Favorite Book of the School Year (Due Friday, April 27th!)

What's your favorite book that you have read this year, inside or outside of the classroom?  Why did you like it?  What other sorts of readers do you think would enjoy the book? Remember, your post should be at least 5-7 sentences!

Shakespearean Insults (Due Friday, April 20th!)

One of my goals in teaching Shakespeare is to expose you to his language.  Shakespeare is known for inventing new sayings, often writing in rhyming couplets, and using an expansive and descriptive vocabulary.  Since it can be intimidating to try to understand his language, I have always found that approaching his words with playfulness and enjoyment helps!  Even if you don't understand everything, you can revel in the rhythm and cadence of his words.  

Shakespeare was also a famous for writing scathing insults!  I want you to go to the following links and create some insults of your own using Shakespeare's language.  If you need some ideas, you can look at some pre-generated insults by clicking on the botton link.  Write your TOP 3 insults on the blog!

Write some insults of your own!

http://www.petelevin.com/shakespeare.htm

(See some of Shakespeare's insults)

http://www.william-shakespeare.org.uk/a2-shakespeare-insult-generator.htm

Pick an Environmental Issue (Due Friday, April 13th!)

During this unit, you are going to pick an environmental issue that you care about and take action!  Eventually, you'll pick an elected official or other influential person to write a letter to convincing them that they should act on this issue.  First, you need to choose an issue you care about.   Explore the websites below and choose an issue.  Then, write your post about which issue you have chosen and why!

Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/students/index.html

Ocean Conservancy: http://www.oceanconservancy.org/

National Wildlife Federation: https://online.nwf.org/site/SPageNavigator/ActionCenter/the_wildlife

National Resource Defense Council: http://www.nrdc.org/issues/

A Poem in Your Poet's Style! (Due Friday, March 23rd)

Last week, you shared a poem by your poet aloud in class. This week, your task is to write a poem in your poet's style.  You could "imitate" any or all of the following aspects of your poet's style:


- Simply write about a similar subject. If your poet liked to write about trees or growing up or guns, then you should write about the same thing.
- Steal a line from your poet and create an original poem that uses that line.
- Use the same rhyme scheme that your poet uses.
- Use a similar style of capitalization, punctuation, or line breaks.


At the end of your poem, you should explain how it reflects your poet.  Good luck!

Defense Poem (Due Friday, March 16th!)

Read "The Iceberg Theory" by Gerald Locklin below.  Then, write a 10-line poem in defense of something you care about.  Perhaps you want to defend soccer in a football-centric culture. You could defend asparagus to a friend who thinks it's gross.  Maybe you want to defend an artist or athlete who others criticize.  Follow "The Iceberg Theory" formula by writing at least 5 lines that address or outline the critics' complaints and at least 5 lines that defend your subject!

The Iceberg Theory

all the food critics hate iceberg lettuce.
you'd think romaine was descended from
orpheus's laurel wreath,
you'd think raw spinach had all the nutritional
benefits attributed to it by popeye,
not to mention aesthetic subtleties worthy of
veriaine and debussy.
they'll even salivate over chopped red cabbage
just to disparage poor old mr. iceberg lettuce.

I guess the problem is
it's just too common for them.
It doesn't matter that it tastes good,
has a satisfying crunchy texture,
holds its freshness
and has crevices for the dressing,
whereas the darker, leafier varieties
are often bitter, gritty, and flat.
It just isn't different enough and
it's too gosh darn american.

of course a critic has to criticize;
a critic has to have something to say
perhaps that's why literary critics
purport to find interesting
so much contemporary poetry
that just bores the crap out of me.

at any rate, I really enjoy a salad
with plenty of chunky iceberg lettuce,
the more the merrier,
drenched in an Italian or roquefort dressing.
and the poems I enjoy are those I don't have
to pretend that I'm enjoying.

Can You Haiku? (Due Friday, March 9th)

For this post, you should write your own haiku!

(Read the information below for inspiration.  The only requirement is that your poem be a true haiku, with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third!)

What is haiku?

Haiku is a Japanese poetry form. The best haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and create a picture in the reader's mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than itself.

In English, haiku is normally written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.

Haiku example

Here's a haiku poem written by a poetry student:

The last winter leaves

Clinging to the black branches

Explode into birds.

Characteristics of haiku

The following are typical of haiku:

• A focus on nature.
• A "season word" such as "snow" which tells the reader what time of year it is.
• A division somewhere in the poem, which focuses first on one thing, then on another. The relationship between these two parts is sometimes surprising.
• Instead of saying how a scene makes him or her feel, the poet shows the details that caused that emotion. If the sight of an empty winter sky made the poet feel lonely, describing that sky can give the same feeling to the reader.

This blog prompt was taken from the following website: 

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-haiku.html

Pick a Poet! (Due Friday, March 2nd)

In class, you will pick one of the poets below.  This week. you should begin researching your poet's life at the following website:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

Write one or two interesting facts about your poet on the blog this week!

William Carlos Willams 

Pablo Neruda 

Langston Hughes 

Shel Silverstein 

Robert Frost 

Walt Whitman 

Lewis Carroll 

Emily Dickinson 

William Blake 

Gwendolyn Brooks 

Billy Collins 

Edgar Allen Poe

Raymond Carver 

Ernest Thayer 

e.e. cummings 

Seamus Heany 

William Butler Yeats 

Charles Wright

Gregory Orr 

Who is your favorite poet or musician and why? (Due Friday, February 24th!)

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep. - Salman Rushdie
		Who is your favorite poet and why?  What are some of your favorite poems by that poet?  If you don't have a favorite poet or haven't read much poetry, then write about your favorite band or artist.  What are some lyrics they have written that you liked?  Why?  If you can include a specific poem or lyrics, then that's great!  REMEMBER: Your response must be a fully-developed, 5-sentence paragraph.  Below is an example response. This is a tough question for me.  There are so many poets I love: Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins... the list goes on and on.  I think my absolute favorite all-time poet, if I have to pick, is William Carlos Williams.  He is known for his short poems, which he wrote on prescription pads when he was a doctor. Though many of his poems are short, they contain touching and true reflections of the human condition.  He also wrote many poems which were musings about artwork.  I especially love the poem called "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" about a Brueghel painting because it emphasizes the everyday world not as backdrop, but as even more important than the fall of a hero: According to Brueghel when Icarus fell it was spring a farmer was ploughing his field the whole pageantry of the year was awake tingling with itself sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning

Superbowl Prediction (Due Friday, February 3rd!)

Which team will win Superbowl XLVI?  Why? Remember to support your prediction with several good reasons and use your best grammar.  If you're not a football fan, then what sports team do you follow and why?  If you don't follow a team, then what athlete do you most admire and why? 

A Letter to those in Power (Due Friday, January 27th!)

One characteristic of a dystopian society is that the government is oppressive and all-controlling.  In each of the novels you are reading, society follows very different rules.  This week, your task is to write a letter to the government convincing them to change their ways.

If you are reading The Hunger Games, you must write to the Capitol and plea with them to end the Games and their brutal suppression of the Districts.  Try to appeal to their emotions, their intellect, or their sense of justice.

If you are reading Divergent, you must write to the leaders of Erudite and Abnegation and ask them to change the separation of the factions.  Try to appeal to their emotions, their intellect, or their sense of justice.

If you are reading The Maze Runner, you should send a letter to those outside of the Maze and explain the injustice of it.  Try to appeal to their emotions, their intellect, or their sense of justice.

If you were the protagonist... (Due Friday, January 20th)

The protagonist is the main character who must solve or attempt to solve the story's major conflict. If you were the protagonist in your novel, what choice would you have made?

If you were Katniss in The Hunger Games, would you have taken Prim's place?  If you were going into the arena, what would your strategy be? What skills would you be able to use?  Remember to write a well-developed paragraph with at least 5 sentences, including a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.  


If you were Thomas in The Maze Runner, what job would you want within the Glade? Would you want to be a runner?  Why or why not?  Remember to write a well-developed paragraph with at least 5 sentences, including a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.  


If you were Tris in Divergent, which faction would you have chosen?  Do you feel that you possess characteristics similar to Abnegation, Dauntless, Candor, Amity, or Erudite?  Why do you feel you fit best within that faction? Remember to write a well-developed paragraph with at least 5 sentences, including a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.  

Author Interview Response (Due Friday, January 13th)

Watch the interview above; then, write a response of at least five sentences.  Your response should include your reaction to your author.  Did anything about his or her appearance surprise you?  Were you surprised by anything he or she said?  Are there any questions that you wish you could ask him or her?  What do you think your book will be about based on this interview?

Perfect World (Due Friday, January 6th!)

A "Utopia" is an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More. During this unit, we are going to read about worlds that were created to be "perfect" but failed and ended up stripping citizens of choice, individuality, and freedom.

For this post, I want you to describe your perfect world.  In your perfect world, how would people spend their time?  What would schools be like? How would people choose their jobs? What would the government be like? What would people eat?  How would issues like poverty and inequality be addressed?  Have fun with this and be creative in coming up with a world free from problems and strife!