Day Sixty-Six / 12.17.10

Today we presented our holiday projects.

Have a happy holiday break!

Day Sixty-Five / 12.16.10

Today we started with a picture of the day:

We journaled on: Do you find this image truthful? What kind of theme does it represent? Any other thoughts or feelings this image evokes?

Then we went to the computer lab to work on our projects.

Day Sixty-Four / 12.15.10

Today we started with a quote by Muriel Rukeyser: "If there were no poetry on any day in the world, poetry would be invented that day. For there would be an intolerable hunger."

We journaled on:

Is poetry a natural part of ourselves?

Would we have to make poetry, if it was not made for us by others?

Do you hunger for poetry?

Then we worked on our holiday projects for the rest of the period.

Day Sixty-Three / 12.14.10

Today we started with a quote: "The first mistake of art is to assume that it's serious." We reflected on: Is comedy art? Should art be lighthearted (or more so)? Can art still be serious?

Then we went over the holiday project, and spent the rest of the day working on it.

Holiday Project

Day Sixty-Two / 12.13.10

Today we did an in-class On-Demand summary writing piece on Kwanzaa.

Day Sixty-One / 12.10.10

Today we started by peer reviewing our Hanukkah article summaries. Then we discussed the following handout on attacking the prompt.

Addressing the Prompt

Finally, we listened to the Fray, and analyzed their lyrics.

Day Sixty / 12.09.10

Today you had a substitute teacher. You had the following quote:

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." -CS Lewis

You wrote on:

Do you agree or disagree with the quote?

How can school help develop your morals?

Then you received a Hanukkah article, and were asked to write a summary of the article.

Day Fifty-Nine / 12.08.10

Today we started with a poem by E.B. White:

"The critic leaves at curtain fall

To find, in starting to review it,

He scarcely saw the play at all

For starting to review it."

We then wrote on:

When you are reviewing something, or summarizing it, do you forget to enjoy it?

Does reviewing / summarizing it limit your ability to partake in the story?

Then we discussed our Tie Man's Miracle summaries.

Day Fifty-Eight / 12.07.10

Today we started with a clip from Ratatouille. Then we discussed this quote from the clip: “But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.” We wrote on the following prompts:

Does your opinion/review matter?

Is the critic a vital part of the writing process?

We talked about the Poem in a Song program we're starting.

Then we finished TTM, and began responding by filling out the following form:

Sum It Up!

Day Fifty-Seven / 12.06.10

Today we started by reading some of our Hero papers. Then we discussed a quote by John Updike: "Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a [big event] not subject to pages of holier-than-thou second-guessing in The New York Review of Books.” We reflected on:

Do you look to be awestruck/surprised/entertained when you read?

Does thinking about books / writing about them lessen the experience?

Next, we began discussing major summary, and why we summarize. We used the sheet below as a guide:

Summarizing

Day Fifty-Four / 12.01.10

Today we responded to a quote from JD Salinger's Franny and Zooey: "I’m sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I’m sick of myself and everybody that wants to make a splash.” - Franny

We journaled on:

Is it courageous to be a nobody?

What drives our desire to be popular, successful, have lots of friends?

Is making a “splash” the best we can do with our lives?

Then we peer edited our rough draft hero papers.