Survival Needs

Imagine you are stranded at sea. What do you feel is most important for survival, and why? You may discuss a maximum of three things; be specific in your answer.

Jose Salvador Alvarenga:
Castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga's family calls survival a miracle (CBC article from 2014)

Castaway Who Survived 14 Months Lost at Sea Sued for $1 Million by Family of Crewmate Claiming He Ate Their Relative (People article from last week)

Daily Mail: Jose Salvador Alvarenga interview

CP - What animal represents you?

In Life of Pi, Pi tells a story in which people on his journey--his mother, a sailor, and an evil cook--are represented with different animals. What animal best represents you? Why? Choose an animal other than a cat or dog. Feel free to research some animal traits as you make your decision. You may include a picture or video in your blog post.

What is belief?

Life of Pi offers readers many different ideas about religion, faith, and belief. Indeed, one of our essential questions for this unit asks how one's beliefs shape one's identity.

Let's do a little bit of writing today exploring that connection. What does it mean to believe in something? Have any of your beliefs shaped who you are? Although we have most recently read about Pi's religious beliefs, please feel free to write not only about religious belief, but about any kind of belief you may have experienced.

HONORS - What makes a good story?

Think of a really good book you have read or movie you have seen. In a brief paragraph, describe with as much detail as you can what it is that made the book or movie so good.

Future Certainty?

Have you ever had a moment in which you felt certain about your future? If so, explain that feeling and what led you to it; if not, imagine what this might feel like.

CP - Connecting to "Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark"

Have you ever been in a situation where you provided emotional support for a parent or other older family member? Describe the situation, what you did, and how you felt at the time.

My "Four Skinny Trees"

In “Four Skinny Trees,” the trees outside the House on Mango Street symbolize Esperanza herself. What element in nature could serve as a symbol or metaphor for you, and why? Consider animals, plants, bodies of water, terrains, etc.

"My Name" - The Story of Your Name

In 1-2 paragraphs, please tell the story of your name. Consider addressing the following questions:

• What does your name mean? Look it up on websites like behindthename.com.
• What abstract concepts or ideas are associated with your name?
• What is the history of your name within your family, if any?
• How and why did your parents choose your name?
• Can your name be described with any figurative language? (similes, metaphors, imagery)
• What are your own feelings about your name? Consider its sound, spelling, or anything unique about it.

Honors - Your Questions and "Cask"

Choose one of the questions from our QFT exercise yesterday. It does not have to be the question that your group added to the list. Respond to the question in two different ways. First, answer based on your own thoughts and views. Then, answer it in terms of "The Cask of Amontillado." Please write approximately two paragraphs

CP - Generational Conflict

A generational conflict may occur when beliefs and values change from one generation to another.

You and your parents belong to different generations. Think of a time when you and your parents disagreed about something related to your life. What was the situation, and how did it make you feel? Has the conflict been resolved, and if so, how?

Please answer these questions on your blog, in a response of at least one paragraph. You may organize your writing in any way that makes sense. Please feel free to use your own 'voice' when writing this post, but remember that you are writing for school; you should still follow all standard rules of capitalization, spelling, and punctuation.

HONORS - Plot twist!

Please write a brief reaction to the ending of "The Most Dangerous Game." Did the ending of the story fit with your prediction? Were you surprised by the ending? Why or why not?

Additionally, some students have commented that the plot of this story has become a cliche. Do you feel this way? Why or why not? (Note: the story was originally published over 90 years ago, in 1924!)

Toy Story

You have with you today a toy from your childhood that you loved dearly. If you did not bring a childhood toy, come up with a memory of a specific toy now.

OPTION 1
On your blog, please write a paragraph talking about what this toy means to you. You should be sure to explain what the toy is, and you might want to explain how you got the toy and your feelings about owning it.

OPTION 2
On your blog, please write a paragraph from the toy's point of view talking about its relationship to you. You might want to have the toy introduce itself, explain how it came in to your life, talk about how it feels to live in your house/room, etc.

Welcome, Class of 2019!

I look forward to working with you in English class this semester. Let's get started by setting up your blogs!

You will be doing a lot of shorter pieces of writing this year on a blog that you will create today. The more you write, the better you will get at writing. Some posts will be creative, some will ask you to react to a statement or to a reading assignment, and others will provide important analytical writing practice. 

The reason for doing this writing on a blog is simple: You should be writing for an audience beyond this classroom. I hope that you will want to share some of your work with others. You can do so easily, by sending them the link to your blog!

Steps to Set Up Your Blog

1. Log into your school Google account.

2. Navigate to Blogger. (Open this site in a different tab or window.) 

3. Click "New Blog" on the left-hand side of your page to create your blog.

4. Give your blog a title that follows this format: First name Last initial's English Blog. For example, if your name is John Brown, your blog would be called John B. English Blog.

5. Give your blog a custom URL that follows this format: First name Last initial English. For example, if your name is John Smith, your blog URL should be johnbenglishblog.blogspot.com. The .blogspot.com portion of the address will be filled in already. If your address is taken, just add a number somewhere in there. (For example, you could use johnbenglishblog9.blogspot.com.)

6. Choose a template (whichever one you like; feel free to change this later).

7. Next to your blog, you will see a drop-down menu. Choose Settings.

• Under "Privacy," set up your blog so that it is not listed in Blogger's listings and not visible to search engines. 
• Adjust your Blog Reader settings if you wish. I would suggest that you leave this as "public" but if you are concerned about your privacy, you may change the setting to "private" and add me by email.

8. Once your blog is set up, please view your blog in another tab. You will then fill out this form to make sure I have all of your blog information. THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT! I will be reading and commenting on your blogs throughout the semester.

9. Finally, write an introductory post of one or two paragraphs on the following topic. Please use the subject line What I Did On My Summer Vacation* 
What did you do this summer vacation? Rather, what do you wish you did this summer? Use your imagination to write about all the awesome stuff you didn't really do, but wish you had done. Please use this opportunity to show off your sense of humor and creativity, as well as your "accomplishments." You should follow standard rules of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, but otherwise, the sky is the limit. Click here if you would like to read Ms. Meyer's example. Yours can be longer. You may want to focus on one or two things that "happened" to you or that you "did," but add a lot more details than I included in my example.

Please review this article about online safety for teens. Remember, you should never post personal information online! 

Cartoon from http://backtoschoolimages.com/back-to-school-cartoon.html.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation*

It's always hard coming back to school after having an awesome summer. This year, I became a three-time Jeopardy! champion and celebrated by eating a pound of fudge when I went to the Cape a few days later. I also got to go to Rock Star Camp with about 50 other teachers. After this three-day camp, we all felt pumped to go back to our own bands and give even better concerts than we were giving already. But the highlight of the summer was my trip to London and Paris. When I was in London, Mr. Meyer and I had tea with the Queen and saw One Direction perform four days in a row! In Paris, we bought the Mona Lisa, rang the bell at Notre Dame, and ate Smurf gelato, made from actual Smurfs.

I did a lot of great things this summer--in fact, too many to list here. It was a lot of fun, and I'm sad it has come to an end. But I'm excited to share my stories with all of you, and to hear about the amazing things you did this July and August, too!

*I didn't really do these specific things. Gotcha! But they are all based on events that happened in my life this summer. Care to guess how I stretched the truth???

R&J Act III Responses

After Scene 2
In Scene 2, Juliet learns that Romeo, her new husband, has killed her cousin, Tybalt. She grapples with divided loyalty, feeling strong emotions for both her family and her new husband. Have you ever experienced a time when you felt divided between two people whom you cared about? Describe that time, and if you have not experienced this, describe a situation that would make you feel that way.

After Scene 5
Select one of the following literary terms and analyze its role in this scene:

• dramatic irony (hint: look at the moment when Juliet receives important news from her parents…)
• verbal irony (hint: look at the dialogue between Juliet and Lady Capulet…)
• imagery (hint: look at the dialogue between Romeo and Juliet...)
• hyperbole (hint: look at a moment when characters’ emotions seem out of control...)
• soliloquy (hint: look at the end of the scene…)

Use at least two pieces of textual evidence in your response.

Romeo and Juliet - Act II Responses

After Scene 2
Based on the language in this scene, who is in charge--Romeo or Juliet? Is Juliet operating with her emotions or her reason? Use at least two piece of textual evidence to support your answer to one or both of these questions. Remember to follow the rules of formal writing to give yourself additional practice with those formal writing rules.

Scenes 3-4
Romeo and Juliet both seem to have people they feel that they can trust: Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. What qualities would you look for in an adult advisor? Do you have a relative or other “adult” that you can go to with problems? What things can you talk about with this person that you wouldn’t with other adults, especially if this person is not one of your parents?

If you don’t have an “adult” that you feel like you speak to about problems, challenges, or just things that are bothering you, why is this?  Do you believe that young people are capable of feeling things that older people simply cannot experience?

Romeo and Juliet - Act I Responses

After Scene 3
In this scene, we meet Juliet, her mother (Lady Capulet), and her Nurse. Using at least two pieces of textual evidence, present an argument for whether the Nurse or Lady Capulet has a better relationship with Juliet. Consider what Juliet’s relationships with these women reveals about women’s roles, inter-generational conflict, and the idea of marriage. Please cite textual evidence with Act, Scene, and Line numbers, rather than page number.

For example:
Lady Capulet only briefly wants to be alone with Juliet: "Nurse, give leave awhile; / We must talk in secret. Nurse, come back again" (Shakespeare 1.3.7-8).

You can also use Roman numerals for the act and scene numbers . For the lines above, the citation would look like this: (Shakespeare I.iii.7-8).

After Scene 5
Now that they have fallen in love, Romeo and Juliet need advice! Pretend you are friends with either Romeo or Juliet. Write a brief letter offering suggestions on what they should do next. Write your letter in plain English – then, for an extra challenge, TRANSLATE IT to Shakespearean language.

As always, please respond to these posts on your own blog. Please title your post as follows:
R&J Act I Scene 3 Analysis

R&J Act I Scene 5 Letter

Lord of the Flies Mock Trial Reflection

Congratulations on completing the mock trial of Ralph! On your blog, please write a brief reflection on the events of today’s trial. Consider the following questions:

• What were the strong points in my presentation?
• What were my weak points? How could they have been improved?
• Was the outcome of the trial what I expected? Why or why not?

HONORS - Childhood memory

Think back to a peaceful moment of your childhood. Try to come up with a memory from when you were 10 years old or younger. Using as much concrete detail as possible, describe that moment. Create a peaceful mood in your writing, conveying your emotions clearly for your reader.

CP - Responses to fear

“We’ve got to talk about this fear and decide there’s nothing in it. I’m frightened myself, sometimes; only that’s nonsense! Like bogies. Then, when we’ve decided, we can start again and be careful about things like the fire.” A picture of three boys walking along the bright beach flitted through his mind. “And be happy.”

On your blog, in approximately two paragraphs, please do the following:

• Identify something that makes you experience fear (please remember you are publishing this!)
• Describe the feeling of fear that this gives you
• When you are faced with this situation, what is your reaction--fight or flight? ("Fight" means you confront the situation; "Flight" means you run away from the situation.)
• Is one of these responses better than the other? Why?

Lord of the Flies pre-reading: Reflections on Morality

If I did not have you in class last semester, you will need to set up your blog. You can find the directions here. You may set up your blog now and complete this reflection post at home if necessary, OR you may write the reflection post on Google Drive for now, set up your blog at home, and copy + paste your reflection on to the blog after that.

The first thing we did this semester was a simulation activity, "Who Should Survive?". Then, we read and discussed "The Vexing Mental Tug of War Called Morality" by Kristin Ohlson. On your blog, please select one or more of the following questions and write a brief reflection.

• In the activity or in the discussion, did your thought processes and decisions surprise you? Were you surprised by the thought processes and decisions of your peers?

• How might the simulation relate to one of our essential questions for the Lord of the Flies unit?
• How do societal structures function and why might they break?

• How might the article relate to one of our essential questions for the Lord of the Flies unit?

• How are an individual's moral beliefs shaped and what factors could cause those morals to change?

• Are you more of a moral absolutist (like Immanuel Kant) or a moral utilitarian (like John Stuart Mill)? How do you know?

• Do you hold any beliefs about human morality in general? If so, what are they, and why do you believe this? (For example, do you believe people are inherently good? Inherently evil?)

This I Believe - Writing Prompts

The writing prompts below are designed to provoke your thinking about your own views and beliefs. As you are giving thoughtful consideration to what you truly believe, you will choose any three of the prompts and post a response on your blog. If you do this assignment well, you may end up with a strong foundation for your final "This I Believe" essay. Each response should have its own post. Please title the posts in the following format: "This I Believe" - Prompt #

HONORS: 

Blog Post #1 - due 1/9

Blog Post #2 - to be written in class 1/9

Blog Post #3 - due 1/12 or 1/13

COLLEGE PREP:
All three blog posts due by 1/16.

1. As a teenager, what do you believe are the most important “rules to live by”? When did you learn those “rules,” and who taught you?
2. Can you think of someone who has taught you a valuable lesson about life? Can you remember the exact moment when that lesson occurred?
3. Finish this sentence: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life, it is...”
4. Have you ever changed your mind about something that you were previously certain about?
5. We all tend to judge people by their appearances, even though looks can be deceiving. Have you ever prejudged someone incorrectly based on appearances, or has someone ever prejudged you unfairly based on how you look?
6. Everyone has problems or challenges to overcome in life. What has been the most challenging or rewarding moment in your life?
7. Did you ever have to confront someone very different from you? If so, what happened? What did you learn?
8. Have you ever been disappointed because someone made you a promise that they failed to keep? Or have you broken a promise that you made to someone else?
9. Have you ever been in a situation when you didn’t quite have the courage to take action when you felt you should?
10. Have you ever had a “do something” moment—a time when you realized you had to take action in order to make a change happen?