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John Carroll CISE516/60 Spring 2006 |
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RESEARCH/ REVIEW |
CREATE |
PARTICIPATE |
REFLECT |
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PowerpPoint |
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Introduction
Let me begin by stating that I love the
classics. Because of this, I hope to
pass along that love to students. If
they do not share the interest they will at least have been exposed to the
great ones. The task is to get students reading. If they develop an interest in a particular
author, the teacher should use that interest to further the learning
process. If I understand the educational
theorists correctly this is a hybrid of perennialism
and progressivism. It teaches what is
important but at the same time it develops learners.
An engaged learner will have some mastery
over the subject. Such a student can
then impart that knowledge to others.
Studies have shown that information is grasped better when it is taught
to others. Cooperative learning has been
found to work better than lecturing.
Teachers certainly need to impart some knowledge but then we are to let
the students make discoveries on their own and pass this along to their
classmates. The ultimate goal then, is
to have a class of little teachers.
Technology has its place in schools even
in the English department. Webquests can be a fun way of learning. There are computer programs available which
will do more than check spelling and grammar.
Since students are drawn to computers teachers should by all means use
them to facilitate the learning process.
If the teacher loves his/her subject and
demonstrates a certain amount of passion towards it, the student will be
influenced. This is one factor in
motivating the class to learn. To borrow
a concept from the business world, if a salesman is genuinely sold on his
product he will make a good living off of his commissions. Likewise, if the teacher enjoys poetry,
symbolism, and “turning the right phrase” in an essay, the enthusiasm will be
picked up by the students. I realize
that this will not work on one hundred percent of them but hopefully there will
be some return for the effort. A
motivated teacher is the key to learning in the classroom setting.
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This is a movie, a George Abbott and
Stanley Donen production. It was on the big screen in 1957.
Review by John
Carroll
Sid, a new production manager has just
been hired at the Sleeptite Pajama Factory. One of his first tasks is to meet and settle
a minor dispute between management and the labor relations committee. He becomes enthralled with Babe, who is
single and on the committee. Her
coworkers begin to tease her that she is falling for the boss but she
vehemently denies it. Sid continues to
pursue her and at the company picnic she begins to soften towards him. She warns him that there will be problems
because she is union through and through and he is management. The plot thickens when the factory workers
demand a 7 ½ cent increase in pay. The
president of the company stalls the negotiations despite the protest of Sid who
believes it is in order. The workers all
decide to stage a slow down in production.
A superintendent notices that the workers are all in slow motion and
begins to scream at them to get working.
That lights a fire under them and they begin to work at a fast pace
again. Realizing that the workers will
get no raise if they keep working as usual Babe causes her machine to overload
and bring the whole factory to a standstill.
Sid enters and Babe admits her act of sabotage. He fires her on the spot. Now he is miserable because she will not see
him anymore. Sid in an effort to get her
back begins to push for the 7 ½ cent raise for the union. He gets hold of the books, finds there was
some shady accounting by the president, and pressures him to grant the
raise. The film ends with Babe rehired
and married to Sid.
One of the key lines in the film occurs
when Babe says to Sid, “I don’t know why the union is so important to me but it
is. I guess you just got to be on a
team. I’m going to be fighting for my
side and fighting hard.” They declare
their love for each other and Sid asks the key question, “If we both feel the
same way isn’t that enough?”
This film explores the conflict between
the sexes in the context of labor/management issues. It is more of a lighthearted look since this
is a musical. The perspective is
definitely pro labor since the company president is viewed as a man who puts
profits over the welfare of his employees.
He is also pictured as a double talker.
“I did not exactly say ‘No’ to a raise and I did not say, ‘Yes.’”
This film could be used from middle
schools to high schools. There is
nothing difficult in the language or concepts.
There may even be current interest in it since it has been revived on
Broadway and is playing there now.
Showing the film may even arouse interest to perform it as a high school
play.
The film is worth seeing one time. Personally, I felt the love interest between
the two main characters occurred too quickly and so in that aspect the film
lacked credibility.
For some reviews of this movie go to:
http://www.dorisday.net/the_pajama_game.html
html://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1261068.htm
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Subject: QUIZ TIME |
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Here's a puzzle.
The words are names of characters from one well known author.
Unscramble them and unscramble the author. |
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Plea Here is a list of ten Poe websites:
1. The Poe Decoder - The Tell-Tale
Heart This
gives the story and an analysis of elements of the story. There are links to critical essays. Put together by Martha Womack, B.A. a high
school teacher in
2. MPT Knowing Poe Poe the Writer Annotated Poe This is a fabulous site for students where they may hear the story read and write their own annotations. Gives background on the author and stories in an educational way. This is part of Thinkport put together by the Maryland Dept. of Ed. Copyright 2005.
3. E. A. Poe Society of Baltimore Contains the author’s works as well as lectures and articles. Also a tab to do searches. Updated August 19, 2005.
4. Free Study Guides for Shakespeare and Other Authors A very helpful site in that it gives background of the author and insights to the story. Also has a section on plot and figures of speech. Copyright 2005.
5. Edgar Allan Poe's Virtual Library The page will come up as “House of Ussher” after a Poe title. This is a most amusing website in that it links everything about Poe, and I do mean everything. Restaurants, comedy, music, and beer are a few of the more frivolous topics but there are many serious ones as well. Updated Dec. 29, 2005.
6. Selected Works - PoeMuseum.org Unless you desire to purchase something there is not a great deal of information here. It does have some info on Poe’s life and one can read selected works. There is an on-line store featuring items which you could buy at the museum. Educational resources are also available for purchase. Copyright 2004.
7. Edgar Allan Poe @Web English Teacher There is a wealth of information here on Poe! (Although the study guide for The Tell-Tale Heart was a link to #4 above.) This is a great place to go for other authors and teaching materials on critical thinking, drama, and vocabulary. Updated March 3, 2006.
8. Edgar Allan Poe National
Historic Site - For Kids Not the greatest site. If you want to see a picture of Poe’s home in
9. English Resources - the FREE resources website This is another good spot for English teachers in general since it has many lesson plans. For the Poe story, there are two pages of questions which the teacher could ask during the reading or assign for an essay. Updated December 17, 2002.
10. Edgar Allan Poe [LiteralSystems.org Audiobook Recordings] This can be a fun place to go. It has a short biography of Poe since the focus is on hearing the work being read. There are a number of other author’s works which may also be listened to. The reader for Tell-Tale Heart was not a professional actor. The reading was a bit dry. Dated January 25, 2006.
Click
here for POWERPOINT
1. Subject area: 9th grade English
2. Topic and core standard: The Tell-Tale Heart F3, G2, G4
3. Concept: Gothic literature
4. Concept statement: Gothic literature is
characterized by horror seen in the works of Poe
5. Objectives:
Class
will
learn
12
vocabulary words. Class will predict outcome of story. Class will think
critically about how punctuation functions in the tone and mood of a
story. The class will practice writing a factual style report.
6. Materials:
Magazine
pictures, copies of a blank police report.
7. Procedure:
Lecture
on Poe, genre, and 1st person narrative. Pass out pictures and have
students draw an imperfection on it. Read the two paragraphs of
story. Have students write in journals a prediction of outcome of
story. In groups of 4 have students share predictions and decide on best
one. Have groups share predictions to whole class. Read remainder
of story asking questions and discussing as a whole class. Homework: you
are a policeman at the house. Write a police report from the facts you
observed from the story.
8. Vocabulary Words: acute, dissimulation, profound, Harken!, sagacity, crevice, gesticulations, audacity, vehemently, derision, suavity, deputed
Questions
to ask during reading:
1. Is the
narrator a reliable source of information?
2. Is he
nervous, mad, or something else?
3. He refers to
the eye as "his Evil Eye," do you believe that to be true?
4. Why does he
describe it like a vulture rather than an eagle?
5. Why was he
nice to the old man during the day?
6. What is a
death-watch in the story and why does Poe use it?
7. Why do you
think he remained at the old man's door and then opened the lantern when he
could have backed off in the darkness?
8. The narrator
claims that proof of his sanity was how carefully he disposed of the
body. Is that proof of his sanity?
9. Do you think
the police suspected him or were they just hanging out because the donut shop
was closed?
10. What is
your explanation of the heartbeat sound that drives the narrator to confess?
11. Does he
really hear the heart?
QUESTIONS TO
ASK DURING THE
1. Is the narrator a reliable source of information? About the facts,
yes; about reality, no.
2. Is he nervous? Is he mad?
Neither? He is criminally
insane.
3. He refers to the eye as “his Evil Eye,” is that true
or false? False. The evil is in himself.
4. Why does he describe it like that of a vulture rather
than an eagle? Vultures are found
by carcasses. It portends his own death
which makes him uncomfortable.
5. Why was he nice to the old man during the day? Darkness is associated with evil.
6. What is a death-watch in this story? A burrowing beetle.
7. What is the usual definition of a death watch? A vigil for someone who is dying.
8. What is the significance of this wordplay? Irony.
9. Why do you think he remained at the old man’s door and
then opened the lantern when he could have backed off in the darkness? His intention was to commit murder.
10. The narrator says that proof of his not being mad was
how he carefully disposed of the body.
Is that proof of his sanity? No, just the opposite.
11. Do you think the police suspected him or were they
hanging out with him because the donut shop was closed? (Various answers are acceptable.)
12. What is your explanation of the heartbeat sound that
drives the narrator to confess? It
is his conscience.
13. Does he really hear the heart? No, that would be scientifically
impossible.
14. Why does the narrator perceive the heart to be
beating louder and faster? His
conscience is bothering him to a heightened peak.
15. What is the purpose of the italics,
dashes and exclamation points towards the end of the story? They show his
agitated condition.
Assessment/ Rubric
Name Class Date
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5 POINTS |
3 POINTS |
1 POINT |
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Name & neatness |
Name is on paper. Work is legible, clear, & orderly. |
Name is on paper. Some care shown for neatness. |
No name and/or sloppy work. |
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Facts from story |
Got all the facts in the case. |
Wrote down some of the facts. |
Missed many facts. |
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Creativity in the interview section |
Creatively written from police perspective. |
Exhibits some creativity. |
Little creativity shown. |
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Spelling & grammar |
No errors. Work clearly was checked. |
Some mistakes. Work not checked. |
Many errors. |
Comments:
This
portfolio is created by John A. Carroll
Date Created
10/01/2003
Date Update 5/15/2006