Blog Entry #10

Blocking: The arrangements made for the composition of a scene, especially the placement and movements of actors.



Clip - A brief segment excerpted from a film.



Fade - A transitional device in which either an image gradually dims until the viewer sees only a black screen (Fade-Out) or an image slowly emerges from a black screen to a clear and bright picture (Fade-In). A fade provides a strong break in continuity, usually setting off sequences.



Montage - A method of putting shots together in such a way that dissimilar materials are connected to make a statement.



Perspective - The way objects appear to the eye in terms of their relative positions and distances.



Script - A written description of the action, dialogue, and camera placements for a film.



Storyboard- A series of sketches (resembling a cartoon strip) showing potential ways various shots might be filmed.



Take - A single uninterrupted action of a camera as seen by a filmmaker.



Producer - The person who is responsible for all of the business aspects of making and releasing a film.



Out-Take - A take that is not included in the final version of a film.

Blog Entry #9

http://www.freehalloweenscreensavers.com/downloads/BeautifulFallColors.jpg
Personal Response (SORRY MR. KEENAN THIS IS REALLY LONG)
I was five and my mind raced at the thought of even going on the shortest of field trips. I had heard from my older brother about all the wonderful places the yellow school bus had brought them to. I imagined ancient castles, untamed jungles and adventures worthy of Indiana Jones.
I had waited every day and every second of school for my teacher, Miss Sally, to tell us that we would be going on our own glorious adventures. It was no wonder that when the day finally came our little hearts were bursting with joy. Nothing else filled my mind- even though she did not tell us where we were going. All my friends and I talked about was the endless possibilities of where we would be going. Finally, the answer came a few days later when Miss Sally entered the class in her flowery blue dress and declared, “Class, Tomorrow we will be going on a field trip to the Villeneuve Farm."
I was so stunned! Every idea I had formed in my heart of hearts contradicted the very possibility of this. Field trips were meant to be fascinating journeys of self-discovery. In my mind, Field trips were the core of all adventures. To be going to a plain and simple farm devastated me! I could barely imagine how any rational thought could have led Miss Sally to decide such a thing.
In my mind I thought, “She must have never been on a field trip before! She must not know that we should be visiting places full of adventures and wild animals." I determined that I would speak to her and inform her of her mistake.
I spoke to her at lunch time and revealed my feelings about the destination of our field trip.
"Anie," she said, "I know that it might not seem like a wonderful and exciting place to go right now but you will see. Adventures can happen anywhere...you just have to keep your eyes open and try new things. Your imagination will do the rest." She patted me on the head and sent me off to see my friends.
The next day came quickly. I was not in high spirits and as we loaded the bus Miss Sally gave me a reassuring smile. I looked away, my eyes full of disappointment. The buss driver drove safely through the twists and turns of the road. In no time at all we had pulled into a farm yard and along side an ancient red barn.
Miss Sally directed us out of the bus. I walked alone and my friends seemed to sense that I was not in the mood for company. Mrs. Stevens, the farms owner came over to our group. She spoke of the chores that needed to be done on farms, the animals that lived there and why it was so important. I barely listened. I stood quietly feeling sorry for myself and wishing that I was anywhere but here.
Next we went on a tour of the farm yard. The pigs seemed to be giving me dirty looks. I went along but soon Miss Sally dismissed us and gave us free time to run around. I went and sat by the fence of the pig enclosure. I sat feeling the disappointment seeping through my tiny heart.
“Why so glum, darling?" Mrs. Stevens sat down beside me.
I sighed a sigh worthy of someone much older than me, “I’ve dreamed of my first field trip for so long. I have always imagined that it would somewhere amazing and incredible! This place is normal! I see farms every day. They are just ordinary things!"
Mrs. Stevens laughed, “Then let me show you something." She took my hand and together we walked towards the river that I could see winding in between the trees. She held her hands over my eyes as we neared it.
Lifting her hands, she whispered, “Now Anie- look." I opened my eyes slowly. My little eyes widened and I smiled for the first time that day. I looked around with admiring eyes at the trees dressed in their leaves of fall. The reds, oranges, yellows and greens reflected like rainbows off the river. The sky was clear above it and I felt my heart swell in my chest.
"Things may not always seem extraordinary at first, but there is always more than the eye can see," Mrs. Stevens brushed a silent tear from my cheek, “There is beauty everywhere and in everything. We don't have to travel the whole world to find it. It is right here- right in front of us."
"It is beautiful," I whispered in awe. I memorized every tree and every colour.
We stood noiselessly and I silently wished that I could stay here forever. Eventually we walked back to the farm yard side by side. I let go of her hand and gave her one quick smile. She nodded wisely and turned back towards her house. I felt my heart grow warmer. The picture of the trees and Mrs. Stevens' words burned in my mind. Finally I understood-I could be extraordinary. I lived in a world with endless opportunities and my adventures weren't going to be like those I had read about in books or had seen in movies. My adventure would be growing into someone as beautiful as the scene I had just witnessed. I kept that lesson in my heart and I climbed the steps of the bus with new eyes.

Blog Entry #8

Shakespeare makes many references to mythological figures in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He makes references to characters that would have been familiar to many of the audience members, but are unfamiliar to us. Many of the characters he mentions come from Celtic folklore that many of the uneducated audience members watching from the pit would have heard in the form of folktales. For the educated audience, references to classical Roman and Greek mythology are abundant and would be familiar to those people who had the privilege of attending school.

Your task is to access the online text of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by following the link provided on plone. Begin reading the text by choosing an Act, and click on an interesting reference to a mythological character you would like to learn more about. Once you have click on a character, you will be taken to a list of mythological characters found in the play. Locate the character you would like to learn about and click on the name to learn more.

For your blog assignment, you must choose 4 mythological characters that are referenced in the play and for each one provide some information regarding the meaning of the reference and the significance and history of the character. You must write 50-100 words on each character you choose, so you may have to do some additional research.

Neptune:

Neptune is the God of the oceans and of water. He is the brother of Jupiter, Pluto and Juno. In the sentence,"Opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams", Neptune's name is a representation of the ocean. By reading the sentence before this one ("Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red...") we can tell that it is a description of the sunrise over the ocean. By using the metaphor of Neptune to represent the ocean, Shakespeare makes something ordinary seems extraordinary.

Venus:

She is known as the goddess of love and beauty. She is thought to be the daughter of Uranus and Gaia (the heaven and the sky) or of Zeus. Her son is Cupid. She is the evening star. She represents the feminine side of everyone as well as fertility. In other mythology she is know as Aphrodite, and Isis. Shakespeare used references to her throughout A Midsummer Night's Dream. The theme of the play revolved around love and beauty.

Apollo:

Apollo is the god of the sun. He is associated with art, philosophy and law. Artemis is Apollos twin sisters. He is the ideal of manly beauty. He is also the God of poetry, music, prophecy and healing. He is one of the most important Greek/Roman Gods. In A Midsummer Night's Dream Apollo is referred to by Helena. She claims that Demetrius is chasing her like Apollo chased Daphne. In mythology Apollo chased Daphne through the woods in order to rape her. Helena accuses Demetrius of this.

Hercules:

Hercules is the symbol for valor and extreme strength. He was first a mortal but was accepted by the gods after he concurred many monsters. He is referred to by Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's dream. This suggests that she is partly mythical and is part of a less civilized world than the one Theseus lives in.

Blog Entry #7

William Shakespeare’s influence on the English language is tremendous. It is estimated that he is responsible for coining hundreds of new words and phrases that have survived the test of time and remain a part of our speech today. Although it can not be said with absolute certainty whether or not Shakespeare invented these words and phrases himself, there is a long list of words that appear for the first time in his plays. You might be surprised to discover that some of the phrases and words that you hear everyday were first written 400 years ago by William Shakespeare.

Your task is to research words and phrases that Shakespeare has been attributed with inventing. Choose 10 words or phrases that were introduced by Shakespeare that you use or have heard used. Give a definition of each word or phrase and tell me which of Shakespeare’s plays each one of your selections comes from.

Swift as a shadow (A Midsummer Nights Dream)-As sneaky and quick

In my minds eye (Hamlet)- Imagination and thoughts; the way you see things in your mind.

In a pickle (The Tempest)-In trouble

In my heart of hearts (Hamlet)-Deepest wishes.

Love is blind (Merchant of Venice)- Love is not shallow. It is sometimes irrational because our heart does not use all of our senses to determine how it feels.

Not slept one wink (Cymbeline)-Did not sleep at all.

Out of the jaws of death (Twelfth Night)-Near death experience.

A sorry sight (Macbeth)- A common expression for someone or something that is sad to see or in bad condition.

Knock knock! Who's there? (Macbeth)-A common phrase used in jokes.

What's done is done (Macbeth)- Cannot go back.

Blog Entry #6

Your assignment for today’s blog entry is to explore London’s Globe Theatre. Take the virtual tours and allow yourself to imagine the theatre experience during Shakespeare’s time. Write a short blog entry (minimum of 250 words), describing your impression of the theatre. Do you think you would enjoy seeing a play at the Globe? Where would you like to sit? Why? What is the most interesting thing you have learned about the Globe?

I love European historical sites and I love English literature. I think that Shakespeare's writing is so advanced for their time. He used irony and exaggeration in a way that is still used today. I would love seeing a play at the Globe because his plays are timeless and have a really amazing way of connecting incredible events to anyone's life. Being able to witness the plays that changed the English language would be really inspiring. I think that something like that would seem very surreal. Since the plays were made to be performed on the stage of the Globe theatre, the plays would be even more incredible if we could see them on the proper stage. They could then be seen at their best and it would be really amazing to be able to fully understand how Shakespeare envisioned them.

I would want to sit in the galleries so that I would not be in the midst of all the pickpockets and questionable people. It would be easier to concentrate on the play from somewhere where you could be seated.

The most interesting thing I learned about the Globe was how many times it was destroyed. It was burnt down and still Shakespeare never gave up. They were not discouraged and the dedicated their lives to entertaining people and writing plays that have no equals.

Blog Entry #5

Reflect on your experience with the novel October Sky. How effective do you think the activities and schedule were for this unit? How does it compare with other novel studies you have done? Do you think you gained more from this type of study? Why or why not?


October Sky was an amazing book. I think that it was a great novel for us to read. It had a lot of content that connected Sonny's life with ours. I liked the morals and perspectives it contained. I learned a lot while reading it and I felt like it reminded me to be determined and dedicated. I learned that though it might take a lot of work to get somewhere it is always worthwhile to follow our dreams. We can't hope that something amazing will happen to us- we have to pursue it.

I think that the schedule and activities we had for this unit was a bit to hectic. We were always busy working on two or more projects. It made things harder to remember and we couldn't do work to the best of our abilities. I also think that the final project would be better if we could have done individual work. Group projects have their advantages but occasionally groups do not work well together and don't share the work load evenly. I think that it didn't work as well having a group final project because the assignment is worth so much.

I liked this novel study because of the way we used blogs. We got to express our own thoughts. I believe that people learn a lot more when they are passionate about something and since we got to share our own thoughts, we could write about what we loved. When I read The Giver or The Outsiders in class, we had to answer a lot of questions and that wasn't nearly as interesting as this style of expression. One thing that was better though is that we had to present some assignments in front of the class. This helped because I think students put more effort into things that they have to show to their peers.

I do think in a way I gained more from this form of study. I was able to apply it to my life in a way that I would not have been able to without writing blogs. The final project was a good review to affirm everything I have learned so far and the journal responses were a good record of the unit. I would love to be able to study every book in this way because I remember more of the details. I think I am also beginning to understand how important support, friendship and love is. So much can be done with it and so little without it. I am glad that I live somewhere where I have so many good things around to help me get to where I want to be in the future. I have amazing classes, teachers, friends and family. We take a lot of things for granted but I feel like October Sky helped me see how amazing the things I have are.

Blog Entry #4

What is important about friendship? Discuss what is so important about it in terms of the novel and your life.

Friendship is one of the things that make a life worth having. Just knowing that you have people you can trust and confide in is a comfort no matter where you are. It is the way we communicate and build bonds that defines us as humans. By letting others around us be involved in our lives we can develop a part of ourselves that would otherwise be untouched. I think that it is one of the greatest gifts we have been given. It is amazing how natural it can become and how much we can take for granted.

Choosing friends that help us get to where we want to be is also very important. We are going where their going. If we choose to be friends with people who slack off in school, it is likely we will too. I think it is important that we aim for what we want to become and through the help of friends who share similar goals as us we can succeed. I find that to be really important in my life because I know what I want my life to be like five or ten years from now. I want to be able to say that I didn't fail to reach my goals. I do not want to have any regrets and the path I take now will determine whether I will succeed.

Friendship is a really big aspect of October Sky. Through Sonny, O'Dell, Sherman, Billy, Quentin and Roy Lee's friendship they were able to support each other to such an extent that they were able to build unimaginable rockets. Each of one of them is different and I thought that that was really interesting. They may not have seen eye to eye on every decision but they stuck together and endured . They achieved so many things and I think that influenced so many people in Coalwood and all over the world. They were able to accept their individual faults and they learned life lessons from each other without even knowing it.

I can apply this to my own life because I do not often think about what consequences- good or bad- may come from the friends I choose. I also do not take as much time as I should to think about how lucky I am to have so many close friends! I need to remember not to take it for granted and to be the same kind of supporter in their lives as they are in mine. I have so many wonderful people all around me and I can learn a lot from them. They are great examples for me and I think that there is beauty in everyone and everything- we just need to find it.

Chapter 15 Question

Who's support do you think is most valuable in a students life? Which affected the course of the Rocket boys lives the most?

Being supported in the things that we aim to do is a really important part of individual development. I have found that as a student, I need to be pushed beyond my limits to truly do the best I can. I think that our parents have a big influence on the way we view work. My mother has always pushed me really hard to do well in school. Even though it bothers me sometimes, I think that her expectations have really helped me develop talents that I would not of had otherwise. After parents, I think teachers have the next most influence. They can encourage us, push us out of our comfort zone and help us develop our individual voices. I have been inspired by some teachers and I find that if they have passion for what they teach I become much more interested.

I think the Rocket Boys were supported in many ways by many people. There were strong supporters like Elsie Hickam. There were those who helped silently like Homer Senior and there where people like Barry who spread the news of the Rocket Boys. I think that Miss Riley was a big influence on their success as well because of the initiative she took in providing them with the book that lead them to creating bigger and better rockets. Each one of these people did their part in the space race by helping these boys push forward with their dreams.

Blog Entry #3

Do some research on photo essays on the internet. Once you understand the concept of a photo essay, write a brief description of what it is in your blog. Follow this by a short photo essay of at least 5 photos related to a theme from October Sky. For each image you find on the internet, you must include the following information:

1. the complete URL for where you found the photo

2. the name or title of the site you found it on.

A photo essay is a combination of pictures that are joined together by a simular theme. The pictures are intended to tell a story, produce an emotion and/or show someones view. The photos can be in a specific order or in randomly organized. Photo essays adress issues or thoughts that the author finds important.

Photo Essay- The Universal Hope: Dreams

SLEEPzine.com

The pursuit of dreams is something very personal. All of our ambitions are unique and fit our own personalities- who we are and who we would like to be. What one person thinks is a big goal to aim for might not seem hard for someone else. Each one of us is like a star, we are all different and more complex than it may appear.

ClaudiaDose.com

There are many elements that effect us and who we become. Our culture, were we are from, those we associate with and our access to resources effects our future. We live in a country with many opportunities for learning and improvement. No matter who we are, we all have something in common: our ability to make our future what we want it to be. We are free choose which elements will shape us.

New observor- Blogspot

Goals are the propellants for dreams. They are like a tunnel with a brilliant light at the end. We move forwards with hope, waiting for the moment when we will emerge and finally see the progress we have made. With determination and focus we can steadily move towards the dreams we want to acheive, breaking down the daunting into the attainable.

Lizareef.com

Like the flowing water in a river, we have many obsticles. However, we have to progress and charting our own course may be the only way. Their are ups and downs, and often we move backwards instead of forwards. Occasionally we cross other rivers, and our paths are shared with them. Our ideas and views mix together for a short while. In the end, the paths we forge shape our identity.




Articles.art.com

There is always a way. Our dreams are only limited by our desire to move forwards and our dedication. It may seem like when we reach dead ends and road blocks, there is no other way. There are multiple roads to success. We may just have to search a bit harder or ask for directions and the road may be faded and the signs might be gone. Dreams are the hope for a future and as human-beings we strive on their existence.

Blog Entry #2

Discuss how you think you will do with the assignments and reading of this novel. Discuss any strategies you have for getting more out of the novel and how you can help yourself get motivated to complete all your assignments.

October Sky is a novel that continuously motivates me. From the very beginning I found it interesting and very easy to get into. I love the style used to illustrate the author's memories and thoughts. Since I can relate to this book and I enjoyed it, I think that I will be more motivated to do well on the assignments. I find that when I seriously consider the words on the pages and think of what it would be like to live in Coalwood, I can put myself in the shoes of each of the characters.

I have not had much of a strategy for reading this book so far. It has been really easy for me to read because I like the diversity it contains. The story of October Sky is not only about rockets to me but about growing up and developing our unique personalities. Since this book is like an autobiography, I liked learning about history in this format. From the perspective of Homer jr. I was able to explore his world and understand how the lessons he learned in his youth can influence me.

I think that writing blogs has been a really good way to reflect back on the novel so far. I have been able to go over the highlights and the morals of the novel and I have been able to study each character better than I would have otherwise. I once read a quote that says, " Books are not men and yet they are still alive." I thought this quote described this book perfectly. Though the past is long gone, Homer H. Hickam jr. revived it this memoir.

Over all, October Sky might have been a challenge to read if I had not found an interest in it. I can see how many people may not like it because of its length. I'm glad that I found the topic to be interesting. My motivation definately helped me with the quality of my assignments. I have learned a lot from Sonny and the characters in this book. It made me stop to think about my own life and I think that any good book should be able to do that.

Blog Entry #1

Throughout this semester I feel like I have grown by listening closely to the directions and advice of my teachers and my peers. By consulting others, I learned to evaluate my work more critically. By using my creativity efficiently, I developed an individual tone to my work. Through learning about proper formats, I was able to connect my ideas in better ways. Writing a blog helped me to maintain focus and review my assignments. Now that the course is over I will remember the amount of effort it takes to complete excellent work.

I feel that as the semester progressed I was able to improve in many ways. From analyzing and comprehending literary works to writing my own compositions, I am now able to say that I can distinguish the different kinds of figurative language. I learned to edit properly. I can also say that I more fully understand the elements of a plot. I increased my love for writing and creating artistic literary pieces by putting all my efforts into assignments that i can be proud of. I learned so much more about exploring, understanding and expressing my thought and ideas.

The course as a whole taught me to respect and explore the opinions of others. I was able to view the thoughts of my peers and compare them with my own. I was also able to comprehend the thoughts of the authors with a more open mind. By learning to open my mind to others around me, I grew to love new kinds of literature and to share my opinions more openly about the things I am passionate about. This taught me that the lessons I learn in English do not only apply to literature, but to also to my life.

With the semester at an end, I know that I have expanded my knowledge. I have reached the end of the course with a mark of ninety percent. I feel that through my hard work and diligence I now deserve that mark. I did this by using my unique thoughts, the advice of my peers and by listening to the councel provided by my teachers. I put more effort into my editing and into comprehending literature. I loved this course and it furthered my interest in continuing on with English.