Homework 11/12/15

DUE: TOMORROW (Friday, 11/13/15)

1 page journal entry on your dystopia; it can be written like a fictional introduction, or simply like, "My story will be...."


What has occurred that has caused the decline of humanity in your story? How did it happen? 
(What happened to society? Was it a disaster? Government over-control? Attempt at fixing diseases? Change in laws? How? Why? When? Who was involved?)

What would it look like? (environment, characters, known landmarks, government, society, rules, etc.)  What would that world look like? People? Places? Stores? Houses? Are people scared? Happy? Controlled? Robots? Landmarks? Society rules?

        

What is the general emotion portrayed by the protagonist in the story (fear, hopelessness, etc.)? How will you convey that emotion? What is your protagonist like? Hopeful? Angry? Scared? Upset? Why? What happened in their life to make them this way?

How would people adapt, or not, to those circumstances? Did people adapt to changes? Is there a rebellion? Is everyone going along with the government? How are people living?  

SECOND SHOT AT EXTRA CREDIT - DUE MONDAY BY 3 PM! (Doesn't apply to those who already did it)

OPPORTUNITY: To drop your lowest HOMEWORK or QUIZ grade (Not Responsibility or Writing/Projects)

HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY: Students must write a short paragraph explaining:

1. WHAT assignment/quiz they scored poorly on
2. WHY they scored poorly/less than desired on the quiz or homework
3. HOW they would have done things DIFFERENTLY for that assignment/quiz if they had another    chance at it
4. HOW they WILL do things differently in the future to avoid another grade like this

Remember:

• Paragraph form
• Grammar - Complete Sentences, capital letters, punctuation, etc. 
• Probably at least 4-5 sentences or longer

Homework 11/4/15

Group Presentation DUE TOMORROW at the end of class!

Rubric

Peer Evaluation

THEME

Many students have had difficult finding a THEME in a story.  Here is an example:

The 3 Little Pigs

Themes that the Author wants us (the readers) to take away from the story:

• People should put effort into their work.
• Taking the easy way out is not the best way to deal with a situation.

WHY are these THEMES?

These are themes because the author of the story shows us the bad things that can happen to us if we take the easy way out of a situation (the Wolf eats the first two lazy pigs), and the author also shows us what can happen when we put effort into our work (the 3rd little pig is safe because he took extra time/effort to build a house to keep out the Wolf.)

What is NOT a THEME?

Killing is wrong.

The author does not want you to focus on killing - that is not the point of the story.

If you're lazy, you deserve to die.

The author is not trying to tell you, the reader, that if you're lazy, you'll die. That happens IN THE STORY - she is not trying to necessarily equate that to real life. COULD it happen? Of course. But it's not the point.  


In THE LOTTERY, the theme was not, "Stoning is good," or "Follow tradition." Those are not things that the author believes - if the author believed in them, they would be described in a positive way, not a negative way. The author clearly  believes that following tradition blindly (without knowing why) is foolish and ignorant.

In HARRISON BERGERON, the theme was not, "People should be equal." That is not something the author believes - if the author believed this, the handicaps would be described in a positive way. The author clearly believes that if society removes all differences, the world would be a boring, terrible place. 

In THE PEDESTRIAN, the theme was not, "Technology is good," or "Government control is good." This is not something the author believes - if the author believed this, the author wouldn't have you feeling bad for Mr. Mead; he would have you thinking the guy's an ignorant nut job.  The author clearly believes that society's obsession with technology could lead to isolation and depression of mankind. 


Themes are NOT TOPICS.

Courage is NOT a THEME. "Mankind must find the courage to do what is right" IS a THEME.

Love is NOT a THEME. "Love can destroy your life if you let it" IS a THEME.

Evil is NOT a THEME. "Evil can infiltrate your life if you allow it" IS a THEME. 

EXTRA CREDIT! DUE MONDAY BY 3 PM!

OPPORTUNITY: To drop your lowest HOMEWORK or QUIZ grade (Not Responsibility or Writing/Projects)

HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY: Students must write a short paragraph explaining:

1. WHAT assignment/quiz they scored poorly on
2. WHY they scored poorly/less than desired on the quiz or homework
3. HOW they would have done things DIFFERENTLY for that assignment/quiz if they had another    chance at it
4. HOW they WILL do things differently in the future to avoid another grade like this

Remember:

• Paragraph form
• Grammar - Complete Sentences, capital letters, punctuation, etc. 
• Probably at least 4-5 sentences or longer

Quizzes on Monday and Tuesday!

Monday: Quiz on THE LOTTERY!



Tuesday: Quiz on THE PEDESTRIAN!




How should I study for these quizzes?

• Read and re-read each of the short stories.  Look for characters, plot conflicts, setting, resolution, etc. 
• Look for symbols: people, places or things that are meant to REPRESENT something else.
• After learning about theme in class, as well as listening to WHY each author may have written what they had written, come up with possible themes for each story.

REMINDER VIDEOS: How to find a theme...
                                       What is a Theme?
                                       What is Symbolism?
                                       More About Symbols...

Examples? 

Symbol: In The Declaration, Anna's journal does NOT represent "a place to write her feelings." That is what a journal IS.  Anna's journal DOES represent HOPE, or FREEDOM, or REBELLION.

Theme: Children are necessary.

A theme from The Declaration is "Children are necessary." This is a theme because Gemma Malley paints a picture of a world without children. Anna is a surplus who has no right to exist in the world in which she lives. In this world without children, there are no new ideas, no new blood, and everyone is complacent.  The characters in the book are listless and dull, and never put any effort into anything, because, in the end, "it didn't really matter."  Without the crazy, funny, innocent, sneaky, emotional outbursts from children, from babies to young adulthood, the world is truly a different place - and not a positive place.  Children are needed to give purpose to adulthood.

 

Thinglink/Author Mini-Presentation

Your group will present their findings from Kurt Vonnegut, Shirley Jackson and Ray Bradbury to the class on Monday. The presentation doesn't need to be any longer than a few minutes. Your job was to find out information about how, where, and when the author lived that might have had an affect on why they wrote the short story they did.

You will get a participation grade based on how well you know your own information. For example, if you read straight off of your presentation and don't seem to have a grasp of what is going on, you probably won't be happy with your grade. But if you did the research, and have a clue as to why your author wrote what they did, you will be just fine.