Hello class! Only two more DJ's left: imagery and theme. Wednesday, May 14th, you will be analyzing an example of imagery in your free choice novels. Just as a reminder, imagery in literature is language that engages a reader by appealing to one or more of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and/or touch. In the above photo, for example you can see the green colors of the water and the grass. But the image also suggests other senses. A writer who wanted to appeal to the senses and bring the scene alive could discuss the sound of the waterfall, the smell of wet grass crushed under the feet of a character, the cold spray from the water on a character's face, and even the mineral taste of the droplets. Here is a very short video that reviews imagery a little further: With MRI imaging, scientists have learned that the same processes in the brain are activated with mental images formed in a reader's mind from skillfully crafted imagery descriptions that we use to perceive the actual world around us. This makes imagery in literature one of the most powerful tools authors have to help readers experience the worlds they create. It's the writer's job to choose the most relevant, powerful details to share with their readers. This week, as you read your novel and pay attention to the five senses, I encourage you to pay attention to your own senses as you experience your world. Engaging your five senses with your surrounding environment is a classic mindfulness technique that has been known to alleviate anxiety by grounding a person in the present moment. When you are engaging fully with the present, it's harder to worry about the past or fret about the future. As a kind of extra activity, I invite you to try going (safely) for a mindfulness walk. You can go on your own and try to engage all five of your senses as you walk. I invite you to take a photo on your walk and write about your experience for your Structured Journal of the week. Here is a 4 minute video by Head Space discussing the why and how of a mindfulness walk. The following video definitely engages all five senses. We'll discuss how in our first TEAMS meeting of the week. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm a Houston high school teacher in the Spring of 2020. Welcome to my adapted, socially-distanced, quarantined English II classroom. Archives
May 2020
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