3/7: HOMEWORK: Another resource reflection is due by Friday. No coupons. See "Cont Am Culture Resources" for more information.
Here's the grading criteria for the BEAT perfomances. Today, groups settled on the poem choices and worked to make meaning out of the poems. Look up every word and reference you do not know. Work through images that particularly stand out. Examine word choice, sound choice, form, title, etc. Use these to help you make your way through the poem, to understand it as best you can and as completely as you can.
Then, start doing some talking about performance ideas. How can you see/hear the poem taking shape? What recurring image or line or sound might help us to make meaning of the poem as we watch? How can you use language, use musicality, use your understanding of the Beats, of the 1950s, of their art as a way to help you perform (and how can you demonstrate that knowledge IN your performance)?
Here's the alternate assessment for anyone who needs it. You can look for poems here.
3/5: HOMEWORK: Another resource reflection is due by Friday. No coupons. See "Cont Am Culture Resources" for more information.
In your groups today, share the information you gathered from the video, podcast and readings. Together revisit "A Supermarket in California" and do more work thinking through the poem, bringing to bear all that you learned - about the Beats, about poetry and music, about the poem itself, etc. This is good practice for you to do together before you work through a poem for assessment. You should be discussing the poem and your new insights into the poem, as well as ideas for performance that you took away from the resources and could apply to the poem.
Then, take a look at The Beats. Read the introduction and scroll down to the poets and the poems. Spend some time exploring. You are looking for a poem that you can work with - making meaning of the poem, applying what you know/understand about Beats and poetry and the times and moving into performance. If you find one (or two) that you are interested in, let me know (I'll need title and author), and I will print them out.
3/1: HOMEWORK: Finish the work you need to for your group (either A or B below). Make sure that you have good notes to share.
We are starting BEAT poetry today. This is another kind of art that gained some notoriety in the 1950s and has had lasting effects (we'll be thinking about the same guiding question with this art as we did with Abstract Expressionism, Color Field and Action painting). To start, we'll work together for a little bit on Allen Ginsberg's poem "A Supermarket in California"
Choose groups - these are groups you'll be working in for the duration of the Beats AND you'll be performing together as part of the assessment.* Groups can be no larger than 4 people.
Then, in your groups, each person needs to choose either A or B , so that BOTH are covered in your groups. A. Watch this video and The Beats looking back and now and read "The Rebels of the Fifties". OR B. listen to this podcast about "A Supermarket in California") and read "Jazz Poetry"For each, take notes (you should have at least a half a page of notes for each source) about the Beats, who they were, what they did and why they matter. This information is important for your understanding of Beat poetry and to inform your group's choices and performance.
2/27: HOMEWORK: Write your reflection for Friday.
In class, share with each other their notes from the homework, then revisit the art pieces through the lens of the new information. Choose 2-3 pieces to reexamine through the lens of the new information and through the use of elements and principles (please choose at least one piece that challenged you yesterday). What do you see that is new and WHY does that matter?
2/26: HOMEWORK In your groups, divide between this work between you: at least one person in each group read this blog, at least one person in each group watch this video and at least one person watch this video about Abstract Expressionism. These should add to your thinking about the questions you wrestled with in groups today. Bring the notes with you to class tomorrow.
Please get together in your groups today and share the art that you looked at yesterday. Start by just sharing pieces that particularly interested you. Use the same guidelines for looking at the art that you did yesterday (make sure to look at the elements and principles of art, the title, the size of the painting, etc.). Make sure that everyone shares at least one painting from each of the artists you explored. Then, THINK about this art in terms of its place as a 1950s movement: how does the art reflect the culture of the time and/or how does it push against it? How might art like this have developed in the aftermath of WWII? What similarities do you see between the pieces (if any) and why do these matter? What does the art suggest about American culture? In a google doc that you share with me (cathy_nicastro@wrsd.net) and with each other, pull together the most important insights from your discussion. Please make sure that everyone's name is on the document.
2/25: Please go to the Art page under 1950s (see drop down menu above).
2/14: We worked our way through the Till materials, including thinking about the power of the photographs, the complicated nature of bearing witness, and about Bryan Stephenson's thesis that there is a direct connection between Till and the deaths of young black men and women in our time, and the vital role that photography and video play in telling those stories. We also talked about the resources we listen to/read for today.
2/13: HOMEWORK: Listen/read and respond to one of the resources on the Cont. Am Culture Resources page (in the menu above). Please also finish whatever you do not from the work listed below. Both are due tomorrow.
*To start, please read and respond to the excerpt about Emmett Till's death and open casket from Mamie Till-Mobley's memoir. When you are finished, pull out one or two ideas from your reading about Mamie Till-Mobley's choices that you think is most important and write these down in the front of the notecard and tell me a little about why you find these ideas so important. Fill the front of the card.
Then, please watch the first 4:30 minutes of this video** about the Till case (you'll need to scroll down on the page to the video). The video gives an overview of the case, but more importantly focuses on the way the case became a national focal point, through Mamie Till's determination and the use of media. Please stop about halfway through (when the focus shifts to the trial) and go back look at TWO of the photographs in the first section (you should be able to move the red line back and forth with the cursor). In your journal, describe each photograph the way we did for Eckford's and use the description to explore why the photograph is effective (what does it convey about Till, about his famly, his death, etc, and why does that matter?). On the back of the notecard, explore how/why Mamie Till Mobley's decisions and the photographs fit in with the ideas expressed in at least one of the guiding quotes for the class. Write about how you see her, the photographs and/or Till's death in light of one of the quotes, how her actions/decisions help you to better understand the quote and why/how that sheds light on our contemporary culture. Fill the back of the notecard.
When you finish, please return to the video and watch the 2nd half about the trial and its aftermath. Please take notes in your journal and we'll discuss in class tomorrow.
*If it is easier for you to do some of the classwork at home, and instead you want to use some of this time to listen to one of the resources on the Cont. Am Culture Resources page during class, you can. Both are due by the start of class tomorrow.
** If the video doesn't work, see Till in Jet Magazine, plus click on "Emmett Till Dies In Mississippi" in sidebar for more resources.
2/11: HOMEWORK: Listen/read and respond to one of the resources on the Cont. Am Culture Resources page (in the menu above).
First order of business is to paraphrase and discuss the last of the guiding quotes (the one by Marilynne Robinson).
Review the photograph of Elizabeth Eckford walking to school at Central High in 1957 (Will Counts, photographer).
Eckford and Bryan have had lives beyond this photograph, but this photograph coninues to connect them. Read the excerpt from Margolick's book about the ways in which their lives have intersected since then. Respond/reflect: what strikes you as most important and why? Where do you find yourself sympathizing with one or the woman, the situation, etc. and why? Where did you find yourself arguing or pushing back against the story? Why?
2/8: HOMEWORK: Between now and Thursday (2/14), please choose and respond to one of the resources on the Cont. Am Culture Resources page (see menu above). Details on that page.
In class, we talked through the most important ideas from the podcasts and looked at this photograph of Elizabeth Eckford trying to integrate Central High School in Little Rock (Will Counts, photographer).
2/7: HOMEWORK: Also, please listen, take notes and respond to 2 podcasts by Friday. Here are the links to the podcasts: 99% Invisible (it's episode 201 if you need to search for it. Press the play button that appears on the illustration), The Nod ( "The Haristons Part 2." This is part 2 of a two parter. They recap part 1 at the beginning, so I hope you can follow it. Part 1 is really worth listening to...) The episode explores differences in opinion about continuing impact of slavery. Criminal ("Lavender Scare" the outing of gays during the McCarthy era) Stuff You Missed in History Class (Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare part 2), Fresh Air (an interview with Melba Patillo Beals - one of the Little Rock Nine).
In class: Draft reflections (see below) and turning those in, plus we read and responded to Stephanie Coontz's "The Not So Good Old Days."
On your drafts: put a box around your 2-3 best arguments. Number them and then tell me why you think they were successful. Then, underline your 2-3 best revision changes (number these R1, R2, etc) and tell me why you made those changes and how they improved your writing. Finally, tell me what you would still work on if you had more time and why (how would it improve your address?)
2/5: HOMEWORK: Final drafts are due Thursday. Please print your draft and works cited and bring it to class with you. Also, please listen, take notes and respond to 2 podcasts by Friday. Here are the links to the podcasts: 99% Invisible (it's episode 201 if you need to search for it. Press the play button that appears on the illustration), The Nod ( "The Haristons Part 2." This is part 2 of a two parter. They recap part 1 at the beginning, so I hope you can follow it. Part 1 is really worth listening to...) The episode explores differences in opinion about continuing impact of slavery. Criminal ("Lavender Scare" the outing of gays during the McCarthy era) Stuff You Missed in History Class (Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare part 2), Fresh Air (an interview with Melba Patillo Beals - one of the Little Rock Nine).
In class choose one or the other to work on (both are required by the due dates listed): Your final drafts are due on Thursday. Think about all of the ideas we talked about concerning revision. For your introductions and conclusions, think about the purpose of each. An introduction should set the tone you want to set for the piece. How do you want to start the piece? What's the tone you want to set? Is it confrontational? Welcoming? Conspiratorial? Authoritative? Take control and let readers know what they are in for.
For the conclusion, remember that this is your LAST chance to influence the readers. Make it count. Make strong appeals for the state you imagine as you look forward. Make suggestions about how to make real change so that the state of the union can ben stronger than it is now.
OR
Please listen, take notes and respond to 2 podcasts by Friday. Here are the links to the podcasts: 99% Invisible (it's episode 201 if you need to search for it. Press the play button that appears on the illustration), The Nod ( "The Haristons Part 2." This is part 2 of a two parter. They recap part 1 at the beginning, so I hope you can follow it. Part 1 is really worth listening to...) The episode explores differences in opinion about continuing impact of slavery. Criminal ("Lavender Scare" the outing of gays during the McCarthy era) Stuff You Missed in History Class (Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare part 2), Fresh Air (an interview with Melba Patillo Beals - one of the Little Rock Nine).
2/4: HOMEWORK: Continue to work on the State of the Union address. Due Thursday. Here's the grading criteria for the addresses. See "Early Days" page for more information.
In class, We worked with the Inaugural poems to evaluate the different views of America (2013 and 1961), whose stories are told, etc. and what that tells us about America. We also looked at Rockwell's Game Called Because of Rain in an effort to start to think about the world of the 1950s (in your journals, spend 5 minutes with the art, describe what you see). Finally, we read and responded to the excerpt from Bill Bryson’s The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.