Estimados Estudiantes,

First of all, if you are reading this post CONGRATULATIONS to YOU. This means you are on the verge of completing Jay's "Back-to-the-Future" English 105 Sixties Research Paper.  How GREAT is THAT!  

That being said, I bet you did not  expect any discussion of Frankenstein in English class today.  But, I hope you would expect discussion of Peer Editing and Proofreading Strategies.

• After we watch a brief video of the Frankenstein legend, I invite you to participate  in an activity that will strengthen your academic skills.
• We will practice our new Peer Editing and Proofreading Strategies through the reading of a guest-student essay "Gothic Elements in Frankenstein."

Did You Know?  The classic novel Frankenstein was written by an 18-year old woman named Mary Shelley.  (How old are you?)  On a vacation trip with her lover to Lake Geneva in Switzerland, Mary was invited to participate in a ghost story contest. Apparently, the weather was really bad which mean't no one could leave the house.  Their host was famous poet Lord Byron.  He challenged them to write the darkest, spookiest, scariest story they could imagine.  Mary's soon-to-be husband, Percy Shelley, was also a celebrated writer. There was a doctor in the house.  His name was John Polidori. For this contest, he came up with the idea of a sexy vampire who sucks blood from his victims. Sound familiar?  I'm not sure how long each took to write their stories, but I know who won: Mary Shelley. The rest is HISTORY, as they say. 

The essay and the video may explain our attraction to Ghost Stories and Horror Films. Here is the video:

For those of you who may not be familiar with the genre – like ME – I provide a list of things you might expect to see in your reading or your viewing:

I believe many of you will have something to say in our classroom discussion.

I've seen your appreciation for the genre appear in your writing.   THE DARKNESS.  The roots of many of the horror and science fiction films you watch may be traced back to Frankenstein. 

The activity sheets provided below  will challenge us to think critically about our own writing and thought process using a formula that requires evidence and explanation.

I begin by sharing the instructions our "guest" student saw on his/her assignment sheet:

Wait!  Before we get started, I want to share a very famous scene in Film History. Now you know a little about Gothic Elements in Literature, you just may appreciate the following scene a little bit more:

Before we move to our peer editing asssignment, I provide you with the proofreading chart we used in our last workshop:

 

Jay's Note:  This is GOOD!  The MORE you practice your proofreading skills, the MORE natural it will become for you to identify your own errors.  EVERYBODY WINS!

• The errors below may not be as obvious as they were in our introductory assigment, but I'M HERE TO HELP.  Let's Work Together!
• Jay's Tip:  Cross out the first sentence.  It's BORING!  We are still reading the novel today – 200 years after it was written.  New film versions are being made. Of course it's GREAT and has a HISTORY.  This sentence is unnecessary.  It's ANNOYING.
• I ENCOURAGE you to write comments in the margins – TAG – Tell us something you liked – Ask a question – Give a suggestion. 
• Below the essay, I share a few of the Formulas and Editing Strategies we have discussed previously. 

This is our GOAL for TODAY:  

• Once we have completed our Frankenstein activity, I ask you to stay in your groups.
• I ask you to repeat the same activity, but this time you review the work of a classmate.
• EVERYONE in this class should  have COPIES of his/her RESEARCH PAPER to distribute to GROUP MEMBERS.
• Group  members will read 1-3 paragraphs from the student copy in front of them.
• I ENCOURAGE you to write comments in the margins – TAG – Tell us something you liked – Ask a question – Give a suggestion. 
• Jaja.  WE KNOW THIS ONE.
• You can write your comments in the margins. 
• Or, you may create a table at the bottom of the page like the one below:

Wait!  I have a model for you to follow:

• Your proofreading/peer-editing for your classmate's work might resemble this critique of "Gothic Elements in Frankenstein."

 

For Grading Purposes, I ask you to submit an image of today's  review of your classmate's work on in the space provided in the Canvas Assignment. 

• Let's Keep It Simple – For FULL CREDIT, I want to see evidence of THREE corrections and THREE comments. 
• Your submission may look similar to the images above – If you need to submit multiple images, that's cool.

This is going to be GREAT.  You will SEE.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Paz,

JL