Movie Reviews

How many of you are curious about a movie before even seeing it? I know I am! In fact, if I plan to watch a certain theatrical release, I usually begin my journey by first reading a movie review to see what others have said about it. Although I often times do not agree with movie critics, I nevertheless enjoy reading the opinons of others.

Recently, I visited the blog of my favorite film critic Roger Ebert (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com), and of course this led to yet another assignment for my creative writing class! We all watch movies. We all discuss movies. Why not share our opinions through the medium of movie reviews? Thus, each student in my class selected a movie they had seen and created their own movie review. Please visit my Period 1 Blogs to see what they had to say. Perhaps you'll find a movie worth watching.

Again, as always, feel free to add your own reviews in the comments section below.

Snow More!

You know, I love snow as much as the next person, and even though I am a teacher, I can certainly appreciate the appeal of a snow day. That being said, however, I have a personal request regarding our recent avalanche of snow: ENOUGH!

Anyone else ready to put this white world of snow behind us and instead leap into some greens, blues, and other spring-like colors? ME TOO!

Six Word Summaries

After reading a recent Reader's Digest article entitled, "Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak," I decided this concept would make an excellent word choice activity for my creative writing class. Indeed, we have been focusing on using a small amount of precise words to make a large impact. How perfect!

Of course, I adapted our assignment so that the students were able to choose any theme: love, heartbreak, faith, friendship, success, etc. They created some truly moving tributes using only six words. Please check out the Period 1 Blogs to see their impressive work!

Here's the link to the Reader's Digest article, if anyone's interested in the inspiration for this assignment, along with some additional entertaining six word summaries: http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/sixword-memoirs-on-love-and-relationships/article116695.html.

Feeling inspired?? Feel free to add your own six word summaries in the comments section below!!

A Lesson in Advertising

In my Creative Writing class, students have been studying the art of advertising, along with the accompanying effects of word choice. To highlight the importance—particularly within an advertisement—of selecting powerful, visual words, students designed their own cereal boxes. Each cereal contained a title plus a carefully-worded slogan. We then discussed the success of each student-generated "ad."

Please browse my Period 1 Blogs to see samples of student cereal boxes and judge for yourself which are most effective at harnessing word choice to sell cereal.

IRT Play

Last week, the entire freshman class journeyed to Indy for the IRT’s latest performance of Romeo and Juliet. For many students, this was their first experience with a professional Shakespearean play. It was an exciting field trip, and I was extremely pleased with everyone’s behavior. This particular play had been adapted for a modern audience, and I found it both relevant and revealing. Overall, this was a highly rewarding trip riddled with stunningly acted performances and visually dramatic props.

For more in-depth student reviews, please visit my Period 5 Blogs. Many of them expressed their opinions more eloquently than even I could manage.

Shakespeare Projects

Currently, the freshmen are reading the play Romeo and Juliet and preparing for next week's field trip to see a performance in Indy. However, I wanted to pause for a moment and share some of their Shakespeare projects from awhile back. As you can see, they shared some truly inspired creations.

Check back next week for a recap of Thursday's field trip!

Shakespeare's Childhood Home in Stratford-upon-Avon

A Queen Elizabeth Cake

A Recreation of Shakespeare's Globe

The Wonderful World of Shakespeare

"I can't wait for English class so I can learn about Julius Shakespeare!"

~an anonymous student in my 7th period English 10 class

As this semester begins, most of my classes are delving into the wonderful world of William Shakespeare. My freshmen classes are preparing to read Romeo and Juliet, with a field trip to see the play on Janurary 28th. Similarly, my sophomores are revisiting Shakespeare with the play Julius Caesar.

All classes are currently completing research projects that require them to dig more deeply into the historical backgrounds associated with their learning. For freshmen, this means exploring Renaissance England and the life and times of Shakespeare himself. For sophomores, this project requires a mental trip back in time to ancient Rome, which was the inspiration for Shakespeare's play about the infamous ruler Caesar.

Although there's some natural trepedition about reading Shakespeare, I hope my students will discover a love of theater, language, and iambic pentameter as we begin this dramatic journey into Shakespeare's realm.