Week 5 SNOW DAY MAKEUP
I. READ (20 to 30 minutes):
Read at least three fairy tales on line.
The Classics in HTML & Text versions: http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infocentral/stories/grimm/index.html
Grimms & Anderson: http://www.best-childrens-books.com/list-of-fairy-tales.html#fairy-tale-lists
Scroll down for the full text fairy tales here: http://www.childrenstory.com/tales/
II. BRAINSTORM LIST (10 to 20 minutes)
Write the names of the fairy tales you choose to read. Now, come up with a list of fairy tales you already know. Think about what all of these fairy tales have in common. COME UP WITH A LIST OF AT LEAST 4 TO 5 CHARACTERISTICS OF FAIRY TALES. No need to use the internet to come up with this list – just use your own inductive reasoning skills and come up with what makes sense to you.
III. APPLY CONCEPT (30 to 40 minutes)
Return to Push and Precious. Go through EACH of the four to five characteristics of fairy tales you came up with above and apply them to the novel, Push. Write a few sentences for each characteristic and explain why you think it applies (or not). Repeat this process by applying your list to Precious.
IV. WRITE YOUR OWN FAIRY TALE OF YOUR LIFE (30 to 45 minutes)
Begin writing a fairy tale of your own life. Spend some time brainstorming what you want your fairy tale to be like and adhere to the conventions and characteristics of fairy tales that you identified above. You may want to choose to write about the “turning point” moment you wrote about earlier in the semester. You can make up magical characters, contexts, and events. Be creative and have fun with this assignment!
An EXAMPLE of what I’m asking you to do:
Say one of your characteristics you come up with is: “Fairy Tales usually have happy endings.” Consider whether Push has a happy ending. You might come up with the following: “Push may not have a ‘happy ending’ but it has a hopeful ending. By the end of the novel, the reader is persuaded to believe that the main character, despite all odds, will continue to apply the knowledge she has learned to improve her life and that of her children. In the last few pages, the main character is seen participating in a number of cultural activities such as writing poems, going to a museum, and attending support groups. She has improved her reading skills exponentially and contemplates going to college (139). As she puts it: ‘Everybody know I write poems. People respect me’ (138) and the reader is included in that designation.” Now consider whether Precious has a happy ending: “The film, Precious, has a very different ending than the novel, Push. The final scene of the film shows the main character, Precious, walking down a crowded New York City street with her baby, Abdul, in her arms and her downs-syndrome daughter, Little Mong, walking beside her. The viewer wonders how this HIV positive young woman with little skills and even less of a support network will be able to take care of these two children. The increased presence of the social worker character in the film (played by Maria Carey) gives the viewer a hint of her future. While the novel is filled with hope and progress, the film suggests another young girl lost to the system.”
Please post your work to your Blog. Bring a copy to class next week, too.
HOMEWORK:
Read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Writing and Community Action. Answer two of the four questions on page 39 (your choice!) and type and bring to class next week.
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