Frankenstein study helps

YouTube video on the Gothic genre

YouTube video on the inspiration for Victor

YouTube video from StarTrek: compare Data with Frankenstein's monster

A radio story on the origins of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: how weather created a monster

Biography of the author: Mary Shelley

Funny scene from spoof video: Young Frankenstein

Reading Expansion for Beowulf

Please select a book you have NOT read before. It needs to be a fantasy novel, a book by Tolkien (i.e., The Lord of the Rings), or Grendel (by John Gardner).

Please note that Grendel is a mature book with some brief strong language. It tells the story of Beowulf from Grendel's point of view. If you or your parents are uncomfortable with this, please choose another book to read. That being said, I do recommend Grendel because it connects so well to our reading of Beowulf and I do not believe the mature elements are gratuitous but help to develop a point of view.

Norse Mythology Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwvYuL2PMA

After you watch part 1, go on to watch parts 2 and 3. (If you want, you can watch all of them.)

Unit 1B: A Brief Historical Overview

Capture all with appreciation	Preview History Textbook Chapters 5-18 Dye on World History on a Line
Expand for your own purposes and values	Create a timeline of what you think are the most important developments in world history (no more than 20) Sketch a proposed design for a mural on world history Find two current events articles that connect with events from history that we are going to be studying this year
Teach for the benefit of others

Unit 1A: Becoming an L/T

Capture all with appreciation:

• A Dragon Story
  
• Dye on Learning: The Three Person Problem
  
• Dye on Seeds and Stories: Carefully packaged information
  
• Dye on The Genealogy of Ideas
  
• Dye on The Heart of the L/T Role
  
• Classroom Procedures and Rules development activity
  
• Course Syllabus
  
• Discussions: Why use the Socratic method? Why study literature? What is the point of education?
  

Expand to explore the things you care about:

• Read Teaching and Learning for Exponential Growth (Gong)
  
• *Set up a blog (or journal) to keep a log on your expansions
  
• Watch the online video, Shift Happens: http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=1785&title=ShiftHappens
  
• Take the Learning Styles Inventory Test: http://www.learning-styles-online.com/
  
• Learn about surface vs. deep learning on the following website: (http://www.montclair.edu/academy/Documents/Deep%20and%20Surface%20Learning.pdf)
  
• Learn about your teacher’s teachers: Dillon Inouye, Walter Gong, Stefinee Pinnegar, Arthur Henry King, Paul Hedengren, Patricia Esplin
  
• Interview someone who is a successful learner about his/her learning
  
• Study what your own faith (if you have one) has to say about learning (Are there scriptures, articles, books, or a religious leader that you could draw upon?)
  

Teach and serve for the benefit of others:

• In-class workshop

10th Grade Socratic Seminar Course Description

Making Connections
Mr. Dye, 2009-2010


Welcome to Socratic Seminar. This course will be one of the most fun, challenging, and memorable parts of your Maeser experience. You will have a deep love for learning in this class and develop the ability to think CRITICALLY, CREATIVELY, and PRECISELY.

The name Socratic Seminar comes from the Greek philosopher Socrates. He was known for helping his students learn by asking them questions that probed their thinking. He compared himself to a midwife who helped his students give birth to the ideas within them. Likewise, in this class you are expected to think for yourself. In class you will participate by engaging in three thinking processes:

1) Discussing
2) Writing
3) Reading

You are expected to engage in thoughtful discussion of the literature we read. This may require you to come out of your comfort zone for a while. (Fortunately, coming out of your comfort zone expands your comfort zone!) Please, come to class each day prepared to set aside other concerns and engage in a dialogue with us.

You will succeed in this class. You will be safe in this class to share your ideas. You will get a grade worth bragging about. You will enjoy the three thinking activities: READING, DISCUSSING, and WRITING. You will be prepared to enter any college or university of your choice because you have learned how to learn.



Objectives

By the end of this class, you should be able to:

• Engage in the processes that real-world writers use and submit your own written pieces to writing contests.
• Summarize historical developments from the decline/fall of the Roman Empire through the French Revolution.
• Engage in the interrelated processes of reading, talking, listening, and writing to create meaning for yourself.
• Explain how geography influences the development of civilization.
• Make connections between great works of literature and your own life, society, and other creative works (i.e., art, literature, film, etc.).
• Show interest in learning about the content of this course on your own.

12th Grade Socratic Seminar Course Description

Nature Writing & Comparative Literature and Film
Mr. Dye, 2009-2010

Welcome to 12th grade Socratic Seminar! The senior Socratic Seminar classes specialize in specific areas of literary interest (kind of like college classes). This class will have two semester-long mini-courses: Nature Writing and Comparative Literature and Film.

The Nature Writing portion of the course will consist of a thematic exploration of environment and landscape through reading, field experience, and writing. You don’t have to be a “tree hugger” to be in this class. This class is more about becoming more aware of how our physical environment shapes our experiences. We go on regular field trips into the local wilderness and one extended overnight campout. (Outings most likely will be scheduled for “early-out” Friday afternoons.) We will then practice writing about our experiences in our own poems and essays.

Comparative Literature is a branch of literary scholarship that compares literature from different cultural and national groups. It also compares the relationship of film to literature. In the Comparative Literature portion of this course, we will read works of literature and watch films from various cultural traditions.

In addition to studying literature, this course will also explore modern world history from the 19th Century to the present day as well as current events. That means you will continue studying world history where 9th and 10th grade Socratic Seminars left off.