Share the Scare

You all worked so hard on your spooky stories--I'd like for you to take some time today to see what your classmates have come up with.  Choose 3 of your classmates' blogs complete the following:

1.  Read your classmate's Halloween-inspired story (posted on Tuesday) and leave a comment with 3 specific, supportive and complimentary remarks regarding the story and how it was written. 

Go beyond a short, generic comment and get specific. As in:  "You really got me with that twist at the end--I would have never guessed it was her sister stalking her all along.  Creepy!"  Or:  "Your use of dialogue was effective and pulled me into the story.  I never thought a conversation between a little boy and the demon living in his closet could sound so natural."  Don't cop out and put a rushed, generic comment like, "It was scary" or "Nice job." 

2.  Then browse the rest of that classmate's blog and choose 2 other pieces to leave a positive, specific, brief comment on.

3.  If you have time and would like to read and/or comment on other class members' stories, you can cruise through the blogs on the sidebar of our class blog and see what others have been up to.  Leave comments if you have time.

4.   In a New Post on your own blog, write up a brief summary of the scary stories of each of your classmates in your group and name at least one detail or technique you really liked.  Add a bit at the end of your post about your Halloween plans (and if they come close to anything in the stories you read!).

We'll be moving on next week, and grades for KHS progress reports are due from me Tuesday morning, so today is the day to offer this feedback and post what you've read to your blog. After Tuesday, I won't be giving points for any past posts we've done so far this quarter.  Take care of any missing work by then.

When you've completed your comments and summary post, please do some research and settle on an idea for your pumpkin we will decorate early next week for the French Club's contest.  Their theme is Around the World.  I'd like our pumpkins to have something to do with writing, literature, words if possible, but I am open to ideas.  Please leave a comment on this post detailing your idea and what supplies you think you'll need.  If any of you have pumpkin carving kits we could use in class, please bring them on Tuesday.  I'll bring the pumpkins.  


Thank you!  Be careful out there on Halloween and enjoy your long weekend...You are all such boo-tiful people...

Thank you, Harris Burdick

Using the artwork, title and sentence you selected from the Burdick book as your inspiration, please draft a creative piece of your choice.  Spend some time on this one and shoot for at least 350-500 words, more if you can to really develop your story.  Use plenty of vivid details and consider using dialogue.  You might create a fictional short story or maybe adapt a narrative from your own experience that connects to Burdick's picture or words. 

You'll have today and Friday in the lab to draft and polish your story and then create a New Post on your blog by the end of class on Friday that includes both your writing and the Burdick image (looks like most of them are on Google images if you search "harris burdick").  Use the title that went with your image as the title of your post.  Use the sentence that went with your image somewhere in your piece--put that sentence in bold.

You can read more about The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (and submit your story if you'd like!) here.

scare tactics

The prompts in the previous post were fairly light-hearted in relation to Halloween.  For this assignment, the prompts are a bit darker...Feel free to shape them to something you are comfortable with...

I found some interesting horror story starter ideas at a blog called Nighthags Writing Corner.  Please go to this post and this post also this post and take a look at all the sentence starters, art and photos and choose one (or more, I suppose) to inspire a piece of writing of no less than 500 words (about 2 pages double-spaced). 

When your piece is ready (and at least 500 words), please share it in a New Post on your own blog.  Give your post a creative title and be sure to include the image that inspired it or put the idea starter in bold within your piece.

If you have any time left, please take a look at your classmates' posts from yesterday or today and leave a brief, friendly comment.

Spooky Season

Choose 1-3 of these to respond to in answers of 500 words total in a New Post on your blog.  Your answers may be fact or fiction or both...Include an image...

• While trick-or-treating, my friends and I decided to explore a dark street we had never noticed before...

• The best costume I ever wore was…

• My favorite Halloween was the time I…

• As I looked at the Jack-o-Lantern, it seemed to be looking back at me. Then…

• As I reached into the bag of candy, I thought I heard a voice saying, “Pick me, pick me!”

• Write a Halloween poem using the following words: bat, pumpkin, candy, spooky, night, orange, black, witch, scary, wind.

• Write a recipe for a magic potion. Next, explain what the potion would do if someone drank it.

• I was putting my Halloween costume on when I heard something moving in my closet...

• On Halloween night, while trick-or-treating we passed the cemetery. Suddenly we all felt a cold and spooky wind...

• What are your favorite Halloween treats? What is the best one you ever received?

• Describe all the Halloween costumes you have had in past years.

• Describe how to make a great Halloween costume using mostly supplies you have around the house.

Keeping it Real

In a New Post share your thoughtful answers to 4-5 of the Dan In Real Life questions.  Shoot for about 500 words.  Include an image.

Please be sure you're caught up on all blog posts so far this quarter so we can move on to a new topic next week...scary stories in honor of Halloween!

"Reely" good quotes

Dumb and Dumber

Create a New Post featuring 4-5 of your favorite MOVIE QUOTES.  These could be funny, sad, smart...whatever stands out to you.  You can type these or use an image featuring the quote.  Make sure you indicate the film the quote is from, and the character if you'd like.

When a Man Loves a Woman

"Reel" Life

Do a  New Post answering the following questions (in at least 400 words) about your preferences in movies.

• Tell us about your favorite movie and why you like it.
• Tell us about the kinds of movies you don't care for usually.
• Tell us about how often and where you usually watch movies.
• Tell us about what you need for movie viewing (environment, food, company, etc.)
• Tell us about what this survey says about you.
• If my life story was made into a movie...(who would play you, what would be 3-4 main plot points/events, happy or sad ending, etc.)

Include images in this post also. Thanks!

When you're finished, leave a quick comment on the movie post and/or movie quotes post of at least 5 of your classmates.

Your future's so bright

...you've gotta wear shades. Have you heard that song before? Perhaps our guest speaker from inspired you to pursue a creative career...maybe in writing or maybe in filmmaking or something else. There are, of course, lots of  schools that offer creative writing programs and there are several different directions you might take to work as a writer.

No matter what you see yourself doing down the road, take some time to do a New Post on your own blog and respond to ALL of the following questions:

• discuss 2 interesting ideas from the presentation Monday
• ask 1 question about something discussed
• write about where you'd like to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years and 50 years (this might include careers or work, accomplishments, family and friends, homes, possessions, emotions, etc.)
• include at least one image that shows what you see in your future
• include the word "future" somehow in the title of your post
• if you'd like to put a link in your post the way I have with the words in red (maybe to the college you're interested in or something else) I can show you how--you just highlight the word you want to be linked, click on the icon with the little green circle and chainlinks on the toolbar then copy and paste the url/web address of the page you're linking to...I usually change the text color of that word, too, just to be consistent

When you've finished your own new post, read several of your classmates' and make a comment.

Guest Speaker Monday!

During class on Monday, Mr. Jim Odom (husband of Mrs. Angie Odom, KHS math teacher!) will visit our class and share some of his experiences as a published author.  You can visit his website to find out more about his background and his book.  Be thinking of questions you might ask Mr. Odom...

Inspired by Edward Hopper

Choose one of the 4 paintings (above) by American artist Edward Hopper we studied in class this week (you could also use his painting "Nighthawks" that is referenced in the insurance commercial we watched) and write a piece of at least 400 words inspired by it.  You might do a short fiction piece or a personal narrative or maybe even a long narrative poem.  You can refer to your lists of sensory details and other thoughts in your journal entry completed in class for ideas.  Please create a New Post on your blog  by the end of class today with your writing and include the painting, too.  Thanks!

Circle of Life: Mandalas

I hope you enjoyed the process of coloring the printed mandala designs in class last week.  Mandalas are important to a variety of cultures, faiths and schools of thought...

You can create some interesting mandalas at this site.  If you click on the asterisks, there is more information about the different elements.

Leave a brief but thoughtful COMMENT on this post answering one or more of these questions:

• How or why do you think art could be used as therapy?
• Can you think of other pieces of or types of art that are connected to certain faiths, disciplines or movements?
• What role does art play in your own life?
• If you could be any kind of artist, what would you be?  Why?

Poems for 2 pieces by the artist you profiled

In a New Post on your blog please choose 2 pieces by the artist you profiled Tuesday and write a narrative poem of at least 10 lines for each. 

A narrative poem is one that tells a story.  It doesn't need to rhyme.  You could tell a made-up story inspired by the painting, you could tell a story from your own life the piece makes you think of, you could make up a story about the subjects in the painting...You could connect your two 10-line poems or let them stand on their own. Try to include vivid, sensory details and rich, interesting word choices.  You might even try to include a poetic device (like alliteration, simile, repetition, etc.) if you're comfortable doing so.  Please include the piece of art you are writing about in your post.  Give the post a creative title.

Artist Profile

Grumpy Cat works in oils

Please profile the artist you chose to study in a New Post on your blog.  Please all include the information from your brochure, but instead of listing it, write the information more like a life story in paragraphs.  Include an image and/or self-portrait of the artist as well as 2-3 images of the artist's most famous works.  Title Your Post Artist Profile: ______ (name of artist).  Thanks!

Art Walk

In a New Post on your blog, post some writing connected to the art print you chose to study during our discussion in the cafeteria and on the benches outside last Tuesday.  Try for at least 250 words. 

Tell us the story from your own life it made you think of, write a critique or vivid description, write a long poem or several shorter ones inspired by the image...whatever you want to come up with. 

Include an image, too.  If you can't get a photo of the actual print on your post, just choose another one online that has the same feeling or look.

Be a {blog} reader

After you've posted your Six Word Memoir(s), please take the time to click on the blogs of your classmates (I've got you in groups below) and do the following:

1:   Read at least 5 of the person's blog posts (2 long and 3 short).

2:  Leave a friendly, supportive, positive comment of about 150 words on each of the 5 pieces...maybe something you liked/found interesting/found reminded you of something else you've read or in your own life...Remember to be specific.

3:  Create a New Post on your own blog reporting whose blogs you looked at, what pieces you read, and which one was the most interesting to you from each person and why.  Copy and paste your comments into your post, too.

Zach 
M'Kenna
Riley
Jacob

Taylor D.
Katie
Maddie
Mariah

Emma
Sam
Jesse
Daniel

Ben
Taylor M.
Jordan
Laura

Glenda
Meghan
Tanner
Joshua
Amanda

6 Word Memoirs

In a New Post on your blog, please share whichever of the 6-Word Memoirs you came up with in class  that you are comfortable sharing.  Just one or all of them.  Include an image or images.  You don't need to explain them, but you could if you wanted to. You could also submit what you've come up with to the Smith magazine website.