Friday, March 30, 2007

Lesson Plans: Creative: Actual Presentation

Rafael Jimenez
Beatrice Chavez


TITLE:

Creative Writing using themes from One Hundred Years of Solitude

OVERVIEW:
The student will develop his or her creative writing skills while learning and discussing the themes of OHYoS.

PURPOSE:
To practice putting thoughts unto paper.

OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to discuss the themes form OHYoS in detail.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Pen and Paper

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
Have students sit in their assigned desks.
Instruct them to clear their desks and take out a sheet of paper and a pen.
I will then ask and lead a discussion about the themes present in the book.
Students will then be instructed to choose one of the themes discussed or a theme they can justify.
The assignment will then be explained.

ASSESMENT:Write a poem of a minimum of 13 lines in the time allotted (15 minutes) to be presented to the class.
Students will then be allowed to volunteer- those that are not able to present will turn in their poems and present them to the class the next day.
If time allows, students will be able to offer constructive criticism to each other.

RUBRIC FOR THIS LESSON HAS BEEN TURNED IN

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Lesson Plan: Misc

Rafael Jimenez

Beatrice Chavez

TITLE: The Role of Names

OVERVIEW: Students will learn about themselves, and each other.

OBJECTIVE: To emphasize the importance of names in OHYoS RESOURCES/MATERIALS:

OHYoS

Web-enabled computer

Poster board and markers

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:

Take students to the computer lab.

Have them sit down on a seat in front of a computer.

Spark up a discussion about names, and the role they play in the book.

I will share my name, the meaning of my name, and my family tree as an example, and will assign it, giving them the rest of class as time to work on the assigment.


ASSESMENT: Students will look up the meaning of their names, and write it on a posterboard. Under there, they will draw a three generation family tree. They will present their assignment the next day, explaining whether they agree with the meaning of their name and if they feel that traits are inherited with names.


RUBRIC:

(Click on picture to see full rubric)

Lesson Plan: Technology



Rafael Jimenez
Beatrice Chavez


TITLE: A Technological Comparison

OVERVIEW:
Students will learn how to properly use Microsoft PowerPoint.

PURPOSE:
To help students develop skills with computers.

OBJECTIVE:
To help students understand the role technology plays in their lives.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
Computer equipped with Microsoft PowerPoint.
One Hundred Years of Solitude


ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
Take students to the computer lab.
Have them sit down on a seat in front of a computer.
Spark up a discussion about technology in the book, and technology in modern times.


Continue guiding the discussion without making it dependent on myself.


Assign a five-slide minimum PP that has a title slide, and at least two slides devoted to each topic.



ASSESMENT: Have students e-mail me their PP presentations for a grade.




RUBRIC:

Points: ___X 2/24

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Personal Response: In regards to language

I am one of those fortunate people that by a draw of luck got to learn two languages- So when literature is available in English or Spanish, I tend to like to read it in it's original language or in the closest language out of the two. I do not know how different or how similar the experience of reading OHYoS in Spanish is versus reading it in English but what I CAN say is that the Spanish experience was great. Out of the books I have read in the language, this one was the one that had a great usage of the language (not anywhere near the level of Don Quijote though). The vocabulary used was not very difficult yet it remained very descriptive. In a novel, the words usually do not 'flow', but I felt that Marquez did such a great job with the language that the words felt like water as opposed to a house working up in structure. I have a love/hate relationship with the language though, because I thought that there was not a very extensive vocabulary used, it is very commendable that even with that the author communicated everything he wanted to communicate. My favorite "section" in the book was when Remedios The Beauty killed men with the guiltiness of their love to such an innocent creature, but what really made this part of the book was the usage of the language. I had never found so many emotions and descriptive words lumped together to make a story. Death, beauty, love, guiltiness, innocence, protection and freedom were all in one place in one time, and the language flow used to describe all of it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read, as detached from reality as it was. The personification of the violence towards the end of the book is also amazing, again, the language usage is not a beautiful as that of Cervantes but it is none-the-less on its own very great. I will definitely be reading another GGM book some time in the near future.

Problem-Solution: Violence in One Hundred Years of Solitude

The problem:
To the disfortune of the world, the problems, and development of Macondo inevitably cause violence. First the war between the Liberals and the Conservatives, then the massacre in the fair, and then finally the massacre brought on by the unfairness to the workers at the banana plantations. There is definitely one thing learned from that, violence is not the answer. It sounds like such a general statement, but violence, as presented in One Hundred Years of Solitude (which is very crude) leaves pain even long after the actions are over. The problem with what the book presents is not the violence itself, but the speed at which people become violent. Part of it all is that the characters do not have a tried and true method to fight problems, so either they count on violence to be the answer, or their solutions end up in it. To be fair though, the protest against the banana plantation owners was a viable solution that ended very badly. In reality, the town of Macondo has a very large responsibility upon the world as they are the the town presented in OHYoS and are to set the example.

The solution:
Dialogue. Throughout my short experience in life, I have learned that dialogue is best to resolve conflicts. Of course it is not a viable option if both/all parties involved are not interested in it. I do think that the world slowly phased away from systematic violence up until recent years. Now, it seems that the world is just a giant Macondo- no longer a small village, but a whole planet. The crude, unnecessary violence in Macondo can be prevented with other methods. I would want to say a strike of some sort, but that obviously did not work. A strike, which is very similar to dialogue is not the solution. The real solution? Humanity. It seems that both groups completely disregard each other's membership to "the human club". Being aware that people are humans, as redundant as that may sound, is the most important solution to violence.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

(Rough/ now not rough) Annotated Bibliography

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" Spark Notes. 28 April 2006. 27 March 2007. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/solitude/>.

The anylisis included after the chapter summaries will be very helpful for my paper. They include very useful literary information about incest. For example, Chapter 19-20 analysis includes information about how incest brought on the demise, and breakdown of the Buendia family. This is will be extremely useful.

R Estorino, Maria. "Gabriel Garcia Marquez and His Approach to History in One Hundred Years of Solitude." 1995. 27 May 2006 <http://bolivianstudies.org/history/journal/1994-5/Estorino.htm>.

This resource offers an insight on the relationship between One Hundred Years and the History of Latin American. It includes a biography, which explains how the book came to be, and what it sets up to prove. It also includes a small piece of information on incest, which is what the topic of my essay will be.

James C. Jupp. "The Necessity if the Literary Tradition: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'One-Hundred Years of Solitude". The English Journal, Vol. 89, No. 3, Our History, Ourselves. (Jan., 2000), pp. 113-115.
< sici="0013-8274%28200001%2989%3A3%3C113%3ATNOTLT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A">

This article will help me with some of the aspects and the importance of technology in One Hundred Years of Solitude. It offers an insight on why technology is present in the book, and explains the Latin American struggle with the advancing of Europe.

K. Hill, Jeff."retrospective: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE". March 29 2007<http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/nonficHillGGM.html>

This is a great article that pinpoints the history of Macondo and what technology has done in regards to it. I do not know how useful this will be for my paper, but I will definitely try to incorporate it.

Friday, March 9, 2007

A Reflection

One Hundred Years of Solitude is actually a lot more interesting than I originally had thought. The two first paragraphs really put me off, but I sacrificed myself until the end of the first chapter, and then I was hooked. I really like the way time and "science" is incorporated. They way things sometime become confusing PURPOSELY. My favorite part of this book though is how detailed it is. It described pretty much everything which in the end makes a successful mental image. I have a clear image of Macondo in my mind, I can imagine the characters, AB's tattoos and strong arms, Pilar's pregnant belly, and Rebeca's eyes when she was discovered to have insomnia. It's a great book. It's very difficult for me to get disgusted, but this book, in its detailed writing has done just that. I have been through emotional up and downs along with the characters. The writing made me feel when Remedio's died. I find it to be a great book up until now.

March 15
It's nice to see that Macondo has become a "modern" town. I mean from the village it was at the very beginning where it is now, it has come a long way. In terms of politics, in terms of construction, in terms of the population. It's great to see the way things have advanced, I had never actually imagined the way a group of people grow into a town. Then after running out names, it has actually become a bit more confusing since now the author is throwing in re-recycled names which blur the lines of reality and identity which to me is interesting. I am very delighted at the "confusion" of the twins.

March 26
After years, and years, wars and wars, fights and fights, births and births, we finally an industrialized, but nonetheless repetitive Macondo. The main difference now is the diversity of people, but as the book focuses on the Buendia family, it is merely a repetition of characters- almost as if they had been re-incarnated. Traits are inherited with names, and names are not chosen at random. Confusion seems to be a general theme in this book, or maybe the theme is just "things that make me ask why?".