Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 – 8th grade work

Good morning 8th graders,

Happy 3rd day of Distance Learning (and National Flag Day of Aruba*)!

Today you have two items for your Literature To Do List:

        1. Daily reading
        2. Monologue preparation

Here we go!

  1. Daily reading log
    • If you have NOT sent me your reading log:
      • Follow the instructions on my teacher page (March 16th) to make your online reading log, fill in your work from the past two days, and share it with me (grzegocki@st-johnschool.org).
      • Complete your 30 minutes of reading today and fill out the 3/18 row
      • I will be checking logs shortly and entering the points on PowerSchool.
    • If you HAVE shared your reading log with me:
      • Complete your 30 minutes of reading today and fill out the  3/18 row
      • Use a new form of evidence today! For whatever evidence you choose, make sure to explain why it is important to the story / why you chose it.
      • Respond to my comments in your reading log (if there are any there).
      • You do NOT need to resend your log (unless you really, really want to, or if I send you a message)! You shared the log with me earlier, which means I can view it at anytime. This will save you precious time and me from an exploding inbox – a classic win-win situation!

2. Monologue preparation

    • Continue to work on your “Questions to guide your monologue”. Make sure to include your responses to the questions and situations I posted yesterday.
    • As you work today, think about the other person in the scene.
      • Many important moments in your monologue are built on the response of an imaginary character up there with you. The audience can’t see this character, but they are vital to your performance. It’s your job to make that invisible character real for us! You do this with your own acting – by pausing, listening, or reacting to what the invisible character said or did.
      • To help you prepare for this, think about the other person (or people) in your monologue and write a script and stage directions for the other person (people) in your monologue.
        • Think back to “Almost 16”, the monologue we practiced in class. We know the main character is speaking with a parent (Dad) who was supposed to be out at a gala, but ended up sick at home. What are the stage directions for Dad? Should he be resting on the couch? How does he react when his child walks past/sneaks by/directly asks for the keys?
      • Think through what the other character would realistically say and do during your monologue. This will help you identify important moments in pacing – places to pause, speed up, slow down. It will also help you create and portray a character with rich depth.

Have a great day and contact me with any questions!

*Both articles required additional verification, so I included another citation here. Let me know if you find any more!

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