Jay’s Movie Definition Dictionary
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In English 002, I’ve asked my students to contribute songs to the Soundtrack of Our Reading. We dig deep into our musical archives to match lyrics with our text. This semester we read M. Butterfly. At the end of the play, Rene acts out his favorite scene from the opera Madame Butterfly. This is when…
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This week in English 009 we are creating a website I call “Jay’s Movie Definition Dictionary.” We’re learning to define complex in our own words, using new strategies of negation, enumeration, analogy. What’s this have to do with movies? As a special twist, were developing illustrative examples drawn from our favorite films. On the website, students…
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Later in the semester, I expect my students to define complex terms and ideas in a language their readers can access and understand. To help them develop their skills, I’ve created an activity where students extend their definitions with scenes from their favorite movies. We call it Jay’s Movie Dictionary. They explain true love in…
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Can you explain sacrifice? – I mean how far are you willing to go? Ok, we all know sacrifice is the performance of an unselfish act. But, it’s not just about giving; it’s about giving everything. Did you see what Jack did for Rose at the end of the Titanic? How do people completely lose themselves to…
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Currently, my students are working on their definition essays. They are to select terms or ideas to define in their own words, but instead of using readings, personal experience, and/or real-life observations, they are working together to select the best film scenes from their favorite movies to illustrate their points. Here is mine: "Courage" in Rocky.…
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This week in my English classes we are developing definition essays. We’re learning to define ideas on our own terms . But instead of using our own knowledge or experience to support our definitions, we are choosing scenes from our favorite movies to illustrate meaning. Students are using Rocky to demonstrate “courage.” They are choosing…
