Lesson Learned

From the day we are born, we are constantly learning lessons from those around us. Sometimes these lessons are learned by seeing someone do something wrong, and learning we don't want to the do the same.

Sometimes, the lesson is learned from an adult telling us what we should/shouldn't be doing.

And sometimes the lesson is learned from watching someone in our lives do something right, or something positive, and when we witness the positive outcome, we learn a valuable lesson.

Whatever the case may be, we are always learning lessons in our lives.

Today, I want you to think of a time when you were taught a lesson of some sort. Tell about the situation and what you learned from it.

When you are finished, use the title of this post as your title and publish it.

February 26, 2010

If you were absent today, make sure you get the following taken care of:

1.) Print off test scores for the online practice test and turn them in to me. Make sure your name is on them.

2.) Complete the practice OER (Justine Gallagher: Childhood Obsession).

3.) Teenbiz (if you were absent or didn't complete your Teenbiz yesterday, this pertains to you)! Do only the Activity Questions.

a. Dressed-Up Junk Food
b. Stunt School: A Leap of Faith

February 24, 2010

AGENDA:

1.) If you aren't finished with your personal narrative writing in MyAccess, the final submission is due TODAY by the end of class.


2.) Today you will be taking a practice TAKS test online.

Before you begin, you should know:

-Use the answer sheet provided before you begin entering the answers online. If you do not finish in the class period, this will keep you from losing information. (If you are absent, the answer sheet will be in the makeup work box when you return).

-When you are ready to enter your answers online, you MUST put your name at the top of the page so it will print out on your answer sheet.

-When you are finished entering your answers, you will hit SCORE TEST at the bottom of the page.

-After your score appears, you MUST PRINT IT OUT TO MY PRINTER (CJenkins Phaser 6280N) and leave the paper in the printer.

This assignment is due at the end of the period tomorrow, so you have no time to waste.

Click HERE to begin.

Makeup: February 18, 2010

If you were gone today, the following is what you missed. Please check the makeup work box for any papers you will need.

1.) Benchmark Analysis (purple sheet). You will use the Scantron from your benchmark test and figure out which objectives you are strongest and weakest in.

2.) Quicklist: This is the last form of brainstorming we will do for your personal narrative essays. In the makeup box you will find a sheet of instructions for the Quicklist Topics. If you have questions, come see me. You will need to open a blank Word or Pages document and make a table with 3 columns and 30 rows (you can add more if you need it, and you do not have to use all of them). The first two columns should be named as seen below.

Use the Quicklist Topics sheet to guide you in getting the first column, Names, completed. Once you have all the Names column completed, you can begin on the Descriptions column. Stay away from only describing someone's physical appearance. Your description should tell me more about the person's personality and who they are, than what they look like. Look at the example below for what I mean.

Here's an example:

If You Were Absent 2/17/10

Attention Students:

Here is the information you missed in class today. Please understand, this work is due NO LATER than Friday, February 19.

1.) Use the sentence stubs from Tuesday's in-class writing. Choose ONE of the stubs and write more about it. Change the color of the writing you are adding to it today. When you finish, save it again. If you need a copy of the Sentence Stubs from Monday, go to my Public Folder and grab it.

2.) Trigger Word lists. If you are in 4th or 5th period classes, you did not begin Trigger Words Tuesday, so you will start from the beginning. If you are in any other class, you know what Trigger Words are, you just have to begin where we left off on Tuesday. YOU MUST HAVE SEVERAL TRIGGER WORD LISTS TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT. Go to my Public Folder in CISD Homes, and find Trigger Words (it is a Powerpoint). Read the instructions and look at my examples and then make your own lists.

3.) When you have made your Trigger Word lists, I want you to choose ONE thing from your lists (not from each one, just one total), and go to the bottom of the page of lists and write a paragraph about that one idea/thought/memory.

4.) When you finish, save it in your English 2 folder.

Instructions While Mrs. Jenkins is Gone

Put your headphones in and listen...if you don't have any, either borrow some when a neighbor is finished, or turn down your volume and listen quietly. Listen to both videos for IMPORTANT instructions!

If for some reason either of the videos will NOT play, I have also put them in my teacher Public folder on the CISD Homes server. Go to my Public Folder and then Handouts and you will find both videos there (the .m4v files). Please don't think you can get away with saying you didn't know how to find it. Work as a team...at least one person in your class can lead you to the video clips. No excuses! Figure it out!





Now, watch the video below for information about the benchmark test you will be working on for the next 3 days.

Comma What?

Today we are going to REVIEW your knowledge of commas and semicolons.  After going over our Revising and Editing practice sheet together yesterday, I realized you MIGHT need some more practice before your TAKS test.  So, here we are. 

The first thing I want you to do is take this little Pre-Test.  Don't worry, it's not a TEST, test, just a PRE-Test...I want to know what you know, so I know what to review and what you already know!  :) 

Look at the paragraph below.  It is an excerpt from The Lovely Bones.  I have taken out the commas where they should be.  I want YOU to replace as many as you can!  Copy and paste the paragraph from this blog to YOUR blog, and then add commas where you see necessary.  When you add them, CHANGE THE COLOR, so I can see them easily when I'm looking over it! 

Got it?  GOOD!  Now, get to work! 

HINT:  There are SIX commas missing that need to be replaced.  Good luck!

My father had left our house in the midst of a fight between Lindsey and my mother.  My mother was trying to get Lindsey to go with her to the Y to swim.  Without thinking Lindsey had blared "I'd rather die!" at the top of her lungs.  My father watched as my mother froze then burst fleeing to their bedroom to wail behind the door.  He quietly tucked his notebook in his jacket pocket took the car keys off the hook by the back door and snuck out. 

Gossip Got Your Tongue?

You probably remember an old proverb that went something like:

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me..."

To be honest, though, the whole reason we said it was because we really were hurt.  There are things that have been said to me that I will never forget, and they still sting like the day they were spoken.  O.K. so we all agree that we should control our tongues and not slam people to their face.  That's why it's so much easier to do it behind their backs, then deny it later--right?  Check out this story:

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.  One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"  


"Hold on a minute, "Socrates replied.  "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test.  It's called the Triple Filter Test.'  


"Triple Filter?"


"That's right," Socrates continued.  "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say.  That's why I call it the triple filter test.  The first filter is Truth.  Have you made absolutely sure that what you're about to tell me is true?"  


"No," the man said, "actually I just heard it and..."


"All right," said Socrates.  "So you don't really know if it's true or not.  now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness.  is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"


"No, on the contrary..."


"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true.  You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left:  the filter of usefulness.  Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"


"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

-Author Unknown

And just because you are a teenager or young, doesn't mean you have an excuse to gossip.  It isn't just something ALL teenagers do.  It's a conscious choice we all make, which means we could CHOOSE not to do it!  

So....got gossip?  Perhaps today you should start triple-filtering so you don't do double-damage with your words!

Questions to ask yourself:
How would your conversations be different if you 'triple filtered' everything?

I'm sure you have been the victim of gossip at some point in time, even if you aren't aware of it.  Knowing how it feels to be gossiped about, why do you think people choose to do it anyway? 


**Parts of this post were taken from www.dare2share.org.  To see the original post, go to www.dare2share.org/devotions/devil-got-your-tongue/.

Literary Elements: TAKS PT 3

Use the title above as yours.

Then, look up the following definitions using the BOOK dictionary, not your computer.  You will see these words on Practice Test 3 which you are about to begin.

1.) SATIRE

2.) IRONY

3.) ANALOGY

4.) FORESHADOWING

After you have defined each word, go to Google Images and find an example of IRONY and FORESHADOWING.  Find a picture that fits the definition of each of these and add it to your post.

When you have done all of the above, publish and close your computer for the day.

Story Spinners!

Story Spinner is a handheld creative writing wheel that generates millions of writing ideas, topics, and exercises so you never get stuck. It’s a low-tech item that produces high-caliber results, time after time, no matter where you are. It was invented in 1998 by Bonnie Neubauer.

Coach K had her seniors complete this blog journal and I thought it was great, so we are going to use it, as well, with her permission.  

There is an online version of this game but not what I was looking for in the way of topics, etc. I decided to use this idea and come up with my own "story spinners." I have come up with three options from which you can choose. I will give you a setting, starting phrase and four words that must be used (correctly) in your story. I want the four words to be a different color than the rest of your story, so that I can find them easily! You will use my exact phrase for the opening of your story, but please notice it is just a phrase--not a complete sentence--so you must complete the thought and then begin your story from there!

These stories need to be AT LEAST three paragraphs with no less than five sentences per paragraph.

I also want you to find a picture for your story and place it at the beginning of your post. You may choose to use several pictures throughout your story, as well.


I KNOW you will have fun with this!! :)


Option 1

Setting: Your childhood neighborhood

Starting Phrase: As the old man approached my friends and me...

Four words that must be included in the story: barefoot, bicycle, flashlight, gibberish


Option 2

Setting: A bus stop in Paris

Starting Phrase: The long scar just below her left knee...

Four words that must be included in the story: immature, credentials, squint, roses


Option 3

Setting: A dark alley on a rainy night

Starting Phrase: As I regained consciousness, I remember asking...

Four words that must be included in the story: blame, headlights, stubborn, vestibule

Now, get to work and HAVE FUN!  I can't wait to read what you come up with!

Heaven

We all have our thoughts about what heaven might be like.  We've read descriptions in the the Bible, we've heard what others have said, and you've probably thought about what heaven is.

In the novel, The Lovely Bones, the main character Susie Salmon, describes what HER heaven is like. 

If you were asked to describe what you think heaven will be like, what would you say?  It can be completely made up and have nothing or everything to do with your religious views.  It is up to you. 

Write a full paragraph or more and tell me about what you would want your heaven to include and look like. 

When you finish, publish the post and we will then continue reading. 

The Lovely Bones

Look at the very first page of the novel.  No, not page 1.  Look before that.  There is a page at the very beginning of the novel with a paragraph that reads like this:

Inside the snow globe on my father's desk, there was a penguin wearing a red-and-white-striped scarf.  When I was little my father would pull me into his lap and reach for the snow globe.  He would turn it over, letting all the snow collect on the top, then quickly invert it.  The two of us watched the snow fall gently around the penguin.  The penguin was alone in there, I thought, and I worried for him.  When I told my father this, he said, "Don't worry, Susie; he has a nice life.  He's trapped in a perfect world."


Think about that passage for a minute.

Answer the following questions in a paragraph:

What did Susie's father mean when he said the penguin was "trapped in a perfect world?"  Why does her father consider it perfect?

Think about what has happened to Susie.  Do you think she considers herself "trapped" in her heaven?  Do you think she sees it as a perfect world?  Explain your answer.

Parts of Speech Review

Last week we reviewed the 8 Parts of Speech.  Today, I would like to see what you know and remember.

Directions:  You will come up with the words below and then write a paragraph using the words you have come up with.

List the following words:  (you may use more than this, but you MUST use the ones you list below in the paragraph you write). 

10 Nouns:

5 Adjectives:

3 Adverbs:

2 Conjunctions:

3 Verbs:

2 Prepositions:

1 Interjection:

2 Pronouns:

After you have made your list, use the words you come up with to write a paragraph about anything you wish.  The paragraph MUST make sense, and it MUST use all of the words you have come up with above.

When you are through, publish your work.  Good luck!!

Your Bucket List

What Would You Do?

Stop putting your dreams off for "some day" . . . Take inspiration from the movie "The Bucket List" and ask yourself: If I had one year left to live, what would I be sure to do? Create a list of 100 things you want to do before you kick the bucket and start crossing items off your list, today.

Maybe you want to . . .

1. Write a script for a TV show
2. Do stand-up comedy
3. Write a children's book
4. Go camping
5. Ride a gondola in Venice
6. Learn how to salsa dance
7. Host Saturday Night Live
8. Visit a Renaissance fair
9. See the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
10. Witness a solar eclipse

It's never too early or too late to create a bucket list. So, whether you're 10 or 98, use this lens for inspiration and for guidelines on how to get started. You'll also find over 380 things you can consider adding to your bucket list (suggestions to get your creative juices flowing).

"Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed (98 3/4% guaranteed)." - Dr. Seuss

Your task today: You will create your own Bucket List on your class blog.  Click on the link above to get some ideas.  Then, go to your blog and start your post.  You will have the class period to write, so don't feel hurried.  Even if you don't finish today, you should have a good start by the time the period is over.  Your final Bucket List should have 100 things you would like to do before you die.  Use the title "My Bucket List." And in the labels at the bottom of the post box, type Bucket List.

Shakespeare Language

Thy face looked PALED and thy seemed to PEAK as thy awaked from a MARE.  I heard a MINIMUS sound as if a MICHING MERCHANT had come to MOUSE we both.  Alas, twas merely a group of BAN-DOGS down the way, baying at the moon.  Until I lay my head back down, and heard the MICHING once again, only to find the BARNS, playing a round of LOGOATS.  "Come hither!" I demanded at which they fell silent, once again. 




[Thine] sole name blisters our tongues.

I think this is insulting someone by saying when anyone speaks their name, it causes blisters to form on the tongue of the speaker.

Quotes to Think About

Choose one of the following quotes, and discuss it on your blog.

1.) "We never know the worth of water til the well is dry," states an 18th-century English proverb.  Can you apply this proverb to other things besides wells and water?

2.) What do you think poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was referring to when he said, "We boil at different degrees?"

3.) Give your interpretation of the following quotation by Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We are not makers of history. We are made by history."

Remembering 9/11

Today is September 11, 2009.  This day marks the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that hit the twin towers of New York, a field in Pennsylvania, and The Pentagon in Washington D.C.

Today I want you to blog about a few things that have to do with September 11th.  In a paragraph, answer the following questions and explain your answers.


1.)  Where were you 8 years ago today?  Do you remember who's class you were in?  What do you remember about the weeks following 9/11? What do you remember seeing or hearing about?

2.)  Do you think twenty years from now we will still be remembering the day of September 11th?

3.)  Why do you think terrorists chose to attack America?  Why not another country?

4.) Do you know anyone that was directly affected by the attacks on September 11th?

5.) If you were to write a story about 9/11, who's point of view would it be from and what would it be about?

5.) Find a picture that represents what 9/11 means to you and include it in your post.

MUSE

Choose one word from you Week One Vocabulary and use it in an ORIGINAL sentence (that means you have made it up yourself!).  The sentence must reflect the definition of the word!

Example:

MUSE
It didn't take much MUSING to know we had taken a wrong turn and were now lost!

Friendship Bellringer

We are beginning to read Julius Caesar, one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.  A major theme in the play is that of friendship. 

Which is more important to you, friendship or personal morals/values/beliefs you hold? 

Go to your personal blog:

1.)  go to blogger.com

2.)  Log in with your username (firstnamelastnameblog@yahoo.com)

and password: bobcats2010. 

Go to New Post and write your answer in the space.  Then publish your post.   

The Lovely Bones

Happy Monday!

Today is your first OFFICIAL posting day to your blog!  Here's what I want you to do. 

Click on the link HERE, and read all of the information about the book The Lovely Bones, written by Alice Sebold.  It is one of the books I am planning on possibly using this year to replace The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

I want you to read the summary and information, and then, on your blog, I want you to post your reaction to it.  Do you think the book sounds interesting?  What about it sounds interesting?  If you don't think you would like reading it, tell me why.  

Finally, put all your thoughts together and tell me if you think I should choose this book to read in class as one of our novels for discussion.  

Oh, and just so you know, the movie version is coming to theaters December 11, 2009!