Spring SAVY 2018, Day 3- Unpacking Adaptation (3rd/4th)

Posted by morganr1 on Monday, February 12, 2018 in Grade 3, Grade 4, SAVY.

Class,

Thanks again for a fun, productive day! What with the rain and the gloom outside, today felt a bit like being in the wardrobe with Lucy: No matter the grey on the other side of the window, we had an adventure!

We began with a quick warm-up game of Zip-Zap-Zop, followed by an exercise designed to heighten skills of listening and perception, as well as seed the grounds of your imagination. Did you think when you woke up this morning that you’d become the smell of peppermint or the music of the color blue?

We returned to Aristotle and The Poetics, continuing our exploration of the six elements of the drama. After a quick recap of previous content, we unpacked Aristotle’s notions of character. You now know the Greek word “agon” — meaning debate — and the terms “protagonist” and “antagonist.” You understand that while these two character forms represent two arguments in opposition to one another, that not all stories will feature a “good” or “bad” character; Yes, Luke and Vader or Harry Potter and Voldemort make for fine examples of protagonists and antagonists, yet the same can be said of Toy Story’s Buzz and Woody — or, given today’s text, Lucy and poor Mr. Tumnus.

You created visual learning tools to explore binaries of character, and you created an oppositional character analysis for Lucy and Mr. Tumnus. Our imaginings of this story are becoming quite rich and sophisticated. I love where your interpretations are taking you!

And then, we turned to an adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ work, created by Joseph Robinette. How curious were the changes from one text to another! While one version of this story begins with a mysterious and disconcerting war, the other begins with a fun and magical collection of talking animals (assuming one chooses to omit the prologue, which some of you found playful, others found tedious and dull). Clearly, last week’s exploration of syuzhet and fabula paid dividends!

I look forward to seeing you next week, when we’ll read from three texts: The novel, the adaptation, and an amended adaptation of that adaptation! How will story vary from form to form, especially when we discover who — or what — Edmund finds once passing thru the wardrobe? We’ll have to wait and see. Take care, my friends. Until next Saturday!

Best,
David