SUMMER WAS FUN – FALL WILL BE A BLAST!

• • This summer in ENGLISH 1000 we went to NEW YORK CITY – Come On! – In what other class doyou ever have the opportunity to do THAT?
  • To supplement our PARADISE TRAVEL novel-reading experience, I asked each of my students to choose  a JUICY NEW YORK CITY IDEA to research 

They may have thought they KNEW NOTHING about NYC, but THAT'S THE POINT – Each Week, I introduced a new activity to RAISE their "BIG APPLE" KNOWLEDGE.  I designed all of our NYC classroom activities to REINFORCE the ACADEMIC SKILLS we APPLIED to our semester RESEARCH PROJECTS. Awesome GRADE-BOOSTING OPPORTUNITIES for ALL – Everybody Wins!

SEE DETAILS AND EXAMPLES BELOW:

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I know about Actors Studio from reading biographies about Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Al Pacino. In the fifties, Marilyn’s greatest fame as an actor became her greatest disappointment. She was so beautiful that she couldn’t land serious roles. At a certain point, Marilyn left Hollywood to spend a year training with the world's leading experts in stage and screen at the Actors Studio in New York.  Her goal was to take her acting to the next level. Method actors dig down deep inside of themselves for a memory or an experience  that will help them recreate the true emotions of their character they are playing.  The Actors Studio has its origins in early 20th century Russia. A very serious student and lover of the theater named Konstantin Stanislavski came up with the system of Method Acting. It was about KEEPING IT REAL. Stanislavski was opposed to the study of traditional acting technique. Instead he encouraged his students to look inward – not only to UNDERSTAND the role, but to FEEL the part. Method Acting often requires complete immersion in a role. That means an actor does whatever he or she can to “wear” the part – to put him/herself into the shoes of the character. To prepare for his role as Bob Dylan, Timothée Chalamet learned how to play the guitar and harmonica. On the set, he wouldn.’t respond to anyone unless they addressed him as “Bob.”

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This Summer 2025, I plan to read a novel with my classes I recently plucked off my shelf here in Mexicali. It's called Paradise Travel, and it is written by Jorge Franco.  I'm not giving any spoiler alerts, but it focuses upon the American Dream – two teen-age lovers, Marlon and Reina from Medellín, Colombia, who successfully make the long, ardous journey to New York City but learn tough, life-changing lessons along the way.   I like this novel, for the CHANGE in characters that happens right before our eyes.  Both Marlon and Reina become Hard and Knowing.  They are entirely different people at the end of the novel.  Did their journey to the U.S. change the way they saw each other? How did their struggle to fit in, to find their place, to define their identities…Affect Their Love?

To make things interesting, I will ask my students to COMBINE their READING with their RESEARCH of novel's setting, NEW YORK CITY

• Our classes meet for three hours per day, four days per week, six weeks total -  We have a lot of standards to cover. 
  
• I plan to devote a portion of our Wenesdays for my students to collaborate on a New York City Classroom Scrapbook
• Each student will be required to research a NYC person, place, idea to share with the rest of us -  I just may go with the Actors Studio (see above.)
• This means SIX days, SIX different assignments. – I will expect that each assignment will be submitted on Canvas before the end of the day.
• I will emphasize, CREATIVITY, ORIGINALITY, and INTEGRITY in their work.
• Students will have the FREEDOM to choose their own NYC TOPICS – I shouldn't have to  PUSH them – They should take PRIDE in their own work.
• Our Final NYC Class Scrapbook will DEEPEN our understanding of the novel – The weekly assignments will BOOST student grades – EVERYONE WINS!

Jay's Tips – NYC Starter Set – GO FOR WHAT YOU KNOW – Choose what YOU want to WRITE about!

• Go to CANVAS for more NYC suggestions

Jay's Practice Picks:

• Before you get started, I encourage to brainstorm a list of 3-4 ideas.  Like this:

White Castle is a restaurant chain known for its "sliders," small, square hamburgers, and its distinctive white castle-shaped buildings.  They are also known for offering a variety of menu items beyond burgers, including chicken, fish, and plant-based sliders.

Jay's Note:  

• I haven't been to New York City in like 40 years.  I know about as much about the City as you do.
• But, here in Mexicali, I have a lot of BOOKS on my SHELVES.  I have a lot of ideas to choose from

For your convenience, I encourage you to go to the following Wikipedia page to begin your BRAINSTORMING:

Here is the URL:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_New_York_City_topics

• If you CLICK on the Link, and run your cursor over a few ideas, YOU MAY FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE!
• I hope this helps.

SUMMER MEAN FUN – YOUR NYC WORK WILL RAISE YOUR GRADE IN THE CLASS – EVERYONE WINS!

Any questions or concerns?  Please contact me here:  jay.lewenstein@imperila.edu.

This is going to be GREAT.  You will SEE.