Literary Devices of the Week: Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance

- Write a blog that describes what you did last weekend (or this weekend coming up) using as much alliteration as you can (at least five examples).

- Try to employ assonance and consonance, but focus on alliteration.

- Write at least two paragraphs. Use complete sentences. Spell check.

- Include a photo that is related to your weekend (taken by you or found online.)

- Due Sunday by 5:00pm

The Joker's Message

Today the stock market lost the most it has ever lost, ever, including during the Depression. The Joker has a message about this bailout plan:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

I do my homework too! LDW: Metaphors, Similes and Clichés

Behold the mullet, capping my skull like an orange on a toothpick. Sideburns like the ragged teeth of a jack-o-lantern. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Only the purple pants give it away, as the little Charlotte works, as busy as a bee. Oh how I miss the third grade. Back before I cared about boys...and obviously my looks.

Enter Charlotte five years later, dressed to the nines for 9th grade homecoming. I have all the promise and eagerness of youth in that smile. My hair is a thick, luxurious blanket, woven with golden threads, long before it went red, and my slightly clenched hands give away my trepidation; I'm a nervous debutante at her first public event, wondering if she'll be welcomed by the 'in' crowd. 9th grade was a jump off a diving board, straight into life's adventure...and my hair was soooo much cooler.

(For an example of a class blog doing the same thing, check out Taylor's here or Christian's here.)

Yoga Class Pics!

Our Hero Theme Song! Oh yes!

And the awesome lyrics!

Literary Device of the Week: Similes, Metaphors and Clichés

Write a blog that describes yourself with at least 3 (three) of the cheesiest similes, metaphors and clichés you can think of.

Then, in the next paragraph describe yourself creatively using at least 3 (three) similes and metaphors (any combination is fine.) Do not use clichés in this paragraph!

- Include one cheesy photo of yourself

- Include one photo of yourself that you really like

- For an example of a class blog, check out Taylor's here or Christian's here.

* Due by Sunday at 5:00pm

**Challenge Assignment!** The Epic!

Write your own Epic!

*This assignment is not required*

Feel free to use your brainstorming about a modern epic as a jumping off point.

- Include at least 3 (three) characteristics of an epic, woven into your story.

- Make it at least two pages long.

- Spell check!

- Post your epic (with a picture) to your blog by next Wednesday, October 1st.

A week of learning

This week was a lot of fun in class. We learned about the Iliad and what an epic is. We got halfway through the Secret Life of Bees and we brainstormed for our upcoming project.

I love teaching and I love learning. In fact, I consider myself a life-long learner; I try to learn something new everyday. It's especially cool when one of my students teaches me something. This week we studied dialogue rules and several students, including Taylor and Victoria showed me something new about dialogue. Did you know that when a character is quoted and speaks for several paragraphs that you do not close the end quote on each paragraph? You begin each paragraph with an opening quotation mark, but you don't close the marks until the last paragraph. So cool. Read more about this rule here, go down to the paragraph that starts, "If a quotation from one speaker..."

Part of being a life-long learner is having a great sense of curiosity and wonder about the world. When we studied the siege of Troy I told the class that scientists had yet uncovered this ancient city. Kahli took some initiative and researched whether or not there had been any update on those searchings. Sure enough, researchers now believe they've located the ancient city. Read more about it here. Good hunting Kahli!

Lastly, did you know that the daddy long-leg spider is the most poisonous spider in the world? Well at least, that is what I thought. After discussing it with Tobi, she did her own research and discovered that the info above is a myth. And so I learned many things from my students this week, including not to repeat often told stories about scary spiders without researching them first!

Literary Device of the Week: The Epic

Blog Assignment:

Write a blog about the Epic, our Literary Device of the Week.

In it include:

1. A definition of an epic in your own words.


2. List three (3) characteristics of an epic and give examples from the Iliad of each one. Site the line that you start at and quote the examples. You can find a list of characteristics of an epic in your handout from class that lists 19 characteristics of an epic. It's also linked on the calendar on my dp under Wednesday the 17th. You can find it here.


3. Post any picture that represents an epic to you. Explain the picture and why you chose it.

This posting is due by Sunday, September 21st at 5:00pm.

My class is SO COOL

I was sick today. I generally try not to come in, but it was just the beginnings of a head cold, with a very sore throat.

I talked to the class by typing out messages on the projector screen. Everyone worked together and no one got too loud.

My heart was bursting with happiness and pride. I seriously love my 9th grade class. They ran their own Socratic seminar. They had intelligent, coherent, important discussions on their own. They were respectful, awesome and friendly toward each other. They were also respectful to me today. Thank you guys. Wow. I love teaching, and I love this class!

Some of the class asked me to post my "conversation" with them on the blog. Here you go. It probably won't make much sense, unless you were there. I started by showing them a picture of me with my younger brother and sister making snowmen with my grandpa.

Class, thanks again for being AWESOME.

(PS - I didn't correct grammar or spelling. Might as well keep it authentic.)

************************************

Here’s a picture of me playing in the snow with my brother and sister. I’m on the left. LOL

Okay, so I’m sick today. My throat is KILLING me. I was going to call in sick, but I didn’t want to leave Mele with 52 kids… on a Friday.

May I continue?

So…we’re going to need to work together today. Here’s the plan. We’re going to do a 5 senses writing after this, cuz WEX takes too much talking out of me.

After that we will read silently (you have a LOT of reading homework for this weekend.)

Yay reading you mean.

Going on

After lunch, we will do the Socratic seminar, which is YOU talking, not me. Sweet, huh?

I’m going ahhhhhh

I’m going to need you to take on roles for the Socratic seminar, but I’ll assign them later, cool?

Does anyone have any questions right now though?

I’ll show you in one sec

Thx

I’m good

Anyone else?

Sure

Any more questions?

Yes Kahli?

What do you think?



Probably 5

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Okay, ready to move on? Let’s look at homework

Oh yes, and you should have checked powerschool by now to see if I marked you as a zero for not turning your first draft.

I haven’t had time to grade them all, but I’ll have them done by Monday.

Now, if you could get out a blank piece of paper, AH HEM , that’s my job thank you brendon

Those vignettes being turned in now are late, just fyi

Please get out a piece of paper. Date it and write 5 senses: hearing

Okay, now that you are ready. No clue.

Now that you are ready, I’m going to play a little piece. It’s about 5 minutes. I’m going to turn off the screen, though the light will stay on, so the speakers works. Strange I know.

I want you to listen to what you hear and write about it. You can write as you are listening, so for about five minutes. Any questions?

NO

Yes, even words if you need to, as opposed to complete sentences. Just write!
Happpy birthday dude.

NO

Wait until after the writing (like WEX)

Ready?
Here we go

Great job everyone!

It was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-KWL20ux24&feature=related LOL
The picture never changes

Listen to it when you get home with headphones. SCARY. There are a lot of virtual 3-D sounds on Youtube like this. Like in a barbershop. So cool. It sounds like he’s right behind you talking.

I just wanted to let you know that (and you’re not going to like this) on Monday when you come in, first thing, we have a test to take.

:insert groans:


:groans continue:

Okay, it’s not for this class. It’s the PLAN test. At this school we only :Right Anthony:

At this school we only give tests to help with funding, not to test you and your ability. If we had a choice, we would not give these tests. Period. But we needs the monies! LOL OMG OKYTHXBYE ROFL

So…..it’s actually really important that you try to do a good job. Not because we’re going to judge you…but because we need the whole school to do a good job, to help us out.

Yeah, for money dude. This school doesn’t grow money in the back you know.

The 9th and 10th grades are taking it. I don’t know anything about the middle school. I don’t keep up to date on them. Just general reading comprehension and yadda yadda yadda. Maybe math stuff, I don’t know. I know you’ll do fine. Sorry. L

So I’ll only have you for one hour on Monday, and Mele for one hour too.

Cool? Well sorry, but cool anyway.

Okay, moving on.

Any more questions before I sign off?

There will be a minimum day on SLCs.

Student led conferences.Ohh the 29th is my favorite number.

Cheerio

I live on a boat

A lot of my students keep asking me questions about what it's like to live on a boat. Here are a few musings and pictures:

We moved aboard the end of June 2007, and people continue to ask us, “So, are you still living on that boat?” Yep. And we still have our plan of sailing around the world in 2013. I like living on a boat, in fact, I like it a lot. I love being exposed to fresh air and sunshine everyday, every time you step outside. Living on land, there were days, especially on the weekends, when I wouldn’t leave the house. Now not leaving isn’t an option. Need to use the restroom? Walk up to the main one. Need to do the laundry? I have to go outside the boat at least three times. Forgot something in the storage unit? Up to the main dock I go.

Things that are strange about living on a boat? I don’t have a couch. Also, the refrigerator is still hard to see into, access, and use. It’s just a square box that I have to reach down into to get things out of. The mast is still off, so we can’t sail right now, and the boat looks a bit dowdy on the outside with all of the rigging and what not spread about.

We get to see sea lions all the time; there’s one that comes around so often that we’ve named him “Tubby.” It’s also fun to watch the tides come in and out. You can see in these pictures what it’s like to live on a floating dock and how different the water level is with high tide and low tide.

That’s all for now, but feel free to ask any questions you’d like!