Welcome to Mrs. DeRaps's Online Class!

My Name

2011-04-29T07:41:00.000-04:00

Today, after we read the next few chapters in The House on Mango Street, we are going to get started on a new prompt for our memoir projects. You will be writing about your own name, and what it means to you.

To get you started, here are a few online databases of name meanings and origins. Browse these sites for your name and see what they have to say. What does your name stand for? Is it a direct translation of a word? What nationality is it? Use the information you find to give you a starting point for this writing piece.

This link goes to a list of baby names and their meanings, but clicking on "More info" will give you lots of specific facts about the origin of your name, its translation(s) and its use throughout history!

Behindthename.com is a more adult-oriented name origin website, with some pretty comprehensive histories of names.

This site is a database of the meanings and origins of last names.

Have fun with these! See you in class,

-Mr. Thomas

Beginning Our Rebel Research

2011-04-27T12:31:00.002-04:00

After reading another chapter in The Hunger Games, we are going to introduce the next big project in this class, our Rebel Research Project.

For this project, you will choose people who, in the past, have rebelled against their governments, their societies, and their cultures. You will find information about one influential person that interests you, researching things like the country they come from, their lives, their accomplishments, and their struggles.

Rather than finding these facts and fitting them into a long essay, however, we are going to rebel against the normal assessment and create a graphical representation of the research we have done. To do this, we are going to use Comic Life.

The above "Rebel Research Project" link brings up a list of the people you will be able to research, along with a short blurb about who they were and what they did. The details of this assignment will be further outlined with a handout in class today. See you all then!

-Mr. Thomas

Dia de los Muertos and Concrete Calaveras

2011-04-08T00:45:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone,

Though we are still about twenty pages from the part of Trash that goes into detail about the holiday celebration of Dia de los Muertos, (the Day of the Dead) I wanted to take advantage of the fact that today is Poetry Friday! We are going to have an activity related to this significant portion of the book (which we will most likely end up reading as we complete this activity today, so it will all work out!)

So our characters are about to find themselves in the middle of a Latino celebration that takes place on November 2. Though it is not made clear in which country the events of the story are taking place, there are many countries which celebrate the Day of the Dead. For the purposes of our assignment, we'll stick with a loose interpretation of the traditions that the characters in the book follow on this day.

The Day of the Dead is a holiday season which is set aside to honor family members or other loved ones who have passed away. The celebrations often take place at the very graves of the honored dead, and there are traditionally all manner of offerings and poems/prayers laid down to honor their memories and spirits.

In keeping with our penchant for integrating artwork with our poetry, we are going to make calaveras (decorated skulls) and conjure poems that are either based on characters in our story, or written for loved ones we've lost.

You see, one type of offering brought to the graves by the families of the deceased is any variation on a calavera, a decorated skull that can be made out of anything from paper to lumps of painted sugar. These can be accompanied by poems as well--poems that are meant to convince the spirit of the dead to come back to the world of the living!

To make our own poems, we need to consider who we want them written to. An interesting part of writing a calavera is that it can be addressed both to someone who is still alive or someone who has died. If you want, you can write a poem for someone in your family or a character in the story. If you choose the latter, you may need to mention things about the life of that character that you either mourn or appreciate.

Once the poems are written (instructions & details to follow) we will turn them into concrete poems in the shape of skulls, and do our decorating in and around the poems. It will be interesting to see whether or not anyone tries to make their calavera look like the character their poem is addressed to!

-Mr. Thomas

The Hunger Games: How do you rank?

2011-04-05T21:19:00.008-04:00

Today is an early-release day, so we are going to use the first part of class to play a little online game based on The Hunger Games. To play, you must answer a series of 8 multiple choice questions that show how you would react in arena-like scenarios. After you've answered, your likelihood of winning will be calculated. I'll warn you, though, the game is hard. If your chances are anything less than 100%, you LOSE!

Here is the link to the game: http://www.scholastic.com/thehungergames/games/play.htm

Once you get to the webpage, you will be playing the second game that appears--the one called "Tribute Trials"

Afterwards we'll do a little bit of reflection:

What are the skills that you are required to have in order to make it out alive?
Why would these skills be useful to you if you were a tribute? Name three in particular that you feel are your greatest strengths.
Lastly, which skills does Katniss have? We know of a few by now, but we'll have to wait and see how she'll fare in different scenarios. Are there any skills that the online game refers to that Katniss doesn't have?

See you all in class for a little while,

-Mr. Thomas

Enter: The Arena

2011-04-04T11:21:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back from the long weekend. I doubt we'll see another snow cancellation anytime soon, so I hope you made the most of it!

Last class we read the first part of chapter 11 in The Hunger Games, in which the games kick off with a violent, bloody start.

We're going to read some more today, but I'm going to graciously take an idea from Ms. Audy (last year's student teacher) and do a little activity where we start asking questions about our reading.

We will loosely break into groups of 2 (depending on attendance) and each group or person will be assigned a category in which to ask questions about the reading:

This business of the "Death Recap"
Survival/fighting strategies of the tributes
The Love Triangle: Katniss, Peeta, Gale
The Cornucopia and the Bloodbath
Alliances and how they're made

After reading through a bit more or Katniss's adventures in the arena, we are going to take a break and get into groups for these categories. Each group or person will collaborate and come up with two questions pertaining to something in the area of their category. Once the questions have been written down, the sheet gets passed to the left and one of those questions will be answered by the next group. The papers will be passed to the left once more, and when all questions have been answered we will review them in class with a discussion.

A few good examples from Ms. Audy's class were:

Should Katniss have taken more at the Cornucopia?

What are some strengths and weaknesses of Katniss's strategy?

-Mr. Thomas

Personal Belief Activity

2011-03-31T09:13:00.001-04:00

Hi Everybody,

As we near the end of the third quarter, we're going to take a step back and take a look at some human rights issues we've discussed while reading Trash.

Today we are going to have an in-class activity which will let us voice some of the opinions that I know all of you have. As we've read this book, we've encountered and discussed a variety of humanitarian disasters that are taking place all around the world: Corrupt law enforcement, child imprisonment, dumpsite children, shattered family structures, etc. During each discussion, it was easy to see that you all feel very strongly about each of these issues.

So in class we are going to each consider one of these issues by writing beliefs up on posters labeled:
   Corrupt Law Enforcement
   Child Imprisonment
   Dumpsite Children/Shattered Families

We are then going to write a personal belief statement which explains how we feel about one of these issues. After this part of the activity, we will visit a separate poster labeled, Why? where we will consider the reasons these things are happening. After we've had a discussion about the many different elements that build up to these situations, we will revisit our statement. Has it changed since you've considered some of the reasons we've come up with?

-Mr. Thomas

Child Imprisonment (continued)

2011-03-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hello Sophomores,

Today we are going to learn some more about child imprisonment.

As we've read Andy Mulligan's Trash, we've gradually seen more of the country that exists beyond Behala and the Smoky Mountain dump site. Now we will get up-close and personal with the nation's prison system. In our reading, a few of the characters are brought into the heart of a prison that is overcrowded with children and adults alike. We have already focused on the corruption of law enforcement in this book, but it is important that we become more informed about the extent of the problems of the judicial system.

The following is a slideshow of photos that a journalist took while visiting Cambodia. The journalist was working with a volunteer organization that provides help for children whose families have been destroyed by imprisonment or who have been imprisoned themselves:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/audioslideshow/2010/feb/03/child-prisoners-cambodia

We are going to watch this slideshow in class and have some discussion about the living conditions and the failings of the judicial system in Cambodia. The video will serve as a way to move the discussion in the right place, so that we can look at this testimonial from an imprisoned Cambodian woman who was forced to bring her child into prison with her, during much of her 16 year sentence.

http://www.worldwideopen.org/uploads/resources/files/827/PRIS011_LICADHO_Report_Prison_2008.pdf

The link accesses a PDF of this woman's testimony, which we will look at in some detail in class. We will be linking the information we have learned with an activity as well.

-Mr. Thomas

Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt Quiz

2011-03-21T20:00:00.011-04:00

Hi, class!

aw yeah

Below you will find all of the categories for the Shakespeare research webquest that we've been assembling for the last few class periods. They are listed in the same order as on the last blog post, only now, each topic is hyperlinked to one of your classmate's blogs! You're going to have to search through the facts that they have in their posts in order to answer the questions they've come up with.

All of the questions are in quiz form, conveniently in one word document which Mrs. DeRaps has sent to you via Email. Look through the list of questions and start searching these blogs for the answers.

All you need to do is copy and paste those answers into the word document.

Yes, this quiz will be graded, so you will need to work individually and quietly until you are all finished. Happy hunting!

Shakespeare's Biography

Shakespeare's Biography (2)

Queen Elizabeth I and the Elizabethan Period

Renaissance Italy

The Plague

Elizabethan Sports

The Globe Theater

The Globe Theater (2)

Elizabethan Women/Hairstyles

Fashion/Color of Clothing

Food

Torture and Punishment

Marriage

Love

When you're all done, print your completed word doc or email it to me and check in with me.
-Mr. Thomas

Renaissance Italy

2011-03-21T08:59:00.001-04:00

there are 3 major areas of the renaissance. early, high renaissance late renaissance.

members of the early renaissance
donatello in sculptur
brunelleeschi in architecure
masaccio in panting

the high renaissance
from 1495 to 1520
leonardo de vici
micholangalo
raphial
titian

late renaissance
bologna

-14tg

Poetry Friday: Incident On the Road To the Capital

2011-03-14T11:21:00.005-04:00

Today we are going to get started on a Poetry Friday assignment. I am borrowing this assignment from Mrs. DeRaps from a previous post, so if you would like to see the original for comparison purposes, feel free to visit the link!

We are going to read and take a good look at Dara Wier's unique poem Incident On the Road To the Capital. What do you notice about this poem that is much different from the others we've read in this class? This happens to be a "prose poem," a type of prose characterized by having poetic imagery and concentrated lines. The lines sound more like sentences, and we get a much clearer sense of story in this poem than we usually do. Though, in this poem, a lot of the guesswork has been taken out of deciphering the action, there's still much more to examine in this peculiar scene Wier has crafted.

The Poetry Friday assignment will be to adapt this poem to fit the plight of a tribute in The Hunger Games. It can be any of our main characters, but it can also involve tributes from other districts. Study the poem line by line and tell the story of the tribute, explaining his or her story. If you decide to write about another district, use your map of Panem to include some details about that district in your poem.

I will re-visit this post after we've finished this assignment and update with the approach we decide to take. Until then, have fun with this!

-Mr. Thomas

Child Imprisonment

2011-03-11T09:12:00.001-05:00

Hello Sophomores,

Today, though we only have you for the first 30 minutes of class, we are going to get familiar with the problem of the imprisonment and abuse of children in other countries. We touched base on this during our early release class by reading through a summarized report by Human Rights Watch and highlighted and discussed some important facts.

Now we are going to look at some first-hand testimonies from children imprisoned in Cambodia, not in words, but in pictures. These pictures were collected as part of an art exhibit called "Children in Prison--No Place to Grow Up."

http://www.noedhjaelp.dk/extra/flash/slideshow/2008-cambodia-childreninprison/

Your assignment will be to make one of these pictures, from the point of view of any of the characters you have read about this year. Here is a list of things you have read in case you need to be reminded:

Night
Amnesty International Short Stories:
   "Prisoner of Conscience"
   "Forced Arranged Marriage"
   "Child Slave Labor"
Sold
Trash

In addition to this picture, you are going to write a list poem (I will give you the format in class) that takes into account the rights that these characters have lost. In four stanzas, you will be arguing for these characters and their rights, explaining what they should be allowed to do as children, and what should not be happening to them as children.

-Mr. Thomas

Getting To Know The Bard

2011-02-25T21:02:00.016-05:00

Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable weekend! Once we're finished with Of Mice and Men, we're going to get started on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1883770,00.html

To get our feet wet, we're going to spend class today completing a webquest that will help us get more acquainted with Shakespeare and the world in which he lived. Each of you will be working on certain aspects of Shakespeare's life, using your blogs to report out what you've learned from these resources. Here are the basic instructions:

1. Click on your link

2. Choose 4 to 6 of the most important facts or ideas related to your topic

3. Rephrase and retype those facts into a blog post

4. Find a photo, drawing, or art piece related to your topic and upload it into your blog post

5. Make the title of your post the same as your topic

6. Write a sentence or two about one or two of the facts you've located (is this similar to today or different from today?)

Shakespeare's Biography

Shakespeare's Biography (2)

Queen Elizabeth I and the Elizabethan Period

Renaissance Italy

The Plague

The Plague (2)

Elizabethan Sports

The Globe Theater

The Globe Theater (2)

Elizabethan Women

Fashion

Color of Clothing

Food

Torture and Punishment

Marriage

Love

Hairstyles

And for extra credit:
Shakespeare's Portrait
The Shakespearean Insult
Insult Generator
Happy researching!

-Mr. Thomas

Poetry Friday: Heather McHugh's "U-District Incident Report"

2011-02-17T21:49:00.006-05:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brucerobertson/268063523/in/set-72157600024188903/

Today we are going to read a satisfyingly dystopian poem by Heather McHugh.

The poem really embodies much of what we've been discussing while we read, in particular the abuse of technology, and the latest issue we will raise: the absence of individual freedom. We are going to keep these connections in mind while we each work on our own versions of this poem, which we will narrate from the perspective of someone from The Hunger Games.

One more day until winter break, everyone!

Let's finish strong!

-Mr. Thomas

Hunger Games Recap

2011-02-17T21:11:00.009-05:00

via

So there have been some absences lately, and I wanted to make a blog post that could be a place for anyone to catch up on the work we've been doing in class for the past week or so, in case you've missed anything.

As of 2/16 we've read up to page 61(Chapter 5) in The Hunger Games
There is a list of attributes of dystopian literature that we are steadily working through, finding quotes that give examples of the elements as we read. The first attribute is: a Totalitarian Government. We have found at least 1 quote on this attribute so far.
We have found 2 quotes in the text that show evidence of Mass Poverty
We have completed a survey about the ways we use technology in our daily lives. Over the next three days, we discussed the use and abuse of technology in the story. We found examples of technology as they came up in the text, taking a total of 3 quotes.
We made a GIST, or a guided summary, of one of two articles on the revolution in Egypt. Please follow the instructions on the GIST blog post if you are going to get it finished. During this class, we discussed some different representations of "hunger" in the story. This is not necessarily an indicator of a dystopian novel, but it is a story element that we need to bring attention to. In total, we found 2 quotes on "hunger."
The latest thing we've read in class was an article called "Injustice on Our Plates," which shed some light on the food industry's unethical use of illegal immigrant laborers. We highlighted connections in the article to some portrayals of food in The Hunger Games. I will give you the article the next time I see you, since I don't have a digital copy to link here.
Lastly, we filled out a chart to see how many quotes we've found so far. Judging by this summary, everyone should have at least 8 total quotes:

Totalitarian: (at least) 1
Poverty: 2
Abuse of Technology: 3
Hunger: 2

If you are missing quotes you need to find them. You can keep the charts in your folders to help you keep track of the quotes you have. I would like us to have 3 quotes for every word by the time we're all finished.

On Friday we're going to introduce a new dystopian attribute: The Absence of Individual Freedom. It's also Poetry Friday so we'll do some work with a poem that deals with this issue!

see you there,

-Mr. Thomas

Valentine's Day, Mathematical Style

2011-02-14T04:42:00.000-05:00

As a little surprise for our beloved math teachers, we're going to spend some time this morning creating little math valentines! I know that this is a bit of a stretch, but one fearless freshman lady and I have been working to create some love-ly options for you for your valentines. Here are some of your choices for your very own math-inspired valentines:

"The Meaning of Zero" by Amy Uyematsu

Some interesting math expressions from a variety of people

Select a line from a math love poem

Math N Love poem

Hopefully, these links will give you some inspiration for your valentines. If not, you're welcome to create your very own! We'll march over to the math room later today to drop off our valentines.

Hunger Games Technology (cont.)

2011-02-14T02:00:00.011-05:00

During our last class, we took a survey about our technology usage and had a pretty lively discussion afterwards. We found some quotes from the latest read which related to the abuse of technology by the capitol, and along the way we got to talk a lot about some other ways that technology is represented in the book. You all gave 100%, and I can't thank you enough! Mrs. Miles (who was visiting our class) was also very impressed with your ideas and your enthusiasm for the book. Great job!

So today we are going to continue talking about technology, only now we are bringing in some bigger real-world connections.

We've had a little bit of discussion about the revolution in Egypt, and you might have recently heard that the revolution was successful in ending the 30-year reign of the country's president, Hosni Mubarak. To get a better picture of the unraveling of the revolution (specifically the way technology factored into the uprising) we're going to do some guided summaries! (otherwise known as GISTs, I guess!)

We will be doing GISTs on these two articles:

Beginnings: internet shut-down

Mid-revolt

This is the first GIST I'm going to see in action, so bear with me for just a bit during class.

Basically, the goal is to find 8 important words in these articles that are the most important. Through group work and discussion, we will pare it down to five total words, and with that list of five words we will write a short summary of the entire article, incorporating those words in the summary. My hope is that we can finish in time to discuss these current events and connect them to the reading we will do at the end of class.

Until then, here is a map of the districts of Panem, the setting for our book. You'll each get a copy in class so we can follow along as we read.

And of course, happy Valentine's Day!

-Mr. Thomas

Introduction to "Trash" by Andy Mulligan

2011-02-14T00:56:00.004-05:00

Hello Sophomores!

It's time to start our next book, and what better way to celebrate than to start with a new teacher? Mrs. Deraps is going to let me take the lead as we start reading Trash by Andy Mulligan, and with your help, I hope to make it a memorable (and, of course, educational) experience for all of us!

Trash is the story of a group of children in a third-world country who live on an extremely large dumpsite, sifting through heaps of trash every day of their lives, searching for valuable materials that they can sell or trade to help their families. Places like the dumpsite in the story are all too real, however, and as this short documentary about a garbage dump in Cambodia shows us, there are untold numbers of sick and injured children who are abandoned or orphaned at a young age, forced to live amid the filth of city dumps for their entire lives.

Small Steps: Cambodia, Phnom Penh from Amy Hanson on Vimeo.

As we are watching this video, be thinking about some of the things you are learning and what can be done to help people in this situation. Part of the viewing guide requires that you ask two questions. You will be given a viewing guide to help you organize your thoughts, but be prepared to have a discussion over this video in class.

Also feel free to draw connections between Sold and Trash, including the danger of the character's lifestyles and their ability(or inability) to leave their locations. After the introductory video and a little discussion, we'll dig in and start reading!

Have a happy Valentine's day!
-Mr. Thomas

ENG 11 Technology Survey

2011-02-10T08:13:00.000-05:00

Today we are going to take this survey on our day-to-day technology usage. It should only take us about 10-15 minutes. Once we're all finished, we'll take a look at the data and have a few discussions about what our technology usage says about us. Of course, we'll also tie it in to our readings in The Hunger Games, so keep in mind some of the technology we've been introduced to so far!

thanks,
-Mr. Thomas

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The Hunger Games: Poetry Friday!

2011-02-04T02:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Poetry Friday!

Today we will be finishing up the first chapter of The Hunger Games, and we will wash it down with a reading of a thought-provoking (albeit short) poem by Pitika Ntuli.

In My Country

In my country they jail you
For what they think you think.
My uncle once said to me:
They’ll implant a microchip
In our minds
To flash our thoughts and dreams
Onto a screen at John Vorster Square.
I was scared
By day I guard my tongue,
By night my dreams.

some discussion research:

Apartheid
http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html

John Vorster Square
http://heritage.thetimes.co.za/memorials/GP/DeathInDetention/

I will go over the details a bit more in class, but just make sure you bring your laptops...and your chargers!

-Mr. Thomas

Lost in Translation: A Poem in Nepali

2011-02-04T01:49:00.001-05:00

In Patricia McCormick's Sold, the main character, Lakshmi, learns to speak and understand a few key phrases in English. It is this knowledge that helps her to escape from her life as a sex slave in India. For today's poem, we are going to incorporate some phrases in Lakshmi's native Nepali with those in English.

Basically, the vision of this poem is that it could serve as a little message from Lakshmi to someone who could help her. Using basic Nepali language, write an 11 line poem where Lakshmi tells the reader that she's in danger and that she needs help.

Format:

Line #1: Nepali phrase
Line #2: English translation of the Nepali phrase

Line #3: Nepali phrase
Line #4: English translation of the Nepali phrase

Line #5: Nepali phrase
Line #6: English translation of the Nepali phrase

Line #7: Nepali phrase
Line #8: English translation of the Nepali phrase

Line #9: Nepali phrase
Line #10: English translation of the Nepali phrase

Line #11: Line in English (What she really wants to say but can't with her limited understanding of English)

Please type your poem in a Pages document and send it to me this period. I will be conferencing with you over your Words, Words, Words common assessment papers during this time.

The Hunger Games: Intro to Dystopia

2011-01-31T23:49:00.004-05:00

Today in class we got our first exposure to The Hunger Games. We started the class with a quick book walk. We then dove into a discussion about the society in the story, taking a few quick notes on the concept of dystopia, which is based on the word Utopia:

Utopia: an imagined place or state in which everything is perfect.
The word utopia is made up of the Greek words:

eu (good) + topos (place)

For the word dystopia, instead of eu, we use the Greek word dys:

dys (bad) + topos (place)

So, dystopia is: an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad.

Usually, in literature, dystopias are represented as societies with corrupt, controlling governments which make life miserable and difficult for the characters. Generally, the characteristics of a dystopian society boil down to seven common elements. Over the course of our reading, we will show how the society in The Hunger Games falls under these seven elements by gathering supporting quotes on post-its. We covered the first of the seven elements, a Totalitarian Government, in class today.

Totalitarian: a type of government, usually led by a dictator, which requires complete agreement with and obedience to the governing power.

We have read up to page 13, and along the way we've examined the society in the story and chosen some quotes that hint at the presence of a Totalitarian Government. Many of you have already started making some predictions, which is great--that's what good readers do! We'll have to see if they come true during our next reading.

See you in class!
-Mr. Thomas

Introduction to The Hunger Games

2011-01-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

Hello, Juniors!

On Thursday we started a new unit, and we kicked it off by completing an anticipation guide for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. We split the classroom down the middle (see pictures) and got into two groups: one for those who agreed and one for those who disagreed with the worksheet's statements.

Your individual arguments led to some really intense debate! We covered a lot of tough issues involving the importance of human life, family responsibilities, and social obligations. Thank you all for being so focused and honest with your answers, and for contributing to the discussion.

It was a pleasure to hear all of your beliefs and ideas, and I was impressed to see how well you stated your positions and listened to the arguments of other students. Well done!

Here is an example of the anticipation guide we used, completed by our very own Mrs. DeRaps:

Now that we've become familiar with the moral and social issues that are going to come up in The Hunger Games, my hope is that we'll be prepared for even more discussions like these. On Monday, we'll get acquainted with our new book and dive in! See you then!

Junior English: Midterm

2011-01-21T02:56:00.003-05:00

For your midterm, you're going to write two blog posts. For each post, I will be looking for the following criteria:

Evidence of Critical Thinking: Thoughtful observations, connections between readings and the larger world and/or your life, and growth in your thoughts/ observations from the beginning of the year.

Evidence of Critical Reading: Evidence of thorough readings, comprehension of reading materials, insightful reflections, and connections between readings materials.

Evidence of Creative Thinking: Inclusion of photographs, music, videos, or other media that enhances the presentation of the post; original ideas presented in readings are extended in a creative manner.

Evidence of the Ability to Write Clearly and Effectively: Grammar, spelling, capitalization errors do not interfere with audience understanding. The structure of your blog posts allows for understanding and is easy to follow.

Evidence of Awareness of Diverse Audience: Opinions, justifications, rationalizations, and summaries are written in a way that allows a diverse audience to understand your intent. Writings are not offensive, but engage audience members in your ideas and opinions in a creative manner.

Blog Entry 1:

As part of our unit for A Long Way Gone, we've learned a whole lot about a a variety of African countries, some in more depth than others. Here are the ones we've studied:

Chad
Democratic Republic of Congo
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan

Choose one of these countries to write about for this blog post. In your post, explain:

What is happened in that country in the past
What you learned about this country that affected you/ made it stand out to you
What is happening in that country right now (give a news update)

Make sure to add in a picture that relates to the country you have selected and to save all of your links to avoid any plagiarism!

(LABEL=A Long Way Gone)

Blog Entry 2:

In our last unit over the memoir A Long Way Gone, we have talked extensively about the use of child soldiers in many countries around the world. In our next book, The Hunger Games, children are going to be used as soldiers in a different way. Explain how you feel about the use of child soldiers after learning about it this quarter. Make sure to include a photo (with link) that shows how you feel about the practice of using child soldiers.

(LABEL=A Long Way Gone)

Blog Entry 3:

In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael describes several instances where his life is saved because of rap music. We studied the origins of hip-hop in the United States as a political and social movement where frustrated inner city African Americans used music to convey their anger and frustration with society.

For this final post, choose a song for Ishmael. It could be one that represents him as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, or one for him today now that he has undergone therapy. Embed your song in a blog post and explain why you chose this particular song for him. Point out lyrics that are meaningful. Make sure to quote the lyrics as they are written by the artist.

(LABEL= A Long Way Gone)

Freshman English: Midterm Exam

2011-01-20T05:55:00.001-05:00

For your midterm, you're going to write a series of blog posts. For each post, I will be looking for the following criteria:

Evidence of Critical Thinking: Thoughtful observations, connections between readings and the larger world and/or your life, and growth in your thoughts/ observations from the beginning of the year.

Evidence of Critical Reading: Evidence of thorough readings, comprehension of reading materials, insightful reflections, and connections between readings materials.

Evidence of Creative Thinking: Inclusion of photographs, music, videos, or other media that enhances the presentation of the post; original ideas presented in readings are extended in a creative manner.

Evidence of the Ability to Write Clearly and Effectively: Grammar, spelling, capitalization errors do not interfere with audience understanding. The structure of your blog posts allows for understanding and is easy to follow.

Evidence of Awareness of Diverse Audience: Opinions, justifications, rationalizations, and summaries are written in a way that allows a diverse audience to understand your intent. Writings are not offensive, but engage audience members in your ideas and opinions in a creative manner.

Here are your topics. Some are required posts, but others offer some choices. Make sure that each entry meets the criteria listed above.

Required Posts

1. Last week, we completed a GIST summary about the recent shooting in Tucson, Arizona. In this entry, please type your summary paragraph that you wrote last week. Then, add an additional paragraph where you explain whether or not you believe the alleged shooter should receive the death penalty. Make sure to be thorough in your answer and offer reasons why you hold this opinion.

(LABEL=Monster)

2. Write a reflective post about your blog. It's only a baby blog at this point, but I want to know what you're learning about writing from this process. Think about: improvements in the quality of your writing, your awareness of audience, your writing/ blogging goals for the rest of the year.

(LABEL=Reflection)

Optional Posts (Choose Two)

1. Write about your previous experiences with reading. Were you a reader before you started high school? Has Silent Sustained Reading changed your reading habits at all? What are the benefits of having SSR as part of our class time? What are the drawbacks? Do you plan to read more or less books for the rest of this school year?

(LABEL=SSR)

2. Write a post about your experiences in peer editing and teacher conferencing over your 5 Paragraph Essay. What did you learn from your peer editing and teacher conferences? What could have made them more effective? Do you think conferencing about your writing will make your writing better?

(LABEL=Writing)

3. Write reflective post about your experiences so far in high school. How are you doing academically compared to middle school? Do you feel like you've been successful in the high school? Why or why not?

(LABEL=Reflection)

4. Choose one of the poems you read or wrote for Poetry Friday. Retype it here and explain why you liked this poem and what made it stand out to you. Then, explain how you feel about reading and writing poems. Do you feel that you are growing as a poet? Do you feel more confident in writing/ reading poems now than you did at the start of this school year?

(LABEL=Poetry Friday)

Senior English: Midterm Exam

2011-01-19T06:14:00.000-05:00

We've been reading Markus Zusak's The Book Thief for some time now, but have not talked a whole lot about the man behind the book. Usually, I make a point of talking to you about the authors of the books we read, but in this case, I thought I'd leave that particular task up to you. So, your job today is to write a blog post that answers the following questions about Mr. Markus Zusak:

1. Who is he? Give biographical/ background information (where he's from, how old, education, family, any other relevant/ interesting info).

2. What books has he written?

3. What awards has he won for his work?

4. Where did he get the idea for The Book Thief?

5. If you could ask one question of Mr. Zusak, what would it be?

6. Of his books besides The Book Thief, which do you think would be your favorite? Why?

Make sure to italicize book titles and to give links to the sites where you found your information!

Also, include at least one picture of Mr. Zusak and one picture of one of his books in your post.

Hinduism: What Is It?

2010-12-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

In our book, Sold, by Patricia McCormick, the main character believes in the Hindu religion. Many of us in this classroom may be unfamiliar with this ancient religion, because it is not often that you come across someone with this religious belief system where we live.

Today, we're going to work to create a deeper understanding of this religion. You'll:

Find information about the Hindu Religion. Choose three categories from this page to find facts about.

Choose a God or Goddess to find information and an image to include in your post.

Choose two important/ interesting aspects of this to share out with the class.

Poetry Friday: Sex Trafficking Here and There

2010-12-10T09:07:00.000-05:00

This week, we started reading Patricia McCormick's novel in verse Sold. In this book, a Nepalese teen girl is sold into sexual slavery. Though this may be a lesser problem in the United States, there are certainly young women and girls who become or are kept as prostitutes against their will. We listened to two news reports from National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" this week to learn more about what's happening in our country where teen prostitution is concerned.

We listened to one segment called "Trafficked Teen Girls Describe Life in 'The Game'" and one called "Arresting Youth in Sex Trafficking Raises Debate" to learn more about this issue in our country.

For today's Poetry Friday lesson, you're going to write a poem that contrasts the sex trade in our country with other countries like Nepal.

The Real Cases: Death Row Inmates

2010-12-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

Today, we're going to look at photos and information about actual people who are currently on death row. This means that they have been sentenced to die for a crime (or crimes) that they have committed. From this list, choose three people who are on death row. In a blog post, use their cases to talk about whether or not you agree with the death penalty.

When you're done with your post, please send me a link in an email. I will list your posts on this blog and you will have the opportunity to comment on other blogs.

Make sure that you are respectful in your post and that you clearly state your opinion. When you comment on other blogs, make sure that you are respectful and give a thorough response to their comments/ ideas.

Bloggers Unite for World AIDS Day

2010-11-30T08:56:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, December 1st is World AIDS Day. Across the globe, bloggers, activists, and victims of the AIDS pandemic are uniting to raise awareness about AIDS. We are going to join this effort by adding our blog posts to the mix. For today's assignment, you are going to:

Locate 5-7 facts about AIDS from these articles/ sites:

World AIDS Campaign

5 Ways to Get Involved on World AIDS Day

NAT: UK AIDS Organization

Post your facts on your blog with a World AIDS Day Button

Create a poster to support World AIDS Day

Here's mine:

See some samples from others around the world.

And, finally. Let's show our support with some red ribbons. I have one for each of you if you'd like to wear it! You can wear it all week long if you choose.

Child Soldiers: The Other Countries

2010-11-23T14:07:00.000-05:00

http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/11/did_you_get_obamas_memo_white_house_selectively_okays_child_soldiers.html

As we read A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, I can see where some of you may think that Sierra Leone is the only country to use child soldiers. This, as some of you know, is completely untrue. Despite international efforts to end this practice, there are several countries that use of child soldiers in fighting their wars.

Today, you are all going to be assigned of the following countries to research.

Somalia
Burma (Myanmar)
Yemen
Chad
Sudan
Democratic Republic of Congo

After you are done with your research, you will create a blog post that answers the following questions:

Where is this country?
How many child soldiers are used in this country?
What type of war is being fought?
Why is this country fighting?

And, I'd like you to include a short video or a picture of child soldiers from this country. Make sure to use the label A Long Way Gone for this post.

Book of the Week: Willow by Julia Hoban

2010-11-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

I've read other books that deal with teens who self-mutilate, but none have been as engrossing, developed, or as realistic as Julia Hoban's Willow. In comparison, other titles feel a lot more shallow and less holistic. Willow is nothing short of disturbing and breath-taking.

In this book, Willow is a smart, authentic-seeming teenage who is living a nightmare. She has labeled herself a "killer" because she was driving the night that she and her parents suffered a fatal car accident. She is the only survivor. Never mind that Willow's parents had that second bottle of wine and were too impaired to drive home, never mind that the rain was torrential, never mind that Willow only had her learner's permit. She blames herself and wants everyone else to.

Too ease her pain (or possibly to validate it) Willow begins to cut herself. I have never read a book that describes this process, mentally, emotionally, and physically in such excruciating detail. It is sickening in its reality. Willow successfully hides her addiction to cutting successfully until a boy named Guy catches her doing it. After this, Willow makes him promise not to tell anyone. He agrees and they begin a rocky but intensely close relationship.

Normally, I would want Guy to tell someone quickly so that Willow could get help. This is me as a reader who works with teens every day. This is me as an adult looking in a judging Willow and Guy and wanting someone to help Willow, to force her to change. But, that would not make such a compelling read. Because the relationship between Guy and Willow is so authentic, so based on feelings and fears and mutual respect that I don't want that to be messed up with Guy telling on her. But, I don't want Willow to continue cutting, either.

In this way, the author puts the reader in Guy's shoes. If he tells, Willow may be forced to get help. But, if she's not ready for help then she will continue to cut (or try another route to ease her pain) without actually working through her sadness and loneliness and pain. Sure, Guy is a teenager and cannot be expected to take on Willow's problems, but I do think that he does a great job of caring about her as a person. He helps her work through her problems in a natural, caring manner. He's not looking for sex, but for her companionship. This is refreshing.

I would hope that teens (and adults) who read this book understand more about the psychology behind cutting. I don't hope that teens (or adults) will try to take on the problems of someone who is cutting; that is scary to me. But, I do recognize that friends have an enormous role in the lives of those who are hurting. I think that Guy models an engaged, concerned friend who just does not know how to help someone who is in as much pain as Willow.

"The Message" by Grandmaster Flash: Connections to Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone

2010-11-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

Today's Poetry Friday lesson takes us two places in time. One is the inner city of the early 1980's with Grandmaster Flash's famous song "The Message". The other is the civil war of the 1990's in Sierra Leone. Obviously, there are some serious differences between these two environments but there are also some elements that tie them together. War, chaos, unpredictable environments, loss of life and family, and governments who do not take care of their citizens.

Here is the video for this song:

After listening to this song and reading the lyrics, you all are going to locate quotations in the lyrics that relate to Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone. Then you'll create a blog post where you explain the relationship between the song and the book. Please include a picture that relates to the subject of this post.

Here is a student sample post for this assignment:

Student Sample

Do Words Have the Power to Set Us Free?

2010-11-17T07:53:00.002-05:00

Last class, we talked a little about the power of words when they are used against people who are of different sexual orientations. Though we just touched on this issue, you all seemed to have some sense that words carry a lot of weight, especially when they are directed at a person in a hateful manner.

Amnesty International has been working to free citizens who are prisoners of conscience. A prisoner of conscience, which we've talked about in previous classes, is someone who is jailed for expressing their beliefs in a non-violent manner. Recently, international attention has been called to one such prisoner of conscience. His name is Liu Xiaobo and he is charged by the Chinese government with "inciting subversion of state power" and given an 11-year prison sentence on December 25, 2009 simply for co-authoring a proposal for political and legal reform in China.

Even though this man has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, he is still being held prisoner in China. Today, we're going to add our voices to the international outcry concerning this man and his plight. You will:

Send a prefabricated letter about this case to the Chinese government from the Amnesty International site.

Choose one other case to send a letter about. Please take a few notes on stickies to share with the class. Please send me your stickies in an email for credit. Be sure to include the following information about the person or group of people:

-Their Name/ Cause:
-Country:
-Time incarcerated:
-Reason for incarceration:

Here is a video from Amnesty International about the power of words:

Quote of the Week

2010-11-15T07:53:00.000-05:00

This week's quotation comes from a man who was certainly not afraid to be creative and imaginative. I chose this one because we're working to set goals for quarter two in Study Skills. I think that it is important to set manageable and attainable goals for the short-term. So, you have all worked to write goals that each have two steps. All of the goals that you write this week should be ones that you can accomplish by the end of quarter two in January.

Here is the quote for this week. It comes from the Irish-born British author of the Chronicles of Narnia.

Book of the Week: The Julian Games by Adele Griffin

2010-11-14T17:24:00.002-05:00

As far as popularity goes, Raye is on the outside and loves to look in. She is new scholarship student at the Fulton School, a ritzy city school where the children of the rich and brilliant go to prep for their Ivy League years. Her nights are spent watching movies and pigging out with her best friend, Natalya. This all changes when the most popular girl at school, Ella, asks Raye for help in getting revenge against the most gorgeous, charming boy in town: Julian.

Raye is quick, and shows Ella a fake facebook profile that she created with Natalya as a bit of a joke. The profile is for a beautiful girl named Elizabeth, who claims to have recently come to the US to attend college. Natalya and Raye have fun using this profile to "friend" those that would never talk to them in real life. When Raye offers up Elizabeth as a way to get revenge against Julian, Ella jumps all over it.

Julian takes to Elizabeth quickly. Raye poses as Elizabeth for hours and hours every day, having great conversations with Julian. Quickly, the conversations become more and more intimate. Eventually, Raye is going to have to decide whether or not she can continue as Elizabeth, or try to date Julian for read. If she chooses to play along as Elizabeth, Julian will lose interest and realize that it was all a bad joke. If Raye chooses reality, Ella is going to punish her. And Raye knows that it will be painful.

I loved this book. The cover is great, and so is the message: Social networking can be dangerous. This message is obvious, but it never felt all that preachy. I didn't feel as though my students would be turned off from it. Certainly, my students are not over-privileged teens causing trouble online. But, there have been many cases of cyberbullying and online harassment in the past few school years.

I think that this topic of the dangers of social networking and the different types of bullying that have resulted from new and emerging technologies is here to stay in YA lit. There is a lot of room for more of this topic in YA, and I'd be interested to hear about more titles that incorporate this topic into their plots.

Honoring Our Nation's Veterans

2010-11-10T07:48:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day in the United States. Our observance of this important day comes on the heels of the death of a Maine soldier, Spc. Andrew Hutchins, who was killed in Afghanistan on Monday. The proximity of these two events makes me wonder how you all feel about war. You were probably fairly young when the United States entered Iraq. So, you have grown up with war in the background (or forefront for some of you) of your lives. Your perspective is unique, as you are the first generation since those who grew up during the Vietnam War to see and hear about war for most of your childhood.

We talked last week about pacifists and conscientious objectors. Most of you did not know of these terms, but in our short story "Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads," a man is persecuted by his community for being a conscientious objector, or a "conchie". This story by David Almond highlights the stigma that can come from deciding to not participate in war.

So, what do you believe?

Today, you're going to suss out your beliefs on war. This is a huge topic, but there are plenty of threads to choose from in your exploration of your beliefs and opinions. You're going to select two strains or topics to research in today's class and you'll write one or two blog posts about the topics you choose. (Some may be combined into one post.) Here is the list to choose from:

The organization called Veterans for Peace: Who are they? What is their mission? What are two interesting facts from their website? (Make sure to link back to their site in your post!)

An obituary for Spc. Andrew Hutchins. What was he like? Where was he from? How old was he? (Make sure to link back to this site in your post!)

The organization called Iraq Veterans Against the War. Who are they? What is their mission? What are two interesting facts from their website? (Make sure to link back to their site in your post!)

The history of Veteran's Day. How did this holiday come to be? Who created it? When? What is the purpose of it?

React to the poster for Veteran's Day 2010. How does it make you feel? Do you recognize all of the names/ locations on the list for this poster? Also, which poster was created the year you were born? How do you feel about that poster? What are the differences between the 2010 poster and the one from your birth year?

Look up the definition of the terms "pacifist" and "conscientious objector." Do you consider yourself to be a pacifist or CO? Why or why not?

2010-11-08T12:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.lastdaysofmanonearth.com/media/rap/break.jpg

Last week, we read about the origins of hip-hop and the connection between the inner city music of the 1970's and the rise of hip hop in Africa today. To get a feel for the music scene of the 1970's and 80's, you are each going to research a hip hop artist mentioned in the article we read.

Here is the list of artists:

Kurtis Blow

Melle Mel

Grand Wizard Theodore

Kool DJ AJ

Cold Crush Brothers

Spooney Gee

Rock Steady Crew

Afrika Bambaataa

Lovebug Starski

In today's class, you're going to google your hip hop artist. After you do this, you should find at least one video for your artist. Play the video(s) and choose one to upload on your blog. In your post, write about the music and the style that's represented in it. What's different about the music in the 1970's/ 1980's versus today's hip hop? What about the styles?

If your artist does not have a video with footage, you can still upload it in your post and write about the song itself.

Also, please include a list of

4-6 facts about your artist. (4-6)

It'll be interesting to see what you all come up with!

Book of the Week: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

2010-11-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

At some point after starting Kody Keplinger's The DUFF, I paused my reading to find out who in the world had written this book. Why? Because it felt as though I were eavesdropping on a some of my students talking about their weekend plans. Is this bad? No. The dialogue and narration were so realistic, so convincing that I knew that someone of great talent had written this novel. And, it turns out that this person is Kody Keplinger and that she is 18 years old.

Which makes sense, right? Who else but an 18 year old know how teens sound and think and feel? Still, though, it takes a serious talent (at any age) to know what people of a certain age are like and then translate that into believable characters and an interesting plot. That's just what this book has in spades.

The main character of The DUFF, Bianca, is instantly believable and likable. She is a little awkward physically, but shard as a knife in terms of wit and intelligence. The book opens with a crabby and bored Bianca watching her gorgeous best friends gyrate in a club, wishing that she could just make a getaway. But, her super hot best friends love to party and flirt, so Bianca stays.

Enter smokin' hot player-boy Wesley Rush. His first act on the scene is to tell Bianca, who's not really a close friend, but who is in the same social circle, that she is a DUFF. A Designated Ugly Fat Friend. How does Bianca react? She throws her glass of Cherry Coke right in his face. And she finally gets to leave the club.

But Wesley's comment stays with her. No matter how she tries to forget what Wesley thinks of her, she cannot. Why? Because she thinks he's right.

And circumstances in Bianca's life are not perfect. Her mother is absent, her father is unable to face the fact that his marriage is crumbling, and Bianca doesn't feel as though she has a chance with her crush or any other boy. She was heart-broken as a freshman and that rejection still stings years later. Bianca's a bit of a mess, but she's real and entertaining and I love her.

I could not put this book down and laughed out loud several times. The ending is a tad rushed, but this is easily forgiven. The quality of the writing and the intensity of this book are superb. I can't wait to read whatever else Ms. Keplinger writes. At 18, she has a long future as an amazing author ahead of her!

Speak: Public Service Announcements

2010-11-05T02:24:00.000-04:00

Our culminating project for our study of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is to create public service announcements that will be played on our local radio and hosted on the SAVES (Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services) website. Public Service Announcements are little bits of sound that inform listeners about important social issues.

Here are some sample videos of Public Service Announcements:

And here are some sample audio Public Service Announcements:

Male Pride

Male Excuses

Female Respect

With the help of Ms. Plummer, you all are going to now draft a script for your PSA and actually record one in today's class. I cannot wait to hear the powerful statements that you all come up with!

Course Description: A Focus on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2010-11-04T08:17:00.010-04:00

Found at http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/human-rights-day

This focus on human rights is part of a year-long focus on World Literature and students' personal beliefs. The project that the students are working on is called the Personal Creed Project, which ties in nicely with an intense focus on human rights around the world.

The basic premise of The Personal Creed Project, developed by John Creger, is that students work to define and refine their beliefs by thinking about and reacting to the characters (fictional and nonfictional) that they meet in their studies. So far, we have read one book about the Jewish Holocaust, several articles about human rights abuses around the world, and a short story from a collection of stories put together by Amnesty International.

Sample Personal Creed Video (Not a student in my class, but a project I'll show to my students.)

One of the first large projects that we're working on is in conjunction with Lisa Dalrymple's Spanish classes. In our combined efforts, we're going to create materials to help promote and celebrate International Human Rights Day, which is December 10th. For this project, we are studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was developed in 1948 to protect the people of the world from atrocities like the ones that occurred during WWII.

To lead up to this important day, students are working to create promotional materials to hang up around the school. So far, students in my sophomore English class have selected two articles (there are thirty in total) and have created posters. Also, they have studied the elections in Myanmar and compared/ contrasted those elections to our own in the US. Here is a student sample blog post about this topic:

Student Sample Post

Here are some of the posters that students have created to post around our school:

We are in the beginning stages of this project, but it's off to a great start. Students are invested and interested in this project and are full of ideas and passion. Already, one sophomore said, "So is this year all going to connect and everything we do going to relate to what we did before?"

The answer is yes.

Here are some of the areas that will be assessed in this unit. They are taken from a cultural literacy rubric developed the by the Metiri Group. This is their definition of a "Globally Aware Student". They are recognized as:

· being aware of how technology links nations and individuals, as well as how it enables the global economy.

· understanding the interconnectedness of the global economy.

· being aware of how the global economy impacts political decision-making – including the formal and informal pacts nations enter into.

· being aware of the social, environmental, and micro-economic impacts of global decisions made by both national and international (e.g. the U.N., the I.M.F.) organizations.

· understanding how cultural differences (e.g. beliefs, traditions, religions) impact personal and national participation at the global level.

· understanding the impact of ideology and culture on national decisions about access to and use of technology.

· participating in the global society through interactions with persons in another country or culture.

Here are the categories under which students will be assessed this year (there will be others, but these relate to global citizenship and social justice):

That's it so far. It's definitely a WIP (Work In Progress)... Any thoughts?

And, this is just extra. But it's really good. And, we're going to make a video using our static pics. But this video is better and is super inspiring.

SSR Survey Quarter One

2010-11-03T10:26:00.002-04:00

Please take this short survey so that I can collect data about this quarter's SSR.

Elections World Wide

2010-11-02T10:23:00.000-04:00

Today is the day that voting occurs across our country. In our state, we are deciding which candidate we will elect as our next governor. We vote every year at this time, and the issues and candidates change based on a sort of cyclical pattern. Some of our citizens choose to take part in this process, but others elect not to. Either way, this is a choice that we make as people living in a democracy.

In other countries, these rights are not given fully and equally to citizens. In some countries, the people have gone more than two decades without ever casting a single vote. In other countries, people are intimidated into not voting. Today, we're going to read about one such country. It's called Myanmar, and there are serious human rights abuses happening in this country.

Here's what we're going to do today:

Choose five words from today's reading that stand out to you as important/ powerful/ necessary to describe this article.

On your blog, write your summary of this article using your five words.

Then, write about your feelings on the right to vote. Do you plan to vote once you're 18? Do you think that you would value this right more if it were taken away? Do you feel as though it's important to engage in civic responsibilities as an American?

Once you're done posting, add in a picture if you have time. Please email me a link to your post.

Did You Know? Statistics About Sexual Assault

2010-11-01T08:14:00.002-04:00

Today, we're revisiting the issue of whether or not Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak is appropriate reading material for high school students. Now, you have read the book and have an understanding of the scenes, language, and characters with which Mr. Scroggins took issue.

Now that you have enough information to form an opinion about whether or not this book should be taught in schools, you're going to write a letter in support of this book or in support of Mr. Scroggins's efforts to ban it. In your letter, you need to speak to his claim that this book contains "soft pornography".

To do this, you are going to give information about the main character's experience with sexual assault and a fact about sexual assault. Here are some websites from which you can find statistics and facts about rape and sexual assault:

http://www.rainn.org/

http://www.pcar.org/

http://www.teenpcar.com/

http://www.mecasa.org/

http://www.savesrapecrisis.org/

http://calcasa.org/

Please start your letter with "To Whom It May Concern" and close with "Sincerely".

Your letters will be posted on your blog to add to the online conversation about this controversial topic.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Creating the Pic List

2010-10-29T00:36:00.001-04:00

We started our year with a vivid and horrifying account of the Jewish Holocaust. Through the eyes of one survivor, we saw and experienced some of the worst violations of human rights. Ever.

This year, we're going to study something called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document was created in 1948, which is just after the end of WWII. This document serves as a guideline for how all countries should treat their citizens. Most of these rights are obvious to us as Americans, but it is important to recognize that all are violated daily, if not hourly. Not everyone has the right to speak, marry, or live as they see fit. Not everyone has a voice. But, this document seeks to give those (and more) freedoms to all. A Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Today, you are going to take two of the thirty articles in this document and create a compelling vision of what it represents. You will do this by:

-Finding the two articles assigned to you at this home site
-Choosing one word from your first article that seems powerful or important
-Typing that one word into this site
-Choosing an image that you feel represents the intent of your article
-Dragging the image into Pages and inserting BOTH the article EXACTLY AS IT'S WRITTEN and the number of the article
-Taking a screenshot and sending it to me
-Uploading your final product onto your blog page

And then, repeat for your second article.

After these are finished, we're going to print them in color and hang them in our classroom. We're also going to hang some around the school. December 10th is Human Rights Day. We're going to be celebrating this event school-wide during the week of December 10th, so these posters will help to prepare the psyches of our school population to understand more about this document.

Here is a sample of what I'm looking for you to create:

Catching Fire: Connections Around the World

2010-10-26T12:40:00.000-04:00

Choose one of the following images from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights site. Then, upload your (linked) image in your blog. Relate this image to the events and characters in Suzanne Collins's Catching Fire.

Quote of the Week

2010-10-25T11:29:00.001-04:00

This week's quotation was submitted by a student in our junior English class. It's by Dr, Seuss, who is one of my all-time favorite thinkers. Here it is:

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

I liked this quotation because it fits in with all that we're doing in all of our English classes this year. It's all about social justice and social awareness and working together. Everything. We're blogging, discussing, thinking, creating, and working together to make this school, this town, this state, this nation, this world a better place. A more thoughtful and considerate and compassionate and tolerant place. For all. Sounds daunting and unrealistic and all of that, but kinda wonderful, too, huh?

So, thanks, Ms. Junior, for adding to our year-long focus on social justice. It's going to be awesome.

Book of the Week: Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

2010-10-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

Heartbreaking. Gritty. Devastating. Somber. Real.

These are the words that come to mind when I think of my experience in reading Carol Lynch Williams's novel in verse, Glimpse. It is the story of two sisters torn apart by an abusive, uncaring, and demented mother. It is the story of innocence lost. It is madness and reality all in one.

Written in a series of poems, the narrative voice of the main character has a child-like feel to it. In fact, the speaker in this book is probably in her pre-teen years. It reads like a poetic version of Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina. The themes are similar and so is the utter desperation of the children in these books.

This book gave me horrible nightmares. It is not out-and-out graphic in terms of portraying the abuse that infects the lives of these two girls, but it is emotionally and mentally provocative. I was disturbed by this book. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing. I think that this book could be very helpful and/or interesting to readers who have enjoyed other controversial novels like Ellen Hopkins's Tricks and Thalia Chaltas's Because I Am Furniture. No happy endings. But, a realistic view of the lives of two young girls whose every day lives are turbulent and unpredictable.

Star-Crossed Lovers Across Time

2010-10-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

As we were reading Catching Fire last week, I kept noticing how often Katniss referred to herself and Peeta as "star-crossed lovers". This got me thinking about the characters Romeo and Juliet and their relationship as compared to that of Katniss and Peeta. And, the use of those words "star-crossed lovers" made me think of one specific part of Romeo and Juliet: The prologue.

For this Poetry Friday, you all are going to take the prologue from Romeo and Juliet and rewrite it to tell the story of Katniss and Peeta. Certainly, Katniss and Peeta are not the same as Romeo and Juliet. In fact, I think that they're much more interesting! Here is the original text of the prologue:

And here is a student sample from today's re-visioning exercise:

Two tributes, both alike in skills

In District 12, where they each have family.

From ancient traditions, new murders.

Where the blood of young tributes make Capitol hands dirty.

From the start, the ill-fated lives of twenty-two other tributes

Are destined to be taken by these star-crossed lovers.

Whose plans are overthrown by President Snow

And sent to face a second round of the Hunger Games

To face the former victors and the ghosts of their last game.

But this new game will cause the districts to rise,

Though lives may end before truly beginning,

A second time through pure Hell,

Watched by thousands of eyes across Panem

What these citizens miss may be a secret plot lost forever.

A Bewitching Treat from the Senior Class

2010-10-20T11:33:00.000-04:00

Every year around this time, we celebrate Halloween with a bit of poetry sweetness. What is this? Well, the seniors work together to create some sort of puzzle or game with lines of poetry wrapped around chocolates. Next week, all underclassmen will receive a task: to put together the pieces of a poem in the correct order! With the lines of verse come fun little chocolates. The seniors used their half-day time to create this year's spooky project.

Thanks, seniors!

Belief Statements: The Personal Creed Project

2010-10-19T12:08:00.000-04:00

Since we started this school year, we've been working to collect belief statements inspired by our readings and the actual and fictional people we've met along the way. So far, we've had eight belief statements this year. You have been writing them on post-its most every class. Here are the topics we've addressed thus far in our statements:

1. Do you believe in God or some sort of higher power?

2. Do you believe that some people have supernatural powers? As in, psychic abilities or powers?

3. Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

4. Are you a person who forgives those who have harmed you or do you believe that there are some wrongs that should not be forgiven?

5. How do you feel about the word "hate"? Are you someone who uses it all of the time, or do you feel like it carries weight and should be used sparingly?

6. What is your understanding of the freedom of speech? Do you think that it should apply to everyone or have some restrictions?

7. Do you believe that governments should be allowed to torture those who they're trying to gain information from?

8. Do you feel that funerals are a celebration of life or a time to mourn death?

All of these prompts are related to the events, situations, and questions raised in Elie Wiesel's Holocaust memoir Night. We will continue to collect belief statements as we read this text and others this school year. At the end of the year, we will use these statements and other pieces to create our Personal Creed Project.

Speak: Our Tree Emerges

2010-10-18T11:46:00.000-04:00

For a couple of weeks, we've been collecting powerful words from our reading of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and creating parts of a tree. Today, we assembled part of our tree on our classroom wall. Though it's not done, I can tell that it is going to look amazing and send a powerful message about the themes and topics covered in this book. We will work to create more bark, branches, leaves, and roots in our upcoming classes. Off to a great start, though!

Here's our emerging tree:

GIST & Think-Pair-Share: Don't Ask Don't Tell

2010-10-14T07:55:00.000-04:00

Last class, we happened upon a short discussion of the Don't Ask Don't Tell law. On my ride home that night, I heard a news story about the potential repeal of this law. I thought that this was timely information and important enough to warrant a discussion in today's class.

We read an article from CNN about this issue and you each completed a GIST (summary). Then, in pairs, you discussed your GISTs and your thoughts about this issue. In your groups, you narrowed down the most important words needed to summarize this issue. Here are the words that you all chose:

Night: Hangings and Torture

2010-10-06T11:54:00.000-04:00

Gallows at Auschwitz

When we first completed our Book Walk of Elie Wiesel's Night, several of you commented on the painting of three hanging bodies on the back cover. Throughout our reading, you all have turned back to that piece of art and remarked on it. Today, we read about the story behind this work of art.

We started class with a fact about Zyklon B, the insecticide used to kill thousands (millions, more like) of people at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Though Zyklon B was transported in crystal form, it produced a deadly gas when heated. The Nazis piped it into "shower" rooms and used it to murder many, many people, including Wiesel's mother and youngest sister.

As you all know, the gas chambers were not the only way that the Nazis murdered the Jews. There was the starvation and the torture of these innocent people, but also hangings. Wiesel mentions that he witnessed several hangings at Auschwitz. Thinking about these hangings led us to talking about the use of torture against prisoners and POWs.

Our belief statement of the day (which will be added to your Personal Creed Projects) is about whether or not you believe that torture should be used on prisoners. Some of you thought that it has no place in our prisons, while others of you felt that there are certain cases where torture is an appropriate course of action to gain essential information from prisoners.

Double Consciousness: In School/ Out of School

2010-10-04T12:04:00.001-04:00

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Arnold Spirit creates a drawing where he splits the figure of a student in two. One side is labeled "White" and the other "Indian." We've been talking quite a bit about the term double-consciousness, or the state of traveling between two realities in one's life. Certainly, Arnold experiences the expectations and assumptions of both Native and White American cultures when he goes back and forth to school every day.

Though we may or may not have conflicting ethnic cultures that we go back and forth between on a daily basis, we do travel to school and then home. The expectations and realities of these two realms are often very different, even for myself as a teacher.

To illustrate this reality, we're going to create a visual using photobooth. I've created an unlabeled version of my face as an example of what I'd like you to create. One side of your face should have a school setting in the background, and one should be taken somewhere off campus. Here's my photo creation:

Looks weird, right? I know. But, you can easily see that I am different in the two environments that I spend most of my time in. At school, I am happy but formal looking. At home, I am more happy and look more relaxed.

We'll work on these next class. Please send me your two pics by then. We'll work to add labels to our pics in class.

Quote of the Week

2010-10-03T12:16:00.000-04:00

Last week, Oprah Winfrey had famous author JK Rowling on her show. Rowling is the author of the Harry Potter series. Obviously, this woman knows how to write. But, when I read this quote (found on an awesome blog that I follow, written by a teen girl) I knew that Rowling had not lost her sense of wonder and discovery in the writing process.

Here is her quotation:

"It's true for all writers: I know what I believe because of what I've written."

Simple and true. No best-seller bravado. This applies to Rowling and to all of us. We form our beliefs as we read and write and explore who we are. I love it.

Book of the Week

2010-10-02T11:43:00.004-04:00

This week, I'm doing something different. I have chosen a book that I haven't actually read yet. Why? Because it's a new book that I know I am going to love, a book that I think many of you are going to love. It's called Annexed and it's written by Sharon Dogar.

Annexed is the story of Anne Frank from the viewpoint of the boy who shared her attic hiding space with her for two years. His name is Peter and there is no journal or diary surviving to tell his tale. This is a fictional tale, but based in truth. The author has imagined the thoughts and fears and anger of this teen boy, who did not survive the Holocaust.

Here is a video that includes footage from WWII, some descriptions of the book from the author, and some narration from the book itself. I will be getting a couple copies of this book for classroom use soon. Let me know if you'd like your name to be placed on the waiting list for this title.

Hunger Games: Resume Poems

2010-10-01T11:59:00.002-04:00

It's Poetry Friday. And, for Poetry Friday, I usually try to connect the poem we read or write back to whatever book we're reading and what we're doing in class. Well, in class we're reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and we're learning about and writing our own resumes. Hm.

I had a brainstorm driving into work the other day. Wouldn't it be cool to write a creative resume for a character from the Hunger Games series? And, to take away the stiff resume form and use a more fluid, poetic one. I thought it would be interesting.

And it was. You all chose your character from this pool:

Katniss Everdeen

Peeta Mellark

Gale Hawthorne

Haymitch Abernathy

Then, you had to come up with an adress and a fake telephone or email address. Some of you were every creative in your email addressess. Like i_heart_hunting@hotmail.com for Gale, bakecake@hotmail.com for Peeta, or shoot2kill@yahoo for Katniss. Uber creative!

Then, you went and created education, work history, skills, and references for your characters. These turned out to be great poems and great practice for resume writing!

Speak Out Against Sexual Assault

2010-09-29T15:55:00.000-04:00

We've been reading and talking about our book Speak for the past week or so. We're getting more and more into the book and are starting to see the effects of the rape on Melinda's relationships with her friends, family, teachers, and herself. She has been hurting herself and is even dressing differently.

As we think about the impact of sexual assault on this one girl, it's interesting to bring the ideas presented in this book back to our lives. How do we feel when we are forced to be silent? How do we feel when we force ourselves to remain silent?

We talked about these feelings and created a bit of an artistic representation of us being silenced. (This project was optional in that you did not have to use tape if you did not want to. There were some non-tape options available if this made you feel uncomfortable.) Here is what some of you created:

To me, the entire collection of photos from this activity is nothing short of powerful. And disturbing. Great work, all!

Holocaust Photo Story

2010-09-28T09:40:00.000-04:00

Today, you're going to choose a photo taken during WWII and create a story to go with it. You can either:

-Choose one person from the photo and talk about what's happening from their point of view

Or

-Choose to write about the scene from the point of view of the person taking the photo

Please use this site for your photo search.

Quote of the Week

2010-09-26T20:30:00.000-04:00

This week's quotation is related to censorship. We're going to be talking about censorship quite a bit this week because this is the week that the American Library Association has designated as Banned Books Week. Right now, we are all reading books that have been controversial at one time or another. We'll look at the reasons why each of our books has caused a stir this week and look at some recent efforts to ban a couple of the books we're currently reading.

Our quote this week comes from a man who was no stranger to censorship. He was an advocate for free speech before speech was at all free. His name is Voltaire and this is what he has to say:

I chose this quotation because we need to think about censorship not just in terms of protecting the books and ideas that we love, but also in protecting the books and ideas that we hate. I do not agree with, support, or enjoy the idea of the KKK. However, I will support their right to express their thoughts. This is how we test our convictions where free speech is concerned. If speech is truly free, we are all going to hear ideas and thoughts that make us uncomfortable. To me, this does not mean that those ideas should be silenced.

Welcome to Banned Books Week. Feel free to ask questions and let your voice be heard!

Poetry Friday: "The Little Boy WIth His Hands Up"

2010-09-24T08:08:00.000-04:00

As we talked about in class today, WWII is one of the first wars to have huge amounts of photo documentation to show the horrors and realities that the victims of the Holocaust experienced. There are hundreds (possibly thousands of images) that survived this war, even if the people in them did not.

Today, we looked at one of the most powerful images that I've ever seen. It's of a little boy who seems to have been separated from his family during the evacuation of a Jewish ghetto. We looked at this image in class and had a discussion about how this boy must have felt as the picture was taken. Here is the photo:

And then we read Yala Korwin's poem titled "The Little Boy With His Hands Up." As I read this poem aloud, you all circled words/ phrases that stood out to you as powerful or important. Additionally, you all combed this poem for lines and imaged that relate to our current read, Night.We collected all of your words and observations on the board and had a wonderful discussion about this poem and Night.

We'll continue our study of Night next week.

Banned Books Week: The Absolutely True Diaries of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2010-09-22T07:47:00.000-04:00

Banned Books Week officially begins next week. It is sponsored by the American Library Association. We're getting a head start because one of the books we're reading right now

Sherman Alexie is no stranger to controversy. There are parents all over the country who are calling for the removal of his young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. In today's class, we're going to read some of the news articles about the upset that this book is causing. On your blogs, you're going to react to one (or more) of these articles. You will respond to the following questions:

Do you think that this book is appropriate material for public school students? You can either agree or disagree with this issue. Please address at least one of the major concerns (inappropriate language, racist language, the drawings, etc.) that parents/ community members have voiced in your argument.

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Double Consciousness

2010-09-20T16:44:00.000-04:00

As part of today's reading, we talked about the term double consciousness in today's class. This is an important term to think about in reference to The Absolutely True Diaries of a Part-Time Indian. Why? Well, let's look at the definition that you all came up with for this term:

Double = Two or both or more than one

Consciousness = Knowledge, inside thoughts, reality, or awakeness (not a word, but I like it)

After defining this term, we talked about the ways in which we might be doubly conscious. You came up with:

Having two households (because of divorce)

Having to be or act one way at home and another way at work or school

Acting one way in front of adults versus with younger children or peers

Having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other

These are all good examples. We talked about Arnold Spirit's attendance at a non-rez school and how that will feel and be different than the school on the reservation. We split the term American Indian and talked about his demeanor as an Indian versus as an American. We will continue to see Arnold's struggle to negotiate the rules and expectations of these very different cultures as the book progresses.

Good work today!

Night: Birkenau

2010-09-20T11:21:00.000-04:00

Photo of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Elie Wiesel and his family have arrived at Birkenau. We had an emotional ride to this spot in the book. Madame Schachter screamed for days about seeing a fire and a furnace. She was silenced, but after pulling up to Birkenau, the people in Wiesel's cattle car realized that she was all too correct. There was a fire. And a furnace. And a horrible stench that could only come from the burning of bodies. Mass cremation.

Because we're collecting belief statements for our Personal Creed Projects, today's prompt was about premonitions. Madame Schachter obviously had a very dark and foreboding premonition about fire. Not everyone believes in psychic ability, and some of you might have even experienced it firsthand.

We will continue learning about Elie's journey next class.

Book of the Week: The Dead & The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

2010-09-19T18:35:00.002-04:00

How is it that every time I read a book by Susan Beth Pfeffer I start counting the number of canned good I have on hand? Oh, right. Because she makes me believe that the world is ending and that I'm going to starve to death at any moment!

Don't get me wrong. It's weird and twisted, but I love the fact that she is able to convince me that I have a matter of weeks before I'm gone. Her writing is so convincing, and her characters are so believable that you can't help but feeling like you need to rush through the pages to find out whether they survive or not. And, not everyone survives.

The plot of the book is this: The moon has been hit by an asteroid. It is now much closer to the Earth, so there are lots of tsunamis and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The natural world no longer behaves (if it ever did). People panic. They start hoarding food and there are shortages of the basic necessities all over.

This book takes place in New York City, which is about the last place that I'd want to be if a disaster such as this struck. I wouldn't want to be in any city for that matter. Way too many people and way too little natural resources.

But, the main character of this book, Alex Morales, has a large network of family, friends, and church members who are willing to support him and his two younger sisters. But, his mother hasn't returned from work and his father is stuck in Puerto Rico. He wants to step up and take care of his siblings, but he's only seventeen and doesn't feel like he can live up to the example set by his loving father.

Whether he likes it or not, Alex is in charge. He has to find a way to keep himself and his sisters alive until his mother and father return. And, with every day bringing a new problem, a new unknown, this task will become less and less simple as his story progresses.

If you are at all a fan of dystopian literature or the author or of the environment, you should read this book. There is a first book in this series, but you don't have to have read it (for real) to enjoy this one. Apparently, the two stories converge in the third book, but not until then.

Speak: SAVES Advocates Visit

2010-09-17T07:02:00.002-04:00

Today we were lucky enough to have two guest speakers from the Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services (SAVES). SAVES is located on Main Street in Farmington. Kristen Plummer and Jeb Murphy planned an eye-opening activity for us.

It was interesting to hear the facts and statistics about how many men and women are sexually assaulted in this country. This information was definitely alarming. It was also interesting to read and hear your contributions to this discussion. We'll have to see if we can make connections between what we talked learned about today to Melinda's experience in the book.

We'll invite Kristen and Jeb to come back and speak with us after we've read more of this book. Thanks to Kristen and Jeb and SAVES for helping to prepare us to read and talk about this sensitive topic!

This American Life: The Right To Remain Silent

2010-09-16T18:29:00.000-04:00

Because today's laptop rollout for juniors meant that you'd all be coming and going all period long, I decided to scrap the lesson that I had planned and take a different approach to our learning.

Just yesterday, I listened to a podcast of This American Life (one of my all-time favorite radio shows) while working on our new bulletin board. The episode I heard was about people who choose not to exercise their right to remain silent and suffer some sort of drastic consequence for their choice.

As I listened, I thought of you all and this course. Our theme for the year is rebellion. We've already met our first character, Arnold Spirit, who is rebelling against tribe by attending school off of his reservation. We'll meet other characters and learn about actual people who have rebelled as the year goes on. But, there is something very interesting about listening to these stories of two very different men who exercised their right to speak out.

One man was questioned by heavily armed police officers after posting a threatening status update on facebook. He got in much more trouble than seems reasonable or necessary for his post. Another man, a former police officer, decided to speak up for himself and the community that he policed by recording his commanding officer. This officer was asking policemen and women to arrest and frisk innocent people at random.

It is always interesting to think about our freedom of speech. Sometimes, I think that we forget how powerful speech can be. Therefore, we may forget that it is a right like any other and needs to be protected and fought for. These men have been fighting for their right to speak and be heard. What rights are you willing to fight for?

HATE is a Four Letter Word

2010-09-16T18:18:00.000-04:00

Today we talked about anti-Semitism. It seems like a term that we'll need to know as we're reading about the Holocaust. Some of you already knew what this word meant, others of you had never heard it. We will hear this term used in Night and in reference to The Merchant of Venice when we read that play.

At the root of this term is hate. Hatred of Jews. But, there are all sorts of hate. In today's reading of Night, Wiesel admits that he still hates the Hungarian police who loaded his family and other Jews onto cattle cars and deported them all to death camps. He hates them. And some of us agreed that he has every right to.

For your belief statement today, I would like you to write about the word hate. Is it an emotion that you feel often? Do you use the word sparingly or are your sentences peppered with it? Do you feel like you are a hateful person? Or are you working to let go of hate?

Whatever direction you take today's belief statement, I'd like you to focus on this one short word. Four letters. Lots of different uses.

Speak: How's Melinda Feeling?

2010-09-15T11:43:00.000-04:00

We've been reading Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak for a couple of classes now. We're far enough into the book that we see how Melinda is feeling bullied at school, disconnected at home, and alienated from her former friends.

In today's reading, we watched as Melinda was physically attacked by a pair of girls at the pep rally. This comes right after Melinda finds an abandoned janitor's closet, which she has decided to make into her hiding spot. It's almost like we got to see her as happy and feeling safe and then what little peace and comfort she had was ripped away. Hopefully, we'll see a change in her life soon.

After we read in today's class, I wanted you all to have a chance to express yourselves in a creative, abstract manner. To do this, we used Legos. You each had the chance to choose some shapes/ colors and to arrange them in an abstract manner. With your creation, I wanted you to show how Melinda is feeling after the first few weeks of school. We are going to use these photos and the explanations that you wrote about your creations in our first blog entry next week.

Here are some of your photos. I'll let you explain them next week. I just wanted to share a few of them because they are all so very cool!

Great job. I was impressed at how quickly and easily you all came up with your abstract representation. No two designs were alike! Amazing.

Quote of the Week

2010-09-12T15:24:00.001-04:00

This week's quote comes from an Irish writer and poet named Oscar Wilde. He was an interesting person with a colorful past and a curious way of looking at the world. Despite this (or maybe because of it), I am intrigued by him and have enjoyed his works. Here is our quote of the week:

Beautiful and positive and colorful. I like it. Even when you feel down, remember to look up.

Book of the Week

2010-09-11T14:52:00.000-04:00

When my husband first saw the previews for Avatar, he was beside himself. He wanted to see it so badly. He pleaded and begged and finally I caved and went to see it with him. To my absolute and utter amazement, I loved it. I thought it was such a great story that could easily relate to what those who have colonized our planet have done to native peoples and the environment.

I Am Number Four is not the exact same story, but I definitely felt like there were connections. It tells the story of a teenaged John Smith (aka Number Four), who is an alien on the run. He was born on the planet Lorien, which is described as being similar to Earth but smaller. John's home planet was invaded some years ago by another group of aliens--the war-prone Mogadarians. As it turns out, the Mogadorians ruined the environment of their own planet, as well as Lorien. Now, they want Earth.

But, in order to take control of Earth, they need to kill off the nine children who left their home planet just in time. These teens are now starting to develop their Lagacies (super powers) and the Mogadorians need to find them before they become too powerful.

From the very beginning of this book, I was hooked. I just couldn't put it down. I felt for John, who just wanted to be a normal teen, but also wanted to protect the home planet that he barely remembers. I think that the messages about the environment and the poor treatment of those we consider to be "other".

I think that certain parts of this book were a little rushed, and character development suffered a little because of the pace and action. But, I found a deep connection with the main character. I will definitely read the next book in this series. I am not one to read a lot of science fiction, but I thought that this read was less science fiction-y and more about humanitarian and environmental issues. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Poetry Friday: "The Burning of Books"

2010-09-10T11:10:00.000-04:00

Picture of poet Bertolt Brecht

This week's Poetry Friday lesson is inspired by events that are happening in our world right now. As I've heard more and more about the pastor in Florida who is planning to burn a copy of the Quran, which is the holy text in the Muslim faith. The pastor is planning to burn this book (or more than one, I'm not sure) in memorial of the tragic events of 9/11 and in protest against the building of a mosque near Ground Zero (where the Twin Towers were located).

As I've followed this story, I cannot help but think of the book burnings conducted by the Nazi's during WWII. Of course, events are not exactly the same, but they do have some commonalities. We talked about these issues in class today and took down the poem "The Burning of Books" by Bertolt Brecht.

For our Personal Creed Project, we are collecting our beliefs every day. At the end of the year, these belief statements will come together to form a creative vision of who you are and what you think. Today's belief statement was about the freedom of speech. You all wrote down a few sentences about whether or not you believe that this is a freedom that should be available to all, whether you believe in what people have to say or not.

We also read a little from Night and took down the meaning of the word Gestapo on our bookmarks.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Native American Stereotypes

2010-09-08T11:56:00.000-04:00

Before we started our reading of Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, we took a look at one of the greatest places to spot stereotypes in use: comics. Because comics are often based in trends and comment on what's going on in a society, it is easy to see the perceptions of a group of people or a politician if you look at enough comics.

We looked at a dozen or so comics in today's class. You all received your own comic, read it and looked at the imagery and then reported out to the group about the stereotypes you believe were being related in your comic. Most of the comics are making fun of the stereotypes about Native Americans; not working to perpetuate them.

Here's our class definition of "stereotype":

And what you saw in the comics for stereotypes (this is hard to read, but clicking on the image should make it larger and easier to read):

And, we read today. We were busy! We read the first two chapters. You were all laughing and getting sad and enjoying the comics included in the book. I just love this book and I think that you will too!

Night: Chapter One

2010-09-08T11:07:00.000-04:00

Today we started Elie Wiesel's Night. I chose this book to kick off our year because I think that it will help us to start our Personal Creed Projects and our study of other cultures. We started class (as we will all classes where we read this book) with a fact about the Holocaust. Te fact for today is:

The term "Holocaust," originally from the Greek word "holokauston" which means "sacrifice by fire," refers to the Nazi's persecution and planned slaughter of the Jewish people. The Hebrew word "Shoah," which means "devastation, ruin, or waste," is also used for this genocide.

After writing down this fact on your bookmarks, we read a few pages of Night. We did not read very far, but had some awesome conversations around spirituality and our life's purpose. After we read, you all wrote down a belief that you have (concerning spirituality and/ or destiny). We are going to collect our beliefs throughout this year and use them to form the Personal Creed Projects this year.

**Please remember to bring in a book for SSR (our check one out at the back of the room) for next class. Several of you have already selected your titles and shown them to me. Great choices!

Quote of the Week

2010-09-05T11:03:00.000-04:00

This week's quotation comes from a famous scientist. He's famous for being smart. If someone calls you an "Einstein," they're pretty much saying that you're a genius. And he was a genius. But, geniuses do not get to he household names simply because they are smart. In order to be recognized for your brains, you need to seek learning. It will not come to you. And the best way to seek is to allow for curiosity. This is a trait that we all have, whether or not we are indeed geniuses.

Here is our quotation:

So, I encourage all of you to let your curiosity lead you. You might even find that you have more genius than you ever thought possible!

Poetry Friday: "Indian Boy Love Song" by Sherman Alexie

2010-09-03T11:20:00.000-04:00

Our first book of the year is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Lucky for us, Alexie is not only a master author of many novels and short stories, but has also penned many amazing poems. To kick off our study of his novel, and our year-long study of rebellion, we're going to look at three of Alexie's "Indian Boy Love Song[s]" in today's class.

All of the poems we're looking at today come from the book The Business of Fancydancing by Sherman Alexie. I chose three of his poems that I felt would help us establish the issues and problems that our main character in The Absolutely True Diary will face. They are:

Indian Boy Love Song (#1)

Indian Boy Love Song (#2)

Indian Boy Love Song (#4)

For each of these poems, I asked you all to read silently, highlighting any words/ phrases/ lines that stood out to you as important. After reading these one or two times by yourselves, I asked you to write down some predictions or thoughts about the issues and problems our main character, Arnold, will face in The Absolutely True Diary. Here's a (pretty bad) picture of what you all came up with:

I was truly impressed at how well you gleaned the major issues/ struggles that our main character will deal with in this book. We will revisit these words and predictions as we read.

Welcome, Class of 2014

2010-08-31T06:04:00.002-04:00

Crazy, huh? That you're in high school. That you're going to an entirely new school. That you have all sorts of exciting opportunities and life-events that are going to happen over the next year. Over the next four years. Okay, let's not get too ahead of ourselves!

Well, I just wanted to take this time to formally welcome you all to Mt. Blue. I am truly excited to start this year, and I hope that you all settle in and feel comfortable at your new school soon. I know that transitioning from one school to another is not an easy task, but you'll probably feel at home in a few short weeks.

We don't have much time together today due to all kinds of special freshman-only activities that are planned for you, but we will have more time later this week to talk about what we'll be learning this year. Also, we'll do some getting-to-know-you activities to help ease us into the year.

So, make yourselves welcome at Mt. Blue. We're lucky to have such amazing students!

Words, Words Words: Choose Your Poem

2010-06-21T13:13:00.000-04:00

Choose one of the following poems to analyze for your "Words, Words, Words" common assessment:

"Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper" by Martin Espada

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

"Two Countries" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Links for EYP Reading, Listening, and Viewing Analysis

2010-06-21T11:42:00.005-04:00

Here are the articles you may choose from to complete your reading analysis:

Cell phones in school?

Increase the driving age?

Cartoons and Junk Food: More Harm than Good?

Here are the news pieces you may choose from to complete your listening analysis:

Prom on a Budget

Connecticut Says "No" To Kids Working At Family Pizzeria

Here are the news pieces you may choose from to complete your viewing analysis:

The Medical Marijuana Debate

Debate Over the N-Word

Final: English 11

2010-06-17T08:13:00.002-04:00

Here are the criteria on which your blog posts are being graded:

Evidence of Critical Thinking: Thoughtful observations, connections between readings and the larger world and/or your life, and growth in your thoughts/ observations from the beginning of the year.

Evidence of Critical Reading: Evidence of thorough readings, comprehension of reading materials, insightful reflections, and connections between readings materials.

Evidence of Creative Thinking: Inclusion of photographs, music, videos, or other media that enhances the presentation of the post; original ideas presented in readings are extended in a creative manner.

Evidence of the Ability to Write Clearly and Effectively: Grammar, spelling, capitalization errors do not interfere with audience understanding. The structure of your blog posts allows for understanding and is easy to follow.

Evidence of Awareness of Diverse Audience: Opinions, justifications, rationalizations, and summaries are written in a way that allows a diverse audience to understand your intent. Writings are not offensive, but engage audience members in your ideas and opinions in a creative manner.

Community of Practice: Wherever necessary, credit has been given to original source for photos and ideas. This is done through embedded hyperlinks.

Required Posts

1. Write a book review for the Hunger Games. Follow the instructions on the sheet provided. (LABEL=The Hunger Games)

2. We have maintained our individual blogs throughout this school year. Reflect on your ability to blog and how your abilities have grown over the course of this school year. Also, what are some ways that you feel you can improve in your blogging? What would you like improve upon in your blog next year? (LABEL=Reflection)

Optional Posts (Choose Two)

3. Write a post about a topic or interest that you have that you'd like us to discuss/ explore sometime this year. Your post could be a specific issue that you've heard about in the news, or one that is more local and relevant to our school. (LABEL=Opinion Piece)

4. Choose a photo from this site (type in a word that sums up your experience) that shows how you feel about how this school year in this class. This post should show your ability to think creatively and to explain your thoughts to a diverse audience. **Make sure embed a hyperlink to the site where you found your image. (LABEL=Creative Thinking)

5. Write a reflection about Poetry Friday. Has this made you more confident in writing your own poems? Have you learned more about poetry this year? If not, talk about your needs as a learner where poetry is concerned. (LABEL= Poetry Friday)

Final: English 10

2010-06-15T04:00:00.003-04:00

Here are the criteria on which your blog posts are being graded:

Evidence of Critical Thinking: Thoughtful observations, connections between readings and the larger world and/or your life, and growth in your thoughts/ observations from the beginning of the year.

Evidence of Critical Reading: Evidence of thorough readings, comprehension of reading materials, insightful reflections, and connections between readings materials.

Evidence of Creative Thinking: Inclusion of photographs, music, videos, or other media that enhances the presentation of the post; original ideas presented in readings are extended in a creative manner.

Evidence of the Ability to Write Clearly and Effectively: Grammar, spelling, capitalization errors do not interfere with audience understanding. The structure of your blog posts allows for understanding and is easy to follow.

Evidence of Awareness of Diverse Audience: Opinions, justifications, rationalizations, and summaries are written in a way that allows a diverse audience to understand your intent. Writings are not offensive, but engage audience members in your ideas and opinions in a creative manner.

Community of Practice: Wherever necessary, credit has been given to original source for photos and ideas. This is done through embedded hyperlinks.

Required Post

1. Write a review of a book you've read for SSR from this quarter. If you only have one from this quarter and have already written a post, write one about a book from another quarter. (LABEL=SSR, Book Review)

Optional Posts (Choose One)

1. Write a reflection about Poetry Friday. Has this made you more confident in writing your own poems? Have you learned more about poetry this year? If not, talk about your needs as a learner where poetry is concerned. (LABEL= Poetry Friday)

2. Write a post about a topic or interest that you have that you'd like us to discuss/ explore sometime this year. Your post could be a specific issue that you've heard about in the news, or one that is more local and relevant to our school. (LABEL=Opinion Piece)

3. We have maintained our individual blogs throughout this school year. Reflect on your ability to blog and how your abilities have grown over the course of this school year. Also, what are some ways that you feel you can improve in your blogging? What would you like improve upon in your blog next year? (LABEL=Reflection)

4. Choose a photo from this site (type in a word that sums up your experience) that shows how you feel about how this school year in this class. This post should show your ability to think creatively and to explain your thoughts to a diverse audience. **Make sure embed a hyperlink to the site where you found your image. (LABEL=Creative Thinking)

Please take your time with these posts. Make sure to check over each entry for those little errors that can mess up an otherwise perfectly good post! Let me know if you need help; otherwise, blog away!

Final: English 9

2010-06-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

Phew. We've made it to our final class, to our final exam. Where did the time go? Well, if this year went quickly for you, think about the next three years. Those are going to fly by and soon you'll be walking across that graduation stage, grabbing your diploma and heading out into the world. Before you take off, we've got a little work to do.

First, I'd like you to take this survey so that I can better plan for you and your classmates for next year. Your honest feedback is appreciated.

Next, you're going to write a series of blog posts. Here are the criteria on which your blog posts are being graded:

Evidence of Critical Thinking: Thoughtful observations, connections between readings and the larger world and/or your life, and growth in your thoughts/ observations from the beginning of the year.

Evidence of Critical Reading: Evidence of thorough readings, comprehension of reading materials, insightful reflections, and connections between readings materials.

Evidence of Creative Thinking: Inclusion of photographs, music, videos, or other media that enhances the presentation of the post; original ideas presented in readings are extended in a creative manner.

Evidence of the Ability to Write Clearly and Effectively: Grammar, spelling, capitalization errors do not interfere with audience understanding. The structure of your blog posts allows for understanding and is easy to follow.

Evidence of Awareness of Diverse Audience: Opinions, justifications, rationalizations, and summaries are written in a way that allows a diverse audience to understand your intent. Writings are not offensive, but engage audience members in your ideas and opinions in a creative manner.

Community of Practice: Wherever necessary, credit has been given to original source for photos and ideas. This is done through embedded hyperlinks.

Required Posts

1. Write a review of a book you've read for SSR from this quarter. If you only have one from this quarter and have already written a post, write one about a book from another quarter. (LABEL=SSR, Book Review)

2. Write a reflective post about this year's English class. I want to know what you're taking away from this course and what project/ book/ process has influenced your learning. I also want to know what you'd like to study in more depth next year. (LABEL=Reflection)

Optional Posts (Choose Two)

1. Write a reflection about Poetry Friday. Has this made you more confident in writing your own poems? Have you learned more about poetry this year? If not, talk about your needs as a learner where poetry is concerned. (LABEL= Poetry Friday)

2. Write a post about a topic or interest that you have that you'd like us to discuss/ explore sometime this year. Your post could be a specific issue that you've heard about in the news, or one that is more local and relevant to our school. (LABEL=Opinion Piece)

3. We have maintained our individual blogs throughout this school year. Reflect on your ability to blog and how your abilities have grown over the course of this school year. Also, what are some ways that you feel you can improve in your blogging? What would you like improve upon in your blog next year? (LABEL=Reflection)

4. Choose a photo from this site (type in a word that sums up your experience) that shows how you feel about how this school year in this class. This post should show your ability to think creatively and to explain your thoughts to a diverse audience. **Make sure embed a hyperlink to the site where you found your image. (LABEL=Creative Thinking)

Please take your time with these posts. Make sure to check over each entry for those little errors that can mess up an otherwise perfectly good post! Let me know if you need help; otherwise, blog away!

Happy Summer--I'll miss you!

The End of it All: Hunger Games and Your Predictions

2010-06-11T12:05:00.000-04:00

Today, we're going to finish our reading of The Hunger Games. I'd also like to get some feedback from you about some of the practices and processes we've started this year. Please fill out this form to give a voice to your thoughts about this year.

To end The Hunger Games, I'd like you all to write a blog post with a photo that helps to illustrate your prediction for the plot and happenings that we'll read about in Catching Fire. What's going to happen to Katniss and Peeta and their relationship? What about Gale? Are there any more Hunger Games? What about the governement? Choose a word that relates to your prediction, upload in your blog, and then explain how your image is a prediction for what's to come in book two of this series.

After you're all done with this, I'd like to talk a little about the final exam and our plan for next year. See you at the final, which will be held on Thursday, June 17th at 10am.

End of Year Survey

2010-06-11T06:34:00.003-04:00

Here is our last survey of the year. Phew. Please complete this survey to help in my quest to become a more effective teacher. It's important to hear your feedback and your thoughts in relation to this course. I thank you in advance for your feedback.

Here is a link to the survey.

Romeo and Juliet: Acrostic Elegy and Modern Re-visionary Movie

2010-06-10T14:08:00.000-04:00

Last class, I was not here due to a graduate class I'm currently taking. Because I wasn't here, you did not quite finish the acrostic elegies over Romeo and Juliet. Today, I showed you all how to superimpose your poem over a gravestone to create a more powerful image. Here are some of your creations:

Tombstone Poem

Have Another True Emotion

After completing these poems, we watched a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which is based on another R & J spin-off, West Side Story. We talked a bit about the history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine and how this conflict relates to Romeo and Juliet. The movie that we watched is called West Bank Story. It won an Oscar and several other prestigious awards.

Our final exam is scheduled for Monday, June 14th at 10am.

End of Year Reflection

2010-06-10T13:50:00.000-04:00

Today is our second to last day together this school year. It's crazy to think that we've been through a full school year already; it feels like you are still little kiddos starting your high school career!

To start today's class, I gave back to you the letters that you wrote to yourself on the first day of school. For you letter, you were supposed to write to your future self, congratulating yourself on all of your accomplishments and talking about how you made it through the tough times. This letter was a bit of a prediction.

Now, you're writing a second letter. This time, it's going to be addressed to me and it's a reflection rather than a prediction. In your letter, you need to include the following three paragraphs:

Paragraph 1: What were your biggest successes this year? How did you attain success in these areas?

Paragraph 2: What areas of improvement do you have for next year? What could you work on to become a more successful student?

Paragraph 3: Give advice to incoming Study Skills students (mostly freshmen). What do they need to know in order to be successful?

Congratulations, Class of 2010

2010-06-08T19:46:00.001-04:00

Our last class (after four years of being together!) proved to be an emotional one. I had asked you all to write commencement speeches and to bring them in for our last day. Well, the reading of these speeches and then my reading of the letters I wrote to all of you ended in lots of tears and tissues.

But, we're all fine. I'm so proud of all of you and what you've accomplished here at Mt Blue and at Foster Tech. You are awesome people. Don't hesitate to stop by or email or whatever. Stay in touch. Best of wishes in the next leg or your journey.

Glog Evlautions, Continued

2010-06-07T08:42:00.002-04:00

Last class, you all had the opportunity to evaluate, read, and comment on some student glogs as part of the Rebel Research Project. Here are the rest of the glogs that we will peruse and evaluate in today's class.

Sojourner Truth (in case you didn't do this one on Thursday)

Nawal El Sadaawi

Lena Horne

Muhammad Ali

Noam Chomsky

Susan B. Anthony

Ida B. Wells

Make sure to leave meaningful comments on each blog and complete a hard copy checklist/ rubric for each glog. Enjoy!

What's Your Cause?

2010-06-07T08:06:00.000-04:00

In today's reading of The House on Mango Street, we read about Esperanza's plan to give back to the homeless once she makes it out of her neighborhood. In this vignette, she laments that "those who live closest to the stars forget about those who live on the earth". I love this sentence; it's probably one of my favorites in the entire text.

For your vignette, I asked you all to think about a cause that you would want to give back to if you had the opportunity. Here are some of your blog posts on this topic:

"My Cause"

"My Cause" (Another one!)

"To Cancer I Say"

"Giving Back"

I was impressed with the array of "causes" you all wrote about. Make sure that you post your response to your blog soon if you have not already; we're running out of time for this project and this school year!

Book of the Week

2010-06-05T10:25:00.002-04:00

I do enjoy a good fairytale retold now and again, but I have to admit that it is not my favorite type of story to read. I don't know what it is about these revised stories that makes them a little less engaging for me, but it's true that I tend to read these a little slower and lose interest a little faster.

Ash by Malinda Lo is not an exception to this personal issue that I have. I started reading it a few weeks ago and finally finished it today. And, I managed to read many other books in the meantime. I just wasn't all that interested in it. At first, I though that I was really going to like this one, but it kind of stalled in the middle for me. But, if you are a lover of this genre, I think that this storyline is one of the more unique and truly retold.

This revised Cinderella tale starts in a similar vein as the original tale. Aisling (or Ash) is the beloved daughter of a wealthy man. After her mother dies, her father takes a new wife who already has two daughters of her own. Ash quickly realizes that her stepmother and stepsisters do not wish to become one big happy family. When Ash's father dies, her stepmother informs Ash that the large debt left behind by her father will be paid off through her service. As in, Ash becomes a servant.

This is where Ash deviates from the traditional Cinderella tale. Instead of a fairy godmother, there is a handsome male fairy named Sidhean. At first, Ash is drawn to him. But, she knows all of the fairy legends and understands that giving her life to Sidhean would be a permanent decision. And, there's the beautiful, strong, and independent Huntress, Kaisha. Ash realizes that there is some inexplicable draw toward this woman, but is also unsure of her feelings and is frightened of betraying Sidhean.

The end of this novel was a little too easy for my taste, but I would not say that I regret reading it. I like that Ash has a choice between a male and female lover. This was an unexpected twist, but not unappreciated. I would recommend this book to those who love fairy tales and anyone open to revising the traditional picture of love in our oldest stories.

Metaphor Vignette

2010-06-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

In "Four Skinny Trees," Esperanza compares herself and her siblings to thin tree that have been planted by the city and are reliant on one another for support and survival. Rather than come right out and just talk about the connection and interdependence of Esperanza and her siblings, Cisneros uses metaphor to show the bond of these four children.

Today, you are going to write your own metaphor vignette, where you show the relationship that you have with your siblings. Just as Esperanza uses a metaphorical plant to describe this connection, so will you. Here are the steps you should take in writing this piece:

-Think about your siblings and the relationship you have with them
-Choose a plant that would help to show this connection (or lack of connection)
-Create a blog post where you write about your siblings using this metaphor
-Choose an image of your metaphorical plant
-Publish your blog post

Here are some sample student blog posts:

"The Real and the Fake"

"Twin Dandelions"

"Seven Spread Out Trees"

"5 Random Rose Bushes"

Final Evaluation and Presentation of Rebel Research Glog Projects

2010-06-03T11:51:00.003-04:00

Today, we are presenting and evaluating the final products in the Rebel Research Project. Use these links to evaluate your peers' Rebel Research Glog Projects.

Jane Goodall

Chief Joseph

Margaret Chase Smith

Woody Guthrie

Sojourner Truth

Our Last Class (Not Including Finals)

2010-06-02T16:32:00.005-04:00

After four years of every-other-day meetings, I have to now prepare to say goodbye to all of you. Seniors, I will miss you terribly. I'll write more on the day of the final (next Tuesday), but please know that I am not taking this parting lightly. You will be missed.

Today, we finished watching the movie version of Into the Wild. Rather than have some silly little worksheet or something, I had you do something else that was pretty silly. (But creative!) I took our Poetry Poker cards and had you choose a card with a word on it that (to you) represented this movie, this book, and how you felt about Chris McCandless. You then snapped a photo of your card using Photo Booth and wrote a little explanation to go with it.

Here is a student sample. We ran out time a little toward the end of class, so it's not a big deal if you did not get to respond to the prompt in the depth that we originally talked about. As long as you made a good effort/ connection, you're all set for today!

Another student played with the image and wrote her response on the photo of the card itself. How very creative! Here it is:

Character Psychoanalysis: Chalk Drawings

2010-06-02T09:06:00.000-04:00

After today's reading of Romeo and Juliet, you all opened your chalk pictures that I sent to you in your FirstClass emails and blogged about why you chose each of your designs to represent Romeo and Juliet.

Here are some links to student blog posts about the chalk designs they created.

Student 1

Student 2

Some of you did not have time to complete your blog posts. These need to be finished by next class. Happy last few days of school!

Tarot Card Vignettes

2010-06-01T11:01:00.003-04:00

In today's reading of The House on Mango Street, Esperanza visits Elenita, a Tarot card reader. Esperanza is not quite satisfied with her reading, but we know that what Elenita says is true. Esperanza may not have the house of her dreams, but she can build a home in her heart.

After we read, you all had the opportunity to choose a Tarot card that you feel holds some meaning for you. After choosing your card, you snapped a photo on Photobooth (making sure to cover up your face), and then wrote a Tarot card post on your blog. We'll print these out and use them in your final vignette project.

Here are some student sample Tarot Card blog posts:

The Tower

The Devil

The Moon

Book of the Week: Need by Carrie Jones

2010-05-29T22:44:00.003-04:00

This week's book is super special because it comes from a Maine author and is set in Maine! I loved reading this book because I could totally picture the setting. If I couldn't all I needed to do was envision one of our famous Nor' Easters and I was all set.

Carrie Jones's Need is about a teen girl named Zara, who moves to rural Maine after her stepfather's death just about paralyzes her. She comes to Maine from South Carolina in the middle of winter to live with her grandmother, a tough Maine woman who works as an EMT.

Zara is readily accepted at her small school, but there have been some weird events and tragedies that have shaken this small town. One boy has disappeared without a trace. A few weeks later, another teen boy is missing. And missing boys aren't the only problem. A strange man is seen standing outside of the school cafeteria, pointing straight at Zara. And there's Megan, a popular girl at school who takes an immediate hatred toward Zara and tries to make Zara's transition to Bedford High as uncomfortable as possible.

When Zara learns that she is surrounded by supernatural beings, she starts to doubt her sanity and her strength to save herself and the people she cares about. But, the role of heroine and human rights advocate is not lost on her. She tries intervene to intervene in this unfamiliar realm, but will she find the missing boys in time to save them?

I loved this book from start to finish. I promise that I was not biased in any way because a fellow Mainer penned this book. I was arranged in an interesting way, with a "phobia" starting every chapter. It was interesting to see how the defined phobia that started each chapter would play out in the narrative. The story was pretty clever and the sequel seems to have its own unique structure. I can't wait to read it!

Poetry Friday: Advice from Authors

2010-05-28T11:08:00.005-04:00

Included through out Into the Wild are quotations from famous writers. Here are some inspirational words from men who loved nature and words as much as Chris McCandless. Today, you are all going to find some inspirational words from authors quoted in Into the Wild, select a quote from this author, and then turn the quote into a poem using some of the original words combined with yours. This way, your words will melt in with words from an inspirational author.

Here are two quotations from writers whom I admire:

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
--Henry David Thoreau

After you've constructed your poem, create a blog post with an image that relates to it in some way. Go to this site for your image.

Here is a student sample poem.

Poetry Friday: Izumi Shikibu

2010-05-28T10:17:00.004-04:00

During my National Poetry Month online travels, I was delighted to stumble across a poem from a Japanese poet named Izumi Shikibu. I conducted a little background check and found that she has a fascinating biography.

Her story reminded me of Romeo and Juliet in that Shikibu had a bit of a love triangle going on in her life. She was married to a provincial official and fell in love with the stepson of the empress, Prince Atsumichi. Much of Shikibu's poetry revolves around the passionate love affair with this Prince.

I can picture Juliet writing to Romeo with a similar passion. I'm pretty sure that Juliet would not be able to limit her poems to a mere five lines, as she does not show the restraint that Shikibu using in creating her poems.

Today, we read four of Shikibu's poems, discussed them, and then you all wrote two of your own using Shikibu's structure and flavor. I asked that you write one that relates to Romeo and Juliet and one free choice. Some of you chose to write another R & J poem, while others chose to write many more than two poems. Here are some pictures of your poems on sticky notes. We'll use these later for a blog post.

Research Revised: Draft Glogs

2010-05-27T12:54:00.005-04:00

We've been devoted at least a few minutes of each class to our Research Revised: The Rebels glog project. This project is rebelling against the format of the formal research paper. You are all studying/ researching a figure from history who has rebelled against the society they lived in. You are working to create a glog that shows how this person rebelled. We'll present these in class later.

Here are some links to your glogs. They are works in progress, but some are almost finished.

Jane Goodall

Muhammad Ali

Woody Guthrie

Ida B. Wells

Chief Joseph

Margaret Chase Smith

Cesar Chavez

Sojourner Truth

Nawal el Saadawi

Lena Horne

NWEA Testing

2010-05-27T09:50:00.004-04:00

I have been impressed with the patience and care that you've all taken in completing the NWEA tests this week. I know that this is a tough time of year to be asking you all to complete tests, and the weather is not exactly cooperating with temperatures over 95 degrees every day.

I will go over your scores with you and create those handy-dandy little graphs after your scores are uploading into the database. So far, most of you have improved over your earlier scores this year or have stayed about the same. After I've created your graphs, I'll email them to you so that you can store your scores for future reference.