My Glogster

My Glogster, it's late, I know.

http://kringaz.glogster.com/violence/

The Slayer background was there because the band's lyrics often deal with themes of violence and death.
"And so it goes" -- Kurt Vonnegut is there because in the novel where that phrase is said, Slaughterhouse-Five, the phrase is mentioned only at instances of death. The "cute" character that surrounds the words is there because of the irony and sarcasm of it.
The decoration with the words "Violence by Brendan Murray" is flowery is because of the irony and sarcasm of it.
The quote by Ernest Hemingway is there because my feelings about violence and war are the same. I hate it, and I feel like it's a waste of life and time, among other things.
The final quote by Kurt Vonnegut is there because of the sarcasm. Vonnegut was saying (sarcastically) that soldiers wouldn't have done anything with their lives anyways, so why not fight?
The song in the centre of the glog is "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden. The song is about the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. A soldier rides into battle, only to be shot and then die.

Indep novel update

You should be reading your novels(You should almost be finished your novel by now) and you should have developed your thesis for class on Tues.

my glogster

http://eng11mike.glogster.com/eng11-4276/

I gave my glog a red background to represent blood, this is because when you see blood it usually reminds people of pain and I really wanted to get the feeling across when you first look at my glog. I then made the main word look unpleasant because no one really likes pain that much. I did that by putting it on a brick wall because usually when you see a brick wall now days it is run down and falling apart, so when you see a sight like that it does not make things very pleasant. Also I put the word in a dingy orange color, which gives the impression that it is old and faded.

            Next for the denotation of the word I decided to put t in a speech bubble coming out from the word because it is the literal meaning so its like that it is being said.  The speech bubble also represents pain being there because it is actually physically there.  I also gave it a not so nice color because no one really likes the feel of pain so I decided that the color should match as well. I then put a picture of someone feeling physical pain. For the connotation I put some examples in a thought bubble because it’s more in your head then actually there. That is also why I kept the bubble white because it’s all in your head.  I then also put a picture of someone who is suffering from emotional pain.

I then added the video in the top right, which gives you a strong representation of what it was probably like for the shoulder in the trenches.  You can see both the mental and physical pain of what they had to go through every single day just to stay alive themselves.

Finally I added “Mad World” by Gary Jules because if you listen to the lyrics you can imagine just what kind of conditions they had to deal with. Also on lines 1-4 you can imagine that like every morning you wake up with the same people, in the same destructed environment, and you can never tell if you will be going to sleep with the same people at night.I gave my glog a red background to represent blood, this is because when you see blood it usually reminds people of pain and I really wanted to get the feeling across when you first look at my glog. I then made the main word look unpleasant because no one really likes pain that much. I did that by putting it on a brick wall because usually when you see a brick wall now days it is run down and falling apart, so when you see a sight like that it does not make things very pleasant. Also I put the word in a dingy orange color, which gives the impression that it is old and faded.

            Next for the denotation of the word I decided to put in a speech bubble coming out from the word because it is the literal meaning so its like that it is being said.  The speech bubble also represents pain being there because it is actually physically there.  I also gave it a not so nice color because no one really likes the feel of pain so I decided that the color should match as well. I then put a picture of someone feeling physical pain. For the connotation I put some examples in a thought bubble because it’s more in your head then actually there. That is also why I kept the bubble white because it’s all in your head.  I then also put a picture of someone who is suffering from emotional pain.

I then added the video in the top right, which gives you a strong representation of what it was probably like for the shoulder in the trenches.  You can see both the mental and physical pain of what they had to go through every single day just to stay alive themselves.

Finally I added “Mad World” by Gary Jules because if you listen to the lyrics you can imagine just what kind of conditions they had to deal with. Also on lines 1-4 you can imagine that like every morning you wake up with the same people, in the same destructed environment, and you can never tell if you will be going to sleep with the same people at night.

summative journal Lord of the Flies

During this lit circles, we had some discussions that went well, and some that weren't as good. Most of the time we were able to make good connections and find good quotes to represent darkness, illusion, etc. Our connections were probably the strongest part for our group, all of us were able to make precise and insightful connections. A couple days we went off task and didn't get a whole lot done, however most of the time we were focused. In the book we found that the darkness of the imaginary beast tore them apart, and led them to complete destruction. "Within the diamond haze of the beach something dark was fumbling along. Ralph saw it first, and watched until the intentness of his gaze drew all eyes that way. Then the creature stepped from mirage onto clear sand, and they saw that the darkness was not all shadow but mostly clothing. The creature was a party of boys". They turned into the thing they feared most and went from a civilized bunch of boys to savages. I connect this beast idea to the terrorists hiding, we don't have a clue where they are and they make us scared and make us fuss about it. The only difference between the two is that the terrorists are real and have attacked, no one on the island had ever experience the beast first hand(T-W). All in all I think our group was able to get through this lit. circles assignment and get something out of it.

New Essential Questions Decisions

Essential Questions

How do we analyze poems to understand the author's purpose?

How do one’s decisions affect them and those around them?

What is a decision?

Are all decisions the same?

How does the environment affect one’s decision?

How do one’s decisions impact others?

What factors determine one’s choices and decisions?

How does our context impact the choices we have or the choices we make?

Are decisions part of human nature?

How are decisions represented?

What are the consequences of decisions?

How does the context impact the choices we have on the choices we make?

2-2 what makes a good poem

Has a message
Has a structure
Open to interpretation
Has emotion
Has a focus
View of world
Layers
Theme
Connections
Rhymes sometimes
Flows together
Use of symbols
Imagery
It has a voice
It has a moral
It has a relatable message
Rhythm
Evokes an emotion in you
Use of poetic devices
Can have a conflict
Has a tone
Sets a mood

poetry terms

Glossary of Poetry Terms
This is a list of common poetry terms—from alliteration to verse—will take the mystery out of the art form. There are many more terms that you can look up on the internet.
alliteration
The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words: “What would the world be, once bereft/Of wet and wildness?” (Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Inversnaid”)

allusion
a reference made to another literary work, historical event, work of art, or a famous person's quote that adds more depth to the poet's/author's meaning. In fact, all poems retelling old stories are allusive.***See allusion handout

apostrophe
Words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea. The poem God's World by Edna St. Vincent Millay begins with an apostrophe: “O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!/Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!/Thy mists that roll and rise!”
assonance
The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds, especially vowel sounds: “Thou still unravished bride of quietness,/Thou foster child of silence and slow time” (“Ode to a Grecian Urn,” John Keats).
carpe diem
A Latin expression that means “seize the day.” Carpe diem poems urge the reader (or the person to whom they are addressed) to live for today and enjoy the pleasures of the moment. A famous carpe diem poem by Robert Herrick begins “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…”
consonance
The repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, as in lost and past or confess and dismiss.
enjambment
The continuation of a complete idea (a sentence or clause) from one line or couplet of a poem to the next line or couplet without a pause. An example of enjambment can be found in the first line of Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees: “I think that I shall never see/A poem as lovely as a tree.” Enjambment comes from the French word for “to straddle.”
hyperbole
A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis. Many everyday expressions are examples of hyperbole: tons of money, waiting for ages, a flood of tears, etc. Hyperbole is the opposite of litotes.
.
litotes
A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite. Some examples of litotes: no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy. Litotes is the opposite of hyperbole.
.
metaphor
A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected. Some examples of metaphors: the world's a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.
metonymy
A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. For example, in the expression The pen is mightier than the sword, the word pen is used for “the written word,” and sword is used for “military power.”
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onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Examples of onomatopoeic words are buzz, hiss, zing, clippety-clop, and tick-tock. Keats's “Ode to a Nightingale” not only uses onomatopoeia, but calls our attention to it: “Forlorn! The very word is like a bell/To toll me back from thee to my sole self!” Another example of onomatopoeia is found in this line from Tennyson's Come Down, O Maid: “The moan of doves in immemorial elms,/And murmuring of innumerable bees.” The repeated “m/n” sounds reinforce the idea of “murmuring” by imitating the hum of insects on a warm summer day.

paradox
a statement that appears to be absurd, untrue, or contradictory, but may actually be true.

personification
A figure of speech in which things or abstract ideas are given human attributes: dead leaves dance in the wind, blind justice.
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quatrain
A stanza or poem of four lines.
refrain
A line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.
rhyme
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words. When the rhyme occurs in a final stressed syllable, it is said to be masculine: cat/hat, desire/fire, observe/deserve. When the rhyme occurs in a final unstressed syllable, it is said to be feminine: longing/yearning. The pattern of rhyme in a stanza or poem is shown usually by using a different letter for each final sound. In a poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.
scansion
The analysis of a poem's meter. This is usually done by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line and then, based on the pattern of the stresses, dividing the line into feet.
simile
A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word “like” or “as.” An example of a simile using like occurs in Langston Hughes's poem “Harlem”: “What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?”
sonnet
A lyric poem that is 14 lines long. Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into two quatrains and a six-line “sestet,” with the rhyme scheme abba abba cdecde (or cdcdcd). English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are composed of three quatrains and a final couplet, with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. English sonnets are written generally in iambic pentameter.
stanza
Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme.
synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part. For example, the phrase “all hands on deck” means “all men on deck,” not just their hands. The reverse situation, in which the whole is used for a part, occurs in the sentence “The U.S. beat Russia in the final game,” where the U.S. and Russia stand for “the U.S. team” and “the Russian team,” respectively.
verse
A single metrical line of poetry, or poetry in general (as opposed to prose).
Retreived and modified from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0903237.html

2-1 What Makes A Good Poem

• Emotions
• Story
• Meaning
• Message
• Imagery
• Layers
• Flow
• Arrangement
• Literacy Technique
• Connections
• Tone
• Perspective
• Voice
• Literary Devices
• Resonance
• Connotation
• Theme
• Originality
• Ideals
• Punctuation (Sometimes)
• Deepness
• Personal Beliefs and Experiences
• Hook

My Glog

http://jtoews1.glogster.com/glog/

Sorry it's late.

Glogster

http://mstokes35.glogster.com/glog-9012-9858/

Lord of the Flies Glog #2

http://uphoreal.glogster.com/false-4565/

The theme of my glog is dark, and there is a reason as to why it is that way. My glog is based around the 2 words violence and darkness. I have 2 images, one of a black heart, and one of a scary looking pig mask. The black heart is to represent the darkness inside all of us, and particularly the characters Jack and Roger within the novel. The pig mask is to represent the Lord of the Flies as well as the face paint that the tribe puts on. There is a difference in nature when the hunters put on the face paint. They feel more safe with the face paint on so they do not get seen by the pigs when they hunt. However, the hunters seem to be possessed by the Lord of the Flies to do ill-intended deeds when they have this sense of security. What I mean by this is that they aren't afraid to do things that they wouldn't normally do because the face paint disguises them, and they can no longer be identified. It kind of brainwashes themselves to act without thinking - all caught up in the mentality to hunt. This is actually similar to why people where make up. It has the intention to allow someone to look better. The make up gives security to people much like how the face paint gives security to the hunters. Lastly, there is a video clip of Piggy's death. The video clip shows how fast this act of violence happened. You can see that the other boys that witnessed it were in shock and were dumbfounded. This is a very symbolic scene because when Roger kills Piggy, Piggy is still holding the conch shell that represents order.

Lord of the Flies Glogster Project

http://prooo.glogster.com/violence-lord-of-the-flies-connection/

In my glog, I was trying to show how violence affects people, not just in specific situations like Lord of the Flies, but in everyday life. The video about bullying represents that we are usually only bullied when we are alone and when the bully is backed up. In Lord of the Flies, Jack always bullied Piggy when he had a large group around him to give him the satisfaction of hearing laughter from his peers. There is no point in bullying when people aren't there to see how big and tough you are although I believe that bullying is only a way of covering up other weaknesses. The second video I did ,which is Mad World by Gary Jules, represents how hard it is to do the same thing everyday and not get any progress. In Lord of the Flies, if the kids had not been rescued, Ralph would have had be on the run for the rest of his life or else Jack would have killed him. Ralph was trying to talk some sense into Jack but Jack was beyond the point of listening. Ralph knew that he would eventually face an early death. The poem that I posted is related to Piggy's death. Piggy was different from the rest so he was alone by himself most of the time. Piggy was ridiculed and abused and eventually it got so out of hand that someone finally killed him. His death connects perfectly with the last five sentences of the poem. For the rest of the images I wanted to show how it doesn't matter how young you are, you can still be abused. In these times you will feel alone and feel like the rest of the world is against you just like when Ralph had to hide in the brush by himself like an animal.

Lord of the Flies Glogster Chris Clute

http://cluter.glogster.com/lord-of-the-flies/

Glogster thingy

http://ntotherizzo.glogster.com/lord-of-the-flies/

explanation handed in at class.

Journal #5

This week our groups discussions went down compared to our last few weeks. This is for a few reasons. The first is that with the break we forgot what a good discussion looks like so we didn't exactly do the best discussing. The other main problem that i noticed was that some of our members had not read enough of the book to let us discuss what the rest of us had read and analyzed.

To improve our discussions for next week i think that our whole group just needs to read to the point we all decided on. Doing this will allow us to discuss what we have all read and thought about, and wont make the people who have read try to think back to what they read a long time ago.

Journal

So this week in our Lit. circles our group have a couple good talks and a decent one.  Two of our talks were very interactive and involving.  The third one we strayed off topic more and didn't get very much done.  We talked more about characters and were able to have a good discussion about what we think is going to happen to each one.  We weren't able to talk about certain things though, but that is because some of our group members just aren't there in the book but should be soon.  On the last Lit. circle for the week we assigned a page date that we would finish up to during spring break so after the break we will be able to have a great discussion and will all be able to talk about everything that has happened.

Explanation of My Glog (Lord of the Flies)

http://uphoreal.glogster.com/lord-of-the-flies/
My glog has a layout with clear blue skies which shows the kind of whether that you would expect on the tropical island that the boys are on. I also have three pictures. One of the pictures is the picture of the "beastie" that strikes fear in the group of boys on the island, the other of a conch shell that represents law and order. And lastly, a picture of the island that the boys are stranded on. My glog does not show that it revolves around a word. However, the story does revolve around the word: conflict. The theme of the novel is conflict, and there are plenty of examples of this. For example, the boys on a stranded island shows the conflict between the innocent and the wilderness. The conch shell displays order while the "beastie" displays fear. This kind of evidence is through symbolism and we see a lot of symbolism throughout the novel.

Comparing the two articles on the genocide

Today I read two stories The Rwandan Girl Who Refused to Die and 10 Years Later in Rwanda the Dead Are Ever Present.    The Rwandan Girl Who Refused to Die is about a girl who was 13 when the genocide happened and how she had to fight to stay alive, while people she knew murdered her family and friends.   10 Years Later in Rwanda the Dead Are Ever Present is about how all over the country people are building memorials to respect the dead and remind people of the horrors that happened.  Both of these stories connect to the essential question “what do we mean by evil?”

            The people in these stories have experienced evil first hand and each of these authors describes evil using different techniques. For example the Rwanda girl is  told more like a story, and uses very strong imagery to portray the tragic events and the setting.  The story starts with this powerful image, “she seemed more shadowlike than human, a skeletal apparition lying on a camp bed” (p.1) These images get stronger throughout the story and get you emotionally involved, especially since this is a true story.  Having this presented in a story makes you care more about the characters then a straight up documentary or newspaper.   You feel the evil through the little girls eyes, as she sees the murder of her family and community as she struggles to survive through the horrors around her.

            The second story 10 years later is more like a documentary, but is still powerful and the images are still strong: “ woman has her arms over her face, as if protecting herself from attack. One of her forearms has been hacked off.” (p.4) The information in this article is more straightforward such that an estimated 800,000 people died.  In this one you can sense the evil through the evidence that remains behind, such as “…the partially preserved remains of hundreds of those who were killed…”

            Both of these articles display evil in their own great ways through imagery and information. Although both had great point that were very interesting I enjoyed the Rwandan girl better because it was more of a story where you ended up having many feelings for the character as you heard how she had to struggle to survive. 

My Summative Project

Conflict and Darkness

Glogster project by Rigel Pascual

• For both conflict and darkness, I chose to add two notes that describes the word in form of denotation and connotation. The denotation for the word, was literally pulled out from it's dictionary meaning. Whereas the connotation of the word, is a bit harder to decipher, and will take quite a bit more effort from the reader's part, to understand, much like how connotations are in real life, and how one must not only see it's meaning from literal understanding, but also from it's context

• The pictures I chose for the theme of conflict are "The Fall of Rome", "World War 2 from the Ukrainian/Russian Point of view", and the cover of Romeo Dallaire's new book "They Fight like Soldiers, They Die like Children" because of the fact I believe these are excellent visuals that tie in with the relation of conflict and how much they can oppress people; much like how Elie Wiesel has been oppressed through his experiences within the Jewish concentration camps

•  The text written on the far upper right side of the word "Conflict" is a poem by Owen Wilson called the "Anthem for Doomed Youth"; It explains the loss of innocence and life within youth due to war and conflict. It also shows us that even though one may still be breathing and living, it does not necessarily mean they are still "alive". Much like how Elie Wiesel's innocence and life has been tarnished through war and bitterness.

•  The video on the far upper left of the word "Conflict" is a song by Gary Jules, entitled "Mad World". I think it explains of how one lives in a world full of unavoidable tension and conflict, and how one can be lead to just accept this state of humanity as just "a part of everyday life", which I will expand on shortly..

• The background picture surrounding the word "Darkness" is a painting by William Turner, called: "Snow Storm, Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps", and within the painting, we see a gigantic storm engulfing the sun, and Hannibal's army. Much like how darkness can make a man lose sight of the "light" and its' hope; engulfing them, and making them into nothing but a mere shell of the man they once were. Based on this statement, I can relate this situation as to how Elie Wiesel had lose his faith in God, during his time in the Jewish concentration camps

• In the theme of "Darkness" I chose 2 other pictures:
• "Death is the rider on the pale horse" from Gustave Dore - Depicting the coming of death during the day of judgement based on the book of revelations: Giving forth a sense of uncertainty and fear of the days to come...
• The all-seeing eye within the dollar bill of the United States of America: Which has been said to be a symbol of Illuminati: A secret society allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations. Giving us once, more a sense of the unknown and a feeling of uncertainty within ourselves, and the world we live in

• The wall of text within the theme of "Darkness" is a quote from Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "The Raven", and it details the start of a man's descent to insanity and sorrow, as he mourns for a deceased love: Making us remember much of how each individual have their own inner demons to battle within themselves

•  Last and not the least, The video I respectively chose for the theme of "Darkness" is a short film by Arthur Lipsett; simply called "Very Nice, Very Nice". This film, in my opinion, perfectly represents the state of our human condition, and the living breathing movement of our humanity. Within the film, are short clips, pieces, images, and excerpts from different people, of varying backgrounds, and social status. All of whom have stories to tell, and things to say, that lie within them deep context and meaning of the world around us. While all the while, there is a man within the film, clapping, and saying "very nice, very nice". I think this is a sign of how we, as a society tend to dismiss what we, as individuals, see, feel, hear, and experience, and how one is lead, as a member of society, to simply just accept the current state of things, as, once again, "just another part of life"

How to write a found poem

How to write a found poem:


1) Find 20-25 examples of poetic phrases from you novel. Using several of the examples, arrange these in “found” poem and explain in writing the significance of this poem to your novel.

Make sure you are selecting phrases that are figuaritve and could mean more then one thing as we have been looking at in class.
You want to ensure that your poem has a theme.
I have samples from past years you can see, please ask.
. Here is a student’s (short) example from the novel of Mice and Men:
A girl
Smiled happily.
The meanness
The discontent
Were all gone.
She lay still.
On the sandy bank under the trees.
She looked closely at
The surface of the green pool.
She said quietly,
“Looks kinda scummy.”

2) Write a well-supported paragraph on how your poem demonstrates your understanding of the term. Be sure to use examples from the novel to support your explanation

3) You will submit the poem on an illustrated piece of paper that reflects something connected to the poem.

Discussion week #2

This week my group was able to focus more on the conflicts between the kids in "Lord of the Flies." As we all know, kids can be uncontrollable and not take anything seriously because they have had easy lives. In our book we can see that when you take kids and put them into a serious situation, things can go terribly wrong. Nobody listens and that is not the way they are going to escape the island. I can connect this book to anyone that babysits. If you are trying to put the kids to bed or make them clean up their toys, they try and avoid it. You have to show them that you are in control and that your word is the word of reasoning. This is exactly what Ralph showed Jack after Jack had gone out hunting, let the fire die out and a ship passed. "There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep the fire going and you let it out!" (pg 74) Ralph is speaking to Jack in a stern and dead serious tone of voice. He wants to make Jack feel guilty for his actions which seems to make Jack look inferior to Ralph. All I know is that if these kids don't start taking their situation of being on a deserted island seriously, they're going to be there for a long time.

Journal week2

This second week in our Lit Circles, my group and I increased our discussion greatly compared to our first week.  We had read more of the book, which allowed us to discuss more of the characters and symbols in the book. We talked about the general and how we think that he is a very cruel person for making all the recruits do the same job over and over until it was completely perfect, force them to train for hours in the mud.  You can see evidence of this on page 23-24.

In the second week I think that our group had a much better discussion then the week before. We had all read farther in the book so we hade more information to think about and discuss. I believe that in the weeks to come if we keep reading the book to a point together we will be able to get even more in depth discussions. 

journal week #1

The first week in our discussions we learned about the innocence of children's mind's in Lord of the Flies. It was hard for me to understand that the children couldn't understand the severity of the situation that they were in but then again, they have most likely never been exposed to anything where they could have been in danger. Now they are possibly looking at never being rescued and all they want to do is play on the tropical island. It made me think that we could learn something from these kids. Instead of worrying over every obstacle in our lives, we should stop to smell the roses once in a while. As I notice their ways of living, it makes me question our values in life which can lead to a good discussion.

The choice summative projects

Here are the choice summative projects. YOur first one is due Friday March 11.


select 2 words , brainstorm and develop definitions/explanations that take into consideration their denotation, their connotation, and as many of the questions as possible. Then you are to choose any two of the possible assignments for the words
1. Create a mind map of the term that defines/explains/explores the word as well as gives examples of it from the novel you are reading. Remember a mind map includes visuals.

Mind Map Rubric Fully Meets Expectations Meets Minimally Meets Expectations
• Understanding of word (denotation & connotation)
• Organization of map (central image, use of color/codes/ links) • mind map conveys an insightful understanding of the word, with rich multiple associations & examples - central image is metaphorical; many connections between ideas are made & are clear • mind map conveys a thorough understanding of the word, with several associations & examples
• central image is meaningful; many connections between ideas are made & are clear • mind map conveys a basic understanding of the word, with some associations and examples
• central image is present but literal or limited, several connections between ideas are made but are not always clear

2. Create an original glogster, or a collage that defines/explains/ explores the word. Provide a written explanation (bullets/charts/paragraph is fine) of the thinking behind the collage/ glogster/ image.
Image Rubric Fully Meets Expectations Meets expectations Minimally Meets Expectations
Understanding of word
(denotation & connotation)
image(s) etc.. convey(s) an
insightful understanding of
the word, with rich multiple
associations & examples image(s) convey(s) a
thorough understanding of
the word, with several
associations & examples image(s) convey(s) a basic
understanding of the word,
with some associations and
examples

3. Write a found poem for another word definition/explanation/exploration of the word. Write a well-supported paragraph on how your poem demonstrates your understanding of the term Staple your draft to the good copy. Include a visual image with your poem as well. It can be the background etc.
Writing Rubric Fully Meets Expectations Meets Minimally Meets Expectations
Understanding of word
(denotation & connotation) writing conveys an insightful
understanding of the word,
with rich multiple
associations
• details & examples are
specific, effective & may
show subtlety writing conveys a thorough
understanding of the word,
with associations
supporting details &
examples are relevant and
clear writing conveys a basic
understanding of the word
some relevant supporting
details & examples; may be
vague at times
Creativity and Imagery The poem is creative and original. The lines work well together. The images are neat and enhance the poem
The poem is interesting. One or two lines need to be moved to be more effective. The images are neat and meaningful. The poem has a topic but the lines need work. More images are needed to fully express the poem's imagery.
Visual Qualities Poem uses a creative, visual interpretation of the idea of found language. Poem’s visual presentation enhances meaning. Poem offers a visual reflection of the idea of found language, but the visual presentation is not linked to meaning. Poem uses some visual elements to reflect the idea of found language, although these are employed in an incomplete of inconsistent manner.


English 11
Found Poem


How to write a found poem:


1) Find 20-25 examples of poetic phrases from you novel. Using several of the examples, arrange these in “found” poem and explain in writing the significance of this poem to your novel.. Here is a student’s (short) example from the novel of Mice and Men:
A girl
Smiled happily.
The meanness
The discontent
Were all gone.
She lay still.
On the sandy bank under the trees.
She looked closely at
The surface of the green pool.
She said quietly,
“Looks kinda scummy.”

2) Write a well-supported paragraph on how your poem demonstrates your understanding of the term. Be sure to use examples from the novel to support your explanation

A copy of the lit circle project

Learning Outcomes:

*interact and collaborate in pairs, small groups and large groups
*listen to comprehend, interpret, and evaluate ideas, information, and understanding of texts
*read, both collaboratively and independently, to comprehend a wide variety of literary texts with increasing complexity and subtlety of ideas and form
*explain, support, interpret, analyze, and evaluate ideas, information and understanding from texts read and viewed
*after reading and viewing, select, adapt, and apply a range of strategies to extend and confirm meaning, and to consider the author’s craft
*recognize and explain how structures and features of text shape readers’ and viewers’ construction of meaning and appreciation
*create thoughtful representations that communicate ideas, information, and understanding
*write and represent to explain, support interpret, analyze, and evaluate ideas, information, and understandings from personal and text
*use and experiment with elements of form and style in writing and representing appropriate to purpose and audience to enhance meaning and artistry
*write and represent to synthesize and extend thinking and use metacognitive strategies to reflect on and assess writing and representing
*speak and listen to synthesize and extend thinking and use metacognitive strategies to reflect and assess their speaking and listening

What you do:

 Fill out the discussion rubric and set realistic criteria.
 Allow for time at the end of each class to fill out the self assessment sheet. You will complete 2 formative assessments and the third one will be summative.(self assessments). I will be assessing you as well.
 As you read the novels I want you to mark the texts(use your post its.Post it notes are to be used as you read. You need a variety of post its to help with your final task. Make sure you include page #’s on all your post its. You will hand these in at the end as evidence only to help you complete your summative tasks. )
 You mark the text(these are your post its) looking for imagery, symbol, irony, figurative language, key quotations and other techniques that create meaning. You are looking for connections to the EQ’s and the key words.
 In your groups you want to discuss the effect the above have for you and what meaning is conveyed in them.(Remember to back up with support…hint post its come in handy here)
 Think to the layers…..

JOURNAL INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!
 Each week you are to either blog or journal(you can’t do them all at the end!!) an individual reflection on your discussions and your learnings(these are formative) Total of six(6) formative ones.
o Your journal entries will reflect on an insight or a learning on what you read or discussed that week, they will also include your metacognitive reflection. This means how do see yourself growing in your contributions to the groups discussion. Are you contributing more to the discussion, asking deeper questions, pulling others in. building more on the ideas of others, finding richer examples and sharing etc. Give me examples how you are doing in the groups.
o You will peer comment on someone’s reflection to help deepen your understanding and learnings. You will also reflect on your contributions to
 Some of your journals will also be summative.(Choice).

I will post these on another blog entry(but the grids never work).
All summative assignments are individual. You must submit TWO(2). The order in which you hand them in is up to you.
 I will do a mini lesson on connotation/denotation, mind maps, imagery/glogsters, and found poems in the first week of lit circles.

Journal week1

This week in our Lit Circle discussion, our group had difficulties getting a good discussion started. This is because our book has a slow start to it and you just get a background history on the characters and the conditions of the war.  We tried discussing some of the characters but we have little information to talk about which cuts our discussion short. 

In the past few discussions our group has been off to a week start.  I believe this is because not just of lack of detail in the book, but also that our group is not putting in enough insight into the book. I think that if we all read to the same point of the book and all take notes in the book that we will get more information that we can share and add our opinions to. 

My Journal - Lord of the Flies

Dear Journal,
This week has been a week full of reading. We have pretty much been finding ideas from the book and writing in our words what we understood from it into the assignments we completed in class. We have experienced and came out with a sense of vulnerability and innocence from the kids in the book. They are stuck on an island with no parents and no hope of rescue, but it hasn't really hit them yet. They haven't noticed or haven't had the seriousness of the situation sink in yet. The main characters seem to be Piggy, Ralph and perhaps Jack. It seems Ralph is the designated leader and the one who will make the decisions and keep the kids alive. It is only the first week and we have yet to find out about what happens with the kids from the "Lord of the Flies!" What a great first week it has been.
-Miguel Bustamante (migy10)

The Rubric for your journals

You will get a hard copy of this in class. The grid does not transfer over but you get the idea of the criteria.

Response EE FM M MM NY
 Response is superior
 Reflects a strong insight of the topic
 Deals with deeper meaning strong depth of discussion/level of insight
 References clearly support and are connected/well explained
 Style, rhetorical devices, diction, sophistication of response effective
 Effective
 Well organized and demonstrates a strong command of the conventions of language and sophisticated use of language/some errors in more complex language  Response is proficient
 Reflects a strong grasp of the topic
 Attempts to Deal with deeper meaning of topic strong depth of discussion/level of insight
 References support and are connected to topic/explained
 Content and support is thoughtful and interesting
 Well organized and demonstrates a strong command of the conventions of language /some errors in more complex language  Response is competent
 Generally understands topic
 Addresses what is obvious
 Appropriate reference, but minimal support Limited ideas/support connected to topic
 Content and support not clearly connected to the topic or explained
 Conventions of language followed but has some errors
 Clear sense of purpose but not engaging.
 Response Is barely adequate
 Understanding of the topic flawed
 Ideas underdeveloped and/or simple or awkwardly expressed
 Little if any support
 Weak sense of purpose
 Little variety in diction and sentence structure
 Errors may be distracting
 Response is inadequate
 Understanding of task is flawed
 Ideas underdeveloped and simple
 errors are recurring and distracting
 meaning is impeded

Lord of the Flies Journal #1

This week we read the 1st chapter and a bit of the 2nd chapter of Lord of the Flies. For the first section(first20pgs), we had to make a venn diagram for the two characters Ralph and Piggy. We established their differences and similarities, differences being their appearance and back round, similarities being their situation(being stranded on an island). For the second part, we look for examples of violence, conflict, pain, darkness and destruction. In our reading, we found examples of conflict, darkness and pain. Those examples would be being stranded on an island for conflict, the dark creature for darkness, and pain because Piggy feels left out by Ralph and Jack.

Rigel's Movie Presentation: Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

Synopsis:

A year after the events of Scarecrow, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new district attorney Harvey Dent, begin to clean up Gotham's streets. Enter the Joker: a mysterious and psychopathic killer known only by his alias, to wreak new havoc upon Gotham's streets. Batman, again has to take up his mask to once more face evil: this time, to the point of questioning everything he believes, and his true identity. Joker has taken evil and darkness to further limits, and makes this struggle of good and evil Batman's hardest trial.

What are the layers of context/setting in this film?

• The mood portrayed throughout the story of darkness,confusion (The night time robberies, abductions,etc.)

• Way of presentation (Movie's picture contrast is very dark, a lot of dynamic explosions, intense music)
• Context of movie had many references to darkness and evil by way of imagery, symbolism, and satire      ( ie: Dead victim dressed up as Batman, Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face's "evil side" physically represented as the burnt part of his face, Joker's famous "Why So Serious?" phrase, in intense scenes.)

How does the filmmaker convey evil or darkness?

• The mind of the Joker is grasped by the audience, and shared to viewers, through Joker's actions and words, as well as his blunt delivery of sensitive topics (ie: Joker's way of carving bloody smiles to dead victims, and twisted stories he tells to other characters in the story)
• Evil and darkness is conveyed by way of delivery by the filmmakers, and how they have depicted it through scenes of violence, music, and scenery (Numerous deaths, blown up hospitals, & fast-paced, instrumental music)

What expressions of darkness had the most impact on you and why?

• Throughout the movie, we see many acts of darkness, and evil. All orchestrated by the mind of one individual: The Joker. This piece of information had the most impact on me, because of how it just goes to show us, how one individual can be so capable of so much evil.

How can a character represent darkness?

• A character can represent darkness through their appearance, their actions, and relationship with others. We learned by example of Harvey Dent, how one's whole identity may change, simply by the way you choose how to handle what life may throw at you. Harvey Dent was a good man, and lawyer, who represented Gotham's hope, until the incident in which Joker burnt his face and killed his girlfriend, from then on, Harvey decided to change how he approached life, and by doing so, changed from representing the hope of Gotham, to representing the evil and darkness which he has felt and suffered.

A Connection: Text to Self

•  In the movie "Dark Knight", Joker's influence on Harvey Dent, drastically changed Harvey Dent's life, for the worst. It reminds one of how even we ourselves, are capable of doing great things of evil, or good.

A Connection: Text to Text

• Metaphorically speaking, Bruce Wayne's "Batman" persona, could be seen as Bruce's physical representation of what he believes to be his own justice. In Paulo's movie presentation, "Inception" Paulo believes that in the same way, Mal's constant manifestation within Cobb's dreams, is nothing else but a mere representation of what Cobb believes to be his own darkness and guilt..

A Connection: Text to World

• A connection I made through this film is that there is darkness and evil within all of us. As it is a part of humanity. Everyone has different feelings towards certain things whether it is positive or negative, and it is only through this diversity that our humanity can express both qualities of light and darkness.

Essential Question: Does evil or fear lead one to the following: experience of violence, infliction of violence, and/or observation of violence?

• I believe that when evil and fear is spread, it leads to many more opportunities to do greater evil and cause greater fear. In "Dark Knight", we see that fear of evil expressed by the city of Gotham, provoked the Joker to take advantage of the situation; and cause further chaos. The fear shown by Gotham lead to the violence produced by the Joker. Violence such as robbery of banks, takeover of hospitals, and murder of people. This infliction of violence was due to the fear of the city, and the evil within the Joker. Furthermore, as one experiences violence and evil, one may be persuaded to inflict to others back in return what he/she may have felt. As it is with Harvey Dent, and how his experience with evil, caused him to inflict further evil.

Final Media Task

Media Critique

Based on websites, articles, movies etc
• Comment on the logic and quality of evidence.
• Relate and critique the perspectives presented
• Identify and challenge bias, contradictions, and distortions
• Identify the importance and impact of social, political and historical factors


You will then write*, an analysis that that is
1. A synthesis of your understanding of the issues (topics),
2. Discuss the way your sources have presented the topic and connects to any essential question we have covered this year.
*(or create an other form of presentation, power point, movie maker etc)


Media analysis rubric
(The grid never transfers over;you have a hard copy and you know what I am looking for-this is just your backup)

Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1
Context: purpose and implied values Makes insightful inferences about the creators purpose, motivations, perspective, biases, contradictions, distortions and values

Makes logical
inferences about the creators purpose, motivations, perspective, biases,
contradictions, distortions biases and values Makes some logical inferences about the creators purpose, motivations, perspective, biases,
contradictions, distortions biases and values Makes few if any logical inferences about the creators purpose, motivations, perspective, biases,
contradictions, distortions biases and values
Context: connections to other works
Makes effective and insightful connections to other works and experiences
Is well supported with specific examples Makes relevant and logical connections to other works and experiences
Is well supported with specific examples Makes some connections to other works and experiences
Limited support and or examples vague. Makes few relevant connections to other works and experiences
Support may be missing, examples not relevant.
Message
Identify social, political, historical factors, connections to EQ Shows a thorough and insightful understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message. Is well supported with specific examples Shows a solid understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message.
Is well supported with specific examples Shows some understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message.
Limited support and or examples vague. Shows limited understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message. Support may be missing, examples not relevant
Clarity of expression Communicates ideas with a high degree of clarity and effectiveness Communicates ideas with considerable degree of clarity and effectiveness Communicates ideas with some degree of clarity and effectiveness Communicates ideas with limited clarity and effectiveness

Articles on the Genocide

Nolan Ramsden

After reading "Taken over by Satan" and "Children of Rwanda's Genocide", I believe the articles truly showed us the meaning of evil because of the difference between the two articles. I noticed many similarities in the imagery and setting but also some differences in the mood. Both authors describe very clearly the bloody and gruesome events that occurred especially in "taken over by Satan" the recollection and reality of the events is horrific. Also, quite obviously the setting in both articles is the same as they both take plac and are based around Rwanda. Although the two articles are similar, the mood the two give off are very different. In "Children of the Genocide", the mood is dark, but the article is looking towards the light, showing how it hopes to rebuild and start with the children to create a new future. "Taken over by Satan" on the other hand is extremely depressing, and in the opinion of this Hutu, will never be forgotten. In my opinion, it is this article that truly shows the evil of the genocide because it explains how evil can consume and make a person do things unimaginable.
Between "Taken over by Satan" and "Children of Rwanda's Genocide" we see two very different ways of using writing techniques to show the true evil of the genocide. "taken over by Satan" uses a very real and visual way to show what has happened whereas the other shows the evil in the aftermath of what happened. Although both are powerful, the visual imagery is what really impacted me the most. After seeing the movies and reading this article, I could really understand and see the brutality of what happened in Rwanda, as if i was there. To me, the use of machetes is what made this genocide that much more evil, not killing them, but leaving them dismembered and letting time do the rest.
The layers of evil in both articles is also very different but is very noticeable in both. Although "Children of Rwanda's Genocide" Seems to be the lighter of the two, because it is looking to the future and shows hope to rebuild. but it does show evil very strongly because even those who were not killed were left completely in ruins. Also, in this article we see the impact of evil on youth, and how difficult their lives are now after the genocide. There is also a deeper layer of evil in the article "Taken over by Satan", at first read this article shows how evil consumed the Hutu's and pushed them towards killing. But the true evil in this was the fact that these people they were killing were so defenseless, and even after everything this man had seen, he continued on with the genocide, to me, that is true evil.

Class blogging

So here are the pictures that we took of the class while we used the school laptops. Sorry for this being late, but here they are...

The Victims and Participants of the Genocide

What allows some individuals to take a stand against prejudice/oppression while others choose to participate in it?

In early 1994, the Hutus of Rwanda had begun a genocide where hundreds of thousands of people where brutally murdered. One of many articles that write about the horrible events that took place in Rwanda is "Children of Rwanda Genocide".

Within the article, the lives of the children that were in the genocide are described as traumatizing and very difficult. A survey that was taken by UNICEF showed that 96% of the children had witnessed the massacres and 80% had lost at least one family member. The statistics set a depressing mood to the article. These children are alone and do not have adults to look to for guidance. They must try and survive on their own.

An interesting thing that left an impact on me because I didn't really think about it, was how the genocide ruined the economy. With people fleeing and being murdered, there was no time to think about work. With so many people being mass murdered, the work force was depleted. Another thing that is mentioned in the article is the cause of the genocide and how it could have been prevented. It's said that the U.N was told about the genocide beforehand but had ignored the threat. If the U.N. had taken the threat more seriously and taken action towards it, many, many lives could have been saved.


Another article that I read about the Rwanda genocide is "'Taken over by Satan'". What is a little different about this article is that it tells the story of one of many who took part in the genocide. The story that is told is horrifying, with lots of gruesome imagery. Gitera Rwamuhuzi's tells his experience as traumatizing...

English 11 Formative Write
I Am Legend
Nolan Ramsden
January 17th

Based in New York City, A genetic breakthrough in science seems to have discovered a cure for Cancer. As thousands of people acquire the cure, things turn for the worst. The cure turns out to be an infection, which transforms the hosts into crazy cannibalistic Zombies and is highly contagious. Robert Neville, the protagonist, is a scientist immune to this nasty infection. As the city is being evacuated, Robert chooses to stay behind with his dog Sam and run tests on the zombies in hopes of discovering a cure and stopping the infection. As time progresses Robert begins to be more and more outnumbered by the zombies who lurk in the shadows and realizes that his time to discover the cure is running low. Eventually, in a last ditch attempt, Robert discovers the cure and hands it to two young survivors on their way to a safe zone, losing his life in the progresses but potentially saving mankind.
The film maker conveys evil and darkness by bringing many peoples fears to life in the setting. The fact that the zombies are only able to stay in the shadows or come out at night really brings the feeling of being scared of the dark to life. Also because of this, the majority of the actions scenes take place in the darkness, making for a very evil feel. Also he brings out feelings of evil through the characters, because in one specific scene when Sam is infected with the diseases Robert is forced to kill his only companion, showing how dark and evil the infection can be to take his only friend from him. This was also the scene that had the most impact on me for many reasons. First of all, Sam by attempting to save Robert which really impacted me because it shows that even if it was a valiant effort, good doesn’t always win, and in this case, evil was much more powerful. For me, the thought that evil is stronger than good scares me because we always have the feeling of safety knowing that good will prevail, but not in this case. I felt that in this movie it wasn’t exactly the characters that expressed darkness but the fear that they invoked and the pain and hopelessness they brought on Robert, for me that is true darkness.
I connected this film in many ways with almost every scary movie and their stereotypes that go with them. Like in almost every scary movie, the killer knows where his victims are but the victims don’t know the same. Much like these movies, Robert was always very unsure of the zombies because of the darkness which to me really expresses a dark feeling. Also like many scary movies, the victims are killed off slowly one by one until there is only one that remains. Although there were only two characters to begin with, Robert is left alone and overwhelmed by darkness, he reaches the brink of losing faith and giving up hope, showing that evil will prevail. Fortunately this is not the case in the movie and he is saved by other survivors. I also connected this film to the EQ, does evil or fear lead to the infliction of violence. This essential question can be easily connected to a scene near the end of the movie when Sam is killed and Robert seeks to take on all of the zombies. I believe he chose to fight all these zombies purely out of fear because he was scared to be alone any longer and was pretty much committing suicide. Robert knew going into the situation he would not have survived without the help of the two survivors but he chose to anyways because of fear.

Non Fiction Critique for Mon Jan 31 The genocide

Articles on The Genocide
Non fiction critique

In class today you are to read any of the two articles linked below. I have hard copies for those who do not have acccess to the internet. Then, I would like for you to write on your blog or on paper and post or submit by the end of class how the articles address an EQ of your choosing. Please make sure that you support your answer with specific evidence that you explain. I also want you to think about the different layers exposed in the article to help you see the depth.
• Explain how the authors convey and integrate imagery, setting and work on mood.
• Think and explain the techniques the authors are using-are the articles similar or different?How are the authors conveying the sense/tone of evil? Eg word choice, images etc…What patterns in society or contexts contribute to the layers you are seeing?
• Remember to keep thinking about all the layers in the texts and how they are similar and/or different. Back up and explain your examples!!!!!!
• How do the authors convey the evil, darkness in humanity? Events, people, imagery,setting etc
• What impacted you the most and why?

BBC
Children of the Genocide
The Rwandan Girl Who Refused to Die
10-years-later-in-rwanda-the-dead-are-ever-present

another site

http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/index-rwanda-children.html

http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/reports/refuse.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/26/world/10-years-later-in-rwanda-the-dead-are-ever-present.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm

Link to articles

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/rwanda/default.stm
BBC site to obtain more info

Macbeth Essay Outline

How can Macbeth go from a noble and loyal soldier to become a power hungry, hated king? Macbeth was a noble and loyal soldier due to his sense of commitment, to King Duncan. He realized that he made an irreversible mistake when he becomes power hungry and kills King Duncan. He is a hated king and because of this he meets a tragic death. Therefore, he has a sense of commitment, realizes he has made an irreversible mistake and meets and tragic death.

                Macbeth is a noble and loyal soldier. He is the thane of Glamis and then due to his nobility he is named thane of Cawdor. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!’’ (II, iii, 51). He is brave soldier for fighting for King Duncan throughout the years. ‘’For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name’’ (I, ii, 16). King Duncan has a great trust in Macbeth, because of his loyalty and nobility.

                Macbeth realized that he made an irreversible mistake when he killed King Duncan. He also realized that he made a terrible mistake having his best friend Banquo killed. Macbeth sees Banquo sitting at banquet table, so Macbeth doesn’t sit down because ‘’the tables full’’ (III, iv, 55), ‘’here is a place reserved, sir.’’ (III, iv, 56), ‘’where?’’ (III, iv, 56).

                Macbeth is a hated king because he abuses his power over others, such as King Duncan, and Banquo. He is also a tragic hero because he meets a tragic death, and realizes he had made an irreversible mistake. His death was tragic because he was decapitated. He made many mistakes like, killing King Duncan and having Banquo killed.  ‘’Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.’’ (V, vi, 14-15). ’’To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools, the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow’’ (V, v, 22-27)

                Macbeth is a noble man who makes a mistake and meets a tragic death.

Movie Project Summative Piece- Gladiator

For our movie, we decided to do "Gladiator". In the movie, a Roman general named Maximus is appointed heir to the Roman throne, upsetting the real son of the Emperor, Commodus, who murders his father before it becomes official and claims his place atop the throne. He betrays Maximus and kills his family, while Maximus is captured and taken to Rome to fight in gladiator battles as entertainment. Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel and Maximus wins, becoming the new Emperor. He returns the power to the Roman Senate before he succumbs to his injuries during the fight. In the last scene, Maximus reunites with his family in the afterlife.
The first layer of the film shows how Commodus was driven by the greed of becoming Emperor and murders his own father to accomplish this. The next layer shows a murderous, revengeful side of Maximus, that causes him to kill everybody who stands in his way to Commodus. The third layer shows how the general population feeds off of the killing in the gladiator ring and resonates that throughout the movie with the cheers and cackles.
The filmmaker conveys darkness through the characters and the people. The greedy actions of Commodus causes Maximus to kill many innocent people just to have his revenge on him. The theme of this movie is the power of greed and revenge. The people show greed for the waste of human lives that they use as entertainment not even caring if the people who are killed had a name or a family. The expression of darkness that had the most impact on us was how the people cheered when the gladiators and animals are killed. It shows the savage and sadistic side of humans even at the height of the Roman Empire. A character can represent darkness through their personality or through their actions. I guess it would be through their personality more because the actions we take usually depend on our personality.
A connection to another movie would be Kill Bill.In the movie, Uma Thurman is betrayed by her hit squad and vows revenge against them. But to have her revenge, she must kill innocent people who stand in her way. It shares the same revenge and greed theme as Gladiator. They are both hurt by somebody and vows revenge. It becomes her life's mission and everything else is put aside until her revenge is complete. It is also king of like when a country goes to "total war". This means that all industry, science and technological advancements made contribute to the war effort. The US did this in World War 2.
  EQ: How can a reader/viewer infer the author's intentions based on the text?
The movie connects to this EQ because it is through the characters that we must infer what the writer is talking about. In the movie, it is through the actions of Maximus that the intentions of the writer are based. Revenge is the true intention of the writer and he wanted to portray this to tell society of the savage and barbaric history of humans and not to go down the same path.
     My movie connects to the movie by Miguel and Mitchell, the Dark Knight. In the movie, Harvey Dent seeks revenge on Batman because Batman failed to save his love and thinks that somehow it is Batman's fault. Throughout the last half of the movie, Harvey hunts down people who he knows are close to Batman and holds them hostage to make him suffer "like he suffered" when his girlfriend was killed. This is just like Maximus who hunts down people who are close to Commodus and feeds off of his suffering.
   

Movie Project - The Parent Trap :)

Synopsis:
Hallie and Annie are identical twins who were separated at birth after their parents divorce. One summer, they both meet at a camp and though they did not get along in the beginning, eventually due to a series of mishaps that they cause they are sent to an isolated cabin. For the rest of the summer, they get to know each other and eventually discover that they are long lost twin sisters. They soon devise a plan to switch places, and get their parents get back together.
Once camp has ended they go through with the plan and go to each other's houses without letting anyone know. However, they run into a problem with their second plan on getting their parents back together as Mr. Parker, Hallie's father, plans to marry a beautiful, yet sneaky woman who only wants his riches, by the end of the summer.Together, they scheme more plans to get their parents to eventually meet up, and switch them back.

What are the layers of context/setting in this film?First layer: There are clearly no signs of darkness or evil in this film just from looking at the first layer. The characters all seem relatively happy. They are having fun, and smiling. The setting is in a bright, sunny location with a variety of activities and the mood is very calming, peaceful and happy.
Second layer:  There are many ways that one could depict evil, but I think that the one that is featured in this film, as well as many others, is most definitely the most common act that we can do as an act of darkness. It is how one acts towards people, but in reality have a different intentions.
In this movie there is a lot of scheming and devising going on. The twins switch places not only to meet their other parent, but also with the intention of getting them back together.
Also, Meredith, who is Mr. Parker's fiance, on the outside seems to be a very beautiful and sophisticated woman who really loves being with Mr. Parker, but in reality she only wants his money.

EQ: How does the media shape our view of the world/ ourselves?As wonderful as I believe technology is I think that for many people, how we view ourselves, as well is how we view the world is impacted media. Whether it be the internet, or television and even magazines, the media, more often than not, portray 'beauty' in a certain way. Girls must be skinny, and boys much must have muscles. Many people strive and thirst for that 'beauty' . However, I think that darkness plays a role, when people start to become obsessed and start harming themselves for this beauty, e.g. anorexia/bulimia.
Fortunately for us, besides the beeping out of swear words, or blurrying out certain/ underaged criminals, our news is what is really happening in the world. For those who actually watch the news, that is a good thing and helps people understand what is happening in the world, and how fortunate we are. However, I think that the evil represented in this is that not everyone watches the news, and are therefore oblivious to what else is happening in the world besides their own life.

Connections:T-T: In the movie, Mean Girls,  the "plastics" act a certain way to to certain people to make more people like them, e.g. they would compliment certain people, when honestly they would think it was hideous. On the otherhand, Katy only acted nice to the "plastics" to get into their group and sabotage them.
T-S: When I first meet people, I usually act different than when I get to know them.
T-W: In politics, many politicians don't actually say what they mean, and only say certain things to lure voters in.

Dark Knight (Josh & Rigel) : I think that this movie is relateable to my movie because in the movie, Dark Knight, Batman hides behind a mask hiding who he truly is.

Josh and Rigel's Movie Presentation: Dark Knight (Co-Post)

The Dark Knight

Synopsis:


A year after the events of Scarecrow, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new district attorney Harvey Dent begins to clean up Gotham's streets until the appearance of a mysterious and psychopathic killer known only by the name of "Joker" comes to wreak new havoc upon Gotham's streets. Batman once more has to take up his mask to once again face evil, this time to the point of questioning everything he believes. The Joker has taken evil and darkness to greater heights, making this struggle of good and evil Batman's hardest trial.

What are the layers of context/setting in this film?

• The mood portrayed throughout the story of darkness,confusion (The night time robberies, abductions,etc.)
• Way of presentation (Movie's picture contrast is very dark, a lot of dynamic explosions, intense music)
• Context of movie had many references to darkness and evil by way of imagery, symbolism, and satire      ( ie: Dead victim dressed up as Batman, Bats, and moonlight, "Why So Serious?" in intense scenes.)

How does the filmmaker convey evil or darkness?

• The mind of the Joker is shared with the audience, and embraced by viewers, through blunt delivery of sensitive topics (ie: Bloody cut-up faces of dead victims in forms of smiles)
• Evil and darkness is conveyed by way of delivery by the filmmakers and how they have depicted it through scenes of violence, music, and scenery (Countless deaths, blown up hospitals, fast-paced music)

What expressions of darkness had the most impact on you and why?

• The numerous deeds shown within the course of the film,and the meanings taken from it, had the most impact on us due to the fact it showed us just how much evil we are all capable of

How can a character represent darkness?

• In this film, we learned that a character can represent darkness through their appearance,through their actions, and relationship with others. We learned by example of Harvey Dent, how one's whole identity may change by way of unforeseen events, and how even people who represent hope, through what they do, can simply change due to how they look, act and relate to others

A Connection: Text to World

• A connection we made through this film is that there is darkness and evil within all of us. As it is a part of humanity. Everybody has different feelings to one another whether it is positive or negative, and it is only through this diversity that our humanity can express both qualities of light and darkness

Essential Question: Does evil or fear lead one to the following: experience of violence, infliction of violence, and/or observation of violence?

• Based on what we both have learned through our observations in life, media, and most recently, the movie "Dark Knight", we both arrived to the conclusion that evil and fear spreads and leads to numerous other opportunities to do greater evil and cause greater fear. In the movie "Dark Knight" we see that fear of evil showed by the city of Gotham provoked the Joker to take advantage of the situation. The fear shown by Gotham lead to the violence produced by the Joker. For example, he would rob banks, take over hospitals, and wreak havoc in general.  This infliction of violence was due to the fear of the city, and the evil within the Joker.

Movie Analysis Summative Piece

Silence of the Lambs

In this movie there is a serial killer named Hannibal Lecter. Hannibal is known as a devious and crafty killer who makes his name by killing a person, skinning them and then eating them. At the beginning Hannibal was locked up in a high security prison where the chance of escaping is high to none. Unfortunately for the prison guards, they have no idea what kind of twisted yet brilliant mind they are messing with. Hannibal has the power to get into people's minds and mess with their subconscious. Basically nobody wants to be within 10 miles of him. Hannibal escapes prison using a highly thought out and disgusting plan but at least it got him on the loose again. After this, he goes around town doing what he's best at...being a cannibal. The obvious part of this movie is that there is a cannibal killing and messing with people's minds. The story takes place in a prison and usually at night which in my opinion are 2 of the most ominous and creepy settings in a movie like this especially when there's a killer in the shadows. Being in a prison at night reminds me about the movie "Shutter Island" which takes place in an insane asylum. I don't know which is worse, being in an insane asylum at night with a bunch of lunatics or being even remotely close to one man who is capable of anything. Although when I look at Hannibal all I can see is an old frail man which is sort of ironic once you see how he outsmarts people into helping him with his plans even though they might be completely against him. Also I like how the filmmaker uses other characters to tell Hannibal's story. In this case it was the woman who was trying to help him but Hannibal ended up telling her his motives and eventually he got into her head. I do not think that Hannibal thinks that he's evil because in the movie you find out that Hannibal respects people who respect him. "Disrespect is unspeakably ugly to me," is what Hannibal said. So what this is saying is that if you don't respect Hannibal, you're dead. I believe that the filmmaker conveys darkness throughout the movie through the characters. Hannibal is given the most evil and twisted mind which makes the whole movie more disturbing. He also conveys darkness through the plot because all of Hannibal's actions make you think about how there are actually people in our world who are like this which gives us a sense of insecurity. The expression of darkness that had the most impact on me was when Hannibal killed a prison guard, cut off his face and put it on his own and then pretended to be the hurt prison guard. The other guard came rushing in and put Hannibal in an ambulance thinking he was a guard. Once in the ambulance he killed everyone and took off. This is very gruesome and scary seeing what some people will do for their freedom. When I see this movie I can relate it to the Saw series because both main characters have no respect for human life. Jigsaw, the main character in Saw, has a famous saying, "Let's play a game." Hannibal is basically doing the same thing with other people. He is playing mind games with them. I think that until these two menaces in society learn some respect for life, they will never be able to fix their own. The EQ that I was able to connect this movie to is how does the study of fiction and non fiction texts help individuals construct their understanding of reality? I chose this question because watching these types of movies has a negative effect on our minds. Our subconscious can't tell the difference between a horror movie and what is real. All this negative information that we take in on a regular basis does not help us be kinder gentler people. It makes us jumpy and more afraid of the evil that there is in our world. Unfortunately we can't help watch these movies because we need a sense of fear in our lives. So all we can do in the meantime is control the amount of darkness and evil we allow into our brains and try not to live our lives in constant fear.

I improved my piece by basically redoing it from scratch while taking a few main ideas from my last piece. I added more connections and a couple quotes so that the reader can better relate to what I'm trying to tell them.

Movie Analysis Summative Rubric (Inception)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM

Synopsis:

Cobb is man that has done something really bad, or at least that's what the government of the United States thinks, and that is preventing him from going home to take care of his kids. Cobb has a very peculiar talent, he can break into people's dreams to steal information, but just when he's about to give up doing that an opportunity comes along. A very wealthy man wants to completely "clean" Cobb's past if he accepts to do one last task in someone's dream, only this time he's not suppose to extract information, he needs to do something much more complicated than that, he has to perform inception. Now Cobb has to assemble a team of specialists and face the greatest enemy of all: his own memories.

What are the layers of context/setting in this movie?

This is a great movie to talk about layers because it's something that is actually mentioned in the plot. For the movie we understand that "layers" of dreams happen when you have a dream inside another dream which is as hard to create as it is to understand. I believe when making an analysis of the movie the first layer would be reality, which makes you feel a little safer because everything still makes sense, laws of physics apply and you think you know who the characters are, but as they go deeper into the dreams they start learning the truth about Cobb and how his wife Mal, who is constantly trying to ruin their plans inside the dreams, died in the real world. It's not until the last layer, limbo, that we actually understand what happened with Mal and how her death was a direct consequence of Cobb's very first experience with inception, because one form of waking up from a dream is "dying" in the dream and in order to convince his wife to go back to reality when they got lost in this last mysterious layer he planted in her brain the idea that their world wasn't real and the only escape was suicide, trouble was she took that concept too far and ended up killing herself for real while trying to "awake" from reality. So as you can tell the deeper you go in the dreams the harder it is to hard secretes and thus the movie gets darker and darker.

How does the filmmaker convey evil or darkness? Is it through the plot, imagery, characters or setting?

I think the central character representing darkness and evil is Mal, but if you look deeper she only exists as a product of Cobb's guilt, so all this darkness is actually inside himself growing and feeding on his hopelessness and inability to forgive himself. But is not only through characters that the filmmaker convey all of this negative energy, images as the buildings tumbling down in the layer called "limbo" and also the gray stormy skies in this same setting are great examples of what tells you right away that it's a bad place to be.

What can you connect your film to and why?

We can make a "text to text" connection with Freud, he tried many years ago to interpret people's dreams and what they represented, he even created manuals containing the most common dreams and their meanings. He believed that many times dreams would show us our own repressed desires and we can easily relate that with the way Cobb kept a "projection" of his dead wife locked up deep inside himself because he could not come to terms with the fact that he unintentionally caused her death and wouldn't be able to keep his promise of "growing old together".

What expressions of darkness had the most impact on you and why?

In this movie there is a place where you go to when you go to far inside someone's (could be your own) subconscious mind, it is called limbo and it is filled with all the things that are deep inside you even though sometimes you might not realize it. The main character of the movie, which is played by Leonardo DiCaprio has his personal limbo, and it is a world in ruins, a sad place full of crumbling buildings and cloudy gray skies, for me that was the expression of darkness that impacted me the most, because it is not just a dark place, is a representation of all the sadness and guilt that this character has been carrying around for years, and those are pretty strong negative feelings to keep to yourself.

EQ: How can a reader/viewer infer the author's intentions based on the text?

When we read a book or watch a movie, it's not so much about what we think, it's more about what we feel. In creative works emotion can be stronger than reason, but they may also be a starting point to a deeper analysis. If before you read/watch the story you decide to embrace it and make the most out of it, suspending what is plausible and just "believing" in the characters feelings and situations you will have a richer experience. If you allow yourself to feel sad for all the pain the characters have to face or feel happy and laugh from the ridiculous situations that they get into, you will have a clearer sense of what were the author's intentions with those lines, or setting, or images and may understand which tools he used to convey what he wanted you to feel.

Relation between my movie and another piece presented in class:

I have decided to relate my movie (Inception) with "District B13" (Noel and Ace's presentation) because I think they have a lot in common due to the fact that they are both actually meant to be action movies, but also have a little dark twist. I think in both movies an aspect that would just pop out in a comparison is, lying. In this movies lies play an important role in different ways. In Inception the main character Cobb, needs to complete a final task for a rich man that is powerful enough to "erase" some dark things from Cobb's past that are preventing him from going back to America and be a father to his kids. For that mission he will need a very experienced team, but he hides the truth in order to get those people to follow him, he didn't bother to tell them that if you die in a dream induced by strong sedatives your mind may get lost for ever and you will never wake up. In District B13 on the other hand, the liar is not the main character, who is completely oblivious about the fact that he is in a suicide mission to destroy a big "ghetto" that is causing trouble to the government. As you can see to complete different lies, but both very important, changing completely what happens in both movies from the point were the truth is revealed on.

Movie Project- The Lord of the Rings the Return of the King- Stephen and Jake D.

Plot
Frodo and Sam continue making their way to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring, with Gollum as their unreliable guide. Meanwhile, Aragorn assembles soldiers for the huge battle he knows is about to come. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimley visit the cave of the Army of the Dead(the ghosts), gain their loyalty and convince them into fighting for Gondor in return for being set free afterwards. In the meantime, Pippin and Gandalf go to Minas Tirith, the huge city set on the side of a mountain. A huge battle ensues as Mordor's army attacks, and all seems lost until Aragorn arrives with the dead army, who in turn win the battle for them. Aragorn sets the ghosts free following the battle. Around the same time, Frodo destroys the Ring after a struggle with Gollum. To end the movie, Aragorn is shown being crowned King of Gondor.

Movie Trailer - Jessica and Mikaela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTmpKgocyYg

In this specific movie, a clique of girls who dominate the school experience a different sort of friendship. Out of the four girls, three of the girls' names are Heather while the other girl is Veronica. Being the most popular girls at school comes with a lot of pressure, which is why Veronica wants out. Soon, her interest in a new boy, J.D. spikes as she sees potential in his bad boy rep to help her out of the group. Soon, she realizes that JD pushes her to the extremes, such to as killing her best friend and other acts she never thought she would have done.

The first layer of the story is what is obvious, Veronica being tricked to kill her friends, but then taking on a new persona with this new desire and letting it grow by itself. The next layer would be why Veronica wanted out of the clique and why Veronica wants JD to be the one to help her as she seeks for a response. This layer will include not only her own opinions, but the opinions of other people around her, who have an influencing factor on her. The third and final layer includes her history, how she was brought up and her place in society which has serious influence on Veronica and how she grew up. Even if none of these layers show any sign of darkness, darkness can always be conveyed through the characters. When Veronica use the fire of the explosion to light her cigarette, it revealed the dark nature of her as having the guts to cause an explosion that cost a life and using it to light her cigarette which revealed her cruel nature. Such an event perfectly conveys darkness in the movie.

Your summative rubric

It did not paste over in grid format): You will get the idea. Near the end is the task. The previous post is an explanation on layers.



4 3 2 1
Overall completion Responds to all parts of questions; detail/support accurate and explained
Responds to most parts of questions some detail/support Responds to questions or parts, minimal detail, support parts may be inaccurate.
Does not respond to all parts of questions; No or little detail/support Misinterprets issues and questions.

Movie analysis Movie choice conveys an insightful understanding of the concept, with rich multiple associations & examples Movie choice conveys a thoughtful understanding of the concept with several associations & examples Movie choice conveys a basic understanding of the concept with some associations and examples Movie choice conveys a basic understanding of the concept
Connections many connections between ideas are made & are clear and fully explained connections between ideas are made & are clearly explained limited, connections between ideas are made but are not always clear connections between ideas are not made and or supported
Connection to an EQ of choice Shows a thorough and insightful understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message. Is well supported with specific examples Shows a solid understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message.
Is well supported with specific examples Shows some understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message.
Limited support and or examples vague. Shows limited understanding of EQ how it is connected to central message. Support may be missing, examples not relevant
Movie Analysis Summative Rubric English 11



Please resubmit your formative rubric from your presentation. On your blog or on paper- please add the EQ piece. Also you can improve any parts where I made suggestions in your presentation-just let me know how and why you did. This piece of writing will be summative. Please make sure you address one of the two questions on the original assignment and include in your writing how your piece could relate to one you saw presented by a peers.