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!

SCREEEECH!

We're switching gears and moving into poetry; our discussion of this genre will help lead us into The Odyssey. Today you received vocabulary of poetry. The following assignment is due Monday:

Homework Assignment

Locate the words on the vocabulary list from the text and complete the following on index cards:
Write the poetic term on one side of the card. On the other side, do the following:
a. Find and write a dictionary definition of the word.
b. Create an example of the technique or create an image that represents the term.

literal
figurative
stanza
simile
metaphor
hyperbole
personification
onomatopoeia
imagery
rhyme scheme
alliteration
assonance
consonance
repetition
tone

Also, finish the imitation poem you began in class...we'll share on Monday! Happy homecoming!

The King and QueenS have been crowned!

The excitement of coronation is over and it's time to think about English. The A Civil Action viewing guide and paragraph response are due tomorrow. Also, I will be collecting notebooks as well as copies of Animal Dreams. So, stick everything you've used in English class in your backpack, and bring it all to class tomorrow!

So Long, Schlichtmann!

NO SPECIFIC HOMEWORK TONIGHT!!

Tomorrow we will view the last five minutes of A Civil Action. Then, you will receive a writing assignment in which you will explore one of the film's themes. We'll also start our next book, Siddhartha. Homework for Friday will be to complete the A Civil Action study guide as well as the written response to the film.

Revisions, Revisions

I hope things went well today. The final draft of the Animal Dreams essay is due tomorrow. Please be prepared to submit the green rubric, the typed final draft, and the typed rough draft.

**NO EXCUSES WILL BE ACCEPTED TOMORROW.
**I WILL NOT PRINT FOR YOU.

Please work out your own computer issues. If your printer and/or computer is on the fritz, think about the following options: email your draft to a friend/relative/neighbor and ask him or her to please print it for you, type your paper on the computer of a friend/relative/neighbor, or get to school early tomorrow morning to print it (you may save it to--and access it from--a zip drive).

BTW, if you're reading this, I hope it is because you just finished posting to your own blog--your blog post is due before school tomorrow morning.

See you tomorrow!