Blog Archives

Did You Hear That?

2/26/2013

Behind her, the noise escalated...

Directions: Use the prompt above as the beginning of a suspenseful story. Be VERY DETAILED in your story with explicit descriptions and figurative language. Explore different moods, feelings, literary devices, etc.

Deadline: March 1, 2013 11:59 p.m. CST.

History, Today

2/17/2013

Directions: Identify examples of historical or cultural influence based on the author’s use of figurative language. Then, translate what it would say in today’s times. Be VERY DETAILED in your responses.

From The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins, 1859)

For my own poor part, the fading summer left me out of health, out of spirits, and, if the truth must be told, out of money as well. During the past year I had not managed my professional resources as carefully as usual; and my extravagance now limited me to the prospect of spending the autumn economically between my mother's cottage at Hampstead and my own chambers in town.

The evening, I remember, was still and cloudy; the London air was at its heaviest; the distant hum of the street-traffic was at its faintest; the small pulse of the life within me, and the great heart of the city around me, seemed to be sinking in unison, languidly and more languidly, with the sinking sun. I roused myself from the book which I was dreaming over rather than reading, and left my chambers to meet the cool night air in the suburbs. It was one of the two evenings in every week which I was accustomed to spend with my mother and my sister. So I turned my steps northward in the direction of Hampstead.

1. What is going on historically during this time?
2. What can you infer was going on culturally?
3. What would this excerpt sound like today?

The Scarlet Ibis (James Hurst, 1960)

Summer was dead, but autumn had not yet been born when the ibis came to the bleeding tree. It's strange that all this is so clear to me, now that time has had its way. But sometimes (like right now) I sit in the cool green parlor, and I remember Doodle.

Doodle was about the craziest brother a boy ever had. Doodle was born when I was seven and was, from the start, a disappointment. He seemed all head, with a tiny body that was red and shriveled like an old man's. Everybody thought he was going to die.

Daddy had the carpenter build a little coffin, and when he was three months old, Mama and Daddy named him William Armstrong. Such a name sounds good only on a tombstone.

When he crawled on the rug, he crawled backward, as if he were in reverse and couldn't change gears. This made him look like a doodlebug, so I began calling him 'Doodle.' Renaming my brother was probably the kindest thing I ever did for him, because nobody expects much from someone called Doodle.

1. What is going on historically during this time?
2. What can you infer was going on culturally?
3. What would this excerpt sound like today?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers (Langston Hughes, 1920)

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

1. What is going on historically during this time?
2. What can you infer was going on culturally?
3. What would this excerpt sound like today?

Deadline: February 22, 2013 11:59 p.m. CST.

Valentine's Day?!

2/14/2013

When I looked up and saw Cupid with his bow, I knew we were in trouble...

Directions: Use this prompt and create a compelling story about Cupid, his bow and Valentine's Day!

Be VERY DETAILED in your story with explicit descriptions and figurative language. Explore different moods, feelings, literary devices, etc.

Deadline: February 15, 2013 11:59 p.m. CST.

Teen Employment

2/3/2013

Issue: You are faced with the decision of whether or not to work while in high school.

Directions: Present an argument to your parents either for or against teen employment. You must also include your 3x2 Pre-writing Strategy.

Deadline: February 8, 2013 11:59 p.m. CST

Mixed Ink

Mixed Ink is our class blog, the window into our souls. It was designed to improve students' writing, critical thinking and communication skills by giving them a platform to provide meaningful content based on their interpretation of what they see.

Although the students receive a grade based on a rubric for completing this assignment, they are not graded on complexity of thought. This is a place where students of all levels can freely, confidently and creatively express themselves and their opinions in a nonjudgmental platform. They are required to respond to and critique each other, but degradation, slander, lewdness, etc., will not be tolerated.

Bridge Builders

All subjects are vital to learning, but English is the bridge of communication. So let's build the arch, one word at a time...

Grading Rubric

Learning Objectives

Communicate effectively
Be aware of current events
Write concisely
Boost critical thinking skills
Be accountable
Follow directions
Have a voice about what goes on in the world around you