Who’s Who in Lord of the Flies

Here’s the list of who’s playing who in our dramatic reading of Lord of the Flies:

• Ralph: Justin, Tyler, Erik
• Piggy: Jordan, Dakota, Andy
• Simon: Karissa, Dena, Wyatt
• Jack: Chase, Sam, Steven
• Sam ‘n Eric: Simon ‘n Reg, Tamir ‘n Jared, Trey n’ Josh
• Roger: Brock, Matt, Brendan
• Maurice: uncast, Cayden, Matt

Here’s where we left off reading:

• 1-2: Page 69: “Smoke! Smoke!”
• 1-3: Page 90: When you’re …” 
• 2-1: Page 96: “Ralph lifted the conch …”

Distraction Trap

Today, you looked at a chapter from a book called The Distraction Trap, How to Focus in a Digital World. In it, author Frances Booth talks about how technology is affecting our brains. You read Chapter 1 and answered the following questions:

• 1. What is shared attention/split attention/continuous partial attention? (P. 8)  Give an example of how we experience this with technology.
• 2. Give three results of ongoing shared attention/split attention/continuous partial attention. (P. 8, 9)
• 3. How much time (max.) do 8 – 18 year olds use on media? How many hours are there in a day?
• 4. “But constantly connected … full present.” (P. 12) Read around the quote and find three negatives about being constantly connected.
• 5. Do you agree or disagree with the statements made in this chapter? Give three reasons for your belief. (8 sentence paragraph)
• 6. “The alternative to digital distraction is deep thought and reflection, where your attention is fully present.” Write a paragraph of 8 sentences discussing the personal and societal implications of people becoming less capable of deep thought.

We’re still on the island.

I know. You’re still home, enjoying yourself. You’re snowboarding or playing a video game or texting someone that you hate the rain or you’re washing the dishes for your mom. One of the above. (Good for you if it’s the last one.) So that’s you. This is me. I am planning out your year. Still.

When last we met, you were aflush with anticipation. There was going to be The Video. There’d already been a half day with no power in the school and all the teachers had tried to entertain you or at least keep you in the room. You were watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas every single day of the week. It was pre-Christmas excitement 24/7.

And now that’s over. It’s back to Jack, Piggy, Ralph, and Simon and an assortment of littl’uns, minus that little Mulberry boy who seems to have disappeared.

Here’s where we left off: Block 1-2: You read all of Chapter 2. Block 1-3: You read to Page 72, “There they are …”. Block 2-1: You read to Page 77, “When they had dealt …”

And on a different note, this is what happens when you’re avoiding cleaning your kitchen on a rainy day. I decided to check my blog stats and found the above picture (hand drawn island) credited to me in a University of Indiana publication called  Student Teacher Lord of the Flies Companion.  This was interesting and flattering until I realized they’d credited me with something I’d just pulled off google images. To clarify, the island was drawn by Kracatorr from Deviant Art. Not me. I am to drawing what Piggy is to reading body language. (You’ll know what I mean when he discusses the history of Camberwell in the movie.)

You might enjoy the book (link below.) I skimmed it but there were way too many references to zombies to keep my attention. I’m of the Old School No Zombies on the Island tribe. I guess you could go Jack: Edward? or Jack: Jacob? but I’m not sure why. I didn’t read that book, either. I remain firmly entrenched in the 18th century.

http://www.cardinalstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/LOTF-Companion-FINAL2.pdf