Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Poem exercise from "Witness" reading

Witness reading linked here

Poem worth 4 points
Explanation worth 4 points

References and Alluions Poem (Maus/Night Reflection)

Write a poem that uses at least 8 references and allusions to Maus and/or Night to express your witness experience of reading those texts. References should be CAPITALIZED, bold or italicized.

Afterwards, include an explanation of what your poem means, where you incorporated your volta, and how you used references and allusions to the texts.

Poem worth 4 points
Explanation worth 4 points

Personal Narrative (meter and rhyme) Witness Poem

For this assignment, cut and paste the verse and chorus of a familiar song into your blog. Scan (label the accented syllables) to establish a meter and rhyme structure.

Next, rewrite that verse and chorus into a narrative witness poem of personal experience that FOLLOWS THE SAME METER AND RHYME.

Link to the original song to cite the actual meter/rhyme
Explain how you use the meter and rhyme to add meaning to you poem.
Required elements:
same meter and rhyme as original
volta

Poem is worth 4 points
Explanation is worth 4 points

See video below for a demonstration of scanning a poem:

Found Poem

Create a found poem that you transform into a statement of witness.

Begin with an article from a periodical (newspaper/magazine) and cut and paste the relevant text into your blog.

Cite this article by including a link or URL to the source.

Next, manipulate the text, so that it forms a poem. You must apply the following poetic terms and discuss in an accompanying explanation:
line
stanza
volta
end stop
enjambment
caesura

You may write about any topic, but some suggestions are listed below:
Trayvon Martin
Presidential Election
Supreme Court Health Care Case
French Shooting
Vikings Stadium Case
North Korea nuclear tensions
War in Afghanistan


Poem is worth 4 points
Explanation is worth 4 points


Example Found Poem (performed, not written):

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

"Imagine" Witness Poem

Consider John Lennon's "Imagine." What would your ideal world look like? Write a poem that begins, "Imagine..." and let yourself dream. Remember to be concrete and specific. "Imagine no war" sounds great in a song, but is not effective poetry. How would your perfect world look in concrete and specific terms?

The more focused your details, the more effective your imagery will be. For instance, if your vision of a perfect world is that schools are closed, you could say "No school." "Padlocks on the glass entries of door 7" is more specific. "Confetti made from shredded scantrons" is even more specific. You don't have to say everything, just something concrete and specific. No length requirement; write what you feel. Stop when your feeling has been expressed.

Worth 5 points for on-time completion.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Instructions for: Animal Dreams Discussion Reflection #1

Please write 300 words reflecting on what you got out of today's discussion.  If you find yourself struggling to find things to say, I would suggest putting more into the discussions (both speaking and listening).  Write informally.  Talk about interesting ideas.  Thing of this (and subsequent) blog posts as pre-writing for a paper.

Example: I really like what "Bob" said about people transforming into animals.  I hadn't noticed it, but I'm going to look for it from now on.  Maybe it means that everyone is actually an animal - like what Loyd said about Jack's dreams.  Hey, that's a connection.

The assignment is really about processing the ideas from the discussion.  As the quote in the room says, "Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting" (Edmund Burke).

Due by 11:59 PM Wednesday Night.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Blog Assignment: Wrap-up of Education Presentions and Intro of Animal Dreams

Please reflect on what you learned through this project. Please write informally and in as loose a structure as you are comfortable doing. 500 words required. Consider some of the questions below (or ignore them all and come up with your own topics).

PRESENTATIONS
What content was interesting?
What presentations were effective and why?
What makes a good presentation?
What makes a presentation persuasive?
What makes a good learning environment?
What makes a good teacher?
What makes a good student?
What works well in our classroom?
What needs to be improved in our classroom?
What questions do you have about grading/results?


ANIMAL DREAMS
What questions do you have about the book/unit?
What are your initial thoughts about the content of the book and/or the structure and methodology of the unit?
What do you expect of the book?