Week 5 Day Two: Ballad Writing

Students today were to take a real story of a murder, preferably one that involved a love triangle and were to write their own ballad around the story following the guidelines for writing a ballad. My balladeers were phenomenal. Here is a sampling from the class based on the Scott Peterson story.

A tale of woe on Christmas Eve
Missing was Laci Peterson
Her home she did not choose to leave
But without a doubt she was gone

She was pregnant with a baby boy
So that makes two lives destroyed
At first Scott was thought to be innocent
But his story was inconsistent

Scott was having an affair with Amber Frey
And 15 days before Christmas Day
He told her he had lost his wife
But at this time she was still alive

Scott Peterson was arrested
And through circumstantial evidence
Scott was found to be guilty
And was given the death penalty

Mason B.

Here's one by Samantha S. that has a wicked but funny twist:

Who’s that knocking on the door?
That’s not a knocking,
That’s Lisa Freiburg fallen to the floor.
She probably slipped while mopping.

What’s that hammer doing in the yard?
That’s little Zachary’s toy.
He must be using it to play watch guard.
It’s been a couple days, where is that boy?

What’s that screaming in the middle of the night?
I heard it all the way down the street.
Baby Savannah must have woke with a fright.
I hope she can get back to sleep.

Do you hear that thumping sound?
Don’t worry it’s just the Freiburg pup.
I always liked that hound.
But all the water is gone from his cup.

They’re such a nice bunch;
All except for Edward Covington,
I once heard he threw Lisa a punch.
I heard he’s been arrested for stealing drugs by the ton.

Sadly none of this is the case,
They found Edward hiding from the police,
With scratches and a cut on the face.
He’ll be charged with murder and hopefully never released.

12 knives and two hammers.
Here’s an arm and there’s a leg under the bed,
Well that explains all of the clamor.
Oh look! Someone is missing a head.

-Samantha S.

Here is another ballad based on the Scott Peterson story by Ian R.

She once was a woman,

with so many ambitions

wanting a child, a career

to add to the decisions



One day she came across,

a young man named Scott

but little did she know,

she was in for a long shot



The couple became engaged,

then decided to get married

soon she was pregnant,

now her life starts to vary



There was no indication,

no clues and nothing further

that her husband would one day,

commit the ultimate murder



Now Scott can think about,

imagine, and vision

what life would be like,

outside of San Quentin State Prison

Ian R.

Finally, here is Erica's ballad based on the story of John Sweeney and Dominique Dunn.

This is the sad tale

Of Dominique Dunn

A beautiful young actress

Who dies much too young



She was a good friend

Who was kind to all

But fate saw it different

And her life took a fall



It was love, she would say

With John Sweeney, the chef

Then abuse came too often

So she ran, yes she left



But the break was too much

For this chef, we can tell

For an argument ensued

Strangling her till she fell



In a coma she stayed

For a long, long 6 days

Her family knew she

Would, at best, live in haze



So they pulled all the plugs

Her life came to an end

The finale of kindness

The finale of a friend



John Sweeney admitted

The fate he had brought

Received 6 years in prison

But a lifetime was fought



In just 2 ½ years

He was free once again

As a man, as a chef

But where was our friend?



She will never be free

To move on in our world

But her memory will live

As long as any spoken word



Life has its own way

Of changing all paths

So be kind, be a friend

With much love and much laughs

Erica R.


How would I do this lesson differently? I would have the students write a short summary of the story they chose to write the ballad on. Also, I would have them provide a title for the story.

All in all, I am tickled pink with the results of this exercise.

 

 

Week 5 Day One: What is Poetry?

 

 

Poetry is everywhere....even in the Eagle News. Today students picked up their school paper, circled words and phrases from an article, and made a poem using those words and phrases. Putting technology aside for the moment, students and I took scissors in hand, construction paper, and pens, and became poets. Show and Tell followed with students coming up to recite their poems and show their artwork. It was a fun day with lots of sideways thinking and laughter.

 

Week 4 Day Two: This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona

Combined with video clips from the movie Smoke Signals, students had a discussion on the style and symbolism in Sherman Alexie's This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona.

The video clips helped the students imagine the setting, the plot, and the characters. A few said they wanted to see the film in its entirety. This is one of those situations where the film adaptation is just as good as the story.

Here are a couple of the discussion forum posts I got from the students.

Vince G's Post:

During the specific clip, Smoke Signals - How Do We Forgive Our Fathers, the style and symbolism was clear. As the Indian stood on the bridge asking, "How could we forgive our fathers," over and over again, it seemed to me that style was grim and depressing. Leaving the view with a sad taste of regret. After seeing the man collapse to the ground, I felt the urge to approach my own father and just forgive him, for anything really, even though there is nothing wrong. The maker of this film seemed to have had the correct idea when in production. It definitely made me think.

I was also captivated by the brilliant imagery of the rapids and lighting.

There was also symbolism placed in the video. When the man was letting go of his (fathers ashes?) he began to cry. This was a symbol of letting go. He was forgiving his father by letting him go. Letting go.

Talia A's Post:

This video was the most powerful to me. I think the water in the video is symbolic of the strength that we give our fathers and the emotions they elicit.

Whether we like it or not, both water and our fathers have a huge impact on our lives. Water, like our fathers, can be a source of enjoyment but also pain. We dive and swim but can lose everything as in the tsunami in Asia and Hurricane Katrina. Both are essential to life: fathers in conception and water to maintain life.

Rivers and other bodies of water are so powerful, they can cut through rock and land. And even when they do, cut us or land deeply, the wounds may or may not heal but we must somehow continue. Water brings life to the surrounding banks, nourishing animals and crops. With these cuts, we can still grow in time. They can both be warm and cool, as in a father's attitudes or emotions. They both can be loud or soft.

We build bridges over water to get through to the other side. With our fathers, we can forgive and are, therefore, able to move forward, move on, and reach new emotional destinations. Either subject, be it water or our fathers, it is what it is, no more, no less. I think acceptance is part of that bridge.

Week 4 Day One: Shiloh & A Party Down at the Square

http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/images/event_omaha_courthouse_lynching.jpg
http://ro3011.k12.sd.us/event/pics/battle%20pics/BattleofShiloh.jpg

Bobbie Ann Mason's Shiloh and Ralph Ellison's A Party Down at the Square provided some juicy material for our class discussion today. The students came prepared with one question they wanted to know the answer to. Using Polleverywhere, they texted their question. So, with a bank of 24 questions, we were ready to work in small groups and address some of these questions.

The only problem was that I didn't predict that I couldn't show the whole set of questions. Or at least, technically I couldn't figure out that I could have split the screens and Group 1 could have dealt with the questions on the left and Group 2 could have dealt with the questions on the right. The students worked in groups of three or four with one of the persons designated to summarize the group's discussion in a Word document and drop that in the drop box for a group grade.

The feedback session was as a whole class discussion with each group taking their favorite question to summarize. We would have had more time for the group discussion and the feedback discussion if I hadn't had the technical problems.

Their journal entry was a slide show on the most beautiful places in the world. Take a look and a listen.



I am pleased with the journaling activity we do each Monday in class. I need to incorporate that in the Wednesday online class the next time I teach the class. Doing the journaling online allows me to respond immediately to the students when I finish the class using the messaging system in Angel, our learning management system. Sometimes, I get students responding back to my comment on the prompt.

All in all, my literary laureates are doing great. Their Paper 1 draft is due on Wednesday. Let's see if they are getting it: plot, character, point of view, setting, style, and symbolism. We have done a lot in these three and a half weeks of class!

Week 3 Day Two: The Red Convertible and The Story of an Hour

Monday, September 7th was Labor Day so we didn't have a F2F class. This gave me some time to prepare my upcoming vodcasts on setting, style, and symbolism in literature. Our online discussion forum dealt with characterization and plot analysis of Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour and Lymes LaMartine's The Red Convertible.

Since I gave the students a choice of doing one or the another and a choice of questions related to each of these stories, I was expecting an even number of posts in each of the stories. Au contraire....most students chose to discuss Kate Chopin's story. I wonder why? Easier task? More interest in one over the other? I think that there are more complex issues to interpret in The Red Convertible. However, I thought it would appeal to students who can bring in their relationships with their siblings or their knowledge of what war does to a man or woman returning to the home country.

I think I will incorporate the poll function in Angel and see what are the reasons why students are attracted to one story over another.


The majority of the posts and sandwich critiques of others' posts had improved dramatically since the first discussion forum. The students are delving deeper and exercising their critical thinking muscles.


The one thing I would change next time is to demand on all the posts that students cite an academic source. Many talked about the life of a woman in the 19th century, yet few actually included an academic reference in their discussion.


Take a look at Jessica M's discussion post:

Story of an Hour
by Jessica M (jm) at 9/9/2009 10:54 PM


What was life like for Mrs. Mallard in the home Of Brently Mallard?


- It appears that life for Mrs. Mallard was oppressed by her husband. Her joy of being free through her husband's death makes it seem as if she never had a desire to be married at all.
In the report of the train accident, Brently Mallard's name was at the top of the list of fatalities. Does this information mean that Mallard was an important citizen in his community? Does it also suggest that perhaps Louise married him, in part, because of his standing in the community?
- Mr. Mallard being at the top of the fatality report could hint at him being a strong figure within the community. As it would seem that the more "important" deaths would be at the top of the death list. The author's life extended from 1851 to 1904. Some social concepts of this era included women that stayed at home and maintained the home and children, and men pursued wealth. In the story, it describes Louise as a young women. So it seems entirely possible that she may have only married him for his social standing or wealth.


Write a paragraph about what society expected in the typical 19th century American woman.


- The typical 19th century American woman was a woman that remained at home, took care of the children, took care of the house, maintained the premises (farm work). While the husband worked, more women started to become employed in the 19th century, but many laws kept women from obtaining high level positions, such as laws that required women to work eight hours or less a day, when men could work fifteen. There were also laws passed that kept women from lifting weights above a certain amount, resulting in a slim job market for the American woman. It was expected and accepted that the women remained home, married a man with a job, and cooked, cleaned, and cared for the husband and children.

Week 2 Day Two Obrien's How to Tell a War Story

www.wordle.net

(Matt G's Wordle to describe Bob 'Rat' Kiley)

Our online Discussion Forum 2 options had two text-based assignments and one visual Wordle assignment. I had tried to make all the assignments equal in difficulty, but surprise, surprise....all students with the exception of one chose to do a Wordle describing the main character Bob 'Rat' Kiley.

The Wordles were great. A few people had trouble pasting the code into their post. I was pleased with the sandwich critiques that the majority of the students did in their replies to their peers. However, I realized that the assignment needed to have a text-based justification of the students' word choice, colors, and font. I will amend the instructions so that the students have to justify their choices of layout, font, and colors in their Wordles and talk about some of the word choices they made to describe Bob 'Rat' Kiley.

Here is Catherine H's Wordle Interpretation of Rat Kiley.



http://www.wordle.net/