mythical story told through the imagery?
How is the mythical story told through the dialogue?
How does the imagery and the dialogue move the plot of this mythical story forward?
Continue to watch the film with purpose. I will stop the film briefly after each scene so you can finish organizing your notes.
Homework:
1. You have completed your first draft. Let your story ideas rest in your imagination. Use your imagination to visualize the myth you have drafted in-class. When you can visualize the action, characters and imagery of your myth, you can revise a draft more maturely and with greater detail.
2. FInish your summer reading projects for math, science, and social studies. Present your work with great care. It is a reflection of you.
6. Period A: film preview to be completed tomorrow
Homework:
Organize the notes for the myth you are writing.
Tuesday, October 19th
1. 10 minutes: Concerns about balancing classwork/homework with the lost class time for the Book Fair and the trip to Tri-County.
2. Laptops: Students type the free-write draft for their myth - 2 pages (font 12, double spaced)
Note: We spent time during class last week completing prewriting exercises for characters and setting. Yesterday we completed a 15 event sequence for the plot. Today the first free write will be completed for the student myths.
3. Climax: Recognition - "the winds are changing"
Wednesday, October 20 through Friday, October 22nd
Wednesday: Book Fair (20 minutes)
Class:
20 minutes: Laptop cart and time to review your free-write/draft from yesterday
Note: Laptops are available after school today and before school every morning.
Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22
50 minutes each class :
Revise Wednesday's pre-write/draft
Revise with purpose using the Creative Writing – Student Myths Rubric
Note: Laptops are available before school every morning.
Note: We will have the laptops again Monday, November 1 and Wednesday, November 3 through Friday, November 5.
You will edited and revise the drafts you completed this week the first week of November.
Note: We will complete these myths
Additional Resources
Massachusetts Frameworks
Making Connections
9.5 Relate a literary work to artifacts, artistic creations, or historical sites of the period of its setting.
Writing
19.22 Write and justify a personal interpretation of literary, informational, or expository reading that includes a topic sentence, supporting details from the literature, and a conclusion.
20.0 Consideration of Audience and Purpose
20.4 Select and use appropriate rhetorical techniques for a variety of purposes, such as to convince or entertain the reader.
Revising
21.6 Revise writing to improve organization and diction after checking the logic underlying the order
of ideas, the precision of vocabulary used, and the economy of writing.
21.7 Improve word choice by using a variety of references (dictionaries, thesauruses, dialects, …).
22.0 Standard English Conventions
22.8 Use knowledge of types of sentences (simple, compound, complex), correct mechanics (comma
after introductory structures), correct usage (pronoun reference), sentence structure (complex
sentences, properly placed modifiers), and standard English spelling when writing and editing.
Organize Ideas in Writing
23.10 Organize information into a coherent essay or report with a thesis statement in the
introduction, transition sentences to link paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Research
24.4 Apply steps for obtaining information from a variety of sources, organizing information,
documenting sources, and presenting research in individual projects:
• Differentiate between primary and secondary sources
• Differentiate between paraphrasing and using direct quotes in a report
• Document information and quotations and use a consistent format for footnotes and/or endnotes
• Use standard bibliographic format to document sources
MA Frameworks:
25.4 As a group, develop and use rubrics to improve organization and presentation of written and oral projects.
8.RL.5 Identify significant literary devices, such as symbolism or irony, which define an author’s, illustrator’s or film director’s style and explain how the style affects the mood and tone of a work.
8.RL.7 Analyze the beliefs and assumptions of the narrator/speaker in a literary work, or a central character in a film and provide details to support the analysis.
8.RL.8 Provide relevant evidence and examples to support an interpretation of a text, performance, or film.
Note: Label all pages with a day and date or the title of a handout, number all pages, keep a table of contents the includes the numbers of your pages and a topic to identify what is on the page. Scroll down and make sure you have everything you need.
c. Make connections. How do writing expectations change throughout the years?
Elementary School
8th Grade
High School
A paragraph includes a topic sentence
Paragraphs include a sentence that defines the topic and explains your point-of-view.
This is like a thesis statement.
Introductory paragraphs of a paper include a thesis statement.
The introductory paragraph is like a road map in that it identifies the direction of the paper.
Paragraphs include supporting details
Paragraphs include specific examples or evidence that support the author's point-of-view about the topic.
Paragraphs include supporting evidence that must be cited in a Works Cited page.
Paragraphs include a concluding sentence.
Paragraphs include connections from the examples to the topic.
The thesis statement is not only restated in the concluding paragraph but also used to support the original road map provided in the introductory paragraph.
Note: Whenever you complete a journal entry use your highlighters to prove you have included all three parts:
define and explain - Use one color to highlight this information.
examples - Use a second color to highlight this information.
connections - Use a third color to highlight this information.
