Where Are They Now? Canterbury Tales Style

Students in English 11 concluded the study of the Canterbury Tales Prologue with a project in which they were each assigned a character for whom they had to use Chaucer's characterization along with their opinions to make predictions as to where the character might turn up and how he/she may fare in life.  Students developed an oral presentations of some sort to demonstrate their understanding of the characters. Some sample presentations can be seen below.

The Wife of Bath

CAL's Production of "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"

The CAL Drama Department performed "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" on November 18 and 20. The play showcased Robert Fulghum's essays from his best-selling books.

Below are some pictures from the play.

Family Colors: Our Digital Memoirs

     The freshman English class recently completed a digital memoir project entitled: Family Colors: Our Digital Memoirs. In the beginning of the project, students looked at different forms of memoir and then chose a person they would like to feature. This person, who is admired by the given student, was interviewed to preserve family history. The students then used their laptops to edit and compile a polished piece of video that would be shared with the interviewee. Students burned a copy of the video to give as a token of appreciation along with a hand-written thank-you note. 

    In a discussion that followed the project, students talked of the things they had learned from completing the project. Many stated they had not had a deep and meaningful conversation with their parents or role models in recent memory. Students also commented about how the process of communication has changed, mostly noting Facebook and text messaging as primary sources of communication with these role models. Even more, students talked of the value held within the discs: they truly had preserved the history of their loved ones.

    A sample of the project can be seen by clicking the video below.

Rachael's Family Colors

 

Audio Recordings of To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird audio recordings to help students in their understanding of the novel. Be sure to read along as you listen.

Prejudice in Dr. Seuss's Eyes: An Anticipatory Activity

Students in English 9 watched the Dr. Seuss video "The Sneetches" to open a discussion on prejudice and racism. The students then discussed similarities and differences in the events of the South in the 1920's and 1930's as well as some occurrences still happening in today's world.  Students are beginning their study of To Kill a Mockingbird.

The Crucible: Character Recipes

Students in English 10 recently finished Arthur Miller's drama The Crucible. As one of the culminating activities, students used the imperative form and character analysis techniques studied during the unit to create Crucible Character recipes. Some of the recipes can be seen in the links below.