FOOT: Pleasure Watching: Harry Potter 7!

So I recently saw the trailer for Part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It makes me super excited for it to come out over this summer. I always attend the midnight showing of each movie because I love them so much. I have never been the person who dresses up, though I do have a shirt that I got for the release of the book. It says "Who Will Die?" with the release date of the book under it. Enjoy this trailer!

FOOT: Final Reflection

I found out a lot about teaching this semester in Multi-modals. It really helped force me to think about teaching differently than I had before. I think that I will incorporate some of the ideas learned this semester into my future classroom. I really think that I will use the multi-genre autobiography during the beginning of each semester to help my students think about different texts. I feel that it would make a great group project since most students will likely have watched very similar things. I would have each group focus on a different kind of text and present their presentation to the class.

I would also like to use some of the activities that we have done in class in my own classroom as ice breakers. I think Count to Ten would be a fun way to get the kids involved. I know that from our experience, we got really competitive which made it really fun. Another activity that I would like to incorporate would be the video project. I think that I would like to adapt this project to fit the texts that we are reading. It would be really neat if the students created videos with their adaptations of canonical texts. Another idea that I will use in the future would be some of the links on the canonical wiki. I think that it will prove to be a wonderful resource to use.

PYTASH: Final Reflection

This semester is coming to a screeching halt. I feel like I still have so much to learn and so much to do. This class has just been really good for actually covering a canonical text. I feel that even though I liked the set up of last semester’s class a little better, I feel very prepared to actually teach some lessons on Gatsby. I also really liked having the group projects. It really allowed group collaboration and generated many more ideas about teaching than I could have come up with on my own. It helped me realize that asking for other teachers’ opinions does not mean that you cannot do it; it just means that you want to make sure that what you are teaching is going to be the best possible option for your students. I just wish that we could have covered more books and I am totally going to keep the Jago book to refer back to once I start teaching. I almost feel that the one class a week was not enough, even though it was still a decent amount of week! I wish that there were a class very similar to this one but that just covered a ton of different canonical texts, almost like how we covered YA literature last semester. Even though it would probably be hard work, I think that students could benefit immensely from that kind of a class. I am definitely going to miss having Dr. Pytash next semester because I feel that I have learned so much about teaching from the two classes this year.

PYTASH: Literature, Knowledge, and the High School Graduate

I found this chapter of the book to be pretty interesting. I really liked the “A note on consistency” on page 155. I feel that in high school, I never really did in class essays like this. I think that students really need that practice of writing in class essays to prepare for standardized tests. Another thing that I really liked about this chapter was the example “Test on Julius Caesar.” I like the whole use of student thought in the questions instead of just “This is what happened.” I think that having students give their opinion on things as well as have to explain or back up their reasoning. I also think that it was a good idea to use their answers to start discussions the day after. It can help with creating lesson plans.

Although not technically part of the chapter, I really enjoyed the lists of canonical texts at the end of the book. I am going to use this as my “Books I Need to Read” list over this summer.

FOOT: Stumble Upon Spoken Word Poetry

Oh StumbleUpon... how you distract me from homework so easily. I never would have thought while stumbling, I would come upon an idea worth blogging about. Somehow everything has come full circle.

Anyway, as I was stumbling, I came across this video about Sarah Kay:



It's about an 18 minute video where Sarah Kay starts off with a spoken word poem. She is a founder of a program called Project V.O.I.C.E.

Basically, it is a program about promoting spoken word poetry. According to the website, "Project V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal Outreach Into Creative Expression) is a national movement that celebrates and inspires youth self-expression through Spoken Word Poetry. Conceived in 2004, Project V.O.I.C.E. encourages young people to engage with the world around them and use Spoken Word Poetry as an instrument through which they can explore and better understand their culture, their society, and ultimately themselves. Project V.O.I.C.E. brings together performance, writing, and a supportive environment to inspire youth to recognize that their views are significant, valid, and necessary."

I think that this would be a really good way to start off a unit about poetry and to show this video to students. The people behind this Project V.O.I.C.E also travel around the country putting on workshops for students and also educating teachers on how to tackle spoken word poetry in the classroom.

Also, If you wanted to look them up on Facebook, you can do so here.

FOOT: Naruto/Pinocchio

This is my comparison/contrast of Naruto and Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer. Each text follows a main character who faces different obstacles throughout the novel.

Text and Dialogue

Narration
With Pinocchio, there was little narration after the first few pages. It was mostly dialogue. In Naruto, there was more narration boxes throughout the text.

Balloons (words/thoughts)

Both novels contained balloons for dialogue. In Pinocchio, they are mostly round or oval shaped balloons. In Naruto, the balloons change shape from circular and jagged edged shapes.

Captions

There are a few captions in Naruto. For example, on 152, there is one that says “Naruto shed a few tears….” In Pinocchio, there are only captions in the beginning of the book. For example, when Pinocchio is having a flash back to when Geppetto died, there are caption boxes.

Emanata

I couldn’t find any emanata in Pinocchio but I found a lot in Naruto. I found a lot of “!” in bubbles above various character’s heads. You can find examples of these on page 154 and 155

Labels/signs

In Pinocchio, the only sign I found was of Geppetto’s workshop. In Naruto, there are signs when there are pictures of cityscapes.

Lettering

The lettering in Pinocchio is more consistent than the lettering found in Naruto. In Naruto, the dialogue lettering is similar but the sound words and other words throughout the graphic novel vary.

Sound Effects

There are many sound effects in both books, but I feel that there are more in Naruto than in Pinocchio. In Naruto, the sound effects tend to take up a large amount of a page.

Visual Features

Characters

There are more characters in Naruto than in Pinocchio. The characters in Pinocchio are less detailed than the ones in Naruto, which are very detailed.

Objects

There are objects in both graphic novels. In Pinocchio, there seem to be more close ups of his nose, since that is one of the things that makes him special and he uses it to kill vampires. In Naruto, the main symbol that is seen throughout the novel is his headband.

Icons

I could not find any icons within either text. The only thing that I think could be close to an icon is the symbol on Naruto’s headband.

Scenery

The scenery in both novels is very different. In Pinocchio, it is a lot darker than in Naruto. In Naruto, the scenery ranges from school, cityscape and forest.

Depicted action (internal/external)

Both novels show a lot of emotion on the character’s faces to show their internal actions. The external action for both novels is mostly the fight scenes.

General Layout and Design

Borders

In Naruto, the borders are very inconsistent. The page layout and borders pretty much change on every page. In Pinocchio, the borders are much more consistent because they are mostly floating boxes on every white page. There are some different pages where it is mostly black to demonstrate mood.

Gutters

The gutters in Naruto change throughout the story and they change in thickness. In Pinocchio, the gutters are just like the borders and tend to me more consistent in sizing.

Panels

Naruto’s panels ranged a lot throughout the novel. Some were large, small, or full page. In Pinocchio, the panels also ranged in size but I feel that they are more orderly than Naruto.

Open Panel

In Pinocchio, the only thing that is not enclosed in the panels sometimes was text. In Naruto, there were more open panels because I feel that a lot more words left their boxes. I also feel that it made this text harder to read.

Splash

There are splashes in both novels, but I believe that there are more splashes in Naruto than in Pinocchio.

Angles and Frames

Bleed

In Pinocchio, I saw a few bleeds. For example, there is a bleed when the fox and the cat are hung. I did not really see any bleeding in Naruto. It was more words that would bleed from one panel to the next.

Close-up

Both texts use close ups, especially when a character is talking. There are a large variety of different shots.

Head shot

Both novels used these shots. In Pinocchio, when Cherry rescues Pinocchio from being hung, there is a head shot of Cherry saying “Bless me...”

Head-shoulder shot

I saw many head-shoulder shots in both texts. In Naruto, an example of this can be seen on page 31.

Full-figure shot

Both texts use Full-figure shots throughout the text. There are a wide variety of shots in the text.

Longshot

Both novels use longshots in the text.

Extreme longshot

Both texts uses these shots. In Pinocchio, I think a good example of this is at the beginning when it says “I’m Pinocchio, I kill vampires.”

Reverse

Both texts use reverse shots. For example, in Pinocchio, there is a reverse shot when Cherry is carrying Pinocchio from almost being hung.

Rhetorical techniques applied in text, visuals, and design

Exaggeration

Both texts use exaggeration and are not very realistic. There are human characters in both books but they are not realistically drawn or may have super human powers.

Empathy/identification

Both novels evoke empathy. I think there is more empathy for Pinocchio than Naruto because Pinocchio lost his father, who became a vampire.

Mood/tone

The mood in Pinocchio is very dark and gloomy due to the plot and how it is drawn. Naruto seems to be more upbeat and happy looking.

Simplicity/complexity

Both novels are relatively complex, though Naruto has many, many more details.

Irony/satire

I could not really find any examples of irony in either text.

Realism/icons/symbolism

Both novels were not realistic at all. Pinocchio is about a wooden boy who kills vampires with his nose that grows when he lies. Naruto is about a young boy at a ninja school. Neither situation is realistic.

Order/disorder

I feel that both novels are examples of disorder because both characters are going through tough situations.

Juxtaposition

I feel that both novels had some juxtaposition in them. Pinocchio represented good and he was fighting evil. Naruto was against the guy at the end that held the bells.

Relationships (opposition, conflict, power, identification,

mirroring, analogy, comparison)

There are a variety of relationships represented in both novels. For example, there was the father/son relationship in Pinocchio and in Naruto, Naruto wanted the girl that liked the other guy.

Point of View (insider/outsider, detached, child, etc.)

In Naruto, the reader doesn’t really get inside Naruto’s head, where as in Pinocchio, there is more of a glimpse into Pinocchio’s emotional state.

PYTASH: Lesson Design for Classical Literature

I really like how this chapter really walked us through a bunch of different activities for classical literature, while mostly applied to The Odyssey. I think that my favorite assignment was where her students imitated the first 16 lines of The Odyssey. I think that it is a really good way to incorporate creative writing into the classroom while having it still tied to the text being studied. The one girls piece was really good and it can help a teacher see that she really got it and went with it instead of just writing the bare minimum.

Another part of this chapter I liked is "A Note on Visualizing Fictional Works." I think that some students have such a hard time visualizing an unfamiliar setting that they get discouraged and stop reading the text. I also liked the venn diagram idea on page 147 with comparing heroes. It helps tie all the texts being read together.

Yet another thing I liked from this chapter was the ideas she had on quizzes. I know in my one college class, we had quizzes on the reading every day. I think this really helped keep me on track and made me really work at reading closely at home. If he would not have quizzed us, I most likely would have fallen behind on the reading because it was a lot of reading every night.