DVD Chapters of My Life

STEP 1 - Title this post "DVD Chapters of My Life"

STEP 2 - Section your life story into at least 10 chapters (feel free to do more, it's actually fun and builds on itself).  Don't feel responsible for covering every single event and detail of your life, just the interesting stuff that would be in a movie.  These chapters should be in order.  Most important - give these chapters interesting DVD titles.

*You don't have to restrict yourself to the movie for which you originally made your poster - the poster was just a starting point.*  Just come up with 10 interesting chapters from your life and give them titles.  Try to be creative with your chapter titles, but don't pressure yourself.  Remember, your job is to show up and do the work; your genius's job is to make it interesting and creative.

Afterwards, choose 10 chapters and describe in a sentence or two what that chapter will be about.

Example:

Chapter 1 - Just call me "Butthead." - I had two older sisters who called me "butthead."  They weren't always horrible, but certainly made my childhood more challenging.
Chapter 2 - If I'm Not Near the Girl I Love... - Girl-happy.  I always had crushes on girls (this chapter title comes from a showtune that goes, "If I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl I'm near"
Chapter 3 - Finally, a girlfriend! / First Kiss - Beth Ann Barrett.  7th grade.  9th grade.
Chapter 4 - My Own John Hughes Movie - You know that totally unrealistic movie scenario where a nerd has a crush on a popular beautiful girl and somehow ends up with her?  It happened!
Chapter 5 - I peaked in high school - lots and lots of success and overachieving - sports, grades, other extracurriculars
Chapter 6  - Just Add Water/Drowning - college was fun.  And haaard.
Chapter 7 - La la land - Moved to L.A. to go to film school.  I still get star struck
Chapter 8 - Mawwiage - Remember that girl in chapter 4?  Married her.
Chapter 9 - I am a Hollywood peon - working for Jodie Foster, Ron Howard, and the dude who executive produced the Lord of the Rings movies.  I am still star struck.
Chapter 10 - Party like it's 1999 - DINKS - double-income, no kids.  Europe trip, lots of conspicuous consumption, and then... pregnant (which leads to the next chapter...)
Chapter 11 - Twins?  TWINS?!!!
Chapter 12- Minnesota, Hats Off to Thee
Chapter 13- So now I'm a Cake-eater

STEP 3 - Choose 5 chapters and describe in detail the specific scenes that would go in those chapters.  You can do this in bullet points or in paragraph descriptions - whatever it takes to give an idea of the story that will be in each chapter.

Example:

Chapter 3- Finally, a girlfriend / First Kiss!  I was one of those kids that was always unlucky in love.  I started having crushes on girls in, like, 1st grade.  None of the girls ever liked me back (awww....).  I finally got my first girlfriend in 7th grade.  Beth Ann Barrett.  She was pretty, smart, and I had known her almost my whole school life.  She was actually the first girl who had a crush on me when we were in 6th grade together.  She wrote me a note that she was in love with me and even had a dream that we had a daughter named Rose Petal (for her first word - ironically my daughter Maggie's real name is Rosemary).  Anyway, we started "going together" I think on her birthday, March 23 - which ironically is the birthday of my own kids.  I never formally broke up with her, but just kind of stopped going over there.  Lame, I know.  The crush on her came back in 8th grade, and we spent a lot of time together, but we  never "went steady."  Then I got a crush on her again in 9th grade.  We did go steady, and I heard from Kris Beamer, the girl who sat next to me in art, that Beth Ann wanted me to kiss her.  It took me about another couple weeks, but I finally mustered the courage and kissed her.  It was a big deal.

WarmUp: Movie Poster Gallery Walk

Title Your Blog: Movie Poster Gallery Walk

Based on what's on the poster, list 2 titles of classmate movies that you would like to watch.  Explain in 2-3 sentences what part of the poster drew your curiosity (please try to avoid simply choosing the movies of your friends).

End of Unit Poetry Reflection

Please publish a 300 word reflection on the poetry unit.  You  may write anything that comes to your mind related this class and our poetry activities - the various assignments, our poetry slam, your feelings about poetry, etc.  You will be graded on completion.  Please give your blog reflection a fitting title.  +2 Extra credit - add a poem at the end using/inspired by your reflection

Modernism Assignment

Please publish a modernist-inspired poem that incorporates strong imagery to evoke an emotion.  Use verbal imagery, but also consider using imagery in the way the words are placed on the page (if you to use visual formatting, you might need to take a screenshot and upload the photo to publish to your blog - see below).

As usual, please provide a short paragraph explanation of your poem.  Be sure to include the emotion you were trying to evoke.

DUE: 8:30 AM Fri, Mar 1

Requirements:
Title = 2 points
At least 16 lines long (sort of) = 2points
Strong imagery in descriptions= 2 points
Written  in "musical phrases" rather than set words and lines= 2 points
*Explanation/commentary=2 points
10 points total

*Detailed explanation/commentary by author at the end.  Discuss specifically the traits above.  You may choose to write fewer than 16 lines, but you must explain why.  Similarly, explain the way you use imagery and "musicality" in evoking your emotion.  Explicitly identify the emotion you are writing about.

***IMPORTANT: Blogger sometimes reformats picture poems, so if you want to be on the safe side, take a screenshot of your screen and paste it into your blog entry.  To take a screenshot, press the PrtScn button and then paste.

Extended Metaphor

Write a poem that is an extended metaphor. Rather than making a series of comparisons between your topic and other things (e.g., "Life is a bagel... Life is a game... Life is a test"), make a single comparison between your topic and whatever your comparing and extend it through fine details. For example, if your metaphor is Life is a game, find different details about games that make the comparison richer and more subtle - you play by the rules, people try to cheat, sometimes you win, you keep score, etc.

Examples of extended metaphor poem linked here

Your poem must be at least 12 lines. Worth 3 points. (2 points extra credit for poems that go over 20 lines)

Due date published to your blogs by end of day TOMORROW (Tuesday, Mar 20)

Found Poetry

In your blogs, create two versions of the same found poem from material you cut and paste from another source. Possible sources include newspaper articles, Facebook status updates, Tweets, speeches, essays, wikipedia entries.

Your found poems must be at least 16 lines long. The two poems should have identical words, but differ in your use of line breaks, enjambent, caesura and stanza breaks.  Provide an explanation that discusses how you tried to use these poetic elements.

REQUIRED: include a link to the original source.

Example: the above instructions rewritten as found poetry

In
your blogs,
create
two versions of the
same
found poem
from material you

cut

and

paste from another
source.

Possible sources include
newspaper articles,
    Facebook status updates,
        Tweets,
            speeches,
       essays,
wikipedia entries.

Your found poems
must

be
at least
s

i

x

t

e

e

n
lines
long.

The two poems should 
have identical words, 
but differ 
in 
your use of line 
breaks
 enjambent, caesura and stanza breaks.  Provide 
an explanation 
        that discusses 
               how you tried to use
 these
      poetic 
        elements.

RE QUIR ED:
include
a link to the

original source.

Link to original source

Grading:
2 points for link to original source
2 points for each poem
2 points for explanation
2 points for use of line break, enjambent, caesura, and stanzas

Beat Poem

Please write a Beat-inspired poem (you can define "Beat-inspired" however you like) that makes 12 references to your personal experience (I don't have to get them). Bold or CAPITALIZE your 12 references and at the bottom of your poem, provide a glossary that explains what they mean (even if they're obvious).  As always, include a paragraph explanation of what your poem means and how it is "Beat-inspired."

Grading:
2 pts = 12 references
2 pts = 12 glossary explanations of reference
2 pts = beat / counter-culture aspect (explained in poet commentary)
2 pts = author's explanation

DUE: 8:30AM Tue, Mar 5

Example:

I have to have my Heath Bar blizzard every night
Then I watch a Jackie Chan movie
Nothing is more American than fattening snacks and movie stars
Except maybe Five Guys, Fuddruckers, and In and Out
(Hamburg, by the way, is in Germany)

Glossary:
Heath Bar Blizzard - High Calorie Dairy Queen frozen treat
Jackie Chan - popular Chinese martial arts star
Five Guys, Fudruckers, In and Out - Hamburger restaurant chains

Show, Don't Tell

Publish your "Show, Don't Tell" poem from the moodle activity to your blog by 11:59PM tonight. The activity and poem publishing are worth 12 homework points total.

Pantoum Homework

Please publish a pantoum to your blogs. A pantoum has no set meter, rhyme, or length. For the purposes of this assignment, please write a pantoum that is AT LEAST (longer is fine) 8 stanzas long (each stanza is 4 lines). Pantoum examples and explanations linked here.

2 points for completion
2 points for correct structure
2 points for including a volta
2 points for short paragraph explanation of your poem

8 points total. Published to your blogs by midnight tonight.

Villanelle Homework

Please publish a Villanelle (structure explained here) to your blog by 8:30AM, Tues, Oct 9 (tomorrow).
You may write your villanelle about any topic you choose, but I will suggest the following first and last lines.

FIRST LINE...

I LOVE OcTOber VERy MUCH you SEE...
(or I HATE)


Grading:Worth 8 points
2 points for correct meter
2 points for correct rhyme scheme
2 points for correct structure of refrains
2 points for  paragraph poet's (that's you) explanation/commentary. Tell your reader what your poem means and how you tried to communicate that using the rhyme, structure, and meter.

Sonnet Homework

Due 8:30AM Mon, Oct 8

Please write a sonnet. Traditionally, sonnets are love poems, but feel free to make your sonnet about kind of love (for a romantic partner, family member, friend, pet, god, etc.). You can choose a completely different subject.

Don't worry about making your poem "good" - that is the job of your genius.  Your job is to fulfill the requirements, which are as follows:
1. correct use of iambic pentameter
2. correct use of rhyming
3. use of a poetic structure - beginning, middle, end and volta
4. explanation

Each criteria is worth 2 points (2=mostly correct; 1=partially correct; 0=missing or completely incorrect)
total assignment = 8 points.

After you finish add an explanation of  your 3-part structure, rhyming, and "Volta" that you employed.

***Important: be sure you hit PUBLISH POST button (orange) rather than SAVE NOW***

February Blog Instructions

Use your warmup exercise as pre-writing for an original, expressive piece titled February. Your finished product can be any form: short story, nonfiction, poem, song lyric, poster, graphic story (comic). Due at midnight tonight, worth 5 points.