Week Ending Nov. 28 and on to the first week in Dec.

The following is an update to assignments in this class for term #2:

WRITING

• Conflict: you are writing about a problem and then solving it in the same piece
• 8 line Poem: Poem should be 8 lines or longer and should be focused on a theme
• Envelope Poem #1: Using random words from the envelope, you are creating a poem that has meaning and is about a moment, an experience, a theme, an emotion ect.....do not just stuff the words into a poem. The poem needs to make sense, say something to the reader. Use the words in new ways. ( note: derivatives of the words can be used)
• Envelope Poem #2: same as above
• Picture poem, choose to write a poem based on one of your photos

PHOTO

• Portraits: required shots 10, you should try to use no more than 3 models. Portraits should generally be whole body and I suggest you take them outside in natural light, but this is not essential. Portraits should reflect the individual at their best. Check out the link below.

mckinnon photography portraits

• Slideshow: required shots 30, these should be your best shots. Show me lots of variety...not flower shot after flower shot or friend shot after friend shot....get creative, do a little research online, try to model another photographer's work.
• Name in Objects: Spell out your first name in objects, then put into a collage and post on Flickr, the number of shot will vary based on your name.
• Glacier shot, find a great place to capture the beauty of the Comox Glacier: 1 shot

IF POSSIBLE ALL WORK SHOULD BE IN BEFORE XMAS

FOR MS. CHASE NEEDED BEFORE XMAS HOLIDAYS:

• Your top 3 photos saved on the hard drive and your best poem for our publication. These should be saved in the proper class folder and the writing should have your name on it.

• FORMAT: for poem please have in Times New Roman 12 point font, left justified, and make sure you include a title on your poem.

Week of Nov 12-15

Students have to complete the following this week:

• Conflict piece: in this assignment the student has to create a problem and solve it. An example of this might be a girl goes into a hair salon to have her hair dyed, the stylist does a horrible job and an argument ensues. Play our what happen and then bring the piece to a conclusion.
• 8 Line Poem : Students should use Ms Chase's rules for writing poetry and it should be on a theme. 

Term 1 Work

All term 1 work must be in by Fri. Nov. 8  This includes writing and photography. The photography MUST be arranged on Flickr in sets.

Writing: Short story, Character sketch, Dialogue

Photo: Set-up on Flickr, Head shots, Skatepark, Spot colour, Macros. If students are finished all of these assignments, they can work on taking and editing photos for their slideshow. I would also like students to begin posting to the Mark Isfeld Photography Group on Flickr as well as to create a MY FAV PHOTOS folder on your L: drive which will consist of your best and favourite photos YOU have taken.

You will be out taking photos today (macros and any others not completed) and Thurs. class will be a writing class.

New Assignments

The following is a description of our new writing and photo assignments.

New writing assignment: Dialogue: In this assignment, students are to write 12 lines minimum of dialogue between two characters. The characters can be fictional and the setting of the situation can be anywhere. The main criteria for this assignment is that the dialogue must move plot or advance character. (marks 10)

New Photo Assignment:  Macro shots 10 shots: The macro shots are not traditional macros but rather close-ups. I want you to try to look at ordinary everyday objects in an extraordinary way. Play with camera angles, be very aware of your backgrounds. Try get in close to begin to see the beauty in an object up close. Keep in mind some objects look more beautiful than others by default. No more than 5 flower or nature shots. (marks 20)

Here are a few samples of some of my favourite close-up/macros

Week of Oct 15-18

New Writing Assignment Character Sketch: Our newest writing assignment is writing a character sketch of a person who is close to you or of yourself as though you are a character in a book. You are going to write about this person using show not tell.( 10 marks)

We learn about characters in three ways: by what they say, by what they do and by what others say about them....although the last way is the least reliable. The way to do this assignment is to choose a person to write about ( it could even be yourself) put this person in a situation or location and begin describing them through the activity as if you are writing part of a story.

Example: Mom in the kitchen making dinner dealing with teenage son

"Briiiaaan, get in here, did you drink the last drop of milk and leave it in the fridge for someone else to put in recycling, how many times do I have to go over this with you?"
"OK mom don't freak out he said, rolling his brown eyes as if to say, what's the big deal." His almost 6 foot frame leaned longingly into the fridge as he scoured through it looking for something to eat.
" There's nothin' in here, when are you going to get some decent food for us to eat?"
 Finding a day old burrito, he pops into the microwave pushes the buttons and awaits his feast. Almost burning  his fingers, he takes it out and like a programmed robot, heads straight to the computer to check his Facebook account.
 After numerous scans through Facebook, his phone buzzes and he reaches over to attempt to do two things at once, which causes him some difficulty. After some time, he realizes he is in desperate need for a drink but is too lazy to head back to the kitchen. " Hey mom he charms, can you do me a favour?"

Week of Oct 7-11 Assignment Update

The following is an update on work that we should be working on this week.

Spot Colour - Students should take photos with the intent to focus on a particular colour. Then using pixlar or pic monkey the background should be turned to black and white and the main item should be highlighted to spot colour. ( 5 shots = 10 marks)
Skate Park shoot  - In this assignment students should focus on taking shots from different angles. The skate park makes an excellent backdrop for photos,so make sure you have a focal point in all of your shots. You could shoot people or objects or even the skate park itself...just make sure you remember your rules of composition while shooting. ( 10 shots = 20 marks)

spot colour images in google

Writing- Students are still working on their personal experience stories. We also completed a freewrite this week during class.

The following are a few examples of student photographs of the above assignments.

Photo By: Ceara Hodges

Photo By: Sophia White

Photos By; Sophia and Ceara

Week of Sept 15 -20

Students have spent a week learning about the basics of photography and all of the technical components of how to upload, organize and manage photos. By this time in the course students should have the following completed:

• signed up on Flickr and have me as a contact
• have their Flickr screen name as their own name with (f92013) after it
• created a buddy icon which is a pic of them
• taken head shots 3 of other people and one of yourself (edited)
• head shots uploaded to Flickr and made into a set entitled Head shots
• have purchased  their own SD card
• brought in a baby pic of themselves which we will scan into the computer and save in the photo 9 folder ( this week)
• find an object that has significance to them and be prepared to tell a story about the object to the class. ( this week)

Welcome Future Creative Writers

This is the spot where you will be able to keep track of your writing assignments. I have taught Creative Writing for a number of years ( almost 15!) and I love it. I offer a full money back guarantee if you do not become a better writer after taking my class.

Next year I am teaching a Writing/Photography Grade 9 Elective class, which I believe will be a fantastic class. In this class, we will be writing and taking photos in the hope of producing an individual 10 page photo/writing book as well as a larger class book.

See you next fall!