"In the year 2525"

So...you've listened to "Imagine" and created a list of characteristics for your own perfect world. This lesson you leaned about the historical roots of the term "Utopia" - the fact that it first came into usage after Sir Thomas More published his famous fictional account of a journey to the perfect society of the island nation of "Utopia" in the 1500s.

You looked at some quotes from "Utopia" and (as a class)we discussed these quotes and what they meant. The major point that arose from our discussion was the idea of the individual.

You then listened to the lyrics of the (*ahem*) uber-cool "In the year 2525"...





We then discussed these lyrics with regards to "Utopian" society and decided that it was describing the opposite of a utopian society - what is referred to as a dystopian society.

We discussed the lyrics of the song and what we thought they meant. Again the idea of the individual was very important and how the dystopian society referred to in the song seemed to suggest that individuality was absent in a dystopian society.

Dystopian society on film

This lesson you were introduced to the concept of a utopian society.

We listened to the lyrics of the John Lennon song "Imagine" in which he describes his vision of a perfect world and you were asked whether or not you agree with this vision.



Next you thought about what your perfect world would be like. You noted down some characteristics of your world and then (on a poster) decided if these characteristics were an example of: laws, conditions, customs, politics or something else.

Gregory's Girl - Lesson 2

So in today's class we continued reading "Gregory's Girl" - scenes 3, 4 & 5.

We had a brief discussion with regards to the character of Gregory - does he seem normal? Is he maybe a little bit weird? (Would you look at your image in the mirror and speak to yourself about "chesty follicles" whilst putting on deoderant? I think not!)

We also discussed the idea of gender stereotyping in the play, especially with regards to scene 5 when Dorothy tries out for the football team and the PE teacher is very reluctant to let her.

Finally, we discussed the theme of role reversal in the play. Madeline (Gregory's younger sister) has a boyfriend, yet all of the 4th year boys are single. She also talked about Gregory going through "adolescence" in scene 1 - more like a parent than a younger sister. Is Gregory acting like a big brother to Madeline or is she acting more like his elder sibling? This is just one example of role reversal - as we read more of the play we'll encounter some more examples and examine them in greater detail.

Scene 3: In this scene we see Gregory at home as he gets changed for school. He seems to spend a great deal of time in front of the mirror getting changed and the playwright makes good use of monologue here to show the strangeness of gregory - he is not only speaking to himself, but also using strange turns of phrase such as "demon sweaty odours" and "encourage the chesty follicles". Later in the scene Gregory meets his father and has a brief chat with him, there is the suggestion that Gregory hardly ever meets his parents (his father says: "I told her we had met in the hallway, briefly, last Thursday and you looked fine...") and this shows the isolation of Gregory's character from every age group except for his peers.

Scene 4: In this scene Gregory tells his friend Andy that he has been dropped from the football team and replaced in goal by Gregory. The two boys talk to one of the teachers and Andy mentions that he goes to the gym most mornings (perhaps to impress the girls? Theme of adolescence...). Once the two boys have disappeared off to class the PE teacher tells another teacher that he has set up a football trial to look for Gregory's replacement as striker.

Scene 5: This is the scene of the big football trial. Six boys are trying out for a place on the football team and all of them are terrible at football. Dorothy appears on scene to try out for the team and at first the PE teacher won't let her but eventually he allows her to have a trial. Unlike all of the boys, Dorothy is brilliant at football - scoring goals and proving that she is much fitter than the boys. Gregory seems smitten with Dorothy - impressed by not only her football skills! At the end of the scene Dorothy follows the PE teacher demanding that she be given a place on the team as she was by far the best person to try out. The major theme in this scene is that of gender stereotyping and role reversal. Dorothy isn't taken seriously as a player since she is a girl and girls don't traditionally play football; however the roles are reversed in this scene as it is Dorothy (the girl) who is brilliant at football and the boys who are actually rubbish at the game.

Gregory's Girl - lesson 1

This lesson you were introduced to the play "Gregory's Girl" - the drama text that you will be studying over the next 4 weeks.

We discussed the importance of not judging a book by its cover and came to an understanding on the definition of the term "stereotype":

" A fixed idea that people have about what someone or something is like – especially an idea that is wrong."

We watched the Scottish Governement campaign video for "See the person not the age" and discussed how this related to stereotyping with regards to age.

You then split into small groups and discussed other ways in which people are stereotyped in modern society. Some of your suggestions included: nationality, social group (Neds/Emos/Goths), social class (rich/poor) and disability.

I then introduced some other ways in which people are stereotyped:

Race: Black rappers are often stereotyped as being involved in violent crime and promoting the use of guns.

Religion: Members of certain religious faiths are often stereotyped - most notably the stereotype of Muslims being terrorists.

Gender: Gender stereotyping has been a prevalent part of human culture for thousands of years. Women are often portaryed as being the weaker sex, while men are portrayed as tougher and more "macho".

I then hinted at the fact that stereotyping would be a major issue that we encountered within "Gregory's Girl".

Gregory's Girl

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We then proceeded to read the play. At the end of each scene you wrote a brief summary of the events of that scene and noted down anything you found interesting about the characters.

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Scene 1: A football match was being played (badly) with Gregory's team losing. On the sidelines the spectators included Gregory's little sister Madeline and her boyfriend Richard, who seemed to be having a rather mature discussion about Gregory and his "adolescence". The PE teacher was disappointed in the team's performance and demoted Gregory from the position of striker to goalkeeper.

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Scene 2: A group of 4th year boys were spying on a young nurse getting undressed through a window of the nurses' hostel. They were desperate to see her topless and even resorted to trying to use mental powers to persuade her to take off her bra. When the nurse finally removed her bra one of the boys almost fainted from excitement. After these young voyeurs* had departed 11 year old Richard and his friend appeared on the scene and were witness to the nurse removing her knickers as well - however, unlike the 4th year boys before them, these two boys were not noticeably excited about the sight of a naked women. The playwright made good use of ellipsis (...) throughout this scene to convey the excitement of the 4th year boys.

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* voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviour (or to put it more bluntly: being a Peeping Tom!)

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We then engaged in a piece of experiental learning whereby the class viewed the first 2 scenes as they were portrayed in the original film version of Gregory's Girl.

What's my motivation?

So we've created an image of our superhero and, in the process of doing so, have decided upon what sort of personality our superhero has (black uniform = dark/moody, pink uniform = happy/light).

Now we have to decide why our superhero does what they do...

Why does Bruce Wayne, a fabulously wealthy businessman, dress up every night and venture into Gotham city to fight crime? Watch the videos below to find out:





In order to create a fully developed character it is important that your reader understands why that character acts the way that they do. As a result your superhero MUST have a reason why they do what they do.

Check out Marvel's site for a background on each of their superheroes:

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Category:Heroes

While you're there can you find out why Daredevil fights crime?

Mr Watt

Superheroes!

Want to create your own superhero image without having to draw it yourself? Then check out the following website for a variety of "hero machines" which will allow you to choose from lots of different physical characteristics for your own personal superhero!

http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heromachine/classic.asp

Remember though - your superhero image MUST be sympathetic to the type of superhero that you want to create!

For example: Batman is associated with a bat and dresses in black as he has a somewhat tormented soul. Due to his association with bats he operates at night, and his uniform incorporates bat images and gadgets that give him bat-like powers. It would be no good creating a character with a personality like batman's and then clothing them in pink!

Referencing

Once you've written your essay it is very important that you provide a list of the sources that you looked at to get your facts. Below you will find links to files to help you reference your essay:

http://www.box.net/shared/acvn8e7zok this is a list of the websites you looked at with each site (source) numbered.
http://www.box.net/shared/jopc0p91xr this is the list of for & against facts that you were given for the poster exercise, at the bottom you will find a key telling you which facts came from which source.

Once you have worked out which sources you have used, make a list of these sources and attach it to the end of your essay with the title "sources" OR "bibliography".

It will also help your essay appear more academic/professional if, in the body of the essay, you state where you obtained the fact from, e.g.:

"88% of all criminal damage in the UK is caused by alcohol (source 4)."

You can either give the exact webaddress of the fact or simply state which source it refers to in your source list - if you take the numbered approach then remember to number your sources on your source list.

Mr Watt

Essay Writing...

So here we are - you're all experts on persuasive writing.
You've tackled: propaganda, advertising and speech analysis. Now is the time to sway the world's opinion with your magnificent attempts at persuasive writing!

Follow the link below for a guide to help you during your essay writing:

http://www.box.net/shared/hzlra9iy1v

Good luck!

Mr Watt

Reliability & Impartiality

Hello once again,

This lesson I taught you all about the importance of using reliable material when writing a persuasive essay, and also the importance of being seen to be impartial.

We discovered that impartiality meant:

•Freedom from bias.
•Weighing both views/opinions equally before coming to your informed decision.
•That you have been fair and open in reaching your conclusion.


In order for you to be truly persuasive in your writing it is important for the reader to believe that you have looked at the argument from both points of view before reaching your decision.

Reliability

We discussed the dangers of relying solely on Wikipedia for information and were given the following three guidelines for finding reliable information:

Ø Reliable sources (government websites, charities, well known organisations etc.)
Ø Accurate information (does the information seem accurate?)
Ø Up to date information (be wary if it's more than a few years old!)

The information that you use to write your essay must be reliable, or else your essay will be inherently flawed. You wouldn't go for a space walk in an unreliable spacesuit would you?

I need a HERO...

So you're now experts of AFOREST - in this lesson I taught you a few more advanced persuasive techniques that can be used. Welcome to the world of HERO!

Hyperbole - Deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for emotional effect.
End with the one that's not like the others
Repetition
Opposites

Toby Free Trade Speech from West Wing

Watch the above video for an example of ERO in action - as for Hyperbole then Churchill is your man!

Churchill "We Shall Fight..."

A forest you say?

Can't see the wood for the trees? How about a forest?

This lesson I introduced you to the mnemonic acronym AFOREST, an easily remembered list of effective techniques to be used in persuasive writing:

Alliteration
Fact and evidence
Opinions and weaknesses
Rhetorical questions
Emotions
Statistics
Threes (rule of)

We then looked at an example of a speech and, in your groups, you went through it picking out the examples of AFOREST that you could find in the speech.

Watch the famous speeches below for examples of AFOREST in practice.

Aragon's Speech at the Black Gate



A Few Good Men



Independence Day

What is an argument?

In this lesson we learned that an effective piece of persuasive writing does four main things:

1. Attempts to convince the reader that you are right
2. Considers contrary arguments but shows why they are insignificant
3. Finishes with a valid conclusion which convinces the reader
4. Contains personal reflection

Watch the Monty Python clip above to discover an apt definition of what an argument is: "Connected series of statements to establish a definite proposition".

The important thing to learn from this is that when writing your essay you must use a connected series of statements (arguments) that you can back up with evidence and that you have a personal opinion on - you won't get a good mark by relying on contradiction!

Find your own favourite advert...

I showed you my favourite advert - now find your own...

Go to the following excellent site for thousands of free advert clips:

http://www.tellyads.com/

Remember those excellent Tango adverts ("You know when you've been Tangoed!")? Or the ever impressive Guinness ads?

A decent site to kill some time - although you could always tackle that English homework if you have a few spare minutes on your hands instead...

Mr Watt

Advertising

Welcome to the wonderful world of advertising!

This lesson we learned all about advertising - what makes it effective, techniques used and (the biggy) target audience!

I had you all think about why we advertise and where we can find advertising in our everyday lives (simple answer: everywhere! complicated answer: buses, tv, films, magazines, shopping bags, clothes, billboards etc. etc. etc.)

I showed you my favourite advert (Metz Judderman) and described the advertising technique primarily used in the advert: transfer.

Follow the link below for the worksheet I handed out containing a list of advertising techniques:

http://www.box.net/shared/tlmiqno7xq

I then showed you various other adverts and had you decide what technique was being used in each one. Then we tackled the subject of target audience, defined as:

"The primary group of people (or audience) that something, usually and advertising campaign, is aimed at appealing to. A target audience can be people of a certain age group, gender, marital status etc."

You were then shown an advert and asked to work out who the target audience for it was.

I then handed out various magazine adverts for you to examine, using your new found advertising expertise!

Next lesson: Argument & persuasive writing techniques

Lesson 1 - Persuasive Writing

Hi,

So here we go with the first lesson recap for you all - you lucky 3rd years...

In this lesson we learned what is meant by the term "persuasive writing" and what it is used for. The definition for persuasive writing that I gave you all was:

"Persuasive writing is used to argue logically with reasons, to present another viewpoint, to sway opinions, and to convince someone to writer’s way of thinking".

You then discussed what persuasive writing could be used for in real life and came up with a variety of reasons - including: Propaganda!

“Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.”
—Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion

Finally I had you look at examples of propaganda in your groups (such as the Nazi's American Monster - above) and decide why they were created and whether or not they were effective.

Next lesson......Advertising!