1 March 2012

Yesterday was Leap Day.  We pre-viewed the poetry unit together.  We’ll get back to it later on.

For now–and starting today–you’re going to begin your paper.  I’m offering you five choices for this paper, and they’re all different levels of writing.

We are all working on the same big understanding: opinions about literature must be supported with evidence from the text.

But we’re all at different stages in what kind of evidence we can use and how we will support it.  For this assignment, Choose the level that will challenge you just a little bit.  That way, you can grow as a writer. Your options are described on the Hero or Jerk: The Thesis. Once you’ve chosen and written a thesis statement, then pick up the graphic organizer that goes with the level you chose:

• Concrete 1
• Concrete 2
• Intermediate
• Abstract 1
• Abstract 2

The rest of the period today, I asked you to fill out the first and second columns.  Don’t worry about filling in your explanation yet.  We’ll get there eventually.  For right now, just fill in the first two columns.

 

1 March 2012

Between yesterday and today, I’ve asked everyone to write three Haiku (p 8 in the Handbook).  These are due tomorrow.  

I’ve also gotten everyone a copy of the Creative Writing Handbook, which includes all of your assignments, rubrics and instructions for the twelve weeks we’ll be together.

Next, I asked you to pick a genre:

• Fiction (check out from LMC)
• Flash Fiction (6 examples Handbook right after page 20)
• Poetry (Books available in Mrs. B’s room, more in LMC later in tri)
• Memoir/Non-Fiction (check out from LMC)

And then begin your work the first item on the checklist for the genre you’ve chosen: reading examples and writing your Style Log Entries. 

1 March 2012

Between yesterday and today, I’ve asked everyone to write three Haiku (p 8 in the Handbook).  These are due tomorrow.  

I’ve also gotten everyone a copy of the Creative Writing Handbook, which includes all of your assignments, rubrics and instructions for the twelve weeks we’ll be together.

Next, I asked you to pick a genre:

• Fiction (check out from 
• Flash Fiction
• Poetry
• Memoir/Non-Fiction

And then begin your work the first item on the checklist for the genre you’ve chosen: reading examples and writing your Style Log Entries. 

1 March 2012

Between yesterday and today,

I’ve gotten everyone a copy of the Creative Writing Handbook, which includes all of your assignments, rubrics and instructions for the twelve weeks we’ll be together.

Today, I asked you to pick a genre:

• Fiction
• Flash Fiction
• Poetry
• Memoir/Non-Fiction

And then begin your work the first item on the checklist for the genre you’ve chosen: reading examples and writing your Style Log Entries. 

1 March 2012

Between yesterday and today, I’ve gotten everyone a copy of the Creative Writing Handbook, which includes all of your assignments, rubrics and instructions for the twelve weeks we’ll be together.

Today, I asked you to pick a genre:

• Fiction
• Flash Fiction
• Poetry
• EM 

21-22 February 2012

Well, we finished the Odyssey!  The rest of our day today, all day tomorrow and all day Friday we’ll dedicate to an unusual kind of assessment (yep, you read that right–this is in place of a “test” that might check for understanding)–you’re going to re-create the Odyssey in real time, live action performances.

 

17 February 2012

Yesterday we finished reading Book 10 of the Odyssey.  And I asked you to finish the related questions on your study guide for today.

Today we’re going to continue with Book 12.  Whatever we don’t finish today, please finish at home for Monday.  Make sure you continue to add to your Hero/Jerk quotes and answer the study guide questions.

15 February 2012

Today we finished reading Book 9.

For tomorrow, please complete questions 8-15 on your study guide.

 

14 February 2012

Today we began reading Book 9 of the Odyssey.  We added a bit to our graphic organizers based on our reading:

• The ancient Greeks valued law, government and order
• The ancient Greeks cultivated the land (plowed, sowed, tilled soil)

Then we started working on collecting “Hero” and “Jerk” quotes (last page of the study guide).  To identify the book and line numbers, you should write Bk ___, Ln ___.

Lastly, FOR TOMORROW, I asked you to answer questions 5-8 in the study guide and to do the doodle of Odysseus and the Cyclops on page 2 of the study guide.

13 February 2012

Today we started the Odyssey. 

When you read something as old as the Odyssey, it’s a lot like visiting another country.  You need to get to know the language and culture of the place.  To help you with that, we’re going to work on a graphic organizer today that’s based on pp 887-891 in the Orange Book.

We’ll split into two groups–folks who would like to work on it on their own and folks who would like to have some coaching as they work.  We’ll come back together at the end of the period and try to negotiate our way through the boxes you had trouble filling in.

A copy of the Odyssey Study Guide (2012) is available here if you missed class today, including the graphic organizer we’ll use today.  I have copies here at school as well if you’d like to wait until tomorrow.