Final Blog of the Year

It's coming to the end of the year... as we are studying The Odyssey I have decided to combine what would typically be the Hero's Journey project with the blog instead of trying to cram a term project, the blog, Romeo and Juliet assignments (note: assignments, not projects) and the new format for state testing (which takes twice as long as what we are used to) into one term.

Having said that, the requirements for this one blog will be lengthier than one blog typically would be, however; the requirements overall will be less than what you would normally complete in one term. There will also be more time to complete it.

Fourth Term Blog Due Saturday, May 10

Reading:
4 reading posts (250 words):
don't just give me a summary... tell me what is going on in that brain of yours... do you like the book? Why? What do you think of the plot? the characters? what is happening at that moment in the story? what about the writing style? do certain things bug you? why? You have been writing summaries for a very long time... I want to see beyond the summary.

12-20 vocabulary words and definitions:
this can come from just about anything you read...no textbook vocabulary words, please. If words came up in The Odyssey, use them. If they come up in your reading, use them... if they come up when somebody says something... use them!

Writing (nine responses overall):
The first writing post comes straight from what you wrote in class about the Trojan War (I know I had you write a before and after, but not very many of you had much knowledge before we discussed it, so just combine this into one response).

The rest of the responses come from the blue handout that I gave you detailing the summaries and connections following the path of the Hero's Journey. Every "page" should be its own post. Each summary and connection should be 6-7 sentences each, and the title of the post should match the title on the page. If necessary, you can access that handout here: Hero's Journey Blog Posts.  Remember, your connections do not have to be huge major events... I just have to see how they connect to that part of the Hero's Journey (remember--we took notes on this).

I recommend that you utilize the time I give you in class to write some of this in your notebook and use your notes page to keep your ideas fresh. This is also an assignment that will be easier if you post on the days that we discuss each section of The Odyssey instead of waiting until the week before it is due to recall events that occurred weeks earlier.  Just think... the faster you accomplish this task, the closer you will be to completing this term in English.

Complete this form when your blog is done

Last Blog for Term 3

Okay, yes, I'm a big slacker... I know we've talked about this in class, but this is late going up.  The blog requirements were the same for all the classes and due on Saturday March 8. Regardless, here are the requirements:

3 reading posts (250 words):
don't just give me a summary... tell me what is going on in that brain of yours... do you like the book? Why? What do you think of the plot? the characters? what is happening at that moment in the story? what about the writing style? do certain things bug you? why? You have been writing summaries for a very long time... I want to see beyond the summary.

9-15 vocabulary words and definitions:
this can come from just about anything you read...no textbook vocabulary words, please. If words came up in the poetry, use them. If they come up in your reading, use them... if they come up when somebody says something... use them!

6 writing posts:
4 must be on poems--remember to identify the poetic devices... meaning don't just tell me they are there, but give the example as well... and discuss the meaning of the poem in at least a paragraph (which is more than a sentence or two).

Current Event: What is going on in the community, the state, the nation, the world???  Find out, and write about it. Don't just copy and paste the article, but tell me about it!! Then, tell me your thoughts.

Beyond that, you can write on anything you want to... from the topics handout (you can find that on my website under blog), from your own brain, or you can choose to write on more poems.  I'll list all of the poems we've studied through the unit... please choose poems you have not written on before (realize that with all of the craziness, some of the classes studied poems that others did not get to... this is the general list).

If you have not, please fill out the form on the previous post so that I can match your blog with your class.

I Miss You--Blink 182
Pride--U2
Life is a Highway--Rascal Flatts
Thank You--Led Zeppelin
Cough Syrup--Young the Giant
In Pieces--Linkin Park
After the Storm--Mumford and Sons
Grey Street--Dave Matthews Band
Vindicated--Dashboard Confessional
Demons--Imagine Dragons
Wish You Were Here--Pink Floyd
Bring Me to Life--Evanescence
Sonnet 130--Shakespeare
Lullabye (Goodnight my Angel)--Billy Joel
The Raven--Edgar Allan Poe
Casey at the Bat--Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Boundin'--Disney/Pixar
Little Talks--Of Monsters and Men
A Gentleman's Excuse Me--Fish