Catalogue Presentation

Words
I like Resume Rationale because, first and foremost, it introduces variances in genre, which is completely invaluable. Resumes are very specific, which makes them relatively easy to teach. This leaves the actual project--application of a principle that they are familiar with--with most of the real estate, which is perfect. Pushing students to look at something they may understand from only aspect from a completely different viewpoint will allow them to discover new ideas, both about the principle and about themselves.
English: Resume for a theme, like guilt, communication, relationships, to build a thorough knowledge and analysis of concept.
Drama: Resume of a character, to help build understanding of the character.

Images
Color Palette is interesting, again, in its genre-bending. It allows for personal creativity in a thoroughly personal, introspective way, but also calls for more extensive analysis and textual/experiential support than they may have had to claim previously. Making it a class competition, fueled by votes and monitored by the teacher, provides a bit of leverage that will help students invest and, in an ideal world, become impassioned about the creative choices they’ve made.
English: Build a color palette for a specific book, using colors to think about tone and mood.
Drama: Build a color palette for a set based on the script, with tone and mood.

Sounds
Soundtracking the Moment is one of my favorites because of how it accesses the background knowledge of the participants. It also is, like, a fun sort of bait-and-switch in how it starts out as a very funny, relatively straightforward assignment, but sort of sneaks in some very deliberate analytical choices in how students are asked to analyze lyrics and placement. I also love how clear and simple the sharing opportunity is at the end of the project: it will allow for even more creative inspiration and thinking.
English: Soundtrack a particularly poignant moment in the text to help understand the tensions and themes present.
Drama: Soundtrack a play but with very unexpected choices. Push students to think more about different genre.

Body
Sensory Map, as specified in the text, allows for greater appreciation of effective and powerful descriptive language. The careful process of going through different base texts, and different senses, provides such a detail-oriented experience for students. I also think that the project could be expanded beyond studying only setting: what about a sensory map for a character? A scene? A plot point?
English: A sensory map of a memory (for creative writing).
Drama: A sensory map of a space in the school.


Stuff
I think part of the reason I was so inclined to the Book Stack Summary project is because of Nina Katchadourian’s “Sorted Books” piece, which follows largely the same idea: book titles put together to make funny, sad, interesting, and ultimately new meaning. As much as a I love a thoughtful, slow-process-burn kind of project, I also love the time constraint in this. It’s quick, analytical thinking, with plenty of time afterwards to synthesize their own choices and learn from the choices of others. Also, so creative and fun.
English: Use the sorted books to create a poem.
Drama: Use the sorted books to create a more abstract description of a character.

Social Media

One Word to Rule Them All appeals to me in a lot of the same ways the Book Stack Summary did: it’s concise, by also has so much room in the margins for all the thinking that needs to happen in order for a student to produce a worthwhile, deep piece. I also enjoy the opportunity to utilize the artistic elements of doodling and typography; participating in this will help them recognize the potential of these things to accentuate other artistic forms. Also could be way fun to sneak in some research about etymology and maybe even its use in pop culture/art in general.
English: One word to describe a character. Must cite the text.
Drama: One word to describe a scene. This will help them combine the multiple layers into one idea, but still help them be aware of the multiple ideas.

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