Walt Whitman Film Festival Criteria

Students will work in small groups (three or four) to create a short film/video (5-7 min). The goal is to illustrate and explain one of Whitman’s major poems (and it should be one that is longer than 10 lines).

Procedures:

• choose groups (one person must have access to a video camera, film does not have to be on DVD)
• decide on a poem
• create a screenplay/outline/storyboard for capturing Whitman’s imagery (the visual imagery of the poem should be acted out)
• decide on whether poem will be read by one person as a voice over, or whether you will cast a “speaker” to be the voice of the poem (this should be an intentional/artistic choice, be able to justify your choice)
• decide on music to match the mood/tone of your poem
• decide on locations for filming
• edit/polish your film—your film should have gone though a final revision
• as a large part of your video you must find a way to add a “panel of scholars” or a “literary expert” or even the poet himself…..so that you can include a discussion of the poetic techniques demonstrated in your chosen poem (this can be done throughout, or only at the beginning and end, it’s up to you!)

You will be graded on the following:

1. 10 points: A screenplay/outline/storyboard that captures Whitman’s imagery
2. 5 points: The integration of appropriate music for your film
3. 30 points: The integration of a literary panel in your film including a discussion of poetic techniques in your chosen poem
4. 15 points: Quality, polished film that is 5-7 minutes long

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman unit 2009-2010

Date	In Class	Homework (due next class)
Day 1	Discuss transcendentalism Quick Intro to Whitman “I Hear America Singing” compared with Hughes poem.	Read and take notes “Poet Celebrated Democracy…”—essay about Whitman
Day 2	Discuss “Poet Celebrated Democracy…” essay Continue Intro for Whitman: note taking assignment, begin discussion of Whitman characteristics. Read “I Saw In Louisiana A Live Oak Growing”	Read “This Compost” take notes on initial observations about corruption
Day 3	Pseudo Halloween-ish class… some Poe… AND Read “This Compost” in class, taking notes as requested.	“This Compost” based poems. Read “Song of Myself” at home, take notes for given details.
Day 4	Read “This Compost” based poems in class. Read and analyze “Song of Myself” in class. Focus on Whitman’s poetic characteristics, and poetic devices.	Find three to five interesting facts about the life and/or death of Abraham Lincoln .
Day 5	Talk about Abraham Lincoln. Read and analyze “When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloomed”. Focus on Symbolism.	Read “I Sing the Body Electric”, take notes for details provided.
Day 6	Read and discuss “I Sing the Body Electric”. Focus on Whitman’s poetic characteristics and devices.	Read “Come Up From the Field Father”, take notes on details provided.
Day 7	Analyze “Come Up From the Field Father”, read and discuss “Cavalry Crossing a Ford” and “Bivouac on a Mountain Side”. Focus on Whitman’s historic facts.	Read “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”, taking notes on details provided.
Day 8	Discuss “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” in class. Review for the in-class essay assignment.	Study for in-class essay.
Day 9	In-class Whitman essay. You may use your poetry packets, and any written notes for this essay.	Whitman packets with notes taking due.

*Notes taken on the poems we cover in class will be graded based on requirements given above and in class. See Whitman note-taking assignment guidelines for more details.

Sheldon, 10/23/2009

Civil Disobedience.

Review the IHS guidelines foe community service and create a 5-point plan for making the IHS community service guidelines better serve the community.

"Civil Disobedience"

Read Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience." Find something in your life, at school or outside of school that you think is fundamentally unjust. Brainstorm ways you can use civil disobedience to fight this injustice.

"Self-Reliance"

Read Emerson's essay, "Self-Reliance" and be ready to discuss what this means to Emerson and what it means to you.

Emerson and Transcendentalism

Due 10/19 (Sheldon) and 10/20 (South)

1) Nature Walk

Your home work is to take a walk in nature and jot down observations you have. Walk silently and slowly and focus your attention on sounds and colors and movement. You may want to take some paper with you so that you can jot down observations as you go, but if not when you get home write a short description (no less than ½ page) of what you experienced on your nature walk, and be descriptive.

2) Then read the excerpt from Emerson Nature noting what he has to say about nature. Be prepared for a discussion in class about your observations and Emerson’s beliefs about nature.

3) Poem about nature

Take the observations from your nature walk, and the excerpt from Emerson’s Nature and write a Found Poem that captures the essence of nature for you.

A Found Poem takes words from existing text and turns them into an original poem. You should find words and phrases that are important to understanding what you and Emerson think about nature. Then move these words and phrases around, change their order, repeat important words, cut out ordinary words.

The key to making this poem yours is going to be in how you choose to inter-mix Emerson’s words with your own observations from your nature walk.

Your poem should be at least 10 lines long, but may be much longer.

Don’t forget to cite the Emerson excerpt at the end of your poem, and have fun with this assignment.

"The Minister's Black Veil"

Read "The Minister's Black Veil".

What is the veil? Answer in a brilliant and eloquent paragraph.

Hawthorne 10/11 and 10/12

Yeah, Hawthorne! I'm sure you're as enthused as I am to read this genuine, born-on-the fourth-of-July American literary master. For Monday (South) and Tuesday (Sheldon) of next week you need to read "Young Goodman Brown" and respond to the following following questions, in full sentences:

1) How is nature portrayed in this story? What is Hawthorne’s attitude toward nature? How would you characterize the portrayal of Native Americans?

2) Who is the stranger? What is unusual about his staff, and what might this symbolize?

3) What is the significance of the pink ribbon falling from the sky?

4) What is the significance of Brown’s family history?\ and Puritan history as mentioned by the stranger?

What happened in the woods? Was it real? A dream? An allegory?

Unit Test, Wednesday at South, Thursday at Sheldon

The Tempest

Part I: What's my line?

a) Identify the act, scene and speaker(s) for the four lines you memorized.

b) Write out these same four lines.

Part II: Passage Analysis.

You will be given a choice of two passages to analyze along with the criteria for the analysis.