Why I Write...

It is hard to believe our semester together is at an end, and here we are wrapping it all up.  Our final exercise is an opportunity to focus on the topic of  why a person writes.  You must think back over all that you have accomplished, all you have written, and all you have learned.  Your challenge is to think about why YOU write.  What do you learn about yourself, your relationship to the world, and the way you see the world?

Read excerpts over the following essay by the author Terry Tempest Williams.   The topic itself was inspired by the original essay written by George Orwell, and though you may find it rather dense, you may at least want to skim down to the final paragraph.  The National Writing Project adopted a national writing day based on the topic of "Why I Write."  This last link provides you with a number of essays which you may read through to gather ideas for how you might respond to the same topic. This last link is an interesting essay by a college adjunct professor who writes about the topic and asks her students to write as well.  After you have read over these essays, you may begin to sketch out your own ideas as to what writing reveals to you or why you write.

Think about the pieces we have written this year, what you may have written on your own, and how writing fits into your life and into your future.  You may simply begin your piece with a series of statements, "I write because_________________."   See where it leads you.

In this final self-reflection please take care to proofread how you write.  Use spell check.  Read what you say aloud to yourself to see if it makes sense and is what you intended to say.  Don't  be afraid to let the topic lead you to a new discovery.  This is about you as a writer, a thinker, and about what your own writing reveals to you.

I look forward to reading what your write.  For those of you leaving us, I will miss peeking into your thoughts and insights.  Keep thinking.  Keep writing!

One last letter to our Chinese friends

Write a letter to your Chinese pen pal today and post a copy of it to your blog as a New Post.  This can be a "goodbye" or a "let's keep in touch."

Address the following:

• what's going on here at the end of the school year--fun activities, Prom, finals, graduation, etc.--and what you've been up to, how you're feeling
• explain that the semester/our class is almost over and that you'll be graduating or moving on to other classes
• share where you're headed (summer plans, college plans, travel plans, etc.)
• either say you will try to keep in touch or explain that you won't be writing anymore
• wish him or her well (have a great summer, keep writing, etc.)

***To the two of you who do not have a Chinese pen pal due to the timing of the exercise, you may write to your MSU China exchange student instead.  Post it here and forward it to me and I'll see they get it!

Starry Night, painting and poetry

The starry night paintings have dried, and Wednesday we will mount them to construction paper along with the tankas composed in response to Van Gogh, his life, the painting, loneliness, insanity...anything in response to the study.

As we wrap things up this week, be sure you have posted two to three (or more) of your favorite photos (with captions) on your blog. Yes, we  created poster displays of our photo hunt to share in class, but it would be nice to have a digital record of your favorites as well.  After all, the whole idea of "what an artist sees" is highlighted in the photo hunt as well as our Van Gogh project.

Sadly, we have little time left with our seniors, so the class size will dwindle in half, and we will miss the personalities that filled this room.  We will take time Wednesday to gallery walk some of our work, the photo hunt and Starry Night.  Friday we will be doing a similar "gallery walk" on our blogs!

For those of you who haven't kept up with your blog posts, read back through this main page, and you'll find directions to all assignments.  Linked here is a check list (you got one of these in class) of your assigned blog posts and a space to evaluate your progress.  Good luck!

Xiexie to Our New Friends!

What a joy it was to partner up with our MSU Chinese exchange students and talk about language and life.  When I get pictures from our school photographers, I'll try to upload some of those.  I'm sure they'll be better than what I captured here on my phone. 

I especially loved hearing all of you share the new Chinese adjectives and seeing the pinyin you learned as you expressed your relationship with school right now... 

The face match warm up activity. 

           

I picked up the index cards you filled out, and on Tuesday we'll take a look at those.  Let's see if you remember how to pronounce your adjective.  I can't wait to talk about our visit, review the activities, and blog about it. I'll also try to find a great place to display your photos and your index cards!    

MSU Chinese students visit  PHS April 8th, 2016

I hope to be able to schedule at least one more "get together" before seniors graduate and school is out. Zhenzhen said they'd like to come back, and I know many of you made new Facebook friends.  I am very grateful to ZhenZhen, Jasmine, and MSU for planning and orchestrating the event.  (Next time I'll be sure to give clear directions regarding a drop off point!  I nearly lost everyone!)                                                                                            

Zhenzhen and I say goodbye

Meantime xiexie to all of you.  Friday's visit enabled us to talk about our lives and learn about educational systems, family life, hobbies, friends, interests, and opportunities available to all citizens.  

I'm anxious to read what you have to say about the discussions you had, the surprises you found, and in general what you learned.  I saw many of you taking pictures, and I hope you  will post them to your blog. 

I couldn't be prouder to be at Parkview and to be your teacher.  You represented us well, and you are wonderful American ambassadors. You are why I love teaching!            

Nǐ Hǎo to Friday's MSU Visitors

On Friday a dozen or so MSU students from China will shuttle to PHS to visit our class, which will be held in the library after lunch.  Don't forget we will have first lunch Friday in order to give us time to get organized in the library.

PLEASE be in school Friday and have your photo hunt blog post completed and posted!  We will have a set of chrome books so that we can share our posts with our visitors, but first we will introduce ourselves in small groups and get to know something about each other.  Think about questions you would like to ask the MSU students by class time on Wednesday so we can talk about possible questions.

I don't know if the MSUstudents have ever visited an American high school, but it's likely they have not.  You are ambassadors, and I am proud they will be meeting you!  Let's make them feel welcome. They will remember your sincerity, your manners, and the personal interest you show them.   AND...they will form an opinion about American high school students based on their visit here.
To hear how to say hello, click on the link here and listen to the audio.

On Friday, I'd love for you to talk in your small groups about your most meaningful picture and how it makes you feel.  We'll ask our visitors to suggest a Chinese character that could represent that picture, something we could add to our collage.

This should be fun.  I am really looking forward to the experience.  The MSU China Programs office was so pleased to learn about your email exchange program that they are providing the shuttle to make this happen and will likely stay and join us.  Let's have fun and make the most of our time with them!

Photo Exchange

In a New Post on your blog, please add the photos you took Monday during our Photo Hunt or that you found on your own. As we discussed in class, you may omit a category you don't like, or substitute categories of your own, but in the end you should have at least 10 pictures. Each picture should have a caption of at least 25 words, and include a clever #hashtag with each caption.  You can decide whether to label or otherwise indicate which photo on the list each was supposed to be.

At the end of your post, include a quote that suggests something about paying attention or writers noticing everything or the power of photographs.

In case you are looking for online pictures of the Ozarks for your photo hunt, here is a link to Ozarks landscapes, which can give you some options in addition to photos you take yourself.

Culture Swap: What Would You Do?

Write a letter of 300-400 words to your Chinese pen pals commenting on some aspect of the Wife Swap clips we watch in class, and you can add comments about the What Would You Do episodes as well if you have not already done so.  Share connections you can make to your own life, how you think these clips accurately portray us, what they might leave out, your own experiences in situations like these, etc.  Think about what you'd like the Chinese to know about us as Americans and/or you as an individual.  What are we proud of when it comes to our way of life?  What would we like to do better or see in our future?  

Ask some good questions about what the Chinese students thought of the clips, what those shows might look like if they were filmed in China, something else you'd like to know...

Share your letter in a New Post on your blog, please, and send your letter to your pen pals.  You can send the same letter to both of your pen pals if you have more than one.

Kevin sent me a copy of his lesson he used with the Wife Swap episode.  Here's some of what he said about how he introduced the show and some of the issues/concepts they're working on...

Hey! I've attached my lesson for Wife Swap for what it's worth. Maybe your students would be interested to look at what (I make) the students do in class. We covered fifteen phrasal verbs for this show because phrasal verbs are insanely difficult for non-native speakers, and we use them all the time. Take is used, for example, in dozens of phrasal verbs in the show, and even the single phrasal verb "take off" has several meanings. So these are really important for them. 

I used the second slide to elicit the name of the show and introduce a game. They then look at the last fifteen slides and have to look at the two pictures and come up with the phrasal verbs that correspond to the pictures and write the verb phrase on the blanks on the worksheet. After the phrasal verbs are all elicited, we work on meaning and pronunciation. This is tricky, too, because for a phrase like "count on," most Americans drop the /t/ in count, so it winds up sounding like cow-non; using the /t/ sounds unnatural and throws off sentence rhythm. 

When we watched the show, we focused on phrasal verbs in the first ten minutes of the show and then sentence stress in questions in the last ten minutes. I also paused quite a bit to talk about gender roles/politics. One of the husbands is a self-proclaimed redneck and he says things to his "new" wife like "I'm thirsty." My students don't understand the implicit meaning (go get me a beer).

Finally we watch the show and they answer the discussion questions. The circle with four lines at the bottom is for a freer speaking activity. I asked them to put their name in the circle, and write four facts about themselves or interests using only one or two words like "Chinese" or "pizza" or "dog." Then they mingle and ask each other questions, ideally mimicking the stress patterns we just covered.

This is long-winded.. Sorry! Your students are awesome, and my students are loving this. Thank you and be in touch soon!

It's Not Just an Assignment; It's Real Life!

I hope you know how important your email responses are to our Chinese students.  If you only knew how important the email project is to the Chinese students, you'd be quick to answer their email or to help others in our class who need help to get theirs going!  It is really endearing to see how deeply they care about hearing back from you.  There are still eight Chinese students who have never gotten an email from us, so they asked Kevin if their words were wrong or if they had done something wrong.  They are very appreciative of your time and look forward to your reply.They see this as a matter of pride, and they relish your words. They truly don't see our exchange as just an assignment.

On Tuesday we will meet again in room 185, but we will reconvene after lunch in the library outer computer lab where you will refer to a "To Do" list to get EVERYONE caught up.

Next, the class blog is intended for YOU to see what other students are doing, to see comments or get help on your own work.  It should be a platform for you to individualize your site, to express yourself, to connect with each other, and to expand your readership.

This class and every class is set aside for our Creative Writing class.  Just because it requires a computer with internet access to do a lot of your work doesn't mean to travel wherever you'd like online or to do work from other classes!  Please be respectful of our time.

You'll be handing in your "To Do" list at the end of the class today to receive points for your workshop time.  Take advantage of this time to your credit!

What Would You Do? : A Cultural Exchange

As we watch the episodes of What Would You Do? how might you respond to your Chinese student correspondent?  In writing any kind of opinion, it is important to avoid sweeping generalizations with words like always, never, everyone, no one, and other all inclusive descriptors.

For example, you may have noticed in the gay adoption episode several people spoke up to the nosy actress who was harassing the young pregnant actress about her adoption choices.  As you explain what you viewed, you can also offer whether you think it's likely this would actually happen in real life.  Is this an issue Americans disagree about or that someone would really go to this length to air a personal opinion?  You might ask if the scenario might happen in China.

In the episode about the Muslim woman needing help, you might also explain the scenario and whether or not you think it could happen in our part of the country.  Is this an issue in China?

The final episode we may not have time to view together is "Child Predator Targets Young Girl He Meets Online."  As you comment on this episode and explain what you see, you may also include how likely this is to happen in America or in our part of the country.

This should be an interesting exchange, and you do not have to give your personal opinion necessarily.  You should explain the situation and how you view the authenticity of the scenario.  You might also ask how this would play out in China.

Email Exchange and Due dates for the week of March 21st!

Replies to China - TODAY!
Wednesday - In class discussion of TV episodes What Would You Do? and new email reply.
Friday - 5 pages writer's notebook due (front and back)

We will start this week by responding to the letters and writing our Chinese friends.  You should have received letters back from 2 of Kevin's students and also an object-inspired piece (or some other writing?) from them.  Please do the following today:

1:  Reply to the letters the way you would any other email or correspondence.  Answer the questions you were asked, ask questions of your own (about something the student has said or mentioned or maybe something else you're wondering about in terms of school, culture, family, interests, China, etc.), update them on what you've been up to since last writing.  You want to keep the conversation going so give the students something to respond to and maybe even ask that they write back when they can.

2:  Respond to the writing piece the students sent you in a positive, helpful way.  See Kevin's thoughts below on the kind of feedback that might help.  You don't need to "FIX" the paper, even if the student asked you to. What I would suggest is this:

• a greeting thanking the person for sharing and naming something you enjoyed about the piece
• 3-5 questions that could aid in revision/expansion of the piece
• close by naming something else you thought really worked and a statement of encouragement

If you're comfortable with it, I'd love for you to copy/paste the letters with your replies on a New Post on your own blog and copy/paste the students' writing pieces with your feedback to separate New Post on your blog.  

Please reply to both letters and both pieces today, so if you didn't finish in class, you'll need to work on your own time, maybe after school or if you can't access the internet, then during Endeavor.   Either post your work on your own blog or show me what you have done.  If you can't finish in class, please do so on your own. Your correspondents are awaiting your reply.  If you have time, check in on your classmates' blogs and see what their Chinese students sent them.  Thanks so much!

A message I got from Kevin today :

Hello PHS Creative Writing class:

My students are loving this project and working hard--hope their writing shows it at least a little! I believe the last round of emails ought to come in the next day or two. It'd be awesome if your students could ask my students questions that might indicate areas of confusion, vague, or incorrect language in their writing. Also my students would be thrilled to field any questions your students might have about China, college life, etc.

I know at least a few of my students directly asked yours to "correct" and "fix" their English, and I know that probably puts your students in a really awkward spot. So if my students are using gibberish maybe asking questions is a less direct approach. I talked to my students about error correction and tried to convey the idea that correction isn't the nature of the exchange. 

I was also thinking it might be really fun for all parties if students exchanged ideas about TV shows. This week we're going to watch three segments from What Would You Do? and my students will be fascinated but also flummoxed. They aren't aware about common American attitudes towards gay adoption, racism, etc., and the shows do a great job bringing those attitudes to light. Anyway, is it possible to exchange ideas if both our classes watch the same episodes? I found them on YouTube when I was home and included the titles in the attached document. Are you allowed to access that site while at school?

Please let me know what you think, and honestly, if your students respond to my students by asking questions or sharing thoughts about my students' ideas, that'd be great. Thanks!

Memorable Passage From The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

I first read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ten (or so) years ago.  I saw it on Oprah's best book list, and I bought it because I love dogs and was intrigued with the story line, which centered around a young deaf boy who runs away from home with three dogs he raised (from a fictitious breed of dogs his family owns).   It was a first book for the author David Wroblewski, and I loved his insight into a dog's psyche and the beautiful language he employed.

This passage reflects Wroblewski's clever insight when Almondine (now Edgar's dog) mourns the death of his father, her beloved master.

To her, the scent and the memory of him were one. Where it lay strongest, the distant past came to her as if that morning: Taking a dead sparrow from her jaws, before she knew to hide such things. Guiding her to the floor, bending her knee until the arthritis made it stick, his palm hotsided on her ribs to measure her breaths and know where the pain began. And to comfort her. That had been the week before he went away.

He was gone, she knew this, but something of him clung to the baseboards. At times the floor quivered under his footstep. She stood then and nosed into the kitchen and the bathroom and the bedroom-especially the closet-her intention to press her ruff against his hand, run it along his thigh, feel the heat of his body through the fabric.

Places, times, weather-all these drew him up inside her. Rain, especially, falling past the double doors of the kennel, where he’d waited through so many storms, each drop throwing a dozen replicas into the air as it struck the waterlogged earth. And where the rising and falling water met, something like an expectation formed, a place where he might appear and pass in long strides, silent and gestureless. For she was not without her own selfish desires: to hold things motionless, to measure herself against them and find herself present, to know that she was alive precisely because he needn’t acknowledge her in casual passing; that utter constancy might prevail if she attended the world so carefully. And if not constancy, then only those changes she desired, not those that sapped her, undefined her.

And so she searched. She’d watched his casket lowered into the ground, a box, man-made, no more like him than the trees that swayed under the winter wind. To assign him an identity outside the world was not in her thinking. The fence line where he walked and the bed where he slept-that was where he lived, and they remembered him.

Yet he was gone. She knew it most keenly in the diminishment of her own self. In her life, she’d been nourished and sustained by certain things, him being one of them, Trudy another, and Edgar, the third and most important, but it was really the three of them together, intersecting in her, for each of them powered her heart a different way. Each of them bore different responsibilities to her and with her and required different things from her, and her day was the fulfillment of those responsibilities. She could not imagine that portion of her would never return. With her it was not hope, or wistful thoughts-it was her sense of being alive that thinned by the proportion of her spirit devoted to him.

As spring came on, his scent about the place began to fade. She stopped looking for him. Whole days she slept beside his chair, as the sunlight drifted from eastern-slant to western-slant, moving only to ease the weight of her bones against the floor.

And Trudy and Edgar, encapsulated in mourning, somehow forgot to care for one another, let alone her. Or if they knew, their grief and heartache overwhelmed them. Anyway, there was so little they might have done, save to bring out a shirt of his to lie on, perhaps walk with her along the fence line, where fragments of time had snagged and hung. But if they noticed her grief, they hardly knew to do those things. And she without the language to ask.” 

I still choke up when I read that passage and I remember the sweet pets I've had.  Wroblewski's sensitive writing seems to capture exactly what a loyal pet might think/feel at the loss of a master. You all know Katie, my golden retriever I lost several years ago.  She's still all around my classroom and even on the blog. She is, in fact, my display name still; I never had the heart to change it.  She had an amazing bond with all my family.

Book critics compared the plot of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle to Shakespeare's Hamlet - a jealous man who murders his brother and sleeps with his wife, complete with ghosts and intrigue.  It was Wroblewski's language, though, and obvious love for dogs that kept me glued to his book, unable to put it down.

In giving you the "memorable passage" assignment, though, and thinking about this book, I realize I must read it again.  I hope you find a good read, too.

Post a passage (probably no more than a paragraph or so) from a book that was memorable to you. Type the passage in word for word and add some of your own thoughts (250 words or more) before and/or after, explaining why this particular set of words caught your attention or has stayed in your memory.  Title this post Memorable Passage.  Include an image with this post, too.

It's really nice to write quite a bit about what you read, if nothing else just to remember, but often to reflect on words that strike you.

Books That Matter

Moving on...Books that mattered

We will be moving on to a new theme, but I'd like all the emails to China shared with me (along with your significant object) before you do anything else.  Our new theme revolves around reading like writers. 

For those of you who have already composed your email, polished your significant object piece, and shared them with me on one GoogleDoc (bjames@sps.org), you may select an independent reading book if you don't currently have one and use this time to read and also enjoy the link below.  

As we do some thinking about how what we read inspires or influences what we write, I thought it might be fun for you to check out a website I've seen that analyzes a bit of your own writing and tells you what published author your writing is similar to.

I tried it with one of my blog posts and evidently I write like Mark Twain. Interesting.  I also found this interesting tidbit which confirmed my suspicions that there wasn't much heft to this particular tool, but hey...

Go to I Write Like and try it yourself. 

You should also try the profspro quiz to see what author you are paired with.

Leave a comment on this post telling us your results (and what you think of them) when you do.  You might have to look up the author for more information if you don't recognize the name.  

For class on Thursday, please bring 3 books that matter to you in some way.  These could be books from childhood, books from school or classes, books that were read to you, books you've enjoyed recently.  Be prepared to briefly share your books with the class and tell us why they matter to you.  Thanks!

A Creative Exchange with Qingdao University

Our creative writing class has been invited to exchange writing with a writing class in China at Qingdao University.  It is a great opportunity to expand our audience as well as learn about another culture through our significant object responses we are sending via email Thursday, March 3rd.

The class we'll be exchanging with is a freshman class taught by an MSU exchange teacher, Kevin James. No, he's not the comedian; he's my son.  He has written a letter to you explaining some of the cultural differences as well as some guidelines to follow.  He and his students are grateful for this opportunity, and as he explains in his letter, this is a very challenging exercise for his students. Please read the letter and share any questions or comments you may have either in the comment box here or aloud in class.


Because your writing will serve as a model for Chinese students to follow, we will conference, revise and polish your significant object pieces on Tuesday, March 1st in preparation of sending your work via email to China.  By Thursday, your introductory letter will be finalized to send along with your significant object writing.

Xie xie!

Paint Chip Pieces

Please polish and post the paint chip inspired pieces (alliteration!) you came up with in your journal during class.  You may group them all in one post or do a separate post for each one.  Include an image for each piece.  Let me show you how to do this if you don't know--it's easy and important to add visual interest to your work.

You should have (in any order you choose):

• 3 haikus 
• an acrostic using a paint color name
• an 8+ line free verse poem that uses the 4 paint color names
• an 8+ line narrative poem using the paint name as a title or in a line

You may substitute other pieces inspired by color instead of one or two (no more) of the above poems.  

If you finish with this assignment, click around on the info at HGTV about the Psychology of Color, how different colors affect our moods.   There are various color quizzes out there you could try, too.  Or you could continue to customize your blog with gadgets (quotes, images, tools) on your sidebar, or update your profile.  You could also check out what your classmates are posting today and leave them the kind of friendly, specific, supportive comments we are going for.  Thanks!

Monday's class will devoted to full writing workshop. Knowing how hard it is to think or write when there are distractions - talking - we are going to have a silent workshop.  This ought to help all of us complete the writing pieces inspired by color, post that writing to your blog, read and comment to others, work on the writer's notebook, or read independently, so no comfy chair or carpet area where it's tempting to talk and text.  Let's see how it goes!  Happy blogging!

Our New Theme: Color!

Come prepared to embark on a new theme next week as we experiment with color and mood and how it relates to writing.  You will have time in class to write and post your work on color, but if you haven't posted your significant object, things will dog-pile on you!  The "object" post was due last week!  If you miss class, read the blog to keep up! Don't expect to be able to hand things in late or whenever you want to.  If you want full credit, post on time!

The full 10 pages of writer's notebook pages (3rd writer's notebook installment) will be collected next week on Friday, February 26th.  That is 10 one-sided pages or 5 pages, front and back.  Writer's notebook 1 and 2 have already been collected and added into your grades for a total of 50 points each, 100 points so far.  If you want full credit, hand it in on time! The theme posts are also worth 50 points each, with your "object" being the first theme post.  This really is easy and simple if you keep up.

 It's fun to write, and in this class and on this blog you have a chance to try new things, experiment with theme and genre, and write for yourself.  If you keep your writer's notebook with you, it's easy to pull it out when you have extra time during the day.  If you do that, you won't have a lot of work to do outside of class, and you can use your class time working on your theme post or your reading!  So dive in!  Get caught up!

Object Inspired Writing, Yours and Mine!

I have been tweaking this short piece about a baseball, and in looking it over, I realize it's not really about a baseball.  But then again, that's what sometimes happens in writing inspired by an object.  Sometimes that inspiration takes us to other places and other times.  That's what happened here.  I think I'll simply provide a link to my Google Doc for your reading, if you choose.  I have changed the title a million times (I exaggerate) and I'm not satisfied with the ending, so it may change as I sift through ideas...

Creative Writing Grade book! Read This!

I wrote the words "Grade book" in  the title of this post, hoping it would get your attention and you would read this!  This site is an important component of our class.  Read my weekly posts, please!

First, we still don't have ALL our class uploaded on our blog roll (hyperlinked list on the right side of our main page)!  I can help you, and so can your classmates.  Just ask! So, here are the "musts":

1. Make a blog, comment your address to my first blog post at the bottom of this page.
2. Post your 101 Things or your I Am poem or both.
3. Hand in your five full pages (front and back) in your spiral writer's notebook every Friday we meet, unless otherwise stated. (Only five                                       one-sided pages for the Jan. 22 and the Feb 5 dates)  This Friday the 5th is our second writer's notebook installment, for a total of 100 points so far!  

Our work consists of your ongoing personal writing in your writer's notebook as well as the formal projects we do as a class, inspired by themes I listed in my January 12th post.

• Rough draft of your "object inspired" writing (at least 500 words) is due Friday, Feb. 5th
• Final copy is to be posted by the end of class on Tuesday, Feb. 9th.
• Your object post should have the word "object" somewhere in your post title.
• Your object post should have an image or picture of your object.

Keep writing.  Listen in class.  Read these posts.  Hand in your writer's notebooks every Friday we meet.  Post your formal papers.  Comment meaningful words to classmates' blogs!

Your object-inspired rough draft is due today.  We will be working in the library lab uploading our drafts to our own personal blogs.  Once you have yours uploaded, today's focus will be to read and comment with meaningful, complimentary words to at least several other classmates' posts.  Include a greeting at the beginning of your comment (like "Hi, Taylor!) and a brief statement of encouragement at the end of your comment (like "Thanks for sharing this!" or "I look forward to seeing more of your work.")

Go beyond a short, generic comment and get specific. As in:  "You really got me with that twist at the end--I would have never guessed it was her sister stalking her all along.  Creepy!"  Or:  "Your use of dialogue was effective and pulled me into the story.  I never thought a conversation between a little boy and his baseball could sound so natural."  Don't cop out and put a rushed, generic comment like, "It was good" or "Nice job."   You can also leave a comment on their "I am...".

What's Your Story? The Show Must Go On!

On Monday, February 1, I will be downtown at a reading meeting.  Sorry!  Your substitute - Kim Nye - is a friend of mine, and she will continue our "What's Your Story, Morning Glory" show and tell assignment.  I have given Ms. Nye a list of you who haven't presented yet, so you can present Monday.  Be sure to give her a copy of your object sheet after you've presented so that you can be given credit.  After all, the show must go on!

I have also entered in grades for your first writer's notebook pages, worth a total of 50 points, 10 point per one side of the page of writing.  We'll do the same thing this Friday, since we are now getting caught up with assignments.  You will turn in your next five pages this Friday, February 5th. I know I said five pages front and back, but we'll go with five pages one side per page!  I don't think anyone will complain about that.  If you've written extra, you are simply ahead on the next installment of pages!

We are continuing our study of objects of inspiration.  After presentations are over, you will be reading sample object essays and poems I have printed off.  Our next formal assignment is to write something like this in response to any object which inspires your writing.  It can be anything...something you chose for your presentation, an object from one of the museum sites I printed off, a picture you cut out for your notebook... an object someone else made you think of...whatever!

You may write in whatever genre you wish - narrative essay, free verse poem, dialogue, and so forth. The only requirements are that you write a minimum of 500 words. You may draft with the extra time after presentations today, work in your writer's notebook, or read quietly.  You should come to class Wednesday already knowing what object you will use as your inspiration.  We will do some free writing on Wednesday.  You should have a complete rough draft to bring to class on Friday.  We will be working on revision on Friday.  Your object paper will be posted on our blog by class time on Tuesday, February 9th!

Let It Snow!

Happy snow days, especially to you seniors!  We missed an opportunity to work in the computer lab Wednesday, so in an effort to catch up and give many of you time to finish and post your blogs, we have the laptops today, and of course, we have the desktops in the room, too.  Only fifteen blogs are linked to our blog roll so far, so if you do not see yours listed on our main page, be sure to leave your url in the comment box on my very first blog post on the main page.  Your blogs and your writer's notebooks are both due today!

For our writing focus for the next couple of weeks, we'll be looking at objects that inspire us, which include those images you cut out for some of your writer's notebook pages.  We'll share personal objects in our "What's Your Story, Morning Glory?" presentation assignment on Tuesday, January 26th.   Don't forget to bring five or six objects of your own which reflect who you are or where you're coming from.  We'll get to know each other better through this assignment.  We will also look at some interesting web sites featuring significant objects and the writing they inspire.  The Victoria and Albert Museum also has inspiring exhibits. 

Keep writing!  Keep reading!  Keep blogging!

Stealing Authentically

It's been a real pleasure getting to know you all these first few days.  I appreciate your patience as we've added newcomers to our class.  We have a great group, and I look forward to seeing all that you come up with throughout the semester.  To our newcomers, please be sure to do our day one assignment:  an informal letter to me.  Our second assignment is our "I Am" poem or the blogger's list of 101 Things About Me.  These were originally to be polished on Monday, but with no computers, the final copies are delayed 'till Friday.  Also, you'll be handing in your writer's notebook with five pages of free writing.  We'll spend some more time free writing Wednesday.

I wanted to gather my thoughts and give you a preview of some of the other ideas I'd like us to consider and be inspired by over the next 15 weeks, all in keeping with Jarmusch's idea that it's more than okay to use everything around you to get ideas, that it's not where you get the idea but where take it. 

I'm organizing in terms of "themes" (rather than genres) and have a variety of activities connected to each to get you started on pieces of your own making.  Here's what I'm thinking (perhaps in this order or with some adjustments)

Writing inspired by:

• Objects
• Color
• Art
• Dreams
• Books
• Music
• Food
• Childhood
• Photos
• Films
• Gifts



Leave me a comment here if you have an idea or something you'd like for us to study or try.

Thanks again for being such wonderful people to end the year with...

Make it yours

I'd hoped we could have created a blog on Monday, but with no laptop lab, we'll have to postpone.  We are in the library lab on Friday, and at that point we'll resume our efforts toward blogging!  

I'd like to try the project above in class this Wednesday to personalize your spiral writing journals. If you have magazines, comic books, posters, etc. you'd like to cut up, please bring them.  I have lots of magazines in the classroom you can use, too.  You may have your own pictures you'd like to use.

Writer's notebooks are due Friday.  Be sure to fill 5 pages in your journal to turn in each Friday we have class!

Twelve Curious Things About Me

*Some years ago while I was convalescing in a wheel chair with a broken wrist and ankle, my golden retriever had to have knee surgery.  (In case you're wondering, that's me in the middle!)

*I love to dress up my dogs in beautiful costumes...

*My childhood nickname was Barbie and my first boyfriend was Ken.

*I live in a menagerie with my dear dog friends Miles and Artie and my cat Simon.

*I am a better driver today than I used to be. I once sideswiped my sister's garage while trying to park her car, but when I backed up to get a better aim, I ran over the water meter!

*I don't like heights or snakes.

*I wish that it were stylish to be chubby.

*I love to hear books read aloud and I love to read aloud.  This summer I read David Copperfield aloud in its entirety.

*I have lived in my current home for almost 28 years, the longest I've lived anywhere.

*I don't travel as much as I'd like to anymore, but if I could, I'd spend the summers wandering the globe. (I'd have to travel like Liz Taylor used to with all of her pets loaded onto a beautiful ship!)

*I enjoy long walks, a cup of tea with a good book, and the company of family and friends.

*I understand why grandchildren are called GRANDchildren...because they are.  I have an eight year-old granddaughter Hailey and a four year-old grandson Porter, and they are the absolute BEST.