March Blog #2

Here's a little blog assignment for you that will help you prepare for the Rain of Gold timed write that awaits you after Spring Break!

1. Identify an important theme from the third part of the novel.

2. Make a text-to-world connection with this theme (meaning, connect the theme you identified to a real-life situation. Compare and contrast their similarities in two paragraphs.

3. Embed a picture that is representative of your ideas.

MARCH BLOG #2 IS DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, APRIL 4TH, 2010!

March Blog #1

Now we're going to practice a bit with your ability to compare and contrast. Choose two images that have a similar feature. Then, write a list that exhibits the similarities and differences. Also, if you were going to write an essay about your two images, what would you choose for your purpose?

March Blog #1 is due by 11:59:59 on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010!

February Blog #1 and #2

Hello Poets!

The first and second blog assignment for February are combined because it is a more difficult thing to do!

Follow these steps:

1) Watch my voicethread about Baby T below...I know, I know, it's cheesy, but hey, you get the idea, right?!

2) Go to voicethread.com and sign up for an account (only do the FREE one!!!)

3) Comment on this post and tell me that you have your account ready

4) Come to class and learn how to create a voicethread using your "Where I'm From" poem

5) Create and complete a voicethread with your "Where I'm From" poem

6) Embed your voicethread onto your blog

Because this is more difficult, you will have the whole month to complete this assignment.

NOTICE THE NEW DEADLINE! MORE TIME! YAY! :)
This blog assignment is due by 11:59:59 on Tuesday, March 9th!

January Blog #2

Hello Poets!

The directions for the second blog of January are as follows:

1) Choose an object, person, or place that is important to you.

2) Write a poem that describes your topic as an extended metaphor. For example, I might say that my mother is the sun, rising early to greet me and bring about life, etc. Or I might metaphorically compare something to my refrigerator. Just remember, to use metaphors well when you write, the comparison must be of two DIFFERENT concepts, but there should be a clever connection embedded between them!

3. One line MUST have alliteration

January Blog #2 is due on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 by 11:59:59!

January Blog #1

Welcome back to the Spring Semester Bloggers!

I hope you had a great break! I'm excited for all of the fun stuff we have ahead of us to learn!

First, we begin with poetry... Here are the directions for this assignment:

1. Copy and paste one of your favorite poems onto your blog (don't forget to include the author!)

2. Below the poem, answer the following questions:
a. What is the point of view and who is the speaker?

b. What is the situation?

c. What is the main theme of this poem?

d. Cite one line that uses an "Element of Poetry" (i.e., metaphor, simile, alliteration, symbol, imagery, etc. Use your packet from class to help you understand each term).


After your citation, give me two sentences that analyze the significance of the element of
poetry.

Here is an example:

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

By Robert Frost

a. The point of view is third person omniscient, and the speaker is unnamed, although I can see that he/she is wise, so maybe an older person.

b. The situation is that the speaker is declaring that all important/valuable things cannot last.

c. The most obvious theme of this poem is that all things that are beautiful, perfect, valuable, and/or precious are temporary and will not last.

d. When Frost writes in line 6 "So Eden sank to grief," he is alluding to the fall of Adam and Eve from the utopia of Eden. He does this not only to exemplify how perfection will inevitably be changed, but also to illustrate how humans are born fallable. By referencing Eden, Frost suggests that our destinies are largely determined by the sins of our actions. Since Eve ate the apple, so will humans err when possible, thus changing the outcome of our futures.

JANUARY BLOG #1 IS DUE BY 11:59:59 ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 2010!

December Blog #2

The final blog assignment for the first semester is fairly simple:

After you have finished reading your outside novel, respond to the following prompt:


Consider the themes within the novel that you have read. What connections can you make to the themes within the text to the world around you?

Write a solid paragraph (7 sentence minimum), in which you articulate an important theme from your novel, and connect those ideas to an example from your community, the country, or the world.

DECEMBER BLOG #2 IS DUE BY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH @ 11:59:59 PM!