Bhav's Barf

Sooooo I like to cut it real close......with deadlines and all.....

Anywhoooo...

Heres my random list of sites...

1)http://www.mymcpl.org/books-movies-music/based-book ( 3.5/5)

This is kind of like an online catalogue of books, movies and music. Its got the latest fiction and graphic novels and I think its an excellent way for us aged teachers to keep up with whats "hip" to read and listen to amongst the teens these days. There are also links to other websites which having writing and reading tips.
What drew me to this site really was the collection of movies adapted from books. The tab is called Based on the Book and its got compilation of over 1,250 books, novels, short stories, and plays that have been made into motion pictures. Although I know movie experience does not = book reading experience, it is an excellent pre-activity to stimulate some interest in the students to hopefully read the book!

2) http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/myth.html (3/5)

Ok so this site looks extreeeemmeelly boooooring...
BUT I really do think it is quite helpful. It basically is a search engine all on one page. Everything you need to know about about mythology and legends you will probably find on this page. They have encyclopedias, dictionaries and archives, myth and story collections, creatures of myth and legend. And then they have links to all sorts of mythology be it Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Southeast Asian, Hindu and even sub types of African. Really the list goes on. So I guess this the go-to-site if you want the know it alls of folklore, myths and legends that line so many literary texts.

3) http://www.discoveryeducation.com/search/page/-/-/lesson-plan/literature/index.cfm (3/5)

This site is a bit of a cheat site because they have extensive lesson plans here. Some of the plans are categorized according to themes like war literature for example. Otherwise they have lesson plans based on the text itself like Wuthering Heights or the Scarlet Letter. I guess if ever you run out of ideas as to how to teach or want a different take on how else to teach the same text you’ve been teaching this might be the site to go to!

Now on to less mundane things....MY INTERESTS!!

1) Board/ Word Games (I LOVE Cranium Wow, Balderdash, Taboo, Pictionary, Scrabble and then some more!)

2) Scapbooking! (Ming Yan don’t scream Copyright! I really do like arty crafty things to do!)

3) Travel

4) The Arts in general (Music, Art, Dance)

5) Creative Writing (Though I barely write anymore...I have all these ideas in my head...but sadly lack the drive or discipline to put thought down to paper or in this day, putting thought down to laptop screen)

So I haven’t put any of my over-the-top interests because well err...they just won’t be very apt to use in class...unfortunately!

To be honest, I’ve mulled over this awhile and I’m not all that sure what I can do with these interests I’ve put up.

I wish I could stop my post here....unfortunately.......................

Oh well perhaps I could get the class to scrapbook their experience of the text. Not just to put into the scrapbook things directly related to the text. They could also include perhaps pictures of where they read the book, which places they found most conducive and why.

They could also include in this scrapbook their picturisation of the text. This would be their personal view on the text. How they see it. So maybe they could draw a comic strip of how a scene took place. Or they could draw a caricature of the characters highlighting certain facial elements that the character is known for. Of course not everyone might be a Picasso and so instead of drawing perhaps they could take photographs of themselves or friends or random people dressed as the character. Conversely they could pick out magazine clippings of celebrities they think might embody any character.

It does not have to be a strict solely based on the text kind of scrap book. The students could include music they think the characters might have listened to or even just the music they listened to which they think would complement the text.

The scrapbook is meant to serve as a journal, a companion in the learning journey of the student with regards to the text.

Apart from scrapbooking, I wonder if there is any way of incorporating literary texts into games other then of course making the game content or plot based. Suggestions?

Chances are my idea is going to change drastically because I’m fickle minded like that. So don’t look too shocked if/when I present something else altogether when it’s time to share in class!