Chippewa River Writing Project Teaching Demo Andy Schoenborn

Writing into Shakespear

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ContentionsMy demonstration is meant to suggest and support my contentions that:

Writing to learn asks students to use higher order thinking skills, such as interpretation, analysis, and synthesis.

Scaffolding student writing provides a framework for developing ideas toward an end product.

Students who write to a specific audience through the point of view of a literary character retain deeper levels of understanding through the act of writing and role-playing.

Supporting Research “One reason for using writing to think is precisely to bring the unconscious

more to the surface, where we can ‘see what we have to say.’” – The English Teacher’s Companion (1999, 140)

“To improve the teaching of writing, particularly in the context of academic tasks, is also to improve the quality of thinking required of school children.” – How Writing Shapes Thinking (1987, 3)

“Teachers, writes Hillocks, can encourage imagination through various applications of role playing: for developing an argument from diverse perspectives, for inventing a character and improvising action in various situations, for assuming the point of view of a literary character, and so on.” – Because Writing Matters (2006, 54)

“In assignments, [intellectual work] means asking the student to construct knowledge through analysis, synthesis, and interpretation.” – Because Writing Matters (2006, 49)

As Teachers, please consider:

Does the demo incorporate writing scaffolding into a persuasive letter effectively?

Do the steps seem to follow a logical progression?

How well is the writing incorporated with the reading?

As Students, our agenda will be:

1. Advice from Polonius: (10 – 15 minutes)

2. Hamlet’s Internal Conflict: (30 – 35 minutes)

3. Horatio to Hamlet: (20 – 30 minutes)

4. Peer Review Round Robin: (15 – 20 minutes)

Advice from Polonius

And these few precepts in thy memorySee thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,Nor any unproportion’d thought his act. 64Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;But do not dull thy palm with entertainment 68Of each new-hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade. BewareOf entrance to a quarrel; but being in, Bear’t that opposed may beware of thee.Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; 72Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;For the apparel oft proclaims the man, 76And they in France of the best rank and station Are most select and generous in that.Neither a borrower nor a lender be;For loan oft loses both itself and friend, 80And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.This above all: to thine own self be true.

Wish You Were HerePink Floyd - 1975

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, Blue skies from pain. Can you tell a green field From a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade Your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? And did you exchange A walk on part in the war For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls Swimming in a fish bowl, Year after year, Running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears. Wish you were here.

Paint It BlackThe Rolling Stones - 1966

I see a red door and I want it painted blackNo colors anymore I want them to turn blackI see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothesI have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted blackWith flowers and my love both never to come backI see people turn their heads and quickly look awayLike a new born baby it just happens every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is blackI see my red door and must have it painted blackMaybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the factsIt's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blueI could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the settin' sunMy love will laugh with me before the mornin‘ comesI see a red door and I want it painted blackNo colors anymore I want them to turn blackI see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothesI have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm,...

I wanna see it painted, painted blackBlack as night, black as coalI wanna see the sun blotted out from the skyI wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted blackYeah!

Hmm, hmm, hmm,...

The Man Who Sold the WorldDavid Bowie - 1970

I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back homeI searched for form and land, for years and years I roamedI gazed a ghastly stare at all the millions hereWe must have died alone, a long long time ago

Who knows? not meWe never lost controlYou're face to faceWith the Man who Sold the World

Who knows? not meWe never lost controlYou're face to faceWith the Man who Sold the World

We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and whenAlthough I wasn't there,he said I was his friendWhich came as some surprise I spoke into his eyesI thought you died alone, a long long time ago

Oh no, not meI never lost controlYou're face to faceWith the Man Who Sold The World

LithiumNirvana - 1991

I'm so happy. Cause today I found my friends.They're in my head. I'm so ugly. That's okay, ‘cause so are you.We've broke our mirrors.Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.And I'm not scared. Light my candles. In a daze ‘cause I've found god.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.....

I'm so lonely. That’s okay. I shaved my head. And I'm not sad, and just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard. And I'm not sure.I'm so excited. I can't wait to meet you there.And I don't care. I'm so horny. But that's ok. My will is good.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.....

I like it. I'm not gonna crack.I miss you. I'm not gonna crack. I love you. I'm not gonna crack. I killed you. I'm not gonna crack.

I'm so happy. Cause today I found my friends.They're in my head. I'm so ugly. That's okay, ‘cause so are you. We've broke our mirrors.Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.And I'm not scared. Light my candles. In a daze ‘cause I've found god.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.....

AlivePearl Jam - 1991

Son, she said, have I got a little story for youWhat you thought was your daddy was nothin' but a...While you were sittin' home alone at age thirteenYour real daddy was dyin', sorry you didn't see him, but I'm glad we talked...

Oh I, oh, I'm still aliveHey, I, oh, I'm still aliveHey I, oh, I'm still alive

Oh, she walks slowly, across a young man's roomShe said I'm ready...for youI can't remember anything to this very day'Cept the look, the look...Oh, you know where, now I can't see, I just stare...

I, I'm still aliveHey I, but, I'm still aliveHey I, oh, I'm still aliveHey I, I, I, I'm still alive, yeah

Is something wrong, she saidWell of course there isYou're still alive, she saidOh, and do I deserve to beIs that the questionAnd if so...if so...who answers...who answers...

I, oh, I'm still aliveHey I, oh, I'm still aliveHey I, oh, I'm still aliveYeah I, oh, I'm still alive

Horatio to HamletOverview:Hamlet has been acting strangely since the death of his father and

some of thecharacters are beginning to take notice. There is a rumor going

around the castlethat Hamlet is considering avenging his father’s death by killing his

uncle, KingClaudius. Some people are disgusted by what the rumors seem to say

and othersunderstand his grief in light of the circumstances. Directions:Select a character and write a letter to Hamlet through their point of

view thatEither persuades him to avenge his father’s death or persuades him to

stop his plan ofaction. You will try to convince (or persuade) him through evidence

and support. Character Selection

Gertrude Ophelia Polonius Horatio 

Laertes Marcellus RosencrantzGuildenstern

Peer Review Round Robin In groups of 3-4, take out your

letter and pass it to the person on your left.

You will have five minutes to read the letter and write two positive remarks and one suggestion for improvement.

When time is up, pass the letter to the person on your left and repeat the process until you have your original letter back.

Focus on: Character voice (Does the character

respond the way we would expect?)

Evidence from sources (Does the author use details from previous writing?)

Rebuttal (Did the author answer opposing viewpoint?)

As Teachers, please consider:

Did the demo incorporate the scaffolding of writing into a persuasive letter effectively?

Did the writing steps seem to follow a logical progression?

How well was the writing incorporated with the reading?

Burke, Jim. The English Teacher's Companion. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999. Print.

Esquith, Rafe. Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire. New York: Penguin Group, 2007. Print.

Gallagher, Kelly. Teaching Adolescent Writers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 2006. Print.

Kittle, Penny. Write Beside Them. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.

Nagin, Carl. Because Writing Matters. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.

Bibliography/Related Reading