Saturday, May 30, 2009

Multigenre Research and Writing Project

Hey kids - Copy and paste this into a WORD document, print it out and bring it to class on Monday.

MULTIGENRE RESEARCH MODES

Creative Original: A Creative Original work is one that is inspired by your sources but does not contain any part(s) of your original source(s). It follows the form of the source, but its content is original. It does not include citations and its creation is credited to you alone.
Ex: A Creative Original could be a poem that you wrote, a personal essay, a short story, a brochure, an advice column, a work of art, a collage, etc. The projects you completed this year for The Thirteenth Tale fit into this category, the Hornby Model Essay, and the 13 Ways poems are all examples of Creative Originals.

Parenthetical Creative Original: A Parenthetical Creative Original work is one that is inspired by your sources and contains part(s) or your original source(s). It is your creative original work supported with evidence from the source(s) and includes parenthetical citations.
Ex: A Parenthetical Creative Original could be a poem, short story, personal essay, advice column, letter, diary entry, song lyrics, etc. that includes supporting evidence in the form of direct quotes from a primary source(s). The Porphyria’s Lover letters, Macbeth journal entries/letters, Freedom Writer prompt responses are all examples of Parenthetical Creative Originals.

Visual Primary Analytical: A Visual Primary Analytical work is one that focuses on studying the details of a primary source in order to draw conclusions about that source alone.
Ex: After looking at a photograph of your grandparents and considering their body language, you make an assumption about their relationship, citing details from the photograph as supporting evidence.

Textual Primary Analytical: A Textual Primary Analytical work is one that focuses on studying the written details of a primary source in order to draw conclusions about that source alone.
Ex: After reading an entry from your grandmother’s diary, you make an assumption about your grandparent’s relationship, citing direct details from the entry as supporting evidence.


Visual Primary Comparative: A Visual Primary Comparative work is one that focuses on comparing the details of two or more visual primary sources in order to draw a conclusion about your topic.
Ex: After looking at three different photographs - one each of your maternal grandparents, paternal grandparents and your parents - you arrive at the conclusion that of the three couples, your parent’s relationship is the most natural and authentic, citing details from the three photographs as supporting evidence.

Textual Primary Comparative: A Textual Primary Comparative work is one that focuses on studying the written details of multiple primary sources in order to draw conclusions about your topic.
Ex: After reading an entry each from your maternal grandmother’s diary, a letter written to your paternal grandmother from your paternal grandfather, and a note written to your dad from your mom, you think it is clear that your parents married for love and not obligation. You write this up using direct quotes from each source to support your conclusion.

Secondary Extension: A Secondary Extension is research that grows out of your primary exploration and answer questions that arose during your research by providing expert support or clarification in the form of a footnote.
Ex: During an interview with your mother, she mentions that she met your father a week after her 22nd birthday, while watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform at the first Lalapalooza concert. Later in the interview, she mentions that she was born in 1953, making her currently 56 years old. You find it hard to believe that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were performing back in 1975, so you Google the date of that concert and discover it was held in 1991. Your Secondary Extension clarifies the information presented in this interview in the form of a footnote that cites information from the secondary Google source.


Multigenre Research Project Instructions

Step 1: Gather at least 10 genre sources; your final project must explore a minimum of 7 genres. You are required to include a literary source, a visual source, a technological source, and an interview. You may choose the additional 3 genres. You will receive a grade for including the required genres; each required genre included in the final project is worth 5 points, for a total of 20 points.

Due Dates:
Tuesday, June 2nd: 5 sources due for approval, 10 points
Thursday, June 4th: 5 additional sources due for approval, 1

Step 2: Your project will begin with a Statement of Purpose that explains how your project topic evolved from the course studies. This must be typed and double spaced, organized by paragraphs, and include a direct quote from the primary source that reveals what in that source gave you pause and lead to your topic. The rough draft is worth 10 points, final draft is worth 15 points.

Due Date:
Wednesday, June 3rd: Statement of Purpose rough draft due, typed. 10 points.

Step 3: You will explore your 7 genres in seven separate parts; each part is worth 20 points. You are required to include the following 4 modes of writing:
a Creative original
a Parenthetical Creative Original
a Visual OR a Textual Primary Analytical
a Visual OR a Textual Primary Comparative

Your three remaining genres can be explored in the mode of your choice, but 2 must include the following:
a Secondary Extension (included in the form of footnotes)

Due Dates:
Monday, June 8th: Rough drafts of 2 parts, 10 points each
Wednesday, June 10th: Rough drafts of 2 additional parts, 10 points each
Friday, June 12th: Rough draft of 2 additional parts, 10 points each

Step 4: All parts MUST be labeled with the appropriate mode. Each part of the project is worth 20 points; failure to label the mode of each part of your project will result in the automatic deduction of 3 points, per unlabeled mode.

Step 5: Your project will end with a one page, typed and double spaced Statement of Discovery that must be organized into paragraphs. This statement will trace the discoveries you made from the beginning until the end of the project and will draw a conclusion
regarding your topic. This Statement of Discovery is worth 15 points.

Step 6: Works Consulted, 10 points.

Final Project Due Date:

The complete project is due on Monday, June 15th. Since there are not rough drafts due of the Statement of Discovery or the Works Consulted, they must be included in the final project or you will receive a zero on those parts of the project. For each day the project is late (including handing it in after class has ended on the due date), 10% will be deducted from the final grade.

NO PROJECT WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH.

Breakdown of Grade:
Inclusion of four required modes: 20 points
Source Approval: 20 points
Statement of Purpose RD: 10 points
Statement of Purpose FD: 15 points
Separate Parts, RD: 10 points each/60
Separate Parts, FD: 20 points each/140
Statement of Discovery: 15 points
Works Consulted: 10
Total Points: 300


List of Genre Ideas

Literary Source
This is the most important requirement of this project - you must include a literary genre as a primary source in order to explain how your project evolved from our work in class this year or if your project topic stemmed from one of the film units studied during this course, you must then include a literary genre as a Textual Primary Analytical or a Textual Primary Comparative. This source may be a play, poem, novel or essay.

You may also include literary source as a Creative Original if you want to write a poem or a super flash fiction story (limited to 2 typed, double spaced pages), or a one act play.

Advice columns
Examine one(s) found in magazines(s) or newspaper(s) as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. An advice column features a letter from a reader who needs advice or help and a response from the columnist whose expertise allows him or her to sincerely give this help. You should consult a real column in a newspaper to see how you could format yours.

Campaign speech
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. If you create one, remember that politicians who are running for office give speeches that they hope will get them elected. These speeches usually include the person's views on important issues as well as statements that they hope will help voters understand what kind of people they are.

Map w/ legend
Examine a map as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Your map should be hand made to represent the "geography" of your concept. Make a legend to help the reader understand your map. Look at a highway map for an example, but also, try to find old maps to see their artistry. You can model your map after either kind.

Collage
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Create a collage of images that represent the key ideas you are representing. The collage can include words and phrases to reinforce ideas.  

Diary Entry
Examine a diary entry as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A personal diary is a daily journal, a recording of the significant moments of the day. It begins with the date. Some diary writers begin, "Dear Diary," but that's not a rule. Since a diary is meant to be personal, it often reveals feelings and thoughts that people tend to keep private. You should include diary entries for several days. This genre is a good way to show a process over time.

Interview
Examine or conduct one for use as a primary source. Determine appropriate questions to ask an interviewee by following this guideline:  First, get the facts.  Next, ask your interviewee to clarify what has been said.  (What do you mean by...?)  Then the interviewer is supposed to verify information given, provide any follow-up questions, and provide closure to the discussion. Interview either two different people on the same subject in order to draw a conclusion or interview the same person on the same subject at two separate times to see if their answers vary.

Travel poster
Analyze a travel poster as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. You can use graphics, photos, or drawings to reveal a certain place in the world relevant to your topic.  Make sure you use the space on you poster/web site effectively.  Capture the viewers attention and keep it.  Your travel poster should reveal the essence of the destination and what it has to offer.  Keep the design simple yet inclusive of all necessary information.  Achieve unity in the design by the use of balance and repetition. 

Personal Essay
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Most personal essays fall into one of three styles: an amusing commentary, a description of an event whose consequences are emotionally charged or easy to relate to, and finally, a personal point of view about something serious. The common elements that personal commentaries share are that they reveal something about the author and they have a single, central theme.

Photograph
Examine as a primary source or take your own for use as part of a Creative Original work. Please do not include heirloom photography or pictures from your parents’ albums/collections. Instead, please photocopy, scan, or print the picture in order to avoid losing or ruining the original. If it is a picture from your own collection, please think carefully before submitting an original, as I can not guarantee its return.

Advertisement
Examine a magazine article as a primary source or create a one page advertisement like you'd see in a magazine. You want to get your reader's attention, demonstrate the need for what you are selling, and show how your product/service will satisfy that need. Study professional ads to see how these goals are accomplished and use
those examples as your models.

CD cover
Examine a CD cover as a primary source or create art work for the front of one as a Creative Original. If you create, include the name of the band and the title of the CD. Then, on another "square," include your list of song titles. CDs generally have between 10-13 songs. Finally, include the lyrics to one song or liner notes. Liner notes are notes about the making of the CD, the experiences of the band, or other informative details that would be of interest to the listener. See a real CD or album for a model of how yours might look.

Post card
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A post card must have three parts. On the front is the picture and a greeting, such as "Hello from Ontario," or "Wish you were skiing with us." On the back are the address and stamp to the right and the message to the left. People generally write in small print on postcards to let them say everything they want to say or they may write brief ideas. Be sure that each word in your message counts or means something.

Grocery list
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. We can tell a lot about people, sometimes, by what they buy at the store. For example, someone who never buys any fresh fruits or vegetables may not be eating healthy, well balanced meals. This list can also extend beyond the grocery store to a different store or a list of things to do. Your list should reflect some aspect of a person's preferences or habits. You should include a title at the top, such as "groceries," or "camping supplies," or "what to pack." You must have at least 20 items on your list.

A Memory
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A memory is similar to a monologue in that it is the reflection of one speaker. To write a memory is to single out an important event from the past and recall its details (who, what, when, and where) and to write also about why the memory is important. How did the event change the person (speaker, narrator) or why does it still come to mind? Why was this event important? Memories are written in first person point of view and should be full of details that make the event seem true to life. Your reader should be able to visualize the event, almost as if he or she were there.

Graph/chart
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Create a graph or chart in Excel or on paper. Make sure that the graph or chart is complete with details, numbers, percents, etc. The graph or chart should be able to be read without additional explanation. See other charts or graphs in textbooks, newspapers, or magazines to use as examples. Add a paragraph explaining the data, if you need it.

One act play
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A one act play introduces characters in a conflict that is resolved in one act. Before writing your own, read a one act play to give you an idea of how to proceed. The play must be written using the typical conventions of a play or drama.

Announcement
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. We hear announcements each day in school. There are also announcements in church or before a meeting. Announcements alert people to important events that are coming up. Create an announcement that gives critical information about an upcoming event: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Top the announcement with an attention-getting label, such as "Attention all athletes," or "important information for all drivers."

Song/ballad
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Write lyrics to a song or ballad (a song that tells a story). You should have several verses. Think of the main ideas you want the song to express. Remember that songs are to be sung, so think of that as you compose. If you're really adventurous, record your song and make your genre an audio file. Look at the structures of some of your favorite songs to use for examples.

Eyewitness account/Interview
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. When important events happen, someone is generally there to see it happen. An eyewitness is asked to give details about exactly what happened, when it happened and how it happened. The eyewitness would provide specific, concrete details like colors, sizes, distances, times, etc. that make the account as factual as possible. While not everyone sees an event in the exact same way, eyewitness accounts help us put the event into perspective. The account could be prompted by a reporter's or a police officer's questions.

Illustration
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. An illustration is a drawing that illustrates a concept or an idea. It is often accompanied by labels or margin notes to explain aspects of the drawing. An illustration is often done in ink on white paper and is detailed. Think of how a scientist illustrates the process of cell reproduction or how a naturalist illustrates the stages maples trees go through during the four seasons.

Work of Art
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A work of art can be incorporated as a primary source by including a picture of the work found in a book, online, or taken in person. You can create your own work of art if you are an artist and it can take the form of print work, painting, sketching, drawing, sculpture, etc.

Recipe
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A recipe includes a list of ingredients, directions for mixing, combining, preparing, baking or cooking and serving. To create a recipe for something non food, such as peace or health or a good marriage, think of the essential ingredients. What does it take to be healthy or what are the things a couple must have for a good marriage? List these ingredients. Then show how these ingredients are used or managed. The recipe should be written in typical recipe form. See samples of recipes from magazines or cookbooks for examples. You must create your own, original recipe.

Blog
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Research Project

Hey kids -

Here's a list of what we have read and studied this school year - make sure you have your topic determined for tomorrow:


Unit I: Why Do We Read?

Handout: Four Kinds of Reading. Donald Hall
Handout: Lazy Eyes: How We Read Online. Slate. 2008
Handout: Why Women Read More than Men. NPR.
Handout: Today’s Kids Are, Like, Killing the English Language. Yeah, Right. Kirk Johnson
Handout: A Good Mystery: Why We Read. NY Times. 2007

Unit II: The Anglo Saxon Period

from Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel

The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer

“Oh My Sweet Carolina”, an essay by Nick Hornby

”Violent Media is Good for Kids" by Gerard Jones

"The Rite of War and the Warrior Psyche" by Sam Keen

Unit III: The Middle Ages

“Le Morte D’Arthur” by Sir Thomas Malory

from “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” translated by John Gardner

Film: King Arthur

Shakespearean Sonnets 29, 116, 130,

Spenserian Sonnets 30, 75

“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe

“The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter Raleigh

“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

TV Clips: from The Office: Season Three – “The Coup”

Unit IV: The Restoration and 18th Century

“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift

TV Clips: from The Office: Season One - “Basketball”, “Diversity Day”

Various satirical articles from The Onion

Unit V: The Romantic Period

“The Tyger” by William Blake

Blake’s theories on Innocence, Experience, and Organized Innocence

Film: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

“Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth

“She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron

“Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode to Melancholy”, “When I Have Fears” by John Keats

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settenfield

Unit VI: The Victorian Period

Film: The Freedom Writers

“My Last Duchess”, “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning

“Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A Selection of Contemporary British Sonnets

“Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold

“Channel Firing” by Thomas Hardy

“Bloodied” by Charles Johnson

Unit VII: 20th Century/Modernism

Film: Sliding Doors

“13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens

“13 Ways of Looking at Hip-Hop” by Vincent Toro

“Araby” by James Joyce

“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

”Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell

"A Hanging" by George Orwell

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Local Gallery of the National Gallery of Writing

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

As curator of our local gallery of the National Gallery of Writing, The Writers of East Brunswick High School, I am pleased to announce a publishing opportunity for the students and faculty of East Brunswick High.

This gallery is dedicated to promoting works written by the students and teachers of East Brunswick High School, New Jersey. We invite works of traditional and contemporary poetry, flash fiction (under 1000 words), short-short stories (under 2500 words), personal essays (under 2500 words), and works of creative non-fiction (under 2500 words).

To submit to this gallery for consideration, use this link:

http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/55353

from The National Council of Teachers of English:

“Whether we call it texting, IMing, jotting a note, writing a letter, posting an email, blogging, making a video, building an electronic presentation, composing a memo, keeping a diary, or just pulling together a report, Americans are writing like never before. Recent research suggests that writing, in its many forms, has become a daily practice for millions of Americans. It may be the quintessential 21st century skill. By collecting a cross-section of everyday writing through a National Gallery of Writing, we will better understand what matters to writers today—and when writing really counts. Understanding who writes, when, how, to whom, and for what purposes will lead to production of improved resources for writers, better strategies to nurture and celebrate writers, and improved policy to support writing.

America's writing will be front and center on October 20, 2009—the National Day on Writing. On that day, writers from every walk of life will pause to share their work. Communities across the nation are planning events to celebrate local writing, and NCTE will open the virtual National Gallery of Writing for all to appreciate the rich variety of work on display (the National Gallery will remain open until June 2010). A celebratory gala will be hosted by the New Yorker magazine in Manhattan to mark the National Day on Writing and to honor winners of the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards”.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Call for Manuscripts


Succour Open one
Originally uploaded by Shaun.numb
Hey kids -

Here are some contest and publishing opportunities:

The New England Shakespeare Festival Rubber Ducky Sonnet Contest:

http://newenglandshakespeare.org/sonnet_contest/ducky-guidelines.pdf

The English Journal:

Student Voices:This is a forum for students to share their
experiences and recommendations in short pieces of 300 words.
Teachers are encouraged to submit the best responses from their classes, not whole class sets,please.Individual students are welcome to submit as well. Topics are as follows:
• What nonfiction text that English teachers might not think of would you like to read in English class? (Deadline: July 15, 2009)
• What positive lessons have you learned from English class about working with other people? (Deadline: September 15,2009)
• How has logical thinking helped you out of a difficult situation?(Deadline: November 15, 2009)