As we move away from Egyptian hieroglyphics to Greek mural paintings, we can see that instead of painting scenes of the after life, the Greek preferred to paint scenes of interesting or exciting scenes from their lives. The art no longer is about controlling reality but rather celebrating and sharing special or exciting moments.
Like the hieroglyphics originally painted on the internal walls of the Egyptain pyramids, the Greek kings demanded that paintings be made on the internal walls of their palaces where they lived. The Bull-Leaping Toreador Fresco was painted at the palace at Knosses in 1450-1400 BC. It was painted with the wet-fresco technique and very quickly because it dried so fast.
Here is another fresco from the West House of Akrotiri in Thera 1650 BC, it is 53″ high and depicts a young fisherman with his catch. Yet, another scene celebrating the every day occurences in life.
The Minoan culture was also equally fascinated by nature and due to their proximity to the ocean, often depicted sea creatures like this Octopus jar from Palaikastro in 1500 BC. This particular vase is very interesting in the progress of art because it shows how flat drawings go from being two dimensional like the hieroglyphics to have more of a three dimensional and interactive or expanding quality.
As we look at the connections between Egyptian and Greek art, let’s take a look at this funerary mask from Mycenae in 1600-1500 BC made of beaten gold. Does it remind you of a certain Pharoah, Tutenkhamen, who also had a mask of gold?
The Greek Geometric Period
Like the Egyptians, who held an incredible love of precision with regard to their hieroglyphic art, early Greek artists also explored Geometric Art on ceramic pots. For example, this Attic Geometric krater from the Dipylon cemetery in Athens was made in 740 BC and is extremely fascinating when you take a very close look at the patterns and shapes that surround the figures. Notice the straight lines that the figures stand upon, so similar to the hieroglyphic writings.
Over time, the Greeks took their fascination with geometry and lines from walls to ceramics to buildings. They expanded upon the concepts of Egyptian pyramids to create temples for their gods that had pointed roofs like the pyramids but also had columns like the internal structure of the pyramids and palaces. These two types of architectural design were called Doric and Ionic Orders. Just a fancy way of explaining what parts went where and why.
Like past cultures, religion and the gods played a very important part in the Greek’s lives, art and stories. The Greeks believed that their gods lived on top of a very big mountain called Mount Olympus. Zeus was the father and Hera was the mother. Athena was smart and Artemis was a hunter. Apollo was the god of the sun while his brother Neptune was the god of the sea.
In these stories, the Greek gods created many mythical and magical creatures. One story tells of the minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull, who lived in a maze and hurt anyone that went in there. While another story told of pegasus, a winged horse, that was created specially for Hercules to help him fight battles. The Greeks loved their stories and told them in art, and through word and in plays!
Today, we are going to pretend to be Greek gods and goddesses. We will paint our own mythical creatures to put in the world and wreak havoc or help mankind. You can choose if your creature is good or bad. It can be part man or part bull, part horse or part hawk, part octopus or part lion. It’s your choice. So, let’s get out our paints and have some fun!
Early man eventually moved away from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to settle along the river Nile. These men and women were called Egyptians and like early cave men and the Sumerians, they were possibly even more interested in telling their stories through art. Of all of the ancient civilizations, the Egyptians were definitely the most prolific.
The Pre-Dynastic Period
What exactly is a pre-dynasty period? Well, it’s the years that describe the time before their were Eyptian Pharoahs and Queens. For every Pharoah that lived, the time that they ruled was considered a dynasty. So, before they had Pharoahs, that time was called pre (meaning: before) dynasty (meaning: period of Pharoah’s power). Make sense?
The Geography of Egypt
During this time, Egypt was divided into two parts: Upper Egypt (the southern part) and Lower Egypt (the northern part). Ancient Egypt didn’t truly become the power it is known today until the two parts joined together to become the Egyptian kingdom.
The First Dynasty: King Narmer
If you take a look at the art from King Narmer’s reign, you’ll see some interesting similarities between the art of his time and the Sumerians. This slate tablet, The Palette of King Narmer, seems like an evolution of the Code of Hamurabi. Both tell a story, but while the Hamurabi’s stele speaks of code and laws, King Narmer’s palette tells a story of war and victory.
By putting Egyptian gods in half human/half animal form around himself on the Palette, it is likely King Narmer believed they brought him good luck and helped him to win the battle. In addition, King Narmer depicted animals around himself to give the effect of him being part god.
Architecture from the Old Kingdom
In Egyptian art there are two time periods, the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom. The Old Kingdom came first and laid the foundation for art as we know it today. Take a look at this “mastaba” it is an Egyptian tomb that looks very similar to the Sumerian temples or “ziggurats.” It is the tomb of King Zoser from the 3rd Dynasty.
Fourth Dynasty Pyramids
If we compare the ziggurat to the mastaba to the pyramids of the fourth dynasty, you can notice an evolution in the architecture of that time. These structures required an amazing amount of limestone rock and teamwork among hundreds of laborers who likely worked on building these pyramids for 50 years…for each one! The Great Pyramids of Gizeh: Menkaure 2525-275 BC, Khafre 2575-2525 BC, and Khufu 2600-2550 BC were incredibly large. Khufu is 775 feet on one side and 450 feet high, it contains 2.3 million blocks of stone weighing about 2.5 tons each.
The Great Sphinx
Another famous piece of sculpture from that time is the Great Sphinx which was built in front of the Pyramids of Gizeh from 2575-2525 BC. The Sphinx is made of sandstone, is 65 feet high and 240 feet long. The Sphinx stood watch at the entrances to the Pharoah’s tombs. Very similar to our Lamassu friends from the Assyrian time period, the kings of Egypt probably believed that the Sphinx would ward off any evil or trespassers.
Art from the New Kingdom
In the New Kingdom art, we start to see yet another evolution of art. In the sculpture called the Senmut with Princess Nefrua from Thebes of the 18th Dynasty 1490-1460 BC, we see a scuplture that combine human form and storytelling in the form of “hieroglyphics.” This is a natural combination of the palette or stele and the lamassu or sphinx. The Egyptian kings of this time believed that a “block statue” such as this would be an eternal home for their “ka,” their spirit.
The Tomb of Nebamun
As the art continued to grow and evolve, so too did the Egyptian’s concept of ways to express themselves and protect themselves from bad spirits. This can be seen in the hieroglyphics of the tomb of Nebamun, a noble man who was a scribe (writer) and seller of grains. Notice how we have human form depicted flat combined with hieroglyphics in the background.
What is even more interesting is that when we take a look at the tomb of Tutankhamen, we see a royal mummy, a godlen coffin and a mask of semi-precious stones. This is a natural evolution of the lamassu and sphinx. Since the pharoahs believed they were god-like, when they died they created mummies, coffins and masks of themselves to ward off evil spirits. And so, even though it is thousands of years later, people still feel the need to control their future and tell their stories through art.
Today we are going to create a miniature sculpture called an “ankh.” In Egypt, an ankh is a talisman or special necklace carved with hieroglyphics that is designed to ward off evil. So, we will create our own hieroglyphics today and design our own ankhs to protect us from bad stuff. We’ll use clay that we roll out and flatten and then carve in it with pencils and plastic knives and punch a hole. After we bake the clay in the oven, we will use a thick piece of yarn or string to make a necklace that we can wear.
If your child enjoyed this particular lesson, here are some art books on the subject that they might also enjoy…
Class Lesson: Friday, December 19, 2008
After the cavemen, came early man who settled in Mesopotamia. They also found a way to communicate their hopes, their dreams and their victories. And, like early cave man, they wanted to control the future. So, how do you think they did this? They told stories using art.
The Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys
In the early fourth millenium B.C., the settlement of two great river valleys in Mesopotamia led to monumental acheivements in writing, architecture and politics. The two river valleys were called the Tigris and Euphrates. What made the land so special between the two rivers was that the earth was incredibly fertile which meant it was an ideal place to grow crops for food. The people that lived in this area at that time were called the Sumerians. Can you say Tigris and Euphrates?
The First Alphabet
The Sumerian people are believed to be the first ones to develop a written language. It was called “cuneiform.” Their letters consisted of lines made from a wedge-shaped tool into tablets of stone. The first writings were about government and business transactions. Later on, they wrote stories such as: the Epic of Gilgamesh. It’s quite possible that the stories they used to tell with words or on cave walls were now the ones that they wrote down in their tablets.
The Gods and Architecture
Sumerians believed that their city-states were each under the protection of special spirits or nature gods. Each city-state had their own unique god that protected and looked after their people. The Sumerians built special temples at the center of their cities, they were called “ziggurats.” Now, if the temple is at the center and higher up than all the other houses, how important do you think they were? Super important or only kinda important? That’s right! They were very, very important.
The Standard of Ur
Sumerian kings believed very strongly in life after death and made sure they were buried with everything they could possibly need: helmets, daggers, bowls, jewelry, instruments and other special items. The most interesting of all the objects they found in these graves is The Standard of Ur. It is a story of war and peace made of wood, shells, lapis lazuli and red limestone. It was created in 2700 B.C. and is 8″ high by 19″ wide. This is one of the first times that a story is told on wood from side to side and up and down, the way we read words today.
Many different people lived in the Mesopotamian river valley: the Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, the Elamites and then the Assyrians. Because they fought so many people in order to conquer the land, they were believed to be very mean and cruel people. To show off how strong and invinceable they were, they built the royal citadel of Sargon II in 720 B.C. It had strong defensive walls and was built on a mound of dirt 50 feet high. Can you image how high that is?!
Lamassu: Protectors of the King
The doorway to the Khorsabad palace was guarded by really, really large statues of creatures called “Lamassu.” A Lamassu is a bull with a human head and wings, pretty scary looking don’t you think? This particular statue was 13′ 10″ high and made from limestone in 720 B.C. These creatures were made to protect the king from visible and invisible enemies. So, as long as the Lamassu were outside the palace, the kings believe nothing bad could happen to them. Doesn’t that sound cool?
Today, all of you are going to pretend to be Kings and Queens. And…we are going to make our own special Lamassu guardians out of clay. So, first let’s pick the three animal parts we want to use in our sculpture. You can use a person’s head or an eagle’s head or a lion’s head. For the body, you might want to use a horse or a bull. You can add wings or a tail. And you can add claws to the feet or fangs to the teeth. Make it as scary as you like! Remember, this special guardian will protect you from anything scary.
After we’re done making our guardian out of clay, then I’m going to take them home and bake them in the oven to “fire” the clay which takes all of the water out of the clay and makes it very hard and strong. It will still be breakable but the shape will be permanent after we “fire” the statues. Great job everyone!
Mesopotamian Art Book List
If your child really enjoyed this particular lesson, here are some additional books that you can buy or check out from the library.
Just click on the links below.
Class Lesson: Friday, November 21, 2008
In the beginning, there were no words, no alphabet, no books. Yet, early cave men found a way to communicate their hopes, their dreams and their victories. So, how do you think they did this? They told stories using art.
Cave Paintings from Spain and France
The very first cave paintings were discovered in 1896 in the Altamira Cave in Santander, Spain. These paintings dated back to 14,000 BC and showed bison over 8′ long! This particular painting is called the Bisons of the Altamira Cave.
Later, archeologists discovered the paintings in the Hall of Bulls Cave in Lascaux, France. What was so interesting about this find was that it showed so many different kinds of animals. Why do you think this is so? I will give you a hint: they were painted at different times. Now, why do you think there are so many different animals? That’s right! They are from different times. Each group of animals likely represents a hunt that was performed at a different time. It would seem as though they used this cave over and over again for artwork, with many different artists taking turns.
The Very First Artists in the World
What is even more interesting is that a very long time ago, when cave men were alive, only a few very special people were allowed to create art. They were called Shaman or hunter-magicians. Early cave men believed that if they drew an animal on a wall, they would capture its spirit and the Shaman would be able to control the success of the hunt.
So, if they drew bison on a wall, what animal do you think the Shaman were trying to control with their art? That’s right! In the Altamira Cave from Spain, they were trying to control bison. But, in the cave paintings from the Hall of the Bulls, what animal do you think they were trying to control? I’ll give you a hint: the name of the Cave is Hall of the Bulls. That’s right! They were probably trying to control bulls and ensure the hunters a good hunt.
Cave Man’s First Signature
Of all the cave paintings that were found, my favorite is the one from the Pech-Merle Cave in Lot, France from 14,000 BC. In this particular painting, you see a spotted horse with a negative hand imprint next to it. Since early cave men did not have words or an alphabet or language, this is probable their very first expression of identity or how they wrote their signature next to their artwork. Some believe that these first handprints may have inspired the development of written language at a later date.
Another is of this early painting of man from the Hall of the Bulls in Lauscaux, France. In this particular painting we see a man with a face of a bird. This could be the depiction of the Shaman himself. If early Shaman believed that there was a special spirit that protected them, what animal spirit do you think was protecting this one? That’s right! It probably was a bird.
Early Art Tools
When early cave men artists or Shaman first created art, there was no such thing as paint or brushes or canvas. They had to work with what they could find. They used the cave walls instead of paper or canvas, twigs or leaves as brushes and different types of dirt and berries for paint.
Today you are all going to pretend to be Shaman, hunter-magicians. We are going to go on a nature walk to collect sticks, twigs and leaves then bring them back here to paint with them onto our cave walls. Now, since we don’t exactly have cave walls, we will be using the inside of brown paper bags. And, you will be signing your work with a handprint.
Since we are not cave men or hunters, the animal we will choose to draw today can be one that you have seen at the zoo. Pick an animal that you like or one that you think is particularly magical to you and we will create a cave painting so that you can magically control it for one day! Choose carefully and think about your animal as you are searching for painting tools. If it’s spiky, you’ll want a twig to paint the spikes or horns. If it’s furry, maybe you’ll want some soft leaves to paint the fur. There’s no wrong way to do it, so just remember to have fun!
After we get back from the nature walk, you will each work at your group tables and I will come around and help you while you are creating your masterpiece! This is supposed to be fun, so be as creative with your painting as you like!
Cave Painting Art Book List
If your child really enjoyed this particular lesson, here are some additional books that you can buy or check out from the library.
Just click on the link below.
Welcome to Art History for Kids!
In the coming months, watch this blog to view lesson plans the day of and use the information to discuss what your children are learning. My goal will be to provide both Art History and hands-on Art Education for the children of Room One. The final piece will culminate in the classroom art project in the Spring for the Solana Beach Ball.
As always, if you’d like more information or links to additional resources to continue the learning, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email. Click here.
Looking forward to a great semester of art, laughter and learning!
Angela Hill, Incitrio (Max’s mom)
This Year’s Proposed Art History Schedule:
Paleolithic Art > The Origins of Cave Paintings
(painting – animals)
Mesopotamian Art > Ancient Guardians of the Kings
(sculpture – mythic creatures)
Egyptian Art > The Mystery of the Mummies
(sculpture – ankh)
Greek Art > Greek Mythology’s Magical Creatures
(painting – minotaurs/pegasus)
Roman & Moroccan Art > The Art of Mosaic Storytelling
(sculpture/painting – mosaic tiles)
Possible Field Trip
San Diego Museum of Man > Mosaic Arts International 2009 Exhibition
Roman & Moroccan Art > The Art of Mosaic Storytelling
(drawing/gluing – mosaic patterns)
Roman Art > Medallions and Money from Ancient Rome
(sculpture – coins/medals)
Class Art Show > Art Display and Party to Celebrate a Year of Art History and Art
(snacks and drinks – parents please join us!)


The Mystery of Technology Integrating Tech in a LA Classroom by Jamie Dannenberg and Stephanie Ainsworth
The Mystery Project The FrameworkThis project is a culmination of a mystery unit. Before we get to the major project, we work through a literature unit that stresses plot structure, theme, setting, foreshadowing, etc...While we use technology in many places, the goal is to keep technology as a tool rather than the focus.
Three Skeleton Key•Begin by playing a few minutes of old radio play (available on-line). Use this to introduce the idea of creating suspense.•As we read, students summarize every few paragraphs onPages. Discuss the difference between copying and summarizing.•Students ﬁnd 10 vocab words they don’t know. They create aKeynote with the words and deﬁnitions. These Keynotes areshared in small groups. (A master list of words is created andused on the test).•Students keep track of examples of foreshadowing on theirPages notes.•Students ﬁll out the ﬁrst copy of the Examining a Story sheet.
Examining a StoryStudent Name:___________________Story Name: ____________________ Who is the main character? This is the protagonist. Describe him or her using 3 sentences: Who is the antagonist? This is the person who gets in the main characters way or causes trouble. Describe him or her (or it) using 3 sentences. What is the setting of the story? Give details about what it looks like, where it is, and a guess at the time period. List 3 clues that the author gives about how the story is going to end (foreshadowing).
Examining a Story Theme: Every story has a theme. What do you think the theme of this story is?Plot Diagram: Fill in the diagram with details from the story. Climax PP3 PP2 PP4 PP1 Intro ResolutionIntroduction:Plot Point 1:Plot Point 2:Plot Point 3:Climax:Plot Point 4:Resolution:
Examining a StoryDescribe the mood of the story:What is the point of view of the story (choose one):! ____First person (The character is also part of the story and uses I, etc...)! ____Second person (The author refers to one of the characters as “you,” making! ! ! you part of the story.! ____Third person objective (Tells the story without letting you know of any! ! ! characterʼs thoughts. The author uses words like “he” or “she,” but! ! ! not “I” or “you.”! ____Third person omniscient (Tells the story with he/she, etc... but also tells you! ! ! what everyone is thinking.)Tenses: Which tense did the author use?! ____ Past Tense - The author is telling a story that takes place before this point! ! ! ! in time.! ____ Present Tense - The author is telling a story that is taking place right now.! ____ Future Tense - The author is telling you a story that will take place in the! ! ! ! future.
After Twenty Years O’HenryBefore reading this story, students respond to a journal prompt in Moodle. Theprompt asks them to reﬂect on what they would do if they knew a friend wasdoing something wrong.Students read through this story in small groups. They are all members of thesame Google Docs. Here they write a short summary of the story and list 5questions they have. Each student must contribute one question. They also sharethis doc with me. This is also where they record vocab for the story.The story is confusing, so we also look at it as a class and ﬁll out the Examining aStory sheet together.
The Stranger Chris Van AllsburgI scan this book in and create a Keynote so everyone can seethe pictures.This is an excellent example of how to describe a setting,create the mood, include foreshadowing, etc...Students ﬁll out the Examining a Story sheet again. Theysubmit this on Moodle for a grade.
Mystery ProjectBased on Harris Burdick by Chris VanAllsburg
Begin by having students look at the directions for Phase 1 on Moodle. Don’t print these out. Mystery Writing Project create the mood of your story for your audience. To do this, you need to Phase 1: Writing the Story use colorful adjectives. Your story should be between 500 and 1000 words. This is meant to be a short story, not a novel! You may want to The Basics: write your story on Google Docs so that you are able to communicate with You will be writing a mystery that includes the various plot elements that we have studied in class this year. This is a large project, so please take it your partner outside of the classroom. seriously. Make sure you look over the rubric before you turn work in to be graded. You also need to work hard to stay on top of things. If you fall Step Four: behind, it will be difficult to catch up. Now that you have your first draft finished, we are going to do some revising. You will be paired with another group. Spend 10 minutes on Step One: each story. Don’t worry about spelling, etc… Instead, focus on content. Before any good writer sits down to write a story, they think through what Work through the Partner Revising Sheet. You will need to turn this in, so type of story they would like it to be. You are going to do the same thing. Look at the story starter from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick you chose. please work through it carefully! Spend a few minutes jotting down ideas of what could be happening. Each story could be written many different ways. Try to come up with a basic Step Five: plot outline in your heads. You don’t need all of the details at this point. Sit and make revisions based on the feedback you were given on the Jot down any ideas that you have so you don’t forget them as you write. Partner Revising Sheet. Think through other things that you might want to change. Can you add detail? Once you think your story is perfect, run it Step Two: through Criterion. The next step is to get your ideas organized on paper. This is the final prewriting step we are going to do. Fill out the Examining a Story sheet that we have used for other stories this week. Try to add many details and Step Six: descriptive words. Before you turn your story in, you need to sit and read it out loud to yourself. It’s amazing what you may notice when you hear your own story. Step Three: Is there anything that you want to add or change? Would a different Now you are ready to write. You are going to use the basic outline you adjective paint a better picture? You want the reader to be drawn into planned during your prewriting. You will definitely need to add more your story. Once you are positive that it is perfect, print it out and turn it details, though. For example, you want to paint a picture of the setting and in. Please make sure your name is on your story. Also, put the title on top!
Look at the rubric with the students so they know what is expected of them. Mystery Writing Rubric Phase One: Writing the Story Writers’ Names: ____________________________ Points Possible: Points Earned: Did you have a clear 6 introduction that set the tone of the story? Did you use strong 10 adjectives that painted pictures? Did you have at least 9 three pieces of foreshadowing? Did you a strong plot 10 structure based on the diagram you created during pre-writing? Was your final version 5 different than your first version? Did you have perfect 15 spelling and grammar? Did you have an 5 appropriate title for your story? Final Grade: 60
Next, have students sign up for groups using thenotecard system. Have students write their names inthe center of a card and 4 students they would like towork with in each corner. I assign the groups fromthese suggestions.Make a Keynote of the Harris Burdick slides. Gothrough the slideshow twice so they can get ideas ofwhich story they would like to use for their project.
Use Moodle Choice for partners to pick their story.You can set limits so only one group in each class canchoose a story. This prevents students from ﬁghtingover stories.Give each group a photocopy of their prompt. Theyhave 10-15 minutes to brainstorm possible plot ideaswhile I circulate.
The next class period (Day 2 of the project) is spentwith students ﬁlling in the Examining a Story sheet forthe story they are going to write. This must beapproved before they can move on.At this stage, I introduce Google Docs. Students writetheir stories together in class and at home. They havetwo days to complete their stories.The next day (Day 5), students meet with anothergroup to edit. Then they run their stories throughCriterion for grammar corrections. I do check forsigniﬁcant revisions.
I always collect the stories (on Google docs)on a weekend. This gives me time to edit. Icopy and paste the rubric directly on theirGoogle site. I also add comments, but I don’tmake corrections for them. This is a greatway to be able to check and see if they havemade corrections.
Phase TwoStudents are given directions for the project, but I allow themto use different programs or formats as long as they meet therequirements listed in the rubric.This part of the project is very independent. Students alsograde their partners at the end of the project so I know if therewere any issues I didn’t notice. I also circulate and take noteson what I observe happening in the groups.
Mystery Writing Project Phase 2: Creating a KeynoteThe Basics:Now that you have written your story, you are going to create a Keynotewith illustrations, sounds, and text. All of the directions are writtenclearly below. Please follow the steps one by one in order to meet all of thecriteria!Step One: Open a Keynote document and choose the style of the project.Think about the mood you would like to create as you make your selection.Step Two: The first slide should be a title slide. You need to write thename of your story using correct capitalization. Below the title, you shouldlist your names.Step Three: Create ten more slides. This will be where you put your textand illustrations. Look at your story and break it into ten sections. Thisshould be done with a great deal of thought. Try to think about naturalbreaks in the story and what the illustrations could be for each section.Once you have divided the story into ten sections, type or paste the text oneach slide. You may select a fun font that creates the appropriate mood.Please make sure that it is easy to read, though.Step Four: The next step is to create illustrations for your story. This canbe done in a few different ways. One way is to draw the pictures and takepictures of your drawings using PhotoBooth. Another way is to use acomputer program such as Pencil (in your Zextras folder). If you know ofother programs, you may definitely use them! Be creative and have fun.You DO need an illustration on each of the ten pages. You may not use
pictures you find on-line, but you may use photos of yourself or otherphotos that you have taken. If you are using photos, try to alter themusing Seashore or another program.Step Five: After you have inserted all of your text and illustrations, youare ready to add sound. To do this, go to Garage Band and follow the stepsbelow for each slide. You will do this ten times! • Create a new project, choose podcast. • Label the project Slide 1, Slide 2, etc… and save it in a Mystery Project folder inside your Language Arts folder. • Start by creating the text. To do this, click on the either the male or female voice. Click the large red dot on the bottom of the screen and start reading your text. Make sure you set the tone with your voice and speak clearly. When you are finished, click the red dot again. (If you hear a tapping sound as you are recording, go up to the Control tab and turn the metronome off.) • Now you are ready to add sound effects. You should have at least one sound effect per slide. This can be music (from Garageband) or another noise that fits with your story. To do this, first look at the bottom right section of your screen. Make sure that the eye is blue (turned on). Once you see the Loop menu, click on Sound Effects. You can listen to various sound effects under each category. When you find one that you like, drag it onto a new track. You can adjust the volume for each track so that you are able to hear your words. You may have more than one sound effect per slide if you would like. • Once you are sure that the sounds for the page are perfect, go to the Share tab at the top of your screen. Choose the “send song to iTunes” option. The first time you do this, you will
need to create a playlist called Mystery. Leave the rest of the settings the way they are and hit “Share.” Eventually you will have 10 files in iTunes under your Mystery playlist. • Back in Keynote, go to your first slide with writing. Open the Media Inspector, find your file in iTunes and drag it onto your slide. Do this for each of your ten story slides.Step 6: Add a slide at the end giving credit to Chris VanAllsburg for thestory starter (The Mysteries of Harris Burdick) and any other sites orprograms that you used.Step 7: Now we need to work on timing. To do this, you are going to look ateach slide. Start with your title slide. Open the Inspector and click on thetab that looks like a slide. Choose to start the transition automatically.Then adjust the time to be 4 seconds. For the rest of the slides, do the samething. The only difference is that you need to set the time for the slides tobe one second longer than your sound file. You can find these times bylooking at the file in iTunes.Step 8: You’re almost finished! The final step is to export your project. Todo this, go to the Share tab and choose “Export.” Choose the QuickTimetab. Set the Playback Uses to Manual Advance and set the format to CD-Rom Movie. Make sure you have checked to include audio and click“next.” Save it to your desktop.
Mystery Project Rubric Name _________________________ Total Points (out of 40) ________ 4 3 2 1Spelling: The story was The story had The story had 2-4 The story had 5 or perfect with no only one spelling spelling mistakes. more spelling spelling mistakes mistake. mistakes. at all.Grammar: The story had The story had The story had The story had 5 or perfect grammar. only one grammar between 2 and 4 more grammar mistake. grammar mistakes. mistakes.Title Slide: Your title slide Your title slide Your title slide Your title slide did was perfect. It had only one had a couple of not follow the had your story mistake. errors. directions given. title with correct capitalization and your names.Illustrations: Your illustrations Your illustrations Your illustrations Your illustrations were very were very nice. were OK. You did not follow the carefully done. You obviously could have spent guidelines given, They showed time worked very hard more time on or appeared to be and creativity. on them. them. very hastily done.Verbal Text: You did an You did a nice job You had several You did not follow excellent job with the text. You issues with the directions as far creating a mood. may have had an text. It was very as text. Your pacing was issue with pacing hard to perfect and it was or volume or the understand. easy to mood might not understand. have been created perfectly.
Sound Effects: You had at least You did a nice job Your sound Your sound one sound effect with the sound effects had effects were not per slide. The effects, but you several issues. complete or did effect was may have missed not fit the story. appropriate, at a a slide or they good volume and didn’t add to the added to the story. story.Story Line: Your story line Your story line Your story line Your story line showed a strong was nice. You had was not needed more plot development. the necessary completely work. A feeling of parts but could developed. A suspense was have used more strong feeling of created and there detail. suspense was not was a clear climax created. and resolution.Details: You had You had many You had a few Your story lacked wonderful details details, but at details, but details. that added to your times you could needed many story. have added more. more.Timing: Your slide show Your slide show You slide show Your timing did was perfectly timing was nice, timing was OK, not meet the timed. but there was a but had issues in criteria given. place or two some spots. where it could have been better.Credit Slide You included a You included a Your credit slide You forgot to slide giving credit credit slide, but had many errors. include a credit to all sites used. needed to pay slide. This was done closer attention to thoroughly. some details.
Literature Unit Project speciﬁcally for Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars The Framework This unit is a small unit on a realistic ﬁction book entitled Summer of the Swans. It teaches students how to work withvocabulary, character traits as well as how to monitor their ownreading and thoughts. While we use technology in many places, the goal is to keep technology as a tool rather than the focus. This unit works toward teaching students to use parts oftechnology in a simple way so they can later use it on their own.
Skeleton•Begin by reviewing ways that people read and what works forcomprehending.•Alternate reading whole class, partners and at home individually.•Students record vocab words as they read. Students can recordwords they’re questionable about, but also use the words from themaster list of words. For each vocab word (or selected ones, useInspiration to web the words - deﬁnition, example (sentence), way toremember the word, and a simile. Students also use Inspiration tocreate a character web for character traits of the main characters.•Model reading strategies like questioning, predicting, inferring etc.through whole class reading. Use stickies to record thoughts.Students practice at home. and share some thoughts during the nextwhole class reading.•Students also summarize every few chapters on Pages in whichthey later upload to moodle.
Choice Project Summer of the Swans: Sara’s Life at a Glance Project.Title Page: Name of book, Author’s name, your name (3 points).Identify the following Character’s in Sara’s Life (who are they, describe their actions in one part of the story, and what is Sara’s relationship with them at the beginning and howdoes it change at the end). (6 points per Character). • Wanda • Charlie • Aunt Willie • Joe • FatherExplain Sara’s Life at the beginning of the story (first describe her self-esteem and then tell me how it was like a kaleidoscope). (6 points)Why couldn’t Charlie talk, describe what happened to him as a child (4 points).What significance did the Swans have in the story? (2 points)Describe the situation of WHY Sara is SO mad at Joe in the beginning (4 points).Why did Charlie go missing (describe what happened) (4 points).Describe the following character’s reaction and what they do when they find out that Charlie is missing. (2 points per Character). • Aunt Willie • Wanda (specifically how she found out) • Sara • JoeDescribe how Charlie was found 1. what did Charlie experience in the woods, 2. who looked for him 3. describe the events that happened as they looked for him, 4. and how washe finally found). (3 points per question).What does Sara realize or learn about her life at the end of the story (at least 2 things she learned) (6 points (3 points each)).What can you learn about how to treat other people by reading this story (3 things you learned). (2 points per).Vocabulary Slide: Choose 10 words that were unfamiliar to you in the story and make a Vocabulary Slide with the definition in your own explainable words. (2 points perword).At least 5 sentences of your thoughts and opinions of the book (5 points).Total: ________/105
Some Project Choices... ---(Pages) ---(Comic Life)
Later in the semester or year students apply what they’velearned in reading with a book of their choice. They use thevocabulary strategies taught, summarizing strategies, ways to look at an analyze character traits, as well as ways tokeep track of literary elements. Student do this as they read and then at the end of their chosen books, students do a project to demonstrate and apply their knowledge. For the project, students need to create a cover, a short summary of the book, and choose ﬁve projects.
The Project...Students have a choice to do 5 of the following. 20 Ways of Looking at the Book Complete any ﬁve of the assignments below: (Each item should be a minimum of one page in length, but usually should be longer than that.) 1. Summarize the book in poem form with rhyme (minimum 20 lines). 2. Discuss in depth the relevance of the title. 3. Write a letter to the author. 4. Use two other sources to research and write a report on an issue from the book. 5. Write a one minute radio advertisement persuading the public why they should buy and read this book. Then, use Garage Band to record your advertisement. 6. Research and write a report on the author. 7. Q & A - Pretend youre interviewing a person from the book. Write your interview in question and answer format. Then, use Garage Band to record the interview. Use different voices for the different people talking. Extra credit if you use iMovie to make an actual television show of the interview.
8. Compare and contrast the book with another you have read.9. Discuss cause and effect relationships you found in the book.10. Write an editorial based on a controversial issue in the book. (An editorial is a letterin which the writer is trying to persuade the reader to agree with the topic written. Thewriter addresses the other side, but weighs more into persuading the reader to thinkone way.)11. Design a time-line for events in the book.12. Write a letter to one of the characters in the book.13. As a literary agent, write a letter to the publishing company designed to persuadethem to publish this book.14. Create a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases. Because it’s a glossary, it mustinclude deﬁnitions of your words written in your words. Each word also must include asentence using the word.15. Choose your favorite passage from the book. Copy it down (with the page number)and discuss what you found appealing about it.16. Top 10 List - list ten things you learned from this book.
17. Youre the reporter. Write a front page news story or a report live from the scene.Use Pages to write it. Make it look appealing. Extra credit if you do an audiorecording on Garage Band.18. Write your own test - a combination of matching, multiple choice, true/false,short answer, and essay. Include an answer key for your test. (May put in paper formor use quizlet.com)19. Journal as you go - As youre reading the book, keep a two-sided readingjournal. The left side should have quotes from the book and page numbers. Theright side should have your questions, thoughts, observations, revelations, etc.20. E-mail partner - Partner up with some whos reading the same book. Divide thebook into four parts. When youve read the ﬁrst quarter, write a letter to your partnerabout your questions, thoughts, observations, revelations, etc. Your partner is torespond. Do the same for the next three sections of the book. When you ﬁnish, printout your letters and responses (each partner is to have four letters and fourresponses). (Google Docs would work great for this.)
THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC The of J Germa April 2011 By Jane Yolen ew ns com s. Whe take h es i na old wor n n king , an old ew Jew Tha , ts th Jew goe non- “I loved this book! I em s ou would recommend a cam th of th t. p. e this book to anyone who loves action, Hannah or Chaya? Jews. suspense, and real page turners.” -- Madi BrinkJEWS AND GERMANSIn 5701, the Germans had hated the Jews. Anytype of Jew, including Greek Jews. In theastonishing story of a girl named Hannah sheﬁnds herself at a Seder with her family but shegets caught up in the moment and falls into astrange dream when her ancestors were still livingand young. Nazi’s ﬁnd her family and take her toa concentration camp. She knows abouteverything that happens but know when willbelieve her and her guardians make all thedecisions for her. When a cart of Jews comes tothe camp, others must go into the gas ovens. Whatwill she do? Jewish boys with the traditional shaved heads. Jewish star Hitler In this book, the characters are fake but most of the actions in the book are real. The writer, Jane Yolen, is actually a Jew and her grandparents and parents (when they were young) where held in camps and they told her stories. She took bits and pieces and created a horror- ﬁlled book. Reading Level: 6.0 Number of Pages: 170
James and theGiant Peach This book has 126 pages This is forpeople who likefantasy and the people that Roald would want to leave it would be someone Dahl whoa happy ending and people whowould want the whole book to be happyJames and the Giant peach tree. The Aunts use it to get money. One night james found a Peach hole in the peach and ﬁnds a door. James is a boy from England and He opens it and ﬁnds somehis parents died and he has to live friends. The peach separates from with his mean aunts. One day he the tree and rolls down the hill. Itgets these green candy like things crushes the aunts and ends up inand drops them on the ground and the ocean. Then sharks come andmakes a huge peach on a very old start to eat the peach.
Dear Andrew Clements, I am .... I am 12 years old and in the 6th grade. For a reading project we had to chose onebook. It could be any book that we wanted to read and many of my friends recommendedThe Report Card, so that was the book that I read. After we were done reading the book,we did three different projects on it, and this was one of the ones that I chose, to write oremail a letter to you. I really, truly think that you are a great author and I am starting toread another one of your books. I really like how you put in how Nora was thinking inbetween times. I also liked that you made it a secret. I think that when there are any majorsecrets in a book that many readers want to know when “the beans might get spilled” so tospeak. That is what I liked about your book. I also liked that you made Nora friends with aboy because in most stories there are normally either a boy friends with a boy or a girlfriends with a girl and that I think that is another thing that makes your book really unique.I really liked your book and so far I really like your other book. I am glad that I had achance to read a few of your books and I really look forward to reading a few of your otherbooks. It would really mean a lot to me if you could email me or send me a letter. My emailaddress is ... and my address is:...It would really mean a lot to me if you could do that so I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks, ..., 6B, 12 years, 6th grade
Simple Ways to Integrate Technology in a Language Arts ClassroomUse Moodle to upload extra worksheets, communicate homework expectations,allow students to collaborate in forums, and submit journals.Criterion is an on-line editing site. Students submit writing and are told whenthey have sentence or paragraph structure issues, essay structure problems, aswell as simple grammar problems. It’s a great way for students to start the editingprocess as well turn in quick writing assignments for you to evaluate. (They arealso given a score from 1 to 6.Google Docs is a great way for students to collaborate with each other. You canalso grade student work if they share it with you.
Moodle Choice is a great way to allow students to choose projects without“ﬁghting” over ideas. You can set a limit so only one group in a class can choose atopic. It automatically resets for the next section of a class.You can use Moodle to review MAP style questions. Set this up using MoodleChoice.Students can use Easy Bib to complete their Works Cited page.Students can create examples of their oral reading using Garageband. They canlink the examples to a portfolio so you can track their growth.Garageband can also be used to establish the mood of a story. Students can addsound effects, voice alterations, etc... so that they demonstrate a clearunderstanding of what mood is.
ActivInspire is a great piece of software that allows you to create a slideshow foryour class. As you teach your class, you can store the notes you used to make onthe whiteboard. These notes can be added to Moodle with a voice over so thatparents and students can review what happened in class. (This is especiallyhelpful for students on vacation or those that need a little extra help).Inspiration and Kidspiration are both great programs for brainstorming/organizing writing before students begin.
Need Handouts? To access our handouts, go tohttps://sites.google.com/a/hollandchristian.org/ integrating-tech-in-a-la-classrrom/home


Elmer's English 304 Magazine
by Elmer G. Wiens
As individuals mature from infants to adults, they fabricate a personal narrative, a chronicle that accounts and explains their decisions and actions that establish their identities. How people use language in these narratives influences how they determine their identities and their lives. Feminist writers explore the links between language and identity, particularly gender identity, believing that women are affected adversely by language since the rules of language and the meaning of words are made by men. Daphne Marlatt's feminist novel, Anna Historic, details how female characters struggle with language in relating their personal narratives. This paper argues that the theory of language of Ludwig Wittgenstein and his followers reveals how feminist discourses can rid language of male prerogatives and transfigure language.
Freudian psychoanalytic theories maintain the importance of the Oedipal conflict in establishing gender identity, using the meta-narrative that an individual must identify with one sex and desire the other. Freud's theories have been remarkably durable in the face of an onslaught of criticism and scientific evidence purporting to refute his science of human behaviour. In Judith Butler: Gender Trouble, Mary Klages comments on how feminist writers challenge Freudian conjectures of the determinants of gender identity, and question the very existence of a core gender identity. In feminists' analysis, gender is a performance based on personal narratives, not a biological characteristic like brown eyes. Moreover, feminists maintain that Freudian narratives explaining human conduct exclude women, since the language used to create a person's identity originates in the patriarchy. Patriarchal language tends to present women as objects without agency. Language embedded in male sexuality conditions women to accept the role of an object, maintaining the status quo. In response, feminist writers explore the way women express gender and sexuality, by telling stories centered on women's bodies.
In Religion, Truth, and Language-Games, Patrick Sherry investigates the Austrian philosopher Wittgenstein's theories of language and applies them to religious discourse. In his later work, Wittgenstein rejects his earlier notions that words must correspond to objects or "particular mental activities" (3). Instead, Wittgenstein maintains that words are items embedded in a system of rules that govern their use, much like the moves of chess pieces which are determined by the rules of chess. Wittgenstein calls the contexts along with the rules that govern the use of words "language games." Each context or form of life, like religion, politics, or sexual relations, provides its own language game with its own set of rules. For example, the word "love" used in religion to describe God's love for mankind has a different meaning from the word used to describe the feelings between a man and a woman (153). As Sherry points out, God's love, in some religions, is unconditional and everlasting, while human love can be temporary, or even a "fraudulent invention" according to some authors (128). In the way Sherry explores the "issues of religious language, ways of life, truth and understanding … in light of Wittgenstein's philosophy" (vii), Wittgenstein's theory of language games can also be applied to feminist discourses of identity, gender and sexuality.
In A Wittgenstein Dictionary, Hans-Johann Glock explains Wittgenstein's language-game analogy by observing, "language is a rule-guided activity." The rules of language — grammar — determine "what is correct or makes sense, and thereby define the game/language." A word's meaning "is not an object it stands for, but is determined by the rules governing its operation" (193). Furthermore, a proposition or statement by a person makes sense only in its context, like the suitable chess moves available to a player depend on "the position of the board" (194). Another person's intelligible responses to the proposition compare to the possible countermoves by the opposing chess player. Taking the chess analogy further, a person must play many games of chess to understand how a rook, a bishop, and a pawn can be used to mate the opposing king in a given situation or board position. To play competitive chess, a person must study opening theory, strategy, tactics, and endgame theory, and play hundreds of games using these theories, strategies, and tactics. In the same way, people must participate actively in language games, and even reinvent their rules when the old games become intolerable. The resulting new language games can determine our thoughts and behaviour, and the form our lives take.
Martha Cutter observes in Language that feminist writers claim language affects men and women inequitably. Identity depends on language. Feminist writers claim that since men determine the denotations and connotations of words and their use in language, men also determine identities. Unless men and women have congruent interests, by delimiting human identities men obtain an unfair advantage over women. When men monopolize the determination of language, sexual identities "serve the interests of men" and oppress women. Freudian psychologists champion the importance of the phallus as a dominant symbol in language and in the determination of sexual identity. If Freudian analysis is accurate, women — lacking a penis — "remain marginal to both culture and language." Consequently, feminist writers want to rid language of its phallocentric symbols and discourses; they want language to include women (229-230). By negotiating the use of language, feminist writers negotiate how people determine their identities, obtaining equal status for men and women in society, giving people control of their lives independent of their sex.
In the "Social Construction of Gender, Class, Race, and Ethnicity," Gerda Lerner states that language under the patriarchal order gives us the "binary sexual categories" of male and female, and the "binary distinction between heterosexuals and homosexuals" (5986). These groupings limit what society accepts as normal behaviour, marginalizing people who fall outside these criteria. In contrast to these rigid divisions, Sharon Astyk, in Lesbianism, cites feminist writers who claim gender is a continuum by defining lesbianism to include all women who "identify with the love of women" (232). With this broad definition, feminists refute Freud's narrative that a person must either identify with a sex or desire it, since a continuum permits a person to identify with a sex and also desire it. Astyk believes that the idea of gender as a continuum allows women into language. She draws from Luce Irigaray to state that "female desire for the feminine" provides "the door into a feminine language" (233). Psychological narratives should not proscribe an individual's desire by defining what that desire can be. Gender as a continuum can accommodate many definitions of desire and many lifestyles based on individual sexual desire. Feminists want people to accept women's identities based on their own definitions of desire. By way of writing, feminists impress women's subjective identity onto readers, making that identity objective and acceptable to readers. By writing about such feminine subjects as menstruation, giving birth, breastfeeding, and caring for infants and the dying, women invest in their value of one another. In their approach to storytelling, feminists redefine and unshackle language from masculine symbolism, liberating women from patriarchal culture.
The phallus was not always the dominant symbol of language, religion, and culture. In some ancient civilizations like Hindu India, female genitalia played a more important role than male genitalia. Contemporary feminist playwrights and writers, like Eve Ensler, Stephanie Demetrakopoulos, and Marlatt, reinsert women's bodies into human consciousness using language based on women's knowledge. In Ensler's play, The Vagina Monologues, women discuss their vaginas in a sequence of short monologues. Such frank public discourses rid language of taboo "female private body parts" producing new games and expanding existing language games wherein women can share fantasies and experiences. In Listening to Our Bodies, Demetrakopoulos questions the relevance of the Oedipal complex to both sexes, and looks to the novels of writers such as Margaret Laurence and Colette for evidence of the way women mature. She believes women's egos develop differently from men's egos. For example, because daughters can become surrogate mothers to their fathers, the Oedipal conflict between daughters and mothers is less threatening to daughters than the Oedipal conflict between sons and fathers. As a result, girls' egos remain connected to others, while boys' egos separate from self and others. The differences in male and female egos "manifest in later stages of life," when many women rethink their identities and take up new lives, often resuming interrupted careers, reconnecting to larger communities than their families (4-6). By voicing their experiences in short stories, novels, and plays, women empower themselves. They assert agency, and re-enter language, blocking and subverting the infinite regression of repression imposed by the patriarchy.
In Ana Historic, Daphne Marlatt writes of a middle-aged woman, who reconnects with her body and reassesses her gender identity. She uses many different language games to describe Annie Anderson's transition from the middle-aged wife of a university professor to Annie Torrent, writer and lesbian. As examples, Marlatt uses formal language and punctuation in the historical language game where Annie narrates the activities of the nineteenth century Ana Richards (14). She uses imagined, disruptive flashback conversation in the mother-daughter language game between Ana and Ina (60). She employs lower-case letters for words like "I" and for the first word in a sentence, and idiosyncratic grammar using many sentence fragments like "the sheer jubilation" in the Annie as narrator-reader language game (83). Marlatt indirectly comments on these differences in language games when Ana writes in her journal that women "among themselves" do not "speak as they do in a mixed situation." In situations with men, women's discourse is "only an element of response" (106) to men's discourse, not an element of women's agency and initiative. Using Wittgenstein's terminology, women engage in different language games in different situations.
Marlatt's story of women struggling with language in a patriarchal society raises many questions, partly because the novel adopts a non-linear time sequence, and partly because she avoids offering solutions to the dilemma of women's identities. Annie, who wants to write instead of working as her husband's research assistant, is "irritated because she cannot explain herself." Because her writing is "cut loose from history," it will be deemed scribbling by people like her husband Richard (81). Ana, who wants "what womanhood must content itself without" (72), also "cannot find the words to explain herself," since she "literally cannot speak" (105). Although Annie and Ana are aware of their feelings, they cannot express their feelings or desires because they cannot participate in a relevant language game. As the novel progresses, one discovers that both Ana and Annie question their sexual identities, but have no language to investigate and answer their doubts.
While people tend to accept other's sexual identity and lifestyle, many people have difficulty in understanding why someone like Annie switches her sexual identity in mid-life. Such a change is bound to be traumatic for friends, spouse, children, and other family members. Ostensibly, Marlatt's character Annie was heterosexual before Zoe introduced Annie to alternative sexualities. How will Richard, Annie's husband, Angie, their fifteen-year old daughter, and Mickey, their young son, react to Annie's change of sexual identity? Richard could be a secure person, and yet still react sharply to this event. Will Angie doubt her sexual identity? Did Annie submerge her bona fide sexuality because society expects women to conform to stereotypical modes of behaviour? Annie's mother, Ina, required psychiatric treatment for her attacks of paranoia and hysteria (88). Is Annie just overreacting to the possibility of being replaced in Richard's life by one of his graduate students (59,147)? Does Annie leave her family and move in with Zoe? Or does she just have sex with her? What strategies does Marlatt employ to induce the reader to identify with Annie, and to accept her decisions as rational? Reading Marlatt's novel, my list of unanswered questions continues to grow in length. Is Marlatt's writing difficult for me to understand because patriarchal modes of discourse have conditioned my thinking? Whenever I return to Ana Historic searching for answers, Marlatt's text thrusts more questions into my mind, undermining my understanding of her characters and narrative.
Marlatt partially answers some of these questions by inviting one to play an author-reader language game. As Marlatt manipulates the aesthetic distance between her readers and characters, they must commit emotionally to understand her difficult text. On the one hand, when the adolescent Annie feels restricted by acceptable girl play, Marlatt writes, "it wasn't tom, or boy, it wasn't hoyden, minx, baggage, but what lay below names" (13). On the other hand, when Ana frets about the way men look at her as she walks into Gastown, she writes, "But a cold nod never failed to establish distance and they move on" (95). Annie's difficult stream of consciousness distances them; Ana's pulls them close. Moreover, Marlatt differentiates Ana's self-consciously proper, nineteenth century journal entries from Annie's unruly stream of conscious monologues. Ana, fearing what people are saying about her, writes "because they understand me to be a Widow, the men think me most eager for their company" (31). In Annie and Zoe's coffeehouse tête-à-tête, Annie fantasizes, erotically, of their hands "in suspense besides these cups" of cappuccino, with "wreaths around the rim," and on "the corners of our lips, the faint taste of chocolate" (91).
However, before Annie and Zoe consummate their romance, Annie has to learn the language game of lesbians. Shortly after the black leather jacketed Zoe first meets Annie in the city archives, and picks her up, Zoe begins Annie's initiation with the line "i distrust women who smile too much." Annie responds meekly, almost submissively, with "do i smile too much?" (58). Knowledge requires language and language is public. Only when Zoe, sexually empowered and aware, confronts Annie does Annie acknowledge her sexual desires and learn to value her body in a different way.
In Marlatt's novel, Annie researches the life of Ana Richards, a pioneer resident of Vancouver and a schoolteacher. As she writes about Ana, Annie simultaneously shares her disillusionment with her marriage to Richard, and her relationship with her mother while growing up. Annie, feeling estranged from her own body, recalls how as juveniles "our bodies were ours as far as we knew and we knew what we liked" (19). She fears becoming like Ina, with a "body that defeats the self. the body, not even your body. split off, schizophrenic, suffering hysteric malfunction" (89). Her concern with her middle-aged body compels her to write. Can she repossess her legitimate sexual identity by writing? Her marriage to Richard — she was his student and pregnant with Angie — relegated her career to research assistant, and her identity to mother and wife — just like her mother. Angie, now fifteen years old, cannot understand her mother's desire to write, believing Annie enjoys contributing to Richard's book, and submerging her career in Richard's. For whom is Annie living? Annie's mother sacrificed her life for her husband and their three daughters. Annie's relationship with Zoe, a potential mother substitute, influences Annie to reassess her aspirations, desires, and way of living.
Annie no longer desires Richard. Richard and Annie barely endure sleeping together, "the defensive lie our lying together is" (59). Neither Annie nor Richard craves lovemaking; their sexual language game is at an impasse. Whoever makes the first move in their sexual language game "risks rejection" (59). When one player starts with "you don't really want to, do you," the other player responds with "i do, it's you who doesn't" (60). When Richard touches Annie, he does so "gingerly and mainly because he feels he ought to" (147). Neither of them will admit that their marriage is a sham. Richard, who disparaged Annie's writing aspirations, acknowledges he can "train one of my grad students to replace" Annie as his research assistant, implying that he can also replace her as his sexual assistant (147). Losing the patriarchal sex language game, the terrified Annie is left "tugging at the cord that binds," not wanting to be left out of "the book, the marriage, history" (147).
Annie's carefully constructed identity as a dutiful wife and mother collapses, like the "collapsing bridges" of her dreams (78). Whereas feminists may be correct in questioning the existence of a core gender identity, a person's sense of self is still important. Is Annie's identity frail because of her parents? When the pubescent Annie tries on the role of mother to her father, Ina sarcastically calls her "the Perfect Little Mother" trying hard to replace her (49). When Annie wants to shave her legs and wear a bra like the other girls at school, Ina objects, relenting only to give Annie one of her old bras. Ina taught Annie "pride on the inside and on the outside — shame" (61). Ina passes her hatred of her body on to her daughter. Annie's femininity — her feminine identity — becomes an act, a performance just as some feminists claim.
Marlatt chronicles Annie's awareness of her body, her consciousness entrenched in the patriarchy, conditioned on the approval of males — on how males look at her. When Annie's body slims into a woman's shape, she self-consciously checks to see if her father has noticed her as the other woman in the house (50). Girls, trained to "solicit the look," become objects, not subjects (56), their value in teenage society based on their bodies (82). In reassessing her sexuality, Annie recalls qualms she had about her gender identity. When she and her girlfriend Donna go to Princess Pool to suntan and flaunt their bodies at the boys, Annie looks at Donna, noticing "the soft rise of her breasts under her suit," "the gold blur of hair on her arms," and "her eyes that laughed into mine as she leaned forward, her breasts swinging with her" (82). Annie prefers the act of looking, to being looked at. Annie also recalls walking in the woods with Donna, and coming to a fork in the road. Along one branch was a trail blocked by a car, with two women making love. Annie is struck by the daring of the women and "the leafy tunnel they had chosen, the silence of the dripping woods and, under glass as under water, two mouths meeting each other." At this point Annie broods over the phrase "a fork in the road implies a choice" (107). Recognizing that gender is a continuum, should Annie accept her sexual desires?
Annie's pregnancy and marriage to Richard while still a university student constrains her sexual identity to that of a married woman. She projects her discontent into her writings about Ana Richard, supplementing the few details of Ana's life that appear in the civic archives of Vancouver, imagining a life for Ana that fuses with Annie's own dealings with family and friends. What was Ana's sex life like as the widow schoolteacher, living in the "little three-room cottage back of Hastings Mill Schoolhouse" (29)? Was she serious about giving up teaching, taking rooms in Gastown, and supporting herself by giving piano lessons? Annie imagines Ana witnessing her friend Jeannie Alexander give birth to the first white child in Hastings Sawmill, a birth she describes in discerning detail. Ana, wanting to see what childbirth is like — the ancient rite of the singular act of creation — watches the "massive syllable of slippery flesh slide out the open mouth," a boy (126). Did Ana marry Ben Springer of Moodyville and raise children as the civic records state because she shared Jeannie's experience?
In The Sex Which Is Not One, Luce Irigaray takes issue with Freud's contentions that before a girl can develop into a normal woman her "desire to obtain the penis from the father" must be "replaced by the desire to have a child," and that "the woman's happiness is complete only if the newborn child is a boy" (41). Marlatt is ambiguous on this key principle of the Oedipal complex. On the one hand, although Annie and Richard have a son, Annie apparently leaves her home and family. On the other hand, Ana marries Ben Springer, of whom she disparagingly says, "He is not my match, let me assure you" (119). Rather, Marlatt follows Irigaray's suggestion of jamming Freud's "theoretical machinery" and "suspending its pretensions to the production" of truth and meaning (78). Freud's theories, based on men's experiences of desire, do not need refuting, since the desire of women does not "speak the same language of men" (25). Refuting Freud's theory will give rise to yet another psychological theory based in the patriarchy. Furthermore, a woman is neither object nor subject in the language game of women (78). Women are equal with men, and different from men.
Astyk, Sharon. "Lesbianism." Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory. Ed. Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace. New York: Garland, 1997. 232-234.
Cutter, Martha J. "Language." Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory. Ed. Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace. New York: Garland, 1997. 229-230.
Demetrakopoulos, Stephanie. Listening to Our Bodies: The Rebirth of Feminine Wisdom. Boston: Beacon, 1983.
Ensler, Eve. The Vagina Monologues. New York: Villard, 1998.
Glock, Hans-Hohann. A Wittgenstein Dictionary. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996.
Irigaray, Luce. This Sex Which Is Not One. Trans. Catherine Porter. Ithaca: Cornell UP,1985.
Klages, Mary. English 2012: Judith Butler: Gender Trouble. University of Colorado. 5 Mar 2003. http://www.colorado.edu/English/courses/ENGL2012Klages/butler.html.
Lerner, Gerda. "Social Construction of Gender, Class, Race, and Ethnicity." International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Eds. Neil Smelser and Paul Baltes. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2001. 5984-5989.
Marlatt, Daphne. Ana Historic. Toronto: Anansi, 1988.
Sherry, Patrick. Religion, Truth, and Language-Games. New York: Harper, 1977.


There have been several requests for some ideas for classroom activities. This page is dedicated to addressing some of these issues in the hopes that teachers will find new ways to integrate Internet use into classroom activities. Not only that, but hopefully kids will also have lots of fun learning about frogs AND playing on the Internet!
Things You will Find Here:
Don't Forget to SEND ME YOUR CLASSROOM IDEAS!
- Cool stuff for learning at Frogland
has some of the teacher-preferred areas of this site outlined.
- Activities and Teaching Programs
- has some neat ideas and lesson outlines right here such as the Rainforest Study, Personal Usage of Water Study, the Rate Your Family Conservation Study, and Attitude Slip
- Links to More Cool Ideas for Teaching Programs:
- Here you'll find all kinds of lesson ideas. If you have some ideas of your own posted, please send them to me.
Biology/Science Studies has all kinds of Biology and Life Science study lesson ideas. Life Cycle class ideas are popular and there are even several Online Anatomy Classes are available for those who wish to spare a few frogs.
Environmental Studies such as lessons in recycling, litter, global warming and more. There are some great craft ideas here! There is also a whole section of Online Population Decline/Deformed Frogs Resources available.
- Links to more Links
If you couldn't find something you were looking for here, these are some great starting points for more ideas.
- Frogs In Your Classroom
If a live frog is an option for your classroom look to this section for links and info.
Cool stuff for learning at Frogland:
Weird Frog Facts (All Ages) Here kids can learn some strange but true facts about Frogs And Toads. There are several little demonstrations that can be played out here as well. In addition, this section can be used as a jumpboard for classroom discussions.
Frog Fables and Frog Myths (All Ages) Read some classic Fables that use frogs as characters to tell stories that have a few lessons for humans too, and take a look at some myths about frogs.
Create a cartoon or multi-panel comic strip or comic book showing how a particular frog uses an adaptation or how a frog egg develops into a frog.
- Life Stages
Draw and describe each stage of a frog's metamorphosis.
- Begin with the "parents" amplexus,
- then the egg with the developing embryo,
- the tadpole or pollywog larvae (three stages),
- and finally the frog.
- Why should frogs be studied?
Kids can discuss what sorts of reasons scientists might have for interest in some of the strange brooding behaviors (Gastric Brooding Frog), cold and heat adaptations (Cold Weather Frogs), and other protective adaptations.
- Why is having frogs in our environment important?
Kids can discuss environmental impacts on their lives using the frog as an example of what happens when our environment is at risk.
These could be used as a great lead-in for a classroom creative exercise, for example:
Myths are made-up stories that tell how things came to be as they are. Work with a partner to write and illustrate a myth that explains how a frog or toad first developed one of its adaptations. (Example: "How the frog got its sticky tongue")
Or, you could write a play, make costumes, and perform your myth. Or how about a puppet show?
Save Our Frogs (All Ages) This is where kids can learn about some threats to frogs (and the rest of us), see some endangered species, and read about what they can do to help. This section lends itself to a variety of possiblke activities your class can try.
Kids can discuss what sorts of things they can do for helping take care of their environment. There are some examples listed in the "What YOU Can Do to Help" section.
- Environmental discussions.
Try some classroom activities regarding the environment. Some examples are listed below.
Activities and Teaching Programs:
This program is adaptable for all levels and class sizes.
The goal is to learn about the importance of the rain forests.
Organized into small teams, students read, research, write, revise and edit articles for their own Rain Forest newsletter. Article topics include: geography plants animals and products, especially medicines. Using a computer and teachers as chief editors, the newsletter is outlined, printed and sold. Students use the proceeds to purchase acres of rain forest (an example is the Rainforest Action Network's Protect-an-Acre program (PAA) listed in the What You Can Do To Help page), preserving it for the future.
Personal Usage of Water Study
Students monitor their personal water usage for a twenty four hour period. Students use this information to assess their personal impact on the local community.
The following is a list of approximate figures that can be used to help students determine how much water they use. Please remember there is a great variance in appliances in households and may not be accurate for everyone. You might want to ask the students to try to determine alternative ways to measure how much water they use.
- Instruct students to keep track of the ways they use water directly for a twenty four hour period. (That is flushing the toilet, drinking, cooking, showering, etc..) You can also provide your students with a table for them to record their information.
- After the students have collected their information, have them do the following analysis:
Personal Total for twenty four hours (gallons or liters)
Class Total for twenty four hours (gallons or liters)
Average gallons or liters used per person in the class in 24 hours
Total gallons or liters used by the class in a week, month, year
- Following the calculations and analysis, discuss with the students ways that they might be able to cut their water usage down. Ask the students if they
feel they have an impact on the environment.
Flushing a Toilet: 4-6 gallons
Shower: 5 to 15 gallons per minute
Filling a bathtub: 25-35 gallons
Clothes washer: 25-30 gallons per load
Dishwasher: 15 gallons per load
Running Faucet: 2 to 5 gallons per minute
- Students graph data and calculations.
- Discuss adaptations plants and animals make in their use of water.
- Students keep track of their entire households use of water.
- Students start a school water conservation program.
Rate Your Family Conservation Study
Students assess how environmentally aware their family is by a point system. Goal is to heighten awareness of environmental impact.
Students collect data on a point system. (points below are from a suggested example, an additional part of this could be for students to come up with an appropriate rating system.)
How did your family score????
- If you recycle newspaper, used computer paper, and some
junk mail, add 10 pts.
- If you picked up litter in the past week, add 5 pts. If
you littered in any way. Subtract 20 pts.
- If you planted one or more trees in the past year,
add 10 pts.
- If you drove your car (or had someone drive you) to
destination fewer that two blocks away in the last
week, subtract 20 pts.
- If you have taken your children to a natural setting,
such as the woods, a stream or a mountain trail in the
last month, add 10 pts.
- If you recycle aluminum cans and aluminum foil,
add 10 pts.
- If you burn or bag your leaves or grass clippings,
subtract 10 pts. If you compost, mulch, or leave you
leaves or grass alone to decompose, add 5 pts.
- If you have a compost pile, add 10 pts.
- If you have a family vegetable garden, add 5 pts.
- If you have forgotten to turn off a light, television, or
radio in an empty room today, subtract 10 pts.
- If you have purchased a product packaged in a foam
container in the past week (that includes food from
some fast food restaurants), subtract 5 pts.
- If you use both sides of a piece of paper before throwing
it away, add 5 pts.
- If you recycle glass and plastic, add 10 pts.
- If you have volunteered your time for an environmental
cause in the past year (such as paper drive, trash
pick-up, etc.), add 10 pts.
90 points or above: Indeed you are a friendly family of the
80 to 89 points: You are a concerned family and doing OK.
70 to 79 points: Your family needs to make a plan and try
Below 69: Your family is contributing to the problem.
Here's a neat idea from Spencer Deal: 5th grade teacher at Mesa Grande Elementary, Hesperia, CA (firstname.lastname@example.org) It's a great way to patch differences and use frogs!
First you'll need a fun picture of a frog (How about the "Frog Eating Cricket" in the Doodle page?) for this project.
- Get a photo or black line of a comical frog to put on the 3" x 3" piece of paper.
- The slip reads "Frogs are lucky, they get to eat what bugs
- At school the kids put what bothers them on the paper.
- At the end of class, use the slip of paper to mend feelings etc.
Froggin Around the world
Here's a fun idea! Gather a bag or box with the following: 1 stuffed frog, 1 disposable camera, and a list of instructions. Get the kids to send the frog out around the US, if not the world! Folks that get the frog should 1.) write a postcard and send it to the classroom, and 2.) take a photo with the stuffed frog, and send it on to the next lucky person to do the same. A couple of years ago, a 3rd grade class sent me such a package and it seemed like a neat way to get kids to learn about folks from other parts of the country. The instructions asked for me to write to the kids and send it forward...(and to be sure that the last person with the stuffed frog would send it back, along with the camera, to the classroom before classes ended)
ANIMAL WRITES LEAGUE : Smoochy the Frog Avatar This appears to be a webpage about one such traveling frog and his adventures in el paso with this 3rd grade classroom.
Links to More Cool Ideas for Teaching Programs:
FrogWeb.gov has a great selectionof Educational Resources and ideas for classroom fun!
Junior Detective Headquarters is a great site put together right here in Oregon at the Oregon Coast Aquarium which hosts this a section dedicated to activities teachers and parents can do with their kids. Specifically geared towards dissapearing frogs!
Our Friend - The Frog: A Webquest for Year 2 by Denise O'MaraWebquest for a Year 2 IT class in first term who are studying frogs with their class teacher. The children's skills at this level are limited, especially reading skills, but they are able to use a browser and print a webpage. The webquest format is used to teach
the children how to retrieve information & record it, as well as revise some of their computer skills from Year 1.
Cool School Froggy Projects (The Leaping Pad) List of Links to classes who did frog projects at school and posted the results on the web!
The Water Cycle For Kids Here's a bunch of lesson plans and ideas on water cycle studies.
VIRTUAL CREATURES This is an NSF funded research and development project. Their interdisciplinary team is exploring the educational potential of a new way of seeing living creatures and interacting with them. The foundation of this new way of seeing is a high resolution computerized three-dimensional visualization of an actual organism in its entirety, inside and out. They plan to create a library of virtual creatures designed for teaching. Students will be able to explore, visualize, touch, and change these creatures in ways that are impossible with real laboratory animals. Visit the site to see the virtual frog that they have begun to create.
Biological Rhythms (Grades 3-12) People have biological rhythms...what about other creatures? Many
schools have classroom pets - a rat, hamster, fish or frog. If your class has a pet, study its behavior to see if you can determine any cycling patterns.
Make a Frog Sandwich Janet Bowersox. Nathan Hale High School, Seattle, WA. Type of Entry: individual project/lesson. Type of Activity: hands-on, modeling, group/cooperative learning (spontaneous or structured), dissection preview lesson. Target Audience: Life Science, Biology, Special needs - ESL, Special Education. For the students who ask, "Do we get to dissect in Biology?" or those who ask "Do we have to dissect in Biology?", the Frog Sandwich
lets students choose how they will learn some comparative anatomy.
Required of students: Each student assembles a paper Frog Sandwich over a one week time period. They exchange frogs to check, correct, and "sign off" on each other's work. After completing the dissection of preserved frogs, students take a station lab practical exam. They are allowed to use their frog sandwich on the exam as an identification guide and they submit their Frog Sandwich as part of their exam.
Graphing Toad/Frog Respiration Laura Jensen. Yuma High School, Yuma, AZ. Type of Activity: Hands-on, Simulation, Inquiry lab, Authentic assessment,
group/cooperative learning. Target Audience: Life Science, Biology, Advanced Biology/AP Biology, Anatomy, Physiology. This activity helps the students
answer: Purpose of a control. The importance of care toward the experimental animal. The method of graphing the results.
Required of students: Ability to accurately measure length, mass, temperature. They must be previously exposed to the importance of observations.
Life Cycle Classes
Frogs: A Thematic Unit Plan Grade level: 2. The overall purpose of this interdisciplinary, thematic unit of study is to help young children learn more about the metamorphosis and development of an amphibian
species as they become involved in a number of interdisciplinary lessons and activities over a three or four week period. The lessons and activities of the unit are
specifically designed to help the children to develop related concepts as they gain an appreciation of ways frogs help our environment. The children will also have
experiences in caring for animals, and they will have opportunities to express themselves through creative work in art, nusic, and movement activities.
Frog Metamorphosis: A Change For the Better Objective: to introduce students to the concept of metamorphosis as practiced by frogs.
Students color the life stages of the frog, cut out each stage and fold to make a complete animal. Suggestions
for coloring are provided on the sheet. The fold will give the various life stages a three-dimensional look. Students use the completed cutouts to make a mobile to display the frog's life cycle.
Move the Desks! the pond's coming! Students become involved in learning about pond components, food chains, and the
water cycle as they help construct the pond from a child's swimming pool.
ANIMAL LIFE CYCLES his is a unit in the LIFE SCIENCES. By doing these
activities, students will learn that all living things are born,
grow and change; consume water and food, and die. This process is
commonly known as the LIFE CYCLE. Hands-on experiences as well as
creative writing, art-related and cognitive activities are used to
demonstrate the beauty and complexity of the transitions all of
life must go through.
Appropriate for grades 3-8.
Online Anatomy Classes
Craft Exchange Crafts can be a great way to recycle computer and household waste while having fun and making something useful. This page features craft projects of all sorts, many of which incorporate recycling items in creating new ones.
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Make Shrinky-Dinks from Recycling Materials! This is part of a really cool website called The Thinking Fountain where various ideas are collected. look here to find all kinds of neat projects!
Candid Camera Activity (Grades K-3) language arts, art, photography. CONCEPT: Why is litter a problem? What can we do about it?
OBJECTIVE: Students will appreciate the negative effects litter has on their community.
Discover Composting Organisms Activity - (Grades K-3) science. CONCEPT: What makes composting work? OBJECTIVE: To
expose students to some of the organisms that carry out decomposition.
Let's Get Organized Activity - (Grades K-3) social studies, technology, home economics. CONCEPT: What needs to be done to
organize a collection system for recyclables? OBJECTIVE: To teach organizational skills and involve youth in the planning of their school and home recycling
project (if children participate they will have a vested interest in the program's success). To design a set-up for recyclables.
Ozone Action! K-5 Introduction - (Grade 5) Constructing new scientific knowledge. Introduction: In this activity, students will be asked a series of
questions to see what they know about air - some possible answers are provided. (These questions will take about 20-30 minutes.) Teachers can then choose
from the accompanying series of activities (1-4) to help students check their assumptions about air. (Each activity will take about 15 minutes.)
Online Population Decline/Deformed Frogs Resources
Links to more Links, but good ones.
Environmental Education Links
EE-Link The Environmental Education on the Internet (EE-Link) is maintained by the National Consortium for Environmental Education and Training. This is a great resource for students, teachers and professionals that support K-12 environmental education, such as media specialists, inservice providers, nature center staff and curriculum developers.
AskEric LessonPlan - dozens of lesson ideas categorized by grade level in Earth studies.
Frogs In Your Classroom
Not Just Fish: A How To Guide - This "Teacher's Tidbits" explores interesting ideas for being a bit more creative in the classroom than a simple fishbowl.
Notes from a Homeschooling Dad - Jeff Kelety writes an amusing article "Of Ponds and Tadpoles".
Links to sites where you can get frog kits - An easy solution: one stop to get everything you need to raise a frog in the classroom. Note: be sure to read about the type of frog BEFORE buying!
Raising a specific breed - another option is to get a specific type of frog based on some research in the species caresheets. Finding a specific type of frog for your classroom may involve everything from calling around local pet stores or knowing the local wildlife. There are also some frog breeders that have websites online that can be used as resources. When choosing a frog it is important to keep in mind the same things as when choosing any pet. Please see notes on the page: Your First Frog!
Do you have a classroom success story, innovative idea, or anything that other educators might be interested in that has to do with Frogs? Please send me feedback!
Click here to send me electronic mail.
Back to FROGLAND.
Please note: except for the silly graduate frog at the top, I did not draw anything that appears on the teachers corner page. All other images on this page are from public clip-art archives.