Monday, February 28

In class:

· Grammar (Some of my friends bought me a ticket for the concert) (ben a former student at my middle school earned a prestigious teaching scholarship)

o Indirect object=a noun or pronoun that follows an action verb but is never part of a prepositional phrase, "to whom or for whom" EX: me

Participle= a verb that is acting like an adjective and ends in -ed or-ing EX:teaching

· Love quiz

· Romeo and Juliet video clips

Homework:

· Online copy of Romeo and Juliet ready for class

· Put one of 3 written poems on the class blog to share

· Be ready to perform one of your 3 poems in front of the class

· Smith will be gone tomorrow

· No school on Friday

· Continuing wiki paper conferences

Favorite poem to share-Period 5

Favorite poem to share-Period 2

The End to Another Short Week!

Happy Friday!  Today class began with the typical "Hello Smith," then we got straight to work on reading the poem, To an Athlete Dying Young. We filled in the first column of this worksheet, similar to yesterday's, but then we had time to work on a Venn Diagram comparing this poem and Do Not Go Gentle into the Night. During this time Smith worked through some conferences with other students. Once those two items were completed, we were given free time to work on our photography poem; which will be our last poem since we start Romeo and Juliet next week, so try extra hard on this one! It should be posted in the comments section of the Photograph blog post by class on Monday. This poem should be written from two perspectives: one being the person in the photograph and the other from a spectator. Smith said that you could simply write a poem for each of these or you could try and combine the two into one poem. She also suggests using poetic devices and figurative language we have learned about, especially the ones which apply to the senses (imagery). Here is next week’s powerpoint for a look ahead! Just as a quick reminder, no school next Friday.


Our only homework for the weekend is to complete the photography poem. Have a great weekend!

Finally Friday!

Today began with the usual "Hello Smith", then we moved straight into work time. Today in class we had a work day were we read the poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” and completed a worksheet on it, while Smith graded essays with students. If you have still not signed up to grade your essay with Smith, do that right away. After completing the worksheet with our table partners we discussed “To an Athlete Dying Young”. We then compared it to “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”by completing a venn diagram. If you were absent today ask Smith if you need to get these worksheets. The poems can be found on Smith's webpage.

Homework-

Our only homework this weekend is writing a poem from the picture that was brought to class today. These pictures have to have at least one person in them. It can be someone that we know or do not know, and it can have more than one person in it. For the poems you will write one from the point of view of someone in the poem. Try to use some of the literary devices we have learned about. Then we need to write another poem from the perspective of someone viewing the person or persons. Talk about what this person might see, think, say, touch, feel, and sound like. Imagery is a big part of these poems! Make sure that you use imagery!The poems we write need to be posted in the comments section of the blog post by Monday before class. On Monday we will begin reading "Romeo and Juliet". We will be doing the same thing we did with "Macbeth" so if you would like to have the electronic copy of the play instead of the book, that is available online.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Photograph

Looking at your photograph, write a poem from two different perspectives. Write a poem as the person in the picture. Tap into your methods of figurative language exploring what this character might think, say, touch, feel, smell, and sound like.

Then, change direction. Be the outside observer viewing this person. Once again, tap into your methods of figurative language exploring what this character might think, say, touch, feel, smell, and sound like.

Don't be afraid to try and use some of the poetic devices we have studied. Maybe the two characters meet- what happens in the exchange.

Good luck!

Homonym Poems!

Today we opened the class with the usual "Hello Smith" and got rolling with our agenda. Ms. Smith told us to pull out our assignment notebooks and we jotted down our homework.

Homework:

-Homonym Poem

(You must post it in the comment section before class or you won’t get credit for it)

-Picture for Photography poem (good quality picture)

Reminder:

-No grammar this week

-No test or Grammar sheets due

-No CSAP packet

Today in Class:

Today in class we read a Dylan Thomas poem called “Do Not Go Gentle into the Night.” It was about a son who told his father not to fear death. He wanted him to fight it, and not quit. Ms. Smith told us to read it through first and then she handed out a worksheet with some questions about it.

Questions:

Who is the speaker of the poem?

Whom does the speaker address? How do you know?

What is “that good night”? How does this refrain affect the mood of the poem?

What does Thomas mean by “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”?

How does the use of two refrains affect the mood and tone of the poem?

What does Thomas mean by “Though wise men at the end know dark is right”?

What does Thomas mean by “too late” in stanza four?

How would you describe the speaker’s mood in the last stanza?

How does Thomas present death in this poem?

What is Thomas’ tone or attitude toward death?

After we discussed these questions, Ms. Smith had us go to the Homonym poem blog post. The guidelines for this poem are, first you have to pick a pair of homonyms from this list, (for example a few are bear and bare, hair and hare). Second, you need to think of an emotional situation from your memory that represents how these homonyms might “speak to you.” Third, now imagine yourself coming across each of these words separately. For examples, look at the comments and use the following link about a poem by Brenda Hillman called "Cleave and Cleave". Ms. Smith gave us the rest of the period to work on our homonym poems while she started with the Wiki conferences.

Reminders and Important Dates:

-2/24 through 3/11 Wiki conferences

-3/7 through 3/11 CSAP testing

-No school Friday 3/4

Have fun writing your poems!

The Days that Daze

Hello everybody! Today we began class by reading this poem, and filling out the first column of this worksheet. We then talked about our answers with a partner before discussing them with the class. Once we were done with that, Smith introduced us to the next poem we would be writing, The Homonym. Homonyms are two (or more) words that are pronounced the same yet they have different spellings and meanings. For example: bare and bear. The poem you write must convey an emotion, whether it be happy or sad, the choice is entirely yours. Smith said to imagine yourself encountering these two words and eventually tie them together in the conclusion of your poem, like the example "Cleave and Cleave". Your completed poem should be posted in the comments section of the Homonym poem post on the blog by tomorrow. The remainder of class was spent beginning to work on our poems and starting the conferences. Other homework is to bring in a photograph of a person for tomorrow. This should be a good quality photograph with someone unrecognizable in it, i.e. no celebrities. Reminder: If you haven't signed up for a conference to grade your paper with Ms. Smith yet, you should talk to her as soon as possible since she would like to be through all of them before the end of CSAP week. For any who are interested, here is this week's powerpoint. Have a fantastic Thursday!

Homonym poem

Brenda Hillman wrote a brilliant poem called"Cleave and Cleave" which examines these words that sound and can be spelled the same but have opposite meanings. I'd like you to think of two words that are homonyms but mean different things. , e.g. lie and lie, stone and stone, bear and bear, write and right. Here is a complete list.

Think of an emotional situation in memory that these homonyms might speak to, then imagine yourself "encountering" each of these words separately, in concrete examples- e.g. you are writing your name on a blackboard as a child, over and over; the sun is spilling in the window, fading the slate as you write. you start to think about your "right" to be yourself, and you look at your self, the clothes you are wearing, your hands, etc...Then bring both words together at the poem's conclusion, like Hillman, who dramaticized the words' opposite meanings by ending with two strong sentences: You might say, e.g." I will write my name over and over on the glass." Then, "I will disappear: my right."

This poem is taken from The Practice of Poetry by Behn and Twichell.

The Wiki Conferences Begin!

Today in English we welcomed Ms. Smith back. To start off the class period, Ms. Smith talked about the photograph poem. We need to bring in a picture that has at least one person in it and has some significance to you. It should also be nice quality, no smeared black and white photos. A suggestion would be to use photo paper because the pictures print much nicer and you will not have to worry about smears.

Ms. Smith then talked about the Wiki conferences. If you have not signed, up talk to Ms. Smith. The available days for the conferences are Thursday 2/24 (tomorrow) through Friday 3/11.

Things to remember about Wiki Conferences:

3/7-3/11 CSAP Week, (Change of Schedule) Talk to Ms. Smith if you are interested in signing up during that week.

3/4 No School - so don't sign up.

-Ms. Smith might be able to do 1 or 2 in class.

-If you have a common off hour with MWF: 3,4,6 and TTH: 6, she encourages you to come in then. If you don't have a common off hour, then you can meet before or after school or in class.
-After school she can only grade up to three. 

-Although Ms. Smith does not prefer to do it before school because grading the paper may take longer than 15 minutes.

In Class Today:

Today we read the poem “Mother and Son” by Langston Hughes. We first read over it and then highlighted the lines that were important. Ms. Smith asked us, what does it mean to you? We then made connections to the author Langston Hughes and Ms. Smith then read it aloud to us and asked us to pay attention to the literary devices. We then talked about the advice the mother gives to the child and also talked about the tone and dialogue she uses. Ms. Smith gave us the rest of the class time to work on the persuasive poem for homework. If you are confused about ideas, then go to this link http://smith9h1011.blogspot.com/2011/02/persuasive-poem.html which is Ms. Smith's Blog Post about the persuasive poem. If you need examples, look at people's poems in the comments section, this is also where you will post yours.

Google Sites Toolbar!

I bet most of you were wondering how to fix the order of the paragraphs on your Google Sites. Well thanks to Janie we have an answer.

1.      Click on Site Map under your paragraphs

2.      Click on Manage Pages

3.      Find Site Appearance which will be in bold print

4.      Under Site Appearance  click on Site Layout

5.      Click Edit Navigation which will be found in the bottom left in the box titled Sidebar

6.       Un check Automatically Organize My Navigation

7.      To rearrange, click on the paragraph you want to move and use the arrows found on the right

Homework:

- Sign up for Wiki conference if you have not done so

- Persuasive Poem (tomorrow)

-Photograph for Photograph Poem (Friday)

Good Luck with your Wiki conferences!

Smith's Back!

The paper is due! Smith passed around her planner and we signed up for appointments to discuss our papers. Her off hours are MWF 3,4,6 and TH 6. She can also do up to 3 appointments after school. 

Many people wanted to know how to move your navigation bar around! When you are logged in to google sites, click more actions, then manage sites. After that click on edit in the navigation box. Then all you have to do is uncheck the box that says automatically organize my navigation. Now you will be able to move around the links in the side bar!

Today we started a new poem! We looked at the poem, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. On the first read we asked ourselves what the author was conveying. We thought about the author’s purpose and tone on the 2nd read. Then, we looked for literary devices during the 3rd read.

The homework is to write a seduction poem and post it on the blog. If you are confused about the directions, they are posted below.

The only other homework is to bring a photo of a person on Friday. Smith wants it to be printed off in good quality. Th photo can be of you; however, Smith suggested a photo of someone’s story you don’t know.

Have an amazing week! Don’t forget basketball playoffs start this weekend!

Persuasive Poem

This is a poem where you are trying to convince somebody of something they don’t want to be convinced of. The poem is an argument, an attempt to persuade. Think about all the situations where you are trying to convince somebody of something: getting out of a ticket, getting mom or dad to not ground you for breaking curfew, getting a date with your dream girl/boy, getting mom or dad to give you more money, getting a teacher to let you turn in late work.

As far as form, try to use couplets throughout your poem.

If you need some inspiration, try Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress".

Good luck!

The Secrets are Among Us

Today was our first day back from our four day weekend, hopefully everyone got some extra sleep! Today it was a shame that we didn't get to recite our usual "Hello Smith," but we welcomed Ms. Levi. Also, the Wikified Essay was due today, hopefully you already knew. Today was a Writing Lab day, if you needed to make any last minute changes to your essay, then it was a good idea to go and get extra help.

In class, Ms. Levi collected our secrets and redistributed them to a new owner around the classroom. Next, we had to write any type of poem about the secret we received. It was very interesting reading some of the poems on the blog, they can be viewed here: http://smith9h1011.blogspot.com/2011/02/ive-got-secret.html.

If you didn't finish your poem today in class, then finish it for homework. Also, if you need help with the poem, click on the link above for examples. When you are done and ready to post, you can click on the link, or scroll down to the post "I've Got a Secret" and post it under the comments section.

Homework

-Finish Poem
-Bring a photograph of someone by Friday for the photograph poem - Ms. Smith will explain in class.

Also, if you were absent on Friday and did not link your Google Site to https://sites.google.com/site/1984lb10112/, then make sure you email the link to Ms. Smith. 

Hope everyone had a good day and have a good week!

FIrst Day Back!

         Unfortunately class didn't start out with the usual, "Hello Smith!" Ms. Levi was subbing for her. The paper was due today so if your link wasn't on her wiki, make sure that you email it to her! 

Today we collected our secrets and redistributed them. The assignment is to write a poem about the secret you received. If you are unclear about directions, they are below this post. If you didn't finish the poem during class, the homework is to finish and post it under comments.

  As a random reminder, today was a writing lab day.

 The only other homework is to bring a picture of a person on Friday. Smith will elaborate the details in class.

Have a wonderful week!

I've Got a Secret...

I am going to collect all of your secrets and redistribute them. With another person's secret, write a poem telling the story of that secret as if it were your own and addressing what you think about it. Play with form and structure. Remember, think about word choice and descriptions. Paint a picture in your reader's head.

If you are stuck, you could even look back at the secret as if you were older and wiser.

Good luck and be creative!

Pictionary Thursday

As usual, class began with a "Hello Smith!" and we jumped right into business. We turned in our CSAP Practice Packet and Grammar for this week and took our test. Simultaneously, everyone was given a blank note card, which will be needed on the Tuesday that we get back (DO NOT LOSE YOUR NOTECARD. DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR NOTECARD). During class we supposed to link our Google Sites pages to the webpage Smith has set up for us; in order to link to your webpage Smith, needs to be logged into her Google account. If you have not already linked your webpage: contact Mrs. Smith. 

For the majority of the class period, we played Pictionary with poetry terms. The words (or phrases) we got through were:

• Allusion (to reference to other works of literature, events, people, etc.-- allows reader to connect what they have read to what they are reading) 
• Ballad (a poem that tells a story)
• Consonance (repetition of a consonant sound)
• Figurative Language (writing techniques that purposefully strays from the literal meaning of words-- like metaphors, simile, irony, alliteration, etc.)
• Hyperbole (an over exaggeration of the truth-- often used for satirical purposes)
• Imagery (words that make a picture and/or appeal to the 5 senses)
• Perfect Rhyme (a rhyme within 2 consecutive lines that have the same sound-- like "cat" and "hat")
• Personification (giving nonhuman object human traits)
• Quatrain (four lines of a poem-- like a sonnet is made of 3 quatrains and a couplet)
• Repetition (repeating a certain word or phrase for emphasis)
• Rhythm (the beat to a poem)
• Simile (comparing to unlike objects using like or as)
• Symbol (something that stands for something else)

HOMEWORK: 

• Wikified Paper DUE TUESDAY
• Bring your note card (ON TUESDAY) with a secret written on it that no one knows
• Make sure you feel comfortable with others seeing your secret

The Cameras are Among Us

Today on this short Wednesday late start, we started class with a routine laptop check (due to first hour). After getting that situation sorted out, many started to notice two women stationed towards the left wall of the classroom with official LPS tags. They stood there as Mrs. Smith told the class to get out their grammar worksheets and packets. We went over the sentence, "There are pretty flowers in your garden; However, they don't smell very good." and did some further labeling such as pointing out the two independent clauses, and labeling the sentence as being complex. After that, we diagrammed it (easy seeing as how great we all are at grammar) and put it away. We then were told to get out our conclusion sentence and works cited pages, and carried out just one partner edit while being photographed by the LPS people. After that, Mrs. Smith let us go to freely work on our projects and research while continual filming was carried out (ironic to what we're researching, but still for a good cause). The bell then rang, ordering us to put everything away and get to third-block. Our homework is to continue working on our projects, hopefully to get finished before our four day weekend (I hope to get to the mountains at some point), and finish our softball CSAP packets. I hope you all have a great day, filled with sun and just a little extra sleep energy! See everyone tomorrow (I think we're starting poetry according to Mrs. Smith's website, but I'm not sure).

A Day of Editions

Today, we started class with a routine off guard "Hel-Hi Mrs. Smith", followed by a more in-sync, "Hello Smith!". We then took out our grammar packets, DOLs, and a pencil and weent over what an predicate adjetive is. After that, we were told to get out our 2nd and 3rd body paragraph. As 3/4 of the class looked around nervously, it was apparent that many of us were not ready. The class was then split into two groups; the on-task students with everything ready to be edited in the front with Mrs. Smith, and the not-so-ready group of topic sentence/thesis/1st body paragraph overacheivers towards the back with their friends. After 30 minutes or so of hard work, the passing period bell rang out releasing several accomplished sighs. All in all a pretty good class peroid with some minor setbacks. The homework is to continue working on your essays, finish the CSAP packet due by Thursday. Be sure to study for the grammar test on Thursday before our four day weekend. We're starting poetry tomorrow too, so bring your best rhyming attitude! I hope you all have a great night. Sorry for the late post, I was having some troubles with my email (alas, the wonders of technology) but I managed to get the bugs fixed. Beware of Big Brother! mwahahahaha

Essay Editing Tuesday!

Today, we started off with the usual, "Hello, Smith!" Surprise, we actually managed to sound awake today! We started out with grammar, today was focused on sentence parts and phrases. And just in case you still have not written them down, here is the practice sentences and the work we did today:

adv. v adj. s prep. adj. s lv adj./pa

there are pretty flowers in the garden however they dont smell very good

We learned about predicate adjectives. To find, use the following: subject+linking verb=what. The "what" is the predicate adjective.

Next, we moved on to talking about our essays. Smith gave us the choice of sitting in the inner circle to peer edit our papers, or sitting on the outside to edit ourselves. If you would like to know more about editing papers, here is a link to a Smith's webpage where there is a link called How to Edit.

Homework:

-CSAP packet is due on Thursday

-Practice grammar; test on Friday

-Edit paper; due on Tuesday

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Smith’s class began with the usual “Hello Smith!” We started by going over the week(s) to come. We also found our new seats, which Smith claims not to have made. If you had a poor poetry score on CSAP; don’t worry! The poetry unit begins on Wednesday!

Grammar! Who doesn’t love to edit sentences… The sentences for this week are…

            there are pretty flowers in your garden however they dont smell very good

                                                            and

            on february 11 2011 i auditioned for the school play

We also received the CSAP packet for this week. Remember!! There is no school Friday so the packet and grammar is due Thursday. Smith reminded the class to restate the question and use complete sentences in your short responses!

Now writing! Writing lab is Tuesday and Thursday so it is a very good idea to come! The paper is due February 22! If you are repeating a lot of words Smith suggested http://www.lexipedia.com/ to come up with similar or opposite words! We edited the intro and 1^st body paragraph today. Tomorrow we will edit 2^nd and 3^rd body paragraphs and Thursday we will edit the conclusion and works cited. Here are some tips in editing!

• Highlight, insert comment, or track changes
• No personal words or contractions
• Attention getter – effectiveness – explain
• Make sure quote is reliable and you cite it properly
• Background information
• Sets up thesis
• On 1984, LB, and any other texts
• Thesis
• Learned, not learned, and future points are clear
• Points are in order of body paragraphs
• Topic sentence
• Breaks down your 3 minor points
• Remember the quote can not be its own sentence
• The explanation of the quote should be about 3-4 sentences

Have a wonderful Valentine’s day! Keep working and editing your paper! The due date is approaching fast!

Thank god it's the last friday before our four-day weekend! (TGITLFBOFDW)

Today in English, we had our grammar quiz, which was very similar to the buell theater sentence. Study that and it will help. Also, CSAP packets and grammar worksheets were due today. The rest of the hour was spent on our wikified papers. Remember that by Monday, you should have the entire paper written out and your works cited complete. Have a great weekend!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles... (2-8-11)

So this Scribe is a little (a lot) late, because its just my luck of having the two cold days in which we didn't have school be exactly my two scheduled scribe dates. So I apologize for the lack of Scribery last Tuesday, but in case your wondering, here it is.

Today, at the beginning of class, we began once again working on grammar. Since its Tuesday, we worked on identifying the sentence parts of both the normal sentence and the practice sentence.

Then, we continued to begin writing the Wikified Research Paper. Ms. Smith came around to check everybody's thesis statement, then went over the structure of a proper body paragraph, which can be found below.

- Body Paragraph

· TS

· Setup

· Lead in

· Quote (Or example)

· Explanation –

o what does the quote say

o Connect to paragraph

o Connect to thesis

· Transition

· Set up

· Lead in

· Quote

· Explanation

· Transition

· Set up

· Lead in

· Quote

· Explanation

· Concluding Sent

So once again, I apologize for the inconvenience. Hopefully this helped, and have a great weekend.