Today I'm going to try and finalize my wedding cupcakes. My theme was white on white with silver embellishments when i was planning to wear the #34, style #FAM6E507 dress shown here:
http://www.maxazria.com/spring2009/
Now that I have a new, more traditionally romantic dress, I'm rethinking that decision. I love the look created on this posting pic and might use it as inspiration for my cakes.
I know that the small details of the wedding day won't be noticeable to anyone but me, but I can't help but regret the change in tone that has occurred with my change in dress. The first dress was, in my opinion, glamorous - an old Hollywood feel - whereas the new dress is much sweeter and pretty.
I've gone from channeling Angelina to becoming Jen Aniston - a change I'm totally comfortable with... except that the original gray, yellow, and orange theme doesn't seem quite right anymore and I don't know how to change it: my two girls have purchased their dresses and the dark gray/pale orange invitations have already gone out.
Thoughts?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Book Suggestion
This one's for the ladies
If you're looking for a summer reading book and have ever wondered about/witnessed/experienced an abusive relationship and asked yourself "Why do women stay?", well here is a memoir that may answer that question, in addition to providing insight into what to watch out for in a relationship.
Leslie Steiner was barely older than you (ok, she was just out of college) when she got a job writing/editing for Seventeen Magazine. Soon after, she met the man of her dreams on the subway. Connor was a charming, Harvard educated, good looking guy who swept her off her feet in a whirlwind relationship that quickly developed into an engagement and subsequent marriage.
5 days before their wedding day, but many months after the first time he verbally abused her, he hit her for the first time. This book is the story of that relationship and how she eventually left.
I hope none of you ever come close to experiencing an abusive relationship like those of Leslie and so many other woman but I know that is wishful thinking. Hopefully, however, if you are one of those woman, this book will make you realize that you are not alone, it is not your fault, it is NOT easy to leave, BUT you can do it!
Check out Crazy Love by Leslie Morgan Steiner. Her voice is clear and the tone of the book makes it easy, addictive reading.
http://www.lesliemorgansteiner.com/
If you're looking for a summer reading book and have ever wondered about/witnessed/experienced an abusive relationship and asked yourself "Why do women stay?", well here is a memoir that may answer that question, in addition to providing insight into what to watch out for in a relationship.
Leslie Steiner was barely older than you (ok, she was just out of college) when she got a job writing/editing for Seventeen Magazine. Soon after, she met the man of her dreams on the subway. Connor was a charming, Harvard educated, good looking guy who swept her off her feet in a whirlwind relationship that quickly developed into an engagement and subsequent marriage.
5 days before their wedding day, but many months after the first time he verbally abused her, he hit her for the first time. This book is the story of that relationship and how she eventually left.
I hope none of you ever come close to experiencing an abusive relationship like those of Leslie and so many other woman but I know that is wishful thinking. Hopefully, however, if you are one of those woman, this book will make you realize that you are not alone, it is not your fault, it is NOT easy to leave, BUT you can do it!
Check out Crazy Love by Leslie Morgan Steiner. Her voice is clear and the tone of the book makes it easy, addictive reading.
http://www.lesliemorgansteiner.com/
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
BUH BYE
Well kids, it's the end of the road and I must say that although it's been bumpy at times, it's been an great journey and I'm glad I was a part of it!
I wish all of you the best of luck in your senior year and please don't hesitate to stop by B22 if you need anything! Each and every one of you impacted my practice; I've learned from all of you and I hope you've learned from me!
You're an awesome group of kids and despite some combinations that drove me a bit crazy at times, I can honestly say that I genuinely like all of you as individuals. Please continue to work hard to be the best student you can be, the best friend you can be, the best child you can be and most importantly, the best person you can possibly be.
Stay true to yourself and remember that you are the only person in this entire world who can control YOU, so think of it as an honor and act accordingly!
Don't forget to check out the school's summer reading website at www.ebnet.org/summerreading and in addition, stay posted to this blog for the big changes that are right around the corner - as of August 29th, I'll no longer be Ms. Weiss and with my new name will come a new blog!
Stay tuned so you can be the first to bookmark the new site when it's up and running and make sure to check in from time to time as seniors to see what's happening in my world!
I'll miss you!!!
Weiss... soon to be La Pointe. I know, weird.
I wish all of you the best of luck in your senior year and please don't hesitate to stop by B22 if you need anything! Each and every one of you impacted my practice; I've learned from all of you and I hope you've learned from me!
You're an awesome group of kids and despite some combinations that drove me a bit crazy at times, I can honestly say that I genuinely like all of you as individuals. Please continue to work hard to be the best student you can be, the best friend you can be, the best child you can be and most importantly, the best person you can possibly be.
Stay true to yourself and remember that you are the only person in this entire world who can control YOU, so think of it as an honor and act accordingly!
Don't forget to check out the school's summer reading website at www.ebnet.org/summerreading and in addition, stay posted to this blog for the big changes that are right around the corner - as of August 29th, I'll no longer be Ms. Weiss and with my new name will come a new blog!
Stay tuned so you can be the first to bookmark the new site when it's up and running and make sure to check in from time to time as seniors to see what's happening in my world!
I'll miss you!!!
Weiss... soon to be La Pointe. I know, weird.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Works Consulted, again.
FYI - this is a LONG blog entry; I've posted SEVERAL other blog entries this weekend, so make sure to scroll down past this one to read the additional blog entries.
HOW TO DO MLA in-text parenthetical citations:
Single author named in parentheses.
The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is referred to as a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (Sennett 11).
Single author named in a signal phrase.
Social historian Richard Sennett names the tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (11).
Two or more authors.
Certain literacy theorists have gone so far as to declare that "the most significant elements of human culture are undoubtedly channeled through words, and reside in the particular range of meanings and attitudes which members of any society attach to their verbal symbols" (Goody and Watt 323).
Corporate author (organization, association, etc.).
The federal government has funded research concerning consumer protection and consumer transactions with online pharmacies (Food and Drug Administration 125).
Works with no author.
Several critics of the concept of the transparent society ask if a large society would be able to handle the complete loss of privacy ("Surveillance Society" 115).
Two or more works by the same author.
In his investigation of social identity, The Uses of Disorder, Sennett defines adulthood as a stage where people "learn to tolerate painful ambiguity and uncertainty" (108).
In a surprising move, Richard Sennett combines the idea of power with that of virtue: "the idea of strength is complex in ordinary life because of what might be called the element of its integrity" (Authority 19).
Work found in an anthology or edited collection.
For an essay, short story, or other document included in an anthology or edited collection, use the name of the author of the work, not the editor of the anthology or collection, but use the page numbers from the anthology or collection.
Lawrence Rosenfield analyzes the way in which New York’s Central Park held a socializing function for nineteenth-century residents similar to that of traditional republican civic oratory (222).
Bible passage.
Unfortunately, the president could not recall the truism that "Wisdom is a fountain to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools" (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Prov. 20-22).
Secondary source of a quotation (someone quoted within the text of another author).
As Erickson reminds us, the early psychoanalysts focused on a single objective: "introspective honesty in the service of self enlightenment" (qtd. in Weiland 42).
Web page.
Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was designated as a National Historical Site in 1959 (National Park Service).
HOW TO DO A WORKS CONSULTED:
This project will also include a Works Consulted, as opposed to a Works Cited - this means that all genres gathered for the project will be presented in this document, as follows:
Print Magazine:
Gawande, Atul. "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Eating." New Yorker
9 Jul. 2001: 66-75. Print.
Online Magazine:
Saletan, William. "The Ethicist's New Clothes." Slate.com. Slate,
16 August 2001. Web. 17 August 2001.
Full Text Article from Database:
Gore, Rick. "Pharaohs of the Sun." National Geographic Apr. 2001.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Aug. 2001.
Books with a Single Author:
Fleming, Thomas. Liberty!: The American Revolution.
New York: Viking, 1997. Print.
Two Authors:
Sennett, Richard, and Jonathan Cobb. The Hidden Injuries of Class.
New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Print.
Encyclopedia and other Multi Volume Works:
Lumiansky, R.M. "Chaucer." The New Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Macropaedia. 15th ed. 1998. Print.
Print Newspaper:
Holden, Stephen. "Frank Sinatra Dies at 82; Matchless Stylist of Pop."
New York Times 16 May 1998, natl. ed.: A1+. Print.
Online Newspaper:
Wright, Steven. "Curriculum 2000 Draws Criticism." The Chronicle:
the Independent Daily at Duke University. 25 Jan. 2001.
Web. 7 Nov. 2001.
A Letter:
Miller, Ella. Letter to Ella V. Rinker. Mar. 1865. MS. Ella V. Rinker
and Reuben E. Hammon Papers. Rare Book, Manuscript
and Special Collections Lib., Duke U, Durham, NC.
An Interview:
Elloie, Pealie Hardin. Interview with Kate Ellis. Behind the Veil:
Documenting African-American Life in the Jim
Crow South. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Lib., Duke U, Durham, NC. 15 July 1994.
Audiocassette.
A Film:
Platoon. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and
Charlie Sheen. Hemdale Film Corporation, 1986.
Videocassette.
A Website:
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site. National Park
Service, 11 Feb. 2003. Web. 13 Feb. 2003.
< HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/abli/" http://www.nps.gov/abli/>.
Online Posting:
Casper, Karl. "Re: Watered Down Curricula." Math Forum. Drexel
U., 1 Oct. 2001. Web. 26 Oct. 2001. < HYPERLINK "http://mathforum.org/" http://mathforum.org/>
Email:
Baker, Virginia. "Tips for finding sources." Message to Jane Robinson.
28 Oct. 2002. E-mail.
Book Review:
Salinger, Sharon V. Rev. of Not All Wives: Women of Colonial
Philadelphia, by Karin Wulf. The Journal of American
History 88 (2001): 184-185. Print.
Government Document:
United States. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Hearing on the
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998. 105th Cong.,2nd sess. S.J. Res. 1529. Washington: GPO, 1999. Print.
You Tube:
Shimabukuro, Jake. "Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro." 04 April 2008. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 22 April 2006. < HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k>
Podcast:
Mondello, Bob. "Charlton Heston, Old-School Gentleman, Dies at 84." 8 May 2008. Podcast. "NPR Movies." National Public Radio. 10 April 2008. < HYPERLINK "http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89421208" http://www.npr.org/ templates/story/story.php?storyId=89421208>
Television News Program:
"Torture." Narr. Scott Pelley. Sixty Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 30 March 2008.
Television Show:
"Trash of the Titans." The Simpsons, Season 9. Dir. Jim Reardon, Mark Kirkland, et al. Voices: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer. CBS. KPIX, San Francisco. 10 September 2006.
Work of Art:
Artist's last name, first name. Title of the work. Museum, City.
HOW TO CITE IMAGES:
http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/daap/resources/Citing%20Images2.pdf
HOW TO CITE MUSIC:
http://library.otterbein.edu/tutorial/Citing%20Sources%20for%20Music.pdf
HOW TO DO MLA in-text parenthetical citations:
Single author named in parentheses.
The tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences is referred to as a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (Sennett 11).
Single author named in a signal phrase.
Social historian Richard Sennett names the tendency to come to terms with difficult experiences a "purification process" whereby "threatening or painful dissonances are warded off to preserve intact a clear and articulated image of oneself and one’s place in the world" (11).
Two or more authors.
Certain literacy theorists have gone so far as to declare that "the most significant elements of human culture are undoubtedly channeled through words, and reside in the particular range of meanings and attitudes which members of any society attach to their verbal symbols" (Goody and Watt 323).
Corporate author (organization, association, etc.).
The federal government has funded research concerning consumer protection and consumer transactions with online pharmacies (Food and Drug Administration 125).
Works with no author.
Several critics of the concept of the transparent society ask if a large society would be able to handle the complete loss of privacy ("Surveillance Society" 115).
Two or more works by the same author.
In his investigation of social identity, The Uses of Disorder, Sennett defines adulthood as a stage where people "learn to tolerate painful ambiguity and uncertainty" (108).
In a surprising move, Richard Sennett combines the idea of power with that of virtue: "the idea of strength is complex in ordinary life because of what might be called the element of its integrity" (Authority 19).
Work found in an anthology or edited collection.
For an essay, short story, or other document included in an anthology or edited collection, use the name of the author of the work, not the editor of the anthology or collection, but use the page numbers from the anthology or collection.
Lawrence Rosenfield analyzes the way in which New York’s Central Park held a socializing function for nineteenth-century residents similar to that of traditional republican civic oratory (222).
Bible passage.
Unfortunately, the president could not recall the truism that "Wisdom is a fountain to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools" (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Prov. 20-22).
Secondary source of a quotation (someone quoted within the text of another author).
As Erickson reminds us, the early psychoanalysts focused on a single objective: "introspective honesty in the service of self enlightenment" (qtd. in Weiland 42).
Web page.
Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was designated as a National Historical Site in 1959 (National Park Service).
HOW TO DO A WORKS CONSULTED:
This project will also include a Works Consulted, as opposed to a Works Cited - this means that all genres gathered for the project will be presented in this document, as follows:
Print Magazine:
Gawande, Atul. "The Man Who Couldn't Stop Eating." New Yorker
9 Jul. 2001: 66-75. Print.
Online Magazine:
Saletan, William. "The Ethicist's New Clothes." Slate.com. Slate,
16 August 2001. Web. 17 August 2001.
Full Text Article from Database:
Gore, Rick. "Pharaohs of the Sun." National Geographic Apr. 2001.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Aug. 2001.
Books with a Single Author:
Fleming, Thomas. Liberty!: The American Revolution.
New York: Viking, 1997. Print.
Two Authors:
Sennett, Richard, and Jonathan Cobb. The Hidden Injuries of Class.
New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Print.
Encyclopedia and other Multi Volume Works:
Lumiansky, R.M. "Chaucer." The New Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Macropaedia. 15th ed. 1998. Print.
Print Newspaper:
Holden, Stephen. "Frank Sinatra Dies at 82; Matchless Stylist of Pop."
New York Times 16 May 1998, natl. ed.: A1+. Print.
Online Newspaper:
Wright, Steven. "Curriculum 2000 Draws Criticism." The Chronicle:
the Independent Daily at Duke University. 25 Jan. 2001.
Web. 7 Nov. 2001.
A Letter:
Miller, Ella. Letter to Ella V. Rinker. Mar. 1865. MS. Ella V. Rinker
and Reuben E. Hammon Papers. Rare Book, Manuscript
and Special Collections Lib., Duke U, Durham, NC.
An Interview:
Elloie, Pealie Hardin. Interview with Kate Ellis. Behind the Veil:
Documenting African-American Life in the Jim
Crow South. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Lib., Duke U, Durham, NC. 15 July 1994.
Audiocassette.
A Film:
Platoon. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and
Charlie Sheen. Hemdale Film Corporation, 1986.
Videocassette.
A Website:
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site. National Park
Service, 11 Feb. 2003. Web. 13 Feb. 2003.
< HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/abli/" http://www.nps.gov/abli/>.
Online Posting:
Casper, Karl. "Re: Watered Down Curricula." Math Forum. Drexel
U., 1 Oct. 2001. Web. 26 Oct. 2001. < HYPERLINK "http://mathforum.org/" http://mathforum.org/>
Email:
Baker, Virginia. "Tips for finding sources." Message to Jane Robinson.
28 Oct. 2002. E-mail.
Book Review:
Salinger, Sharon V. Rev. of Not All Wives: Women of Colonial
Philadelphia, by Karin Wulf. The Journal of American
History 88 (2001): 184-185. Print.
Government Document:
United States. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Hearing on the
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998. 105th Cong.,2nd sess. S.J. Res. 1529. Washington: GPO, 1999. Print.
You Tube:
Shimabukuro, Jake. "Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro." 04 April 2008. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 22 April 2006. < HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k>
Podcast:
Mondello, Bob. "Charlton Heston, Old-School Gentleman, Dies at 84." 8 May 2008. Podcast. "NPR Movies." National Public Radio. 10 April 2008. < HYPERLINK "http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89421208" http://www.npr.org/ templates/story/story.php?storyId=89421208>
Television News Program:
"Torture." Narr. Scott Pelley. Sixty Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 30 March 2008.
Television Show:
"Trash of the Titans." The Simpsons, Season 9. Dir. Jim Reardon, Mark Kirkland, et al. Voices: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer. CBS. KPIX, San Francisco. 10 September 2006.
Work of Art:
Artist's last name, first name. Title of the work. Museum, City.
HOW TO CITE IMAGES:
http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/daap/resources/Citing%20Images2.pdf
HOW TO CITE MUSIC:
http://library.otterbein.edu/tutorial/Citing%20Sources%20for%20Music.pdf
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Statement of Discovery
Here's an example of a Statement of Discovery:
When I began this project, I wanted to explore the 30 years of friendship I’ve had with my childhood girlfriends. My main focus, I thought, was going to center on two recent instances that pulled the six of us closer together and so I began my research by searching for genre sources based on those two incidents: my one girlfriend's pregnancy and my other friend's recent diagnosis.
I chose my first set of genre sources from my personal documents, pulling from electronic sources such as online conversations, emails, Facebook threads, and articles and also a hardcopy source, in the form of a thank you note. Beginning with a visual source, a picture of my friends and I taken at a baby shower a few weeks ago, I set out to discover the basis of this long lasting friendship by first analyzing the details of that still image. From there, I moved on to comparing two textual sources related to the photo in an attempt to further the meaning behind the image and connect it to my topic at large.
At that point, I realized that I had spent pages talking about my friends but I had only gone into detail about a few of them, so I decided to shift my focus for a moment and describe each of the girls and how we met. I felt this was imperative since a significant amount of attention had been focused on the longevity of our friendship; I want to afford my reader an opportunity to meet each girl as I did, all those years ago.
At that point, I sourced additional genres because I knew I wanted to segue from the role my friend's pregnancy played in reuniting our friendship circle to the role our other friend's diagnosis had in strengthening it. I turned to a well known literary friendship, that of deceased poet Lucy Grealy and current contemporary fiction novelist, Ann Patchett.
Their story served as a meaningful transition between the two parts of the story I was trying to tell and in the end, I discovered that it was the second story that was the most powerful part of the project, which is why I spent 13 pages writing the story that she told to me.
I believe that story says everything about friendship that needs to be said; the discovery and the telling of that story is that makes this project meaningful. This project afforded me an opportunity to take time to explore something that is often taken for granted - the value of our personal relationships and in the end, I've realized just how fortunate I am to have such a lovely circle of friends.
When I began this project, I wanted to explore the 30 years of friendship I’ve had with my childhood girlfriends. My main focus, I thought, was going to center on two recent instances that pulled the six of us closer together and so I began my research by searching for genre sources based on those two incidents: my one girlfriend's pregnancy and my other friend's recent diagnosis.
I chose my first set of genre sources from my personal documents, pulling from electronic sources such as online conversations, emails, Facebook threads, and articles and also a hardcopy source, in the form of a thank you note. Beginning with a visual source, a picture of my friends and I taken at a baby shower a few weeks ago, I set out to discover the basis of this long lasting friendship by first analyzing the details of that still image. From there, I moved on to comparing two textual sources related to the photo in an attempt to further the meaning behind the image and connect it to my topic at large.
At that point, I realized that I had spent pages talking about my friends but I had only gone into detail about a few of them, so I decided to shift my focus for a moment and describe each of the girls and how we met. I felt this was imperative since a significant amount of attention had been focused on the longevity of our friendship; I want to afford my reader an opportunity to meet each girl as I did, all those years ago.
At that point, I sourced additional genres because I knew I wanted to segue from the role my friend's pregnancy played in reuniting our friendship circle to the role our other friend's diagnosis had in strengthening it. I turned to a well known literary friendship, that of deceased poet Lucy Grealy and current contemporary fiction novelist, Ann Patchett.
Their story served as a meaningful transition between the two parts of the story I was trying to tell and in the end, I discovered that it was the second story that was the most powerful part of the project, which is why I spent 13 pages writing the story that she told to me.
I believe that story says everything about friendship that needs to be said; the discovery and the telling of that story is that makes this project meaningful. This project afforded me an opportunity to take time to explore something that is often taken for granted - the value of our personal relationships and in the end, I've realized just how fortunate I am to have such a lovely circle of friends.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Multigenre Help
OK - this is your last bit of help:
Don't forget:
- Title Page with the name of your project, centered, with your name centered beneath
- Table of Contents (don't forget to number your pages)
- Statement of Purpose
- SIX separate modes of expression on your SIX genre sources; don't forget to include a minimum of TWO secondary extensions in the form of footnotes
- Statement of Discovery
- Works Consulted for all TEN sources
Here's a sample of my Works Consulted:
Works Consulted
Black, Erica A. Thank-You Note to Ali Weiss. June 2009. Ali Weiss Papers. Hoboken, NJ.
Black, Erica, Jennifer Donohoe, Caryn Miller, Heather Agler Roth, Ali
Weiss, Amy Welliver. "Re: Yippee and Yahoo." Facebook. 5 June 2009. Web. 8 June 2009..
Donohoe, Jennifer. “hey…”. Message to Ali Weiss. 9 June 2009. E-mail.
Grealy, Lucy. “Autobiography of a Face.” New York. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.
Grealy, Sue Ellen. “Hijacked by Grief.” The Guardian. 7 August 2004. Web. 6 June 2009.
Patchett, Ann. Truth and Beauty: A Friendship. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.
Sparks, Muriel. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999.
Six Friends at Christmastime. December 27th, 2008. Photograph. Courtesy of Ali Weiss
Six Friends in Lewisburg, PA. May 24th, 2009. Photograph. Courtesy of Ali Weiss.
Wodehouse, Suzanne. “Re: Keeping it real since 1973”. Facebook. 26 May 2009. Web. 8 June 2009..
If you have further questions, email me at readwriteweiss@gmail.com and I'll get back to you at some point over the weekend.
And yes, it is due on MONDAY the 15th, NO EXCEPTIONS!
Don't forget:
- Title Page with the name of your project, centered, with your name centered beneath
- Table of Contents (don't forget to number your pages)
- Statement of Purpose
- SIX separate modes of expression on your SIX genre sources; don't forget to include a minimum of TWO secondary extensions in the form of footnotes
- Statement of Discovery
- Works Consulted for all TEN sources
Here's a sample of my Works Consulted:
Works Consulted
Black, Erica A. Thank-You Note to Ali Weiss. June 2009. Ali Weiss Papers. Hoboken, NJ.
Black, Erica, Jennifer Donohoe, Caryn Miller, Heather Agler Roth, Ali
Weiss, Amy Welliver. "Re: Yippee and Yahoo." Facebook. 5 June 2009. Web. 8 June 2009.
Donohoe, Jennifer. “hey…”. Message to Ali Weiss. 9 June 2009. E-mail.
Grealy, Lucy. “Autobiography of a Face.” New York. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.
Grealy, Sue Ellen. “Hijacked by Grief.” The Guardian. 7 August 2004. Web. 6 June 2009.
Patchett, Ann. Truth and Beauty: A Friendship. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.
Sparks, Muriel. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999.
Six Friends at Christmastime. December 27th, 2008. Photograph. Courtesy of Ali Weiss
Six Friends in Lewisburg, PA. May 24th, 2009. Photograph. Courtesy of Ali Weiss.
Wodehouse, Suzanne. “Re: Keeping it real since 1973”. Facebook. 26 May 2009. Web. 8 June 2009.
If you have further questions, email me at readwriteweiss@gmail.com and I'll get back to you at some point over the weekend.
And yes, it is due on MONDAY the 15th, NO EXCEPTIONS!
IN DA CLUB
In honor of the end of the school year, if you mention that you read this blog posting over the weekend by saying the phrase "gee, Ms. Weiss, I'm sure glad we're out of the media center and back In Da Club", I'll show your class my infamous dance video.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Multigenre Research and Writing Project
Hey kids - Copy and paste this into a WORD document, print it out and bring it to class on Monday.
MULTIGENRE RESEARCH MODES
Creative Original: A Creative Original work is one that is inspired by your sources but does not contain any part(s) of your original source(s). It follows the form of the source, but its content is original. It does not include citations and its creation is credited to you alone.
Ex: A Creative Original could be a poem that you wrote, a personal essay, a short story, a brochure, an advice column, a work of art, a collage, etc. The projects you completed this year for The Thirteenth Tale fit into this category, the Hornby Model Essay, and the 13 Ways poems are all examples of Creative Originals.
Parenthetical Creative Original: A Parenthetical Creative Original work is one that is inspired by your sources and contains part(s) or your original source(s). It is your creative original work supported with evidence from the source(s) and includes parenthetical citations.
Ex: A Parenthetical Creative Original could be a poem, short story, personal essay, advice column, letter, diary entry, song lyrics, etc. that includes supporting evidence in the form of direct quotes from a primary source(s). The Porphyria’s Lover letters, Macbeth journal entries/letters, Freedom Writer prompt responses are all examples of Parenthetical Creative Originals.
Visual Primary Analytical: A Visual Primary Analytical work is one that focuses on studying the details of a primary source in order to draw conclusions about that source alone.
Ex: After looking at a photograph of your grandparents and considering their body language, you make an assumption about their relationship, citing details from the photograph as supporting evidence.
Textual Primary Analytical: A Textual Primary Analytical work is one that focuses on studying the written details of a primary source in order to draw conclusions about that source alone.
Ex: After reading an entry from your grandmother’s diary, you make an assumption about your grandparent’s relationship, citing direct details from the entry as supporting evidence.
Visual Primary Comparative: A Visual Primary Comparative work is one that focuses on comparing the details of two or more visual primary sources in order to draw a conclusion about your topic.
Ex: After looking at three different photographs - one each of your maternal grandparents, paternal grandparents and your parents - you arrive at the conclusion that of the three couples, your parent’s relationship is the most natural and authentic, citing details from the three photographs as supporting evidence.
Textual Primary Comparative: A Textual Primary Comparative work is one that focuses on studying the written details of multiple primary sources in order to draw conclusions about your topic.
Ex: After reading an entry each from your maternal grandmother’s diary, a letter written to your paternal grandmother from your paternal grandfather, and a note written to your dad from your mom, you think it is clear that your parents married for love and not obligation. You write this up using direct quotes from each source to support your conclusion.
Secondary Extension: A Secondary Extension is research that grows out of your primary exploration and answer questions that arose during your research by providing expert support or clarification in the form of a footnote.
Ex: During an interview with your mother, she mentions that she met your father a week after her 22nd birthday, while watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform at the first Lalapalooza concert. Later in the interview, she mentions that she was born in 1953, making her currently 56 years old. You find it hard to believe that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were performing back in 1975, so you Google the date of that concert and discover it was held in 1991. Your Secondary Extension clarifies the information presented in this interview in the form of a footnote that cites information from the secondary Google source.
Multigenre Research Project Instructions
Step 1: Gather at least 10 genre sources; your final project must explore a minimum of 7 genres. You are required to include a literary source, a visual source, a technological source, and an interview. You may choose the additional 3 genres. You will receive a grade for including the required genres; each required genre included in the final project is worth 5 points, for a total of 20 points.
Due Dates:
Tuesday, June 2nd: 5 sources due for approval, 10 points
Thursday, June 4th: 5 additional sources due for approval, 1
Step 2: Your project will begin with a Statement of Purpose that explains how your project topic evolved from the course studies. This must be typed and double spaced, organized by paragraphs, and include a direct quote from the primary source that reveals what in that source gave you pause and lead to your topic. The rough draft is worth 10 points, final draft is worth 15 points.
Due Date:
Wednesday, June 3rd: Statement of Purpose rough draft due, typed. 10 points.
Step 3: You will explore your 7 genres in seven separate parts; each part is worth 20 points. You are required to include the following 4 modes of writing:
a Creative original
a Parenthetical Creative Original
a Visual OR a Textual Primary Analytical
a Visual OR a Textual Primary Comparative
Your three remaining genres can be explored in the mode of your choice, but 2 must include the following:
a Secondary Extension (included in the form of footnotes)
Due Dates:
Monday, June 8th: Rough drafts of 2 parts, 10 points each
Wednesday, June 10th: Rough drafts of 2 additional parts, 10 points each
Friday, June 12th: Rough draft of 2 additional parts, 10 points each
Step 4: All parts MUST be labeled with the appropriate mode. Each part of the project is worth 20 points; failure to label the mode of each part of your project will result in the automatic deduction of 3 points, per unlabeled mode.
Step 5: Your project will end with a one page, typed and double spaced Statement of Discovery that must be organized into paragraphs. This statement will trace the discoveries you made from the beginning until the end of the project and will draw a conclusion
regarding your topic. This Statement of Discovery is worth 15 points.
Step 6: Works Consulted, 10 points.
Final Project Due Date:
The complete project is due on Monday, June 15th. Since there are not rough drafts due of the Statement of Discovery or the Works Consulted, they must be included in the final project or you will receive a zero on those parts of the project. For each day the project is late (including handing it in after class has ended on the due date), 10% will be deducted from the final grade.
NO PROJECT WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH.
Breakdown of Grade:
Inclusion of four required modes: 20 points
Source Approval: 20 points
Statement of Purpose RD: 10 points
Statement of Purpose FD: 15 points
Separate Parts, RD: 10 points each/60
Separate Parts, FD: 20 points each/140
Statement of Discovery: 15 points
Works Consulted: 10
Total Points: 300
List of Genre Ideas
Literary Source
This is the most important requirement of this project - you must include a literary genre as a primary source in order to explain how your project evolved from our work in class this year or if your project topic stemmed from one of the film units studied during this course, you must then include a literary genre as a Textual Primary Analytical or a Textual Primary Comparative. This source may be a play, poem, novel or essay.
You may also include literary source as a Creative Original if you want to write a poem or a super flash fiction story (limited to 2 typed, double spaced pages), or a one act play.
Advice columns
Examine one(s) found in magazines(s) or newspaper(s) as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. An advice column features a letter from a reader who needs advice or help and a response from the columnist whose expertise allows him or her to sincerely give this help. You should consult a real column in a newspaper to see how you could format yours.
Campaign speech
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. If you create one, remember that politicians who are running for office give speeches that they hope will get them elected. These speeches usually include the person's views on important issues as well as statements that they hope will help voters understand what kind of people they are.
Map w/ legend
Examine a map as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Your map should be hand made to represent the "geography" of your concept. Make a legend to help the reader understand your map. Look at a highway map for an example, but also, try to find old maps to see their artistry. You can model your map after either kind.
Collage
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Create a collage of images that represent the key ideas you are representing. The collage can include words and phrases to reinforce ideas.
Diary Entry
Examine a diary entry as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A personal diary is a daily journal, a recording of the significant moments of the day. It begins with the date. Some diary writers begin, "Dear Diary," but that's not a rule. Since a diary is meant to be personal, it often reveals feelings and thoughts that people tend to keep private. You should include diary entries for several days. This genre is a good way to show a process over time.
Interview
Examine or conduct one for use as a primary source. Determine appropriate questions to ask an interviewee by following this guideline: First, get the facts. Next, ask your interviewee to clarify what has been said. (What do you mean by...?) Then the interviewer is supposed to verify information given, provide any follow-up questions, and provide closure to the discussion. Interview either two different people on the same subject in order to draw a conclusion or interview the same person on the same subject at two separate times to see if their answers vary.
Travel poster
Analyze a travel poster as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. You can use graphics, photos, or drawings to reveal a certain place in the world relevant to your topic. Make sure you use the space on you poster/web site effectively. Capture the viewers attention and keep it. Your travel poster should reveal the essence of the destination and what it has to offer. Keep the design simple yet inclusive of all necessary information. Achieve unity in the design by the use of balance and repetition.
Personal Essay
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Most personal essays fall into one of three styles: an amusing commentary, a description of an event whose consequences are emotionally charged or easy to relate to, and finally, a personal point of view about something serious. The common elements that personal commentaries share are that they reveal something about the author and they have a single, central theme.
Photograph
Examine as a primary source or take your own for use as part of a Creative Original work. Please do not include heirloom photography or pictures from your parents’ albums/collections. Instead, please photocopy, scan, or print the picture in order to avoid losing or ruining the original. If it is a picture from your own collection, please think carefully before submitting an original, as I can not guarantee its return.
Advertisement
Examine a magazine article as a primary source or create a one page advertisement like you'd see in a magazine. You want to get your reader's attention, demonstrate the need for what you are selling, and show how your product/service will satisfy that need. Study professional ads to see how these goals are accomplished and use
those examples as your models.
CD cover
Examine a CD cover as a primary source or create art work for the front of one as a Creative Original. If you create, include the name of the band and the title of the CD. Then, on another "square," include your list of song titles. CDs generally have between 10-13 songs. Finally, include the lyrics to one song or liner notes. Liner notes are notes about the making of the CD, the experiences of the band, or other informative details that would be of interest to the listener. See a real CD or album for a model of how yours might look.
Post card
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A post card must have three parts. On the front is the picture and a greeting, such as "Hello from Ontario," or "Wish you were skiing with us." On the back are the address and stamp to the right and the message to the left. People generally write in small print on postcards to let them say everything they want to say or they may write brief ideas. Be sure that each word in your message counts or means something.
Grocery list
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. We can tell a lot about people, sometimes, by what they buy at the store. For example, someone who never buys any fresh fruits or vegetables may not be eating healthy, well balanced meals. This list can also extend beyond the grocery store to a different store or a list of things to do. Your list should reflect some aspect of a person's preferences or habits. You should include a title at the top, such as "groceries," or "camping supplies," or "what to pack." You must have at least 20 items on your list.
A Memory
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A memory is similar to a monologue in that it is the reflection of one speaker. To write a memory is to single out an important event from the past and recall its details (who, what, when, and where) and to write also about why the memory is important. How did the event change the person (speaker, narrator) or why does it still come to mind? Why was this event important? Memories are written in first person point of view and should be full of details that make the event seem true to life. Your reader should be able to visualize the event, almost as if he or she were there.
Graph/chart
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Create a graph or chart in Excel or on paper. Make sure that the graph or chart is complete with details, numbers, percents, etc. The graph or chart should be able to be read without additional explanation. See other charts or graphs in textbooks, newspapers, or magazines to use as examples. Add a paragraph explaining the data, if you need it.
One act play
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A one act play introduces characters in a conflict that is resolved in one act. Before writing your own, read a one act play to give you an idea of how to proceed. The play must be written using the typical conventions of a play or drama.
Announcement
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. We hear announcements each day in school. There are also announcements in church or before a meeting. Announcements alert people to important events that are coming up. Create an announcement that gives critical information about an upcoming event: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Top the announcement with an attention-getting label, such as "Attention all athletes," or "important information for all drivers."
Song/ballad
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Write lyrics to a song or ballad (a song that tells a story). You should have several verses. Think of the main ideas you want the song to express. Remember that songs are to be sung, so think of that as you compose. If you're really adventurous, record your song and make your genre an audio file. Look at the structures of some of your favorite songs to use for examples.
Eyewitness account/Interview
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. When important events happen, someone is generally there to see it happen. An eyewitness is asked to give details about exactly what happened, when it happened and how it happened. The eyewitness would provide specific, concrete details like colors, sizes, distances, times, etc. that make the account as factual as possible. While not everyone sees an event in the exact same way, eyewitness accounts help us put the event into perspective. The account could be prompted by a reporter's or a police officer's questions.
Illustration
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. An illustration is a drawing that illustrates a concept or an idea. It is often accompanied by labels or margin notes to explain aspects of the drawing. An illustration is often done in ink on white paper and is detailed. Think of how a scientist illustrates the process of cell reproduction or how a naturalist illustrates the stages maples trees go through during the four seasons.
Work of Art
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A work of art can be incorporated as a primary source by including a picture of the work found in a book, online, or taken in person. You can create your own work of art if you are an artist and it can take the form of print work, painting, sketching, drawing, sculpture, etc.
Recipe
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A recipe includes a list of ingredients, directions for mixing, combining, preparing, baking or cooking and serving. To create a recipe for something non food, such as peace or health or a good marriage, think of the essential ingredients. What does it take to be healthy or what are the things a couple must have for a good marriage? List these ingredients. Then show how these ingredients are used or managed. The recipe should be written in typical recipe form. See samples of recipes from magazines or cookbooks for examples. You must create your own, original recipe.
Blog
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.
MULTIGENRE RESEARCH MODES
Creative Original: A Creative Original work is one that is inspired by your sources but does not contain any part(s) of your original source(s). It follows the form of the source, but its content is original. It does not include citations and its creation is credited to you alone.
Ex: A Creative Original could be a poem that you wrote, a personal essay, a short story, a brochure, an advice column, a work of art, a collage, etc. The projects you completed this year for The Thirteenth Tale fit into this category, the Hornby Model Essay, and the 13 Ways poems are all examples of Creative Originals.
Parenthetical Creative Original: A Parenthetical Creative Original work is one that is inspired by your sources and contains part(s) or your original source(s). It is your creative original work supported with evidence from the source(s) and includes parenthetical citations.
Ex: A Parenthetical Creative Original could be a poem, short story, personal essay, advice column, letter, diary entry, song lyrics, etc. that includes supporting evidence in the form of direct quotes from a primary source(s). The Porphyria’s Lover letters, Macbeth journal entries/letters, Freedom Writer prompt responses are all examples of Parenthetical Creative Originals.
Visual Primary Analytical: A Visual Primary Analytical work is one that focuses on studying the details of a primary source in order to draw conclusions about that source alone.
Ex: After looking at a photograph of your grandparents and considering their body language, you make an assumption about their relationship, citing details from the photograph as supporting evidence.
Textual Primary Analytical: A Textual Primary Analytical work is one that focuses on studying the written details of a primary source in order to draw conclusions about that source alone.
Ex: After reading an entry from your grandmother’s diary, you make an assumption about your grandparent’s relationship, citing direct details from the entry as supporting evidence.
Visual Primary Comparative: A Visual Primary Comparative work is one that focuses on comparing the details of two or more visual primary sources in order to draw a conclusion about your topic.
Ex: After looking at three different photographs - one each of your maternal grandparents, paternal grandparents and your parents - you arrive at the conclusion that of the three couples, your parent’s relationship is the most natural and authentic, citing details from the three photographs as supporting evidence.
Textual Primary Comparative: A Textual Primary Comparative work is one that focuses on studying the written details of multiple primary sources in order to draw conclusions about your topic.
Ex: After reading an entry each from your maternal grandmother’s diary, a letter written to your paternal grandmother from your paternal grandfather, and a note written to your dad from your mom, you think it is clear that your parents married for love and not obligation. You write this up using direct quotes from each source to support your conclusion.
Secondary Extension: A Secondary Extension is research that grows out of your primary exploration and answer questions that arose during your research by providing expert support or clarification in the form of a footnote.
Ex: During an interview with your mother, she mentions that she met your father a week after her 22nd birthday, while watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform at the first Lalapalooza concert. Later in the interview, she mentions that she was born in 1953, making her currently 56 years old. You find it hard to believe that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were performing back in 1975, so you Google the date of that concert and discover it was held in 1991. Your Secondary Extension clarifies the information presented in this interview in the form of a footnote that cites information from the secondary Google source.
Multigenre Research Project Instructions
Step 1: Gather at least 10 genre sources; your final project must explore a minimum of 7 genres. You are required to include a literary source, a visual source, a technological source, and an interview. You may choose the additional 3 genres. You will receive a grade for including the required genres; each required genre included in the final project is worth 5 points, for a total of 20 points.
Due Dates:
Tuesday, June 2nd: 5 sources due for approval, 10 points
Thursday, June 4th: 5 additional sources due for approval, 1
Step 2: Your project will begin with a Statement of Purpose that explains how your project topic evolved from the course studies. This must be typed and double spaced, organized by paragraphs, and include a direct quote from the primary source that reveals what in that source gave you pause and lead to your topic. The rough draft is worth 10 points, final draft is worth 15 points.
Due Date:
Wednesday, June 3rd: Statement of Purpose rough draft due, typed. 10 points.
Step 3: You will explore your 7 genres in seven separate parts; each part is worth 20 points. You are required to include the following 4 modes of writing:
a Creative original
a Parenthetical Creative Original
a Visual OR a Textual Primary Analytical
a Visual OR a Textual Primary Comparative
Your three remaining genres can be explored in the mode of your choice, but 2 must include the following:
a Secondary Extension (included in the form of footnotes)
Due Dates:
Monday, June 8th: Rough drafts of 2 parts, 10 points each
Wednesday, June 10th: Rough drafts of 2 additional parts, 10 points each
Friday, June 12th: Rough draft of 2 additional parts, 10 points each
Step 4: All parts MUST be labeled with the appropriate mode. Each part of the project is worth 20 points; failure to label the mode of each part of your project will result in the automatic deduction of 3 points, per unlabeled mode.
Step 5: Your project will end with a one page, typed and double spaced Statement of Discovery that must be organized into paragraphs. This statement will trace the discoveries you made from the beginning until the end of the project and will draw a conclusion
regarding your topic. This Statement of Discovery is worth 15 points.
Step 6: Works Consulted, 10 points.
Final Project Due Date:
The complete project is due on Monday, June 15th. Since there are not rough drafts due of the Statement of Discovery or the Works Consulted, they must be included in the final project or you will receive a zero on those parts of the project. For each day the project is late (including handing it in after class has ended on the due date), 10% will be deducted from the final grade.
NO PROJECT WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH.
Breakdown of Grade:
Inclusion of four required modes: 20 points
Source Approval: 20 points
Statement of Purpose RD: 10 points
Statement of Purpose FD: 15 points
Separate Parts, RD: 10 points each/60
Separate Parts, FD: 20 points each/140
Statement of Discovery: 15 points
Works Consulted: 10
Total Points: 300
List of Genre Ideas
Literary Source
This is the most important requirement of this project - you must include a literary genre as a primary source in order to explain how your project evolved from our work in class this year or if your project topic stemmed from one of the film units studied during this course, you must then include a literary genre as a Textual Primary Analytical or a Textual Primary Comparative. This source may be a play, poem, novel or essay.
You may also include literary source as a Creative Original if you want to write a poem or a super flash fiction story (limited to 2 typed, double spaced pages), or a one act play.
Advice columns
Examine one(s) found in magazines(s) or newspaper(s) as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. An advice column features a letter from a reader who needs advice or help and a response from the columnist whose expertise allows him or her to sincerely give this help. You should consult a real column in a newspaper to see how you could format yours.
Campaign speech
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. If you create one, remember that politicians who are running for office give speeches that they hope will get them elected. These speeches usually include the person's views on important issues as well as statements that they hope will help voters understand what kind of people they are.
Map w/ legend
Examine a map as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Your map should be hand made to represent the "geography" of your concept. Make a legend to help the reader understand your map. Look at a highway map for an example, but also, try to find old maps to see their artistry. You can model your map after either kind.
Collage
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Create a collage of images that represent the key ideas you are representing. The collage can include words and phrases to reinforce ideas.
Diary Entry
Examine a diary entry as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A personal diary is a daily journal, a recording of the significant moments of the day. It begins with the date. Some diary writers begin, "Dear Diary," but that's not a rule. Since a diary is meant to be personal, it often reveals feelings and thoughts that people tend to keep private. You should include diary entries for several days. This genre is a good way to show a process over time.
Interview
Examine or conduct one for use as a primary source. Determine appropriate questions to ask an interviewee by following this guideline: First, get the facts. Next, ask your interviewee to clarify what has been said. (What do you mean by...?) Then the interviewer is supposed to verify information given, provide any follow-up questions, and provide closure to the discussion. Interview either two different people on the same subject in order to draw a conclusion or interview the same person on the same subject at two separate times to see if their answers vary.
Travel poster
Analyze a travel poster as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. You can use graphics, photos, or drawings to reveal a certain place in the world relevant to your topic. Make sure you use the space on you poster/web site effectively. Capture the viewers attention and keep it. Your travel poster should reveal the essence of the destination and what it has to offer. Keep the design simple yet inclusive of all necessary information. Achieve unity in the design by the use of balance and repetition.
Personal Essay
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Most personal essays fall into one of three styles: an amusing commentary, a description of an event whose consequences are emotionally charged or easy to relate to, and finally, a personal point of view about something serious. The common elements that personal commentaries share are that they reveal something about the author and they have a single, central theme.
Photograph
Examine as a primary source or take your own for use as part of a Creative Original work. Please do not include heirloom photography or pictures from your parents’ albums/collections. Instead, please photocopy, scan, or print the picture in order to avoid losing or ruining the original. If it is a picture from your own collection, please think carefully before submitting an original, as I can not guarantee its return.
Advertisement
Examine a magazine article as a primary source or create a one page advertisement like you'd see in a magazine. You want to get your reader's attention, demonstrate the need for what you are selling, and show how your product/service will satisfy that need. Study professional ads to see how these goals are accomplished and use
those examples as your models.
CD cover
Examine a CD cover as a primary source or create art work for the front of one as a Creative Original. If you create, include the name of the band and the title of the CD. Then, on another "square," include your list of song titles. CDs generally have between 10-13 songs. Finally, include the lyrics to one song or liner notes. Liner notes are notes about the making of the CD, the experiences of the band, or other informative details that would be of interest to the listener. See a real CD or album for a model of how yours might look.
Post card
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A post card must have three parts. On the front is the picture and a greeting, such as "Hello from Ontario," or "Wish you were skiing with us." On the back are the address and stamp to the right and the message to the left. People generally write in small print on postcards to let them say everything they want to say or they may write brief ideas. Be sure that each word in your message counts or means something.
Grocery list
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. We can tell a lot about people, sometimes, by what they buy at the store. For example, someone who never buys any fresh fruits or vegetables may not be eating healthy, well balanced meals. This list can also extend beyond the grocery store to a different store or a list of things to do. Your list should reflect some aspect of a person's preferences or habits. You should include a title at the top, such as "groceries," or "camping supplies," or "what to pack." You must have at least 20 items on your list.
A Memory
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A memory is similar to a monologue in that it is the reflection of one speaker. To write a memory is to single out an important event from the past and recall its details (who, what, when, and where) and to write also about why the memory is important. How did the event change the person (speaker, narrator) or why does it still come to mind? Why was this event important? Memories are written in first person point of view and should be full of details that make the event seem true to life. Your reader should be able to visualize the event, almost as if he or she were there.
Graph/chart
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Create a graph or chart in Excel or on paper. Make sure that the graph or chart is complete with details, numbers, percents, etc. The graph or chart should be able to be read without additional explanation. See other charts or graphs in textbooks, newspapers, or magazines to use as examples. Add a paragraph explaining the data, if you need it.
One act play
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A one act play introduces characters in a conflict that is resolved in one act. Before writing your own, read a one act play to give you an idea of how to proceed. The play must be written using the typical conventions of a play or drama.
Announcement
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. We hear announcements each day in school. There are also announcements in church or before a meeting. Announcements alert people to important events that are coming up. Create an announcement that gives critical information about an upcoming event: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Top the announcement with an attention-getting label, such as "Attention all athletes," or "important information for all drivers."
Song/ballad
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. Write lyrics to a song or ballad (a song that tells a story). You should have several verses. Think of the main ideas you want the song to express. Remember that songs are to be sung, so think of that as you compose. If you're really adventurous, record your song and make your genre an audio file. Look at the structures of some of your favorite songs to use for examples.
Eyewitness account/Interview
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. When important events happen, someone is generally there to see it happen. An eyewitness is asked to give details about exactly what happened, when it happened and how it happened. The eyewitness would provide specific, concrete details like colors, sizes, distances, times, etc. that make the account as factual as possible. While not everyone sees an event in the exact same way, eyewitness accounts help us put the event into perspective. The account could be prompted by a reporter's or a police officer's questions.
Illustration
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. An illustration is a drawing that illustrates a concept or an idea. It is often accompanied by labels or margin notes to explain aspects of the drawing. An illustration is often done in ink on white paper and is detailed. Think of how a scientist illustrates the process of cell reproduction or how a naturalist illustrates the stages maples trees go through during the four seasons.
Work of Art
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A work of art can be incorporated as a primary source by including a picture of the work found in a book, online, or taken in person. You can create your own work of art if you are an artist and it can take the form of print work, painting, sketching, drawing, sculpture, etc.
Recipe
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A recipe includes a list of ingredients, directions for mixing, combining, preparing, baking or cooking and serving. To create a recipe for something non food, such as peace or health or a good marriage, think of the essential ingredients. What does it take to be healthy or what are the things a couple must have for a good marriage? List these ingredients. Then show how these ingredients are used or managed. The recipe should be written in typical recipe form. See samples of recipes from magazines or cookbooks for examples. You must create your own, original recipe.
Blog
Examine one as a primary source or create one as a Creative Original. A blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Research Project
Hey kids -
Here's a list of what we have read and studied this school year - make sure you have your topic determined for tomorrow:
Unit I: Why Do We Read?
Handout: Four Kinds of Reading. Donald Hall
Handout: Lazy Eyes: How We Read Online. Slate. 2008
Handout: Why Women Read More than Men. NPR.
Handout: Today’s Kids Are, Like, Killing the English Language. Yeah, Right. Kirk Johnson
Handout: A Good Mystery: Why We Read. NY Times. 2007
Unit II: The Anglo Saxon Period
from Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel
The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer
“Oh My Sweet Carolina”, an essay by Nick Hornby
”Violent Media is Good for Kids" by Gerard Jones
"The Rite of War and the Warrior Psyche" by Sam Keen
Unit III: The Middle Ages
“Le Morte D’Arthur” by Sir Thomas Malory
from “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” translated by John Gardner
Film: King Arthur
Shakespearean Sonnets 29, 116, 130,
Spenserian Sonnets 30, 75
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe
“The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter Raleigh
“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
TV Clips: from The Office: Season Three – “The Coup”
Unit IV: The Restoration and 18th Century
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
TV Clips: from The Office: Season One - “Basketball”, “Diversity Day”
Various satirical articles from The Onion
Unit V: The Romantic Period
“The Tyger” by William Blake
Blake’s theories on Innocence, Experience, and Organized Innocence
Film: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
“Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth
“She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron
“Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode to Melancholy”, “When I Have Fears” by John Keats
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settenfield
Unit VI: The Victorian Period
Film: The Freedom Writers
“My Last Duchess”, “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning
“Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A Selection of Contemporary British Sonnets
“Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold
“Channel Firing” by Thomas Hardy
“Bloodied” by Charles Johnson
Unit VII: 20th Century/Modernism
Film: Sliding Doors
“13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens
“13 Ways of Looking at Hip-Hop” by Vincent Toro
“Araby” by James Joyce
“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
”Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell
"A Hanging" by George Orwell
Here's a list of what we have read and studied this school year - make sure you have your topic determined for tomorrow:
Unit I: Why Do We Read?
Handout: Four Kinds of Reading. Donald Hall
Handout: Lazy Eyes: How We Read Online. Slate. 2008
Handout: Why Women Read More than Men. NPR.
Handout: Today’s Kids Are, Like, Killing the English Language. Yeah, Right. Kirk Johnson
Handout: A Good Mystery: Why We Read. NY Times. 2007
Unit II: The Anglo Saxon Period
from Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel
The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer
“Oh My Sweet Carolina”, an essay by Nick Hornby
”Violent Media is Good for Kids" by Gerard Jones
"The Rite of War and the Warrior Psyche" by Sam Keen
Unit III: The Middle Ages
“Le Morte D’Arthur” by Sir Thomas Malory
from “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” translated by John Gardner
Film: King Arthur
Shakespearean Sonnets 29, 116, 130,
Spenserian Sonnets 30, 75
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe
“The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter Raleigh
“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
TV Clips: from The Office: Season Three – “The Coup”
Unit IV: The Restoration and 18th Century
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
TV Clips: from The Office: Season One - “Basketball”, “Diversity Day”
Various satirical articles from The Onion
Unit V: The Romantic Period
“The Tyger” by William Blake
Blake’s theories on Innocence, Experience, and Organized Innocence
Film: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
“Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth
“She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron
“Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode to Melancholy”, “When I Have Fears” by John Keats
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settenfield
Unit VI: The Victorian Period
Film: The Freedom Writers
“My Last Duchess”, “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning
“Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A Selection of Contemporary British Sonnets
“Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold
“Channel Firing” by Thomas Hardy
“Bloodied” by Charles Johnson
Unit VII: 20th Century/Modernism
Film: Sliding Doors
“13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens
“13 Ways of Looking at Hip-Hop” by Vincent Toro
“Araby” by James Joyce
“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
”Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell
"A Hanging" by George Orwell
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Local Gallery of the National Gallery of Writing
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
As curator of our local gallery of the National Gallery of Writing, The Writers of East Brunswick High School, I am pleased to announce a publishing opportunity for the students and faculty of East Brunswick High.
This gallery is dedicated to promoting works written by the students and teachers of East Brunswick High School, New Jersey. We invite works of traditional and contemporary poetry, flash fiction (under 1000 words), short-short stories (under 2500 words), personal essays (under 2500 words), and works of creative non-fiction (under 2500 words).
To submit to this gallery for consideration, use this link:
http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/55353
from The National Council of Teachers of English:
“Whether we call it texting, IMing, jotting a note, writing a letter, posting an email, blogging, making a video, building an electronic presentation, composing a memo, keeping a diary, or just pulling together a report, Americans are writing like never before. Recent research suggests that writing, in its many forms, has become a daily practice for millions of Americans. It may be the quintessential 21st century skill. By collecting a cross-section of everyday writing through a National Gallery of Writing, we will better understand what matters to writers today—and when writing really counts. Understanding who writes, when, how, to whom, and for what purposes will lead to production of improved resources for writers, better strategies to nurture and celebrate writers, and improved policy to support writing.
America's writing will be front and center on October 20, 2009—the National Day on Writing. On that day, writers from every walk of life will pause to share their work. Communities across the nation are planning events to celebrate local writing, and NCTE will open the virtual National Gallery of Writing for all to appreciate the rich variety of work on display (the National Gallery will remain open until June 2010). A celebratory gala will be hosted by the New Yorker magazine in Manhattan to mark the National Day on Writing and to honor winners of the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards”.
As curator of our local gallery of the National Gallery of Writing, The Writers of East Brunswick High School, I am pleased to announce a publishing opportunity for the students and faculty of East Brunswick High.
This gallery is dedicated to promoting works written by the students and teachers of East Brunswick High School, New Jersey. We invite works of traditional and contemporary poetry, flash fiction (under 1000 words), short-short stories (under 2500 words), personal essays (under 2500 words), and works of creative non-fiction (under 2500 words).
To submit to this gallery for consideration, use this link:
http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/55353
from The National Council of Teachers of English:
“Whether we call it texting, IMing, jotting a note, writing a letter, posting an email, blogging, making a video, building an electronic presentation, composing a memo, keeping a diary, or just pulling together a report, Americans are writing like never before. Recent research suggests that writing, in its many forms, has become a daily practice for millions of Americans. It may be the quintessential 21st century skill. By collecting a cross-section of everyday writing through a National Gallery of Writing, we will better understand what matters to writers today—and when writing really counts. Understanding who writes, when, how, to whom, and for what purposes will lead to production of improved resources for writers, better strategies to nurture and celebrate writers, and improved policy to support writing.
America's writing will be front and center on October 20, 2009—the National Day on Writing. On that day, writers from every walk of life will pause to share their work. Communities across the nation are planning events to celebrate local writing, and NCTE will open the virtual National Gallery of Writing for all to appreciate the rich variety of work on display (the National Gallery will remain open until June 2010). A celebratory gala will be hosted by the New Yorker magazine in Manhattan to mark the National Day on Writing and to honor winners of the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards”.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Call for Manuscripts
Hey kids -
Here are some contest and publishing opportunities:
The New England Shakespeare Festival Rubber Ducky Sonnet Contest:
http://newenglandshakespeare.org/sonnet_contest/ducky-guidelines.pdf
The English Journal:
Student Voices:This is a forum for students to share their
experiences and recommendations in short pieces of 300 words.
Teachers are encouraged to submit the best responses from their classes, not whole class sets,please.Individual students are welcome to submit as well. Topics are as follows:
• What nonfiction text that English teachers might not think of would you like to read in English class? (Deadline: July 15, 2009)
• What positive lessons have you learned from English class about working with other people? (Deadline: September 15,2009)
• How has logical thinking helped you out of a difficult situation?(Deadline: November 15, 2009)
Here are some contest and publishing opportunities:
The New England Shakespeare Festival Rubber Ducky Sonnet Contest:
http://newenglandshakespeare.org/sonnet_contest/ducky-guidelines.pdf
The English Journal:
Student Voices:This is a forum for students to share their
experiences and recommendations in short pieces of 300 words.
Teachers are encouraged to submit the best responses from their classes, not whole class sets,please.Individual students are welcome to submit as well. Topics are as follows:
• What nonfiction text that English teachers might not think of would you like to read in English class? (Deadline: July 15, 2009)
• What positive lessons have you learned from English class about working with other people? (Deadline: September 15,2009)
• How has logical thinking helped you out of a difficult situation?(Deadline: November 15, 2009)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Congratulations!
One of my favorite essayists just made the NY TImes Best Seller list with her latest release, a collection of personal essays entitled "Bad Mother".
Congrats to Ayelet Waldman - I love not only her writing style and blunt honesty, but I also love her because when I emailed her a couple of years ago, she actually emailed me back and for that entire day, I felt like a rock star.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/books/review/Dominus-t.html
Congrats to Ayelet Waldman - I love not only her writing style and blunt honesty, but I also love her because when I emailed her a couple of years ago, she actually emailed me back and for that entire day, I felt like a rock star.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/books/review/Dominus-t.html
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Humanities
Hey kids -
Before I forget, I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about your senior year course schedule.
So many of my awesome students from last year have been dropping by my room this week to run poems by me that they've written about themselves for a class project. They are nervous about presenting in front of their peers but their nerves are secondary to the excitement they are feeling as they anticipate the moment this week when they will get up in front of a crowd and reveal their most sacred thoughts - some kids for the first time EVER ! Many of those kids view this experience as one of the culminating moments of their entire high school experience!
Wow - that's intense and amazing and it's all because of a course called Humanities.
If you haven't already signed up to take Humanities your senior year, RUN to guidance ASAP and make sure it's on your schedule.
It's a great course taught by 3 awesome teachers (yeah, you heard me - three. That means you don't see the same ole face day after day for an entire year but instead rotate amongst three geniuses)!
The course examines ideas from different perspectives in order to encourage and foster a holistic approach to viewing the world around you; basically, it teaches you how to move away from a singular view by exposing that viewpoint to the a multitude of arenas such as art, philosophy, classics, history, current events, literature, poetry, culture, sociology. This in turn pumps up your jam, making you wiser and giving you lots of fodder for future late night dorm room discussions.
I heart Humanities and I heart its instructors just as much so get it on your 2009-2010 schedule! NOW!
Before I forget, I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about your senior year course schedule.
So many of my awesome students from last year have been dropping by my room this week to run poems by me that they've written about themselves for a class project. They are nervous about presenting in front of their peers but their nerves are secondary to the excitement they are feeling as they anticipate the moment this week when they will get up in front of a crowd and reveal their most sacred thoughts - some kids for the first time EVER ! Many of those kids view this experience as one of the culminating moments of their entire high school experience!
Wow - that's intense and amazing and it's all because of a course called Humanities.
If you haven't already signed up to take Humanities your senior year, RUN to guidance ASAP and make sure it's on your schedule.
It's a great course taught by 3 awesome teachers (yeah, you heard me - three. That means you don't see the same ole face day after day for an entire year but instead rotate amongst three geniuses)!
The course examines ideas from different perspectives in order to encourage and foster a holistic approach to viewing the world around you; basically, it teaches you how to move away from a singular view by exposing that viewpoint to the a multitude of arenas such as art, philosophy, classics, history, current events, literature, poetry, culture, sociology. This in turn pumps up your jam, making you wiser and giving you lots of fodder for future late night dorm room discussions.
I heart Humanities and I heart its instructors just as much so get it on your 2009-2010 schedule! NOW!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Modernism
Characteristics of Modernism
•Loss is a major theme in modernist works.
•The “truth” is questionable, as a common theme, and many narrators are unreliable, whereas in traditional literature it is the narrator’s job to further understanding. Also, there may be more than one narrator, showing the diversity of truth.
•More use of the first person narrative, reflecting the lack of universal truth, i.e. there are only individual truths.
•The destruction of the family unit.
•Characters may be given little or no physical description, and one or more characters is usually an "outcast."
•Authority figures are often untrustworthy, reflecting the question of truth.
•Movement away from religion.
•The reversal of traditional roles
•Ambiguous endings
•Often setting is more than just the setting (i.e. more meaning to it than just where the story takes place), or, maybe there is no setting at all
•The use of improper grammar to reflect dialect.
•Fragmentation – in plot, characters, theme, images, and overall storyline. Thus, for instance, many modernist works are not in the typical linear sequence.
In Poetry:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5664
In Prose:
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/943010
In Art:
http://www.arteducation.com.au/art-movements/modernism.php
In Film:
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0092.html
•Loss is a major theme in modernist works.
•The “truth” is questionable, as a common theme, and many narrators are unreliable, whereas in traditional literature it is the narrator’s job to further understanding. Also, there may be more than one narrator, showing the diversity of truth.
•More use of the first person narrative, reflecting the lack of universal truth, i.e. there are only individual truths.
•The destruction of the family unit.
•Characters may be given little or no physical description, and one or more characters is usually an "outcast."
•Authority figures are often untrustworthy, reflecting the question of truth.
•Movement away from religion.
•The reversal of traditional roles
•Ambiguous endings
•Often setting is more than just the setting (i.e. more meaning to it than just where the story takes place), or, maybe there is no setting at all
•The use of improper grammar to reflect dialect.
•Fragmentation – in plot, characters, theme, images, and overall storyline. Thus, for instance, many modernist works are not in the typical linear sequence.
In Poetry:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5664
In Prose:
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/943010
In Art:
http://www.arteducation.com.au/art-movements/modernism.php
In Film:
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0092.html
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Old Curiousity Shop
Today's lesson plan focused on identifying moments of irony in the Orwell essay Shooting an Elephant however a moment at the beginning of class lead to a bit of irony of our own - how ironic, don't ya think?
In the essay, a young Orwell makes a decision based on his fear of embarrassment and as a result, commits a gruesome, murderous act.
In my classroom, I see kids make decisions based on curiosity, apathy, impulse, anger, ennui, fear, and so many more emotions.
What I would like to see my students base their decision making on is what I wish young Orwell would have based his on - logic.
I know it's not always easy to think logically in a heated situation but remember, control of oneself is the greatest power one can ever possess so exercise your logic and I guarantee you'll be happy with the results.
In the essay, a young Orwell makes a decision based on his fear of embarrassment and as a result, commits a gruesome, murderous act.
In my classroom, I see kids make decisions based on curiosity, apathy, impulse, anger, ennui, fear, and so many more emotions.
What I would like to see my students base their decision making on is what I wish young Orwell would have based his on - logic.
I know it's not always easy to think logically in a heated situation but remember, control of oneself is the greatest power one can ever possess so exercise your logic and I guarantee you'll be happy with the results.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Shooting an Elephant
Here is a link to the essay.
http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/
Periods 8/9 and 12 ONLY : Please answer the questions below for homework, due Tuesday.
Periods 2 and 4 ONLY: Quiz on the reading tomorrow.
Shooting an Elephant: Day 1
a. How does Orwell feel about the British presence in Burma? How does he feel about his job with the Indian Imperial police? What are some of the internal conflicts Orwell describes feeling in his role as a colonial police officer? How do you know?
b. Orwell wrote and published this essay a number of years after he had left the civil service. How does Orwell describe his feelings about the British Empire, and about his role in it, both at the time he took part in the incident described, and at the time of writing the essay, after having had the opportunity to reflect upon these experiences? Ask students to point to examples in the text which support their view.
c. What did Orwell mean by the following sentence: It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism- the real motives for which despotic governments act.
http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/
Periods 8/9 and 12 ONLY : Please answer the questions below for homework, due Tuesday.
Periods 2 and 4 ONLY: Quiz on the reading tomorrow.
Shooting an Elephant: Day 1
a. How does Orwell feel about the British presence in Burma? How does he feel about his job with the Indian Imperial police? What are some of the internal conflicts Orwell describes feeling in his role as a colonial police officer? How do you know?
b. Orwell wrote and published this essay a number of years after he had left the civil service. How does Orwell describe his feelings about the British Empire, and about his role in it, both at the time he took part in the incident described, and at the time of writing the essay, after having had the opportunity to reflect upon these experiences? Ask students to point to examples in the text which support their view.
c. What did Orwell mean by the following sentence: It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism- the real motives for which despotic governments act.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Manuscript
Poster print collage from an old page manuscript book - Not paper but fine cotton canvas
Originally uploaded by artisticoshop
I think I'm at the halfway point but I'm not sure because, well, I've never read it straight through from beginning to end. When I'm writing, I'm so focused on the writing itself that sometimes the plot fades into the background and instead of furthering it, I'll spend three hours re-structuring a paragraph... or sometimes a sentence.
Or I'll get caught up researching a detail to assure its historical accuracy... to the point that I won't rest until I find evidence in a primary source and the next thing I know, hours have passed.
So, tonight I'm going to read and see what I've been writing - let's hope it reads like a book!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Work Ethic
I have a strong work ethic. Sometimes I really enjoy working. Sometimes I really hate it. But regardless of how I feel about it, I continue to work, because that is what one does; one works.
When I was a teenager, I hated school work just as much as the next kid. However, 99.9% of the time I did it anyway and submitted it when it was expected because that's what one did - one worked when asked to work and one produced what was expected.
The remaining .1% of the time when I didn't do my work, I felt guilty and nervous and wished I had just done my work in the first place because it would've been a lot easier than feeling bad about myself.
But instead of getting caught up in a cycle of no return, I would go out and buy all new notebooks and folders and pens and start fresh the next day.
Why? Because doing my work never resulted in harm. Yes, I missed out on a few TV shows here and there but miraculously, I managed to do my work and still closely follow the lives of Brenda, Brandon, Dylan, Kelly, Donna, David and Steve (I never cared about Andrea's life).
I did my work out of respect for my teachers, to keep my parents off my back, to make use of my new pens and notebooks, to lord it over my friends who didn't do their work, but most of all, I did it for two reasons:
1. So I could feel good about myself and not suffer anxiety, like I did when I walked into a classroom unprepared
and
2. So I wouldn't have to look at a crappy grade on my report card and feel bad about myself
So I worked. Why? Because that's what one does - one works in order to achieve success. If one does not work, one will not achieve success. End of story.
Don't expect to get something for nothing.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Ugg
I haven't been feeling well. I missed school today and I'm overwhelmed in general, so it's been difficult to keep on my schedule.
I feel very guilty - I had a high school teacher who once said to me "oh, so you want to be a writer. Well, let me ask you this: do you write daily? Do you write obsessively? Do you write when you're sick? Well, if you don't, you're not a writer."
That tidbit has stuck with me for the past 20 years and it's because of that comment that for 19 years, I did not view myself as "a writer". However, as I've gotten older, I've grown to realize that writing is not as cut and dry as people try and make you believe. Writing is difficult, it's petulant, it's submissive, and it's enlightening.
Most of all, it's not what one high school teacher determined it to be 20 years ago. It's what it is. Period.
Just because I'm not writing, doesn't mean I'm not thinking. And I'm usually thinking about writing. Actually, I'm always thinking about writing.
So, if I don't pump out more pages, that doesn't mean there aren't more pages in me. If I don't write on a strict schedule, well, that just means that I don't have that luxury because instead, I have a 2 hour daily commute, a wedding to plan, 3500 papers to grade each quarter, 20 pages of lesson plans to write every two weeks, a fiance to spend time with, a cat to take care of, groceries to buy, nails to maintain, patio furniture to purchase, local foods to source out, friends to keep in contact with, a family to keep in touch with, a house to keep clean, a self to keep healthy... and the list goes on.
Just because I'm not writing, doesn't mean I'm not a writer.
I feel very guilty - I had a high school teacher who once said to me "oh, so you want to be a writer. Well, let me ask you this: do you write daily? Do you write obsessively? Do you write when you're sick? Well, if you don't, you're not a writer."
That tidbit has stuck with me for the past 20 years and it's because of that comment that for 19 years, I did not view myself as "a writer". However, as I've gotten older, I've grown to realize that writing is not as cut and dry as people try and make you believe. Writing is difficult, it's petulant, it's submissive, and it's enlightening.
Most of all, it's not what one high school teacher determined it to be 20 years ago. It's what it is. Period.
Just because I'm not writing, doesn't mean I'm not thinking. And I'm usually thinking about writing. Actually, I'm always thinking about writing.
So, if I don't pump out more pages, that doesn't mean there aren't more pages in me. If I don't write on a strict schedule, well, that just means that I don't have that luxury because instead, I have a 2 hour daily commute, a wedding to plan, 3500 papers to grade each quarter, 20 pages of lesson plans to write every two weeks, a fiance to spend time with, a cat to take care of, groceries to buy, nails to maintain, patio furniture to purchase, local foods to source out, friends to keep in contact with, a family to keep in touch with, a house to keep clean, a self to keep healthy... and the list goes on.
Just because I'm not writing, doesn't mean I'm not a writer.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Progress
Well, let me say that I didn't quite meet my goals.
I did write the letter of rec, BUT not until the girl came and sat next to me and waited until I finished it, which was around 2:45.
I did write some more pages, however it was more like 3 total in 3 days instead of the 12 I originally had proposed - BUT Friday doesn't end until midnight so technically, I still have time and I'm going to write from 5:00 until 8:00.
I didn't do anything with the travel query BUT I did become Facebook friends with a girl I met while traveling, so that cancels out my failure to send submissions - I mean, people are more important than words, right? And I can eventually write about how we met and then I'll have two travel articles to shop around. Brilliant.
I didn't print any of my manuscript BUT ink is expensive and well, it was Earth Day a few days ago so I can justify not printing because I was, um, conserving paper and saving trees.
Hmm. What will my excuses be today?? I had to Tweet? I had to update my Facebook status? I had to write this blog?
Excuses, friends, are everywhere if you look for them and procrastination is more enticing than a candy aisle, which is why it's no wonder we often do not meet our own deadlines or the deadlines of others.
So, what's the secret formula, the magic trick to turning on inspiration and motivation at the exact same time?
There isn't one. You just have to suck it up and get to work (although I do think working on a computer that does not have access to the Internet is as close as some of us are going to get to an elixir).
Which is why in 14 minutes, after I look at pictures of flowers that could possibly work with my wedding colors, I'm going to pretend that the Internet just died and start writing and I'm going to write for 3 hours and at the end of those 3 hours, maybe I'll have met my goal.
Then, I'm going to curl up on the couch with Pinkerton, some sushi delivery, and watch Grey Gardens as my reward.
Remember - you are the only thing that you can control.
I did write the letter of rec, BUT not until the girl came and sat next to me and waited until I finished it, which was around 2:45.
I did write some more pages, however it was more like 3 total in 3 days instead of the 12 I originally had proposed - BUT Friday doesn't end until midnight so technically, I still have time and I'm going to write from 5:00 until 8:00.
I didn't do anything with the travel query BUT I did become Facebook friends with a girl I met while traveling, so that cancels out my failure to send submissions - I mean, people are more important than words, right? And I can eventually write about how we met and then I'll have two travel articles to shop around. Brilliant.
I didn't print any of my manuscript BUT ink is expensive and well, it was Earth Day a few days ago so I can justify not printing because I was, um, conserving paper and saving trees.
Hmm. What will my excuses be today?? I had to Tweet? I had to update my Facebook status? I had to write this blog?
Excuses, friends, are everywhere if you look for them and procrastination is more enticing than a candy aisle, which is why it's no wonder we often do not meet our own deadlines or the deadlines of others.
So, what's the secret formula, the magic trick to turning on inspiration and motivation at the exact same time?
There isn't one. You just have to suck it up and get to work (although I do think working on a computer that does not have access to the Internet is as close as some of us are going to get to an elixir).
Which is why in 14 minutes, after I look at pictures of flowers that could possibly work with my wedding colors, I'm going to pretend that the Internet just died and start writing and I'm going to write for 3 hours and at the end of those 3 hours, maybe I'll have met my goal.
Then, I'm going to curl up on the couch with Pinkerton, some sushi delivery, and watch Grey Gardens as my reward.
Remember - you are the only thing that you can control.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Today's Writing Check List
1. Start a new Scotland chapter - write MINIMUM of 3 pages. DO NOT open up the ongoing document for fear of editing and revising instead of writing.
DEADLINE: Friday. 12 pages by Friday.
2. Begin printing manuscript, 20 pages at a time?
3. Letter of rec. - get this done by 2:10
4. Mass mail travel article query - revise to mention status as a simultaneous submission
5. Draft weekend writing schedule - another Scotland chapter, 12 pages, by Sunday evening.
DEADLINE: Friday. 12 pages by Friday.
2. Begin printing manuscript, 20 pages at a time?
3. Letter of rec. - get this done by 2:10
4. Mass mail travel article query - revise to mention status as a simultaneous submission
5. Draft weekend writing schedule - another Scotland chapter, 12 pages, by Sunday evening.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Chapter Length
At this moment, my YA novel is 172 pages which contain 53,130 words, and are divided into 13 chapters. I'm trying to alternate chapters back and forth between 2 concurrent plot lines; one takes place in Central PA and the other is occurring in Scotland.
I have a few issues currently:
1. I have 7 PA chapters and only 2 Scotland chapters.
2. I have 2 prologue chapters containing backstory (the remaining 2 chapters are PA/Scotland interaction chapters ie. phone calls, IM sessions, etc between the PA/Scotland characters
3. My chapters range from 8 to 24 pages. Most are in the 10-11 range but two fall into the 20 - 24 range. This can easily be solved by dividing those 2 into 4 chapters, which would take me to 15 chapters.
4. I need to add 5 Scotland chapters, which would push me to 19 chapters and approx. 230 pages.
5. I then need to finish the novel - perhaps 6 additional chapters? which would put me at my goal of 300 pages
Lost of work - my big question is, what is the perfect chapter length?
I have a few issues currently:
1. I have 7 PA chapters and only 2 Scotland chapters.
2. I have 2 prologue chapters containing backstory (the remaining 2 chapters are PA/Scotland interaction chapters ie. phone calls, IM sessions, etc between the PA/Scotland characters
3. My chapters range from 8 to 24 pages. Most are in the 10-11 range but two fall into the 20 - 24 range. This can easily be solved by dividing those 2 into 4 chapters, which would take me to 15 chapters.
4. I need to add 5 Scotland chapters, which would push me to 19 chapters and approx. 230 pages.
5. I then need to finish the novel - perhaps 6 additional chapters? which would put me at my goal of 300 pages
Lost of work - my big question is, what is the perfect chapter length?
My Writing Life
So, I've decided to add a function to this blog because, well, I'm pragmatic and economical. I've kept several blogs over the course of the past few years, but most of them have fallen to the wayside or I'm no longer interested in maintaining them.
Plus, I just have too many forums in my life right now and I need to consolidate. That's why I'm going to use this blog not just to keep you up to date on assignments and news related to reading, but also to chronicle my journey as a writer.
2009 is the year I've dedicated to finishing my YA novel (hopefully by June) and perhaps my other writing project, which I'm not quite ready to talk about yet, for no other reason than it's barely underway.
So, if you're interested you can follow along on my journey and I'll keep you in the know about my progress, my frustrations, the creative process, the editing process, the publishing circus, etc.
I read an article in Writer's Digest this past weekend on getting published and one of the tips it gave was "to establish an online presence". Well, I don't think it was referring to my Facebook account or even my Twitter feed, so I'm going to use this to get that going.
Feel free to send this link to anyone interested in writing, reading, publishing, or good ole fashioned voyeurism.
Did I spell that right?
Plus, I just have too many forums in my life right now and I need to consolidate. That's why I'm going to use this blog not just to keep you up to date on assignments and news related to reading, but also to chronicle my journey as a writer.
2009 is the year I've dedicated to finishing my YA novel (hopefully by June) and perhaps my other writing project, which I'm not quite ready to talk about yet, for no other reason than it's barely underway.
So, if you're interested you can follow along on my journey and I'll keep you in the know about my progress, my frustrations, the creative process, the editing process, the publishing circus, etc.
I read an article in Writer's Digest this past weekend on getting published and one of the tips it gave was "to establish an online presence". Well, I don't think it was referring to my Facebook account or even my Twitter feed, so I'm going to use this to get that going.
Feel free to send this link to anyone interested in writing, reading, publishing, or good ole fashioned voyeurism.
Did I spell that right?
Monday, April 6, 2009
BRING AN INDEPENDENT READING BOOK ON WEDNESDAY!!
Hey kids - Independent Reading on Wednesday, April 8th. Please bring a favorite or find one in my classroom library tomorrow.
Now, read the blog that follows - it has your assignment due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 7th.
Now, read the blog that follows - it has your assignment due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 7th.
Blooded and Passport by Charles H. Johnson
Hey kids - read these poems for tomorrow. Please copy and paste them into a word document and bring it with you to class.
BLOODED
A half hour after the shots
the calls came through loud and clear.
My RTO handed me the receiver.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
The 1st and 3rd platoon leaders
radioed their approval. No longer
was I green like the jungle
in which I was buried.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
My platoon had recorded its first kill.
North Vietnamese regular. Pith helmet,
uniform, rubber-tire sandals
adorning a lifeless body.
One bullet cleanly through his forehead.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
The enemy was dead,
ambushed from behind a tree.
Odd there was no blood visible
draining from the body. Existence fled
when the bullet hit its target
but the only thing that bled
all over the jungle floor
was my innocence.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
PASSPORT
Poetry is news that happens
every time it’s read.
- Clayton Evans
A harvest of trees from Canada
brings news from around the world.
It arrives each morning on my doorstep –
my passport to other lands.
Sipping coffee I’m blinded
by the flash of a terrorist blast
in Israel. Blood runs everywhere.
My cup too slippery to hold.
I cradle it in my hands
to steady the quaking shaking
me awake. The Holy Land welcomes
me with its own brand of salvation.
Back across the ocean
I slip into Northern Ireland
unnoticed by Protestants and Catholics
who keep the same day holy
while believing the other side is wrong.
The IRA apologizes
for hundreds of civilian deaths
during 30 years of bombings.
Cries of "Why?"
drown out any celebration.
Coffee scalds my tongue.
Ink rubs off onto my fingers
but not enough fades to erase
my entrance into Iraq
where civilization’s parents
want to spank
their 21st-century offspring.
They say the only option left
is “holy war” against the West.
I refuse to wait for it to begin.
I turn the page and travel to India
while eating sausage and eggs.
Three Indian strike divisions
pull back from the border of Pakistan.
These new nuclear superpowers
toss the atom back and forth
like a cue ball they fear
will glance off the rack and disappear
into a corner pocket of oblivion.
Nowhere is there mention of the Taj Mahal.
Only Mecca’s call falls from minarets.
No rain in Spain today.
The country detains
three suspected terrorists
who would return the Alhambra
to its Muslim architects
centuries after expulsion
by beliefs in a different master builder.
I swallow the last piece of toast
dry like dust swirling at a bullfight
where only the matador dies.
It’s time to go to work.
On my way out the door
I toss the newspaper on the sofa.
Six alternatives for the downed
World Trade Center vie for acceptance
on the front page.
The global faith they profess is in money –
the seed growing more trees
in Canada which each morning provides
my passport to other lands.
BLOODED
A half hour after the shots
the calls came through loud and clear.
My RTO handed me the receiver.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
The 1st and 3rd platoon leaders
radioed their approval. No longer
was I green like the jungle
in which I was buried.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
My platoon had recorded its first kill.
North Vietnamese regular. Pith helmet,
uniform, rubber-tire sandals
adorning a lifeless body.
One bullet cleanly through his forehead.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
The enemy was dead,
ambushed from behind a tree.
Odd there was no blood visible
draining from the body. Existence fled
when the bullet hit its target
but the only thing that bled
all over the jungle floor
was my innocence.
Congratulations. I was blooded.
PASSPORT
Poetry is news that happens
every time it’s read.
- Clayton Evans
A harvest of trees from Canada
brings news from around the world.
It arrives each morning on my doorstep –
my passport to other lands.
Sipping coffee I’m blinded
by the flash of a terrorist blast
in Israel. Blood runs everywhere.
My cup too slippery to hold.
I cradle it in my hands
to steady the quaking shaking
me awake. The Holy Land welcomes
me with its own brand of salvation.
Back across the ocean
I slip into Northern Ireland
unnoticed by Protestants and Catholics
who keep the same day holy
while believing the other side is wrong.
The IRA apologizes
for hundreds of civilian deaths
during 30 years of bombings.
Cries of "Why?"
drown out any celebration.
Coffee scalds my tongue.
Ink rubs off onto my fingers
but not enough fades to erase
my entrance into Iraq
where civilization’s parents
want to spank
their 21st-century offspring.
They say the only option left
is “holy war” against the West.
I refuse to wait for it to begin.
I turn the page and travel to India
while eating sausage and eggs.
Three Indian strike divisions
pull back from the border of Pakistan.
These new nuclear superpowers
toss the atom back and forth
like a cue ball they fear
will glance off the rack and disappear
into a corner pocket of oblivion.
Nowhere is there mention of the Taj Mahal.
Only Mecca’s call falls from minarets.
No rain in Spain today.
The country detains
three suspected terrorists
who would return the Alhambra
to its Muslim architects
centuries after expulsion
by beliefs in a different master builder.
I swallow the last piece of toast
dry like dust swirling at a bullfight
where only the matador dies.
It’s time to go to work.
On my way out the door
I toss the newspaper on the sofa.
Six alternatives for the downed
World Trade Center vie for acceptance
on the front page.
The global faith they profess is in money –
the seed growing more trees
in Canada which each morning provides
my passport to other lands.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Freedom Writers Writing Assignment: DUE WEDNESDAY
The Freedom Writers: Writing Prompts
Choose one of the following and write a rough draft of a one page response:
• Do you ever feel like you are “living a life you didn’t agree to”?
• What does Scott mean when he says “because I can’t be your wife”?
• What does it mean to love “the idea” of someone more than you actually love them?
• One of the students asks, “Why should I read books about people that don’t look like me? People that I don’t even know and that I am not going to understand because they don’t understand me!” How would you respond to that question?
• What does it mean to be “blessed with a burden”?
• Do you agree or disagree with the statement “silence will get you no where in life”?
• Ralph Waldo Emerson said “To improve is to change, and to be perfect is to change often”. Do you agree or disagree?
• What does Erin Gruwell mean when she says, “Don’t use me as another excuse as to why you can’t make it”?
• When Erin Gruwell is lobbying to teach her students their junior year, she’s asked by her adversary “what is it that you’ve actually accomplished?” In your opinion, what has she accomplished?
Choose one of the following and write a rough draft of a one page response:
• Do you ever feel like you are “living a life you didn’t agree to”?
• What does Scott mean when he says “because I can’t be your wife”?
• What does it mean to love “the idea” of someone more than you actually love them?
• One of the students asks, “Why should I read books about people that don’t look like me? People that I don’t even know and that I am not going to understand because they don’t understand me!” How would you respond to that question?
• What does it mean to be “blessed with a burden”?
• Do you agree or disagree with the statement “silence will get you no where in life”?
• Ralph Waldo Emerson said “To improve is to change, and to be perfect is to change often”. Do you agree or disagree?
• What does Erin Gruwell mean when she says, “Don’t use me as another excuse as to why you can’t make it”?
• When Erin Gruwell is lobbying to teach her students their junior year, she’s asked by her adversary “what is it that you’ve actually accomplished?” In your opinion, what has she accomplished?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Report to Deputy Dwight Shrute
Porphyria’s Lover Assignment
Pretend you are writing a letter to a psychiatrist or a deputy sheriff, like Dwight Shrute. In the letter, you are reporting the behavior of Porphyria’s lover – you want to tell how you suspect he is seriously demented and possibly insane. Find THREE quotes from the poem to use in your letter as evidence of his twisted nature, such as:
EXAMPLE:
As I was walking by Porphyria’s lover’s cottage, I glanced in the window and saw that he was “wrapping her hair three times around her neck”.
DUE THURSDAY - Typed, double spaced
Pretend you are writing a letter to a psychiatrist or a deputy sheriff, like Dwight Shrute. In the letter, you are reporting the behavior of Porphyria’s lover – you want to tell how you suspect he is seriously demented and possibly insane. Find THREE quotes from the poem to use in your letter as evidence of his twisted nature, such as:
EXAMPLE:
As I was walking by Porphyria’s lover’s cottage, I glanced in the window and saw that he was “wrapping her hair three times around her neck”.
DUE THURSDAY - Typed, double spaced
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Survey says...
Hey kids -
I've compiled all of your submitted survey questions into this survey. Please consider each question and choose one to develop tomorrow in a Dover Beach model poem.
Rate the significance of the following in terms of its influence on current culture and society:
1. The first African American president of the United States
2. The Rhianna/Chris Brown story / the Michael Phelps situation / the behaviors of under age entertainers such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan and their influence on today's teens and young adults
3. The current state of the economy
4. Global warming and its impact on weather, habitat and wildlife
5. The threat of terrorism stemming from the situation in the Middle East and the brewing situation in Mexico
6. The moral and ethical debate over issues such as stem cell research and abortion - are those issues personal or should the government be involved?
7. Genetically modified foods vs. organic foods
8. Pressure on today's students to not just achieve but to excel in all fields of study
7. The rising cost of college education and the pressure to attend a four year academic university - is it necessary for all students to go on to college?
8. How much control should parents have over their child's decisions and when should that control start/end?
9. Globalization and its benefits versus its downside, such as human trafficking
10. Our government's recent decisions: Socialist or Democratic?
I've compiled all of your submitted survey questions into this survey. Please consider each question and choose one to develop tomorrow in a Dover Beach model poem.
Rate the significance of the following in terms of its influence on current culture and society:
1. The first African American president of the United States
2. The Rhianna/Chris Brown story / the Michael Phelps situation / the behaviors of under age entertainers such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan and their influence on today's teens and young adults
3. The current state of the economy
4. Global warming and its impact on weather, habitat and wildlife
5. The threat of terrorism stemming from the situation in the Middle East and the brewing situation in Mexico
6. The moral and ethical debate over issues such as stem cell research and abortion - are those issues personal or should the government be involved?
7. Genetically modified foods vs. organic foods
8. Pressure on today's students to not just achieve but to excel in all fields of study
7. The rising cost of college education and the pressure to attend a four year academic university - is it necessary for all students to go on to college?
8. How much control should parents have over their child's decisions and when should that control start/end?
9. Globalization and its benefits versus its downside, such as human trafficking
10. Our government's recent decisions: Socialist or Democratic?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tennyson Monument. Isle of Wight. England.
Hey kids -
Sorry I posted this so late - please read the entire poem and annotate the first two sections - underline words and phrases you feel best reveal the speaker's attitude.
http://www.metalvortex.com/poems/ulysses-.htm
Sorry I posted this so late - please read the entire poem and annotate the first two sections - underline words and phrases you feel best reveal the speaker's attitude.
http://www.metalvortex.com/poems/ulysses-.htm
Friday, February 27, 2009
HOMEWORK for Monday, March 2nd
Hey kids -
Here is a link to an online version of "A Modest Proposal".
http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/swift/modest.html
Please read it in its entirety for Monday and be prepared to answer questions on its content.
Also, don't forget to complete The Office: Diversity Day Worksheet, due Monday. You can catch the rest of the episode at www.hulu.com
I found the following online; it's a little blurb about the episode and its satirical nature:
The Office: Diversity Day
"During its first three seasons, NBC's The Office satirized corporate America's bumbling attempts to change its own entrenched sexist, racist, and homophobic attitudes. Michael Scott is a comic representation of the hypocrisy of the American business environment; personifying both its urge to be seen as likable and tolerant and its longing to return to a time when it could freely run on a system of white male privilege.
A manager who became successful during a time when business shamelessly ran on the good ol' boy system, Michael cannot change his sexist and racist outlook to keep up with the corporate world's new need to seem inclusive. Yet, it is he who has to lead the diversity day training (where he requires all staff to say racially insulting things about whatever ethnic group is named on a card taped to the person's head) and oversee the sexual harassment awareness training (in which he constantly sexually harasses the office women).
However, no matter how diverse his staff or how many diversity training sessions he attends (or leads), Michael continuously fails to rewrite his sexist and prejudiced views of people. Michael treats every woman as a sex interest, a matron, or an emotional fluff brain and insults every minority by mimicking stereotypical representations of their ethnic group. He is constantly surrounded by women and minorities who are far more competent than he is, but he unfailingly adjusts his view of them to match his preconceived notions of a group to which they pertain. Part of the humor of the show comes from watching people decide how to react in the face of his egregiously incorrect views. We watch people react to Michael's misbehavior and recognize the decisions we make on a daily basis about when to let an offense go unmentioned and when we should protest."
Here is a link to an online version of "A Modest Proposal".
http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/swift/modest.html
Please read it in its entirety for Monday and be prepared to answer questions on its content.
Also, don't forget to complete The Office: Diversity Day Worksheet, due Monday. You can catch the rest of the episode at www.hulu.com
I found the following online; it's a little blurb about the episode and its satirical nature:
The Office: Diversity Day
"During its first three seasons, NBC's The Office satirized corporate America's bumbling attempts to change its own entrenched sexist, racist, and homophobic attitudes. Michael Scott is a comic representation of the hypocrisy of the American business environment; personifying both its urge to be seen as likable and tolerant and its longing to return to a time when it could freely run on a system of white male privilege.
A manager who became successful during a time when business shamelessly ran on the good ol' boy system, Michael cannot change his sexist and racist outlook to keep up with the corporate world's new need to seem inclusive. Yet, it is he who has to lead the diversity day training (where he requires all staff to say racially insulting things about whatever ethnic group is named on a card taped to the person's head) and oversee the sexual harassment awareness training (in which he constantly sexually harasses the office women).
However, no matter how diverse his staff or how many diversity training sessions he attends (or leads), Michael continuously fails to rewrite his sexist and prejudiced views of people. Michael treats every woman as a sex interest, a matron, or an emotional fluff brain and insults every minority by mimicking stereotypical representations of their ethnic group. He is constantly surrounded by women and minorities who are far more competent than he is, but he unfailingly adjusts his view of them to match his preconceived notions of a group to which they pertain. Part of the humor of the show comes from watching people decide how to react in the face of his egregiously incorrect views. We watch people react to Michael's misbehavior and recognize the decisions we make on a daily basis about when to let an offense go unmentioned and when we should protest."
Monday, February 23, 2009
Keats Homework Assignment
Hey kids - yes, that is the home of John Keats! Very exciting - I think he wrote "Ode to Nightingale" in the front yard!!!
Here is your assignment:
Read the poem (Google it).
Do the following:
1. Make a list of and identify all allusions
2. What is the speaker's mood in lines 19 and 20 and how is the mood revealed?
3. Compare the celestial images in stanza 4 to the earthly images in stanza 5 and determine the point of the contrast.
Enjoy - Due tomorrow, February 24th.
Here is your assignment:
Read the poem (Google it).
Do the following:
1. Make a list of and identify all allusions
2. What is the speaker's mood in lines 19 and 20 and how is the mood revealed?
3. Compare the celestial images in stanza 4 to the earthly images in stanza 5 and determine the point of the contrast.
Enjoy - Due tomorrow, February 24th.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Comp Entrance Essay
Hey kids -
Here is a link you can check out for tips on how to write the comp entrance essay. Although it's information about how to write the SAT essay, you can follow the advice and get a good idea of what to do and what not to do.
The #1 issue I foresee kids falling into tomorrow is the employment of vague/tired/cliche/average examples, such as "Changes do make our lives easier because we now can write essays on a computer instead of by hand which takes too long."
Remember, be specific. Use interesting, well developed examples that support your main idea. Don't write a lot of B.S. Develop an idea in a new and interesting way. Vary your sentence structure. Brush up on your grammar. USE PARAGRAPHS to separate EACH NEW IDEA!! Do not use "text speak" - capitalize words that need capitalized and don't use abbreviations or slang.
Here's the link - it's from your favorite website:
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/newsat/chapter6section5.rhtml
Here is a link you can check out for tips on how to write the comp entrance essay. Although it's information about how to write the SAT essay, you can follow the advice and get a good idea of what to do and what not to do.
The #1 issue I foresee kids falling into tomorrow is the employment of vague/tired/cliche/average examples, such as "Changes do make our lives easier because we now can write essays on a computer instead of by hand which takes too long."
Remember, be specific. Use interesting, well developed examples that support your main idea. Don't write a lot of B.S. Develop an idea in a new and interesting way. Vary your sentence structure. Brush up on your grammar. USE PARAGRAPHS to separate EACH NEW IDEA!! Do not use "text speak" - capitalize words that need capitalized and don't use abbreviations or slang.
Here's the link - it's from your favorite website:
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/newsat/chapter6section5.rhtml
Monday, February 2, 2009
Don't Forget to Finish The Thirteenth Tale !!
Hey kids -
I hope you are surviving midterm exams! Just a reminder - you only have ONE more weekend to finish The Thirteenth Tale!
I promised I wouldn't make you do any work related to the novel while you were reading it and I hold true to that promise... however, as of Monday, February 9th, that promise expires.
In preparation for class the weeks of February 9th and 16th, come to class each day prepared with a written answer to the following assigned questions:
Tuesday, February 10th:
Consider this quote: "All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth; it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story." -- Vida Winter.
How does this quote act as a thesis for the entire novel?
Wednesday, February 11th
Margaret tells a tale in the book of becoming so engrossed in reading a book that she falls off the wall where she is sitting. She suggests that this proves that "reading can be dangerous."
The Thirteenth Tale shows that reading is powerful, and that the dangers of reading are far more pervasive and can be far darker than Margaret's amusing childhood tale would allow. These dangers are not confined to the naive reader, nor can they be limited to childhood. Reading is a dangerous pastime; words have an inescapable physicality and can work for profound good or profound evil. Do you agree with Margaret about the danger of reading? Why, or why not?
How does this connect to our study of Blake's Three Stages of Being?
Thursday, February 12th
When Margaret challenges Miss Winter on the many versions of her life story she has already told, the author replies "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller." For Miss Winter, Margaret's pursuit of biography, her insistence on working with facts, is "horribly dull...Don't you think one can tell the truth much better with a story?" (p. 46). Who do you agree with more, and why? What makes someone's life story fiction? A biography? A memoir?
Friday, February 13th:
Like the book whose secrets are hinted at by its cover, houses reveal much about their owners. This is especially true in The Thirteenth Tale, where houses are virtual reflections of their inhabitants. Margaret's room above her father's bookshop, Angelfield, and Miss Winter's Yorkshire home all reveal much about the people who live in them, as does Aurelius's cozy cottage. What did you think about the meaning of houses and other structures in The Thirteenth Tale? What do the characters' surroundings say about them and their role in the novel?
Tuesday, February 17th:
Consider our study of Romanticism and apply the definitions we drafted in class to the following: What does Dr. Clifton mean when he tells Margaret that she is "suffering from an ailment that afflicts ladies of romantic imagination"?
Also, choose one character from the novel and gather 10 quotes from the book that reveal, directly or indirectly, that person's true "character".
Wednesday, February 18th:
The Thirteenth Tale is, at its core, a novel about secrets and the ways that the characters are shaped by secrets, their own and the secrets of those around them. Vida Winter is "as famous for her secrets as for her stories" (p. 11), and Margaret is forever scarred by her discovery, at the age of ten, that her mother has kept a secret. What role do secrets play in the story, and which ones did you find most surprising?
I hope you are surviving midterm exams! Just a reminder - you only have ONE more weekend to finish The Thirteenth Tale!
I promised I wouldn't make you do any work related to the novel while you were reading it and I hold true to that promise... however, as of Monday, February 9th, that promise expires.
In preparation for class the weeks of February 9th and 16th, come to class each day prepared with a written answer to the following assigned questions:
Tuesday, February 10th:
Consider this quote: "All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth; it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story." -- Vida Winter.
How does this quote act as a thesis for the entire novel?
Wednesday, February 11th
Margaret tells a tale in the book of becoming so engrossed in reading a book that she falls off the wall where she is sitting. She suggests that this proves that "reading can be dangerous."
The Thirteenth Tale shows that reading is powerful, and that the dangers of reading are far more pervasive and can be far darker than Margaret's amusing childhood tale would allow. These dangers are not confined to the naive reader, nor can they be limited to childhood. Reading is a dangerous pastime; words have an inescapable physicality and can work for profound good or profound evil. Do you agree with Margaret about the danger of reading? Why, or why not?
How does this connect to our study of Blake's Three Stages of Being?
Thursday, February 12th
When Margaret challenges Miss Winter on the many versions of her life story she has already told, the author replies "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller." For Miss Winter, Margaret's pursuit of biography, her insistence on working with facts, is "horribly dull...Don't you think one can tell the truth much better with a story?" (p. 46). Who do you agree with more, and why? What makes someone's life story fiction? A biography? A memoir?
Friday, February 13th:
Like the book whose secrets are hinted at by its cover, houses reveal much about their owners. This is especially true in The Thirteenth Tale, where houses are virtual reflections of their inhabitants. Margaret's room above her father's bookshop, Angelfield, and Miss Winter's Yorkshire home all reveal much about the people who live in them, as does Aurelius's cozy cottage. What did you think about the meaning of houses and other structures in The Thirteenth Tale? What do the characters' surroundings say about them and their role in the novel?
Tuesday, February 17th:
Consider our study of Romanticism and apply the definitions we drafted in class to the following: What does Dr. Clifton mean when he tells Margaret that she is "suffering from an ailment that afflicts ladies of romantic imagination"?
Also, choose one character from the novel and gather 10 quotes from the book that reveal, directly or indirectly, that person's true "character".
Wednesday, February 18th:
The Thirteenth Tale is, at its core, a novel about secrets and the ways that the characters are shaped by secrets, their own and the secrets of those around them. Vida Winter is "as famous for her secrets as for her stories" (p. 11), and Margaret is forever scarred by her discovery, at the age of ten, that her mother has kept a secret. What role do secrets play in the story, and which ones did you find most surprising?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
DUE MONDAY 1/26: Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys
And William Blake’s “The Tyger”
Label each of Blake’s Contrary States of the Human Soul as Innocence, Experience, or Organized Innocence
1 This state relies upon recognition of the Church’s desire for people to be obedient and accept oppression, poverty, and inequality. It is a profound disillusionment with human nature and society. One entering this state sees cruelty and hypocrisy only too clearly but is unable to imagine a way out. _______________________________________________
2. This state is a higher form of consciousness. In this state, one’s sense of the divinity of humanity coexists with oppression and injustice, however involves continued recognition and active opposition to them. __________________________________________________
3. A state of genuine love and naïve trust toward all of human kind, accompanied by the unquestioned belief in Christian doctrine. Those in this state did not realize that the Church was using religion as a means of social control. ________________________________________
Scene 1:
The Note: Francis, Margie and William Blake’s The Tyger (on the bleachers at soccer practice)
Examine this scene, keeping in mind Blake’s definition of Innocence. Describe how this scene embodies innocence. How does Blake’s poem fit into the scene?
Scene 2: Boys on the Bus: Tim and Sister Assumpta and the book of Blake’s poetry
Paraphrase Sister Assumpta’s view of William Blake and considering William Blake’s States of Being, determine her role in Tim’s Bildungsroman.
Do you agree with Sister Assumpta’s view of William Blake? How does her view reflect the Romantic ideal of the Church using innocence as a means of social control? How is Sister Assumpta trying to control Tim?
Scene 3: Kids at the Zoo: The plan to get back at Sister Assumpta
Who, in this scene, seems to most clearly understand Blake’s concept of Organized Innocence? Read and interpret Blake’s poem “The Tyger”. What does the poem reveal about Blake’s view of experience? Using the poem’s unlocked meaning, consider what the guide says about the souls of animals. Whom do you think the guide would claim created the beast? Whom would Sister Assumpta claim created it?
Scene 4: Margie’s Secret
Consider Margie’s behavior from the beginning of the film up until she reveals her secret to Francis. Compare that behavior to her secret and to the fact she attempted suicide and determine where she is on her Bildungsroman at this point in the film.
Scene 5: Loss of Innocence – Tim and Francis and the dog on the side of the road.
In this scene, consider the stages Tim traveling through and toward. Is Tim in a state of innocence, experience or organized innocence? What actions would lead you to believe that he possesses innocence? Experience? Both?
Scene 6: Blake’s poem “The Tyger”, revisited
Has Francis moved from a state of Innocence to Experience to Organized Innocence? How does this scene depict Francis’ movement into this state? What is he doing that displays active opposition? Why was this poem a good choice for Francis? What does it symbolize to him? Whom do you think Francis would say made the tiger?
And William Blake’s “The Tyger”
Label each of Blake’s Contrary States of the Human Soul as Innocence, Experience, or Organized Innocence
1 This state relies upon recognition of the Church’s desire for people to be obedient and accept oppression, poverty, and inequality. It is a profound disillusionment with human nature and society. One entering this state sees cruelty and hypocrisy only too clearly but is unable to imagine a way out. _______________________________________________
2. This state is a higher form of consciousness. In this state, one’s sense of the divinity of humanity coexists with oppression and injustice, however involves continued recognition and active opposition to them. __________________________________________________
3. A state of genuine love and naïve trust toward all of human kind, accompanied by the unquestioned belief in Christian doctrine. Those in this state did not realize that the Church was using religion as a means of social control. ________________________________________
Scene 1:
The Note: Francis, Margie and William Blake’s The Tyger (on the bleachers at soccer practice)
Examine this scene, keeping in mind Blake’s definition of Innocence. Describe how this scene embodies innocence. How does Blake’s poem fit into the scene?
Scene 2: Boys on the Bus: Tim and Sister Assumpta and the book of Blake’s poetry
Paraphrase Sister Assumpta’s view of William Blake and considering William Blake’s States of Being, determine her role in Tim’s Bildungsroman.
Do you agree with Sister Assumpta’s view of William Blake? How does her view reflect the Romantic ideal of the Church using innocence as a means of social control? How is Sister Assumpta trying to control Tim?
Scene 3: Kids at the Zoo: The plan to get back at Sister Assumpta
Who, in this scene, seems to most clearly understand Blake’s concept of Organized Innocence? Read and interpret Blake’s poem “The Tyger”. What does the poem reveal about Blake’s view of experience? Using the poem’s unlocked meaning, consider what the guide says about the souls of animals. Whom do you think the guide would claim created the beast? Whom would Sister Assumpta claim created it?
Scene 4: Margie’s Secret
Consider Margie’s behavior from the beginning of the film up until she reveals her secret to Francis. Compare that behavior to her secret and to the fact she attempted suicide and determine where she is on her Bildungsroman at this point in the film.
Scene 5: Loss of Innocence – Tim and Francis and the dog on the side of the road.
In this scene, consider the stages Tim traveling through and toward. Is Tim in a state of innocence, experience or organized innocence? What actions would lead you to believe that he possesses innocence? Experience? Both?
Scene 6: Blake’s poem “The Tyger”, revisited
Has Francis moved from a state of Innocence to Experience to Organized Innocence? How does this scene depict Francis’ movement into this state? What is he doing that displays active opposition? Why was this poem a good choice for Francis? What does it symbolize to him? Whom do you think Francis would say made the tiger?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Writing Contest~
Hey kids - Penguin Publishing Group is running an essay contest and giving out five $1000 prizes.
This year, the essay focuses on the novel Jane Eyre - which is mentioned in The Thirteenth Tale several times! If you have read Jane Eyre or it you are interested in reading it, consider this contest!
Here's a link to the website:
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/services-academic/essayhome.html
This year, the essay focuses on the novel Jane Eyre - which is mentioned in The Thirteenth Tale several times! If you have read Jane Eyre or it you are interested in reading it, consider this contest!
Here's a link to the website:
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/services-academic/essayhome.html
Friday, January 16, 2009
Last Chance Workout
Ok - here's the deal: I will give you partial credit for each assignment you make up. Partial credit will range anywhere from 2 points off to half credit, depending on the assignment.
For those of you who need to make up Act I questions, here they are: (the rest of you scroll down)
Act I, Scene i (You can find the play online by Googling it)
1. List two paradoxes from this scene.
a.
b.
2. Use three or four specific words to describe the emotional tone of the scene
a.
b.
c.
Scene ii
1. Identify and explain the simile in the soldier’s opening lines.
2. According to the soldier, what did Macbeth do in the battle?
3. Would the attack of a sparrow dismay an eagle?
4. What fate has befallen the Thane of Cawdor? How will this affect Macbeth?
Scene iii
1. Why is the first witch in a foul mood?
2. Macbeth's opening lines are an echo of which earlier lines?
a. Why would he think the day was foul?
b. Why would he think it fair?
5. Examine Banquo's comments and reaction to the witches and then choose one or two line that accurately infers Banquo’s attitude towards the witches and their prophecy.
5. Compare and contrast the reactions of Banquo and Macbeth when they hear the message from the King that Macbeth was named Thane of Cawdor.
6. Macbeth is a bit worried. He says that the recent events can’t be bad but they also can’t be good. Why can’t they be bad? Why can’t they be good?
For those of you who need to make up the Star Wars/Polanski Macbeth assignment, go to the top left corner and type "Star Wars" into the box and click on "search blog".
For those of you who need to make up the Office Macbeth assignment, see me Tuesday.
For those of you who need to make up the Found Macbeth assignment: choose a scene from Macbeth and using 10 words or lines cut from magazines, write a collage style letter from one character to an audience revealing the character's perspective of the incident.
For those of you who have not written the Hornby Essay, go to the left hand corner and type "Hornby" into the search box and click on "search blog". Follow the instructions on the post that appears, EXCEPT remember to use an allusion from Macbeth as one of your supporting allusions in the 3rd paragraph.
DO NOT EMAIL ANY ASSIGNMENTS TO ME. Please print them out and bring in a hard copy next week.
For those of you who need to make up Act I questions, here they are: (the rest of you scroll down)
Act I, Scene i (You can find the play online by Googling it)
1. List two paradoxes from this scene.
a.
b.
2. Use three or four specific words to describe the emotional tone of the scene
a.
b.
c.
Scene ii
1. Identify and explain the simile in the soldier’s opening lines.
2. According to the soldier, what did Macbeth do in the battle?
3. Would the attack of a sparrow dismay an eagle?
4. What fate has befallen the Thane of Cawdor? How will this affect Macbeth?
Scene iii
1. Why is the first witch in a foul mood?
2. Macbeth's opening lines are an echo of which earlier lines?
a. Why would he think the day was foul?
b. Why would he think it fair?
5. Examine Banquo's comments and reaction to the witches and then choose one or two line that accurately infers Banquo’s attitude towards the witches and their prophecy.
5. Compare and contrast the reactions of Banquo and Macbeth when they hear the message from the King that Macbeth was named Thane of Cawdor.
6. Macbeth is a bit worried. He says that the recent events can’t be bad but they also can’t be good. Why can’t they be bad? Why can’t they be good?
For those of you who need to make up the Star Wars/Polanski Macbeth assignment, go to the top left corner and type "Star Wars" into the box and click on "search blog".
For those of you who need to make up the Office Macbeth assignment, see me Tuesday.
For those of you who need to make up the Found Macbeth assignment: choose a scene from Macbeth and using 10 words or lines cut from magazines, write a collage style letter from one character to an audience revealing the character's perspective of the incident.
For those of you who have not written the Hornby Essay, go to the left hand corner and type "Hornby" into the search box and click on "search blog". Follow the instructions on the post that appears, EXCEPT remember to use an allusion from Macbeth as one of your supporting allusions in the 3rd paragraph.
DO NOT EMAIL ANY ASSIGNMENTS TO ME. Please print them out and bring in a hard copy next week.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Memoir
Hey kids - I'm SO sorry this posted so late! I posted earlier today from my classroom but when I just checked the blog, I noticed my earlier post never posted!
Therefore, if you don't finish the assignment, we'll finish it at the beginning of class tomorrow. Also, I took some time to revisit the questions and realized that most of them are really pretty awful. Therefore, I'm substituting the following generic questions to get you thinking:
One of the happiest times in my life was…
One of the saddest times in my life was…
I came to the important realization that…
I realized that I was no longer a child when…
The best birthday present I ever received was…
My favorite holiday is…because…
My favorite place is…
When I was little, I used to...
I was proud of myself for...
I was ashamed of myself for...
I have never been so engrossed in learning as when...
I spent time with someone who was much different from me when…
A time when I decided to do something differently from everyone else around me was...
The person who has had the biggest influence on me is...
An experience that challenged me was...
One of my biggest successes was...
One of my biggest failures was...
I realized that I had a talent for...
The worst thing that has ever happened to me is...
I was in grave danger when…
Therefore, if you don't finish the assignment, we'll finish it at the beginning of class tomorrow. Also, I took some time to revisit the questions and realized that most of them are really pretty awful. Therefore, I'm substituting the following generic questions to get you thinking:
One of the happiest times in my life was…
One of the saddest times in my life was…
I came to the important realization that…
I realized that I was no longer a child when…
The best birthday present I ever received was…
My favorite holiday is…because…
My favorite place is…
When I was little, I used to...
I was proud of myself for...
I was ashamed of myself for...
I have never been so engrossed in learning as when...
I spent time with someone who was much different from me when…
A time when I decided to do something differently from everyone else around me was...
The person who has had the biggest influence on me is...
An experience that challenged me was...
One of my biggest successes was...
One of my biggest failures was...
I realized that I had a talent for...
The worst thing that has ever happened to me is...
I was in grave danger when…
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