And the moral of the story is . . .

Discuss your reactions to the play as a whole. Now that you have actually read through the entire play (and please do not respond until you are finished–for those in Black Forest League, I have extended the due date of this discussion), reflect upon the way the play surprised you or made you ponder.  How do the personality flaws or strengths lead the characters to take the actions they do? What makes the play so timeless? How does it relate to contemporary life?

Oh what a tangled web . . .

In this post, discuss your feelings about Friar Lawrence and the Nurse–can an argument be made that it is really all their faults Romeo and Juliet are in the mess that they are in? Or do you think Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are innocent victims of the situation? Support your thinking with specific examples.

Psycho-analysis of Juliet’s personality

Using the skills you learned from our Anne Frank unit, analyze Juliet’s personality. Do you feel that she is an accurate representation of women in general or do you feel Shakespeare is unfairly portraying women? Or, do you feel that Juliet is a worthy subject for Romeo’s attention and more women should aspire to be like her?

Here are some things to consider:

1) Her ability to banter words with Romeo

2) The way she found out who Romeo was

3) The way she covered her self-reflection about finding out he was Romeo from the nurse

4) The way she tells Romeo to leave, then come back, to vow, then not to vow, to leave–to stay, and then forgets why she calls him

5) The fact that she essentially tells Romeo that if his intentions are good, they should marry

6) Her impatience when she sends the nurse to find out about the wedding details

Romeo, Romeo . . . [who] for art thou, Romeo?

Romeo is the classic romantic hero–even modern songs use the image of Romeo (”Love Story” by Taylor Swift) to represent what every girl hopes to one day find. However, after having read two scenes of Act I, is Romeo the stuff of dreams? Do you think the love-sick characteristics of the Romeo we currently see in the play is the kind of romantic hero we imaged him to be? Explain your answer and refer to the text with Act, Scene, lines:  (i.e. I.II.5-10)  sorry, correction–use all arabic numerals: (1.2.5-10).

Chipawonga Ducks LOF Thesis Statements w/ Intro Paragraphs

Reminders:

Rules for a strong thesis: a) Never question b) Never a fact c) Always conveys writer’s opinion

Introductory paragraphs include: Attention grabbing topic sentence(s), strong thesis statement, and   essay map (sentence(s) that give the reader a sense of how the thesis will be supported (body    paragraph topics)

Deadline: Thursday by 3:15

Respond to one another’s thesis (need to say more than good job–explain what is good or weak)

Unwanted Miracles LOF Thesis Statements w/ Intro Paragraphs

Reminders:

Rules for a strong thesis: a) Never question b) Never a fact c) Always conveys writer’s opinion

Introductory paragraphs include: Attention grabbing topic sentence(s), strong thesis statement, and   essay map (sentence(s) that give the reader a sense of how the thesis will be supported (body    paragraph topics)

Deadline: Thursday by 3:15

Respond to one another’s thesis (need to say more than good job–explain what is good or weak)

Incognito Squirrels LOF Thesis Statements w/ Intro Paragraphs

Reminders:

Rules for a strong thesis: a) Never question b) Never a fact c) Always conveys writer’s opinion

Introductory paragraphs include: Attention grabbing topic sentence(s), strong thesis statement, and   essay map (sentence(s) that give the reader a sense of how the thesis will be supported (body    paragraph topics)

Deadline: Thursday by 3:15

Respond to one another’s thesis (need to say more than good job–explain what is good or weak)

Stumbling Piggies LOF Thesis Statements w/ Intro Paragraphs

Reminders:

Rules for a strong thesis: a) Never question b) Never a fact c) Always conveys writer’s opinion

Introductory paragraphs include: Attention grabbing topic sentence(s), strong thesis statement, and   essay map (sentence(s) that give the reader a sense of how the thesis will be supported (body    paragraph topics)

Deadline: Thursday by 3:15

Respond to one another’s thesis (need to say more than good job–explain what is good or weak)

Las Chupacabras LOF Thesis Statements w/ Intro Paragraphs

Reminders:

Rules for a strong thesis: a) Never question b) Never a fact c) Always conveys writer’s opinion

Introductory paragraphs include: Attention grabbing topic sentence(s), strong thesis statement, and   essay map (sentence(s) that give the reader a sense of how the thesis will be supported (body    paragraph topics)

Deadline: Thursday by 3:15

Respond to one another’s thesis (need to say more than good job–explain what is good or weak)

Lost Prophets LOF Thesis statements w/ Intro Paragraphs

Reminders:

Rules for a strong thesis: a) Never question b) Never a fact c) Always conveys writer’s opinion

Introductory paragraphs include: Attention grabbing topic sentence(s), strong thesis statement, and   essay map (sentence(s) that give the reader a sense of how the thesis will be supported (body    paragraph topics)

Deadline: Thursday by 3:15

Respond to one another’s thesis (need to say more than good job–explain what is good or weak)

Blog Discussion with CSU-Pueblo’s Director of Creative Writing, Juan Morales

Live Portal on this discussion begins at 8:00 P.M.

However, if you would like to leave a comment for Juan prior to the live portal, you may. Remember to refresh your

page often in order to view new comments as they appear during the live session.

Poetry and Music

Deadline for this discussion has been moved to Sunday evening. By Monday morning, when I log in, if your comments are there, you receive credit. What works really well, is if people plan a time to be on and then shoot comments back and forth, but you are not required to do so (good example is the 7th graders last discussion on Body Image http://css7thgradeenglish.wordpress.com).  DON’T FORGET TO PROOFREAD AND SPELL CHECK!!

What I’d like you to discuss is the way this unit has helped you understand the role music and writing plays in affecting social change. Even though the music we’ve listened to is probably not the music you have in your iPods, are you beginning to appreciate what these artists have done? Give your thoughts on these topics and about the unit in general–are you excited about the upcoming project? Nervous? Terrified? Explain.

Evaluating your own digital learning

Because there are so few participants this round, your commitment to the discussion is heightened. Eric is the only participant this round who also participated last round, so my expectations for his involvement are that much more heightened. As we’ve discussed in class, the use of blogs and wikis to facilitate learning is relatively new, and therefore, requires constant critical evaluation.

As the teacher, I know what I hope the use of the blogs and wikis can do, but what I am interested in is the ways in which students themselves  see the usefulness of technology-aided classrooms.  Here’s where you guys can not only participate as recipients of a crazy teacher’s ideas, but actually step in and help mold the way teachers in general will or will not use technology in the future.  So, while your weekend requirement is two posts, I’d encourage you to post as many times as makes the discussion a success.

Here of some potential questions you might explore (of course, I also hope you will come up with some of your own):

Does having too few participants in a blog discussion make the use of blogs counterproductive? Should I create a minimum number of participants and disallow students from choosing the Mega challenge if I don’t get the minimum?

Does the blog allow students to participate in discussions differently than they do in class? Positive/negative implications?

Does use of the wiki encourage students to think about technology differently?

Does use of the wiki allow students to display their ideas in more advanced ways?

Does it raise a student’s motivation knowing that “the world-wide” community can potentially see his or her work?

Do students engage their parents in conversations about what they are doing in class more often because they can “showcase” their work to their parents?

Mr. Pilkington, Mr. Frederick and Napoleon

Look up the the relationship between Stalin, Hitler and America and Europe.  Discuss they way Orwell handles these representation in the book. What were the true events of these relationships? Was Orwell succesful in his handling of these relationships? Why or why not? Support your answer–use in-text for outside sources.

Spark Notes??!!

I’d like you to go to Sparknotes.com and look up Animal Farm. Read through the sources on the site and then evaluate the site’s usefulness. Was there anything there that you did not know/consider? Is it a good source for people who want to cheat? Is it a good source for people who want to enhance their understanding? Support your answers with examples from the site.