Thursday, January 31, 2013

More Slam

Please read "First Period" and "Before I Read This Poem" on your own and highlight or mark the IMAGERY in the poem. IMAGERY is simile, metaphor, figurative language, personification, allusion, symbol. I will collect your packet at the end of class today. You will need it for Taylor Mali.

Taylor Mali
From your packet (please read along as we watch):
Derrick Brown
"A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me"
"Meat Loaf"
"Cotton in the Air"

Noah St. John
"Snap Judgement"

LAB: Please make a list or web map of a topic that makes you: happy, sad, frustrated, angry, insane, pissed-off, etc. Choose a topic you care about. Write that in the center of your journal page.

Now, list associative words and phrases or examples that connect to your central idea.

When you complete your web, use it to write a slam poem today. Try to finish writing a poem by the end of class today. If you do not finish, please complete your poem for next class as homework.

HOMEWORK: Please complete your slam poem draft (slam poem #2 or whatever) for next class.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Slam 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.

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

Saul Williams

Jessica Care Moore
CLASSWORK: For each poet, please write your reaction to their performances, identify some of the key themes and messages or morals that the authors present to us (what is their poetry trying to teach us?) Use the index card given to you to record your reaction/observations. Turn the card in at the end of class for credit.

CLASSWORK: Write a slam poem. By the end of class today, you should have a slam poem draft written.

HOMEWORK: Write a second poem (your choice) in your journal in the quiet of your house. Topic can be anything. Remember to use IMAGERY! Bring this draft with you to our next class.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Portfolios & Slam Poetry

Please complete your portfolio. It is due at the end of class today. Also, please correct and improve your Black History poem and turn in the new version by the end of class.

To IMPROVE your poetry, you all need to use IMAGERY. Imagery is the backbone of contemporary poetry. Without it, a poem often fails.

But what is it?
IMAGERY: Is the careful use of vivid or figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification, allusion, etc.) to represent objects, actions, or ideas that are otherwise abstract (love, death, sorrow, freedom, etc.) This representation is often VISUAL, for it helps create a picture in a listener or reader's mind. The only way to create a visual picture is to be specific with your noun usage.

Imagery can also be auditory (sound) with the use of alliteration, assonance, consonance, and other techniques like rhyme and rhythm.
Please examine some examples of imagery:
  • On a starry winter night in Portugal, where the ocean kissed the southern shore...
Descriptive words: starry, winter, southern
Specific NOUNS: night, Portugal, ocean, shore
Personification: ocean kissed the southern shore... 

More examples (similes):
  • He fumed and charged like an angry bull.
  • He fell like an old tree falling down in a storm.
And another example (metaphor):
  • Her blue eyes were the sky in summer.
Examples of figurative language and allusion.

NOTE: YOU MUST USE IMAGERY IN YOUR POETRY! Otherwise it may be terrible as an Egyptian plague. Imagery is a tool. Use it!

A Brief Guide to Slam Poetry

Taken from Poets.org.
"One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized interest in poetry performance. Poetry began as part of an oral tradition, and movements like the Beats and the poets of Negritude were devoted to the spoken and performed aspects of their poems. This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, slam was well received among young poets and poets of diverse backgrounds as a democratizing force. This generation of spoken word poetry is often highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject manner.

A slam itself is simply a poetry competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams before an audience, which serves as judge. The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style, and many slam poems are not intended to be read silently from the page. The structure of the traditional slam was started by construction worker and poet Marc Smith in 1986 at a reading series in a Chicago jazz club. The competition quickly spread across the country, finding a notable home in New York City at the Nuyorican Poets Café."
Please view these examples of slam poems being performed from the Slam Poetry Nationals:
Poem #1
Poem #2
Poem #3
Poem #4

Slam Poetry often uses topics or themes that are politically or emotionally charged. Slam poets often write with a social comment to make or share with an audience.

How can you be a poet for social change?

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.

Finished early? Write a second poem. Go back to your first poem draft and add imagery (metaphor, personification, simile, symbol, figurative language, allusion, etc.)

HOMEWORK: None. Feel free to write a poem a day in your journal. The more you write, the better you'll get at writing poetry. You can also keep writing plays or stories in your journal as well. Enjoy your week off, but take some time to write or read...

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Poem Draft Due; Portfolio & Final Exam

Use class time today to complete the following tasks:

1. Write your black history poem draft (see 1/5, 1/7 posts below): Due today!
2. Prepare your portfolio.
3. Study for your mid-term exam
Your portfolio is due Friday, Jan. 18. In your portfolio you should collect all the writing you have done this year so far in BOTH Ms. Perez' and my classes. This bullet list will help remind you of some of the work we have done.

  • Fictional interview story (9/9 & 9/11)
  • Fantasy story (9/19-9/21)
  • Informational Speech Text (non-fiction) (10/1-10/8)
  • Internal monologue poem (10/15)
  • Word spill poem (10/23)
  • One-minute play script (11/19)
  • 10-minute script (12/11-12/19)
  • Black History Poem draft (1/5, 1/7)
Wednesday, Jan. 16, we will take our final exam for Performance, Word & Text. You should refer to the following list of terms, vocabulary, and writing materials to study for the exam.

You should know the following terms/concepts:
  • Communication
  • Conversation
  • Ways in which humans communicate and reasons why humans communicate (9/5)
  • Short Story History and form (9/12)
  • Types of Speech Communication (9/13)
  • Interpersonal and intrapersonal communication (9/13)
  • J.K. Rowling & The Tales of Beedle the Bard (9/13-9/20)
  • The Communication Process (9/17)
  • Sender, Receiver, Encoding, Decoding
  • Poets: Dorianne LauxNin Andrews, Lucille Clifton (9/17)
  • Fantasy genre (High (epic) fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Alternative History, Steampunk, Urban fantasy, Dark fantasy, Lovecraftian fantasy, etc. (9/19)
  • Realism (9/19-9/21)
  • Fantasy authors: J.R.R. Tolkein, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard (9/28)
  • Listening versus Hearing (10/1)
  • Barriers to listening effectively (10/1)
  • Effective speech writing (10/3)
  • Introduction, body, conclusion; Logos, ethos, pathos (10/3)
  • Tips on delivering a speech (10/3)
  • Speaker (persona), 1st person, 3rd person POV, internal monologue (10/15-10/16)
  • Spoon River & Edgar Lee Masters (10/23-10/30)
  • Voice, persona, denotation, connotation, understatement, euphemism, rhetorical strategies, diction, tone (10/25 & 10/29 (tone))
  • Effective performance tips (11/1)
  • David Ives & short plays: Sure Thing, Variations on the Death of Trotsky, Universal Language, The Philadelphia (11/25-11/27)
  • Paul Zindel: The Effect of Gamma Rays...Marigolds (11/29)
  • August Wilson: Fences (12/4-12/11)
  • The Civil Rights Movement (12/5)
  • Characterization & Play writing tips (12/5)
  • Revising plays (1/1-1/5)
Please print out your black history poem draft (or send to me through email: bradley.craddock@rcsdk12.org if the printer is out of ink.)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Portfolio & Final Exam Review

Your portfolio is due next Friday, Jan. 18. In your portfolio you should collect all the writing you have done this year so far in BOTH Ms. Perez' and my classes. This bullet list will help remind you of some of the work we have done.
  • Fictional interview story (9/9 & 9/11)
  • Fantasy story (9/19-9/21)
  • Informational Speech Text (non-fiction) (10/1-10/8)
  • Internal monologue poem (10/15)
  • Word spill poem (10/23)
  • One-minute play script (11/19)
  • 10-minute script (12/11-12/19)
Next Wednesday, Jan. 16, we will take our final exam for Performance, Word & Text. You should refer to the following list of terms, vocabulary, and writing materials to study for the exam.

You should know the following terms/concepts:
  • Communication
  • Conversation
  • Ways in which humans communicate and reasons why humans communicate (9/5)
  • Short Story History and form (9/12)
  • Types of Speech Communication (9/13)
  • Interpersonal and intrapersonal communication (9/13)
  • J.K. Rowling & The Tales of Beedle the Bard (9/13-9/20)
  • The Communication Process (9/17)
  • Sender, Receiver, Encoding, Decoding
  • Poets: Dorianne LauxNin Andrews, Lucille Clifton (9/17)
  • Fantasy genre (High (epic) fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Alternative History, Steampunk, Urban fantasy, Dark fantasy, Lovecraftian fantasy, etc. (9/19)
  • Realism (9/19-9/21)
  • Fantasy authors: J.R.R. Tolkein, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard (9/28)
  • Listening versus Hearing (10/1)
  • Barriers to listening effectively (10/1)
  • Effective speech writing (10/3)
  • Introduction, body, conclusion; Logos, ethos, pathos (10/3)
  • Tips on delivering a speech (10/3)
  • Speaker (persona), 1st person, 3rd person POV, internal monologue (10/15-10/16)
  • Spoon River & Edgar Lee Masters (10/23-10/30)
  • Voice, persona, denotation, connotation, understatement, euphemism, rhetorical strategies, diction, tone (10/25 & 10/29 (tone))
  • Effective performance tips (11/1)
  • David Ives & short plays: Sure Thing, Variations on the Death of Trotsky, Universal Language, The Philadelphia (11/25-11/27)
  • Paul Zindel: The Effect of Gamma Rays...Marigolds (11/29)
  • August Wilson: Fences (12/4-12/11)
  • The Civil Rights Movement (12/5)
  • Characterization & Play writing tips (12/5)
  • Revising plays (1/1-1/5)
Use class time today to complete the following tasks:
1. Complete your play script, if you have not yet done so.
2. Prepare your portfolio.
3. Write your black history poem draft (see last class's post)
4. Study for your mid-term exam
5. Turn in your Deathtrap notes. This assignment is due today.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Revision & Black History Poem Draft

1. Revise your play scripts. These new drafts are due by the end of class today. This is worth participation credit. I should see your play scripts as different from your original drafts. Formatting should be correct. Check your own grammar errors. See previous posts and your notes for advice on what to change and revise to strengthen your work.

Please use the feedback forms you received to strengthen your writing as well. Anything NOT circled is a good place to start to improve your scripts.

2. If you finish early, or need a break, please move on to the Black History poem project assignment:

The Creative Writing department has been commissioned to participate in the SOTA Black History month performance on Feb. 5. The music department (Mr. Gabriel) is looking for UPLIFTING, POSITIVE, and G-Rated original poems celebrating Black History. You might write about an important historical character/person, or overcoming obstacles successfully in a difficult world, or about the importance of hope and freedom and achieving your dreams. Before you write anything, spend some time today reading some examples of the form.

Please read this essay first: Jazz as Communication (essay by Langston Hughes). The poems selected will be accompanied by jazz music.

Here are a few examples:
Start with an idea. What do you want to communicate as a human truth? Write down your message in your journal. If you could say something important to people who need to hear something important about succeeding in life or dealing with daily problems or social issues, what would it be? Write down as many messages as you can think of. You will be able to pick from these after you brainstorm a little.

Choose one message and consider WHO might speak this message, what the persona of your poem might SAY, and to whom is the persona speaking to? (likely our Black History month celebration audience).

The tone of your work should be positive. We are interested in your positive message. We get enough negative messages from our peers, the media, society, and our families. 

HOMEWORK: Finish reading Deathtrap and complete the note sheet that goes along with the play. (This was handed to you last class).

Write an inspiring poem for Black History. Use the samples as guidelines. NOTE: You do not need to be African American to celebrate Black History. You can celebrate the success of any culture! Please complete a first draft of your poem by Thursday's class. We will work on improving our poetry on Thursday.

Poems need to be revised, corrected, and collected by 1/14/13 (Monday).

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Play Revision & Deathtrap

Group A: Please complete your workshop today. Then use the time in the lab to revise.
Group B: Please use the time in the lab to revise your plays. 

In either case, when you revise, please consider the following:
  • All plays should have a beginning, middle, and end. They can begin or end just like a poem or story (i.e., ending with a circular, surprise, summary, or open-ending, etc.)
  • All plays are written for the stage (not to just be read); they are meant to be performed live by live actors. To get good at this reading and watching plays is essential.
  • All plays are written in present tense (not past); all plays use a specific and distinct format
  • All plays are more powerful if they are tightly written. To be "tightly written" you should avoid using broad-sweeping plots, with many cinematic scene changes.
  • Give your characters a time limit. This heightens the dramatic potential of the scene.
  • A protagonist (major character) should change in some way by the end of the play.
  • Give your character a reason to talk to other characters. A character without a purpose should never enter the stage. If a character achieves his/her goal, that character can leave (unless there's a reason why they stay).
  • Don't interrupt the flow of your story by making the story too long or too short by moving the action of the plot to different scenes. Keep a unity of time, place, and action. A 10-minute play, for example, should cover about 10 minutes worth of time. 
  • Start your play close to your climax. 
  • DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CUT SCENES or REARRANGE SCENES TO MAKE THE PLAY BETTER. This is a normal occurrence when revising. (Remember to check your grammar and format!)
What are the UNITIES?
Our short plays should adhere to what are called the unities:
1. The unity of time (plays should not span many years)
2. The unity of place (plays should concentrate action in one or few settings)
3. The unity of action (plays should limit their plots so they are not confusing)

All plays require conflict
  • Conflict should be balanced (in other words the struggle between protagonist and antagonist should be a fair fight); it is often better to have an antagonist who is slightly more powerful.
  • Characters often are antagonists to each other in plays.
Meaning (theme) in a play is tied to the action and conflict being presented on stage
  • All plays should be entertaining (and written to be performed)
  • All plays should communicate an idea (or belief about the human condition)
  • All plays are REPRESENTATIVE of real life. They are NOT real life.
  • Plays are NOT movies. The best way to learn how to write scripts is to read them and see play productions whenever possible. 
HOMEWORK: Please read the play: Deathtrap! before next class and complete the handout (due Thursday). As you read, please note the advice I've given you above and apply it to the play script you are reading. The play is a mystery/thriller/comedy, so you should enjoy it. Here's a few clips: A preview for the play and a clip from the film (based on the play) Deathtrap (with Michael Cain and Christopher Reeve, 1982)

Information about Deathtrap: Deathtrap is a play by Ira Levin. Written in 1978, it holds the record for the longest running comedy-thriller on Broadway and was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Play Reading Workshop

During period 3 you will be divided into two workshop groups. Please read the workshop scripts and fill out the play comment sheets for each playwrights' work. Turn in your comment sheets by the end of your workshop period for participation credit. I will hand the workshop sheets over to the playwrights as soon as they are turned in and checked.

During period 4 please revise your play script with attention to issues that came up during your workshop.

NOTE: If you did not finish your play script last class before break, you were to complete your script over the break. If you have your updated, completed script, please print out enough copies of the script for each member of your workshop group.

Some things to consider when revising or workshopping plays:
  • All plays should have a beginning, middle, and end. They can begin or end just like a poem or story (i.e., ending with a circular, surprise, summary, or open-ending, etc.)
  • All plays are written for the stage (not to just be read); they are meant to be performed live by live actors. To get good at this reading and watching plays is essential.
  • All plays are written in present tense (not past); all plays use a specific and distinct format
  • All plays are more powerful if they are tightly written. To be "tightly written" you should avoid using broad-sweeping plots, with many cinematic scene changes.
  • Give your characters a time limit. This heightens the dramatic potential of the scene.
  • A protagonist (major character) should change in some way by the end of the play.
  • Give your character a reason to talk to other characters. A character without a purpose should never enter the stage. If a character achieves his/her goal, that character can leave (unless there's a reason why they stay).
  • Don't interrupt the flow of your story by making the story too long or too short by moving the action of the plot to different scenes. Keep a unity of time, place, and action. A 10-minute play, for example, should cover about 10 minutes worth of time. 
  • Start your play close to your climax.
What are the UNITIES?
Our short plays should adhere to what are called the unities:
1. The unity of time (plays should not span many years)
2. The unity of place (plays should concentrate action in one or few settings)
3. The unity of action (plays should limit their plots so they are not confusing)

All plays require conflict
  • Conflict should be balanced (in other words the struggle between protagonist and antagonist should be a fair fight); it is often better to have an antagonist who is slightly more powerful.
  • Characters often are antagonists to each other in plays.
Meaning (theme) in a play is tied to the action and conflict being presented on stage
  • All plays should be entertaining (and written to be performed)
  • All plays should communicate an idea (or belief about the human condition)
  • All plays are REPRESENTATIVE of real life. They are NOT real life.
  • Plays are NOT movies. The best way to learn how to write scripts is to read them and see play productions whenever possible. 
Workshop Group A: Austin, Tyshay, Grace, Aleah, Mitchell, Izzy, Jacob
Workshop Group B: Yasmine, Jaymee, Radezia, Tyshon, Justice, Karla Marie, Saisha, Joshua
HOMEWORK: If you have not turned in a play script, please do so or you will receive no credit for this assignment. Otherwise, none.

The Graveyard Book - Discussion Questions

  In your discussion groups, please answer 5 of the 10 discussion questions. Choose a member of your group to record your answers. Make sure...