The Piano Lesson

NOTES on The Piano Lesson

As we read The Piano Lesson examine the text and try to answer the questions posed below (no need to write them, you will complete a character analysis due when we return from winter break--see below):

The Piano Lesson concerns the struggle of two siblings over a family heirloom: a piano carved with images of their African ancestors and crafted by their enslaved grandfather. The piano itself becomes a symbol. As you read, try to figure out what the piano means.

As writers, our settings often have significant meaning. They contribute to the theme of the play, as well as hold significance, complicate plot, develop character, and create conflict. In the Piano Lesson, the setting is the Great Depression.

This setting serves as the historical backdrop to the play as well as black migration during this period from south to north. Such migration increased steadily until stabilizing in the 1930s and creating new black communities that would be devastated by the economic ruin. Wilson was inspired by Romare Bearden's painting "the Piano Lesson," seeing in its scene of a teacher and student an allegory for how African Americans must learn to negotiate and learn about their history. 

Romare Bearden's "The Piano Lesson"

Critic Sandra Shannon stated that Wilson formulated two thematic questions to address in his work: "What do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?" (The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson, 146).

Analysis & Questions to Examine While Reading

Plays are about characters foremost. Without interesting or compelling characters, there can be no good drama. Drama is also about conflict. So it's best to consider how a character reacts or creates conflict in a play. As we read The Piano Lesson, consider how each character deals with conflict when it arises, and how they also create conflict for the other characters in the play. Use your handouts to create a character relationship web.

It is important to pay close attention to character motivation in a play. One of the tips for good playwriting is to give your characters interesting motivations.

But how do we do that?

Motivation in plays is developed by characterization: what a character does (actions), what a character says, and what other characters say about another character. A character's motivation is often closely tied to the major conflict and theme of a play. Actors read scripts carefully looking for motivation for their characters. It is an essential skill for an actor. A playwright needs to help these actors out by making sure that each character has a purpose and a reason to act and say what he/she does.

Select two characters from the cast list. As you read, identify the motivation of each of your chosen characters. Be aware of how motivation creates complications, conflict, and characterization. Select from:

• Doaker
• Boy Willie
• Berniece
• Lymon
• Maretha
• Avery
• Wining Boy
• Grace

Acts usually end at a high point (or crisis: a crucial or decisive turning point or situation in a plot).

• How does Wilson end his first act? 
• How does an essential question linger in the minds of the audience? i.e. what will bring the audience back from the intermission ready for more? 
• What questions have been left unanswered?

In a second act, characters are generally developed even more through characterization. Additionally, in contemporary plays there is usually a reversal of fortune (someone who is about to win his/her motive suddenly meets opposition that we might not have considered before…although clues to such an event can be found in the first act).

• Can you find examples of a reversal of fortune in the second act. What clues were we given in Act I that suggests that this reversal was coming?
• What is your chosen characters' dark moment? A dark moment for a character is their lowest end--when things look their worst for that character.
• What is the character's enlightenment? An enlightenment is the sudden understanding of how to get up from the character's dark moment. How does your character's enlightenment lead to the climax?
• And then, finally, do you consider the ending pleasing, satisfactory, acceptable? 
• How might you change the ending if you were writing the play?

HOMEWORK: Please complete your reading of The Piano Lesson. Complete the analysis of your two chosen characters and turn in your analysis homework when you return to next class next year. Homework is due Jan. 6.

You may watch the 1995 made for tv film: The Piano Lesson in its entirety.

Edward Albee's The Zoo Story

1. Research Edward Albee. Take brief notes about his career and style of writing in your journal.

2. Go the library and check out the play: The Zoo Story by Edward Albee.

3. Get together in reading groups of 2 or 3. These groups are only for a day, so please work with someone you know you can trust to focus on the assignment. If you are in a group of 4, I will split you into two groups of 2. I prefer no one work alone, as it is important for you to practice reading out loud.

4. Read The Zoo Story together in your groups today. Assign parts as follows:

a. 3 students: one play Jerry, one play Peter, one read the stage directions where appropriate (only the longer directions).
b. 2 students: one play Jerry, the other play Peter, read the stage directions silently.
c. If you have been stubborn and must work alone, you may either join a group of two, or read alone, but realize you are missing part of your practice and cheating yourself out of more effective performance skills.

5. AFTER READING THE PLAY: In your group answer the following questions – discuss first with your group, then individually write down to turn in at the end of today's class the answers to these questions:

Plays are based on conflict. Conflict can come in 4 “flavors” or types:

• i. Person vs. Person

• ii. Person vs. Self

• iii. Person vs. Nature

• iv. Person vs. Society or God

A. What kind of conflict does Albee use in this play? Why do you say this?
B. Are there other kinds of conflict that occur within the story? If so, where are they found?
6. What seems to be the significance of Jerry’s story of the dog? What do you personally learn about yourself and the human world from this metaphor?
7. What might be symbolic about the Zoo? What does the Zoo represent? Why do you think Albee called his play “The Zoo Story”? How does the title help create meaning?

HOMEWORK: None. 

Pet Peeve Speech: Rehearsal and Performance

Please take the first 5 minutes of class this morning to view these sample 'Pet Peeve' speeches:
1. Predictive Text
2. Cheap Business Practices

During period 3, please complete your pet peeve speech. Some of you have already done this. Excellent. Use your time to get into small groups 2-3 and REHEARSE your speeches. Practice. No, really. Practice.

• Your pet peeve speech should be written; get on with it. Share with your classmates an experience or situation that bothers you. It need not be anything earth-shattering. You might sound off about your Friday night curfew or chores and obligations at home. Explore your feelings about the issue.
• Complete: the purpose and expectations of this assignment in the handout
• Complete: Preparing.
• Complete: Read the two sample speeches on pages 84-87.

During period 4, let's go next door and begin delivering our speeches. I'll take volunteers first, then, if there are no volunteers, I'll randomly select students that aren't working or show no interest.

I am grading you on your performance. 

• Is your idea creative and relevant to a teenage or human audience?
• Is your presentation fluid and rehearsed?
• Do you make eye contact?
• Do you make a point or have a message, illustrated by clever writing and examples?

HOMEWORK: None. If you didn't deliver your speech today, please rehearse and prepare to go 3rd period Friday.

The Pet Peeve Speech

This morning, please complete the following writing projects:

1. Your second draft of your character story (this is past due!)
2. Your monologue poem (the poem using your dead character's voice: just like Spoon River poems)
3. Your confessional poem draft (see previous post for details and models--did you watch/view the sample models?)
4. Brainstorm and write a pet peeve speech.

• Read the handout and samples of the pet peeve speech today in class
• Change the "specs" to: time limit: 5 minutes or less
• Your pet peeve speech should be written. Share with your classmates an experience or situation that bothers you. It need not be anything earth-shattering. You might sound off about your Friday night curfew or chores and obligations at home. Explore your feelings about the issue.
• Complete: the purpose and expectations of this assignment
• Complete: Choosing a topic
• Complete: Preparing.
• Complete: Reading of the two sample speeches on pages 84-87.

HOMEWORK: None.

Spoon River, Day 2; Monologue Poem Draft Due!, Confessional Poetry

During period 3, please gather in the groups you were in last class and continue reading the poems in the Spoon River anthology. Continue reading until you hear the first bell, then finish up and complete the rest of this book on your own as homework.

What you've been reading are a traditional style of poetry where a single character "speaks" as in a monologue. In fact, the type of poem that has a single speaker telling "us, the reader" something about his/her life is called a monologue poem.

Often this monologue is a confession or disclosing a secret. When this occurs we call this a CONFESSIONAL poem. Here are a few samples of contemporary confessional poems:

During 4th period, please complete your character death poem. The poem and its rules can be found below. If you finish early, please write a second "confessional" poem modeled on the samples here.

Confessional Poetry

Confessional poetry: reveals a personal secret or feeling. This is the only type of poem you can consider the author to be the speaker. Confessional poetry is the poetry of the personal or "I." This style of writing emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s and is associated with poets such as Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and W.D. Snodgrass.

• Confessional poetry is often controversial or even unsettling to read.

• The confessional poetry of the mid-twentieth century dealt with subject matter that previously had not been openly discussed in American poetry. Private experiences with and feelings about death, trauma, depression and relationships were addressed in this type of poetry, often in an autobiographical manner. Sexton in particular was interested in the psychological aspect of poetry, having started writing at the suggestion of her therapist.

• The confessional poets were not merely recording their emotions on paper; craft and construction were extremely important to their work. While their treatment of the poetic self may have been groundbreaking and shocking to some readers, these poets maintained a high level of craftsmanship through their careful attention to and use of prosody.

• The confessional poets of the 1950s and 1960s pioneered a type of writing that forever changed the landscape of American poetry. The tradition of confessional poetry has been a major influence on generations of writers.

Here are a few examples of either political or confessional poetry:

Homage to My Hips by Lucille Clifton
Daddy by Sylvia Plath
My First Memory by Nikki Giovanni
Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich

Now it's your turn. Write a confessional poem. When you complete your poem draft, please proofread it, and turn it in for credit.

HOMEWORK: Please complete The Spoon River Anthology.

Journals Due! Character Death Poem!

Your journals and second drafts of your short story are due today. While you complete the class work, I will be moving around to collect your journals. Please make sure your name is on them.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT IN CLASS (3rd period): 

You've created a character. You wrote a first draft (and should have written a second draft) for this person. You have spent time with this character. You have "seen through this character's eyes" and gotten to know this character. Now it's time for you to kill this character. Yep. Your character has died (some of you may have already done this in your stories).

Now don't get upset. Your characters may have lived many, many years after you told the story about them. They may have had children and grandchildren, and maybe even become successful entrepreneurs. Anyway, they are dead.
--HOW they died is up to you.
--WHEN they died is up to you.
--HOW THEY FEEL about being dead, is still up to you. Maybe they are happy to pass on, maybe they are angry or sad or want to tell their wife or husband or parents something important.

Now you get to give them the chance to do just that.

TASK: You are to write a poem in which you speak from your character's POV, using his/her own unique voice and tone to say something that needs to be said.

• Your poem should have a title: your title should be your character's name.
• Your poem should be written as a poem with appropriate line breaks, etc.
• Your poem should be written in 1st person POV (using the pronouns: I, me, we, etc.)
• Your poem should have a distinct and specific TONE. For tone samples look here.
• Your poem should be at least 10 lines, but the length of the lines is up to you. 

During period 3, write your poem draft.

During period 4, please go to the library and check out The Spoon River Anthology. When you return, get into groups of 2-4 and read the poems OUT LOUD. You will not finish today, but you will see some excellent models of 1st person POV "monologue" poems.

Before the end of class today, please research some information on: Edgar Lee Masters. Find at least 3 things you didn't know about this author and be prepared to list these details as your TICKET OUT THE DOOR today.

Your poem draft and any late work (including late journals) is due by the end of next class.

HOMEWORK: Read 10 more poems from where you left off in Spoon River. Bring your books back with you next class.

Character Driven Fiction Draft

Using your character you created last class, write a story using your character as your PROTAGONIST (the main character of your story). 

Use the graphic organizers I handed out during class to help you plan and brainstorm your story. When you have completed your graphic organizers, choose a genre that you would like to use and write the first draft of your story. Turn in your draft at the end of today's class. You have two periods to work on your draft. Stories should be at least 1 page in length (but may be more, depending on how much you can write). 

HOMEWORK: Please create a second draft of your story by fleshing out some of the details and add additional scenes that make your plot more interesting or complicated. Add secondary characters and a theme as needed. Call this writing DRAFT #2. Journals will be collected after Thanksgiving break (Dec. 3).

Coffeehouse Response

Congratulations, Freshmen!

You have successfully completed a public performance. I hope you enjoyed the coffee house and will participate in future ones.

Part of our goal this year is for you to get to know your strengths and weaknesses by completing a myriad of assignments, projects, and performances. Self reflection is an important component to learning.

How you felt you did last night as a performance. If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently? What did you learn about public speaking by performing your writing last night? What surprised you about the performance? Who's performance did you particularly enjoy? Did you notice anything different between the Freshman performances and the other Creative Writing performances? What did your parents say or think about the performance? What would you do differently the next time you perform a speech or public reading? What advice would you give other performers?

This morning, please take the first period (3rd period) to respond and comment to your coffehouse performance.

During 4th period, please complete the following task:

Create a character.

Use the handouts/graphics to design a character, then use your artistic ability to create a character for yourself.

When you have created your character, write an important story about your creation. Use the graphic organizers to help you plan and brainstorm your story. Then, after completing the graphic organizers and planning your story, begin writing it. Your story will be due before our break (Nov. 26)

HOMEWORK: None. Journals will be collected after Thanksgiving break (Dec. 4).

Coffeehouse Rehearsal

Please go to the Ensemble Theater this morning to rehearse for the coffeehouse performance on Thursday (tomorrow), Nov. 21 at 7:00. It is a good idea to arrive at the theater about 15 minutes BEFORE 7:00 so you can get settled and prepare for the performance.

The Coffeehouse performance is a requirement of Performance, Word & Text.

HOMEWORK: None.

12 Angry Men Quiz; Coffeehouse Rehearsal

After our quiz on 12 Angry Men, please bring your coffeehouse reading selection(s) to the black box theater to rehearse.

HOMEWORK: None.

12 Angry Men

Please continue reading this play in class. Whatever you don't read, please finish over the weekend. There will be a quiz on the play.

HOMEWORK: Please complete 12 Angry Men.

Coffeehouse Preparation

During period 3, please select 1-2 pieces of your best writing that you would like to share at the upcoming coffeehouse reading. Print out your copies and bring them with you to the next room (238). We will spend our time preparing these works.

During period 4, we will pick up the play 12 Angry Men and begin reading it in room 238.

HOMEWORK: None. Please bring your play scripts with you to next class.

39 Steps & the Lab

Our coffeehouse performance is coming up: November 21 at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theatre.

If you are attending the 39 Steps field trip, please do so. If you are left behind because you did not complete the proper paperwork, I'm sorry for you. Use the time in the lab to get caught up with all of your school work (particularly for creative writing). Prepare a selection to read at the coffeehouse.

HOMEWORK: None.

Thief of Always Test; Writing & Practice for Coffeehouse

Please turn in your homework (chapter 6 ?'s). You will take a test on The Thief of Always today. After the test, please complete the following work:

Choose one of the prompts and write:

1) Describe a “first” (first apartment, first kiss, first time driving a car, first lie, first big success, first roller coaster ride, first time in this setting). Include as many details as possible, being sure to include an aspect relating to each of the five senses.

2) Describe a memorable event, positive or negative, and how it felt to you, but do not name the feeling. Instead, tell how it felt in your body (damp hands, metallic taste, tight throat, wobbly knees, etc.).

3) Create a story using words of one-syllable only, beginning with a phrase such as:
“The last time I saw her, she...”
“From the back of the truck...”
“On the night of the full moon...”
“The one thing I know for sure…”

4) Describe a significant place, allowing the details to reveal why the place matters. Describe it from a tree or rooftop or from a hawk’s point of view. Describe it from the height of a dog or a turtle.

5) Describe a significant person (teacher, neighbor, mentor, coach, parent, sibling, sweetheart) with as many physical details as possible, but no clichés! (If you’ve heard the expression before, don’t use it.)

6) Write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do the same for your last name. Given the chance, what name would you give yourself?

7) Describe a presence in your house (childhood home/current place of residence)—a person, a pet, a piece of furniture, an illness, a secret. Use all five senses. Be as detailed as possible.

8) Recall a photograph from your life and describe it in a way that suggests (but doesn’t specifically name) why it matters. (Remember the creative writer’s adage, “Show, don’t tell.”) Describe what happened either just before or just after the photo was taken.

9) Narrate a story about a person or a family member, a story that’s been passed down or ritualized; a story about yourself. Embellish, if so desired, or contrast the story with what you know to be the “true” account.

10) Describe a routine or holiday ritual, using present tense verbs. You may also use second person POV pronouns ("You") if you'd like.

When ALL students are done with the test, please hand your test in (and any permission slips for our upcoming field trip Thursday--due today!) Then, get into small groups of 4-5 and read or rehearse any creative writing you think you'd like to share at our upcoming coffeehouse. Use this time to practice! No, really. Practice. Get feedback from your peers about your effectiveness and performance.

HOMEWORK: None. 

Building Confidence; Preparing Material for the Coffeehouse

Use 3rd period to:

• Type up and prepare any writing prompt exercise you wrote for The Thief of Always. Please turn in a copy of your work (as many pieces as you type up). Save a copy for period 4 as well.
• Select up to 3 pieces of writing you have completed in either Ms. Gamzon or my creative writing class that you would be interested in sharing/performing at the coffeehouse on Nov. 21 at 7:00 in the Ensemble theater.

During period 4:

• Please get in the following groups and share your writing with each other.
• Please listen and provide positive feedback to each performer/sharer. This begins your practice for the upcoming Coffeehouse.
• Please participate and work together in your groups effectively.

Group 1: Cameron, Jahde, Hetep, Amanda, Janelys, Justice, Alannah
Group 2: Avana, Olivia, Robert, Leilanis, Frieda, Gilda, Reyenne
Group 3: Rosalia, Kami, Jasmina, Rashid, Nandi, Aslin

Read your work to the other members of your group. You must share AT LEAST ONE piece with your group. You MAY share more. Soon you will decide which piece(s) to perform at the coffeehouse.

If you finish early, you may choose either option:
A. Continue/complete your reading of The Thief of Always.
B. Begin reading the chapter on Building Confidence and completing the 10 Review Questions (due as homework for next class)

HOMEWORK: There will be a test on The Thief of Always next class (Tuesday, Nov. 5). Please complete the novel and study the basic plot, characters, use of motifs (see previous posts), etc.

Read the chapter "Building Confidence" and answer the 10 Review Questions. Due Nov. 5.

Brochures Due!; Thief of Always Exercises

Please complete your brochures. Make sure you proofread your brochures for grammar and design mistakes. Make sure your name is on your brochure's opening flap (the third column of the first page). Print your brochure and hand in. PLEASE: DO NOT FOLD OR STAPLE YOUR BROCHURE!

After completing your brochure today, please do either or both of the following classroom assignments:

A. Read A Thief of Always. Use your time in the lab to continue reading silently on your own.
B. Choose any of the following writing exercises and write.

Chapter eight-thirteen:

10. Pg. 80; Tell a water story from your real life; describe a time when you encountered water.
11. Pg. 81; Describe a precious item you lost or that was stolen from you.
12. Pg. 83; Describe a dream you have.
13. Pg. 89-92; Describe a transformation or explore the possibility of being something else. What would you like to be? Why?
14. Describe a time you witnessed or participated in the death of a living being.
15. Pg. 130. An appositive is a description of a named noun. It is used after a comma to clarify or provide further detail to something already identified. Carna is described in a series of appositives (the appositive phrase is italicized): “Carna, the tooth-stealer; Carna, the devourer; Carna, the beast.” Use the appositive to describe an object or person.

This covers the first half of the book. The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book has 13 chapters. The second does as well. There are 26 chapters in all. Why do you think Barker divided his book in this manner?

Part Two: 

Chp. 14-26

1. Pg. 139. Start a story with the sentence: “He knocked on the door…” continue the story.
2. Describe a time in your life when you wished that time would move faster or slower.
3. pg. 153. Draw a picture of a house or place. Use this drawing to start a story or poem set in that location.
4. Pg. 194. Describe your attic or a fictional attic. What sorts of things are there in the dark?
5. Pg. 199. Start a story or poem with the line: “There were five doors ahead of him.”
6. Chp. 20 – Have a conversation with an inanimate object. What might it say or believe?
7. Pg. 220. Oh, to be a vampire again…. Start a poem with a similar line. Choose a noun that you would want to be “again” and use this repetition (like pg. 220) to create verse.
8. Chp. 23. Write about the war between two or more inanimate objects. What would they argue about? Who might win?
9. Describe a time when you stole or thought about stealing something.
10. Pg. 266. Start a poem, story with the line: “The days were…”

PLEASE USE YOUR LAB TIME EFFECTIVELY IN THIS CLASS TODAY! DO NOT SPEND YOUR TIME TALKING OR DISTRACTING OTHERS, OR SURFING THE INTERNET FOR UNRELATED MATERIAL, OR LISTENING TO MUSIC, OR USING YOUR CELL PHONE.

Our creative writing lab is for writing and writing projects. Please honor these simple rules and respect your classmates by maintaining a quiet writing lab where we can focus on our writing.

HOMEWORK: Please complete the book A Thief of Always. There will be a test on the book and its motifs on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Thief of Always; Brochure

This morning, please choose any of the writing prompts below and write in your journal. After twenty minutes, we will switch back to working on our brochures. Your brochures are due (completed) next class.

But first, write as many of these journal exercises in your journal (or type them up). You will use these prompts in another writing exercise next class. If you finish before the twenty minutes is up, you can either select another prompt and keep writing, or spend your time reading The Thief of Always.

More Journal ideas for the Thief of Always:

Chapter Four - Seven:

1. Pg. 33; “Another day, another dollar.” Collect sayings that your parents or family use. List these sayings in your journal. Start a poem with a saying and explore its meaning or relevance.
2. Pg. 46; “This was a place where dead things belonged.” Start a description of a setting with the words: “this was a place where…” Perhaps turn your list into a catalog or chant poem.
3. Pg. 49; The description of autumn. This passage uses a lot of imagery: appealing to our senses through words that recall a touch, taste, smell, sound, or sight. Pick a season and, using imagery, describe it without naming it.
4. Pg. 55; The description of the musty room with the masks. Barker uses effective imagery here as well in this passage. You should note that the most important detail is left for last and that there is a build up of details. Write a description of a room, leaving the most important detail for last. (he does this again on page 56 when describing clothes).
5. Wendell’s practical joke (pgs. 59-62). Write about a time you played a practical joke on someone or when someone played a practical joke on you.
6. Pg. 68; Make a list of things you would like for Christmas. Add to your list odd items that may be impossible to find or get. Be creative!
7. Pg. 70-72; Describe an old gift given to you many years ago or describe a favorite gift. Where is this gift now, or what happened to it? Explore this exercise in a poem or short vignette. 

Homework: Please keep reading The Thief of Always. Attempt to complete the book by the end of the week. A test on the book will occur next week (Nov. 4).  

Brochures & Thief of Always: Chapters 1-3

This morning, please take a look at this short video about creating effective brochures.

To create your brochure:

In Microsoft Word or Pages, from the FILE menu, please select New From Template.

Choose BROCHURE as a template. Create a brochure about your chosen genre by following the steps below. Be creative. Play around with design and how you present the information in a clear, and creative way. You may use graphics and lists to provide answers to these questions:

1. Describe this genre. What is it?
2. Who is the target reader (a fantasist, a realist, a pragmatist, or what combination?)
3. What are some expectations a reader of this genre might expect?
4. What are some categories of this genre? AND what are the expectations a reader might expect from this genre?
5. Examples of some popular or famous books or films that fit this genre; and/or examples of authors who write in this type of genre.

For more tips about effective brochures, check out this article!

During period 4, we will stop where we are and move back to our reading assignment and writing task with the book The Thief of Always by Clive Barker.

During period 4, get into small reading groups. Please gather with your group and begin reading the book. Take turns reading the chapters out loud. This is PRACTICE in reading effectively--a skill we all need to improve, particularly for our upcoming coffeehouse reading performance. Try to be sincere, energetic, and read with some understanding of audience. Don't bore your peers! Group X has been disbanded because they could not work together. Please see your new groups:

Group Z: Reyenne, Janelys, Justice, Amanda, Jahde, Kiera, Hetep, Robert
Group Y: Olivia, Jasmina, Rashid, Gilda, Frieda, Rosalia, Aslin
Group W: Alannah, Kadesha, Nandi, Avana, Cameron, Leilanis, Kami

When you have completed reading chapters 1-3, please stop and participate in the writing exercise given to you today. Record your writing for this exercise in your journal. When you have finished writing, please continue reading ON YOUR OWN.

HOMEWORK: Please complete the writing and continue reading through at least chapter 5.

Types of Readers; The Genre Brochure Project; The Thief of Always

Please take the next few minutes to read about the different kinds of readers. You should take notes in your journal, as we will return to this concept time and again in this course and for the next four years.

At our level writing is a great way to express yourself. But make no mistake. Writing is a business.
Readers often select books similar to previous enjoyment. If a reader enjoyed a fantasy, the reader is most likely to continue reading fantasy, for example. There are 3 general types of readers that a writer should be aware of:

• Fantasists: readers who read to escape the tediousness of ordinary life, seeking new frontiers and imaginative fiction
• Realists: readers who read about contemporary life to learn about or reinforce personal experiences
• Pragmatists: readers who read for a specific purpose--from cooking to learning history or science

Most of us favor one or two of these styles when we read. Our tastes can change depending on our life experience and maturity. Well read and well rounded readers enjoy all types of reading styles at some point in their life.

Readers also become loyal to writers so that once you read Stephen King, for example, you might devour as much of his work to make you sick of his style before tearing into another author's work. Publishers count on this to occur.

In today's writing market there are a variety of genres that writers tend to write. Knowing what readers expect from these genres will help you as a writer give your audience what it wants. So let's learn about them!

Please sign up for a genre group. You will read about this genre, take notes, and present what information you can to the class.

Classroom Project/Task

• Choose one of the genres listed on the sign up sheet going around. Work with your listed partner on this project.
• Together spend some time today researching the genre you have chosen. Take a look at the questions bulleted below. You will want to be able to answer these questions in your brochure.
• In Microsoft Word or Pages, from the FILE menu, please select New From Template.
• Choose BROCHURE as a template. Create a brochure about your chosen genre by following the steps below. Be creative. Play around with design and how you present the information in a clear, and creative way. You may use graphics and lists to provide answers to these questions:

1. Describe this genre. What is it?
2. Who is the target reader (a fantasist, a realist, a pragmatist, or what combination?)
3. What are some expectations a reader of this genre might expect?
4. What are some categories of this genre? AND what are the expectations a reader might expect from this genre?
5. Examples of some popular or famous books or films that fit this genre; and/or examples of authors who write in this type of genre.

During period 4, we will stop where we are and move on to our next assignment/task. Go to the library and pick up the book: The Thief of Always by Clive Barker.

When you return, we will get into small reading groups. Please gather with your group and begin reading the book. Take turns reading the chapters out loud. This is PRACTICE in reading effectively--a skill we all need to improve, particularly for our upcoming coffeehouse reading performance. Try to be sincere, energetic, and read with some understanding of audience. Don't bore your peers!

Group Z: Reyenne, Janelys, Justice, Amanda, Jahde, Kiera
Group Y: Olivia, Jasmina, Rashid, Gilda, Frieda
Group X: Hetep, Rosalia, Leilanis, Aslin, Kami
Group W: Alannah, Kadesha, Nandi, Avana, Cameron

HOMEWORK: Please bring your books back with you next class. Otherwise, none.

End of Marking Period; Literary Genres

This morning, please take 5 minutes to review your notes for our unit test on Communication. Please turn in your journals (make sure your name is on or in your journal). After the test, please complete your 2nd poem draft that we started last class. If you finish early, please move on to the following key topic today:

Literary Genres: (taken from the article: Genres of Literature) 

• Narrative Nonfiction is information based on fact that is presented in a format which tells a story.
• Essays are a short literary composition that reflects the author’s outlook or point. A short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.
• A Biography is a written account of another person’s life.
• An Autobiography gives the history of a person’s life, written or told by that person. Often written in Narrative form of their person’s life.
• A Memoir is an account of a writer's experiences or life events in narrative form. Unlike autobiography, the emphasis is on the story of a true experience, not truth or accuracy itself.
• Speech is the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one’s thoughts and emotions by speech, sounds, and gesture. Generally delivered in the form of an address or discourse.
• Finally there is the general genre of Nonfiction. This is Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject. This genre of literature offers opinions or conjectures on facts and reality. This includes biographies, history, essays, speech, and creative or narrative non fiction.

Genres of Fiction:

• Drama is stories or work that is written for performance and dramatic art. This genre is stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical or film performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.
• Poetry is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes an emotional response from the reader. The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition, written or spoken. This genre of literature is for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.
• Fantasy is the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality.
• Humor is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical. Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement which meant to entertain. This genre of literature can actually be seen and contained within all genres.
• A Fable is a story about supernatural or extraordinary people Usually in the form of narration that demonstrates a useful truth. In Fables, animals often speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural tales.
• Fairy Tales or wonder tales are a kind of folktale or fable. Sometimes the stories are about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.
• Fantasy is a story based on improbable or imaginative settings, events, and characters. It often includes elements of legend, myth, fables, fairy tales, historical fiction, and science fiction that revolve around heroic and epic events--all untrue or imaginatively examined. It is the opposite style of Realistic Fiction.
• Science Fiction is a story based on impact of potential science, either actual or imagined. Science fiction is one of the genres of literature that is set in the future or on other planets.
• Short Story is fiction of such briefness that is not able to support any subplots.
• Realistic Fiction is a story that can actually happen and is true to real life.
• Folklore are songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a person of “folk” that was handed down by word of mouth. Folklore is a genre of literature that is widely held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs.
• Historical Fiction is a story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.
• Horror is an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by literature that is frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting. Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.
• Humor is a story that is meant to create laughter, enjoyment, or to point out the foibles or errors of human beings or societies.
• A Tall Tale is a humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with an here of nonchalance.
• Legend is a story that sometimes of a national or folk hero. Legend is based on fact but also includes imaginative material.
• Mystery is a genre of fiction that deals with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.
• The genre of Fiction can be defined as narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. In fiction something is feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story.

After our test, when instructed, please gather in groups to complete the genre assignment. Details to follow.

Listening & Review For Unit Exam

Please take notes on the key concepts of this topic. Keep your notes in your journal for easy reference.

Why do we have to learn to listen?

Well, listening is, just like writing, a skill. There is a big difference between LISTENING and HEARING.

• Listening is active. It requires your brain to process symbols, words, sounds.
• Hearing is the reception of sound. It requires that you can receive the sound. A deaf person cannot hear or her reception of sound in order to hear is not working. Deaf people use other ways in which to communicate.

When teacher say: "are you listening?" we often misunderstand and think they mean "did you hear me?" Yes, we say, all the while not paying attention to WHAT the teacher is saying. This happens with parents, brothers/sisters, neighbors, and all sorts of strangers too. It is the root of many conflicts and problems in our society.

If we don't understand a message a sender is sending to us, we often blame the speaker. But SOMETIMES the problem is with us, the RECEIVER. If we are not listening, we cannot blame the speaker. It takes two to communicate: the sender and the receiver!

WHY SHOULD I CARE?
Learning to listen carefully allows us to:

1. Avoid misunderstandings
2. Get along better with others
3. Learn
4. Be more successful in school and on the job

But there are barriers to listening. It's not easy to do all the time. Here are some of the common barriers of effective listening:

1. Distractions
2. Daydreaming
3. Being close-minded
4. Overemphasizing the source
5. Listening to only what is easy to understand

In order to avoid these obstacles or problems, we need to:

1. Prepare to listen
2. Expand our vocabulary
3. Apply the message to yourself or your life
4. Pick out central ideas or details
5. Provide feedback by looking at the speaker and giving the speaker feedback cues
6. Remember what we hear

It is courteous to be an effective listener. Rude people (people who often think of no one but themselves) tend to have poor listening skills. Learning to be a good listener is one of those important skills you learn in school and its use in life is essential to your success.

UNIT REVIEW:
You should know the following concepts:
Communication (speech, intrapersonal, interpersonal, public, mass, verbal, nonverbal)
Conversation (one-to-one communication)
Connotation
Denotation
The communication process (idea, encode, sending a message, decode, etc.)
Sender/Receiver
Memory & Recall
Reasoning & Thinking
Fields of experience
Symbols (verbal, nonverbal)
Kinesics
Proxemics
Paralanguage (volume, pitch, rate, stress, voice quality, etc.)
Vocalization (diaphragm, trachea, vocal cords, larynx, resonators, pharynx, nasal cavities, articulators)
Reception & feedback
Listening vs. Hearing
How to Avoid Misunderstandings
Barriers to listening
Central idea
Logical fallacies (name calling, card stacking, bandwagon technique, etc.)
Propaganda
The hook

Poetry Again

Please turn in your homework. A reminder that this Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1:00-5:00 is the Creative Writing picnic retreat at Mendon Ponds. Family members and friends interested in writing are also welcome. Please let Ms. Gamzon or Mr. Craddock know if you are planning to attend.

Jessica Care Moore

• Black Statue of Liberty
• When My Son Sees an American Flag
• Box This
• Inspired Word
• I'm a Hip Hop Cheerleader

Suheir Hammad

• What I Will
• First Writing Since
• Daddy's Song

Dawn Saylor: When I was 14

Marty McConnell: Give Me One Good Reason to Die

Andrea Gibson: Prism

Sarah Kay

• Worst Poetry
• Unsolicited Advice to Adolescent Girls

Now it's your turn, write a poem in which you tell something private, important, or beautiful to someone who desperately needs to hear it. Avoid rhyming and centering your poem drafts. Allow the poem to take shape as a narrative or story. You do not have to be the "speaker" in the poem, but you should have a strong voice that says something important about our existence as human beings. Use the poets you have watched and examined as models.

Your poem should start to use the following poetic techniques: metaphor, simile, allusion, and alliteration. For now, all poems will be expected to have at least 3 of these 4 techniques. Other techniques that are useful are: personification, meter, and imagery. If you don't know a word or technique look here. You may use any technique on this list, by the way.

After you write your draft, please save your draft and turn it in.

HOMEWORK: Please turn in any late work. Your journals will be collected next class, and there is a unit test (see post above). 

Poetry, Poetry, Poetry

Brainstorming: Start with your journal. Make a list of things you believe, things that make you mad, or things that you feel go unnoticed by others, things that are important to you. Write for 5 minutes. Try to fill a page or two.

Now, look over your list and choose the topic that you feel may be the most interesting to an audience. Write a poem based on this chosen idea. This will be a first draft.

Use period 3 to write your poem. If you finish early, you may try writing another poem on one of your other ideas, or view a few poems. During 4th period, we will stop what we're doing and screen a few of the performances in room 238.

When you complete your draft, please watch the following poetry slam performances:

Derrick Brown

• "A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me"
• "Meat Loaf"
• "Cotton in the Air"

Noah St. John

• "Snap Judgement"

Saul Williams

• Coded Language
• Ohm
• Telegram
• Said the Shotgun to His Head
• Explain My Heart (with music)
• Reparations (with music)

Taylor Mali

• How to Write a Political Poem
• Like Lily Like Wilson
• The the Impotence of Proofreading
• What Teacher's Make
• Totally Like Whatever
• I'll Fight You for the Library
• Tony Steinberg: Brave Seventh Grade Viking
• An Apple a Day is Not Enough (animated poem short)

HOMEWORK: Please compare any two of these poets and in a paragraph or two compare and contrast their performance styles. Consider the poet's use of volume, pacing, pitch, sincerity, eye contact, gestures, and body movements. This assignment is due next class as homework. There will be a unit test on chapters 1-3, communication, and performance skills on Thursday of next week. A review sheet will be made available to you next class.

Love That Dog, Conclusion; Pre-Assessment

Today, please complete Love That Dog. After reading this book, we must take our pre-assessment for 9th grade.

The pre assessment has two parts to it. When you have completed this assessment, please go next door to the lab and work on the following task:

1. Revise your baseline fiction story. Draft two of your work is due today.
2. If you finish or have finished your draft two, please read the following poems:

Brainstorming: Start with your journal. Make a list of things you believe, things that make you mad, or things that you feel go unnoticed by others, things that are important to you. Write for 5 minutes. Try to fill a page or two.

Now, look over your list and choose the topic that you feel may be the most interesting to an audience. Write a poem based on this chosen idea. This will be a first draft.

When you complete your draft, please watch the following poetry slam performances:

Derrick Brown
"A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me"
"Meat Loaf"
"Cotton in the Air"

Noah St. John
"Snap Judgement"

Love That Dog, Poetry, Period 4

During 4th period, please shift gears a bit and let's read this book: Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.

In preparation, please read these poems:

"The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams
"Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
"The Tyger" by William Blake
"Love That Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
"The Pasture" by Robert Frost

Gather in room 238 to read the book together.

HOMEWORK: Please revise and correct your baseline Interview Fiction story. Change the draft number from Draft One to Draft Two. Please attach your second draft to your first.

The Process of Communication: Period 3

Please turn in your homework (chapter three: Listening; and/or late chapters one and two).

Watch the following videos about the communication process during period 3:

A Brief History of Communication (animated film)
A Brief History of Communication (commercial)
Communication: Sender/Receiver: Abbott & Costello skit

Take a few minutes to read about and take notes on the communication process. Take careful note of vocabulary words in caps and bold.

The communication process starts with a person getting an IDEA (or reason to communicate). We will call this person: the SENDER.

1. The sender comes up with an idea or reason to communicate.
2. The sender ENCODES this idea with words or symbols
3. The sender chooses a type of communication and sends his/her message to a RECEIVER.
4. After receiving the message, the receiver DECODES the message.
5. The receiver receives the original message or idea.
if communication is to continue as conversation, the receiver becomes the sender and starts the process again, responding to what was originally communicated.

Why should I care? 
--Communication is one of the most important activities a person can engage in.
--Communication allows us to express ourselves
--Communication allows us to learn new things or meet new people
--Communication builds friendships, loyalties, love, and trust between people
--Effective communication allows us to avoid damaging or hurtful events or situations
--Ineffective communication is often the reason people engage in conflict, war, or destructive activities
--As writers, we have to communicate our ideas with our audience. The better we can do this, the more effective we can be.

There are a variety of ways in which an author or speaker can make communication more effective.

Take a few minutes to watch these videos about the failure in the communication process. Try to note what the problem communication is, and who is responsible for effective communication.

From: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
 Fawlty Towers (John Cleese)
The Evolution of Communication (Social Media) (animated film for EMC)
Communication (Animated)
Effective Communication commercial

Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie

If you have completed your viewing and note taking before the end of period 3, please continue revising and correcting your baseline fiction story. These story drafts (draft two) are due next class.