W3, #7: SOUNDTRACK for BEOWULF

Set-Up: Obviously any film that tries to put a story like Beowulf in front of an audience has to think seriously about the sound track. Pick the right music and the film will cleverly manipulate the audience into a wide range of emotions and reactions, not to mention make a bit of a bonus profit as fans go buy the CD/MP3s after the fact.

Challenge: What would your Beowulf film soundtrack sound like?

• Pick 5 different events (or parts of chapters) from the epic poem detailing Beowulf’s life.  These can be tiny transitional moments or long scenes/conversations; it is entirely your choice.
• Select one song that you think is a great match for each event (or part of a chapter).  Music can be instrumental or have lyrics.  All music styles/genres are acceptable.
• Identify the song and the artist/group that performed the version you think is a good match.
• In 1+ sentences, explain why you made each choice.
• Optional:  provide a link to an Internet version of the song (MP3 — iTunes; video — YouTube, etc) so that I can listen/watch as I’m reading.  Thanks in advance…but this is purely optional if you have time and can find the link(s).

W3, #6: Memory is a Curious Thing

Set-Up: During Unferth’s response to the visiting warrior Beowulf, his childhood is brought up. In this situation, his integrity and loyalty is attacked. Beowulf — besides suggesting that Unferth’s tongue might be a bit thick with alcohol — boldly responds to this attack with a clear re-telling of a vital series of events from his childhood.

In essence, his childhood memory is both his sword and shield in the first ‘fight’ we witness.  Kind of an interesting plot twist for a hero capable of fighting sea monsters, the spawn of Cain, and angry dragons.

Challenge: Write a response to the following question:

What is the earliest childhood memory — where you were the ‘hero’ or center of the story — that you are 100% convinced you remember?

Note: to the best of your ability, try to recall/describe a memory that does not require being reinforced by photographs and/or family members telling you key details.

Length: 7+ sentences

W3, #5: HOOK ‘EM EARLY

Set-Up: Playing off our collective need — as Honors English II students — to (rigorously) improve our ability to:

• grab our reader’s attention with a unique argument (the moment they start reading our essays)
• analyze new literature from many perspectives (without being bogged down by plot summary)

…let’s take on the following writing challenge:

Challenge:

• Write a compelling movie ‘trailer’ (a.k.a. television advertisement) that will inspire someone to want to read Beowulf (or at least go see the movie of said text).
• Focus on the first 5 chapters (from “The Monster Grendel” to “The Monster’s Mother”).
• Use actual text — i.e. real quotations, my lovely friends — from the story.

Length:

• 3-4 sentences.  You may go for 5+, but only if every word truly matters.
• # of Quotations:  2 minimum, 3 is slightly better, 4 is crazy great!
• Keep in mind:  you do not need to use the entire line/sentence as a quotation.  Just use the key phrases/lines.  And make sure that you use quote marks.

Hint: While plot matters, you do not have time to waste in plot-summary-land in this short piece of writing.  Instead, use what you know about the story — tone, underlying ideas, metaphors, etc — to ’sell’ the story.

W3, #4: KNOCKING ON HEROT’S DOOR

Set-Up: We have — like Beowulf and his men — just knocked on Herot’s door. In other words, we’re ‘entering’ the story from a very basic level of understanding.  [note:  hopefully you picked up on the Herot reference!]

Sure, we grasp the basics of the story:  there is a bad guy/creature, a king and his men who are in trouble, a hero that arrives to save the proverbial day, an epic battle that is about to begin, etc.  Likewise, we diligently begin to note various character’s names and lineage-oriented relationships, figure out the basic plot structure, and wrestle with a bit of language (or epic poetic structure) that takes some early effort for us to ‘translate’ now that summer is over.

At the same time, we quickly begin to realize — as Honors students [note: pat yourselves on the back at this point] – that something deeper and more complicated is going on in this story of swords, warriors and kings running from creepy head-smashing monster-critters.  Some of these may include:

• historical/societal connections
• language, syntax, diction, connotations
• literary allusions
• character psychology
• metaphors, similes, symbols
• and this quirky thing that Mr. Long keeps subtly bringing up over and over and over and over…

Challenge:

Part 1:  Point out one utterly cool/intriguing thing that you noticed in each of the following sections that goes beyond plot summary:

1. “The Monster Grendel”
2. “The Arrival of the Hero”
3. “Unferth’s Challenge”
4. “The Battle with Grendel”
5. “The Monster’s Mother”

Part 2:  Explain — in 3+ sentences — one of the 5 things that caught your attention.  Even if you don’t fully get it, take some time exploring the ideas/possibilities.  We’ll learn from each other along the way.

W3, #3: FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE A BIG DEAL

Set-Up: Last Wednesday, each of you took part in your first (of many!) in-class writing assignments. While Mr. Long knows that each of you will grow a great deal as a writer between now and the end of the year, it is vital that we begin to look at various strategies that will help our reader(s)/audience appreciate our best ideas.

Probably the most important thing that all of us can work on is understanding how vital the first paragraph — the introduction — is to the success of every essay. Figure out how to write these 3-5 sentences well, and the rest of the essay will fall into place over time.

To put it bluntly, if the reader is a) not intrigued/drawn into the paper in the opening sentences of the introduction and b) cannot identify a clear argument (a.k.a. thesis) that analyzes the story/text in a unique manner, the reader will not be confident about the rest of the paper — no matter how well written it may be.

Challenge:

• Type your original introductory paragraph precisely as you hand-wrote it in class. That means, if there were spelling mistakes or missed punctuation in the original, include those exact mistakes in this typed version. Do not add or subtract anything. Keep it — in other words — just as it looks in the paper copy that Mr. Long still has in his possession. Making changes will make him nervous/suspicious.
• Identify 3-5 major changes you would like to make if you were given a chance to re-write it for a better grade overall. Explain how each change would help your reader better appreciate your ideas/argument. Note: simply pointing out spelling or minor punctuation changes won’t alter the way a reader is trying to understand your argument. It would be best to focus on the specific text (not outside history), your language style, transitions between ideas/sentences, avoiding plot summary, setting up your argument in a logical way, the overall flow of ideas, your thesis statement, etc.
• Optional: Feel free to then re-write your introduction after your list of 3-5 things. If you do so, keep an eye on making sure the reader will be interested enough to want to read the rest of the paper. While this is not mandatory, Mr. Long would be intrigued to see if you are already in a position to improve your first draft.

Hints:

• Just enough, but not too much: 3-5 sentences is a good goal for an in-class essay introduction. In longer papers, you can add to this sentence count.
• Avoid fluff: Every word counts. Cut out anything/everything that is not absolutely vital to helping your reader understand exactly what you are trying to say in this essay. Treading water helps you survive in the middle of the ocean; it has zero value as an essay writer.
• Start universal; end specific: Allow your first sentence to introduce the text/author and to help the reader put things into perspective. Your middle sentence(s) should help narrow down the reader’s attention so that they are ready to read the heart of your argument. Your final sentence should be a unique argument that helps to understand the story/text in a unique way.
• Answer the question: If your thesis does not state or imply an answer, it is not complete. Your reader will start your paper lost, confused, and possibly not interested. Do not save the answer for the end of your essay. It is not a surprise party. Your goal is to prove your argument, not keep it hidden.
• Stay inside the story/text: Avoid (like the plague) any temptations to talk about history, the author’s childhood, how society works then/now, or to make bland generalizations about mankind. You have very few sentences to work with; do not waste a single one.
• No lists: If you read it aloud and it ’sounds’ like a list, think about transitions between sentences and altering how you start each sentence.
• Ask yourself, “Who Cares?!” Seriously. Ask yourself this question at the end of your intro. If you honestly don’t believe that anyone would care about what you’ve written…re-write it. And if everything you’ve already said is pretty obvious or simply a generic plot summary…re-write it.

W3, #2: VISUAL VOCAB STORY

Set-Up: Every week you will be given a series of random images and 10 new vocabulary words (to prepare you for an upcoming quiz) that will require you be able to use the words ‘in context’ or to use them to write a short story.

Vocab for the Week of 9/9 (all words are taken from Beowulf, not the SAT list):

• moor — a tract of open, peaty, wasteland
• banish — to expel someone from their home land/country
• spawn — to reproduce (as in birth)
• exile — a person who has been banished (or expelled) from his/her native land/country
• quench — to satisfy (as in thirst or a desire)
• reparation — amends for wrong or an injury; often compensation (money, goods, labor) that a defeated country/army has to pay the winning country/army during war
• plunder — to rob of goods or valuables by force as in a time of war/battle
• solace — comfort
• shroud(s) — cloth(s) used to wrap a body for burial
• vexed — highly annoyed

Challenge:

• pick (1) of the (3) images found below
• write a paragraph+ description (or story) based on it using all 10 of the words on the list
• add the part of speech in parenthesis [note: you have to look this up based on the definition]
• make sure all words are used so that the definition is understood/implied

Length: There is no set length, but make sure that you use all 10 words. You are free to write sentences that do not include any of the word to help you develop the overall description/story.

Hint: Go with the image that a) either grabbed your eyes first or b) seems to have a hidden story in it.

Note: Please review words from last week; they will also show up on the next vocab quiz (on Tues). All vocab words (once studied) may be used in future quizzes.

Image #1 (link: http://tinyurl.com/5639fo)

Image #2 (link:  http://tinyurl.com/6z2nwd)

Image #3 (link:  http://tinyurl.com/6oeeme)

W3, #1: EXPLORING THE TEEN BRAIN

Set-Up: I assume most of you have already read the Sept/Oct, 2008 issue of Harvard Magazine. What? You haven’t read it yet?

Ah, so that’s why nobody has brought up the intriguing short article, “The Teen Brain”, by Debra Bradley Ruder in class yet. No doubt someone would have pointed out the following gem of a quotation:

“This is the first generation of teenagers that has access to this information and they need to understand some of their vulnerabilities.”

Challenge: Read the article (link above). It’ll set you back about 13 paragraphs worth of reading time. Offer an opinion (based on the article) to 1 of the 3 following quotations/ideas:

1. “…this plasticity also makes adolescent brains more vulnerable to external stressors…”
2. “By raising awareness of this paradoxical period in brain development, the neurologists hope to help young people cope with their challenges, as well as recognize their considerable strengths.”
3. “It’s truly a brave new world. Our brains, evolutionarily, have never been subjected to the amount of cognitive input that’s coming at us.”

Length: 7+ sentences. Again, just react to 1 of the 3 quotations/ideas to receive credit, although you are free to add more and consider the other 2 options if you’d like.