IOP Brainstorm (Journal #2)

It has been awhile since my last IOP blog and it is not too long before my IOP. So first I am going to list the things I have done and the things I need to do. I am also going to use this blog to organize my thoughts on how I intend to meet and exceed all requirements of the rubric! Yes!

My first blog included what I planned on doing... which is essentially the same as the first two points here, however it is nice for me to get it all down again, and I also want to go into dept.

Things I have done:
-Read the novel (I would hope so!)
-Decided on my topic/book (this was done first). My IOP is on The Handmaid's Tale by a Canadian woman named Margaret Atwood. I will be looking at the different perspectives of the government/society and how a lot of them are the same. I will be using chronology to show how it alters the reader's perspective and also look at how the point of view allows us to view the society and the bias that it causes.
-I want to show the different perspectives using a game of scrabble. This is significant because of how Offred played the game with the commander. To me, the game of scrabble symbolized the society of the past. The game of scrabble is fair because everyone has a chance to win. However, because some people are naturally smarter than others they are able to get ahead. This is how a right society runs. However, in The Handmaid's Tale, people were given advantages and rights randomly or just because of their ability to reproduce. How each person views the game will be different because of the advantages they recieve in the society. I plan on showing this in poster form in the front of the room. The board will be divided into parts with essential quotes as well. I plan on having the class involved in this board game.

What I need to do:
-Figure out a clever way to give a brief overview of the text.
-Figure out a clever opening
-Pick out exact passages
-Plan out the board game

Now I am going to review the rubric
A: Understanding the works -- I understand it!
B: Interpretation and Personal Response- -- I need to be convincing in my argument/thoughts.
C: Presentation- Smooth transitions-- I will work on it
D: Use of Language- This will be difficult for me as I never speak formally. I will try my best. to give "Clear, varied, precise and concise" language.

Now that I have my thoughts all written down, I am going to do some background information on my text because in class Mrs. Wecker mentioned that Tigard students often get marked down on their IB papers because they do not mention the outside world. Although this is a different paper, I feel like it may be nice to know.

After a brief visit to the trustworthy wikipedia, I discovered that Atwood called this novel a speculative fiction and a science fiction book. Meaning she believes that some aspects of this novel are possible where as others are not. Atwood is also involved with politics on the left wing! This is interesting because people generally support change however, her novel involves people that fall under the government without acting against it. Could this be her exaggerating the other views?


I will conclude this journal for now and continue when I have more to talk about. Now that I have a game plan, I feel so much better.