The due date will now be Thursday, October 2, which means that the projects had better be good and that there had better be several drafts! :)
I have scheduled time in the computer lab on Tuesday, September 30 (room 121). Make the most of it.
Tuesday
I will collect your questions.
Then we will make a circle and start a discussion about "Beowulf." Next, we will break up into small groups of three or four. Each group will be assigned to tell part of the story through the eyes of one of the other characters. "Grendel" has already been done by John Gardiner, so we are going to select other characters--Grendel's mother, Hrothgar, Unferth the jester, Wealtheow, Wiglaf, and the dragon.
Before you break up into groups, however, I want to share some of the descriptions of your home environment.
I think I have figured a way to get a test grade in--three test grades, actually--in a way that should be some fun too.
Your assigned character will give a "political speech" that justifies his/her/its behavior and intends to move people to action. Your character will use ethos, pathos, and logos to "sell" his/her/its spin on the story. You want to motivate your audience to do something about the situation, to get involved. Grendel, for example, might talk about how the human race has made monsters outcasts. He is oppressed, and is acting the way one might expect of the oppressed after so many years.
The speech should be between four to six minutes long (so time it) and will be presented to the class--starting(and hopefully finishing) next Tuesday. I want the speech typed and double-spaced. I want any rough drafts you create. Select the strongest reader to read the speech.
Your audience is a contemporary one so keep that in mind. Make sure that you are high-school -appropriate in terms of language, however.
I also want a written analysis of the speech. Why did you say what you did? Where did you use one of Aristotle's appeals and what did you do? Where were you concrete and specific? Did you use parallelisms? If so, where, and why? Did you deliberately employ any of Orwell's meaningless words or use pretentious diction? If so, why? What was your agenda?
The group will receive a test grade for the written speech (and it has to be typed--if you do not have access, then someone in your group should--period). Part of that test grade will include any written brainstorming or edited (typed or hand-written with hand-written marks) rough drafts completed. There should be at least two. Secondly, the group will receive a test grade for the typed (no exceptions) analysis. Finally, the group will receive a test grade for the delivery of the speech, so choose your orator carefully.
You will have some time to work on this in class on Tuesday and on Thursday. It is due (in complete and not partial form) on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at the beginning of class. I will not accept it as an e-mail attachment. Nor will I print it out from my computer. You need to plan ahead. You need to have hard copies of your two documents at the beginning of the class period. If you are not ready, your group will lose 7 points per class day.
Make contingencies for absences. If someone in your group is absent, you still need to make arrangements to have everything turned in on time. The group will have to let somebody else present if your orator is not present, so it might be a good idea to assign an understudy.
If the presentations are not done by Thursday, October 2, then the group will receive a score of 0 for the presentation. You will continue to lose 7 points per class period (I usually count per day, not class period, so I'm being nice) until it is turned in. I do not want to let this drag out until we hit the modern period. You have a week to get this done and so I expect you to get it done.
You will spend the remainder of the period working on this.
Thursday
Students will begin reading about the history of Irish literature. Answer the questions from the blog.
Together, we will read the poem "To Crinog." We will talk about the particular motifs within.
We will also read "The Old Woman of Beare" and "Findabair Remembers Froech."
Work on speeches.
Read "A Grave Marked with Ogam" and from "The Voyage of Mael Duin" for homework.
Friday
Discussion of poems and background. Work on speeches.
