Humanities 8 Journey

Identity Masks

January 29th, 2010 by johnk

Mask Activity: Now that you have designed and discussed the design you created on your mask, put your notes into a reflection with an introduction, body and conclusion. As mentioned in class, your reflection should include an expository essay ingredient (e.g., identity, culture, values, personalities, African masks) in the introduction and reconnected with in the conclusion. Two sample reflections, a word bank and scoring rubric are at the Class Documents page.

Period 5 - 6 Masking Activity

Period 5 - 6 Mask Designs

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Period 1 - 2 Masking Activity

Period 1 - 2 Mask Designs

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A Quote about Writing - Pindar

August 28th, 2009 by johnk

“If one but tell a thing well, it moves on with undying voice.”

Pindar was a famous poet of Ancient Greece who lived 522 - 443 B.C.E.  I’m not certain what Pindar meant by telling ‘a thing well,’ but maybe he was referring to the idea of telling something - an historic event, an imaginary story or a poem - in a memorable way so that it can be remembered long after it has been presented.  Pindar’s words are still with us even after more than two millennia, so his ideas must have been expressed in memorable ways.  Pindar’s quote actually sounds relevant in our age of technology because thanks to blogs and other on-line formats, our ideas could conceivably last as long as Pindar’s - if there is qualitiy to what we express.

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Memoir in Music, Poetry & a Six-Word Contest!

August 20th, 2009 by johnk

Now that you have finished composing your writing piece, for extra credit, try your hand at creating a poem of 8 lines or more, based on your memoir! Your poem doesn’t need to have rhyme but capture a rhythm to the most striking parts of your narrative. Post your poem at your blog!

Here’s the song by Janis Ian, ‘At Seventeen.’

The following are examples of poems that you can imagine could have been written out as memoirs in a narrative style.

‘Fifteen’ by William Stafford

South of the Bridge of Seventeenth

I found back of the willows one summer

day a motorcycle with engine running

as it lay on its side, ticking over

slowly in the high grass.  I was fifteen.

I admired all that pulsing gleam, the

shiny flanks, the demure headlights

fringed where it lay; I led it gently

to the road and stood with that

companion, ready and friendly.  I was fifteen.

We could find the end of a road, meet

the sky on out Seventeenth.  I thought about

hills, and patting the handle got back a

confident opinion.  On the bridge we indulged

a forward feeling, a tremble.  I was fifteen.

Thinking, back farther in the grass I found

the owner, just coming to, where he had flipped

over the rail.  He had blood on his hand, was pale -

I helped him walk to his machine.  He ran his hand

over it, called me good man, roared away.

I stood there, fifteen.

‘Freedom from Wires’ by Carl Immerman (high school student)

Ever try to kiss a girl through a wire fence?

It can’t be done.

But now girls, line up.

I’m gonna make up for lost time.

I want to scream it to the world.

Yell it from the mountaintops.

Today is the happiest day of my life.

Rickie, my friend,

Why are you sitting in that classroom alone?

Come out and hear my good news.

Today I am liberated,

Free at last, free at last,

Great God I’m free at last!

Today I will laugh and not just smile.

Today I will gorge myself on seven eclairs.

Today I will join the human race.

My braces finally came off!

‘Jill’ by an anonymous high school student

Jill is so straight; I can’t stand it.

But I need a friend who helps me touch the ground

While I chase the wind.

If I am a high-flying kite,

Jill is my string.

If I want to buy something outrageous,

She reminds me that it’s not machine washable.

If I act like a complete idiot,

She tells me there is still hope.

If I have a fight with my parents,

She reminds me that it will soon blow over.

Last Saturday I wanted to go shopping with her,

But she had a brother to cheer at a game.

I went to the mall myself and

Walked through the aisles admiring everything.

Without thinking, I pulled a top off one of the shelves,

And stuffed it into my bag.

A hand grabbed my arm.

A face asked me questions.

A finger dialed a phone.

I felt so embarrassed.

I kept thinking I wouldn’t be in this mess

If Jill had come shopping with me.

A Six-Word Memoir Contest

In 2006, there was a contest for people to create their memoirs using Twitter - a memoir all in six words! Here’s a sample of the 11,000 submissions, as seen in an edited YouTube video. Try your hand at creating a 6-word version of your memoir and submit it at the comments link for this post.

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