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A significant reworking of an earlier group work focusing on Chapters 9 & 10 -- the high priest Ork and the death of the Shaper and how it has left us alone. I print this as a two-sided handout: on one side this group work, on the other a short account on the death of Verdi, and how the people of his town lined the streets with straw as he lay dying so that he would not be disturbed. I also have the lyrics to the Simon & Garfunkel song, "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright," and invite the students to make comparisons. A new version of the group work may also be found below.
Though this work is Italian, I usually teach it directly after we study The Canterbury Tales, as Chaucer was influenced so heavily by The Decameron. This is a cooperative exercise designed to be completed by 3-4 students in one class period. The assignment has the students do a close reading of the story while answering fairly directed questions that lead to bigger and bigger (I hope) moments of critical thinking. It also looks at the idea of what happens to Frederigo and his love, and how that theme of not knowing what you want till it's gone (yes, the song by Joanie Mitchell is part of the group work and I play it while the students are working) is repeated throughout literature (as in "The Gift of the Magi).
A peaceful and contemplative examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 27: "Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed." It is night, the moon is out, and the Moonlight Sonata plays in the background. Done by two students towards the beginning of our creation of Illuminated Text, it is, as one commentator has said, an ideal example to show students the power of what they can do to explicate the text when creating an Illuminated Text. There is now an Adobe Flash Video version of this Illuminated Text - if you have trouble viewing or hearing sound with the Power Point edition.
When I teach the Romantics, I use this wonderful, underrated movie as a bridge between the Enlightenment (Age of Reason) and the Romantic Era. When you see the movie, it almost feels at though that was the director's intention: the Romantic and imaginative Baron versus the forces of reason and reality that battle, and nearly kill him. There are movie questions for three days of viewing in class, as well as an extra credit assignment involving multiple artistic depictions of the same scene from the story of Baron Munchausen, that asks students to comment on those depictions and their relationship to "imagination." 
While this group work does engage the students in a close analytical reading of Gray's poem, it also asks them to consider some other issues "about" the very nature of the poem. The students are asked to look at the possibility that there is a patronizing attitude or tone in the poem towards the "simple" residents of the churchyard and comparisons are made with other literature whose authors looked at the "happy" lives of the people who lived their lives unnoticed. A new (2011), slightly revised edition may also be found attached below. This poem plays an important part of the students' understanding of the "realistic" versus the "idealized" pastoral when they look at Wordsworth's "Michael."
This animation of Act 1, Scene 1 of Hamlet is done with skill, wit, and creativity by Kerry Ferrantella and his classmates. Kerry used the free program Windows Movie Maker to animate the still drawings that he had created and then they created the voice overs. The overall effect is astonishing and original. Mr. Ferrantella's teacher is Ian McCarthy, also of Whitney Young High School -- and I am greatful to him and Kerry for allowing us to share this on the website. I can't wait to use the project with my own students. Be patient when you click on the link below -- it is a large file and may take a minute to load. 
This Illuminated Text was created as the end product of a research project where students worked with partners and investigated one particular sonnet. The result here, for Sonnet 47, is outstanding. The students focus on Shakespeare's medical terminology and extended metaphor in their explication of his work. The music, movement, and overall effect are well-thought-out and comprehensive.
Fresh Ink - Most Recent Content
The six most recent lessons or stories.
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The 10 Most Recent Audio Files to be posted
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