Learning a Little About You

In an effort to help me know about you, I'd like you to write a letter that has the following information:

Dear Mrs. Welshon,

1st Paragraph – Tell me about yourself . Tell me interesting stuff about you. What is cool about you? What are some things you are proud of? How do you hope people see you? What are some of your goals you hold for yourself?

2nd Paragraph – Tell me how you feel about English class. Do you like it, or not? What do you hope to learn in this class (be specific here, “I want to write better” is too unspecific to be useful.) What are your strengths and weaknesses as a student of English?

3rd Paragraph – What subject do you like the best in school? How can I best help you if you begin to fall behind in class?

4th Paragraph – Anything else you thing I should know about you?

Sincerely,

Your name goes here
Period ___________

Propaganda and Super Bowl 2010 Ads

Now that we have done so much research and learning around propaganda, let's put it to use. We spent two class periods looking at ads from the 2010 Superbowl and filling in a chart that indicated:

(The ads are separated by game quarters. You will need to navigate amongst them to find the ads we worked with.)

Ad Name Audience Purpose Message Style of Propaganda
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dorito Dog

Play Nice

Clydesdale Friend

Betty White Snickers

Doritos: Weight Room

Doritos: Miracle

Hyundai New Car

Cars: Growing Up

Simpson's Coke

Rude Flowers

E Trade: Jealous Girlfriend

Google Paris

Spineless

Mini-Kiss

Flo TV: My Generation

Vizio: Beyonce'

----------

We also viewed the "Dead Parrot Sketch" by Monty Phython on you tube and talked about euphemisms.

Rhetoric, Media Literacy and Propaganda

Propaganda:
The Desire to Influence Your Attitude Towards a Community, Idea, Cause or Position

You are surrounded by advertising and propaganda every day. As part of my on-going effort to help you life your life consciously, I want to teach you about propaganda techniques. My hope is that by being aware of how others try to influence your attitude, you will be able to consciously decide if you are going to react, or not.

Below is a chart that we used in class. The hard copy of the chart has a grid or table. Those lines do not show up in this blog, but all of the catagories and information are present.

In order to complete this chart you will need to visit the following websites:

http://www.propagandacritic.com/

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/proptech.htm

Fallacy Files (look for the tiny alphabet on the left hand side. click on the first letter of the term to see what they offer. For example, if you are looking up "Loaded Words" you would click on "L".

Source Watch - Rhetorical Techniques

OWL Purdue - Logical Fallacies

If you are working on this outside of school you can also watch a few videos that I have included below the chart.

Type: Definition in your own words: Desired Response: Example:
Special Appeals -

Plain Folk




Bandwagon



Fear




Stereotyping/Bias



Pinpointing the Enemy



Type: Definition in your own words: Desired Response: Example:
Word Games-

Name Calling



Glittering Generalities



Euphemisms



Loaded Words


False Connections –

Transfer



Testimonial



Quoting Out of Context



Buzz

Type: Definition in your own words: Desired Response: Example:

Repetition



Emotional Words




Lesser or Two Evils



Others –

Apologise (Apologize)



Bait and Switch



Photographic Manipulation



Product Placement


Card Stacking




-------

Here are some great videos that explain what proganda is. Some of them are also examples of propaganda.

Here is a video that students made that explain what propagansa is, including examples of three major types:


The following videos are entertaining and informative:








These are historic videos:




You might have seen this "Duck and Cover" video at some point during your schooling. It is an excellent example of proganda.

"Cool Hunting" The Art of Marketing and The Study of Rhetorical Devices

This new unit invites us to take a look at how marketers use rhetorical devices to get us to behave in a way they want us to behave. We began this unit by viewing "Merchants of Cool" a Frontline video.

A Few Short Films to Consider

We've spent the last few weeks reviewing grammar, working on improving our timed writing skills and technique, as well as buffing up on our command of academic language. Now that CSAP is here, I thought it might be nice to take a shift in how we work with our materials.

Here are a few videos that we use to discuss the elements of a story, character development, tone, etc.

Just before the Olympic Winter Games 2010 started they posted a wonderful video short, For All the Marbles.

The following film, "Out of the Forest" was created by a film students. Take note of how the story builts and then twists. I hope you like it:

Out Of A Forest from Tobias Gundorff Boesen on Vimeo.

"Wolf and Pig" is a wonderful story with a bit of a twist. I think the creation is very creative.


Here's a brilliant example of how one artist inspired another. The notes on the Youtube.com page say, This is the PEN Story in stop motion. We shot 60.000 pictures, developed 9.600 prints and shot over 1.800 pictures again. No post production! Thanks to all the stop motion artists who inspired us. ... "


This one takes post-it notes to a new level:


Now for something a bit more subtle. I am curious to know what you think about this film. Is it serious, or is it sacastic?

Sign Language - a short film from Oscar Sharp on Vimeo.

That led me to this. It is a bit of a change from the others, but I like the creative approach the creator took to the simple prompt of "Wonderful Workplace."

A Little Grammar and Some Fun Videos to Practice With...

Today I want to focus on a few specific skills:

We're going to review a bit of grammar at ChompChomp.com in the exercise section. We are working on commas today.

Next up, let's talk about author's purpose, tone and message. I'd like you to view the following videos and then create a short written response that explains what you see as the tone, purpose and message. Be sure to include specific details to back up your thinking:

Try out the video from the New Zealand Book Council:


Coca Cola put this ad out in Italy. I wonder why we don't have those kinds of ads showing here:


This is an award winning music video from 2005. What do you think the tone and message are here?


Levi's also has some unusual commercials. Here is one of the best that I have seen so far:


Now, contrast that image with this one:
Sigur Ros: Glosoli

How about this cool music video:



Here's a challenging one:

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

If you found that interesting, you might like to view this, too. We are not using it in class, but I thought it was worth posting. I love seeing how this stuff is made:

Making Of Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

A Bit of Fun - A Thought Provoking Photo Series and a Dance

Although this has noting to do with what we are currently studying, I thought it was worth posting purely for its thought provoking nature.
Here's one image from the "Fallen Princesses" project. The entire set can be viewed here.

Here's a fun video to raise awareness of Breast Cancer month. It features "Down" by Jay Sean:

Writing a Great Introduction

You Never Get a Second Chance To Make a Good First Impression:
Writing a Great Introduction


What’s in a Great Introduction?

 You begin with an attention grabber (see more on that below).

 Next, you offer some background information that might be important. If you are going to write about a book, movie, study, song, etc. mention it here.


 Finally, you offer your thesis. This is the road map for the reader. (See below for more information)


Here are a few different kinds of attention grabbers:
 Begin your paper with a very short, interesting story that is related to the topic.
 Start with a great quote from a related text quotation from the work you are discussing.
 Start with an interesting/surprising/ little known fact about the topic.
 Begin with an interesting fact about the topic.
 Ask a question that leads your reader to think about the topic.
 Describe a scenario that puts your reader into the topic/event/situation you are writing about.

Next, Give ‘em Some Background Information:
So now that you have their attention, you need to reel them in. Here you need to give them a little background information on the topic. It helps them get a better idea of what you are going to write about.
 If you are writing about a piece of writing, like a novel, story, song, poem, etc., give the name of the piece and the author.
 If you are writing about a topic, give a VERY brief hint at its history or at least address why it is important.
 You many need to consider introducing the main characters if you are writing about a historical or political event, or if it is about a novel.
Finally, Give ‘em a Road Map (Okay, actually, that would be an essay map):
Your thesis acts like a road map for your reader; it helps them know where they are going. It should contain your opinion/attitude on the topic and offer the main points you will be covering in your body paragraph.
Here’s a Form to Help You Out:
Introduction Paragraph: (indent)

A. First Sentence: can be a question, quote or fact to grab the reader’s attention.





B. Background Information: This can be information about the characters/people you are going to write about. It could be the title and author of a piece of writing, or music, etc.




C. Your thesis statement: (Opinion + 3 Points)

"Steroids and Kids" Toxic Strength - Reading Comprehension

Hello. Welcome back from winter break. Our first few assignments of the semester are built around reading comprehension skills and gathering information from published texts to use in your own writing.

We are starting off with an article from Newsweek, "Steroids and Kids". In an effort to make it more manageable I have broken the article into three sections. If you work from the online copy you will not have these three sections, only the article as a whole.

1. Chart the changes that Chris Wash experienced from the time he went from being an average high school sophomore on the basketball team to who he had become after he began taking steroids in his junior year. Some answers are offered in the reading, some answers will need to be inferred.

TOPIC: SOPHOMORE YEAR: JUNIOR YEAR:

Weight

Personality

Sports Involvement

Muscle Mass and
Reason for developing Muscles

Form of Drugs


Emotional State


2. The article states the Dr. Jordan D. Metzl “calls steroid use ‘a burgeoning epidemic.’” Explain what you think the term "burgeoning epidemic" means in the context of this article.

3. According to this article, how many teens are using drugs? What kinds of teens are using them?


4. What is “muscle dysmorphia?”


5. What are eight possible side effects from taking steroids in your teen-age years?

a. e.
b. f.
c. g.
d. h.


6. Explain how the students who take steroids feel about them and how they feel when they are on them.


7. Why are steroids hard to give up, according to this article?

As a class we also gathered and constructed the following items that will be used when we work on writing great introductory paragraphs:
2 very short stories that could be used to grab a reader's attention;
1 factual statement that is interesting;
2 interesting pieces of information

----

1. Complete the chart below: Anabolic Steroids

ANABOLIC STERIODS: DETAILS & EXPLANATIONS:

What is it?


What do they do to the body?


How are the effects on the body amplified?


2. What is “androstenedione?’

3. How is “andro” similar to anabolic steroids?

4. How is “andro” different from anabolic steroids?

5. What is creatine phosphate?

6. Write 3 subtitles that could be used with this section of the text:

---------

1. What is “Hypermasculinity”?



 How is Hypermasculinity manifested in males?



 How is Hypermasculinity manifested in females?



2. Feminizing effects can the drugs have on males?



3. This section of the article discusses a wide variety of risks to the human body as a result of taking steroids. Use the list of risks below and the information in the article to make a completed graphic organizer that displays the information. Do this on the back of this sheet.

Risks:
Skeletal growth Muscles Cholesterol
Aggressiveness Emotional Response


4. Explain how and/or why this use of steroids has been ignored or not noticed by the people who support high school athletes (parents, siblings & coaches)


5. What is “dysmorphia” and how does it compare to anorexia?


6. Who do you think was the intended audience for this article – teens, adults, educators, athletes, etc? Support your answer with at least two specific reasons (evidence).