HW Blog - "How To Write About..."

For this assignment write a short, sarcastic essay to parody the Single Story of some group you belong to.  Title your piece, "How to Write About..."

Write 3 short paragraphs that emphasize some of the stereotypes of the people being described.

 Due by 8:10 AM Friday, November 9, published to blog
Worth 4 classwork points

For example:

How To Write About An English Teacher

Use key words like "bookish," "nerdy," "stuffy," "pretentious," and "awkward."  English teachers are all insecure and self-conscious.  Their personalities reflect an over-intellectual attitude that borders on arrogance.  They like to use big words, mostly just to impress their friends - the few that they have.  The love proper grammar and jump at the chance to correct your mistakes.

Be sure to highlight the old-fashioned way they look.  Tweed is a must and probably cardigan sweaters and wool - slacks for men, skirts for women.   Black turtlenecks are a must, for when they go to the coffee shop to read poetry.  The men have conservative, short-cropped hairstyles, with the occasional longhair, counterculture, ponytail type mixed in.  Women have straight, unremarkable hairstyles, often pulled into a ponytail or bun.  If they wear make-up, it's minimal, and you'll find a smear of lipstick on a front tooth.

The most exciting thing in an English teacher's life is to talk about Shakespeare or any other boring old, dead, white guy - Hemingway or Steinbeck.  If you really want to get on their good side, talk about a British author and use words like "mood," "tone," symbolic," "allegory."  Extra points if you prefer the book version better than the movie version.  Whole evenings can be spent complaining about the attention span or unsophisticated interests of the students.   Video games and YouTube are equal to the devil.

Night Final Blog Response

Write a 3-paragraph blog response in the format of “I said...     He said...    Now, I say...”

Paragraph 1, write a reflection that explains your feelings about the TodaysMeet incident from last Friday, September 28.  Quote your own journal entry (attached to these instructions) that support your description of your thoughts and feelings from last week.

Paragraph 2, write a reflection that explains the most relevant point(s) that Elie Wiesel makes in his book Night and Nobel Prize Speech.  Provide quotes that support your description of Wiesel’s theme and thesis.

Paragraph 3, write a reflection that synthesizes the ideas from  your journal-writing Monday and Wiesel’s ideas from Night and his Nobel Speech.  This synthesis should demonstrate how your own thoughts and feelings interact with your understanding of Wiesel’s writing to result in a new perspective.  

Your Monday journal might completely agree with Wiesel’s thoughts, or you might completely reject any connection between the TodaysMeet issue and Night.  Either of those responses - and any that fall within the continuum they form - is by definition a reaction to your reading of Night.  If you are more logically or mathematically oriented, think of the instructions this way:

            My ideas from Friday + Wiesel’s ideas = My ideas now

Paragraph 3 should describe this equation.

“The Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human” - Adolf Hitler ( epigraph in Maus)

This sickens me and makes me think of the lie of race in our world. The Jewish people simply had a different culture and ethnicity from the Germans. Hitler’s language dehumanized the Jews  to a point that mistreatment, torture and extermination were not questioned by the masses.  I know we are not living in the midst of the Holocaust, but racism, homophobia, and hateful speech like this  are alive and thriving at EHS; I heard some of those voices online last Friday. I am still horrified by the ugliness and bullying that went virtually unchecked.  I vow to make sure that when I witness hateful speech, I will speak out. 

Reflection and Response on Reading Assignments and Your Learning Style

Please comment on how we have had more independent reading time with smaller discussion groups.  This feedback will be very useful in planning our final unit on The Road as well as my preparation for next year's classes.

Please don't feel obligated to fill up this blog post with a lot of words.  I'm really just looking for your honest response on how the schedule of reading time, quizzes, discussions and papers have worked for you as an individual.  The more honest you can be, the more helpful it will be for me - and, potentially, for you since I can still apply some of your suggestions to this final unit.

NO LENGTH REQUIREMENT
DUE: End of day (11:59PM) Sunday, May 20

Suggested topics to discuss:
***Please restrict your discussion to how we study books***

• small group versus large group discussions
• independent reading time versus daily assignments
• online quizzes versus paper quizzes
• note-taking during reading
• forum posts and blog writing
• instruction of literary devices
• activities you have done in other classes that have helped with analyzing literature

Slaughterhouse-5 Movie Response

 *I suggest you do this assignment first while the movie and presentations are fresh in your minds*

General instructions: write a reflection on the adaptation of the book to a movie, any version(s) of the movie we have dealt with (the actual movie and student concepts).

300 word minimum

Due: Published to your blog by end of day (11:59pm) Sunday, May 20

Suggested topics*:

• Additional insight/understanding you gained from the projects/movie
• Changes made in the actual movie that you thought worked well
• Changes made in the actual movie that you didn't like
• Ideas you had for your movie that were better than the actual movie
• Ideas other groups had that were better than the actual movie
• The musical choices used by other groups or in the actual movie
• Casting of the actual movie or student projects

*feel free to branch out and write about anything else related to the book/movie

Boy in the Striped Pajamas Extra Credit Blog Assignment

Read the 2006 novel by John Boyne and write a 300 word blog on the differences / similarities between the movie and book, how they worked thematically, and how they affected you emotionally.
Read the 2006 novel by John Boyne and write a 300 word blog on the differences / similarities between the movie and book, how they worked thematically, and how they affected you emotionally.

Boy in the Striped Pajamas Response Blogs - 2 OPTIONS

OPTION I
Create a found poem from the reflection/response free-write you did after the movie yesterday.

Provide a thoughtful and thorough explanation of what poetic devices you used to add meaning to your poem.

***To receive credit, you must turn in your pre-writing with YOUR NAME on it.

Grading: 5 points total (3 points for poem; 2 points for explanation)
Due: 11:59 PM, Wed., Apr 11

OPTION II
Write a 300-word blog response to how The Boy in the Striped Pajamas works as a text of witness. What is its theme? Consider how this theme is similar to and different from Night and Maus. In particular, consider the following points.
1) As a work of fiction about a real-life event - especially one as well-known and written-about as the Holocaust - is the impact of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas lessened or mitigated? Why or why not?
2) Reflect on the role of misunderstanding and secrecy in the movie. How are these elements incorporated into the theme of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? How does the young protagonist's naive point of view contribute thematically to the story?

Grading: 5 points total (3 points for completion; 2 points for content)
Due: 11:59 PM, Wed., April 11