Literary Studies 10 – 2024 – Mr. Purdy’s Blog

January 22nd, 2024

I promised that we would go over the literacy 10 exam. This will still happen. You will just complete the exam today as a practice.

Here are the instructions:

On your device, click this link: https://bced.vretta.com/#/en/bced-landing/grad/sample/literacy10
Select “Form A”
Start the test. Get used to the formatting – how the test is structured, the buttons etc. Everything is on the left hand side to continue,
Do the multiple choice
Do the graphic organizer but save your written work on a separate document
PART B – Choose a ‘pathway’ that interests you more.
Do the multiple choice questions
When you get to the written response, save your work to a separate document.
Finish self reflection if you want
Check your answers.

January 19th, 2024

I hope you had a good few days. So this is how it’s all going to look for the last few days:

Today: In class questions and answers. Turn it in for tonight / midnight.

That is the last day for my class. Monday is literacy exam prep. Timed and formatting focused.

Questions chapter 1-10

You are not to take a copy of the book home, but you can use them in class. If you would like to read further, I have an online copy here: Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese

Please read the first ten chapters and then complete the questions for discussion tomorrow.

I have another assignment on Thursday that will have to do with the main character and how his story is not unique to the residential school travesty.

January 16th, 2024

Period 2 see the below blog.

Indian Horse:

Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese

This is our first assignment – It is a group based assignment. I am very excited for what you come up with.

Introduction Activities

And as we proceed, here are the discussion / comp questions for you.

Questions chapter 1-10

January 15th, 2024

Two parts to today:

Debate. What is a debate?

I will assign you a side. I will tell you the rules. We will go through a mini mock debate. Then we will work on this real prompt:

Be it resolved that Indigenous education should replace traditional Eurocentric education in BC schools.

We will go over the rules of engagement together. (Should be a 20 minute debate – shortened)

Question:

Be it resolved that indigenous education should be mandated in BC public schools.

Structure:

5 minutes preparation

2 minutes Proposition intro

2 minutes opposition intro

1 minute break

2 minutes rebuttal Proposition

2 minutes rebuttal opposition

2 minutes break

2 minutes conclusion Proposition

2 minutes conclusion opposition

Part 2: Indian Horse:

Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese

This is our first assignment – It is a group based assignment. I am very excited for what you come up with.

Introduction Activities

And as we proceed, here are the discussion / comp questions for you.

Questions chapter 1-10

January 12th, 2024

Today, you will have a new teacher teaching you something good. After Callie finishes her lesson, period 2’s will discuss the What you Pawn, I Will Redeem story – this I am excited for. Please review your questions so that the discussion can have some merit.

Period 3 students will focus more on the debate side of things – as we will have an official debate on Monday.

Let’s have a good Friday.

January 11th, 2024

Today, we will be reading a story without introduction.

What you Pawn, I will Redeem Alexie

Here are some questions to think about before we move on to the novel. We’ll try and go through a few today, the rest tomorrow. Questions and graded discussion Friday.

In “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” what is the purpose or symbolism behind the three Aleut Indians?
How would you describe the narrator of this story?
What are some of the literary elements used in Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”?
Is there a bias? If so, what is the nature in the story?
What does Jackson do with the money he gets?
Who is Jackson and what does his quest symbolize?
In Sherman Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” how is Jackson alienated from the community? How does he respond?
How does Jackson Jackson change as a result of completing his hero’s journey in Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”?
What challenges does Jackson face in trying to get the $999 dollars in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”?
In Sherman Alexie’s short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” does Jackson really work hard for the money at the end of the story like he says?
Identify the historical era Sherman Alexie is writing about in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” and its significance to the story.
In “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” how does Sherman Alexie show belonging ?
In the opening of “What You Pawn, I Will Redeem,” explain what the protagonist means when he says “it’s my secret story, and Indians have to work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks.”
In Sherman Alexie’s “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” is Jackson a reliable narrator? Is his story believable? Is it important for Jackson to be reliable or his story to be believable?
How does Sherman Alexie complicate stereotypical notions about American Indians in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”?
How does Sherman Alexie in his story, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem,” complicate stereotypical notions about American Indians?
What is regalia, as mentioned in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” and why is it valuable?
Is there an epiphany in What You Pawn I Will Redeem?

This unit is discussion heavy. I would like for you to be attentive and have respect for the material we will be discussing.

January 10th, 2024

This is the final day for you to complete your drafts. Get them read, cut them down to 1000-1500 words and turn them in. I’m not looking for perfection, but I’d like to see an honest progress.

January 9th, 2024

OK so this is time for you to get a peer review and show me what you have.

The task today is to cut your masterpiece down to 1500 words if you have more or make it up to 1000 words if you don’t have enough.

I will be strict with word count because I don’t want to read a bible’s worth of words when I have to grade this thing.

I have printouts of this:

Short Story Peer Editing Checklist

January 8th, 2024

Welcome back and happy new year. It’s hard to believe that there are only 10 days left. I hope you have being doing nothing but think about your time travel short stories over the break.

I have your updated grades. Let’s talk about them over the next few days so you know what you’re standing at and what you need to do in order to improve.

This is your task today – Talk to me about it:

Time Travel Rough draft due tonight at 11:59PM

Time Travel Good draft due Wednesday at 11:59PM

Short Story Peer Editing Checklist

Please get things done – have at least one of these filled out for the end of class. Printouts will be handed out if needed. Use this time wisely. I’ll ask you to leave if you’re too noisy (as you know).

December 21st, 2023

You have a theory, I presume. Possibly a plot? By the end of class today, prove to me that you have something by turning it in.

I have print outs of a paper but I can give you a small lesson on dialogue:

dialogue_rules

Please get that done today. I won’t accept messing around.

December 20th, 2023

So today, I’d like for you to commit to a ‘theory’ and brainstorm a plot that the theory fits into. We will talk about this a little bit.

What are the ‘Must Haves’ of time travel stories?

Seeing the Future

In these stories, it is actually information that travels through time. And this might be the most scientifically plausible form of time travel, one that is already happening all the time on the quantum level.

Visions of the future have shown up in literature and mythology for millennia, it’s just that we used to call them prophecy. But the fundamental storytelling device has changed little, even as it evolved with the times, manifesting in various communication technologies. Characters connect to the future through newspapers (the film It Happened Tomorrow, which inspired the show Early Edition), letters (The Lake House), radio (Frequency), photography (Time Lapse) and now, the Internet.

All these stories of peering forward in time differentiate into two categories on the basis of one crucial question: If you see the future, can you change it?

1a: Stories of Inevitable Foresight

These are stories where the future can be seen—but ultimately, what you see can’t be stopped.

The archetype for this form is one of the oldest works of dramatic literature in the Western canon—Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, where the titular king is warned by the seer Tiresias that he will murder his father and wed his mother… and despite his best efforts to the contrary, he ends up inadvertently doing just that (and then gouges his eyes out for good measure).

Stories of inevitable prediction speak to one of our deepest fears: that we have no free will, no agency, no power to control our fate. A glimpse of the future, foreknowledge of what’s to come, only ends up causing the events we aim to prevent.

Sound depressing? Maybe that’s why it’s a theme that spoke to sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, author of Minority Report— which is, for all its superficial differences, a story very similar to Oedipus Rex. It features a trio of precogs who dream of future-murders, and a cop assigned to prevent such killings—until he finds himself accused of one himself.

Dick was a pessimist about the prospect of free will, and in his story (spoiler alert!) his character ends up going through with the predicted murder. But perhaps unsurprisingly, when Steven Spielberg got hold of the same material, the outcome changed, and Tom Cruise’s version of the character was able to alter his destiny. How? Sheer force of movie-star charisma mostly. Which brings us to—

1b: Stories of Preventable Foresight

Other stories of seeing the future treat altering the timeline as quite evitable. In fact, the very act of viewing what’s ahead empowers the individual to change things, and prevent the foreseen events from coming to pass. That’s how Early Edition worked, with Kyla Chandler given the thankless daily task of averting tragedies only he could foresee.

But the prototype for this story form can be traced at least to 1843, in A Christmas Carol. Yes, even Dickens wrote some timey-wimey shenanigans; what else are the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Yet To Come? And when Scrooge beholds the pitiful sight of Tiny Tim dead, and his own neglected grave, he is promised a chance to rewrite the narrative if he can merely change his ways.

Which means that Dickens was much more of an optimist than Sophocles or Philip K. Dick. Being able to see the future and change it, whether through an epiphany or a magical newspaper, is the sort of world most of us want to believe in… whether that’s the way things actually work or not.

But in other types of stories, it’s not only information that travels through time. Many stories concern people getting to do so too—and the way authors treat those journeys says just as much about who they are and how they view the world.

Traveling to the future

One of the clearest progenitors of the time travel narrative, H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, is about a man zipping off into the distant future. But the world he encounters—one full of peaceful Eloi and belligerent Morlocks—is so disconnected from our own, it’s hard to know why it’s not simply a story about aliens on another planet.

This points to a problem with time-travel forward. The future feels so unknowable, it often ends up being less interesting than we’d expect. That’s why some “travel into the future” stories make our present the future of the characters—like Time After Time, which features Jack the Ripper fleeing 1890’s London and winding up (via a time-machine that belongs to H.G. Wells) in 1970’s San Francisco (it’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and well worth a watch). But this plot device is really no different from the fish-out-of-water Rip Van Winkle premise, dressed up with technology.

Perhaps this is why “travel into the future” has perhaps been used most effectively as a last-minute twist ending, as in the original Planet of the Apes.

In other words—time-travel into the future is just not that special… maybe because we’re doing it all the time, at a consistent rate of 60 minutes per hour. And given that our own lifetimes have witnessed such seismic changes in technology and society, do we really need to imagine a cosmic leap forward to see things that will blow our minds?

That’s why the most interesting physical-time-travel stories have focused on…

Traveling to the Past

Some of these stories are just touristy jaunts that don’t bother with the ramifications of intervening in history (like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court). Which is fine and well, but more interesting are stories that grapple with the question: Can we alter the past? And by implication… can we alter our own present? Which breaks the category down into two distinct groups…

3A: Changing History

Perhaps the most intuitive mode of time travel is where characters travel to the past, and in doing so, alter the present they left behind. Back to the Future is probably the most popular of all. It’s fun to meet your teenage parents, but if you mess things up, you risk erasing yourself from existence. So then you have to… fight off your mom’s sexual advances and help your dad save her from getting raped? (Yeah, I didn’t really get how messed-up that was as a kid either…) Fix the past, fix the present, life goes on.

Of course, beyond just keeping your parents married and yourself in the family portrait, what people dream of is using time travel to fix history, the easiest go-to being the plot to kill baby Hitler. But in the massive time travel canon, it’s almost exclusively villains who try to rewrite the past. Very few stories feature heroes changing history for the better. Butterfly effects are almost always negative, and even the most well-intentioned time travel plans (like saving Kennedy from assassination in Stephen King’s 11/22/63) result in horrible misfortune for the world (catastrophic earthquakes in that case, for, ya know, reasons).

All of which points to the fact that on some profound level, as much as our minds love playing with the possibilities of altering the timeline, we are deeply attached to the one we have, and innately suspicious of any effort to correct it. Which is why we have…

3B: Immutable Timelines

Stories where characters find themselves fundamentally incapable of altering history, regardless of their level of intervention. 12 Monkeys (and the French film it’s based on, La Jetee) tells the story of a time traveler seeking to prevent an apocalyptic manmade plague. He ultimately fails and realizes, too late, that as a child he witnessed the death of himself, as an older time traveler. The ending is incredibly satisfying—despite the fact that it’s profoundly fatalistic, suggestive of a world in which not even high-tech time-bending can save the human race from killing itself.

A less fatalistic example of this approach to time-rules is found in Avengers:Endgame, in which the characters travel to various moments throughout Marvel history to steal Infinity Stones (think Oceans 11 with a lot of fan-service). Smart Hulk (yes, seriously) gives the stipulation that history will “heal” itself of their interventions, preserving the timeline. On its face, this sounds like a lame gimme of a screenwriting rule — but turns out, it’s actually reasonably well-supported by recent experiments on quantum time travel. Science and sci-fi both point to the same idea: we can’t change the past.

Time loop

Which brings us to the final category—the pinnacle of unalterability—stories where a character is stuck reliving the same day again and again. The prototype here is the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day. The formula it set out brilliantly has been replicated in other genres, including but not limited to YA melodrama (Before I Fall), slasher-horror (Happy Death Day), sci-fi action with aliens (Edge of Tomorrow), sci-fi action without aliens (Source Code, ARQ), episodic existential-dramedy (Russian Doll) and then circling all the way back to comedy again in last year’s Palm Springs.

These films don’t merely share a high-concept, they all have essentially the same theme: life doesn’t change until you change. Which would seem to make them remarkably unoriginal, if not for the surprising fact that they’re ALL good. (Seriously, I’ll go to bat for Before I Fall). No doubt there are some bad time-loop movies that I missed, but the fact that one hyper-specific premise has resulted in so many excellent movies points to the fact that there is a deep, resonant truth to the notion of being trapped in time.

Of course, this is only a partial taxonomy of time travel, but even this incomplete catalogue points to a few key takeaways. Most time travel stories are cautionary tales. Attempting to meddle with history is punished; defying prophecy is futile; the best we can do is pull a Marty McFly and close the Pandora’s box we opened in the first place. These stories, for all their far-flung leaps through space and time, are ultimately about how, if we want to change our lived reality, we need to start with ourselves.

Our job is to look through these four types of stories and find a universal truth to why we are obsessed with the notion of time – the true ruler of us all.

Task Part 2:

Come up with a rough outline for one of these time travel plot ideas if your idea hasn’t already materialized.

Time Travel Short Story Ideas

December 19th, 2023

What Makes a Christmas Song Christmassy?

Partial Adaptation (ClassFM)

We listen to Christmas songs starting in November and they blast through the 25^th of December. Some people hate Christmas songs, as the season itself can be tough and emotional. Another reason for the hate is that the season is cliché and the songs remain the same (or a cash grab from the newest artist ex. Ariana Grande sings Xmas Hits!! Yet Christmas is a multi-billion-dollar industry, so they’re not going to stop for a few people that don’t like the tunes.

Today, we will spend a little time looking at some of my favorites from the season. Then we will look at what elements make a song into a Christmas song.

Finally, you are to choose a song and tell me the elements of why it is such a “Christmas” song in a 250–300-word paragraph. You can present it as well, but this is tentative to the class. The instructions for the mini assignment are on the next page after the write up.

Classic songs that are worth Listening to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQzJAKxTrE

Some 80’s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY

Some Maria

Write up on the Question: What Makes a Christmas Song Christmassy?

From Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas. These are all the elements that have to be in a Christmas classic

A touch of bitters – some minor chords

But it’s Christmas, the season of joy, we hear you cry. And caramel tastes even better with a sprinkling of salt.

The point is, sprinkling minor and diminished chords through a song or piece that’s otherwise in a major key – or even changing key to a minor key for a section – only enhances that warm Christmas fuzzy feeling (to be technical about it).

Take a listen Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’. That chord under ‘presents’ in the opening line is a scrunchy half diminished chord. It’s D minor 7 flat 5 to be exact. That chord on its own does not a Christmas song make.

BUT what that chord does do is bring in that delicious sprinkle of salt that makes your sweet caramel all the sweeter.

A stirring melody

Let’s go all the way back to Tchaikovsky for this. Because he is the original and best master of Christmas music.

Let’s take his Nutcracker ballet – a work that’s set at Christmas and is performed every winter around the world.

We’ll take the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ as our example. (But really you could stick a pin in any part of The Nutcracker and find an absolutely storming tune).

The waltz opens with a simple but catchy tune before the harp comes in with a shimmering interlude. And then it’s over to the brass and winds who pave the way for the centre-piece of the melody, a soaring, whirling waltz tune from the violins that demands to be hummed along to.

Classic Tchaikovsky.

A story from the past

Christmas is 90 per cent nostalgia, so if your Christmas tune can hint at past times, broken hearts (oh hi there Wham!) but a determined optimism for the times ahead – all the better.

Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’ ticks this box and then some.

It was written in the 1940s and become a massive hit in a recording with Bing Crosby. It’s since been covered over 500 (500!!) times.

Those lyrics are doused in more nostalgia than your nan puts sherry on her Christmas pudding:

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

In Crosby’s recording the second half of the song is performed by a choir – they sound more distant and fainter than Crosby’s voice. They could almost be ghostly voices from those past Christmases…

And the fact that the recording has that evocative warm crackle of vinyl only feeds that feeling that Christmas really was better in the 1940s.

Finally… sleigh bells

This is crucial. In fact, if you don’t include sleigh bells you’ve failed to write a Christmas hit.

And for our example we’re returning to Russia. It’s Prokofiev’s Troika. The piece was originally written as music for a film called Lieutenant Kijé. But the key thing here is that this is essentially a concerto for sleigh bells.

Listen to this and we defy you not to come over all Christmassy. Right, we’re off to eat a mince pie.

Your Task Today

Find your own Christmas song. Listen to it and copy down the lyrics right here. (In the box underneath the instructions
Determine through medley, lyrics, story & legacy what makes this song you’ve chosen a Christmas song.
Write a 250 – 300-word reflection style paragraph on the impact the song has on you (if any) and how this song is representative of the season – despite your celebration of the holiday itself.

Here is the exact same thing on a word document:

MM_Xmas2021

December 18th, 2023

The Final Reader Response – This is a quiet class . Tomorrow, we start the workshops for short story writing.

Here is the story:

THe Seventh Voyage Text

Here is the data response question sheet:

Seventh Voyage RR Questions

Remember – do the structure as follows:

Find your opinion with these 6 questions:

Do you like or dislike the text?
Do you agree or disagree with the writer?
Does the text clash with your personal views?
How does the text relate to you personally?
To what extent did the text challenge or change your opinions or beliefs?
Did you learn anything from the text? If so, what did you learn?
What is your overall reaction to the text?

2. Organize your thoughts into an essay style response.

3. Final paper structure: (For Wednesday)

Summarize (briefly) the text
give your own opinion on why it was good / bad.
Connect the thematic statement to a personal anecdote or philosophy that you have.
How does your view fit in the bigger picture?

December 15th, 2023

Revisiting the Reader Response:

Yesterday was Monday (Sturgeon):

Yesterday was Monday

Permanence in linear time

Besides time, we sense that history, science, craftsmanship, and perhaps even theology all come together in this Gordian clockwork of “Yesterday Was Monday”, and all these presented as the almost-believably realistic scenes and events experienced by an ordinary guy who happens to wake up on Wednesday before it’s quite finished.

Reader Response:

A. You should have all the following questions completed:

Do you agree or disagree with the writer’s choices in the story? Would you have made different choices to make the text better?
What’s the overall message? Does the message clash with your personal views?
How does the text relate to you personally?
To what extent did the text challenge or change your opinions or beliefs?
Did you learn anything from the text? If so, what did you learn?
What is your overall reaction to the text? Why did you [dis] like the text?

B. After that, you come up with a theme statement.

Ex. Very special conditions must be satisfied before one may assert the identity in time, the duration of a given existent. The permanence of marble, over which time passes almost imperceptibly, differs so essentially from the permanence of a living being that one questions the usefulness of joining them under the same concept.

C. Choose a theme statement to use that works with your personal views.

D. Now you have all the ‘data’ needed, structure the 1-3 paragraph response like this:

Summarize (briefly) the text
give your own opinion on why it was good / bad.
Connect the thematic statement to a personal anecdote or philosophy that you have.
How does your view fit in the bigger picture?

December 14th, 2023

Today we’re reading a new story: All You Zombies. (Fact: It’s not about zombies)

You will also learn a new word: Solipsism. Look it up.

Here is the text:

Robert-A.-Heinlein-All-You-Zombies

Now today’s assignment is going away from the usual written response / comprehension questions.

I will give you paper – on which you are to draw a timeline. You have to sort out this story so that it makes sense to you. At the end of the class, I will take your “Timelines” and see if you came up with something that is tangible and related to the story.

Let’s practice with this 1950’s song:

“I’m My Own Grandpa“

Here is some help: TIMELINE OF ALL YOU ZOMBIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER / GRAPHIC

1. On September 20, 1945, the Bartender drops off baby Jane at an orphanage. She grows up there. She dreams of joining one of the “comfort organizations” dedicated to providing R&R for spacemen.

2. Nearly 18 years later, the man who refers to himself as “an unmarried mother” is dropped off at April 3, 1963, by the Bartender. He meets and, after some weeks of dating, seduces and impregnates the 17-year-old Jane, who has an intersex condition. From Jane’s point of view, he then disappears. Actually, he has been retrieved by the Bartender, and taken to 1985 (see sixth bullet point).

3. Jane learns that she is pregnant by the now-missing unknown man. After giving birth by C-section, she is found to be a “true hermaphrodite” who has been severely damaged by the pregnancy and birth; on waking she learns that she has been subjected (without her consent) to a “sex change” which reassigns her sex to male.

4. On March 10, 1964, the Bartender kidnaps the baby and takes it back in time to the orphanage (see first bullet point). Jane, now male, becomes a stenographer, and then a writer. Whenever he is asked his occupation, he replies, somewhat truculently, “I’m an unmarried mother—at four cents a word. I write confession stories.” He becomes a regular at the bar where the narrator, the Bartender, works, but does not interact with him significantly for six years.

5. On November 7, 1970, the Bartender meets the Unmarried Mother, yells at the customer playing “I’m My Own Grandpa“, conducts the Unmarried Mother into the back office, and takes him back to 1963 to “find” (and, ostensibly, get revenge upon) the man who got him pregnant (see second bullet point). He returns to the bar, seconds after going into the back room, and allows the customer to play the song. From his own point of view, he has carried out his mission of ensuring his own existence.

6. On August 12, 1985, the Bartender travels to 1963 and retrieves the Unmarried Mother — whom he had left there (then?) during the events of the fifth (and second) bullet point(s) — to the Rockies base and enlists him (actually a younger version of himself) in the Temporal Bureau.

7. On January 12, 1993, the Bartender, who is also Jane/mother/father/Unmarried Mother, arrives back at his base from 1970 to think about his life.

December 13th, 2023

Let’s complete your reader response today in class. If you have time, you can start the next story, but I would like to have the day to do that tomorrow. I will give you a link in any case.

The reader response is due at the end of your respective class.

Questions:

(These are for a classroom discussion – You reverse your thesis and pose a question)

How is the realism portrayed in this story, taking into account the fact that it is a conceptual fantasy piece?
What are the elements that make Needle in a Timestack a fantasy story rather than a Sci Fi story?
Why would having the capability to time travel in today’s society be a problem?
What are the different motivational qualities of the main characters in A Needle in a Timestack and how are these qualities both an asset and a detriment?
Does the story align with the beliefs of our contemporary Western society in regards to romantic love and the idea of soulmates (or that two people are ‘fated’ to be together)?
What made this story’s version of cause and effect so interesting to the reader?
How are the basic emotions of the human condition portrayed through the actions of the characters?

You will also learn a new word: Solipsism. Look it up.

Here is the text:

Robert-A.-Heinlein-All-You-Zombies

Now today’s assignment is going away from the usual written response / comprehension questions.

December 12th, 2023

Needle in a Timestack

So by now, I’m sure you’re aware that if one changes even the slightest thing in the past, then the consequences could be dire.

This next story is one that is similar in theory, but has a few differences. Basically, it’s about a jealous ex-boyfriend trying to mess up a happy marriage by trying to erase the married couple’s past. Pretty cool idea.

Yet this is the day I will teach you about “reader Response. Look at this graphic I stole of the internet:

So I will put down these questions that are in the graphic – please write out in a 1-3 paragraph response your reaction to this text after you finish reading it:

Do you like or dislike the text?
Do you agree or disagree with the writer?
Does the text clash with your personal views?
How does the text relate to you personally?
To what extent did the text challenge or change your opinions or beliefs?
Did you learn anything from the text? If so, what did you learn?
What is your overall reaction to the text?

For the discussion, you are to look back at the response you have just written and come up with a claim (thesis) summarizing everything you’ve written.

Example: You wrote about how both Mikkelsen and Janine are both fighting to keep their love in tact. So you can summarize with “Love is seen of as fleeting, yet something worth fighting for in Silverberg’s “Needle in a Timestack.”

December 11th, 2023

Musical Mondays:

Dec 11th: Larkin & Kindrey & Maddie / Nathan & Grant

Dec 11th: Jiyul & Kian

After that, you have some time to finish those questions I assigned on Friday for A Sound of Thunder. They are due tomorrow.

December 8th, 2023

NEW UNIT DAY

Here is a run down of what we will be doing –

V3.5_21_Time Travel Short Fiction Introduction

Discussion Questions: (Write, then discuss with a partner)

What is the definition of Science Fiction?
What are some examples of science fiction stories? (Movies, Manga, Fiction etc.)
Is science fiction an effective genre? Why or why not?
What sub-genres of science fiction can you think of?

The short stories I have chosen for this specific unit are ordered and as follows:

A Sound of Thunder

[We will do a pre / during / post reading of this text in a worksheet. Here is the story:

Sound of Thunder

Here is the worksheet. It is due Friday at midnight.

SOund of thunder Questions

Needle in a Timestack

All You Zombies

The Seventh Voyage

Yesterday Was Monday

And if we have time: This is one of the academic skills I want you to take away:

V2_Reader Response TTU

December 7th, 2023

In class essay today. No Teams file needed. Everything will be paper. Show me your notes and we’ll start right away.

If you are absent today, please talk to me about a makeup date for this final.

December 6th, 2023

I will give you paper copies of this – this paper is what you will use tomorrow:

Peer Review 3PP Essay Structure

Here is the rest of the structure for the essay:

Body:

A. Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
B. Context for the quote
1. Who says it?
2. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
C. Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
D. Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
E. Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next idea in the paragraph)

Conclusion:

Idea Revisited:
Detail about the Idea:
Brief Quote from Journal:
Final Point Brought from Intro and explored further:

Example of concluding paragraph:

Archetypes help emphasize the diversity within the society by creating variations of personality
traits and experiences that most individuals can relate to in one way or another.

When the audience is able to explore a deeper meaning within media, it can feel more personalized and can increase the overall significance of the piece in their lives.

A quote in the journal that is very important because it can relate to everyone is, “we have all done something dreadful in our lives, or have felt the urge to”, (Malcolm Gladwell, chapter 8).

Archetypes are an integration between modern day society and characters in media that are often used as a method to connect and create closer relationships within individuals by accepting similarities and differences in personalities, experiences, and opinions

December 5th, 2023

Tuneful Tuesdays Presenters:

Dec 4th: Michaela & Ashley / Alexa

Dec 4th: YURI / Lee, Laura, Alice

After that, we will talk about what you did yesterday and the next step. The final draft will be written in class on Wednesday and then it’s off to time travel short stories.

December 4th, 2023

I am not here today, as I caught some nasty stomach flu. We will change the Musical Mondays to Tuneful Tuesdays and today you will come up with your introductory paragraph for the final essay. I want it to be six sentences and in this specific structure:

Hook / literary theory used: Archetypes – what are they?
Quote from outside source: Malcom Gladwell Chapter – See your specific chapter notes
Answer the elements of the question: Relevance of archetypes / Underdog focus
Introduce the Movie: Star Wars
Make a Claim: Star Wars characters / plot = Character / situation / symbolic archetypes
Explain the claim as it relates to your literary theory: Archetypes as a whole

Please turn in your introductory paragraphs by the end of the class – I’ll have a teams page up for you to submit. If you would like to go further, then this is the structure of the body paragraph:

Make sure to have different styles of sentence (Factual / Inference / Opinion)

See you tomorrow, I hope.

December 1st, 2023

Star Wars Writing exercise: (Opinion / Literal statement / Inference)

What did you think?

What did you notice?

What do you remember?

What stood out to you?

What is it about?

Today you’ll be taking all your data and making a thesis statement and stop. We will share them.

Here is the information for the paper. (Based on Rocky / application to Star Wars)

Here is the example from class: Archetypes Intro Example workshop

Let me repost the rules of a first paragraph:

How are archetypes shown in the movie Rocky? Use outside sources (Gladwell + Rocky Q’s) to prove your answer.

Hook / literary theory used: Archetypes – what are they?
Quote from outside source: Malcom Gladwell Chapter – See your specific chapter notes
Answer the elements of the question: Relevance of archetypes / Underdog focus
Introduce the Movie: Rocky
Make a Claim: Rocky characters / plot = Character / situation / symbolic archetypes
Explain the claim as it relates to your literary theory: Archetypes as a whole

This is a model example:

Archetypes are a crucial element used to emphasize the diversity of behaviour within
individuals in a society.

When Malcolm Gladwell, author of David and Goliath, states, “a woman who
walks away from the promise of power finds the strength to forgive – and saves her friendship, her
marriage, and her sanity”, (Malcolm Gladwell, chapter 8) readers learn that less potency can be
beneficial.

Archetypes, specifically the underdog, is an important element to society because it allows
struggling individuals to find inspiration within a character, to improve certain aspects of life and
further proceed towards self development.

Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, is a film that deepens the conflicts that a low-class Philidelphian boxer must face in order to prosper and initiate his path towards self worth.

As the underdog, the protagonist must prove determination to defy the audience by winning the match, as well as conquer all struggles within himself, including struggles relating to his fighting capabilities and to his character as a whole.

Because of this, the audience is more inclined to encourage an underdog fighter than a fighter with plenty of experience, since there would be a deeper, hidden meaning behind a victory if it were unexpected.

Archetypes are necessary for establishing diversity between individuals in a society because including a wide range helps the audience form extensive connections and relationships with the characters.

I will give you a paper handout of an outline. This will take us 3 class days to finish

November 30th, 2023

We will finish the movie today and you will have some time to finish those packages (below if you lost it)

StarWarsANewHope_Discussion questions

Then we will go over the questions. If you are a Star Wars nerd, please try to restrain yourselves.

Tomorrow, we will start the formatting of the final paper.

November 29th, 2023

We will continue the movie today – I don’t think we can finish quite yet, but if we do, then you have time to work on the questions for the discussion the following day:

StarWarsANewHope_Discussion questions

Enjoy –

November 28th, 2023

So we watch the movie today (after a few presentations for Gladwell)

I have organized the archetypes in the movie to this PPT:

WOTB_Intro_and_Archetypes_2020

FIRST: You need to do this worksheet – I’ll have paper copies as well so that we can have a discussion once the film is over.

StarWarsANewHope_Discussion questions

Please no talking during the movie – I’ll ask you to leave if you do. Also, no phones. Why would you need them?

Also- remember your film terminology. We are combining both into this essay.

Part 1_Cinematic Elements Intro

November 27th, 2023

Nov 27th: Audrey / Jonas & Hamed

Nov 27th: Ayela & Amanda / Ocean & Maverick / Michael (If we have time)

Let’s finish off the presentations for the Malcom Gladwell piece.

Tomorrow: Star Wars!

November 24th, 2023

Presentations for the Gladwell piece.

If we have time after the presentations:

What are your favorite hero stories?

Let’s look at this structure –

THE ORDINARY WORLD

Tatooine

THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

Obi-Wan tells Luke he must come with him to Alderann.

REFUSAL OF THE CALL

Luke doesn’t want to go at first, his uncle will be angry with him.

MENTOR (THE WISE OLD MAN OR WOMAN)

Mentors give the hero advice or guidance. Obi-Wan is an obvious example.

CROSSING THE FIRST THRESHOLD

Luke returns to Obi-Wan and they set off in the speeder for Mos Eisley.

TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES

The first test is the cantina: Han and Chewie are introduced as allies

APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE

The cave, lair or habitat of the enemy is breached (often underwater as in Beowulf). The Death Star is breached in order to rescue the princess.

THE SUPREME ORDEAL

The life or death moment of confronting the enemy. In the first Star Wars, Obi-Wan stands in for Luke in this first battle with Vader.

REWARD (SEIZING THE SWORD)

All along we had the reward. The plans hidden in R2; but without the princess, we wouldn’t have known about them.

THE ROAD BACK

Haven gotten away from the Death Star, Luke and Han must still battle several ships.

RESURRECTION

RETURN WITH ELIXIR

November 23rd, 2023

Presentations due today – completion, not perfection. (Per. 3)

Give A brief summary – give some visual flair and…

Answer these questions:

Who and/or what are the Davids?
Why are those David more powerful than others presume?
Who are the Goliaths?
Why are those Goliath not as powerful as they seem?

And give evidence:

QUOTATION	SIGNIFICANCE
1.
2.
3.

November 21st, 2023

November 22nd, 2023

Introduction Conversation:

What does Gladwell mean by “giants”?
2. In what ways was David an underdog?
In the Bible, what is the original story of David and Goliath?
What is the moral we usually take away from this story?
What is Gladwell’s new explanation of David and Goliath based on modern theory?

You are now going to be put into groups of 3. Each will tackle (Individually) the chapter. You will be doing what is called a (partial) annotated bibliography on it tomorrow.

Chapter One – Basketball
Chapter Two – Class sizes
Chapter Three – Selecting a university
Chapter Four – Dyslexia
Chapter Five – Childhood trauma
Chapter Six – The Civil Rights Movement
Chapter Seven – Authority figures
Chapter Eight – Crime and punishment
Chapter Nine – Nazis and the French resistance

You will read an assignned chapter and then do a presentation on the major ideas. Include

A. A brief summary – give some visual flair and…

Answer these questions:

Who and/or what are the Davids?
Why are those David more powerful than others presume?
Who are the Goliaths?
Why are those Goliath not as powerful as they seem?

And give evidence:

QUOTATION	SIGNIFICANCE
1.
2.
3.

November 21st, 2023

After our archetypes questions:

Read the introduction only.

David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell

After reading the Introduction as a class, you should be able to answer the following questions that we will discuss formally:

1.What does Gladwell mean by “giants”?

2. In what ways was David an underdog?

A. In the Bible, what is the original story of David and Goliath?

B. What is the moral we usually take away from this story?

C. What is Gladwell’s new explanation of David and Goliath based on modern theory?

You are now going to be put into groups of 3. Each will tackle (Individually) the chapter. You will be doing what is called a (partial) annotated bibliography on it tomorrow.

Chapter One – Basketball
Chapter Two – Class sizes
Chapter Three – Selecting a university
Chapter Four – Dyslexia
Chapter Five – Childhood trauma
Chapter Six – The Civil Rights Movement
Chapter Seven – Authority figures
Chapter Eight – Crime and punishment
Chapter Nine – Nazis and the French resistance

November 20th, 2023

Musical Mondays:

Nov 20th: Simona & Maia / Charlie, Dellie, Anya

Nov 20th: Jack

After the Musical Mondays, I would like for you to present your findings for the archetypes project to your peers. I think that this is all we’ll have time for today. Tomorrow, we will do what is called “Annotated Bibliographies’.

November 17th, 2023

Task 2: Characterization

You are to find a clip from a movie, TV show or animation and show me the different character archetypes you find. Use the archetype PDF as an example and use the vocabulary that describes the archetype. The PDF is below:

Twelve_Character_Archetypes

November 15th, 2023

Now let me explain what these questions connect to with a very visually unappealing PPT – take notes as this will be revisited many times throughout the unit:

Archetypes Notes for Outline 1

Task 1: Self Evaluation “My Archetype”

Take the Myer’s Briggs style test. Tell me what your archetype is – what this means to you and whether it is an accurate categorization of who you are as an individual. It is argued that all humans fall into 16 categories.

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Task 2: Characterization

Twelve_Character_Archetypes

November 14th, 2023

New unit day perhaps. First we have Musical Monday / Tuesday with the following:

PER 2: Avelyn / Alex, Gabriel, Daniel

PER 3: Natalie & Serena & Kayla

New unit is Archetypes –

Here is an overview of the entire thing:

Underdogs-Archetypes-Introductionv2.5SW

Intro:

Snack Attack:

How are these characters familiar?

How are these characters overcoming stereotypes?

What kind of story is this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38y_1EWIE9I&ab_channel=EduardoVerastegui

Now let me explain what these questions connect to with a very visually unappealing PPT – take notes as this will be revisited many times throughout the unit:

Archetypes Notes for Outline 1

Task 1: Self Evaluation “My Archetype”

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Task 2: Characterization

Twelve_Character_Archetypes

November 9th, 2023

This is the final for in class work on your independent novel study.

The entire project is due on:

Monday 11:59PM for Digital projects / Journals / Podcasts

Tuesday beginning of class: Physical projects

Please don’t waste this day. I won’t accept lates unless I’ve talked to you individually.

November 8th, 2023

Here are the questions:

Independent book questions podcast V3

Record yourselves talking about this. We will get everything clear before you start.

Here is the project:

Independent Project Final_2021

And here is the rubric:

Novel-Study-Project-Rubric-2018

And here is the journal for Independent reading (Due soon):

Independent reading Journals

November 7th, 2023

Podcast focus and Proposal – Get to work on that final project. It’s due in 2 days!

Here is the info on the podcast:

These are the questions I would like to give you about 20 minutes by yourself to jot down answers to. Then I will put you in ‘proximity groups’ so that you can record your conversations.

Here are the questions:

Independent book questions podcast V3

Record yourselves talking about this. We will get everything clear before you start.

November 6th, 2023

Report card grades are published on MyEd.

MUSICAL MONDAYS:

Period 2: Nov 6th: Marcus & Danny / Felix

Period 3: Nov 6th: Gabriel & Maya & Kierana

If we have time, think about the independent reading project today – we will start if we have time:

INDEPENDENT READING PROJECT INFORMATION:

Information on Independent Novel Project:

What is the independent Novel Study Project?

Here is the project:

Independent Project Final_2021

And here is the rubric:

Novel-Study-Project-Rubric-2018

And here is the journal for Independent reading (Due soon):

Independent reading Journals

November 3rd, 2023

In class write today. Your writing is due at the end of the class today. Please get it in, and I will be looking at everything over the weekend and having a grade for you on Monday (excluding this essay).

November 2nd, 2023

Today, you will complete your rough drafts and fill out a peer editing sheet.

Remember to have finished the outline:

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-Outline_RU

I have paper copies of the peer review sheet for you to fill out – they will be similar to the lenses paragraph one. Turn that in by the end of class if you can – your name – edited paper author name included.

Tomorrow, with everything put together, you will write the final draft in class so that you can turn it in for the end of the block.

October 31st, 2023

OK – after 15 mins or so of reading (if you can do it) then we will look at rough drafts – I would like to ask a few of you if you can share some of your outlines:

Structure for essay:

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-Outline_RU

This is the same as the lenses structure. Complete it by the end of class if you can.

October 30th, 2023

Reading? Do you need this time today?

So we will be doing a few things:

Ava & Kate will be doing their Musical Mondays today. I am excited for this.
We will start on a brainstorm outline for your analytical paragraphs that will be due on Friday of this week (Possibly sooner – it all depends on how we do.) Please note the following structure and try to fill it out by the end of class:

Analytical Statement with Textual Support and Reflective Commentary:

Tim Burton, in Edward Scissorhands, used _____________________________ in order

Cinematic element

to ____________________________________________________________________.

Achieve what purpose

For example,____________________________________________________________.

Provide evidence from the text to support the topic sentence.

_______________________________________________________________________.

________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________.

________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________.

Reflective commentary

_______________________________________________________________________.

October 27th, 2023

Reading – you get another week for this because of our schedule. Please use your time well.

Let’s finish the movie today! Same thing as always. Don’t let me down – you’re all doing so well.

Then we will start a very rough draft of the essay so you know what to think about over the weekend – On Monday, it’s academic essay writing time. (We have Musical Mondays first of course)

Per 2:

Oct 30th: Ava & Kate

Nov 6th: Marcus & Danny / Felix

Nov 14th: Avelyn / Alex, Gabriel, Daniel

Nov 20th: Simona & Maia / Charlie, Dellie, Anya

Nov 27th: Ayela & Amanda / Ocean & Maverick

Dec 4th: Michaela & Ashley / Alexa

Dec 11th: Larkin & Kindrey & Maddie / Nathan & Grant

Dec 18th: Mr. Purdy’s Christmas Special

Per 3:

Oct 30th: Sam

Nov 6th: Gabriel & Maya & Kierana

Nov 14th: Natalie & Serena & Kayla

Nov 20th: Jack & Mike

Nov 27th: Audrey / Jonas & Hamed

Dec 4th: YURI / Lee, Laura, Alice

Dec 11th: Carly & Kaylee / Jiyul & Kian

Dec 18th: Mr. Purdy’s Christmas Special

October 26th, 2023

Reading 15 minutes or so – Let’s see how that goes. Only a few more days for this.

Today is day 3 for the film project. I think that we can get through all of the questions and predict the storyboarding / what you did yesterday before that scene comes up. Almost done with this whole movie now. I am guessing tomorrow we’ll be finished and half of next week to get that final paper outlined and drafted.

Keep doing what you’re doing – I think you’re really getting it.

October 25th, 2023

I sadly won’t be here as I told you yesterday. The peer tutor of your class knows where the storyboard assignments are printed out. If someone can also find lined paper for your reflections, that would be fantastic.

For those of you who like to use the internet or digital art more (perhaps you have an iPad) then here is the assignment digitally:

Storyboard Assignment V2

Get it done. Turn it in for the end of class. We will continue with day 3 tomorrow.

October 24th, 2023

Silent reading / journals / think about final project 15-20 mins

Day 2 of Edward Scissorhands.

Get your notes together – I will check what you have so far.

Film_Unit -10 V5

These are the groups per period:

Period 2:

1. CAMERA MOVEMENT Felix, Ashley, Kindrey, Charlie, Gabriel, Amanda

2. CAMERA ANGLES Delilah, Daniel, Maverick, Grant, Simona, Ayela

3.EDITINGAlexa, Anya, Ocean, Marcus, Maia, Nathan

4.SOUND Larkin, Danny Kamal, Diana, Kate, Tyler,

5.LIGHTING Ava, Madelyn, Avelyn, Michaela, Alex

Period 3:

1. CAMERA MOVEMENT Kaylee, Kian, Natalie, Maya, Spencer

2. CAMERA ANGLES Gabriel, Hamed, Lee, Sam, Carly

3.EDITING Alice Kierana Laura, Michael

4.SOUND Jonas, Kayla, Yuri, Jack

5.LIGHTING Nicholas, Serena, Audrey, Jiyul

October 23rd, 2023

Musical Mondays Final Presentation Guide

Now that you’ve seen six different styles of how musical genres and themes can be connected, it’s your turn to come up with a final presentation and paper that is a culmination of all the connective tissue of writing and presenting in class. I will list them for you.

So why do we do Musical Mondays? So that you can understand:

Literary Lenses
Literary Analysis
Musical / Poetry Analysis
Creativity
Reader Response Evaluation

Today is the first day of your preparation for the final. Here are some things you need to do so that when you write your paper, you will have all of the necessary evidence and prerequisites.

There are two parts to the final. You will be graded as an individual, but can perform in groups.

Part 1 – Paper guidelines (Do this first):

Critical response multi-paragraphs do not simply summarize the text or evaluate whether you like the text; they are a three paragraphs, persuasive, and focused analysis, argument, or interpretation about the text. They not only help you think critically about the texts you read but also help you formulate ideas that can be expanded into longer essays. There are four parts to a critical response multi-paragraph:

You will be doing your own analysis / question and answer on lyrics or musical elements. I would like to see the outline (which are the questions I’ve been making you do for seven weeks) and a final paper that is well polished with a thesis and topic sentences with evidence from the songs themselves.

1) an argumentative topic sentence (What is the theme??)

2) evidence in the form of quotations or paraphrases for the argument you are making, (Lyrics that fit your theme)

3) interpretation of your evidence in relation to the argument (Analysis of the theme and lyrical interpretation)

4) Personal connection (How does this song connect to you?)

4) a strong concluding statement.

Note: This is a review and collaboration of your lens paragraphs and non fiction narrative writing– an extended idea that is fully developed and flows well.

Part 2: Presentation guidelines

Follow these directions in a PPT / Presentation:

Before you play the song – discuss this / present this to the audience:

What is your song?
What Genre is your song?
Explain the lyrics of the song in detail.
Hand in your written paper to me
Play the song
Have questions for the class to do individually – up to 3 – no more
Discuss
Provide everyone with a final ‘takeaway statement’

October 19th, 2023

So we will try and do the first home base assignment today and start the second one. Let’s see what we can come up with.

Just so you know, everything should be in this document:

Film_Unit -10 V5

These are the groups per period:

Period 2:

1. CAMERA MOVEMENT Felix, Ashley, Kindrey, Charlie, Gabriel, Amanda

2. CAMERA ANGLES Delilah, Daniel, Maverick, Grant, Simona, Ayela

3.EDITINGAlexa, Anya, Ocean, Marcus, Maia, Nathan

4.SOUND Larkin, Danny Kamal, Diana, Kate, Tyler,

5.LIGHTING Ava, Madelyn, Avelyn, Michaela, Alex

Period 3:

1. CAMERA MOVEMENT Kaylee, Kian, Natalie, Maya, Spencer

2. CAMERA ANGLES Gabriel, Hamed, Lee, Sam, Carly

3.EDITING Alice Kierana Laura, Michael

4.SOUND Jonas, Kayla, Yuri, Jack

5.LIGHTING Nicholas, Serena, Audrey, Jiyul

October 18th, 2023

We will be jumping into Edward Scissorhands. I plan to have this done by the end of class Mon /Tues. This is a very tall order, but I think that we can get through it.

I will be stopping periodically so that you can complete the necessary pages for the completion booklet and meet in what I’d like to call ‘expert groups 1/2/3.’ I will assign those now. (It’s a variation of a jigsaw group you might have done in middle school.)

We have already done this observation / explanation three times, so you should know all the terminology by now.

There are questions I would like for you to complete as well that lead to what you will be completing for me as a standalone piece – connected to ‘essay writing skills’ you will get familiar with. Everything is in this folder (Updated):

Film_Unit -10 V5

1. CAMERA MOVEMENT Felix, Ashley, Kindrey, Charlie, Gabriel, Amanda/

2. CAMERA ANGLES Delilah, Daniel, Maverick, Grant, Simona, Ayela /

3.EDITINGAlexa, Anya, Ocean, Marcus, Maia, Nathan /

4.SOUND Larkin, Danny Kamal, Diana, Kate, Tyler, /

5.LIGHTING Ava, Madelyn, Avelyn, Michaela, Alex /

October 17th, 2023

Read 15 minutes.

So today we are doing a final check up on your vocabulary and I had a huge change of heart at the last minute. We are doing Edward Scissorhands instead of Crooklyn because I’m not comfortable with two key scenes that are in the movie.

So check up for terminology: (Paper copies)

I will look at up to five movie clips of each class choice and we will analyze them together. I will provide paper for you. Then I will put you in expert groups. Here is the modified not taking paper:

CAMERA MOVEMENT Felix, Ashley, Kindrey, CHarlie, Gabriel, Amanda/

2. CAMERA ANGLES Delilah, Daniel, Maverick, Grant, Simona, Ayela /

3.EDITINGAlexa, Anya, Ocean, Marcus, Maia, Nathan /

4.SOUND Larkin, Danny Kamal, Diana, Kate, Tyler, /

5.LIGHTING Ava, Madelyn, Avelyn, Michaela, Alex /

We will be jumping into Edward Scissorhands. I plan to have this done by the end of class Mon /Tues. This is a very tall order, but I think that we can get through it.

We have already done this observation / explanation three times, so you should know all the terminology by now.

Film_Unit -10 V5

October 16th, 2023

Crossover Genres (or ‘Polystylism’): Getting out of your Comfort Zone

This unit is a two in one, as I had two similar ideas that seem to blend well together – this is actually apt as the whole presentation is about how music went to crossover genres as a marketing gig in the 90’s – yet it’s always been there, we just called it different names in the past. ‘Experimental’ ‘era-bending’ etc. the list goes on.

I’m focusing on how crossover genres got me out of my purist ‘rock’ ‘rap’ mindset when I was young. So another way to look at this unit is how to listen to music that you don’t usually listen to. For me, that was when I was introduced to crossover genres. Nowadays they’re more common than Subway sandwich franchises.

Here are some of the… I wouldn’t say best, but the most well known. I picked four out of the usual 10+ on my shortlist.

Maybe the most iconic cross-genre performance known to popular culture. The best part perhaps is that Run-D.M.C. doesn’t even bother to change the lyrics, suggesting that Steven Tyler was a rapper without even knowing it.

This one was Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Puff Daddy(P-Diddy?) doing the title track to a movie that was terrible. We all bought the soundtrack however because we liked the crossover.

This one I don’t even know that well – just a strange combination that works. RIP Juice WRLD. Long live BTS

Well this one is strange, but I’m on a Post Malone kick now and thought it would fit the lecture. I’m not sure if these two should ever collaborate again, but I like this song sparingly. Marketing or creative choice?

Assignment:

Since this is a double lesson combined, there are four questions. I expect a lot now that you’ve done this five times before. I think this might be my last music lesson, because you should be ready – next week will be all about you putting everything together for when it’s your turn to present.

What do you think the reason is for crossover genres? Do you think that it’s a money making scheme or a creative liberty to expand our musical horizons? Explain this answer, because I would love to know the reason myself.
Choose a crossover song that you can really get into – tell me your honest opinion of the song and why you chose it. The more obscure, the better. Give me a link to the song.
What is a genre of song that you’re not comfortable listening to? Why do you dislike this genre? Are there any songs in this genre that you could get into, despite hating it generally?
Choose a song from a genre that you’re not comfortable with or do not like. Give me a link to it. Analyze the lyrics. Tell me your experience now while listening to this song in a different lens than before. Try and choose a song you (kind of) like, rather than one you hate.

October 13th, 2023

We will have presentations today – I’m back to watch what you came up with yesterday. Sorry about the confusion with the video – I had to accept a lot of invitation requests…

So I don’t intend for this to go for the whole class, so I’d like to give a handout to you and then show you a bunch of movie clips now that you have the terminology down. Once again – this is new to the unit, so it should be quite dynamic to get through this little project. Each class (Period 1 & 2) will be very different as you will be picking the movie clips.

All in all, we have a good day ahead.

October 12th, 2023

I will be absent today – family is sick.

Your task is to find a video clip and come up with vocabulary that connects to the clip.

the video clip should be 3-5 minutes
you’re not presenting today. I want to see it, so get ready to present tomorrow.
you can use PPT / dub the clip with i-video / canva – be creative in showing your vocab. Here is an example from one of my favorites two years ago:

Film Terminology – Small.mov

Use these resources to help you, since I won’t be here:

Film Terminology:

Film-Terminology Download

Your exercise will be to find a clip from your favorite movie and show me some of these vocabulary words explained.

October 11th, 2023

FIRST: (Before reading) I’ll give you back your self-assessment / you take a picture of it / Upload it to teams.

All the film stuff you’ll need is here – Download it:

Part 1_Cinematic Elements Intro

Part 2_Crooklyn_Film Unit MOVIE Notes

At the end of the unit, all you will do is turn in these packages – fully completed. The thing is, I will guide you through each page. I am not going to tell you exactly how long it will take us, but it has taken usually about a 2 weeks for other classes.

I will constantly update this page and explain what we have done. There will be other minor assignments and completion checks that will be due throughout the unit as well. Please keep up with this, as each part makes up a whole.

The unit itself is a perfect bridge for us to jump into our sci-fi short story unit. It is also a chance for you to review analytical paragraphs.

Film Terminology:

Film-Terminology Download

We will go over shots. Here is a video we will watch:

Your exercise will be to find a clip from your favorite movie and show me some of these vocabulary words explained.

October 10th, 2023

Another Tuneful Tuesdays today – Another world premiere

Soundtracks and Scores of each Individual

So when we put a visual to our auditory experience, it connects on a deeper level – even if you don’t like music, we can all agree that there is a lot to be said about the emotional impact of a movie or story we watch and the soundtrack to go with it. Unless it’s a Coen Brother’s film (No Country for Old Men), most movies have a soundtrack – either made specifically for the movie (like a score to enhance the mood or feel) or pre chosen songs in different context to their original intended audience (Like Quentin Tarantino films).

I have chosen 4 movies where the soundtrack has changed, not only my musical preferences, but also my connection to the film itself / the strengthening of my neural connections to the film, the impact and the flashbulb memory to where I personally was in this space of time. Before I get there –

I like this quote:

“When I listen to my movie scores, I play songs that I know will make me feel a sort of way. I sometimes walk a little faster to class if I listen to the score from an intense battle scene, or I find myself more mellow and slow-moving when listening to a soft love theme. When I need to get motivated for an exam or to complete household chores, I go to specific songs, and when I need to cool down and relax, I go to different tracks. The beauty of all music is that it persuades you to feel a certain way—movie scores included.”

These are the songs / scores to the movies I have a personal connection to:

Vanilla Sky is a great movie, but also connected me emotionally to a band called Sigur Ros – an amazing ‘post rock’ band that I still am listening to 20 years later.

What a great ending to a great movie. This is The Pixies – Where is My Mind – whenever I listen to this song, I think of this movie.

I have to put Quentin Tarantino in this because a lot of his songs I’ve loved and have been given a huge genre of music to open up to – the thing is, a lot of these scenes I like are not school appropriate – but this one is – and it has Isaac Hayes ‘Tough Guys’ theme to a cool Kung-Fu scene. Tarantino did this a lot.

Probably my favorite ending of all time – Just Like Honey by The Jesus and Mary Chain was a great addition – indie rock surged again after this movie came out. My Bloody Valentine was also introduced to a new generation. I also love this movie as it is very personal to me – as it is to a lot of people who saw it when it came out.

Your task:

Now that I look at these selections I’ve made, I think that there is a common theme here, but it’s up to you to decide what that is.

Here is your task:

How does the connection between sound and visual enhance our connection to a work of art? Can you think of examples?
Is there a time in your life – an interesting experience you’ve had – that could have used a great song to make the experience even better? Explain the memory and explain the song you chose to the memory.
Choose a song that you loved from a particular movie / animation / TV show etc. Give me a link to the song or the clip of the movie where the song is featured. Explain why you chose this song & this movie clip. Where were you in this space of time?

October 6th, 2023

Reading 15 mins

Today is the final day for getting in the narrative.

Please work. I’ll ask you to leave and go to the library if you’re being disruptive.

October 5th, 2023

Reading 15 mins.

Then I would like for you to complete your rough drafts and the peer reviews today. Some of you might need to do this a few times. Even if the piece is not finished, then get someone to look at your ideas at least.

Rubric? I’ll print out one that is basic – but it might help more logic based thinkers.

Printouts will be provied.

Do NOT mess around today – this isn’t social time.

October 4th, 2023

With all of your brainstorming, modeling and question answering, soul searching and all that, it’s time for you to commit to your own longer form non-fiction narrative.

And this will be the shape of the next few days.

Here is an outline I would like for you to complete:

Narrative Essay Outline_Student

This is a work block for you to complete your rough drafts. Tomorrow, we will be working on peer edits and there will be a lot of time to work on your final drafts.

If you want to see what the peer review sheets are like, I will post them here:

Peer Review Narrative

An actual outline is impossible for a narrative non-fiction. That’s what makes the writing form so great.

October 3rd, 2023

I haven’t finished my soundtracks lesson. I need another week for it. So I’m doing a classic one for “Tuneful Tuesdays”:

I’ll have your narrative choices by tomorrow.

Reading – Journal entries, (remember):

Independent reading Journals

Songs that Incite Change

Every generation has an anthem or song that defines them or a song that makes change happen – even if it’s a small change. Music, as we’ve found out, is subjective and personal. Yet there are some songs, factoring in where those songs were played, (For example – an American wouldn’t think that the Korean song “Come Back Home” by Seotaiji would define their American cultural experience in the 1990’s) contribute very heavily to the generation it was played.

I have touched upon North American generational connections from 1968-onwards.

Say it loud, I’m Black and Proud – James Brown 1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0A_N-wmiMo

God Save the Queen – Sex Pistols 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMxqcgBhWQ

Don’t You Forget about Me – Simple Minds 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A

Fight the Power – Public Enemy – 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg

6. Garden Shed – Tyler the Creator 2017

These seven songs are not the definitive voice of a 35-year period, but their lyrics were cutting edge; the songs themselves were completely new and fresh, daring and authentic.

Your job is to look for a connection between self and society. What is the song of your generation? Go through these questions for the criteria to be met:

Describe your generation in five descriptive words (Adjectives).

What is the music that you and your peers are into (if anything?) Who are your heroes? What is ‘popular’ now currently? How has that changed from your past? As a contrast, what is uncool? Be as specific as possible.

Focus on other areas of popular media that have to do with your generation. What are they? Why are they important to you and your friends?

Create a slogan (phrase that is marketable) for your generation.

A. Example: We don’t care about your rules! Freedom unites us all!

Choose a song that is an emblem (guidepost) for your age group OR goes with the slogan you’ve just created. Tell me about the song a little bit.

September 29th, 2023

Reading block 3

Me Talk Pretty One Day

COPY AND PASTE THESE QUESTIONS:

How does Sedaris use humor and characterization to come to terms with his fear of learning a new language?
Explain a time in your life when you have overcome adversity at school or a place of learning?
What quotes can you find in this story that are affecting / resonant? Choose up to three.

Due tonight at Midnight.

September 28th, 2023

Reading Block 3

SO for the first half of class, you have time to work on your outlines. They’re due at the end of class.

The second half of class will be structured as follows:

Here is the story:

Me Talk Pretty One Day

COPY AND PASTE THESE QUESTIONS:

How does Sedaris use humor and characterization to come to terms with his fear of learning a new language?
Explain a time in your life when you have overcome adversity at school or a place of learning?
What quotes can you find in this story that are affecting / resonant? Choose up to three.

Due Friday at Midnight

September 27th, 2023

Reading Block 3

Narrative Essay Outline_Student

Here is a worksheet for the timeline. I will give you big paper to take home as well. All you need to do is look for 10 memories of your past in a linear way. Ask family / friends for ideas.

A Timeline of Your Life

Don’t worry about trying to understand everything right away. People said to me “Trust the Process” – it was good advice.

September 26th, 2023

Reading.

This is a kind of “Speed Writing Challenge” that will be shared with someone in class. These are all random essay questions college boards would ask you during the application process. It is good to familiarize yourself with this kind of essay question before we get into the more ‘fun’ side of narrative non-fiction.

Please answer two of these questions. I will time you for each. (15 Minutes)
After answering the questions, I will ask you to choose the strongest of the two.
Group discussion of these pieces – what you took from your partner’s work.

You can download the questions here:

V2.5_NarrativePrompt_PreAssess

Narrative Essay Outline_Student

Here is a worksheet for the timeline. I will give you big paper to take home as well. All you need to do is look for 10 memories of your past in a linear way. Ask family / friends for ideas.

A Timeline of Your Life

Don’t worry about trying to understand everything right away. People said to me “Trust the Process” – it was good advice.

September 25th, 2023

Musical Mondays #3 (World Premiere)

Songs in Translation

Music, of course, transcends verbal language. I believe that there is a lot to be said about music around the world. This is not to be confused with World Music – that’s another genre. What I’m talking about is that sound crosses all borders and makes an ignition – the key turns for a new sound and then it blows up around the world. It’s a phenomenon. Think about all the subgenres we have in our own language and then refer to all music from another country as a huge category. Not all music from Korea is Kpop – not all music from Sweden is Metal. (Etc.) A lot of my friends from other countries who had never been to Canada thought most Canadian music was French folk songs and Rush.

I will introduce three songs – out of thousands – I’ve really enjoyed and then ask some specific questions before you go on a hunt.

Seotaiji – (My personal favorite)

This artist is so influential in his native South Korea that it is often said music can be divided into two eras: pre-Taiji and post-Taiji. He is often referred to as “the President of Culture”. He can sing, dance, play guitar, bass, produce, he’s a fashion icon, a businessman and a composer.

The Brilliant Green (Japan)

The Brilliant Green take much of their influence from Western music, most predominantly the Beatles with over half their songs including English lyrics. They released their first single “Bye Bye Mr.Mug” in 1997 with little success, but their break came in 1998 when their third single “There Will Be Love There” was chosen as the theme song for popular the Japanese drama Love Again, and as a result went straight to the top of the charts. This is my favorite:

Drunken Tiger (Back to Korea)

Drunken Tiger (Korean: 드렁큰 타이거) was a Korean hip hop group that debuted in 1999 and has since released several albums and won numerous awards. They are known as pioneers of Korean hip-hop who helped bring the genre into the mainstream. This is of his more Recent EP – The Cure.

I have a shout out to some great Icelandic bands: For a Minor Reflection / Sigur Ros / Mum – I won’t play them today.

Your task:

This is a little difficult, as a lot of you might not know songs from other countries – or maybe you do. Every class is different. What I want you to do is find a song from another country and is not in English. You can choose an English song that’s been translated into another language if you’d like. Here’s an example: You know Hard day’s Night by the Beatles? They sing the German version here:

Questions I’d like for you to put into a coherent paragraph with a link to the song and the lyrics:

What is the difference between listening to a song for the beat and for the lyrics? What kind of music listener are you?
How is listening to other cultures / country’s songs beneficial to you? What can we learn from music and the countries they come from?
Find the lyrics to your song (Both English and the original language) after you listen to it once. Now you might know the language – if you do, does the English translation change the meaning? If you do not, then how does understanding the lyrics to the song make it different? Does the experience change for you?

September 21st, 2023

So the whole group has spoken for period 2 and 3. This is your last day to turn this thing in. I’m looking forward to the final results. Make something you’re proud of.

The final draft and the peer review sheet is due today.

Peer review sheet – end of class

Final draft – end of day

September 20th, 2023

I hope you all have a rough draft today that’s ready.

Here is a peer structure for you all to give to a person in class. This is to be handed in (paper copy) by the end of class so that I know you have asked another human being (besides me) for help.

We will play it by ear for tomorrow – see if you need another day. If not, then I think I will start the narrative non-fiction unit tomorrow so that we can switch things up a little bit.

September 19th, 2023

Through what lens best represents the meaning of Aladdin? Provide evidence to support your answer in a 500-750 words multi paragraph response.

Focus on those three questions again to help you:

What lens best represents the movie and why?
What two pieces of evidence can you find (in the transcript or your notes) that backs up this lens?
What does this mean as a ‘bigger picture’? For example – what can we take away and learn from this episode?

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-Outline

Transcript of Movie:

https://movies.fandom.com/wiki/Aladdin_(1992)/Transcript

September 18th, 2023

Reading 15 minutes – me included.

I completely threw away what I was going to do because it’s not ready yet and I wanted to take a different approach. So this is a classic Musical Mondays:

MUSICAL MONDAYS #2

Alternative rock came about in the 90’s. Some of you might have heard about it , some not. I am giving you three songs that had their moment in the sun, then passed away. These are one hit wonders – in my own time growing up. We love songs then hate them after some time has passed. These songs were some of those songs for my generation.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Why do we hate songs we once loved? What is over-saturation? Think deeper than ‘ it got boring’.

Here are the songs. The rest of the day is normal. We’ll discuss them during and after you finish the work:

Here’s something to do before you finish the work, however:

Find song from your past that got ‘over saturated.’ Play it for your people / classroom buddies.
1. Discuss these three questions and make sure to be ready to discuss the answers to me personally.
  - What made this song old and stale to you? (Besides repetition) Why is it that songs become loved, hated, then loved again?
  - What memories does this song invoke?
  - Are the lyrics even important or is it the beat? Something else entirely? (Nostalgia, aesthetic, etc.)

Jump Around – House of Pain

2. Chumbawumba – I get Knocked Down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc

3. Whetus, Teenage Dirtbag:

4. Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74

September 15th, 2023

This will start the divide of units in class:

15 minutes: Independent reading run through.

30 minutes: Finish Aladdin

30 minutes: Prepare you for an outline due on Monday – see the following as a reminder:

Focus on those three questions again to help you with a cohesive introduction:

What lens best represents the movie and why?
What two pieces of evidence can you find (in the transcript or your notes) that backs up this lens?
What does this mean as a ‘bigger picture’? For example – what can we take away and learn from this episode?

Structure for essay:

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-Outline_RU

This will help you if you need help. We’ll go over it after the movie is over:

Marxist:

Why is the poorest character—Aladdin—the only one who’s able to enter the Cave of Wonders?
How are Jasmine’s choices limited because of her status as a woman?
Why do you think Aladdin sees wealth, riches, and increased social status as a way of winning Jasmine’s heart? What does he learn about her as he tries to woo her this way?

Psychoanalytical:

Toward the beginning of the movie, Jasmine releases her birds from their cage. Can you think of any other symbols of freedom or confinement in Aladdin?
What do you imagine the Genie’s life has been like? What’s his backstory? What will he do after being freed?
Do you think the comparison between Aladdin and Jasmine is fair? Are both of them equally trapped by their circumstances? Does one of them have it worse? Why or why not?

Postcolonial:

Why do you think Jafar really wants to be sultan?
How does Aladdin react to finally having some power when he finds the Genie? How is his reaction different from Jafar’s?
If the Sultan had the power to change the laws in Agrabah this whole time, why didn’t he change them earlier when he saw Jasmine was so unhappy?

September 14th, 2023

INDEPENDENT READING PROJECT INFORMATION:

Library today at the beginning of class. (Thursday) Independent Novel Study Project

Information on Independent Novel Project:

What is the independent Novel Study Project?

Here is the project:

Independent Project Final_2021

And here is the rubric:

Novel-Study-Project-Rubric-2018

And here is the journal for Independent reading:

Independent reading Journals

Today will be a day to celebrate reading and all that. Spend time in the library – no rush – then you’ll have some extra time to come back, read an possibly start your journals.

Check with me if you’d like to talk books or ideas for good novels etc.

September 13th, 2023

I chose Aladdin – So that’s what we’ll do: Both Classes.

So today we will start Aladdin. You have finished a lens paragraph of sorts. Today and tomorrow we will watch the movie, put some ideas together and you will organize your ideas in a coherent 500-750 word multi paragraph response. I will give you the structure to follow. Before that, here is another link to the note taking page for the movie:

Introduction-to-Literary-Theory-Grid-Grade-10.11Download

Focus on those three questions again to help you:

What lens best represents the movie and why?
What two pieces of evidence can you find (in the transcript or your notes) that backs up this lens?
What does this mean as a ‘bigger picture’? For example – what can we take away and learn from this episode?

Structure for essay:

Literary-3-Paragraph-Specific-Outline_RU

This will help you if you need help. We’ll go over it after the movie is over:

Marxist:

Why is the poorest character—Aladdin—the only one who’s able to enter the Cave of Wonders?
How are Jasmine’s choices limited because of her status as a woman?
Why do you think Aladdin sees wealth, riches, and increased social status as a way of winning Jasmine’s heart? What does he learn about her as he tries to woo her this way?

Psychoanalytical:

Toward the beginning of the movie, Jasmine releases her birds from their cage. Can you think of any other symbols of freedom or confinement in Aladdin?
What do you imagine the Genie’s life has been like? What’s his backstory? What will he do after being freed?
Do you think the comparison between Aladdin and Jasmine is fair? Are both of them equally trapped by their circumstances? Does one of them have it worse? Why or why not?

Postcolonial:

Why do you think Jafar really wants to be sultan?
How does Aladdin react to finally having some power when he finds the Genie? How is his reaction different from Jafar’s?
If the Sultan had the power to change the laws in Agrabah this whole time, why didn’t he change them earlier when he saw Jasmine was so unhappy?

September 12th, 2023

The Simpsons.

Here is the script of the show:

https://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/3F05.html

And we will briefly look at a part of an undergraduate thesis from someone who studied in the University of Iceland. Luckily, it was on The Simpsons and lenses… but how they look a little later down the academic road. We’ll discuss it:

BA_StefanBirgirStefans

EXCERPT:

2.1 The Pleasure Principle in “King-Size Homer”

In the seventh episode of the seventh season of The Simpsons, Homer strives to obey the pleasure principle to new extremes. In a mandatory five minute session of calisthenics at the Nuclear Power Plant, Homer finds out that one of his co-workers got injured on the job and is now on disability with full pay. Upon hearing the news, Homer immediately decides to get himself injured enough to become disabled so he can work from home. Unable to harm himself, he realizes that hyper obesity can qualify him as disabled. He consults Doctor Nick Riviera, who recommends “a slow steady gorging process combined with assal horizontology” and that Homer focuses “on the neglected food groups such as the whipped group, the congealed group and the chocotastic.” With help from Bart, Homer begins his mission of overeating himself into obesity. This is obviously not a good idea; however, Homer is regulated by the pleasure principle, which entails that when confronted with pain he finds the easiest way to relieve himself of it (Freud, Beyond 1).

Freud explained: “The pleasure principle, then, is a tendency operating in the service of a function whose business it is to free the mental apparatus entirely from excitation or to keep the amount of excitation in it
constant or to keep it as low as possible” (Beyond 56).

For Homer, his job is the excitation and the id strives to have Homer away from the Nuclear Power Plant at all costs. This explains partly why Homer has dipped his toe in so many fields of professions; while the job is new and exciting in itself, it does not cause pain. However, Homer‟s attention span only lasts so long and he quickly becomes bored. Being on disability is the perfect choice for Homer‟s pleasure principle regulated mental process. Instead of seeking new jobs, which all end in causing pain instead of pleasure, he gets to be at home—which means, in his mind, being able to drink beer and frolic with Marge at will. The ends justify the means, even if it is dangerous for his health and immoral, since becoming disabled on purpose is abusing the system. Confronted by Lisa about this morality issue and whether he has told Marge about his plans, Homer answers:

I‟m not saying it isn‟t sleazy, honey, but try to see it my way: all my life I‟ve been
an obese man trapped inside a fat man‟s body. … No, it would only worry
[Marge]. If you want to add to her worries, go ahead. I guess I‟m just a little more
grateful for all the things she‟s done for us.

Unlike the ego, which tries to be moral, and the superego, that can be super-moral, the id is non-moral (Freud, The ego 44). For Homer it is not morally wrong to answer his eight year old daughter like that, neither is becoming disabled due to obesity. There is really no right or wrong in the id, no contradictions or conflicts—there is only the instinctual strive for pleasure (Freud, “The Question” 196, 201). Obviously, the ego needs to step in and Lisa is surprised on how long Marge is willing to let this go on. She needs “to mediate between the claims of the id and the objections of the external world” (Freud, “The Question” 201). In this case the claims of the id are being obese and, quite frankly, lazy while the external world objects with ridicule. Unlike the id, the ego goes by the reality principle, which “takes into account the conditions imposed by the real external world” (201) and the difference between the reality principle and the pleasure principle shines through when Marge finally confronts Homer:

MARGE. Let‟s quietly and calmly discuss the pros and cons of your controversial
plan, shall we?
HOMER. I …
MARGE. Con! You‟re endangering your health.
HOMER. Pro. I‟m drought-and famine-resistant.
MARGE. Con! You‟re setting a bad example for the children.
HOMER. Pro. I, er, don‟t have to go to work.
MARGE. Con! You‟re running the air conditioner non-stop. It‟s freezing in here.
HOMER. Pro. Uh… uh… I love you?
MARGE. Con. I‟m finding myself less attracted to you physically.

The ego’s intervention is too feeble, too late. Utterly disconnected with reality, Homer exclaims that this is everything he ever wanted and now, he finally is a “big fat dynamo.” He now works from home and for Homer that is enough. Of course, his happiness based on a change of scenery lasts only a few hours and although he does not have to face the morning traffic, he does have to succumb to the boredom of sitting in front of a computer all day pressing Y for Yes, N for No and Tab for ordering the soft drink TAB. To be fair, his job as a Nuclear Safety Inspector never seemed to require as much attention while he worked at the plant itself. Now, he has to actively take decisions over and over again on serious matters like venting gas to prevent explosions. Even when confronted with this critical task, he fails to realize the impact of his deeds.

He begins answering every question with “Yes,” casually using a broom so he does not have to leave the couch, and when that becomes too much of a chore, he puts a toy in charge—a drinking bird that bobs its head up and down in perpetual motion. He literally risks a nuclear meltdown, so dire is his need for pleasure. He leaves the confinements of his home/workplace, sporting his new flowery muumuu, cape and his fat guy hat. While outside, in the real world, he is confronted by the ridicule that was expected. He tries to see a film (“Honk if you‟re horny”) but loses his dignity when the cinema‟s manager explains that the seats cannot take a man of his girth and offers him a garbage bag full of popcorn if he does not make a scene. Homer hurries home and decides that it is up to him to show the world that the obese are not lazy and irresponsible, only to find that while away, the bird failed and an explosion is imminent. In the end, of course, he redeems himself by saving the day; however, the only reason why he is adamant enough to do so is because an explosion would cause him personal pain. “Everybody‟s going to be dead, especially me!”

END OF EXCERPT

Let’s think about these three questions:

What lens best represents the episode and why?
What two pieces of evidence can you find (in the transcript or your notes) that backs up this lens?
What does this mean as a ‘bigger picture’? For example – what can we take away and learn from this episode?

First, you can have a discussion with partners, and then begin to make a good idea of this in your writing. Make sure to answer the questions based on the lens you have chosen. I will hand out a paper that is a matrix of lenses so that it can help you. This will also be used for the full length film

.Introduction-to-Literary-Theory-Grid-Grade-10.11Download

September 11th, 2023

New Term Long Unit! (Only on Mondays)

Musical-Mondays-Introduction Download

When you analyze a piece for perceptive reasons, then the basic questions asked are the ones that seem simple, but provide evidence for good discussion.

Narrative in Song. Musical Mondays #1

Every song has a story to tell. Yet some stories are better than others. The artist actually has a narrative in mind when they write the thing, so what we have as listeners is a fully fleshed out story, characters, rising action, climax, the lot. The following four songs have stories to tell. It’s your job to understand what the plot is. Then at the end of the analysis, you are to write your own lyric based on the prompt given.

Choose 1 of these, or choose your own.

Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven

https://genius.com/Led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven-lyrics

Pink Floyd – Shine on You Crazy Diamond

https://genius.com/Pink-floyd-shine-on-you-crazy-diamond-pts-1-5-lyrics

Skid Row – I remember you

https://genius.com/Skid-row-i-remember-you-lyrics

Thriller – by Michael Jackson

https://genius.com/albums/Michael-jackson/Thriller

What is the story about? Give a summary of the story as you understand it.
What is the effect of this story as a song? How do the lyrics and sound combine to make a cohesive whole?
Now that you know a little bit about stories in general, how is a short story different from a lyrical story? What are the pros and cons of both?
Write a story as a song. Basically, you will write 10-20 short lines as poetry but tell a simple story. This is an example:

EXAMPLE:

Refrigerator, 1957

Thomas Lux

More like a vault: you pull the handle out
and on the shelves not a lot,
and what there is (a boiled potato
in a bag, a chicken carcass
under foil) looking dispirited,
drained, mugged. This is not
a place to go in hope or hunger.
But, just to the right of the middle
of the middle door shelf, on fire, a lit-from-within red,
heart-red, sexual-red, wet neon-red,
shining red in their liquid, exotic,
aloof, slumming
in such company: a jar
of maraschino cherries. Three-quarters
full, fiery globes, like strippers
at a church social. Maraschino cherries, “maraschino”
the only foreign word I knew. Not once
did I see these cherries employed: not
in a drink, nor on top
of a glob of ice cream,
or just pop one in your mouth. Not once.
The same jar there through an entire
childhood of dull dinners—bald meat,
pocked peas, and, see above,
boiled potatoes. Maybe
they came over from the old country,
family heirlooms, or were status symbols
bought with a piece of the first paycheck
from a sweatshop,
which beat the pig farm in Bohemia,
handed down from my grandparents
to my parents
to be someday mine,
then my child’s?
They were beautiful
and if I never ate one
it was because I knew it might be missed
or because I knew it would not be replaced
and because you do not eat
that which rips your heart with joy.

Complete the following document by Wednesday at 11:59PM (October 27th) for a minor letter grade.

September 8th, 2023

Presentations for completion grade.

IF WE HAVE TIME:

The Simpsons.

Here is the script of the show:

https://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/3F05.html

BA_StefanBirgirStefans

EXCERPT:

2.1 The Pleasure Principle in “King-Size Homer”

END OF EXCERPT

Let’s think about these three questions:

What lens best represents the episode and why?
What two pieces of evidence can you find (in the transcript or your notes) that backs up this lens?
What does this mean as a ‘bigger picture’? For example – what can we take away and learn from this episode?

.Introduction-to-Literary-Theory-Grid-Grade-10.11Download

September 7th, 2023

Now, things might get a little strange right away, but I’d like for you to take notes on this video to reflect on the content. I’ll hand out paper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cOEFnppm_A

Structuralism:the significance of the changing balance between text and image and its relationship to an interpretation of the story as a fantasy – a figment of Max’s imagination, oppositions.
b. Feminism: the role of the mother (and the absence of the father), the balance of power between mother and son, the role Max adopts with the ‘wild things’, the representation of the ‘wild things’ as gendered or genderless.
c. Postcolonial: the role Max adopts with the ‘wild things’, his colonising – and subsequent desertion – of the creatures, the behaviour of the ‘wild things’, the colour symbolism of Max’s clothing.
d. Psychoanalytic: what the ‘wild things’ might represent, Max’s relationship with his mother, the absence of the father, dream/reality distinctions, sublimation of desires into fantasy.

Look for fairy tales. Either by yourself or with a partner. Pick a lens in which to view your fairytale.

Look at this document. There are 8 lenses to choose from, but you only need to familiarize yourself with four.

Eight-Critical-Lenses Download

Here’s some fables from Aesop etc. you can choose from:

http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables/

Tomorrow, you’ll present your fairy tale for class. You will do these three things:

Summarize the fairytale
tell the class what lens you are looking through and why
explain why this lens is relevant to the story.

September 6th, 2023

Grade-10-2024-Introduction

Here’s the introduction to the first unit – Let’s get started right away:

10-Lenses-Introduction Download

10 Essential Questions (out of 100)

https://www.signupgenius.com/groups/getting-to-know-you-questions.cfm

Brainstorm with class on questions
Find someone you don’t know
Ask 10 of the questions from the board – answer them – Vice versa
Get ready to present your partner to the class

Let’s get started.

Mr. Purdy's Blog

English

Literary Studies 10 – 2024

January 22nd, 2024

January 19th, 2024

January 16th, 2024

January 15th, 2024

January 12th, 2024

January 11th, 2024

January 10th, 2024

January 9th, 2024

January 8th, 2024

December 21st, 2023

December 20th, 2023

December 19th, 2023

December 18th, 2023

December 15th, 2023

December 14th, 2023

December 13th, 2023

December 12th, 2023

December 11th, 2023

December 8th, 2023

December 7th, 2023

December 6th, 2023

December 5th, 2023

December 4th, 2023

December 1st, 2023

November 30th, 2023

November 29th, 2023

November 28th, 2023

November 27th, 2023

November 24th, 2023

November 23rd, 2023

November 21st, 2023

November 22nd, 2023

November 21st, 2023

November 20th, 2023

November 17th, 2023

November 15th, 2023

November 14th, 2023

November 9th, 2023

November 8th, 2023

November 7th, 2023

November 6th, 2023

November 3rd, 2023

November 2nd, 2023

October 31st, 2023

October 30th, 2023

October 27th, 2023

October 26th, 2023

October 25th, 2023

October 24th, 2023

October 23rd, 2023

October 19th, 2023

October 18th, 2023

October 17th, 2023

October 16th, 2023

October 13th, 2023

October 12th, 2023

October 11th, 2023

October 10th, 2023

October 6th, 2023

October 5th, 2023

October 4th, 2023

October 3rd, 2023

September 29th, 2023

September 28th, 2023

September 27th, 2023

September 26th, 2023

September 25th, 2023

Questions I’d like for you to put into a coherent paragraph with a link to the song and the lyrics:

September 21st, 2023

September 20th, 2023

September 19th, 2023

September 18th, 2023

September 15th, 2023

September 14th, 2023

September 13th, 2023

September 12th, 2023

September 11th, 2023