How Do I Love Thee: Abstracting

To be able to begin this activity I first had to reread the assigned chapters of Sparks of Genius. Then, I had to seek advice in order to clarify the task. Just like my students, I sometimes have difficulty thinking abstractly and identifying abstractions in everyday life. There are such a wide variety of ideas and topics related to figurative language, that it was difficult for me to narrow my options down and make a choice that would help me produce logical results. To me, the cognitive tool of abstracting deals with taking an object or idea and simplifying it down to one basic element. Furthermore, I feel that abstracting can also mean taking an object or idea and representing it in another way.

I first thought of some examples of how writers use figurative language in their work- personification, simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia, to name a few. Which one could I chose that would fit with this activity? Writing of this type is filled with abstractions. After some careful consideration, I chose to focus on one figurative language tool that many writers often use. I chose to create two abstractions based on a metaphor. Since metaphors are abstract ideas in general, I had to really think "outside the box" to come up with my abstractions. According to Merriam-Webster, a metaphor is  "a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them". I chose to focus on a familiar metaphor I have used before in my language arts class- ideas in motion. I chose to create an abstraction representing this metaphor through the use of digital photography to represent my ideas. You can see my work below.

Ideas

Motion

Let me explain my thinking a little bit further. First, I took a photograph of a light bulb to represent "ideas". Sometimes when I am teaching my students it seems when they finally come to an understanding during the lesson, a light bulb goes off in their minds. This is something I can see on their faces as I am presenting my lesson and facilitating discussion. A lightbulb is a simple object that holds true meaning for the metaphor I have selected. The steering wheel below is used to represent "motion". For me, the steering wheel is the most basic element of the car. In working together with the wheels,it is what guides the car in the right direction. As I drive, my ideas are constantly in motion, whichever route I decide to take.

For my next medium, I chose to do something quite different. I decided to represent my metaphor through the use of poetry.I used abstract ideas to create a feeling of thinking and movement. My goal was to create simple phrases that conveyed the meaning of the metaphor "ideas in motion".

Spark of the ignition

Lights actions into motion

Travel the highway of imagination

Move through the traffic of the mind

These two different representations of the same metaphor show that there is more than one way to think about something we believe we already know about. As a teacher, it is my job to try and guide students to open their eyes to different ways of viewing a topic or idea. I think this activity helped me to practice doing this on my own. It also allowed me to experience some of the difficulty my students may have with abstracting. I was then able to reflect on the different approaches I can take to try and help them understand this concept. 

Side Note- I just visited the course website and the random cartoon that popped up happened to be Alex in Wonderland (light bulb). Needless to say, I had a good laugh! :-)

 

How Do I Love Thee: Patterning

     Patterns are the essence of figurative language. They are what make figurative language so unique and special. Various patterns can be formed and found through working with words. Poetry, for example, is filled with patterns. Some are more difficult to decipher than others. One concrete and common example of a pattern in this content area related to language arts is alliteration. This is a popular type of language used quite frequently by writers, and for many different reasons. After some careful consideration and time spent interacting with the course readings, I chose to focus on alliteration for my work on this module.

     Alliteration is best defined as the repetition of the same beginning letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of words. Common ways alliteration can be used is within works of poetry, jokes, riddles, and tongue twisters. My original thoughts about patterns had me thinking of all of the various examples of alliteration that I knew. I considered what I have taught in my classroom throughout the years. I then started to think of a different way to represent my view of alliteration, one that my students could appreciate and understand. At first I had some trouble with this, and I was stumped. How could I re-pattern an already existing pattern to make it more interesting, yet still meaningful for the classroom? After taking some time to revisit the readings and brainstorm some more I had a plan in mind. I needed to create a tangible visual, so I turned to Prezi for help with representing my ideas.

     The presentation of my re-patterned topic is simply a new way to look at alliteration and some of its key uses in writing. I used appropriate images and engaging examples of phrases related to alliteration in my work. Even though the presentation may seem simple enough, it took time to compose my thoughts and arrange them in a way that made sense. I made sure to be careful about my word choices, and I also revisited and edited my work. I think these new ideas could aid my students in a better understanding of how this type of figurative language can be utilized for creative purposes in their own writing.  

     Patterns really are everywhere. Some are more apparent than others, for example, in math, where they may be more obvious when it comes to solving a problem.  Through my work on this module, I have noticed that some patterns may be more difficult to detect, even though they are there. I have come to find that it does take significant time and practice to notice them. Maybe I have grown accustomed to these repeating patterns in everyday life. I am still applying the ideas I have gained through the readings and using these thoughts to learn the best way to recognize and form patterns. Recognizing a pattern can be valuable because it can allow you to see things in a whole new light. It is not an easy task, so we must challenge ourselves to think differently. In regards to patterns, “Like a good riddle, each nonsense at any age may be a nuisance that reveals a new sense” (Sparks of Creativity, pg. 114). I agree!

Click the link to visit my work:  Re-patterned Topic