Assignments 12th grade
• • • Theater of the Absurd: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Unit Assignments • • •
NB#45 - existential questions
Respond to one or more of these questions.
- What is the point of life?
- Why is there something rather than nothing?
- Why do I exist?
- How should I live?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - a play by Tom Stoppard
-an absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy
-references Hamlet and Waiting for Godot
• • • Dystopia Unit Assignments • • •
| Film Study Project: Dystopian Film |
| 1. Mini-Presentations about one of the films. You will choose (or be assigned) one of the following subjects to research about one of the films. Find 4 or 5 relevant things to share with the class on the day that we start the film. This is not a formal presentation. You will orally present your findings to the class. - background information about the film (when made, what it’s about, interesting trivia, origin of story, etc.) - information about the film maker (other films, interesting personal information, awards won, etc.) - information about the film’s reception (what did critics think of film when it came out? general public? what is it's reputation now?) |
2. Topic focus |
| 3. Collaborize Classroom (CC) discussion After we finish watching each film, your homework will be to participate in a discussion in Collaborize Classroom with the others who are analyzing the same topic. What did you notice? What scenes were relevant to your topic? What questions, interpretations, or predictions do you have? |
| 4. Compare/Contrast paper Once we've watched all of the films, you will compare and contrast the various film makers' visions of the world in terms of your topic, supporting your conclusions with specific evidence from the films. |
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 
"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin
- story
- small group questions
New York Times "Room For Debate" discussion of dystopian literature trend
- text of discussion
- NB#38 - In a two column chart 1) write a summary of each contributor's argument and 2) write a brief explanation of why you agree or disagree with each argument.
• • • The Stranger Unit Assignments • • •
Episodic notes - Part 2: ch. 1
The Stranger Visual Project assignment sheet
The Stranger Part 1 circle discussion assignment sheet
The Stranger reading focus - theme/motif assignments
Reading Focus:
Keep track of your assigned theme or motif in The Stranger: mark examples/quotes with post-its
1. Absurdity ~ experiences of absurdity, futility, irrationality
2. Alienation/Isolation ~ examples of estrangement from society, self
3. Freedom/Responsibility of the Individual ~ the acceptance of responsibility for choice and commitment to one’s choice
4. The Physical World (in contrast to social or emotional concerns) ~ weather, sex, comfort, etc.
5. Decay/Death ~ examples of and varying attitudes toward decay and death
6. Watching/Observation ~ who is watching whom? why?
"The Myth of Sisyphus" text and questions
The Stranger anticipation guide
• • • Kafka/Existentialism Unit Assignments • • •
Kafka essay assignment sheet
-Go here to read Camus' essay on "The Myth of Sisyphus"
NB#37 - character notes
Make a t-chart and list several traits and characteristics of each of the following characters:
"the people"
Josephine
the narrator
"Josephine the Singer" by Franz Kafka
"A Hunger Artist" by Franz Kafka If you need another copy of this story you can download it here.
Chart - How Kafka's stories reflect the principles of Existentialism
Existentialism lecture - notes template
If you were absent for either part of the lecture, copy notes from a classmate.
Existence precedes Essence ~ examples of this realization
Absurdity ~ experiences of mystery, absurdity, ambiguity
Alienation ~ examples of estrangement from nature, society, self
Fear, Trembling, and Anxiety ~ examples of existential anxiety
Nothingness ~ experiencing the void, meaninglessness
Freedom ~ the acceptance of responsibility for choice and a commitment to one’s choice
NB#36 - "Metamorphosis" part 3 questions
Answer the following questions in your notebook in preparation of a discussion on the end of the story.
- What questions do you still have about the story?
- Is Gregor the only one who experiences a metamorphosis? Explain.
- Describe and discuss the significance of EITHER the boarders OR the cleaning woman.
- Who / what is to blame for Gregor’s death?
- Evaluate the ending of the novella. Is the ending happy or tragic?
NB#35 - write 5 discussion questions about Meta. part 2 (2 level 1, 3 level 2)
What is your worldview? online quiz • CC#10-response to worldview quiz
Cultural Creative
Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational
Existentialist
Existentialism emphasizes human capability. There is no greater power interfering with life and thus it is up to us to make things happen. Sometimes considered a negative and depressing world view, your optimism towards human accomplishment is immense. Mankind is condemned to be free and must accept the responsibility.
Fundamentalist
Fundamentalism represents a movement in opposition to Modernism, stressing the highest importance on foundational religious tradition. Science has brought on corruption of society. God is real and is watching. Scripture leaves little room for interpretation; man is God?s creation. About a quarter of the population in the U.S. is classified as Fundamentalist.
Idealist
Idealism centers around the belief that we are moving towards something greater. An odd mix of evolutionist and spiritualist, you see the divine within ourselves, waiting to emerge over time. Many religious traditions express how the divine spirit lost its identity, thus creating our world of turmoil, but in time it will find itself and all things will again become one.
Materialist
Materialism stresses the essence of fundamental particles. Everything that exists is purely physical matter and there is no special force that holds life together. You believe that anything can be explained by breaking it up into its pieces. i.e. the big picture can be understood by its smaller elements
Modernist
Modernism represents the thought that science and reason are all we need to carry on. Religion is unnecessary and any sort of spirituality halts progress. You believe everything has a rational explanation.
Postmodernist
Postmodernism is the belief in complete open interpretation. You see the universe as a collection of information with varying ways of putting it together. There is no absolute truth for you; even the most hardened facts are open to interpretation. Meaning relies on context and even the language you use to describe things should be subject to analysis.
Romanticist
Romanticism encourages society to look backwards to find our solutions. Your rationale is that things were much better a few hundred years ago so we should thus look back to those times and replace them in our modern society. You believe in a simple life and that the complexities of the modern world have turned it upside down.
NB#34 - visual depiction of Gregor Samsa
How do you visualize Gregor? Draw it.
OR
Create an “open mind” collage of images and words that conveys his state of mind. (Concerns, fears, hopes, desires, obsessions, temperament, etc.)
NB#32 - Kafka quotes and bio. notes
A. Write about 1 or more of the following quotes. What do you think he means? Do you agree? Why or why not?
• I am free and that is why I am lost.
• A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.
• The meaning of life is that it stops.
• I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us.
• A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.
• By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.
B. Read Kafka bio. (get a copy from me in class)and take notes on significant facts.
• • • The Picture of Dorian Gray Unit Assignments • • •
Psych Analysis of The Cat in the Hat (See Ms. Hill if you need to make this up.)
Dorian Gray Circle Discussion assignment
Introduction to critical theory
"Until lions tell their stories, tales of hunting will glorify the hunter." - African Proverb
1. Read with a knowledge of the ideology or “bias” of the text.
2. Read with a knowledge of your own ideology or “bias” that you bring to a text.
"In essence an ideology is a system of thought or 'world view' which an individual acquires (usually unconsciously) from the world around him. An ideology determines what you think is important in life, what categories you put people into, how you see male and female roles in life, and a host of other things. You can visualize your ideology as a grid , or a set of glasses, through which you can see the world." - Stephen Bonnycastle, English professor, author of literary theory texts
"Contemporary theory holds that there is no such thing as an innocent, value-free reading. Instead, each of us has a viewpoint invested with presuppositions about 'reality' and about ourselves, whether we are conscious of it or not. People who deny having a critical stance, who claim they are responding 'naturally' or being 'completely objective' do not know themselves." -Shirley Staton, ed. Literary Theories in Praxis
3. Read with the knowledge that there are multiple ways to “read” a text. Load up your toolbox with many critical lenses.
"A man with one theory is lost. He needs several of them, or lots! He should stuff them in his pockets like newspapers." -Bertolt Brecht, German poet & playwright
Activity: Self-Portrait
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”~Aristotle
Self Portrait:
Create a self portrait that expresses BOTH your “outward appearance” and your “inward significance.” (I.e., What you look like and who you are.)
Guidelines:
-you may only use paper (of various color), scissors, glue; make your portrait on a 8 1/2 by 11" sheet of paper
-do not write your name on the portrait
Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray
• • • Romantic Poetry Unit Assignments • • •
Romantic poetry project:
If you were absent for any of the seminars, please copy poet notes from a classmate who was present.
- NB#29- John Keats notes / seminar poem: "When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be"
- NB#28- Percy Bysshe Shelley notes / seminar poem: "Ozimandias"
- NB#27- Lord Byron notes / seminar poem: "She Walks in Beauty"
- NB#26- Samuel Taylor Coleridge notes / seminar poem: "Kubla Khan"
- NB#25- William Wordsworth notes / seminar poem: 4º "I Wandered Lonely..." 2º "The Prelude"
- NB#24- William Blake notes / seminar poem: "The Tyger"
- HW poems: Shelley & Keats
- HW poems: Coleridge & Byron
- HW poems: Blake & Wordsworth 2º poems • 4º poems
-
project assignment sheet
- seminar poem: questions
- seminar poem: TP-CASTT guide and blank chart
- NB#23- notes on assigned poet (fill up an entire page)
• • • Frankenstein Unit Assignments • • •
OPTIONAL extra credit assignment
-Watch one of the many Frankenstein films (not "Young Frankenstein")
-Write a 600-700 word critical review of the film (details coming soon)
-Submit your essay to turnitin.com anytime before Weds, Jan. 4
Frankenstein Circle Discussion questions
NB#22 - Divide a page into two parts (“for” and “against”) and come up with as many arguments on each side as you can about the following question: Should Victor Frankenstein create a companion for the creature?
Annotated bibliography assignments
Prometheus allusion
In what way is Victor Frankenstein like Prometheus?
NB#21 - notes on annotated bibliographies (see assignment sheet, above)
Frankenguide - Reading guide questions ch. 1-10
NB#20 - notes on Mary Shelley (If you were absent today, copy the notes from a classmate.)
NB#19 - quickwrite: Write about one or more of the following questions
• How can scientific advancement and exploration be both good and bad? Examples?
• What are the tradeoffs for technological advances?
• What shapes us most: nature OR nurture? (i.e. biology OR environment)
• What motivates people to explore the unknown? Does it take a person with a certain temperament or personality? What kind of sacrifices might be involved in this kind of work?
• If you could devote your life to exploring the unknown, what “field” would you study? Why?
NB#18 - answer questions on last page of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in your notebook
Questions
- What power enables the Mariner to stop the wedding guest in his tracks? What is the value of "superstition" in this poem"?
- Why should it matter that the man stopped was on his way to a wedding?
- Why does the Mariner shoot the Albatross? Is any reason given in the poem?
- How is the albatross more than a plain old albatross -- what is its spiritual significance, if any? What do you make of the "breeze" that blows through the poem -- i.e. that at certain points the Mariner's ship is becalmed or takes sail?
- What event or process leads the Mariner to bless the sea-snakes unawares? Why does the Albatross then fall from his neck?
- Why must the Mariner continue with his penance -- why must he repeat his tale to everyone he can fix with his gaze?
NB#17 - intro. to Romanticism notes
a)
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~Albert Einstein
b) Romantic Movement mid 1700s to mid 1800s
c) Analyze Wanderer above the Sea of Fog a painting by Caspar David Friedrich (1818) See the painting here.
1. Draw a quick thumbnail sketch of the painting.
2. Write a brief description of the painting. What is the most dominant image? What is on the periphery? Include discussion of color, medium, and style.
3. Write a brief analysis of the painting based on your description above. Why does the painter choose to make certain images dominant and others marginal? Does the painting evoke a certain mood or theme? How? Why? How might the title of the painting affect the analysis?
d) Characteristics of Romanticism
1. Interest in the common man & childhood
2. Strong senses, emotions, and feelings
3. Awe of nature
4. Celebration of the individual
5. Importance of imagination
• • • Hamlet Unit Assignments • • •
Hamlet Act 4 & 5 review: Act 5 plot review , character foils, Act 4 & 5 passages
Hamlet essay
Due dates for both class 2 & 4:
Thurs, 11/3: 1) topic choice 2) thesis statement(s) 3) prewriting notes
Mon, 11/7: rough draft due to turnitin.com
Mon, 11/14: final draft due to turnitin.com
Go here to download rubric.
Topic choices:
Soliloquy
Select one of Hamlet’s soliloquies (preferably not "To be or not to be. . .") and with a detailed attention to the poetry discuss the nature of Hamlet's feelings as they reveal themselves in this speech. What insights might this speech provide into the prince's elusive character? Confine your attention strictly to the soliloquy you have selected.
• Prewriting: Print out and annotate the soliloquy.
• Thesis: What does the speech reveal about Hamlet’s character or state of mind? (examine the diction and imagery, connotations of words, patterns of images, etc.)
Hamlet soliloquies & links to an online version of scene:
"O that this too too solid flesh would melt..." (1.2)
"O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I..." (2.2) [Starts with "Now I am alone... at very end of long scene]
"Now might I do it pat..." (3.3)
"How all occasions do inform against me..." (4.4)
Character
Discuss the importance in Hamlet of one of the following characters: (a) Ophelia, (b) Laertes, (c) the ghost of Hamlet senior, (d) Polonius, (e) Fortinbras, (f) Gertrude. Do not just write about what the character does, but discuss how an attention to him or her illuminates issues of central importance to the play as a whole (i.e., deals with matters of importance to the thematic or character development in the play, not with matters of the plot).
• Prewriting: Notes about your character. (Significant scenes, actions, passages, etc.)
• Thesis: How does an examination of (the character) lluminate issues of central importance to the play as a whole? (issues of theme, characterization, etc.)
Scene
Choose a scene in the play and watch two film versions of it. In your essay, compare the two director’s depictions of the scene. What choices does each director make (in terms of sound, language, acting, setting, and cinematic elements) and what effect do these choices have on how the scene is portrayed? What is emphasized? What tone is established? (Scene suggestions and links to clips will be on my website.)
• Prewriting: Comparison chart (download here) for each film version.
• Thesis options:
Approach #1: What do you think is the purpose of the scene & which director’s version achieves that purpose most effectively? Which choices [of sound, language, acting, setting, and cinematic elements] contribute to their depiction of the scene?
Approach #2: Focus on one version of the scene. What is the director’s interpretation (or “vision”) of the scene and how do his choices [of sound, language, acting, setting, and cinematic elements] convey that interpretation? What is emphasized? What tone is conveyed?
Scene suggestions: The ghost scene (1.5); "To be or not to be" (3.1); the play within the play (3.2);Hamlet chastising Gertrude & killing Polonius (3.4); Ophelia's madness scene (4.5); the fencing scene (5.2)
Film version suggestions: Kenneth Branagh, Mel Gibson, David Tennant, Laurence Olivier
Other
If you have your own idea for what you’d like to write about, please check it out with me before you start writing.
• Prewriting: Notes or an outline of ideas.
NB#16 - notes on character presentations
Act 4 - Character Committees – Group Presentations
Your presentation should demonstrate how your character is important to Act 4. Divide your group members so that collectively, you answer all of the following questions thoroughly.
• What are the motivations or objectives of your character? (He/she may have different objectives in different scenes.)
• How is the character affected by the events of Act 4?
• What adjectives best describe this character in Act 4?
• Compare/contrast: How are Hamlet and your character the same? Different?
- The presentation for each question should be about 2 to 3 minutes. (About 10 minutes for each character.)
-
You will be graded only on the part that you present.
-
You may work on your part of the presentation alone or in a group of 2 or 3.
- Members in your character group may choose different presentation mediums.
-
The most important part of your presentation is to support everything you say about your character with textual references.
Grading Criteria
Your project should:
-make relevant, insightful observations about character
-answer question with multiple observations (as approriate to your character)
-include several passages that support your findings (with act, scene, line #s)
-be clear and creative
Your presentation of the project should:
-take 2 to 3 minutes
Ideas for how to present your findings:
• a poster, chart or other graphic presentation of the key ideas and passages
• a dramatic performance of the relevant parts of the Act (with commentary before or after)
• a “lecture” that explains your findings (I recommend that you include some visual aids.)
• a powerpoint presentation that outlines your findings
• a viewing of SHORT bits of a film version of relevant parts of the Act (with your commentary)
• another medium that you OKAY WITH MS. HILL
Below are the question assignments decided in class today. Please let me know if this changes.
Class 2 Gertrude (absent on assignment day – Jack W.) Laertes Ophelia |
Class 4 Gertrude Laertes Ophelia |
Act 4: Character Committee assignment
As you read Act 4, you will focus on the character you are assigned (Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia or Laertes) and respond to the questions listed below in your log. Any conclusions you draw must be supported with textual references. Once we have finished reading Act 4, you will meet with other students who are studying the same character and prepare a ten-minute informative and insightful presentation about your assigned character. (Details to come.)
NB#14 – Notes DURING reading of Act 4
1. What new information did you learn about your character in Act 4?
2. In each scene where your character appears, what is his or her motivation or objective (goal)? In other words, what does he/she really want?
3. How does your character feel aboutand/or affectthe events in Act 4? How does he/she feel about Hamlet?
4. What do other characters say about your character and/or how do they react to him/her?
5. What does your character say or feel about other characters?
NB#15 – Notes AFTER reading Act 4
6. How is your character important to this act? In other words, do you learn something new about the plot through him/her?
7. Do you gain any insights about Hamlet by comparing/contrasting him to your character?
8. What questions are raised by your character’s words and/or behavior in this act?
9. What questions that you’ve previously had are answered by your character’s words and/or behavior in this act?
"To ___ or not to ___" speech assignment
-Write a 15+ line speech - in verse.
-Use Hamlet's speech (3.1.64-98) as a model/frame.
-See examples here.