The Conclusion

Read over every blog you have posted over the course of the 2009-2010 school year. Some of you have completed more posts than others, including extra credit posts.  Look back on your writing: what have you learned, what have you written, what is your blog is all about?

Write a comprehensive conclusion to your blog - consider your English blog as a body of work and reflect on the meaning and significance of it all. This should be a creative, complex, and encompassing post: the more you write and the more you reflect on, the better your grade will be. Consider a minimum of 500 words as a guideline for length. However, quality trumps quantity.

Also, include a quotation that supports your message as to the meaning and conclusion of your blog. This quotation can be from anywhere - To Kill a Mockingbird, Benjamin Franklin, a lyric from a song...anything that reflects the meaning of the body of work that is your blog. Be sure to embed your quotation in a way that clarifies its relevance to your message.

This blog post is meant to give a clear, reflective conclusion to the year-long blog assignment. The more reflecting you do on your past blogs, the higher your grade will be. If you have fewer blogs than were required, go into more detail to compensate for your lack of assignments on which to reflect. Feel free to include photos, videos, or other enhancements to wrap up the blog with a bang! You may want to include your extra credit project in this post.

Due Wednesday, June 16. Comments are encouraged!

Essay Writing: Challenges and Conquests

One of the most important skills you should acquire in 9th grade honors English is essay writing. After you turn in your Romeo and Juliet essay on Friday you should feel accomplished - you should know how ot construct an original, insightful thesis and how to support it with embedded quotations and meaningful analysis.  You should even be able to apply the ideas in your thesis to the broader world in general.

Write about acquiring these skills: Are you now an accomplished essayist? Do you know what literary analysis is all about - its purpose, challenges, and rewards?

Write two paragraphs in response.  The first paragraph should address the aforementioned questions. In your second paragraph, use the rubric to discuss where your shortcomings are - is there anything from the "B grade or lower" list that you think your essay might fall under?

Post and comment by Friday, May 21.

Summer Reading List

Okay, we still have 30 days of school until summer vacation, but I'm already thinking about what I'm going to read this summer when I'm no longer reading for school. How about you? If the answer is no, think about it now.

Imagine it's summer vacation. It's warm and sunny; there are no assignments waiting to be completed. What will you choose to read, just for pure enjoyment?

Come up with at least two titles for your summer reading list - two books you want to read just because you like to read. Your blog post should give the titles and authors of two prospective summer reads and a brief description of why each title is on your "summer reading list."

Of course I realize most of you will be reading The Good Earth for Honors 10 next year, so you'll have to envision it's the beginning of summer and that the required book is still far from being due...

Your summer book list is due Friday, May 14. Post and comment - you may get some great ideas for summer reading by checking out your classmates' blogs.

Theme and Motif: Fate and Dreams

Many great ideas for blog posts were suggested in class today. In keeping with preparation for the upcoming essay on Romeo and Juliet, I'm choosing two ideas that relate to theme and motif in the play. Pick one of these two options to blog about this week:

Option 1: Fate. The characters in Romeo and Juliet believe that much of what will happen in their lives is determined by the positions of the stars and heavens occurring at birth. Research the unique astrology associated with your birthdate and time and discuss in several paragraphs whether or not you think your findings have any relevance to your own life. Tie in your findings and your feelings about astrology to the theme of the predetermination of fate in Romeo and Juliet. Use examples throughout act three as support.

Option 2: Dreams. Dreams and the dispute over their relevance help set the stage for what will happen in the play. Dreams become a motif - characters have premonitions and do not act on them, often resulting in negative consequences. Write about a dream or feeling of foreboding you have experienced and what action, if any, you took to prevent it from coming to fruition. Also, which character's opinion of dreams do you more closely align with and why: Romeo or Mercutio? Finally, discuss the impact of the motif of dreams throughout the third act of the play, with several examples supporting your ideas.

Choose one option and address each aspect of that option, writing several thought-provoking paragraphs in response. Your response should reflect a sensitive understanding of the theme of fate or motif of dreams in the play through act three.

Post and comment by Friday, May 7.

Taylor Swift Off Limits

Okay, too many of you are posting Taylor Swift's "Love Story." From now on, that reference to Romeo and Juliet is now off limits. If you used it prior to this post, it's okay (but kind of unoriginal!)

Push yourself to write about something no one else has thought of!

Due tonight, with a comment.

Culture Shock

As you immerse yourself in Romeo and Juliet you should be becoming aware of the pervasiveness of the story's impact on modern culture. References to the play are everywhere - from kung fu movies to rappers to current box-office date flicks. The enduring characters are even given modern voices and personas via Twitter.

Find something (preferably something not referred to in the previous paragraph) that references the timelessness of Romeo and Juliet. You could find a picture, post a link to an article, embed a video, copy song lyrics or just blog about a specific instance where you noticed the play being referenced in modern culture. See the bulletin board in class for inspiration.

Make sure the reference is clear and your reaction to it is clearly and cleverly conveyed...as always, quality writing is worth the time.

Post and comment by Friday, April 30.

Extra Credit Blog: English Reflection

Here is your extra credit blog assignment, due Monday, April 12.

You have been blogging about English class for seven months now. Your blog posts are primarily assignments requiring you to respond to literature and the content of the class. For extra credit I'd like you to come up with an original blog post that reflects on your English experience. The blog is your personal place to write about English class - make your response personal and an example of your own creative flair with words. When I read your post I should think, "that is so (insert your name.)"

We've covered a lot of material since September - you've memorized and recited poetry, diagrammed sentences, read and annotated classic novels, and probably said or heard the word "motif" more than you would have ever thought possible. What do you have to say about all this?

Great Expectations: Skit Prep

Next week, as we finish the novel, you will be writing and performing a skit based on one of the best parts of the novel. In preparation for the skit assignment, think about your favorite parts of the book. What are the most memorable parts? Which parts of the novel would be exciting to watch your classmates perform?

Post: List three parts of the novel that you would like to see performed in class. Describe each "scene" briefly, with reference to important characters and action, and state why you think each of these parts would be good material for a skit.

By Friday, you should have read through chapter 54. Please don't reveal anything from the final four chapters of the book: restrict your choice of "favorite parts" through chapter 54.

Comment: In your comment on a classmate's blog, choose which of the three parts
you would most like to use for your skit next week.

Post and comment by Friday, March 26.

More Questions about Great Expectations

As with last week, write about something from this week's reading that you don't understand. Try to focus on plot and characters rather than merely confusing sentences this time. In this week's reading there are lots of small details and coincidences that reflect back on previous chapters. With having already read nearly 300 pages prior to this week, there are bound to be things you missed or didn't understand earlier which may impede your ability to understand things in chapters 36-44.

Describe a specific incident or character in this week's reading that you don't fully comprehend and ask a question to be answered by your classmates through comments. Make sure your question is clear and reference the chapter and page number so that your classmates can comment an appropriate answer in response.

Make sure that your question is significant to character development and plot. It can either be literal (something that can be answered by deciphering the text) or interpretive (related to motive of author or character.) You will be evaluated on the depth and thought you put into the question - show that you do understand most of what you read by the type of question you pose. Your questions should cover something from this week's reading: chapters 36-44.

Post and comment a response on a classmate's blog, including an attempt to answer the question, by Friday, March 19. 

Great Expectations - Question about a Passage

While you read Great Expectations there are sure to be sentences, paragraphs, or sections of entire chapters that you don't quite understand due to complicated or confusing diction and syntax. Find a specific passage in this week's reading that you don't fully comprehend and ask a question to be answered by your classmates through comments. Cite the passage with chapter and page number and specifically state what about the passage you do not understand. Make sure your question is clear and include enough of the passage (directly and correctly quoted) so that your classmates can comment an appropriate answer in response.

Make sure that your question is clear and significant. It can either be literal (something that can be answered by deciphering the text) or interpretive (related to motive of author or character.) You will be evaluated on the depth and thought you put into the question - show that you do understand most of what you read by the type of question you pose. Your questions should cover something from this week's reading: chapters 26-35.

Post and comment a response on a classmate's blog, including an attempt to answer the question, by Friday, March 12.

Great Expectations: Photo Post

Find a photo that relates to something in this week's reading. The photo should be an interpretation of a scene or idea from one of the chapters we're covering this week - anything from chapter 17 through 25. In selecting a photo, attempt to show your unique perspective on the novel and a thorough and sensitive understanding of the idea or scene that the photo represents. No movie photos and nothing too "literal." For example, don't choose a photo of an an old building and write about how the building looks like somewhere Pip visits in London.

Post your photo on your blog - the photo should appear on your blog rather than a link to the photo. Write a paragraph explaining how your photo relates to something specific in this week's reading. Be sure the specific scene or idea from the reading is described accurately and thoughtfully and conveys your unique interpretation of the photo.

Post and comment by Friday, March 5.

Great Expecations: The First Stage

The last sentence in chapter 9 reads:

Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

Respond to this quote.

• What is Pip referring to? 
• How has this day altered him?
• How has Pip's character developed on this "memorable day?"
• Think of a memorable day in your life that began your "chain." How can the formation of your character or the person you are now be traced back to one life-altering day?

Write two paragraphs.  The first paragraph should discuss Pip's experience and the second paragraph should describe your own personal experiences.

Post and comment by Friday, February 26.

Great Expectations - Annotations

We are starting Charles Dickens' Great Expectations next week. You will be required to read and annotate the novel for homework on a daily basis. I will not be providing post-its for annotating. Please acquire some sticky notes over the holiday weekend. You may want to consider purchasing your own copy of the novel so you can annotate directly in the text without needing sticky notes - it's faster and easier that way.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Collaborating on Your Group Essay: Commentary and the Three-Fold Transition Sentence

Before you begin your post, please keep in mind that you need to have the core of your paragraph (all concrete details and commentary) complete or nearly complete.

Post: Write a post to your group members describing the three points you are making in your body paragraph and the commentary you are writing to tie the concrete details to your group’s thesis. In other words, tell your group members what you are writing about. By now your group should have made sure that you are each using different concrete details within your own paragraph, so this post should focus on the commentary. Discuss how your commentary specifically supports the thesis.

Comment: Read each of your group members’ posts and comment back to them. Your comment should include your critique of how their commentary supports the thesis and give them ideas for their three-fold transition sentence. Give each member of your group an idea for how they can transition from or to your paragraph and refer subtly to the thesis without being overly repetitive. *The comments are each worth 10 points and need to be substantial and thoughtful.

The Three-Fold Transition Sentence:

1. Refers subtly to the idea discussed in the previous paragraph
2. Refers briefly to the overall thesis idea
3. Refers more specifically to any new ideas to be discussed in the next paragraph.

See the back of your body paragraph graphic organizer for helpful examples of the three-fold transition sentence.

The Importance of Being Earnest/Victorian Research

Explain how your Victorian era research has enhanced your understanding of the play. Write two paragraphs in which you discuss what you learned and what it specifically relates to in the play. Use concrete details from the play to clarify your points and relate them to your knowledge of the Victorian era.

This blog post is worth 25 points - be sure to write two well-developed, thoughtful paragraphs in which you showcase a thorough understanding of both the play and the era in which it was written.

Post and comment on a classmate's blog by Friday, January 29.