At the beginning of the week, students performed short skits adapted from The Dying Detective, a Sherlock Holmes mystery they read before winter break. Complete with an air mattress as one of the stage props, students showed off their acting chops (and had a little fun too) on the first day back from vacation.
During the rest of the week students entered the Twilight Zone when they read 'The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", a script by Rod Serling that was part of the television program The Twilight Zone (cue the classic Twilight Zone musical theme). Due to the large number of speaking roles in this script, we read it together as a class, and students were able to practice reading with expression.
Following the reading, students discussed the difference between a group and a mob and the reasons why the residents of Maple Street were so quick to believe that their fellow neighbors were aliens, as well as debated who the real "monsters" of this story were.
Early next week we'll watch The Twilight Zone episode together in class.
Returned Assignments
Students got back one 5-point graded assignment this week. Students selected sentences from their original descriptive paragraphs that had a distinctive mood and then changed the mood of the sentences by experimenting with word choice.
2 comments:
This is so cool. Can I come to class too?
Twilight Zone - I still remember episodes that I saw only during its original airing (not repeats in syndication). THAT'S powerful writing!
My first sci fi book: Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time". I was hooked on the genre from that point on. I got that book for Morgan last Christmas. She still hasn't opened it. (Sigh...)
My favorite sci fi author has changed over the years. In recent years I discovered Octavia Butler. She pulls you immediately into the story with the first sentence. However, her themes may be too mature for middle school.
I don't read much fantasy. However, the new TV show "Legend of the Seeker", inspired me to read "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind, from which its characters are based. Most excellent. I can recommend this to your avid readers, although there are some sexual references (no explicit sex) and the requesite blood letting and sword battles. It's 576 pages long; I read the last 300 in one sitting, that's how good it was.
Thanks for posting this blog. Otherwise I would have never known. Live long and prosper, and the Force be with you always.
Michele Wilson
After writing my previous comment, I rethought my opinion of "Wizard's First Rule". No, I don't think it would be appropriate for the middle school set. Maybe age 15 and up. Still a good book though.
Yours,
Michele Wilson
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