Box O' Heroes

Let's make the Heroes in a Box assignment due Monday--it takes quite a bit of time to sift through all that is available on the internet!

If you find video artifacts, please embed them in your blog rather than simply providing the link that will take the viewer to youtube. Here are the directions for embeding a video:

1. Go to blogger. Either start a New Post or click on the pencil icon below the post you already
started.
2. Open another window, and go to youtube. Find the video you want and click on it.
3. To the right of the video box, you will see two lines: URL and Embed. Highlight the entire
code in the Embed box and copy it (ctrl+c).
4. Return to your blog post. You are likely in Compose mode, so click on the Edit Html menu
tab above the post box.
5. Paste (ctrl+v) the youtube embed code into the Edit Html box on blogger.
6. When you publish your post, you should see the first frame of the video in a box with an
arrow in the middle. Your viewer should now be able to click on the arrow and watch the
video.
...several steps, but it is actually quite simple.

DON'T FORGET!!!!!
AMNESTY DAY IS NEXT TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH. IT IS A STUDENT-CENTERED LATE-START DAY. YOU MAY TURN IN ANY OUTSTANDING LATE WORK ON AMNESTY DAY. TO DO SO, YOU MUST SHOW UP AND TURN IN WORK BEFORE THE LATE START--BETWEEN 8:30 AND 10:00 AM. YOU MUST SHOW UP IN PERSON...NOBODY MAY TURN IN WORK FOR YOU, AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT EMAILS WITH LATE WORK ATTACHED.

Also, don't forget to read Book 2 for tomorrow.

The Odyssey Begins...

After discussing the hero quest pattern, we dove into book 1 of The Odyssey. Your homework for tonight is to finish reading book 1. Don't fret, you will get the hang of the poetic language--it really is a great story.

Your bookmark provides the reading schedule for The Odyssey. I'm also pasting it below for your reference:

Oct. 23: Book 1
Oct. 24: Book 2
Oct. 27: Book 3, lines 1-287;
Book 4, lines 1-390 & 698 on
Oct. 28: Book 5
Oct. 29: Book 9
Oct. 30: Book 10
Oct. 31: Book 11
Nov. 3: Book 19
Nov. 4: Book 20, lines 357 on;
Book 21
Nov. 5: Book 22
Nov. 6: Book 23, lines 1-258

Prepare for the departure, and don't refuse the call to adventure!

Heroes in a Box

Your assignment--due Friday--is below:

When an anthropologist begins to study a group of people, he or she collects artifacts of the culture. Depending on the group being studied, these artifacts may include writing (including holy books), weapons, pictures, art, etc. As an introduction to our study of hero quests, you will take on the role of digital anthropologist, collecting and studying digital artifacts of heroes.

Assignment:
1. Begin by using an internet search provider to look for artifacts about heroes. Since heroes will lead you to thousands and thousands of findings, you may want to narrow your focus. Think about aspects of heroes that you may be interested in studying. Examples may include: female heroes, Canadian heroes, African-American heroes, Edina heroes, Hmong heroes, gay heroes, etc.

2. Find as many artifacts as you can about your topic. Types of artifacts may include: literature (poetry, short stories, excerpts from literary works), images (pictures, other digital images), videos, songs, quotes from famous people. Find as many artifacts as possible.

For images: try flickr.com--search for your topic.

Videos: Youtube--to embed a video in your blog, click on the Edit Html tab (above the text box of a new post). Go to the youtube vidow and copy the html code from the line that reads Embed (to the right of the video box, below the URL line).

Simply cut and paste literature or quotes.

3. Next, it’s time to make sense of these artifacts. Study each artifact you found (watch videos, study images, read literature, etc.). Identify patterns in what you find. You may want to consider creating a tree map to help classify the artifacts that you find.

4. Finally, organize your artifacts and create your final product on your blog. First, write about the classifications and overarching qualities of heroes that you discovered as you collected and studied artifacts. Your task here is to introduce us to the types of artifacts you collected. Then, paste all of your artifacts (photos, literature, quotes, video, etc.) into your blog, and underneath each one, discuss its significance (how it leads us to a better understanding of heroes) and why you chose it. What did you learn about heroes from your search and specifically, from this artifact? Then, end with a concluding paragraph entitled “Conclusion” in which you discuss your overall findings. For example, while studying sisters, a student discovered that there are two categories of sisters: sisters who are best friends, and sisters who are enemies.

Good Luck!

Blog Star!

Here's why you should check out the blog of Grady (click to the left to get to it):
1. He is totally up-to-date on his blogging.
2. He provides a link--in each blog post--to the article that he is discussing.
3. He writes thorough, thoughtful responses to what he is reading.
4. He added a quote from a Giovanni poem that we read, along with a photo of an omelette.

NICELY DONE, GRADY--WHAT A BLOG STAR!!

Locked In

Before tomorrow's class, please read the article entitled, "The Unspeakable Odyssey of the Motionless Boy." As you read, circle or underline at least five passages that are interesting, illuminating, or significant in some way.

Today you also received your writing assignment for Wednesday. Your message must be typed, double-spaced, and printed. Bring your paper copy of the typed message to class on Wednesday. You will not be required to read your message to the whole class.

Also...while you're here, post about whatever you're reading.

Fall...

...is definitely here, but I hope you don't feel like the speaker in the poem we read today! We took a poem rich in figurative language and made pretty good sense of it in about 35 minutes. Tomorrow we may work on another poem. Then, we'll begin our next text: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

You should be reviewing poetry vocabulary and working on outside reading/blogging.

The Poet Who

Your Cisneros-like poems are due tomorrow. Again, steps to completing the poem are as follows:

1. Think of a person you have only in your memory.
2. Brainstorm a list of concrete objects that remind you of the person.
3. Use the list to create a poem. Imitate Cisneros's "Abuelito Who". That is, USE METAPHOR to compare the objects in your list to the person about whom you are writing.
4. Give your poem a title: "________ Who"

I hope you're reading this because you are working on your own blog!