Due 3/28: Oral Bridge Summaries
Please post a summary of your oral bridge such that we will have a record of them all from which we might pull once we begin our teaching careers.
Here's mine:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas to "Ethan Brand": Following a brief introduction to the Great Chain of Being and the idea of knowing one's place/connectivity to humanity, I read from the Dr. Suess book, focusing on the parts where there is a clear "chain" of happily connected Hoos. I did some DRTA questioning before prompting you all to consider the theme in the Hawthorne story, from which I also read, completing the bridge.
posted by Bucky C. @ 9:02 AM
14 comments
14 Comments:
Slave Quilt Article (http://educ.queensu.ca/~fmc/may2004/Underground.html)to Anahita's Woven Riddle: Following a brief introduction reviewing symbolism and giving examples of non-literary symbols, I read from the article, focusing on the symbols in the quilt, what they looked like, meant, and were used. I then read an excerpt from Anahita's Woven Riddle that explained how Anahita's rugs have meaning woven into them, even though she cannot read, write, or do formal math. I reconnected to the article, stating that the slaves did not have a formal education either, but they were able to sew meaning into the quilts. I concluded by asking students to predict what "meaning" will be in Anahita's "woven riddle" and for what it will be used. (This whole activity is a hook to use before beginning reading the novel.)
I linked M.T Anderson's Feed to George Orwell's 1984. Following a brief introduction on government control and a loss of self identity, I asked my class to imagine the government controlling their thought process. I wanted them to be thinking about how they would feel if everything they were thinking or feeling was being controlled by someone else. Everyone said that the thought was a scary one. I then read a few paragraphs from Anderson's Feed discussing different instances where Violet is saying everything they do and say is being monitored, and how they really have no control of themselves. After, I read some similar instances from 1984 about Wintson's loss of identity because Big Brother is watching! At all times their government has say-so. I wanted the class to realize that the goverment in today's society really mimicks the socities explained in the two books I linked. After I was finished reading, I had the class ponder on the thought again of government control. I ended with asking the question: How close of a REALITY are both of these novels? Many people agreed that many things seen in these novels parallel today's society!
At the begginning of my Oral Bridge I read the American Dictionary definition of the words "nature" and "destiny." This set them up as similar forces to consider. The class gave examples of the use of nature in litrature and its affects on characters. A story mentioned was Hatchet. Then I asked the same for destiny where I mentioned Romeo and Juliet. I read from the Takes of Beatrice Potter the "Tale of Jemima Puddleduck" and then Earnest Heminway's A Farewell to Arms. Where the class guessed whether destiny or nature interviened at the climax of these stories.
At the beginning of my oral bridge, I proclaimed that this week was "Be kind to one another week." Then I di a scenario of an elderly lady getting on a city bus and she finds no seat. I asked students if they would give up their seat to her or let her stand because they paid for the fare and they deserved the seat as much as she did. Some of them answered that they would give their seat up for the lady. Then I read some excerpts from "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli where she sung Happy Birthday to peopleand gave people cards for different things. Stargirl also gave smiles to people. Then I read a poem from "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II" entitled "Give Random Acts of Kindness a Try!" When I completed the bridge, I assigned them homework. It was to do an act of kindness to someone, then return to class the next day with three paragraphs about how kindness affected the person it was given to and how they felt after showing kindness to someone. Last of all I told the class to smile because someone will smile back at you!
I used a traditional favorite, Charlotte's Web to link Kimberly Holt's My Louisiana Sky. The students were to tell me what they thought it meant to take something for granted and to share experiences in which they may have taken something or someone for granted. They were also to fill in the blanks to the famous quote, "You never know how much you love someone until they are gone." I connected the two books by reading excerpts about how Wilbur lost Charlotte (his rock) and how Tiger Ann lost her grandmother (her rock). The two characters were feeling frustrated because they could not control the natural way of life. To conclude, I told the class that Tiger Ann had a choice to make since she lost her grandmother. She could either help her slow parents or move to a bigger city with her aunt and begin a new life.
Harry potter and the half blood prince to frankinstien
after asking the class who had read harry potter and reminding the class that the reason that i was going to read it was because i was just cool like that...i asked the class to do some predictions about the what they thought could connect the two texts. I introduced the passage of the memory where tom riddle was learning about horcruxes and connected it to the 4th chapter of frankinstien, where victor is at university and showing his thirst for knowledge.
I bridged the poem "Mindleaving" by Hayan Charara to Nicholas Sparks'The Notebook. I started my presentation off by asking the class about their homework I had assigned; which was to write a poem about something they had lost. A few students told the class what they lost. I then explained that some things people lose they can not get back or replace. I then asked the class for the definition of Alzheimers. After the student answered, I added a little bit more to what the illness was and then began reading the poem i picked out. I then told the class about the novel we would be reading and a little bit about the background of the story. I then asked for predictions on what the section was going to be about that I was about to read. I then read the section from The Notebook and told the class that they had predicted correctly. I then assigned the first one hundred pages for the class to read for a discussion in the following class period.
Gary Paulsen's"Hatchet" to Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe". I began by asking the class if they had one possession that they were convinced they simply could not live without. After a few of them answered, I asked if they thought they could survive not just without there most prized possesion, but without ANY of their possessions, and also without any guidance or aid by another human being. I focused on the importance of hope in a survival situation, and read excerpts that demonstrated hope in both Brian and Robinson.
This is what I intended to do in my bridge. Somehow I didn't quite get it right. Guess it was the afternoon shopping spree that set me off.
Shannon McCraw
Prof. Carter
ENG 418
19 March 2007
Oral Bridge: Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak
and
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
Have you ever been wrongly accused? Ever experienced being misinterpreted in an act that you thought was the “right thing to do?” How about wrongly judging someone else or putting a label on someone else due to hearsay and rumors?
When I walked to the front of the class with this label on me I bet you snickered to yourself or felt uncomfortable for just a few seconds. Did the thoughts of societal rules and morals flash through your minds? And if only for a second, did you want to throw the proverbial rock at me and shun me? Of course you did; its human nature to make judgments of others.
If any of these thoughts did occur to you, you are a member of the same social communities who ostracized Melinda Sordino and Hester Prine. They were also falsely labled and misjudged by their peers and communities.
Listen to the instances in which they attempted to defend themselves from the cast stones.
(Reading from The Scarlet Letter and Speak)
Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, written in 19th century about a Puritanical community who ostracized a woman who had a child out through an adulterous affair and would not speak the name of the father. Anderson’s Speak, published in the 21st century, is about a girl who was ostracized for not speaking up for herself against her friends accusations of ratting on them. As you can see, there’s nothing new under the sun. People will believe what they will without regard to the whole story or the lives involved.
I linked Bridge to Terabithia to Love, Ruby Lavender. I began the bridge by asking the class if they every lost something or someone close to them and kind of thought it was their fault. In both books one of the characters lost someone close to them and some how thinks its because of them. At the end of the presentation I told the class that we would further the reading of the books in class the next day.
I bridge the book "Skipping Christmas" to "The Road not Taken." I told the class to imagine you are faced with two roads, two ideas, or two possibilities of action.This bought up the question of how it brings up whether it is better to choose a road in which many have traveled or choose one that no one has traveled. After giving a little preview of what I was going to talk about I then read a paragraph out of "Skipping Christmas". I then read the poem "The Road not Taken." I brought up the point that in "the road not taken," it shows that one does not want to be like everybody else and if you choose a different path then it can bring satisfaction. Both "Skipping Christmas" and "The Road not Taken" deal with the choice between two roads in which they have to choose and with the results of one could lead them to what they believe is happiness.
Little Red Riding Hood to Beowulf: After reviewing the meaning of symbolism/imagery in literature, I compared the use of animal imagery used in both texts. We discussed as a class how we use animal characteristics to describe deviant behavior in society by comparing the Wolf to Grendel. We analyzed the character of the wolf as a class and then I assigned a creative writing activity involving students thoughts/predictions on the character of Grendel.
Following a mini-lesson on the meaning of "utopia," I bridged the book "The Giver" to Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic "The Scarlet Letter." We discussed in class about the balance between society's control over the individual and the individual's self-control. This happened to be a major theme between both of the novels. After the reading, I assigned the first chapter of "The Scarlet Letter" and a couple of paragraphs answering this question. How much control should a society have over its people and how much control should individuals have over themselves?
When beginning the oral bridge I introduce William Blake's "Holy Thursday" from Songs of Experience by reading it aloud. After reading the poem I will then read a portion of the Grapes of Wrath that deals with poverty. After reading the two works I will then ask the students questions that will lead them to connect the two works together.
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