Friday, March 9, 2012
WEEK 4 PRESENTATION: Maria, Morgan, & Laura: THE MODERNS, Part II
What an adventurous week with the Moderns, Part II. Maria, Morgan, and Laura had everyone dancing the Charleston and drawing pictures of parasites! What a contrast and what fun! Your task for this blog is to write an overview of the week, focusing on what you believe to be the most educational moment for you. Support your moment with evidence. Then, what is it that you learned from Group 4 that helps you to know and to understand the influences and motivations of the Modern Age as read and discussed this past week? Be sure to show your appreciation and satisfaction in the presenters.
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Morgan, Maria, and Laura
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your presentation. You guys did a great job and I commend you for that. Your presentation was fresh and fun. I thought that your guys had a great topic to work with. You all know how much I do not understand poetry but I felt like the poetry in your presentation was very good you picked some good ones that allowed for great discussion. What also helped was how you guys analyzed it. I like how you did it line by line. That really helped me focus in on what was going on in each individual line and then put it all together as a whole. Maybe that is what I need to do more when I read poetry, take everything one line at a time?
What made your presentation different than any of the other presentations is you guys had a lot more interactive and imaginative ideas for your presentation. Your skit at the very beginning was a great way to foreshadow the creativity that was going to come up in the next week. However the most educational moment for me was when we did the section on slang. I had never really thought about were slang words came from or why we use them. It is interesting to know that in a time when writing and poetry was so important that slang words would be created then. I have always thought that slang was made popular in around the 70’s. I think that I thought this because this was such a big time of change. Before then everything always seemed so proper, but learning that slang started through poetry was something that I truly did not know before your presentation. Some words that you had in your slide show about slang I did not even realize were considered slang. Like “gym” I knew the proper word for it was Gymnasium, but when I say gym I never think gymnasium because I am so used to just calling it a gym. But I really did not know that “bus” was slang for anything I just thought that that was what it was called. That was a very interesting fact that learned. This moment was also very educational to me because I am such a competitive person. I don’t care how stupid the contest may be I always have a strong drive to win and many times when teachers or presenters like yourself put questions and important information into contest forms I seem to really absorb the information because I force myself to learn the information because I want to win. Other people may not like contest and I think that you guys realized that that every person learns in a different way so you applied many different teaching techniques. You had the slide shows, the hand outs, the drawings, and the interactive qualities. They all worked together to form a well rounded presentation.
One thing that I learned about the Moderns was how brave the Modern writers really were. I have never really looked at writers as brave, but I think if you were a writer in the Modern era you had to be brave. During this time everything was changing no one wanted to read the same thing that they had been reading for ages, but then again there were thousands of critics who would put people down that tried to break the mold of traditional writing. These brave writers are the ones who made this section so good. One brave person form this week was E.E. Cummings he really broke the mold but this is what made his writing so good. Without artists like him we would not have what we have today. That is why I felt it was very important that you covered his poems and I must say you did a remarkable job with covering him in detail and the ways behind his poetry.
There is just one thing that I would have to say for improvement it would have been to have made the text on the slideshows a little bigger because I am in the last row and at points it was really hard to see, but other than that I could not think of any other improvements that I would have wanted to make to your presentation. Great presentation this week I hope that my will go as smoothly as yours did!
Taylor, I was also surprised on some of the slang terms, it seems we use them so often we forget they are actually slang. You also made a good point that this group used a wide variety of teaching techniques to use to teach the moderns part II. I think the group was able to figure out that in order to hold the class’s attention, they must have interaction. “brave” is a very good way to describe the writers of the modern age, people trying to free verse, use slang, or add extra meanings behind their poems; these poems took a while for me to understand but they really do reflect the moderns.
DeleteElizabeth, I liked what you said how some of the most common words we use are slang, and we don’t even know it. Some of the words that were brought up I didn’t even know they were slang. Like you said Taylor, I didn’t know about “bus” being a slang word either. We should all be more careful about what we say, and how we say it. This just makes me think about how many times I speak incorrectly, and if our region really does have worse grammar and vocabulary than everyone else, as we have heard from other teachers (you know who I am talking about). Once again, I did find this section of the presentation the most interesting, and good job to Morgan, Maria and Laura.
DeleteMorgan, Laura, and Maria; a job well done!! Only one more group to go now! First off I just want to say that you guys did an amazing job. There were plenty of activities and I never got bored!
ReplyDeleteI liked how we didn’t have a background day for your group because it was the second half of the moderns and we already covered the background information from the previous group. I know the background information is necessary but I find it the most boring to cover. Your group had an extra day to cover an actually story.
The “The Feather Pillow” was my favorite! There were three main ideas to this story: Death, Vampirism, and Grotesque. Horacio Quiroga (for some reason I pictured him Chinese?) was the author of this story. Quiroga looked up to Poe and had a similar writing style with the darkness and death that surrounded them. Quiroga had a tragic life just like Poe did, and ended it just as tragically. Somehow I feel that a good abundance of the authors and poets that we study all have some tragicness in their lives. Because of this pain in their lives they are able to use an escape route, writing. Not all authors have a sad story to tell but I find the ones that I admire all seem to end up that way. I really liked this story. It wasn’t a really hard or long read. Your group also started this out with two activities, the drawings and the skit. The skit enabled me to visualize the story more and have a good laugh at the same time. I also was able to use my imagination to come up with what I thought the parasite that was sucking her blood at night looked like. Despite not being a talented drawer, I had fun with this activity. There was not a whole lot of description about the parasite which I think was done on purpose. After seeing all the drawings, I came to realize that we all had a different view of the parasite.
I think that this group had the most interactions by far! I felt that the group was well prepared and each individual knew what they were going to say. I liked the handouts, especially the one for the “Feather Pillow” that had lines on it so I just used that paper for all of my notes. The dancing, skit, competition with slang words, and drawing of the parasite were all fun activities. I found your presentation relaxing and enjoyable. The only problem was that sometimes you interrupted each other but other than a job well done. I thought the font was okay but I sat in the front row! Did my group miss the memo about handing out prizes?!?
Laira, I laughed when I read that you said you thought the author was Chinese (I’m glad I wasn’t the only one!). I agree with you in the fact that an author writing reflects their lives. The author of the feather pillow had had a rough life losing many of his loved ones; he also went to the jungle. I can imagine him getting many ideas of creepy parasites from his experiences in the jungle. When I had read the background on him and saw he went to the jungle I thought of the Charlie and the chocolate factory movie where he is walking through the jungle and slices open the giant bug. I also did notice one presenter interrupting another or about to say something and then get clipped.
DeleteLaira, you brought up a great point when you said that the lives of most authors we study end up in tragedy. Generally, we study the most popular authors, the ones most well known for their work. Do you think that the only reason that they are famous is because their lives ended tragically? There are many great writers out in the world, but the only ones that gain notoriety are those who do something different. This differentness can be achieved by a gruesome death, unfortunately. So, the authors who are most known (and the ones whom we study) are generally the people who have had tragic lives.
DeleteLaira
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you that this group was lucky to not have any background information to cover. Sometimes the background is an evil necessity. It is very dry but it covers so much important information, but the Moderns Part 1 did a good job covering the background information which enabled us to be well informed and prepared for this group’s presentation. I also agree with you that the best story was “The Feather Pillow”. I think that it is funny how you imagined how you thought that the author would look Chinese. I also always imagine what characters would look like however I imagined him looking like Enrique Iglesias. I don’t really know why I think that his name kinda reminds remind me of this name and also Enrique is from a Spanish back round. It is really funny of how different people think of how other people are. I agree with you that this group did a very good job. The interactivness (if that is even a word) was the best part. That was something that needs to be done in more classes not just during this presentation. I learn so much better when I have hands on experience. Great blog Laira and great presentation ladies!
Congrats on a job well done Morgan, Laura, and Maria! I have to say the most educational part for me this week was probably learning about slang and the analysis of the two poems. I thought the contest you had slang words was interesting because there was more than one slang term for a word. I also thought that the analysis of the poems were extremely helpful, when I first read them I had no idea what they were trying to say. I also believe you covered “the feather pillow” fully, you even had a nice skit to go along with it. This group had the best class interaction so far. I also enjoyed drawing the parasites from “the feather pillow” it was interesting to see what type of “creatures” people think of when they read, everyone’s parasite was different. I have to say you guys lucked out by not having to cover background, which gave you an extra day for your skit and games.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think really showed what the moderns was like, was the dancing on the last few days. I was both challenging and informative. When the group mentioned that we were going to learn to dance I was thinking about the video of the speakeasies, flappers from our group presentation and dancers in the Great Gatsby movie. The first thing that popped into my head was “oh jeez I can’t dance that fast.” In the end I think everyone enjoyed the dancing (even though most of us didn’t dance the Charleston properly), it really showed what the 20s were like.
Suggestions for improvement include making larger text on the power points, more variety in handouts, and less time going over questions. I personally did not like the handouts because I like to take my own notes and I felt like I had to hurry to finish the questions so I wasn’t paying as much attention to questions asked or slideshow notes the presenters talked about. Other than that great joy guys!
Elizabeth,
DeleteI think you made a very interesting point about taking your own notes. I think everyone has their own style of learning things, and this was a different way of doing it by filling in the handout questions. I can see how that would be difficult. For me personally I liked the handouts, but I can see exactly what you mean about how you were worried about filling them in and not really listening to the rest of the information being presented because you wanted to fill in the questions.
I think they had very nice interactive activities to present the information. Like you said, the dancing was very interactive and fun. I also thought the drawings was a great idea. It allowed us to be creative, while having to understand and know a piece of literature.
nice blog Elizabeth!
Elizabeth,
DeleteFirst off I would like to congratulate you on your confirmation today, you looked very nice today. Now back to the presentation. This group like you had mentioned the best class interaction and that is very true. I too liked drawing the pictures. Everyone had such a different view of what the parasite looked like, but I must say I think that Linea had the best drawing if you can remember what hers looked like. It reminded me a lot of what I think a bed bug would look like. You also mentioned the dancing. I am a horrible dancer and I could not do the Charleston to save my life but it was very fun to learn and even more fun to watch other people try to do it. The whole time we were learning the dance all I could think of was how different dances such as homecoming snowball and prom (which is slang) would be if we were still doing the Charleston instead we are fist pumping! It is so different how much the American culture and writing has changed throughout the years!
Morgan, Laura, Maria
ReplyDeleteNice presentation! Honestly, it was good. I'm not just saying that to get this blog over with, I mean that. I felt like you entire presentation flowed very nicely. There wasn't those stutter moments or unsure questions. You guys seemed very prepared, which showed in your presentation. I think the three of you really gelled nicely as a group. You were able to play off what the others were saying, which is always good to have in a presentation. Morgan, I saw you as the leader which you played that role very nicely. You knew how to be loose but informative. Maria, you always seemed to bring up nice discussion questions for the group which really made the conversation stimulating. Laura, my darling, you did great! I know sometimes you get nervous and have trouble pronouncing things but you have a great voice that really transcends to people during a presentation. Don't even worry, you did great!
What I found the most education for me would be the symbolism and free verse poetry we went over. I write poetry, so all of that was very helpful for me. I loved when you guys talked about imagism. I feel that creating a distinct picture is so so important in poetry. Imagery pulls the words and the symbolism together to create this moment of words becoming alive. I love nothing more than being able to create pictures with words. I think that was very educational and all of you presented that idea very well.
For improvements, all I would have to say is that sometimes I think you could have spoken just a tad louder. I loved the interactive activities like Elizabeth mentioned in her blog, the drawing and the dancing. I think it was something very different that the class appreciated as a whole. The skit was a nice way to present the story "The Feather Pillow" also. You made that story exciting, because when I first read it I was not too interested. Also, you guys picked short readings which helped! I love when I look at the reading assignments and it's only 3 pages, ha ha.
Nice presentation guys!
Sophie,
DeleteI have to agree with you as well that the presentation flowed extremely well throughout the week. It was good how this group was able to finish worksheets before starting a new topic and there was no confusion. Also Sophie, you made a very good point in how imagism helped create the poetry. Although I did not like free verse as much as more organized poetry, it was nice to see the elements we were taught being played into the poetry. I have to agree that the short literature was nice, and made me actually be eager to read the assignments! (No offence to the other groups).
Great job to last week’s presenters! Your presentation was varied and different, both of which are good things. My personal favorite part of the week was learning the origins of the slang words. I found them to be an interesting twist to the usual routine of just stories, and happy to see something different. I know that I use slang words frequently, but I didn’t know how frequently they appear in our language. When everyone had to write down different words for “automobile” and “angry” and the others, I realized that a lot of the words commonly used today are slang. Then I thought of how a foreigner would feel trying to learn these words, or be able to understand a conversation with a lot of slang. A person learning a new language has to realize this too. If he thinks that he can speak the language fairly well, he still might be clueless to the type of slang that a native speaker uses. Even if the slang was not used very much, the listener could become very confused as to the meaning of the conversation. This presentation opened my eyes a little to this dilemma. I now have a greater respect for those who can speak another language.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the Feather Pillow, because of how well it was written. I will be honest and say that the ending creeped me out, but the whole story was very well written. There was just enough suspense that made you keep reading, but it was not overbearing. The subtle hints of what was wrong with her were added in just the right spots, and it was very believable. I really liked this story. The drawings were a lot of fun also. :)
Linnea, I completely agree with your blog. Slang is a language all on its own sometimes, and to think of foreigners trying to learn it along with the multiple confusing rules already involved in the English language is inconceivable. I could not stop thinking about the movie Never Been Kissed starring Drew Barrymore. In this film Guy, the cool kid in school, creates a new word for awesome or cool. Instead of those words he says “rufus” and by the end of the movie everyone in the school and Josie’s work place are saying “rufus”. I also enjoyed reading The Feathered Pillow, and yes I found it disturbing too. The drawings were great because we could see that no two people imagined the parasite in the same way.
DeleteLinnea,
DeleteYou made a very good point in saying that foreigners today must really struggle listening to a conversation with a lot slang. If I were learning a new language and someone called me “sketchy or shady” I would be extremely confused, because the actual meaning to those words is nothing close to how they are actually being used in context. I think of the difficulties of trying to learn a language (I took five total years of Spanish from 6th to 10th grade) and even common words with language, not even close to being as complicated as English, were difficult to learn. I have to agree with you that the ending of “the Feather Pillow” freaked me out as well! I have considered fluffing my pillow every now and then.
Linnea,
DeleteI had similar emotions as you dealing with the American slang part of the presentation. It was really eye opening, as you stated. Although, I never really thought of the perspective of someone trying to learn English. It must be a real struggle trying to speak and understand with so many different words for one thing, like 'angry' or 'automobile'. I'm currently in the process of learning Spanish and I know I will struggle with Spanish slang. I know 3 words for 'automobile' in Spanish. I'm just scared to learn the slang ones!
I did not like "The feather pillow" as much as some others did. It was very similar to Poe's and had plenty of suspense. I kind of feel like he was influenced by Poe too much. It almost seemed like he was copying Poe. Alas, it is solely my opinion. Interesting blog. Keep up the good work.
Morgan, Laura, and Maria
ReplyDeleteI think your presentation was great! Probably the best so far, not to take anything away from the other groups, but this presentation definitely is at the top of my list. Creative, interactive, and informative; this is basically the checklist that I have made in my head as all of the presentations have been given throughout the last couple weeks and you three did the best at meeting all of those points. The little skit to start off the week was great, not only was it fun and different but it really did help us to better understand the poem! That was a really good idea and it obviously took some extra work to put that together. The skit was creative, interactive, and informative all by itself! The rest of the week did not fall off any.
The rest of the week most of your PowerPoints were accompanied by worksheets that went in order with the slideshows. Filling out the worksheets and then going over them helped to understand and commit to memory the background information of the authors and the stories or poems. Usually the worksheets had some vocabulary words at the end also, which helped commit the vocabulary words to memory. The short bits of YouTube videos that you showed were nice also, because they were quick and informative and the video that had the jazz music of the time helped to bring the time period to life in the classroom. My favorite piece of literature from the week had to be “The Feather Pillow.” Maybe this is because it was accompanied by the little drama production, but I really also like the kind of gory, eerie, feel of the story. Horacio Quiroga wrote in a very similar way to Edgar Allen Poe who was my favorite author from one of the previous presentations so maybe I am just attracted to the “mystery” feel that these two wrote in.
My favorite thing I learned from this week is a tie between two points. One of the points was how these modernist authors were really taking a risk for writing the way they were. In my mind as we were discussing this I thought of how scientist like Galileo and Charles Darwin were looked down upon when they wrote theories that contradicted the popular beliefs of “theme” of the people and of the time. There were many other authors and people of the public who really didn’t appreciate the way that authors like Horacio Quiroga really were turning off the beaten path when they decided to publish stories written in their new style. I appreciate the guts it took to know that they were going to be given a hard time for writing the way they did and still deciding to publish their work. The second thing I learned that is tied with this point would have to be the history of slang terms! This was informative and fun, which is probably why it attracted much of my attention. I like to use slang terms when I talk with friends so learning how they came to be was really interesting. I never knew how there were different forms of creating slang works like “clipping” or how new professions come up with new words.
This was definitely the most interactive group so far and that is exactly what I have been thinking was missing from the other presentations. The week started with a skit and ended with a dance off! When it comes to a class in school at 9 a.m. it doesn’t get much more exciting than that! I think that because the presentation was so relaxed and fun that when it came to the lecture part of the week it made it easier to learn the information. Great job!
Dearest Mitchell,
DeleteI too enjoyed the interactions the group had displayed. Despite their being barely any words in the skit we were able to follow along just by the acting out of it, like charades. This really aloud me to understand the story too. It was really hands on. Now that I had thought about it some more, I think this group did extremely well just needed to be careful not to interrupt one another. I too found the feather pillow creepy. The parasite sucking her blood out while she slept…creepy! That’s probably why I liked it so much. I agree with how they sort of stuck their necks out to write a little bit differently than the rest. Interesting with how you brought up Galileo (Bio must be doing wonders for you!) because everyone thought he was crazy but he still did what was out of the so called “norm.”
Vallone,
DeleteAs the groups have been presenting I too have been forming somewhat of a "list" in my head that covers all of the criteria that a group needs to follow to be considered a good group. In my opinion I found that this group met all of the criteria as well, and maybe even more. They truly did a great job. I agree that the skit was a great idea and made the story come to life. "The Feather Pillow" was my personal favorite as well. I felt a connection to the author and was very interested in his lifestyle and his writing. This group truly had what all of the other groups were missing. Great bloggin!
Laura, Maria, and Morgan,
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I have to say is congratulations on your great presentation and on being all done! Your presentation went very smoothly and was well planned and thought out. You had all the necessary information from the book and about the literature along with games and skits to make it really fun and interesting for the whole class. I really enjoyed the activity where you had everyone draw their own vision of the parasite from “The Feather Pillow”, and I think that the results of that activity just goes to show how different everyone reads stories and envisions them. I don’t think anyone’s picture was alike all that much, and on that note in the story the author did not give too many details about the parasite which I think he did to give readers the freedom to envision the parasite however they see fit.
On the topic of the story, “The Feather Pillow”, I have to say that was probably my favorite story of the week. It was just very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. However, I think what really made me like it and understand it better was the skit performed in class. The skit really gave me a clear vision of what was happening in the story, and the “bloody” pillow was a very cool prop. Also, on the handouts given out for the story there were little cartoon type images that went along perfectly with the story and skit which also helped me grasp the story better.
Overall, very well done girls! I think that you each played a very important part in your presentation, with no one person doing more or less except for the fact that Laura had to miss one day to go to the doctor but that of course is no one’s fault and I believe that if Laura had been there she would have done her fair share that day. All three of you girls talked loud and clear and it seemed to me like you each knew when it was your turn to present a part of the PowerPoint or talk about a component or section of literature so you were obviously well prepared. You also made your presentation very fun with the games and competitions. The slang competition was very interesting to see what all slang words everyone could come up with. The dance competition was extremely funny to watch, and I thought it was especially funny how Dr. Pam recorded it on her phone. (Let’s hope for some of your sakes she doesn’t post it on the internet ha ha). Congratulations once again on a great week and let’s hope next week’s presentation is just as good if not better than yours!
Scott, you do not think Dr. Diiulio will actually post that video do you? Oh, boy. I agree that the activities and skits made the presentation very enjoyable. The notes were not hard to take at all; we just had to answer the questions of the handouts. The pictures on the handouts from the first day were a great teaching tool. It really helped guide you through the story again as they acted it out. As you said all the girls appeared to have done the same amount of work, and Laura’s one day of absence is completely understandable. Nothing can be done about a doctor’s appointment scheduled prior to assigning presentations dates. Great blog, Scott, keep up the good work.
DeleteScott,
DeleteI agree with everything you have said in your blog. All of these compliments coming from you really does mean that it was a great presentation! I think "The Feather Pillow" was also my favorite story that was presented this week. Their skit and hand outs made the story really great, as well as how much they covered in their background of the author. I agree that all three girls had great volume and understanding of the material and they really brought the Moderns to life.
Scott,
DeleteI really enjoyed "The Feather Pillow" as well. I had never even given a thought to the different ways people picture how a story is to be told. I really like how you pointed that out.
I also agreed that the "dance-off" was fun. Although I didn't really participate, I thought it was a great way to teach the Charleston. I wish I'd let myself break out of my shell a little more! Maybe I'd realize I'm actually a good dancer!
I hate to say this because I do not want the other groups to feel pressured, but I have to say this group’s presentation was probably the best so far. Congratulations Morgan, Laura, and Maria! You have finished! Your presentations were very engaging and you brought some great new learning and teaching concepts to the class. I really enjoyed watching the group present The Feathered Pillow in front of the class. My group did not like the idea when I presented it to them, so it was nice to see that another group had considered acting out a story too. The Feathered Pillow was my favorite story we covered. It was very well written, and the ending caught me completely by surprise. Unfortunately, I am terrified of insects so the whole parasite thing creped me out. Especially, when I walked into class the next day and saw a pillow with two bloody holes in it laying on the ground. I was so freaked out at first I did not know if I should run or scream. Then, I realized it was just a prop for your presentation and I forced myself to go to my seat. In addition, I believe I learned the most from the American Slang lesson. Slang changes from generation to generation as we can see when our parents try to be “hip,” “cool,” and “fresh.” Incorporating slang into written works would have been risky. The writers of the time were being influenced to break the molds of their previous limitations and experiment with new, creative works. However, there was a double standard to this inspiration. While creativity was encouraged, writers were heavily condemned by critics for their total disregard of traditional writing such as iambic pentameter in a poem for free verse styles. Just imagining the difficult decisions those authors had to make is incredible. You all did a wonderful job presenting to and teaching the class this week, well done!
ReplyDeleteDearest Maura,
DeleteHey, I didn’t ignore your idea about a skit!! Ha. Ha. Anyways, I too, found the slang part interesting. I didn’t realize how many words I use that aren’t even the original words. Like gym for instance, I know the real word is gymnasium if I had to think about it but without thinking I just think gym is a gym? Does that make any sense? I also realized that half the words we use don’t even make sense, “I just bombed that test.” We did not really bomb it, nothing blew up. Sometimes I wonder how anyone knows what we are even talking about. I too agree that this group had a certain pizazz to them!
Maura,
DeleteI don't know what to say about you and "The Feather Pillow". You were freaking out all week about it! I definitely think it was by far the best teaching tool a group has used to explain a story.
I like how you explained your theory on slang words. Almost every word used in our society today is a shortened version of another word. Our parents say a lot of weird things, but I'm sure our kids will think the same of us when we say something that was popular today.
I agree, well done!
Maura,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this was the best presentation so far! I think it was a good point of you to bring up that although many people dwell on the creativity and wonder of the new writers, they were also heavily criticized. It's a good thing to not forget that it wasn't easy trying to write in a new "modern" way. I think that is something that group brought out very nicely with the Harlem section. They explained and presented that that was a difficult time for writers and artists, yet they were able to still create and make magnificent pieces.
Sorry about your fear of insects!
Nice blog though
Everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the comments and even the criticisms, it's good to hear them. I really have a new understanding for how hard teaching can be and how much it rocks when someone actually answers the questions. Also, I apologize to Maura for your bug fear, I had no idea, besides we planned on throwing it at Laira. I'm sad to have missed the slang day as it sounds to have been great. Best of luck to the next group!
Moderns Part II (a.k.a. Maria, Morgan, and Laura),
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being finished with your project girls! But, more importantly, I congratulate you on being referred to as “the greatest group so far!” You all did an outstanding job and truly showed the class what a great presentation is supposed to be. You were all very creative, interactive, and informative. You knew just how to get the class involved and responsive, but you still got across plenty of information and literature, which was the whole point of the assignment. Every other group lacked what you three had, which was enthusiasm and drive. I commend you all on that.
Now onto the actual meat of the presentation. Unfortunately I missed Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday due to illness and doctor appointments. From reading these blogs I hear that I missed fun filled days of dancing and slang words! How unfortunate for me. But what I was there to see, it was great. The most educational moment for me was the very first day revolving around the skit and “The Feather Pillow” by Horacio Quiroga. I think it’s great that you went over his biography and really showed us why he wrote the things he did and how he fit into Modern Literature. It helped how you showed the relation between Quiroga and Edgar Allan Poe. We are all so familiar with Poe, so that comparison was a great way to inform us of Horacio’s style. I also thought that Horacio Quiroga’s lifestyle was very interesting and I am glad that you showed that to us. The skit brought the entire story to life and made the class get a real life feel for its creepy-ness and style. The style of E.E. Cummings really brought out the influences and motivations of the Modern Age writers for me. They embraced their own style and was not afraid to show it to the world. This is a characteristic that we can all look to with admiration.
Again, great job girls. Congrats on this entire week, and I am so sad that I was not able to be there for most of it!
Kristin,
DeleteI agree that they were an amazing group. I kind of wish I could redo my presentation to base it off of how they did theirs. However, I only disagree on one thing you said. I did not feel like a lot of literature was covered. Only a few things were covered in a lot of depth. However, that did not affect how I thought the group did. It really stinks that you missed three days. I know you would have done great with the dancing, probably even beating Abby for the candy. Hopefully the group did a good job in catching you up. However, good luck next week!
Kristin,
DeleteI would just like to reiterate a very good point you made by quoting your quote (ha ha). This week’s group was definitely ‘the greatest group so far!’ This group to me created a presentation that was very educational and had very important literary points while keeping the whole presentation fun and exciting which makes it that much better. I do, however, disagree with one point you made. I agree that yes, most definitely this group had enthusiasm and drive and they kept that up throughout their entire presentation. I disagree that every other group lacked that same enthusiasm and drive. I believe that all of the groups have shown this, but that all the other groups did not keep it up the whole time like this week’s group, which is just one reason why they are ‘the greatest group so far!’ I also wanted to say that Kristin you really did miss out when you missed part of the presentation because the whole thing was just so excellently done. Good job Maria, Laura, and Morgan!
Kristin,
DeleteI'm glad you got so much out of the presentation even though you were there for only 2 days of it. That must really be saying something. It was also interesting how you said they had enthusiasm and drive that other groups lacked. I see where you're coming from but I think this group was just exceptionally motivated. The other groups still had drive. I hope that we can have that same drive. It'll be a tough act to follow them but I know you'll be up for it because I surely am.
Here is something for you to think about. "The Feather Pillow" was originally written in Spanish then translated into English. I think it flowed perfectly well despite being translated by a second-hand source. It must be really following in its original Spanish text to a natural Spanish speaker.
Thanks to everyone for all the nice comments, and as Laura said even the criticisms! I know that our whole group really appreciates it because now we know that all of our work paid off! We are glad that you enjoyed the presentation. Advice to the next group: Do not be too nervous or you will do worse. Just do your best, and I am sure that you will do great! Have fun with it, and the rest of the class will too :)
ReplyDeleteLaura, Morgan, and Maria
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your presentation, you all did a great job!
I would have to say the first day was the day I learned the most. The way you all acted out the story and had slides that represented what was going on really gave me a real understanding of the story, even after reading it. Also, the story on the slides was helpful in further understanding and both elements together made the presentation extremely creative! Having the slide sheets made for easy note taking I learned a lot about Horacio Quiroga. I found it interesting that many parts of his life were influenced by where he lived and his work in the jungle. I also did not know that the bug at the end of “the Feather Pillow” was based off one of the creatures he saw during his time spent in the jungle. Edgar Allen Poe is one of my favorite authors of the past, and seeing elements of his story’s being put into Quiorga’s literature made the story interesting. Also, needing to draw the bug at the end of Day one really made me try to picture what was going on at the end of the story. Out of all five presentation days, day one was my favorite for your group.
Poetry really is not one of my favorite pieces of literature; however this group really did a great job in explaining the different pieces and getting view points on them. Most poems my interpretation is completely different than what the author actually means, so going through line by line really allowed me to understand what the author was saying. Good job on that!
Over all you all did extremely well, and this is one of my favorite presentations so far. I really enjoyed dancing (thank you for the candy by the way!) and learning about how slang started to become popular during this time. The competition to figure out what some of the words were was interesting. I do not think many people realize that many words we use today are actually shorted versions of Latin words like “ad lib”. I only had a few issues with your presentation overall. First of all, I felt we did not cover a lot of literature; however focusing on certain pieces that we did cover for a longer period of time could be a good thing as well. So that criticism is back and forth for me. I am sure you are aware about the size of the words on the slide. I was up towards the front of the room so I did not have trouble copying, but I felt that a lot of the slides could have been broken up into more to leave more time to copy the information that was not only on the slides, but also extra information being giving by the presenters. While coping I missed a lot of notes that you gave that were not on the slides. It was nice that you were able to talk during the slides while we were copying though to keep the awkward silences while we were copying minimalistic. You all had very good eye contact and worked well as a group and had a lot of good information to be presented.
So once again good job, and Congratulations, you’re done!
Abby,
DeleteI completely agree with you. The game with the slang words was a lot of fun and the dancing was fun. I wish I had even an inkling of how to dance so I could have competed for candy, but I would have embarrassed myself more than I do already. I also agree that it was one of my favorites so far. They showed us how to still have fun and work hard.
I also agree with you on that fact that we did not cover much literature, but I think it was okay because the things they did cover they really went into depth with and made sure we understood it. I would rather go over less reading and go more into depth than cover a lot and not really understand it.
Abby,
DeleteOne thing that stood out to me the most in your whole blog was that we did not cover much literature. I have to agree. We spent a half of one class trying to dance. Another half playing games every single day. In a way, it almost seemed to be trying to buy time. I just wish we could have learned more. The poems were all relatively short and only on the first day was there some serious reading. Even at that, we focused mainly on "The Feather Pillow" and only briefly touched on the others.
I also agree that I missed a lot of the information for notes. Everything was going so quickly that it was nearly impossible to keep up with what was going on. I missed many of the solely oral notes as well and couldn't even write down half the written notes.
I also like that you thought of those of us in the back of the room. I honestly couldn't see what some of the words said. They were just so difficult. Then, not being able to take down oral notes really hurt me.
Great blog! You had some really good points.
Laura, Maria, and Morgan
ReplyDeleteGreat job ladies! I think your presentation was wonderful and went flawlessly. This week taught me a lot. I absolutely hate poetry. I do not understand it at all. I do not like how things have hidden meanings, just tell me what you mean and I am happy. However, this group made poetry relatable and I loved that. Langston Hughes was an amazing poet, and I'm glad the group pointed out his work. They also did a very good job presenting all of the information.
The thing that taught me best this week was the little skit at the beginning. It was a great way to start off the week. "The Feather Pillow" was a great story, and one I actually understood. However, the skit was a great idea, and I actually remember the story better because of it. I also liked learning about the author, Horacio Quiroga, and how crazy and dark his life was. It absolutely amazes me what awful things people have to go through, but they can turn it into a semi-positive. It may not have been the best situation, but he was able to write great stories because of it, just like Edgar Allen Poe. I know we could all attempt to write those stories, but without living through an expierence like that, we will never be able to understand. Also drawing the parasite was fun. I am not creative at all, nor can I draw anything at all, but I had fun doing that. Although, I don't know if mine would count as a blood-sucking parasite, more like a germ in a children's story.
Also, we learned about the Modern Era. The Harlem Renannisance was all about new writing and music. It is also when African American's really started to show their influence. They still struggled and they were still ridiculed, but they were making progress. They were taking one giant step for themselves. The one poem we read showed how big of a deal it was for a little black boy and a little white boy to be holding hands. Today, we might not think twice about it, but back then it was a big deal and everyone paid attention to it. I can't imagine not being allowed to be friends with someone because of their skin.
The group did a really good job. I have very few criticisms. One would be that the font on the powerpoints was a little small sometimes, and other times they went a little fast. My final criticism is that there wasn't much discussion during the week. I kind of missed that. However, those are the only things I can think of. I feel like the group did an amazing job and they all worked well together. They fed off of one another well. You could tell they practiced it, but it wasn't so rehearsed that it was stiff. Great job ladies. I think you did a great job and only deserve praise.
Stephanie,
DeleteAs you said Stephanie, this week’s group’s skit right at the beginning was a great way to start the week. To me, it really set the tone for just how fun and exciting their presentation was going to and it really was. All of the games and competitions made it a really nice break from all the kind of boring, normal routine of read a story, talk about or fill out a worksheet, then repeat again and again. I have to admit I wish my group had been as creative and fun as this group was, but sadly our chance is long gone. Hopefully next week’s presentation is as fun. I also agree with one of your criticisms. Despite what I mentioned above about the normal kind of boring routine of read, discuss, worksheet, I did miss doing at least some class discussion which I think was lacking. Class discussion is a really great way to learn about how others think and view different topics and get people involved. However, I think that this group definitely did a lot to get people involved in other ways with the competitions and dancing and the likes of those. Overall, great job this week girls and good luck to next week’s group!
I’d like to start off by thanking this week’s presenters, Morgan, Maria, and Laura, for all the fun activities they shared with the class. I think I can speak for the entire class and say that we all had a great time. The little skit to begin the presentation was very interesting, to say the least. It really depicted the story and helped add a little humor to it. I also enjoyed the activity involving all the slang terms and seeing just how often they’re used in society without ever being noticed. I think you all did a great job of conveying such a wide range of information in just a short amount of time. Congratulations on being finished with your project!
ReplyDeleteFor me, I think I learned the most from the PowerPoint presentations. I really thought the presenters did an outstanding job of explaining all the different authors and pieces of literature from the time period. The handouts we were given to fill out during the presentation were so much help. It made me pay closer attention so I didn’t miss anything important. I do have one criticism concerning the handouts. I think that less paper could’ve been used if the group would’ve printed them back-to-back. It actually would’ve made them seem more professional and added a small amount of neatness. I know it may only pertain to the APES students of the class, but I know I definitely thought about it more than once this week.
My favorite piece of literature we covered was the poem “Tableau”. I’m not sure why I liked it so much, but I really understood it. I think being able to feel the power through writing is what drew me into it.
Kristy,
DeleteWhy is it that APES always seems to show up in our conversations? Anyways, I think you had a very good blog. I completely agree that Tableau was my favorite piece. There was just a sweet simplicity to it that we could all understand. Nonetheless, it carried a powerful message. It was just so easy to love that it was hard not to.
I do criticize your take on the handouts though. I stated in our group in class and in my blog that I would have preferred more creativity and less monotony. I really had an issue taking my own notes so if we get quizzed on anything not on those handouts we are all in trouble.
I also love that you brought up how slang has weasled it's way into our every day life. I think we all say things like "Hang in the gym" without even realizing we are using slang. It is so interesting!
To Laura Buchheit (with two h's as I recently learned), Maria Tettis, and Morgan Onink:
ReplyDeleteYou girls did a fabulous job! This was honestly the most enjoyable presentation we have had to date. It was so fun and there were so many interesting activities that we all got to interact in. I really had a lot of fun this week! It was a great experience and I learned so much.
Now, to the real blogging. I really do think that this was one of the best presentations that has ever been presented to me. It was so creative and interactive. They used the information that they had to the best of their abilities and helped us to better understand things with simple background information.
The little performance that was given at the beginning of the week was so humorous. I tried not to laugh but under my breath I really was. The content was so serious but for the classroom setting it was comical. Only getting a few words out of it made it even funnier. I distinctly remember, "She died? I thought she was just taking a nap!" I realize this was joking but it definitely set a tone for the rest of the week.
The whole week was filled with fun activities. I particularly enjoyed adding color to the room with our drawings and trying to do the Charleston. How on earth do feet move that way? First person to answer gets imaginary bonus points. But I had known a few of the simpler steps. It really just gave us all something to laugh about and I believe that we all left the room with some semblance of a smile on our faces after the day.
My favorite piece of literature was probably "Tableau." The other pieces were great but really hard to understand. In "Tableau," the meaning was clear and some really beautiful symbolism was used. I loved comparing the whole scene to thunder and lightning. If you think about the colors of a thunderstorm even, the clouds are completely black and one bright white streak illuminates everything and makes it what it is.
Again, I loved the presentations but there was one issue I had with them. The group went ridiculously fast! I couldn't even take personal notes that weren't on the handouts for the most part! There were times when they would be done with a slide and we would all just wait in awkward silence because nobody could write quickly enough. Even the style of the handouts got monotonous after a while. I would have liked to see some variety or more pictures. I would have also liked to talk about a few more subjects. Poems are short and they don't take that much time to cover.
Overall, the presentation was fabulous. As I said before, most enjoyable one yet. To the girls, congratulations. You obviously put some hard work into this and it showed through.
Thank you to all of you! It was great seeing all of the compliments and constructive criticisms. I'm glad everyone had some fun throughout the week! Thanks also for everyone's participation during the presentation that prevented those awkward silences! And good luck to the next group, have fun and I'm sure you'll nail it! (:
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Renaissance was an important time in American Literature. Although occasionally confusing, the group did a phenomenal job in making them come to life. I now feel like I have a strong grasp on the literature covered in the second part of the modern age. I also now know how to spell “renaissance” correctly! Personally I really like the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. He is the billboard name of the Harlem Renaissance so I had high expectations, which were fulfilled. I felt what he was trying to portray though his specifics. He preached on the horrors of segregation and the heaven-like area known as Harlem.
ReplyDeleteThe ‘make it new’ section most definitely lived up to its name. The symbolism, romanticism, and imagism used in the free verse were all very unique. Before this presentation, I never read an free verse poetry. After this week’s presentation I now have a greater appreciation for this radical, often rejected style.
The most outstanding section covered, I believe, was the American Slang. I never really thought about slang used in literature. It’s just one of those things that we assume because we so casually speak it. Being introduced to ‘cant’, ‘argot’, and jargon was special. I hope it can help with my future reading and writing. To my understanding, writing without slang may be a good thing in a scientific paper. With that acquired knowledge, I can avoid future confrontations dealing with my obvious Pennsylvanian slang. The game with guessing the slang really opened my eyes to it. I feel like it was the most educational part for me. I had a miniature revelation after we played that game. I finally understand slang and jargon!
I think the most enjoyable part, by far, was the dancing part. It got us to learn in a different way that just sitting there taking notes. It provided us with the influences of the times. That influence changed poetry and writings during the times. The modernistic feeling was crucial to their expert writing. The contrast portrayed by this group was vital to a successful presentation. They hit the nail on the head with everything coming together. Morgan was the rock of the group. She was one to whom they could rely. Maria had brilliant discussion points. Her enthralling questions really made me think and challenge my critical thinking skills. Laura was there with the book smart. She knew the stories extremely well. With her specific knowledge she was able to relate the discussion to major points in the stories. Together, they form an expert team. When those three attributes joined, special things were bound to happen. I was pleased to see the efficiency that this group had with their technology. I do not recall a time where I sat there waiting for a Youtube video to load. My only criticism was the excessive use of paper. I like to use a little paper as possible. Eye contact was crisp and volume was perfect. All in all it was quite amazing. I applaud you. You had my easily distracted attention and that is rather difficult to attain. You’ve set the paper high for my group. I’m always up for a good challenge and I seem to have one after your genius presentation.