November 6, 2014

Class Work

Return to or find your group. No more 2, 3, or 4 members.
A.(Required) Select an ancient game. (Groups of four.)
B. Chose three of the following:

• Select a modern game. (No drinking games, please.)
• Select a team game.
• Select a video game. (tablets included - Candy Crush, Bejeweled, etc.)
• Select a board game.
• Select a card game.
• Select a game played with dice.

Prepare a PowerPoint to explain each. (Two or three slides for each for a total of 10)

•  Tell where each game started.
• Explain if it is or was popular.
• Tell how it is played. Were there prizes?
• Why do or did people enjoy the game?
• Was it better to be a spectator or player?
• Predict if you think each game will exist into the future.
•  Be sure to include a title page with your names and a final slide with the sources listed.
• 12 slides total.

You will work in groups of four. (One will have three.) Divide the work. You will have time on Thursday to prepare. We will present next Thursday unless this goes very quickly.

You may work on this today. Post in CANVAS before class on Thursday, 11/13/14.

TOYS!
Did you know that there is a toy hall of fame? What toys were/are your favorites? What toys would you like to see in the Hall of Fame?
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/11/06/here-are-the-three-toy-hall-of-fame-entries-for-2014-and-the-alsorans?refid=0

Here are some past winners!
http://www.toyhalloffame.org/

Then there is Toy Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYz2wyBy3kc


TOYS will be the topic of our next unit. Look now for fun.

November 4, 2014

Class Work

"Let the Games Begin!"

Today you will play three different games. Some you might remember these from childhood. Others may be new to you.

Think about it:
1. Why do we play games anyway?
2. Have you played children's party games such as Duck, Duck, Goose, or Red Rover,  or Hide-and-go-seek? Have you ever been in a Snipe Hunt? What about playing Ring Around the Rosey or London Bridge? Spin the Bottle, anyone?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=snipe+hunt

Read all about Snipe Hunts at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SnipeHunt

How about "I Have a Little Doggie and He Won't Bite You!" Maybe you played "Button, Button, Who's got the Button?"

How about "Pictionary" or Charades?

Any takers for checkers or chess?  Did you ever play Old Maid, Crazy Eights, or War? What about Slap Jack?

Today we are going to play a few games. Some are board games. Others are card games. Some are just plain silly. Laughter is wonderful! You will have 12 minutes to play a game. Then, post your thoughts/reactions in CANVAS. We should have time for you to try at least 3 games. (30 pts.)

Like I said before, "Let the games begin!" And then there are the Hunger Games and other "games" of war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfddZboSE8

Gladiator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0DxK1ZEMcg



Next Assignment:

A. (Required) Select an ancient game. (Groups of four.)
B. Chose three of the following:

• Select a modern game. (No drinking games, please.)
• Select a team game.
• Select a video game. (tablets included - Candy Crush, Bejeweled, etc.)
• Select a board game.
• Select a card game.
• Select a game played with dice.

Prepare a PowerPoint to explain each. (Two or three slides for each for a total of 10)

•  Tell where each game started.
• Explain if it is or was popular.
• Tell how it is played. Were there prizes?
• Why do or did people enjoy the game?
• Was it better to be a spectator or player?
• Predict if you think each game will exist into the future.
•  Be sure to include a title page with your names and a final slide with the sources listed.
• 12 slides total.

You will work in groups of four. (One will have three.) Divide the work. You will have time on Thursday to prepare. We will present next Thursday unless this goes very quickly.

October 30, 2014 - Thursday

Here's where we are:

A. First, we need to finish the TRANSFORMATION presentations.

Next:

B. Share a ghost story.  There are plenty out there. Find one. Practice telling it or practice reading it. Either way, you have no more than 5 minutes to share the tale. Use your voice, facial expressions and movements to make us believe that things really do go bump in the night. (75 points) http://americanfolklore.net/halloween.html


or
 B. We will study Halloween things. Draw your item out of the pumpkin. Your task is to find out all that you can about the history of the object. How did it come to be associated with Halloween? What is its significance? What special "powers" does it have? How is it viewed today. Create a picture collage of your object. Show it while you share the information with the class on Thursday. 75 points)

A. History
B. Halloween association
C. Importance
D. Powers
E. Reactions today

*******Extra Credit: Come in costume! This is NOT required but will take the place of 50 points of a PAST missing assignment. (Pictures, please!)

FYI:

 Now - let's take a look at Ghost Towns: http://www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/

 

TREAT TIME!

 

and . . . no homework - no trick.

 

Happy Halloween! Happy Haunting!

 

 

October 28, 2014 Tuesday

Class Work

This was the homework:

 

Select a character who undergoes a transformation. Explain:

1. What or who was the character before the transformation. Describe visually.

2. What or who the character becomes.

3. Discuss the personality before and after the transformation.

4. Explain if the transformation is for the good of society and the individual or if the transformation is evil and/or dangerous.

5. If possible, provide a link to the transformation scene if the story has been made into a movie. Or, provide illustrations.

6. Be prepared to share the information and the scene/illustrations in class on Tuesday, October 28, 2014.

(50 Points)

At the end of the presentations, you will be asked to compare your transformed or transforming character to the other transformed or transforming characters.  (Orange sheet provided) (46 pts.)

1. Identify your character.
2. How does your character transform?
3. What other character(s) transform as yours does?
4. What is the reason your character transforms?
5. What other characters have similar reasons?
6. What are the results of your character's transformation?
7. What other characters have similar results?
8. How did other "beings" react to your transformed character?
9. What other characters have similar reactions?
10. If you had the ability to transform, would you? Explain. What would be the advantages? What would be the disadvantages?

Thursday we will be sharing ghost stories. There are plenty out there. Find one. Practice telling it or practice reading it. Either way, you have no more than 5 minutes to share the tale. Use your voice, facial expressions and movements to make us believe that things really do go bump in the night. (75 points)


or



We will study Halloween things. Draw your item out of the pumpkin. Your task is to find out all that you can about the history of the object. How did it come to be associated with Halloween? What is its significance? What special "powers" does it have? How is it viewed today. Create a picture collage of your object. Show it while you share the information with the class on Thursday. 75 points)



Extra Credit: Come in costume! This is NOT required but will take the place of 50 points of a PAST missing assignment.

 

 Now - let's take a look at Ghost Towns: http://www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/

October 23, 2014 - Thursday

Class Work

1. Which story did you read? What did you like about it? What was challenging? Was it frightening? What Gothic elements did you find?

These were the choices:
For homework, read or listen to one of Poe's stories. Summarize the tale in a note to a friend where you try to get the friend to read or to avoid the story. (1 page)

 Choose from:

"The Black Cat"

"The Pit and the Pendelium"

"The Cask of Amontillado"

"The Masque of the Red Death"

"The Tell-Tale Heart"

 

Find them here: http://poestories.com/stories.php

2

4. What characters from literature, movies, or television transform?
Consider:
Superman
Incredible Hulk
Popeye
Batman
Cat Woman
Beast from Beauty and the Beast
Little Mermaid/Ursula
(Name more!)

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iojcp__Tm6Y

Beast transformations- good to bad and back again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__x8CYAVMbk
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms05La1pDIU

If there were a potion to cure all of the evil in the world, would you want a taste? Consider the following:

• Politicians
• Economic Leaders
• Religious Leaders
• Lawyers & Judges & Police
• Medical Workers

3. I think we can all agree that there would be a transformation of society!
What does "transformation" mean today? What did it mean in the late 1800s?
Now: https://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrSbngIS0lURIMAqnVXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0OW44bmU5BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1NNRTY1Ml8x?p=transformation&.sep=
Then: http://webstersdictionary1828.com/

For the rest of class we will look at the 1820 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Homework:

Select a character who undergoes a transformation. Explain:
1. What or who was the character before the transformation. Describe visually.
2. What or who the character becomes.
3. Discuss the personality before and after the transformation.
4. Explain if the transformation is for the good of society and the individual or if the transformation is evil and/or dangerous.
5. If possible, provide a link to the transformation scene if the story has been made into a movie. Or, provide illustrations.
6. Be prepared to share the information and the scene/illustrations in class on Tuesday, October 28, 2014.

October 21, 2014 - Tuesday

Class Work
1. Write the title of the horror movie you watched on the board. Join with others who saw the same movie. If nobody else watched your movie, the choice of partners is up to you.

Discuss:
1. Main characters/acting
2. Music
3. "color" and lighting
4. The stuff that scared you.
5. Why you liked or did not like the movie.
6. Are there follow-up movies?  Should there be?

Were you scared of monsters in the closet, under the bed, or outside of the window? Share a memory.

Now for a little bit of fun: Monster's Inc. (Discover the answer to why children are scared of monsters in the night.)

************************
Back to ravens. What facts did you find out about the birds?

We will now follow along as Vincent Price reads Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem, "The Raven."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGZ_wp_i9w
Look for the following and be ready to discuss.
Purple?
Raven?
Lenore?
Speaker?
Nevermore?
Friends?
Midnight?
Etc.
For homework, read or listen to one of Poe's stories. Summarize the tale in a note to a friend where you try to get the friend to read or to avoid the story. (1 page)
 Choose from:
"The Black Cat"
"The Pit and the Pendelium"
"The Cask of Amontillado"
"The Masque of the Red Death"
"The Tell-Tale Heart"

Find them here: http://poestories.com/stories.php

October 16, 2014 - Thursday

Class Work

Leftovers . . .
 Homework: A. What would you expect to find in a haunted house? List at least 20 items.
Having trouble? Check this site: http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm 
B. Think about it. Why do these items scare people? Select one to research. Find out the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the item. What is the history? Where did the "fear" begin? This should be at least one page in length. Cite your sources. This is due Tuesday.
What scares you? It is normal to have at least 2 or possible 3 fears. (Discussion)
Why do these things frighten you?
Is there a grain of truth in the fear - a reason for you to have the fear?

What horror movies have you seen? Why do people go to horror movies anyway? Why do we humans seem to enjoy a safe scare?
http://horror.about.com/od/horrorthemelists/tp/20basedontruestory.htm
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/exploring-thrill-seeking-personalities
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-do-some-brains-enjoy-fear/280938/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html

Read at least two articles and then summarize the information in three paragraphs. You may locate other articles. Include your source. Post in CANVAS by Tuesday.


Over the weekend, you need to watch a horror movie and read a scary story.  (More information will be given on Thursday.) Let's discuss possibilities.


Class Activity
In class, you will listen to a folktale that originated in Afganastan. The selection is from And the Mountains Echoed,  a book by Khaled Hosseini. He also wrote The Kite Runner. As you listen to the folktale, draw the monster and add additional information about where the monster lives and what the monster does. Add notes to explain. Paper and markers will be provided. Feel free to add notes to your illustration.







 What do you know about RAVENS?



http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/raven/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/10-Amazing-Facts-About-Ravens-70914.shtml
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/492234/raven

Ravens and other birds: http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/birdfict.html

5. Read at least three stories featuring ravens from:
http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/birdfict.html
Post your summaries of each story in CANVAS. Due next Thursday.

6. Watch a horror movie over the weekend. Be ready for an in-class activity on Tuesday.

Now . . . on with The Raven!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGZ_wp_i9w
Purple?
Raven?
Lenore?
Speaker?
Nevermore?
Friends?
Midnight?
Etc.