my tribute to jazz

Big Band induces a Lazy Ode
(Based on Model Poem: Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Sadness)

a lone trumpet bleats
stretches
yawns
Ellington’s rolling Black and Tan Fantasy

wa-wa-wa-dwa-dwah-dwah-dwaah-dwaaah-dwaaaah

Carmichael, Miller, Shearing, Count Basie
45s scratching gently at silence
man, beer, cigar, an old empty diner
Gamma knittin’ an’ rockin’—
rockin’
rockin’

my mind starts to idle
threatening to retreat
even as deadlines—

BAHH-dup!

—loom in a lush furry carpet of lichen and moss
hippos mud-bathe with wide gaping mouths
belly-up tabby
basks
long drawn-out blues
Billie Holliday
croons
an upside-down sloth
chomps at time—
savors—
every—
tick

when Armstrong serenades
little else matters
velvety lull

BAHH-dup!

languid and weak
too—

BAHH-dup!

something——to resist

Freddie Freeloader
Sketches of Spain
sounds
of Ellington’s A Train
Milessss——BAHH-dup!
kinda blue


BAdum-ch.

how many shades of embarrassed...

...is it humanly possible for one person to turn? I was taking a third look through some of the work my 488 students turned in...and then I looked at the final essay exam my CI has posted for the novel...and well, I never even came close to getting the kids to this place of understanding that I knew I was at; I guess I'd hoped they'd magically make it there, but as it turns out, nope. Luck, prayer, and good vibes don't cut it in teaching. You either know what you're doing or you don't. Hindsight and all that. I'm glad I learned from it, but don't mean it don't sting though. Not to mention now I understand why much of their feedback informed me that I had planned way too many activities, not enough discussion time. Hoo-boy.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen--I suck at teaching........that will be all."

web page issues

So I went through the checklist--and here are some current issues I'm having:

• not crazy about the color scheme--kind of sick of the color combo, so already changed that.
• for some reason, table width is not a problem on some computers, but at curry lab, even huge screens are still showing L-R scrolling issues...that's one for Tom, I guess. did the percentage thingamanot--no juice.
  
• one particular page, cannot seem to format the color of the links so they don't change to that icky fluorescent cerulean or whatever color that is...know from experience with e-folio that it has something to do with the order in which the text is formatted with relation to linking it. at this point in the semester, I give up.
• might still have to work on top-level navigation stuff. not sure.

Apart from that, I'd like to think I'm on top of things with the ol' web page.

Assignment 8

• What content will you do a lesson plan on? (As always, we'll be specifying SOLs addressed, so here's a link to them.)
• Unfortunately, I've done nothing but write lesson plans over the last few weeks; this means I will be recycling something for this assignment. Bright side? At least it will be in my content area.

• What are your initial thoughts on the three stages of backwards design? Sketch out a couple of words on each stage.
• I think Curry has reprogrammed my brain, and I only think in backwards design mode now. Not that I'm complaining, because it seems to make the most sense--it's actually easier to plan a lesson by thinking about the objectives first, cuz otherwise you'd end up in the middle of muck and spend far too much time on something that won't work anyway. It's like if you have an interview, first thing you gotta do is figure out where it is, what mode of transportation you're gonna use, then plan your route based on that. You would never hop on a bus and hope for the best...unless you live by a completely different philosophy.

• What tech might you use in the lesson? How will it be adapted between the two versions?
• probably a laptop, for research purposes (my honors class in 488 this semester actually has laptops in there all the time!), a smart board, and then possibly a wiki or blog or both. Maybe a movie clip or slide presentation too. Depends on how much time i have vs. content. The learning part of English classes tend to be grounded in text, so there's often not much calling for technology unless you're assessing.
  

assessment reflection

Okay, I admit it, I did not have a rough draft of my digital media project prepared! I'll pelt those tennis balls at myself. However, i did learn something from the peer assessment activity--we decided that it is possible to do a movie in WinMovieMaker with 2 audio components without having to deal with the multiple steps. Get ready, here it is...blast the music in the background while you're recording your narration! Okay, all joking aside, I always enjoy that element of peer feedback, because troubleshooting and bouncing ideas is the most fun part of doing any task. I don't have a preference between getting or giving--both are equally rewarding.

When I get my own classroom, I will be all about peer assessments. I think the process just comes more naturally to English teachers (at Curry), because that's something we've delved into quite intensely when talking about teaching writing. It's the only way to teach writing--giving feedback and getting it. there's something to be learned from both ends. I actually think that some of the models we use in teaching writing (more structured, role-specific) could be applicable to creating authentic formative assessments for other content areas and tasks.

For example, there is the workshop strategy where the owner of the work is not allowed to speak while group members objectively discuss only what they observe without interpreting or judging (you're not even allowed to say "I like" because it's feedback that's not specific, not helpful, and not based on the work itself--it's the easy way out for the responder to not have to genuinely reflect and respond). Initially, that was difficult to get used to, but I think it forced peer responders to take a closer look at the work instead of glossing over it. Also, not allowing the author to speak prevents conflicts arising from the author getting defensive. In later workshop sessions, they'll get the chance to guide the feedback process.

Take the example from class last night; Alicia had said that she wasn't happy when readers did not "get" what she had intended in her writing. If her peers had only listed what was observable (basic comprehension level) from the piece without inferring meaning, perhaps it would have been clearer to Alicia what worked and what didn't, what was missing, or confusing. This way, the author gets to tweak things before readers begin the process of interpreting or analyzing. I think the same model could be applied to other things--peer responding to presentations, projects, etc. In that sense, it's actually an opportunity for the author to self-assess and reflect on their own work, based purely on what is there and what isn't.

In teaching writing, this workshop process slowly moves from the objective towards the inferences, but it provides authors with the safety of being given opportunities to fine-tune their work before feeding it to the sharks, so to speak. Off the top of my head, it would be a terrific way to perform formative assessments of students as they work towards an independent project. If all content areas could move towards a structured portfolio, where the entire body of work is considered, as opposed to a small batch of tests/quizzes and papers, I would be so happy. Wouldn't it be possible, that instead of taking report cards and transcripts of grades with them from level to level, students could take a portfolio representative of their efforts as well as learning curve. Now there's a pipe dream.

Media assignment: Blitzing for ideas

I definitely want to do a digital movie, hopefully with some bells 'n whistles. I'm not sure topic-wise what I will do, but I know it will have to do with either my unit on the hero or the lessons I will teach in 488, which should be centered on Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country and the ideas and questions on the differences and similarities between cultures, and how they are reflected in the norms, traditions, rituals, and ethics of various cultures. Either way, I plan on using this particular media form as a vehicle to generate ideas, questions, and projected generalizations that can open the floor for discussions, and most importantly, to serve as a hook for students prior to delving into the text.

better late than never...

Here are the skills/concepts I have chosen. At the end of the projected unit (or each lesson), students should be able to:

1. describe common cultural archteypes that pervade literature, such as the: (10.3)
   

   • hero/heroine
   • villain
   • rebel
   • rugged individualist

2. know the conceptual frameworks underlying hero and the quest (10.3)
   

   • Frye's progression
   • Campbell

3. make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension (make generalizations based on ideas of universality in understanding the significance of the hero in literature) (10.3)
   
   
4. assume responsibility for and participate in small-group learning activities by contributing ideas and respectfully listening to and considering the views of the other group members (10.1)
   
   
5. respond to what they read by writing summaries, interpretations, and comparisons of literary, informational, an technical texts (10.10)
   
   
6. use technology, along with other resources, to gather information from various sources (10.11)

eureka

so there's a change, tom...i will be doing a sketchup thing.
Thanks to sarah and her brilliant sketchup idea, I decided to address grade nine's SOL 9.5.a instead, which is: (a) Identify the two basic parts of drama: staging and scripting.

I am planning to recreate (minimally) a stage set from a scene of a play typically taught to ninth graders, complete with staging labels. We'll see what happens and how it turns out.

Topic for next assignment

The virtual play idea doesn't seem to be panning out...my backup idea is to do a lesson on identifying, understanding, and using figurative language, to be based on Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," using a nonlinear powerpoint. This will be tied in to Virginia's eighth grade English standards. (Specifically SOL 8.4.a and 8.5.a)

sketchup

I revisited an example created using the Google program Sketchup. This time, though, I also downloaded the software in order to understant how the presentation had been created. I don't think the example was conducive to demonstrating the functions and potential of the program.
Sketchup is a program that allows users to render 3d objects; instead of providing just a "flat canvas" like typical graphic programs, Sketchup works on 3 different planes. In math terms there aren't just the x and y axes; there is a third axis, allowing for a field of depth as well. Only upon downloading and trying my hand at using the program did I develop a better appreciation of how difficult it is to work in 3 dimensions--I draw and paint, but on a computer, 3d (for some reason) is more complicated!

The example initially appeared to be a timeline; what made it more interesting was that the author had created a video clip walking us through the object. While I appreciate the author's attempt to create a 3d virtual fly-through exhibit, I found that not only was it not the best possible use of the program, but also that visually, it was not appealing. Using (or perhaps because of the use of) 2 dimensional objects (paintings and photographs) detracted from the 3-dimensional perspective. (Meaning that the "space" wasn't well-portrayed.)

But here's what was cool. I then decided to try the import function, and hit gold. There's tons of 3d models and objects that have been created, and I found a 3d model of the Globe Theater. The forum for sharing these models is called the Google 3d Warehouse, and one of the stipulations of sharing is that the owner allow their work to be shared free of royalty and conditions. That means there's a lot of potential for teachers. As the downloadable material stands right now, I can see this being used to supplement lessons by providing visual aids (examples of buildings, architectural styles, landmarks) for both social studies and language arts.

I had a great idea that I would love to do as my project, but it seemed to be too big an undertaking. But my idea was to use the model of the Globe and have students (as a project option) create "virtual plays" by recording the lines into audio clips and putting that together with virtual actors, and staging the whole thing. I'm not sure, though, realistically if this would be possible and how long it would take. It might just be a pipe dream. But perhaps in a few years, if more content becomes available, this program could be used to help visual learners (as well as tech-oriented students). But anyone who has time, check it out. The globe theatre in 3d, insanely cool.