All Boys, All Blogged: May 7, 2013

Focus: Analyzing motifs in your book-film clubs

1. Warm-up: Human minesweeper: Brainstorming concrete motifs vs. abstract motifs

2. Finishing your setting activities from last week if you have not done so (make sure it's published on your website)

3. Developing your motif activity (this one might take you a little longer) and publishing it on your website

HW:
1. Remember that MAP testing is tomorrow in the library computer lab.

2. Assigned book club reading for Thursday.


3. Synthesis essay revisions due Wednesday, May 15.  Please highlight all changes on the new draft, type a brief explanation of the changes you made and why they strengthened your essay, and staple everything to your original draft and rubric with my comments.  Revisions will not be accepted unless you follow the revision policy.

4. Book club websites (including all daily activities) due by 5:00 pm on Thursday, May 16.

5. Final mockumentaries due at the beginning of class Friday, May 17.  NO extensions will be granted for any reason.

All Boys, All Blogged: May 6, 2013

Focus: Developing your mockumentaries

Please meet in our normal classroom today.

1. Warm-up: Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a sample student mockumentary

2. Enjoying a quick mini-lesson on one of the tricky technical aspects of the mockumentary: Music

• iTunes will not share music with your film application...not now, not ever.

• The trick is to convert your music into MP3 form.

• Try burning your music onto a CD and bringing it to class.  When you insert the CD, a window will pop up asking what you want to do.  Select "Rip music using Windows Media Player," and this should save your selected music as MP3s in your music folder.

• You can also capture a Youtube music video and then use just the music without the video, but I'm not sure yet how this works with wevideo.

• Other ideas?  Matt?

3. Developing our mockumentary films

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading for tomorrow.

2. Continue working on your mockumentary, particularly the music and narration (only three in-class work days left).

3. Synthesis essay revisions due Wednesday, May 15.  Please highlight all changes on the new draft, type a brief explanation of the changes you made and why they strengthened your essay, and staple everything to your original draft and rubric with my comments.  Revisions will not be accepted unless you follow the revision policy.

4. Book club websites (including all daily activities) due by 5:00 pm on Thursday, May 16.

5. Final mockumentaries due at the beginning of class Friday, May 17.  NO extensions will be granted for any reason.

All Boys, All Blogged: May 3, 2013

Focus: Creating your mockumentary

1. Warm-up: Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a student mockumentary

2. Trying out www.wevideo.com

3. Creating your film (script, narration, and images)

NOTE: If you want to capture video today, please let me know right away so I can help you.

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading for Tuesday.
2. Only one and a half more weeks of mockumentary work time--get that script narrated if you haven't done so yet!

All Boys, All Blogged: May 2, 2013

Focus: Analyzing settings and motifs in your book-film club books

1. Warm-up: Offering you a few sample book-club sites to peruse

2. Finishing your website (if needed)

3. Working on and finishing your SETTING activity from yesterday; click HERE for directions.  Please publish your work on your website when you finish.

4. If time allows, starting your MOTIF activity; click HERE for directions

HW:
1. Finish your script and get it narrated (recorded).
2. Assigned book club reading for Tuesday.

All Boys, All Blogged: May 1, 2013

Focus: Analyzing SETTING with your book-film clubs

1. Warm-up: Wrapping up loose ends

Is your website finished, and have you published your expectations and your characterization activity?

2. Interpreting and discussing setting with your book-film clubs: Please click HERE for instructions.

3. Publishing your setting activity on your website

HW: 
1. Assigned book club reading for TOMORROW.
2. Complete your script and narrate it by the end of the week.

All Boys, All Blogged: April 30, 2013

Please meet in the C-22 computer lab today.

Focus: Starting to create your film!

1. Warm-up: Meet Windows Movie Maker!

Can you...

• Import an image?
• Create a text slide
• Import a video?
• Import music?
• Layer narration, music, and images?

2. Finishing your script and making a plan for recording it

3. Starting to gather images and create text slides for your mockumentary

SAVE ALL IMAGES--EVERY SINGLE ONE--ALL NARRATION, MUSIC, THE MOVIE ITSELF, ETC. IN A SINGLE FOLDER, THEN SAVE THAT FOLDER IN AT LEAST TWO PLACES.

KEEP TRACK OF ALL WEBSITES CONSULTED.

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading.
2. Finish your script and get it recorded by this Friday.

All Boys, All Blogged: April 29, 2013

Focus: Developing your mockumentary script and your book club website

Class, Part I


1. Warm-up: Listening to an opening clip from a "real" documentary

What do you notice about the script itself (powerful words and phrases)?

How does the script turn this into a movie about us? In other words, how does it capture human interest?

What ideas can you steal for your mockumentary?

2. Developing the script for your mockumentary

Brief Intermission

Class, Part II

3. Creating websites for your book clubs

Two possible web applications for your website: www.wikispaces.com and Google sites

Criteria for your website:
Remember that this website will be how you share all of your book club work with me.  Your website grade will be your culminating grade for this unit.

    First names of group members (no last names, please).
    Title and author of book club book

You will need separate links/pages within your website for the following items:

1. Statement of purpose: Who are you, and why are you creating this site?
2. Group expectations (created last week)
3. Characterization activity (description of assignment and link to it and the product you created, whether it was a series of brains or a discussion)
4. Setting activity
5. Motif activity
6. Theme activity
7. Book-film comparison

Please e-mail your website link before the end of class.

HW:
1. Assigned book club reading
2. Your big,big task of the week: Finish your script and record your narration by Friday.