http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/
Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
Oh... and here is that RPG. Just click on the Vikings.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Ferris Bueller vs Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite vs Ferris Bueller
1. Ferris Bueller and Napoleon Dynamite are both high school students with unusual names. What makes them similar? What makes them different?
2. While both films explore similar themes, there are many points of difference. How would you describe the style of each film?
3. Each film includes a climactic dance sequence – what is the purpose of this scene? Compare and contrast these two scenes.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
M.I.A. - 'Born Free'
Great stuff from one of America's most in your face and interesting musical performers.
The letters of Ahmad Ibn-Fadlan
Check out these letters written by the Arabic traveller, Ahmad Ibn-Fadlan, about his experience of living amongst the Vikings in Russia, 922 AD.
http://www.sammustafa.com/Resources/Fadlan.pdf
http://www.sammustafa.com/Resources/Fadlan.pdf
A little evidence of what a little research can unearth on youtube... Here is an excerpt from a film about Ibn-Fadlan's time with the Vikings, starring none other than Desperado's Antonio Banderas.
Monday, July 19, 2010
What are you going to do today Napoleon?
Just so I know you have access to the Napoleon Dynamite questions...
1. Who is Napoleon Dynamite? What sort of a person is he?
1. Who is Napoleon Dynamite? What sort of a person is he?
2. Does Napoleon fit in with the other kids at school? What makes him different to his classmates?
3. Who are Napoleon's family and friends? Do you think he is happy at home or at school?
4. Do you think that Napoleon Dynamite is a super hero? Why?
5. If Napoleon is the hero of the film, who are the bad guys? What qualities make them bad?
There will be more questions for you to think about, disect and respond to once we have finished the film. . . 'Hey Tina, come get some ham!'
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
History - Vikings
Just so we all know where to find this stuff...
In today's class we discussed what we already know about Vikings while also doing some drawings of these historical sea farers.
Required work: students need to read pages 4 and 5 in their Humanities Alive textbook and complete Activities 1 through 5 in complete sentences.
In today's class we discussed what we already know about Vikings while also doing some drawings of these historical sea farers.
Required work: students need to read pages 4 and 5 in their Humanities Alive textbook and complete Activities 1 through 5 in complete sentences.
Allllllllllllllllllright
Okay so today was Wednesday and tomorrow is Thursday and that means we only got one more day until it's Friday and by my reckoning that is the first week of term three tackled. Congratulations!
As you are all aware, there were two small (tiny!) writing tasks set on Monday. Now, what I didn't tell you is that this term I want to focus on what writers affectionately refer to as the "drafting process". We will talk more about why drafting is important in class on Friday, but for now it is enough for me to tell you that draft copies of written work will be expected, followed by revised, new and improved drafts.
So, rough draft copies of the two small writing tasks set on Monday (see the previous post for descriptions of each task) will be due for submission next Monday.
Also, there are questions about Ferris Bueller's Day Off that need to be completed.
Here are the questions:
1. How is Ferris represented in the film? Why do other students respect and value him so much?
2. How is Ferris different to regular students? Provide three examples from the film to support your description.
3. How is Ed Rooney (the principal) represented in the film?
The film is a comedy - but it also deals with some serious issus facing young people. Discuss with examples.
5. What does Ferris Bueller stand for? What does Ed Rooney stand for? Write a personal philosophy statement for each.
And I will be giving you some work to complete on Napoleon Dynamite after we watch the film this week.
See... I told you we'd be doing fun stuff in English. And just in case you're interested... you should try to track down a copy of...
As you are all aware, there were two small (tiny!) writing tasks set on Monday. Now, what I didn't tell you is that this term I want to focus on what writers affectionately refer to as the "drafting process". We will talk more about why drafting is important in class on Friday, but for now it is enough for me to tell you that draft copies of written work will be expected, followed by revised, new and improved drafts.
So, rough draft copies of the two small writing tasks set on Monday (see the previous post for descriptions of each task) will be due for submission next Monday.
Also, there are questions about Ferris Bueller's Day Off that need to be completed.
Here are the questions:
1. How is Ferris represented in the film? Why do other students respect and value him so much?
2. How is Ferris different to regular students? Provide three examples from the film to support your description.
3. How is Ed Rooney (the principal) represented in the film?
The film is a comedy - but it also deals with some serious issus facing young people. Discuss with examples.
5. What does Ferris Bueller stand for? What does Ed Rooney stand for? Write a personal philosophy statement for each.
And I will be giving you some work to complete on Napoleon Dynamite after we watch the film this week.
See... I told you we'd be doing fun stuff in English. And just in case you're interested... you should try to track down a copy of...
Sunday, July 11, 2010
English - The first writing tasks
How many of us actually continue to read or write during the holidays? Isn't it more fun to spend time with friends, go to the movies or stay up late watching the FIFA World Cup? So to give those writing muscles a bit of a flex, here are the two writing tasks I've come up for this week:
Task 1: If you were making a film about your holidays, or about something that happened during your holidays, what sort of film would it be? Describe the genre, casting, characters, events, use of special effects and music. Work on this in pairs.
Task 2: There are two options for this one:
A. How is a video game like a piece of art?
B. What moment in history, in which part of the world, do you wish you had been born in? Why?
I reckon a minimum of half a page each is pretty good. Agree? Good.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The first post - the beginning and evolution of life in term 3
Term three is going to be a big one, and we've got a lot of material to cover in English, Humanities and Drama.
In English we will be exploring different techniques for writing narrative, while also considering alternative types of narrative story telling. We will read and discuss Louis Sacher's novel, Holes. To add a bit of spice to our interpretations of Holes, we will also consider how the novel's themes have been explored by other artists. Then there is all the fun language stuff, like word roots, prefixes, suffixes, and other bits and pieces that enable us to understand and manipulate language.
In Humanities we're putting down the geo-spatial skills and picking up on some old school European history. There will plenty of pillaging and plundering as we study the violent times of the Vikings and, later on, the Middle Ages. We will learn about where people lived, how they survived, and the artistic traditions of this period in history.
Drama will be a different ball game. After knocking over the final parts of our unit on public speaking, we will continue our exploration of improvisation and scene building. There will be a school production that we'll need to prepare for, and that will require actors, singers and dancers on stage, as well as the technical wizardry of lighting and production personnel weaving their magic backstage. We will need to agree upon a performance piece for our class to work on, so start thinking about what you'd like to do. To light a little inspiration, check out the very funny video bellow:
Please note: All assignments and tasks will be posted here each week and I will do my best to provide notes and information sheets on topics covered in class. Regular video samples or links to cool stuff online will also be posted every few days, and you are all welcome to send me links that you think are of interest.
For example, here is a stop motion animation that will blow your mind. Enjoy.
In English we will be exploring different techniques for writing narrative, while also considering alternative types of narrative story telling. We will read and discuss Louis Sacher's novel, Holes. To add a bit of spice to our interpretations of Holes, we will also consider how the novel's themes have been explored by other artists. Then there is all the fun language stuff, like word roots, prefixes, suffixes, and other bits and pieces that enable us to understand and manipulate language.
In Humanities we're putting down the geo-spatial skills and picking up on some old school European history. There will plenty of pillaging and plundering as we study the violent times of the Vikings and, later on, the Middle Ages. We will learn about where people lived, how they survived, and the artistic traditions of this period in history.
Drama will be a different ball game. After knocking over the final parts of our unit on public speaking, we will continue our exploration of improvisation and scene building. There will be a school production that we'll need to prepare for, and that will require actors, singers and dancers on stage, as well as the technical wizardry of lighting and production personnel weaving their magic backstage. We will need to agree upon a performance piece for our class to work on, so start thinking about what you'd like to do. To light a little inspiration, check out the very funny video bellow:
Please note: All assignments and tasks will be posted here each week and I will do my best to provide notes and information sheets on topics covered in class. Regular video samples or links to cool stuff online will also be posted every few days, and you are all welcome to send me links that you think are of interest.
For example, here is a stop motion animation that will blow your mind. Enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)