Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

Welcome to Creative Writing!

Ø  Tuesday, September 3^rd, 2013

When You Come In

1.      Please initial next to your name on the clipboard.

2.     Come to my desk, and sign your Cliché Comment Sheet six times!  J

3.     7,500 grains due on free rice; I will take a screenshot of where everyone is, so you don’t need to show me anything for this.

Writing Experiment #3 (30 minutes)

Directions:

1.      Select one of the following writing prompts.

2.     Use it as a springboard into your own MEMOIR (a true story about a memory of yours).

3.     Include details from the fives senses.  Prepare by completing the handout before you start typing.

4.     Use your Vocabulary Variety sheet for help with strong word choice.

Grading

1.      I complete my five senses worksheet, then I use some or all of those details in my memoir to create a picture in the reader’s mind.

2.     I use words from my Vocabulary Variety sheet to make my writing stronger.

3.     The piece is a minimum of 400 words.  My word count is in parentheses beside my name.

4.     I use paragraphs to show my shifting ideas.

5.     I use the correct MLA format for heading.

6.    I doublespace the whole piece, and printed it two-sided.

7.     I use all my work time in class for this assignment (and I use my computer as a tool, not a toy).

8.    I save it as “My Last Name—WE#3”, then share it with “Kerrie Willis”.

NOTE:  I am the only person who will read this assignment, UNLESS you CHOOSE to share it at a later date.

Option 1:  The Big Event

Ø  When a special event is on the horizon, people plan for it and get excited about it.  Maybe it’s a dance, an election, a family event, a party, a birthday, or an important sports game.

Ø  Think of a special event that you planned for a looked forward to that turned out much differently from what you expected.  Write about what you expected would happen and what actually happened.

Option 2:  Holiday Cheer

Ø  What is your favorite holiday?  What is your least favorite holiday?

Ø  Write about two memorable holiday experiences, one from your favorite holiday and one from your least favorite.

Option 3:  What a Fright

1.      There’s “fun scary” (walking through a haunted house, screaming through a horror movie, riding a roller coaster) and then there’s “scary scary” (being in a car accident, getting caught in the ocean’s riptide).

2.     Describe the scariest experience you’ve ever had.  Was it fun scary, or was it really terrifying?

After working on our prep sheet, and discussing questions, we started typing about 11:45 until 12:05.

After Lunch

1.      Look at the blog, and review the GRADING criteria for this assignment.

2.     You have TEN-ish MINUTES to finish typing. (12:39-12:49)

12:50:

Type me a note at the top of your memoir:

Ms. Willis, the idea I most wanted to convey in this piece is _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

One thing I’d like you to focus on when you read my memoir is __________________

______________________________________________________________________.

Now bag your computer, please, and get all your stuff ready to go.

12:50--Portfolio

Ø  Examine the guidelines.  What questions do you have?

Ø  Continue viewing the slideshow.

Homework

Ø  Free Rice 12,000 grains by Monday, 9/9

Welcome, AP English Peeps!  J

·      Tuesday, September 3^rd, 2013

Business

Ø  Sign in.

Ø  7,500 grains of free rice due today

Ø  Please flash me your annotated “Cat in the Rain” (pages 26-7).

What is MINIMALISM?

Here’s our list thus far:

1.      Short and to-the-point

2.     Lack of details

3.     Sparse punctuation

4.     Short paragraphs

5.     Very small amounts of imagery; but more imagery in Hemingway?

6.    Simple wording

7.     Pronouns instead of proper names

8.     Editing—no quotes around dialogue in Carver; one quote in Hemingway

9.     No info on background

10.   No info on what happens next

What would we add to it, based on your reading of this story?

“Cat in the Rain”, by Ernest Hemingway

1.      Take a quiet moment to re-read as much of the story as you can in the time I give you.

2.     Review your annotations as well.(2:13-2:18-ish)

3.     What are the FIVE most important words in this story?

a.     Maid

b.    Reading

c.     Importance

d.    Want

e.     Wife

f.      Cat

g.     Hair

h.    Bowed

i.      Small

j.      Rain

k.     Mine

l.      Italy

m.   American

n.    Padrone

o.    Husband

p.    Man

1.      What questions do you have about the story?

a.           Why does the husband’s name come up only AFTER she comes back from the cat search?

b.          Is the cat a symbol of the wife?

c.           Does the maid see the wife as the wife sees the cat?

d.          What is the significance with George and reading?

e.           Take the cat symbol to the nth degree

f.            Girl VS wife?

Let’s look at this story in three other ways:

1.      Wordle

2.     Taxedo

3.     Illuminated Text:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDFPyl7B9js

How to we get our brains to look at literature—and life in general—in new and illuminating ways?

Vocabulary

1.      We determined Vocab War teams!  Woot!  J

2.     We defined and cut up the twelve class vocab words.

3.     We updated our Vocab War grids.

*   *   *   *   *

Howdy, College-Prep Reading!

Tuesday, September 3rd

When You Come In

1.      Sign in.

2.     Pick up 4 yellow note-taking sheets.

3.     7,500 grains of free rice are due online; update your orange sheet in your folder now.

4.     Pick up extra Vocab War sheets, if needed.

Backbone Literature:  Greek Mythology

Ø Why Greek Mythology?  Why is it worth ten percent of our time this term?

Ø …because it’s the BACKBONE of most of the reading we will do this term, and maybe for the reading you will do throughout your life.

Ø …because allusions/references to it are everywhere! 

Big Idea

Ø Start listening and looking now for resonances, echoes, patterns.

A word about note-taking….

Barbie Presentations

1.      Today, people told a brief story (one minute) about his/her god/goddess, then presented the myth Barbie.

2.     We listened the first time through the presentation, then took notes as we went back through the key points. 

3.     Dump your three pics into the class folder (last five minutes of the block).

4.     The following gods/goddess were presented:

a.     Reha

b.    Cronus

c.     Zeus

d.    Hera

e.     Poseidon

f.      Hades

g.     Hestia

5.     We will hear about the remaining gods/goddesses tomorrow!

  

HOMEWORK

1.      Read and annotate your Greek Myth Beast packet, if you have not already done so.

2.     Please free rice for Monday; 12,000 grains are due