Assignment #4: Chain Writing and Metafiction

 Hello Students,

Our last and final assignment for GLPS is a fun one.   As most of you have already done, we have completed the "Chain Writing" exercise where you passed essays and stories around the room to hopefully complete a fun and interesting piece of collaborative writing.   Sometimes it turns out wonderfully, sometimes it ends up a mess.  In the next part of this exercise, you will have to find a creative way to add to the brilliance (or clean up a mess with your talent).

Once you have the paper you started back, you have to transfer it to your blog in a post that is clearly called "Chain Writing."  If you wish to color each paragraph written by a different writer, you can do that.  Here is an example from the last GLPS camp:

Chain Writing by Vanessa Shin

As you copy the writing to your blog, please correct the grammar and mistakes, but DO NOT CHANGE THE CONTENT.  At least not yet.

Once you have completed putting it on your blog, you can read some of the stories or essays you participated in on other blogs.  Now, you can choose the one you want to use for Part 2 of this assignment: Metafiction. 


What is "metaficiton"? Look it up on Wikipedia here. It's basically a "story inside a story."  Or a story about telling a story.  Or a story about someone encountering someone else's story.  Basically, it's a story with multiple layers - like the layers of an onion.  Alice In Wonderland is an example.  She falls into a rabbit hole and a BIG story happens there.  BUT there is also the story outside the rabbit hole.  

Here is an example in a popular film called "The Never Ending Story."  This is a story about a boy reading a story.  The events in the story are interrupted with his own story - a mix of reality and imagination:

 

So, once you've found your favorite Chain Writing (it can be the one on your blog, or you can copy and paste from a classmate's blog), you have to re-frame the story and add a layer that encapsulates it somehow.  The possibilities are endless.  A message in a bottle.  A speech.  A student writing a diary.  A student who found a diary.  A conversation with someone.  Take the material and re-shape it into something new with an added element.

• In terms of formatting, try to use different fonts for the original work and the stuff you introduce.  You may also want to use different colored text.  
• You are also encouraged to add pictures, and you may also want to comment (at the start or at the end) about your strategy to employ Metafiction around the original work.
• Think of this as film editing.  You don't have to use ALL of the stuff from the Chain Writing. If a student in your class decided to get silly and mess it up a little, you can take that paragraph out and not use it. 

Here is an example of Metafiction I just wrote for fun.  Ironically, it's about a teacher reading an essay: 

Mr. Garrioch sat down at his desk, and began to look at the essays that his students wrote.  There was a new student named Chuck Brown who had just arrived the day before.  He had blue hair, two earrings in each ear, and a tattoo.  He seemed to be strange, and Mr. Garrioch didn't know much about him.  He was very curious to read his essay.  He sipped his coffee and began to read Chuck's awkward handwriting:

Many things must be stopped. First of all, abbreviation in language must be stopped. Nowadays, many people use abbreviations in language. The most famous are "CU" or"LOL" which are abbreviations of  "see you" and "laugh out loud." Since so many people use abbreviations, people are getting confused. Sometimes when I use abbreviations speaking to my mom, she gets confused and doesn't know what I am talking about and keeps asking me stupid questions. Also I think abbreviations are destructive to  language. It is erasing the original meaning that it contains. 

Mr. Garrioch agreed with Chuck's logic.  This student must be very brilliant, he thought. He continued reading.


Abbreviation has made our communication hard to understand and also destroyed the essence of the Korean language - Han-Gul words are being shortened beyond recognition and polite form.  So who is to blame? It is mostly by students. Students or young teens wants to make long words shorter to pronounce easier. Also, they think they are cool when they use it.  For example, an elevator in "elva" or teacher  is just "ssam."  This is also a problem in English - not just in Korean.  Texting and spoken words are becoming the same. How will anyone communicate???

Suddenly, Mr. Garrioch was interrupted by a knock at the door.  It was Chuck, poking his head in.  "Hey Mr. G! Can you spare a few ticks?" 

"What? What do you mean by ticks?  Ticks are insects, are they not? What do you want?"

"LOL!" Chuck replied with a big grin.  But while he did say "LOL," he didn't actually "laugh out loud."  Mr. Garrioch was old, but he still knew what LOL was.

"NEway,Mr. G, ma peeps is w8in so I gotta holla lata.  TTYL about ma essay. I hope u think it's gr8!"

And just like that, Chuck disappeared, leaving Mr. Garrioch with a bemused look on his face.  He continued reading:

This is also a problem in English - not just in Korean.  Texting and spoken words are becoming the same. How will anyone communicate???
 
That's a good question, thought Mr. Garrioch. How WILL they? And then he wrote an F at the top of Chuck's essay.
   

Best Blogger Awards!

 

Dear Students,

After weeks of writing, writing, and writing some more, I'd like to take this time to present to you the best blogs of GLPS 17.  It's been really tough deciding, and I'd like to give you all a round of applause.  I think you've all improved, learned new skills, discovered some creativity, and had fun along the way.  

Please be aware that performance on key assignments was weighted, and to be fair - all blogs were judged as late as possible in the program.  Quantity, Quality, and Creativity were the things I focused on. It has taken a very long time to decide.  These results, combined with Debate and History, determine the Scholarship Awards.

Here are the best blogs of GLPS, listed by class:

Class 14

1st  -  Vanessa Shin

2nd -  Yewon Jung

3rd  - Jiwoo Hong

Honorable Mention: Yein Jung (and the rest of the class!)

Note: Class 14 was awesome! I had a VERY difficult time choosing the best blogs, and ultimately I think you are all such hard working students.  Vanessa and Yewon especially had more than 20 blog posts!! That's amazing. Keep up the great work, and keep blogging. I'm sure most of you will.

Class 15

1st  -  Petra
2nd -  Chloe
3rd  -  Lim Habin


Honorable Mention: Jeonghyun Kim


Note: This class had some excellent writers and hard working bloggers. Very hard to decide the top 4, as they are all so close together.  I'm glad to have had such a fun bunch of students.  The Chainwriting was a lot of fun with you guys.  Tons of creativity! Keep it up.



Class 19

 1st -  Jiyoon Kim

2nd - Steven Song

 3rd - Soyeon Lee

Honorable Mention: Aram Yun

Note:  This class really impressed me towards the end of the camp. You might have been a bit slow to get started, but you really improved.  It was fun playing Mafia in our last class. I wish you'd been like that the entire camp. Hope to see you again, and hope you keep blogging.;)


Class 20


1st  - Yun San
2nd - Daeun Hwang
3rd  - Jeongwoo Park


Honorable Mention: Gyujin


Note:  This class improved the most during the camp.  At first you guys took some time to get blogging, but once you got into it I read some amazing work.  Yun San's "Dear Door" is probably the best thing I read all camp, and both DJ and I were "Wow!"  Please read it! and Jeongwoo wrote a very touching Ode to The Moon. Daeun's blog is very consistent, and Gyujin's blog looks nice and has some of her pics on it. A bit of everything.  Good work guys! Keep blogging!!!

Congratulations to all! 

Let's keep in touch: )

Some American kids don't like K-Pop!!!

When I watched this video, I was a bit annoyed by some of the things these kids said.  It is true they are "just kids," but in a Global World we have to have an open mind and understand different cultures.  That said, I am not a fan of Super Junior or 2NE1, but Girls Generation and "Gee Song" are really good!  What do you think about this?  You can write your own little essay on your blog or comment below on my blog.

Reflective Essay: In response to "Spring"

In class, we watched the first chapter "Spring" in Kim Ki Duk's film "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring."  The purpose of this essay is to write a simple "reflective essay" with the following in mind:


In the film, what lesson do you think the monk is trying to teach the young boy? Reflectively relate this learning process to your own personal experience.  

Here is a simple outline for structure:

1. An introduction with a very brief summary of what you saw in the film.  Try to limit your summary to about 4 sentences.  If we over-summarize, our reader will become bored.
2. A Body Paragraph where you relate your own personal experience.  As children (and even adults), we often "learn a lesson" from our parents or teachers.  Have you had similar experiences?  Can you provide a personal anecdote? This section of your essay is the most important, and can be more than one paragraph.  
3. A conclusion.  What is your overall opinion on how the old monk taught the young monk?  Was it too harsh?  Was it effective?  How should teachers and parents teach children?

When you transfer your in-class writing onto your blog, please title it "Reflective Essay:_________" with a suitable title of your own.  To help interested readers know what you are talking about, please include this video from YouTube, as they may wish to watch it themselves to form their own opinion. 




Copy and Paste this code into your HTML tab to share the video:

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One More Day of BLOGGING!

Hello Students,

As you know, GLPS is almost finished! DJ and I have to decide who the top three bloggers for each class are, and tomorrow will be the deadline for completing your assignments.  I've been very impressed with the effort I've witnessed, and some of you have really improved both your writing and formatting abilities.

One thing I have been trying to teach you is to make things look nice - how to best present your work so that it is organized and easy to read.  Formatting is very important, and so is capitalizing and putting one of these ->. at the end of every sentence (a period, as you know).

I've read some very good viral video essays.  Jiwoo (or Nemo) in class 14 wrote a very good one about Mr. Bean on her blog.  It was interesting to learn some fun facts about him.  Everything looks nice and she didn't make many mistakes.

Wongsil in class 20 wrote a good essay about a VERY fun video.  I learned a lot about a strange thing called the "Rube Goldberg Machine."  Check it out. You won't be sorry!

Steven from class 19 wrote a good one about Charlie Bit Me.  He found some good information and it was interesting to see a recent picture of the boys, now that they are older.

There are also some really good Odes being written.  So Yeon in class 19 wrote a very metaphorical one about shoes.  Shoes are important, and we don't often think about them in a deep way.  She really did!

Billy from class 20 has written some nice Odes. Very poetic ones about puppies and donuts.  What does a person need in this world in order to become happy?  Puppies and donuts.  That seems like a good start to me. ;)

Jungwoo, also from class 20, wrote a very powerful ode about the moon on his blog. He describes it as a a "giant memory disk which contains memory starting from the time when you were born. Just like a time machine to see the past."  Very imaginative.

Try to get as much done as you can in the next two days.  Blog on!

Wacky Web Tales!

UPDATE: If you post these in your blogs, title them "Wacky Web Tales: ________" and make sure you include a link to the original website.  Also, underline all the words that you put in the blanks, so that people know which ones are yours.  Try to put in some pictures and MAKE IT LOOK NICE.

Suhyun in class 14 has done a really good job here (except for not underlining her words). 

For those students who are finished their Viral Video Essay, Metafiction, and The Ode (and have done the best job they can do on all of them), you can have some fun at the following link:

Wacky Web Tales!

Try a few different ones, and see what happens.  If you create a particularly funny or interesting one, you can copy and paste the story and put it in your blog (making it look nice).  Click on any story and you will see a place to "fill in some blanks."  You have to use your brain a little bit, and know what verbs, nouns, and adjectives are.  If you don't know, you can click this button on the site and it will explain "parts of speech."

 I think most of you know this stuff, but if not - ask a friend or "Google it!"


After you finish filling in the blanks, click on this button:

Surprise! Have fun!

Next Assignment: The Ode!

What is an "ode?"  Let's ask Wikipedia:

An ode is typically a lyrical verse written in praise of, or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode.

In fact, the "greatest poem ever written" is an ode written by the famous English poet John Keats.  He died very young, and many believed if he'd lived longer that he could have rivaled William Shakespeare as one of the greatest writers ever.

One day, while he was sitting under a tree, a nightingale bird landed in the branches and began singing. At the time, he was very sick, so he felt envious of the bird's freedom and health.  Thus, "Ode to a Nightingale" was born, and many consider this to be a "perfect poem."

 

Keats is truly amazing.  For our purposes, we are going to change things a little and basically write a poetic letter to something or somewhere instead of someone. Imagine what you might say in a letter that begins with:

Dear Seoul,

Dear California,

Dear North Korea,

Dear iPhone,

Dear PS3,

Dear Sadness,

Dear Boredom,

Dear English,

Dear K-Pop,

Dear EOP,

Dear Cockroach,

Dear Metal Chopsticks,

Dear Sleep,

Dear Bed,

Dear Starcraft,

Dear Angry Birds,

Dear Pizza,

Dear Broccoli,

Dear Internet,

Dear Harry Potter Series,

The possibilities are endless, and I want you to write a poetic letter using lots of descriptive writing and philosophical insight.  Think of that object or place as a friend or enemy that you know very well.  Metaphorically give it qualities that are human, and have fun poeticizing the things you love, hate, or hate to love or love to hate about that thing.

This should be written as a letter and a poem mixed together in a style of writing we might call "lyrical prose."  Imagine your sentences are music, and each word a note.  You can start thinking about:

Alliteration: using words with similar sounds in one sentence, sort of like a tongue twister.

Example - "The sweet sound of your soft voice silences my spirit into a still sleep."

This sentence has a smooth ring to it, all because "s" was used repeatedly in a musical way.

Repetition: repeating a sentence structure for more emphasis.  Politicians use this a lot when they make speeches.

Example - "We can make change.  We can fight for freedom.  We can be the light through the world's darkness.  We are America, and yes we can!"

So try and use these while you write your ode.  This is not really a poem, so try to write in the vicinity of 500 words. Include a picture and be creative (and clean) with your formatting.

_____________________________

Fine Examples:

This assignment is probably one of my favorites to give, as it often produces samples of writing which students can consider among their best.  From the 15th wave, one of my KMLA students, Hwee Jun, wrote a very strong one last semester, which delivered everything this assignment asks for, and more. 

Here is another really good one from another KMLA students, Seung Hyun in the 14th wave.  It's one of my favorite essays ever written by a KMLA student.  What's to like about this one?  At face value, it appears to be very simple.  And it is.  But if we read between the lines, there is a lot of comment on cultural diversity.  I think this could make a very good children's book if the idea was taken and re-framed a little.

Ode to ZzaPaGeuTi

By Seung Hyun Ryu (Amy)

Dear ZzaPaGeuTi (짜파게티),

Do you remember back when I was in elementary school? I’d come home after a long and busy day, and immediately look for you. Thankfully, you were always there beside me whenever I needed you. However tired I was, you, with your warm brown scent, always made me feel comfortable and re-energized. Not only did you reduce my stress and tiredness of getting through the day, but you also helped soothe my feelings of homesickness for Korea. Ever since I was young, the thing I always miss most when I’m away from Korea is the food. Luckily, I could easily meet you, dressed up in your fancy clothes in the Chinese marts of England. It’s a secret to my good friend La Myun (라면), but I love you much more than her. While La Myun has a fiery temper, you are always warm and sweet towards me.

     You might find it a little surprising that after all these years of scarcely talking or meeting, I would suddenly write a letter to you. This surprise would have been doubled I suppose, because I began this letter full of praise for you while I have totally ignored you all this time. To make things a little less confusing, I will be very straightforward with you. The reason why I’m writing this letter is to apologize for something that happened between us a long time ago. Even after all these years, I feel guilt over what I have done to you. Thus, I have mustered up the courage to write this letter. 

 

         I’m sure that you recall the day that I introduced you for the first and last time to a friend I had made in England. Her name was Paulina, and she was a delicate little girl who had never lived outside of England. Well, when Paulina came over to my house, I introduced you to her. You were my favorite friend, so there was no reason for me to hesitate in doing so. I had absolutely no worries about whether Paulina would like you or not. After all, why wouldn’t she love you as much as I did, when you were so deliciously kind and always extending your long, long noodley arms to help someone in need?

         However, to this day, I just cannot forget the expression on Paulina’s face when she saw you. She was horrified by your color, and asked how I could possibly like someone who looked like you - someone who had a dirty mud color and a mop of straggly hair. She did not even bother to get acquainted with you, and announced that she would not speak a word to you because, on the whole, you looked like a bowl filled with dirty worms. Not only you, my dear friend ZzaPaGueTi, but also I was greatly affected by this incident. 

Regretfully, I was not old enough to realize that it was my friend who was shallow to judge you based on appearances. I should not have cared what Paulina said. Although you look a little odd in England, because of your dark skin color and straggly curly hair, that is simply because there are not so many like you in England, as there are in Korea. Furthermore, I should have been wise enough to realize that I loved you regardless; never mind what you look like.  Regretfully, I failed this wisdom at such a young age.  

         Hopefully, it is not too late to ask for your forgiveness. Although I have feigned not to notice you all these years, it was mainly because I did not have enough courage to beg for your forgiveness.  And not because I didn’t want to be your friend again.  It was only when I was young and ignorant that I foolishly felt embarrassed by you, for being who you are. I dearly hope that you will understand me with your warm sweet heart, and once again embrace me with your long delicate arms.

         Hope to hear from you soon,

         With Love, Seung Hyun.