WAVI: "Images in the Media" Reflection

Post and refect upon your findings from Thursday.

Seniors: Final Course Reflection

Please take the time to consider and respond to the following reflective questions.


1. English-wise, what has been the most beneficial, constructive assignment, process or text of the year? Explain.

2. English-wise, what has been the least beneficial, assignment, process or text of the year? Explain.

3. As an Honors student, do you feel the level of rigor in this course has met your expectations? Compare and/or contrast the rigor with your experiences in other classes (Level One, Honors, AP, etc.).

4. After viewing the note-taking revisions, identify at least one modification or addition that you see as imperative and justify your selection.

5. If you could preserve one text from the English I-IV curriculum for the next decade, which would you select? Why?

6. This year, most of our time was spent analyzing and evaluating pieces of literature; far less time was spent on vocabulary and grammar; do you feel this ratio is appropriate at your level, or should the ratio be adjusted? Explain.

7. For college-bound students: describe the level of confidence with which you will approach “English 101” and the skills you feel you will employ to succeed at the college level.

WAVI: Classwork 5-17

Yesterday, we looked at some of the most important pieces of art ever to grace our lovely planet. Use your computer to enhance your existing notes. For each image we viewed, you should have noted the artist, title, and country of origin. Using your computer, refine your notes by adding dates, anecdotes, or descriptive detail to aid you in tomorrow's writing. Remember- you can use your notes on the test, so set yourself up for success.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Rembrandt van Rijn
Diego Velazquez
Claude Monet
Edgar Degas
Pablo Picasso
Salvador Dali
Jackson Pollock

To Kill a Mockingbird: Building Background

Complete the following tasks/answer the following questions. Use your critical thinking skills to determine the best routes and resources.The traditional forms of web perusal may not work here.

1. Truman Capote said "Everything she wrote about it is absolutely true". What is the "it"?


2. What does Lee think of the film adaptation of Mockingbird? Use a quote in your answer.


3. Finish Lee's statement: "Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods and minds like empty rooms, I still..."


4. Identify Lee's 3 favorite authors and name a title from each.


5. Lee is a recluse but for several years she has quietly attended the awards ceremony for a particular contest. Describe this contest.


6. How are the Scottsboro Trials relevant to the novel?


7. Though Lee always declines interviews, she does write each refusal individually. When asked why she did not simply send out a stock response to the media's pleas, she responded that such a letter would simply say...


8. Click here. Listen to the audio. Who was the statewide essay winner? Who potrayed Scout in a school play and developed a repoire with Lee?


9. List and quote 5 parallels between Harper Lee's real life and her novel.


10. Lee's character Dill is based upon Truman Capote. Capote returned the favor by basing what character (from what story) on Lee?

11. Click here and explore the page. a) What were the results of the "doll tests" and what do they tell us about race in the mid 20th century? b) Using your knowledge of history, discuss why Truman's Executive Order is egregiously late in the context of America's history.

12. Click here and enter the image gallery. Choose 2 images and discuss their subject matter and context. Do not copy and paste.

G Block: 5-5

Hi, class. Please visit and peruse the following sites and answer the corresponding questions as a comment here (due by 1:57).

Check out artist/photographer Chris Jordan. Click here to enter his website. Explore his work under the "artworks" option. Be sure to zoom in on his images to understand how they're constructed. Also, be sure to read the descriptions below each image. Many of his pieces look simple on the surface until you see how they're constructed.

Part A: Why do you think that Jordan spends his time depicting the images he chooses to depict? What might be his "thesis statement"?

Part B: This is an online scavenger hunt. Use you reasoning and search skills to answer the following questions:

1. How many windows are in Andrew Wyeth's "Master Bedroom"? What medium does Wyeth use?

2. Identify the figure depicted in a boat in Michelangelo's "Last Judgement". 

3. What pachyderm is distorted in the background of Salvador Dali's "One Second Before Awakening from a Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate"?

4. What time is it in Vincent van Gogh's "Night Cafe"?

5. Monet and Manet are both Impressionists and have similarities beyond their names. Compare and contrast these two artists. 

6.. Who is Camille Claudel? Examine her "L'Age Mur" and identify the 3 figures depicted. 

7. Identify the works stolen during the infamous Gardner Museum heist. Identify and describe your favorite piece. 

8. Summarize the "legend" behind the man with the top hat in Eugene Delacroix's most famous painting. 

9. What is David Mach's "Gorilla" made of? 

10. Describe your favorite Ron Mueck sculpture.

11. Paul Rahilly is one of my former professors. a) What breed of dog is depicted in his "Girl in a Paper Dress"? b) In which of his paintings does one find a chili pepper? c) a brioche?

Part C: Autostereograms are algorithmic images which allow people to see three-dimensional images by focusing on two-dimensional patterns. In the 90's stereograms, or "magic eye" images were popularized. I was surprised by the fact that very few students knew of them. Maybe I'm getting old.

If you're curious, click on the links below. Choose a fixed point in the center of the image and stare, allowing your eyes to relax or "blur". Eventually, you will see a three dimensional image appear. Be patient- it may take a while, and some people are simply unable to see them. 

Penguins

Horse

The Poetry of Song: Album Review Scavenger Hunt

Visit the 2 links below and read the album reviews. Then, find one of your own and answer the questions that follow. 

1. Fleet Foxes (great band, by the way)

2. Paul Simon 

3. Find one of your choice. 

As evidence of your perusal, post a comment response to the following questions:

1. List every adjective from the Fleet Foxes review.


2. For the review of your choice, select a passage to paste here and describe the literary qualities that make it exemplary. 

3. Students tend to have difficulty integrating fluid quotations into their own writing. Copy and paste at least 3 excerpts from the 3 reviews that incorporate quoted song lyrics. After each sentence, create a grammatical map of the sentence structure. Example: David Fricke writes, "I wonder if I'll see/Any faces above me/Or just cracks in the ceiling," Pecknold sings in "Montezuma," imagining his deathbed.= Quote+Subject+Predicate+Preposition+Song Title+Participial Phrase. No, you can't use this one. 

4. Copy and paste Will Hermes' thesis statement here. Which of his sentences encapsulates his most profound analysis of the album? Where did you find it?


5. What type of bird is that? Why did Mr. Kefor put that picture on this post?

WAVI: Dialogue Poems for 5-3

Hi y'all. Yesterday, we went over dialogue poems. Today, I am asking you to select a concept-related image to post to your blog. Below the image, construct a dialogue poem derived from the image.

Remember that good poetry uses figurative language and devices to communicate ideas. Be sure to infuse your poem with substance, and don't you dare post a first draft. See you tomorrow. I'm watching you.