I've never been a fan of comic books or graphic novels, but today I realized how useful they could be in the classroom. For example, Dr. Kist told us that the Batman graphic novel could be useful with Beowulf. I also heard some classmates say that the V for Vendetta would be useful with 1984. I bet students would really enjoy this type of activity because it isn't just a plain ol' boring lecture.
I really feel that graphic novels are useful to the classroom for 2 very important reasons:
1. Some students have an inability to visualize--How many students do you think have a hard time visualizing during reading? I bet these graphic novels can help those students out a lot.
2. Some students do not read for pleasure at all. Perhaps the format of the graphic novels may appeal to these students and provide a type of excitement and motivation.
I haven't skimmed through Persepolis yet, but Dr. Kist mentioned that the summer reading for incoming freshman next year is going to be this graphic novel. I was really surprised. I read a book called A Hope in the Unseen, about Cedric Jennings who wants to escape the inner city life and go to a well-established college. Did everyone else read this too? I am very interested in leading discussions for Persepolis for the incoming freshmen, if I like it, that is! I hope Dr. Kist has more information. Did you know that Persepolis was made into a movie? Check out this trailer! Looks really interesting!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Cleveland Film Festival
I went to the Cleveland Film Festival on Wednesday and I made a total day out of it. My sister and I went shopping at Tower City and saw a short film series. I have to say it wasn't at all what I expected. I can't even explain what I envisioned, but everything about the festival was different. Maybe it is in the word "festival--" I may be thinking of a carnival related event! However, the films we watched were decent. Some were really weird and even quite random, but out of 9, I enjoyed 4 of them.
I was taken aback at the price of the tickets--$10. They must have made some good money because when I went there were at least 150 people in the formation of lines. I didn't expect to see a classmate, but I saw Caitlin across the way, but we didn't see the same film. At my film showing, at the end of it, the audience was asked to rate them on a sheet of paper and I felt bad because a lot of people walked out ignoring their request.
Overall, my experience was not bad, not excellent, but worth the try. I got to speak to some people waiting in line who were actually members of the board of education somewhere (I forget), but it they were really interested in talking to me about how the education department at KSU is and what kind of classes I am taking in preparation of teaching. I always love to brag about myself and my plans for teaching especially to actual professionals in the field!
The films I viewed were definitely not suited for children and I was surprised about a lot of the humor and concepts. In the short film I wrote about in my Film Review, I wrote about Pig, and a brief synopsis can be found here. Basically, the film is called Pig because a woman, Ines, after about 20 years of being raped, confronts her rapist at his house with his pregnant wife and daughter, only to end up carving the word "Pig" in his thigh. It was extremely dramatic and hard to predict.
I was taken aback at the price of the tickets--$10. They must have made some good money because when I went there were at least 150 people in the formation of lines. I didn't expect to see a classmate, but I saw Caitlin across the way, but we didn't see the same film. At my film showing, at the end of it, the audience was asked to rate them on a sheet of paper and I felt bad because a lot of people walked out ignoring their request.
Overall, my experience was not bad, not excellent, but worth the try. I got to speak to some people waiting in line who were actually members of the board of education somewhere (I forget), but it they were really interested in talking to me about how the education department at KSU is and what kind of classes I am taking in preparation of teaching. I always love to brag about myself and my plans for teaching especially to actual professionals in the field!
The films I viewed were definitely not suited for children and I was surprised about a lot of the humor and concepts. In the short film I wrote about in my Film Review, I wrote about Pig, and a brief synopsis can be found here. Basically, the film is called Pig because a woman, Ines, after about 20 years of being raped, confronts her rapist at his house with his pregnant wife and daughter, only to end up carving the word "Pig" in his thigh. It was extremely dramatic and hard to predict.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A must have movie(s)
I recently just purchased four movies that reflect on great teachers and how one person can make a difference in the classroom. They include Freedom Writers, The Ron Clark Story, Lean on Me, and Stand and Deliver. This weekend I watched Freedom Writers and I can't help but be so motivated and touched by this movie. I'm also a huge fan of Lean on Me. I absolutely love Morgan Freeman's character in this. He is so powerful and stern with a purpose. This movie brings tears of joy to my eyes!
Last semester I was observing a freshman English class and the teacher actually showed the movie Freedom Writers in class. I wasn't sure where she was going to go with this in a lesson because I wasn't observing her class for the first half of the movie the previous day. She actually incorporated an activity that was done in the movie where Mrs. G (Hiliary Swank) puts a line on the floor in her classroom and asks a series of questions. If the question applies to the student, he or she must step onto the line. Mrs. G asks things such as--Step on the line if: you own the new Snoop Dog CD, you know where to get drugs, you know anyone in a gang, etc. The teacher I observed actually changed up the questions a bit, of course, and students had a lot of fun with it. They wrote a little self-reflection about it to state a purpose to the activity. This activity definitely shows that even though there is a diverse classroom, people still share the same interests and hobbies. Mrs. G in Freedom Writers was trying to prove this point because of the hard feelings each race had on each other. I think that acknowledging diversity in the classroom is SO SO SO important!
In my Sociolinguistics in the Classroom class, we have talked a lot about acknowledging diversity in the classroom. We've talked about how students may have different dialects and ways of learning based on their cultural backgrounds and how it is important as a teacher to work with them to the best of your ability. Rather than assuming they lack intellect in your content area (mine being integrated language arts), you should take into consideration their cultural identity and work around it. I think that language is power and students have what is called "language capital" in the classroom. If they are expected to take on a language role that is unfamiliar to them between their school life and home life, this "language capital" is destroyed. I think students with cultural differences in the classroom should always feel powerful because what a useful tool they are to the students and teacher!! I've known teachers that always ask interesting questions to students with cultural backgrounds to compare it to what other students are used to. I remember having a student from India explain in a psychology class I took in high school how things are so different in the United States schools. The one thing I vividly remember is how this student explained the toilet situation. Apparently, in his culture, toilet paper was not an option, in fact they had those toilets that sprayed water upwards, a bidet. I remember being so fascinated by this fact and a whole lot of other things he had to become accustomed to in this new culture. I think this kind of thing definitely keeps the classroom exciting and engaging!! I not only want diversity, I need diversity in my classroom!!
Last semester I was observing a freshman English class and the teacher actually showed the movie Freedom Writers in class. I wasn't sure where she was going to go with this in a lesson because I wasn't observing her class for the first half of the movie the previous day. She actually incorporated an activity that was done in the movie where Mrs. G (Hiliary Swank) puts a line on the floor in her classroom and asks a series of questions. If the question applies to the student, he or she must step onto the line. Mrs. G asks things such as--Step on the line if: you own the new Snoop Dog CD, you know where to get drugs, you know anyone in a gang, etc. The teacher I observed actually changed up the questions a bit, of course, and students had a lot of fun with it. They wrote a little self-reflection about it to state a purpose to the activity. This activity definitely shows that even though there is a diverse classroom, people still share the same interests and hobbies. Mrs. G in Freedom Writers was trying to prove this point because of the hard feelings each race had on each other. I think that acknowledging diversity in the classroom is SO SO SO important!
In my Sociolinguistics in the Classroom class, we have talked a lot about acknowledging diversity in the classroom. We've talked about how students may have different dialects and ways of learning based on their cultural backgrounds and how it is important as a teacher to work with them to the best of your ability. Rather than assuming they lack intellect in your content area (mine being integrated language arts), you should take into consideration their cultural identity and work around it. I think that language is power and students have what is called "language capital" in the classroom. If they are expected to take on a language role that is unfamiliar to them between their school life and home life, this "language capital" is destroyed. I think students with cultural differences in the classroom should always feel powerful because what a useful tool they are to the students and teacher!! I've known teachers that always ask interesting questions to students with cultural backgrounds to compare it to what other students are used to. I remember having a student from India explain in a psychology class I took in high school how things are so different in the United States schools. The one thing I vividly remember is how this student explained the toilet situation. Apparently, in his culture, toilet paper was not an option, in fact they had those toilets that sprayed water upwards, a bidet. I remember being so fascinated by this fact and a whole lot of other things he had to become accustomed to in this new culture. I think this kind of thing definitely keeps the classroom exciting and engaging!! I not only want diversity, I need diversity in my classroom!!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
So much to do, so little time
Well I figured I'd spare 5-10 minutes in this hectic life I am living to reflect on a number of things. First of all, I really thought that taking 18 credit hours was going to be unbearable, but I'm finding that taking it day by day and staying completely organized has been helpful.
I'm so glad I met with Dr. Kist about class substitutions & the issue with Lit in English II because otherwise I'd be stuck taking 18 credit hours again next fall! Even though I am certain I could pull it off, I'm relieved that I will have one less thing to worry about.
I really am enjoying this semester and most of the materials I am reading. Right now, I am pretty focused on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (in fact, I am writing a critical analysis for it for Lit in English II), Charles Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil (dislike), and of course, textbooks for various classrooms. I'm finding my text Classics in the Classroom for Teaching Literature in the Secondary Classroom to be a very useful book. Carol Jagos, the author, has some top notch teacher advice and learning methods that could easily be applied to the classroom. One noteable thing is how in her classroom she keeps a list of all literary terms posted for students to refer to and develop their vocabulary. This gets the students talking in "literary jargon" in the classroom and I think this is a great idea--I will definitely use this technique. Jagos recommends that all English teachers own the book A Glossary of Literary Terms by M.H. Abrams. It can be found cheap on Amazon!
I'm looking forward to the Cleveland Film Festival--I'm surprised how many people outside of class have heard about it and even plan on going. I've had a couple friends ask to see the magazine of all the movie listings because they were interested in going...People love the multi-modal world!! I've decided that I am going on Wednesday March 25 and I am going to see the short film series. They all seem interesting! Before this starts, around 4pm, I'm actually going shopping at Tower City! (Way to kill two birds with one stone, right?)
I've been trying to follow up on a number of educational blogs, but one stuck out to me--The NCTE Assembly of Media Arts. There is a blog about comic books and how Harvard classrooms are incorporating the use of comic books as part of the curriculum! For example, there is an article titled Hitting the Comic Books that tells all about it. They talk about the recent movie Watchmen which was first a comic book. Professors at Harvard are using it as an example to "expresses timeless, fundamental concerns with the corruptive nature of power." This is great! The idea of taking something students read or watch to apply it to a lesson. A little something called real-world application. I am a firm believer in this idea. If you take something artistic, entertaining, modern, and relative to a student's life, the better retention and comprehension the student will have for your lesson. And even better, they will have FUN learning!! This is what I call education!!
I'm so glad I met with Dr. Kist about class substitutions & the issue with Lit in English II because otherwise I'd be stuck taking 18 credit hours again next fall! Even though I am certain I could pull it off, I'm relieved that I will have one less thing to worry about.
I really am enjoying this semester and most of the materials I am reading. Right now, I am pretty focused on The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (in fact, I am writing a critical analysis for it for Lit in English II), Charles Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil (dislike), and of course, textbooks for various classrooms. I'm finding my text Classics in the Classroom for Teaching Literature in the Secondary Classroom to be a very useful book. Carol Jagos, the author, has some top notch teacher advice and learning methods that could easily be applied to the classroom. One noteable thing is how in her classroom she keeps a list of all literary terms posted for students to refer to and develop their vocabulary. This gets the students talking in "literary jargon" in the classroom and I think this is a great idea--I will definitely use this technique. Jagos recommends that all English teachers own the book A Glossary of Literary Terms by M.H. Abrams. It can be found cheap on Amazon!
I'm looking forward to the Cleveland Film Festival--I'm surprised how many people outside of class have heard about it and even plan on going. I've had a couple friends ask to see the magazine of all the movie listings because they were interested in going...People love the multi-modal world!! I've decided that I am going on Wednesday March 25 and I am going to see the short film series. They all seem interesting! Before this starts, around 4pm, I'm actually going shopping at Tower City! (Way to kill two birds with one stone, right?)
I've been trying to follow up on a number of educational blogs, but one stuck out to me--The NCTE Assembly of Media Arts. There is a blog about comic books and how Harvard classrooms are incorporating the use of comic books as part of the curriculum! For example, there is an article titled Hitting the Comic Books that tells all about it. They talk about the recent movie Watchmen which was first a comic book. Professors at Harvard are using it as an example to "expresses timeless, fundamental concerns with the corruptive nature of power." This is great! The idea of taking something students read or watch to apply it to a lesson. A little something called real-world application. I am a firm believer in this idea. If you take something artistic, entertaining, modern, and relative to a student's life, the better retention and comprehension the student will have for your lesson. And even better, they will have FUN learning!! This is what I call education!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Project Reaction
Everyone in Multi-Modal class did an awesome job with their projects! Although it took a long time, I had a fun time reminiscing on memories and relating to my classmates. There are a lot of things that were mentioned by classmates that I've never read or watched so I wrote down things that seem interesting. Some of the items I wrote down include: O Brother Where Art Thou, Native Son, Rambo, Where the Heart is (book), and Shawshank Redemption. I was also surprised to see that Jimmy Buffet had written some books--I wonder if they are any good?
I really think this project reflects teaching aspects in a number of ways. Literature can be applied to technology, media, books, magazines, fashion, etc., hence the word 'Multi Modal!' Students in the classroom can develop skills using technology in response to literature and actually have fun with it.
I really think this project reflects teaching aspects in a number of ways. Literature can be applied to technology, media, books, magazines, fashion, etc., hence the word 'Multi Modal!' Students in the classroom can develop skills using technology in response to literature and actually have fun with it.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
URL about film
I am required to bring in a URL to class about film. I wasn't too sure if it has to be about film in the classroom, film in general, or both. So, I did both! This URL is short but sweet and contains information about why film in the classroom is useful, how to make it useful, information about people who make film, and who is involved in making film. I'm interested in learning a little more--specifically about how to incorporate film as lessons in my classroom. I think that if any of the novels we read have films I will definitely be showing them! I already have two movies so far: Beowulf & The Kite Runner, so I'll be happy to add to my collection.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
