Write Out Loud

Happy Thanksgiving students! Even though there is no required blog response due Thanksgiving week, I thought you might like to see this great interactive site on the Plymouth Plantation.

Enjoy! This is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie trailer. The movie open February 12, 2010

Sesame Street turned forty years old this past week, and Disney is remaking Mickey Mouse to “induce new generations of texting, tech-savvy children to embrace him.” ) NY Times online article from The Learning Network)

Did you watch Sesame Street? If so, who were your favorite characters and why? (Can be a Muppet too)

What were your favorite television shows and characters as a child?

What do you think of  Mickey’s new transformation? (The “new” Mickey is being described as cantankerous (look it up), cunning, and heroic.

Do you think these characters need updating to appeal to a new audience?

(The photo on the right is a sculpture of Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets and the voice of Kermit the Frog.)

The Best Of Us Challenge

Do you have a unique athletic ability? One that you feel you are the best at and would like to challenge an Olympian if given the opportunity? What is this ability? Can you spin an umbrella? Are you a champion baton twirler? Can you balance a stick at the end of your foot?

Please visit the above Olympic site to get an idea of what The Best Of Us Challenge is. I am not asking you to participate. The purpose of this blog is for you to recognize that we all have special physical abilities regardless of athletic prowess. Please watch the main video to get an idea of what The Best of Us Challenge is all about, and then click on the videos below to view some Olympians challenging you and being challenged to do some interesting feats.

Please answer the following prompt:

What unusual physical ability/unique skill do you have that you could challenge an Olympian at?

Is there a particular Olympian you know of that you would like to challenge? If you don’t know an athlete’s name, at least name the Olympic sport in which you would like to find someone to challenge.

Think outside the obvious, meaning, this challenge isn’t about that you are a fast runner. Maybe your special ability is juggling for a certain amount of time, balancing a spoon on the end of your nose while turning in circles, or being able to do 500 sit ups without stopping.

As usual, please write in paragraph form and watch your spelling and punctuation.

This prompt is a creative write. You are to finish what I start. Be sure that you start your story exactly this way:

The pitcher was winding up, ready to throw his deadly strike, when out of right field came…….

Remember to organize your story. It should be creative, have lots of details and a conclusion. Have fun with this and be clever, but not silly or stupid. It should also not be ridiculous. Your story should make sense and be enjoyable to read.

Watch your spelling and punctuation. This is the last blog post for the first trimester. Make it count.

The Headless Horseman

Please visit the above English website for some Haunting fun! First take a look around as the site is quite extensive, and be sure that you visit most of the links.

Pick at least eight (8) different categories from the left hand menu bar and read some of the stories from each one. Most are very short in length. Then answer the following questions:

Please give a brief summary of each story and tell specifically why you liked it. Be sure you mention the title of each story in your synopsis.

Do any of these stories really scare you? If so, what makes the story scary? Content? Words? Setting?

Do you have a scary story to share? Ghost tours or similar haunted tours are always good for a scare! This You Tube video explains the story of Robert the doll, a very famous doll residing in Key West, FL. I saw this doll in the museum when I was there a few years ago…….and it is creepy!!

And finally for you Skeleton Creek Fans

This blog prompt has to do with your independent reading books. Please choose one main character from any of the novels you have read so far or from one that you are reading now. Pretend that you have been invited to spend a week with your character. What will you pack? What will you need to bring with you and why?

Please write a short essay explaining the items you are putting in your suitcase and the reasons for bringing them. You need to think about several things before answering to this prompt: character, setting, time/period, place and plot.

Be sure to identify your character by name and tell the reader the title of the book and its author. It is especially important that these names are spelled correctly.

I am looking for an essay with a clever intro, details and more details, and the reasons behind the choice of items. You should make connections back to the text in support of your reasoning. If you plan on packing an axe, for example, you need to tell me why you would need it in relation to its purpose in the book. Again, your comment should be at least four paragraphs, but it can be more.

I should be able to tell how well you understand your character and how well you understand the plot of your book by your response. If you have just started a new book, choose a main character from a book you have previously read.

Every picture tells a story, and that is exactly what I would like for each one of you to do. Please choose one of the images from above and write a clever, imaginative, and thoughtful short story. Create a title.  You must have a hook at the beginning to grab the reader’s attention and an introduction to let the reader know what he/she is about to read. Two paragraphs must follow which should include the details and descriptions, the heart of the story. The final paragraph should be the conclusion, which provides a satisfying ending to your story and one that leaves the reader with a parting message or something to ponder.

Your story must be four paragraphs, and I am looking for your best effort as far as content is concerned. Spelling and punctuation should be correct. Read over your story to be sure it makes sense. While I want you to have fun with this, I am not looking for anything silly. Work on getting your last sentence of each paragraph to lead off into the first sentence of the next; this is called a transition. Think of the book you are reading now in terms of how the words flow from one paragraph to the next. Your story doesn’t have to be exceptionally long, but it must include all the key parts of an essay and show your best effort work to receive full credit.

The Fun Theory

When William Kamkwamba was fourteen years old he built a windmill. He is from Malawi, and using information he discovered in a book and miscellaneous parts that he was able to find, he built a windmill to help his family and eventually his community with their everyday needs. Please watch his inspiring story which shows what can be accomplished with a little knowledge and some ingenuity.

After watching the video please respond to the following prompt:

What thoughts do you come away with after listening to his story?

Prompt 2 Creative Write

In 1917, The new York Evening Mail ran an article that pretended to give the history of the bathtub. The article discussed funny things such as who was the first president to take a bath in a tub, bathtub customs, and more. The article was intended as a joke. But the article’s author, H.L. Mencken, wrote so well that even after he printed an explanation of the joke, his story continued to be quoted as fact by all sorts of professionals! That crazy hoax is sometimes still quoted as fact today. (Writing Down the Days, Dahlstrom, 165)

Could you convince people that socks were first developed as ear warmers? That walking your dog for ten minutes is better exercise than walking alone? Write a short story that makes something that’s not true seem believable. Make sure you have a clever lead, that you back up your topic sentence with details, and add a satisfying conclusion. Remember you need to be convincing. I am looking for effort. Some of your past responses have been too short. Watch your spelling and punctuation, especially those apostrophes!

Please continue to comment on the responses of others. You are all doing awesome jobs!

What makes a hero?

All of us have heard about certain individuals who have become heroes when they were least expecting to. This may account for the fact that heroes are not born but rather made by circumstances.

What is your definition of a hero?

Describe the characteristics of a hero.

Cite a specific incident or circumstance where you believe someone acted heroically.

Please be specific and detailed in your response. I want to know why you chose the particular person that you did and why. What did this person do that led you to say, “he/she is a hero.” I am not looking for you to tell me about family members whom you look up to. Think beyond. Think about past and present history/news.

You all the know the story of Anne Frank. Anne and her family and friends were able to survive in the secret annex for such a long period of time only because they were aided by Miep Gies and others who were willing to risk their own lives in order to help the Frank family. When interviewed after the war, Miep said, “We did what we could. We were not heroes. We were ordinary people.” Can you give examples of ordinary people who have given selflessly of themselves for another?

Many of you are getting confused between a role model or idol, leader, and a hero. A hero is an ordinary person who does something extraordinary for someone else, without little care to the danger of his own life or any fanfare. Remember the Virginia Tech tragedy? Would you consider the elderly professor, (who happened to be a Holocaust survivor) who died after shielding his students with his body a hero? I would. Think along these lines.

Please do not use any of the people in the video as your hero. They are just examples to get you thinking.

We all dream about meeting a famous person: an inventor,  a movie star, a singer, an athlete or someone from past history. We wonder, “What would it be like?” “Where would we go?” “What would we talk about?” If you could spend a day with a famous person, (past or present) whom would you choose and what would you do?

Identify a famous person with whom you would like to spend an entire day. Give details to explain how you would spend the day, where you would go, and what you would say. Make sure the reader knows why you chose this person.

I would love to meet J.K.Rowling. Why? It’s pretty obvious given that I love to read, but I would want to personally thank her for what she created. I would tell her that as a result of her books, she got the whole world to read.  The first thing I would ask her is how she came up with the idea of Harry Potter. How did she think of all the characters? What was her inspiration? What was the process? Will she write any more books? (I heard she is working on an adult read) I would have her come to my classroom and look at my library and tell me what books she thinks I should add, and I would ask her to autograph my Harry Potter books. I would ask her to talk to my students about the writing process. We would then probably go someplace for a snack, since I’m sure she’ll be hungry after all of my questions, and of course, I would take many pictures!

In addition, I would like for each of you to respond to at least one other classmate’s comment. Let’s start a conversation!

Students, please check out the new tabs at the top of this page. The Week in Rap will be a permanent tab, but do visit the one I put up which has some great examples of stop motion animation. Have any of you tried to create a stop motion animation video? Any of you want to learn? Also, I added the new Did You Know? Shift Happens video.