Into the Wild

You have read though Chapter 7 in the book, and now you will reflect on the content as well as the non-fiction writing style employed by the author.



Respond to the following questions:



1. What has been your initial impression of this book? How are you responding to the events, characters, plot, writing style? Explain.

2. What is one word you would use to describe Chris, in your opinion? Explain why you hold this opinion.

3. Identify any themes that you see emerging in the book. What is the author seeming to suggest about the human experience? About the need for individuality, independence, social conformity?

4. Make one text-to-text connection between something or someone in this book and another movie, book, TV show. Explain this.

5. Make one text-to-self connection between yourself and an event, idea, or character in this book. Explain.

6. Make one text-to-world connection between this book and and a story or situation from the larger society we live in. Explain this.

7. When you are finished, read Chapter 8.

Review

Task: Craft TWO reviews. One about a CD, movie, video game, or book you enjoyed and one about a CD, movie, video game, or book you did not. Follow the guidelines from yesterday's power point about writing reviews. If you do not have your notes, refer to the OWL website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/704/01/.

BEFORE WRITING:
Go to any of the following web sites and read at least one review that is written in the same genre of the reviews you plan to write today:

1. The Star Tribune Entertainment
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/

2. Rolling Stone Magazine
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews

3. New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/index.html

WRITING:
If you are reviewing a book, movie, or video game:
a. Summarize the content. (1/5th of the review)
b. Review (your opinion) the plot. (1/5th)
c. Review the themes and motifs. (1/5th)
d. Review the main characters. (1/5th)
e. Review the writer’s/director’s/programmer’s style and artistry. (1/5th)
Include at least one quote, line of text/lyric, or direct description of the style that stands out and supports your opinion.

If you are reviewing a CD:
a. Provide an insightful general opinion of the album. (1/5)
b. Provide a brief bio of artist. (1/5)
c. Compare and contrast album to past works or other artists of similar style. (1/5)
d. Discuss specific highlights or downfalls of album. Avoid a track-by-track analysis, but include a review of one or two songs. (1/5)
e. Sum up the bottom-line: a hit or miss? Is it worth the $ and time? (1/5)hout revealing too much. (1/5)

Include at least one quote, line of text/lyric, or direct description of the style that stands out and supports your opinion.

AFTER WRITING:
Visit the blog of at least two classmates- individuals whose blogs you have NEVER visited. Read their reviews and complete the form. Turn in the form at the end of the hour.

20 Minutes with the President

Part one: The Sit-Down

One of the first things President Obama wants to do is meet with you individually to learn about what your biggest concerns are for our nation and world. He has scheduled 20 minutes of his day (a huge amount of time for the most powerful man in the world) to sit down with you one on one.

What issues would you bring up in those 20 minutes? What things do you want him to spend time, money, and resources on in the next four years? What are some of your solutions or ideas for these issues? Why are these the most critical issues?

OR write your response as a letter to him.

Part Two: In the Future...

Respond to each question in a short paragraph. Explain your reasoning.

1. In what ways do you think our nation and our world will be different in four years? You will be about 21-22. Will it be different? What issues do you believe will be addressed more closely as a result of the new administration? How do you hope our nation/world has changed by 2012? You can also focus on where you see yourself in four years. What predictions can you make about your life?

2. think way ahead now...to 2035. You will be in your- gulp!- 40s. You will have kids and jobs and bills. What will be the biggest issues facing our nation and world in 2035? Will the world be a better place? Why or why not? What will your life be like? What will you be doing? Where will you be living?

Prompts

1. Craft a prompt that you can use to lead the class in a warm-up writing prompt. It should be creative and reflective of something you are interested in writing. You can use quotes, photos, music, physical movement, anything that will elicit at least a 1/2 page written response from your classmates.

You will be given as assigned date to present. Possible sites for writing prompt ideas:
http://www.writersdigest.com/WritingPrompts/
http://writingfix.com/classroom_tools/dailypromptgenerator.htm
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html

Playing with Poetry

Part One: Poetry Vocab
Look up and define the following words:
Rhythm
Rhyme scheme
Alliteration
Anaphora
Consonance
Assonance
You can define these on your blogs or in your notebooks.

Part Two: Playing with Poetry

1. Type out your poem on a word document.
2. Mess around with it; play with it- add lines, take out words.
3. Try to add some alliteration, assonance, consonance, anaphora, rhythm, rhyme scheme.
4. Try to incorporate the metaphor you are using in each stanza
5. Try NOT to say “ Our love is like a lion”
6. Put it on your blog.

Love is like a....

You have three tasks today:

Task One: Love Poem
1. Find a poem on the internet or, oh my goodness, in a book from the library about love. This should not be a song.
2. This poem needs to have some type of metaphor in it.
3. Paste it onto your blog and cite the author and source of the poem. I have provided internet resources below.
4. Comment on what you believe the theme of the poem is. What is the author saying about love?
5. Explain how the author uses metaphor (or simile) to express the theme of the piece.
6. Print out the poem. You will be sharing it with the class.

Sites for poems:
http://www.poetry.com/lovepoems/lovepoems.asp
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/
http://www.bartleby.com/113/ (This site focuses on Emily Dickinson)
If you know the author you are interested in, then http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/ is a good site to visit. Otherwise skip this one.

Task Two: Love Metaphor
Create your own metaphor about love. Be sure you explain it thoroughly. Saying "love is like a snake" is not detailed enough. Explin how, why, when, and where "love is like a snake."
BE CREATIVE!! Try to connect love to some really unexpected things.

Task Three: Blog Entry
Complete a blog entry on the topic of your choice. Label this October 7th Blog. If you do not finish this in class, it is homework. I will be checking blogs this week beginning tomorrow. I will be checking for the following:

1. The poetry critique
2. Today's assignment

Poetry Critique

Today in class you will select one poem that you find compelling, beautiful, intriguing, or unusual.

At the bottom of this post you will find links to a few sites where you will be able to find a collection of poems to browse through.

Once you have found a poem, copy it and paste it to your blog. Please cite the website where you have copied it from. Include the author, too.

Once pasted, do the following:

1. Read it at least three more times. At least one of these readings should be done aloud. When reading aloud you will hear how deliberately the words are put together that you may miss when reading silently. It's okay if you feel goofy doing this....DO IT!!
2. Explain briefly why you selected this poem. What about it do you find interesting?
3. Comment on its title. How does the title fit the work? This may be very obvious for some pieces. For others, however, you will have to work to make connections.
4. Comment on the author's use of poetic devices. Identify two devices such as metaphor, alliteration, personification, imagery, and consonance, and point out where the author uses them. Then comment on how they influence the poem. Do they create an emphasis on a certain word or words? Do they focus the reader's attention on an image? Do they create a feeling within the poem?
5. Explain the tone of the piece. What is the tone? Is it somber? Joyful? Remorseful? Hopeful? How did the writer succeed in creating this tone? Think about the words he/she used to create images. Consider the actual sound of the words as well.
6. Visit the sites of at least two other people in your group. Read their poems and leave a comment about their selection.

Sites for poems:
http://www.poetry.com/lovepoems/lovepoems.asp

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/

http://www.bartleby.com/113/ (This site focuses on Emily Dickinson)

If you know the author you are interested in, then http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/ is a good site to visit. Otherwise skip this one.

If you want to use a song for this assignment that is fine.

9/23: Topic of Your Choice

Personal narratives due tomorrow! See rubric for requirements.

You have three tasks today:

1. Share three potential titles for your personal narrative.
2. Blog on the topic of your choice, in the format of your choice.
3. Visit the blogs of your group members, and share your opinions about their titles. Also, read and comment on the content of their blogs.

9/18 # 2: Topic of Your Choice

This is exactly as the title states. Simply focus on a topic and write about it. If your blog is focused on a specific topic, then blog about that. Otherwise, it is up to you. When you have finished, visitm read, and comment on your group members' blogs (again).

Thursday, 9/18 #1: Narrative Passage

Yesterday you read through one specific area on the six traits rubric (voice, word choice, or idea development). You defined it and examined how one author incorporated the trait effectively and ineffectively into a story.

Read through the other two traits that you did not read about yesterday.

Pick one paragraph or a short passage from your narrative draft that needs some work in any or all of the following areas: word choice, voice, or idea development.

Type the passage on your blog, and explain what you are struggling with about it. You may say something like, "I feel like my words are not very creative. What are some better words I could use?" or "Do you understand the main message of my story? What do you think I am trying to say?" Include a question you want answered.

Post it, and then visit the blogs of your group members. Read their passages and comments, and give them at least one tip about improving their piece. Be specific. If someone says, "My mom is nice and funny" don't tell her to just change it. Give them specific words they could use that are more vivid.

When you have finished, complete the next blog assignment.

Discover

I love cooking and baking. I think that there is something therapeutic about mixing ingredients together. My ideal cooking environment: a rainy day, my son crawling around the floor near me, the microwave fan on (I love the noise), the radio.
Top ten cooking list:
10.Rhubarb Crisp- it's easy and my husband loves it
9. Chocolate Chip cookies
8. Chicken Kashmiri
7. Lasagna
6. Cakes from scratch-golden and spice
5. Banana bread (made with sour cream it is so moist)
4. Quiche
3. Pizza from scratch
2. Spaghetti (easy I know)
1. Yet to be determined.

Class Update 9/10

We created blogs. See Class Info 411.