If you so desire, feel free to listen to this audio version of the short story while annotating. It is a dramatic interpretation, not a straight reading. So use as you best see fit. You many ONLY use this IF you have headphones or earbuds.
As a comment, post your entire paragraph about the aforementioned short story. Remember, your paragraph should include a direct quote! After posting, read other students’ paragraphs, selecting the THREE (3) best paragraphs (IYO) for class on Tuesday, 10/18.
Remember, you should have revised for the following issues:
As a comment, post your entire paragraph about the aforementioned novel, one that explains how Haroun’s identity changes over the course of the novel, AND how storytelling plays a role in that transformation. Remember, your paragraph should include a direct quote! After posting, read other students’ paragraphs, selecting the THREE (3) best paragraphs (IYO) for class on Friday, 9/9.
Today, students should enroll for a FREE account on squarespace using your New Trier email address. Start by going to this link . Once there, enter your school information:
Click on the image of Joseph Campbell above to access the video of the Moyers interview.
Start by listening to the following story from NPR about the recent, violent attack against the author of Haroun and Sea of Stories:
Click on the image above to access the film clip from the documentary.
This documentary provides an interesting counterpoint to our textbook’s view of the western imperialism that dominated Africa in the 19th century, and the ensuing independence movement in the later 20th century. Remember, Things Fall Apart is published in 1959.
Now that you have recorded yourself reading your paragraph, and have revised your paragraph, it’s ready to be shared with other students at New Trier and the larger academic community.
What does Gorky want the reader to realize or learn as a result of “Chelkash”?
Post your paragraph here as a comment to this blog post. Remember, if you sign in as a guest, include your first and last name, but also use your New Trier email address for the contact information. Please leave the URL prompt BLANK.
Once posted, begin reading other students paragraphs.
Scholars: Discuss (with your parent(s)/guardian(s)) the aformentioned story. What is the MOST important, LESS obvious lesson for the reader?
After discussing, write an argumentative paragraph that a) states your claim, b) sets up your claim with one sentence of plot summary, c) includes a fitting direct quote, and d) explains your idea (your commentary—this can include additional examples IYOW, alternative interpretations, connections to our lives).
Remember to write this elsewhere, on paper or on a google doc. THEN copy and paste it into the HTML comment box below. (And check punctuation before posting!)
A link to the scenes from the film, to be watched in class.
After reading Roger Ebert’s 1972 film review of the re-release, watch the followng scenes from Charllie Chaplin’s iconic 1936 American film Modern Times (to watch, click on the image to the left).
While watching, take notes on a blank sheet of paper. How does the main character interact with “the machine”?
Finally, when done watching, write a poem that answers this question: How do machines effect [our] lives? Use the imagery of the film as a basis for your poem.
The criterea for your poem, which is due Tuesday, 10/4, is as follows. The poem should:
contain sensory images (descriptions the reader can see/hear/feel/taste/smell)
use connotative language (words that have a feeling that matches your tone—and similar to what you want your reader to feel)
show distillation of language (get rid of small words that add little, i.e.: articles, conjunctions, pronouns)
be at least 20 lines long, but shorter than one page (each line must be at LEAST 8 words each)
These are to be typed and stapled to your notes on Modern Times, to be collected Tuesday 10/8.
After revising your body paragraph using the “What’s YOUR problem?” feedback on the last paragraph, post a new draft here.
Remember to post with your first and last names, and your New Trier email address, should you need to post it as a guest.
Click on the author’s image above to access the documentary, “The Worlds of Ursual K. Le Guin”
Joseph Campbell, seen below in the 1950s, breaks reporter Bill Moyer’s brain in an interview about his “hero journey” concept.
As a comment, post your entire paragraph about the aforementioned poem, one that explains what the poem means. Remember, your paragraph should include a direct quote! After posting, read other students’ paragraphs, selecting the three best paragraphs (IYO).
First, read and annotate the short story, “ Vaccine Season” by Hannu Rajaniemi. It is a science-fiction short story about a (dystopian or utopian, depending on your p.o.v.) teenaged Norwegian boy who enjoys the benefits of mandatory vaccination, and wants his grandfather to live a longer, more perfect, and happy life, too.
Remember when annotating, you should a) circle vocabulary, b) write out your questions, and c) keep thematic notes in the margins. For this text, pay attention to what the writer says about how technology changes the way we live. Are these medical advancements improving society, or destroying what it means to be human? Is the main character’s decision an act of mercy or one of selfishness?
Second, write a multi-paragraph response that answers the following question. Use everything we’ve studied about writing and paragraph structure to craft your response. Take time to pre-write and organize your ideas before drafting your response. If possible, leave time to proofread your response and to read your draft out loud, and make changes accordingly.
You should submit both your annotations and your written response as separate assignments on Canvas. The annotations should be submitted as a file (either notability pdf, or a picture of your paper and ink notes via Genius). The written answer should be submitted as text, copied and pasted into the text submission box.
Questions? Mr. Easton will be in the classroom Zoom room during the final. ALL submissions are due NO LATER THAN 12:15 pm today (that’s 1.5 time, in case anyone has extended time via an IEP or 504).
Remember, these will only be graded IF THESE IMPROVE YOUR SEMESTER GRADE OVERALL.
How does Finny confound social order? He both follows and defies Devon’s rules, walking the line between disrespect for teacher’s authority and embracing the school’s zeitgeist. How does Finny do both? In-class writing day. Your paragraph should be posted before Winter Break.
You should follow the standard organization for argumentative paragraphs: a) claim; b) sentence setting up quote; c) direct quote; d) your commentary. Remember that part D is at least half the paragraph. In your commentary, you not only explain your idea, you also include other examples from the text in your own words (I.Y.O.W.), explore counter-examples, develop the depth of your claim (topic, debatable thesis statement, whatever you want to call it). A few logistics:
Include in the first couple of sentences: Knowles’ novel A Separate Peace;
Include after “the quote the citation” (Knowles #).
Don’t write directly into Squarespace, because web sites crash. Write it elsewhere, then copy and paste it.
Use Phineas or Finny, and be consistent.
Avoid rhetorical language like, “One quote that illustrates this is…” or “An example of this is…” or “This quote shows that….”
Pay attention to verb usage. When possible, use active verbs, avoiding: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, do, doing, does, should, could, would.
Post your paragraph as a comment to this thread.
Finny dons a pink shirt as his emblem, even though his peers might find it offensive because of of LGBTQ connotation (which is an anachronism for our novel…such a term did not exist in America in the1940s). Why does Finny don the shirt as his emblem? What is he trying to adopt when he wears the shirt to Mr. Patch Withers’s soiree?
The following article describes some emblems that are associated with companies, institutions, cities, sports teams, even comic book heroes. What makes for an excellent emblem? Later this quarter you will design your own emblem, and the following definition(s) will be useful for that project:
From Mr. Easton’s refrigerator: a Van Gogh painting, “Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase,” featuring pink. Click on the image above to watch a short segment from Sunday Morning on the color pink.
More on van Gogh’s painting:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436525
Some other articles to explore:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-history-pink
https://www.history.com/news/pink-triangle-nazi-concentration-camps
You should post your first draft of the “Chelkash” writing assignment here, whether that’s one longer paragraph or a couple of paragraphs.
Remember to submit first and last names. That should work automatically if you’re logged into the free squarespace account.
Problems posting? Send me an email, and I can help you troubleshoot.
