Monday, December 1, 2014

Compare / Contrast Assignment --





The play versus the movie: “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller


If done as an essay: It is a formal paper which must be typed, double-spaced, and include at least FIVE paragraphs. You are required to write a compare / contrast essay about the play versus the movie “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.  You will answer #1-3 and analyze (compare / contrast) ALL three areas below: character, literary, and dramatic sections – (three paragraph body).  Use the standard page layout and proper name/class/period information at the top.   Final copy due by: Wednesday, December 10, 2014. 


If done as a blog:  This is a semi-formal assignment written on the classroom blog of at least THREE paragraphs and ONE response (3-5 sentences) to another student. You are required to write a compare / contrast blog about the play versus the movie “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.   You will answer #1-3 BUT you only have to analyze ONE of the areas: character, literary, and dramatic sections (one paragraph body).  Begin your blog comment by writing your first name, the first letter of your last name, and your period number (John S. Period 4).  Final copy due by: Wednesday, December 10, 2014.


Include the following elements in your compare/contrast analysis:


  1. In the opening paragraph state the title, and BRIEFLY summarize the plot of the story. Describe how you truly feel about the story. What is your honest reaction to the play versus the movie? Did you like/dislike either? Was either confusing? Exciting? Suspenseful? Boring? State a thesis which clearly states whether you feel the movie and the play were mostly similar, mostly different or the same.

  2. In the next three paragraphs we will be using a point-by-point compare/contrast format. You will use one paragraph each to analyze (compare/contrast) the following topics:  the characters, characterizations, and dialog  of the play versus the movie, the overall literary plot and sequence of the play versus the movie, and the dramatic aspects such as scenes, layout, blocking (movement) and other technical aspects of the play version versus the film.   Please use examples from the play and the movie to support your analysis.
Character – This literary aspect pertains to the dialogue and characters. Believable characters? Good dialogue? Did the main character change throughout?  What aspects were the same and which ones were different?  Did the differences or changes enhance or degrade the story?  Why? Use specific examples from the play and movie to support your analysis.


Literary – Were the plot sequences (the timeline order) of the play and movie the same?  How were they different? What plot aspects from the play were deleted from the film?  What additional plot action and/or dialog were added to the film version?  Did this have a positive or negative affect on the production? Use specific examples from the play and movie to support your analysis.


Dramatic – Dramatic aspects pertain to the sets, locations, movement, transitions, and other technical parts of the play versus the movie. Were the sets or locations more interesting or believable in the play or movie? Did it matter?  Were the movie sets consistent with the play? Did the cinematic aspects (camera angles, composition, lighting, music and sound effects) enhance or degrade the play?  Did the music match the film?  Use specific examples from the play and movie to support your analysis.

  1. In the conclusion paragraph, restate your thesis and end with a closing comment about the historical accuracy of the overall story.






Monday, October 20, 2014

Period FOUR: American Authors Blog #1

PLEASE NOTE: As of 11/4/14, this blog has been completed and assessed for proficiency.  If you desire to add a comment or reply to this blog, please notify Mr. Dawursk so that you may receive credit for the assignment and be assessed for benchmark proficiencies.
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AA Blog #1 (PERIOD 4): Native American Experience / Exploration& Early Settlers



Directions:
  • First, answer in one comment THREE questions of your choice from the list of eight below.
  • Next, respond to at least ONE other classmate’s comment.
  • Put your complete first name and last name’s first initial at the end of your comment (e.g. Matthew D.)
  • Your comment and response blogs are
    due by
    11:00 AM - Thursday, October 30,2014.
  • Use complete sentences and appropriate spelling and grammar.  Suggestion:  Write your comment in MSWord first (free spell check) and paste it into the blog.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1. Trickster tales endure, in part, simply because they are fun to read.  But they also often serve to teach a lesson or moral.  What does Coyote and the Buffalo teach or explain?  Support your answer with specific examples.
  2. In your opinion, what are the most important insights Momaday gains about his heritage during his pilgrimage from Yellowstone to his grandmother's grave in the story The Way to Rainy Mountain?  Support your opinion with evidence from the text.
  3. Teacher and scholar Kenneth M. Roemer has argued that “in The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday links the survival of his people to their ability to remember, preserve and pass on stories.” Do you agree that a culture’s survival rests on this ability?  Explain, using evidence from the text to support your opinion.
  4.  Review your answers to the quiz about slavery we took in class (on page 83 in your textbook) before reading The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oldaudah Equiano.   What facts or details in his account most surprised you?  What did you learn that you may have answered incorrectly on the quiz?  
  5.  In 1775, just 14 years before writing his life story, Equiano bought slaves to work on his Central American plantation.  He explained his actions by saying he did what he could “to comfort the poor creatures, and render their condition easy.”  Do you find this explanation consistent with the views of slavery put forth in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oldaudah Equiano?  Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
  6. Bradford’s word choice and his choice of details in his story Of Plymouth Plantation provide subtle clues to Puritan beliefs.  Reread Bardford’s account of the arrival at Cape Cod (lines 4-30). What does his description reveal about Puritan attitudes toward Nature?   
  7.  Review the terms of the treaty between the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag (lines 142-154).  Notice which terms apply to both parties equally and which do not.  In your opinion, is the treaty fair?  Explain your answer
  8. How might a Wampanoag historian’s version of events differ from Bradford’s?  Choose an episode from Of Plymouth Plantation cite specific details that might change to reflect this different perspective.  Why?

Period FIVE: American Authors Blog #1


PLEASE NOTE: As of 11/4/14, this blog has been completed and assessed for proficiency.  If you desire to add a comment or reply to this blog, please notify Mr. Dawursk so that you may receive credit for the assignment and be assessed for benchmark proficiencies.
------------------------------------

AA Blog #1 (PERIOD 5): Native American Experience / Exploration& Early Settlers



Directions:
  • First, answer in one comment THREE questions of your choice from the list of eight below.
  • Next, respond to at least ONE other classmate’s comment.
  • Put your complete first name and last name’s first initial at the end of your comment (e.g. Matthew D.)
  • Your comment and response blogs are
    due by
    11:00 AM - Thursday, October 30,2014.
  • Use complete sentences and appropriate spelling and grammar.  Suggestion:  Write your comment in MSWord first (free spell check) and paste it into the blog.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1. Trickster tales endure, in part, simply because they are fun to read.  But they also often serve to teach a lesson or moral.  What does Coyote and the Buffalo teach or explain?  Support your answer with specific examples.
  2. In your opinion, what are the most important insights Momaday gains about his heritage during his pilgrimage from Yellowstone to his grandmother's grave in the story The Way to Rainy Mountain?  Support your opinion with evidence from the text.
  3. Teacher and scholar Kenneth M. Roemer has argued that “in The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday links the survival of his people to their ability to remember, preserve and pass on stories.” Do you agree that a culture’s survival rests on this ability?  Explain, using evidence from the text to support your opinion.
  4.  Review your answers to the quiz about slavery we took in class (on page 83 in your textbook) before reading The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oldaudah Equiano.   What facts or details in his account most surprised you?  What did you learn that you may have answered incorrectly on the quiz?  
  5.  In 1775, just 14 years before writing his life story, Equiano bought slaves to work on his Central American plantation.  He explained his actions by saying he did what he could “to comfort the poor creatures, and render their condition easy.”  Do you find this explanation consistent with the views of slavery put forth in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oldaudah Equiano?  Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
  6. Bradford’s word choice and his choice of details in his story Of Plymouth Plantation provide subtle clues to Puritan beliefs.  Reread Bardford’s account of the arrival at Cape Cod (lines 4-30). What does his description reveal about Puritan attitudes toward Nature?   
  7.  Review the terms of the treaty between the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag (lines 142-154).  Notice which terms apply to both parties equally and which do not.  In your opinion, is the treaty fair?  Explain your answer
  8. How might a Wampanoag historian’s version of events differ from Bradford’s?  Choose an episode from Of Plymouth Plantation cite specific details that might change to reflect this different perspective.  Why?

Period SEVEN: American Authors Blog #1




PLEASE NOTE: As of 11/4/14, this blog has been completed and assessed for proficiency.  If you desire to add a comment or reply to this blog, please notify Mr. Dawursk so that you may receive credit for the assignment and be assessed for benchmark proficiencies.

------------------------------------

AA Blog #1 (PERIOD 7): Native American Experience / Exploration& Early Settlers




Directions:
  • First, answer in one comment THREE questions of your choice from the list of eight below.

  • Next, respond to at least ONE other classmate’s comment.

  • Put your complete first name and last name’s first initial at the end of your comment (e.g. Matthew D.)

  • Your comment and response blogs are
    due by
    11:00 AM - Thursday, October 30,2014.

  • Use complete sentences and appropriate spelling and grammar.  Suggestion:  Write your comment in MSWord first (free spell check) and paste it into the blog.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  1. Trickster tales endure, in part, simply because they are fun to read.  But they also often serve to teach a lesson or moral.  What does Coyote and the Buffalo teach or explain?  Support your answer with specific examples.

  2. In your opinion, what are the most important insights Momaday gains about his heritage during his pilgrimage from Yellowstone to his grandmother's grave in the story The Way to Rainy Mountain?  Support your opinion with evidence from the text.

  3. Teacher and scholar Kenneth M. Roemer has argued that “in The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday links the survival of his people to their ability to remember, preserve and pass on stories.” Do you agree that a culture’s survival rests on this ability?  Explain, using evidence from the text to support your opinion.

  4.  Review your answers to the quiz about slavery we took in class (on page 83 in your textbook) before reading The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oldaudah Equiano.   What facts or details in his account most surprised you?  What did you learn that you may have answered incorrectly on the quiz?  

  5.  In 1775, just 14 years before writing his life story, Equiano bought slaves to work on his Central American plantation.  He explained his actions by saying he did what he could “to comfort the poor creatures, and render their condition easy.”  Do you find this explanation consistent with the views of slavery put forth in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oldaudah Equiano?  Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

  6. Bradford’s word choice and his choice of details in his story Of Plymouth Plantation provide subtle clues to Puritan beliefs.  Reread Bardford’s account of the arrival at Cape Cod (lines 4-30). What does his description reveal about Puritan attitudes toward Nature?   

  7.  Review the terms of the treaty between the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag (lines 142-154).  Notice which terms apply to both parties equally and which do not.  In your opinion, is the treaty fair?  Explain your answer

  8. How might a Wampanoag historian’s version of events differ from Bradford’s?  Choose an episode from Of Plymouth Plantation cite specific details that might change to reflect this different perspective.  Why?