Book Thief - Free Verse/Color Poem

Blog instructions:

                                                             Write a free verse poem that explains your day, the images, your feelings, emotions and the colors of the story that you free wrotabout in class.

THIS POEM NEEDS TO BE POSTED BY 

11:59 PM ON OCTOBER 22ND!

Example:

In my car, I sat

Consumed by a pale yellow aura of nervousness

Waiting… Waiting… Waiting

The park bench not too far seemed yellow too

It clouded everything that I could see.

Then I saw it

The gray straggly hair

Overtook the yellow nerves

Gray everywhere—no escape

I knew my fate

The gray was real

It walked toward me

When it spoke,

To my surprise the words were not gray

But green sarcasm spewing like vomit

Covering the interior of the car

My stomach sinking—

White

White, the color of my face

My emotions inside

A clean slate

I could barely breath

With the turn of the wheel

The white turned to gold

And I was ready

Ready to be bold

Faster than light

A turn once again

Turned to a thump

And the world became

BLACK

Five People You Meet in Heaven #3

Albom writes: "People say they 'find' love, as if it were an object by a rock. But love takes many forms and it is never the same for any man and woman. What people find then is a certain love." (p. 155) In no less than 95 words, discuss Albom's idea of love and describe the kind of love Eddie and Marguerite share? You must use exact details from the text to support your response.

Please have your entry posted by 11:59 PM on Monday, September 29th
Here is their song...click below to hear the full song   
You made me love you
I didn't want to do it...I didn't want to do it
You made me love you and all the time you knew it...    

Five People You Meet in Heaven #2

Choose ONE of the prompts below and respond with at least 75 words. AGAIN...construct first in a GoogleDoc and then copy & paste it over (this needs to become a habit!)

1. When Eddie is with Marguerite, he "as always...mostly wants to freeze time." Have you ever experienced a moment that you want to "freeze?" Discuss the  moment and how it affected you.

2. Eddie has a volatile relationship with his father. How does knowing more about this affect your opinion about Eddie and his life experiences?

Your entry must be posted by 11:59 PM Wednesday, September 24th!

Five People You Meet in Heaven #1

  Please respond to #1-3 with at least one paragraph each.  I would recommend that you construct your responses in GoogleDocs and the copy/paste to the blog post - just a suggestion (listen to me...I know what I'm talking about)

1. Eddie exists in a "weary state of acceptance." Explain what Albom means by this statement and how did Eddie come to be in this state? Use examples from the book...

2. Albom writes "No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river." So far, how is Eddie's story connected with another's story?

3. Using imagery and vivid language to describe Eddie's first sensations of being in Heaven.

4. List 5 examples of onomatopoeias (a word that imitates a sound) used so far in the book.

YOUR RESPONSES MUST BE POSTED BY 11:59 PM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH!

Blog #4

Mitch Albom reminds us that "Everyone has an idea of heaven, as do most religions and they should all be respected."  

What is your idea or definition of heaven? 

Your response should be no less than 75 words and is due by 11:59 PM Monday (9/15).  

To the Beat

Members of the Nak Pak start a special project to choose music and record inspirational messages for Bo to listen to as he competes in the Yukon Jack's Triathlon.  Choose three songs (with school appropriate lyrics - i.e. clean versions) with messages and beats that you think would be beneficial for a competing triathlete.  Place the links to the songs in your post and for each song write at least one paragraph explaining your reason for the choice.  3 songs = 3 paragraphs!

HINT - create this post in GoogleDocs and then copy it over to Blogger!

This is due by 11:59 PM on Friday (9/5)

Blog/Journal Assignment #2

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought" - Wallace Stevens

For this journal, share a story from your life.  Let's start with something easy and near and dear to our hearts...SUMMER!  

Write a journal entry describing one event from your summer break.  It can be your funniest story, your best summer moment, your worst summer moment, your least interesting experience, your most challenging event, ANYTHING!!  

Pick one quick story about YOU and and your summer, then tell us all about it.  

Remember, an online journal entry MUST be at least a good paragraph long and should be posted by 11:59 PM on Tuesday (8/26)

Learn 'em...Use 'em! Blog Rules

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BLOG RULES (I prefer to call them guidelines), know them and use them in all posts on the AGHS English IV 2014-15 Blog. Please comment below that you have read & understand the guidelines and reference at least one guideline that you will strive to uphold! Comments need to be posted by 11:59 PM on Tuesday (8/26).   

1. This blog site is intended for classroom use but parents and/or guests are welcome to post at any time so long as they adhere to the rules.

2. This site does have public access. Please use use first name and last initial only (this might need to be changed on your next post) and do not include any personal information such as your name, age, address, phone numbers, etc. (nor those of anyone else!).

3. No vulgar or obscene posts will be allowed.

4. No disrespectful remarks about another student, teacher, or any person will be allowed.

5. Anything that could be perceived as a threat of physical violence will be punishable according to school policy.

6. Do not use this post to advocate the immediate violation of any law or school rule.

7. I will review and approve all posts before being published and I reserve the right to delete any post that does not strictly adhere to these rules.

8. Online journal entries are an assignment and will be given a grade for participation.  As these will be specifically graded for participation, spelling, grammar, and punctuation will be given minor consideration.  Make a effort, try not to use 'textese,' but focus mainly on exploring and expressing your thoughts.

9. Zero credit will be given on a deleted entry—it is the students' responsibility to check and make sure their entries have not been deleted and, as needed, replace them with appropriate responses by the due date to receive full credit.

10. All journal entry responses MUST be a MINIMUM of 5-6 sentences.  Insightful and/or particularly thought-provoking entries will receive extra credit. Late entries get half credit. Do your own work. Do it on time. Do it well. And we will have no problems.  :)

Blog/Journal Assignments - #1

Occasionally you will be responsible for posting a reply to an online journal question. This response needs to be a minimum of one full paragraph (minimum of 5-6 sentences) or meet the specifications outlined. Being an online journal, this is somewhat informal in nature but you do need to use complete sentences, watch your spelling, and fully develop your thoughts. Make sure your responses are school appropriate or they will be deleted. Be open, be creative, be yourself.

Now, for your first online blog assignment. Consider the following quotation:

Don't do whatever you like; like whatever you do. --Anne M. Jennings
Describe an instance where you have applied this advice in your own life or a situation in which you could give it a try. Life is full of amazing possibilities. Above is a picture from the NASA Rover currently exploring Mars.  Who would have ever thought it would be possible to send back images from Mars?

It is our attitude that can lift us up or hold us back if we let it. Consider how our attitudes can be changed if we will try to see the potential in any given situation and, in turn, how different the outcome could be if our attitudes towards the situation are different. What good things could come from having a good attitude about something new? Please have your response posted by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, August 19.

AGHS SUMMER READING INITIATIVE 2014 - Blog Project

Log on to the English IV blog and post an entry that answers the following questions. A minimum of 5 blog entries must be posted...there is NO maximum -

1. What is the theme (moral or message) of the novel? What is the author trying to teach the readers?

2. Explain in detail the direct and indirect characterization of your favorite character. Direct = superficial, physical characteristics; Indirect = motivations, relationships, actions, etc.

3. What role does the setting play in the novel? How would the story be different if the setting were changed?

**each blog post will equal one entry into a drawing on the first day of school!