Beowulf: The class movie...

The following videos are from D block today. Complete a scene from Beowulf in 32 sec. Given the short time they had to do these, great job! I know that I said that I would post the best one, but they were all fun to watch....so here they are:

Block D:

Today: We found our journals and worked on our first topic:

Journal #1: Describe a recent event where you did something that was not based on reward or punishment, but just because it was the right thing to do. I encourage you to write about the smallest of details. Random acts of kindness....

I introduced the concept of the hero.

We discussed your reading from last night.

I broke you into 4 groups and had you act out a section from your reading in costume. This was done with a narrator telling the tale.

You can read Beowulf fast, but it is impossible to comprehend this story quickly. Take your time in your study. Remember: Fine restaurant, not McDonald's. Chew your classical works slow and appreciate all of the taste. :-)

Have a great HW free weekend!

Block A + B

Today:

We were introduced to journals. I went over how we plan on writing everyday.

Journal #1: If you were a superhero and had one power, what would it be. Please describe specifically how you would use it. 1 pg.

We tried to defined the role of a hero. We looked at the classical definition, as well as the modern incarnation.

I introduced Beowulf and the work of J. Campbell. We will be learning about the Hero's Quest next week and taking a look at some popular modern movies and books that were directly influenced by his books.

Have a great weekend Tantasqua.

Q6

DBlock:

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm

Some audio files to check out....

Brit Lit:

Today in class:

A and B Block took a quiz on their HW reading (pgs. 2-14) in the Anthology.

D Block discussed the introduction to Seamus Heaney's Beowulf.

We defined the following terms:
Caesura
Kenning
Epic Poem

I broke you into small groups and had you each come up with 10 original Kenning's. We then swapped and each group took time to guess the Kenning...

Intro to Beowulf.

Intro to J. Cambell and the Hero's Quest notes.

Exampe of Early Clay Tablet:

Brit Lit

Today:




We talked about the oral tradition of storytelling.



We looked at the evolution of recording stories. We went from stones, to cave paintings, to the printing press....



We played a quick game of Telephone to show what happens to a story after it is passed around. We speculated that many of these same problems happened with the early stories that we are about to read.



We talked about:

The "value" of a good story

Using stories to explain the unknown

Using them to entertain

Using them to teach



Earliest stories recorded the following:



Creation stories/religious beliefs

Explaining natural events, like the sun rising, etc.

War/hero stories of valor

Recipes



HW: Read pgs 2-14 in your anthology. Three question quiz Thursday.

Word O' the Week:

Garrulous: Adj. (GAR-uh-Luhs)  A blabbermouth, one prone to rambling.

Think:

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

Welcome!

Welcome!  We made it past our 1st day.  It was nice to meet you all today and I look forward to working with you this year.