Humanities: Projects Are Coming

Today, we start with blogging action plans for the next three days as your big ol’ Speak projects are due then.

1. Where are you at in your project?

2. What do you have left to do?

3. What is your time management plan for getting that work done?

If you cannot access your blog for some reason, you can just send it to Mr. Dunbar and I in an e-mail.

Then we will go to the Food Court and you will have an opportunity to continue working on your projects, to conference with Mr. Ryder, Mr. Warren and Mr. Diffin, and to also finish up any other outstanding work including your Speak walls on Padlet.

The expectations for the Speak walls are included on Monday’s calendar, but I’ll lay them out here as well.

Create a wall on Padlet about you.  Include your likes and loves and passions.

AND . . . include three quotes from Speak to which you can relate.

AND . . . include three symbolic images from Speak to which you can relate.

Then . . .

Pretend you are one of the characters from Speak and create another wall based on that character.  Push yourself to become that character.  This isn’t “This is what Spanky McShecklton thinks about Melinda.”  This is, “This is what Melinda thinks about Melinda.”

So, you are creating two walls: one from your point of view, one from the point of view of a character in Speak.

H/W: 

Speak Projects are due Friday!

Padlet walls were due yesterday.

Humanities: Speak Project Proposal Work

Today we had a short day in Humanities because of early release. And still, progress was made.

We started by breaking the class into two rooms: one room for folks who needed further explanation of the project and one room with people who felt comfortable completing their project proposals.

In the explanation room, we broke down the project some more by making a list of essential questions that Speak raises, a list of various symbols used in the book, and a list of themes that surface in the book.

We focused most of our energy on symbolism and uncovering different symbols used in Speak. We spent a lot of time discussing trees, blood, red, birds, eggs and more.  When then tied that symbolism to the essential questions and converted the essential questions into thematic statements.

I will post a photo of the marker board — I forgot to do so before leaving — as a reminder of what happened in class today.

The whole point was to generate ideas for projects by thinking about the symbolism from Speak, you could use in your projects, determining an essential question/theme  you want to ask/suggest that is also asked/suggested in Speak .  These projects should go beyond the literal.  If you make a tree, make a tree that is uniquely your own and incorporates symbolism and meaning beyond the tree and that goes beyond how Melinda creates one.  If you create a model of a personal sanctuary, create one that relates to your experiences and that also ties into Melinda’s experiences and perspective on life.   If you create a graphic novel, make your characters original and unique and stuff your graphic novel full of the symbolism and imagery Anderson uses in Speak.

And most importantly?  Read the Speak project rubric.

H/W:

Finish reading Speak if you have not already.  It is fundamentally important to completing this project.

1. Speak Projects are due next Friday, the day before April vacation.
2. Roots Quiz 11-15 is TOMORROW!  THURSDAY!  Word Castles/Roots products due as well.
3. Blogging: Three entries must be done this week.  Two of them should be responses to the songs and prompts around theme we explored this week:  Brand New’s “Sic Transit Gloria” and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ “Face Down”

 

 

9 CPI: To Kill a Mockingbird, Tolerance & Essential Questions

Today in class, we will spend a massive extra-value meal-sized amount of time with To Kill a Mockingbird the film.  

And we will do so with an even greater sense of purpose.

Our next project is the tolerance project.  (Here’s a rubric that looks a lot like the one we will be using.)  You will work in groups of 1, 2, or 3 members to create a product that answers an important essential question around the thematic idea of tolerance.  You may choose to create a song, a movie trailer, a short story, or a product of your own choosing that you get pre-approved by me. (As I right this, I’m thinking you could create a pretty sweet board game, card game, or video game around this.)

When we watched the “To This Day” poem by Shane Koyczan, we were looking at an example of a tolerance project that would exceed the standard across the board.  

When we watched the “Playing for Change/”Be in Love”” video by the Maine Academy of Modern Music, we were looking at an example of a tolerance project that would exceed the standard across the board.  

When we watched Macklemore’s “Same Love” video, we were looking at an example of a tolerance project that would exceed the standard across the board.

And as we watch To Kill a Mockingbird, we are looking at a tolerance project that would exceed the standard across the board.

For homework this weekend, determine which essential question(s) you would most like to answer.  You had a homework assignment due today that asked you to imagine a conversation about this topic.  Be certain to look early in the week for that assignment.

And try to get caught up.