Quarter One

Turnitin.com


Directions for Setting up and Using Turnitin.com

Turnitin.com Discussion Directions




Week of 9/10 - 9/14

Overview:

The Heroism of 9/11 and the role of the "Modern Hero"

Monday & Tuesday: Watch 7 Days in September and discuss Heroism on 9/11 (Responses in TII Discussion Forum)

Wednesday: Begin Anglo-Saxon poetry overview (Old English, "The Wanderer" etc.)

Hand out Beowulf

Friday: Begin Beowulf as a class

VIKING BACKGROUND SLIDESHOW

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1puRRl-eqBY6H0NntZP7P0Y0k7rHq6DspOfGhHxwrzOE/edit

Assignments:

Due Tuesday: Response to film - Due in Turnitin.com by 11:59pm

Due Block Day: Anglo Saxon poetry handout and "Seafarer" Questions

The Seafarer Text


Week of 9/4 - 9/7


Hero's Journey in Film and in Life

12 Stages of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey

Trace the Hero's Journey in a film of your choice (to be submitted to Turnitin.com)

Brainstorm the Hero's Journey in your own life (on sheet)

Write a personal narrative where you either dive into one stage in depth or you trace an event in your life through the stages of the journey. Due Sunday 9/9 by 11:59pm.




Week of 8/27 to 8/30


Overview:

An Overview of the course - A thematic exploration of the role of stories in society throughout time.

Course expectations:

  • Come to class prepared to learn - cell phones must be placed in the class docking location
  • Come to class prepared to discuss the material - If you don't understand a reading or a concept, read it again, take notes, annotate questions. Read and participate actively
  • Show respect for the thoughts and ideas of everyone in the room.
  • Turn in your work on time (or early). Late Formative assignments don't receive credit. Late Summative assignments receive a maximum of 50% credit if they're turned in within the first three days of being late (after three days, partial credit will be at teacher's discretion).

This week we'll overview the class and the units we'll be covering over the course of the year as well as some of the main concepts that we'll be covering.


Monday - Get to Know You - Make nametags, create and decorate reading/writing journals.

Tuesday - Overview of the course - themes that we'll cover, independent reading, writing, cool technology that you can use to make life a bit easier....set up Turnitin.com in class.

Wednesday - What are we talking about when we talk about heroism? TED Talk and discussion. Introduce Cornell Notes



Assignments:

Monday - Homework - "Letter to Mrs. Miskinis"

Tuesday - Homework - Your relationship to Reading/Writing (Due in Turnitin.com by 11:59 Tuesday night)

Wednesday - Homework - Choose an independent reading book that in some way (in any way) ties in to the concept of heroism. (We will talk in class about ideas, selections etc). Due Tuesday after the long weekend.

Choose a film to use to explore the Hero's Journey. (Also due the Tuesday we get back from the long weekend)







Week of 9/5 to 9/8

Overview:

An introduction to The Hero's Journey - Joseph Campbell

https://www.ted.com/talks/matthew_winkler_what_makes_a_hero/transcript?language=en

Assignments:

Due Wednesday: Have your chosen film approved

Due Wednesday: Annotate the handout about the Role of the Hero

Friday: Hero's Journey Quiz (12 steps) (This may be moved to next Tuesday due to time restrictions - picture day)

Begin Discussion of 9/11

Due Sunday 11:59pm in Turnitin.com - Hero's Journey in Film Assignment due in Turnitin.com

Hero's Journey in Film



Week of 9/11 - 9/15

Overview:

The Heroism of 9/11 and the role of the "Modern Hero"

Monday & Tuesday: Watch 7 Days in September and discuss Heroism on 9/11 (Responses in TII Discussion Forum)

Wednesday: Go over guidelines for Personal Hero's Journey and brainstorm ideas. (Due Sunday)

Begin Anglo-Saxon poetry overview (Old English, "The Wanderer" etc.)

Hand out Beowulf

Friday: Begin Beowulf as a class

Assignments:

Due Tuesday: Response to film - Due in Turnitin.com by 11:59pm

Due Block Day: Anglo Saxon poetry handout and "Seafarer" Questions

The Seafarer Text


Due Sunday 9/24 by 11:59pm: Your Personal Hero's Journey

Personal Hero's Adventure Guidelines





Week of 9/18 - 9/21

Personal Hero's Journey Guidelines (Due Sunday 9/23)

My Personal Hero’s Adventure


  • Ordinary World


This is a glimpse into your Ordinary World. This one works especially well if your “Ordinary World” is in some way unique.


Examples:

  • You have two Ordinary Worlds because you split your time between two parents
  • Your “Ordinary World” is 6 hours a day 7 days a week on the ice as a skater, or at the gym as a gymnast
  • Your “Ordinary World” is a refuge you retreat to (your room, your childhood tree fort, the woods where you hunt, your family lake house.)


Brainstorm your “Ordinary World”









  • Call to Adventure


This is a time when you were given the opportunity to try something new, go somewhere new, or in some way expand your world beyond your Ordinary World. It can also be a time when you found out something that would set your life on a different path. (Often the “Call to Adventure” gets put together “Crossing the Threshold”)


Examples:

  • Finding out that you would be moving
  • Having the opportunity to play a sport at a more competitive level
  • Having the opportunity to travel somewhere
  • Discovering that you have a talent
  • Finding out that you are facing an illness or personal challenge



Brainstorm your Call to Adventure







  • Refusal of the Call


This is a time when you didn’t take an opportunity that was offered to you because you were afraid or you lacked confidence. It could also be a time when you refused to accept the reality of a situation because you didn’t want it to be true.


Examples:

  • Refusing to accept a new step-parent
  • Not wanting to go away to camp, to play on a team or in other ways participate
  • Being told you were good at something but not believing it because of your own insecurity


Brainstorm your Refusal of the Call











  • Meeting the Mentor


This is a story about a person who has had a significant impact on your life. (You will tell one story about them, not just a general overview and it will need to connect back to you)


Examples:

  • A coach or teacher
  • A parent or other relative
  • A close friend


Brainstorm your Meeting the Mentor












  • Crossing the Threshold


This is when you left your ordinary world and found yourself in a new, unfamiliar environment (it could be physically or mentally)


Some Examples:

  • Moving to a new home
  • Starting at a new school (the move from CMS to EHS for example)
  • Traveling abroad to a different country
  • Navigating your world post-divorce or after the loss of a loved one
  • Navigating a new world after finding out about an illness


Brainstorm your “Crossing the Threshold”









  • Tests, ordeals, allies


This one is pretty broad so you need to narrow it down to one test or ordeal (you can include the allies that helped you through it as well).


Examples:

  • Struggling with a parent, friend, etc.
  • Struggling academically
  • Struggling with a diagnosis
  • Struggling in a sport (not making the team, not being good enough)
  • Struggling with an issue that you’re facing


Brainstorm your “Tests, ordeals, allies”












  • Approach to the Inmost Cave


This is the time when everything was at its lowest and you were faced with the challenge of trying to get through it. The difference between “Inmost Cave” and “Tests and Ordeals” is the level of grief involved. (Struggling with a parent over minor issues like curfew and grades might be a test, struggling with a parent in ways that impact your emotional health might be Inmost Cave). Ideally if you choose this one you’ll combine it with The Road Back (or a sense of what you hope that road will look like if you’re still in the middle of it all).


Examples:

  • Loss of a loved one or friend
  • Significant challenges with a friend, parent etc. that made you question yourself and your worth
  • Dealing with some aspect of your life that you didn’t know how to navigate on your own



Brainstorm your Inmost Cave








  • Supreme Ordeal


This is the big fight where the stakes are high. (Not everyone has experienced a Supreme Ordeal in their life).

Examples:

  • Fighting addiction (your own or someone you care about)
  • Struggling to get out of a destructive relationship (your own or someone you care about)

Note: If you’re writing about a Supreme Ordeal that someone else was fighting, it still needs to be about your part in it.


Brainstorm your Supreme Ordeal








  • Reward

This is where you write about being rewarded for your hard work. Again, this one is usually combined with another stage since the reward doesn’t mean much unless we have a sense of the value of it.







  • Road Back

This one would need to be combined with another stage (usually the Inmost Cave) since we’d need to know what you’re coming back from.








  • Resurrection/Return with Elixir

This one would also be combined with another stage since it is the knowledge you gained from the experience.



Monday - An introduction to Beowulf

Viking values and culture - warrior culture, taking over land, different moral code

Pagan vs. Christian values - story takes place in pagan times, but monks wrote it down once Christianity had taken hold, so there are dropped in references to Christianity

scops - storytellers

mead-hall - main gathering place; heart of the kingdom

repetition - necessary device for scops since people would fall asleep or wander off during long poems

kennings - compound metaphors ("mead-hall" for gathering place) ("whale path" for ocean)

caesuras - breaks in the middle of a line of poetry

alliteration - repetition of the same sound ("the snake slithered slowly through the swamp")


Wednesday - Some more background on Beowulf and Viking culture

Old English vs, Middle, Early Modern, Modern

The role of the monks translating the story

How we begin. The craft of story telling

homework - Beowulf Study Guide and response


Thursday - Beowulf

Homework - Study Guide and response


Friday - Beowulf Study Guide and response


Week of 9/24 - 9/28

Beowulf 3rd Battle and Beowulf Test

What to know for the Beowulf test:

  • Information from the handout - Basic Viking information - the move from paganism to Christianity, the values of Vikings, the purpose of Beowulf to a Viking audience, the plot of the story (characterization), how the Hero's Journey plays into Beowulf, the poetic devices used in Anglo-Saxon Epic poetry... that kind of thing (and of course, the vocabulary below).

Assignments: Beowulf's Fourth Battle Due Sunday night by 11:59pm

Vocabulary from Beowulf:

  • Kinsmen
  • flocked
  • dispense
  • renege
  • doled
  • barbarous
  • doom
  • abided
  • rampant
  • demon
  • prowler
  • grievance
  • harrowed
  • gleaming
  • anathema
  • exile
  • flofy
  • scourge
  • rampaging
  • renowned
  • prudent
  • revered
  • mourning
  • balm

Week of 10/2 - 10/6

If I Die in a Combat Zone Ch 1 - 1-10

Week of 10/9 - 10/13

If I Die in a Combat Zone 11- 20

Week of 10/16 - 10/20

Finish Combat Zone

Watch Platoon - Compare Chris Taylor and Tim O'Brien













Week of 10/31 - 11/4

Edgar Allen Poe and suspense

Work on Suspense stories

Elements of suspense test


Week of 1o/24 - 10/28

Stephen King Night Shift

Elements of Suspense


Week of 10/17 - 10/21

Stephen King Night Shift


Week of 10/10 -10/14

Platoon and connections between heroism in Platoon and Combat Zone


Week of 10/3 - 10/7

Finish If I Die in a Combat Zone for Tuesday 10/11

Personal Hero's Journey Essay due Monday night (10/10 in Turnitin.com by 11:59pm)

Begin Platoon - tracing hero's journey and looking at connections between If I Die and Platoon in terms of characterization, development of story and theme.

Assignments: Using Platoon Quote sheet (attached below) find a quote from the film and connect it to If I Die in a Combat Zone (in Turnitin.com). Due Thursday 11:59pm

Finish If I Die in a Combat Zone for class Tuesday



Week of 9/26 - 9/29

Beowulf Battle due Friday 9/29 by 11:59pm

If I Die in a Combat Zone - to the end of Chapter 13 by Friday

Discussion of the role of dehumanization in war, O'Brien's exploration of courage and the Hero's Adventure in Combat Zone


Friday we will discuss the narrative writing assignment (Due Monday October 10th by 11:59) (Link to assignment is attached in the "Heroes" tab, labeled "Personal Hero's Journey"





Week of 9/19 - 9/23

Monday: Go over Beowulf Hero's Journey projects and begin "Beowulf vs. nemesis of your choice" assignment

Tuesday: Computer lab to work on Beowulf vs. nemesis of your choice (Due Sunday night at 11:59pm)