Nathaniel Jurkowski is currently a student at …umsl.edu/~wadsworthbrownd/SP13WFTPages/Jurkowski_WEB.pdfNathaniel Jurkowski is currently a student at University of Missouri Saint

Nathaniel Jurkowski is currently a student at University of Missouri Saint Louis. He is

pursuing a secondary education with an emphasis in English degree. In his free time Nathaniel

likes to start writing novels and leave them to continue at a later date. He also enjoys film and

music which is knowledge he can bring into his future classroom. Beyond teaching, Nathaniel is

an all-around open-minded person who hopes to bring out opinions from his students. High

school is where he wants to teach because he can help the older teenagers trying to find their

place in this world. Finding something to pursue for the rest of your life is never an easy

decision, but in his classroom, each student will be pushed and molded to excel in the subject

they’re passionate about.

“How Happy is tHe blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! eacH pray'r accepted, and eacH wisH resign'd;”

-Alexander Pope

*That is me in the middle with my friends Peter, Steven, and Jeff*

Open-Mindedness

A Teacher’s Essay

Nathaniel Jurkowski

Saint Peters, Missouri. January 9, 1991. I was born. My parents tried for many years to

have a baby, and when I finally came into this world, I was viewed as their most special little

gift. That is why my name is Nathaniel, which means gift from God. I can remember how my

mother used to read to me at night. Slowly rocking in her chair, she would read me to sleep if I

was crying (which I was doing all the time I’m told). I recall the smell of the ashes in our

fireplace, and the darkness of the world outside coming through my living room windows. Oh,

what a wonderful time it was back then! My mother used to read a book or two a day, mysteries

of course, so I believe that her love for books rubbed off on me.

What I have always been able to accomplish, and what others may not be able to, is to

look at the big picture of life. I have always been an-open minded individual who looks at both

sides of an argument to find an answer. I like to think of myself as a good listener too, mainly

because of my shyness. I believe these qualities will help me in my future classroom, especially

an English classroom, where open-mindedness and new opinions should be praised.

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow

men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they

come back to us as effects.”

- Herman Melville

The journey to where I am today has been very difficult. At first, I went to community

college thinking I wanted to be a computer programmer. I had to reevaluate my choice because

programming involved math, and I am terrible at math. I figured I would give English a shot, and

low and behold, I loved it. Do not think that I wasn’t reading throughout all this time because I

was. The open-mindedness of English classes was exactly what I was looking for in my college

career. My cousin and his wife are English teachers, and my Aunt is a retired elementary school

teacher. Needless to say, my family is chock full of teachers. I believe that the experiences and

reflections that they discussed with me about their careers helped me choose the path that I am

on today, to become a high school English teacher.

In my future English classroom, I hope to run a class based off of respect and

perseverance. Grades are not going to be the priority in my class: connections, discussions, and

experiences seem more important to me than a measly letter. I want to share what was never

shared to me when I was in high school: how college really operates. I believe that giving my

students this knowledge will better prepare them for their own goals which they will set for

themselves. I remember when I first went to community college, I barely knew how to write, and

yet I was thrown into classes with many papers and reading. I felt like I couldn’t keep up. If a

teacher had taken the time to explain how college works to me, I think I would have felt more

comfortable with the transition.

I hope that when I am leading my future classroom that my students will be able to

express their thoughts and opinions in a comfortable setting. It is not very often that students will

hear the phrase, “What do you think about this section? How would you connect this part with

everyday life?” I believe that with the right motivation all students can become writers, each

different in their own way, because that is how the world works, everyone is different. Within

my classroom there will always be a discussion happening, and I hope that my students will find

out things about their inner selves that they did not realize before. I was never given the chance

to excel at what I was good at, writing, and because of this I want to give every one of my future

students a chance to express themselves, through English, in creative and thought-provoking

ways.

Walking proud through life letting its branches guide the way. A path which seemed to be covered in sunshine...

it must be human, for its qualities seem to outdo even the grandest occupant of the town...

this started to catch the attention of the un-branched... it had never experienced an affection of this kind... a wonderful and frightening new obstacle in its life.

Years went by as it finally found true love... -Between the Buried and Me “Prequel to the Sequel” From the 2007 album, Colors.

The Whiteness of the Whale

11-12th grade American Literature

Nathaniel Jurkowski

Spring 2013

Rationale: Moby Dick by Herman Melville is an important piece of American Literature that I believe all high school

students should be exposed to at some point. This unit will prepare students for college, in which they

will be expected to make connections and to think about humanity within an American Literature course.

Summary:

This unit is designed to expose students to the wonderful literature of Herman Melville in a fun and

exciting way. The unit is going to be set over ten days in which students will read various assigned chapters (my favorites) from the novel Moby Dick, skipping many of the wordy, but intelligent chapters

based all around the whaling industry. Students will skim over a couple chapters a night and come in with

some questions or ideas they found. Furthermore, a discussion will be held each following class period.

This whole unit leads up to a final project in which students will create a fictional, mythical, beast and a fictional man or woman explorer. Once this is complete, the students will be matched randomly to

present.

Objectives: Students will gain knowledge about the novel Moby Dick while exploring their own thoughts and ideas

regarding the book. Also, students will be exposed to a vast amount of literary terms throughout the unit.

Time: 10 Days

Materials & Resources:

The School Will Provide

a) The novel Moby Dick. b) A computer lab (if needed) for the final project

The Teacher Will Provide

a) Class time in the computer lab b) Knowledge about each story

c) Vocabulary handouts to go with the novel.

The Students Will Provide

a) Journals/Notebooks b) Ideas and Questions each day

Strategies: 1) Question of the day 2) Teacher-Student Correspondence

3) Genre project (Final Project on myths and legends)

Means of Assessment:

Formative: a) Day by day writing assignment (Captain’s logs)

b) Writing exercises/discussions of each story

Summative: a) There She Blows! Character Creation Project


Calendar

Day 1: Monday

-Introduce Moby Dick

-Ask chapter 1-5 discussion questions

-Discuss chapters 1-5

-Discuss the term leviathan. -Urge students to find another name for a mythical beast.

-Hand out character reference sheet

-Last 10 minutes – Free writing assignment

-Have everyone pull two random pirate words out of a hat and assign this name to their captain logs.

Day 2: Tuesday

-Return everyone's captain's logs


-Discuss the character reference sheet

-Discuss the terms (Fable, superstition, etc…)

-Discuss the term humanity -Ask if anyone has found another term for the word beast/leviathan.

-Last 10 minutes – Captains logs

Day 3: Wednesday

-Return captain's logs

-Introduce final project of this unit

-Discuss chapters 20-28.

-Introduce the character of Ahab

-Captain's logs

Day 4: Thursday

-Return captain's logs -Assign groups for final project, 2 students per group.



Day 5: Friday



-Discuss the purpose of the whaling industry chapters

-Discuss the term paranormal (The ghost Fedallah)

-Discuss the importance of narrative. (Example: The Town Ho Story) -Last 10 minutes – Captains logs

Day 6: Monday



-Have students write their favorite character on the board

-Have them explain why

-Discuss the importance of character development

-Urge students to put quotes from the novel in their captains logs.


Day 7: Tuesday



-Discuss the term gothic (The Try-Works chapter)

-Have the groups meet for a few minutes


Day 8: Wednesday



-Point out the chapter title, “The Doubloon” -Explain the significance of this chapter

-Each character sees what they most desire within the doubloon.


Day 9:


-Discuss chapter’s 115-End

-Discuss how the end made you feel. (mad, sad, etc...)

-Discuss favorite characters

-Bring up how Moby Dick is regarded in the literature world.

-Discuss human emotion

-Discuss Ahab’s vengeance -Last 10 minutes – Captain’s logs

Day 10:

-Final Project Presentations

-Final Captain’s log

-Discuss Fate vs. Free-will -Discuss Madness and Revenge

-Final novel discussion

“For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the

madness of men”

-Herman Melville


Day 1

Teacher: Nathaniel Jurkowski

Level: 11-12th

Grade

Subject: American Literature

Time Frame: 10 Days

Rationale: The students will identify the various literary elements from the first five chapters of

Moby Dick. While doing so, the students will create their own captains journals to keep with

them for the rest of the unit. I find the most important chapters of this novel to be in the

beginning because of the character development. The first few chapters of this novel may be

confusing so I have made a character sheet for reference.

Objective(s): The students will analyze the meaning behind the first line of the novel, “Call me

Ishmael” and will also explain why Ishmael wants to take the whaling trip in the first place.

Lesson Plan Format: Student centered discussion

Materials Needed: Pencils, paper, Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

Phase 1: - Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick is a very important work of American Literature.

- It is important for students to understand some of the literary concepts of this novel but

there are far too many for just ten days.

-To begin, does anyone have any questions about the novel in general? (Chapter 1)


-I have some questions for you! Why do you think Ishmael decided to go on this whaling

adventure? What does the chapter title, “Loomings” mean to you? How does this title

foreshadow the rest of the novel? What does the last line of the chapter mean to you? Any text to

text, text to self, or text to world connections throughout the five chapters? How does Ishmael

question his humanity? How does Ishmael question his beliefs in regard to Queequeg?

Phase 2:

-Hand out the character reference sheet. This will help the students understand who is

who aboard the ship.

-Continue discussion about the first section of the novel.

-Discuss the term leviathan.

Phase 3:

- For the last ten minutes of class the students will begin a free writing exercise that will

continue throughout the unit. Each day he or she will write down their concerns, problems,

thoughts, ideas, in a captain's log. (Perhaps let each student pick pirate names out of a hat for this

activity) Each day the teacher will take the logs and grade each entry.

Formative Assessment:

-The students will be graded on how well thought out and creative their answers to the

free writing exercise are.

Summative Assessment:

-The Captain’s logs which will lead into a larger end of the unit project.

Homework: -Captain’s logs

Captain’s Log

Pirate Name: __________________ Real Name: ______________________ Questions: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ideas/Opinions: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Day 2

Teacher: Nathaniel Jurkowski

Level: 11-12th

Grade Subject: American Literature

Time Frame: 10 Days

Rationale: Delving deeper into Melville’s Moby Dick, students will identify what kind of

qualities make up a legend or myth. Also, students will obtain a deeper understanding of the

chapters assigned.

Objective(s): The students will discuss chapters 5-15 and identify the terms, myth, legend, beast,

superstition, fable, and fantasy.


Materials Needed: Pencils, paper, Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

Phase 1: -Hand back captain’s logs and explain how they will be graded. Knowledge of the

reading is essential, but connections and opinions are always welcome!

-Ask if anyone as heard of the terms myth and legend. Have students describe what they

think these words could mean. (Fictitious story, often ancient) Discuss superstition; explain how

fables and fantasies have been handed down from generation to generation starting with the

Native American tales.

-Discuss the character reference sheet.


-I have some questions for you! Why do you think Ishmael is so afraid of Queequeg?

What does the chapter title, “A Bosom Friend” mean to you? How does this title foreshadow the

rest of the novel? What happens to Ishmael and Queequeg to make them become friends? Any

text to text, text to self, or text to world connections throughout?

Phase 2:

-Discuss these terms:

-Fable: A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals,

mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized

(given human qualities such as verbal communication), and that illustrates or leads to an

interpretation of a moral lesson (a "moral").

-Myth: Native American Folklore = usually explains how the world came to be.

-Legend: is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to

take place within human history.

-Superstition: that one event leads to the cause of another without any physical process

linking the two events.

-Creature/Monstrosity: an object of great and often frightening size, force, or

complexity.

-Continue discussion about chapters 5-15.

-How has the character of Ishamel developed over the first 15 chapters?

-Has the reading of this novel been tough / dense?

-If you had a chance of a lifetime to go on an adventure would you take it?

-Discuss the term humanity

Phase 3:

-Last ten minutes of class: Captain’s logs




-Participation in the classroom discussion.


-The Captain’s logs which will lead into a larger end of the unit project.

Homework:

-Captain’s logs


Day 10

Teacher: Nathaniel Jurkowski Level: 11-12

th Grade

Subject: American Literature Time Frame: 10 Days

Rationale: Wrapping up the unit, students will create fictional characters and monsters as the

end of the unit activity. Also, there will be a final discussion about the novel.

Objective(s): The students will discuss the final chapters of the novel as well as pair up for the

summative assessment.


Materials Needed: Pencils, paper, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, captains logs,

Phase 1: -Hand back captain’s logs so students can see their final grades.

-Discuss the end of the unit activity

-1 student creates a setting, time, and monster.

-The other student creates a fictional man and his intentions for finding the beast.

-They will then come together to create a small paragraph and present in front of the

class.

EXAMPLE:

It was September 12, 1965. Dan Hemmingway was an explorer who searched day and

night for the mythical Sasquatch high up in the mountains. He hunted the beast with fair

intentions however, as the ‘Squatch had stolen his wedding ring 2 years before. Hemmingway

had one thing on his mind, revenge.

Phase 2:

-Have each group illustrate their creation either by drawing or by using vivid detail while

writing.

-For the last 30 minutes each group will come to the front of the class and describe their

creations and display their pictures or short essays.

Phase 3:

-Discuss Herman Melville’s other short novels to inform the class about the author’s

other works.

-Discuss Fate vs. Free-will

-Discuss Madness and Revenge




-The end of the unit captain’s logs should have 10 entries of at least 1 paragraph for each

day.

-Extra points for creative pirate names!


-The end of the unit character creation activity.

Homework: -None! The unit is finished.

There She Blows! Character Creation Project

1. Choose randomly whether you will be writing about a mythical monster or a fictional explorer.

2. Choose a name! Be creative!

3. Choose the features and characteristics of the made up creation:

a. Body type

b. Country of origin

c. Facial features

d. Language

e. Apparel

f. Accessories… etc.

For a monster/beast:

a. How was it created?

b. Special features

c. Body type (additional arms/legs/eyes/ etc…)

d. Language

e. Choose a setting (Where does your creation live?)

4. Pair up with someone who does not have the same type of creation as you.

5. Discuss how and why the explorer of your group is looking/ hunting the monstrous creation.

6. Write at least a paragraph about how these two interact. (What are the explorers reasoning’s

for hunting the creation? Is it revenge? Is it for fun? Make it creative!

Example: It was September 12, 1965. Dan Hemmingway was an explorer who

searched day and night for the mythical Sasquatch high up in the mountains. He hunted

the beast with insidious intentions, as the ‘Squatch had stolen his wedding ring 2 years

before. Hemmingway had one thing on his mind, revenge.

7. Illustrate your creation! If you are not an artist (I guarantee that I am surely not) you may

choose instead to write a few vivid sentences to flesh out your character description more.

8. Present your results (serious or humorous) to the class.

Rubric for Moby Dick end of unit project

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Characters The character is named and clearly described (through words and/or actions). The audience knows and can describe what the character looks like.

The character isnamed and described (through words and/or actions). The audience has a fairly good idea of what the character looks like.

The character is named. The audience knows very little about the character.

Assignment incomplete.

Voice Always speaks loudly, slowly and clearly. Is easily understood by all audience members all the time

Usually speaks loudly, slowly and clearly. Is easily understood by all audience members almost all the time.

Usually speaks loudly and clearly. Speaks so fast sometimes that audience has trouble understanding.

Speaks too softly or mumbles. The audience often has trouble understanding.

Creativity The presentation is creative and shows a deeper sense of character development.

The presentation is creative but could have used more description.

The presentation lacked motivation/ creativity or assignment is incomplete.

The assignment is incomplete.

Accuracy of Retelling A Story

The storyteller includes all major points and several details of the story s/he is retelling. The presentation is at least 1 paragraph in length.

The storyteller includes all major points and 1-2 details of the story s/he is retelling.The presentation is at least 1 paragraph in length.

The storyteller includes all major points of the story s/he is retelling.The presentation is at least 1 paragraph in length.

The storyteller forgets major points of the story s/he is retelling. The presentation is not complete.

Documents

Nathaniel Jurkowski is currently a student at …umsl.edu/~wadsworthbrownd/SP13WFTPages/Jurkowski_WEB.pdfNathaniel Jurkowski is currently a student at University of Missouri Saint