Writing – Page 8 – Mrs. Kelly Love

Series: Elements of Structure Part 10: Top Ten (But it will go to 11…)

Not in any particular order, this is my own curated list of what I perceive as the hugely influential, double-edged swords of structure from 2016. Warning: I will not apologize for analyzing politics in this post (see #4). If you’re fed to the teeth and just want some ideas, skip over words. We’re all feeling like children whose parents are in the beginning stages of a dysfunctional divorce: still a lot of yelling, we don’t know if we want to live with mom or dad, lawyers have been contacted, and broken glass to clean up. And no one’s seen the family pet for days.

Ah, well.

Twitter
Fake News
Click Bait
Comments in Political Posts and the Great Unfriending
Relabeling
Repeated Article Loop
Children’s/YA Literature
Book Lists and Reading Challenges
On-line Shared Annotations
TedTalks

Twitter

Perhaps one of the most telling of all is the P-E’s use or misuse of Twitter.

Though he’s tweeted hundreds of misspelled, egregious, taunting and terrible tweets, for some reason this one sent me over the edge, well the original version, not the sarcastic People for Bernie Sanders version:

Perhaps what did it (sent me over the edge and all) was someone’s comment about how we all just need to suck it up, he’s our president now, too damn bad, stop crying, stop whining, etc.

And I need to point out — what he said, what he tweeted, clearly says he is NOT my president by HIS WORDS. He called me his enemy, someone who fought him, “lost so badly” that now I’m in a fog, whimpering and wandering around like a lost child at a county fair.

What exactly does he “Love!”?

Twitter is as high or low as humanity brings to its 140 characters. It’s been a good source for me to add to my PLN, tweet out random #haikuoftheday for fun, and things of that nature. Now I don’t know if I can look away, or look more closely. I don’t have an idea.

Fake News

At this point, there are probably fake news stories on how to combat fake news. Teach media literacy, make it relevant, make it matter. Liken fake news to a fake rumor, and how devastating that can be personally, and imagine a whole nation being harmed, literally and figuratively, by fake news on a grand scale.

The Smell Test

https://embed.ted.com/talks/lang/en/markham_nolan_how_to_separate_fact_and_fiction_online

Click Bait

We’re all guilty of it, clicking on what we know is click-bait. That easy lure of outrageous headlines promising some juicy reward while our cheeks are pierced by sharp objects. It would be a great mini-lesson or mini-unit to have student analyze the structure of click bait and how it changes their psychological views.

You’ll Be Outraged at How Easy It Was to Get You to Click on This Headline

Comments in Political Posts and The Great Unfriending

I went to tag someone on a teacher post the other day and noticed I lost another Facebook acquaintance, and have no hard feelings. How could I? I use social media for a variety of purposes, but mostly, and unfortunately for some, it’s my ‘thinking out loud place’ and sometimes my inner voice is pretty damn loud.

We’re all going to have to set our own journalistic best practices as we move forward and be clear that our posts are ours, and if you comment, do so at your own risk. If you decided my (over)posting and sharing of information is not for you, then I completely respect that. If nothing else it is my contention that we are in control of our own narratives, and if we don’t want to blend our colors into one another’s then we should never feel obligated to do so.

But you might miss out on that great cocktail recipe. Just sayin.’ Passing up the details of my recent gall bladder surgery, well, don’t blame you.

Relabeling and Code Switching

This is one structural/literary choice/device that needs to be examined much more thoroughly. This is Orwellian doublethink at a mastery level.

Alt-Right means NazSupremacistsemicists/Domestic Terrorists.
“CITE EVIDENCE” means “I’m firing my misdirection shotgun to make you try to spend the time to prove something I’m not going to believe anyway.”
Mansplaining: A misandric term meaning when someone patronizingly “helps” to fill in the background knowledge for someone else. It is observed by a man or woman who explains to another woman what is happening.

Repeated Article Loop

The repeated or republished article is an interesting device– I included it in this structure series because while reading any narrative, flashbacks and foreshadowing are regular solid tools to move a reader through a narrative–and the repeated article, and I’ll include Facebook’s “Shared Memory” device, does the same purpose. This can be good and not so good, especially not so good when it plays house with Fake News. Some stories are repeated so often, and intentionally they use an old photograph from another incident.

Note to social media and big mega software folks: Please bring back i-Google. Okay. That’s never going to happen. But invent an organized way people can read an article, and then share it to an album and organize it, and it won’t go back in their feed. Yes, something like bookmarks, and folders, but in that media source.

Children’s/YA Literature

Lest you think I’m all doom-gloom (hey, I didn’t make this mess!) I have some heartening news, too. Turns out my master’s thesis of using children’s literature to engage students wasn’t too far off the mark. (Insert a mini-eye roll emoji here.)

Novel Finding: Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy

How Reading Literature Cultivates Empathy

Book Lists and Reading Challenges

I have fallen in love with BookRiot and Nerdy Book Club. The format and structure of these sites are simple: curate lists of books that a reader might love. This type of literary world-wide book club is dangerous for my budget, though, because I want all the books!

The word choice of “challenge” is interesting to me, as well as the choice of ‘lists.’ Challenge and lists implies plowing through, and not necessarily joyfully. I use these words, too, but wonder if there will be another approach that is less perfectionistic, completism, or competitive.

My students’ Reading Road Trip got a flat tire this year, punctured by too many tests, agendas, and chaos. But I have Mrs. Darcy’s list again, so we’ll see!

On-line Shared Annotations

As we move toward bigger and grander conversations, it’s my hope we use our technology for idea and question sharing — stil think Genius and other on-line share annotation tools and sites are pretty cool.

Read “HOLD UP” by Beyoncé on Genius

//genius.com/songs/2461219/embed.js

And annotations on real books — too.

TedTalks

TedTalks, Crash Course, VSauce, etc, are specific structures that have become my second life in terms of the lecture hall with great professors.

Yes, please. And thank you.

These ten formats are all worthy of some analysis and thought: we’re speaking in shorthand more than ever, and being adept at all forms of communication are going to be critical.

And getting good recipes for cocktails. Want to see my surgery scars?

Series: Elements of Structure Part 9: Parody & Satire

I think I would cease to function if I didn’t have my sense of humor.

Everyone thinks they have a sense of humor, but…

Humor is one of the most difficult mediums to write. One way to allow students to access their natural silliness is to introduce them to parody and satire.

Parody: intended to spoof by using humor based on an existing piece/genre

Satire: intended to criticize something or someone, often with humor, but not necessarily.

Is Monty Python Satire? (Click for a PDF)

Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Revisionist History (did I list that one, too!?) did a show on satire. The upshot is we Americans do a pretty terrible job at satire–it’s McWeaksauce sometimes–but is still important. I wonder what it says about the nation who invented stand-up can’t do satire as well? Hmm.

https://www.middleweb.com/29971/media-literacy-kids-in-the-middle-love-parody/

How would we go about introducing students to parody and satire? They are well-versed in memes and Youtube channels that provide so many examples and are masters at consuming media/humor. But how to create content? Perhaps I would pose the question to them: what angers, frustrates, or annoys them, and how would they like to create their own parodies? It’s important to point out parodies are not mean-spirited or bullying. What rules do they think are silly or goofy (I think the beloved yellow safety vest hall pass might their first target)?

And yes, while I think this is terrible, from a jester-level sense of humor, it is kind of funny:

From a historical standpoint, how has parody and satire changed the world? And it has, no doubt. Mocking rulers, institutions, sacred cows and laws, parody and satire help us all laugh so we don’t cry. And that makes us stronger.

Ms. Chappele’s Student Site

Examples of Satire in Candide/Seattle PI Education Site

And of course: (PG 13 language)

This is something I’m going to try on very soon. We all could use a good laugh.

But sometimes it doesn’t feel good to be the butt of a joke.

Series: Elements of Structure Part 8: Zines and Chaps

Zine magazines and Chapbooks – two formats that have specific structures that speak to the urgency of getting something out there, fast, with beauty.

In this recent post, The Resurgence of the Zine Culture, the writer makes a strong case for zines returning popularity.

“It’s as simple as folding some paper and letting your creativity flourish. Splatter paint on it, write words haphazardly across the page, photograph everything. You can write about cats or “Doctor Who” or the ways media is suppressing black voices. There are no rules and no limits.”

Seriously: the potential for this!! Students crave a balance between making things and screentime, though these can be published on- line too, and distributed to a wider audience. But how intimate and urgent is the passed note, the quick shout?

I am curious, though, what would be the learning target and success criteria wording?

Something to the effect, “SWBAT…

I mean, just how do I translate “But, as Rookie Magazine said, “Zine-making isn’t about rules or knowledge; it’s about freedom and power.” to a learning target?

Magical paraphrasing will come to me, no doubt.

In any case, I’m thinking this is a great idea to spark January or add to my Burning Questions unit (whenever that happens…).

But maybe that’s the point of a zine: it needs to happen right now. Maybe I’ll make one this afternoon.

Series: Elements of Structure Part 7: World Building

Recently my arrival at some conclusions has left me feeling a bit off, beginning with my inability to make decisions or plan, as if I thought I knew what my destination was, only to find out I am on the other side of the rails. In conjunction with the dawning light that while I work at a Title I school, my judgment, motivation, professionalism and even integrity will always be criticized at worst, and questioned at least. Can I build up my students’ learning with the help of colleagues and collaboration, or will continue to be singled out?

Which is why I’m sitting here questioning if this idea is a good one or not. If I’ll get support or buy-in, or not. And if not, does it matter? Not all ideas are good ones.

*Inner voice: “Stop. Stop writing about your process. Just spill it: what’s the idea?”*

Okay: World Building.

Think about it.

This unit would cover every single content area, including health/fitness.

Social Studies: What better way to understand the world and history than to create one from scratch?
English/Language Arts: What better way to familiarize oneself with archetypes, monomyths, plot, setting, structure and creativity?
Math: What better way to understand how the boundaries and shapes of things influence our lives? Productivity, consumerism, population and exponential thinking and real-world problems?
Science: What better way to look at the impact of disease, oceans, pollution, land masses, air to breathe and inventions influence culture,
PE/Health: What better way to explore the kinetic movements of cultures, tribes, groups, cities, as well as health and well-being? Do you think for one moment Thorin Oakenshield wasn’t buff?!

(Just needed an excuse to post a picture of T. O.:)

thorin-oakenshield_in_the_hobbit

Exploratory: Cooking, making, building, music, technology: all the ways we’re connected and engaged.

I read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin recently, and it’s amazing. It does have some graphic sexuality, so wouldn’t recommend for anyone younger than 17-18. Her world-view and creation are sublime. It took me some time to understand what was happening, but once I fell into the setting it felt like I had lived there forever, and now. And isn’t that the true beauty of a new world, a fantasy world? It feels more truthful than the real one and helps give context to what’s known and believed.

And please: don’t forget women in your world.

I often tell students that the best thing about writing is getting to play god/goddess: you create the world and control the characters, and this is empowering. At this writing, I’m not sure what the end product will be, or the essential questions/enduring understanding. Units weren’t built in a day, you know.

One idea to help students get started is to take a few ‘micro’ pictures of land, and see if they can create a world from it:

Except for the giant beastie's leg, this might be a good place to start. — Except for the giant beastie’s leg, this might be a good place to start.

So, as I’ll map out my ideas later. The essential piece is the questions, and take a page from creation and origin myths. What needs to be made first, and how to make it?

If you have any ideas to share, please do so.

Series: Elements of Structure Part 6: It's like…

Analogies.

Anecdotes.

Allusions.

How do we connect with readers?

I am cursed with reading. I used to love it: diving down deep into a novel or story, sprinkling my mind with pixie dust and faraway vistas. It seems all I read lately are op-ed pieces that make my blood pressure rise. My tether to fantasy and imagination frays and twists: reading for pleasure is challenging. A recent article in the Washington Post by Charles Lane, “Griping about the popular vote? Get over it.” Lane begins his piece as any hack, by using a sports analogy.

I hate sports analogies.

Sports analogies are accessible to the majority of readers. However, I contend that the use of a poorly-ironed out sports analogy is dangerous and defective. The sports analogy he uses doesn’t make sense: he states that the election is like giving the presidency to the yards gained, not the points scored. How about explaining the laws on the books and the Constitution? Oh, perhaps that’s too rough for his audience and his purpose: he wants to give Trump supporters the ‘feel good’ moment of a football analogy to make them feel smart and nod in understanding and agreement, not realizing how flimsy it all is. The article is embedded with links and other ideas that counter the writer’s. It’s easy to see how analogies can misdirect and overwhelm. Why look up any counter argument when the sports analogy is right there?

Today the Electoral College will decide if the president-elect is qualified or not, treasonous, or not, and fit to serve the American people. (He’s not.) And this is how using a cliche or analogy that is false can be dangerous.

One of my friends, (we don’t see eye to eye politically, but we do enjoy the conversation: a rare gift these days) asked me about what kinds of analogies are useful. I’m not sure.

My mind’s been wandering and created this list of (cliched) analogies:

Sports
Pregnancy/giving birth
Ship/Sailing
Journey/enlightenment
Gaming
Winners/losers
Quest
Family/kids
War/Battle
Magic/Entertainment
Cooking/baking
Gardens/growing

What other ones can you think of?

The difference between an analogy and an anecdote in this instance is the analogy misdirects the reader to feel that some parallel logic, while an anecdote, being personal, speaks to larger themes and questions, and in this instance would provide greater credibility and connection.

This information is from the http://bhsenglishdepartment.files.wordpress.com/ blog:

Simile: A comparison between two DISSIMILAR things, using “like” or “as” – e.g. Her face is like an ice cream cone

Metaphor: An implicit comparison between two DISSIMILAR things – e.g. He is a warthog ***In both similes and metaphors, the second item takes the place of the first item.*** In other words, the face has the qualities of an ice cream cone, the man is a warthog. ALSO NOTE: The meaning of a simile or a metaphor IS NOT LITERAL. Her face is not triangular or cold to the touch, and he does not smell bad or have pointy teeth coming out of his face.

Analogy: A statement that shows how someone or something IS ACTUALLY LIKE a second thing. In an analogy, unlike a simile or metaphor, you do not use the second item to replace the first, but rather, to highlight some unseen quality. Instead of saying “He is a pig” (a metaphor), one might say, “Watching you eat is like watching a pig roll in mud”

Cliché: A simile, metaphor or analogy that has been overused. The reason for using the above devices is to bring some NEW insight to a piece of writing. Using old, threadbare similes, metaphors and analogies add little, if anything to the writing.

e.g. like a rock (simile), she is an angel (metaphor), dead as a doornail (analogy)

Easy, right?

The trick is to avoid using cliches, but that’s not an easy trick to pull off. (So very meta in the cliche department right now.)

Here are a few other sites that may prove useful:

http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/cliches.html

http://www.metamia.com/analogize.php?q=cliche

When you have a purpose and message for speaking, my advice would be to use anecdotes over analogies.

We had a former admin who used to show us this scene from Remember the Titans. It was his theme “song:”

I remember this, but more importantly, I remember a personal story he shared about a teacher who held him up to higher standards and kept him accountable. I remember his personal story more.

My current admin plays us this, (and it scares the mess out of us):

We’re still in the process of getting to know one another, but the more personal stories she shares and her vision, the stronger the whole staff is. We don’t need to be scared into coming to work — it’s not motivating. We know how important it is. We just want to get to work.

Neither of these is wrong, inaccurate, or without merit and feeling. They are short-cuts to a broader message, and that’s the purpose of analogies, anecdotes, and allusions. They help connect the reader quickly to ideas. Just be cautious in that the ideas are connected well and strong.

Series: Elements of Structure Part 5: Radio and Podcasts

I need to interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to talk about something…odd.

Call it a coincidence, call it fate, call it noticing patterns and ‘close reading’ of the minutiae of my life.

Two days ago I chose to catch up on some podcasts, and Stuff You Missed in History Class came on featuring a teacher named Jerry Hancock. His expertise is the history of Sears in American culture, economics, etc. And while that was fascinating, what struck me was his introduction about his teaching life. He clearly says because his school is doing academically well “they” leave him alone, and he’s happiest when he can shut his door and teach. He’s a high school history teacher in Georgia, was a teacher of the year.

“As long as my door’s closed and it’s just me and my students I’m happiest.”

Working at a high-poverty school Title I school has far more benefits and rewards than drawbacks, no question about it. Over the years I’ve had the illusion at least that I have academic freedom, and because of my personal values, background, and integrity, with a hefty dose of life experience and creativity, each day I’m reminded of the gift of having a profession where I can put my talents to actual, purposeful use. And isn’t that what everyone wants? Purpose? Self-actualization? The ability to use the bathroom once in awhile? (Yes, every day is a trip up and down Maslow’s pyramid. Every. Damn. Day.)

But there is a HUGE drawback, and I’m not sure what to do about it, and quite possibly, there is nothing to be done about it.

Because as long as there is racism, sexism, poverty and standardized testing where the money to teach our students draws from its well, there will always be meetings and reflective practices about what teachers, and teachers alone, can do better. I know it’s a team effort, I know everyone has skin in the game, I know…I know…but sometimes the conversation is ambushed by ‘teacher-centered’ ideas and not student-centered, and since the two are interconnected things disconnect. The serenity prayer rocks off the rails: trying to decide what we have control over or not feels disingenuous right about now.

But I do have control over myself (to a greater or lesser degree). I do not have control how others perceive me, and that is my Achille’s Heel because I keep making the mistake of thinking I do.

https://www.npr.org/player/embed/505338850/505338899

The biggest cause of despair amongst myself and colleagues is the microscopic, pseudo-psychology cabal of discussing what we teachers are doing wrong because our scores are low.

We don’t want them to be. We are not trying to sabotage or destroy the process. For the most part, we are desperately seeking to support all of our students, and meet or exceed their expectations. One of my personal joys is that I am paid by their parents, by the community: I work for them, for their future. My efforts will directly affect their futures.

However when the adults are choosing, discussing, mandating, reflecting, whatever gerund you want to use, decisions must be made with surgical precision. I am wondering if there is something more insidious at stake: the gambler’s fallacy. And I wouldn’t say it’s doing the same things over again, but not recognizing when we’re trying to do something different. From my time spent getting my masters, the research-based drive is the gold standard. So we’re caught in a fixed space that’s moving, like a car or an airplane: we’re moving at hundreds of miles per hour, but stuck in our seats. The seat is the research, the will is the speed.

What if we flip the script? Instead of looking at boxes by race, gender, and special needs, what if we ask students what they think? How powerful to have a cohort of students asking and questioning what they see as the issues they face? I did such a thing a few years ago when I showed students that their data was being tracked by race and gender. Quite frankly, they were appalled. It infuriated them that their lives and education were reduced to check boxes. I think it’s time to bring back that question to my 8th graders.

It must be noted that race and gender are fixed, as least race is. With the growing awareness of transgender and gender identity gender is perhaps more fluid.

http://audio.thisamericanlife.org/widget/widget.min.js

And if you’re confronting issues of racism, sexism, and poverty, how brave will you be? Will you change anyone’s mind?

Well, I have no answers. More questions…more and more. It’s the first day of winter break, or rather the first weekend day, and my eyes are puffy from crying the night before, (TL:DR: the adults. Always the adults.) The house is quiet, and two weeks of my sons, my dogs, and my creative drive is spread out before me.

And time to listen to more podcasts.

Here are some mentioned in this article, and more of my favorites:

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Ones on my “to listen” list:

Lore

Welcome to Night Vale

I have others on feeds, too, such as Nerdist, etc. but tend not to click on those as much.

To me, the essence and exquisite simplicity of a podcast are the big questions the writers ask at the beginning, the overarching themes they will explore: if this isn’t what we want all students to do — question, reflect, critically think — then I’m out of ideas.

After the break I plan on using podcasts for thinking and creating. How have you used podcasts in your classroom?

https://www.npr.org/player/embed/503017687/505733640

Series: Elements of Structure Part 4: Documentary Resources

NO INTERNET WEEK: FULL DOCUMENTARY from Mother on Vimeo.

Documentaries are non-fiction with bias. At least that’s how I define it…because documentaries are so much more than just presenting facts. Sheila Curran Bernard says it better:

“Documentaries bring viewers into new worlds and experiences through the presentation of factual information about real people, places, and events, generally — but not always — portrayed through the use of actual images and artifacts. But factuality alone does not define documentary films; it’s what the filmmaker does with those factual elements, weaving them into an overall narrative that strives to be as compelling as it is truthful and is often greater than the sum of its parts.”

–Sheila Curran Bernard, Author of Documentary Storytelling

If you’re interested in sharing documentaries with students, here are some good resources:

Films for Action

Series: Elements of Structure Part 3: Plodding Plots

story-structure-cartoon

This upcoming January-February I’ll return to the Journey of the Hero unit. It’s been tossed, denigrated, punched, and still, it comes up standing, ready for more. Joseph Campbell never fails me. The ginormous ~~binder~~ tome that contains its massive and timeless information, and look forward to those ah-ha moments when students recognize nearly every single story, movie or tale is indeed, a monomyth.

The CCSS which specifically address Journey of the Hero or monomyth are not under the heading of Craft and Structure, but these:

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.7
Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.9
Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.

But I can’t help but think the good people at the CCSS got it a little wrong–patterns are structure.

There is nothing new under the sun. When considering structure, scholars propose that there are no new stories, not really, and we can find stories fitting into a minimum amount of plots:

The Plot Thins, or Are No Stories New?

According to Mr. Booker, there are only seven basic plots in the whole world — plots that are recycled again and again in novels, movies, plays and operas. Those seven plots are: 1.Overcoming the Monster, 2.Rags to Riches, 3.The Quest, 4.Voyage and Return, 5.Rebirth, 6.Comedy and 7.Tragedy.Apr 15, 2005

But this analysis or categorization creates inherent boredom in our content area, so I caution all of us not to get into the systemic drilling of parts, and forget to put back together the whole.

Maybe that is really the theme of Shelley’s Frankenstein: the man could not make better what the gods created, and putting it back together makes it awkward and angry. When analyzing plot and the various types of plot, make sure to step back and look at the whole map, and allow students moments of many personal connections. A story is only as good as we hear it.

Film Friday

What was the first movie you ever saw? What was the one that made you cry? Which one terrified you so much you nearly ran, or did run, out of the theatre, or kept the lights on all night? Films and books/texts are not in conflict with one another, they act as pillars on a strong brain and heart. Our instructional time is eroded by so many other agendas, however, that when we’re mentally drained, and the desire to just pop in a movie overwhelms us, our good admin remind us that students have plenty of time to guzzle large doses of media. So bear with me here: this isn’t about popping in Mulan when you have nothing else planned. (Although I absolve you: I love Mulan.) And I guess I can make a strong case for Lion King (Hamlet), Cinderella (good chance to explain about blended families and friction), the Little Mermaid and how tragic fairy tales Hans Christian Andersen wrote are sanitized by Disney, and why. I could go on. And we all know that seldom is the movie as good as the book. That’s because they’re different species from the same phylum. Those are grand discussions in and of themselves.

But this is about those little films that get us to understand themes. Ideas. Beliefs. Movements. I’ll try to post as many as I have collected here, but am sure to leave some out. If you find some good ones, please click on the post and add a comment.

Expanding Gender: Youth Out Front from Frameline Distribution on Vimeo.

Nuit Blanche from Arev Manoukian on Vimeo.

Descendants from Goro Fujita on Vimeo.

Pixar – One Man Band from Ricardo Pereira on Vimeo.

Toonocalypse from The 2D Workshop on Vimeo.

2016 OSCAR® Nominated Short Films – Live Action and select Animation from SHORTS HD on Vimeo.

The Boy with a Camera for a Face from Spencer Brown on Vimeo.

Lights Out – Who’s There Film Challenge (2013) from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

Parvati Saves the World, Act1 from Rattapallax on Vimeo.

Taking the Plunge from Taking The Plunge on Vimeo.

“The World Is As Big Or As Small As You Make It” | Sundance Institute from Sundance Institute on Vimeo.

Valley of Dolls from Fritz Schumann on Vimeo.

Confessions of an Idiom from Amanda Koh on Vimeo.

THE MONKEY’S PAW (2011) from Ricky Lewis Jr on Vimeo.

In the Beginning from Arthur Metcalf on Vimeo.

1982 from Gina Breslau on Vimeo.

Dust – Short film starring Alan Rickman & Jodie Whittaker from Jake Russell on Vimeo.

There’s a Man in the Woods from Jacob Streilein on Vimeo.

Ormie from Ormie Pig on Vimeo.

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man from Whitestone Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

DreamGiver from Tyler Carter on Vimeo.

Mitología / Mythology from Rafita Films on Vimeo.

Short Film ‘The Black Hole’ from PHOTOPLAY FILMS on Vimeo.

Return of the Cicadas from motionkicker on Vimeo.

The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling from Joseph Wallace on Vimeo.

Slug Invasion from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

The Lost & Found Shop [film] from Caleb Slain on Vimeo.

Invention of Love (2010) – Animated Short Film from Bujang_Cadiak on Vimeo.

Chris Garneau – Dirty Night Clowns from ROCK*iT FiLMS on Vimeo.

VIVA LUCHA from Team Mighty on Vimeo.

Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/496745/

Next Level Stuff (revised)

So, your students are fully versed in many close reading strategies, they’ve noticed, noted, whispered, and have mountains of texts and ideas. Now what? Well, the Short Answer Response and the Funnel/Hourglass analysis, that’s what! I have begged, borrowed, and outright pilfered these ideas from two great mentors, Kim McClung and Holly Stein, and provided some Google doc links, too.

The Funnel Paragraph in Literature Analysis

Funnel Paragraph Lesson Plan Template/Example

What It Says graphic organizer – student example

What It Says for The Raven

Funnel Chart graphic

Example of Funnel Paragraph with my notes/based on Steinbeck