The Space in Between Premise and Plot.

"I've read some of your stuff, and, you know, I never thought that anyone could get so much drivel onto half a hundred pages. It's beyond imagination" (Yerofeyev 53).

Imagine a writer going about creating a story. What does it look like? How long does it take them? Where does it come from? Is there some sort of real life connection to the writer? Alternatively, is it a completely imaginative endeavor, created out of thin air and electrical nerve impulses occurring in the author's brain? Perhaps it a bit of both? How many times a day does a story occur in your head? How many times do you write it down?

Often during my time in grade school English classes, we would be tasked with writing a story. I could never really tell you why we were writing a story, nor do any of those stories really stick in my head as making a big impact on my growth as a writer. The creation of these stories followed a simple and in my humble opinion lifeless process:

1. Read mentor text where "x" happens.
2. Writing prompt assigned: "What was a moment in your life where "x" happened?"
3.  Scavenging and scouring my brain, searching endlessly for some sort of memory or figment of my imagination where my life even partially relates to "x." It is at this time that it appears to me my life has completely nothing worthy of writing about in regards to this illusive "x."
4.  Eventually settle on some blurry memory which (might) relate to "x," and which I figure I (might) be able to stretch out into a scrappy story. 
5.  Drafting
6.  Perhaps a forced revision?
7.  Submission 
8.  A receival of a grade, with a swift and immediate death of the story to follow. Maybe some sort of insight or writing skills are gained.

The purpose of this blog post and text set is to avoid this pitfall entirely. To examine stories, writers, poems, novels, short films, and video games (?!?) for their masterful ability to take a simple premise and make a full and imaginative story out of it. Despite being full fledged stories, each text is simultaneously able to be summarized in one simple sentence. 

(Before I dive into the texts, can I rant just a bit longer on something which I could never understand in school? Why is it that we (students) were always forced to write about ourselves in relation to a text? I am all for exploring identity, and writing from a personal perspective, but that doesn't mean I will always be able to have a story to tell. Forcing students to make a connection which they don't feel first for themselves is like fitting a square peg in a round hole. It provides a narrow idea of what good writing is to students, as if to suggest that you only have a story to tell if it relates to your real life. The reality is, many great books are entirely works of fiction, yet why is it that we discourage or don't give students the opportunity to write this way? Anyways, I digress...)

Text #1 - Stoner by John Williams (Print novel)

1) Williams, John. Stoner. University of Arkansas Press, 1988.

2) Stoner follows the life and story of William Stoner, described as a "quiet English professor in a small town in the mid-west who never does anything newsworthy, knows little joy, and dies to be forgotten almost at once." Despite this, Stoner draws a captivating picture of life, loss, love, and peace in just under 300 pages.

3) 

Quantitative: According to storytoolz, Stoner is suited for readers ranging from 9-12th grade. 

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level - Grade 9.8

Automated Readability Index - Grade 10.8

Coleman-Liau - Grade 11.3

Average grade level - Grade 10.6

Qualitative: As a whole, Stoner is a generally simple read. I believe a large reason why it earned a higher lexile/storytoolz score is due to it's usage of language revolving around university practices (masters, doctors, dissertation, etc.). As long as these processes are given some explanation for students, it won't impact their ability to understand the story at heart. Furthermore, due to the story taking place in the 19th century, some of the literature and content discussed among Stoner and his colleagues may not be very relatable to readers (myself included!). That being said, this doesn't impact the story's impact and plot. Words to be discussed beforehand or during the reading include:

• Humanity
• Potentiality
• Prosodic
• Incompetent
• Conventional
• Dissertation
• Rigidity
• Finality

4) In a way, I view Stoner as the catalyst for my topic of this text set. It is a book with an extremely simple plot and set of events, yet it is written so eloquently and vividly that it leaves a lasting impression on me and has entirely changed my viewpoint of storytelling. Growing up, I thought good storytelling would involve a multitude of dramatic and eventful things occurring. I think this belief can be extended to other students who struggle with starting storytelling/writing, as they might see it as a goliath of complex varying scenes when in reality it doesn't need to be that; which Stoner demonstrates perfectly.

5) 

• How does Williams utilize timing and pacing in Stoner. Given that the story spans across a large majority of Stoner's life, what choices does he make to imply and draw the passing of time?
• How do you perceive Stoners life? Is it worthy of the story? Is it mundane, inspiring, sad, hopeful, neither, both? Why?
• Throughout all of history, a common recurring concept we find is for the human desire to be remembered for something. Do you feel that Stoner portrays that, why or why not?

Text #2 - "Going" from Beth Nugent's City of Boys (Print short story)

1) Nugent, Beth. City of Boys: Stories. Vintage Books, 1993.

2) Anne and her partner David are on a road trip to visit her family in Marion, IN. Somewhere along the way, Anne has made the final decision: To leave David upon their return. Anne's time with her family is met with hushed conversations, awkward silences, and a promise to her sister's children which she struggles to keep. 

3) 

Quantitative: According to storytoolz, "Going" is suited for readers ranging from 9-12th grade. 
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level - Grade 10.0
Automated Readability Index - Grade 11.7
Coleman-Liau - Grade Grade 6.5 (?)
Average grade level - Grade 9.9 

Qualitative: Nugent's short story serves as a good companion to Stoner, because each story has a fair bit of differences while holding some key similarities. To start, both stories are third person fictional narratives following the lives of a specific individual, also illustrating the people and world around them. Furthermore, each story explores moments of tension between characters, while coming in and out of these character's psyche. Their differences lie primarily in the time in which the stories take place, as well as their tone. "Going" opts for a much more tense and spiteful tone, while Stoner is more wistful and self-pitying. Words to be discussed beforehand or during the reading include:

• Relations
• Orientation
• Strain
• Apropos
• Patronizing
• Dismayed

4)  I have been very outspoken about my love for City of Boys for as long as I can remember. For this topic, I feel as if I could pick just about any of the stories in it for this text set/subject. I ultimately chose it for it's thematical parallels to Stoner while also offering a more sassy and emotional set of characters. Nugent's stories are haunting as they are beautiful. The writing is dark, gripping, and offers a nice change of pace following Stoner. More specifically, I think "Going" is worth examining for it's ability to portray emotions through its scenes and imagery. Ultimately, Anne holds up her promise to her sister's children, yet the looming rain and strange carnival worker leave everyone involved in an underwhelming state of disarray.

5) 

• What are some words in which you would describe Anne? Do you find her thoughts and feelings relatable or not?
• Given the story's ending, what are you left feeling as the reader? Are you able to imagine what each character's future could look like?
• How does Stoner and "Going" relate/differ in their ability to paint scenes. Which of the two do you find to be more captivating and why?

Text #3 - The Stanley Parable by Crows Crows Crows (Multimedia video game)

1) Crows Crows Crows. The Stanley Parable. 2022, https://www.stanleyparable.com/.

2) The Stanley Parable follows the story of a faceless and voiceless man named Stanley. You as the player control Stanley, essentially writing his story with the very decisions you make throughout the game. The game starts with everyone in his office job suddenly disappearing, and you're left with nothing but a witty narrator and your free will. It is your decision whether or not you will follow the story of the narrator, or rebel and carve out your own path. The Stanley Parable is a choose-your-own-adventure taken to new heights.

3) Since The Stanley Parable is a video game, it's tricky to categorize and evaluate its qualitative and quantitative elements. That being said, the game is rated E10+ by the ESRB, meaning it is appropriate and suitable for almost all 6th grade students and above. Furthermore, the language and themes explored in the game are perfectly appropriate for the classroom, especially when it's considered that the mass majority of high school (and even younger) students are playing games rated 17+. Although the game doesn't have a specific set of words which would need to be explained, some words and concepts which would serve as good scaffolding would include:

• Freedom
• Narration
• Parable
• Game
• Choice
• Beginning/End (of story)

4) The Stanley Parable is included in this text set for a variety of reasons:

• Video games offers a fun yet still educational break from reading texts.
• The game is unique as it doesn't have a traditional "goal" or way to "win" compared to most games.
• The game is assessable and easy to pick up by students regardless of their prior experience with video games. 
• The outcome or events are entirely up to the individual player's choices, leaving a large assortment of different outcomes. This causes each playthrough to have different occurrences.
• Similarly to the texts explored above, The Stanley Parable takes a simple and quite dry premise and turns it into something fun, strange, off-the-wall, and memorable. There isn't anything quite like it.

5) A question or thinking activity for students to consider when interacting with the text.

• How does Stanley as a character differ from Stoner and Anne? What impact does this make on the story.
• Giving the player choices made for a personal experience. Do you think this made the game more impactful compared to stories which are predetermined by the author? Why or why not?
• What impact does the Narrator have on The Stanley Parable? Did you feel inclined to follow his script, or did you carve your own path? Why?
• What lessons has The Stanley Parable taught you about the limits and possibilities in storytelling?

Text #4 - Eskos by Barnaby Dixon (Multimedia short film)

(Warning: Eskos contains scenes with blood along with mild violence)

1) Dixon, Barnaby, director. Eskos. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUZ0VS9LZhQ.

2) Eskos follows two puppet "workers" who face a disagreement on how to deal with a bird disturbing their daily tasks. 

3) Similarly to The Stanley Parable, Eskos is hard to evaluate for a few reasons. Firstly, it is completely void of dialogue. The characters are not only mute, but the story itself contains little to no text. Thus, the viewer is left to comprehend and pick up the story entirely through body language and visual storytelling. That being said, the story itself is generally simple and easy to understand for it's intended audience (13+).

4) I find Eskos serves as a nice contrast to The Stanley Parable just as Stoner does to "Going." It opts for a more serious tone and relies less on words/dialogue and instead opts to rely entirely on visuals and body language. Even the lack of music is noticeable in its overall hushed delivery. Because of this, sound is also emphasized as an essential aspect of storytelling. The sparseness of Eskos gives it a style which perfectly compliments the maximalist approach of The Stanley Parable. 

5) A question or thinking activity for students to consider when interacting with the text.

• Do you think Eskos could be made into a good written short story? Why or why not?
• With the absence of dialogue, music, and text, do you think the visual and auditory elements served enough of a purpose to make Eskos an interesting/captivating story? Why or why not?
• What elements of Eskos did you find most noticeable? (sound or lack thereof, aesthetics, characters, setting, etc.) Why?

Text #5 - All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury (Culturally relevant short story)

1) Online PDF (All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury) here.

2) A classroom of children living on Mars gather around for an hour of sunshine in an otherwise perpetually raining world, which only occurs once every seven years. All but one of the students are able to enjoy this moment.

3)

Quantitative: According to storytoolz, "All Summer in a Day" is suited for readers ranging from 5th grade and above. 

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level - Grade 4.2

Automated Readability Index - Grade 4.6

Coleman-Liau - Grade 5.8

Average grade level - Grade 5.6 

Qualitative: Personally, I expected the storytoolz score to be lower compared to the other texts included in this set, but I wasn't expecting it to be as low as it is. Of course, this is just another reason why quantitative aspects don't mean everything for texts. In terms of qualitative, I find the story's themes are very relevant even for older readers. Specifically, its exploration of jealousy, envy, and cruelty stick out to me for further exploration. Words to be discussed beforehand or during the reading include:

• Remembrance
• Consequence
• Repercussions
• Tremor
• Resilient
• Civilization

4) "All Summer in a Day" stands out specifically as a culturally relevant text for the possible discussions it can spawn. The children's treatment of Margot portrays a very realistic scenario, and could garner self reflection from students. Furthermore, the story engages with the sci-fi genre without indulging in the genre's typical qualities such as dense worldbuilding and an overreliance on technology. The simple premise of a world which has a significant absence of sunlight also gives more context to the cruelty of the characters in which inhabit it. I think the briefness and humanity of  "All Summer in a Day" makes it stand out among sci-fi stories and texts.

5) A question or thinking activity for students to consider when interacting with the text.

• Do you think the students/children understand the gravity of their treatment of Margot? Why or why not?
• How does the ending of "All Summer in a Day" leave you feeling? Why?
• How can "All Summer in a Day" be related to modern day on Earth? Specifically in regards to jealousy, privilege, envy, etc.?

Text #6 - "VESSEL" by Terrence Hayes (Culturally relevant poetry - taken from Arbor for Butch)

1) Hayes, Terrence. VESSEL. 2009, https://www.aprweb.org/poems/arbor-for-butch2.

2) A son, another son, and a father in a run down motel. The story lies in a lack of one, due to the father's unexplained absence, which the narrator seems to prefer over a presence.

3) 

Quantitative: According to storytoolz, "VESSEL" is suited for readers ranging from 9-12th grade. 
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level - Grade 11.4
Automated Readability Index - Grade 11.4
Coleman-Liau - Grade 4.0 (?)
Average grade level - Grade 9.9

Qualitative: Despite the language being generally simple in "VESSEL," I actually quite agree with the quantitative rating of grades 9+. I think the poems heavy subject matter of family discord and trauma is best suited for older students and "VESSEL" in specific gives them a poem which contains many contrasting emotions. From the frustration directed towards the dad in the beginning, to the alternative tone of almost indifference or even thankfulness of an absence of the eldest father. Hayes' choice to personify and compare the father to a stained mattress, leaves readers with a few interesting avenues of interpretation.  

4) I chose "VESSEL" as one of my two culturally relevant texts for its ability to transcribe and encapsulates the narrators relationships and life despite not giving away specific details. Furthermore, it demonstrates writing for its unique ability to provide catharsis. The English classroom needs to be a space for students to engage and interrogate what is on their mind. Of course, I'm not suggesting or implying I would overtly tell students to "write about their trauma" or "share their deepest and darkest secrets." Rather, I would expose them to the possibilities in which writing offers ways for them to channel those frustrations and individual hardships into something creative and life-affirming.  

5) A question or thinking activity for students to consider when interacting with the text.

• Considering Hayes' writing, who do you think he is writing for in regards to "VESSEL?" For himself, his son, his family, anyone?
• Additionally, WHY do you think that Hayes wrote "VESSEL?" To be read, to be heard, to be understood, something else?
• Do you feel that writing gives you a power to let out your thoughts, feelings, struggles, etc.? Why or why not?

CURRINS 545 Post #3

 

    Throughout high school and at times in college, teachers would do a writing exercise which had us view a picture or piece of art and craft a creative writing piece in relation to the image we were presented with. I loved doing this kind of writing, but at times felt a little bit limited/uninspired by it  depending on the picture my teacher chose to guide it. I vividly remember a time where we did this as a class in my freshman year. Upon my teacher presenting us with a stock photo of a sunset, the guy sitting next to me said under his breath that "it's literally just the f***ing sun." Now of course, my teacher probably could have provided a better photo to get our creative ideas going, but maybe the biggest problem is she didn't properly explain the process/scope of the assignment? This scenario and kind of assignment is what led me to make my infographic, which aims to encourage students to think critically of what it is that they're seeing, and uses four guiding questions:

What is it that you see? - This question seems literal enough, but I want it to encourage students to relish in the details. I liked the image I used alongside it because while the image itself is probably nonsensical or simply artistic, a part of my mind wants to conceptualize or make sense of why the woman is looking through what looks like a perfume bottle. I could say they're glasses, you could say otherwise, it's about perspective.

What is it not? -  I wish the image I used for this was black and white to fit perfectly with the rest of the images, but it was too perfect to pass up. This question asks students to reinterpret the image, to find something beneath the surface. Similarly to seeing shapes in the clouds, use the shapes and form something entirely new; Explain it to me.

What's just out of frame? - This one is my favorite. Of course, you have the photo, but you are not limited by it as much as you might think? You could think literally just outside of the frame, or you could think in terms of time. For example, what happened immediately after this photo? What about before? The photo may have painted a picture, but it doesn't give the whole story, you do!

How did it come to be? - A little bit of overlap from the last question, but I found it worth mentioning on its own. Why is the subject of the photo where they are? How can you make meaning of what's going on? What are the circumstances which gave us the photo? Your guess is as good as mine.

    Making the visualization was a lot of fun. I enjoy designing and visualizing things, especially when I have creative freedoms in regard to the execution. My hope was that each image would connect and relate to the concept that the respective question asked. I think each one does a good enough job of relating to the question, but I think the fourth one does a particularly good job (the image does most of the heavy lifting though!). The four photos were sourced from a few different places, such as the MoMA archives, as well as various Instagram pages. I particularly like the MoMA archives, as there's so much art and material which can provide writing inspiration! If/when I do an activity like this in the future, I will certainly let students pick their own starting piece, and will encourage them to utilize the amazing online archives which the internet provides. 

    I am a firm believer that in order to get students interested in writing, we need to let them do it in a matter which doesn't occur in a vacuum. In other words, we need to intertwine writing with other mediums, whether that be art, music, audio, etc. This is how writing actually occurs in real life, and how it is inspired. Thus, teacher's which ignore to do so fail to convey to students what writing is truly capable of. I have been outspoken of this already in various assignments/discussion posts, but with the reality of cell phones, and the endless consumption of flashy material in which it provides, we should not and can not expect students to take to writing/reading with a blank page or a wall of dense text. My hope is assignments like this as well as my visualization do their job to really reach through to students and enable them to be creators rather than just consumers. 

CURRINS 545 Post #2

    

    My current understanding of literacy would be ones ability to read and further engage with what they're reading. This engagement could relate to a critical analysis, a literature circle/club, a school project/essay, or even just a conversation with a friend/teacher. It's one thing to be able to read a book or text, but it's another thing to then be able to transmit that information into further conversation with another person, whether by questioning, criticizing, analyzing, reinterpreting, etc. Accessibility on the other hand is a vital aspect to reaching equity, as in giving access to a high quality education to everyone by meeting the needs of individuals regardless of their background or economic status. These two topics are easier said than done, and require a lot of work to accomplish successfully, but here are a few resources I've found which might help make them a little easier. 

    To start, Saint Mary's University has a great short article which establishes some fundamental aspects of achieving a literacy-rich classroom. The main pillar of which include access to books for teachers, classroom environment curation, and family/community involvement tips. I particularly found this resource valuable for its aid in finding books without breaking the bank. Though I hope to have a large classroom library, I worry that costs will add up quickly, especially if it's coming out of my pocket. 

    Another resource pertaining to literacy would be the Penguin Random House book finder. I'm sure there's many resources similar to this one, but I like this one because it's made by a popular publisher. I think book finder/surveys would be a great asset to help students find books which might interest them. If anything, these kinds of resources can help students really think about what they want from a book. Another resource which I use which is kind of similar is goodreads, which I personally use quite often. It's a great resource for keeping track of books you've read/are reading, and is full of lists and other ways of discovering new books/authors. 

    Shifting over to accessibility, the first resource I found was this edutopia article, which highlights accessibility stratagies across multiple kinds of technology commonly found in classrooms. For example, the article discusses the availability of text-to-speech, proofreading, captions, and even translation for Google, Microsoft, and Apple products. Author of the article, Tolulope Noah, states "If we view accessibility features through the lens of Universal Design for Learning, then we realize that accessibility features are one way to promote access and minimize barriers for the wide variety of learners in our classrooms."

    Lastly for my resources is this ReadSpeaker article. Compared to the edutopia article, this article discusses resources and tools which more heavily involve the teacher, for example, the article introduces Bloomz, a software which allows teachers to "capture trends in student behavior, which can be an indicator for accessibility needs. Bloomz can also support parent-teacher communication, allowing parents to be collaborators in bettering their children’s education" (Foxwell). The article also highlights the utility of Google Forms in getting student feedback, which I have found success with using in the past, both as an educator and as a student. 

Questions I have for further exploration of the topic of Literacy and Accessibility include:

• How do I ensure that I am providing tools and resources which ensure every student in my class can be successful?
• What are some resources to further practice literacy in all disciplines and genres? I love to read fiction and creative works, but I find more analytical and scholarly writing to be hard to follow. How do I get a better grip on these genres to better serve my students?
• How do I know that I am actively challenging my students in regards to literacy? Alternatively, how will I know if I am assigning them readings which are too complex? 
• How do I assign readings and texts in a classroom which has students with varying reading abilities and preferences? Is student choice always the answer or should I also consider a class-wide novel?

 

CURRINS 545 Post #1

 

Hello and welcome to my blog! My name is Seth Kaplan and I'm currently in my last year at UWM for my Secondary English Education degree. This year, I'm fortunate enough to be working under Mr. Timmons at Golda Meir High School, doing fieldwork in his Communications Media class this fall and then student teaching a Science Fiction class in the spring. I'm looking forward to getting a feel for working in the classroom as an educator, especially because I feel I've been a student for so very long. That being said, though I am pursuing a career in teaching, I like to think of myself as a lifelong student first and foremost.  

For my image, I revamped and edited an old jamboard which was used in last spring for a class which taught about how to incorporate the internet into teaching. Throughout the course, we used jamboards all the time, so it's only fitting to keep them in mind for future teaching activities! This specific jamboard exemplifies me, combining all of my favorite things into one image, from music, to books, to art.

The website I'm sharing for this blogpost is squibler.io, which is a plot generator used to start writing with simple, yet intriguing prompts. Oftentimes as a high schooler, I found the hardest part of writing to be simply starting, and squibler does that for you! I've seen my cooperating teacher use it in his own classroom to get his class started thinking creatively, and I personally find it to be a lot of fun. 

Thanks for checking out crummy cradle, and I hope your semester has gotten off to a good start!

Blog post #8 - Introspective

  

  The prospect of a blog sparked my interest at the beginning of CURRINS 547. I have had my share of experience reading and engaging with them in my younger years, but I feel that I missed the cutoff to live in and experience a time where they were truly in their "golden era." Furthermore, I never had the chance to create and engage in one of my own. That being said, setting one up along with customizing it to my liking was a joy. In a time where every social media platform feels like an intimidation of the other, it's hard to distinguish yourself and make something feel genuine and "human" within each website's limitations/algorithms. Blogs, and specifically blogger give me the impression that I as the creator am in control of everything. This kind of customizability and personality calls back to my adolescence to a time where the internet felt so much more mysterious, exciting, and "unexplored." The quirks and jankiness of setting up my own page made it feel as if I was creating something analog, DIY, and entirely my own. In turn, I had a lot more of a sentimental attachment to my end product as compared to something pre-manufactured like a canvas discussion board/google doc.

1) professionalism. The blog post that I found most professional would probably be the writing coach reflection post. I'm proud of this post for it's honest exploration of the writing coach experience. I worry that I might have harped on my negative experiences/sentiments in this blog post, but also can back up these criticisms with the fact that I supported my arguments with quotes from the assigned readings. Furthermore, I think this blog post set the ground work for my writing coach analysis paper, which turned out really well and I think gave a bit more of a positive and well-rounded examination of the writing coach role. 

2) multimodal design. Without a doubt my mini-multimodal blog post. This is an obvious choice, but I chose this post mainly because of the large amount of positive feedback I received which I wasn't really expecting. I felt that I kind of took a risk in making a movie poster because it wasn't a format/genre that was specifically mentioned in the guidelines, but nonetheless met the qualifications of a multimodal media piece. 

3) creativity. I would choose my digital storytelling/zine blog post  for "most creative," but this has less to do with the content within the blog post itself and more to do with my mindset and interest in digital storytelling/zines. Specifically, the idea that "writing doesn't occur in a vacuum" is a sentiment that I hope to hold onto for the entirety of my teaching career. 

4) civic engagement. I think blog post exploring my "writing process" would be best suited for this label, as I go off on a bit of a tangent in it about how I feel like so many English classes failed to keep me engaged and involved as a reader and writer. I want to hold myself accountable as an educator and ensure that my curriculum serves my students not only for their academic needs, but for their creative endeavors, and serves as a creative/artistic outlet in expressing whatever students decide to write about. This way I will help students actualize their identity outside of an academic setting, and hopefully instill a love for reading and writing rather than giving it to them in the form of busywork/homework. 

My people's choice award is David! His blog is very professional, whether in its presentation, use of visuals, cohesion, formatting, connection to readings, or of course the writing itself. David has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into his blogs and his entries are a joy to read. His blog displays his reflective and creative mindset. In addition, all of the comments he has made on my blog posts have shown a commitment to engaging with other's writings, seeking understanding and further questioning.

Blog Post #7

 

    For my mini multimodal project, I decided to make a movie poster for Dry. I thought about all of the different formats and what elements of each appealed to me. The movie trailers in particular were fun and interesting, but I shied away from making one myself since we already saw a few in class specifically for Dry. Looking at other mediums I liked such as zines and PSAs, I got the idea to combine elements of each of these mediums and make a movie poster. Before I started, I had a few things in mind that I wanted to achieve with this poster:

• Use shades of humor while still conveying the grave circumstances through urgency and seriousness. This is something I noticed the book did quite well. 
• Give the viewer an idea of each character's personality without spoiling/giving away too much. 
• Create a poster that is visually cohesive and remains faithful to the book. In other words, though I was making a movie poster, I still wanted to make a poster which could be appropriately used to advertise or introduce the book. 

    With the finished product, I think I achieved these three core goals. I used canva to create the poster, which was generally pleasant to use, but my main gripe with it was a lot of tools that it provided were behind a paywall. As a result of this, four of the five character illustrations are watermarked which is lame. Beyond this though, I will give credit to canva for it's vast yet easy to navigate toolset that it provides the user. All of the graphics, fonts, and images were as easy as searching or clicking around for your desired tool. I tried my best to get character illustrations that were both cohesive (keyword tried) to each other while still resembling the characters of the story in some ways. I think the characters that mimic my internal interpretation best are Kelton and Jacqui. This is mainly due to their physical features and their posture/stance, such as Jacqui's sassy and aggressive presentation, to Kelton's shy yet approachable personality. 

   

    Beyond this, I knew the pictures alone wouldn't be enough to tell the viewer which character was who, so I included their names along with a short descriptor. I found this to be harder than I first expected, as certain characters differ depending on if we look at them outwardly, versus how they portray themselves from their own perspective and point of view. For example, throughout the book, Jacqui reveals that she doubts her strength and abilities to make tough decisions, while the other characters see her as a "badass" type character who is capable of anything. With this in mind, I defined each character through how they were viewed from an outside perspective, and not how they viewed themselves internally.

    Another struggle I had with this project was maintaining a balance of visuals. I wanted to make something that looked half decent and also gave the viewer a good idea of what Dry is about, whether in movie or book format. At one point, I had a water faucet graphic along with some fire illustrations, but however I orientated them, it just made the poster look too cluttered and busy. I think one of the best visual elements of my poster is the background, which helps the title stick out while also maintaining the tone/style of the book. Without the background, I just had a red/orange gradient background which fit the theme of the story but looked a bit unprofessional and was too clean/friendly for the story. 

    With the multimodal approach, I think the process of brainstorming and creating the poster very much amplified learning. Although canva provided me with a lot of useful tools and resources, it was still up to me to pick and choose them and then arrange them in a way which I was happy with and fit the book's already established identity. I would definitely consider having movie trailers/posters as an assignment in my own class, as it would give students an opportunity to think back to their experience reading the book, and force them to be selective in what they choose to then create something artistic while remaining loyal to the story covered in class.

Pro Blog Post #5

  

     I really had no idea what to expect going into the writing coach role. In some ways, I was even worried that this practice would bring out inadequacies and deficiencies in my own writing skills. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was a high schooler, so I was under the impression that it wouldn't be unlikely that these students were possibly already better writers than myself. In hindsight, this was a silly thing to think, which isn't to say that my tutee's writing skills were poor, but rather the role I took on as a writing coach was outside the realm of "good" and "bad" writing. As a reader of somebody else's writing, I tried to question everything, to find the significance in everything, and to give the upmost attention to every word and detail.

    The first email with attached writing I received was from my DSHA student, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing, because it set the bar pretty high for the rest of my tutees. My DSHA student's writing was brimming with creativity and personal emotion, and it gave me a perfect snapshot of not only their abilities as a writer, but themselves as a person. I could tell this student wrote this piece for themselves, and not just to satisfy the assignments requirements. Furthermore, this student embraced writing in a way which had their internal voice and thoughts vulnerably out in the open, and if that wasn't admirable enough, their writing also focused on things which they obviously cared deeply about. Most noticeably, this student's writing would often examine their relationship with their mother, which was conveyed so eloquently in their writing. To put it bluntly, this student's work was admirable in their sentimentality, personality, and openness which I couldn't imagine myself tapping into to nearly the same level when I was in high school.

    Now to shift to the STM student's, I found my role as a writing coach to be a lot less gratifying. These were great writers, but I felt that I didn't have a chance to get to know them as creative writers and people nearly as much as my DSHA student. The assigned writing tasks probably had a big part in why this is, which I know I don't have much control over. Because of this, their writing lacked a notion of an actual human behind the screen, and I feel like my feedback suffered as a result. I really don't want to come off as rude or ungrateful for this opportunity, but I do feel like the specific prompts given to these students didn't align with the goal of this activity. Additionally, when compared to my feedback and interactions with my DSHA student, the online-only/internet medium felt more like a barrier rather than a tool which harbored connection and strengthened STM student's writing.

    If I were to further make sense of the vast difference in my experience between coaching the DSHA and STM writers, I would want to point out that considering I wasn't the one who assigned the prompts themselves, I felt further disconnected from the content at hand. I pointed out sections in the act responses which didn't make the most sense due to not having read the play, but I wasn't sure how much this mattered to the students/teacher because again, I wasn't the one who made (and would be grading) this assignment. In the assigned reading "What Tutoring isn't," McAndrew & Reigstad argue that "part of being an effective tutor means equipping writers with strategies for discovering their own answers..." Without prior knowledge of the play, along with not knowing the teacher's expectations for the act responses, I struggled to find meaningful feedback beyond surface level advice and academic writing formatting. Another part of McAndrew & Reigstad's writing stressed the importance of body language along with tutoring environments, which as stated previously, the e-mail dynamic of this practice nullified completely.

    For my resource which helps novice writers, I struggled to pinpoint exactly what to look for. Lots of resources varied between different writing disciplines, such as writing novels, essays, poetry, academically, etc. With this in mind, it's hard to provide a resource that "helps support the needs of novice writers" when those needs vary depending on what kind of writing they are perusing. If I had to provide something, I would share this website I found called piclits which has you pick out an image from a list curated by piclits and has students interpret them into writing. Each picture has an organized list of words which can then be re-arranged to form a writing piece. I like this website because it is multimodal, reaching across different mediums in an effort to spark writing. I've done some activities similar to piclits in a previous writing class, and I think it's a great way to help jumpstart a student's creative writing focus because they have something to go off of, but can then expand beyond what the picture presents if they so desire.

    In terms of what student writers need from teachers versus a peer/coach, I think the most noticeable difference is the teacher is the one who assigns the grade, which gives them a unique and complex role. Thinking back to my own writing, I found myself writing in a way which was most likely to bring a good grade. I never set out to challenge myself, my writing, or give too much away about myself through my writing. This could be due to a lot of factors, but primarily, I simply don't recall many writing assignments in high school calling for that approach. I figured the more I inserted "myself" into my writing, the worse (less academic) it would be, and thus my grade would suffer as a result.