September 28, 2015 - October 2, 2015 Weekly Schedule

Monday, September 28th: 

1st Period: 

BIC: Work on the "suspense section" of the "The Most Dangerous Game"
8:15:
Work on suspense, theme, and plot analysis of "The Most Dangerous Game"
Plot Analysis:
Protagonist
Antagonist
Exposition (Back Story)
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement
Resolution

Questions:

1.     What is suspense?
Stephanie: Suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. Suspense is the uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next in a story. Suspense builds as readers approach the climax of a story. 

2.     What are techniques used by writers and film makers to create suspense?

3.     Show three specific examples how Richard Connell uses suspense to keep us guessing or wanting to know what is going to happen next.

In class discussion:
1. What were some of the techniques used by Connell to create suspense?
Taylor: "A sharp scream"
From the very beginning Connell sets up the creepy, suspenseful atmosphere of the story:
1. " Ship-Trap Island" 2. "They say it's a god forsaken place 3. Sailor have a curious dread of the island. 4. The crew on the boat were nervous and jumpy as they passed the island. 5. The air was actually poisonous. 6. "Evil is a tangible thing - with waves. 7. The night was very black. 8. (Regina) Rainsford heard gunshots when he was alone on the deck. 8. He fell overboard in the middle of the Caribbean! 9. (Regina) He had to swim to the island but the island was surrounded by rocks (Michael) 10. He heard the sound of what seemed like a wounded animal. 11. (Anselmo) Rainsford saw a chateau on the island. 12. Even the knocker looked like a gargoyle 13. When the door opened, Rainsford saw a huge giant of a man holding a revolver straight at his heart.

3rd Period: 

Showed a video about Cecil the Lion’s killing.

Open your book to page 12 and begin listing all the things you think help create suspense in the story.

1.     Isabel: This place has a bad reputation – cannibals. 2. Reyna: The tough Swede, who is the captain of the yacht, is described as having a very peculiar look in his eyes when talking about Ship-Trap Island.  Timerica: Even cannibals wouldn’t live in such a god-forsaken place.” Asiah: “A ragged fringe of wild jungle edged the shore.” 4. Rainsford hears gunshots when he is alone on the deck. 5. Ashley:  Rainsford falls into the middle of the Caribbean,  in the middle of the night, and the closest land is…..”Ship-Trap Island”. 6. Ashley and Timerica: He hears a high screaming that is filled with anguish and terror. 7. He hears another gunshot. 8. The island is surrounded by rocks. 9. He finds a chateau. 10.  Cooper: There is a gargoyle looking knocker on the door. 11. Johan – When the door is opened, a giant man is standing there with a gun pointing straight at Rainsford’s chest.

Worked on the suspense section of “The Most Dangerous Game”. Kids not focused at all. Most kids had not worked on the packet at all. It is due tomorrow without exception!

Tuesday, September 29th: 

1st Period: 

BIC:
 "The Most Dangerous Game" packet is due today
Grammar homework due today: HOLT HANDBOOK; pages 151 - 152; exercises 1 and 2; "Past Participle Verb Forms"

Go over suspense portion in the packet during BIC.
Collected the grammar homework and the HOLT HANDBOOK today. 

8:15 - 9:11

Name of Movie	Example of Suspense	How Suspense is Resolved
Finding Nemo	Nemo is separated from his father.	Nemo winds up in a fish tank in a dentist’s office. He pretends to be dead, gets flushed down a toilet, and is reunited with his father.

Plot Graph:

Exposition: Back story. The events which have occurred before the story has begun.

Rising Action: the plot twists in the story. The events which occur in the story, which cause the suspense to increase, which leads to the climax of the story. Examples: In real life one gets on the bus to go from point A to point B, and if one makes it in one piece with no near-death experiences, then it's a good trip. One wants much of life to be that way - but that's boring in a movie, or a play, or a book. In a movie, say, the protagonist gets on the bus at point A, but when the door slides shut behind her and she turns around and sees a bunch of zombies looking at her hungrily, and they begin advancing towards her, and she tries frantically to break a window to get out, and then after repeated assaults on the glass with her backpack, she finally breaks the window, and then she tries to crawl out of the window with zombies grabbing her legs to pull her back inside, and then she finally manages to kick free of the zombies, and is now running on top of the bus with more zombies following her, and then just as the last zombie gets brained by an overhanging stop light, and she thinks she's safe, she turns around and there is a giant T-Rex zeroing in on her with its ginormous  red laser eyes, and it opens its gigantic mouth with its razor sharp teeth and it grabs her by her shirt collar and is about to swing her into its enormous maw (Climax),  it is suddenly smashed into smithereens by a nuclear bomb blast, which obliterates it, leaving her the only survivor (falling action), and the blast propels her to point B, Wilshire and Western, which is her final destination (resolution).

Climax: It is the most exciting part of the story. It is the part of the story where the protagonist’s fate changes for the better or the worst.

Protagonist: He or she is the main character in the story. He or she is the one whose story we follow. The protagonist is not always a good guy.

Examples of protagonists: 

Jaleni: Dead Pool

Anselmo: Bizarro

Jennifer: Iron Man

Jaleni: Sub Zero

Stephanie and Regina: Black Widow

Jayla: Superman

Jennifer: Captain America

Ki: Spider Man

Jasmine: The Hulk

A protagonist who is not a good guy is called an “anti-hero”.

Example:

Jalani: “The Good Fellas” were not good fellas, at all!

Antagonist: Is the person who is at cross purposes with the protagonist. He or she is against the protagonist and tries to keep her or him from accomplishing her/his goals.

Jennifer: The Joker

Regina: The Harlequin

Jalani: Scorpion

Falling Action: the action or series of action that occur after the climax.

Resolution or denouement: the tying up of loose ends. 

The students draw a Freytag plot graph. Tomorrow, graph "The Most Dangerous Game". 

3rd Period: 

Work on suspense, theme, and plot analysis of "The Most Dangerous Game"
Plot Analysis:
Protagonist
Antagonist
Exposition (Back Story)
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement
Resolution

Applying Skills in “The Most Dangerous Game”

Name of Movie or Book	Example of Suspense	How the Suspense was Resolved
White Chicks	Two policemen dress up as rich girls and attend a fancy party to catch a rich crook.	The policemen, dressed up as the girls, get away with the ruse for awhile, but eventually get caught.

The Fault in Their Stars           

Hazel expects to die before her boyfriend does

But her boyfriend dies first - an example of situational irony.

“The Most Dangerous Game” Plot Notes

Plot Graph:

Exposition: Back story. The events which have occurred before the story has begun.

Examples of Exposition from “The Most Dangerous Game”:

1.     Timerica: People say that there are cannibals on an island the men are passing.

2.     Isabel: The men say the island has a bad reputation.

3.     Nicole: The island is called “Ship-Trap Island.”

4.     Jonathan: Rainsford has written books on hunting animals.

5.     Kristina and Cooper: Rainsford is a hunter and a writer.

Let’s go deeper into the text and mine some expository information (back story) about Ivan and General Zaroff:

1.     Kristina: Ivan was deaf and mute. (He was also gigantic - description)

2.     Isabel: General Zaroff was a hunter and has been hunting since he was a small child. 

3.     Cooper, Arturo, Johan: Both Zaroff and Ivan were Cossacks. Cossacks were known to be brutal. They were the favored cavalry of the Tsars.

4.     Zaroff is very rich.

6.     Zaroff reveals to Rainsford details about his childhood – he came from a very privileged background. He fled the Bolshevik Revolution with his money.

7.     Ivan was the knouter for the Tsars -  a knouter is someone who beats people. Ivan was the professional torturer for the Tsars.

Rising Action: the plot twists in the story. The events which occur in the story, which cause the suspense to increase, and leads to the climax of the story.

1.     Cooper: The first example of a rising action is when the pipe is knocked out of Rainsford’s mouth and he falls overboard.

2.     Paola: When Rainsford is in the ocean.

3.     Cooper: When Rainsford is in the tree and General Zaroff is at the base of the tree, looking up, up, up until his gaze stops just below where Rainsford is hiding, and then Zaroff smiles and walks away.

4.     Asiah: When Rainsford steps into the quicksand.

Climax: It is the most exciting part of the story. It is the part of the story where the protagonist’s fate changes for the better or the worst.

Protagonist: He or she is the main character in the story. . He or she is the one whose story we follow.He or she may not always be a good person. 

A protagonist who is morally ambiguous is called an "Anti-hero."

Go through the short story and create a Freytag pyramid.

Wednesday, September 30^th:

BIC:

Break into groups of three and you are going to create a short scene, or a rap, or a dance with a song using two of the vocabulary words:

Futile – failure; unsuccessful; pointless

Bizarre – weird

Agility – graceful, able to change directions quickly and easily,

Mirage – an illusion, an optical illusion, something that looks real but is not real because it is an optical illusion

Ardent – passionate (adjective, which means it goes before a noun)

Elude – to escape notice

Condone – to allow; to allow something to happen by not doing anything to stop it; to overlook

Perils - danger

Lore – stories surrounding an occupation, or an institution, or a location.

The tragic story of Toby is part of Hollywood High School lore.

According to lore and legend, uttering the name “MacBeth” brings bad luck in the theatre. 

Groups:

Jayla, Arath, Dalicia: bizarre, futile

Ki, Regina, Eric, Jayla:  agility, ardent

Stephanie, Jasmine, Natalie: mirage, lore

Michael, Anselmo, Angie: elude, perils

Go through  “The Most Dangerous Game”, find examples of the rising action (or obstacles to Rainsford’s safety) and write them in your writer’s notes. 

Rising Action:

The first example of rising action in “The Most Dangerous Game” is the gun shot Rainsford hears while he is still on board the yacht.

2^nd example:

Ki: Rainsford falls off the boat in the middle of the Caribbean in the middle of the night.

3^rd example:

Regina: He has to swim to the closest island, “Ship-Trap Island”, which is surrounded by sharp rocks!!!!

4^th example:

Anselmo: “The wake of the speeding yacht slapped Rainsford in the face and made him gag.”

5^th example:

Dalicia:

Rainsford found a strange chateau in the middle of “Ship-Trap Island”.

6^th example:

Dalicia: Rainsford saw a very tall man in the door of the chateau holding a revolver straight at Rainsford’s heart!!!!!

7^th example:

Regina: Rainsford heard a high pitched scream from the darkness filled with anguish and terror.

8^th example:

Angie: Rainsford figures out that the General hunts humans!!!!!!

9^th example:

Rainsford figures out that the General wants to hunt him!!!!!!!!

10^th example:

If Rainsford refuses to be hunted by the General then he will be beaten to death by Ivan!

11^th example:

Rainsford lays out an extremely difficult trail and then hides behind the heavy foliage high up in a tree, but the General stops at the base of the tree and raises his gaze up, up, up to just below where Rainsford is lying, stops, smiles and walks away.

12^th example:

Michael and Anselmo: When the Malay man-catcher only wounds the general, not kills him

12^th example:

13^th example:

3rd Period: 

Students went through "The Most Dangerous Game" to find twelve examples of  rising actions, write them down and turn in for credit.
Discussion 
Went over climax. Find the climax in "The Most Dangerous Game"
Discussion
Went over falling action and resolution
Discusson

Thursday, October 1st: 

BIC

1^st Period:

“The Most Dangerous Game” test

3^rd Period:

“The Most Dangerous Game” test 

Friday, October 2nd: 

Go over the concept of theme.

Periods 1 and  3:

BIC:

As you are watching the following videos, please try to answer these questions:

1.     What is the name of the video you are watching?

“How Wolves Change Rivers”

2.     Who or what organization produced the film?

“Sustainable Human”, “Greater Yellowstone Coalition”

3.     What is the topic of the film?

How wolves change rivers, and the environment, etc.

How wolves change the ecosystem

4.     What is the thesis, the main argument, or claim the film is making?

Regina: Do not take out one animal.

The ecosystem is very delicate. Removing one species of animal may seriously affect the environment in surprising ways.

5.     What is evidence is given in the video to support the thesis?

Wolves were removed from the Yellowstone area seventy years ago. The deer population exploded, and overgrazed the grasslands, reducing grasses, plants and trees, which affected other animal species which needed the plant life for survival.

After wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone, the deer population left the area. Deer are herbivores, which means they subsist on grass and plants. After the deer left the area, the trees and the grass grew back.

Because the grass grew back, there was less soil erosion.

Less soil erosion changed the direction and flow of the river.

Another result of the deer leaving the area is that other animals were then allowed to thrive. The wolves also killed the coyotes, which allowed mice, rabbits and beavers to come back into the area. Because of the beavers building dams, this allowed muskrats, otters, water fowls such as ducks, and fish to come into the Yellowstone area. The other species of animals were beavers, foxes, weasels, mice, rabbits, bears, coyotes, and birds, and many other species.

6.     What conclusion can be drawn from the film?

To even out the population of each species too much can really hurt the environment.

7.     Do  you agree with the film’s claims?  Why or why not. Please give specific reasons to support your opinion.

Trophic Cascade:

The effect that the top predator has on the food chain.

Video by CNN:  Report by University of New York on Dolphins:

What did the experiment with the mirror show about dolphin intelligence?

Why did the researchers draw a dot on the dolphin?

What reaction did the dolphin have when it saw its reflection in the mirror?

What does this say about dolphin intelligence?

Why did the researchers put an “X” on the side of the elephant’s head?

What reaction did the elephant have to the “x” on the side of its head?

What does this tell us about elephant intelligence?

 

Theme:

Theme is the main idea around which a writer builds a story, or a director builds a film or a play. The theme is a truth or an idea that the writer wishes to illustrate. She creates a story that tests the idea, or what she believes is a universal  truth, through the development of  plot and characters. As we follow the plot and the characters, the idea or universal truth is revealed and its validity tested.

A theme is always expressed as a sentence.  Love, or hate or any other single word cannot be a theme.  Love or hate are topics or subjects, not themes. A theme must express a central idea or truth about a topic or idea. For example, love is not the theme of Romeo and Juliet; love is, however, a topic the play deals with. One possible theme for Romeo and Juliet might be ignorant violent adults will destroy their children through their ignorance and violence,  or another theme for Romeo and Juliet might be reckless heedless love will destroy the young.

At the beginning of the story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford and Whitney, a fellow hunter on the yacht, are discussing hunting and animals.

Rainsford expresses his disdain for animals:

“Great sport, hunting.”

“The best sport in the world,” agreed Rainsford.

“Not for the animal,” amended Whitney. “Not for the jaguar.”

“Don’t talk rot, Whitney,” said Rainsford….”Who cares how a jaguar feels?...They have no understanding!”

“I rather think they understand one thing – fear! The fear of pain and the fear of death.” (Whitney)

“Nonsense!” laughed Rainsford…”The world is made up of two classes – the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters.”

Richard Connell, the writer of “The Most Dangerous Game”, sets up the theme at the very beginning of the story - that animals have no feelings or thoughts, or instincts, which was the prevailing scientific thought at the time regarding animals. The theme is immediately stated by the protagonist, Sanger Rainsford, who believes that animals have no feelings, and therefore,  it is perfectly fine that he hunts them. He proudly proclaims himself a member of the hunting class. Connell sets up this theme and immediately tests it by having Rainsford, through a series of events, becoming the hunted. 

Throughout the story, Connell uses animal imagery to describe Rainsford. Skim the short story, see if you can find them, and write them down.

By the end of the story, how has the central idea that animals have no feelings been tested? Was Rainsford, at the beginning of the story,  right all along? Has Rainsford’s ordeal changed him so that he has a better appreciation for the rights of animals,  and by extension,  those who belong to the class of the hunted?

Go through exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement in "The Most Dangerous Game" 

Go through the short story and create a Freytag pyramid. 

Test on "The Most Dangerous Game" on Wednesday, September 30th

Essay assigned on "The Most Dangerous Game" on Thursday, October 1st.